Weekly Diary, No. 287 (1 – 8 February 2008)

• NO MORE JAMBOREE FOR GAMBARI!
• BOYCOTT OF BEIJING OLYMPICS?
• LIFE IS WORTH 6 BUCKS IN BURMA!
• ELECTED GOVT IN THAILAND AFTER 16 MONTHS UNDER THAI SPDC!

Think Piece
The killing of the highest spiritual leaders of the society is the expression of most severe form of lawlessness.
_{Gamanii, Asian Tribune, 7 February 2008}

The World
5 February 2008
Year of the Rat predictions
Water and earth are in conflict, causing financial and political rumblings, tsunamis and epidemics in the year ahead. (AP)

International Relations
1 February 2008
_{Ibrahim Gambari}
The cold hard truth is that Gambari’s mission has failed. What is required is a concerted effort:

• UN chief to travel to Burma and tell the junta the UN will no longer tolerate intransigence
• To urge China to follow India’s lead and immediately halt arms sales to Burma
• Like-minded governments should coordinate sanctions programs to ban banking transactions with Burmese leaders (Jared Genser/ Wall Street Journal)

2 February 2008
The Gambari diplomacy has come to naught. The Burma drum is being beaten without purpose or strategy. Clearly the junta has had enough of the UN, according to a UN official. (Bangkok Post)
 
2 February 2008
_{George W. Bush}
President Bush is expected to propose a boost in funding for Burma, from $ million last year to $ 16 million in his annual budget request. (AP)
 
5 February 2008
A website, beijingolympicsboycott.com calls for boycott of 2008 Olympics. It lists ten reasons including China’s funding for the Burmese regime, arming it and protecting it from international pressure. (Irrawaddy)
 
8 February 2008

Aung Moe Zaw, a secretary of the umbrella group National Council of Burma (NCUB), takes a soft line. Reasons:

• China spoke openly about political deadlock in Burma
• Cooperates with the UN
• Does not oppose the Burmese democracy movement

(Irrawaddy)
 
4 February 2008
_{Kenji Nagai}
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says 6 journalists were arrested in Burma for chronicling of September’s protests. One, Kenji Nagai was killed. (Mizzima)

5 February 2008
India based activists demand the Indian government release 34 Burmese rebels, who on 8 February will complete 10 years in prison. (Mizzima)

5 February 2008
_{Tycoon Tayza}
The US treasury department is tightening sanctions against the financial network of Burmese tycoon Tayza and family members of regime leaders, says Adam Szubin, director of Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). (AFP) U Kyaw Thein, 60, a Singaporean resident, named by the US as one of the individuals linked to Tayza. A Singaporean company Pavo Aircraft Leasing Pte Ltd is also named. (AFP)
 
6 February 2008
_{Paulo Sergio Pinheiro}
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, UN special rapporteur to Burma, issues statement expressing dismay at the junta’s continued detention and sentencing of activists. He visited Burma in November. (DVB)
 
7 February 2008
_{Shiv Shankar Menon}
Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon flies to Burma today. He meets his counterpart Nyan Win in Rangoon. His visit will mainly focus on bilateral issues. India employs a ‘quiet diplomacy’ with regards to Burma. (Irrawaddy)

Thai-Burma Relations
1 February 2008
Thai baht is under 33 to the dollar for the first time. (Bangkok Post)
 
5 February 2008
Four migrant workers bound with their hands behind their backs and shot at point blank range in Surat Thani, 650 km south of Bangkok. (AFP)
 
5 February 2008
Kitty McKinsey, the UNHCR’s regional spokeswoman, says Padaung people approved for resettlement should be treated in the same way as the 200,000 Burmese refugees who have left Thailand since 2005. (Irrawaddy)
 
6 February 2008
Thailand’s elected government sworn in. Cabinet members include:

• Chalerm Yubamrung               -           Interior Minister
• Noppadon Pattama                 -           Foreign Minister
• Uraiwan Thienthong               -           Labor Minister

(Bangkok Post)
 
7 February 2008
_{FM Noppadon Pattama}
The country’s policy on Burma of non-interference and working with Asean to push the junta towards democracy will not change, says new foreign minister Noppadon Pattama, an Oxford graduate and former secretary to Surin Pitsuwan (1997-2001). “We are not a headmaster who can tell Burma what they should do,” he says. (Reuters/Irrawaddy/AFP)
 
8 February 2008
_{PM Samak Sundaravej}
PM Samak Sundaravej urges UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to make a personal visit to Burma. He believes “soft pressure” will push the generals to reform. “If North Korea can be settled by talking, why not do something here?” he said. (AFP)

Politics/ Inside Burma
1 February 2008
_{Sylvester Stallone}
Despite police order given to DVB hawkers not to stock the new Rambo movie, pirated copies are widely available in Rangoon. People are crazy with the quote Live for nothing, die for something. His cruelty is nothing compared to that of the military junta, says one student. (Reuters)
Sylvester Stallone, who stars as Rambo, is proud that “these incredibly brave people have found kind of a voice” in his film. The film’s quote: “Live for nothing. Die for something” has become a rallying point. He hopes the Burmese military will “invite me over.” He says he is preparing the final installment of the series. (Reuters) Stallone says two of the film’s Burmese born families had been arrested in apparent retribution for their participation in the movie. (The Independent)
 
3 February 2008
Burmese blogger, Nay Phone Latt, who was arrested on 29 January, is charged at Dagon police station with Section 5 (J) Emergency Provision Act, which carries up to seven years of imprisonment. (Mizzima)
 
1 February 2008
Myint Thein, 62 year old NLD spokesman, flown to Singapore. He has been suffering from stomach cancer. (Irrawaddy)
 
4 February 2008
Censors working at the Press Scrutiny and Registration Board (PSRB) are now equipped with mirrors and magnifying glasses to help them seek out hidden message in poems, novels, stories and advertisements. The new tools have been introduced following the discovery of a poem written by Poet Saw Way under the title “February 14.” The first words of each line made up the message “Senior General Than Shwe is crazy with power.” (Irrawaddy)
 
5 February 2008
NLD invites ethnic ceasefire groups that support Burma’s ruling junta to meet at its headquarters for talks on resolving their differences. (AFP)
 
5 February 2008
_{Gen Than Shwe}
Burma’s junta is in trouble:

• Gen Than Shwe is sinking fast, losing his mind and forgetting who has been cashiered in the past
• There has been no military promotions for more than 8 months
• Maj Gen Kyaw Win, who was sacked along with Khin Nyunt, is being reappointed to a K500,000 salary posting to run a training school to make up for continuous intelligence failures
• The economy is continuing to deteriorate rapidly
• A group of prominent lawyers in Europe and US are preparing to lodge a petition against the junta at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, alleging the crackdown on the monks in September “a crime against humanity”
• The tri-annual meetings have not been held for more than 8 months

(Mizzima)
 
5 February 2008
Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) Vice President, in his address marking Kachin Resistance Day, reiterates it will not work for secession. The KIO had dumped its secession policy since Maran Brang Seng become chairman in 1975. (Kachin News Group)
 
6 February 2008
_{Cin Sian Thang}
Cin Sian Thang, Chin leader, welcomes NLD invitation for talks. No response from other groups yet. (Irrawaddy)
 
8 February 2008
Anonymous leaflets spread around Rangoon this week calling on citizens to boycott businesses belonging to cronies and supporters of the regime. (Irrawaddy)

Shans/ Shan State
1 February 2008
Aung Kyaw Zaw, Burmese analyst based on Sino-Burma border, says junta top representatives Khin Aung Myint and Ye Myint were holding informal dinner receptions where they indirectly asked ethnic ceasefire leaders to disarm and support the junta’s referendum. There was no official reply from the ceasefire groups. (Irrawaddy)
 
3 February 2008

Shan exiles in Tokyo holds 61st anniversary of Shan State Day/Shan National Day that falls on 7 February. Sai Hsiwan, Chairman of Shan Nationalities for Democracy (SND) says, “The 12 February Panglong Agreement was signed in order to achieve equality. The ongoing talks between Ms Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta, we hope, will lead to tripartite dialogue.” He calls for release of Khun Tun Oo and all political prisoners. This is the 15th time the State/National Day has been celebrated in Japan. (www.mongloi.org)
 
5 February 2008
Several prominent ceasefire leaders attend 47th anniversary of Kachin Resistance Day being held in Laiza:

• Salang Bawm Ying (UWSA)
• Mai Ai Mong (PLSP)
• Gaifah (SSA North)
• Representatives from NDA-K and Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group

Shans and Gurkhas are unusually attending in highest numbers. (Kachin News Group)
 
7 February 2008

The Shan National Day/ Shan State Day and the Chinese New Year fall on the same day. While the country’s Chinese residents are noisily celebrating their New Year, the Shans are quietly holding low-key ceremonies. It is an indication:

• Of how the regime is suppressing the Shan
• Of the junta’s concern about growing political awareness among the Shan

(Irrawaddy)
 
7 February 2008
German volunteer Nicholas Ganz opens “Shan embassy,” a representative office in Germany. The liaison office will mainly deal with Public Relations. “It is time to transform some of the bullets into words and spread the words around the world,” he says. (Mizzima)
 
8 February 2008
Two different batches of the anti-malarial artesunate, sold in Kengtung, were sent to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. The Agency tested the drugs for safety and quality in January. The analysis report says both are counterfeit and contain no active drug. Many physicians say the Burmese health system has collapsed. (Irrawaddy)

Economy/ Business
4 February 2008
Tourist arrivals in Burma is down, says Myanmar Time today, down 44% in the last quarter of the year from the same period of 2006. (Reuters)
 
6 February 2008
USDA members may apply for cellular phone license. The Myanmar Post and Telecommunication (MPT) plans to issue 70,000 GMS license in Burma. There were an estimated 200,000 mobile phones in 2006. (Irrawaddy)

Human Rights
6 February 2008
On 31 January, Bo Tun Of Tawngdwingyi, who lodged a complaint to the ILO on forced labor was interviewed by Steven Marshall. Local authorities told the ILO official to do his job freely but Bo Tun did not dare say anything. USDA members were deployed around the house where the two met and local residents were threatened not to disclose the truth. (Mizzima)
 
6 February 2008
Three Burmese fishermen, adrift since Cyclone Sidr smashed Bangladesh on 15 November, rescued off the east Indian coast. (Reuters)
 
7 February 2008
In November 2006, a young mother in Rangoon was told that her husband Tun Tun Naing, 31, who was arrested and imprisoned for gambling, had died of malaria in a border region some three months ago. The following year, the family received a letter dated 30 January acknowledging that her husband, in the service of Infantry Battalion 250 based at Loikaw, died. An amount of Kyat 7,200 ($6) had been cleared for payment as compensation. Ample proof that life is cheap in Burma. (UPI Asia Online)

Environment
7 February 2008
This year work will begin on a pipeline to carry Burma’s proven gas riches to China. As early as late 2009, a parallel pipe will carry Middle East and African oil from Kyaukphyu to China’s southwest. Also under construction is a new Southern Silk Road, linking India to China across Northern Burma, which will soon eclipse the Burma Road. (The Economist)

Drugs
5 February 2008
Naresuan Task Force 1333 kills one drug smuggler and 200,000 speed pills, near the same location(where another haul was made on 5 December) in Chiangmai’s Wiang Haeng district, at a spot between Paeksam and the UWSA’s Kiu Zangkap base. (SHAN/Agencies)
 
7 February 2008
Yaba is being widely smuggled into Bangladesh. Analyst from Maungdaw has the activity is related to poverty and unemployment. “The people are involved in the business just to stay alive,” he says. (Narinjara)
 
7 February 2008
_{Chalerm Yubamrung}
Thailand’s new interior minister Chalerm Yubamrung promise to lessen narcotics in 90 days. The war on drugs launched in 2003, giving police “license to kill” had resulted in 2,500 extra judicial killings, “crime against humanity”, according to the outgoing government. (Reuters) He is reportedly the owner of Allure Resort and Casino in Tachilek - Editor

War
8 February 2008
India, just months after joining the West to chastise the military, regime, is quietly undertaking a charm offensive with Burma’s junta:

• Maung Aye is set to visit India in April
• Regime decided in early January to allow India to develop the strategically located port of Sittwe/Akyab at a cool cost of $120 million on the BOU term (built, operate and use).

It comes at a time when New Delhi is being rattled by China’s “String of pearls” strategy that envisages a series of ports and bases in friendly countries such as Pakistan and Burma.
The re-engagement policy seems to have been sanctioned by UN special envoy Gambari and thereby presumably the UN chief’s benefactor, the US. (Asia Times)