Ethnic envoys claim for equal rights in Burma 's National Convention

SPDC tightens their border security

British opposition members of parliament urged the UK government on Tuesday to make Burma a higher priority in foreign policy. The plea was made at a special session attended by members of the main opposition Conservative Party and a government minister, held in parliament's Westminster Hall. The session was called by Conservative Party MP Stephen Crabb, who demanded “greater engagement” in the Burma question by the British Prime Minister Tony Blair as well as a more proactive approach on Burma by the UK within the European Union and UN.

“The European Union and others in the international community have been, in my view, far too timid in the language they have been willing to use,” said Crabb. Citing atrocities by the regime in Karen State , the continued use of child soldiers and the plight of the Burmese opposition and political prisoners, Crabb joined other MPs in calling for a review of Britain 's investment practices in Burma . Recent Burmese government figures show that the UK is the second largest investor in the country, despite EU restrictions on investment in Burma . The British government says the data is flawed, not least because it includes investments that have already been withdrawn.

There were also calls for Britain to increase efforts at the UN Security Council and to consider demanding that the Burmese government allow independent observers to monitor a referendum on a new constitution, the next step in the junta's “Roadmap to Democracy” scheduled to take place after the conclusion of the ongoing National Convention. Crabb labeled the convention process a “sham” and a “desperate bid by a brutal military regime to rubber-stamp its own agenda and give itself a civilian face.” Recalling British government efforts to call the junta to task for its behavior, Hoon noted that Mark Canning, the British ambassador to Burma , had on Tuesday expressed concern to Burmese Minister of Home Affairs Maung Oo over recent unspecified abuses by the regime.

"British opposition MPs urge stronger action on Burma", Clive Parker, Irrawaddy, Wednesday October 25, 2006.

Sticking Point In Way Of US-ASEAN Summit

Planned talks between US President George W. Bush and Southeast Asian leaders next month are hanging in the balance over such issues as Myanmar and the fallout from a military coup in Thailand , diplomats and analysts say. The second summit between the two sides was proposed on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Hanoi scheduled on November 18-19.

All seven Southeast Asian member states of APEC -- Brunei , Indonesia , Malaysia , the Philippines , Singapore , Thailand and Vietnam -- attended the inaugural meeting held alongside the APEC summit in Busan , South Korea in 2005. This time, the region wants all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Cambodia , Laos and Myanmar , to participate in the talks with Bush. But ASEAN officials say the United States wants to maintain the "7 plus one" arrangement in a bid to keep Myanmar out technically as the military-ruled state as well as Laos and Cambodia are not APEC members.

The United States has for years imposed sanctions on military-ruled Myanmar and recently for the first time managed to put the issue of Rangoon 's repression and human rights violations on the UN Security Council's formal agenda.

The US position against such an arrangement was last conveyed by US deputy assistant secretary of state Eric John to ASEAN diplomats at a meeting in Washington earlier this month aimed at fleshing out details of the ASEAN-US Enhanced Partnership agreement, signed in July by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her regional counterparts. "Both sides are sticking to their positions but the door to further discussions isn't closed yet," the ASEAN diplomat said.

"Myanmar, Thai coup stand in way of US-ASEAN summit", P. Parameswaran, , Agence France Presse, Wednesday October 25, 2006.

ILO Special Advisor ending up of Burma Visit

Francis Maupain, a special advisor for the Geneva-based International Labour Organization, left Burma on Tuesday after concluding discussions with the regime on a possible mechanism for assessing cases of forced labor in the country.

Nearly a year after the junta told Maupain it would leave the ILO, talks this time come during a period in which Burma has released high-profile labor activists and initiated a moratorium on prosecuting forced labor complainants-steps that the ILO demanded during its annual convention in Geneva in June. The regime previously treated all forced labor complaints as lies, punishable in some cases with life imprisonment.

Maupain met with Burmese Minister of Labor U Thaung and his staff, as well as director-generals from other ministries in the hope of reaching a suitable framework to assess individual cases of forced labor in Burma , described as the “main issue” by the ILO's representative in Rangoon , Richard Horsey. Maupain was traveling and unavailable for comment on Wednesday.

In June, the ILO called on the regime to agree to a system of arbitration by the end of October, or prior to the ILO's next Governing Body meeting, which is again set to discuss Burma 's case between November 14 and 17.

The junta earlier this year rejected a “Joint Panel” system, which would include a representative of the ILO and the regime, as well as a possible third independent individual. The Irrawaddy understands talks are now focusing on an alternative solution that would make use of the current set up, namely the ILO's Rangoon office headed by Horsey. The junta is still thought to be reluctant to allow the ILO to expand its presence in Burma .

Paolo Sergio Pinheiro, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma , last week said in a report to the UN General Assembly that forced labor and dealings with the ILO were one of the few areas in which the junta had made “some progress.”

"ILO advisor concludes Burma visit", Clive Parker, Irrawaddy, Wednesday October 25, 2006.