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HEADLINES
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AP - Myanmar activist follows dad, grandfather to jail
FIDH - Burma: Repression of Political Dissidents Must End Now
EFM - Estonia Condemns Punishment of Democracy Supporters in Myanmar
IRIN - MYANMAR: Cyclone-hit monasteries in need
Xinhua - Myanmar strives for promotion of traditional medicine
Kuwait News Agency - Construction of China-Myanmar oil pipeline to begin 2009
BBC News - China revives Burma pipeline plan
Asian Tribune - NCGUB seeks ASEAN mobilization as human rights crackdown intensifies
Mizzima News - Hip-hop singer Zeyar Thaw given 6 years
Mizzima News - Youth request junta for permission to meet Suu Kyi
Mizzima News - Gold miners head for the hills
The Irrawaddy - Burma Falls Off UN Agenda
The Irrawaddy - UWSA Buys 10 Tons of Amphetamine Component
DVB News - Volunteer police officer beaten under interrogation
DVB News - Anti-government graffiti appears in Sittwe

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Myanmar activist follows dad, grandfather to jail
Wed Nov 19, 3:48 pm ET

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A court in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced a student activist to 6 1/2 years in jail on Wednesday, a week after his father received a 65-year prison term for his own political activities and a decade after his grandfather died in custody.

Colleagues said Di Nyein Lin was one of three student activists sentenced by a court in a suburb of Yangon for various offenses, including causing public alarm and insulting religion. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

In an intensive crackdown on the country's pro-democracy movement, at least 70 activists have received prison sentences in the past two weeks, many after being held for more than a year before being tried.

The courts' actions — which would keep many of the activists in jail long past a general election set by the ruling junta for 2010 — have received worldwide condemnation.

Di Nyein Lin's father, Zaw Zaw Min, was one of 23 members of the 88 Generation Students group who were each given 65-year sentences last week. Many members of the group were at the forefront of a 1988 pro-democracy uprising that was smashed by the military.

Di Nyein Lin's grandfather, Saw Win, was a member of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, and died in prison about 10 years ago.

Di Nyein Lin is a leader of the outlawed All Burma Federation of Students Union, to which several of the 88 Generation Students' members belonged in 1988.

Most of the 88 Generation members were arrested on Aug. 21, 2007, for protesting a fuel-price hike. Others were arrested after the government violently suppressed rallies in September of that year that followed the fuel protests and were led by Buddhist monks.

They were sentenced under various charges, including a law calling for a prison term of up to 20 years for anyone who demonstrates, makes speeches or writes statements undermining government stability, and for having links to illegal groups and violating restrictions on foreign currency, video and electronic communications.

The other student activists sentenced Wednesday were Kyaw Swa Htay, who received a five-year sentence, and Kyaw Hsan, sentenced to four years in jail.

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 last year's pro-democracy demonstrations.

The prisoners include Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, as she has been on and off since 1989.

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FIDH - Burma: Repression of Political Dissidents Must End Now
International Federation of Human Rights - 20/11/2008
International community should react immediately

FIDH expresses its deepest concern with the recent surge in prison sentences against political dissidents in Burma. Burmese courts handed out prison sentences for at least 60 political prisoners detained for their role in the “Saffron Revolution”. It is critical that the international community – including the UN Security Council and ASEAN – reacts without delay in a manner proportional to the alarming recent developments in the country, and according to its responsibility and obligation to protect the population of Burma from further massive violations.

According to the information received, on November 11 2008, courts in Burma’s Yangon Insein prison sentenced over 20 of these prisoners to 65 years in prison, in hearings which took place behind closed doors. 14 of these prisoners were members of the “88 Student Group”, and each was convicted of four counts of violation of section 33 of the “Electronic Transactions Law”. All members of the 88 group received the maximum sentence of 15 years on each count, as well as five years for “participation in an organization that is not permitted” under section five of the “Law relating to Forming of Organizations.”

Less than three weeks earlier, on October 23 2008, the North Okkalapa Township Court in Burma sentenced seven monks and seven nuns, protesters in the Saffron Revolution to four years in prison with hard labor, for «outraging religious feelings », under sections 295 and 295 (A) of the Penal Code. Among them is Daw Ponnami, 80 years old and partially paralyzed. One day later, on October 24, a court held in the Oo-Bo Prison Compound also delivered prison sentences for six members of the National Democracy League (NDL) from the party’s Mandalay branch, ranging from two to thirteen years in prison, after finding them guilty of « inciting offense against public tranquility », under 153 and 505 (B) of the Penal Code. FIDH notes with concern that these NLD members had been in jail for nearly a year before sentencing.

As these penalties continue to be handed out to prisoners of conscience, authorities have begun transferring prisoners to remote facilities far from the prisoner’s hometowns, and in the round of sentencing last week, some were sent as far as 1,440 km away from Rangoon.

FIDH strongly denounces this increasing trend of unfounded and arbitrary arrests and harsh sentencing. The Burmese authorities have been claiming that the country is on its way for a road map to democracy using as evidence of such commitment the release of more than 9,000 prisoners on September 23rd, 2008. In reality, only ten political prisoners were released that day, and by the end of September alone, there were over 2,100 political prisoners in Burma, already a 78% increase from the previous year.

Furthermore, we have reasons to believe that this dramatic increase of political prisoners will continue. Among many other prisoners of conscience, another 14 members of the « 88 Student Group » are in detention and scheduled to be sentenced soon.

FIDH condemns the arrests and harsh sentencing of Burmese citizens for exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. FIDH also notes that these convictions follow blatantly unfair trials, totally incompatible with due process. Lawyers have been victims of judicial harassment: the lawyer Khin Maung Shein was sentenced on November 7th after having resigned when the court did not allow him to ask questions to his clients. At the end of October, Nyi Nyi Htwe, and Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min, lawyers for 11 youth NLD members were themselves sentenced to six months in prison for disrespecting the court.

Despite the reactions of the international community, including the UN Secretary General, Burmese military regime has launched a campaign of extermination of all dissent voices. FIDH urges the authorities of Burma to immediately release all political prisoners, and put an end to the climate of harsh repression. In addition, FIDH calls on ASEAN and the United Nations to make the matter a top priority, and to use all means at its disposal to ensure these blatant and increasing human rights violations end.

Finally, FIDH joins voices calling for an urgent meeting at the UN Security Council on the situation in Burma in the next days. Everything, today, justifies that the matter be immediately addressed in order to find a solution to what appears to many Burmese as a dead-end.

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Estonia Condemns Punishment of Democracy Supporters in Myanmar
19 November 2008

The Estonian Foreign Ministry united with the European Union’s standpoint that condemns the decision of Myanmar’s (Burma’s) military regime to sentence more than 30 supporters of democracy to 2 to 65 years of jail time.

“Estonia is calling on Myanmar’s military regime to begin an involved and constructive dialogue with the democratic opposition and minority representatives,” said Foreign Minister Urmas Paet. “The only crime of those individuals sentenced was internationally recognised peaceful self-expression in support of democratic reforms and a better Myanmar,” Paet emphasised, acknowledging that under the current conditions the elections scheduled for 2010 cannot be legitimate.

Referring to the UN Security Council’s October appeal and the EU foreign ministers’ council’s November conclusions, Estonia is encouraging Myanmar’s military regime to unconditionally free Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and all of the more than 2000 political prisoners, including those sentenced during the past few days.

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MYANMAR: Cyclone-hit monasteries in need

AYEYARWADY DELTA, 20 November 2008 (IRIN) - Scores of monasteries in cyclone-affected Myanmar are in urgent need of repair almost seven months after the category four storm struck.

According to the social welfare department, 740 monasteries were destroyed and 3,235 monasteries were badly damaged when Cyclone Nargis made landfall on 2 and 3 May, leaving nearly 140,000 people dead or missing.

Monasteries play a pivotal role in Burmese society and frequently function as schools to thousands of underprivileged children.

According to the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) report released by the Myanmar government, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the UN in July, there were 308 registered monastic schools serving more than 51,000 students in Yangon and Ayeyarwady Division in 2008.

In addition, monasteries often act a first line of defence during disasters. In the initial weeks after the cyclone, many monasteries served as shelters for the homeless, as well as a focal point for the distribution of food, clothing and other relief supplies.

Lack of cash

While the monasteries open their doors to laypeople for spiritual guidance, the monks look to the community for food and money.

But with most cyclone survivors struggling to provide for themselves, the monasteries are losing out.

"We're seeking adequate materials from our donors to rebuild a monastery, but don't know how long we have to stay in this makeshift hut," said Kawvida, pointing at the hut he shared with another monk along the roadside between Pyapon and Bogale townships in the Ayeyarwady delta.

Many of his fellow monks have moved to monasteries not damaged by the storm, placing added responsibility on his shoulders.

"The villagers would be discouraged spiritually if we didn't stay," said another monk in the village of Naungtawgyi in Pyapon Township.

The role of monks

Monks play an important role in rural Myanmar and are often credited with maintaining community resilience.

In some cases, they can prove more powerful than village chiefs and local authorities.

Private donors, who were instrumental in getting relief to affected communities when much of the area was restricted for international aid agencies, would often not trust the village chiefs to distribute their aid and called upon the monks instead.

This in turn added to the monasteries' importance, with survivors looking to the monks for basic relief supplies, including food, clothing and shelter.

"If there was no monastery in our town, I don't know where we should go for shelter," Kyaw Thein, 50, from Kunchangone town, Yangon division, told IRIN.

Even aid workers on the ground today cannot deny their unique role.

"As we try to set up disaster-resistant buildings, we should also help rebuild the monasteries, " one aid worker, who asked not to be identified, told IRIN, adding: "We mustn't forget the important role the monasteries played in saving people."

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Myanmar strives for promotion of traditional medicine
www.chinaview. cn  2008-11-20 11:00:18

YANGON, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar official media Thursday urged all practitioners in the country to make efforts for the promotion of Myanmar traditional medicines through cooperation with the international community.

"To be able to uplift the health standard of the people, Myanmar will cooperate on approval of Beijing Declaration on traditional medicine," the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said in its editorial.

The Congress of Traditional Medicine of the World Health Organization (WHO) was held in Beijing, China in the first weekend of this month which Myanmar took part in.

The Myanmar delegation discussed matters on Myanmar traditional medicine including measures being taken for conducting research on treatment of six major diseases -- diabetes, hypertension, malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhea and dysentery through traditional medicine, according to the newspaper.

Myanmar possesses valuable herbal plants, rare plant species and priceless traditional medicine.

The government has called on traditional medicine practitioners in the country to protect and preserve them from depletion and extinction and to ensure their perpetual existence.

At the same time, the practitioners are also urged to harmoniously strive for the promotion of the standard of Myanmar traditional medicine to reach international level.

According to the health authorities, Myanmar has made arrangements for the development of the traditional medicine in line with the set standards, opening diploma courses and practitioner courses to train out skilled experts in the field.

A decade ago, Myanmar's Institute of Traditional Medicine conferred diplomas on traditional medicine to those who had completed two-year theoretical course and one-year practical course.

In 2001, Myanmar established its University of Traditional Medicine in Mandalay, the second largest city, where traditional medicine, anatomy and physiology, microbiology and medicine and Chinese acupuncture are taught.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has set up the first national herbal park in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw to grow herbal and medicinal plants used in producing medicines for treating various diseases.

The 81-hectare National Herbal Park, aimed at becoming an international- level one, was established by the Ministry of Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs.

Over 20,000 herbal and medicinal plants of over 700 species from some 10 states and divisions for producing medicines used in treating diseases like cholera, diarrheas, dysentery, hypertension, diabetes, malaria and tuberculosis are being grown in the park.

Encouragement has also been made to set up large traditional medicine industries with the private sector to produce potent drugs for common diseases, herbal gardens for medicinal plant conservation and find means to treat patients with the combined potency of the Western and Myanmar traditional medicine.

As the traditional medicine playing a more and more important role in treating diseases in the country, the government placed more emphasis on the aspects.

As part of the development, Myanmar has also been sponsoring traditional medicine conference annually since 2000, attended by traditional medicine practitioners, to promote its medical practices.

There are 12 traditional medicine hospitals and 214 such clinics in the country with services provided by nearly 10,000 practitioners, earlier statistics showed.

The Myanmar traditional medicine, composed of such ingredients as roots, tubers, bulbs, natural items and animal products, has in a historical perspective, represented the typical Myanmar culture and traditional value and norms.

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Construction of China-Myanmar oil pipeline to begin 2009
Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) - 11/20/2008 6:12:00 PM 

TOKYO, Nov 20 (KUNA) -- Construction of an oil and gas pipeline linking Myanmar and southwest China's Yunnan province is expected to start in the first half of 2009, the state-run China Daily reported Thursday, citing a local government official.

The long-awaited China-Myanmar pipeline is expected to provide an alternative route for China's crude imports from the Middle East and Africa and ease the country's worries of its over-dependence on energy transportation through the Strait of Malacca, the newspaper said. The Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific are the three main regions from which China imports oil.

The project included a USD 1.5 billion oil pipeline and USD 1.04 billion gas line, said the report. The nation's biggest oil company China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) will hold a 50.9 percent stake and manage the project and Myanmar Oil Gas Enterprise will own the remainder.

Driven by rapid economic development, China's oil imports have grown in recent years. In 2007 China imported nearly 200 million tons of oil, up more than 10 percent from 2006.

According to the daily, analysts said China should further diversify its sources of oil imports to find more sustainable supplies. China plans to extend its oil and gas pipelines by nearly 60 percent by 2010.

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Page last updated at 10:06 GMT, Thursday, 20 November 2008
BBC News - China revives Burma pipeline plan

China has revived its plan to build oil and gas pipelines into Burma, state media has reported.

State media has said construction would begin on the previously discussed pipeline plan in 2009.

The pipelines would cut shipping time and costs for journeys by sea through the Malacca Straits and secure access to energy supplies.

A Chinese Communist Party delegation to Burma has also lauded the closeness of ties between Beijing and Rangoon.

China is a major importer of Middle East oil. Burma also has rich energy reserves and is exploring for more in adjacent seas.

Expansion plans

The China Daily quoted Mi Dongsheng, head of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission of Yunnan province as saying the pipeline was part of its plan to spend 72bn yuan ($10.54bn; £7.08bn) on energy projects next year.

Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported that the project would include a $1bn gas pipeline and a $1.5bn oil pipeline.

China National Petroleum Corporation, the parent of market giant Petrochina, would manage and own a majority share in the joint project with Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise of Burma, the Japanese paper said.

China finished a domestic gas pipeline stretching from Xinjiang in the west to the energy-hungry east in 2004.

Construction of the second west-east natural gas pipeline began in February.

It plans to expand gas and oil pipelines by almost 60% by 2010, the China Daily report said.

Energy diplomacy

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei and his Burmese counterpart U Kyaw Thu met in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, on Wednesday, said state news agency Xinhua.

At the same time in the new Burmese capital, Naypyidaw, Burmese Prime Minister General Thein Sein met a high-ranking delegation of the Chinese Communist Party, led by Zhang Gaoli.

Thein Sein was quoted as saying that Burma and China were "friendly neighbours", and that their mutually beneficial co-operation had "gained steady development" .

Mr Zhang said that Sino-Burmese friendship "not only conforms to the fundamental interest of the two peoples but also contributes to peace, stability and development of the region and the world as well", Xinhua reported.

Most Western companies do not invest in Burma because of its continued detention of Nobel prizewinner Aung San Suu Kyi and thousands of other political prisoners.

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NCGUB seeks ASEAN mobilization as human rights crackdown intensifies
Thu, 2008-11-20 14:49

Washington DC, 20 November, (Asiantribune. com): The Burmese government in exile has called for ASEAN governments to initiate UN-backed Commission of Inquiry to investigate the military regime's latest human rights violations. The call comes as Burma's junta is intensifying its campaign of imprisoning democracy supporters as a means of clearing the ground prior to nominally free elections set for 2010.

"Regional powers cannot sit idly by," says the NCGUB's UN representative, Dr. Thaung Htun, "and reap the rewards of immorality."

"We condemn the arbitrary sentencing of Burmese citizens to long periods in jail. We believe Burma's regional partners cannot fail to do so too and to act accordingly by taking on this issue on at next month's ASEAN Summit in Thailand."

In the past weeks, around 80 Burmese have been arrested and rushed through "kangaroo courts", often behind closed doors. Sentences have gone as high as 65 years for such acts as providing defence counsel to pro-democracy advocates, aiding international media during the recent Nargis cyclone aftermath and even for publishing a poem which includes a line critical of the Burmese leader, General Than Shwe.

The sentences have included jail terms in far-flung regions, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for family and friends to visit and support them.

Some of those sentenced are monks who have been identified as being involved in the peaceful Saffron Revolution street marches in September 2007. Also included have been high ranking members of the influential 88 Generation Students group.

The NCGUB is proposing a plan which sees the ASEAN Summit calling for a Commission of Inquiry by the United Nations Human Rights Council. This inquiry should be carried out on a similar format as that which was established to investigate human rights violations in Sudan.

The Commission should be coordinated by UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur for Burma, Mr. Tomas Ojea Quitana and should include other input from UN Thematic Rappoteurs on such matters as:

* Independent Judiciary
* Violence against Women
* Children and Armed Conflict
* Freedom of Expression and Information
* Arbitrary Detention

"ASEAN should fully commit to this process, facilitate its evolution and, fully co-operate in its investigations. Such an initiative will give weight to the body's calls for a human rights office within ASEAN and would enhance its reputation as a body concerned about the abuses of its members."

ASEAN as a bloc is a major trading partner of Burma, while the ASEAN+3 countries, who are also meeting next month, would constitute a significant majority of Burma's total foreign trade and investment.

"If Burma's political prisoners wore sponsorship, " adds Thaung Htun, "they would be emblazoned with the logos of major corporations, governments and finance companies of our neighbors." "It's time action was taken."

The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) is a government-in- exile constituted by members of parliament elected in 1990, Burma's last free and fair national elections in which the National League for Democracy won over 80% of the vote. Since 1991, it has served as a representative government in exile and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

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Hip-hop singer Zeyar Thaw given 6 years
Mizzima News - by Nam Davies
Thursday, 20 November 2008 18:23

New Delhi – The Rangoon Division, Lanmadaw Township court sentenced hip-hop singer Zeyar Thaw, a member of the band Acid, to six years imprisonment today.

Zeyar Thaw (a.k.a. Kyaw Kyaw), who is popular among Burmese youth, was prosecuted by the military regime under charges of illegally holding foreign currency and establishing an unlawful association.

"The judges pronounced their judgment today after taking testimony from the Military Affairs Security (MAS). He was sentenced to one year imprisonment on the charge of holding foreign currency and another five years for the charge of establishing an unlawful association. We had no chance to defend his case," lawyer Khin Than Htay, aunt of Zeyar Thaw, told Mizzima.

"He toured foreign countries as a singer, so he got some foreign currency. A Thai baht 100 denomination note, some change in Malaysian Ringgits and some Singapore dollars were found in his possession. It was not more than 10,000 kyat (US$ 8) in total," she added.

MAS arrested Zeyar Thaw on the 12th of March this year at a restaurant between Sayar San Road and 66th Street in Rangoon.

She is proud for her nephew, given a prison term as an artist, confessed his aunt.

"I'm proud of him as it is not a criminal conviction. I feel proud to see him performing his artistic duty," she said.

Generation Wave (GW), in an announcement, recognized Zeyar Thaw as a member of the organization.

GW is a youth movement that was formed during the September 2007 Saffron Revolution.

According to Burma's repressive penal code, dissidents can be sentenced for establishing associations and civil society organizations without permission from the government.

GW released an anti-junta album, in cooperation with the clandestine band Freedom Fighter, in which 'Rise up Burma' and 'No No No', an anti-constitutional referendum song, were featured.

In addition to Zeyar Thaw, five of his GW colleagues were also sentenced today in the same court, each receiving five years behind bars for their links to an allegedly unlawfully formed organization.

At least ten members of GW have been detained and more than 100 dissidents sentenced, to up to 65-year terms, within the last few weeks alone.

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Youth request junta for permission to meet Suu Kyi
Mizzima News - by Than Htike Oo
Thursday, 20 November 2008 17:50

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Dozens of youth have appealed to the military government to allow them to meet and pay their respect to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest.

About 50 youth, most National League for Democracy (NLD) party members, yesterday sent a letter by post to military head of state, Senior General Than Shwe, requesting they be allowed to pay homage to the 63-year old opposition leader in accordance with Burmese tradition.

Copies of the letter were also sent to Home Affairs Minister Major General Maung Oo and the Chairman of the Bahan Township Peace and Development Committee.

NLD Dagon satellite town Organizing Committee member Aye Thwin told Mizzima, "The youth sent this letter in the hope of getting permission from the SPDC [junta] to pay homage in a peaceful and lawful manner [to Suu Kyi] in accordance with Burmese tradition."

"If the authorities do not respond to their letter, the youth will take it as tacit approval by the government and they will go to the residence of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to pay homage to her. The youth also requested in their letter that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi be allowed to come to party headquarters to receive homage paid by these youths," he said.

Opposition sources said that the plan to meet with the daughter of Burma's independence hero, Bogyoke Aung San, was initiated by some renegade youth who have differences with the party's top leaders.

Thai-based Burma analyst Aung Naing Oo said that though it is the Burmese tradition, the junta is not likely to allow the youth to proceed in paying their respect.

"The junta will see such a movement as a political movement against them and they will not allow it. If the youth defy them and pay homage to their leader, I think the junta will take severe action against them," Aung Naing Oo predicted.

Mizzima has learned that, in their request, the youth said they were happy to see the removal of barriers erected along the road to the residence of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the cleaning and collecting of rubbish from her premises by the City Development Committee.

Authorities removed the barbed wire barriers on University Avenue, leading to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's residence, on October 26th.

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Gold miners head for the hills
Mizzima News - by Maxwell Smith
Thursday, 20 November 2008 15:00

Magway (Mizzima) – One decade ago the hills near the town of Yamethin in Mandalay Division were free from human settlements. There were no huts, no satellite televisions, often no human beings; only brush-covered terrain and the local flora and fauna.

But that all changed eight years ago when villagers discovered gold in the foothills 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of the town.

Now, this area, 500 kilometers north of Rangoon, is a hive of activity, with miners coming from all over Burma to dig for the precious yellow metal with single-minded enthusiasm. And many of them do not like outsiders scrutinizing their activities.

"Last month a group of gold diggers attacked a visitor who snapped some photographs, " said Tun Kyaw, 34, himself a gold miner.

"They don't like people shooting photographs or video about what they are doing. They don't care who they are. What they care about is the gold," he said.

Tun Kyaw, who comes from Theikbeikkyinn Township, where the mines are located, said his once quiet native area is now famous throughout the country for its gold.

"You can see there are now thousands of people living here hunting for gold. The area is famous. They say nine out of ten people who come here can find gold," he said.

Local estimates put the number of miners at more than 100,000, many of them living in the collection of 800 or so huts that have been erected along the banks of several creeks that wind through the area.

The thousands of workers fulfill a number of different duties, with some digging 24-meter tunnels into the hillsides with the help of manual mining equipment, while others carry or crack stones.

"I moved here from Shan State to work as a carrier. I carry bags of gold nuggets for three miles and earn 5,000 kyat (US$ 4) for one small bag," said 20-year old Maung Lay.

Still others, like Moe Thwe from Shan State, work panning for gold in area creeks.

"We work by commission and get one-third the value of the gold we find. So we can earn more than 100,000 kyat (US$ 80) a month," she said.

More than 60 gold companies work in the area, each of them allotted 20 acres of land. Most of the 3,000 or so workers employed by each company are paid according to the one-third commission scheme.

According to mining experts, each company can expect to extract at least five to ten viss (one viss equals 3.6 lb) of gold from each mine.

Since 2004, numerous companies have commenced work in the area. "Many companies wanted to dig at the old block. Some of them gave five million kyat (US$ 4,000) to the guards to dig at the block for one hour. It's risky but the return is double," said Myo Win, a 29-year old who used to work for a foreign mining company.

But others say the practice is not quite so lucrative, including Myo Thein from Singu Township in Mandalay Division, who said he has lost 30 million kyat (US$ 24,000) searching for gold in prohibited areas.

"Our group found such a small amount of gold we were unable to make back our investment," he said.

"There are still a lot of gold hunters working near the Ivanhoe blocks, gnawing like rats to try to get to the gold veins that foreign experts working for Ivanhoe had identified," he said.

Aside from panning, many miners in the area still use cyanide extraction techniques despite the fact that the method has been banned by the government because of its negative impact on human health and the environment, especially water resources.

Many companies have built 9-square-foot ponds using tarpaulin sheets in which the powder of gold-bearing stones, lime, water and cyanide are mixed and soaked for a week. The gold is then absorbed by carbon cylinders as the mixture passes through pipelines, while the cyanide and other toxic by-products are leeched into the ground.

"If we use the simplest process of panning for gold we cannot make a profit. So we use the cyanide process like everyone else," said Aung Kyaw, a worker whose company recently discovered five viss of gold.

"It is dangerous for people because the cyanide can make them sick and damage the environment. That's why the government has banned the method, but miners still use it," said 29-year old gold hunter Han Kyaw.

Moe Moe, 30, who runs a food shop near a creek that flows from the mining area, said no one dares to drink from local wells because of the presence of cyanide and other toxins.

"Even the people who work in the mines do like we do – they drink bottled water," she said.

But some miners apparently did not get the message. Moe Moe said that just a couple months ago a number of miners suffered from cholera after drinking contaminated water and a team of doctors and nurses had to be brought from town to the mine to treat the victims.

Compounding the problem is the fact that most of the leeching ponds are located near creeks that flow into Kyee Ni Lake in Yamethin Township or into the Paung Laung River. Villagers who live near the creeks, including children, use the water for washing and bathing on a daily basis.

"We use it for bathing because it is the main source of water, but we don't drink it," said Ma Mya from the village of Kindar, about six kilometers (4 miles) away from the mining area.

Aung Kyaw said cyanide wasn't the only danger that miners had to contend with.

"There are also lots of robberies in the area. We all carry knives to protect our gold and our lives," he said.

In an effort to deal with this Wild West atmosphere, the government has appointed about 60 staff – half of them police officers and the other half from the Ministry of Mining – to maintain law and order in the area.

"We often educate the miners not to commit crimes and not to use cyanide for mining," said a high-ranking police officer in Mandalay Division on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media.

"We also have three checkpoints where we inspect people coming into the township because we don't know who they are, where they are from or whether they are trying to smuggle cyanide into the area," he said.

He said the police used to keep those who used cyanide or other illegal mining techniques in custody for 15 days.

"It didn't work because the people we caught just viewed the punishment as a 15-day vacation for their relaxation," he said.

"In September we changed the punishment to seven years in prison. However, we're still making nearly 100 arrests a month because every day more migrants move into the area and keep breaking the law," the police officer said.

He said they have even arrested people who have impersonated military officers by donning uniforms and carrying toy guns.

"They pretend they have the authority to stop people and inspect their goods on their way to the gold mine. When they have confiscated enough goods they take them away to resell them," he said.

"We are also trying to curb the increase of migration into the area by turning away people who are coming to work in the mines," he added.

However, many locals said that Yamethin Township has benefited from the influx of mine workers, which has fuelled a business spurt that has seen the opening of new restaurants, teashops and beer pubs, as well as the development of the transportation and telecommunication sectors.

Locals also said rental prices have increased fivefold since 2000 as demand for housing has skyrocketed.

"Many residents are now making money by renting out rooms and houses to newcomers," said Daw Khin, who rents her house out for 60,000 kyat (US$ 48) a month.

People who own vehicles have also benefited said driver Ko Tun, who uses his small tractor to carry workers up to the mining village.

"Every day I drive more than 20 workers to the mining area. There are a lot of people aside from me making money this way," he said, adding that the fare was 15,000 kyat (US$ 12) each way.

"It costs so much because the road to the mine is in such terrible shape," he explained.

In a country where many estimates place per capita income at less than 200 dollars per year, the prospect of gold in the hills around Yamethin Township has turned this isolated pocket of Burma into a surrealistic bonanza town.

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Burma Falls Off UN Agenda
The Irrawaddy - By LALIT K JHA / UNITED NATIONS
Thursday, November 20, 2008

Burma appears to have suddenly dropped off the UN Security Council’s radar.

What has surprised many a Burma watcher is the silence of members of the Security Council at a time when the Burmese military junta has been indulging in one of the worst ever crackdowns on pro-democracy activists in the country.

More intriguing is the relative silence of three of the permanent members of the UNSC—the US, Britain and France—who have, until now, kept Burma at the forefront of the UN’s agenda.

The three nations, for their part, strongly condemned the harsh sentences passed down on pro-democracy supporters in Burma recently.

In a statement earlier this week, the White House said that the UNSC "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 president of the Security Council for the month of November, Jorge Urbina of Costa Rica, told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday that Burma is not yet on its program for the remaining part of this month and that none of the 15 members had brought the matter to his attention.

"I have not heard any delegation asking for a briefing on [the Burma] issue, but as you know, in the Council very often new initiatives come almost every day," Urbina said.

An Asian diplomat told The Irrawaddy that none of the 15 members, including the US, Britain and France, had officially or unofficially tried to raise the issue inside the Security Council.

Meanwhile US President George W. Bush plans to bring up the Burma issue with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, when the two leaders meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Summit in Lima this weekend.

Briefing reporters on the APEC summit, Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economic Affairs Dan Price listed Burma as a major issue of discussion with Hu Jintao when the two leaders meet on Friday afternoon. Other issues will include Iran, Zimbabwe and Sudan. The issue of Tibet would also be taken up, he said.

"As the president has always done in all of his meetings with Chinese leaders, the president will discuss issues of human rights and religious freedom, including the ongoing dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai Lama," Price said.

Bush, who has led the Western world in imposing sanctions on the authoritarian military regime of Burma, believes that China can play an important role in the restoration of democracy in Burma and protection of human rights.

Two days ago, the White House in a statement condemned the arbitrary sentencing of pro-democracy political prisoners of from two to 65 years in prison. The statement cited a complete lack of due process by the courts in handing down the sentences.

Earlier this month, Bush nominated Michael Jonathan Green as the White House representative and policy coordinator for Burma, to fill a new post created by Congress.

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UWSA Buys 10 Tons of Amphetamine Component
The Irrawaddy - By LAWI WENG
Thursday, November 20, 2008

The United Wa State Army (UWSA) in Burma’s Shan State has recently bought from Thai suppliers 10 tons of pseudoephedrine, a main component of amphetamines, according to a report by the Shan Herald Agency for News. 

Narcotics manufacturers usually extract pseudoephedrine from cough medicine and pills sold openly in pharmacies, but the preparations containing it are being progressively removed from the shelves because of misuse. The Shan Herald Agency for News quoted a Thai businessman at the Thai-Burmese border as saying the UWSA, an armed ethnic ceasefire group which earns large sums of money from the amphetamines trade, “don’t need to raid the drug stores for cold-relief pills any more.”

In a crackdown in October on over-the-counter sales of pseudoephedrine, Thai authorities seized more than 500,000 cold-relief pills in raids in the Thai border town of Mae Sai.

Thailand and the US are at the head of efforts to combat the UWSA drugs trade, and on November 13 the US Treasury Department froze the assets of 17 companies and 26 individuals linked to the ceasefire group and its commander, Wei Hsueh Kang, who is also known as Wei Xuegang.

A UWSA source told The Irrawaddy that UWSA leaders had recently changed their business addresses in the Burmese border town of Tachilek in anticipation of the US Treasury Department moves.

On November 17, Burmese police arrested three people in Tachilek’s Nine Stars Hotel on suspicion of smuggling amphetamine pills. The police seized 50,000 pills.

The UWSA declared its territory opium-free in 2005 after pressure by the Chinese government on ceasefire groups in Shan State to give up opium production in the Golden Triangle region by 2015.

However, the UWSA continues to produce large amounts of amphetamines, and Burma remains the largest source of methamphetamine pills in Asia, according to the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.

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Volunteer police officer beaten under interrogation

Nov 20, 2008 (DVB)–Several volunteer police officers in Rangoon's Thanlyin township have quit the force in disappointment after police beat up a member of the unpaid squad, according to locals.

A local resident said that the volunteer officer was beaten after being arrested on suspicion of theft and forgery.

"Ko Than Khine, also known as Powder Gyi, a resident of Myoma Taung ward in Thanlyin township and a voluntary member of the police and fire brigade, was detained by the police on 14 November," the resident said.

"He was interrogated overnight, and police officers kept him undressed during this time and beat him up and rolled a rolling pin over his legs," he said.

"Than Khine was picked up from the police station on the next morning by his family."

The resident said the Than Khine was so disappointed with the way he was treated by the police that he resigned from both the police and the fire brigade.

When his colleagues learned what had happened to him, several other volunteers also resigned from the police force.

"Many local people were so disappointed with the case that they suggested Than Khine file a report with the provincial Peace and Development Council," the resident said.

"The locals were told by the ward PDC chairman U Htay Aung that nothing will happen even if they file the report as he and the local authorities can just bribe the PPDC officials to make them drop the case."

Reporting by Phone Min Naing

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Anti-government graffiti appears in Sittwe

Nov 20, 2008 (DVB)–Activists have sprayed anti-junta messages on several graves in the town cemetery on the Arakan capital Sittwe to show their support for the recently jailed 88 Generation Student leaders.

About 15 former 88 Generation Students and pro-democracy activists participated in the graffiti campaign, writing the message "Down with the military regime", according to one of the activists.

The activist said the movement was led by a monk who took part in last year's Saffron Revolution.

The action was intended to encourage the people of Burma not to be afraid of the government, which has just passed down lengthy prison terms to the student leaders and democracy activists, the activist said.

The activist said the movement also offered prayers for those killed in the military crackdown on the 1988 national uprising and for those arrested in connection with last year’s Saffron Revolution.

Over 20 members of the 88 Generation Students group were sentenced to 65 years’ imprisonment on 11 November on five charges.

Reporting by Nam Kham Kaew

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