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HEADLINES
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AP - Key nations call on Myanmar to release Suu Kyi
AP - Monks in Myanmar mark crackdown anniversary
AP - Singapore gives aid to cyclone-hit Myanmar farmers
AP - Myanmar bans Chinese dairy products
AFP - Suu Kyi's Myanmar democracy party marks 20-year anniversary
AFP - High level UN talks held to push Myanmar reforms
AFP - World powers push Myanmar on political reforms
Reuters - U.N. group aims to keep world focus on Myanmar
Reuters - Myanmar urges end to "unfair and immoral" sanctions
Reuters - Myanmar's Nargis-hit rice fields replanted - FAO
CNA - ASEAN to continue engaging Myanmar on economic reform
Việt Nam News - Myanmar sailors fly home
IHT - UN rejects request for Myanmar junta's seat
Xinhua - Myanmar-China border trade fair to be held in Muse this year
Balita.org - Myanmar targets larger rubber production to boost export
The Star Online - When garbage is 'safe' to eat
TREND Information - Myanmar pledges reform, free and fair general elections in 2010
The Irrawaddy - Burma's Monks Jailed, Disrobed for Challenging Junta
Asian Tribune - 'People of Burma have not been forgotten'
Mizzima News - Students stage protest in Sittwe
Mizzima News - Ryan Giggs and Aung San Suu Kyi tied over award
Mizzima News - Junta releases three NLD youth members
DVB News - Three more political prisoners released

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Key nations call on Myanmar to release Suu Kyi
By CARLEY PETESCH, Associated Press Writer
Sat Sep 27, 7:43 PM ET

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Nations concerned about Myanmar called on its military government Saturday to release all political prisoners, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and to start talking with the opposition.

The so-called Group of Friends, which includes the United States, Britain, China, Southeast Asian countries and the European Union, also called on the junta to cooperate with the United Nations, which has tried with little success to nudge the regime toward engagement with its opponents. The nations met at the United Nations on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly's ministerial session.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who called the meeting, said in a statement afterward that it "is a clear signal of the importance that the international community attaches to the situation in Myanmar."

The Security Council and Ban had hoped Myanmar's ruling generals would respond to international pressure to embrace national reconciliation following its violent suppression of massive, anti-government protests in Yangon last year, but so far they have not.

The Security Council has demanded that the military regime release all political prisoners, talk with the opposition, open the political process and end human rights abuses.
Ban and his special U.N. envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, have actively pursued talks with leaders of Myanmar's government.

"The people have not been forgotten by the international community," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said. He said, "The truth is the regime holds onto their power jealously and guards the power that they have."

Friday marked the first anniversary of the military junta's brutal crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks. The U.N. estimated at least 31 people were killed when the army fired on peaceful protesters Sept. 26-27, sparking global outrage.

Suu Kyi has spent more than 12 of the past 19 years in detention, mostly under house arrest. In 1990, her party won a landslide victory that the junta refused to acknowledge. Instead, the regime stepped up arrests and repression of dissidents.

Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo, who is also the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said the U.N.'s critical role in helping the Myanmar people after Cyclone Nargis was a positive sign.

"In that cooperation there is hope," he said. "And some progress is better than no progress."

Little progress was made in releasing prisoners and promoting dialogue between the government and Suu Kyi when the U.N.'s Gambari visited Myanmar from Aug. 18-23.

"The key is to continue to strengthen Gambari's role and to push the U.N. agenda," Yeo said.

He said that Ban will be going back to Myanmar at the end of the year.

On Tuesday, Myanmar's longest-serving political prisoner, Win-Tin, was among more than 9,000 inmates freed, days before the first anniversary of the junta's deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.

But analysts suspect the junta timed the release as an attempt to fend off international criticism on the anniversary.

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Monks in Myanmar mark crackdown anniversary
Sat Sep 27, 1:02 PM ET

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - About 100 Buddhist monks in a western Myanmar city staged a peaceful protest march Saturday to mark the anniversary of last year's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.

Meanwhile, in the country's biggest city, Yangon, recently released political prisoners helped celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the party led by detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, while police and other security personnel kept a close watch.

No protests directly related to the crackdown anniversary were noted in Yangon, where last year's demonstrations attracted up to 100,000 people. The junta put down the protests with force, killing at least 31 people and detaining thousands.

But in the western port city of Sittwe, about 100 Buddhist monks marched peacefully in a heavy rain for about 30 minutes, according to witnesses who asked not to be named for fear of being harassed by the authorities.

The monks' march took the form of their morning round of begging for alms, but it is widely understood that such a large number of monks marching in an organized fashion represents a veiled protest.

Thein Hlaing, vice chairman of the dissident National League for Democracy Arakan, said one of the monks who organized the march told him it was staged to mark the anniversary of the crackdown and to recall those people killed or detained during it. Buddhist monks spearheaded last year's protests.

Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state in western Myanmar, is known for its strong anti-military sentiment. It was the city where Buddhist monks first joined anti-junta rallies that swelled into nationwide protests last September.

In Yangon, witnesses said three to six members of the National League for Democracy who were walking to the party's headquarters for its founding anniversary celebration were detained by a vigilante group that acts as security auxiliaries for the ruling military junta. Party officials said the members were forced into a truck and taken to their homes.

The witnesses and party officials asked not to be named, fearing official retribution.

Six truckloads of riot police with shields and batons along with three truckloads of vigilantes were deployed near the opposition party offices.

The ceremony, attended by about 350 people including party members, diplomats and reporters, was also a homecoming for a senior party member released from jail a few days earlier.

Prominent journalist Win Tin, who with 19 years behind bars had been the country's longest-serving political prisoner, was among seven party members who were released Tuesday in an amnesty granted to 9,002 prisoners around the country.

Another of those released, Win Htein — who was a close aide to Suu Kyi — was re-arrested just 17 hours after being freed from prison in a remote area in the country's northwest. No reason was given for putting him back in detention.

In an anniversary statement, the party reiterated its call for the immediate release of all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi — who has spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention — and her deputy Tin Oo. It also called for the freedom of Buddhist monks and ethnic leaders arrested by the junta.

The party was founded in 1988 after an abortive pro-democracy uprising, and since then has faced nearly constant harassment from the ruling military. When the party's candidates won the most seats in 1990 general elections, the military refused to let it take power.

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Singapore gives aid to cyclone-hit Myanmar farmers
AP - Tuesday, September 30

YANGON, Myanmar - Singapore has donated US$1 million worth of fertilizer to rice farmers in the region of Myanmar devastated by Cyclone Nargis in May, its ambassador said Monday.

The fertilizer will be distributed with the assistance of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and other international agencies, Singapore Ambassador Robert Chua said.
A total of 2,000 tons of fertilizer will be distributed, he said.

"The fertilizer will be delivered shortly to the cyclone-affected farmers," Chua said during a ceremony at the embassy marking the handing over of the aid.

Nargis struck southern Myanmar on May 2-3, killing more than 78,000 people and leaving another 56,000 missing, according to the government. The cyclone, the worst natural disaster in Myanmar's modern history, affected 2.4 million people living in the rice-cultivating Irrawaddy delta.

Myanmar Agriculture Minister Htay Oo said the fertilizer would be crucial in improving crop yields.

Singapore earlier donated US$200,000 in humanitarian aid to cyclone victims.

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Myanmar bans Chinese dairy products
AP - Tuesday, September 30

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar authorities have suspended imports of all dairy products from China amid a widening scandal over melamine-tainted milk, a newspaper reported Monday.

Myanmar's commerce ministry said it has barred entry of all dairy products from China since last Tuesday, said the Myanmar Times, a government-affiliat ed weekly newspaper.
It was the government's first public announcement of the suspension.

The report said the decision was reached in a meeting of officials from various ministries, the Food and Drug Administration and dairy producers and importers.

Cheap dairy products from China, the country's largest trading partner, are widely sold in impoverished Myanmar, but there have been no reported cases of illnesses.

The health ministry is testing samples of dairy products, especially those from China, Health Minister Kyaw Myint said, according to the report.

Products that are found to be safe will be given a "melamine-free" stamp, it said.

Products that cannot be tested locally will be sent to Singapore for further analysis, the report said.

The health ministry will import additional testing equipment from Europe, Kyaw Myint was quoted as saying.

Myanmar's military-ruled government said it would destroy 16 tons of powdered milk made by one of the 22 Chinese dairy companies that were found to have produced melamine-tainted products. The milk was confiscated in Yangon last week.

Earlier this month, melamine, which is used to make plastics and fertilizer, was detected in milk powder in China and linked to kidney stones in children. Melamine-tainted milk has been blamed for the deaths of four infants and has sickened more than 54,000 children in China.

In 2006-2007, Myanmar imported more than US$995 million of goods from China, according to government figures.

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Suu Kyi's Myanmar democracy party marks 20-year anniversary
Saturday September 27, 5:47 PM

YANGON (AFP) - Myanmar police kept guard outside the headquarters of Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party Saturday as it marked its 20th anniversary, joined by the regime's longest-held prisoner.

Plain clothes officers took pictures of people arriving for the ceremony, attended by some 200 members of the National League of Democracy as well as Western diplomats.

Tight security surrounded 79-year-old Win Tin, who was only released on Tuesday after spending 19 years in jail for acting as an adviser to Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

"While I was in prison I always kept three main things in mind -- to support the NLD, to support the People's Parliament and to support the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi.
That is how I survived," Win Tin told AFP at the event.

The NLD called for the release of its leader, who has spent most of the last two decades imprisoned in her lakeside home.

Shortly before the ceremony, a small group of NLD members shouted, "May Daw Aung San Suu Kyi be free. May all political prisoners be free," as they released sparrows into the air as a symbol of freedom.

The NLD also issued a statement calling for the ruling junta to release all political prisoners, reopen NLD offices and convene a People's Parliament.

"An indelible black stain will be tainted in the political history of Burma by the omission of the authorities to perform according to the laws enacted by themselves," it said, referring to the country by its former name.

The NLD was set up on September 27, 1988, after a pro-democracy uprising in the country.

Its 20th anniversary comes a year after a bloody crackdown on street protests led by monks in which 31 people were killed, with 74 more missing, and thousands more arrested. A Japanese journalist was also shot dead at close range exactly a year ago as he covered the protests.

Myanmar authorities cancelled the NLD's annual anniversary ceremony last year citing security reasons.

This year's anniversary comes amid worsening relations between the Myanmar authorities and the party, which won 1990 polls by a landslide but was never allowed to take office.

On Thursday, the national police chief, Khin Yee, met for the first time with six members of the NLD's executive committee to ask for a retraction of their latest statement, the party's spokesman Nyan Win said, adding that the request was refused.

The statement, reiterated on Saturday in the NLD's anniversary release, called for a review of the junta's new constitution, which was issued after a referendum held in May.

Myanmar's junta, which has ruled the country since 1962, was criticised for holding the referendum just days after a cyclone left 138,000 people dead or missing across the country.

Pro-democracy activists said the vote was neither free nor fair. The junta says it paves the way for multi-party elections in 2010, but it renders Nobel prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi ineligible to stand.

Win Tin did not reveal whether he would accept an invitation to rejoin the NLD's central committee, saying only, "I will do as much as I can but I have to take a while to make a clear decision."

The former journalist, was imprisoned in 1989 and released in an amnesty of 9,002 prisoners.

Seven political prisoners were among those released, but one has since been rearrested, and New-York based Human Rights Watch estimates 2,100 remain behind bars.

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High level UN talks held to push Myanmar reforms
Sunday September 28, 1:58 AM

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Permanent members of the UN Security Council and mostly Asian nations held their first ministerial meeting Saturday aimed at pushing for reforms in military-ruled Myanmar.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon chaired the informal talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly amid little signs the military junta will embrace political reforms, one year after a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

But officials said the first ministerial meeting of Ban's so-called "group of friends on Myanmar" would raise the profile of the longstanding international demand for the junta to hold a dialogue with the democratic opposition and polish up its human rights record.

"It's an initiative that friends would like to see -- some positive movement, reconciliation forward," said Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), among those who attended the talks.

Envoys of the "friends on Myanmar" at the UN headquarters in New York had met several times since the group's inauguration in December last year.

Aside from ASEAN, which is an observer at the talks, others in the group are permanent Security Council members United States, Britain, France, Russia and China as well as Australia, European Union, India, Norway, Japan and South Korea.

ASEAN member states Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam attended as individual nations.

"The fact that these countries are attending at the ministerial level and have agreed to this meeting shows that they are putting the Myanmar issue as a high concern," Ban's spokeswoman Choi Soung-Ah told AFP.

Since Myanmar's violent military crackdown of pro-democracy protests in September last year, repression "has increased and the military government has failed to deliver on promises it made a year ago, despite international efforts at mediation," said Human Rights Watch, an independent US group.

The crackdown left 31 people dead, including a Japanese journalist who was shot at close range, according to the United Nations. Another 74 people remain missing and thousands more were arrested.

Ban's special envoy Ibrahim Gambari has made four visits to the country since the bloody uprising but failed to restart a dialogue between detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta or achieve significant gains.

While he came under criticism from disgruntled dissident groups, Choi cautioned: "That's the only window we have and let's not shoot the messenger."

The Security Council is divided on the issue, with China and Russia having vetoed a previous moves urging Myanmar to swiftly return to democracy and free all political detainees.

Last Tuesday, the junta freed seven political prisoners and members of the Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, including the well-known journalist Win Tin, 79, who had been imprisoned since 1989.

But a day later, one activist was rearrested according to Myanmar exiles in Thailand.

Human Rights Watch said 39 political arrests had been made in August and September alone, bringing the total number of political prisoners to more than 2,100.

The military junta, which has ruled the country since 1962, was criticised for holding a referendum in May, just days after a cyclone left 138,000 people dead or missing across the country.

Pro-democracy activists said the vote was neither free nor fair, but the military said a new constitution issued after the referendum has paved the way for multi-party elections to be held in 2010.

The rules render Nobel Peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi ineligible to stand for election. Her party won elections in 1990 but was never allowed to take power.

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World powers push Myanmar on political reforms
by P. Parameswaran
Sat Sep 27, 10:26 PM ET

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - World powers have called on Myanmar's military rulers to make "tangible" progress on political reforms ahead of a planned visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the country.

The first ministerial meeting of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and mostly Asian nations on Myanmar on Saturday also urged the junta to cooperate with Ban's special envoy to resolve the nation's political crisis.

Envoy Ibrahim Gambari has made four visits to the country since a bloody uprising a year ago but failed to restart a dialogue between detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta.

The talks Saturday underlined "the responsibility of the Myanmar government to demonstrate its stated commitment to cooperation with the good offices (of the secretary-general) through further tangible results," Ban's spokeswoman Michele Montas said in a statement.

The meeting of Ban's so-called "group of friends on Myanmar" also wanted the generals to "respond more positively" to international demands for the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and a dialogue with the opposition, Montas said.

Ban chaired the informal talks Saturday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly amid little signs the military junta will embrace political reforms, one year after a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband expressed dismay that the military junta continued to defy international demands for a release of political prisoners, an end to repression of minority groups and national reconciliation.

"That degree of cooperation has not been forthcoming from the Burmese (Myanmar) regime and remains the fundamental tenet of the friends of the secretary general," he said.

"The most important message today is that the people of Burma has not been forgotten by the international community and they remain high on the thoughts of many governments, " Miliband said.

UN-based envoys of Ban's "friends on Myanmar" group had met several times since the group's inauguration in December last year.

The group comprises permanent Security Council members United States, Britain, France, Russia and China as well as Australia, European Union, India, Norway, Japan and South Korea as well as ASEAN states Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), attended as the group's observer at the talks.

"What the group is trying to do is to make sure that it is going to lead to some true national reconciliation, " Surin told reporters.

The meeting came ahead of Ban's planned visit to Myanmar by years end, amid expectations that the trip could result in a political breakthrough.

Ban made a lightning visit to Myanmar in May after the military rulers came under international fire for not allowing foreign aid into the country after a cyclone left 138,000 people dead or missing.

The junta relented at the end after ASEAN said it would act as an aid channel.

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said the timing of Ban's visit was key.

"When he goes back, he has to be very careful in time because expectations can be greater ... he should not go back unless there are clear signs of progress but his intervention at an appropriate time can be critical," Yeo said after the meeting.

Since Myanmar's violent military crackdown of pro-democracy protests in September last year, repression "has increased and the military government has failed to deliver on promises it made a year ago," said Human Rights Watch, an independent US group.

The crackdown left 31 people dead, including a Japanese journalist who was shot at close range, according to the United Nations. Another 74 people remain missing and thousands more were arrested.

The Security Council is divided on the Myanmar issue, with China and Russia having vetoed previous moves urging the junta to restore democracy and free all political detainees.

Last Tuesday, the junta freed seven political prisoners but a day later, one activist was rearrested according to Myanmar exiles in Thailand.

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U.N. group aims to keep world focus on Myanmar
By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent
Sat Sep 27, 5:07 PM ET

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. group on Myanmar vowed on Saturday to keep the world spotlight on the troubled country and to press the military rulers of the former Burma to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The "Friends of the Secretary General on Myanmar" said Myanmar's junta must comply with resolutions calling for the release of political prisoners and to pursue reconciliation to end a nearly 20-year political stalemate.

The group urged Myanmar to address key issues, "especially the release of political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, and the initiation of an all-inclusive dialogue between the government and the opposition," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman said in a statement.

The 14-nation group, joined by top representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union, met a day after the first anniversary of a crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks against the military that has ruled the country since 1962.

At least 31 people were killed and some 3,000 were arrested in the crackdown. Human rights groups say as many as 700 people remain behind bars, although the junta says all but a few dozen have been released.

"The people of Burma have not been forgotten by the international community," British Foreign Minister David Miliband told reporters after the meeting.

"It's vital that, first, we don't fall for the electoral and constitutional facade that has been erected over the last year, and, secondly, the U.N. remains determined in its support for the U.N. Security Resolutions that have been passed," he said.

His criticism was aimed at a May referendum on Myanmar's army-drafted constitution -- part of a seven-step "roadmap to democracy" that is meant to culminate in multi-party elections in 2010 but has been rejected by Western countries and Myanmar's democracy movement as a sham.

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo told reporters the electoral plan had "no international legitimacy."

He also underscored differences between Myanmar's neighbors, who engage and trade with the junta, and Western powers that have tried to isolate and pressure the generals with trade embargoes.

"There's ... a view among a number of us that the economic agenda should not be neglected," Yeo said of economic engagement favored by Singapore and other ASEAN members.

"This is something about which there is no agreement among some countries, obviously, because there's still an embargo going on," he added.

The friends group was launched December 2007 and consists of Australia, Britain, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

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Myanmar urges end to "unfair and immoral" sanctions
By Claudia Parsons
Mon Sep 29, 1:07 PM ET

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Myanmar could be the rice bowl of the region and help alleviate a food and energy crisis if "unfair and immoral" sanctions were lifted, Myanmar's foreign minister told the U.N. General Assembly on Monday.

The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Myanmar over the suppression of opposition to the military junta, which drew widespread condemnation a year ago for a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests led by monks.

On Saturday, a U.N. group on Myanmar vowed to keep the world spotlight on the troubled country and to press the military rulers of the former Burma to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The "Friends of the Secretary General on Myanmar" said Myanmar's junta must comply with resolutions calling for the release of political prisoners and reconciliation to end a nearly 20-year political stalemate.

"Powerful countries should refrain from practicing hegemonic policies, either through political or economic pressures," Foreign Minister Nyan Win said in his speech to the world body on Monday.

He said unilateral sanctions were unwarranted, illegal, unfair, immoral and counterproductive.

"My own country has the potential to contribute to energy and food security of our region," he said, noting that soaring prices of fuel and food, particularly staples such as rice, were putting a heavy burden on developing countries.

He said Myanmar had successfully replanted rice fields that were devastated by Cyclone Nargis in May, was making efforts to raise production of crude oil and natural gas and had "huge" potential to produce hydro-electric power.

"The sooner the unjust sanctions are revoked and the barriers removed, the sooner will the country be in a position to become the rice bowl of the region and a reliable source of energy," Nyan Win said.

At least 31 people were killed and some 3,000 were arrested in the military crackdown a year ago. Human rights groups say as many as 700 people remain behind bars, although the junta says all but a few dozen have been released.

The U.N. Security Council has urged Myanmar to release all political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in prison or under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years.

Nyan Win made no mention of her. He said Myanmar was implementing a 7-step "road-map to democracy" and urged the international community to respect the will of the people expressed in a May referendum on an army-drafted constitution.

The result, an overwhelming endorsement of the constitution, was condemned by Western countries and Myanmar opposition figures as a sham.

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Myanmar's Nargis-hit rice fields replanted - FAO
29 Sep 2008 11:01:57 GMT

YANGON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Nearly all the rice fields in Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta that were devastated by Cyclone Nargis in May have been replanted, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Monday.

At a ceremony at the Singapore embassy in Yangon to hand over 38,000 bags of fertilizer, FAO resident representative Shin Imai said 97 percent of all damaged paddy in the delta had been replanted by the end of August.

Aid agencies had feared that failure to sow rice in most of the affected areas in time for the main crop in the second half of the year would create a long-term dependency on food aid in a country that used to be the world's largest rice exporter.

The FAO said in June that of 1.3 million ha (3.2 million acres) of rice fields in the cyclone hit areas, 60 percent was affected by the storm.

The Singaporean fertilizer -- enough for 62,000 ha of paddy -- is due to be delivered to affected farmers shortly.

The junta's Agriculture Minister, Major General Htay Oo, said damage to the farming sector had been almost completely repaired and there would be no impact from the cyclone on rice production.

"We urgently took necessary actions with the assistance of the U.N. and international organisations, NGOs and INGOs'," he told reporters.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated in June that Myanmar's overall rice crop would be smaller than expected after the May 2 cyclone, which flooded paddy fields with sea water, damaged irrigation systems and destroyed seed supplies.

The storm left 134,000 people dead or missing, making it one of the deadliest cyclones to hit Asia.

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ASEAN to continue engaging Myanmar on economic reform
Channel NewsAsia - 1 hour 39 minutes ago

NEW YORK: Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo has stressed the need for ASEAN to press on with economic engagement, even as member state Myanmar deals with its internal problems.

Speaking to reporters in New York on the sidelines of a United Nations meeting, Mr Yeo said ASEAN will continue to encourage Myanmar on the road to reform.

He said what can often enable new paths to be opened up in a deadlock is economic development.

On UN Secretary—General Ban Ki Moon’s expected visit to Myanmar, Mr Yeo said the intervention needs to be timed appropriately.

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Việt Nam News - Myanmar sailors fly home
(27-09-2008)

Ba Ria-Vung Tau — Thirty-seven sailors from Myanmar who had been rescued whilst drifting offshore near the southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province boarded a flight home via Thailand yesterday.

They are among the 58 foreign sailors, including 17 Cambodians, two Laotians and two from Thailand, aboard a small vessel that was rescued by provincial border guards earlier this month after it lost power off the shores of the province.

On September 10 the provincial authorities handed over the two Thai sailors to officials from Thailand’s Consul General in HCM City.

The Laotian sailors were repatriated the following day, while the Cambodians were sent home via the Moc Bai international border gate in the southwestern province of Tay Ninh on September 17.

The unfortunate ship was discovered by two Vietnamese fishing vessels on September 3 while they were netting fish in Vietnamese territorial waters with an approximate latitude and longitude of 7 degrees north and 106 degrees east.

The ship was reported to be without a number plate and was in a poor condition. The rescued sailors were exhausted due to exposure and lack of food.

A border guard ship and the two fishing vessels later towed the dilapidated ship to a Vung Tau City harbour.

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UN rejects request for Myanmar junta's seat
The International Herald Tribune
Published: September 26, 2008

UNITED NATIONS: (AP) - The U.N. General Assembly has rejected a request from the winners of Myanmar's 1990 elections to replace representatives of the country's current military junta at the United Nations, the U.N. said Friday.

The U.N.'s legal chief said credentials must be issued by a country's head of state or government, or by the minister for foreign affairs.

The military has ruled Myanmar, also known as Burma, since 1962 and has been widely criticized for suppressing basic freedoms. The current junta, which took power in 1988 after crushing pro-democracy demonstrations, held general elections in 1990 but refused to cede power.

A Sept. 9 letter from candidates elected to parliament in 1990 challenged the legitimacy of the country's military government.

Daw San San, vice president of the Members of Parliament Union (Burma), said in the letter to the U.N. Secretary-General that the organization has set up a permanent mission to the U.N. and appointed U Thein Oo as its permanent U.N. representative.

San said he "is instructed to represent the people of Burma and the legitimate, democratically elected members of parliament in all organs of the United Nations."

U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said the U.N.'s legal chief, Patricia O'Brien, "has responded to the letter noting the secretary-general' s technical role in reviewing the formal criteria for credentials set forth in the General Assembly's Rules of Procedure."

O'Brien told the Parliament Union that "the General Assembly has decided not to take action on the letter he received as it does not comply with the formal legal requirement set out in rule 27 of those rules of procedure," Montas said.

Rule 27 says credentials shall be issued by a country's head of state or government, or by the minister for foreign affairs.

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won the 1990 election, but the military refused to let Parliament convene. Suu Kyi has been detained for 13 of the past 19 years.

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Myanmar-China border trade fair to be held in Muse this year
www.chinaview. cn  2008-09-29 12:27:40

YANGON, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Myanmar-China border trade fair will be held in Myanmar's border trade zone of Muse in December this year involving four other neighboring countries, the local Weekly Eleven reported Monday.

The three-day 8th border trade fair of the two countries, which will take place in the second week of December with unspecified date, will comprise 224 booths -- 107 from host Myanmar and 108 from China as well as 9 from Thailand, India, Bangladesh and Laos, the report said.

Displayed at the Myanmar booths will be products from the state sector represented by Livestock Breeding and Fishery Department, Ministries of Industry, Hotels and Tourism, and Agriculture and Irrigation as well as the private sector represented by the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Cooperatives and Muse-Nanhkam Border Trade Association, it said.

Myanmar products mostly cover agricultural produces such as various beans and pulses, maize and sesame, marine products, rubber, furniture and gem items.

Seminars on investment participated by entrepreneurs from neighboring countries will also be attached, it said.

Since 2001, Myanmar-China border trade exhibitions have been held annually and alternately in respective border towns and the last event was in December 2007 in Jiegao, Ruili, a Chinese border town in Southwestern Yunnan province linking Myanmar's Muse, which is also known as the Muse 105th Mile Border Trade Zone.

The Muse border trade zone covers an area of 150 hectares and stands the first largest of its kind in Myanmar and the transformation of its border trade with China into normal trade has been underway since early 2005.

Meanwhile, Ruili also remains a main border trade point of China with its border trade volume alone accounting for 70 percent of Yunnan province's border trade with neighboring countries.

China's Yunnan Province, which borders Myanmar, has more trade relations with the country than any other province of China and Myanmar-China border trade accounted for larger proportion of the two countries' bilateral trade. The trend of rising border trade was apparently up year after year especially the Myanmar-Yunnan bilateral trade.

It is anticipated that in the future development, transit trade to the third countries would be launched through the two countries' border points to effectively implement the normal trade.

Main items that Yunnan imports from Myanmar are agricultural products, aquatic products, minerals, rubber and its products, while main items that Yunnan exports to Myanmar are electric and machinery, textile, chemicals, steel, daily-used products, pharmaceuticals and so on.

Myanmar has a total of 13 main border trade points with its four neighbors, namely Muse, Lwejei, Laizar, Chinshwehaw and Kambaiti established with China since 1998, Tachilek, Kawthoung, Myawaddy and Myeik with Thailand since 1996, Tamu and Reedkhawdhar with India since 1995 and Maungtaw and Sittway with Bangladesh also since 1995.

According to Chinese official figures, in 2007, China-Myanmar bilateral trade hit 2.057 billion U.S. dollars, up 40.9 percent compared with 2006. Of the total, China's exports to Myanmar took 1.686 billion dollars, up 39.6 percent, while its import from Myanmar stood 371 million dollars, up 46.9 percent. China enjoyed a trade surplus of 1.315 billion dollars.

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Myanmar targets larger rubber production to boost export
Balita.org - September 29, 2008 9:54 pm
by pna

YANGON, Sept. 29 — Myanmar has targeted to cultivate 81,000 hectares more of rubber to boost export of the industrial crop in the fiscal year of 2008-09, which began in April, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Monday.

In 2007-08, the country grew 364,500 hectares of the crop, producing more than 80,000 tons. Of the output, 60,000 tons were exported.

Myanmar's southeastern Mon state has been engaged in rubber farming for many years. With the favorable climate and soil and high rainfall, the state stands as the largest rubber producing region in the country.

Apart from the Mon state, rubber grows well in Tanintharyi division, Kachin, Kayin and Shan states where planting of rubber is being transformed from a small scale to a commercial scale.

Meanwhile, Myanmar will also expand cultivation of over 40,000 hectares of rubber along the country's May Yu mountain range in western Rakhine state as part of its 10-year plan (2008-09 to 2017- 2018) of extending cultivation of the industrial crop, according to local report.

The country's rubber cultivation revived after 1988 due to permission granted to national entrepreneurs to grow and trade the crop freely.

Rubber, along with jute, cotton, edible crop, stands a main industrial crop in Myanmar.

Myanmar exports rubber mainly to China, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia through border trade.

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When garbage is 'safe' to eat
The Star Online - Monday, September 29, 2008
Posted by: tj9880
Reported in Malay Mail:

What garbage! This was what I felt upon learning that the Health Ministry had said vegetables scavenged from dumpsites at the Selayang wholesale market by Myanmar nationals, and then sold off, are safe for consumption.

A ministry official was quoted in a local daily yesterday as saying that test results showed “the greens were found to be free from germs, chemicals, microbes and pesticides”, and that they were also fresh enough to be sold.

“We have done all the preliminary tests on the vegetables and found that they were not tainted,” he said.

The report also stated that “the only laws that the Myanmar nationals were breaking were immigration laws and conducting business without licences”.

While I am in no position to question the authenticity of the laboratory tests conducted by the ministry, this question remains: are we ready to consume garbage as part of our daily diet?

After all, given the ministry’s revelations, we cannot expect protection in this matter.

Ignorance, one supposes, is bliss. If you don't know the source of these vegetables, you would not think twice about buying them as they look fine on the surface.

However, the fact remains that the vegetables come from garbage bins that are filled with all sorts of waste, such as fish remains, soil, old boxes,plastic bags and even bird droppings!

The scavengers literally hop into these garbage bins to look for the socalled fresh products.

When we buy vegetables, we would sort them out at home, soak them in salt or warm water, and then rinse them three to four times before cooking.

This is not always the case at restaurants and hawker centres as sand (and heaven knows what else) can sometimes be found in your kangkung goreng belacan or sawi goreng, no thanks to unhygienic practices during preparation.

The findings of the ministry would most certainly encourage the scavengers to continue with their activities and even encourage locals who want to earn easy money to venture into this trade.

I wonder too, what would happen then to the authorised vegetable traders at the Selayang wholesale market?

Who knows, the Myanmar traders too would most probably start putting up placards that say ‛murah, bersih dan berkhasiat’ (Dijamin oleh Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia) to promote their vegetables.

Perhaps Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai, who had initially expressed shock at the activities of the Myanmar scavengers, should be the first to testify if he is prepared to consume these vegetables.

Liow, a vegan, had said that when it comes to food quality, there should be no compromise.

If such vegetables are indeed safe, as stated by the ministry, are we prepared to make a lifestyle change, from today, and opt for garbage?

You decide.

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Myanmar pledges reform, free and fair general elections in 2010
TREND Information - 29.09.08 22:48

Myanmar put on a good face on Monday before the UN General Assembly, promising far-reaching democratic reforms and use of its rich natural resources to help other countries hit by high food and energy costs.

Myanmar's Foreign Minister U Nyan Win, whose government has been lambasted for shutting down political opposition and rejecting relief aid in May when hit by the devastating Cyclone Nargis, said peace and stability now prevail in the country.

He said the people of Myanmar "overwhelmingly" approved a new constitution that was put to a vote in May when Nargis devastated the southern delta, killing more than 140,000 people and leaving more than 2 million people homelessness and dependent on food assistance.

The constitution, which institutionalizes military rule, was approved in a referendum criticized by the international community for being pushed through shortly after the cyclone. The referendum was condemned by human rights groups for being neither free nor fair, but rather being held amid widespread repression, media censorship, bans on political gatherings, the lack of an independent referendum commission and courts to supervise the vote, and a pervasive climate of fear.

The constitution calls for general elections in 2010 to elect a new government, which the minister said was the fifth in the seven- step political roadmap to democracy.

"Necessary measures are being undertaken for the elections," U Nyan Win told the 192-nation assembly on its last day of debate on the world situation.

"All citizens, regardless of political affiliation, will have equal rights to form political parties and to conduct election campaigns," he said.

"The government will make every effort to ensure that the election will be free and fair," he said. "The international community can best assist Myanmar's democratisation process by respecting the will of its people expressed in the recent referendum."

The United Nations has been asking the military regime there to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National League of Democracy, who has been put under house arrest for more than 10 years.

There was no certainty Suu Kyi would be allowed to take part in the elections.

The minister also claimed Myanmar stands ready to export the country's natural resources - including oil, gas and hydro-electric power - to help address the lack of energy and food security in Southeast Asia.

Myanmar will expand the cultivation of rice, beans and pulse in order to help high food prices, he said.

"Myanmar has abundant land and natural resources to be able to make a meaningful contribution to energy and food security of our country and beyond," he said. He said Myanmar should be given access to markets, modern technology and investment.

He called on countries that have imposed sanctions, including the United States, to revoke them so Myanmar can "become the rice bowl of the region and a reliable source of energy."

After years of being known as a rice exporter, the country under its military regime has become dependent on international development assistance.

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Burma's Monks Jailed, Disrobed for Challenging Junta
By MARWAAN MACAN-MARKER / IPS WRITER
The Irrawaddy - Monday, September 22, 2008

BANGKOK—In military-ruled Burma the jails are filling up with Buddhist monks. Currently, 136 members of the clergy are behind bars, most of them in the notorious Insein Prison in Rangoon, the former capital.

That is the largest number of monks jailed at one time by the oppressive regime, say activists living in exile.

But that is not all. "The monks have been disrobed by the authorities, " says Aung Kyaw Oo, a member of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma (AAPP), a group of former political prisoners monitoring the activities within the vast network of jails in the country. "They are being treated like the other prisoners."

There are also reports of torture, Aung Kyaw Oo said during a telephone interview from Mae Sot, a town along the Thai-Burma border, where the AAPP is based. "Some of the monks have been beaten with sticks, punched, kicked after they had protested. Some have their ankles in iron shackles."

The "crime" they are alleged to have committed was leading tens of thousands of fellow monks in peaceful anti-government protests through the streets of Rangoon and other urban centres in September 2007. They are among the 1,004 political prisoners who have been arrested in Burma, or Myanmar, since the protests, the largest number detained in nearly two decades.

Till the protests, the first anniversary of which falls this week, there had been 1,150 political prisoners, some of them in jail on spurious charges since 1989, says the global rights lobby Amnesty International. "Now there are more than 2,100; the figure has nearly doubled in a single year."

The protests were triggered by the junta suddenly raising oil prices in August, adding another crushing blow to a people already suffering from increasing economic hardship.

For nearly a week in September last year, thousands of monks led people in a procession, chanting the metta sutta, a prayer for loving kindness. But on September 26, the junta struck back with ferocity, unleashing the security forces on the monks and the swelling crowds they led.

The United Nations estimated that at least 31 people were killed and 74 had gone missing. But opposition groups place the death toll in the hundreds, including monks.

The junta’s abuse of the clergy, despite the country’s deep Buddhist history, where over 85 percent of its population are followers, is not new. Buddhist monks were also victims of a brutal crackdown in 1990, when they came out in protest after the regime refused to recognize the results of a general election held that year. Since then, 212 monks have been jailed and disrobed.

A similar pattern is also playing out in the secret trials that have begun to try the jailed monks. The trials are being held in the special courts set up within the compound of the sprawling Insein Prison. So far, 46 monks have appeared at these trials, held away from the public eye, and include U Indika, the abbot of Rangoon’s Maggin Monastery, a hotspot during last September’s protest.

"U Indika and another monk appeared in Rangoon’s Insein Prison (on Friday, Sep. 19), according to relatives of the detained monks. They are facing numerous charges for alleged criminal offences related to their involvement in the protests," reports The Irrawaddy, a current affairs magazine published in northern Thailand by Burmese journalists living in exile.

The monks, some of whom have no access to lawyers, have been charged under Section 295 of the penal code for the "deliberate and malicious act to outrage religious feelings" and "insulting religious beliefs." Section 505 of the penal code faults the monks for issuing "statements that induce public mischief."

"What is going on is a great violation of the [rights of] monks in prison," says Aung Htoo, general secretary of the Burma Lawyers Council. "Monks are allowed to wear their robes and pursue their rituals in prison. But this is not happening, because they have been forced to disrobe and wear prison clothes, and they are not getting the food they need at the correct time."

"The authorities are violating the laws written in two manuals, the court manual and the jail manual," he said in an interview. "We need to put pressure on the regime to at least comply with the existing national laws of the country, although they may want to ignore international human rights law."

"These violations have happened before but little was done to challenge it.

 But we cannot ignore the present situation because [the number of] jailed monks were not as high as what we have now."

Burma’s military, which has held the country in an iron grip since a 1962 coup, is sowing more anger among the public for its abuse of the clergy. "Many people are angry and upset at the abuse of monks and want to do something. The regime will be cursed for this," said one Rangoon resident, a teacher, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The junta, sensing possible outrage to mark the crushing of the monks during last year’s protest, is responding with tighter security in Rangoon and other cities that have strong, politically active clergy. After all, Burmese monks, who number close to 400,000, remain the only institution in the country with the power to challenge the ruling armed forces, who have a similar number of troops.

"Security around important pagodas and monasteries in Rangoon and Mandalay has been strengthened. There are more troops checking the movement of people," says Win Min, a Burmese national security expert teaching at a university in northern Thailand. "The situation has become tense. The junta is worried that something may happen again, led by the monks."

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'People of Burma have not been forgotten'
Mon, 2008-09-29 04:39

New York, 29 September, (Asiantribune. com): Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, has reaffirmed the UK's support for the people of Burma on the anniversary of protests by Buddhist monks one year ago.David Miliband : "The people of Burma have not been forgotten by the international community."Speaking to reporters in New York after a meeting on Burma, the Foreign Secretary said:

"The people of Burma have not been forgotten by the international community.

"It's vital that, first, we don't fall for the electoral and constitutional facade that has been erected over the last year, and, secondly, the UN remains determined in its support for the UN Security Resolutions that have been passed."

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Students stage protest in Sittwe
Mizzima News - Than Htike Oo
Monday, 29 September 2008 21:44

Chiang Mai – The local residents said that the students from Sittwe Technical College staged demonstration by marching in procession on Monday morning in protest of non-availability of school ferry.

About 250 Sittwe Technical College of Sittwe situated at Yechanpyin Ward, Rakhine State came back from school by marching in procession.

This opposition movement arisen from the region filled with opposition spirit and having high anti-government attitude, scared the authority.

"The school ferry followed the protesting students and met them at Bandoola junction, about 8 miles from their college, but the students refused to board the ferry and came back to their homes on foot", one of the demonstrators said.

This is the exam period and the students staged demonstration in protest of school authority's harsh treatment to them in dealing with them, he said.

Sittwe Technical College responded by phone, “Nothing happened, everything is over and OK", when contacted by Mizzima.

About 150 monks launched silent protest of marching in procession in Sittwe on Saturday morning marking the first anniversary of Saffron Revolution.

This demonstration erupted amid the tight security imposed in all major cities in Burma to prevent the fresh monks-led demonstration again.

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Ryan Giggs and Aung San Suu Kyi tied over award
Mizzima News - Solomon
Monday, 29 September 2008 21:24

New Delhi - Manchester United star Ryan Giggs has been requested to share the Salford City freedom award with Burma's detained pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, after a row broke out over the councillor's decision on who to honour with the award.

The row erupted when City Councillors decided to honour the Manchester United star with the award, against Salford City Unison leader's nomination of Burma's political prisoner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ray Walker, a branch secretary of Salford City Unison told Mizzima that they have been campaigning hard to nominate Aung San Suu Kyi for the award, which in 2005 went to the African freedom fighter Nelson Mendela in 2005.

The Unison said, while Giggs is a deserving recipient, with his charity work in the UN children's fund, they have relentlessly worked for Aung San Suu Kyi to be honoured this year.

Despite the Unison's nomination and campaigns, the councillor's decided to name Giggs as the recipient of the award this year.

"We've been told by the leaders of the Council that they have taken a decision to award it to Ryan Giggs instead, and have tried to claim that they decided on giving him the award first," Matthew Egan, a branch Manager at the Salford City Unison told Mizzima in an email message.

In response to this decision, the Unison sent request letters to Giggs, asking him to share the award with Aung San Suu Kyi, as a consideration to highlight the deplorable situation in Burma.

The Salford City Unison said they have for the past two years been doing a lot of work to raise awareness about the appalling situation in Burma through film shows, music nights among others.

But the City Council of Salford , when contacted by Mizzima said the final decision on who to honour has not yet been taken. Giggs and Aung San Suu Kyi are both on the nomination list.

The city council press officer told Mizzima, "We have not decided yet."

In an email message through the press officer, Cllr John Merry, leader of the Salford of City Council, said "Freedom of the City of Salford is obviously a great honour, but as these are personal awards it is not appropriate to discuss individual nominations before all the formal processes have been exhausted."

The City Freedom award of Salford have been given since 1899 and at least 22 individuals including Nelson Mendela have been honoured with the award.

Ryan Giggs, one of the many Manchester United stars that gained popularity among the Burmese football fans, was nominated because he lives in Salford for a long time and has done a lot of admirable charity work for United Nation International Children and Education Fund (UNICEF).

The Burmese pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was nominated by the Salford City Unison for her relentless fight for freedom and democracy in Burma.

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Junta releases three NLD youth members
Mizzima News - Zarni
Monday, 29 September 2008 20:01

Chiang Mai - Burma's authorities have released three of the nine National League for Democracy (NLD) youth members who were arrested on Saturday while on their way to attend the party's 20th anniversary ceremony.

The three opposition youth – Htet Htet Oo Wai, Aung Myo Lwin, and Nyi Nyi Lwin – were released on the evening of the same day after being briefly interrogated, Htet Htet Oo Wai told Mizzima.

"We were taken to the northern district police station in Insein and were briefly interrogated. Then they sent us back home at about 2 p.m. (local time)," Htet Htet Oo wai said.

She said the police mainly questioned them on the bomb blast case at the Shwepyithar Township Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) office and asked them for their personal details before releasing them.

In early July a small bomb exploded at the Shwepyithar office of the USDA, a government-backed civilian organization, damaging furniture and windows. The junta blames student activists and dissident groups based along the Thai-Burmese border for the act.

But on the day following the blast an armed student armed, the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors, claimed responsibility for the blast, saying they had targeted the USDA office as a warning to its members to stop acting as the junta's puppet organization.

 

Meanwhile, the other six who were reportedly arrested remain unidentified and it is still unknown as to whether or not they have also been released, a NLD youth leader said.

"Shan Ma is not among those arrested. But since she and I have been together frequently, people thought she was also arrested when they heard that I was picked up. As for the rest, we are still trying to identify them," Htet Htet Oo Wai said.

Nyan Win, the NLD spokesperson, on Saturday said the three arrested were seen picked up by plainclothes policemen at the Oat Lan bus stand near the NLD head office on Shwegondine Street in Bahan Township.

"I started crying when they started beating me and dragging me into the vehicle. Then Htet Htet Oo Wai also began crying and asked them not to beat us, after which they stopped. When we arrived at the police station they separated us and questioned us on the bomb blast," Nyi Nyi Lwin told Mizzima by telephone.

Security was severely tight on Saturday near the NLD office as the party marked its 20th anniversary. The function was attended by recently released senior NLD party leaders Win Tin, Khin Maung Swe and Dr. Than Nyien.

Eyewitnesses said several government officials in plain clothes were seen at the opposition's main office as well, taking video footage and photo records of Saturday's proceedings.

"We missed the party's anniversary ceremony. I think we were deliberately taken away so as to miss the ceremony," Htet Htet Oo Wai surmised.

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Three more political prisoners released

Sep 29, 2008 (DVB)–Three more political prisoners have been released by the Burmese military regime, bringing the total number of political detainees freed as part of the recent government amnesty to nine.

Ko Aung Khin of Indaw and Ko Maung Kyaw of Mawlu in Sagaing division were released from Kalay prison on Friday, along with criminal inmates, according to National League for Democracy information committee member U Nyan Win.

Formed major U Myint Lwin of Bago was also released from Insein prison on 23 September, the same day that U Win Tin and others were released.

Along with U Win Tin, U Khin Maung Swe, Dr Than Nyein, Daw May Win Myint, U Aung Soe Myint and U Aye Thein who were released last week, this brings the total of political detainees freed to nine.

Former army captain U Win Htein was also freed on Tuesday last week but was re-arrested the following day and taken back to Katha prison.

The latest releases are believed to be part of the 9002 prisoners granted amnesty for good behaviour by the regime in preparation for the 2010 elections.

Pro-democracy groups have been keen to downplay the significance of the recent releases, stressing the high number of political prisoners who remain behind bars.

Reporting by Htet Aung Kyaw

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