BI Weekly No. 276

April 20th - April 26th, 2006

The BI Weekly archive is available on our website: www.burmaissues.org

Inside

Bombings hit Rangoon 's business district
Burmese troops seized KIA outposts
More relocations of the pipeline-building expected

Border

International

At least five bomb blasts rocked the business heart of Rangoon on 20 April early morning, causing property damage at the government's general post office, several electricity transformers and a railroad. There are no casualties reported, but, because of the confusing situation so far, they are not out of question. Police and security forces have increased activity in the areas around government offices. No individual or group has taken responsibility for the bombings.

“Explosions rock downtown Rangoon ”, Irrawaddy , April 20, 2006

Burmese troops under the Lashio-based Northeast Command seized four Kachin

Independence Army fourth brigade outposts near Mongko in northern Shan State , residents in the area told Mizzima.

The Burmese military reportedly stormed the outposts as part of operations against the KIA's second and eight brigades that ended today. Eyewitness said it was not clear if the KIA resisted the attack but some members were taken by the military to Tamonye in army trucks.

“Burmese military raids KIA outposts”, Mizzima News, April 21, 2006

More relocations of the pipeline-building expected

The 1996-98 forced relocation of 300,000 people from southern Shan State will pale into insignificance in comparison to the one this year when the construction of the oil pipeline linking Arakan State 's port of Akyab (Sittwe) with China 's Kunming is expected to start, warns a senior Shan ceasefire officer.

Two ceasefire groups: Shan State National Army and Palaung State Liberation Army were pressured "to exchange arms for peace" in April 2005 and the SSA-North's Third Brigade was forced to relocate from its operational areas north of the highway in September by the Burma Army's Lashio-based Northeastern Region Command.

“Sino-Burma pipeline will set off more relocations”, Shan Herald Agency for News, April 22, 2006

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Over newly 11,000 IDPs fleeing in Karen State

There are now over 11,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs), who are in hiding from or fleeing Burma Army attacks in Nyaunglebin and Toungoo Districts, Karen State . These attacks started in February, intensified in March and keep building up now in April.

Burma troops are also operating up into southern Toungoo District this week, shelling villages and chasing IDPS This is also the area of new forced relocations.

11,000 newly displaced people in Nyauglebin and Toungoo Districts from 1 March thru 24 April: Of these 11,000, over 1,100 have already fled to the Salween River .

“11,000 People Displaced as Attacks Continue”, Report From FBR Teams, April24, 2006

The UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, announced that the number of refugees globally dropped to the lowest level for nearly 25 years. Meanwhile, Burma 's refugee situation shows no sign of improving—people continue to flee fighting in Karen State and Muslim populations that have left Arakan State remain trapped in Bangladesh .

In its latest report “The State of the World's Refugees,” the UNHCR says the number of refugees worldwide dropped to 9 million by the end of 2005, a period in which there were 161,013 registered Burmese refugees, up from 151,384 in 2004.

However, recent reports by rights groups and non-governmental organizations working along the Burmese border suggest the actual situation is far worse, given that many displaced Burmese are not registered and therefore do not appear in UNHCR records.

Thailand already hosts more than 120,800 of all registered Burmese refugees, the number having grown every year since 1999, UNHCR figures show.

Meanwhile, the 800 Karen who recently arrived at the border will add to the more than 540,000 internally displaced people currently living in Burma , according to recent Norwegian Refugee Committee figures.

While Karen refugees flee fighting on Burma 's eastern frontier, Arakanese Muslims remain trapped in both registered and unregistered UNHCR camps just across the country's western border in Bangladesh .

UNHCR puts the number at around 20,000, the actual number of displaced Burmese in Bangladesh is thought to be many times higher.

“Burmese refugees buck world trend”, Irrawaddy , April 20, 2006

Thai army deploy reinforcements against drug smuggling

The Thai army has deployed reinforcements along the Thai-Burmese border to guard against drug smuggling, which is expected to intensify due to the lingering political uncertainty.

A column of heroin traffickers tried to infiltrate Ban Mae Choke in Mae Fa Luang district, but were intercepted by the Shan State Army (SSA). A battle erupted in a forest, which has alerted the army to possible incursions by the traffickers or SSA members.

Meanwhile, Thailand 's Township Border Committee (TBC) sent a protest letter to TBC Burma over a stray mortar shell which landed on the village during the fight between the traffickers and the SSA.

It was also reported that the United Wa State Army (UWSA) plans to retaliate against the SSA for blocking the drug trafficking operation. Some UWSA soldiers were reportedly members of the drug smuggling gang.

The SSA said it blocked the trafficking because it did not want to be associated with the gang bypassing a nearby SSA military base to transport illegal drugs.

“More troops sent to border”, Bangkok Post, April 24, 2006

Burma strategy failed at Asean FM annual retreat

ASEAN foreign ministers failed to emerge with a strategy for dealing with recalcitrant member Burma at an annual retreat on the Indonesian resort island of Bali .

Malaysia 's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, who visited the military-ruled regime in March as ASEAN's envoy, also said Burma 's generals were in no hurry to hold democratic elections, which could still be more than two years away.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been expressing growing frustration with the regime, which has held democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in detention for most of the last 16 years.

But as ASEAN has traditionally adhered to a policy of non-interference in the affairs of member states, Syed Hamid said the bloc was only able to "express our views in very clear terms" about the country's direction.

“ASEAN fails to find Myanmar strategy”, Agence France Presse, April 20, 2006

EU shares frustration over Burma

The European Union is just as frustrated as Southeast Asian countries over the situation in military-ruled Burma , its foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

"We share the same frustration and we think that together we have to see how we can get Myanmar ( Burma ) to evolve in the direction that it is supposed to evolve in," Solana said.

"For us, the evolution (of Burma ) is a must," added Solana.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers met this week hoping to emerge from their meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali with a strategy for dealing with the nation which has become a major embarrassment to the region.

“EU shares ASEAN frustration over Myanmar: foreign policy chief”, Agence France Presse, April 21, 2006.

First hearing of the Conservative Human Rights Commission, UK

Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague of the Tories pledge to put human rights at the heart of Conservative foreign policy and will urge the international community to exert more economic and political pressure on ``brutal regimes'' who terrorize their own people.

The Conservative Human Rights Commission set up during the Tory Party conference in Blackpool last October, was holding its first hearing into the plight of human rights workers in Burma . The commission was due to hear from Burmese dissident Charm Tong. Ms Tong, 24, has been an outspoken critic of the country's human rights abuses, including systematic rape, extra-judicial killings and the use of forced labour.

Today's was to be the first of a series of hearings into different countries and themes by the commission, which is chaired by Conservative MP Gary Streeter (South West Devon). It intends to produce an annual report highlighting abuses around the world and studying the Government's responses to them.

“Hague pledge on human rights”, Association Press, April 25, 2006

Forced call on all Chinese workers to leave Burma

 Chinese authorities have called on all Chinese workers to leave Burma in an attempt to contain illegal logging, a Burmese journalist on the China-Burma border told Mizzima. The notices also indicated that the Chinese authorities would not take any responsibility for those who did not return,” the journalist said on condition of anonymity.

Since the start of the year, several reports have emerged of Burmese authorities arresting Chinese timber workers. There are believed to be more than 100 Chinese timber workers in Burma 's prisons. The reporter also said more than 100 Chinese business men were believed to be involved in illegal logging on the China-Burma border. However, most of them have moved out of Burma .

“Chinese authorities call timber workers out of Burma”, Mizzima News, April 25, 2006