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HEADLINES
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AP - Myanmar courts imprison more democracy activists
AP - Myanmar courts imprison ethnic minority activists
AP - Prison terms devastate Myanmar democracy movement
Reuters - Myanmar disperses dissidents throughout its gulag
Reuters - U.N. rights experts condemn Myanmar activist trials
AFP - Bangladesh, Myanmar fail to resolve gas row
AFP - Myanmar activists moved to separate prisons: relatives
Bloomberg - China, Myanmar to Build $2.5 Billion Pipelines, Nikkei Says
The Age - A new way is needed to help Burma's people
The Jakarta Post - Opinion: India shifts policy on Myanmar
Phnom Penh Post - Interpol seizes fake drugs in SE Asia
Xinhua - Myanmar emphasizes on development of hydropower
Xinhua - Chinese, Myanmar chambers of commerce agree to promote trade co-op
CSW - CSW urges UN Secretary General to prioritise human rights in Burma
Asian Tribune - Wanted for Opposing the Junta
DVB News - Funeral charity forced to close down offices
DVB News - Commentary: Burma’s women come out of the shadows

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Myanmar courts imprison more democracy activists
Mon Nov 17, 5:31 pm ET

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Courts in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced at least seven democracy activists to prison Monday, continuing a crackdown that saw about 70 people jailed last week.

Four student activists, two members of the opposition National League for Democracy party and a former party member who has become a prominent independent activist received jail terms of 6 1/2 to 12 1/2 years at closed-door trials inside Yangon's Insein Prison, league spokesman Nyan Win said.

Authorities last week sentenced about 70 opposition activists, writers, musicians and Buddhist monks to jail terms ranging from 2 1/2 years to 65 years, with many of them transferred to prisons in remote areas Sunday and Monday.

The courts' actions seemed designed to keep them jailed long past elections scheduled for 2010, to be held under a new constitution that critics claim is designed to perpetuate the military's dominant role in politics.

The U.S. government criticized the military junta for arresting peaceful activists and putting them on trial. "The United States strongly condemns the regime's persistent repression of its people for exercising basic freedoms," White House press secretary Dan Perino said.

Many of those sentenced were arrested following mass democracy protests that were crushed by the ruling junta in September 2007. According to U.N. estimates, at least 31 people were killed and thousands were detained. Many fled the country or went underground.

Nyan Win said Htin Kyaw, a former member of the party, was given a 12 1/2-year sentence.

Htin Kyaw, 45, who was detained repeatedly in 2007 for organizing demonstrations criticizing the government's economic policies, has been in custody since August last year, when he and another activist were about to stage a protest at a busy intersection in downtown Yangon.

Other activists sentenced Monday included economics student Sithu Maung and three members of the illegal All Burma Federation of Student Union.

Amnesty International and other human rights groups say the junta holds more than 2,100 political prisoners, up sharply from nearly 1,200 in June 2007, before the democracy demonstrations.

The prisoners include Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, head of the National League for Democracy, who has spent more than 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest.

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Myanmar courts imprison ethnic minority activists
AP - 1 hour 47 minutes ago

YANGON, Myanmar - A court in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced three ethnic minority activists and a well-known Buddhist monk to prison Tuesday, continuing a crackdown that began last week with pro-democracy activists.

Meanwhile, five United Nations experts issued a statement in Geneva strongly condemning the "severe convictions and the unfair trials of prisoners of conscience in Myanmar."
At least 70 activists were sentenced to prison terms last week, and another seven on Monday.

Chin leader Chin Sian Thang said a court inside Yangon's Insein Prison on Tuesday sentenced his son, Kam Lat Khaot to 33 years in prison and his nephew, Kai Kham Kwal, to eight years.

Chin Sian Thang said a member of the Arakan minority was also given 33 years. The Arakan, like the Chin, are clustered in western Myanmar.

Ashin Gambira, one of the most prominent monks leading pro-democracy protests in September 2007, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and still faces further charges, he said.

"The judicial system in Myanmar has collapsed and the courts are passing down sentences in contravention of the law. These secret trials are blatant violations of human rights," Chin Sian Thang said.

Chin Sian Thang is a prominent politician who won a parliamentary seat in elections in 1990, the results of which were never recognized by the ruling junta. He said he received information about the sentencing while waiting outside the prison.

The Chin leader said he was detained for about a month during last year's pro-democracy demonstrations, while his son and nephew were arrested in October. The junta's repression of the protests resulted in at least 31 people being killed and thousands detained, according to U.N. estimates.

The statement from the U.N. experts said they "strongly urge the Myanmar authorities to cease harassing and arresting individuals for peacefully exercising their internationally recognized human rights."

"They further demand that all detainees be retried in open hearings respecting fair trial standards and the immediate release of their defense counsels," it said. Three defense lawyers have been sentenced to several months imprisonment for contempt of court, while several others have been barred from representing their clients.

The U.N. experts are Tomas Ojea Quintana, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar; Leandro Despouy, rapporteur for the independence of judges and lawyers; Frank La Rue, rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression; Margaret Sekaggya, rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and Asma Jahangir, rapporteur for freedom of religion or belief.

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Prison terms devastate Myanmar democracy movement
By MICK ELMORE, Associated Press Writer
Sun Nov 16, 3:21 pm ET

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) – In a devastating week for Myanmar's democracy movement, dozens of its members have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, as the military-ruled government locks away writers and Buddhist monks — as well as musicians, a poet and at least one journalist.

By the weekend, more than 80 had received sentences of up to 65 years — a move that seemed designed to keep them jailed long past upcoming elections, activists and analysts said Sunday.

"They are clearing the decks of anyone who is likely to challenge their authority ahead of the election" in 2010, Larry Jagan, a Bangkok-based newspaper columnist and Myanmar analyst, said of the generals who rule the country.

Many of those sentenced were arrested following mass pro-democracy protests that were crushed by the ruling junta in September 2007. According to U.N. estimates, at least 31 people were killed and thousands were detained. Many fled the country or went underground.

Others sentenced this week were arrested in 2007 for protesting a massive fuel-price hike — demonstrations that preceded the protests in September. The blogger received more than 20 years in prison for Internet activities, and a poet was sentenced to two years for allegedly concealing the text of an anti-government slogan in one of his works.

The journalist was arrested while covering a demonstration staged by victims of this year's devastating cyclone.

News of the sentences came mostly through activists and analysts. The military junta that has ruled Myanmar since 1962 did not comment on the sentences, most of which were handed down in closed-door proceedings. It was not known why the prisoners were sentenced now, although many analysts concluded the move was made to eliminate opposition ahead of the election that the junta has described as part of its "roadmap to democracy." Opposition groups and other critics dismiss it as a sham meant to perpetuate military rule.

"Now they won't be able to participate in the election," said Soe Aung, spokesman for the National Council for the Union of Burma, a Thailand-based umbrella organization for exile groups. "The generals are trying to put the final nail in the coffin to keep themselves in power forever."

Twenty-three of those sentenced were members of the 88 Generation Students group, veterans of a brutally suppressed 1988 democratic uprising, who received prison terms of 65 years each, and a labor activist, Su Su Nway, was sentenced to 12 1/2 years. At least 10 people allied with the pro-democracy National League for Democracy party headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi received jail terms of eight to 24 years.

"They fear the 88 Generation Students. They were at the forefront of the protest last year, and they are not passive," Jagan said.

Early Sunday, nine of the more prominent members of the 88 Generation Students group were taken from infamous Insein Prison in a Yangon suburb to prisons in more remote parts of the country, according to Aung Din, co-founder of the Washington-based U.S. Campaign for Burma, which lobbies for political change in Myanmar, also called Burma.

"The transfer of political prisoners to far-flung districts is an additional punishment to the activists and such a move will cause extreme social and financial burden to the families," said Nyan Win, spokesman for the National League for Democracy party.

 

The European Union said last week that the election will be seen as illegitimate unless the junta frees all political prisoners.

Amnesty International and other human rights groups say the junta holds more than 2,100 political prisoners, up sharply from nearly 1,200 in June 2007, before the pro-democracy demonstrations.

The prisoners include opposition leader Suu Kyi, who has spent more than 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest.

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Myanmar disperses dissidents throughout its gulag
Mon Nov 17, 6:53 pm ET

YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar's junta has sent dozens of political prisoners recently sentenced to up to 65 years in jail to far-flung corners of its gulag, making it hard for family members to deliver food and medicine, relatives said on Monday.

Without the informal delivery of supplies such as malaria and vitamin pills, detainees face a far greater risk of dying behind bars, say former political prisoners who have fled to Thailand.

"They were taken in secret from Insein Central Prison through the back gate early on Sunday morning," Ko Aung, the younger brother of former student activist Ko Ko Gyi, said. "We waited at the front gate hoping to see them but didn't get the chance."

The U.S. government denounced Myanmar's military rulers for what it called "arbitrary sentencing" of dissidents and "persistent repression of its people."

"The international community and the United Nations Security Council must not remain silent as the regime demonstrates yet again its contempt for universal freedoms and its disdain for the international community's calls to release all political prisoners," the White House said.

Ko Ko Gyi and Min Ko Naing, the former Burma's best known political prisoner after detained opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, have been dispatched to Kentung in northeast Myanmar, 1,200 km (750 miles), from Yangon.

Other activists from the "88 Generation Students" arrested last August after several small fuel price protests were sent to Kawthoung in Myanmar's southern tip, and others to Putao, in the Himalayan foothills of the far north.

Many of the prisoners, some of whom spent more than a decade in jail after leading a brutally crushed uprising in 1988, are already thought to be in poor health.

"It's too bad," said Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, more than a dozen of whose members are among the 60-odd dissidents sentenced to jail in the last two weeks.

"It must have been done with intent to punish their families too. It will be very difficult for people to visit them," he said.

The sentences range from 65 years for prominent dissidents to 20 years for a blogger and four months for defense lawyers who took up the plight of the dissidents.

The junta's official media have made no mention of the sentences, which rights groups say are a campaign to eradicate all political opposition in the run-up to a 2010 election, the final stages of a much-derided "roadmap to democracy."

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U.N. rights experts condemn Myanmar activist trials
18 Nov 2008 11:13:25 GMT

GENEVA, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Democracy activists in Myanmar jailed for long terms after unfair trials should be retried in open hearings, United Nations investigators urged the ruling junta on Tuesday.

A dozen detainees were sentenced last week to 65 years each in prison for involvement in last year's mass protests against Myanmar's military rule, the five human rights experts said in a joint statement condemning the convictions.

They also demanded the release of three defence lawyers, whom they said were sentenced to prison for contempt of court after raising clients' complaints about the hearings held inside prisons.

Another 20 people, including five monks, were recently sentenced to up to 24 years prison.

"The closed-door hearings are being held inside prisons by courts which lack independence and impartiality, " the U.N. investigators said.

Myanmar authorities -- whom activists say have intensified a campaign to crush dissent before a 2010 election -- must "cease harassing and arresting individuals for peacefully exercising their internationally recognised human rights", they said.

The investigators, who report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, include Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.

The Argentinean lawyer made his first trip to Yangon last August, meeting prominent political prisoners including representatives of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy.

The four other rapporteurs are Leandro Despouy, on the independence of judges and lawyers; Frank La Rue, on freedom of opinion and expression; Margaret Sekaggya, on human rights defenders; and Asma Jahangir on freedom of religion or belief.

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Bangladesh, Myanmar fail to resolve gas row
Mon Nov 17, 7:56 am ET

DHAKA (AFP) – Bangladesh and Myanmar will hold more talks over a disputed stretch of water in the Bay of Bengal after a two-day meeting failed to resolve the row, Bangladesh's foreign minister said Monday.

Foreign Minister Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told AFP he had met with the officials involved in the Dhaka talks earlier Monday and did not expect a resolution when they ended later in the evening.

"We have agreed that the differences can be resolved through peaceful discussions. The next discussions will be in Myanmar but no date has been set."

A tense standoff between the neighbouring countries, which normally enjoy friendly relations, flared earlier this month when Myanmar escorted a South Korean company exploring in the mineral-rich waters.

Bangladesh immediately deployed four ships and put its navy and armed forces on high alert.

"We have expressed that until such a time as a clear demarcation is resolved, there should be no exploration, " said Chowdhury.

Bangladesh faces an acute energy shortage and has invited bids from foreign companies to explore gas reserves in its part of the Bay of Bengal.

Myanmar, which has discovered huge reserves of natural gas in the bay, insists its exploration work is legal.

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Myanmar activists moved to separate prisons: relatives
Sun Nov 16, 6:54 pm ET

YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar authorities have split up pro-democracy activists who were given long jail terms this week and transferred them to different prisons around the country, relatives said Sunday.

They moved eight members of an opposition group that emerged from a failed student-led uprising in 1988, who were all jailed for 65 years each on Tuesday for taking part in massive protests against the military junta in 2007.

The sister of prominent activist Htay Kywe said she met her brother on Saturday at notorious Insein prison in Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city -- but when she returned on Sunday he had been shifted.

"I was told that my brother was transferred to Butheetaung prison in Rakhine State this morning at 3:00 am. I was not able to see him when I went to Insein prison today," his younger sister Khin Mi Mi Kywe told AFP, also confirming the transfer of the other detainees.

The jail is at least 700 miles (1,129 kilometres) from Yangon.

"He is very thin and not in good health. I did not think they could be transferred very quickly like this, I am really sorry for this," she wept.

She added: "If we can appeal for him, I will do. He said they have just tried for peace and national reconciliation. "

Other activists were taken to northern Kachin state and Sagaing division and to southern Taninthayi division, which are between 800 and 1,600 kilometres away from Yangon, as well as prisons in the east.

Courts sentenced a total of 23 student activists to 65 years on Tuesday.

A spokesman for the party of detained Nobel peace laureate and opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi also confirmed the transfers of the eight.

"It's like increasing the sentencing. Not only family members but also the person himself or herself is in difficulty," Nyan Win, spokesman for the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, told AFP.

He said that party lawyers Aung Thein and Khin Maung Shein had also been transferred.

Most of the student activists were arrested in August last year after leading protests against a government fuel hike.

Subsequent protests led by Buddhist monks in September involved tens of thousands of people but were crushed by the military. At least 31 people were killed, according to the United Nations.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962.

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China, Myanmar to Build $2.5 Billion Pipelines, Nikkei Says
By Shigeru Sato

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- China and Myanmar have agreed to build a $2.5 billion oil-and-gas pipeline project connecting a port on the Bay of Bengal and the southern Chinese city of Kunming, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

China National Petroleum Corp. will hold a 50.9 percent stake and manage the project and Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise will own the rest, the newspaper said, citing a copy of the contract between the two governments obtained by the Nikkei.

The partners will build a $1.5 billion oil pipeline and $1.04 billion gas line, the Nikkei said. Oil and gas storage tanks will also be built near the Myanmar port of Kyaukpyu, the report said.

China will import crude oil from the Middle East and natural gas from Myanmar's offshore fields via the pipelines, the newspaper said. The project will provide China with an alternative to importing fuel through the Straits of Malacca and cut transportation times by seven days, Nikkei said.

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A new way is needed to help Burma's people
The Age - Andrew Selth
November 18, 2008
Humanitarian aid will at least improve the daily lives of the Burmese.

THE SENTENCING of more than 30 Burmese dissidents to up to 65 years in prison for their part in last year's anti-Government demonstrations sends a strong message to pro-democracy campaigners inside Burma and their supporters abroad. And the message is simple: no amount of internal agitation or external pressure is going to deter the country's armed forces from perpetuating their rule through the creation of a military-dominated parliament in 2010.

Since 1988, when Burma's armed forces crushed a pro-democracy uprising and took back direct political power, different strategies have been tried to persuade them to return to the barracks.

The US and EU countries have taken the hardest line, condemning the regime and imposing tough economic sanctions.

Others, like the ASEAN members, have pursued "constructive engagement" in the hope that quiet diplomacy and trade would encourage political and economic reforms.

The UN has tried to act as an honest broker, by promoting reconciliation between the regime and the opposition movement, led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Given the dearth of reliable information about Burma, it is hard to say exactly what impact these strategies have had. It is self-evident, however, that they have all failed to achieve their stated aims.

The military regime has not collapsed, nor handed over power to a civilian administration. In fact, it is probably stronger now than at any time since 1988.

Nor is there any sign that the generals are prepared to bow to international opinion and free Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

Indeed, the greater the pressure exerted against the regime, the more determined it has become to resist what it calls interference in Burma's internal affairs.

As long as the Burmese armed forces remain united and loyal, it is difficult to see how the regime can be removed from power. There have been reports of dissension in the ranks and some high-profile dismissals, but so far military discipline has held firm.

The opposition movement is weak and divided, and the few remaining insurgent groups pose no military threat. Despite the fears of the generals, and the hopes of their opponents, no country is going to invade Burma to restore democracy. And the regime has enough powerful friends to survive economic sanctions and Security Council resolutions.

So what can be done? The international community cannot agree on a strategy.

The UN seems powerless. Even Burma's friends, like China, have limited influence with the generals, who jealously guard the country's independence.

The harsh reality is that there are few options against a regime that refuses to observe customary norms of behaviour, puts its survival before the welfare of its people and is protected by its allies.

Symbolism is important in international politics, but we also have to be pragmatic. There needs to be a new approach.

Countries such as Australia must keep faith with the Burmese people, who have clearly demonstrated their desire for a democratic government. It is important that Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners are released. And the regime must not be allowed to think it has escaped scrutiny. At the same time, a way needs to be found to help those in dire need. Thanks to decades of inept military rule, Burma suffers from major problems in areas such as health, education and social welfare.

This is where the international community can do something concrete to assist the Burmese people.

The regime has made the delivery of humanitarian aid very difficult. It imposes onerous conditions on providers, restricts access to those in greatest need (including the ethnic communities) and siphons off foreign aid for its own benefit. Formal contacts with the regime can be seen as granting it a legitimacy it does not deserve.

These may be the costs, however, that the international community has to pay to help alleviate the suffering of the Burmese people. It is a price most of them would count as cheap, if it meant an improvement in their basic living conditions.

Since cyclone Nargis hit Burma in May, more than 45 non-government organisations have been working in the country, providing aid at the grass-roots level. They are being helped by numerous local groups. Also, the tens of thousands of Burmese refugees in neighbouring countries are crying out for more assistance.

Instead of looking for new ways to punish an entrenched and nationalistic regime, a more constructive approach might be to provide increased humanitarian aid to those communities, both inside and outside Burma, which desperately need help.

The signs are that change will come slowly to Burma. Also, it will have to come from within the country and involve the armed forces, something that Aung San Suu Kyi herself recognises. It may take a new generation of military officers more tolerant of political diversity, or even a Gorbachev-like figure prepared to overturn the system that created him.

That is small comfort to the Burmese people, who have already been waiting 46 years for another democratic government. But until that day dawns we can at least make a greater effort to improve the quality of their daily lives.

Dr Andrew Selth is a research fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University.

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Opinion: India shifts policy on Myanmar
The Jakarta Post - November 19, 2008
Nehginao Kipgen, Rockville, Maryland

The international community keeps eyeing the political turmoil in the military ruled Myanmar. Understandably, neighbors better understand. Why India seemingly has a lukewarm interest in the Myanmarese democratic movement?

It was the 1988 uprising which brought India significantly into the Myanmar politics. This was the time when Myanmarese people contemplated on bringing down the military regime.

The failed uprising forced hundreds of refugees crossed international border into India. From 1988 to 1992, India's policy vacillated between support for democracy movement and diplomatic isolation.

Prime Minister Narasimha Rao's (1991-1996) "Look East" policy basically changed India's foreign policy toward Myanmar. The dramatic policy shift, however, happened during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's (1998-2004) administration.

There were two major factors responsible for India's policy shift: First, to counterweight the strategic influence of the People's Republic of China, and secondly to deal with insurgency problems in the Northeast India. Economic interest also contributed to it.

Of the two, countering China's regional influence remains to be the number one concern for India. Having experienced a bitter war with China in 1962, India feels insecure and threatened when China's influence is broadened.

China-Myanmar bilateral trade hit US$2.057 billion in 2007, up 40.9 percent compared with 2006. China's exports to Myanmar took $1.686 billion, up 39.6 percent, while its import from Myanmar stood $371 million, up 46.9 percent. China enjoyed a trade surplus of $1.315 billion.

Similarly, India's exports to Myanmar in 2007-2008 amounted to about $185 million, while its imports from Myanmar were valued at around $810 million. In addition to the Tamu-Kalay-Kalewa highway upgradation, India has made investments in projects such as energy and gas exploration. Most recent India's assistance was the $200 million project in IT program.

All these moves and counter moves are the direct result of scrambling for power by the two Asian powers. India, at least for now, sees engaging with the military regime an effective means to narrowing the influence of China.

Another important factor for India's foreign policy shift was due to the rise of insurgency problems in the restive Northeast India. About 20,000 insurgents from different groups of Northeast India have bases in Myanmar, mostly in the Northwestern part of the country in Sagaing Division.

Talks for coordination between India and Myanmar security forces in counter-insurgency operations have taken momentum in recent years. During his visit to New Delhi in 2004, Gen. Than Shwe assured the Indian government that he would not allow his country to be used by anti-India elements.

Sometimes, bilateral talks and agreements have not really been put into practice.

Although the Myanmarese military, in a number of occasions, has asked the Indian government to silent the Myanmarese dissidents, New Delhi so far seems to pay a wishy-washy response. Similarly, Nay Pyi Taw appears to be not fully engaged in dismantling the bases of Indian insurgents operating from Myanmar.

India apparently is not totally ignoring her support for the Myanmarese democratic movement. One evidence is the presence of more than 50,000 Myanmarese refugees (no official figure available) taking refuge in India, including some leading dissidents.

India rather acts in tandem with her national interest and security in the face of China's influence in the region. By engaging with the military regime, India feels better served. To many, this looks if India has adopted a double-standard policy toward Myanmar.

In the event of Myanmar becoming a democratic country, India is expected to be one of the first to throw her support. Till then, India will continue to compete with China, while the western world is likely to continue with traditional sanctions.

The writer is the General Secretary of U.S.-based Kuki International Forum (www.kukiforum. com) and a researcher on the rise of political conflicts in modern Myanmar (1947-2004).

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Interpol seizes fake drugs in SE Asia
Phnom Penh Post - Written by Khoun Leakhana
Tuesday, 18 November 2008

AN Interpol investigation code-named "Operation Storm" has resulted in the seizure of more than US$6.65 million in counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs, part of a five-month sweep across Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the global police agency announced Monday.

Global sales of fake drugs are predicted to reach $75 billion by 2010, an increase of more than 90 percent since 2005, the World Health Organisation said.

According to a 2007 estimate by the World Health Organisation,  200,000 people die in Southeast Asia each year from fake medicines, adding that counterfeit drugs account for 30 percent of the pharmaceutical market in developing nations, compared to one percent in developed nations.

About 90 fake drugs are commonly found in Cambodia, including medicines for treating malaria, tuberculosis and HIV, acccording to the government.

Interior Minister Sar Kheng said Asian nations will have to work together to combat the problem.

"We are taking measures to crack down on the illegal trafficking of fake medicines... . Local authorities and neighbouring countries [are] investigating the trafficking of fake medicines and related crimes by increasing the exchange of information on production and distribution lines and the identity of criminals and their distribution devices," he said.

The last study into fake drugs undertaken by the government was in 2001, when it was discovered counterfeits accounted for 13 percent of the pharmaceutical market. In the same study, 1,300 pharmacies and 1,000 health clinics were found to be operating illegally.

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Myanmar emphasizes on development of hydropower

YANGON, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has made emphasis on development of hydroelectric power, saying that 15 more hydropower projects are being planned in addition to the six completed and 22ongoing projects since the country laid down a series of state-level special projects which also include hydropower ones for the development of the sector.

The 15 hydropower projects will be implemented by the Ministry of Electric Power-1 on approval by the government’s Special Projects Implementation Committee, headed by Senior-General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council.

The 15 hydropower projects, with an installed capacity ranging from 48 megawatts (MW) to 2,800 MW, lie in seven divisions and states.

Of the projects, seven are located in the northernmost Kachin state, six of which range over 1,200 MW, the report said, adding that the rest of the projects are scattered in Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway and Bago divisions, and Rakhine and northern Shan states.

The 15 projects on completion in the future will add 13,847 mw to the country’s installed capacity as predicted.

The government claimed that since the committee was established, six hydropower plant projects with a total of 442 MW have been finished which are known as Zawgyi-2, Zaungtu, Thaphanseik, Monechaung, Paunglaung and Yenwe.

“A large number of special projects have been completed and the people have witnessed and enjoyed the benefits of the projects,” the Myanmar top leader said at the committee’s coordination meeting in the last few days, stressing the need to speedily implement the ongoing state-designated special projects for the benefit of the people.

The 22 ongoing hydropower projects will also add a total 16,599 MW more to the country’s electric power installed capacity on completion, according to estimation.

Meanwhile, Myanmar claimed in its monthly statistical report that the country’s electric power installed capacity reached total of over 1,690 MW as of April 2008 and the power generated stood 6.603 billion kwh in 2007-08, up from 6.172 billion kwh in 2006-07.

In recent years, companies from Thailand, China, South Korea, Bangladesh and India were engaged in Myanmar’s hydropower projects in response to the country’s invitation of foreign investment in the sector.

Major hydropower projects that Thailand is involved go to the 7,110 MW Tar-hsan’s on Myanmar’s Thanlwin River in eastern Shan state’s Tachilek which started in April 2007 by Myanmar and the MDX Group Co Ltd of Thailand under a 6-billion-US- dollar contract reached in April 2006.

The hydropower plant will produce 35.446 billion kwh a year, according to the contract.

The 6-billion-dollar Thai investment in the Tar-hsan hydro power project had sharply raised Myanmar’s contracted foreign investment to 14.736 billion dollars as of the end of 2007, a record high since late 1988.

Another Thai-engaged hydropower project is the 600 MW Hutgyi’s on Myanmar’s Thanlwin River being implemented by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) under an agreement signed in December 2005. It can produce 3.82 billion kilowatt hours (kwh) yearly.

The project constitutes part of those on the Thanlwin and Tanintharyi Rivers agreed earlier between the two countries in June 2005.

Power generated from these projects is expected to be partly exported to Thailand.

Besides, Myanmar has signed five contracts respectively with some Chinese companies since 2004 on the implementation of the country’s 790 MW Yeywa hydropower project on the Myitnge River which can generate 3.55 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually upon completion.

Other China-involved hydropower projects went to Upper Paunglaung by the Yunnan Machinery and Equipment Import and ExportCo Ltd (YMEC) and the Upper Thanlwin by the Farsighted Investment Group Co Ltd and Gold Water Resources Ltd.

Moreover, the China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) was also reportedly to build seven hydropower projects for Myanmar on the confluence of Ayeyawaddy river and Maykha and Malikha rivers in Kachin state with a combined capacity of 13,360 mw.

In September this year, India’s National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd took up two projects, namely the 1,200 MW Htamanthi and the 600 MW Shwesayay, while in October, the Italian-Thai Development Public Co. Ltd and the Windfall Energy Services Ltd of British Virgin Island launched a hydropower project of 600 MW in Myanmar’s southern Tanintharyi division.

Besides, Myanmar and Bangladesh are enhancing cooperation in seeking to build hydropower plants in Myanmar for export of electricity to Bangladesh. The exploration has identified potential sites for such move in some areas in two states in western and northwestern parts of the country.

According to the government’s National Investment Commission, the electric power sector dominated foreign investment in Myanmar with 6.311 billion U.S. dollars as of the end of 2007.

With rich water resources, Myanmar possesses great potential for the development of its hydropower sector to resolve its power shortage issue.

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Chinese, Myanmar chambers of commerce agree to promote trade co-op
www.chinaview. cn  2008-11-18 19:14:20

YANGON, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC) Tianjin Chamber of Commerce and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) reached a memorandum of understanding here Tuesday on promotion of trade cooperation between the two parties.

The MoU was signed by Chairman of CCOIC Zhao Xueming and UMFCCI Chairman U Win Myint on behalf of respective parties.

Attending the signing ceremony were visiting Zhang Gaoli, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and party chief of China's Tianjin municipality, Myanmar Minister of Commerce Brigadier-General Tin Naing Thein andChinese Ambassador Guan Mu.

Tin Naing Thein said the MoU would promote the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries as well as between the two chambers.

He also noted that China is Myanmar's second largest trade partner and the largest border trade partner. China also stands the fourth largest foreign investor of Myanmar.

Disclosing that the UMFCCI has initiated business agreements with eight main Chinese counterparts, Tin Niang Thein extended welcome to Chinese tourists to visit Myanmar and businessmen to make more investment in the country.

According to Tin Naing Thein, Myanmar-China bilateral trade hit2.37 billion U.S. dollars in the fiscal year of 2007-08 which ended in March.

Zhang arrived here on Tuesday morning on a three-day friendly visit to Myanmar at the invitation of the State Peace and Development Council.

Prior to the signing, Yangon Mayor Brigadier-General Aung TheinLin met and hosted Zhang and his entourage.

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CSW urges UN Secretary General to prioritise human rights in Burma
Posted: Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 8:09 (GMT)
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Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is calling on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to press ahead with his planned visit to Burma next month, in light of the recent prison sentences passed on to pro-democracy activists and the continued military offensive by the Burma Army against civilians in Karen State.
CSW urging the Secretary-General to make the release of political prisoners in Burma a priority during his visit.

Over 80 democracy campaigners, including a poet, a blogger and several Buddhist monks, have been jailed within the last week. At least 23 dissidents were sentenced to 65 years in prison for their involvement in the peaceful demonstrations in Burma in September last year. The activists include members of the 88 Generation Students Group, including Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi. They face 21 charges, and their trials continue, with the possibility of their prison sentences increasing to as much as 159 years in some cases. Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi have already spent many years in prison for their involvement in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising.

Some of those sentenced have been moved to prisons in remote parts of Burma, hundreds of miles from Rangoon, making it impossible for their families to visit them. Their increased isolation is likely to mean harsher prison conditions, including torture, and denial of medical treatment. There are serious concerns about the implications for their health.

Meanwhile, the Burma Army continues to attack villagers in Karen State. On 4 November one villager was killed and over 1,971 people were displaced following attacks in Mon Township. According to the Free Burma Rangers, at least 12 villages have been looted, destroyed and abandoned, rice fields and food stores destroyed, civilians shot at and villagers taken for forced labour.

CSW’s Chief Executive, Mervyn Thomas, said: “In light of the desperate deterioration in human rights in Burma, it is essential that the Secretary-General does not take the lack of progress as a reason to cancel his visit. On the contrary, the visits of UN envoys over many years have been shown to have failed and now it is time for the Secretary-General himself, with the full weight of his office, to visit Burma and seek to facilitate change."

CSW is calling on the UN Security Council to set out some "specific benchmarks for progress" which the regime must meet according to set deadlines. These include the immediate release of political prisoners, followed by an end to the military offensives against civilians in eastern Burma.

"The regime’s crimes against humanity have gone unchallenged for too long," said Thomas. "We believe the international community should seriously consider invoking the principle of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ with regard to Burma.”

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Wanted for Opposing the Junta
Asian Tribune - Tue, 2008-11-18 02:30
By Antonio Graceffo

Burma’s ruling junta, the SPDC, uses disinformation and modern technology to issues a wanted order against Antonio Graceffo.

A friend who engages in cross-border aid activities in the genocide afflicted war-zone of Burma sent me this link, which, in Burmese, is the equivalent of an old wild-west wanted, posted, with my photo on it.

http://www.myanmarnargis.org/content/view/40/5/

If you click over to the poster, the Burmese characters may not come up on your computer, unless you have installed the appropriate software. At a glance, the link appears to be a website of the KNU/KNLA, the ethnic Karen resistance group, featured in the film, “Rambo IV.” The site implies that I am wanted by the rebels, which makes no sense, since the only crime I have committed, if in fact it is a crime, is supporting the rebels.

I sent the link to one of the anti-junta groups I am in communication with, and they verified that it was a proxy site, a fake site, created by the Burmese SPDC junta, to pass on disinformation and create disunity and infighting within the resistance groups. Fortunately, most people working on the Burma issue don’t trust anything written in Burmese. Each of the tribes has its own language and alphabet. Most of them are smart enough to use English on their websites to garner international support. The junta, it appears, is not that smart. But, since General Ne Win forcibly closed all of Burma’s universities, to prevent smart people from meeting and exchanging political ideas, it is no wonder that they are slipping intellectually.

Of those few SPDC officials who speak English and know how to use a computer, many studied abroad. Some studied on developmental scholarships, paid by foreign governments and aid groups, to help raise the general education in what was once the richest and best educated country in southeast Asia. The application procedures, within Burma, are so stilted that often only junta supporters can apply. The education freely given to them, to help the people, becomes another tool of repression against the uneducated and underfed populace.

Here is the translation of the wanted poster. It was prepared by an exiled Burmese intellectual, who had to flee Burma and seek asylum in another country. He hates the junta with a passion and supports the resistance groups.

Translators note: I got your reply, Antonio, that the KNU has cleared your name and so we cannot sell you by the kilo to them.

Translation:
[[article begins; double parentheses [[ ]] are the translators; single parentheses ( ) are the original author's]]
Wanted [[photo of Graceffo]]
Antonia Grace-fawt (former Marine) Italy Citizen
[[no author's name seen]]

The Former Marine Who Would Combine Military Forces with Terrorists.
1-11-2008

To the armed terrorists of KNU, SSA, KNPP who are based in Thailand's Chiangmai City and are present along the Thai-Myanmar border ----- [[there is an]] American & 2 other foreigners who are teaching them Close Combat and how to set up mines and traps.
It is learned that a former US Marine Italian race, American citizen, Antonio Grace-fawt and two other foreigners, a total of 3, had finished discussions with KNU officials about entering and moving around the KNU 2nd Brigade region (Toungoo District).
The aforementioned Antonio group on (08 October 18) came via Chiangmai to Mae Sot. At Mae Sot, they met the new General Secretary Naw See Ra Pho Sein [[I'm just transcribing them phonetically; might not be correct since it is a 2nd or 3rd transliteration] ]
KNU Tactical Commander Saw Beelah Sein, 2nd Brigade Commander Ah See and discussed about procedures on how to get help from foreign groups and how to transform the defensive guerilla warfare into offensive guerilla warfare within the KNU areas. It is learned that they discussed plans drawn by the KNU, SSA, KNPP Joint Military Movement Committee and how to put in practice the military tactical procedures.
[[will make my own paragraph here. original writer is having verbal diarrhea and does not appear to know how to make paragraphs]]

KNU 5th Brigade Baw Kyaw Hair [[again, this is just a transliteration and probably has original errors -- SPDC writers are notorious for mispronouncing non-Burmese names... take, e.g., your name]] said that in the areas under his responsibility, the 5th Brigade area, (Papun District), the supply routes for weapons and food for 2nd Brigade had been blocked. He also refused to take responsibility for the security and safe passage of Antonio Grace-fawt's group if they travel from 5th Brigade area to 2nd Brigade area.
5th Brigade Commander Baw Kyaw Hair, on his part, was dissatisfied with how the present congress has appointed a central group in which General Tamlabaw's sons and daughters have important posts in the KNU. [[Baw Kyaw Hair's ]] group favors having a ceasefire with the present military government and exchange arms for peace [[this is an SPDC phrase for complete surrendering of one's forces and one's weapons to SPDC -- very indicative of an SPDC author ]]

[[my paragraphing] ] Another brigade that is similar in spirit to Baw Kyaw Hair is 6th Brigade. It is heard that 6th Brigade Commander Hsarmi is dissatisfied with Tamlabaw's circle of family and friends. Therefore Antonio Grace-fawt's group is unable to travel through Baw Kyaw Hair's area and is making preparations to travel through the Mae Hong Son KNPP's area to reach 2nd Brigade area. On (22-10-08) Antonio and group departed from Mae Son [[sic; I think it is a typo]] to Mae Hong Son.

Antonio Grawfawt 's group [[sic, another typo by crazy SPDC author]] is surely going to have to run and escape for their lives as they go through the Armed Forces' Offensives [[but ]] it is more certain they will die violent deaths. [[ i.e., it is more certain they will die violently rather than run and escape with their lives ]]

[[end of article]]

Further translators notes:

It is now evident from the author himself that you were never a wanted man by the KNU. The article is very poorly written and has sloppy composition.
I hear you, Antonio, that you replied it is not true about you meeting the KNU since on the dates mentioned you were out of country. It is funny SPDC is making up all these lies.

But why?
"Wanted" does not mean by the KNU. It means Wanted by SPDC but not explicitly mentioned, only by inference.

And it is not true one faction of KNU hates you. It is just that one faction is said to be discontent with Tamlabaw and therefore will not allow you safe passage.

It is just the age-old SPDC tactics of playing off one brigade commander against another brigade commander and tempting them to surrender to the government, thus scoring propaganda and psychological victories and gradually defeating the KNU. No faction in KNU hates you, it is only the author who wishes you evil.

Buddha has been famously quoted about not returning evil for evil. Our Monk once taught me that if you send me a package [of evil wishes] and I decline to accept it, then the evil goes back to its sender. Not that I wish the sender any evil; I just simply will not take it and so the sender just gets what his Karma dictates.

What shall we do to protect against the evil efforts of SPDC to discredit each of us, and set one against the other, and tempt us into surrendering? Such things have happened time and again, and it appears the 5th and 6th brigade commanders, if this is true, are wishing to surrender and that they are discontent with Gen. Tamlabaw.

How true could this be? If it is not true, is it possible for the enemy to make it come true and create fear, suspicion, and hatred amongst the KNU? How do we eliminate this and help unify KNU? Perhaps as outsiders with no connections to any faction, we can act as mediators and help make peace. Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall unify the Forces and Defeat the enemy.

It is sad that during Gen. Bo Mya's time, his Christian officers were said to have gotten all the promotions and benefits and the Buddhists did not fare well. SPDC fanned these flames in the early 90's and by 1994 or 1995 were able to split KNU and form a quisling group, the DKBA --- which made it possible to find a way to invade the KNU headquarters, their stronghold, in Manerplaw and conquer that area.

Then, in the last two years, they were able to splinter off other KNU commanders, even the Reverend Timothy, who wanted to negotiate a separate surrender. Now it seems they are working on the 5th and 6th Brigade Commanders.

Oh, God, when and how can we turn the tide?

Antonio Graceffo begs you to please say a prayer for the people of Shan State.

Antonio Graceffo is a martial arts and adventure author living in Asia

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Funeral charity forced to close down offices

Nov 18, 2008 (DVB)–The Free Funeral Service Society has been ordered to move out of its current offices in Rangoon and in Saku township, Magwe division, by local authorities.

Kyaw Thu, an academy award-winning actor and vice president of the FFSS, said the organisation had been ordered to move out of its main office and free clinic which are
currently located in Rangoon's Thingangyun township.

The order came from the government's Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development which claimed the land where the office was built was preserved for Sasana society, Kyaw Thu said.

"The monastery which owned the land wanted to expend their building as they have more monks staying there now," said Kyaw Thu.

"We were told we are not allowed to set up office buildings like ours in this location."

The FFSS building will now be relocated to Ba Htoo road in the northern part of Dagon township.

"The land preserved for our new building is actually a plastic garbage dump which goes deep into the ground - about seven or eight feet," Kyaw Thu said.

"We are going to have to set up pole foundations first in order to start the construction and that is going to be costly," he said.

"We would need some donations to do that as the current budget we have is only meant to be used for free funeral services."

Kyaw Thu added that more families in Rangoon had been seeking the group's assistance in funeral services due to financial hardship.

"Now we are giving assistance for about 50 funeral services a day," he said.

Meanwhile, locals in Magwe division's Minbu province said the FFSS branch in Saku township founded by local youths less than a year ago had been disbanded due to pressure from the provincial Peace and Development Council.

"Saku's FFSS project was founded by local youths less than a year ago and they were given permission by the authorities in the beginning," said one Minbu resident.

"But recently the authorities began to pressure them to stop their activities so they had to disband."

The local resident said the FFSS in Saku had started out with only a cart to carry the bodies to funerals but it has now managed to buy a hearse with the donations it received as its work became better known among locals.

"It was really useful for poor people who couldn't afford the funeral expenses for their loved ones and now locals are really disappointed to see it go," he resident said.

Reporting by Nan Kham Kaew

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Commentary: Burma’s women come out of the shadows
Meelyin

Nov 18, 2008 (DVB)–On 27 October 2008, the Women’s League of Burma launched its shadow report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The shadow report, which was sent to the 42nd session of the CEDAW committee, was compiled by women’s groups, especially groups in exile and other networks.

The ruling State Peace and Development Council has already submitted its own report to the committee on the measures it has taken to comply with the treaty.

The shadow report explicitly claims that, “The face of public life in Burma is male, in large part because the culture of Burma today is profoundly militarized.”

In addition, it argues that the SPDC is unreasonably neglecting the reality of what is happening in the country when it states in its report, “Women are possessed of full rights from before birth.”

The shadow report also argues that even the many women’s organisations established by the SPDC inside Burma function as a mouthpiece for the SPDC instead of standing up for Burma’s women.

According to this CEDAW shadow report, Nang Yin, general secretary of the Women’s League of Burma, said, “The SPDC’s political objective of building a ‘disciplined democracy’ is entrenching the patriarchal society for a second time.”

Here, there is one question: are women discriminated against just because of the military government?

It is clear that while all Burmese citizens are exploited by the military regime, women are doubly abused. Around the world, in countries under military rule and other kinds of political systems, there are many women’s groups resisting gender-based discrimination. It is not only due to the political system that women are discriminated against and abused.

The first wave of feminism began during the 19th century. It moved to Burma’s democracy movement in the 20th century. Even though some women’s organisations were established during 1950s, it was not until 1999 when the Women’s League of Burma was founded that the women’s political movement took off.

Here is a second question: why are women in the pro-democracy movement attempting to bring about a double revolution of political change and equal rights?

This question is linked to the answer to the first question, which made clear that women are discriminated against not only due to the military regime but also because of the patriarchal structures of society. It should be explicitly stated that the Burmese democracy movement needs both political change and a commitment to gender equality to achieve real change in the country.

What are exile women groups are doing to promote women’s equality?

Initially, most women’s groups in exile were founded to deal with social issues. Then later, they realised that women’s participation in politics and at all decision-making levels is the basis for promoting gender equality and justice in society. While women’s organisations continued to work on social affairs such as raising awareness of women’s rights, women’s participation in politics became their priority.

The inclusion of a quota system in the Federal Constitution organised by the exile movement, whereby there must be at least 30 percent women at all decision making levels, is one of their greatest successes of the Burmese women’s movement and a mark of their solidarity.

However, even in the exile Federal Constitution Drafting Coordinating Committee, there is still a lack of participation by women and it clearly shows that the movement still needs to pay more than lip service to promoting women’s equality.

Looking back on the process of enacting the principle of a quota system, it took tears, anger and unity on the part of the women involved. Men often say that “tears are a woman’s weapon”, but it is more accurate to say that “tears and life are the symbol of revolution” given that no revolution has been achieved without these sacrifices which are built into the spirit and beliefs of human beings.

The CEDAW shadow report shows the unity and strong feelings of solidarity among Burma’s women. It may or may not change the SPDC’s implementation of policies on women’s rights, but at the very least it can surely shame the SPDC before the international community and bring regional pressure to bear on the regime.

It is impossible to estimate when women’s rights and gender equality will be perfectly practised in society and when the women’s movement will end its revolution. For the moment, Burma’s women are still on the road to revolution, offering their tears, anger and solidarity. But one day they must surely achieve their goal.

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