BI Weekly No. 312

January 1st - January 7th, 2007

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

Inside

Border

International

Still Opposed to Action on Burma
Nobel Peace Laureates Will Visit Suu Kyi


* denotes BI commentary

A pro-democracy activist group in Rangoon has initiated a new campaign to urge the people of Burma to speak up about the political and social problems facing the nation.

The campaign, called “Open Heart,” was started by the 88 Generation Students group in advance of the country's 59th anniversary of independence from Britain , achieved on January 4, 1948 after more than 120 years of colonial rule.

The Open Heart campaign, scheduled to run from January 4 to February 4, will call on all Burmese to write letters to their government leaders urging reform in politics, the economy and social affairs.

The letters will be collected by the group and sent to Snr-Gen Than Shwe, the head of Burma 's ruling junta.

Activists in Burma Start New Campaign, Irrawaddy , January 3, 2007

Political Prisoners Released

Burma 's military government granted an Independence Day amnesty to more than 2,800 prisoners, including at least 27 pro-democracy campaigners.

The official New Light of Myanmar said 2,831 prisoners were to be freed from prisons ahead of the 59th anniversary on Thursday of the country's independence.

Burma 's detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was not among them, but student activists loosely aligned with her National League for Democracy (NLD) party said at least 27 political prisoners had been released.

Kyaw Min Yu, a former student leader who served more than a decade in prison for his role in a 1988 pro-democracy uprising, said 27 political prisoners had been released from five prisons around Burma. So far, there was no news of senior pro-democracy leaders being released from prison, he said.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a Thailand-based group that monitors Burma 's prisons, said it believed 30 political prisoners had been freed, mostly low-level members of the NLD.

At least 27 political prisoners among 2,800 released in Myanmar , Agence France Presse, January 3, 2007

Many Muslim families from northern Arakan State were unable to enjoy this year's Eid ul Azha festival due to the high price of sacrificial animals in Arakan.

As the animals, including bulls and cows, were priced high, many ordinary Muslim families could not celebrate the festival, having lost their opportunity to make the appropriate sacrifices.

Apart from rich families in Maungdaw, many Muslim families were unable to celebrate the Eid ul Azha religious festival this year.

Since cattle were not permitted to be brought to Maungdaw Township from other townships, the price of cattle in Maungdaw rose significantly during the festival season.

Muslim Community from Arakan Unhappy this Eid ul Azha, Narinjara News, January, 5, 2007

Return to Burma Again

Professor Dr Iajuddin Ahmed, the president of the care taker government hoped that both Bangladesh and Burma all outstanding issues including repatriation of Rohingya refugees and maritime demarcation could be resolved amicably.

The remark came when outgoing ambassador of Burma U Thane Myint made a farewell call on the president at Bangabhaban as the President's Secretariat is called.

A total of 22,000 Rohingya refugees are languishing in two camps in Bangladesh awaiting their return to their homeland.

Prof Iajuddin said Bangladesh attaches special value to its relation with neighbor Burma and expressed the hope that mutual co-operation in different areas of common interest would further strengthen the existing relations between the two countries.

Dhaka Seeks Return of Rohingyas to Burma , Kaladan News, January 6, 2007

Face Drug Abuse and HIV

Burma bordering all Northeast Indian states are running under the menace of drug abuse consequential HIV infection and AIDS.

Disclosed by the Indian Health Minister of India, Anbumani Ramadoss recently, the pathetic tale describes Manipur and Nagaland are among the 'high HIV/AIDS prevalence' states, where as Arunachal Pradesh and Mizroam are termed 'vulnerable' to the threat of HIV infection and AIDS.

Manipur is reported to have the highest density of HIV infected persons in the country resulting another major challenge to the tiny state after prolonged insurgency. The Manipur AIDS Control Society statistics reveal that the state has around 16,000 HIV positive people, where over 2000 victims have gained AIDS. Till 2005, over 350 people died of AIDS in the state.

The availability of heroin, primarily from Burma (with Thailand and Laos ) and other illicit drugs are responsible for high addiction rate in Manipur. Estimated drug addicts in the state are increasing up to 50,000, where 20,000 have been reported to be injecting drug users.

Burma Bordering Indian States Face Drug abuse and HIV, Narinjara News, January 5, 2007

Still Opposed to Action on Burma

Russia said it remained opposed to addressing Burma at the UN Security Council despite US intentions to push for a resolution in 2007.

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin, the incoming president of the Security Council for January, told reporters in New York that Moscow still felt that Burma 's case was not the responsibility of the UN's most powerful body.

Russia along with China , Qatar and the Congo were the only four countries to oppose the ultimately successful attempt to place Burma on the Security Council's formal agenda in September last year.

Meanwhile, state-run The New Light of Myanmar reported that Russia was among the countries to congratulate Burma on its official Independence Day on Thursday.

In a message to the head of the junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was sure that traditionally close ties between the two countries would further develop in the interest of peace and security in Asia and in the whole world.

UNSC president Russia still opposed to action on Burma, Irrawaddy, January 4, 2007

Nobel Peace Laureates Will Visit Suu Kyi

In an attempt to visit detained Burmese pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, 13 Nobel Peace Prize winners across the world are submitting visa applications to Burmese embassies in nine countries.

Nobel Peace Laureates worldwide are applying for Burmese visas in a new initiative to protest against the continued detention of the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Laureate -Aung San Suu Kyi - and to call on the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution on Burma .

While other Laureates are applying for Burmese visas in their respective countries, the Burmese embassy in Seoul today rejected the visa application of former South Korean President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Kim Dae-Jung.

In addition while 13 Nobel Laureates have applied for visas to Burma from nine countries, His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet, Elie Wiesel of US, South Africa 's Archbishop Desmond Tutu and American Friends Service Committee, who were unable to apply for visas today, have expressed solidarity and support for the initiative.

Thirteen Nobel Peace Laureates Apply for Visas to Visit Suu Kyi, Mizzima News, January 5, 2007