South Korea jails Somali pirate for 15 years
2 hrs 55 mins ago

SEOUL (AFP) – A Somali pirate was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday after he was found guilty of hijacking a South Korean-operated ship in the Arabian Sea.

Abdulahi Husseen Maxamuud was the fifth and final gang member to be sentenced after four others were given long jail terms last Friday.

They were seized when South Korean navy commandos recaptured the chemical carrier Samho Jewelry in a daring raid on January 21, six days after it was hijacked.

Lawyers said earlier that Maxamuud would be tried separately because he would plead guilty.

But on Wednesday he denied major involvement in the hijack, Yonhap news agency reported from the southern port city of Busan.

“I sincerely apologise for what happened… I was not involved in the crime because I was just the cook,” the agency quoted him as telling judges, adding he had tried to restrain the other Somalis.

The court cleared him of the attempted murder of the ship’s captain but convicted him of maritime robbery and other charges. It said he deserved a heavy penalty because he was involved in piracy and showed little repentance.

Prosecutors had demanded life imprisonment.

The trials were the country’s first attempt to punish foreign pirates.

Eight pirates were killed in the commando raid and five arrested.

All 21 crew — eight South Koreans, two Indonesians and 11 from Myanmar — were freed unhurt apart from Captain Seok Hae-Kyun, 58, who is still recovering in hospital after multiple operations.

The court last Friday jailed Mahomed Araye for life for trying to murder the captain by shooting him with his AK rifle. Prosecutors had sought the death sentence for him.

Aul Brallat, said to have fired at the commandos during an initial unsuccessful raid on January 18, was jailed for 15 years, while two other pirates were each sentenced to 13 years.

Araye and Brallat have lodged an appeal against the ruling while two other convicted pirates are also expected to appeal, Yonhap said, adding prosecutors would seek heavier sentences on appeal.

Piracy has surged in recent years off Somalia, a lawless, war-torn country that sits alongside one of the world’s most important shipping routes.

Investigators say some of the pirates involved in the January raid had taken part in the hijacking last year of a South Korean supertanker operated by the same firm as the Samho Jewelry.

The 300,000-tonne Samho Dream and its 24 crew were released after a reported $9 million ransom payment was made.

Washington Post – US Sen. John McCain visits Myanmar to assess new government’s reform promises
By Associated Press, Published: May 31

YANGON, Myanmar — U.S. Sen. John McCain began a brief trip to Myanmar on Wednesday to assess the situation in the country after a new civilian government promising reform took over from a military junta several months ago.

Rights groups and critics say little has changed since the new government took power in March. They say the new government is simply a proxy for the military and little has been done to address widespread abuses or to free more than 2,000 political prisoners remaining behind bars.

McCain arrived in the administrative capital, Naypyitaw, where he is expected to meet one of the nation’s vice presidents as well as lawmakers, a Myanmar government security official said, refusing to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

On Thursday, McCain is scheduled to meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest late last year but remains closely monitored by authorities.

Speaking in Bangkok on Tuesday, McCain said he would assess “the changes being contemplated by the new government, how serious they are about reform.”

He called Suu Kyi, who he met 15 years ago in Yangon, “a person I have admired more than any other … living individual.”

McCain’s trip follows a visit last month by another top U.S. official, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Joseph Y. Yun. Yun urged the government to take “meaningful, concrete steps toward democratic governance” and called on authorities to release political prisoners.

Myanmar, under military rule since 1962, held its first elections in 20 years in November. Suu Kyi’s political party boycotted the polls and critics say the vote was designed to deliver power to the military’s allies.

Asian Correspondent – A closer look at Burma’s shifting media landscape
By Francis Wade Jun 01, 2011 10:54AM UTC

Several events have occurred in recent weeks that appear to suggest the Burmese regime is loosening its draconian grip on the media: first came the announcement in late April that a sizeable number of domestic publications could bypass the censor board and head straight for the newsstands, something unheard of in the half-century since military rule began. Then yesterday we heard that the commerce ministry has given the nod to Success International, the company distributing the Singaporean paper The Straits Times in Burma, to add the Thailand-based Bangkok Post and The Nation dailies to its in-country circulation.

Both contribute to the image of an evolving media landscape in Burma, which consistently ranks at the tail end of global press freedom indexes (171 out of 174 on Reporters Without Borders’ latest offering) and which keeps close to 30 journalists behind bars. But rather than taking them at face value, the two apparent openings must be analysed in terms of their major shortcomings, and the potential to induce complacency in the efforts of international players to keep pressure on the regime.

The law allowing publications to skirt the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD), which rejects any material deemed critical of the government and which litters state-run newspapers with propagandist mantras, is only reserved for ‘fluffy’ news – entertainment, sports, technology, and so on. Nearly 200 of Burma’s 350-odd journals and magazines will be affected by this, but anything deemed politically sensitive by the board – and the criteria surrounding that is highly arbitrary – will continue to be cut. Thus any public debate about the new government remains out of the question. For the fluffy magazines, the apparent easing of restrictions still carries heavy risks, with the onus of censorship now placed on journalists and editors, and not the board. They can no longer test the limits of censorship as they could when the final say was with the Board, and should they upset the regime, then it will be them, and not a distracted PSRD clerk, who pays the hefty penalty.

What also appears certain is that both the Bangkok Post and The Nation, which regularly carry editorial critical of the regime and ASEAN policy towards Burma (“Without positive developments in Burma, ASEAN should not even consider allowing it to be chairman of the regional body in 2014”, The Nation wrote last week of Burma’s bid for the chair), will face heavy censorship. Fellow AC blogger Zin Linn, who co-chairs the Burma Media Association, thinks that whole issues could be banned if anything irks the PSRD.

What has crept through while eyes have been dazzled by Naypyidaw’s shiny new veneer is stricter internet laws and a daily newspaper run by the War Office, hardly a promising sign. Reporters Without Borders thinks the new internet ‘upgrade’ announced late last year allows greater surveillance of users, and gives the regime the ability to block internet access for the public whilst keeping it online for government workers. This means that underground reporters will now struggle to feed information out of the country during times of crisis, when the government often shuts the web down. Internet cafes have also banned customers from using hard drives, as well as communication services such as Skype that, unlike telephone calls, cannot be monitored. And last, but certainly not least, all media is banned from the key decision-making arena, parliament – perhaps the most telling sign of how little things have really progressed since military rule ‘ended’.

Bangkok Post – US senator urges fair treatment of Burmese refugees
Published: 1/06/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

United States senator John McCain has expressed confidence the Thai government will handle the contentious issue of repatriating displaced Burmese with caution.

“I understand that the Thai government is in a difficult position in taking care of the refugees but I strongly believe that the Thai government will not send the refugees back to persecution or even death,” Mr McCain told a group of reporters after yesterday’s visit to a refugee camp in Mae Sot in the northern province of Tak.

In April, Thai National Security Council secretary-general Thawil Pliensri said the government would close down Burmese refugee camps along the border now that Burma has a new civilian government and was moving towards democracy.

Thailand would also repatriate all 100,000-plus displaced people, some of whom have been living here since 1985, back to Burma or send them to third countries.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva later reiterated that Thailand would only send the Burmese refugees home when their safety was guaranteed.

Mr McCain was on a two-day visit to Thailand starting Monday when he paid a courtesy call on caretaker Prime Minister Abhisit.

While the Arizona senator said he was not in a position to comment on Thai domestic politics, he was optimistic about the election. “I do hope that the upcoming election result will not repeat the unfortunate ones.” Mr McCain said.

The US senator will fly off to Burma today where he is scheduled to meet with the charismatic leader of the National League for Democracy party leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Mr McCain described her as a “living icon”.

Asked if there will be any change in US policies, especially its sanctions, against Burma, Mr McCain said he couldn’t comment on the issue but said there had been changes in Burma lately.

“Enough to make me want to come back and to assess the situation on the ground. I would like to see how could the reforms that the Burmese government has promised be made.

What will Burma do before it assumes the chairmanship of Asean in 2016? We should give them a chance,” said Mr McCain who will also meet with Burmese government officials in Naypyidaw.

New Kerala – 7yr old Myanmarese girl drowns in canal in Jammu

Jammu, May 31: A seven-year-old Myanmarese girl today drowned when she along with her brother was taking bath in a canal in Trikuta Nagar area of this winter capital, police here said.

“Jannat Ara, 7, daughter of Mohammad Saleem, hailing from Myanmar at present residing at Panama Chowk, Trikuta Nagar, drowned in canal this evening when she along with her nine-year old brother was taking bath,” police here told UNI.

On seeing the girl drowning, her brother raised an alarm and started crying, following which locals rescued the girl and she was immediately shifted to the Government Medical College and Hospital.

“The girl died on way to the hospital while her body will be handed over to the family for last rites after post-mortem,” police added.

The family had settled in this winter capital for the past few years, police said.

The Daily Telegraph – Brutal truth of caned asylum seekers
Geoff Chambers in Kuala Lumpur
June 02, 2011 12:00AM

THESE four men have a message for Immigration Minister Chris Bowen and the federal government – copping a caning as a refugee in Malaysia is real.
And they have the scars to prove it.

The Daily Telegraph yesterday spoke to asylum seekers in Malaysia who revealed the full extent of the treatment and conditions facing the 800 asylum seekers the government will send there in exchange for 4000 refugee men, women and children.

Lay Maung, who was caned three times, still remembers the torture. Like 55,000 Chin Burmese refugees, Mr Maung’s only crime was that he wasn’t a Malaysian citizen.

He described how he was tied up and made to turn his head so he couldn’t see the prison officer’s face. With his arms and legs extended, the 1.2m-long rattan was pulled back and sliced into his naked buttocks.

“I fainted even after one cane. The pain was so extreme,” Mr Maung said. The day before his arrest on the street in late 2009, Mr Maung’s UNHCR refugee card had expired. That’s all it takes for the police to swoop on the most marginalised and poor in this nation and deliver a sickening serious of blows that leave the victims bloodied and scarred for life.

“They take you into a side room where they let you rest and give you some oil so the wound doesn’t get infected,” Mr Maung said.

“You can’t sit or lie down for days. I spent a year in prison after that.”

Pa Khau, 47, fled Burma after soldiers broke his thumbs and fingers because he is a Christian. Now working at a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur on miserly pay, he faces a new oppression.

Mr Khau, also known to immigration officials as No.3168, was whipped three times. “The police and RELA pick on us because they make money from us. When they took me to the Thai border after a year in prison there were refugee agents (who) pay money back to the Malaysian immigration officers to let us back in,” Mr Khau said.

Through an underground network of community groups working out of shanty offices, The Daily Telegraph unearthed dozens of alleged brutality cases involving Malaysian authorities.

Refugees Tommy Chan, Lal Chhuan Auim and Tluang Chum were all sent to prison and caned for failing to produce their papers. The community cards they carry mean nothing to Malaysian police, so they were taken to an immigration depot, where refugees wait in squalid conditions for two weeks.

If not ratified by the UNHCR, they face court and are sentenced to six to 18 months in jail and one to six strokes of the cane. Sometimes when the refugees’ prison term expires, overworked UNHCR fail to process them – and they go back to the immigration depots.

Myanmar continues efforts in developing tourism
English.news.cn   2011-06-01 19:40:44
by Feng Yingqiu

YANGON, June 1 (Xinhua) — Myanmar has taken various measures to develop tourism in recent years as part of its efforts in boosting national economy, while drawing the highest number of tourist arrivals from member countries of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

The PATA’s recent designation helps create an attraction for more tourists to visit the country, local media said.

The PATA is an association working to promote the development of tourism in the Asia Pacific region, organizing annual travel show and paper reading sessions to boost the number of tourists in the member countries.

Myanmar also absorbs much interest from tourists with South East Asian tour.

RISING TOURIST ARRIVALS

According to official statistics, the number of tourist arrivals in Myanmar reached 106,795 in the first three months of 2011, up 24 percent from 85,519 in 2010 correspondingly.

In the whole year of 2010, a total of 791,505 travelers visited Myanmar, of whom 297,246 arrived through the Yangon International Airport. Most of the tourists came on package tour, business and social purposes.

Visitors from Thailand stood top in Myanmar’s tourist arrival, followed by those from China, France, South Korea and America.

Meanwhile, travel companies from Myanmar and South Korea have recently signed a memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation, setting a quota of 1,000 tourists from South Korea to visit Myanmar monthly.

BEACH RESORT, TOP ATTRACTION

Myanmar’s famous Chaungtha beach resort in southwestern Ayeyawaddy region attracted about 150,000 visitors a year over the past decade.

The Chaungtha stands the nearest beach resort from Yangon traditionally drawing a large number of visitors, both domestic and international.

The other two famous resorts, which are Ngwesaung in the same region and Ngapali on Western Rakhine coast, also induce large number of visitors.

Over 6,000 travelers visited Ngwesaung beach in the fiscal year of 2009-10, according to the Myanmar Hoteliers Association.

The Ngwesaung beach has now been designated as the venue to host sailing contest with the 27th Southeast Asian Games in 2013.

Foreign Policy Journal – Myanmar Targeted by Globalists
by Dr. K R Bolton
June 1, 2011

It seems clear now that whenever a regime is damned as repressive by “world opinion” then it is being marked for “regime change” in the interests of global capitalism. One should consider this before getting too enthused when the masses “spontaneously” pour out onto the streets demanding “democracy,” which should be interpreted rather as “plutocracy.”

The same pattern has been followed in Eastern European, Central Asia, North Africa and adjacent areas, and Myanmar. Venezuela and Belarus are also particularly of interest to the globalists.

Myanmar was already the setting of a “color revolution” in 2007. As soon as Laura Bush was on Television referring to the “Saffron Revolution”,[1] the code word had gone out to the world that Soros/CFR et al were trying to pull off another money coup in the name of “human rights.”

In 2010, the military junta stepped down and allowed elections. It doesn’t really matter to the globalist wire-pullers whether an election is “legitimate” or “fraudulent,” in their eyes. It does not really matter whether a regime is brutally repressive towards its own population or of genteel disposition. The globalists have no genuine and convincing objection to China’s domination of Tibet, where predatory capital can deal very well with China in exploiting Tibet’s resources.[2] The global corporate elite backs states that are Left, Right, or Center; democratic or dictatorial, on the basis of profit maximization and/or geopolitical considerations. Cant about democracy and human rights is purely for subversive or war-mongering purposes. It has been used by war-mongering humbugs as a propaganda device at least since the time slavery was made the ostensible issue for warring against the Confederate secessionists, and when the “human rights” of the Uitlanders in South Africa were made a cause celebre to allow monopolists to declare war on the Boer folk to secure the resources of that territory. In more recent times the same propaganda was used to demonize Saddam’s Iraq and Serbia for the purposes of grabbing the mineral wealth of Kosovo. It is being used now to justify the bombing of Libya. One should, then, ask what it is about Myanmar, other than the humbuggery about “human rights,” that is really behind the on-going US “interest” in the state?

John McCain’s Visit to the Opposition

Senator John McCain has a particular interest in Myanmar. He is about to meet with the much touted Nobel Prize-winning “democratic opposition” leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Why is McCain meeting with Suu Kyi, and as far as is known at the moment, not meeting with the actual leadership of Myanmar?[3] The answer would surely be that the interests he represents wish to access the situation in a way antagonistic towards the present regime; in which case Myanmar’s leadership should tell McCain and any other such Americans to stay out because they are reckless subversives. Reports state further:

The senator has been one of the foremost critics of Myanmar’s military junta that ruled the country from 1988 to 2010 before passing power to an elected government after a general election in November.

The election, labeled a sham by Obama, was won by the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party, which is packed with former military officials, including ex-general Thein Sein.

McCain’s visit is to follow other high-profile visits since new government of Myanmar, which has long been denounced by the United States for human rights abuses, took office on March 30.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Joseph Yun visited Myanmar last week and met with Foreign Minister Wanna Maung Lwin.

Yun, who also met with Suu Kyi, told the Nobel Peace Prize laureate that he ‘wanted to see significant development here’ before the US would consider lifting sanctions on the government.[4]

“Saffron Revolution” 2007

The abortive “Saffron Revolution” of 2007 was supposed to follow the same course as other “color revolutions” but fizzled. The color designation, saffron, was chosen as a psychological ploy, being the color of the robes worn by the monks in the forefront of the streets marches. There’s nothing like putting monks, priests, or women and children at the forefront of marches to achieve the desired martyrs and appropriate television images.

Myanmar is one of the primary states of interest to George Soros’ globalist network and to the Council on Foreign Relations. The Soros Open Society network includes a “Burma Project Southeast Asia Initiative.” This has been going since 1994,[5] for the purposes of changing Myanmar into an “open society,” which is to say, “open” to predatory capital. As had been apparent in many of the “color revolutions” around the world, from the recent one in Egypt[6] to those in Eastern Europe, there is often a leader-in-waiting that has the patronage of the globalists, ready to take authority in the advent of a “regime change.” In the case of Myanmar, the position seems to be held by Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, whom McCain will be meeting. When Suu Kyi’s detention was extended in 2009 due to the actions of an American swimming across a lake to visit her, Soros’ network mobilized, and one might wonder whether the reckless American prank was a ploy, given that Suu Kyi was due for release. Open Society states of its mobilization:
A coalition of Open Society Institute grantees has launched a major campaign calling for a global arms embargo and international pressure on the Burmese junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi before the military-supervised elections planned for 2010.[7]

As elsewhere, OSI funds opposition media, the primary recipient for Myanmar being “Burma News International.” [8] As with the other targeted states, OSI trains and funds “activists” working for an “open society,” the grant making priories being:

Advocacy efforts that promote change in Burma; Documentation of rights abuses that complement advocacy efforts; Community empowerment and skills training that aim to strengthen civil society inside Burma and along its borders; Support for media and information dissemination to people inside Burma, the diaspora, and the international community.[9]

Asia Society

Soros was a member of the “task force” under the auspices of the Asia Society, a Rockefeller think tank that interlinks with the CFR and has played a prominent role in US-China relations. “Co-Chairs” were: General Wesley Clark, former NATO commander who oversaw the war against Serbia, which the task force report characterizes as saving Albanians from “ethnic cleansing” (as distinct from saving Serbians from the KLA’s “ethnic cleansing”); and Henrietta Fore, CEO of Holsman International investments[10], and former administrator of USAID. Members came from academia, Human Rights Watch, Open Society and Asia Society.

Recommendations for present US policy are that,

The National League for Democracy should continue to be a focal point of U.S. policy support, and its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, will remain an important figure for achieving the dialogue necessary to bring about national reconciliation of the military, democracy groups, and minority nationalities. At the same time, U.S. policy also must place greater emphasis on reaching out to other democratic forces, including civil society groups, and ethnic minorities and ensuring that they benefit from U.S. assistance programs inside Burma.[11]

What can be deduced is that, as in Central Asia, Eastern Europe and the Near and Middle East, the US will directly intervene in the political processes of a sovereign state and assist opposition political parties. It is also notable that there is a focus on supporting “ethnic minorities,” which have often provided a means of subverting a state under the guise of “human rights,” whether it be Hitler marching into Czechoslovakia to save the Sudeten Germans, or the US backing of Albanian gangsters against Serbia.

The Task Force Report flagrantly refers to “aid programs” as being a means of subverting states, in case there is any doubt. Hence, US aid is shown to be a strategic weapon of US foreign policy:

In pursuing pragmatic engagement with Burma, the United States must continue to develop, and even ramp up, means of reaching the Burmese population directly through assistance programs.[12]

The Task Force states that US aid should bypass the Government to provide “Assistance to NGOs that have no connections to the military and are not officially registered with authorities should be expanded.”[13] The report states that care must be taken as the new constitution of Myanmar prohibits those who receive foreign aid for running for office.

Hence it can be seen that Myanmar is trying to take steps to thwart foreign subversion that is undertaken under the guise of humanitarian programs.[14] That the Myanmar regime is correct in its suspicions is clear from what the Task Force report itself states about the purposes of aid programs, as cited above.

Cultural subversion, or what the Left had traditionally called “American cultural imperialism,” remains an essential part of the globalization process. The Task Force lays out plans for subverting the traditional basis of Myanmar society, a matter in which the Open Society network has been very active in the former Soviet bloc and Central Asia. There is nothing more lethal that the cultural poison that emanates from the USA and spread across the world:

Educational exchange under the Fulbright and Humphrey Scholar programs and cultural outreach activities should be expanded. These programs produce powerful agents for community development in Burma and can significantly expand the prospects for improved governance. Although the military government is highly averse to foreign cultural influence in the country, the U.S. Embassy’s American Center has long served as a cultural focal point for many Burmese living in the Rangoon area. If the election produces a transfer of power to a less xenophobic leadership, the United States should support the extension of American Center programs through the Internet, the deployment of visiting speakers to other cities, and other forms of cultural outreach. If political transition produces real change, marked by full participation of opposition and non-Burman ethnic representatives in elected government, U.S. scholarship and visitor programs should be expanded to include Burmese government officials.[15]

Note how the Myanmar regime is suspicious of “foreign cultural influence,” making Myanmar a rare state that is determined to resist globalization on all levels, economically, politically and culturally. Note also the role played by the US Embassy’s “American Center.” Myanmar would do well to shut it down as a center of cultural pathology. The wide-ranging culturally subversive program outlined by Rivkin, US Ambassador to France, for using Muslim youth to undermine French culture and national identity, called “xenophobia” by the globalists, might here be recalled.[16] The use of non-Burmese ethnics is mentioned as being a potential source of use for creating dissent and division.

If Myanmar cannot be shifted in the desired direction the Task Force recommends that business and banking sanctions should be increased, with the assistance of ASEAN and the European Union. Should, however, Myanmar’s leadership bow to pressure and open itself up to foreign exploitation, then Asian (including China) and some other states should be used in proxy to “assist” Myanmar to make the necessary reforms under the auspices of the United Nations.[17]

Significantly the focus of the above-cited 2010 Asia Society Task Force report was on the reform of Myanmar’s economy, with the object of “reform-oriented economic activity.”[18] Once Myanmar has succumbed to US pressure, the Task Force proposes that Myanmar’s economic globalization proceeds with advice from the IMF, World Bank and Asia Development Bank:

A first measure is the provision of expert advice. Accordingly, the United States should gradually release current injunctions on and partner with institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank to provide Burma with advice on reform.[19]

The Task Force Report then states that the US and other states should provide advisers to instruct as to how best to exploit Myanmar’s resources. “A second measure is for the United States and other appropriate countries to provide Burma with assistance in economic institution building.”[20] Should Myanmar show signs of reticence at domination by the USA and exploitation by predatory capital, there should be options in place to put the squeeze on:

The United States should encourage the creation of a flexible mechanism that will allow some sanctions to be lifted, while maintaining others and holding the capacity to impose new, tightly targeted financial sanctions should circumstances deteriorate.[21]

The “problem” with Myanmar, in the view of the globalists, is that its economy is under state direction, and is not amenable to being exploited by international capital. The Task Force Report states that Myanmar’s “formal economy” is dominated by the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and the Myanmar Economic Corporation.[22] Of the six demands for reform, the Task Focvre objectives include: “Market opening policies, including the removal of remaining restrictions on private enterprise, Openness to foreign trade and investment.”[23] Once Myanmar has opened up to predation. then the usual gaggle of financial advisers are expected to be able to descend on the hapless state, as has been the case with so many now bankrupt and impoverished states throughout the world; lamenting that, “The Burmese government has a track record of disregarding the advice of international financial institutions.”[24] The Report states on this: “Second, economic engagement can be directed toward providing advice on how Burma should manage its natural gas revenues and promoting accountability for government spending.”[25]

CFR Globalists Report on Myanmar in 2003

The overlap between the CFR, the USA pre-eminent think tank, and the Asia Society and Soros OSI is typical of the globalist nexus. Both Fore[26] and General Clark[27] who Co-Chaired the Asia Society Task Force on Burma/Myanmar, are also members of the CFR, as is George Soros.[28] One of the primary purposes of the CFR is to change policy and public opinion from “behind the scenes,” (sic) as candidly stated by CFR historian and luminary Peter Grosse.[29] CFR Task Force Reports should therefore be regarded as something more than idle theorizing from a “non-partisan” (sic) discussion club. As Grosse makes plain in his book, the CFR is at the heart of US foreign policy decision making and provides continuity between Democratic and Republic Administrations, which might in part explain why nothing substantial changes.

The CFR report on Myanmar is entitled Burma: Time for Change.[30] (As far as this writer knows, Myanmar’s Generals have yet to reciprocate with a report entitled USA: Time for Change). Of the twenty-seven CFR Task Force members, the following have particularly interesting links:

UREEN AUNG-THWIN, director of the Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative of the Open Society Institute; serves on the advisory boards of Human Rights Watch/Asia and the Burma Studies Foundation, which oversees the Center for Burma Studies at Northern Illinois University.

MA JANET BENSHOOF, president emeritus and founder of the Center for Reproductive Rights (formerly the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy). This organization is a recipient of Soros largesse, as part of the Soros strategy for using “feminism,” and especially “reproductive rights,” to undermine traditional societies, whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Muslim.

GEORGE C. BIDDLE, senior vice president of the International Rescue Committee. Previously vice president of the International Crisis Group (ICG) and president of the Institute for Central American Studies. The International Crisis Group is yet another globalist think tank that was founded in1995. Among the ICG Executive Committee is the omni-present George Soros, and General Wesley Clark.[31] It should be recalled that another member was Mohamed ElBaradei, who “suspended his membership in 2011 to return to Egypt,” as the globalist’s leader-in-waiting after yet another “velvet revolution” had overthrown an unwanted regime. Zbigniew Brzezinski (CFR), former National Security Adviser under Carter, and North American director of David Rockefeller’s Trilateral Commission, is a “senior adviser” for the ICG.[32]

BOWMAN CUTTER, managing director at Warburg Pincus, part of the well-known Warburg banking dynasty.

MATHEA FALCO, a chair of the Task Force, president of Drug Strategies, and associate professor of public health at the Weill Medical College, Cornell University. She served as assistant secretary of state for international narcotics matters 1977 to 1981. Drug Strategies is one of the narcotics liberalization lobbies funded by Soros.

ADRIENNE GERMAIN, president of the International Women’s Health Coalition; member of the Asia and women’s rights advisory committees of Human Rights Watch and of the Millennium Development Goals Project Task Force on Child Mortality and Maternal Health.

JOSHUA KURLANTZICK, foreign editor of The New Republic, having formerly worked for The New Republic, U.S. News and World Report and The Economist.

TOM MALINOWSKI, Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch; served as a senior director at the National Security Council 1998 to 2001 and served at the State Department 1994 to 1998.

ARYEH NEIER, president of the Open Society Institute and the Soros Foundations Network, previously serving as executive director of Human Rights Watch.

GEORGE SOROS, chairman of Soros Fund Management LLC, founder of the Soros Foundations Network, “a consortium of philanthropic organizations active in more than 50 countries.”

ROSE STYRON, poet, journalist, and human rights activist who has chaired Amnesty International’s National Advisory Council, PEN’s Freedom-to-Write Committee, and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Awards.

KENNETH WOLLACK, president of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

Note among the above that the supposedly “non-partisan” Human Rights Watch, which is influential in shaping the perceptions of “world opinion” towards states, is well represented in the CFR and is closely associated with Soros. Amnesty International also has a connection here. These “impartial” organizations are influential in deciding how the mass media throughout much of the world portrays a regime.

The CFR Task Force Report in many ways seems to have established the basis for the recent Asia Society Report, including recommendations to work with ASEAN and China to put pressure on Myanmar.[33] Again, economic pressure is recommended to persuade Myanmar to implement the advice of the IMF, World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank; which became a primary requisite for the 2010 Asia Society Report. China is urged to use its influence to push for reform of Myanmar’s economy and government, presumably with the view that China is a paragon of good governance. [34]

The cultural penetration of Myanmar recommended in the 2010 Asia Society Report was laid out in the 2003 CFR Report, suggesting that the American Center in Rangoon could serve as the focus for cultural exchanges and influence.[35] Myanmar comprises fourteen ethnic-based states. Hence, the references by both the CFR and Asia Society regarding the use of “non-Burman” ethnic groups. One can expect to see American agitation among ethnic minorities in order to divide the nation.

Why Myanmar?

Myanmar’s economy is an anomaly in the “new world order.” Myanmar has a command economy. Hence the demands from both the CFR and Asia Society are the same: “economic reform” in accordance with the “advice” of the World Bank and the IMF. The issue is that of economic and financial exploitation by foreign capital, and one therefore needs to look beyond the condemnation of the regime as “repressive,” “anti-democratic,” “corrupt,” etc. Like Kosovo, the country is rich in mineral resources, including: petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, and hydropower.[36] There are investment opportunities open to outside corporations, but in partnership with the State.[37]

Unlike free market states such as New Zealand, which have dismantled the great public works projects, Myanmar still has a large-scale public works program that employs 23,000, including 16,000 engineers and technicians. [38] The Public Works division has established a Central Training Centre in Thuwunna, Thingunyun Township. “The training courses for the craftsmen and construction workers in the various trades, as well as refresher training courses for engineers and supporting staffs are being conducted at the Centre.”[39] The Department of Housing constructs low cost housing and new satellite towns, industrial zones and commercial complexes. Unlike the haphazard manner of free market economies, housing development is planned. Slum squatters have been housed in accommodation with a minimum of 600 sq. ft.[40]

Much of the economy is co-operative based, under the supervision of the Ministry of Cooperatives. According to the 1992 Cooperative Societies Law, “Under this Law, a Primary cooperative society can be formed with a minimum of 5 persons. Any person who has completed the age of 18 years and is a citizen, associate citizen or a naturalized citizen can become a member of the society.” Cooperative societies can then form into larger syndicates.[41] 551 industrial cooperatives (2009 figures) have been formed. One cooperative, “the Myanmar Inventor Co-operative Society is producing electric power by using rice husk consuming generators,”[42] an indication of the alternative energy methods that the state has long aimed to pursue, as part of a program that aims at autarchy or self-sufficiency. “A total of 1259 livestock and fishery cooperative societies have been formed and the total production value for fiscal year 2007-2008 is 19078 million kyats.”[43] There are cooperative healthcare facilities, including over 202 general clinics, two hospitals, 16 indigenous health care clinics, and 35 polyclinics.[44]

The cooperative system is part of Myanmar’s finance policy:

A total of 1719 saving and credit cooperative societies have been formed with the aim to extend loan at low interest rate to the needy members. Cooperative Bank has been formed for cooperative banking activities.[45]

The Ministry of Industry has five departments and directorates under its auspices. Industrial development is coordinated via the Directorate of Myanmar Industrial Planning. [46] Under its supervision are institutions responsible for automobile and diesel engine industries, agricultural machinery industries, machine tools and electrical industries, tire and rubber industries, and industrial construction services.[47]

State Banking: The Basis of Real Sovereignty

The banking sector is under state supervision, a heresy among the free market ideologues, without which there can be no real sovereignty. To quote:

The Central Bank of Myanmar Law (1990) empowers the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) to act as the sole issuer of domestic currency, to act as a banker to the Government, to act as an adviser to the Government in respect of economic matters, to inspect and supervise the financial institutions, to manage the international reserves of the State, to perform the transactions resulting from the participation of the State in intergovernmental organizations and to undertake all the responsibilities in the name of the Government in dealing with the aforesaid organizations on behalf of the Government

In particular, the Central Bank of Myanmar is also empowered to set reserve requirements, maximum discount rate, maximum and minimum interest rates on loans and deposits, asset and liability ratios and minimum cash margins. Thus, the Law enables the Central Bank of Myanmar to less rely on quantitative credit control and more on indirect instruments of monetary control including the use of reserve requirement ratio and interest rate policy.

Accordingly, the Central Bank of Myanmar has currently used such monetary policy instruments as reserve requirements, interest rate policy and limited open market operations in order to maintain adequate level of money supply for ensuring balance between economic expansion and general price level.[48]

A Banking Supervisory Committee closely oversees the private banking sector. Foreign currency operations are the prerogative of three state banks. “Imports are permitted commensurate to the level of export earnings or service earnings,” under the direction of Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance and Revenue.[49]

The operation of this type of economic and banking system is more likely to explain the vitriol against the Myanmar regime than allegations of “human rights” abuses. It seems coincidental that those states that are targeted for “exposure” in the global news media by Human Rights Watch, etc., also happen to be the states that do not fit into the Brave New World of Soros, Rockefeller, et al.  While the description of Myanmar’s economic system might be dismissed as regime propaganda, the Ministries seem quite frank in stating the shortcomings that are yet to be dealt with. However, what does seem salient is that Myanmar is a planned economy, striving for an autarchic state, and with a strictly supervised banking system. It is little wonder that the globalists are so keen to have Myanmar’s rulers embrace the advice of the IMF and the World Bank, and to become an “open society” like so many others that have succumbed to “velvet revolutions.” Much to the consternation of the global banksters, although Myanmar has long been a member of the IMF, the regime has showed no willingness to co-operate with the institution, has refused to furnish data, and has not repaid previous debt or interest accruing from 1987. Myanmar’s rulers have refused to enter into the IMP/World Bank “Heavily Indebted Poor Countries” initiative,[50] and have therefore remained out of the clutches of the international money-lenders.

Against this autarchic planned economy is posited the ideology of the much touted National League for Democracy (NLD), which is the preferred option of the globalists; the focus of their hopes. The NLD advocates the type of economic reforms demanded by predatory capital. The NLD manifesto calls for the revision and amending of “foreign investment laws for setting multiple increases in foreign investment.”[51] Further: “To revise the laws, circulate orders, rules and regulations and the management system, that restricted economic enterprises, and some will be amended, and some are to be abolished, as seemed fit.”[52] “The present various types of revenue system shall be revised and amended to benefit the private enterprises.”[53] “Various enterprises of economic sector must completely base itself on the market economy.  Special encouragement shall be made for a quick development of private enterprises.”[54]

Economic development is focused on establishing a market economy and taking the state out of is supervisory role, and negating the planned economy. The NLD manifesto states of this: “The nationalized economic enterprises that are included in all the above sectors of economy, shall be given back to their original owners respectively and for those enterprises whose original owners can no longer take responsibility for them, the state shall try and get the economic expertise and financial investment to continue to run the business.”[55] “The business enterprises will not be nationalized.”[56] “With the exception of some enterprises, if immediately abandoned, could cause devastation to domestic economy and increase unemployment shall be retained, the remaining nationalized enterprises shall be abolished and privatized…”[57] “Shall allow foreign investment that will benefit the development of the country’s economy, according to the principles of a market economy.”[58]

The National League for Democracy is committed to opening up Myanmar to international exploitation and domination by High Finance. Hence the visit by John McCain to the much-touted to NLD leader Suu Kyi.

The Irrawaddy – NLD Holds First Youth Conference Since Suu Kyi’s Release
By SAI ZOM HSENG Wednesday, June 1, 2011

National League for Democracy (NLD) youth members from around Burma are meeting at the party’s headquarters in Rangoon, in the first such gathering since party leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest last November.

According to party spokesperson Ohn Kyaing, more than 100 NLD youth delegates are attending the conference. He added that Suu Kyi called for the meeting to give youth members a chance to share their experiences and learn from each other.

Phyu Phyu Thin, a well-known HIV/AIDS activist and NLD youth leader, told The Irrawaddy that by attending the meeting, youth members would have a chance to find out what is going on in other parts of the country.

“The situation is not the same in every state or region,” said Phyu Phyu Thin, adding that many youth members are engaged not only in political activities, but also in social programs aimed at addressing various problems. “By coming together like this, we can share ideas and find solutions and make plans for the future.”

The main problem facing most NLD youth members is pressure from the authorities, who impose numerous restrictions on their activities. Delegates at the conference will discuss ways to work around these limitations to achieve their goals, said Phyu Phyu Thin.

Meanwhile, the NLD is also planning to provide political training to party representatives, including youth and women’s association members, from June 20 to 28, according to Ohn Kyaing.

The training will be conducted in English, and will include instruction from Burmese academic Dr. Kyaw Yin Hlaing and seven foreign professors from Hong Kong City University and the National University of Singapore.

“The instruction will focus on what is really useful in the country’s current situation,” said Ohn Kyaing. “This includes research methodology, constitutional law, legal thinking, international relations among Southeast Asian countries, good governance and cultural anthropology.”

The training was organized by Kyaw Yin Hlaing in consultation with Suu Kyi.

The Irrawaddy – ‘Burma’s Got Talent’ Event to Mark Suu Kyi’s Birthday
By KO HTWE Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Several socially engaged members of Burma’s arts and entertainment community will take part in a 10-day music contest to promote emerging young talent and mark the birthday of National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi, according to party sources.

The contest, which is open to anyone under the age of 35, will start on June 10 and continue until Suu Kyi’s birthday on June 19. Judges will include well-known musicians such as Ye Lwin, Thar Htwe and Zeyar Thaw, said the NLD’s Hla Min, who is in charge of the event.

“Anyone can sign up to join the contest, which will also be a fund-raising event for the NLD youth network,” said Hla Min.

Suu Kyi recently told Washington-based Radio Free Asia that the NLD planned to hold a music competition at its Rangoon headquarters to celebrate her first birthday since her release from house arrest late last year.

According to Hla Min, Suu Kyi loves music and has a complete set of musical instruments that were used at an Independence Day concert in 1996, six months after her release from an earlier period of house arrest.

Participants in this year’s event said that it would serve a social as well as artistic function.

“We support the concert because it will give young musicians a chance to shine,” said Ye Lwin. “It will also help to create networks among young people. Artists should be as socially engaged as possible.”

However, artists in Burma often find that there’s a price to be paid for getting involved in social activities. Recently, a groups of artists, including writer Than Myint Aung, film director Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, popular vocalist Than Thar Win, punk rock star Kyar Pauk (aka Han Htoo Lwin) and rapper Annaga, were temporarily blacklisted by the country’s censors for visiting an HIV/AIDS shelter in Rangoon’s Dagon Myothit (South) Township run by the NLD.

“There are many artists who wish to engage in social work but can’t, for many reasons,” said Ye Lwin, acknowledging that some members of his profession were reluctant to take part in the competition.

But Zeyar Thaw said that artists are obliged to do what they can for society, because many people in the country are facing difficulties.

“As professional musicians, we earn a living from the public, so it’s good for us to get involved in work that benefits society,” said Zeyar Thaw.

Burmese doctors call for tougher enforcement of anti-smoking law
Wednesday, 01 June 2011 11:29 Tun Tun

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Despite the Control of Smoking and Consumption of Tobacco Product Law, many Burmese don’t obey the law which should be strictly enforced, says the Myanmar [Burma] Doctors’ Association (MDA).

The law establishes no-smoking zones in Burma, but many smokers ignore the law. The law also bans the sale of cigarettes singly or in a package containing less than 20, but many vendors and shops do not follow the law.

‘Some Institutions have banned smoking in some areas, but  government departments have not established no-smoking zones’, Dr. Khin Soe Win, the MDA general-secretary told Mizzima.

The law declares non-smoking areas in hospital buildings, clinics, stadiums and education buildings.

The law came into effect on May 4, 2007.

World No Tobacco Day was May 31. The World Health Organization’s  Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is the theme of this year’s observation.

According to the WHO Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), the prevalence of smoking among teenagers in Burma was 10.2 per cent in 2001 and 4.9 percent in 2007.

The MDA estimated that at least 10 percent of teenagers smoke.

According to the GYTX survey, despite a significant reduction in the proportion of teenagers smoking cigarettes, the use of other tobacco products had increased from 5.7 percent in 2001 to 14.1 percent in 2007.

‘I want to urge the people who usually chew betel quid not to use tobacco products in their betel quid if possible’, said a doctor in Rangoon.

Not only ordinary people but also many health officials and workers in Burma smoke, said Khin Soe Win.

‘We have educated the public in many ways. But, people often ignore the warnings. Even doctors smoke. Some of them have had serious heart attacks, but they have not quit smoking’, he said.

Cigarette smoke contains around 4,300 chemicals; the most dangerous is nicotine. Other substances are carbon monoxide, benzene and ammonia.

A Rangoon doctor said: “My father-in-law died of lung cancer. He knew that it was the consequence of smoking. One of his sons also died of lung cancer recently. Another son has suffered from tongue cancer as a result of smoking. Although he knows the disease is a consequence of smoking, he still smokes sometimes’.

Dr. Khine So Win said, ‘The most serious diseases are cancers, especially lung cancer and mouth and tongue cancers. Other types of damage include  blood clotting, arterial problems and stomach damage’.

The MDA has urged the government to take legal action in accordance with the laws.

What should be done?

“Without enforcement, laws and rules are useless’, said Khine Soe Win. ‘To sell alcohol, you need to have a license but to sell cigars, cigarettes and cheroots, you don’t need to have a license. If cigarettes sellers need licenses, there can be some restrictions. And if the authorities introduce a higher tax on tobacco products, the number of the smokers may be reduced. Plus, the authorities need to prevent importing cheap cigarettes form border areas’.

In the 20th century, tobacco has killed an estimated 100 million people worldwide and it could kill one billion during 21st century, according to WHO.

Khine Soe Win said that the government should use more media to educate the public about the consequences of smoking.

‘The government should educate the public via multimedia, especially using a combination of pictures and sound, I think. Now the state-run TV stations sometimes broadcast programs to educate the public about the adverse consequences of smoking. But most of these programs are broadcasted at times when people hardly watch TV’,  Khine Soe Win said.

Four candidates seek permission for demonstration
Wednesday, 01 June 2011 22:44 Te Te

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Four candidates who lost in 2010 general election are trying to get permission from the authority for distribution of pamphlets and giving interview to media.

These four candidates are Min Aung (Botataung) from National Democratic Front (NDF), independent candidate Win Cho (Dala), Nay Myo Wei (Mingladon) from Peace and Diversity party and Soe Kyi (Thanlyin) from Democratic Party (Myanmar).

They sought permission and place for demonstration to be staged on June 5 which will be calling for releasing prisoners to Rangoon Region government on May 26 by sending a letter. In this letter, they asked Home Ministry to give them guidance in expressing their will and desire regarding the amnesty for prisoners. They didn’t use the term, political prisoners, in this letter.

“We demanded our right in the framework of 2008 constitution as the new government led by President Thein Sein said that they would uphold and follow this constitution and we believed they would do as they say”, NDF candidate Min Aung who lost to his rival candidate from Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in election told Mizzima.

The vague provision in this 2008 constitution says ‘Every citizen shall be at liberty in the exercise of expressing and publishing freely their convictions and opinions and assemble peacefully without arms if not contrary to the laws, enacted for Union security, prevalence of law and order, community peace and tranquility or public order and morality.”

If they don’t get the permission and guidance from the Region government, they would apply again to the Supreme Court of Union, Min Aung said.

“I think they applied this letter in accordance with the law. If the democratic rights really exist in Burma, the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly must be permitted. But in fact, these democratic rights have not yet existed in Burma”, Phyo Min Thein, former chairman of Union Democracy Party (UDP), told Mizzima.

Phyo Min Thein is currently leading the collection of signatures in nationwide signature campaign calling for releasing political prisoners.

According to figures released by Thai based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP-B), there are 2,061 political prisoners still behind bars.

Distribution of Bangkok Post and Nation allowed in Burma
Wednesday, 01 June 2011 21:14 Phanida

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A controlled distribution of two Thai daily newspapers, The Bangkok Post and The Nation, was begun in Burma on Wednesday.

Sources said that a small number of copies for six ministries in Naypyitaw, Rangoon-based foreign embassies and UN offices would not need to be scrutinized by the censorship board but other copies would be checked by censorship board officials before distribution would be allowed.

‘We started the distribution of these two daily papers today. We have done marketing at all hotels except two in Mandalay for distribution of the papers’, said Myo Aung, the owner of Success International Publisher’s Distributors which received a license for the distribution.

The papers will be sent to Burma on Thai Airways International and reached Mingladon airport in Rangoon at about 8:30 a.m.

The importer applied for a distribution license at the  Economics and Commerce Ministry with the consent of the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (censorship board) under the Information Ministry. The license was approved  five days from date of application.

The daily newspapers will be sold for 2,100 kyat (US$ 2.66) per copy.

‘We removed the pages with articles related to Burma which badly criticized the government in the past in distributing other foreign papers when the censorship board told us to do so. We distributed the remaining pages’, said Myo Aung, who started distributing foreign papers in 1994.

He said news stories which severely criticized the government or  information about the demonstrations led by monks in 2007 were not allowed by the censorship board. His company currently distributes about 10 daily newspapers including The Strait Times and Business Time from Singapore and Asahi and Nikkei from Japan.

‘Some of the contents in these two daily newspapers, The Bangkok Post and The Nation, might infringe on the laws in Burma. When the censorship board finds something which cannot be allowed, I must face the problem. At first I was afraid to get into this business but now I think, as a businessman, it’s time to do this business as the censorship regulations and business atmosphere are liberalizing and relaxing’, Myo Aung said.

The readership for foreign daily newspapers is very small, he said.

A spokesperson at the South East Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA) said that distributing the two Thai newspapers was a positive and constructive step in the Burmese media world and it should be welcomed.

‘We must wait and see how the government will treat the foreign daily newspapers in the long run’, he said. ‘We must see how the government views these foreign papers if and when they publish news and commentary which criticizes the ruling government’.

Recently, the junta-backed new government has relaxed and liberalized some censorship rules and regulations and some publications can now publish articles without prior submission to the censors. More news-oriented publications must still run their stories through the censorship board before publication.

DVB News – McCain hails border clinic, urges funding
Published: 1 June 2011

US senator John McCain, who will meet with government officials in Burma today, told reporters in the Thai border town of Mae Sot yesterday that more funding was needed for the lauded Mae Tao clinic, which treats thousands of Burmese each year.

The 2008 presidential hopeful arrived in Thailand on Monday for talks with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, before heading to Mae Sot the following day where he visited refugee camps and met with Dr Cynthia Maung, who runs the clinic.

“It’s one of the most impressive efforts that I’ve ever seen in the world, and I believe that Dr Cynthia in certain areas needs some extra funding both from governments and some charitable organisations in the US,” he said.

The clinic opened in 1989 and has received praised for its apolitical stance, treating anyone from migrant workers to government militia troops. Its largest group of patients however is the thousands of refugees that cross into Thailand each year to escape conflict in neighbouring Karen state.

The Burmese government is thought to spend less than a dollar per person each year on healthcare, or 1.3 percent of its total annual budget. The woeful conditions of hospitals inside Burma means that the majority of those close to the border often choose to seek treatment in Thailand, where life expectancy is around seven years higher.

“I know that a couple of years ago Laura Bush [former US First Lady] was here and came back carrying the same message, so it’s very rare that I get the chance to meet a true saint, so this has been my opportunity and my honour,” McCain said.

The 74-year-old, who unsuccessfully ran for the US presidency three years ago, is travelling to Burma on his own initiative as a member of Congress, and will meet with members of parliament and opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

Few details have been released about the itinerary for the trip, which follows closely behind that of Joseph Yun, the deputy US assistant secretary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Bureau who spent several days there last week.

“I’ll meet with government leaders and discuss the situation regarding refugees and the treatment of the minorities,” McCain said. “I’ll point out that because of the unrest and attacks on minorities, they’ve had to come to Thailand to live and to receive treatment when almost all of them desire to return home to their families.

“I want to discuss opportunities for an improvement to Burma’s international standing – that means the release of political prisoners, open dialogue between the opposition, The Lady [Suu Kyi] and the government, and I will urge them to engage in that dialogue and to show that they are really interested in progress towards reform.”

DVB News – Foreign lecturers to tutor Burma opposition
By AHUNT PHONE MYAT
Published: 1 June 2011

Staff from universities in Hong Kong and Singapore will travel to Burma later this month as part of a programme by the political opposition to boost the academic capacity of its members.

A series of courses have been held at the Rangoon headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in recent weeks that include journalism and training for farmers, and which will wrap up at the end of June.

A week-long political science course is due to begin on 20 June, NLD spokesperson Ohn Kyaing said, and will accommodate four members from the more than 300 nationwide branches it has.

“Training courses will be conducted by lecturers from Hong Kong University and Singapore National University, as well as professors from Institute of Southeast Asian Studies,” he said, without giving details of the identity of the tutors.

But the content may irk the Burmese government, which keeps a close eye on any sort of organising by the opposition. Among the modules on offer are political transition and examinations of constitutional laws, two very sensitive issues in Burma.

Although the party led by Aung San Suu Kyi has never shied away from voicing its desire to see reform in Naypyidaw, particularly since controversial elections last year, any discussion of transition can be met with hefty punishment: Maj-Gen Hso Ten, chairman of the Shan State Peace Council, was sentenced in 2005 to 106 years in prison on charges of high treason after he organised a meeting allegedly to discuss governmental change.

The constitution, which was rushed through in the wake of the 2008 cyclone Nargis became official in March, has been dogged by controversy, with analysts accusing it of enshrining political impunity and denying equal rights for ethnic peoples.

Oversees academics have also fallen victim to the government’s almost pathological suspicion of foreigners: in 2009, two US citizens were deported after delivering workshops on photography and feature writing at the US Embassy-affiliated American Centre in Rangoon. They claimed at the time that their work had been approved by the censor board and police intelligence.

The NLD’s journalism workshops, the first of which ended on 22 May, have been led by the party’s co-founder Win Tin, a veteran journalist who until his release in September 2008 was Burma’s longest-serving political prisoner. Burma has some of the world’s harshest media laws, and keeps nearly 30 reporters behind bars.

DVB News  – China strides ahead in the battle for Burma
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 31 May 2011

Thein Sein will have returned from Beijing feeling very satisfied with his first bilateral state visit since taking office in March, such were the friendly overtures between the two governments. But is Burma’s long-held and craftily applied neutralism at stake?

The rhetoric that has come out, like a recording from the ‘courting rituals’ that recently took place between China and Pakistan, reaffirms Burma’s strongest bilateral relationship and even takes it to new heights, as the announcement of a “strategic partnership” suggests.

As Thein Sein told Xinhua, “The partnership is bound to push forward bilateral friendly cooperation in all areas to a new stage.”

Such new areas include increased Chinese investment in the nascent Burmese auto sector, with the planned opening of a Chery motors plant which will look to produce 3000 to 5000 of the company’s QQ3 cars each year for the Burmese market. This was also joined by a supplementary agreement on China Railways’ southern expansion, as Beijing’s influence spreads to where it will really be felt on the Bay of Bengal.

For years Burma’s foreign policy has been defined by a mercurial ability to play off major powers against each other. This is why around half of the US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks and referring to Burma mention countering China, whether coming from embassies in Berlin or New Delhi.

As one cable heading notes, “Concern Over China Outweighs All” – a comment on Indian imperatives that led India to up its efforts to seduce the Burmese generals. These efforts however have, until now at least, been met by a dynamic approach from Naypyidaw, which has enabled New Delhi to retain hopes that they still had a chance with the regime. As one cable notes, “Burmese officials have told Kumar [Indian foreign affairs official] that they ‘hate’ the Chinese and would prefer not to cooperate with China, but do so because they feel Beijing is more reliable than New Delhi”.

The budding “strategic partnership” between Burma and its northern neighbour now asks serious questions of this. Moreover, it begs the question of whether, in what is shaping up to be the 21st Century’s answer to the Cold War, the battle for Burma has been won by China.

For both suitors Burma has rightly been a strategic imperative. The Times of India recently reported that China and Burma had agreed, presumably during Thein Sein’s trip, that the Chinese navy will be able to use Burmese ports in the Bay of Bengal. This is a persistent fear for India that had earlier included uncorroborated suggestions that the Chinese would establish a naval base on Burmese territory in the Coco Islands.

The Bay of Bengal has long been India’s territorial domain, through which much of China’s energy imports must pass. The cement in China’s relationship with her unstable southern neighbour is based on this, epitomised with the building of the Shwe gas pipeline through Burma, which circumvents the Malacca Straits beneath Singapore, a narrow strip of water that can be easily blocked by patrolling US warships.

Burma will now take the strain off the Malacca Straits. When the pipeline opens some $US20 million worth of Saudi oil will daily traverse the country to China’s southern Yunnan province, but that oil will still need to pass through the Bay of Bengal and around the southern tip of India. As a result, the Indian’s view this maritime avenue as distinctly important, with their Andaman and Nicobar islands now the site of secret watching facilities that monitor regional traffic.

So the Chinese have been busily effecting diplomacy in the region, and by all accounts with great success in most key constituencies. The campaign has seen additions to what has become known as her “string of pearls”, with the Gwadar naval base in Pakistan, India’s sworn enemy, all but secure. With tensions still raw between Pakistan and its other great patron, the US, China made swift work in shoring up relations on a recent visit by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Ghilani, which came eerily close to coinciding with Thein Sein’s.

In an embarrassing moment during the trip, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Ahmed Mukthar reportedly admitted to a military nature to the Gwadar base. According to the Associated Press of Pakistan, “Pakistan appreciated that the Chinese government agrees to run the port, but would be more grateful ‘if a naval base is constructed at the site of Gwadar for Pakistan’.” The port was officially meant to have been a commercial entity, but the rumours of Chinese military involvement have persisted.

China has also invested 85 percent of the capital for a deep sea port in Sri Lanka at Hambatota, which the BBC notes is a mere 12 kilometres from the aforementioned shipping lines. Beijing has also made its presence felt in Bangladesh and Nepal, all of whom live with India as the Big Brother in the neighbourhood, but all of whom have veered towards China.

Burma has long maintained a position of neutrality that has encouraged the active efforts of diverse powers to work hard on bilateral relations with the uncompromising generals, as well as deflecting criticism of them in international fora such as the UN. That she now saddles so close to China will inevitably threaten this.

India has worked hard but is already beginning to show fatigue after recent revelations over their efforts with the Tamanthi dam, and after losing out to Thailand with the Tavoy megaproject. India has been keen to open links to important ASEAN trade partners such as Thailand and Indonesia, and in this respect they will have every right to feel that Burma’s rulers have failed them.

As the Times of India notes, India’s National Hydro Power Company (NHPC) has failed to establish high level contacts in the government. Whilst persistent efforts have been made to counter northeastern rebels that allegedly shelter in Burma, commentators note that little tangible results have been seen despite years of trying.

Thein Sein may be making a calculated bet that China will be the pre-eminent power of the current epoch, and he is probably right, but if we note the lessons of history, Burma’s neutralism has maintained autonomy for all comers to power from U Nu to Thein Sein.

Indeed declassified documents reveal that the US under Nixon swapped intelligence on the Chinese with former ‘socialist’ dictator Ne Win. According to US diplomats, Ne Win “proved almost shockingly cooperative.” They understood his ‘socialism’ as well: “Ne Win is not a doctrinaire socialist and he would probably be embarrassed if someone were to ask him to give an ideological explanation of the Burmese Way to Socialism.”

Giving a fascinating insight into the hawks of the day, one diplomat asks Ne Win for his advice regarding the US’ ill-fated invasion of Indochina. The dictator, famed for his disastrous economic management and superstition, tells them to remain firm and that they would definitely win.

Ne Win had the ear of the Chinese too. According to the US he was the man who had the most access to the Chinese in the late 1960s and 70s, and who would actually speak to them.

That Thein Sein has neglected other bilateral relations is a somewhat premature judgement, but his foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, and his own moves in the coming months could be decisive in shoring up support for his nominally democratic government; or, indeed, it could confirm that in the opening salvos of the next cold war, the battle for Burma has ended, but the war has just begun.