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Golden Yellow New History By Thiri_Nyunt

2008-02-25T12:08:00.000Z

15 February 2008 - DVB-TV NEWS

2008-02-16T20:54:00.002Z

Mr.CREATOR's BEST SELECTION CARTOONS

2008-02-14T23:37:00.006Z

14 February 2008 - DVB-TV NEWS

2008-02-14T20:38:00.001Z

NEWS UPDATE(FEB 14)

2008-02-14T20:10:00.008Z

2008-02-14T19:51:00.002Z

General Secretary Mahn Sha (right) of KNU pictured with Gen Bo Mya at Karen Revolution Day in 2005. (Photo: Htein Linn)

Karen Rebel Leader Assassinated
By SAW YAN NAING
Thursday, February 14, 2008.

Mahn Sha, the general secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU) was shot dead on Thursday afternoon at his home in Mae Sot, Thailand, according to KNU sources.
David Takapaw, the joint-secretary of the KNU, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that Mahn Sha was shot by two unknown gunmen on Thursday at about 4:30 p.m. in his home near the center of Mae sot.
The only eye witness, a Karen girl, said, “Two men climbed the stairs of his home and said ‘good evening’ (in Karen language) to Mahn Sha. Then they shot him twice in the left side of his chest. He died immediately.”
The two men arrived in front of the house in a black car, while the other people were downstairs.
Mahn Sha was general secretary of the KNU, which has faced serious internal conflicts since the death of its charismatic leader, Gen Saw Bo Mya, in December 2006.
Majoring in history at Rangoon University in 1962, Mahn Sha joined the Karen movement in the jungle at the Thai-Burmese border as soon as he finished his studies. He was seen as one of the leading lights in the KNU and was being groomed to take over the troubled KNU leadership. He was 64.
The KNU has been plagued with recent conflicts. Last year, Maj Gen Htain Maung, former leader of the KNU’s 7th Brigade, signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military regime. This was seen as yet another blow to KNU leaders who lost their fortified headquarters at Manerplaw to the Burmese army in 1995.
There have recently been several attacks and assassination attempts between mainstream KNU members and the breakaway 7th Brigade, now known as KNU/KNLA Peace Council.
Last month, Colonel Ler Moo, the son-in-law of breakaway leader Htain Maung, was killed in a bomb attack while sleeping at a communications office near the group’s headquarters. He had earlier survived an assassination attempt in April 2007 while crossing the Moei River by boat.
Mahn Sha was involved in ceasefire talks with the Burmese military regime in the past. He was highly respected among both ethnic and Burman allies. The Burmese regime saw him as a strong leader in the KNU who repeatedly called for genuine political dialogue.
He is survived by two daughters and a son.

Burmese Junta Warns INGOs
By WAI MOE
Thursday, February 14, 2008.

The relationship between the Burmese government and international health NGOs (INGOs) is like a doctor and “a patient with a tumor,” a government health official told INGOs during a meeting in Naypyidaw.
According to a document obtained by The Irrawaddy recently, the meeting on January 11, chaired by Dr San Shwe Win, the deputy director general of the public heath department, involved the ministry of health and INGOs.
San Shwe Win said that INGOs have to follow four basic principles: “non-political, non-religion, nonprofit and nongovernmental.”
Ministry officials and 14 INGO representatives based in Burma attended the meeting. Three INGO health groups, including Medecins Sans Frontieres—Switzerland, were absent.
One of the central issues was the INGOs use of junta-backed “coordination committees” to channel aid and services into the country.
During the meeting, the government distributed copies of the national planning ministry guidelines on INGOs, which was issued in February 2006.
Members of coordination committees are to be drawn from junta-backed social organizations such as the Union Solidarity and Development Association, the Myanmar National Working Committee for Women Affairs and, at the township level, the Auxiliary Fire Brigades and Veterans Association. The Burmese language version of the guidelines say that one of the duties of a township coordination committee is to monitor project teams and ensure that their activities don’t go beyond the stated scope of their mission.
Ministry officials said NGO staffers can only travel to a field mission with a “travel authorization” from the Ministry of Defense—Army. Applications involve various steps and take time. No permission, no travel, said the guidelines document.
The Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria cancelled its aid program in Burma in 2005, saying travel regulations prevented it from accomplishing its mission.
INGO workers have to apply for travel authorization two weeks in advance and if a trip is cancelled, it must be reported in advance as well.
No travel permits can be issued for short-term consultants or trainers from abroad, said officials.
INGOs also have to provide specific plans, purposes and the location of activities. Activities such as observation or monitoring will not to be accepted, said ministry officials.
The document said INGO projects in Burma will be reduced from five years to one year, and INGOs must renew their projects 3 to 6 months in advance because agreements between INGOs and Burmese officials must be approved by the ministry of national planning, ministry of revenue and attorney general of Burma.
All INGOs foreign staff who apply for a visa must indicate the period of time they will stay in the country and a reason.
Ministry officials cautioned INGOs about conducting surveys and research and advised them to keep such work to a minimum, calling it a “very sensitive issue.”
“Encourage utilization of the existing information from other NGOs,” said the document.
San Shwe Win chided some INGOs for what he called a double standard between foreign NGO staffers and ministry liaison officers. He said foreigners sometimes stayed in expensive hotels while liaison officers stayed at more moderate hotels.
“We do not request special facilities for them,” said San Shwe Win, but everyone should stay in the same hotel.

2008-02-13T15:59:00.003Z

Children’s Day should be a time for smiles and celebrations.
(Photo: Pat Brown/The Irrawaddy)

Children’s Day Nothing to Celebrate in Burma
By MIN LWIN
Wednesday, February 13, 2008.

Today is Children’s Day in Burma, commemorating the birthday of Gen Aung San, the founder of the Burmese armed forces and hero of Burmese independence. However, the current military leaders in Burma would rather erase his name from the history books and forbid his birthday being celebrated altogether.
“Gen Aung San’s story is genuine and honest,” said a former teacher from a primary school in Rangoon. “Something that is sorely absent among the current leaders.”
She said the authorities even removed a poem that was written about Aung San from primary text books. “Aung San’s birthday was erased by the military government when they took power in 1988,” she added.
“The name of Aung San always aroused excitement among young students, because teachers often taught stories about Aung San, his life and his sacrifice,” a Rangoon resident said.
But nowadays, teachers do not tell their students stories about Aung San for fear of reprisals.
A civil servant from Rangoon said that Aung San’s name has all but been erased from Burmese life. He is barely mentioned in the state-run media or in secondary school textbooks. Burma’s rulers no longer say they are following Aung San’s path, and the once elaborate Martyrs’ Day celebrations have been drastically curtailed.
According to a Rangoon resident, the reason the current military leaders want to keep Aung San at a distance is because of his daughter, Suu Kyi. Her presence in the country sits uncomfortably with the junta leaders. They regard her as their chief enemy.
However, the Township Peace and Development Council in Rangoon has given permission for the National League for Democracy to mark Burmese Children’s Day at their headquarters in Rangoon.
Whether celebrating Children’s Day is symbolic or not, the fact is that life expectancy and health conditions for Burmese children are increasingly worse since the military government took power in 1988.
In 2007, Burma’s child mortality rate was the fourth highest in the world, eclipsed in Asia only by Afghanistan, according to a UNICEF report in January.
According to Dr Osamu Kunii, a nutrition expert in Burma, between 100,000 to 150,000 children under five years of age die every year in Burma. That’s between 270 and 400 daily—and many are dying from preventable diseases.
Poverty, the economic crisis and instability in Burma drives more and more children in search of jobs. Some work from 5 a.m. until late at night in tea shops, bars and factories, often earning just 7,000 kyat ($ US5.72) per month.
A resident in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy recently that the amount of street children in the former capital is now increasing. “Many children aged between 4 and 13 are begging on the streets. Some young children are carrying babies and begging. Some street children look for plastic in the rubbish bins and dumps and some go fishing every day for their daily survival,” she said.
According to reports, sometimes street children who can’t produce ID are recruited into the Burmese army.

2008-02-13T15:32:00.003Z

Burmese people cast their votes in the 1990 elections.

Burmese Referendum: Here We Go Again...
By WAI MOE
Wednesday, February 13, 2008.

The referendum on a new Burmese constitution will be in May, but people are still in the dark about the exact election date and the contents of the constitution.
Many Burmese believe the election could meet the same fate as the 1973 referendum which was manipulated by the late dictator Ne Win, say Rangoon observers.
The last referendum in Burma was in 1973, which endorsed the 1974 socialist constitution. At that time, Ne Win’s regime declared that more than 99 percent of the voters supported the constitution, but critics say the results were rigged by the government.
Aye Thar Aung, an Arankan ethnic leader, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that a white box and a black box were at the polling station where he voted—a white box for a ‘Yes’ vote and a black box for a ‘No’ vote.
“I voted against the regime’s constitution in 1973. But when my township authorities declared the results, they said everyone voted ‘Yes,’” he said. “It means they cheated in the referendum. There were no independent or international observers to monitor the voting process.”
The current military regime also held a general election in 1990.
Aye Thar Aye, who was elected a member of parliament in the 1990 election, remembers harassment by authorities during the campaign.
“When I attempted to meet with people in Arankan State during that time, the authorities ordered boats not to take me and my team to campaign areas,” he said.
“But fortunately the voting system helped us and the voting allowed people to vote secretly,” he said. However, the election results were not honored by the regime, which refused to relinquish power.
On February 9, the junta announced the general dates for the referendum and nationwide election, in May and 2010 respectively. The referendum is the forth step in its road map to democracy.
“The approval of the draft constitution will be sought in a national referendum to be held in May,” Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo, Secretary 1 of the junta, said in the announcement.
The referendum on the constitution will be the second such election in Southeast Asia recently. Thailand held a referendum on a military-backed constitution in August 2007.
The coup organizers, who ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinwatara in September 2006, sent each household in the country a copy of the new constitution before the referendum. Seventy percent of the eligible voters turned out for the referendum, which passed with 56 percent of the vote.
The print media in Thailand provided extensive debate on the constitution’s merits. Thai broadcasting stations aired similar debates.
If the Thai constitution had failed in the referendum, the country would have returned to the 1997 constitution. In Burma, however, there has been no constitution for about two decades.
Also, open debate is not expected to occur in the Burmese referendum. No critical political debate has been allowed in the country since the coup by Ne Win in 1962. All daily newspapers are state-run or heavily censored. Many private journals and magazines are printed, but they will be prohibited from writing interpretive or commentary articles on the proposed constitution or political issues.
Observers see the Burmese junta’s referendum election as a move to ward off criticism from Western international community, and a way to shore up support from its closer allies, China, India and the Asean group countries.
A veteran Rangoon journalist who observed the 1973 referendum remembers that the socialist regime took a few years to hold the election.
“But now the referendum is only three months away,” he said. “So I don’t know what the junta will do or what will happen next.”
There are many unanswered questions, he said. “How can people participant in the constitution process?”

BURMA's CENSORSHIP BOARD

2008-02-12T20:42:00.000Z

12 February 2008 - DVB-TV NEWS

2008-02-12T20:36:00.000Z

NEWS UPDATE(FEB 12)

2008-02-12T19:58:00.000Z

2008-02-12T17:04:00.000Z

Members of Burma's opposition party National League for Democracy, wear traditional costumes of ethnic nationalities, stand in front of the party headquarters in Rangoon during the Union Day ceremony on Tuesday. (Photo: AP)

Union Day Protest in Rangoon
By SAW YAN NAING
Tuesday, February 12, 2008.

More than 30 protesters dressed in the blue uniforms worn by prison inmates staged a protest in Rangoon on Tuesday, demanding the release of political prisoners and respect for UN resolutions on Burma.
The protesters gathered for about 40 minutes outside the Rangoon headquarters of the opposition National League for Democracy, where Union Day ceremonies were being held. Riot police and plain clothes security officials were deployed outside the building and took pictures of the protesters on film and video, but no arrests were made.
An eyewitness said the protesters held posters and flags of ethnic groups. They voiced dissatisfaction with the pace of national reconciliation and accused the regime of wasting time in arranging talks between NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi and a government mediator, Aung Kyi.
Hundreds of people, including NLD leaders and prominent ethnic leaders such as Cin Sian Thang and Aye Thar Aung took part in the Union Day celebrations, one of the participants reported.
Union Day marks the date of the Panglong Agreement signed by Burma’s central government and representatives of various ethnic groups, such as Shan, Kachin and Chin nationalities, on February 12, 1947. Burma subsequently gained independence from Britain on January 4, 1948.
The Burmese regime’s observance of Union Day took place in Naypyidaw, where junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe urged people to work for the emergence of a lasting State Constitution laid down by the National Convention.
Than Shwe also urged people to supports implementation of the “seven-step road map.” The third stage of the “road map”—drafting a state constitution—was under way, he said.
In a Union Day statement issued by the 88 Generation Students group on Tuesday, the regime was accused of violating the fundamental rights of Burmese and ethnic people and civilians in Burma even though the country had won its independence from colonial rule more than 60 years ago.
Soe Htun, a leading member of the 88 Generation Students group, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the military government had ignored the crisis affecting the Burmese people, who lacked democracy, equality, self-determination and a federal union.
Soe Htun accused the regime of trying to implement a “one-sided constitution.” He urged the Burmese people to “cooperate in order to gaining democracy, equality and a federal union.”
The 88 Generation Students group pointed out that a three-way dialogue was the best way to solve the Burma crisis.
Last week, the Burmese military regime announced that general elections will be held in 2010 following a referendum this May on a new constitution being written under the junta's guidance and expected to entrench its role in government.

Asean Chief: Burma Charter Vote a First Step
By NOPPORN WONG-ANAN / REUTERS WRITER/ BANGKOK
Tuesday, February 12, 2008.
Burma's ruling generals should be given the benefit of the doubt if they are serious about moving the country toward democracy, Surin Pitsuwan, chief of Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said on Tuesday.
"It has to begin somewhere and now it has a clear, definite beginning," Surin said of the junta's planned May referendum on an army-written constitution, followed by elections in 2010.
"I think it is a development in the right direction," the former Thai foreign minister told Reuters on the sidelines of a business seminar in Bangkok.
The announcement by the military, which has ruled Burma in various guises since 1962, has been derided as a "sham" by the United States and pro-democracy activists who say the vote will be held in a "climate of fear."
Surin said the international community's growing frustration at Burma's intransigent generals was understandable, but he said they should be given a chance to fulfill their pledges.
"Everybody has their own agenda on the issue," said Surin, who leads one of the few international groupings that allow Burma into the club.
"We have to wait and see how things are going to develop and unfold. Whether these steps are going to lead to true national reconciliation which is what people inside have been asking for and the international community has been waiting for," he said.
The army held elections in 1990, but refused to hand over power to Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which boycotted the constitution-drafting process while its leader remained under house arrest.
Although not yet completed, snippets of the charter revealed in state-controlled media suggest the army commander-in-chief will be the most powerful figure in the country, able to appoint key ministers and assume power "in times of emergency."
Surin said Burma's announcement would be discussed by Asean foreign ministers meeting in Singapore later this month.
"I am sure they will be very keen to ask some questions and to consult among themselves how they can contribute or help," said Surin, who was critical of Burma when he served as Thailand's foreign minister from 1997-2000.
Western governments have called on Burma's neighbors—Asean, India and China—to put pressure on the generals after they ordered the army to crush the biggest pro-democracy protests in 20 years last September.
Despite rare expressions of discomfort at last September's crackdown, in which at least 31 people were killed, Burma's neighbors refuse to contemplate sanctions, saying words are more effective tools.

11 February 2008 - DVB-TV NEWS

2008-02-11T21:05:00.000Z

NEWS UPDATE(FEB 11)

2008-02-11T20:50:00.000Z

2008-02-11T19:50:00.000Z

USDA to Organize Referendum, Election
By WAI MOE
Monday, February 11, 2008.
The Union Solitary and Development Association (USDA) will organize the Burmese referendum on the constitution in May and the 2010 general election, including the selection of some candidates across the country, say USDA sources.
Sources close to the USDA told The Irrawaddy on Monday that USDA members at the township and district levels will form local commissions to oversee the referendum voting and general election process.
The USDA will also recruit respected local people to serve on the referendum and election commissions, said a source who requested anonymity.
Later, the USDA will play a role in the selection of what appears to be state-backed candidates in the general election, he said.
“Some people will be selected to serve as commissioners,” said one USDA member. “Some will be selected to be candidates in the 2010 election.”
“The association is now looking for well-educated, respected, wealthy people to be candidates in the election,” he said.
According to Khin Maung Gyi, the secretary general of the National Unity Party (NUP), the pro-junta USDA will transform itself into a political party in time to contest the 2010 elections.
The NUP secretary general told DPA news agency that he believed the 2010 elections would be free and fair, and could lead to an amnesty and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Sources said most USDA members were surprised when the junta announced on Saturday that general dates had been set for the referendum on the junta-backed constitution and general election.
Htay Aung, a Burmese researcher in Thailand, said the regime originally created the USDA to serve eventually as a junta-backed political party. In addition, he said, the USDA has been a source for junta-backed thugs who were used most recently to suppress the pro-democracy uprising in 2007.
“The military junta will use the USDA as a political tool during the referendum and the election,” said Htay Aung. “In November 2005, U Htay Oo, the secretary-general of the USDA, publicly said that if it is necessary, the association will be turned into a political party.”
Senior USDA members recently met with grassroots members, in what may have been preparations for the referendum and election, said the researcher.
According to official documents, the USDA, formed in 1993, has 24 million members or almost half of the population of Burma.
“The military regime is confident it can win the referendum and election,” said Htay Aung. “The regime thinks votes by USDA members alone can keep the generals in power.”
According to The New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper, the USDA’s Htay Oo and Brig-Gen Kyaw Swe, the commander of the armed forces’ southwest command, recently met with local members in Bassein as well as in Ngapudaw and Labutta in Irrawaddy Division.
Htay Oo also attended a USDA meeting on youth affairs in Naypyidaw on February 10.
In what is seen as a privileged perk for USDA members, the authorities recently gave the green light for state-approved cell phone licenses to be purchased by USDA members. The USDA also has been active in local state water supply projects and the registration process for identity cards across the country, work that is seen as enhancing its grassroots image.
USDA members held 633 seats, or 58 percent, at the National Convention which was convened in 1993 to prepare guidelines for the new constitution. The guidelines were finally approved in 2007.
Opposition group observers say that most USDA members are civil servants who were recruited by harassment and intimidation. It also includes teachers, students, business people and political activists.
Many Burmese view the USDA as principally an instrument of the regime that carries out violent acts against opposition activists and civilians. The group has paramilitary members who perform surveillance and search for dissidents in hiding.
USDA members played a key role in the bloody crackdowns during the 2007 uprising and in a deadly attack on Aung San Suu Kyi’s motorcade in 2003, in which about 100 people were killed.

NEWS UPDATE(FEB 10)

2008-02-10T20:04:00.000Z

2008-02-10T19:12:00.000Z

A giant billboard advertising the National Convention draws little interest from
the majority of Burmese people (Photo: AFP)
The Devil’s in the Details
By WAI MOE
Sunday, February 10, 2008.

Burmese pro-democracy groups and the international community voiced concerns over the junta’s announcement on Saturday of a referendum election on a new constitution to be held in May and a general election to be held in 2010.
A British foreign office spokesperson said, “The transition to democracy in Burma requires the participation of all political stakeholders,” voicing concerns raised by many Burma observers.
The government of Singapore, which currently holds the chair of the regional Asean group of countries, said the plan to hold a constitutional referendum and election was “a positive development” but the political process must “inclusive” of all groups.
State-run media announced the junta passed two decrees signed by Lt-Gen Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo, secretary 1 of the military council.
The first decree said the constitution referendum will complete the fourth step of the “seven-step road map to democracy.” Though not perfect, the proposed constitution will serve the basic needs of “the state and nationalities” of the country, according to the decree.
The second decree called for a nationwide democratic election of representatives to form a government, replacing the junta-ruled military government.
Nyan Win, a spokesperson of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy on Sunday that setting both dates at the same time was strange.
“The junta seems to be overly confident that its proposed constitution will be approved in the referendum,” he said. “We don’t know if the people will vote yes or no in the referendum. Normally, an election date is set following a referendum.”
Nyan Win also noted the lack of inclusion of opposition group leaders in the process, including Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic leaders, as called for by the international community.
“If the junta only does this kind of one-sided proposal, it will mean the military junta will continue its rule in Burma,” he said.
When the junta formed a National Convention to draft guidelines for a new constitution, the opposition called the convention a sham. The proposed constitution that seeks the people’s approval was drafted by a junta-picked committee formed by the government.
Tun Myint Aung, a leader of the 88 Generation Students group, said citizens must study the proposed constitution carefully, since pro-democracy groups were excluded from the drafting process.
He noted the junta announced a decree, known as 5/96, in 1996 that prohibits criticism of the national convention. If convicted, a person can receive a life sentence.
“Unless 5/96 is withdrawn, the referendum in May will not be free and fair,” said Tun Myint Aung. “That means the Burmese people could face a bloodbath in the future because there is no meaningful resolution in the junta’s plans, and there will be mass protests again if the people do not get a real democracy.”
A veteran politician in Rangoon, Chan Tun, said the junta’s decrees were vague and unclear whether the voting would be democratic and transparent.
“The junta must be clear what it will do if the people vote ‘no,’ and if the referendum is free and fair,” he said. “In the 1990 election, the Burmese people chose a democratic government, but the junta ignored the election results.”
Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political commentator in Thailand, said the two announcements were probably tactics to prolong military rule and a way to avoid meaningful pro-democracy dialogue, as called for by the international community.
“It means the junta does not want to compromise with dissidents,” he said. “Dialogue is death [to the junta] and [without dialogue] the Burmese conflict goes to a more dangerous level. The result is there will be only a nominal democracy or a ‘disciplined democracy’,” as the military has called for.
Larry Jagan, a British journalist who specializes in Burma issues, said that until the details of a constitutional referendum and general election are known, it is impossible to say whether the junta has made a significant step towards a real democracy.
The junta was badly defeated in the 1990 general election, he noted, and the generals may have tricks to use against the NLD and other candidates, including limiting their ability to field candidates, raise money and run a campaign.
Simply announcing the referendum and general election dates does not enhance the junta’s credibility, he said.
Jagan said the real issue is true dialogue which is not taking place.

NEWS UPDATE(FEB 09)

2008-02-09T21:17:00.000Z

2008-02-09T12:13:00.000Z

UN Chief Must Now Do His Best for Burma
By MIN ZIN
Saturday, February 9, 2008.
If leverage is the ticket to mediation, the United Nations’ effort to bring about political reconciliation in Burma has proved increasingly powerless in the past few months.
The military leaders in Naypyidaw remain defiant in the face of the UN's calls for introducing an inclusive national reconciliation process in Burma. Snr-Gen Then Shwe even rejected the UN suggestion to establish a poverty alleviation commission to address the country’s humanitarian crisis, clearly demonstrating the regime's criminal disregard for the people’s welfare.
The junta delayed a return visit by UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari until mid-April. China and India, through quiet diplomacy, are now trying to press the regime to agree to allow Gambari back this month. The recalcitrant generals, however, appeared to set March as the earliest date for his return.
Despite UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon repeatedly warning that a return to the status quo existing before the September crisis is not sustainable, the situation is now going back to square one. Everyone realizes that the momentum of the UN's mediation efforts has been dying down, and needs to be critically strengthened.
"Failure of Gambari's mission strongly suggests that the mandate of the secretary-general falls far short," said Aung Din, executive director of the US Campaign for Burma. "The Burma mandate of Ban Ki-moon, which has now been given by the UN General Assembly, must be enhanced and strengthened by the UN Security Council."
According to diplomatic sources close to the UN, the possibility of such initiative so far seems to be slim, in the face of China’s position within the Security Council. Ban Ki-moon may not want to risk China’s rejection by making such a bold recommendation to the Council.
"Ultimately, it is not a question for Ban Ki-moon but for members of the UNSC," Farhan Haq, a spokesman for Ban Ki-moon, told The Irrawaddy. "We continually update the Council through Gambari on what we have done on Burma. If they want to create a separate mandate, it would be for members of the Council to decide."
It seems that Ban Ki-moon is not ready to make such a proactive demand. If he pushed it within the UNSC, the Council could receive his recommendation as a procedural formality, but many observers believe that China would veto an actual decision and the initiative would then fail.
Aung Din disagrees, however —"No matter whether or not the UNSC will agree to develop a Burma mandate for Ban Ki-moon, it is his duty to ask for an effective mandate from the UNSC so that he can make a mediation effort in Burma possible," he said.
Another possible mechanism, apart from a direct UNSC mandate, is the "Group of Friends of the Secretary-General on Myanmar," a group of 14 nations—Australia, Indonesia, Russia, the United States, China, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, France, Norway, Thailand, India, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Ban Ki-moon convened the first meeting of the group on December 19 last year to assist him in his efforts to spur changes in Burma.
The Group is officially described as “a consultative forum for developing a shared approach in support of the implementation of the Secretary-General’s good offices mandate.” The group will meet informally as needed.
Many analysts wonder whether it could develop into possible multi-party talks on the North Korea model. Some Burma advocates in the US have suggested that Ban Ki-moon should convene the next meetings of the group in such Asian capitals as Jakarta or Beijing, thus making regional countries more committed and involved in UN-led mediation efforts.
Gambari recently expressed his frustration: "Everybody that I have spoken to have on record supported the role of the good offices of the secretary-general. But I am not satisfied with that. I want that general verbal expression of support to be translated into concrete action in support."
However, the possibility of such a large group as the "Group of Friends,” with diverse interests and views, offering the "concrete action in support" called for by Gambari remains a distant hope.
All in all, it is Ban Ki-moon who now needs to make a decisive move to strengthen his good offices role. In a recent report, the International Crisis Group (ICG) called for the direct involvement of Ban Ki-moon, saying: "It would be useful for Ban Ki-moon to get more personally involved, particularly at times when negotiations may appear to be deadlocked." It even urged Ban Ki-moon to pay a personal visit to Naypyidaw in the near future.
Burma’s opposition National League for Democracy said it would like to see such a visit at the highest level take place.

2008-02-08T19:00:00.000Z

Many Burmese citizens are reluctant to boycott their favorite products

New Campaign to Boycott Burmese Businesses
By MIN LWIN AND VIOLET CHO
Friday, February 8, 2008.

Despite the fact the United States government imposed additional sanctions on the Burmese military junta and its cronies recently, underground activists have initiated a campaign to boycott any goods believed to be linked with the regime.
Anonymous leaflets were spread around Rangoon this week calling on Burmese citizens to boycott businesses belonging to cronies and supporters of the regime. The leaflets accused the military authorities of bullying the ordinary people of Burma and making them slaves of the junta.
The proposed items for boycott include Myanmar Beer, Dagon Beer, London Cigarettes and Vegas Cigarettes, the state-owned Aung Bar Lay Lottery and all donut shops believed to be owned by relatives of the military leaders.
Myanmar Beer, Dagon Beer, London Cigarettes and Vegas Cigarettes are monopolized by the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Company Limited (UMEH).
UMEH is a military conglomerate. Shares in the holding company are held by members of the Ministry of Defense and the armed forces. Its board of directors is comprised of senior military officers.
J’ Donuts coffee shops are a popular chain in Rangoon and are believed to be owned by Kyaing San Shwe, the son of Snr-Gen Than Shwe. The usual suspect on all sanctions targets, Htoo Trading Company Limited, is also on the boycott list. The Chief Executive Officer of Htoo Trading Company Limited is the notorious Burmese businessman, Tay Za. Three companies and two individuals that have close connections to Tay Za were also added to the list for targeted sanctions.
Other persons singled out for targeted sanctions include the spouses of senior officials of the military junta.
Interestingly, government newspapers The New Light of Myanmar, The Mirror and two privately run journals, Nan Myint and Snaphot, were on the boycott list. Snaphot is owned by publisher Myat Khaing who is a close associate of Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, the minister for information.
Despite the bold moves, reaction from people in Burma has been mixed.
The Irrawaddy spoke to residents in Rangoon, Arakan State, Kachin State, Sagaing Division and Mandalay to sound out their opinion on the fresh boycott call by an underground group in Burma.
A beer shop owner in Sagaing who had not seen the leaflets said: “Burmese people don’t dare take part in this recent boycott campaign.
“We can’t even boycott Chinese products because we depend on Chinese toothpaste every morning,” he explained.
The general manager of an employment agency in Rangoon said, “It is not possible for Burmese people to boycott these products. If you don’t want to smoke London cigarettes, do you have any other choice?”
“I don’t think it will have any effect,” said Ko Ye, a tourist guide from Rangoon. “We don’t have anything to replace these products if we boycott them.”
Speaking to The Irrawaddy by telephone on Friday, a businessman who runs an oil and diesel retailers in Rangoon said, “We have no other choice for beer and cigarettes in Burma. We have long been using these products to relax and release tension.” He added that it would be impossible to boycott these products “if we are left with nothing.”
A writer and critic in Rangoon said, “I don’t think the boycott will be effective, because all the listed products are used by people around the country.”
He also said that it was difficult to find business and companies that have no connections with the military authorities.
A senior editor who publishes a monthly magazine in Rangoon said, “It is a good idea as a people’s movement, but it’s not practical. I think more people will join the boycott movement if it is beneficial to the people.”
However, a Kachin man living in Lai Zar, along the Kachin-Chinese border, backed the boycott campaign.
“I agree that we have to boycott these companies and firms that are close to the military regime,” he said. “Supporting them keeps the regime in power.”

Don’t Shoot the Messenger
Friday, February 8, 2008.
Since the bloody crackdown in September, the regime in Naypyidaw has become increasingly isolated. However, they are not sitting idly. They are buying time while ignoring the international community’s calls to reconcile with the democratic opposition and initiate a genuine dialogue.
The Western governments have tightened sanctions on the junta, since constructive engagement is so obviously doomed to failure. This, we believe, is the correct approach.
In this respect, the United States government has led the way in punishing the generals and cutting them off from their aspirations. The US is also the main player in keeping the spotlight on Burma. Recently, the Bush administration increased targeted sanctions on the regime leaders, their families and cronies, and leading Burmese businessmen. We welcomed the decision and hope the sanctions are expanded to hurt all powerful businesspersons who have strong connections to the military leaders. They deserve no less.
But more needs to be done. The generals know that the world’s attention is shifting and its attention span on Burma is short. The regime’s wrath is unyielding and the crackdown on dissidents continues.
Recently, a young man named Nay Phone Latt was arrested for blogging. He could be charged under Burma’s draconian Emergency Act and sentenced to seven years in prison.
The Burmese security forces have also stepped up surveillance on Internet cafés in Rangoon and those who visit them in the wake of hundreds of images and photos being sent out during the carnage in September.
The regime is fighting against a new enemy—cyber dissidents and citizen reporters, armed with cell phones, digital cameras and memory sticks.
Therefore, for the sake of change in Burma, it is vitally important that the lines of communication remain open at all times.
And so to New Zealand, where, last Monday, debate flared in parliament over the contracting of state-owned telecommunications company Kordia to install cell phone towers in Burma.
Kordia chief executive Geoff Hunt was quoted as saying that the firm had installed mobile base station equipment for Myanmar Post and Telecommunications.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who had denounced the Burmese regime in the past, was caught between a rock and a hard place. She defended her government’s position saying the contract would probably help democracy.
The Green Party, with six members in New Zealand’s 121-seat parliament, issued a press release criticizing the government for giving the green light for a public company to work in Burma.
The party’s foreign affairs spokesman, Keith Locke, said, “It is shocking that our government should be encouraging a state-owned company to help the Burmese regime, one of the most ruthless in the world.”
Clark countered by stating that there were no economic sanctions on Burma. The small contract that the state-owned Kordia signed was a joint venture with Thai firm ALT Inter Corporation, and was worth about NZ $80,000 (US $62,400).
“Quite frankly, I think that's probably an aid to democracy [in Burma], not a step backwards,” she said. “Because one of the ways of getting news out to the world and photos and images out to the world is precisely through that technology.”
In fact, she is not wrong. However, we’ve heard these lame excuses too often in the past.
Some years ago, the Australian government provided a series of human rights training courses to Burmese officials in the naïve assumption that the regime would see the light and start respecting the rights of its citizens.
A few years later, in May 2003, a gang of thugs trained by the regime attacked democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her motorcade. Where were the human rights trainees that day?
The junta is a lingering leopard that will never change its spots.
Nevertheless, we believe that the lines of communication between Burma and the outside world must remain open. It is essential that the citizens of Burma be able to purchase cell phones, SIM cards and other IT devices freely and at reasonable prices.
The state-controlled cost of US $1,500 for a SIM card alone is certainly not reasonable.
However, ultimately, more cell phones, cheaper Internet access, a higher computer literacy and unknown future gadgets will inspire a young generation who want to share stories and news with the rest of the world.
We look forward to seeing more and more ordinary folk in Burma chatting on mobile phones, exchanging photos by e-mail and researching news on the Internet. Burma should be flooded with cell phones and Internet cafés.
In the meantime, we must keep pressure on the regime to stop arresting cyber dissidents and citizen reporters who conform to Prime Minister Clark’s image as messengers of news, photos and images to the world.

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