BI Weekly No. 306
November 16th- November 22nd, 2006
The BI Weekly archive is available on our website: www.burmaissues.org
Inside
"Democracy Lesson Provided by Iraq ": New Light of Myanmar
Burma declines to sign Iron Silk Road agreement
Foreign embassies to relocate to new capital
Border
Thai official agree to allow Burmese displaced person take up jobs
International
US President urge Southeast Asians to pressure on Burma
Malaysia FM urges Burma to free Suu Kyi
US to push for UNSC resolution on Burma
* denotes BI commentary
"Democracy Lesson Provided by Iraq ": New Light of Myanmar
Military-ruled Burma 's state media said the United States-led occupation of Iraq proved that sanctions and invading a country were not the path to democracy.
A commentary entitled "Democracy Lesson Provided by Iraq ", published in the New Light of Myanmar newspaper, said the turmoil in Iraq showed it was not easy to transform a country into a democracy.
"It is undeniable that Iraq during the time of Saddam Hussein was the most powerful country in the Middle East ," the commentary said. "Then came the U.S. sanctions imposed on Iraq followed by invasion with excuses to liberate the Iraqi people and plant democracy in the country."
The commentary added: "It is very doubtful that ( Iraq 's) puppet government, relying on foreign assistance and alien troops deployed in Iraq ... will be able to transform the nation into a democratic one."
Commentaries in the New Light of Myanmar are interpreted as the viewpoint of the ruling military junta, which is the target of U.S. and European Union sanctions because of its poor human rights record and failure to hand over power to a democratically elected government.
"Myanmar state media denounces U.S. occupation of Iraq", Associated Press, November 16, 2006
Burma declines to sign Iron Silk Road agreement
Burma has declined to sign a UN-backed agreement to develop a trans-Asian railway, dubbed the Iron Silk Road.
A two-day conference just concluded in the South Korean port city of Busan that it agrees in principle with the idea of the Trans-Asia Railway Network, but “financial constraints” prevent Burma from beginning any work on upgrading and expanding its rail system, Burma regime said.
Representatives from 40 countries took part in the conference, sponsored by UNESCAP, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. But only 18 of those countries formally signed up for the project, including China , India , Russia , South Korea , Thailand , Cambodia , Laos and Turkey .
The railroad plan involves several routes. Burma is on the main west-southeast route linking Turkey via India with Singapore .
The South Korean International Cooperation Agency is, coincidentally, carrying out a survey on a possible rail link between Thailand and Mon State .
The planners in Busan agreed in principle that the Iron Silk Road would comprise about 80,000 kilometers of track—much of it already in place, but in need of modernization.
" Great Iron Silk Road halts at Burma 's border" Irrawaddy , November 17, 2006
Foreign embassies to relocate to new capital
The military rulers of Burma are keen to have foreign embassies relocate to the new capital.
The Burmese junta is busy persuading foreign embassies in Rangoon to explore the new administrative capital of Naypyidaw, and quickly grab land plots when they are ready for leasing from Jan 1, 2008 .
Each embassy is expected to acquire the standard plot of five acres in the new capital, which is located some 400km north of Rangoon .
"First come, first to get a good plot. And if you need more than five acres, you can apply for more," the junta told the diplomats, who listened to the news in a sombre mood.
After all, the new capital has yet to install a workable infrastructure within the new town and good transportation links with Rangoon , where business and trade deals are still being conducted as normal.
Besides, there are logistics problems, such as the availability of reliable hospitals and communications links, among others.
" Myanmar ( Burma ) wants foreign embassies to move to new capital" Bangkok Post , November 20, 2006 .
Thai official agree to allow Burmese displaced person take up jobs
The government's 20-year-old ban which outlaws Burmese displaced persons from taking up jobs could be lifted in March next year as officials are working on guidelines for their employment, a senior Interior Ministry official said on November 16, the Bangkok Post reports.
The ban affects 140,000 Burmese war refugees, most of them Karen living in camps in Mae Hong Son, Tak, Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi provinces for security reasons. The programme will be tested in Tak first.In February the National Security Council agreed to let Burmese displaced people take up work in the form of training in the camps, according to the workshop at the border district of Mae Sot attended by government officials, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees officials and people from the private sector.
Public input gathered from the workshop will go into developing the guidelines on refugee employment
The lifting of the ban sprung from the NSC's view that refugees should be equipped with professional skills necessary for settlement in a third country.
" Thailand government may life law prohibiting displaced persons from Myanmar ( Burma ) to work in Thailand ," Bangkok Post, November 21, 2006
US President urge Southeast Asians to pressure on Burma
U.S. President George W. Bush urged Southeast Asian leaders on Saturday to exert more pressure on military-ruled Burma to restore democracy and respect human rights, calling conditions there "totally unacceptable," officials said.
In a lively meeting with seven leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on the sidelines of a Pacific Rim summit, Bush frowned on the situation in Burma .
U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said Bush asked ASEAN to "put on their agenda dealing with Burma and getting the junta that is in charge there to move in a positive direction toward giving their Burmese people an opportunity for participation in their government and greater freedom." However, the ASEAN leaders made no response.
A founding rule of ASEAN is non-interference in each other's domestic affairs. The United States and the European Union have accused ASEAN of not doing enough, and critics call it a toothless tiger. ASEAN holds its annual summit next month.
"Bush urges Southeast Asian leaders to pressure Myanmar on democratic reforms" Associated Press, November 18, 2006 .
Malaysia FM urges Burma to free Suu Kyi
Malaysia Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar made fresh demands on Burma to free democratic icon Aung San Suu Kyi and expressed hope a recent top UN envoy's visit would bring democratic reforms in the military-run country.
"If they can move towards democracy and they have more confidence and trust in the UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari ... we hope he will be successful," he added.
Malaysia in June signalled the region was close to washing its hands of Burma , saying the military regime had snubbed efforts to push for democracy and urging the UN to take over the case.
Syed Hamid said Malaysia , a member of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), urged the military junta, also a member, to implement democratic reforms as pushed by the UN.
"For the sake of Myanmar , we hope they begin to change in accordance to what the international community wants, in particular the UN," he said.
" Myanmar has so much potential. They should be in the mainstream of international affairs. I am very happy that there is some visible positive development. I hope this will be continued," he added.
" Malaysia urges Myanmar to free Aung San Suu Kyi", Agence France Presse, November 19, 2006 .
US to push for UNSC resolution on Burma
A top State Department official said a U.N. envoy's meeting with Burma 's leadership this month has yielded little progress and that the United States will push ahead next month for passage of a "strongly critical" U.N. Security Council resolution. Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N. undersecretary general for political affairs, spent four days last week in Burma , where he said he urged officials to ease restrictions on humanitarian aid efforts, take steps to end forced labor and consider releasing a "significant number" of the 1,100 political prisoners.
He has yet to brief the U.N. Security Council on his trip, but R. Nicholas Burns, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, said that "from what we've heard" on the trip, "the Burmese have not given anyone any reason to think they are going to change their stripes."
Burns made his comments on the same day that the International Labor Organization, a U.N. agency, said that it will consider referring Burma to the International Court of Justice for its continued use of forced labor and that it will provide documents to the International Criminal Court to consider possible war-crimes prosecution.
Burns said that the United States supports the unusual move by the ILO, which expressed "great frustration" after six years of negotiations with the military junta that rules the Southeast Asian nation.
"We've made Burma into a real object of concern," Burns said. Though China is seen as a roadblock to U.N. action on Burma , Burns said that he held "long conversations" with Chinese officials about Burma during a trip to Beijing this month.
Advocates of pressure on Burma have feared that time is running short for action because the makeup of the Security Council will change in January, when the terms of some of the countries that have backed the U.S. push will expire, forcing a rebuilding of the diplomatic effort.
Burns acknowledged that this was a problem, which he said is why the administration will press for action in December.
" U.S. wants U.N. resolution on Burma " The Washington Post, November 18, 2006
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