Burma's Internet Slows to a Stop

By WAI MOE and MIN LWIN

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

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Internet connections have slowed down recently across Burma with the country's two providers, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPT) and Myanmar Teleport, telling users that the Internet backbone is temporarily down.

The Internet backbone refers to the principal data routes between large, strategically interconnected networks and core routers.

Two Buddhist monks go online at an Internet cafe in Rangoon where owners are required to keep records of all users. (Photo: AFP)

However, several IT technicians in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the slowdown was due to a transfer of computer hardware from the providers' offices in the former capital to Yadanabon Cyber City near Mandalay.

“For the past two days, I have been unable to log on to any Web site,” said a staffer with an international nongovernmental organization in Rangoon. “We can only use Google Talk. We cannot access any other Web site or use e-mail.”

Several other Internet users in Rangoon, including students, travel agents, journalists and Internet café owners, confirmed that they could not work or study because they were unable to access the Internet.

“I cannot even get into my own homepage,” bemoaned a travel agent. “This is affecting business terribly. These months are our high tourist season.”

Many Internet cafes have closed their doors for business while the service is so poor, sources said.

There are only two Internet service providers in the country, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPT) and Myanmar Teleport, formerly known as Bagan Cyber Tech, a private company run by businessmen known to be well-connected with the ruling generals.

The Irrawaddy was unable to get confirmation from the providers on Tuesday as the lines were constantly engaged.

The Burmese military government has one of the most draconian approaches to the Internet in the world. Much information is censored and many international or exiled news agencies, such as The Irrawaddy, are officially banned in Burma.

Burmese citizens face long prison terms if caught sharing information or photos that the military authorities deem sensitive or subversive under Section 33(a) of the Electronics Act.

Several prominent members of the 88 Generation Students group, famous comedian Zarganar, some journalists and various bloggers have been arrested and jailed for breaking the Electronics Act in the past two years.

Last week, a young man named Soe Naing Lin was jailed for 13 years with hard labor by a special court set up inside Insein Prison. One of the charges against him was the Electronics Act. He was arrested at an Internet café in Rangoon in June 2009 accusing of sending information to the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma.

Although state policy limits and controls the public's use of the Internet, the military junta has simultaneously attempted to show the world that they want to advance Burma’s information technology as a part of a modernization drive.

In 2006, the junta tried to establish the Burmese version of Silicon Valley––Yadanabon Cyber City near Pyinoolwin in Mandalay Division––with concessions allotted to military cronies' companies such the Htoo Group, owned by tycoon Tay Za.

With the aid of Chinese companies and technicians, Yadanabon Cyber City has been assigned the task of handling surveillance of Burma’s flow of information.

The junta allowed companies and technicians on Jan. 23-24 to hold an IT forum which was called “BarCamp Yangon,” attracting many young Burmese IT enthusiasts.

BarCamp Yangon, held at Hlaing University Campus in Rangoon, was attended by 2,500 IT technicians and students. During the two-day forum, Burmese telecommunication authorities temporarily allowed an assessment of blogs for Internet users in the country. However, after the forum, the limits on information technology returned to normal.

“A real BarCamp means describing freedom of information as well as open discussion,” said a Rangoon-based blogger who spoke on condition of anonymity. “But the BarCamp in Rangoon cannot fully demonstrate what freedom of information is unless the junta allows a free flow of information.”

Bloggers have complained that the military authorities have refused to permit them to hold a bloggers' conference for the last two years.

Burma hints of Aung San Suu Kyi release in November

Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years

Burma's military government may be planning to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi later this year, say reports from the country.

Burma's home minister reportedly said Ms Suu Kyi would be freed when her current period of house arrest expires, which is scheduled for November.

Ms Suu Kyi's detention was extended last year, after a US man visited her house uninvited.

Critics say the junta intends to detain her until after elections this year.

Home Minister Maung Oo is reported to have made the comments about Ms Suu Kyi at a provincial town meeting four days ago.

The BBC's South East Asia correspondent Rachel Harvey says it is a measure of how tightly information is controlled in Burma that it has taken this long for the reports to filter out.

Burmese officials have hinted many times that Aung San Suu Kyi may be released, our correspondent adds, but this is the first time in recent months that a putative date has been attached to the idea.

Aung San Suu Kyi's own lawyer told the BBC he had heard the rumour but could not confirm it.

Undermined

Ms Suu Kyi's detention was extended by 18 months last August, over an incident in which an American man swam, uninvited, to her lakeside home.

Burma extended Ms Suu Kyi's arrest after an intruder visited her home

If she is released in November, key questions remain about the terms of her possible freedom.

Those include whether there would be conditions attached, whether her activities would be restricted and - crucially - whether the release would come before or after planned elections.

The Supreme Court is also due to deliver its verdict on a legal appeal against her current detention in the next couple of weeks.

But if the military government says she will continue to be detained until at least November, the court's decision has already been somewhat undermined, says our correspondent.

Maung Oo is also reported to have said the vice chairman of Ms Suu Kyi's political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), will be released in February.

Tin Oo, 82, has been in prison or under house arrest for more than a decade.

Analysts say if he is released, he could have a key role in deciding whether or not the NLD participates in the elections due later this year.

No date for the poll has yet been set.

But if Tin Oo is released in February, and Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention until November, it could indicate that the elections are pencilled in for a date sometime between the two, says our correspondent.

An Interim Assessment of Evolving U.S.-Burma/Myanmar Relations

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http://vimeo.com/8443859 (video)

December 17, 2009, Professor David I. Steinberg

(Click to enlarge) Professor David I. Steinberg discusses U.S.-Burma relations.

(Washington D.C.) December 17– Though a U.S. policy review has led to new engagement between the United States and Burma, there are still many issues to tackle if relations between the two countries are to improve. In an East-West Center in Washington Asia Pacific Security Seminar co-hosted by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, Dr. David I. Steinberg, distinguished professor of Asian Studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, introduced his new book, Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know, and discussed the current state of U.S.-Burma relations and the prospects for the future.

In February 2009, the United States announced a review of its policy toward Burma, leading to new engagement between the two countries. In the spring, tentative steps were made to open up communication between the two governments, leading to a series of meetings at the official level. The U.S. policy review on Burma was extensive, leading some human rights commentators to worry that the United States might eliminate sanctions or soften its stance on human rights issues in order to achieve greater cooperation with Burma. However, the result of this review is a new period of “pragmatic engagement” in which the United States will continue its sanctions while at the same time maintaining dialogue with Burma at a high level.

Dr. Steinberg explained that it is difficult to say what Burma’s response to U.S. engagement will be. Nationalism, Dr. Steinberg noted, will play a key factor in Burmese decision-making as it engages with the United States. He explained that the fear that the United States will invade Burma is alive and well in the country, and this impedes the relationship. He also noted that Burma is an issue that is of great concern to groups in the United States, who will continue to call for U.S. action to protect human rights issues in Burma regardless of the state of the negotiations between the two countries.

Certainly the Burmese government is concerned about the upcoming scheduled elections, especially with U.S. and world attention being so closely fixed on the country. While the United States has expressed a desire that these elections be “free and fair,” Dr. Steinberg worried that Burmese and U.S. perceptions over what this means may be quite different. Though we cannot predict how the elections will be run or what the results of the elections will be, Dr. Steinberg argued that post-election Burma will still be controlled, in part, by the military due to the active role that the new constitution ensures for them. New political parties will develop that are peopled by former members of the military and, at the same time, Dr. Steinberg suggested that we can expect new opposition parties to develop. Whether the voices of these opposition parties will be heard in the domestic press, however, is difficult to determine. Further, he pointed out that the military leadership has already called for a hiatus in international NGO activities in the country during the campaigning and election period, indicating a concern that international groups will try to influence the elections in some way.

Another important issue facing the U.S.-Burma relationship is that of human rights issues, including the continued imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi and the status of the minority groups in Burma that have long been in conflict with the military government. Dr. Steinberg noted that, in the past, the military government had insisted on the disarmament of all rebel groups among the minorities as a precondition of cease-fire agreements. However, he explained that in recent months discussions have begun for the creation of “border guard” forces which would allow rebel groups in the minority areas to keep their arms as long as they would incorporate Burmese military units into their organizations, an act which Dr. Steinberg argues would destroy the minority organizations. Whether the minority groups will agree to this offer is a serious issue that will have important consequences for the upcoming elections. He explained that countries like China and India, which are worried about instability along their borders, will continue to carefully monitor the situation as deadlines for reaching agreements with minority groups continue to be delayed.

Whatever the outcome of this new engagement, the process must be slow and deliberate. As the two countries move forward, Dr. Steinberg explained that there are several key things that the United States could do to keep the ball rolling. He suggested that it may be time to welcome a Burmese ambassador back to the United States as a gesture of good will. Further, he pointed to the importance of the role of NGOs in U.S. engagement with Burma, and noted that the U.S. government could do more to interact with this community. Burma, on the other hand, could indicate its commitment to the new engagement by releasing the many political prisoners held in its prisons and allowing freedom of the press. Dr. Steinberg explained that these two activities would signal that Burma is indeed working toward improved relations with the international community.

David I. Steinberg is distinguished professor of Asian Studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where he was director of the Asian Studies Program for ten years. He is the author of thirteen books and monographs, six of which are on Burma/Myanmar, and some 100 articles/chapters, of which about 50 are on that subject. He also writes extensively on Korean affairs. As a member of the Senior Foreign Service, USAID, Department of State, he was Director of Technical Assistance for Asia and the Middle East and Director for Philippines, Thailand, and Burma Affairs. He was a representative of The Asia Foundation in Burma, Hong Kong, Korea, and Washington, D.C., and President of the Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs. Professor Steinberg was educated at Dartmouth College, Lingnan University (China), Harvard University, and the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, where he studied Burmese and Southeast Asia. His latest volume is Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press. 2009). Other volumes include: Turmoil in Burma: Contested Legitimacies in Myanmar (2007), and Burma: The State of Myanmar (2001).

Chinese border town emerges as new front line in fight against human trafficking

By Keith B. Richburg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 26, 2009; A16

This booming little border town in China's southwestern Yunnan province, where the economic prosperity of China is separated from the destitution of Burma by nothing more than a flimsy, rusted metal fence, has emerged as the new front line in the worldwide fight against human trafficking.

On any given afternoon, a steady stream of people scale the six-foot-high fence, unperturbed by the Chinese border guards posted just a hundred yards away. Amid the Burmese men looking for day labor, or women coming to sell their vegetables in the wealthier Chinese markets, is traffic far less benign:

Burmese women being brought over for marriages with Chinese men -- some forced, some voluntarily arranged through "matchmakers." Babies being brought into China to be sold. And Chinese women from poorer inland areas being moved in the opposite direction, often ending up in Southeast Asia's sex industry.

In the shadowy world of human trafficking, say government officials and advisers with foreign aid agencies, China has become a source country, a destination country and a transit country all at once.

"Some of the Yunnan women and girls think they'll get a better job in Thailand," said Kathleen Speake, chief technical adviser for the United Nations' International Labor Office in Beijing. Burmese "are coming into China. We're looking at being trafficked for adoption, and women being trafficked for marriage."

No firm numbers are available on the extent of trafficking. Kirsten di Martino, a project officer in Beijing for UNICEF, said that from 2000 to 2007, China's public security bureau investigated 44,000 cases of trafficking, rescuing about 130,000 women and children. But, she added, "this is just the tip of the iceberg."

China, she said, "is very big, and has a lot of border -- and has a whole lot of problems."

Here in Ruili, two criminal gangs were cracked and 14 women rescued in the first half of the year, said Meng Yilian, who works for the newly formed group China-Myanmar Cooperation Against Human Trafficking. Burma is also known as Myanmar.

A legally suspect vocation

"In the villages bordering Myanmar, there are some people working as matchmakers, " she said. "And some of them are human traffickers. It's hard to tell who are the matchmakers and who are the traffickers."

Matchmaking, which falls into a legally murky terrain, is rooted in Chinese tradition, which allows a man to make a gift to a woman's family in exchange for marriage.

In this border area, matchmakers are not hard to find. From Ruili, a gravel road leads west, running parallel to the Burmese border and past ethnic Dai villagers working in paddy fields. In Mang Sai village, the matchmaker is a heavy-set 28-year-old woman who said she has been in the business seven or eight years and had "successfully made 20 matches," including two involving Chinese buyers and Burmese girls.

The matchmaker -- she requested that her name be withheld because her profession is legally suspect -- said a local Chinese girl will cost as much as 50,000 renminbi, about $7,300. But a girl from Burma, she said, costs just 20,000 renminbi, or just under $3,000.

She said her matchmaking fee is 3000 renminbi, or about $440.

"I follow the principle: Only if the two people like each other is it a match," she said.

Further south, in Jie Xiang town, a pharmacist said it was often difficult to tell which Burmese girls come here voluntarily to marry Chinese men and escape poverty and which ones are the victims of traffickers.

The pharmacist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals from traffickers, said, "For the woman 25 to 30 years old, they come voluntarily. For those 25 and younger, it's hard to tell if they come voluntarily or were forced."

The pharmacist, 43, said he often speaks with the Burmese women because they come to his shop for carsickness medicine before they set out for long drives with their new husbands.

"They are forced by their economic situation at home," the pharmacist said. "They have no other choice."

He said he knows one trafficker in the town who is trying to find a buyer for an 8-year-old Burmese girl after selling the mother.

"The border is so long, and there are a lot of channels," the pharmacist said. "You can't watch every path. It's really easy for people to come across. There's no strict border here at all."

A long, porous border

A few hours at the border confirmed what the pharmacist said. While the official border crossing point at Jie Gao was relatively quiet -- just a few cars passing by and two pedestrians -- there was a steady flow over the rickety metal fence nearby, just out of eyeshot of the green-uniformed border policemen.

A woman from Burma, Zei Nan, 51, climbed over the fence carrying a sack filled with vegetables she was hoping to sell. A young man, Zaw Aung, 29, said he crosses over from Burma almost every day, looking for day labor. Another woman, Huang Shuguo, 30, came to the fence to bring a change of clothes for her husband, who drives a motorcycle taxi on the Chinese side.

The spot is so well-known as a border crossing point that it could hardly be called secret. Red taxis and motorcycles cruised up and down the narrow street, hoping to pick up Burmese migrants. Others stopped to discharge their passengers at the fence.

Several people crossing said that on the rare occasions when the police intervene to stop people, the penalty is a fine and a day in jail. But Zaw Aung said, "We are seldom caught. Even the police know we are climbing over."

The government, however, recently launched a crackdown on the "matchmakers" as one step in the effort to combat trafficking. And there is evidence that the move has had some effect.

In Huo Sai village -- a place identified by area residents as a key transit point for trafficked Burmese women -- the matchmaker was nowhere to be found. Residents said the matchmaker had gone underground because of the increased police monitoring.

Researcher Wang Juan contributed to this report.

Little word from U.S. on Nyi Nyi Aung, jailed in Burma

Image by totaloutnow via Flickr

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 24, 2009; A07

After his arrest in September, the American was held for 17 days in a dank Burmese jail and denied food, medical treatment, sleep and the chance to speak with a U.S. government official. Even after he finally met with a representative from the U.S. Embassy, the American was transferred to solitary confinement in a cell for military dogs.

But the harsh treatment on what advocates say are trumped up charges has barely merited a peep from the Obama administration.

Nyi Nyi Aung, a Montgomery Village resident and Burmese democracy advocate who has traveled there often, appears to be politically inconvenient for both the United States and the Burmese military dictatorship at a moment when the two countries have taken tentative steps toward engagement after years of stormy antagonism.

"It is shocking to me that an American citizen has been treated this way and higher U.S. officials are silent on that," said Wa Wa Kyaw, Nyi Nyi's fiancee and also a U.S. citizen and Maryland resident. "It will let the generals think, 'We can do whatever we want, even torture and inhumane treatment of a U.S. citizen,' because America wants to do the engagement policy."

In one apparent concession to American sensitivities, the Burmese government in October abruptly dropped charges of instigating unrest in concert with pro-democracy groups. Instead, it accused Nyi Nyi of purely criminal acts -- allegedly possessing a forged Burmese identification document and failing to declare U.S. currency totaling more than $2,000. His lawyers say he is innocent of both offenses; they note that he appears to have been seized by authorities before he even made it through customs, where he would have had to declare the currency.

Officials at the Burmese Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

Burma, also known as Myanmar, is regarded as one of the world's most oppressive nations, ruled by generals who have enriched themselves while much of the country remains desperately poor. The National League for Democracy, the party of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won a landslide electoral victory in 1990, but the military leadership refused to accept it. Since then, she has been under house arrest for most of the time, as have hundreds of her supporters.

The 40-year-old Nyi Nyi was one of the leading organizers of demonstrations against the junta in 1988 and fled the country after a violent crackdown, eventually settling in the United States as a political refugee in 1993. He became a U.S. citizen in 2002 and earned a college degree in computer science, but he also remained deeply involved in Burmese democracy efforts.

Wa Wa said that her fiancee managed to often travel to Burma to visit his family and work with the Burmese underground because his U.S. passport is in his legal name, Kyaw Zaw Lwin. In his professional and personal lives in the United States, he has used Nyi Nyi Aung -- an amalgam of a childhood nickname and his father's first name -- and for years the Burmese government never made the connection.

But last summer Nyi Nyi's profile was raised when he helped deliver a petition to senior United Nations officials with 680,000 signatures calling for the release of all political prisoners in Burma.

Wa Wa, who has lived with Nyi Nyi since 2005, also has secretly traveled back to Burma even though she is a political refugee. "We have taken the risk because we want to organize and train the new generation for democracy and freedom," she said.

Nyi Nyi's mother and sister are serving prison sentences of five years and 65 years, respectively, for their involvement in 2007 anti-government demonstrations known as the "Saffron Revolution." Wa Wa said that he tried to enter the country again in part to see his ailing mother. But he appears to have been seized as soon as he landed at the airport in September.

Nyi Nyi's treatment in prison has attracted worldwide attention, with both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International issuing statements on his case. Fifty-three members of the House of Representatives, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-Calif.), sent a letter last week to Senior Gen. Than Shwe calling for Nyi Nyi's immediate release and return to the United States.

On Nov. 6, Sen. Barbara Milkulski (D-Md.) sent Wa Wa a letter saying she had asked Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to condemn the detention in the "strongest terms possible." But Clinton -- who over the summer called for the release of another American, John Yettaw -- has been silent. Yettaw, who was tried for entering Aung San Suu Kyi's compound, eventually was freed through the intervention of Sen. James Webb (D-Va.), when he traveled to Burma and met with senior leaders in August.

Sources also said that Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell did not raise the case when he met with senior Burmese officials in a rare high-level visit to Burma last month, though it has been raised at lower levels. Jared Gensler, a Washington lawyer who is assisting Wa Wa, said Westerners put on trial in Burma are usually treated well and then deported, but Nyi Nyi appears to be the first American of Burmese descent on trial, which might account for the rough treatment.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the department is handling the case as it would for any American citizen. "Embassy representatives have monitored his court appearances and been able to talk with him in that setting," he said. "We continue to press the Burmese government for ongoing consular access as required by the Vienna Convention so that we can ensure that he is treated appropriately."

Burmese Dissident Meets With Party

By MARK McDONALD

Image by totaloutnow via Flickr

HONG KONG — The military junta in Myanmar allowed the opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, to meet with senior members of her party on Wednesday, the latest in a recent series of signals that suggest the junta might be responding to diplomatic overtures from the West.

A Western diplomat in the main city of Yangon, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi was permitted to leave her home under military guard to meet with three elderly leaders of her National League for Democracy. She has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years.

The meeting took place at a state guesthouse in Yangon, formerly Rangoon. She had not been permitted to confer with her party colleagues in nearly a year.

Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, had requested the meeting in a letter to the leader of the junta, Senior Gen. Than Shwe. She also requested a meeting with the general himself.

Despite her continuing detention, Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi has been able to meet in recent months with a number of visiting diplomats, including a high-level delegation from the United States led by Kurt M. Campbell, an assistant secretary of state, and his deputy, Scot Marciel.

Earlier this year, the Obama administration undertook a review of American policy toward Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and decided to seek a new approach, including direct talks with the junta.

“A policy of pragmatic engagement with the Burmese authorities holds the best hope for advancing our goals,” Mr. Campbell said in testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in October. “A central element of this approach is a direct, senior-level dialogue with representatives of the Burmese leadership.”

But Mr. Campbell said a wide array of sanctions against Myanmar would not be immediately relaxed, and improved bilateral relations depended on the government’s making “real progress on democracy and human rights,” a demand reiterated by President Obama at a regional summit meeting last month in Singapore.

While in Singapore, Mr. Obama sat in a meeting near the prime minister of Myanmar, Gen. Thein Sein — the first time an American president had met with a member of the military junta.

Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi met for 45 minutes on Wednesday with the National League for Democracy chairman, Aung Shwe, 92; the party secretary, U Lwin, 87; and another senior official, Lun Tin. The elderly leaders of the party are known collectively in diplomatic circles in Yangon as “the uncles.”

Their meeting, which U Lwin discussed with reporters afterward, took place less than a week before the highest court in Myanmar was scheduled to begin considering an appeal of the 18-month extension of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s longstanding house arrest. That extension, which was handed down in August, came after an American man swam to her lakeside home in May, evaded military guards and briefly stayed at the house — a breach of the terms of her detention.

One of her lawyers, Kyi Win, said this month that the hearing would most likely be a procedural affair. But a successful appeal and a lifting of her detention could allow Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi to play a role in national elections that the junta has vowed to hold next year.

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Analysts and diplomats say the country’s new Constitution virtually ensures the continuing dominance of the military in the political life of the country, despite the election. Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi would likely be barred from running for office because her husband, who died in 1999, was a foreigner.

Her party won a landslide victory in national elections in 1990, and she was elected prime minister. The election results were annulled by the junta, which has continued to govern ever since.

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Burma's Political Prisoners

The FCO is running a campaign, in association with the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), Human Rights Watch and Burma Campaign UK to highlight the plight of Burma's over 2100 prisoners of conscience.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Between now and the elections the junta plan for next year, the campaign will highlight the story of one Burmese political prisoner a week, aiming to give these student and civil society leaders, lawyers, union activists, ethnic and religious figures a public personality in their own right, to make these very brave people more than a number. We start be highlighting five of the most high profile of these prisoners.

It's a sobering thought that there are so many prisoners of conscience in Burma that it would take over forty years to profile them all. And numbers do not remain static. The regime continue to imprison anyone who might speak against them, however mildly, and very few genuine political prisoners are released - the long sentences of 65 - 100 years ensure this.

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U Gambira - Saffron Revolution leader

One of the most emblematic young monks. Played a leadership role in the Saffron Revolution in 2007 when monks overturned their rice bowls to excommunicate the regime.

Sentenced to 63 years in prison, 10 years hard labour. In a remote prison, in poor health and denied family visits. He says: “it matters little if my life or lives of my colleagues should be sacrificed on this journey. Others will fill our sandals”

Su Su Nway - champion of the workforce

An NLD member and a dedicated Labour Activist. Recognised by international human rights awards from Canada and the Czech Republic for her work in bringing forced labour to the attention of the ILO. Aged 38.

Imprisoned for 8 years and six months in a jail 700 miles from her home in Rangoon. Recently placed in solitary confinement for three days for singing an independence anthem.

In frail health, her heart problem has seriously worsened in prison. In 2007 she said. “We held demonstrations for all the people, including those who beat us. [They] are also facing difficult daily lives.”

Thin Thin Aye aka Mie Mie

Leader of the 88 Generation Students Group. Worked for the NLD election campaigning in 1990.

Took part in the Saffron Revolution in 2007. Sentenced to 65 years with hard labour, the court refused her family permission to attend and subsequently handed down prison sentences to her lawyers for representing her.

On sentencing Mie Mie declared “We will never be frightened!” She has a degree in Zoology and is married with two children aged 17 and 12.

Her health is deteriorating in prison in Irrawaddy, a long way from her family in Rangoon.

Zarganar - sentenced to 35 years

Comedian, film actor and director from an intellectual and political family.

Zarganar is a nickname meaning “Tweezers.” A qualified dentist, he was involved in the 8888 uprising and Saffron Revolution in 2007.

Aged 48 and in deteriorating health, he was sentenced to 35 years for his involvement in cyclone relief efforts. He is incarcerated in tiny cell in a prison many miles from his family who have been denied visiting rights - even after making the trip.

He has spoken of previous prison terms - of being kept with dogs,of seeing monks with gunshot wounds and broken bones and of young lives destroyed.

Min Ko Naing - 'nobody can hide from justice'

Talented artist, poet and satirist.

Co-founder and spokesperson of the 88 Generation of Students Group. Sentenced with other 88 Generation Group members to over 65 years in prison. He is 46 and in failing health. He has been held in solitary confinement and is suspected to have been tortured.

At his trial he declared: “You can sentence us to a thousand years in prison for our political activities, but we will continue to defend ourselves in accordance with the law. Nobody can hide from justice.”

Chrysler calls for release of Aung San Suu Kyi

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Posted on December 7, 2009
Filed Under Burma news | Leave a Comment

In what may seem like a cynical attempt to garner some goodwill by a troubled company, carmaker Chrysler has launched a new commercial in which it calls for the release of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The company says the commercial for the Chrysler 300 is meant to demonstrate its commitment to supporting social issues and defending human rights around the world.
Until now, advocacy campaigns for Burma have mostly been by celebrities and pressure groups like the US Campaign for Burma.
The involvement of a large corporation can only be good. Even if their goals, like the commercial are largely self-serving.
The auto industry is struggling to regain the public trust after large bailouts from several governments earlier this year, which appears to be pushing them towards more populist subjects.
Oliver Francois, President and CEO – Chrysler Brand, Chrysler Group LLC, who is also the Managing Director of Lancia Automobiles said, “We produced the TV film in honour of all those who put their lives at stake in the hopes of making the world a better place.”
“In particular, those men and women who are still prisoners like Aung San Suu Kyi. For Chrysler, this is a chance to use our brand image to join with others in the fight for peace and to knock down the walls that divide us. We at Chrysler believe in doing the right thing and making a difference.”

Mounting forced labour by Burmese army in Taung Oo region

Report by Nan Htoo San

Friday, 04 December 2009 08:22

The Burmese Army based in Taung Oo region is forcing many locals, including women to work against their will, locals said. Army battalions under the Military Operation Command 5 (MOC 5) based in Htan Ta Pin township, Taung Oo district have been constantly summoning locals to work since November. Locals are forced to carry rations and military equipment, which are necessary transportation for the army come winter, Taung Oo locals said. Image by Rusty Stewart via Flickr "It's happening around the mountain area in Htan Ta Pin Township called the military operation area. Locals are made to carry rations, military equipment and ammunition for battalions under the MOC 5. About 20 to 30 locals, including women, are summoned for duty at a time," a Taung Oo local Saw El War said. Some of the military camps are situated on the roadsides and vehicles are also requisitioned. Then villagers are forced to walk in front of the vehicles as landmine detectors. If the military camps are far from the main road, locals are forced to carry rations and military equipments. The Light Infantry Battalion 542 (LIB 542) based in Ka Lawme Del village under the command of MOC 5 summoned 32 women and 24 men on November 27. The infantry battalion forced them to transport army rations (rice) from Ka Lawme Del camp to Palei War camp. "There is an army camp in our village. Therefore, two villagers have to work in the camp daily. Besides, villagers are forced to carry rations, cut wood and bamboo for the camp. Villagers are treated inhumanly," a Zee Phyu Kon villager in Htan Ta Pin Township said. There are often gun battles between the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the Burmese Army, when the latter’s troops escort the convoy transporting ration. Currently there are 78 military camps in Taung Oo district, which is under the control of KNU's brigade 2. The battalions from MOC 5 and Southern Military Command have entered the area since 2006.

Burma's 2010 election: New version of Diarchy

Image via Wikipedia

by Dr. Tint Swe


Mizzima News - To answer the frequently asked query - is democracy possible in Burma - is yes. But what democracy is the following question. The officially dubbed “disciplined democracy” is coming soon if everything goes smoothly. Thesaurus plainly tells that disciplined means restricted or closely controlled.

For external observers, an election can be seen as a routine and standard practice in democracy and would perfectly remark that a democrat can’t reject holding of an election. As the government in exile follows the policy and position of the National League for Democracy (NLD) as far as possible, (NCGUB) has neither endorsed nor rejected the 2010 election at this stage.

Not only foreigners but also the people of Burma are divided while commenting on the controversial 2010 election. It is normal that different people have different views on different issues. However the forthcoming election in Burma is abnormal because when it comes to Burma not everything is normal. Look at the election held in 1990, the freely and fairly held election did not lead to formation of a democratic government. It has been 19 years and 6 months and has not materialized. Bluntly speaking supporting an abnormal one is something like marrying a mad fiancée.

There may be people, who think that they are being defeated by the military, and prefer to go along with the military. Some may perceive the election after over 20 years of military rule, as an opening that may give rise to non-military people to play a role.

Optimistically yes. But objectively that election is something like the TV shows. The Parliament after (2010) election would resemble a wrestling match fought in a cage. The iron cage is the 2008 constitution. You can’t come out of the locked doors. Even if you win the match you can’t get the due prize like in the Spiderman movie. Meanwhile Spiderman’s uncle can be shot dead.

New version of Diarchy

The people of India and Burma have experience of Diarchy of British colony. Diarchy is one of the oldest types of government known from ancient Sparta, Rome, and Carthage. Also in 20^th century, the system signified as a breakthrough and was the prototype of India’s full provincial autonomy and then independence. So Indian people had to wait for 28 years while Burmese people for (1948 – 1923) = 25 years. I don’t think the people of Burma of today are supposed to wait for such a long period as they are almost ready for democracy by having had a successful election exercise in 1990, the esteemed leaders who have vision for the future. This is 21st century and no colony at all.

During the Diarchy years the British Governor took 21% of Assembly seats, appointed selected ministries and shared with Burmese, Anglo-Burmese and Indians there. The same will be applied in the Nargis Constitution of 2008. The Chief of the Army will take 25% of the seats, appoint Ministers of Defence, Security/Home affairs and Border affairs, and then in the Parliament will be cronies, and like-minded representatives. So the 5^th step of the roadmap should preferably be called “disciplined diarchy”.

The following categories will favour the 2010 election.

• Those who readily want to collaborate with the military regime such as members of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and members of Union Solidarity Association (USDA) and business cronies


• Those who have no attachment and or no fondness to the 1990 election


• Those who contested and lost in the 1990 election


• Those who are being expelled from the NLD and those who are discredited by the student groups


• Those who are too young and awfully immature


• The opportunists

Why is the 2010 election to be held?

The stakeholders of the Union of Burma precisely highlighted that the country’s problems are twofold: (1) lack of democracy and (2) the question of rights of ethnic minorities. The international community, including the United Nations acknowledged and supported both issues.

Correspondingly the military regime has taken two big steps.

1. The answer to ethnic issues is ceasefire agreement formulated in 1992. Most of the armed ethnic groups reached ceasefire contracts. Years later most of them are not satisfied. Now they are forced to transform to “border guards”, which have no political role.


2. The response to the democracy question is holding an election to be held in 2010. Some of us want to go along. The same conspiracy will follow for the legislators of (2010) election. Maybe a few years later they will become “assembly guards”, who can’t do any politics.

The non-NLD persons and groups have liberty to agree or disagree with NLD’s declaration in April this year. Whatever the justification to support or to participate in the 2010 election the military junta will be happy about it. But emotional observation is not to be concerned. Politically, all have to recollect the people’s determination expressed in the 1990 election. They voted for the NLD because they realized the need to be unified to bring down the Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP), which had ruled for 26 years. Here again, unity of consciousness is crucial to prevent the perpetual rule of the army. If we are divided and some of us are going along with the deceitful plan of the regime, we are finished.

It is sad that some intellectuals are not intelligent as the people on the street. I am confident the people’s intellect will prevail.

Rangoon shops lose customers due to license order

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

by Mizzima News

Friday, 04 December 2009 19:51

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Teashops, restaurants and beauty parlours in Rangoon have started removing television sets from their shops as the Video Association has ordered that those using TV in the shops would have to have a license by paying 45,000 Kyat (US$ 45). According to several shop owners, the new rule was circulated by the Video Association ordering teashops, restaurants and beauty parlours that use television or videos to attract customers, to apply for license within a week. “Normally we use TV or video in our shop, and our family also watches. But since last month we were given a notice asking us to apply for a license. Since we are not using it for commercial purposes, we shifted our TV in to our house from the shop,” a teashop owner in Latha Township of Rangoon told Mizzima. Similarly, a teashop owner in Insein Township said, most shops on the street have removed their TV sets as they do not want to apply for a license. “We do not want to pay for the license, so we removed our TV from the shop,” he added. In Burma, where people often spend their leisure time in teashops and restaurants, many shop owners have a TV set to lure them in and entertain their customers with movies and TV programmes. Besides, with most people unable to afford a TV set, customers often visit teashops in order to watch TV programmes including international football matches. Video license is normally applicable for commercial video parlours. But the new order since the beginning of August requires teashops, restaurants and beauty parlours to apply for license. The order, read out to Mizzima by a shop owner over telephone, states that owners in three categories of shops should apply for video license within a week, and in case of failing to obtain it, the shop owners could be charged under the Television and Video Act resulting in a three year prison term or a fine of Kyat 100,000 (US$ 1000) or both. A teashop owner in Tharmwe Township said since he removed his TV set from the shop, he had lost customers and business has been plummeting. “Earlier, we use to attract customers by showing videos or TV programmes. But after the order, since we have not been making good profit, I do not want to spend money on the license. But since then sales have dropped with fewer customers,” the shop owner added. While most shops do not want to apply for the license and have removed their TV sets, a few, however, have applied for a license. A teashop owner in Bahan Township told Mizzima that she had applied for the license by paying 45,000 Kyat. “I did it as they ordered it,” she added. While licenses for TV, Satellites TV and radio have to be applied for at the Post and Telecommunication Ministry, video screening license applications are made at the Myanmar Movies Association office in Bahan Township. The video association, a department under the Myanmar Movie Association, has its branch offices in all the 44 townships of Rangoon. Editing by Ye Yint Aung

US Teacher Deported from Burma

Image via Wikipedia

December 3, 2009

Irrawaddy News: An American English teacher working for the American Center in Rangoon was deported on Saturday, according to a source close to the US Embassy in Rangoon who spoke to The Irrawaddy on conditions of anonymity.

Christina Peterson was briefly detained at a highway bus station in Rangoon on her way back from the American Consulate in Mandalay, where she had given a talk on environmental issues. Some members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) also participated in the talk, according to the source.

“She just talked about environmental issues in Mandalay. The moment she got off the bus in Rangoon, she was immediately taken to the airport and wasn’t even allowed to go back to her room,” the source said.

Drake Weisert, Assistant Public Affairs Officer of the US Embassy in Rangoon, confirmed the news but declined to give details, citing privacy reasons.

Peterson had been working for the American Center in Rangoon as an English teacher since 2007, and she was also an organizer of an environmental club for the center. The American Center provides English language courses and runs a library popular among young people in Rangoon.

Last May, US citizens Jerry Redfern and his wife Karen Coates, who were teaching feature writing and photography in Mandalay, were also forced to leave the country.

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Than Shwe Confounds His Peers

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

by Wai Moe

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Burma's military despot Snr-Gen Than Shwe surprised and confused his fellow generals at a four-monthly military commanders' meeting in Naypyidaw by ignoring pressing political issues and instead devoting his speech to the development of the country's economy in the post-election era, according to military sources in the capital.

Than Shwe reportedly told his fellow generals at the meeting on Nov. 23-28 that Burma is ready for a new government in line with his vision of a “disciplined democracy,” and addressed numerous economic developments and projects for the future.

A source who provided The Irrawaddy with a document on Friday analyzing the proceedings at the closed-door meeting said regional commanders and top-ranking generals were caught off-guard by the dictator's lofty aspirations and apparent far-sightedness, because he normally dwells on petty internal matters, and methods of quelling political dissent and securing power.

Than Shwe instead spoke of establishing solid business foundations in the country in the post-election period, of developing Burma's human resources and of the state's responsibility to promote a solid middle-class in the country.

During the meeting, sources say Than Shwe spoke confidently about the development of the national economy and effused about the prospects of billions of dollars in investment from China, referring to the Sino-Burmese oil-gas pipeline projects and the development of the Kyaukpyu deep sea port off the Arakan coast and related railway systems.

At the meeting, he apparently advocated expanding industry, especially factories related to oil and gas exploration and production. He also alluded to the Dawei deep sea port project in southern Burma, spoke of expanding the shipping industry and services sector, and predicted the Burmese economy would soon be “booming,” the source said.

The military dictator reportedly went on to pledge that Burma will furthermore be immune from electricity shortages because the country's hydroelectric projects would soon produce some 16,000 MW of power per year.

According to the military sources, the fact that Than Shwe did not address the upcoming election and pending political concerns, such as Aung San Suu Kyi's request for a meeting, suggests he is confident that his current strategy is working and that events are playing out in his favor.

EBO Funds to Target Migrants and IDPs

Image by m.gifford via Flickr

By SAW YAN NAING

Friday, December 4, 2009

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The Euro-Burma Office (EBO) will focus funding on Burmese migrant workers and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in ethnic areas where armed conflicts are active, according to the organization's Executive Director, Harn Yawnghwe.

The decision came after the meeting between the Brussels-based EBO and Burmese opposition, civil society groups and ethnic groups in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand from Dec. 1 to 2.

Yawnghwe said his organization wants to strengthen civil society groups assisting migrant workers and IDPs because such people are in need.

Any group wanting to assist migrant workers or IDPs in armed conflict zones in eastern Burma can submit proposals to the EU donors.

“Euro Burma want to set up committees to assist these groups and want to give funds to them. Those who are interested are asked to submit proposals,” said Dr. Thiha Maung, who attended the meeting and is the director of the National Health and Education Committee's (NHEC) health program.

It is likely that the EBO will secure some funding for exile-based aid groups as funding for cross-border activities is unstable and many Western government donors are not willingly providing further cross-border aid to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in exile, he added.

Founded in 1997, the Brussels-based EBO helps the Burmese democracy movement prepare for transition to democracy and keeps the international community informed about the situation in Burma.

Transparency and accountability of funding among border-based NGOs were also discussed at the meeting.

“International donor countries such as Sweden, Norway, Canada and Australia are hoping for change in Burma in 2010 and want to focus aid directly inside Burma if the situation improves after 2010 election,” Thiha Maung said.

Harn Yawnghwe also said the EBO will provide financial supports to opposition parties or ethnic groups that will contest in the general elections in 2010 if they need support. This should not be misconstrued as EBO support for the Burmese regime 2008's constitution and planned 2010 elections, he said.

The aim of supporting those groups is to let them strive for democracy and ethnic rights within any political space that might be opened up by the Burmese regime, he added.

Observers said international donors indicated they want to focus humanitarian assistance directly inside Burma after they identified problems with cross-border aid.

However, observers said both internally-based aid and cross-border aid are needed since both reach different target populations, whether deep inside Burma or on the Thai-Burmese border.

Due to international donors reducing their funding and distancing themselves from cross-border aid projects, Mae Sot-based Mae Tao Clinic is concerned about funding, which has been cut and reduced.

The number of outpatients coming to the clinic has grown by about 20 percent per year, however.

The clinic, which treats Burmese migrants, refugees and Burmese people who cross the border for medical treat, is struggling with a “major funding crisis.” It faces a predicted shortfall of about US $750,000 in 2010, amounting to 25 percent of its operating budget, according to Dr Cynthia Maung writing on the clinic's Web site on Oct. 27.

Other border-based NGO aid groups are also struggling with the funding crisis, which has resulted in anomalous situations across the border. Schoolteachers in Mon State being provided for by funding from donors such as the NHEC, for example, have been working without salaries since June.

Looking for the Switch to Light Up Burma’s Cities

by William Boot

Efforts by Burma’s military regime to improve the country’s unreliable electricity supply ahead of promised national elections next year face big hurdles.

A new hydroelectric dam near the central city of Mandalay is being tested this month and in theory it could expand Burma’s power generating capacity by over 40 percent.

Additionally, a 150-kilometer pipeline is to be built in the south to carry gas to Rangoon, seemingly to alleviate perpetual power shortages there.

An inadequate and decrepit infrastructure, however, is likely to result in wastage of much of any extra electricity—if it isn’t sold to China anyway.

Chinese developers are this month conducting tests on the 790-megawatt capacity Yeywa hydro dam nearing completion on the Myitnge River.

The project, which has been under construction since 2004 and has reportedly cost more than US $600 million, should raise Burma’s electricity generating capacity by more than 40 percent. However, with so much Chinese involvement—including investment of about $200 million—some of the power might be pumped north into China’s equally hungry Yunnan province, observers believe.

The Yeywa dam, 50 kilometers south of blackout-plagued Mandalay, is about 300 kilometers from the Chinese border.

Burma has one of the world’s worst electricity generating capacities—a mere 1,700 megawatts for a population of around 50 million.

In comparison, neighboring Thailand has about 30,000 megawatts for a population of about 60 million people.

Burma’s power predicament is exacerbated by the fact that more than 25 percent of the electricity generated is lost “in transmission and distribution” through poor cable equipment, according to figures published in a report by the United States Central Intelligence Agency.

Burmese state-controlled media have said the Yeywa electricity will be pumped into what passes for a national grid via 230-volt cable.

“Burma’s electricity grid system is far from national because it’s concentrated in the central belt between Rangoon and Mandalay,” Bangkok-based energy industries analyst-consultant Collin Reynolds told The Irrawaddy.

“Under half of it has a 230-volt capacity, so even within the limited transmission region much of the cable is probably inadequate for handling a big boost in supply such as might come out of the Yeywa [power plant],” Reynolds said.

Even within the electricity transmission belt, noisy and polluting diesel generators are in daily use as essential backup.

Most of northern and southeast Burma and nearly all border areas have no connection to the grid.

Despite these infrastructure failings, the Burmese military government has approved at least 12 hydro dams across the country.

If they are all built they would have a generating capacity of over 22,000 megawatts. But much of this is earmarked to be pumped into China, India or Thailand.

Many dam projects are still at the drawing board stage and involve Chinese and Indian state engineering companies. China’s Sinohydro Corporation—a principal developer at Yeywa—figures in a number of them.

China is especially interested in using Burma as a proxy for hydro dams because back home it is facing increasingly vociferous opposition from environmentalists. Protests led Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to curtail river dam developments in neighboring Yunnan.

The NGO Burma Rivers Network, a rights and environmental organization that monitors river developments, says dams in Burma lead to “displacement, militarization, human rights abuses, and irreversible environmental damage, threatening the livelihoods and food security of millions. The power and revenues generated are going to the military regime and neighboring countries.”

The Yeywa dam completion coincides with the award of a $77 million contract to Singapore engineering firm Swiber to build a pipeline to carry gas from the Yadana gas field in the Gulf of Martaban to Rangoon.

The contract was issued by the junta-controlled Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), which has a stake in Yadana managed by Total of France. MOGE says the gas is to fuel Burma’s largest city and commercial center.

Most of the 780 million cubic feet of gas produced daily by Yadana goes to Thailand, but MOGE says it intends to have 200 million cubic feet a day delivered to Rangoon for domestic use by mid-2010.

Several small gas turbine plants exist in the greater Rangoon area, but wider use of gas to fuel more power plants would require new investment, and there is little backup capacity when problems strike.

In July, for instance, the Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise cut power supply in Rangoon to just six hours a day because of infrastructure damage caused by bad weather.

About 70 percent of Thailand’s electricity is generated by gas, and at least half of it comes from Burma.

But while Burma sits in the blackout dark, neighboring Thailand has a power glut, caused by over-development coupled with a sharp drop in domestic demand for electricity due to a recession triggered by the global financial crisis.

Thailand's surfeit could be good news for Shan communities living along the Salween river near the Thai-Burmese border.

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand is having second thoughts about its agreements to cooperate in the construction of up to five hydro dams on the Salween, which would produce thousands of megawatts it probably no longer needs.

UN in Malaysia Grants More Burmese Refugee Status

About 11,000 Burmese refugees in Malaysia including Chin, Mon, Shan and Kachin were recognized by the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 2009, making them eligible for resettlement in third countries.

Of the total, Chin numbered about 5,000 people; Mon, 1,800; followed by Kachin and Shan at about 1,000 and other ethnic groups. Arakan were not recognized this year.

A young Burmese refugee participates a demonstration outside the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last year. (Photo: AP)

It was first time the UNHCR recognized such a large number of Burmese refugees. Burmese refugees experienced difficulties earlier this year when Thailand launched a crackdown on illegal Burmese migrants attempting to enter the country from the Malaysia-Thai border, said a member of the Alliance of Chin Refugees (ACR).

According to ACR, about 50,000 Chin currently live in Malaysia. An estimated 20,000 Chin have been granted UNHCR refugees status in Malaysia since 2001.

Nai Roi Mon, an official with the Mon Refugee Office (MRO) in Malaysia, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that it processed about 3,000 Mon for UNHCR refugee status.

According to the MRO, no Mon were granted refugee status in 2007, and only 500 were recognized in 2008.

“They have given favorable recognition to children under age 18, especially from families with many children, but no husband. They also favor older men, over 50, as well,” he said.

There are about 20,000 Mon living in Malaysia, many illegally, according to the MRO.

“If you have an UNHCR card, if you are arrested the UNHCR can help you during detention. This is an advantage for people who work here,” he said.

Burmese refugees recognized by the UNHCR may wait for up to one year or longer for resettlement to third countries.

About 500,000 Burmese migrants work in Malaysia, legally and illegally, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based Burma Workers’ Rights Protection Committee.

At the end of October 2009, about 67,800 refugees and asylum-seekers were registered with the UNHCR in Malaysia, according to the UNHCR.

Of those, 62,000 are refugees from Burma, comprising 28,100 Chin, 16,100 Rohingya, 3,700 Burmese Muslims, 2,900 Kachin and other ethnic minorities.

The UNHCR said a large number of Burmese refugees remain unregistered. The refugee community estimates that unregistered refugees and asylum-seekers could number 30,000 people.

Burmese refugees living in Thailand continue to relocated to Malaysia to apply for refugee status. Many pay 18,000 Thai baht (US $500) or more to enter the country illegally.

The Malaysian government has cooperated with the UNHCR on humanitarian grounds since 1975 even though Malaysia has not signed the UN Convention Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Burmese refugees have been sent to third countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway.