Burma Related News - Mar 12, 2008.

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BURMA RELATED NEWS - MARCH 12, 2008
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HEADLINES
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Reuters - Myanmar's nutty scheme to solve energy crisis
Reuters - Myanmar '07 crackdown worsened bad rights record: U.S.
Reuters - Chinese influx stirs age-old hatred in Myanmar
AFP - UN expert says unlawful arrests in Myanmar accelerating
AFP - Human rights abuses in Asia come under US fire
AFP - ILO extends Myanmar forced labour deal for one year
GIN - BURMA: EU has little clout against Junta, Asian diplomat says
Asian Tribune - Burma's Longest Serving Prisoner of Conscience Must Be
Free
Asian Tribune - Burma: Thousands of Karen civilians displaced in fresh
attacks
The Nation - Burmese junta tells un envoy gambari where to go
The Nation - LTE: Burma makes a mockery of Gambari and the UN
Irrawaddy - Veteran Journalist Calls for People Power to Oust Regime
Irrawaddy - Rangoon Division Ordered to Support Referendum
Mizzima News - Than Shwe rumored to be hospitalized
DVB News - Train crash in Ywar Thar Gyi township
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Myanmar's nutty scheme to solve energy crisis
By Ed Cropley
Wed Mar 12, 3:16 AM ET

PYAW GAN, Myanmar (Reuters) - They may look leafless and lifeless, but
Kyaw Sinnt is certain his nut-trees are the key to Myanmar's chronic
energy shortage.

Others are less sure, saying the junta's plan to turn the country into
a giant plantation of biofuel-producing "physic nuts" is yet another
example of the ill-conceived central planning that has crippled a once-
promising economy.

"I think it's a great idea. Everybody can take part and it's good for
the environment," Kyaw Sinnt said, standing next to a small patch of
the stick-like shrubs in Pyaw Gan, a bamboo hut village typical of the
parched "Dry Zone" southwest of Mandalay.

Fortunately for Pyaw Gan's residents, the plants, also known as
jatropha, are drought-resistant, and energy experts consider them a
very promising source of biofuel since they do not oust food crops
such as sugar or corn.

Clearly the former Burma's ruling generals think so too.

In the middle of 2006, the State Peace and Development Council, as the
junta prefers to be known, decreed that every farmer with an acre of
land had to plant 200 physic nut seeds around the perimeter of their
plots.

Even though farmers had to buy the seeds themselves from the
government for 800 kyat ($0.60) -- about half a day's wages for a
manual laborer -- the scheme caught on.

Now, jatropha groves can be seen across the country, from deserted
roadsides in the central plains to deforested hills near the Chinese
border and in window-boxes in the heart of Yangon, the commercial
capital.

CRUSH, POUR, DRIVE?

A year ago, a senior Energy Ministry official was telling oil industry
bigwigs in Singapore that 7 million acres of plantation would be "in
full swing" by mid-2007 and that biodiesel exports would follow
quickly.

This would represent a major turnaround for a country that had to
import $600 million of oil products in 2006 and which was forced to
slash diesel subsidies last August, triggering the biggest anti-regime
protests in 19 years.

The only problem is that nobody knows whether the generals have kept
their side of the bargain and built the refining plants necessary to
turn sacks of hairy brown nuts into biodiesel.

Several big conglomerates with close ties to the regime have announced
plans to get involved, but it is impossible to say how close to
actually producing biodiesel they might be.

Analysts believe the answer is "not very," using as evidence a
suggestion from one government minister that people simply grind the
nuts in their own homes and then pour the resultant oily residue
straight into their fuel tanks.

"How these jatropha acreages will be converted into biodiesel has not
yet been determined, since Burma lacks anything like the capacity to
refine physic nuts into useable fuel," Sean Turnell of Australia's
Macquarie University said.

"The whole episode is illustrative of a more profound and pervasive
system of centralized and often irrational decision making that lies
at the heart of Burmese agriculture," he said.

BLACK ARTS AT WORK?

There certainly doesn't seem to be anything remotely like a processing
plant anywhere near Pyaw Gan, which is unreachable by vehicle during
the wet season.

"It's a complete waste of time," said one businessman in the town of
Nyaung U, 30 km (20 miles) away who did not wish to be named for fear
of recrimination.

"There is no processing plant, and if there was, it would cost four
times as much as normal diesel. It's all for show -- just like our
wonderful new irrigation channels that never have any water because
they never turn the pumps on," he said.

Doubting the junta's stated motive, ordinary Burmese have come up with
their own theories for the nut drive.

The most popular, but not necessarily the most credible, is that it is
all a word-play plan by the superstitious generals to negate the
spiritual power of their arch enemy, detained opposition leader and
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

In Burmese, physic nuts are roughly pronounced 'chay soo', which is
very close to an inversion of Suu Kyi's shortened name, pronounced
'soo chee'.

Not that anybody in Pyaw Gan cares. They only words of English they
know are "Hello," "David Beckham" and "biodiesel."
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Myanmar '07 crackdown worsened bad rights record: U.S.
Tue Mar 11, 6:07 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Myanmar's violent suppression of pro-democracy
marches last September made the military-ruled country's already poor
human rights record even worse, the United States said in a report on
Tuesday.

"Burma's abysmal human rights record continued to worsen," said the
State Department in its annual report looking at human rights around
the world 2007. Burma is the former name of the Southeast Asian
country.

"Throughout the year, the regime continued to commit extrajudicial
killings and was responsible for disappearances, arbitrary and
indefinite detentions, rape, and torture," the report said.

At least 31 people were killed when the junta sent troops to crush pro-
democracy marches led by Buddhist monks in September, according to the
United Nations and other agencies.

Some rights groups put the death toll much higher and noted that the
reported dead did not include Buddhist monks.

"At year's end many of the monks had not returned, and many remained
missing," said the State Department report.

Myanmar's junta "did not honor its commitment to begin a genuine
discussion with the democratic opposition and ethnic minority groups,"
it said.

"Defying calls from the U.N. Security Council and the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations for the early release of all political
prisoners, the regime continued to hold opposition leaders under
incarceration, including Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi,
who remained under house arrest," added the report.

Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since May 2003 and for most
of the past 17 years. Her National League for Democracy won the
country's last elections in 1990 but the military that has ruled the
country since 1962 ignored the result and stayed in power.

"Private citizens and political activists continued to 'disappear' for
periods ranging from several hours to several weeks or more, and many
persons never reappeared," the State Department report said.
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Chinese influx stirs age-old hatred in Myanmar
By Ed Cropley
Wed Mar 12, 8:38 AM ET

MANDALAY, Myanmar (Reuters) - Few people can claim justifiably to
understand the relationship between Myanmar's secretive military
rulers and China, their key trading partner, arms supplier and
diplomatic ally.

But if the man on the street in Mandalay is anything to go by, it will
be one ranging from mistrust to resentment to outright loathing,
suggesting Beijing's much-vaunted "influence" over its pariah neighbor
may be smaller than imagined.

Even though the former Burma's second city is one of the few places
where the economy appears to be going somewhere, thanks mainly to
Chinese capital and enterprise, most locals feel they are on the wrong
side of a deeply exploitative equation.

"The Chinese give us plastic, and they take our teak and gems," one
senior Buddhist monk in Sagaing, a town 20 km (12 miles) west of
Mandalay, told Reuters.

"They give us one thing, but then take two."

Lu Maw, one of Mandalay's famed "Moustache Brothers" comedy trio,
reflects the views of many when he says the city, now home to as many
nondescript Chinese hotels as ancient Buddhist monasteries, should be
renamed "Capital of Yunnan," China's nearest province.

"I don't want to discriminate against the Chinese, but..." he says,
before launching into a series of jokes accusing businessmen from
southwest China of making millions selling heroin or doing dodgy deals
with even dodgier Burmese generals.

GENERAL XENOPHOBIA?

Whether street-level xenophobia translates into official outlook and
policy is, of course, a moot point, especially when it comes to
reading the minds of Myanmar's military junta, one of the world's most
closed regimes.

The only clues are hearsay and anecdote, such as that of junta number
two Maung Aye, who has spent much of his military career fighting
Beijing-backed communists, ordering shop signs to be taken down if
Chinese lettering appeared above the Burmese.

But the question of anti-Chinese sentiment is an important one, given
the West's almost total reliance on Beijing since September's anti-
junta protests to coax the generals towards political and economic
reform after 46 years of military rule.

Beijing is also acutely aware of the issue as it tries to buy billions
of dollars of Myanmar natural gas -- gas that most of its 53 million
people think should be used to address the chronic energy shortages
that sat at the heart of last year's protests.

An acquiescent and stable Myanmar is also strategically vital to
Beijing's plans for an oil pipeline running from the Andaman Sea via
Mandalay to Yunnan to mitigate China's reliance on crude shipments
through the Strait of Malacca.

"Our policy is to encourage Chinese companies to 'go out', whether
it's to Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar or wherever," Yunnan Communist Party
chief Bai Enpei told Reuters on the sidelines of China's annual
parliament meeting this month.

"Historically in Southeast Asia there has been a problem in places
where there are a lot of ethnic Chinese. But relations are gradually
getting better," he said.
"We cannot just go in and earn other people's money, selling stuff and
taking over projects. It must be win-win."

KEPT IN DARK

At the height of September's crackdown, Yangon-based diplomats say
China did indeed pull out all the stops to get United Nations special
envoy Ibrahim Gambari into the country.

Beyond that, the amount of pressure Beijing can bring to bear on
Myanmar's recalcitrant generals is open to question.

China's curious admission last May that it had been kept in the dark
about the junta's 2005 move to a new capital -- and its distinctly
unflattering account of the place -- fuelled speculation that Beijing
may not enjoy privileged access.

Some diplomats also dispute the argument that the generals should or
could use the Chinese Communist Party's establishment of a free market
without ceding any political control as a blueprint for reform.

"The ability of China to influence the junta is way overplayed," one
Yangon-based diplomat said. "People say they should get the generals
to 'do a China or a Vietnam' and relax their grip over the economy
without ceding any political power.

"But they forget that it's the junta's stranglehold over every single
money-making enterprise in the country which is their power," said the
diplomat, who asked not to be named.

"They control everything, right down to the number of cars imported
each year."
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UN expert says unlawful arrests in Myanmar accelerating
Wed Mar 12, 11:18 AM ET

GENEVA (AFP) - Some 1,850 political prisoners are behind bars as of
January in Myanmar, as the government "accelerated" rather than
stopped unlawful arrests, a United Nations report said Wednesday.

"Rather than stop unlawful arrests, the government had accelerated
them," according to the report by UN expert Paulo Sergio Pinheiro,
which said that initial indications by Myanmar's military junta of a
willingness to address human rights abuses has "disappeared."

In the study to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council on
Thursday, Pinheiro said he continues to get reports of arrests made in
relation to massive anti-government demonstrations last year -- even
as a culture of impunity reigns in Myanmar.

According to information received, at least 70 individuals were
arrested, with some 62 still detained since his last visit to Myanmar
in November, said Pinheiro, who is ending a seven-year mandate as
special rapporteur.

He also received allegations of abuse relating to the arrests,
including death in custody and arrests without warrants, the study
said.

The government crackdown on last year's August-September
demonstrations, combined with increased military deployment in some
ethnic areas have helped open "new fronts in the patterns of human
rights abuses," the report said.

In economic and social sectors as well, there have been "marked signs
of deterioration," said the study which also denounced "serious
violations of medical neutrality."

Moreover violations of ethnic minorities, including extrajudicial
killings, attacks on civilians and forced displacement continue to be
reported in the eastern Myanmar state of Kayin, it said.

The report also described a culture of impunity as a key obstacle,
with those perpetrating torture, forced labour, sexual violence and
the recruitment of child soldiers often going unpunished.

Pinheiro's report is based on information from independent sources,
since he has not been able to return to Myanmar for a follow-up
mission since his five-day November visit.

The rapporteur urged Myanmar's junta to rapidly release all physically
vulnerable political prisoners, saying it would be seen "as a good-
faith gesture that would help to pave the way to democratization and
reconciliation."

A separate report published by the US State Department Tuesday ranked
Myanmar along with North Korea among the world's worst human rights
violators.
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Human rights abuses in Asia come under US fire
by Lachlan Carmichael
Wed Mar 12, 3:52 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States ranked North Korea and Myanmar
Tuesday among the world's worst violators of human rights and took
other Asian countries to task for alleged abuses.

But the State Department's 2007 Human Rights Report dropped China from
the category of worst violators -- even while denouncing its poor
record -- and noted progress in Thailand's return to democracy
following its 2006 coup.

And it hailed multiparty democracies like India and Indonesia for
generally respecting citizens' rights, while still pointing out major
problems.

"Countries in which power was concentrated in the hands of
unaccountable rulers remained the world's most systematic human rights
violators," the report said, singling out Myanmar and North Korea for
this category -- which also included Zimbabwe, Iran and Cuba.

The North Korean regime of Kim Jong-Il "continued to control almost
all aspects of citizens' lives, denying freedom of speech, press,
assembly, and association, and restricting freedom of movement and
workers' rights," it said.

It cited reports of extrajudicial killings, disappearances and
arbitrary detention.

It said Myanmar's "abysmal human rights record" only worsened in the
past year.

The military junta "continued to commit extrajudicial killings and was
responsible for disappearances, arbitrary and indefinite detentions,
rape, and torture."

It shone a spotlight on the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators
in September when it said security forces killed at least 30
demonstrators and detained over 3,000 others.

The report said human rights in Pakistan worsened last year despite
President Pervez Musharraf's repeated pledges to foster democracy in
the key US ally. It highlighted a period of emergency rule late last
year.

In Bangladesh, the report said the "government's human rights record
worsened, in part due to the state of emergency and postponement of
elections."

In Sri Lanka, it said, "the government's respect for human rights
continued to decline due in part to the escalation of the armed
conflict," with the ethnic Tamil minority the "overwhelming majority
of victims" of abuses.

A multiparty democracy that outshone its neighbors, India "generally
respected the rights of its citizens," but its record was marred by a
number of problems, it said.

It cited major problems like extrajudicial killings of persons in
custody, disappearances, and torture and rape by police and other
security forces.

"A lack of accountability permeated the government and security forces
throughout the country, creating an atmosphere of impunity," it said.

"Government officials used special antiterrorism legislation to
justify the excessive use of force while combating terrorism and
several regional insurgencies," it said.
It cited serious abuses by separatist guerrillas and "terrorists" in
Kashmir.

In Thailand, the report noted the interim government held a referendum
on a new constitution, calling it "an important benchmark in
Thailand's return to democracy" after the 2006 coup that ousted prime
minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

It said parliamentary elections held in December "were generally
considered free and fair."

In Indonesia, it noted that the government under Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, who became the country's first directly elected president
in free and fair elections in 2004, "generally respected the human
rights of its citizens."

But it said "weak legal institutions, limited resources, and
insufficient political will prevented accountability for serious
abuses that occurred in the past."

In the last year, it cited, among other things, "killings by security
forces; vigilantism; harsh prison conditions; impunity for prison
authorities; arbitrary detentions; corruption in the judicial
system."

The report said the Malaysian government "generally respected the
human rights of its citizens."

But it added that the government "abridged citizens' right to change
their government. No independent body investigated deaths that
occurred during apprehension by police or while in police custody."

In the Philippines, "arbitrary, unlawful, and extrajudicial killings
by elements of the security services and political killings, including
killings of journalists, by a variety of actors continued to be a
major problem," it said.

The wealthy democracies of Japan, South Korea and Australia fared
well.

But in South Korea, it said, there remained "societal discrimination"
of women, disabled people, and minorities.

In Japan, there were some cases of violence and other abuse against
women and children as well as reports of job discrimination against
women and ethnic minorities.

In Australia, the report mentioned "domestic violence against women
and children, particularly in Aboriginal communities, and societal
discrimination against Aboriginal people."

China's foreign minister rejected criticism of the country's human
rights record on Wednesday, a day after the US State Department
accused Beijing of continued widespread violations.

"We are strongly opposed to the practices of clinging to a Cold War
mentality, drawing lines along ideology, creating confrontations,
practicing double standards and interfering in China's internal
affairs in the name of human rights," Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi
said.

He was not directly asked about the State Department's new list of
countries that violated human rights in 2007. The list dropped China
from the ranks of the world's worst violators but said Beijing
continued to have a "poor" record.

The report cited tightened controls on the religious freedom of
Buddhists in Tibet and in Muslims in the northwestern Xinjiang
region.

"The government also continued to monitor, harass, detain, arrest, and
imprison activists, writers, journalists, and defence lawyers and
their families, many of whom were seeking to exercise their rights
under the law," the report said.

China had been fingered as one of the worst violators in the
department's 2006 and 2005 reports.
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ILO extends Myanmar forced labour deal for one year
Wed Mar 12, 1:24 PM ET

GENEVA (AFP) - The International Labour Organisation said it will
extend for 12 months a deal with Myanmar aimed at compensating victims
of forced labour but urged the junta to do more to raise the deal's
profile.

The ILO reached a deal last year with Myanmar's secretive military
regime, which staved off a threat to bring the organisation's concerns
about forced labour before the International Court of Justice in The
Hague.

In a report published late Tuesday on their website, the ILO said that
overall, the trial period has shown an "improved working relationship
between the government and the ILO".

However, it said many people are still unaware of the deal, as details
of the mechanism have yet to be translated and distributed into the
local language.

This lack of awareness is reflected in the small number of complaints
lodged -- over the 12 months ending February 25, only 74 cases were
submitted, the ILO noted.

Myanmar was hit by a wave of demonstrations last year, which were met
with a bloody crackdown by the military junta.

The ILO said that one legacy of the unrest was that "the general
public is now undoubtedly more politically aware and more openly
questioning restrictions of their rights."

It noted that Minister of Labour U Aung Kyi also said that a proposed
constitution which will be put to a referendum in May includes wording
on both forced labour and freedom of association.

"Following up a possible future constitutional commitment ... would be
a significant and concrete expression of the commitment of the
authorities to abandoning the still prevalent use of forced labour
throughout the country," said the ILO.

Meanwhile, of the complaints on forced labour made during the 12
months, four perpetrators were prosecuted, and 11 military
perpetrators reprimanded.

"A large number of the complaints that had been lodged were related to
what the government considered minor community work, and most of the
cases related to the military concerned the recruitment of minors. On
these, action had been taken promptly," said the ILO.

Since November 2007, "11 young persons who had been the subject of
underage recruitment complaints were discharged and returned to their
families", it added.
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Global Information Network
BURMA: EU HAS LITTLE CLOUT AGAINST JUNTA, ASIAN DIPLOMAT SAYS
David Cronin
Released : Tuesday, March 11, 2008 7:37 PM

BRUSSELS, Belgium, Mar. 11, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Economic sanctions
imposed by the European Union on Burma are unlikely to have any effect
on its military junta, according to a former Singaporean diplomat.

After Burmese authorities used force to break up peaceful protests by
Buddhist monks in Rangoon, the capital, EU governments decided to ban
imports of gemstones, timber and metal from the country in October
last year.

Barry Desker, Singapore's chief negotiator in international trade
talks during the 1990s, suggested that the sanctions are primarily
designed to salve the conscience of some European policymakers.

Desker took part in a seminar in Brussels on Monday, addressing the
main challenges facing the Association of South East Asia Nations,
which celebrated its 40th anniversary during 2007. The seminar was
hosted by the European Policy Center, a think tank based in the
Belgian capital.

He told IPS that the measures will probably not have any impact on the
military, which has ruled Burma since overthrowing a civilian
government in 1962. The problem is that EU leaders have decided to
"grandfather the most important investment" in the country, he added,
referring to the contracts signed by the French energy giant Total to
exploit the Yadana gas field in southern Burma.

Although French president Nicholas Sarkozy announced in 2007 that
there will be no fresh investments by companies from his country in
Burma, contracts already signed by Total are unaffected by the
sanctions.

Desker, who is now dean of the S. Rajaratnam School of International
Studies in Singapore, said the strong public stances on Burma of the
EU and the U.S. were largely taken for what he described as "feel-
good" reasons. He also described Burma, which is officially called
Myanmar, as an "easy target" for the West.
In terms of respect for human rights and democracy, "you would
probably see Saudi Arabia ranking lower than Myanmar," he said. "Yet
nobody is taking action against Saudi Arabia."

The reality, he added, is that foreign countries, including Burma's
fellow members of the Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN),
have little influence, as "the Myanmar leadership is suspicious of the
world outside," yet has been able to cushion itself against external
pressure.

"Foreign exchange reserves [in Burma] are the highest they have ever
been since 1950," he said. "There is a myth that Myanmar has banked
money in Singapore, Liechtenstein and Hong Kong. In reality, most of
its money has been invested back in Myanmar. Once -- in the 1980s --
there was a shared poverty between the leadership and the rest of the
population. But today, there is a gap emerging between a small elite
and the rest of the population, which has become poorer and poorer and
is on the lowest rung within Southeast Asia."

Seamus Gillespie, head of the European Commission's department for
relations with Southeast Asia, took issue with Desker's claims that
sanctions against Burma are proving ineffective.

Gillespie said he would be "very surprised if the [Burmese] government
is 100 percent insensitive" to international criticism. "I do feel
that some message is getting through, even if it might not be with
sufficient force at the moment to change things," he added.

Gillespie argued that punitive measures against Burma were warranted
because of the continued arrest of Aung Saan Suu Kyi, whose National
League for Democracy party won a huge majority in a 1990 election that
the junta decided to annul.

On human rights, he said, the EU "often has different approaches to
different situations."

Gillespie added: "This allows questions to be raised about
inconsistency of approach. But few countries have democratic elections
held and then put the leader in prison and house arrest for many long
years and brutally suppress their own religious people. This is
something quite unique."

Still, he maintained that "sanctions are just one instrument in the
toolkit of a more balanced policy."

"We are trying to engage with the authorities in Burma-Myanmar. This
is not just a question of sanctions, though it may be that for some
decision-makers, sanctions may make them feel good."

The question of Burma overshadowed the most recent summit of ASEAN's
10 government leaders, a summit which was held in Singapore in
November.

During that meeting, the governments endorsed a charter designed to
strengthen the body's institutions. The charter will put its summits
on a more formal footing and require each member state to send an
ambassador to liaise with the ASEAN headquarters in Jakarta.

Desker acknowledged that Burma's acceptance of the charter, which
contains a commitment to promote human rights, will give "the region a
credibility problem when seeking to address humanitarian concerns
around the globe."

Although the European Commission does not give official development
aid to the Burmese authorities, it approved a package of humanitarian
assistance worth 15.5 million euros ($24 million) in 2006 aimed at
meeting some of the population's medical needs. Its move followed a
report by the World Health Organization showing that -- in per capita
terms -- Burma has the third lowest rate of health expenditure in the
world, after Congo and Burundi.

David Fouquet, director of the Asia-Europe Project in Brussels, said
such humanitarian aid is "very useful and appreciated." But he added,
"Many people in ASEAN are not comfortable with the relationship with
and the presence of Burma-Myanmar as it is now."

Last month the Burmese authorities announced that a referendum on a
new constitution will be held in May, paving the way for a general
election in 2010. These steps will be part of what Burma calls a
"roadmap to democracy," though the government's critics have expressed
doubts about whether opposition figures will be allowed to run in the
election.

Fouquet contended that there is still much to be done in order to
ensure that the announcement leads to tangible reforms.

"ASEAN should be more engaged in a positive way, assisting without
becoming an accomplice to the roadmap to guided democracy," he said.
"That would be extremely helpful."
********************************************************
Asian Tribune
Burma's Longest Serving Prisoner of Conscience Must Be Free
Wed, 2008-03-12 05:38
BY - Zin Linn

Do you remember the name of Burma's longest serving prisoner of
conscience and prominent journalist?

That famous imprisoned journalist is U Win Tin who has constantly
refused to sign a confession promising to abandon his political career
as a condition of his release. The 78-year-old journalist U Win Tin
admitted to the hospital for second surgical treatment to a hernia in
January, according to his close friends.

The journalist was awarded the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press
Freedom Prize, the World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of
Freedom Award and Reporters Without Border/Foundation de France Prize
for his efforts to defend and promote freedom of expression.

Burma has been called "the world's largest prison for prisoners of
conscience" and many political prisoners and journalists continue
languishing in jail. Burma's longest serving prisoner of conscience, U
Win Tin, turns 78 on 12 March 2008, one of the country's most
established journalists as well as an executive member of the National
League for Democracy (NLD). He has spent almost 19 years of his life
in prison. He has spent one fourth of his life in prison. U Win Tin
suffers from a serious heart condition and is being treated at the
Rangoon general hospital where he is confined to a diminutive cubicle
cell designed for political prisoners.

Burma's most celebrated journalist, U Win Tin has been imprisoned
since 4th July 1989 in a special cell of the infamous Insein Prison in
Rangoon. U Win Tin is the former editor-in-chief of the Hanthawadi
Daily, in Mandalay and vice-president of the Burmese Writers and
Journalists Association. He was convicted and sentenced to three
consecutive prison-terms to a total of 21 years in prison. One of the
charges against him stems from his 1995 report on the conditions of
prisoners and the human rights abuses inside prisons to Mr. Yozo
Yokota, the then United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Situation
of Human Rights in Burma..

U Win Tin was also imprisoned because of his senior position as key
consultant to Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for
Democracy (NLD). He was thrown into jail for additional years because
of attempting to inform the United Nations about human rights
violations in prisons under the military rule. Military rulers also
accused him of writing political commentaries and poems to be
circulated among political prisoners in Insein Prison, where
possession of writing materials was forbidden.

The journalist told a friend who was allowed to visit him in 2007:
"Two prison officers asked me at a special meeting last week whether I
would resume political activities if I were released. I told them that
I will definitely do so since it is my duty as a citizen to strive for
democracy."

In 1996, in the notorious Insein Prison, U Win Tin occasionally
narrated to this author of his experiences with the military
intelligence personnel. The military agents came to see U Win Tin from
time to time. They took him to their office in the prison and
questioned him on various topics. They frequently tried to persuade
him to join the junta. But U Win Tin always cast off their offers.

U Win Tin told me about an incident with the military intelligence
staff. "It happened in 1991," he said. "They took me out of my cell to
an exhibition - The Real Story under the Big Waves and Strong Winds -
held at Envoy Hall on U Wizara Road in Rangoon. The aim of the
exhibition was to deplore the 1988 uprising as a riot created by
destructive elements and terrorists," said U Win Tin.

One day, he told me that there was a big character poster at the
doorway of the exhibition saying, "Only when the Tatmadaw [military]
is strong, will the nation be strong." There were many galleries in
the show. Each gallery highlighted the role of the army and emphasized
that it was the sole force that could safeguard the country.

The show also described the junta's discrimination against the role of
the democratic institutions and societies. "Sovereign power is only
deserved by the generals. That's the final conclusion," said U Win
Tin.

After witnessing the show, the junta's agents asked U Win Tin what he
considered about the exhibition and inquired of his opinion and
attitude toward the junta.

They gave him some paper and a pen and told him to write down his
opinion about the show. "I wrote down my criticism. I used 25 sheets
of paper. It was a blunt comment. I made my commentary in a sense of
sincerity and openness. But it irritated them severely," he told me
later.

First of all, he criticized the army's motto, "Only when the army is
strong will the country be strong." "It's the logic of the generals to
consolidate militarism in Burma," he explained to me later. 'Their
logic tells us that they are more important than the people and they
expose themselves as power mongers. That means they neglect the people
caught in the poverty trap." Thus he wrote: "The slogan tells us that
Burma is going against a policy of peace and prosperity." He went on
to explain his understanding of the role of the army.

He said, "The real thing is that the military comes out of the womb of
the people. Thus, the slogan must be like this: 'The people are the
only parents of the military.' Anyone who does not care about his own
parents is a rogue," he pointed out to the generals.

He also emphasized that if the generals really loved peace and wanted
prosperity for the nation, they needed to sincerely reflect on their
limitations. The generals might want what's best for the country, but
they did not know how to handle the entire state of affairs. They are
used to mismanagement. "Eventually, I came straight to the point: The
army must go back to the barracks. That will make everything better in
Burma," he told me plainly.

The junta was very disgruntled with his criticism and accused him of
advising Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to defy the junta. Then, they made
another lawsuit against him. The junta increased U Win Tin's sentence
by 10 more years. They put him alone in his cell. The cell was 8.5 x
11.5 feet. There was only a bamboo mat on the concrete floor.
Sleeping, eating, walking and cleaning the bowels were done in the
very same place. He could not see the sun, the moon or the stars. He
was intentionally barred from breathing fresh air, tasting nourishing
food and drinking a drop of fresh water. The worst thing was throwing
the old writer into solitary confinement in such a cage for two
decades. That might cause a person to have a nervous breakdown. There
are many political prisoners who suffer from mental illness.

He has been in a poor condition of health, exacerbated due to meager
management in jail, which has included torture, inadequate access to
medical treatment, being held in a cell without bedding, and being
deprived of nourishing food and clean water for long periods of time.

In 1994, US Congressman Bill Richardson met U Win Tin in Insein jail.
Since that time he has continuously suffered from various health
problems such as spondylitis, hernia, heart disease, failing eyesight,
and urethritis, as well as piles. Most political prisoners were
surprised how that gallant journalist was so tough even with so many
health troubles. For the junta, U Win Tin is really a man of steel.
Although they wish to defeat his sturdy spirit, they could never do
it.

Although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights marks its 60th
Anniversary, people of Burma have been still suffering various human
rights violations under the cruel military regime for almost five
decades. U Win Tin's case is a good example for one of the most
inhumane human rights violations under undemocratic regime.

The UDHR's article 1 says: "All human beings are born free and equal
in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and
should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." But, U Win
Tin cannot even enjoy its first item.

The UDHR's article 5 says: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." But, U Win Tin
has been suffering a variety of tortures and languishing 3 unjust
punishments for almost 19 years.

The UDHR's article 7 and 9 say respectively: "All are equal before the
law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of
the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any
discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any
incitement to such discrimination." (A.7)

"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or
exile." (A.9) However, the Burmese junta's arbitrary court sentenced
unfair imprisonments toward U Win Tin in the absence of public
including his lawyer.

The UDHR's article 19 says: "Everyone has the right to freedom of
opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions
without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." But, several
journalists including U Win Tin in the military run country are taken
into custody for their dissident opinions.

According to Freedom House's 2008 report, Burma has no freedom at all
for political rights and civil liberties together with other 42
countries in the world.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International PEN,
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters without Borders
(Reporters sans Frontieres) and Burma Media Association (BMA) has
repeatedly urged the junta or State Peace and Democracy Council (SPDC)
to immediately and unconditionally release U Win Tin.

To materialize the essence of UDHR, the international civil societies
and rights groups should help finding ways to release the Burma's
longest serving prisoner of conscience as a test case. As for now, U
Win Tin has to celebrate his 78th Birthday lonesome behind bars in the
absence of his comrades, fellow-journalists, friends and people who
admired the saintly journalist.
********************************************************
Burma: Thousands of Karen civilians displaced in fresh attacks
Wed, 2008-03-12 05:19

London, 12 March, (Asiantribune.com): The Burma Army has launched
fresh attacks on civilians in northern Karen State this month, causing
the displacement of over 2,100 villagers.

According to the Free Burma Rangers, a relief organisation working in
the conflict areas of eastern Burma, the attacks are "the largest
against civilians in northern Karen State since the Burma Army
completed the re-supply of its camps and construction of roads at the
end of 2007." Over 30,000 people are displaced in northern Karen
State, and it is estimated that there are over one million internally
displaced people (IDPs) in Burma altogether.

The Burma Army attacked several villages in northern Papun District,
Karen State, on 4 March, according to the Free Burma Rangers. Nine
homes and three farm houses were burned down in Ga Yu Der village. The
Burma Army also fired eight mortar rounds into Tay Bo Kee village. In
both cases villagers fled before the troops came, and are now on the
run in the jungle. The Free Burma Rangers report that the Burma Army
is pursuing those who fled, "seeking out villages and pockets of IDPs
and destroying homes, food and property."

These latest reports follow the recent visit of the UN Special Envoy
Ibrahim Gambari to Burma. The ruling military regime, the State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC), rejected the envoy's proposals to
amend the draft constitution to allow Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi, currently under house arrest, to contest elections. Mr Gambari
failed to meet the SPDC's Senior General Than Shwe, and the regime
refused to allow UN monitors to observe the planned referendum on the
constitution in May.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide
(CSW), said: "The regime's brutal offensives against civilians in
Karen State, the continuing gross violations of human rights
throughout the country, and the failure of the UN envoy's visit to
bring any change at all mean that the time has come for the UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to take personal charge of efforts to
address the crisis in Burma. He should visit Burma as a matter of
urgency to facilitate meaningful dialogue between the regime, the
democracy groups and the ethnic nationalities, with the backing of a
binding Security Council resolution. We call upon the UN Security
Council to impose a universal arms embargo on Burma and to refer the
Burmese regime to the International Criminal Court to investigate
crimes against humanity. We also urge the EU to strengthen its Common
Position on Burma next month, by imposing targeted banking sanctions
on members of the regime and their cronies. The regime has proven that
it is not interested in dia
********************************************************
The Nation
Burmese junta tells un envoy gambari where to go
Supalak Ganjanakhundee
Published on Mar 13, 2008

From what he has said and from what the military junta expressed to
him during his third visit, United Nations Special Envoy Ibrahim
Gambari is unlikely to have achieved anything toward national
reconciliation and democracy in military run Burma.

Gambari finished his latest visit to the troubled country on Monday,
making a brief stopover in Singapore - but without meeting any
officials of the current Asean chair, or the media. The reaction after
the visit was different from his usual routine following his previous
trips. For Burma affairs, nothing is top secret for the UN
representative, unless he has nothing to say or nothing has been
achieved.

Gambari met many people during his stay in Burma from last Thursday to
Monday, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he met
twice this time, on Sunday and Monday. However, the details of their
discussion are not yet known. Previously, Gambari rushed to tell the
media whenever he got a statement from Aung San Suu Kyi that she was
ready to talk with the junta over political reconciliation. The UN
envoy then shuttled around the globe to tell the same thing to world
leaders whom he expected to help him bring about a dialogue between
Burma and those in Bangkok, Beijing and New Delhi.

This time Gambari got a very tough assignment from his boss, UN
secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, to achieve a substantive dialogue
between the junta and the opposition. Actually the authorities in the
Burmese capital, Napyidaw were originally scheduled to welcome Gambari
in April, but the secretary-general made a request to have his special
envoy visit early.

Gambari was allowed in, with permission for an extended stay, but the
visit lasted only five days, as many of his requests for meetings were
rejected.

Prior to Gambari's visit, UN chief Ban sent a letter in February to
the paramount Burmese leader, Than Shwe requesting a five-point
cooperation deal to help his special envoy achieve his mission. The
junta later decided to dump all UN requests and even burnt them in
public, allowing only the government mouthpiece, the New Light of
Myanmar, to publicise the substance of the meeting between the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) spokesman Kyaw Hsan and Gambari
over the weekend. Kyaw Hsan told Gambari that the Burmese government
would arrange for UN visitors at any time as proposed, but the
establishment of a special office in Rangoon for Gambari was
unnecessary since the UN already had many representatives in the
country through whom Gambari could work.

The second point, which Gambari championed before his visit, was to
have inclusive participation in Burmese politics. But this was also
dismissed by the junta. Kyaw Hsan said the new Burmese constitution
had already been drafted and would not be amended any further. The
draft bars those who are married to foreigners from participating in
politics. More precisely, it prevents Aung San Suu Kyi from having any
hope of being elected as the next Burmese leader.

"It was Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy who decided
not to participate in the constitution drafting. There cannot be any
more 'all-inclusiveness' in this process," Kyaw Hsan told Gambari.

On the third point, Ban asked to have a credible, timeframe and all-
inclusive discussion between the junta and Aung San Suu Kyi, including
support by the UN.
Kyaw Hsan simply replied that the National Convention - the
constitution drafting body - is the most credible and all-inclusive
political discussion forum.

Now, discussions between the Minister for Information and Aung San Suu
Kyi are under way in accordance with UN wishes. Than Shwe even could
meet the opposition leader if Suu Kyi agrees to drop her demands for
the continuance and extension of international sanctions against the
junta. But as long as Aung San Suu Kyi maintains this stance, the
dialogue cannot be productive, Kyaw Hsan said.

On the demands for the release of political prisoners, the junta
simply said that it has no political prisoners, but that those who are
serving jail terms or are under other restrictions, including Aung San
Suu Kyi, have violated the laws.

The final UN point, a request to have an inclusive National Economic
Forum for addressing economic and social affairs, and a cooperative
mechanism for humanitarian assistance, was simply rejected as being
"useless", Kyaw San said.

"If Your Excellency helps to lift economic sanctions, allow aid into
the country, and approve loans, it might be more effective than the
Economic Forum you propose. Giving assistance for poverty reduction
while imposing sanctions will never produce the right solution," he
said.

Kyaw Hsan also pointed out to Gambari that democracy developed in
accordance with different contexts in different countries. He compared
his constitution-making process with neighbouring Thailand.

"Now, the Thai people have approved and started to practice a new
constitution for Thailand. But none of the candidates of the People
Power Party and the opposition Democrat Party had the right to
participate in the [drafting] process. To make it clearer, in Iraq,
Shi'ite militants who oppose the US, and Sunni militants who have
links with al-Qaeda had no right to participate in the process of
drafting a constitution. Similarly, in Afghanistan, the Taleban had no
right to draft the constitution. We haven't heard any objection to
these events by those persons and organisations who are objecting to
us. But with the drafting of the constitution in our country, many are
criticising us and pointing out that certain persons are not among the
representatives in the process. It is not reasonable," he said.

Gambari has no argument, as the UN has nothing to bargain with. He
simply said he would convey the message to his boss, whom he would
meet in Senegal this week.
********************************************************
The Nation
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Burma makes a mockery of Gambari and the UN
Published on Mar 13, 2008

The United Nations has become part of the problem, rather than part of
the solution in Burma. An influential Burmese family with UN
connections facilitated the appointment of Gambari as UN Special Envoy
so that UN aid can be resumed without the restoration of freedom and
democracy in Burma, as mandated by a decade of UN General Assembly
resolutions.

Burma's "Comical Ali" aka BG Kyaw Hsan, lectured and publicly
humiliated UN Envoy Gambari because of his deviation from the original
undemocratic plan, and was demanding political reforms as the price of
UN Aid.

UN Envoy Gambari is also in hot water with senior American officials
because he snubbed First Lady Laura Bush. In the middle of Laura
Bush's UN seminar on Burma, Gambari left, saying he had to go to an
important meeting, as if hers was not important.

However, I am hopeful about Burma's future. We will find a way to get
rid of Than Shwe by negotiating a secret agreement with the anti-
Chinese faction in the Burmese Army.

Myint Thein
Bangkok
********************************************************
The Irrawaddy
Veteran Journalist Calls for People Power to Oust Regime
By VIOLET CHO
Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Less than a week after an unsuccessful visit to Burma by UN Special
Envoy Ibrahim Gambari, one of the country's most respected journalists
has made an extraordinary appeal for a "people power" uprising to end
the ruling regime's stranglehold on power.

In a recorded message addressed to Burmese both inside and outside the
country, Ludu Sein Win, a prominent journalist and former political
prisoner, said that he believed that force was the only way to end
more than four decades of military rule.

"In the entire history of the world, there has never been a dictator
who willingly gave up power once he had it firmly in his hands," he
said in his message, recorded in the former capital, Rangoon.

"And there are no countries in the world which have gained liberation
though the help of the United Nations," he added, in apparent
reference to the failed efforts of the UN special envoy, who left the
country on Monday after being chastised by the ruling generals for
"bias" in favor of the democratic opposition.

Describing the deepening political, social and economic crisis facing
the country, the sixty-eight-year-old veteran journalist warned the
Burmese people that it was futile to pin their hopes for a better
future on the diplomatic efforts of the international community.

"Don't waste your time dreaming about dialogue and considering help
from the UN Security Council," he said. "We already have the power to
force out the military dictatorship. That power is the force and
strength of every Burmese citizen."

In the wake of last September's monk-led protests, which attracted
worldwide attention, the time is right to launch a renewed effort to
overthrow military rule, the veteran journalist insisted.

Ludu Sein Win has experienced more than his fair share of trouble at
the hands of the country's ruling dictators.

He began his distinguished career as a young reporter for the Mandalay-
based left-wing newspaper, Ludu ("The People"), launched in 1946. As
the publication's Rangoon bureau chief, he was arrested at the age of
27 and sentenced without trial to 13 years in prison, during which he
was tortured by the authorities. He then spent an additional two years
confined on Coco Island, a penal colony located about 430 km southwest
of Rangoon in the Indian Ocean.

He is one of Burma's most outspoken advocates of independent media,
and is the author of many books on the basic theory and ethics of
journalism. He is also popular as a prolific writer of books on issues
relating to young people.
********************************************************
The Irrawaddy
Rangoon Division Ordered to Support Referendum
By SAW YAN NAING
Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The Burmese regime is ordering local authorities in Rangoon to
persuade residents to support the national referendum in May,
according to informed sources in the former capital.

Local authorities in Rangoon, such as the Township Peace and
Development Council and the Ward Peace and Development Council, were
officially asked earlier this week by the chairman of Rangoon Division
Peace and Development Council, Brig-Gen Hla Htay Win, and Home
Minister Maung Oo to lobby local residents to vote "Yes" at the
national referendum, said the sources.

However, it was unclear how and when the process to lobby residents
would be implemented.

Meanwhile, in Rangoon and Mandalay, pro-democracy activists, including
monks, have recently launched an anti-referendum campaign,
distributing leaflets criticizing the referendum and urging people to
vote "No" in May, according to sources.

Within the last two months, the authorities have issued temporary
citizen identity cards to local residents in several townships in
Rangoon and asked for their support in the upcoming referendum on the
state's draft constitution.

The temporary citizen identity cards have been issued in townships
such as Hlaing Tharyar, North Dagon and Kyeemyindine in Rangoon.

Burma's military government announced on February 9 that a national
referendum would be held in May and multi-party elections in 2010.

The regime also enacted a new law calling for up to three years
imprisonment and 100,000 kyat (US $91) fines for offenders who
distribute statements, posters or who make speeches against the
referendum. The law also bans monks and nuns from voting.

Meanwhile, Burmese authorities are campaigning residents in Kawthaung
Province in southernmost Burma to vote "Yes" in May's national
referendum, said local residents.

The residents in Kawthaung said that local authorities and the
Ministry of Immigration and Population have been compiling a list of
voters--over 18 years old-- since early March and have been trying to
persuade local residents to support the national referendum.

Maung Tu, a resident in Kawthaung told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday,
"The authorities asked us to gather in their offices or schools and
collected our names. They also asked us to vote 'Yes' in the
referendum."

According to Kawthaung residents, the authorities also told locals
that they would only issue citizen cards to residents who vote 'Yes'
in the referendum.

Some residents have said that they would do what the authorities
asked, because they want identity cards from the authorities, said
Maung Tu.

A woman in Kawthaung said, "I would vote 'Yes' in the national
referendum if I were forcibly asked to by the authorities, because our
daily survival is more important than anything else."

She added that she expected many residents would follow the
authorities' instructions even though they were unclear about the
draft constitution and the voting system.

Earlier this month, the Burmese authorities issued temporary citizen
cards to ceasefire groups: the Kachin Independence Organization and
its military wing, the Kachin Independence Army; the United Wa State
Army; the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army; and the New Mon State Party,
according to ceasefire sources.

Residents in Mandalay, Myitkyina and Arakan State also reported that
local authorities there were collecting family registration
information.
********************************************************
Than Shwe rumored to be hospitalized
Mizzima News
March 12, 2008

New Delhi - Burma's Ministry of Information has brushed aside rumors
that Head of State Senior General Than Shwe's health is failing and
that he is currently hospitalized.

Rumors have been circulating Rangoon and among exile Burmese
communities that Than Shwe's health is deteriorating and that he is
receiving medical treatment at Rangoon's No. 2 Military Hospital.

A source close to the military establishment in Rangoon said, "I heard
that his health has been deteriorating for about a week."

Similarly, rumors are spreading among the Burmese exile community that
Than Shwe is suffering from colon cancer for which he is currently
receiving treatment.
The rumor is spreading rapidly via blogs operated by Burmese bloggers
both inside and outside the country.

Burmese bloggers have posted several messages claiming that Than Shwe
has undergone medical treatment for colon cancer at the No. 2 Military
Hospital in Rangoon.

While the information could not be independently verified, an official
at the Burmese Ministry of Information dismissed the rumor, saying,
"No, he is not hospitalized and he is in good health."

However Burma's military strongman has long been reported to be
suffering from ill-health and several important meetings, including
the junta's quarterly meetings, had been previously postponed due to
speculation of his fragile condition.
********************************************************
Train crash in Ywar Thar Gyi township

Mar 12, 2008 (DVB)-A railway collision between a cargo train and a
local service near the railway station in Ywar Thar Gyi township near
Rangoon earlier today resulted in no injuries, according to officials.

According to a resident of Ywar Thar Gyi township, the train crash
took place at around 11.30am today when a cargo train coming in to
Ywar Thar Gyi railway station failed to stop at a red light and bumped
into a train carrying students from Ywar Thar Gyi university.

"Cargo train 907, heading out from Rangoon, collided with the local
train Ma (6), which was carrying students, after it failed to reduce
speed at the red traffic light," the resident said.

"Two carriages from the trains came off the track and tipped over at
45-degree angles to the ground."

He said that no injuries had been reported so far but officials from
Ywar Thar Gyi railway station informed passengers that trains would
not start running again until about 3pm.

Ywar Thar Gyi township police station could not be reached for
comment, but an officer on duty at the neighbouring New Dagon township
police station said it was only a small clash due to a communication
error and said that no one was injured in the accident.
********************************************************
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