VOA News – Burmese Pro-Democracy Party Asks Government to Discuss Warning
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 at 3:30 pm UTC

The Burmese political movement headed by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is asking for a meeting with authorities to discuss a government order directing the organization to halt all political activities.

The request came Wednesday, just hours after the Home Affairs Ministry warned the Nobel laureate in a letter that her National League for Democracy party – forced by Burma’s former military junta to dissolve last year – was breaking the law by maintaining party offices.

A commentary in the government-controlled New Light of Myanmar newspaper warned Aung San Suu Kyi that her upcoming political tour of the country could spark riots and chaos.

The editorial stopped short of telling her to stay home.

In Washington, U.S. Senator John McCain, who toured Burma last month, called the government’s warning “a step backwards.” He told VOA’s Burmese service he hoped the government would reconsider its stance and that Aung San Suu Kyi would be allowed to travel freely in her homeland. He also said the latest developments have “obviously increased” his concern for the activist’s personal safety.

In 2003, during a political tour of upper Burma, about 70 of Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters were killed in an attack widely seen as an assassination attempt by a pro-government mob. The NLD leader escaped, but was later captured by government security forces and sentenced to seven years of house arrest.

The NLD was forced to dissolve as a political party last year when it boycotted national elections because Aung San Suu Kyi – then under house arrest – was not allowed to participate. The country’s Supreme Court later rejected the party’s legal challenge to the dissolution.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s upcoming political tour, announced last month, is widely seen as a test of the 66-year-old activist’s popularity, following elections in November that saw a nominally civilian government come to power after more than two decades of military rule. It is also seen as a high-profile test of the new government’s commitment to promised democratic reforms – a point Senator McCain again raised in his comments to VOA.

The NLD won the last election it contested 20 years ago with Aung San Suu Kyi at its head, but the military government never allowed it to take power. Aung San Suu Kyi spent most of the years since then under house arrest.

Myanmar’s govt warns Suu Kyi planned tour could cause riots
By Aung Hla Tun | Reuters – 9 hours ago

YANGON (Reuters) – A possible tour of Myanmar by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi could cause riots, state media warned on Wednesday, implying she would be responsible for her own safety.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi is planning her first trip outside the former capital Yangon since she was freed from home detention last year just after elections to end army rule.

The military still effectively controls the government.

“Her followers and supporters are gushing that the icon must keep in touch with the public. They seem willing to exploit the public. They also propagate that the government is responsible for security of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on her trip,” a commentary in all three official newspapers said.

“We are deeply concerned that if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi makes trips to countryside regions, there may be chaos and riots, as evidenced by previous incidents,” it added.

“Daw” is an honorific in Myanmar for women.

In 2003, in an episode now known as the Depayin Massacre, Suu Kyi’s motorcade was attacked by pro-junta thugs and 70 of her supporters died in what was seen as an assassination attempt.

“The government has said that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is just an ordinary public member, so it will not restrict her from traveling and doing things in accordance with the law, but she shall honour the laws for the rule of law,” the commentary read.

Suu Kyi, 66, has not announced any dates for the tour, nor an itinerary.

Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was officially dissolved last year when it refused to register for elections held in November. Suu Kyi was released from seven years of house arrest a week after the vote.

Official media, which act as a mouthpiece for the government, also said on Wednesday the government had warned the NLD “not to harm peace and stability” and to respect the law.

“If they really want to accept and practise democracy effectively, they are to stop such acts that can harm peace and stability and the rule of law as well as the unity among the people including monks and service personnel,” the letter said, according to state media.

NLD spokesman Nyan Win confirmed a letter had been received. “We got that letter yesterday but we still have not talked it over and decided what to do about it,” he said.

The newspapers said the letter accused the party of keeping its headquarters and various offices open and organising meetings even through it had been dissolved.

“Such acts are not only against the law but also tantamount to opposing the Hluttaws (legislature),” they said.

US nominee concerned on Myanmar ASEAN chair
46 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The nominee to be US pointman on Myanmar said Wednesday that Washington sought better ties with the military-backed regime but voiced concern at the prospect it would lead the ASEAN bloc.

Derek Mitchell, a veteran policymaker on Asia, was nominated to be the first US coordinator for policy on Myanmar as President Barack Obama’s administration pursues an engagement drive with the country also known as Burma.

In his Senate confirmation hearing, Mitchell reiterated the administration’s stance that it seeks a “positive relationship” with Myanmar but hoped that the regime would address key concerns such as human rights and lack of democracy.

Mitchell said he would seek to coordinate policy with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and gave one of the clearest signals yet of US opposition to Myanmar heading the economically dynamic 10-nation bloc.

“I think, frankly, where Burma is today,” Mitchell said, “ASEAN recognizes that Burma is an outlier and is somewhat of an embarrassment.”

“I think Burma has some work to do in order to make ASEAN nations comfortable with it, and the rest of the international community,” Mitchell said.

ASEAN, which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand among its members, is considering making Myanmar its chair in 2014. Previously, US officials have mostly declined to state opposition publicly, saying the decision on ASEAN’s chairmanship is still a long way off.

The Obama administration in 2009 launched talks with Myanmar, concluding that the previous Western policy of isolating the state had been unsuccessful.

The nomination of Mitchell, now a senior official at the Pentagon, was seen as a signal that the administration hopes to remain active on Myanmar, even though it has stated repeatedly that it has been disappointed with the results of engagement so far.

ASEAN nations have called for a lifting of sanctions on Myanmar after it held elections last year. The United States and opposition groups have rejected a letup in pressure, saying that the political transition has been purely cosmetic.

Explosion rocks town on Myanmar’s main highway, days after co-ordinated bombings hurt 2
By The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – 3 hours ago

YANGON, Myanmar – An explosion of unknown origin was heard in a town on Myanmar’s main highway Wednesday, days after co-ordinated bombings occurred three cities.

The blast about 4 p.m. near a sports grounds in Toungoo was loud but caused no injuries, a resident said. The town is about 290 kilometres (180 miles) north of Yangon. The resident asked not to be named because the authorities prefer to control the release of information.

Friday’s blasts included a car bombing in Mandalay that injured two people. Two other bombs explodied in the capital Naypyitaw and another town, and a fourth device was found unexploded in Mandalay.

State media Wednesday identified three suspects, who appear to belong to one of the country’s ethnic minorities, which have been fighting for autonomy for several decades.

It said the men — named as Sai Kyaw Myint Oo, Sai Hsam and Sai Aik — spent over 10 million kyats ($12,500) on the attacks, including renting two houses and buying the car that blew up.

The government had blamed ethnic Karen rebels for a bombing in Naypyitaw earlier this month and a May train attack near the capital that killed two and injured nine.

Although Myanmar has faced armed rebellions from ethnic minority groups, bombings until recently have been relatively rare and generally no one takes responsibility.

Myanmar, under military rule since 1962, held its first elections in 20 years last November. The new government, comprising mostly retired military officers, has promised democratic reforms but made no major gestures in that direction. Critics say the vote was orchestrated to keep power in the military’s hands.

Inner City Press – UN Has No Comment on Myanmar Deportation, DPRK, Ban’s Quiet Diplomacy?
By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 28 — How quiet can Ban Ki-moon’s diplomacy get, and still be called diplomacy? On June 28 Inner City Press asked Ban’s associate spokesperson about the military dominated government of Myanmar having deported Michelle Yeoh, who plays pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in an upcoming film.

Inner City Press asked, is Ban’s envoy Vijay Nambiar aware, and does he have anything to say on it, or on the casualties from the government’s Kachin assault?

Nambiar is aware of the deportation, the spokesperson said. But she had no comment, just as acting deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said that Nambiar has not comment on the Kachin fighting.

So Inner City Press asked, in light of an earlier back and forth about Ban’s “quiet diplomacy,” if this might not constitute VERY quiet diplomacy. Or TOO quiet diplomacy. Or no diplomacy at all.

The associate spokesperson also declined to provide any readout of Ban’s senior adviser Kim Won-soo’s meeting on June 27 about North Korea, or Ban’s meeting with a Congolese political figure. Of the latter, she said that Haq had already answered (by not answering). Nambiar, Inner City Press is told (not by the Secretariat but a country’s delegation) has said he was not at the Congo meeting.

Here were three questions Inner City Press posed to Haq on June 27, none of which were answered, on how Ban will monitor human rights in Abyei, Sudan, as requested in the day’s Security Council resolution, on Ban’s “opaque hiring practices” and withholding of documents from the UN’s own Joint Inspection Unit, and finally on Myanmar:

Inner City Press: I wanted to ask you on this resolution that was passed on Abyei this morning. There is no human rights monitoring component in the peacekeeping mission, so the UK Deputy Permanent Representative said that it will be up to the Secretary-General to report on human rights and to somehow make sure that he can report on it. So, I wanted to know what steps is the Secretariat going to take to ensure that it will in this six-month period be able to report on human rights in Abyei?

Acting Deputy Spokesperson Haq: Well, regarding that, if you look at the resolution itself, this resolution that was just passed over the last hour, says — and this is an operative paragraph — it “requests the Secretary-General to ensure that effective human rights monitoring is carried out and the results included in his report to the Council”. So we will follow up on that, and we will report on how effective human rights monitoring is to be carried out in the reports to the Council in accordance with this resolution.

Inner City Press: Will that be the existing UNMIS [United Nations Mission in Sudan] human rights monitoring? How will it actually be done?

Acting Deputy Spokesperson Haq: Like I said, the way in which the human rights monitoring will be done will be reported to the Security Council; we’ll let you know at that point….
Inner City Press: there is this Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) report has come out about the hiring practices under Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, saying that it is opaque, saying that the Secretariat refused to provide documents to JIU to conduct its work; urging Member States to actually get these documents, and I wonder, I am sure you have seen the report — what is the Secretariat’s response, particularly to the idea that it wouldn’t provide information to the Joint Inspection Unit?

Acting Deputy Spokesperson Haq: Well, first of all, yes, we are aware of the Joint Inspection Unit report. I believe there is work being done on a reply. Once we have a reply for the report of the Joint Inspection Unit, we will let you know what that information contains….

Inner City Press: I had asked Martin [Nesirky] about this fighting between the Government of Myanmar and the Kachin rebels. It’s continued and various Governments have now spoken out and called for forbearance by the Government. I just wonder, has there been on that or the more recent bombings in Myanmar, has there been any response by the Special Envoy and Good Offices of Mr. Vijay Nambiar to these events in Myanmar?

Acting Deputy Spokesperson Haq: Yeah, we are aware of the reports and we are studying them. Certainly, when we have a response to these latest reports we will put that out. We don’t have it at present.

Again, when does diplomacy become so quiet that it is no longer diplomacy? Watch this site.

MYANMAR: Government open to microcredit expansion

YANGON, 29 June 2011 (IRIN) – Myanmar President Thein Sein’s statement in May that a sustainable microfinance system should be established has sparked interest among aid workers and those already involved in the country’s embryonic microfinance system.

The president made the announcement at a rural development and poverty alleviation workshop where he acknowledged the country’s poor are concentrated outside the cities and in need of assistance.

“We expect [from the president’s statement] that we would be able to work more broadly in the future,” said Maung Maung, general manager of international NGO Pact which recently hosted Myanmar’s largest microfinance project. As of March, Pact had 478,404 clients in 22 townships from three zones – Delta, Dry and Shan.

More than 85 percent of rural households in Myanmar rely on loans from multiple sources to meet basic needs, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP), which brought microcredit lending to the country in 1997.

“The need for credit in the rural economy is substantial,” Akbar Usmani, acting UNDP resident representative, told IRIN. He estimated the present demand for loans in rural Myanmar at around US$340-471 million per year.

Current microfinance activities in Myanmar are conducted on the basis of specific authorizations provided to microfinance actors. These take the form of a set of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed by the various microfinance actors with their line-ministry.

Microfinance is, therefore, not yet mainstreamed into a regulated financial sector, but is rather authorized on a case-by-case basis by the government. There is no specific microfinance regulation in Myanmar, according to a 2010 microfinance industry report published by France-based NGO ACTED and the Banking with the Poor Network in collaboration with the Foundation for Development Cooperation.

Both Maung Maung and the UNDP’s Usmani agreed that a strengthened legal framework could fortify and sustain microfinance lending in this agriculture-based country, where 70 percent of the population live in rural areas and about 26 percent below the poverty line, according to UNDP’s country-wide survey conducted in 2009 to 2010.

Guessing game

Still, no one knows what form the rules and regulations will take, and agencies are wondering how the government will amend current restrictions on lending from financial institutions. A law passed in 1990 forbade both state and privately-owned banks from providing uncollateralized credit.

This means all bank credit has to be backed by either real estate or by a fixed deposit account, which always worries agencies that rely on donor funds to run their projects.

“How can we borrow money from the [local] banks, when we have nothing to collateralize?” said Nyunt Hlaing, executive committee member of Myanmar Business Executives Association, which is one of the local groups engaging in the microfinance sector. “This is a big challenge in expanding and sustaining the projects for the long-run.”

In the absence of access to institutional credit from the private and public banks, the rural poor rely on relatives, friends, moneylenders and pawn shops for small loans which charge interest rates as high as 60-200 percent a year.

UNDP introduced microfinance to Myanmar in 1997 using the Grameen model of group-based lending in which typically a small group takes on the responsibility of repaying the debt. The initiative was originally implemented through several sub-organizations, but in 2006, Pact took over all of UNDP’s microfinance programmes.

Several other government-sponsored groups, semi-governmental organizations and local and international NGOs have microfinance projects thanks to individual MoUs with the government.

There are institutional microfinancing lenders in 46 of the country’s 330 townships, and according to UNDP, only 10 percent of Myanmar’s demand has been met.

Experts and economists believe that poverty could be effectively reduced if modern rules and regulations are implemented for the microfinancing sector.

Special Reports
Suu Kyi rapped by military-backed leaders
Published: June 29, 2011 at 10:36 AM

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar, June 29 (UPI) — The National League for Democracy of Aung San Suu Kyi is in violation of the law by keeping its offices open and issuing statements, Myanmar’s leaders said.

The military-backed government in Myanmar warned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi her political activity could cause problems in the country. Her National League for Democracy is in violation of the law for continuing its political activity, The Daily Telegraph newspaper in London reports.

A report in the state-run New Light of Myanmar said it was “deeply concerned” that Suu Kyi’s tours of areas outside the commercial center of Naypyitaw would be met with “chaos and riots.”

Myanmar had its first general election in nearly 20 years in early November, saying it would open the door to civilian participation. The international community said the election was a sham, however.

Suu Kyi was freed from house arrest last year in Myanmar, where she spent 15 of the past 21 years in detention, shortly after the November election.

She led the NLD to a victory in 1990 elections, though military authorities never recognized the results. The NLD formally dissolved after boycotting the 2010 election.

Jun 29, 2011
The Straits Times – Japanese envoy meets Myanmar’s Suu Kyi

YANGON – A SENIOR Japanese diplomat met Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday during a visit to assess the new political climate following the dissolution of the long-ruling junta.

Parliamentary Vice Foreign Minister Makiko Kikuta held about one hour of talks with the Nobel Peace Prize winner, who said the pair had agreed on the need to build goodwill between the two nations.

‘We also talked about politics but I do not want to reveal in details,’ Ms Suu Kyi told reporters afterwards.

The meeting came shortly after the new army-backed government warned the democracy icon to halt all political activities, saying she was breaking the law.

Ms Kikuta is Japan’s first senior official to meet the dissident in nine years. On Tuesday she held talks with regime leaders including Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin in the capital Naypyidaw.

According to the state-run New Light of Myanmar, the pair ‘exchanged views to promote bilateral relations and cooperation’.

Khaleej Times Online – OPINION: Anti-China tsunami ?alert in Myanmar
Suresh Pattali (Writing on the wall)
29 June 2011

Foreign dignitaries make a beeline to Myanmar. Some meet Aung San Suu Kyi; some don’t, adhering to the democratic double standard they practise.

At the same time, a series of bomb blasts rattles the country, symptomatic of a civil war threatening to spill over to cities from ethnic conflicts. There are more political and diplomatic intricacies than meets the eye in the recent spurt of activity in Myanmar that makes international headlines.

On June 24 alone, four explosions rocked the capital city Naypyitaw; Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city after the former capital Yangon; and Pyin Oo Lwin, a city 72km north of Mandalay. That Pyin Oo Lwin is a garrison town which is home to four military institutes, including the elite Defence Services Academy, adds much more significance to the
new round of violence. Urban war has been uncommon ever since the regime signed a ceasefire agreement with ethnic rebels in 1994.

There have also been about half-a-dozen bomb blasts in Myanmar cities, including Naypyitaw and the Kachin state capital Myitkyina, in the past few weeks.

Who to blame for the violence is anybody’s guess, but analysts point a finger at the serious fighting that broke out in the north of the country this month in Kachin state near the border with China. The government as usual blames rebels who have been fighting for autonomy since the country won independence in 1948.

Opposition sources tell me that so many loose ends in the regime’s accusations raise the suspicion of a grand political scheme. They say the explosions don’t bode well for the opposition and fear that the regime would not hesitate to use them as a pretext to unleash a wave of crackdown on democracy leaders. “The Burmese government could use any kind of excuse to unleash suppressive measures against the opposition,” says exiled opposition leader U Nyo Ohn Myint. “This new round of bomb attacks is controversial as the rebel Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has not claimed responsibility.”

The sources suspect the blasts were orchestrated and stage-managed, as there are evidences that government forces had sealed off the areas even before the bombs went off.
The government’s claim of launching an assault on KIA rebels to defend two hydropower plants — Lahsa and Tarpein — being built to provide power to China, seems to be nothing more than a pack of lies. “The only objective of the Tatmadaw (army) in launching attacks on the KIA is just to protect its members and an important hydropower project of the nation,” says a report in the government’s New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

But such claims fly in the face of the Kachin Independence Organisation’s (KIO) own memorandum of understanding with the Chinese on the latter’s business interest in the region.  According to Kachin sources, the Chinese company building the Tarpein hydropower plant had agreed to pay 10 million yuan as road tax to the KIO, which maintains an extralegal bureaucracy in Kachin State and has exclusive control over pockets of territory along the Chinese border. The Chinese were to pay another 60 million yuan to build a new road.

“It’s true. Both the KIO and the Thein Sein regime have enjoyed these Chinese investments. The KIO has established some business understanding with the Chinese and have been receiving profits before the current crisis,” says Ohn Myint, quoting Kachin leaders who met him a couple of days ago. With such lucrative deals in force, it’s impossible to reason that the KIA would dare rub the Chinese the wrong way.

“I think the war turned ugly after government forces broke the prisoner of war exchange norms, by torturing to death the KIA’s lance corporal Chan Yein of Regiment 15 and delivering his mutilated body to the rebels,” says ?Ohn Myint.

China, faced with a surge in refugees, has urged both sides to resolve their differences through negotiations. From around 10,000 refugees massing on the border, they had reportedly let in women, elders and children.

But China did not set up temporary shelters for the war refugees as they did in August 2009 during the Kokang crisis.  The Chinese are confronted with a major dilemma: While Beijing wants to please the Burmese regime; its Yunnan provincial authorities face the reality of a refugee crisis and want to see peace and stability on the border.

Strategically speaking, China, which is building oil and gas pipelines through its neighbour to improve energy security, would also want peace to prevail across the border. “I do not think China wanted the regime to crush the ethnic minorities as peace and stability would be more profitable for their national interest. Six major hydropower dams, jade mines, and timber and logging businesses are chiefly controlled by the Chinese and they will only think about their long-term economic interest,” says Ohn Myint.

Beijing, in fact, prefers “Bhutan-style” status for Myanmar’s major ethnic groups as it would be easier to do business with them than the regime which, according to sources, is widely divided on the issue of granting the big brother a free hand in internal wheeling and dealing.

Under such circumstances, the latest war on the Kachin rebels seems to be a smoke screen created by a conflict of business interests involving nationalist elements within the regime and the Chinese companies, as evidenced by the recent tirade by Dr Than Htut Aung, CEO of the Eleven Media Group, a staunch supporter of the regime, against huge Chinese investments in Myanmar.

To be concluded

Suresh Pattali is Khaleej Times  Night Editor. He can be reached at ?suresh@khaleejtimes.com

BusinessWeek – Daewoo to Expand Resources Business as Prices Rise, Lee Says
June 28, 2011, 10:53 PM EDT
By Sungwoo Park and Sangim Han

June 29 (Bloomberg) — Daewoo International Corp., the trading company controlled by South Korean steelmaker Posco, plans to double the share of revenue it gets from the resources business as it expands into copper, rice and rare earths.

The mineral and energy resources division may account for 30 percent of sales by 2015 from about 15 percent now, Chief Executive Lee Dong Hee, 61, said yesterday in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Seoul.

Rising prices of raw materials are spurring Daewoo and its South Korean peers to boost investments in commodities ranging from oil and gas to copper, competing with rivals in China and India to secure supplies. The benchmark Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of 24 commodities has jumped 33 percent in the past year.

“We have to invest in natural resources,” said Lee. “Prices of natural resources have gone up and I don’t think they will come down again.”

Daewoo, which mostly buys and sells steel, metals and auto parts, also operates a gas project in Myanmar and owns a stake in a nickel mine in Madagascar.

The gas project in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is set to begin production in May 2013 and will generate $700 million in sales a year, Lee said. “It will contribute to our profit considerably,” he said.

Daewoo will probably report a profit of $200 million on sales of $18 billion this year, Lee said. Its shares have advanced 19 percent in the past year, compared with a 22 percent advance in the local benchmark Kospi index. The stock rose 0.7 percent to 36,950 won at 11:26 a.m. Seoul time, heading for the highest price since June 7.

Copper, Rice

The company and partner Taejoo Synthesis Steel Co. may sign an initial agreement with Societe de Developpement Industriel et Minier du Congo or SODIMICO, to develop a copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lee said.

Daewoo International, the biggest rice trader in South Korea, last month set up a venture with a company in Cambodia to produce rice, said Lee, who was earlier the chief financial officer of Posco. It acquired a stake in PT Bio Inti Agrindo to produce palm oil in Indonesia, a company filing showed in April.

The company aims to invest about $800 million annually for the resources division for existing and new projects, he said, without giving comparative figures or a time span.

The Myanmar gas project is expected to cost $1.7 billion, of which $1.2 billion has been secured, Lee said. The company may raise the remaining amount by selling corporate bonds or its 24 percent stake in Kyobo Life Insurance Co., he said. The timing of the sale will depend on market conditions, Lee said.

Wednesday June 29, 2011
The Star Online – Government refutes Myanmar refugee’s allegations
AT THE DEWAN RAKYAT
By MAZWIN NIK ANIS, RAHIMY RAHIM and SHAUN HO

THE Government has denied allegations by a Myanmar refugee who claimed in a foreign media that he was wrongfully detained for three months and caned last year despite possessing a refugee card.

The card, he added, was issued by the United Nations High Commis­sioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

“I do not know the details of the allegations but I believe that he must have done something against the law before he was charged in court.

“It is ridiculous for the authorities to detain anyone who did not break any laws. Citizens or refugees must adhere to the country’s law,” said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

He was responding to Teo Nie Ching (DAP-Serdang), who asked for an explanation regarding allegations of mistreatment of a Myanmar refugee in an Australian newspaper.

It was reported in the paper that the refugee was sent to prison for three months and was caned during detention.

The victim also alleged that Rela had taken away his UNHCR refugee card and that he was not given legal representation in court.

Nazri stressed that Malaysia had never denied the rights of refugees.

Financial Express Bangladesh – Myanmar wants to open air link with Dhaka soon
VOL 18 NO -234 REGD NO DA 1589 | Dhaka, Wednesday June 29 2011

Myanmar has expressed its keen interest to open direct air link with Bangladesh shortly as part of further improving mutual cooperation between the two countries.

This was disclosed by Chief of Army Staff General Abdul Mubeen, who visited Myanmar recently, when he called on President M Zillur Rahman at Bangabhaban in the city Tuesday, reports UNB.

General Mubeen visited Myanmar from May 23-27 and informed the President that Myanmar has also shown interest to work jointly with Bangladesh on road connectivity and fighting counter-terrorism.

He said that Myanmar has offered Bangladesh to explore the natural resources and utilise their unused cultivable lands for food production on partnership basis.

The Army Chief, who is also the president of Bangladesh Olympic Association, informed the President that he would join the Asian Olympic Committee conference to be held in Tokyo on July 14-16.

He will also visit Singapore in the last week of July to attend the conference of army chiefs of the Far East region.

The army chief apprised the President about the ongoing development activities of Bangladesh Army and sought his cooperation.

COMMENTARY
The Irrawaddy – Just Too Convenient
By YENI Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Four powerful bombs exploded in Burma last week: in the new capital of Naypyidaw; the second-largest city of Mandalay; and the military town of Pyin Oo Lwin, also known as Maymyo. Bombs are not new to this mysterious military-controlled country, but every time they go off, the blasts and their aftermath demonstrate that Burma lacks a transparent and effective system for guaranteeing security and bringing culprits to justice.

Three of the blasts went off within minutes of each other. The first bomb exploded in a jeep near Zaygyo market, a major shopping center in Mandalay. The second bomb damaged an occupied house near the Gems Museum in Naypyidaw. And a third hit Pyin Oo Lwin, a garrison town as well as a hill resort which is home to four military institutes, including the elite Defense Services Academy. Three hours later, a fourth explosion went off in the same part of Mandalay as the earlier blast, near a rubbish dump.

Photos taken by local journalists of the aftermath in Mandalay and Naypyidaw immediately spread among Burmese citizens on the social networking site Facebook. Later, the state-owned newspaper The New Light of Myanmar confirmed that the bomb blasts destroyed two houses and a vehicle, leaving three people injured though not in critical condition.

Like a series of bombing in April 2010—targeting the main China-Burma trade gate in Muse, Shan State on April 14; a pavilion at the annual water festival in Rangoon on April 15; and the Myitsone dam project in Kachin State on April 17—the recent operations appear to have been well-planned. The difference is that this time it appears the blasts were intended to be powerful enough to demolish their targets without causing a large number of casualties.

The bomb blasts last week came as the military is reportedly preparing an offensive to pressure ethnic armed groups in Kachin, Shan and Karen states, and they are not the only guerilla-type attacks that have taken place recently. There have been about half a dozen bombings in Burmese cities in the past few weeks, including explosions in Naypyidaw and the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina.

On May 18, when two passengers were killed and nine were wounded by a bomb that exploded on a train near Naypyidaw, the Burmese government blamed the Karen National Union (KNU), an ethnic armed group engaged in ongoing skirmishes with the government in Karen State.

Another bomb exploded at a Naypyidaw market on June 10, slightly injuring two people. This time, The New Light of Myanmar did not directly name any group in connection with the attack, but said, “Aiming to cause public panic and undermine already achieved peace and stability, insurgents have been committing terrorist acts persistently at crowded places. Now, they are recruiting bombers to commit destructive acts providing incentives.”

On Wednesday, however, The New Light of Myanmar reported that the government issued an arrest warrant for three Shan Nationals who are suspected of involvement in last week’s bomb blasts. In addition, two ethnic Kachin have been arrested in Mandalay, according to local media sources. The authorities have not yet reported which organizations any of these suspects are involved with.

This was the past regime’s modus operandi whenever bombings occurred: first blaming “insurgents” to justify its ongoing anti-ethnic armed group narrative, and then rounding up a few usual suspects who were usually never linked directly to an attack, but were still put in prison on other convenient charges. For example, after the bombing at Rangoon’s New Year Water Festival in April last year, the five men who were initially arrested were never linked to the blasts, but were sentenced to up to 11 years in prison for different offenses.

Independent observers have pointed out that the perpetrators of the attacks last week appear to have wanted to demonstrate their ability to demolish targets without taking lives.

And some believe the level of sophistication displayed is beyond the capacity of the jungle-based ethnic armies.

In none of the previous bombings, and thus far in the current attacks, have Burmese security officers made an attempt to investigate in an accountable and transparent manner—i.e. gathering modern forensic evidence that is made available to the public.

This leads many Burmese to distrust the government authorities, and even makes them question whether the regime itself orchestrated the explosions to create instability and justify a crackdown on opponents to extend and prolong its stranglehold on power.

Meanwhile many residents of major cities say they are frightened by the bombing campaign and will now avoid crowded areas such as markets and railway stations.

The bombings have also raised the level of concern among the supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has said she plans to take trips outside of Rangoon in July and visit local offices of her opposition group, the National League for Democracy (NLD). Heightening their fears even further is the fact that Burma’s state-run media has recently warned Suu Kyi that there will be a “commotion” if she travels in the countryside as she last did in 2003, when a gang of government-backed thugs attacked her convoy in Depayin.

Of primary concern to all is the fact that the bombings have not diminished, but have rather increased, and the masterminds and perpetrators of all the attacks are still at large. Whoever is behind the attacks, they have demonstrated that they can demolish targets—with or without human casualties—almost at will and without accountability.

The perpetrators could be government operatives wishing either to scare Suu Kyi into remaining in Rangoon, or even more sinister elements wishing to attempt an assassination and use these earlier blasts as cover. They could also be a government attempt to discredit the ethnic armed groups and justify the crackdown that is already in progress. Or they could be the attempt by one or more ethnic armed groups to warn the government that if the offensive continues, urban guerilla warfare will be their response. Finally, they could be the work of extremist pro-democracy elements fed up with the slow progress of meaningful change in Burma.

The point is that unless someone claims responsibility, nobody will find out who is behind the attacks and the public will continue to be at risk, because the “new” government’s response is the same as the old regime’s—blame their enemies and bury the evidence.

In the end, even if the government is not behind the attacks, it seems just too convenient for them to let those responsible stay at large, because then they can use the bombings as an excuse to undertake any number of state-sponsored oppressive measures.

It’s just one more example of how whenever it’s time to put the cards on the table, Burma’s new pseudo-civilian government shows that it is the same players holding the same hand dealt from the same stacked deck as before.

The Irrawaddy – Farmers’ Loan Scheme Rife With Bribery
By KHIN OO THAR Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Voice Weekly online, a news journal in Burma, reported in its June 16 issue that President Thein Sein has established model farms for agriculture and animal husbandry, and has, in fact, been conducting his own research by tilling the soil by hand.

“Even though he is a president, he worked on the farm,” The Voice quoted Thein Aung, the Prime Minister of Irrawaddy Region, as saying at a ceremony. “Based on his findings, he laid down guidelines on how to improve the farmers’ situation.”

Days after his inauguration as president, Thein Sein formed an advisory board consisting of three committees—political, economic and legal—for his new government. He also formed an anti-poverty committee with economists and assigned them to collect related papers and organize discussions.

“The agricultural sector is the key to Burma’s economic structure. A good agricultural foundation will benefit the country,” wrote economist Dr. U Myint, the current head of the President’s Economic Advisory Committee, in his paper regarding anti-poverty programs.

In official speeches, Thein Sein said he will prioritize the farming sector as over 70 percent of the country’s population are farmers, and agricultural loans will be given out to farmers at low interest rates.

Many farmers, however, have said that although the Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank, which is under control of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, has offered more loans than in previous years, lower level staff and local authorities often deny farmers loans for petty or often trivial reasons.

“I had to sign for a 70,000-kyat [US $90] loan, but I was only given 50,000 kyat [$64],” said a farmer from Shwenyoma Village in Kyaukpyu Township in Arakan State. “When I asked about the rest of my loan, I was told that I had to give it as commission to the township authorities and the bank manager.”

In particular, farmers in cyclone-affected areas of Irrawaddy Division and Arakan State have reportedly encountered bureaucratic hurdles when applying for agricultural loans from the government.

In first first presidential address to parliament on March 30, Thein Sein called for a “clean” government.

“The most important task of the new administration is to work together to create good governance and clean government,” Thein Sein was reported as saying by The New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper.

However, since the new government was sworn in, bribery and illegal taxation have reportedly increased across the country.

“Responsible persons at different levels [of government] need to practice their performances in accordance with the president’s speech,” said Ba Shin, an elected MP representing the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) in Kyaukpyu. “Because bribery and forced taxation is on the increase at township and village levels these days.”

A legislator in Naypyidaw, who is a member of the new parliament’s bill-drafting committee, told The Irrawaddy that the ongoing parliamentary sessions in the capital have touched on farmers’ affairs, but no effective action has come of it.

“Discussions on agriculture-related issues took place in the parliament, but legislators were not allowed to speak about the real needs and difficulties,” said the parliamentarian who requested anonymity.

Nay Myo Wai, the chairman of the Peace and Diversity Party, said he shared a similar view.

“Some laws related to farmers need to be amended, but I haven’t heard any discussion about them in the current parliamentary meetings,” he said. “The new parliament is quiet and not dissimilar from the one during the era of the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League in the 1940s.”

Khin Su Su Aung, a party candidate for the National Democratic Front who contested the election last November in Irrawaddy’s Bogale Township, said farmers in the Delta areas have had to endure land confiscations carried out by the local Forest and Land Records Department, as well as being subject to manipulation and exploitation by their village headmen.

“There are many farmers whose lands were confiscated by the Forest Department at the time loans were being offered. More and more farmers are in big trouble now,” she said.
Many farmers from Cyclone Nargis-affected areas in the delta told The Irrawaddy that although agricultural loans have been available for several weeks now, they are not sufficient to meet the farmers’ needs for rice cultivation.

Consequently, although rice season has arrived, many farmers are not sowing a crop this year.

“No matter how many acres of farmland we own, each of us received only 200,000 kyat [$255] on loan,” said Win Maung, a local farmer from Poenyo Village in Bogale. “We have to spend about 95,000 kyat [$121] per acre.

Out of the loan, about 7,000 kyat [$9] was deducted to cover administration costs.”

He said most of the farmers in Nargis-affected areas own at least 10 acres of farmland and the current financial predicament was leading to a heavy impact on rice production and quality.

Local farmers in Tharyawaddy District in western Pegu Division also said that those who wanted agricultural loans had to bribe their village heads and other authorities.

Dr U Myint, however, said the huge recovery costs for shelters and livelihoods in Nargis-affected areas reinforce the fact that many people are in need of loans and, therefore, the government should pay particular attention to ensure that these farmers receive agricultural loans.

He wrote in his paper that the government should prioritize its incentives to farmers, offering consistent agricultural loans couple with systematic procedures whereby farmers can pay off their loans and help to improve Burma’s farming sector and rice production.

Apart from governmental support, he said, the private sector, social organizations and non-governmental organizations also need to participate in these endeavors.

He also said that governmental assistance to farmers had lessened since Burma declared independence. The country exported 3.3 million tonnes of rice in 1938-39, the highest amount of exports in the world at that time. However, the amount of rice export in 2007-08 had declined to just over 300,000 tonnes, the economist said.

The Irrawaddy – Tatmadaw Commanders Discuss Recent Ethnic Conflicts
By WAI MOE Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Commanders of the Tatmadaw (Burma’s armed forces) held their latest four-monthly meeting last week where “limited operations” in ethnic areas were discussed as well as intelligence reform.

Recent military operations in Kachin, Shan and Karen states were examined following unexpected government casualties amounting to 30 dead including 10 officers—one Lieutenant-Colonel and two Majors amongst others—in Kachin State alone this month, according to intelligence sources.

President ex-Gen Thein Sein’s new military-backed government came to office on March 30, but regional stability has suffered with armed conflicts spreading from Karen ethnic areas to ceasefire regions in Shan and Kachin states near the Sino-Burmese border.

Citing weekly military reports from regional military commands to the War Office in Naypyidaw, sources said that skirmishes and casualties were reported in Karen National Union (KNU) areas from Tenasserim Region to Karen State after March 30.

“There have been red remarks (government troop casualties) in reports on skirmishes in KNU areas every week during the past three months,” said a military source that spoke on condition of anonymity.

He added that, unlike last year, government troops are currently taking part in two other armed conflicts—in Kachin and Shan states—and said that most of the recent casualties were through ambushes and snipers.

On June 9, fierce fighting broke out in Kachin State, near the Sino-Burmese border in northern Burma, after nearly 17 years of ceasefire between the regime and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

Earlier, government troops skirmished in Shan State with the Shan State Army (North) ceasefire group. Fighting with the SSA-North took place in both northern and southern Shan State with the cooperation of the non-ceasefire Shan State Army (South).

Tension between Naypyidaw and ethnic ceasefire groups began in April 2009 when the military junta, the State Peace Development Council (SPDC), forced ceasefire armed groups to transform into Border Guard Forces (BGF) under the commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw.

Many ethnic armed groups—including the influential United Wa State Army (UWSA) and KIO—rejected the BGF saying it involved disarming without any political guarantees.

From April 2009 to August 2010, Lt-Gen Ye Myint, then chief of the Military Affairs Security (MAS) and now Mandalay Region’s chief minister, served as the main negotiator between Naypyidaw and ethnic ceasefire groups over the BGF.

However, Naypyidaw has not held any main negotiator with ethnic armed groups since Ye Myint was replaced in the chief MAS post by Maj-Gen Kyaw Swe, formerly the commander of Southwest Regional Military Command, in August 2010.

“During ongoing armed conflicts with Kachin Independence Army (KIA) troops, former minister of Telecommunications, Post and Telegraphs U Thein Zaw came for negotiations as a member of Parliament—but no one from the military commanders [turned up],” said an intelligence officer with the KIA from Laiza who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“It means negotiations came from former generals or the Parliament, rather than from the military. It is quite odd as there is no guarantee from military commanders,” he added.

Another highlighted issue at the commanders’ four-monthly meeting last week was reportedly reform of intelligence, particularly collaboration between the government secret services under a main body. The regime has attempted since early this year to replace the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) which was abolished in late 2004.

A Burmese intelligence report suggests that a new collaboration called the “National Defense and Security Force” will oversee military intelligence bodies such as the Military Affairs Security and other secret agencies including Special Branch (SB) and the Bureau of Special Investigation (BSI) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, even though there has been no official confirmation.

Brig-Gen Soe Shane—General Staff Officer at the War Office and a senior figure regularly beside former junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe during trips at home and aboard—is tipped to head the new national intelligence collaboration, according to sources. In the past Soe Shane studied counter intelligence with the Military Intelligence Service, which was abolished in 2004.

Aung Lynn Htut, a former counter intelligence officer and ex-Burmese deputy chief of mission to Washington, said he also heard reports about Naypyidaw’s reform for intelligence collaboration under the military-backed new administration.

“Intelligence collaboration like the NIB will be more powerful under the new administration while MAS is under the commander-in-chief,” he said.

“If Brig-Gen Soe Shane becomes the national intelligence collaboration’s director, Snr-Gen Than Shwe and his family will be safer as Gen Min Aung Hlaing is commander-in-chief of the defense services and Brig-Gen Soe Shane is intelligence chief.”

Meanwhile, former deputy chief of Military Intelligence Maj-Gen Kyaw Win visited Thailand’s northern capital of Chiang Mai—where many Burmese dissidents are based—in early June, the same time as government troops were battling the KIA in northern Burma.

Although the purpose of Kyaw Win’s trip is undisclosed, a Thai intelligence source said he went back to Burma by Air Bagan on June 12.  Kyaw Win was one of the key players for securing ceasefire agreement with ethnic armed groups. He is also one of two Military Intelligence senior officers who were not imprisoned during the Burmese Army’s crackdown on former colleagues in October 2004.

National, International experts attend Burma’s third development forum
Wednesday, 29 June 2011 11:44 Te Te

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Economists from Burma and foreign countries attended the third development forum held in cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Naypyitaw, according to economists, who said some plans are being developed with the cooperation of government departments.

The forum, called ‘Improving Rice Polices for National and Regional Food Security’, discussed how to develop a suitable policy on rice production and how to improve overall farm productivity. Economist Khin Maung Nyo said forum members heard discussions on polices, agricultural loans, farm ownership, marketing and supporting technologies.

In an opening speech, Vice President Dr. Sai Mauk Kham said the forum was held in order for international experts to share their ideas on ways to improve the lives of farmers and the poor, according to the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar.

‘We will draw up an Action Plan that includes what we should do, what we must do and what we could do for development and poverty alleviation’, he said. A Union-level central committee, working committees and region and state committees will be formed to carry out the programs, he was quoted as saying.

The Under Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Dr. Noleen Heyzer, attended the forum. ESCAP is the regional development arm of the UN for the Asia-Pacific region.

Heyzer, in her speech, presented a seven-point agenda: improving access to food, access to credit, more discretion for farmers, sustainable, targeted rice value policies, agricultural technology, extension systems, infrastructure and access to markets.

Among the experts, were historian Dr. Than Myint Oo, Dr. Tin Maung Maung Than of Singapore, Dr. Zaw Oo and Dr. U Myint.

The Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and officials from the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry also attended.

The first and second development forums were held in July and December 2009. Noble laureate economist, Professor Joseph Stiglitz, attended the second development forum.

Suu Kyi says NLD ‘stronger now’; discusses suffering and fear
Wednesday, 29 June 2011 19:16 Mizzima News

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Aung San Suu Kyi envies the people of Tunisia and Egypt their relatively bloodless transition from ‘dictatorship to democracy’ and admits that real democracy for Burma is slow in coming.

In an address and response to questions as part of the BBC 2011 Reith Lecture broadcast on Tuesday, the pro-democracy campaigner and leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) talked about what securing freedom means for her and her party in Burma.

The address was pre-recorded in Burma. A second address will be broadcast on Tuesday next week.

At a time when the National League for Democracy (NLD) is being labeled an ‘illegal party’ by the Burmese authorities and coming under pressure, Suu Kyi talked of the parallels and differences between her party’s freedom struggle and the Arab Spring in the Middle East that has seen dictatorships crumble under the pressure of people power.

Elections were held in November 2010 in Burma under what the NLD claim was an unacceptable Constitution and the resulting government, they claim, is controlled by the Burmese military.

‘The universal aspirations to be free have been brought home to us by the developments in the Middle East’, said Suu Kyi in her prepared address. ‘The Burmese are as excited by these events as peoples elsewhere. Our interest is particularly keen as there are notable similarities between the 10 December revolution in Tunisia and our own 1988 uprising. Both started with what at that time seemed like small unimportant events.

‘A fruit seller in a Tunisian town unknown to the world at large gave an unforgettable demonstration of the importance of human rights. One humble man showed his right was more precious than life itself. This sparked off a whole revolution. In Burma a quarrel in a Rangoon teashop between university students and local men was handled by the police in a way that the students considered unjust. This led to demonstrations that resulted in the death of a student. This was the spark that fired nationwide demonstrations against the dictatorship of the Burmese socialist party’.

Suu Kyi said she envied the people of Tunisia and Egypt. ‘We do wish for a quick and peaceful transition. More than envy is a sense of solidarity and a renewed cause which is a cause of all women and men who value freedom and dignity’.

She spoke of her admiration for young people struggling for democracy, including young Burmese rap singers, a number of whom were imprisoned following the 2007 Saffron Revolution protests.

‘The Burmese authorities, like the Tunisian government, are not fond of intense young people. They see them as a threat to the kind of order they intend to impose on our country. For those who believe in freedom, young rappers present a freedom unbound by prejudice and arbitrary rules and regulations, by oppression and injustice’.

She said the similarities between Tunisia and Burma are the similarities that bind people all over the world who long for freedom. But ‘the Tunisian army did not fire on their people; the Burmese army did’.

The communications revolution played a powerful part in the Arab revolts in the Middle East, she said. ‘This not only enabled them to better organize and coordinate their movement, it kept the attention of the whole world firmly focused on them. Not just every single death but every single wounded became known to the world within minutes. In Libya, Syria and Yemen now, the revolutionaries keep the world informed of the atrocities of those in power. The picture of a 13-year-old boy tortured to death in Syria aroused such anger and indignation that world leaders had to raise their voices in condemnation’.

Suu Kyi said there were a number of reasons why the Arab Spring has not drifted over Burma. She said there was a difference in terms of the communications revolution, geopolitical considerations, the shooting of protestors and the lack of images on TV and the Internet to rouse the world.

‘I have said I adhere to nonviolence for practical reasons because I think it is best for the country and even Gandhi-ji, who is supposed to be the leader of the nonviolent movement, said between cowardice and violence, he would choose violence any time’, she said.

Living in a state of ‘unfreedom’ and ‘living without’ as a dissident has clearly been a test for the 1991 Nobel laureate, but she said she gets inspiration from a number of places. In the lecture, she recalled being inspired reading a book at the age of 13 called ‘Seven Years Solitary’ by a Hungarian dissident, Edith Bone. And she is inspired by the sacrifices of her fellow NLD members, young and old, who struggle in difficult circumstances often with no pay for the cause. The NLD headquarters is hardly plush and hi-tech.

People dub the NLD a ‘cowshed’, but as she points out, ‘We do not take offence. Didn’t one of the world’s most influential movements begin in a cowshed?’

She recalled the horror of being attacked by unknown assailants in May 2003 in her motorcade in Depayin.

Nothing was heard of the fate of the attackers, she said, but, ‘We the victims were placed under arrest.  I was taken to the notorious Insein jail and kept alone, and have to admit, kept rather well, in a small building kept apart from the quarters of other prisoners.

‘One morning while going though my daily set of physical exercises, keeping fit as possible was the first duty of a political prisoner, I found myself thinking, “this is not me”. I would not have been capable of carrying on calmly like this, I would have been curled up weakly in my bed, worrying my head about wondering about the fate of those who had been in Depayin with me. How many of them had been severely beaten up? How many of them had been dragged away I did not know where? How many of them had died and what was happening to the rest of the NLD? I would have been laid low by anxiety and uncertainty. This was not me working out as conscientiously as any keep-fit fanatic. This is not me, this is somebody else that suffers. I could never face that’.

She stressed the strong bond of ‘those of us who only had our inner resources to fall back on when we were most in need of strength and endurance’.

Passion is needed to be a dissident, said Suu Kyi. What is passion? she asked. Liberty, which translates as suffering, and she contends, in a political context, it is a religious one; a deliberate decision to grasp the cup.

‘We would rather let it pass. It is not a decision made lightly. We do not enjoy suffering, we are not masochists. It is because of the high value we put on the object of our passion’, she said.

As she noted, Buddhism teaches that the ultimate liberation is the liberation from all desire. ‘It could be argued the Buddha is animical to the desire of movements for human rights and political reform. However, when the Buddhist monks went on a muuta, loving kindness, march in 2007 they were protesting against the sudden steep rise in the price of fuel that had led to a devastating rise in food prices. They were using their spiritual authority to move for the basic right of the people to buy food. Spiritual freedom does not need to be an indifference to the practical rights and freedoms that are generally seen as necessary’, she said.

Suu Kyi pointed to a basic human right that she values highly—freedom from fear. ‘Since the very beginning of the democracy movement we have had to contend with the debilitating sense of fear that permeates a whole society. Visitors to Burma are quick to remark that the Burmese are warm and hospitable. I would also add, sadly, that the Burmese are afraid to discuss political issues.

‘Fear is the first adversary we have to get past when we set out to battle for freedom and often it is the one that remains until the very end. But freedom from fear does not have to be complete; it only has to be sufficient to enable us to carry on. To carry on in spite of fear requires tremendous courage’.

During a question time, someone asked if she was worried, given the fate of her father, Aung San, who was assassinated in 1947, that she might lose her life fighting for democracy in Burma. ‘We all come to terms with such a possibility early on. It is always a possibility but you might also get knocked down by a bus on the high street’, she quipped.

Suu Kyi said that one of the reasons they go on is, ‘We don’t know how to stop, we don’t know how to turn our backs on our beliefs, we don’t know how to abandon our comrades, we don’t know how to do these things, so we go on’.

NLD, Suu Kyi receive official letter challenging its legal status and activities
Wednesday, 29 June 2011 15:45 Mizzima News

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Burma’s central government has officially informed prominent National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders of their precarious legal status, a little less than a month before the opposition party plans to undertake a national tour of the country.

In the Wednesday edition of the state-run New Light of Myanmar, the government’s English language daily, an article says the Ministry of Home Affairs has sent a letter to  NLD General- Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi and party chairman U Aung Shwe informing them of the importance of abiding by the country’s laws.

The letter––which contains several direct warnings that the NLD has violated laws––comes as Suu Kyi prepares for a countrywide tour starting July 22, her first foray beyond the limits of Rangoon since her most recent release from house arrest in November 2010. Her ability to travel unencumbered throughout the country is seen by many as a crucial test of her freedom.

The ministry’s letter said that because the NLD failed to re-register as a political party for the 2010 general elections, it has forfeited its right to exist as a legal political entity.  The letter said that the NLD continues to operate party offices and conduct party affairs despite its formal dissolution.

‘The NLD is found to have kept opening its party headquarters and branches in states and regions and other towns, erecting signboards and hoisting flags at some offices, issuing statements, publishing periodicals and videos, meeting with other organizations and holding meetings and ceremonies’, the letter said, according to the New Light of Myanmar.

The government said that NLD activities were potentially disruptive to the parliamentary system and threatened national stability.

‘If they [the NLD] really want to accept and practise democracy effectively, they are to stop such acts that can harm peace and stability and the rule of law as well as the unity among the people including monks and service personnel’, the letter said.

The NLD has not recognized the legitimacy of the 2010 election, opting instead to uphold the validity of the 1990 poll, citing the lack of a free and fair democratic process in both the 2008 constitutional referendum and the general election.

The government warned the NLD that if wants to continue work as a social organization it must apply for a license from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

In a 2003 tour of the country, Suu Kyi’s motorcade was attacked by a government-sponsored mob outside the village of Depayin in Sagaing Region. The resulting clash led to scores of dead and injured, and Suu Kyi narrowly escaped. The opposition leader was subsequently detained and sentenced to house arrest, only to be released a week after the 2010 general election.

Wednesday, 29 June 2011
DVB News – Work resumes on China-backed pipelines
By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 29 June 2011

Construction of the trans-Burma Shwe oil and gas pipelines appears to have resumed after pausing for a month while fighting erupted in sensitive territory close to the China-backed project.

Images and footage obtained by DVB show trucks laden with pipes being transported out of a depot in Jegao, on the Chinese side of the border opposite Muse. Drivers of the trucks told DVB sources the cargo was being delivered to Hsipaw in Shan state, where the pipeline will pass through en route to a refinery in Kunming, China.

In May Hsipaw became the epicentre of fighting between Burmese troops and the Shan State Army, whose northern faction recently ended a 15-year ceasefire with the government.

Fighting has since spread north to Kachin state, home to the insurgent Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and there is little sign at present that an end is in sight.

Analysts have speculated that a goal of the Burmese army is to secure areas close to major infrastructural projects such as the Shwe pipeline, and the myriad hydropower projects being built in northern and eastern Burma with Beijing’s backing. Many of these areas, particularly around Hsipaw, and in the Bhamo district of Kachin state, are rebel strongholds.

The wave of fighting triggered a month-long hiatus in building the Shwe project, which China has watched nervously due to the volatility of many areas along its route. Concern mounted during negotiations for the $US30 billion venture, when the Burmese government reportedly rejected a request from Beijing that Chinese security groups guard the pipeline.
Resentment of the project is also high among civilians: a report in March by EarthRights International (ERI) found that from a pool of 100 men and women interviewed clandestinely in Shan state, not a single one was in favour of the development.

It also claimed there had been cases of abuse by troops of civilians close to Kyaukphyu in western Arakan state, where the pipeline will begin. Land confiscation and forced labour along its trajectory have also been widely reported.

China has maintained an ambiguous stance surrounding the fighting in northern Burma, with numbers of Kachin civilians known to have crossed into Yunnan province to flee the violence. Reports have circulated that Yunnan officials warned households along the border not to shelter refugees.

The first wave of offensives against the KIA began shortly after high-level Burmese government and military officials paid a visit to Beijing, sparking rumours that China had urged the Burmese army to attack in order to stem the movement of insurgent groups close to its energy projects. This however has not been verified.

China is desperate for the passage through Burma that the Shwe pipelines provide, given its traditional route for oil cargos from Africa and the Middle East runs through the Straits of Malacca, a congested strip of water beneath Singapore that it heavily patrolled by US warships.

DVB News – Two arrested for Mandalay bombing
By AYE NAI
Published: 29 June 2011

Two men of Kachin origin are being detained in Mandalay in connection with a recent bomb attack, one of three apparently coordinated explosions to hit Burma on Friday last week.

Police yesterday raided a house in Mandalay city’s Mahaaungmyay township and arrested its inhabitants, and the two Kachin men who were staying as guests. The raid took place after police discovered a mobile phone at the scene of the explosion near to Zeycho market on 24 June, said a Mandalay resident.

“There was a mobile phone found near to the scene where the explosion took place and authorities traced it to a goldsmith house on 36th street – they found two Kachin guests there,” he said.

“They questioned the whole family and released them in the evening [yesterday] but detained the two Kachin. We haven’t heard whether they have been released yet.”

An article in the New Light of Myanmar dated 28 June said however that police were tracking three men, all 25, in connection with the Mandalay bombing and the attacks in Pyin Oo Lwin and the capital, Naypyidaw.

The names of the three listed in the article, Sai Kyaw Myint Oo, Sai Aik and Sai Hsam, suggest however that they are of Shan origin. It alleged they had bought the car under which the Mandalay bomb was planted, and had rented the houses in Naypyidaw and Pyin Oo Lwin which were destroyed by the explosions.

Three people were injured in the attacks, but no one died. Images released from the scene of the Mandalay incident suggest that the device had been packed full of shrapnel.