Burma’s State Media Still Mum on Tainted Milk Powder

By MIN LWIN

The Burmese military government has still failed to take strong action to protect the public following the revelation of tainted powdered milk products imported from China, according to sources in Rangoon.

Eight-month old Zhou Xingtong is treated after drinking tainted Yashili brand milk powder, at a hospital in Chengdu, in southwest China's Sichuan province on September 23. Yashili is one of the most popular brands in Burma and is still selling at local markets in Rangoon. (Photo: AP)

“Most families are still using the cheap Chinese-made unsafe milk powder,” a Rangoon resident said. “The government hasn’t publicized to avoid use of China-imported milk powder in state-run newspapers.”

She said the general public has received no clear information from state-run media about tainted baby milk formula.

She told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the semi-official Myanmar Times weekly newspaper earlier published a story that said all imported dairy products from China had been banned, but failed to cite the reason. There was no mention of specific brands.

The newspaper reported on Monday that the Burmese Commerce Minister said it barred entry of all dairy products made in China since Tuesday last week.

The health ministry is testing samples of dairy products, especially from China, according to Kyaw Myint, a health ministry official, the newspaper reported.

According to the report, Burmese military government said it will destroy 16 tons of powdered milk made by one of the 22 Chinese dairy companies that produced melamine-tainted products. The milk was confiscated in Rangoon last week.

However, the Chinese brands of Yashili, Suncare and Red Cow milk powder are popular in Burma and are still selling at local markets in Rangoon, said a sales manager at a Rangoon commodity company.

“I found prohibited milk powder at local markets,” he said. “Most people can’t afford Thai imported milk powder, so they buy the [Chinese] milk powder because it is cheaper than other imported milk powder.”


“A 500-gram box of Chinese-made Red Cow is 800 kyat (US $0.64). Thai-made milk powder is four times more,” he said.

He said some Rangoon stores, including City Mart stores and Ocean Supercenter, have informed customers that they are not selling Chinese-made milk powder.

Meanwhile, the privately owned weekly Voice Journal published on Monday reported that some Rangoon supermarkets and local markets are still selling Chinese-made milk powder.

The Sanlu Group, based in Shijiazhuang, one of China’s best-known dairy product companies recalled 700 tonnes of its formula on September 12 after the product was linked to the tainted milk scandal, which so far has made 53,000 Chinese children ill and caused the death of at least four babies.

Melamine can cause kidney stones and other complications. An ingredient in plastics and fertilizers, the chemical has been banned in foods, but was introduced by dairy suppliers in China to give watered-down milk the appearance of having higher protein levels.

China is the world’s second biggest market for baby milk powder. Sanlu has been the top-selling company in the sector for 15 years, with 18.3 percent of sales in 2007. In 2006, the country produced 32.2 million tons of milk, up from 8.6 million tons in 2000.

Karen Group Opposes Salween River Dams

By SAW YAN NAING

The Burmese government’s plan to build two major hydropower dams—the Wai Gyi and Hat Gyi—on the Salween River in eastern Burma threatens the human rights of local residents and the biodiversity of the area, says an environmental organization.

According to the report “Khoe Kay: Biodiversity in Peril” released by the Thailand-based Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) on Monday, more than 40 rare seeds and animal species in the Salween River watershed are likely to vanish if the Burmese government completes construction of the hydropower dams.

Ko Shwe, a researcher who spent three months collecting data in the area, said, “According to our research, we found about 394 different species. Among them, there are 40 indigenous species including plants and animals. If the dam is completed, these species will be totally vanished.”

The report urged the government to conduct a professional environmental assessment as well as an environmental impact study before construction work begins on the hydropower dams.

The Wai Gyi and Hat Gyi dams are both located in Karen National Union controlled areas.

Meanwhile, Saw Nay, the director of Karen River Watch, said the Hat Gyi dam on the lower Salween River threatened several thousands of residents as well as wildlife.

According to its research, about 5,000 reside in more than 20 villages in the upper Hat Gyi dam area will be forced to relocate if the dam is completed, he said. He said human rights abuses such as forced labor, forced relocation, the disappearance of culture heritage as well as environmental damage including disforestation and flooding are likely to occur.

The Hat Gyi dam, the first to be built, is designed to power a 600-megawatt turbine. The project is expected to be complete by 2010.

The Hat Gyi dam project has drawn strong protests from nongovernmental organizations concerned about the potential environmental impact and the dam’s effect on the livelihood of villagers.

TI Corruption Index is No Different Either

By SAI SOE WIN LATT

Transparency International (TI), a Berlin-based nongovernmental organization, released its 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) on September 23. The survey ranked 180 countries around the world according to the performance of their respective governments on corruption in the public sector.

Myanmar [Burma] was ranked second worst after Somalia.

The first questionable aspect about the CPI is the nature of the study itself. As the name indicates, it is merely a “perception” of corruption. But whose perception is it? It's not the perceptions of those from nongovernmental public sectors (such as schools, health care, etc) or that of social/political activists and critics or a wider population. Rather, it is an impression of a few, selected, so-called “experts” from the private sector, economic/business executives, and middle-ranking managerial staff from major companies and financial institutions.

The second and most obvious flaw in TI’s data is that it has simply presented a quantitative study showing only nation states’ numbers and ranks without any explanation about why and how corruption takes place. As corruption is shown to be overwhelmingly prominent in the Third World, the survey simply blames the Third World for its own corruption.

The title of TI's press release is "Persistently High Corruption in Low-Income Countries Amounts to an ‘Ongoing Humanitarian Disaster.’” However, the corruption within low-income countries is not limited to the governments alone. Instead, it is embedded in the histories of these countries where they have been forced to join a global system of free market economy alongside decolonization and cold war politics.

Throughout history, corrupt and authoritarian regimes in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East have been installed and supported by rich nations. Yet, rich countries' collective guilt does not prove the innocence of Third World regimes, such as that of Burma.

The Burmese junta is not a monolith. Its power base and military might are fortified by multinational corporations from the so-called high income countries. The classic example is the operation of the US-based Unocal and French Total oil companies, which provide annual premiums for resource extraction that provide not only financial security to the regime, but intensify oppression and corruption in the state.

First World institutions and companies undoubtedly play a dirty hand in perpetuating the corrupt and authoritarian regimes in the Third World, and are therefore contributing to this “ongoing humanitarian disaster.”

This government-based approach raises a question of private sector corruption that affects people's lives profoundly. TI claimed that "unchecked levels of corruption would add US $50 billion—or nearly half of annual global aid outlays—to the cost of achieving the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) on water and sanitation."

Yet, following the US-based Lehman Brothers Inc's recent bankruptcy and the subsequent destabilization of the entire global financial system, is not the Bush administration’s attempts to bailout the financial sector to the tune of $700 billion much worse than the cost of Third World corruption?

Or when a Chinese dairy company withholds information from consumers about chemical contamination in their products, are we to assume that this is the type of private sector operation that TI trusts to draw its data from?

While the CPI survey looks like a political project, the truth is that it is yet another World Bank/IMF-type production that paints the Third World as “the white man's burden.”

Put differently, this is just a different way of regarding the Third World and its peoples as “governable subjects,” in the words of late French scholar Michel Foucault. That is, by labeling the Third World “problematic,” the so-called aid organizations can expand their agendas to govern the Third World in the name of problem-solving.

This is not my cynical assumption—it is explicitly mentioned in the TI press release, which is jam-packed with terminology such as “humanitarian disaster,” “a matter of life and death,” “horrendous consequences,” and “the global fight against poverty;” all of which are the offspring of corruption and threaten to derail the UN’s MDGs.

The CPI concluded that “Not only does this call for a redoubling of efforts in low-income countries ... it calls for a more focused and coordinated approach by the global donor community to ensure development assistance is designed to strengthen institution of governance and oversight in recipient countries...”

Transparency International's CPI is worth considering as it sheds light on the persistence of corruption in the world (not only Third World). But, the questions concerning its rationality and methodology—as well as who produces this and for what ends—must be asked before accepting it uncritically.

Sai Soe Win Latt is a PhD student of Geography at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada.

DKBA Recruited Villagers for Assault on KNLA

By VIOLET CHO

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a splinter group of the Karen National Union (KNU), reportedly forcibly recruited villagers to bolster its forces for a military offensive against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA).

According to the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), which documents the human rights situation in Karen State, the DKBA Brigade 999, led by Maung Chit Thu, began a recruiting campaign in mid-August, ordering village heads in T’Nay Hsah Township, Pa’an District, to muster local people to take part in an assault on a stronghold of the KNLA’s Sixth Brigade in Kawkareik district.

Selection was carried out by a lottery system. Those chosen were enlisted for at least 18 months service in the DKBA army.

Poe Shan, field director of KHRG, said: “About 175 villagers from 11 villages in Pa-an district are now intensively being trained to be soldiers in the DKBA army.”

Villagers selected under the lottery system could hire others to take their place, but had to guarantee that the replacements would not desert the army. Villages were also required to pay the DKBA 300,000-400,000 kyat (US $235-313) for the upkeep of each recruit.

A KNLA Sixth Brigade official confirmed that DKBA battalions 907, 903 and 333 were being deployed for a military offensive. The Sixth Brigade was ready to confront the attackers, he said.

Hser Gay, a senior member of the Brigade’s taxation department, said the DKBA wanted to wrest control of Kawkareik district from the KNLA because of the economic advantages to be gained, in logging and mining.

Several skirmishes between KNLA and DKBA forces have occurred this year, and DKBA troops overran a KNLA Battalion 201 base in early July, forcing many Karen villagers to flee across the border to Thailand.

Despite the military buildup, the KNU is proceeding with preparations for its 14th congress, at which successors will be chosen for its assassinated General Secretary Padoh Mahn Sha and deceased President Ba Thein Sein.

Security Further Tightened in Rangoon, Sittwe

By SAW YAN NAING

Security has been stepped up in the Arakan capital, Sittwe, following last Saturday’s protest demonstration by about 100 monks. Tightened security measures are also reported from Rangoon, where the authorities have reportedly banned fireworks at this year’s Thadinyut full moon festival.

A university student in Sittwe told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that police patrols had been increased throughout the city, and monasteries had come under close observation.

Riot police in trucks had been posted in the area of Pyi Lone Chan Tha Payar Gyi temple, where monks had demonstrated in September 2007, the student said. Security guards had been posted at hotels and guesthouses, according to some sources.

A dissident source in Rangoon said about 20 trucks carrying riot police were patrolling city streets, checking monasteries and the headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD). Security guards had been posted outside City Hall.

A bomb exploded near City Hall last week, injuring a number of people and triggering a security clampdown. The attack came on the eve of the first anniversary of the regime’s brutal suppression of the September 2007 uprising.

Nine NLD members were briefly detained on Saturday at ceremonies marking the party’s 20th anniversary. They complained they were kicked and beaten as they were questioned about their involvement in the September 2007 uprising.

Rangoon sources also said the city’s Township Peace and Development Council was recruiting members of the junta-backed Swan Arr Shin for policing duties, paying the recruits about 3,000 kyat (US $2.4). Swan Arr Shin members are renowned for their brutality in dealing with anti-government protests.

In a further move to tighten security in Rangoon, the authorities have reportedly banned fireworks at the annual Thadinyut festival in mid-October. Fireworks are a traditional part of the celebrations.

The ban is being enforced with the threat of prison sentences of one year for anyone caught setting off fireworks to between three years and seven years for those found manufacturing and selling them.

Remove ‘Unjust’ Economic Sanctions: Junta

By LALIT K JHA / UNITED NATIONS

The Burmese military government on Monday urged the international community to lift "unjustified" economic sanctions that hurt the development and progress of its people.

"Unilateral sanctions have been imposed on my country," Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win told the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

"These sanctions are unwarranted. Unilateral sanctions are also against international law. They are not only unfair, but also immoral. They are counter productive and deprive the country of its right to development."

Nyan Win said economic sanctions are holding back Burma’s contribution to the international community. The United States and many EU countries have imposed economic sanctions on Burma in recent years to urge it to move toward a more democratic government and to protect human rights.

"Myanmar [Burma] has abundant land and natural resources to be able to make a meaningful contribution to energy and food security of our country and beyond. In order for us to fulfill our potential we need unfettered access to market," he said.

Observing that his country needs modern technology and investment, Nyan Win said: "The sooner the unjust sanctions are revoked and the barriers removed, the sooner will the country be in a position to become the rice bowl of the region and a reliable source of energy."

In an apparent dig at the Security Council, where many permanent members have been unsuccessfully trying to pass a binding resolution against the Burmese military regime, he said: "I would like to stress that attempts to initiate formal or informal discussions in the Security Council on situations that do not constitute a threat to international peace and security are contrary to the letter and spirit of the charter."

The Foreign Minister said necessary measures are being taken to conduct the 2010 elections. "The government would make every effort to ensure that the elections will be free and fair," he said.



Meanwhile, two Nobel Peace Prize winners, Jody Williams and Wangari Maathai, along with popular Hollywood actress-turned-activist Mia Farrow on Monday urged the UN and Asean to exert more pressure on the Burmese military regime.

During a press conference at the UN Correspondents Association at
UN headquarters in New York, the three activists expressed their dissatisfaction over the steps taken by the UN and Asean regarding the restoration of democracy in Burma, the release of political prisoners and the protection of human rights.

Fresh from a recent visit to the Thai-Burma border, Williams, Maathai and Farrow said they found the Burmese military regime is keeping the pressure on democracy activists.

"We are calling for the release of political prisoners in Burma, including Aung San Suu Kyi, the cessation of campaigns of violence against ethnic nationalities and a dialogue to real democracy in the country," Farrow said.

"We are also calling for the delivery of humanitarian relief post Cyclone Nargis directly to the people of Burma," she said.

The activists formed part of a fact-finding mission that visited Sudan, Eastern Chad, and the Thai-Burma border. A report on the visit along with their recommendations was released Monday during the press conference.

"We must keep up the pressure on the world's superpower to do the right thing in Darfur and Burma—and create the conditions for long-lasting peace and democracy," said Farrow.

Following the recent visit of Ibrahim Gambari, the special UN envoy to Burma, Williams said she supported the decision of Aung San Suu Kyi to not to meet with the UN envoy.

"Why would you meet with this guy (Gambari) and legitimize a process which is doing nothing," she said. "I commend her for refusing this meeting."

“This is a failed mission, why should she support it,” Williams said.

Referring to the upcoming visit of UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon to Burma later this year, she said: "I do not know, why he is going there. A visit to make a visit is worthless. If nothing comes of it, what is the point?"

The report prepared by the delegation called on the UN, Asean and other international institutions to pressure the Burmese military regime to take steps toward greater democracy—most urgently, the immediate release of all political prisoners in Burma including Aung San Suu Kyi.

They also called for a "commitment" from Asean and UN Security Council to act upon their own call for democratic reform including freedom of assembly in Burma.
The report also called for sending humanitarian aid to the people of Burma through NGOs rather than through the Burmese government.

Referring to her conversation with an Asean diplomat during her trip to the region, Williams said as much as 25 percent of the foreign aid is "removed off the top" due to foreign currency exchange.

"So, if they start taking 25 percent even before they [the military junta] start stealing, I can imagine what is actually getting to the people," Williams said. "I think the international community should look at another mechanism in supplying the aid.”

Philippine Gold Miners Rescued After a Week Underground

By JIM GOMEZ / AP WRITER

MANILA — Battered and bruised from trying to swim to safety, rescuers saved six men trapped for a week in an abandoned gold mine in the northern Philippines, but eight others remained unaccounted for, officials said Tuesday.

Divers were trying to reach two other men seen in the shaft, but it was not clear if they were still alive, said Mines and Geosciences Bureau officer George Baywong, who is supervising rescue efforts. He said six others remained missing.

"We don't know if they are survivors," Baywong said. "We are hoping against hope that they are still alive."

The men entered the mine in the mountain township of Itogon during a typhoon Sept. 22 that rapidly flooded the tunnels, officials said. The bodies of two miners were retrieved Sept. 25.

Rescuers and relatives applauded as three survivors were brought out Monday and three others Tuesday on stretchers. They were weak and ravenous—one said he ate part of his shirt to stave off hunger pangs—but appeared to be in generally good health.

"This is some sort of a miracle," Neoman de la Cruz, another Mines and Geosciences Bureau officer, told The Associated Press by telephone. "Our hardships have been compensated and we won't give up our search for more survivors."

Nearly 100 rescuers have been battling heavy rains and rising water to look for the miners, de la Cruz said. The search was focusing on tunnels where faint human voices could be heard.

The tunnels, dug decades ago in mountainous Benguet province, were abandoned in the 1990s by a gold mining company which had posted guards at two entrances to prevent accidents. The trapped miners—who were working on their own with no permit—dug a narrow passageway to gain access to the tunnels, Baywong said.

The first two miners rescued Monday managed to survive by standing on a ledge in a tunnel where there was enough oxygen to keep them alive. Four others rescued late Monday and Tuesday morning were found in separate elevated portions of the shaft. Baywong said all were taken to a hospital.

The men said they survived on dripping rainwater collected in plastic containers.

"They had water to drink but nothing else, no food at all. One was so hungry, he told me he ate a part of his shirt," said Manuel Quirino, a doctor who examined the miners after they were brought out alive.

Paramedic Rafael Valencia told The Associated Press by telephone from Itogon that he asked one miner if he was hungry.

"Are you kidding me sir? How can I not be hungry? There was no restaurant inside," Valencia quoted the man as saying in jest as he was carried out.

Most of the miners were bruised and battered from repeated attempts to swim out of the flooded tunnel—700 feet (200 meters) below the ground—Valencia said.

"One virtually had lost hope they would make it out of there alive, especially after many of their headlamps lost power," Valencia said.

"They told us they slept and waited and slept and waited. They prayed. By a stroke of luck and the efforts of so many rescuers, they made it alive," he said.

Vietnam Charges 2 Journalists for Alleged False Reporting

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HANOI — Two journalists will go on trial after being charged with reporting false information about one of Vietnam's most high-profile corruption cases, state media reported Tuesday.

Reporters Nguyen Van Hai and Nguyen Viet Chien were charged formally with "abusing freedom and democracy," an offense that carries a maximum jail sentence of seven years. The two are known for aggressive reporting on corruption at two of the country's largest and most respected dailies.

Two police officers who provided information to the journalists will also be tried on charges of "deliberately revealing state secrets," the Nguoi Lao Dong (Laborer) newspaper said.

The trials could start within two weeks at the Hanoi People's Court, it said.

Security agents jailed the two journalists on May 12 citing unspecified inaccuracies in their reporting on a major scandal at Vietnam's transportation ministry that erupted in 2005.

The case led to the conviction of nine people accused of illegally betting millions of dollars on European football matches with money embezzled from a unit of the ministry that managed major road and bridge building projects.

The unit received substantial funding from the World Bank and the Japanese government.

The case prompted the transportation minister to resign and led to the arrest of the deputy minister, although the charges against him were dropped in March.

The Nguoi Lao Dong report said one of the policemen charged with revealing state secrets is Gen. Pham Xuan Quac, the scandal's chief investigator.

Prosecutors and officials at Vietnam Journalists Association were not available for comment Tuesday.

Asian Stocks Plunge after US Lawmakers Reject Bailout

By YURI KAGEYAMA / AP WRITER

TOKYO — Asia was shaken Tuesday by the collapse of the US financial bailout effort, with the region's political leaders expressing hopes for a quick solution and Japan's central bank injecting more cash into money markets to promote liquidity and lending.

"This is a bad development," Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said of the U.S. House of Representatives' rejection Monday of a US $700 billion plan to rescue ailing financial companies burdened with piles of bad mortgage-related debts.

"The outcome has caused a major impact not only the US economy but also the world economy," said Japan's Economy and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano, urging Washington to renegotiate a workable package.

The bailout plan, defeated by a vote of 228-205, is aimed at preventing a possible collapse in the US financial system, which would have dramatic repercussions for Asia and the entire global economy.

While few Asian financial companies have been hurt badly by the credit crisis, the fallout could spread, and a recession in the US would batter Asia's export-oriented economies.

Jitters about the crisis were evident last week in Hong Kong when hundreds of customers descended on branches of Bank of East Asia to withdraw their money amid rumors spread by cell phone text messages that questioned the bank's stability. The bank and authorities called the rumors baseless, and the bank run subsided after a day or two.

On Tuesday, reports in India that depositors were beginning to pull out their money from the nation's largest private bank, ICICI Bank Ltd., promoted the Reserve Bank of India to reassure the jittery public about adequate cash reserves.

"The Reserve Bank of India is monitoring the developments and has arranged to provide adequate cash to ICICI Bank to meet the demands of its customers at its branches and ATMs," the central bank said in a statement.

The Bank of Japan pumped another 3 trillion yen (US$28.7 billion) into money markets Tuesday as part of the coordinated effort of the world's central banks to boost liquidity and lending. Since the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers earlier this month, the BOJ has injected 21 trillion yen ($200 billion) into markets.

News of the bailout rejection sent many Asian stock markets plunging. Japan's Nikkei 225 sank more than 4 percent, but Hong Kong's key index reversed its early slide to close 0.8 percent higher.

On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average slid 777 points—it's biggest point drop ever—or nearly 7 percent, to 10,365.45.

In Washington, congressional leaders and officials scrambled to restructure the bailout proposal so that it would attract the support needed to pass.

Hong Kong's de facto central bank called for calm while highlighting the gravity of the situation.

"When the rescue plan remains uncertain, finances of financial institutions also remain doubtful," said Joseph Yam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Later in the day, Hong Kong's financial chief John Tsang said the authority will introduce a series of temporary measures, effective Thursday, to provide more liquidity in the banking system to quell worries about credit tightening and liquidity shortage.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo expressed hopes for another vote soon in the US House to allow the bailout to pass.

"That just goes to show that this is really a time of global economic uncertainty," she said. "I know that these global forces are causing real difficulties for countries around the world so we in the Philippines have been working hard on all fronts."

Her nation is trying to control inflation and help people hit by the global financial woes, she said.

Nestor Espenilla Jr, deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, said the worries were more about the overall dangers to the nation's economy, rather than direct exposure Philippine banks had to the U.S. financial woes.

"First, we only have a very limited amount of exposure, and, second, we continue to have high levels of liquidity," he said.

Thailand's Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat told investors to stay calm.

"The impact of the global financial turmoil on our economy will be limited," he said. "We can still cope with the situation but we have to warn investors not to be alarmed."

Chinese financial markets were closed for the week for national holidays and so the central bank made no official comment.

New Zealand Finance Minister Michael Cullen said he expects the U.S. House of Representatives to eventually agree on a financial bailout package because of the dire consequences if they fail to do so.

Cullen told New Zealand's National Radio that he was surprised the package was turned down as credit markets were drying up and would continue to do so without a bailout.

"At the end of the day, it's hard to believe that the lower house won't approve some sort of package," he said.

Opposition Must Cooperate: Win Tin

By SAW YAN NAING

Recently freed after 19 years in prison, Win Tin, who was on Saturday reappointed secretary of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) at an event marking the party’s 20th anniversary, used the occasion to call for the NLD to cooperate with ethnic leaders and pro-democracy groups in the fight for change in Burma.

Burmese residents in Japan hold a giant flag as they stage a rally on Saturday to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of detained Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party (NLD) at a Tokyo park, Japan. (Photo: AP)

“Win Tin said the fight for democracy hasn’t ended yet,” NLD spokesman Win Naing told The Irrawaddy. “He said the NLD alone can’t work it out. He said we need to cooperate together with ethnic and pro-democracy forces.”

Freed as part of a government amnesty, the NLD’s Win Tin and Khin Maung Swe were appointed to the party’s Central Executive Committee, while another released member, Than Nyein, was reassigned to his former position as vice-chairman of the Rangoon Division Organizing Committee, according to NLD spokesman Win Naing.

Prominent ethnic Arakanese leader Aye Thar Aung, who is secretary of the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament (CRPP), welcomed the return of the NLD members and said he believed that the CRPP should also be more active in dealing with the NLD.

Aye Thar Aung told The Irrawaddy that the NLD had not been able to bring about any tangible improvements in democratic reform in Burma within the last 20 years as hoped.

Before his 19 years in prison, Win Tin served as a secretary of the NLD and was senior advisor to detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi. He was arrested in 1989 and sentenced to a total of 20 years imprisonment on a series of trumped up charges, such as “instigation to civil disobedience” and “secretly publishing anti-government propaganda.”

He was released on September 23 along with 9,001 other prisoners, only a handful of whom are considered political prisoners. According to a Thailand-based human rights group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), there are more than 2,000 political prisoners still behind bars in Burma.

During the 20th anniversary ceremony in Rangoon, Win Tin called for the release of all political prisoners, including the detained Buddhist monks, Tin Oo of the NLD and leaders of the 88 Generation Students group—Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Htay Kywe.

That same day, several members of the NLD—including active youth member Htet Htet Oo Wai—were arrested by security forces and later released, said Nyan Win, the party’s spokesman.

On September 22, the NLD released a statement calling for a review of the junta’s constitutional process. The statement urged Burmese authorities to reconsider the state constitution, calling the draft constitution “one-sided” and lacking the participation of the 1990-elected members of parliament.

Then on Saturday at the anniversary ceremony, the NLD released another statement calling for the ruling junta to release all political prisoners, reopen NLD offices and convene a people’s parliament. More than 300 participants, including NLD members, veteran Burmese politicians and foreign diplomats, attended the 20th anniversary of the NLD’s founding.

The NLD was later warned by the head of Burma’s police, Brig-Gen Khin Yi, to withdraw its statement, because the authorities saw it potentially motivating citizens to undertake activities critical of the military government.

The NLD is the main opposition party in Burma and won a landslide victory—392 out of 492 seats—in parliamentary elections in 1990. However, the current Burmese government, led by Snr-Gen Than Shwe, ignored the election results and refused to transfer power to Suu Kyi’s NLD.

Meanwhile, a monk in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan state in western Burma, was briefly summoned and questioned by authorities after joining about 100 Buddhist monks marching in heavy rain on Saturday in protest against the military government, according to another monk in Sittwe.

Package Tour Available to Irrawaddy Delta in October

By VIOLET CHO

Tourists can visit the cyclone battered Irrawaddy delta and see the devastated communities firsthand starting in October. A leading tourist agency in Southeast Asia, Exotissimo Travel, plans to introduce a “Heart of the Delta” tour which offers tourists access to communities hit by Cyclone Nargis, which battered the delta in May.

“We will start to accept bookings from tourists who are interested in visiting the Irrawaddy delta by the beginning of October,” said Su Su Tin, managing director of Exotissimo Myanmar in Rangoon.

“The trip to the delta is possible now for tourists because there will be less rain starting in October,” she said.

Tourist companies in Burma say they are starting ad campaigns to draw more tourists to as the peak tourist season runs from October to February.

Following the cyclone, Exotissimo Travel established an emergency fund that collected US $10,000 for survivors.

“We will take tourists to the storm affected areas to see the real situation with the people there,” said Su Su Tin. “We will also have a fund for tourists who want to make donations to the cyclone affected communities they visit.”

The idea of creating tours to visit devastated communities drew criticism from some in the travel industry.

A senior staff member at a tourist agency in Rangoon said, “It is inappropriate and unethical to take tourists to visit disadvantaged people from the cyclone affected areas for the profit of your businesses.”

Tourism in Burma fell to nearly zero following the civil uprising in 2007 and then again following the cyclone in May 2008 and the ensuing publicity about the difficulties international aid agencies had in gaining access to the delta area. Many tour agencies cut staff and salaries.

A Rangoon-based tour guide said, “Tourism declined in the last couple of months because of the rainy season.” He said last year there tourists were visiting the country even during the rainy season. Tour operators expect tourism to increase steadily if there are no more uprisings or negative publicity.

Junta Amends Historical Commission Law

By MIN LWIN

Burma’s military government has amended the Myanmar [Burmese] Historical Commission Law, transferring authority for historical research from the ministry of education to the ministry of culture, according to an announcement in the state-run New Light of Myanmar on September 25.

The paper said that Burmese top general Snr-Gen Than Shwe signed the amendment to the Myanmar Historical Commission Law, which was first instituted in 1985.

Burmese historians contacted by The Irrawaddy said that the Myanmar Historical Commission exists to provide Than Shwe with information about customs and rules of governance that prevailed under ancient Burmese kings.

A former history professor from Mandalay University said that Than Shwe regards himself as a king, requiring visitors to his home to sit lower than him.

“Than Shwe thinks of himself as a king,” he said. “That’s why he wants to know Burmese royal customs.”

Than Shwe has been the highest-ranking member of the Burmese junta since April 23, 1992.

Shortly after the regime seized power in 1988, it formed a historical committee to write a “true version” of Burmese history.

“Dictatorships try to lie about the country’s history and hide the true history,” said another Burmese historian. “They want to make the army a model for the country.”

The Myanmar Historical Commission was founded in 1955 by the government of U Nu, Burma’s first and only democratically elected prime minister. It consisted of prominent historians who sought to systematically compile data about the history of Burma from the earliest traceable date to the present. The Commission was placed directly under the charge of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Under the socialist government that ruled from 1962 to 1988, the commission was converted to the Directorate of Burmese Historical Research under the Ministry of Culture. In 1985, it was transferred to the Ministry of Education and its name was changed to the Universities Historical Research Department.

Sources from Rangoon University’s history department said that Burmese military government has fired at least 14 members of the Myanmar Historical Commission, including Sai Aung Tun, the retired rector of the University of Foreign Languages in Rangoon, former professor Tun Aung Chein, and Ni Ni Myint, wife of late Burmese dictator Ne Win, who formed the first military government in 1962.

State Violence in Thailand and Burma

By HTET AUNG

BANGKOK — The Thai military’s recent refusal to use force to crack down on the current demonstrations staged by the People’s Alliance for Democracy has become the subject of an academic debate about whether this signals a real change in the Thai military, and whether it could give a positive lesson to Burma’s military rulers that could have an effect on the country’s democratic transition.

At a recent seminar entitled “State Violence against Popular Protests: Thailand and Burma,” Thai and Burmese academics and activists exchanged views in a discussion comparing how the governments of the two countries have used violence against citizens struggling for democracy in their respective countries.

The seminar was held on September 26 and hosted by the Center for Social Development Studies at Chulalongkorn University and the Peace for Burma Coalition to commemorate the first anniversary of last year’s monk-led Saffron Revolution in Burma. The seminar also served to show Thai civil society’s solidarity with the defenseless people of Burma, who have been living under repressive military rule for over four decades.

The two Southeast Asian nations both have a history of bloody military coups and violent crackdowns on protesters. “Thai and Burmese states are not different, because they always use violence against popular protests,” said Dr. Naruemon Thabchumpon, director of the Master of Arts Program in International Development Studies at Chulalongkorn University.

“In Thailand, an historic popular protest which was brutally suppressed by the Thai military happened on October 14, 1973. Thailand, like Burma, also used similar violent methods, resulting in the deaths of many demonstrators, including the assassinations of more than 20 farmer leaders at the time,” she added.

Dr. Naruemon, who specializes in comparative democratic studies and the politics of civil society and grassroots movements, also analyzed important changes in civil society movements under the repressive Thai military governments of the 1970s.

“During 1973 -1976, Thailand experienced more than one thousand demonstrations, which came from the working class and the rural farmers. It was the time that Thailand began to form the Farmer Federation of Thailand, labor unions and democratic organizations like the Union for Civil Liberty.

“In 1976, Thailand experienced another bloody coup, resulting in many students and protesters fleeing to the jungle to join the Communist Party of Thailand. The event is very similar to the 1988 democratic uprising [in Burma] and the consequent fleeing of Burmese students to the border area.”

But she pointed out one important difference between the two countries. As the Thai economy became much more integrated into the global market in the 1970s and 1980s—something that did not happen in Burma—it generated a middle class which began to feel that the military could not run the country’s economy.

“The Thai military regime and elites understood that whatever happened in Thailand also had ramifications externally,” noted Larry Jagan, a veteran journalist and Burma watcher.

He pointed out that this economic factor also played a major part in the Thai military’s decision to refrain from using force against the current popular protests, citing the possible impact on international aid and trade if the army had responded to the unrest with violence.

Members of the panel agreed that Thai military leaders are more business-minded than their counterparts in Burma. According to Jagan, the Burmese regime always takes the attitude that “We never negotiate, but we can discuss.”

“The Burmese army doesn’t understand a win-win situation. They have the military mindset that there is no such situation in the battlefield. If you win, somebody loses,” said Jagan.

Even former prime minister and intelligence chief, Gen Khin Nyunt, who was considered by the international community to be the only Burmese military leader with an understanding of international politics, subscribed to this view, said Jagan.

“It is in the mind of the Burmese army and the military leaders that the army is the only institution which can save the country from being split,” said Zaw Min, who is in charge of foreign affairs for the Democratic Party for a New Society, a Burmese opposition party. He told the panel that the Burmese army’s core belief is that “it is the savior of the nation in history.”

“We can see the political changes after each popular protest in Thailand. But after every popular protest in Burma, there has been no progressive change but more oppression and restrictions,” said Zaw Min.

To make his point, he listed the many occasions that the Burmese military has violently responded to protests since it seized power in 1962. These include the crackdown on student demonstrations on July 7, 1962; the violent suppression of unrest at the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games in 1967; the crushing of student protests during the funeral of former UN Secretary-General U Thant in 1974; the crackdown on workers’ protests in 1975; the bloody coup that ended the nationwide student-led democratic uprising in 1988; and the ruthless assault on Buddhist monks during the Saffron Revolution in 2007.

The last panelist to speak, Dr. Buranaj Smutharak, a member of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC), said the Thai military’s decision to refrain from using violence to end the standoff in Bangkok could indicate “the positive change towards the openness of the societies in the region.”

However, while the Thai military has learned to avoid using violence against citizens involved in popular protests, the Burmese army has shown no such willingness to act with restraint. Whether Burma’s rulers are prepared to follow more positive regional trends remains an open question.

China’s Grip on Burma ‘Cause for Concern’

By WILLIAM BOOT

BANGKOK—China’s grip on Burma’s natural resources has grown considerably in a short time, says a detailed investigation by a US-based human rights organization, EarthRights International (ERI).

The survey identifies 69 Chinese companies engaged in oil, gas, hydropower development and mining—a 250 percent increase on the number thought to be operating in Burma when a similar study was made one year ago.

But the survey says there could be more than 70 Chinese companies operating across Burma because the mining sector is particularly difficult to assess.

“Given what we know about development projects in Burma and the current situation, we’re concerned about this marked increase in the number of these projects,” says ERI in a report published on Monday.

Washington-based ERI says Burma has become “geopolitically significant” to the Chinese as their mushrooming economy demands ever more natural resources, notably energy related.

Having a compliant neighbor rich in gas, oil, minerals and timber is a big plus for China, but Burma’s position on the edge of the Indian Ocean also makes it a “particularly desirable partner in China’s pursuit of energy security,” says ERI.

This is in reference to Chinese plans to develop ports and pipelines in Burma to transship large volumes of oil and gas from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere.

“We’re concerned about the lack of information about these projects available to the public domain,” said Alek Momi, the report’s principal researcher.

The survey identifies the most firms in hydropower developments—at least 45 companies actively engaged or planning 63 projects, ranging from small dams to the massive scheme on the River Salween at Tasang.

In Burma’s mushrooming oil and gas sectors, at least 16 Chinese companies are named, including all three of China’s biggest transnational enterprises, Sinopec, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

ERI pinpoints the Arakan coast as one of the most significant strategic locations for China’s long-term plans for vacuuming up global oil and gas reserves.

“CNPC has signed a MoU with MOGE [Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise] for a detailed assessment of the potential construction of a crude oil terminal off the coast of Arakan State,” says the report.

A terminal for oil shipped in from the Middle East and Africa, plus pipelines across Burma into southwest China, would “increase the efficiency of China’s oil and gas imports by providing an alternative to the problematic Straits of Malacca.”

ERI names ten Chinese companies involved in mining for minerals—a sector “difficult to assess as many mining projects are small, therefore less visible and attracting less publicity.”

The ERI report comes just a few days after the Burmese junta confirmed that Chinese state-controlled China Non-Ferrous Metal Group will proceed to mine nickel in the Mandalay region.

Few details of the agreement have been disclosed. The Burmese ministry of mines claimed that the project would provide more than 1,000 jobs for local people. The nickel will be exported to China.

ERI says this will become one of the largest mining projects in Burma, with investment of US $600 million, financed by Chinese state banks, to mine and export up 40 million tons of nickel ore.

The lack of clarity on this particular project at Tagung Taung—land acquisition, environmental impact and displacement—underscores ERI’s concerns.

The group has also unearthed evidence of plans by another Chinese company, Jinbao Mining, with a convoluted ownership, to investigate prospects for mining a 10-million ton nickel deposit at Mwetaung in Chin State.

ERI, with Southeast Asia offices in Chiang Mai, Thailand, campaigns for human rights in a number of areas but especially where transnational companies seek to trample on land rights and damage the environment.

ERI brought a successful legal action in the US against oil company Unocal—now part of Chevron—to compensate Burmese villagers for the Yadana gas pipeline through southeast Burma into Thailand.

In China, there is no public consultation on industrial developments and land is often illegally confiscated and people forcibly evicted. China has one of the worst polluted environments in the world due to uncontrolled development.

Death Toll from Vietnam Floods Reaches 41

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HANOI — The death toll from floods triggered by Typhoon Hagupit rose to 41 as rescue workers began to reach isolated villages devastated by the storm, which has caused at least US $65 million in damage, officials said Monday.

At least five people were still missing and feared dead in the storm, which washed away more than 1,000 houses and damaged 10,000 more, according to Vietnam’s committee on floods and storm control.

The storm has caused at least $65 million in damages, the committee said Monday.

In the worst-hit province of Son La, two more bodies were found on Sunday, bringing the toll there to 16. Three people were still missing, said provincial disaster official Trinh Ngoc Bao.

Some areas are inaccessible by cars or trucks, complicating rescue efforts, he said.

“Rescue workers have to walk to stranded areas to get aid to people,” Bao said. “In many villages, people have had no food for several days.”

The torrential downpours have eased and floodwaters have receded in most areas. On Sunday, Vietnamese television broadcast images of villagers returning to survey the damage, cleaning mud and debris from their property.

The death toll in Lang Son Province reached 10 people, and one person remained unaccounted for, local officials said.

In the neighboring province of Bac Giang, nine people drowned, including two children, said official Bui Lien Son.

In Quang Ninh Province, home of the popular Ha Long Bay tourist site, floods have killed five people, said disaster official Nguyen Thanh Nam.

None of them were tourists, Nam said.

Roads to one isolated district are expected to be restored later Monday, allowing officials to provide aid to people still stranded there.

Earlier, soldiers used amphibious vehicles to deliver relief supplies to villagers stranded in two districts.

Floods have also killed a person in Vinh Phuc and left another missing in Lao Cai province, officials there said.

The storm slammed into northern Vietnam on Thursday after killing 10 people in China.

New Thai PM Faces Probe into Alleged Violation of Constitution

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BANGKOK—Thailand's Election Commission opened an investigation Monday into whether new Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat should resign for violating the constitution, less than a month after a similar process ousted his predecessor.

"I have no worries at all," Somchai told reporters, adding that he had done nothing wrong and would defend himself in court if asked to.

The comments came shortly after the Election Commission said it would investigate whether Somchai had violated the constitution by holding shares in Thailand's CS LoxInfo PCL, an Internet service provider that is a contract partner of CAT Telecom, a state-owned telecommunications service provider.

The constitution bars members of Parliament from holding shares in companies that do business with state enterprises.

If found guilty, Somchai would be disqualified as a member of Parliament and therefore no longer be allowed to serve as prime minister.

Election Commission spokesman Ruangrote Jomsueb said a subcommittee would be appointed to investigate the matter and if it feels the case should be pursued will forward its findings to the Constitutional Court. He said a subcommittee probe generally takes about 30 days.

The complaint was brought by Sen Ruangkrai Leekijwattana, who also filed the complaint to the Election Commission that brought down previous Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

Samak was ousted September 9, when the Constitutional Court ruled he had violated the constitution by accepting pay to host TV cooking shows while in office. The ruling came amid a tense political crisis in Thailand, with anti-government protesters occupying the prime minister's office compound calling for Samak's resignation.

A few thousand protesters remain at Government House, saying they are holding their ground to see if Somchai meets their approval.

NLD to Celebrate 20th Anniversary

By SAW YAN NAING

The National League for Democracy will celebrate its 20th anniversary on Saturday in Rangoon with newly released political prisoners. Win Tin, a founder of the NLD, was released on Tuesday along with six other NLD members.

The NLD is the main opposition party which won a landslide victory—392 out of 492 seats—in parliamentary election in 1990. However, the current Burmese government led by Snr-Gen Than Shwe ignored the election result and refused to transfer power to the parliament.

Meanwhile, on Thursday the NLD was warned by the head of Burma’s police, Brig-Gen Khin Yi, to withdraw a statement it made following the release of the political prisoners, said party spokesperson Nyan Win.

The statement called for a review of the junta’s constitutional process. The regime saw the statement as potentially motivating citizens to undertake activities critical of the military government.

Nyan Win said, “They [Burmese authorities] said our earlier statement can motivate people to launch a movement against them. So, they asked us to withdraw our statement.”

“We replied that our statement contained credible information, and we have proof for it. So, we can’t withdraw it,” he said

The NLD statement urged Burmese authorities to reconsider the state constitution, calling the draft constitution one-sided and lacking the participation of the 1990 elected members of parliament.

A lawyer, Thein Nyunt, who is also a member of the NLD information department, said, “It is necessary to review the constitution before it becomes legitimate.”

Burmese authorities unofficially warned opposition leaders that action could be taken against them if they continued to make such statements.

Six members of the NLD’s Central Executive Committee met with Brig-Gen Khin Yi at the Ministry of Home Affairs for about one hour on Thursday, said Nyan Win.

He said Burmese authorities are trying to pressure NLD leaders to stop public criticism of the military regime.

In May, the NLD dismissed the national referendum on the draft constitution, calling it non-inclusive, non-transparent and undemocratic.

The party’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been detained under house arrest for more than 13 of the past 19 years. The latest round of her house arrest began o¬n May 30, 2003, following the ambush of her motorcade by a government-orchestrated mob in Depayin in Burma’s northwest Sagaing Division.

Doing What Needs to be Done

By THE IRRAWADDY

Earlier this week, The Irrawaddy spoke with Win Tin, Burma’s longest-serving political prisoner, who was released on Tuesday after spending 19 years behind bars. He spoke of his commitment to the cause of democracy, his faith in the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi, and his gratitude to supporters and those have already sacrificed much for the sake of their country.

Question: Why did the junta release you?

Answer: It was an insincere act. It was cheating. I was serving a 20-year sentence. According to the jail manual [which sets prison regulations], there should be a 3-month reduction for each year that you serve of your prison term. Those who are sentenced to 20 years should only have to stay in prison for 15 or 16 years. That’s because after serving 16 years, you should get a 48-month reduction. That’s four years off the original sentence. I should have been released [three years ago].

I was put on the list of prisoners who could be released under Section 401 [of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows for early release at the discretion of the military authorities], but I was not released because I didn’t accept [the conditions set by the government]. I always refused to sign an agreement to accede to a reduction of my prison term under Section 401.

At first, I was given a 3-year sentence in 1989. In 1991, they fed me lunch and offered to release me under Section 401. I refused their offer. Then again in 1995, when U Kyi Maung and U Tin Oo were released, I was again given an opportunity to be released under Section 401. I refused it again. In February 2008, when I was hospitalized, I was again offered release under Section 401; again, I refused.

They released me [this time] under Section 401, even though I had refused to accept it several times. I insisted that I should be released because I was entitled to be released—that’s all. So the military government just lumped me together with all the other released prisoners. In that way, they diluted the problem. That’s what I mean when I say they cheated.

Q: How could you stand to stay in prison for over 19 years?

A: Sometimes I was disappointed or discouraged or not in a good mood, as I am only human. I am not a man of iron. But I was able to stand it because I always kept three principles in mind by repeating to myself the words Suu Hlut Twe. “Suu” means Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and stands for [our demand for] the unconditional release of all political prisoners. “Hlut” stands for convening the People’s Parliament, the Hluttaw. And “Twe” means dialogue.

By keeping these three principles in mind, I was able to endure my time in prison. I applied them together in every situation. For example, when we demanded prisoners’ rights, we always raised the issues of convening the Hluttaw and dialogue at the same time. Even if we could not meet with senior leaders of the regime, we could demand these things when we met with the prison authorities. In this way, we maintained the principle of dialogue at all times.

Another principle I held is the “three supports.” We have to support the National League for Democracy. The NLD is our organization. If you talk about democracy, there must be organizations. The junta will be very happy if it disintegrates. Concerning the NLD’s strengths and weaknesses, we should try to turn the weaknesses into strengths. So we should support the NLD.

Another thing we need to support is the Hluttaw. Parliament’s mandate comes from the people. It is not just the NLD’s mandate. It is also about other parties. That’s why the parliament must be supported.

We also need to support Daw Suu’s leadership. Daw Suu is the most important person in the whole movement. She might have some flaws. It is not about a personality cult. Daw Suu’s role and activities have been very important over the past 20 years. Her leadership should not be dwarfed or diminished. So support Daw Suu’s leadership.

I think I could stand to stay in prison because I firmly grasped these principles. But like I said before, I am not made of iron. I was sometimes unhappy or in poor health. But I did not lose sight of the current political situation and maintained my strength of mind because of these principles.

Q: The military government said they are meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi. And they are planning to hold an election in 2010. Some people, including [writer and former NLD MP] Maung Sue San, have said that the election is the only pragmatic way forward. So what do you think about the 2010 election?

A: I think it should be considered together with dialogue. The military junta has blocked the way forward; it has placed an obstacle in the way. The obstacle is the constitution, which includes registration laws for political parties and election laws [that impose restrictions on the political activities of opposition parties]. So the road ahead is blocked.

Ko Sue San said that dialogue is just a decoration. I don’t accept that. This is the way of the defeated. Yes, the way is blocked. The junta has planned it that way since it first held the National Convention [to draft a new constitution] in 1992. That’s why I have always said we could not legitimize it by taking part in it.

I have always said we must boycott the National Convention. I said the same thing to [US Congressman] Mr Bill Richardson in 1994. I said it in front of the prison authorities and military intelligence. I have never accepted the National Convention. It is a sham.

We have always believed in solving problems through democratic dialogue. Even before 1992, the NLD took this line in October 1988. Daw Suu signed [a letter calling for dialogue] in October and send it to SLORC [the State Law and Order Restoration Council, which seized power in September 1988].

That’s when the junta proposed the National Convention. Now, the constitution has appeared and the road has been blocked. The only way around it is through dialogue. Although the road has been blocked, we will continue to demand [dialogue] until the road is totally closed. So I do not accept that dialogue is just a decoration.

We can still demand dialogue. At least, we have to tell the junta not to block the way. Why can’t we correct them? We cannot take it easy.

Q: If you had a chance to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, what advice would you give her?

A: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the leader. I accept her leadership. She can perform a lot more than me politically or spiritually or in terms of sacrifice. I have always believed in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s intelligence, determination and commitment.

If I had a chance to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, I would ask her, “What do you think? What can I do to support your idea?” I believe she already has her own ideas. I am not talking about blind allegiance. But I would ask her what needs to be done, and I would do what I can.

I did politics for just nine months, and had to stay in prison for 19 years. So obviously I am just a political layperson. I just work. People talk about me in various ways. They say I can advise Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, but I reject that role. I am not saying this out of false humility. I think Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is extraordinarily smart, and that the ideas that come out of her head are so good that they don’t need to be changed. I worked full time to realize them. That’s all. I can do more than other people because I am single. Before, I could work 15 or 16 hours a day. I worked this way at The Mirror, too.

Q: Some critics say that without Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the NLD would die. Now she is under house arrest, and some critics say that the current NLD leadership is too weak to bring about political change. What do you think of the NLD’s current leadership?

A: Your question has two parts. I will answer the first part first, because it is more interesting.
It is true that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is very smart and admirable. But it doesn’t matter for the organization whether she is present or not. When I say that [the NLD] must work even if she is not around, it doesn’t mean that she is not important. The fact that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the leader will not disappear.

[Aung San Suu Kyi’s father, independence leader] Gen Aung San was assassinated, but his spirit remained and the [Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League] lived on after he died. Did the AFPFL disappear after Aung San died? No.

In the same way, I don’t believe the NLD will simply vanish without Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Her spirit will remain. She will remain a model even after she dies or retires. As long as her spirit exists in the NLD, the organization will survive.

Regarding the second point about the current leadership, I would like to say that they are human beings. Isn’t that so? [Some people also criticize me.] For example, yesterday a friend of mine told me not to be too emotional. But I am not emotional. I am trying to build up dynamism. Some may say that the old man is talking nonsense. He is outdated. There are a lot of things he does not understand. That may be true. It is possible that there are things I don’t understand yet.

I try to take this into account. I know I have a lot of flaws. But I am trying to be active. Why do I want to build up dynamism? Because without it, we have nothing.

Right now, I am giving a lot of interviews. I could make excuses [for not giving interviews], like saying I have to meditate, or my business is not good. Why am I speaking with so many people? Because I want dynamism. I don’t have time to listen to what I have said to check how much of it is right or wrong. I just keep talking. Yesterday, I talked from six in the morning until four in the evening. After that I continued talking until 11 or 12 o’clock at night.

Why am I talking in this way? Because I want to spread dynamism. I may say something wrong, or miss something. If people blame me for it, I will accept their criticism. But don’t accuse me of lacking dynamism.

I think the current NLD leadership has been doing what they can do. Perhaps they lack dynamism. We might need to push them a little. If something is lacking, we need to address it. If they are wrong, we need to criticize them. It is an organization. An organization needs internal discussion. We need to talk about the leadership. I don’t want to blame them. If there is something unacceptable, I will say so. I will correct, direct and support them. So I don’t side with the leadership or blame them. The leadership is doing what they can do. What they do is right to some extent. If there is something wrong, we will correct it.

Q: What are your plans now that you have contact with the outside world after 19 years in prison?

A: I will do democracy politics. I now am 79 years old. To tell the truth, I don’t know very much about politics. I was involved in politics for only about 9 months. If you count my experience in prison, it’s a much longer time. But because I had to stay alone in the prison, I could not discuss, talk, negotiate, argue or set goals. I was alone. So my political experience is just a little. But I have many reasons [for wanting to continue my political work]. One is that I am one of the founding members of the NLD. So I believe I can continue to do politics by siding with the NLD, which is working for the true cause of democracy. So in short, I want to say that I will continue to do my democracy politics.

Q: One last question. What would you like to say to people who have been working for your release, and to your friends and fellow activists working for democracy in Burma?

A: I was very encouraged. There is nothing I can say, except that it helped me a great deal. I had many difficulties in prison, such as with the food and being unable to meet with relatives and other prisoners. I am very grateful for the encouragement, support and supplies that I received when I was experiencing difficult times. So I thank you for that.

This encouragement is still very important to me, because to be frank, politics can only be done with encouragement. No one can do it just by sitting and thinking. There has to be enthusiasm. That’s why I am enthusiastic. Whether I am inside or outside the prison, or support comes from inside or outside the country, it is very important. I will be active, dynamic and lively [because] I am very encouraged by this support.

Another thing I want to say is that there are a lot of people who have died, who no longer do politics, who are staying away from politics. But they did a lot. For example, some NLD leaders like Maung Thaw Ka, U Tin Maung Win and U Tin Shwe, and U Khin Maung Myint from [the disbanded People’s Progressive Party], all died in prison. Some people also lost their appetite and couldn’t sleep because they lost everything they had—property, businesses, their whole lives—in prison. There are a lot of people who have done more and made greater sacrifices than I have. We owe them our gratitude.

There are also some people who are staying away from politics for various reasons. We need to recognize what they have done. We need to understand and value what they have sacrificed.
So we should be thankful to those who have been supporting us, both inside and outside the country. It encourages us very much. And at the same time, we must not forget those who have sacrificed many things, including those who have passed away in prison. We need to value and remember what they have done. That’s all I would like to say.

Illegal Burmese Rice Exports Boom on Thai Border

By LAWI WENG

Rice traders in Myawaddy, opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, are illegally exporting hundreds of thousands of bags of rice to Thailand every week, according to sources in the local business community.

A businessman in Myawaddy said yesterday that there were around 10,000 sacks of rice piled on the Burmese side of the Moei River, which separates Mae Sot and Myawaddy, as traders waited for heavy rains to stop so they could resume the illegal export.

Burma’s junta officially banned the border rice trade after Cyclone Nargis struck the country’s Irrawaddy delta on May 2-3. The storm devastated much of the farmland in the region, which is Burma’s main rice-growing area.

A Burmese truck driver, speaking on condition of anonymity, estimated that there are around 30 trucks transporting rice from Moulmein to Myawaddy each day, each one carrying 500 to 700 bags of rice.

“We hide the rice on the backs of our trucks under bags of onions, garlic and spices,” said the truck driver.

He added that rice traders pay bribes of 200 kyat (US $0.16) per bag of rice so the trucks can pass through checkpoints set up by a Burmese military battalion stationed at Thingannyinaung and by Karen ceasefire groups, including the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and Karen Peace Force.

A rice trader in Myawaddy said that some of the rice had to be repackaged, because Thai merchants would not accept rice in bags marked with the logos of Burmese companies.

“I haven’t seen any Burmese logos this month, but last month I saw some bags marked with the Htoo Trading Company logo,” he added.

There has been strong demand for Burmese rice in Thailand this year, due to rising prices for domestically grown rice.

Local businesspeople predicted that the illegal trade would continue if Thai demand remains strong, although there are fears that a poor harvest resulting from delays in planting this year’s crop after Cyclone Nargis could create a rice shortage in Burma.

Local observers said that there are growing concerns that the continuing export of Burmese rice to Thailand could lead to a drastic increase in rice prices in Burma.

Gambari Should Be Tougher on Junta: PM in Exile

By LALIT K JHA / UNITED NATIONS

Burmese Prime Minister in Exile Sein Win said on Thursday that Ibrahim Gambari, the special UN envoy on Burma, needs to be tougher on the military junta.

Sein Win said the junta leaders want to manipulate Gambari, and he has to be very careful.

"I want him to be tougher on the military," Sein Win told The Irrawaddy. He was in New York to attend a meeting of Burmese monks outside the United Nations headquarters.

"I do not want to say, he has to be replaced…but he [Gambari] has to be careful in dealing with the military. He has to have his own agenda. He has to have his own schedule," said Sein Win.

Gambari is often accused by critics of spending more time in the company of the junta than with pro-democracy leaders when he is in Burma.

While conceding that Gambari can not do much because he lacks a strong mandate from the Security Council, Sein Win said: "On the other hand, Gambari should state the facts only and not let the military manipulate him. For example, it is not in his mandate to talk about the 2010 elections. It is very sensitive matter. He should not talk about that."

The prime minister in exile said he differed with the approach taken by some pro-democracy groups who have challenged the credentials of the Burmese government representatives in the United Nations.

"This is not the good road to follow," he said, adding that his assessment was based on taking various factors into account.

"When you challenge somebody, you have to think, how much you can win, how much you can loose, what would be the consequence," he said.

Sein Win said that for various reasons, none of the neighboring countries of Burma were willing to side with the pro-democracy movement and supports them in the United Nations.

"The (credential challenge) is a very sensitive thing and many countries do not want to make a precedent," he said.

Release Aung San Suu Kyi: Laura Bush

By LALIT K JHA / UNITED NATIONS

The US first lady Laura Bush on Thursday again urged the Burmese military junta to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners.

"The United States reiterates our long-standing call for the Burmese regime to engage in a genuine dialogue with all democratic and ethnic minority leaders, with the goal of making a credible transition to civilian, democratic government," Laura Bush said in a statement.

The first lady said that the Burmese military regime has ignored the entreaties of the international community.

"It has treated the United Nations special envoy with disregard," she said. "Through its actions, the regime has reaffirmed its disdain for the will and the well-being of the people of Burma. The military leaders carried out a sham constitutional referendum, extended Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest and continued to arrest political activists."

Referring to the Saffron Revolution in 2007, she said tens of thousands of Burmese monks and ordinary citizens took to the streets to demonstrate for freedom, economic progress and basic human rights.

"The world watched in horror as Than Shwe ordered his military to begin a brutal crackdown. Soldiers sprayed bullets into unarmed crowds. They imprisoned thousands in cramped cells," she said.

"Monks who led the protests were beaten, arrested, and killed—and their monasteries were raided in nighttime attacks. In response, international organizations and governments around the world condemned Burma's military regime, called for the release of all political prisoners and demanded a genuine dialogue on transition to a democratic government," she said.

Laura Bush said the United States will continue to work with the international community to hold the regime accountable for its actions and to intensify pressure on the regime to meet these basic requirements.

Weekly Business Roundup (Friday, September 26, 2008)

By WILLIAM BOOT

China Taps into Burma’s Nickel Resources

Further evidence of China’s increasing economic grip on Burma has emerged with the announcement that Chinese state-controlled mining companies are to tap the country’s nickel resources.

The military government has signed an agreement to allow the China Non-Ferrous Metal Group to develop mines in the Mandalay region to extract a massive 100,000 tonnes-plus per year.

Initial work on the development, at Tagung Taung, is due to begin by the end of this year, with full production beginning in 2011. All the nickel will be shipped to China for use in its metal industries.

Burma’s Ministry of Mines claims that the project will provide jobs for more than 1,000 Burmese, but observers note that China will be the main beneficiary.

“It’s reasonable to say that Burma is being systematically plundered for its natural wealth by its big neighbors, China, India and Thailand,” said one analyst with an economic development agency in Thailand, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.

“The loss over time of gas, oil, timber, precious stones and now metals will further impoverish Burma’s economic development if and when the regime comes to an end.”

Lloyds’ Bumper Profits ‘Paid for in Blood’

Major international insurance company Lloyds has been accused of making blood-money profits out of Burma as it announces a 2008 first half year global profit of US $1.76 billion.

Despite calls by the British government for British-owned firms to end their business involvement in Burma to strengthen economic sanctions against the military regime, London-based Lloyds refuses to disclose the extent of its involvement in the country.

It’s believed to be associated with shipping and aviation—key transport in junta-linked exports.

The British human rights NGO Burma Campaign UK says its research shows that several Lloyds-linked businesses operate in Burma.

“Research has revealed that three members of the Lloyd’s market, Catlin, Atrium (owned by Ariel Re) and Kiln (owned by Tokio Marine), are involved in Burma. Despite repeated requests, Lloyd’s has refused to state how many other member companies are also involved,” campaigns officer Johnny Chatterton told The Irrawaddy this week.

“Lloyd’s secret Burma profits are paid for in blood and poverty by the people of Burma’” said Johnny Chatterton, a campaign Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “Lloyd’s should come clean about their involvement in Burma and stop insuring companies that fund the dictatorship.

Ironically, Lloyds profit margin for first half 2008 slumped 47 percent over the same period of 2007, due to “falling investment income and increased cost of claims,” the company said.

Some of these claims may well be linked to Cyclone Nargis which devastated Burma’s Irrawaddy delta in May.

Lloyds said in July it was not breaking British or European Union law by operating in Burma.

“Unless there are official international sanctions in place, we do not instruct the market where it can and cannot write business,” said Lloyds.

Junta Bid to Boost Arakan Trade with Bangladesh

Plans are reportedly being drawn up by the military to develop some form of trading center in Arakan state bordering Bangladesh to increase economic ties with the Bangladeshis.

The center will be built in Maungdaw, according to reports circulating among the local business community, with the aim of trading in agricultural and marine produce.

The project will be financed by the marine ministry but organized—and controlled—by senior officers of the army’s Western Command, according to the independent Narinjara News.

Arakan’s economy has been slumping for some years but suffered a significant blow when Singapore, under pressure from US sanctions policy, stopped importing shrimps.

Attempts have previously been made to sell shrimps to Bangladesh but a lack of facilities has hampered trade, according to Narinjara News sources in the local business community.

Oil Prospects Grow in Western Burma for Singapore Firm

Singapore-based Interra Resources says its subsidiary Goldpetrol has begun drilling an oil development well in the Yenangyaung field on the upper Irrawaddy River in western Burma.

The company said in a statement it was confident of striking oil in a location which already delivers small quantities of crude, but it will be another two months before it can say whether its new well will be commercially productive.

Yenangyaung has produced varying quantities of oil for many decades but many of its facilities are run down and output has declined.

Interra, via Goldpetrol, has a 60 percent share in a joint development venture in the field with the state Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.

The last official figure for oil production in Yenangyaung was 1,800 barrels per day—compared with 16,000 bpd in 1918.

Retreating British army forces blew up earlier wells and a refinery in 1942 to prevent advancing Japanese troops from using them.

S Korea Upholds Granting Refugee Status to Burmese

By KWANG-TAE KIM / AP WRITER

SEOUL — South Korea's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling granting refugee status to eight asylum seekers from Burma.

A lower court ruling that the Burmese citizens "have a well-grounded fear of being persecuted" is justified, the Supreme Court said in a written ruling.

"I am very pleased with the ruling. Now, I can freely work for democracy and human rights in Myanmar [Burma]," Zaw Moe Aung, one of the eight plaintiffs, told The Associated Press after the ruling.

Burma's military junta routinely jails dissidents. Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi has been detained for 13 of the past 19 years, and Friday is the one-year anniversary of a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations by tens of thousands.

The Burmese citizens entered South Korea in 1990s and helped form a Korean chapter of Suu Kyi's party in 1999. They have since led rallies condemning their country's military junta.

The eight filed applications in 2000 seeking refugee status, citing possible political persecution from Burma's military junta if they were forcibly sent back to their country.

But South Korea's Justice Ministry refused to grant them refugee status in 2005 and recommended their deportation, prompting the Burmese citizens to file the suit.

A lower court ruled in the asylum seekers' favor in 2006. The Justice Ministry appealed the ruling.

Hong Man-pyo, a ministry spokesman, said he had no comment on Thursday's ruling.

South Korea, which became a signatory of the UN treaty on protecting refugees in 1992, has so far granted refugee status to 76 out of more than 1,950 asylum seekers, according to a civic group that aided the plaintiffs.

East Timor to Survey for Deep Sea Gas Pipeline

By ANTHONY DEUTSCH / AP WRITER

JAKARTA — East Timor is drawing up plans for a deep sea pipeline and petrochemicals plant to tap an estimated US $90 billion dollars in disputed underwater oil and gas, company and government officials said, in a rare opportunity for one of Asia's poorest and smallest countries to boost its economy.

It is the latest move in a high-stakes battle with Australia over where the oil and gas in the Greater Sunrise field—containing about 300 million barrels of light oil and 8.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas—should be processed.

It also shows that East Timor, which became Southeast Asia's youngest democracy in 2002, is intent on protecting its economic interests after emerging from 500 years of foreign occupation.

"It means a lot for this little country," said Alfredo Pires, secretary of state for natural resources, by telephone from Dili, the Timorese capital. "We are just coming out of independence. We are looking for the creation of possible industries and we really see this as part of an engine of economic growth."

Between the Greater Sunrise field and East Timor lies a deep gash in the ocean floor, the 11,000-foot (3,350-meter)-deep Timor Trough, which Australia and its largest oil company, Woodside Petroleum Ltd., have argued makes it expensive and maybe even impossible to build a pipeline running north to the tiny state's shore.

But The Associated Press has learned that East Timor has commissioned a survey that suggests the pipeline is feasible. U.S. piping specialist DeepGulf Inc. says that so far its survey indicates that building such a 125-mile (200 kilometer) pipeline would work, Marc Moszkowski, the company's president, told the AP.

Woodside and a group of companies licensed to develop the Greater Sunrise field want to build a 530-kilometer (330-mile) pipeline running south to Darwin, where ConocoPhillips, of the group members, has built a US$5 billion natural gas processing plant.

Australia and Woodside argue that laying a pipeline to the East Timor would undercut profits and expose supplies to political upheaval, while Darwin is stable.

The Greater Sunrise field lies almost entirely in territory claimed by both countries and neither can exploit it without approval from the other side. Under the current licensing agreement, they have until 2013 to sign a development plan.

Gunbattles between rival security forces killed dozens in Dili in 2006 and toppled the government, while rebel troops in February tried to assassinate President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. Australia has around 1,000 peacekeeping forces stationed across the mountainous nation of around a million people.

Still, the venture partners, which also include Royal Dutch/Shell and Osaka Gas, are "prepared to consider the results of the Timor Leste government's independent study," Woodside said in a statement, the country's official name.

Parts of the Timor Sea have been divided up into a complex system of revenue sharing zones with Australia, some based on boundaries drawn up more than three decades ago when the region was a Portuguese colony.

There is no permanent maritime boundary and large portions remain fiercely debated. Lawyers hired by East Timor to draw up a boundary based on international law place the entire Greater Sunrise field in its territory.

But the case cannot be heard by the UN's courts for territorial disputes—the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea—because of legal exclusions obtained by Australia months before East Timor became independent in 2002.

The Australian government is aware of the new pipeline study, said Tracey Winters, a spokeswoman for Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson.

"At the end of the day the decision on the location will be a commercial one," Winters said. Both countries "would like to see this developed as soon as possible."

Paul Cleary, author of the book "Shakedown: Australia's Grab for Timor Oil," accuses Canberra of applying cutthroat negotiating tactics.

"The pressure applied by Australia meant that the new country really didn't stand a fighting chance," wrote Cleary, who also advised the government in Dili on oil and gas policy.

Winters declined to comment on those allegations.

Pires said a new commercial national oil company is being created to invest "hundreds of millions of dollars" DeepGulf said it would cost to build the pipeline.

Fifteen companies from five nations have already expressed interest in purchases of oil and liquid natural gas, he added.

To bolster the argument for a pipeline to its coast, East Timor is conducting a joint feasibility study with Malaysia's national oil company, Petronas, for a multibillion-dollar liquid natural gas plant and petrochemical industry due to be released late October, Pires said.

Direct spin-off for the emerging democracy would include a new 100-megawatt power plant that could eliminate national electricity shortages, a petrochemical storage and shipping port and thousands of jobs that could cut into towering unemployment of around 50 percent.

Tax revenue from Greater Sunrise would reach around $3 billion over several decades for the plant's host country, according to estimates, on top of more than $10 billion from sales.

With all sides holding deeply entrenched positions, the fight over the Timor Sea could drag on for years.

Cambodia Hopes to Build Nuclear Plant

By KER MUNTHIT / AP WRITER

PHNOM PENH — Impoverished Cambodia hopes to build a nuclear power plant to meet its future energy needs and help offset its dependence on imported oil, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced Friday during the first meeting of his new Cabinet.

In outlining his new government's vision, he said one of its priorities will be to expand electrical generation to power its small but growing economy. Increased housing and factory construction will generate more demand for electricity, he said.

Hun Sen offered no hint when Cambodia would actually have its first nuclear power plant, saying it is still "a long distance away for us, but this is our goal."

Building hydroelectricity and coal power plants will be the immediate priority for expanding electricity generation and reducing reliance on imported oil, Hun Sen said.

The government has identified 14 potential sites for hydropower plants and has granted contracts to Chinese companies to build several of them.

Electricity costs in Cambodia are among the highest in the world, and only about 15 percent of the country's 14 million people are connected to the power grid, according to the World Bank.

Cambodia is the latest country in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations to express interest in pursuing nuclear energy. Neighboring Thailand also recently decided to press forward with studies on building a nuclear power plant.

At their meeting last year, the regional grouping's energy ministers agreed to set up a network to explore nuclear safety issues after acknowledging that some member nations were exploring nuclear energy.

Malaysian Ruling Party Postpones Elections

By SEAN YOONG / AP WRITER

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's ruling party signaled Friday that the increasingly unpopular prime minister may step down by March, but pledged to allow him a "dignified" exit from politics.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said after chairing an emergency meeting of the United Malays National Organization that he will announce within two weeks whether he will defend his post as the party's chief in March party elections.

Every prime minister since Malaysia's independence in 1957 has been the UMNO president.

Abdullah said the party's policy-making body decided Friday to postpone the elections to choose its leaders by three months to March to "facilitate early transition" of power.

He refused to confirm if this meant he would not contest the elections, saying he would reveal his decision before October 9, when the party's district officials start meeting to nominate candidates for the ballot.

"It will be my decision whether to contest or not. You can go on guessing but the decision will be mine," Abdullah told a news conference.

Abdullah, who took office in October 2003, has been facing calls to step down to accept responsibility for leading the UMNO-dominated National Front ruling coalition to disastrous results in general elections last March.

The prime minister previously promised to hand over power to his deputy, Najib Razak, in 2010 instead of 2013 when his term ends. But party dissidents said that was too long and demanded that he retire before the ruling party's next elections.

By postponing the elections, UMNO's top leaders appear to have struck a compromise that would allow the 68-year-old Abdullah to exit gracefully.

Trade Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who has urged Abdullah to consider retiring earlier, said Friday's decision may indicate that March "is the new deadline" for Abdullah to hand over power.

"We want to ensure that the power transition process does not affect (Abdullah's) honor. It must be done in a dignified manner," Muhyiddin told reporters.

However, veteran party lawmaker Razaleigh Hamzah, who wants to contest the party leadership, said the election postponement showed that Abdullah and Najib were "playing this endless children's game of 'yours and mine' with the most important job in the country."

The urgency to boot out Abdullah is also partly because of concerns that he may be incapable of dealing with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is threatening to engineer enough defections from the ruling party to bring down the government.

Anwar's People's Alliance coalition won an unprecedented 82 seats in the 222-member Parliament in March and took control of five of Malaysia's 13 states. Abdullah's National Front now has only a 28-seat majority in Parliament.

Anwar told reporters on a visit to Hong Kong on Friday that his plan to seize power was not affected by the possibility that Abdullah might quit soon.

"The issue is not whether Prime Minister Abdullah leaves or his deputy takes over. The issue is they have lost the mandate of the people and they have to contend with that," Anwar said.

No Happy Anniversary for Than Shwe

By THE IRRAWADDY

Burmese monks and activists who took part courageously in the September 2007 uprising will have little chance to commemorate Friday’s anniversary publicly.

Since early this month, police, intelligence officers and armed soldiers have been combing the streets of Rangoon. arresting activists, monitoring the monasteries and intimidating young monks.

Many prominent activists have been rounded up in the year since September 2007.

On September 26 last year, security forces opened fire on the thousands of monks and demonstrators who had been calling for peaceful political change, freedom, economic progress and human rights.

The peaceful demonstrations, led by monks, impressed the world community, but not Snr-Gen Than Shwe and his
bloodthirsty army leaders, who finally ordered the brutal crackdown.

Dozens died, protesters were beaten and jailed, and monks were forcibly disrobed.

Today, Burma’s military rulers are determined to prevent any public commemoration of the anniversary. The events of September 2007 must be haunting Than Shwe and other military leaders.

Than Shwe made a token gesture on the eve of the anniversary, releasing a handful of political prisoners, including the prominent journalist Win Tin, who had spent the past 19 years behind bars. The regime appeared to be trying to stem domestic and international pressure ahead of the anniversary.

Unbroken by his time in prison, 79-year-old Win Tin vowed to continue to fight for political change in Burma.
“I will keep fighting until the emergence of democracy in this country,” he said, immediately after emerging from prison.

Win Tin’s release could shape the on-going political struggle, as he was considered to be close to detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and is known to command respect among Burmese people.

Win Tin didn’t ask for mercy from the regime, refusing on several occasions to renounce politics in return for his freedom.

Neither did he ask for aid money from those international donors who naively believe a “humanitarian space” has opened up in the country following the disaster of Cyclone Nargis. Win Tin knows the establishment of democracy is a priority, because he is aware that Burma’s real problem lies in the administration system and that it has to change.

He knows how the regime detained activists involved in the humanitarian mission to bring relief to cyclone victims.

He knows how Than Shwe manipulated UN missions and deceived the international community while rewarding apologists and cronies.

Win Tin’s brave message also serves as a reminder to some international NGOs, UN agencies and regime apologists who claim the existence of a “humanitarian space,” regarding it as a window of opportunity for the 2010 election.

It’s all there to read in the minutes of a briefing Home Affairs Minister Maung Oo received from Than Shwe in July, in which the UN and international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) were described as “puppets” of the US and the Central Intelligence Agency.

The “humanitarian space” argument is nonsense, as shown by the example of Africa, where much aid money has gone into propping up authoritarian regimes, compromising the whole aid industry.

In Burma, the “humanitarian space” in the Irrawaddy Delta can be closed at any time because the regime retains the sole power to do so, at any time it chooses.

Any argument that Burma’s military leaders in Burma are “misunderstood generals” is also absurd—these men are in truth cunning, manipulative and capable of waging war against their own people and their entire country.

Today, countless people in Burma and the international community are united in their solidarity with the monks and activists who took to the streets last year, showing these brave individuals that they are not forgotten.

Than Shwe and his brutal actions are also not forgotten—or forgiven. He will undoubtedly be held accountable.

He must know that, and he must also be very aware that the people of Burma and the monks will keep fighting until the emergence of democracy. September 26 is certainly not a happy day for Than Shwe.