A month after mutiny, BDR personnel visit India for talks

New Delhi, Mar 31 BSF and BDR today held their first round of annual talks here after the savage mutiny at the headquarters of the neighbouring country's paramilitary force in Dhaka which led to the killing of its chief Major General Shakeel Ahmed.

The Bangladesh side was led by Brigadier General Mainul Islam and the Indian delegation was headed by BSF Director General M L Kumawat at the meeting held after a month of the savage mutiny by BDR personnel.

The talks, described as continuation of the earlier round held in Dhaka, revolved around joint patrolling of 46 difficult areas, preventing cross-border terrorist movement and trafficking of women, children and contraband, official sources said.

Among other issues discussed between the two sides include joint management of border pillars, fencing within 150 metres of the International border and smuggling.

The Indian side also raised the issue of terrorist camps especially those from the country's Northeast and which operate within the territory of Bangladesh and harbouring of some of the wanted criminals.

The six-member Bangla delegation led by Islam will return tomorrow after their three-day visit here. The minutes of the meeting would be signed tomorrow morning.

The sky is not blue in Burma

By David Calleja
Online Opinion

The recent decision by the Burmese military to release 6,313 prisoners indicates that the rulers are well-versed in undertaking public relations exercises ahead of proposed multi-party elections in 2010.

Some parties see this as a positive first step in the seven-stage roadmap to democracy; a sign that the junta may be ready to enter the international community after years of isolation. But Burma has been at war for more than six decades. The military uses armed conflict, rape, torture and displacement of civilians. Of the inmates that have been released, 24 are deemed political prisoners.

According to the Burma Campaign UK, there are more than 2,100 political prisoners still behind bars. As for a people’s power movement, an anonymous Burmese blogger on the BBC website remarked that the junta’s way of dealing with such a concept is to “simply shoot everybody”.

The military authorities are grinning because they have tossed a bone to the outside world with the promise of an election next year, and in doing so, have driven a wedge in the international community who are divided over what to make of this announcement.

The United Nations and the Japanese government adopt a policy of dialogue and diplomacy with the junta, and see this as a breakthrough. However, history has shown us that military authorities in power are unlikely to give up authority so easily. The Burmese army’s condition is the insistence that will play a powerful role in the parliamentary make-up and retain 25 per cent of seats in parliament.

Naturally, the most famous political prisoner in Burma and around the world, leader of the National League for Democracy, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, continues to remain under house arrest. Her party’s deputy leader, 82-year-old Tin Oo, also remains confined to his home in detention. The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has repeatedly called for the unconditional and immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi. Yet the UN’s Special Envoy for Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, has failed to win any concessions. It is little wonder that Aung San Suu Kyi is tired of appearing for the media when it is clear that the Burmese leadership will not change their hardline stance.

The Burmese military are the only party interested in seeing Gambari on a regular basis because they know it serves as a distraction from their failure to assist the victims of Cyclone Nargis and for the endless and well-documented abuses against its own people, especially ethnic minorities.

In a response to the Asian edition of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial criticising the value of Gambari’s visits published on August 28, 2008, the Consulate-General of Burma (Myanmar) to Hong Kong defended Gambari by praising the mutual respect shown between the junta and the Special Envoy for Burma. At the same time, the unnamed official has accused critics of failing to listen to the Burmese government’s side of the story, saying that if “such people wear dark glasses, you cannot see the truth”.

When the 2007 Saffron Revolution commenced, the junta stopped the flow of information to the outside world by blocking 85 per cent of e-mails and blocked foreign news agencies from reporting within Burma's borders, thus restricting live streaming of events.

One courageous individual, Nay Phone Latt, who streamed a rare glimpse into the actions of the armed forces was arrested and tried without legal representation. He was found guilty of breaching both the Electronics Act and the Video Act and sentenced to 20 years in jail. One year later, Burmese publications in exile such as The Irrawaddy and Democratic Voice for Burma were shut down by the junta.

Too many nations have forgotten that the Burmese military brutally crushed unarmed monks and civilians showing their support, resulting in the death of hundreds of protestors and detention of thousands more.

The events of 2007 must now seem distant with international media attention shifting to cover the global financial crisis. Each country is implementing measures to protect their economies. United States President Barack Obama will obviously review policy towards Burma, but his priorities are stopping the war in Afghanistan, and improving diplomatic relations with Iran, North Korea, and Russia. Now is the time for the rest of the world to go beyond the stages of talking tough.

The United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, the members of ASEAN and Australia need to take a more proactive role. Burma's allies, notably China and India, need to stop insisting that private diplomacy will work in convincing the regime to step down and change their ways. The proposed elections in Burma will allow the military to commit more crimes against its own population and give General Than Shwe a chance to make an honourable exit.

Under the present climate, no polls will be free or fair. The National League for Democracy will be barred from fielding candidates, and restrictions on voting will be implemented to prevent an overwhelming protest vote against the junta’s candidates by the rural population who have suffered the most.

The Burmese government also has the option of cancelling the election if they suspect a perceived or genuine threat to their power is possible by citing security concerns in the country’s best interests. This ploy will be undoubtedly described as “despicable” and “unacceptable”, but for all of the colourful adjectives that world leaders and the United Nations are capable of using, the military junta will not listen nor care.

The Burmese government’s ignorance for the plight of its own people is best demonstrated in the closing line of a letter defending Ibrahim Gambari’s visits: “The sky is always blue in the Union of Myanmar.”

Their version of reality cannot be any further from the truth. For far too long now, the military dictatorship of Burma has held a gun to the heads of their own people and left bloodstains and bullets as calling cards. The innocent people of Burma cannot afford to be left vulnerable in the dark anymore.

About the Author

David Calleja is a freelance writer who is a regular contributor to Foreign Policy Journal and Hack Writers. In 2008, he worked as a teacher and soccer coach in the Internally Displaced Persons camp based in Loi Tailang, Shan State, Burma. His writing focuses on human interest stories in Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. David has also worked as an English teacher in South Korea, China, Thailand and Cambodia. His video depicting the lives of families living on the grounds of Steung Meanchey Waste Dump in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, A Garbage Diet, can be viewed here.

New FM stations to debut throughout Burma

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A ranking member from the Myanmar Music Association has indicated that States and Divisions throughout Burma will soon benefit from an additional four frequencies from City FM.

Besides the current Rangoon City FM and Mandalay City FM stations, four new channels will be added within a few months time, a senior official from the Myanmar Music Association acknowledged.

"The government has permitted what seems a joint-venture between the government and private companies," he explained. "Broadcasting work will be handled by the Information Ministry and everything will fall under this Ministry. I think they will assign some private companies to carry out the work and broadcast can begin in the next three months."

As reported in a local news weekly, there will be four base groups concerned with conducting the related work: the first in eastern, southern and northern Shan State; the second in Myitkyina in Kachin State, Chin State and Monywa in Sagaing Division; the third in Sittwe in Rakhine State and Irrawaddy Division; and the fourth in Taninthayi Division, Mon State, Karen State and Pyi in Pegu Division.

According to a responsible person from the Myanmar Music Association, due to the popularity of the existing channels, the need to expand the geographic reach of FM broadcasting and in order to comply with international standards, the decision was made to expand the number of FM stations.

Broadcasting will be the responsibility of private companies. Presently, it is understood that Kanbawza Company will take responsibility for Shan State and Ngwe Taung Company for Monywa in Sagaing Division and Myitkyina in Kachin State.

It is not yet known which companies will take responsibility for the other regions in question.

Currently, two channels, Rangoon and Mandalay City FM, broadcast daily programs, primarily consisting of music, interviews, entertainment news, talk and health shows. Both are lucrative businesses benefiting from vast advertisement revenue.

City FM programs were first introduced in 2000 in Rangoon and in mid-2008 in Mandalay, and are owned by the City Development Committees of the respective cities.

SSA opposes junta’s political process

By Hseng Khio Fah

The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the political wing of the Shan State Army (SSA) South, said that the current junta-dictated political process is not a democratic one, according to its statement released today.

It stops short of calling it “the 7 step roadmap,” apparently not to offend Thailand that has lent support to it.

The statement deals with three topics: politics, drugs and the proposed peace talks.

On the current political situation in Burma, the SSA has recommended a 4 point proposal:

Amnesty for all political dissidents and armed opposition
Amendment by all stakeholders of the junta-approved constitution
Ethnic participation in the electoral commission

For winning parties of the 1990 elections like the National League for Democracy (NLD) and Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) to have a say in the upcoming elections-“Exclusion of them will only make the 2010 elections a meaningless exercise”


Col Yawdserk, Shan State Army leader

Concerning drugs, the resolution, it says, must come from a political settlement. “Shan State must be given the right to rule itself,” citing the 1947 Panglong Agreement which united Shan, Kachin and Chin with Burma. (Bangkok Post, 10 June 2001 issue, quoted the Thai Army as saying that the root of Thailand’s drug problems could be traced to violations of the treaty by Burma’s successive governments.)

As for Thai-facilitated peace talks with Burma’s military rulers, the RCSS says: “Our doors are always open for talks with the Burmese military. But for talks to succeed, both sides must make concessions, not just the RCSS yielding to all the conditions set by the Burmese military.”

Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) also welcomes Thailand’s offer to facilitate the talks, according to Khu Oo Reh, Deputy Secretary General.

“We are always ready to hold talks with the junta if there is a safe venue for both sides.”

With Thailand as a facilitator, chances for peace are great, according to him. “It would have more chance to succeed than if we did it by ourselves.”

KNPP has held several peace talks with the junta both officially and unofficially. The latest was in 2007 in Tachilek, eastern Shan State, opposite Thailand’s Maesai, he said.

Detention of Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma illegal, says UN

UN calls for immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi


The United Nations has ruled that the continued detention of Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi violates the country’s own laws as well as those of the international community.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has spent 13 of the last 19 years under house arrest, with the ruling junta yearly extending her detention despite international outcries.
“The latest renewal (2008) of the order to place Ms Suu Kyi under house arrest not only violates international law but also national domestic laws of Myanmar,” said a legal opinion by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions that has been sent to the Burmese government.
Although the ruling is unlikely to spring Suu Kyi from detention, it is uncommon for the world body to accuse a member country of violating its own laws, and while the junta has always marched to its own tune it has also resented being regarded as an international pariah.
The working group, an arm of the UN Human Rights Council, said Suu Kyi was being held under Burma’s 1975 State Protection Law, which allows renewable arrest orders for a maximum of only five years. This five-year period ended at the end of May 2008.
The opinion also questioned whether Suu Kyi represented a threat to the “security of the state or public peace and tranquility,” the provision of the 1975 law authorities have pointed to as the reason for her continued detention.
Jared Genser, a Washington-based attorney retained by Suu Kyi’s family who provided the document to the Associated Press, said that while the UN group earlier found her detention arbitrary and in violation of international law, it was the first time it cited the junta as failing to abide by its own law.
He said the government of Burma has not responded to the UN’s legal arguments and has not commented on why Suu Kyi is still being detained.
Suu Kyi, who rose to prominence during a pro-democracy uprising in 1988, was placed under arrest before her party swept the 1990 general elections, which the junta did not recognise. Over the years, the government released her several times only to have her virtually isolated again in her compound in Yangon.
The UN has for years attempted without success to bring about political reform and a dialogue between Suu Kyi and the military.
“I am under no illusion that the junta will be listening to the UN,” Genser said in a telephone interview. “There is no quick and easy answer to the problem of Burma, so we have to take it one step forward at a time.”
In Burma, the spokesman for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, Nyan Win, said over the weekend that her lawyer had sent a letter to the prime minister, Thein Sein, on 13 March asking for a hearing to appeal for her release when the one-year detention period expires in May.
The lawyer, Kyi Win, sent the appeal letter last October but has had no response from authorities, the spokesman said.
“The reason for her detention is false because Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who advocates a nonviolence policy, has not caused any threat to public order,” he said.
Nyan Win said every time Suu Kyi’s detention is extended, authorities read out the order “but no explanation or reason was ever given for the extension or detention”.
Asked if Suu Kyi’s detention might be lifted in May, Nyan Win said, “It is very difficult to make any predictions as the government does not have a transparent policy.”
Activist groups, under a Free Burma’s Political Prisoners Now Campaign, are attempting to collect 888,888 signatures for a petition calling for the release of Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 other political prisoners.
The petition is to be sent to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The number “8” is regarded as highly auspicious by many Burmese.
Burma has been under military rule since 1962. Its leaders have scheduled elections next year that they say will lead to democracy. Critics say the balloting, held under a junta-orchestrated constitution, will merely perpetuate military control.

Three Burmese arms smugglers arrested in Mizoram

New Delhi, Mar 25 – Three Burmese nationals have been arrested and five rocket launchers seized from them, in India’s north-eastern state of Mizoram, according to the police.

Assistant Sub-Inspector from Champhai police station, A. Sailo, told Mizzima on Tuesday that they had apprehended three Burmese men with arms in the Indo-Burmese border town of Champhai on Saturday.

Sailo said the police first arrested C. Zacchunga with five rocket launchers, which apparently were to be transported to Aizawl, the capital of the state. And after interrogation, the police arrested the other two - Albert D. Muanga and Thang Suan Liana.

“We seized five rocket launchers from him [Zachhunga],” Sailo told Mizzima adding, “Those weapons have been brought in from Burma.”

However, it is still unclear to whom the weapons were to be sold or for what purpose they were to be used.

Sailo said, all three had come from Chin state in north-western Burma, bordering India’s Mizoram state. He said all three of them would be tried on Tuesday.

“Now, they are on the way to Aizawl as the trial will be conducted there,” Sailo said.

Speaking to Mizzima, Aizawl District’s Additional Superintendent of Police R.D on Tuesday confirmed that three Burmese arms smugglers had been handed over to Aizawl, by Champhai police station.

In June 2008, Mizoram police had seized a consignment of AK-47 rifles and ammunition during a raid at Siphir town near Aizawl.

India’s Mizoram state and Burma share a porous border of 404 kilometres, which is often used by smugglers and businessmen to smuggle arms and drugs.

US Still Working on New Burma Policy

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
WASHINGTON — A senior US official has repeated earlier comments that the Obama administration is in the process of devising a new policy to achieve a goal of democratic reconciliation in Burma.

“It is clear that we and the international community have not been very successful in Burma,” the Acting Assistant Secretary for International Organizations, James Warlick, told a group of foreign journalists here, during a briefing on the administration’s approach with regard to various issues related to the United Nations.

“I think we all are committed to bring about change in Burma, but then the question is how? How can we influence [a government] that has a repressive military regime, which has prosecuted its own people? How can we effectively deal with them?” he asked.

“This administration is seeking a fresh look on Burma, and it has not yet concluded on a particular path but it is recognized as an area which is a concern for us,” Warlick said.

“We still see a repressive regime,” he said. “We still see political prisoners. Aung San Suu Kyi still remains under house arrest. Added to that is the physical devastation of the country due to Cyclone Nargis.”

Warlick said Burma would continue to be one of the priority issues and the Obama administration would continue to push for its goals through the UN, Asean and other countries. He noted that Burma continues to be on the agenda of the UN Security Council.

During her trip to Asia, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the Obama administration will review the policy on Burma including economic sanctions which she said had failed to yield the desired result either to the international community or to the people of Burma.

No deadline was set for the completion of the review.

irrawaddy