Weekly Diary, No. 293 (15 – 21 March 2008)

• AFTER 8888, TIANANMEN; AFTER SAFFRON, LHASA!
• THAI PM: NO KILLINGS, NO SUPPRESSION IN BURMA WOULD BE ABNORMAL!
• PEOPLE PREPARE TO VOTE FOR THE INVISIBLE!
• NEW WAR ON DRUGS IN THAILAND STARTS!

Think Piece
We have three neighbors: Laos, Cambodia and Burma. We use their resources, all three of them. If we have this great relationship, why should we pick on them?

_{Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, Bangkok Post, 17 March 2008}

The World
15 March 2008
_{Dalai Lama}
Tibet’s government in exile, headed by Nobel Laureate Dalai Lama, claims it received unconfirmed reports that 100 people had been killed in the protests. China meanwhile says 10 people were burned to death. (AFP)
 
18 March 2008
White students in Australia are fleeing public schools to avoid studying with non-white ethnic pupils, Sydney Morning Herald reported. The findings described by some teachers as “de facto apartheid,” were presented to the New South Wales state government in 2006 but were not released. (AFP/Bangkok Post)
 
19 March 2008

Arthur C. Clarke, 90, the last surviving member of a group of science fiction writers known as the Big Three, passes away in Sri Lanka. The other two were Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein. (Reuters)
 
19 March 2008
_{Osama bin Laden}
Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden warns Europe of a “reckoning” for publishing cartoons of Prophet Mohammed, saying it was a greater crime than killing women and children. (AFP)

International Relations
14 March 2008
Burma has denied a visa to Paulo Sergio Pinheiro whose report to the Human Rights Council yesterday cited growing repression following the September crackdown. “If you believe in gnomes, trolls and elves, you can believe in this democratic process in Burma,” he tells a news briefing in Geneva. (Reuters)
 
14 March 2008
US lawmakers propose a congressional resolution urging the President to call on the UN to reject the junta’s draft constitution. (Mizzima/Statement)
 
17 March 2008
All Burma Monks Alliance denounces ongoing, crackdown on Tibet’s monk-led protests. (Irrawaddy)
 
17 March 2008
_{Paulo Sergio Pinheiro}
Human Rights Council reviews mandate of Special Rapporteur on situation in Burma. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro says he had visited Burma 7 times. He was not granted access to the country from 2003-2007. (UNHCR)
 
18 March 2008
_{Zalmay Khalilzad}
US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad asks UN Security Council to pressure Burma to allow international observers for the May referendum. His request is rejected. (Bangkok Post)
 
19 March 2008
ILO’s Committee on Freedom and Association reaches a decision against incarceration of 6 activists associated with the outlawed Free Trade Union of Burma (FTUB). The group also counsels that the FTUB be legalized. (Mizzima)
 
20 March 2008
_{Thein Sein}
PM Thein Sein is scheduled to attend Third GMS Summit, 30-31 March, in Vientiane. The country is engaged in a plan:
·         To build a bridge crossing the Mekong into Laos near Kengkoke linking with R3 road section, connecting Chiangmai and Kunming
·         R4 section connecting Kunming and Lashio-Kengtung
(Xinhua)

21 March 2008
Myanmar Times report Burma and Brunei have reached an MoU on promoting bilateral trade especially in gems. (Xinhua)
 
Gambari on Burma
17 March 2008
_{Ibrahim Gambari}
UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari briefs UN General Assembly president Srgjan Kerim. Kerim calls for engagement and commitment from all parties to continue a national reconciliation process. (Irrawaddy/Mizzima)
 
18 March 2008
Gambari briefs 15-member UN Security Council, giving a “frank assessment” of the current situation. (Irrawaddy) Addressing the UN Security Council, Gambari says his recent trip yielded no concrete results. It is clear that without Aung San Suu Kyi’s release, relations between Burma and the international community will not improve. However, he promises that dialogue with the military government will continue. (BBC)

Thai-Burma Relations
14 March 2008
PM Samak Sundaravej meets Burma’s ruling general in his one-day visit to Burma. FM Noppadon Pattama says before departure:

• Thailand is opposed to sanctions. It is for negotiations
• It is ready to help Burma hold its May referendum

(Bangkok Post)
 
14 March 2008
Thailand and Burma sign investment protection agreement. Both sides also discuss construction of a deep-sea port in Tavoy. The accord intends to protect Thai investors while increasing foreign investment in the country. (Global Insight)
 
15 March 2008
_{Noppadon Pattama}
FM Noppadon Pattama says the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of Thailand is cleared to hand remaining funds from a $1 billion soft loan to Burma. The bank said in a statement released last year that all but $10 million had already been handed over. (Bangkok Post) FM Noppadon Pattama says his government will urge the private sector to go ahead with the Tasang project, a 228 meter high and 7,110 MW dam on the Salween. (Bangkok Post)
 
16 March 2008
_{Surin Pitsuwan}
“Killings and suppressions are normal there,” says PM Samak Sudaravej. (The Nation) Asean secretary general Surin Pitsuwan advises PM Samak to be prudent before commenting issues involving Burma. Asean supports reconciliation in Burma, he says. Bangkok Post editorial also slams his comments as “ill considered.” (Bangkok Post)
 
18 March 2008
Burmese police raid island under Friendship Bridge between Maesod and Myawaddy and arrest 7 suspected Burmese gang members. They are believed to be behind the attack on a Thai policeman on 3 March. (Bangkok Post)
 
19 March 2008
Rising commodity prices, strengthening of the Thai baht and budget shortfalls are raising concerns for the 130,000 refugees in 7 camps along the border. Karen Refugee Committee (KRC) in Mae Sariang says the Thai-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) funding shortfall has led to cuts in food rations and non-food items. (Irrawaddy)

Politics/ Inside Burma
14 March 2008
Section 124A of the penal code enshrines right to criticize the government. But mention it and you are likely to be arrested, say lawyers who have suffered that very fate. (Reuters)
 
17 March 2008
_{May Sweet}
May Sweet, popular singer, reported to be dead. Later news confirm that she is alive and well at her LA home and her performance in London on 19 April will go ahead as scheduled. (Irrawaddy)
 
17 March 2008
Authorities in Rangoon place heavy security in the vicinity of several monasteries including Kaba Aye. (Mizzima)
 
17 March 2008
Kyaw Ko Ko and Nyan Linn Aung, All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) taken away from their hiding place. (Asian Tribune)
 
20 March 2008
_{Ludu Sein Win}
Ludu Sein Win’s articles banned from publications, following his 8 March audio circulation which spoke critically of the ruling junta. (Mizzima) Ludu Sein Win says he has been informed he could resume publication on 24 March. (DVB)

Referendum
14 March 2008
Khun Myint Tun, NCUB secretariat, says the umbrella organization of exiled opposition groups is calling on the people to vote No in the referendum. “We would like them to vote, but vote No, no matter what.” (DVB)
 
14 March 2008           
Nyan Win, NLD spokesman, says the party is releasing a statement:

• Criticizing junta tactic of announcing a referendum on the draft constitution while withholding details from the public
• Referendum law issued without any technical law that specifically outlines the referendum

(Irrawaddy)

15 March 2008
Rehearsals for the upcoming referendum start in Muse district on the Sino-Burma border. (SHAN)

17 March 2008
New Light of Myanmar says Burmese authorities have been holding meetings at state and division sub-commission levels to bolster support for approval of the regime’s draft constitution.
Green cards, known as temporary resident card, that can be used for six months, are being issued in Insein township, outside Rangoon.
The referendum commission has also formed sub-committees at divisional, district and township level, each with 15 members: 10 civil service personnel and 5 civilians. (Irrawaddy)
 
17 March 2008
NLD members in Arakan and Magwe say they are ready to oppose the May referendum. (DVB)
 
18 March 2008
All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA) issues statement calling for boycott of state-run examinations scheduled to start on 24 March and the May referendum. (Irrawaddy)
 
19 March 2008
Some 367,834 Burmese migrants in Thailand hold work permits. Will they have the opportunity to vote? Several hurdles:

• To know how to register to vote. No easy task to get information from the Burmese embassy
• Going back to Burma to exercise their rights will not only cost money and time but also cost them their legal status in Thailand plus their jobs
• The Burmese embassy in Bangkok must become a polling station and migrants allowed to go to Bangkok to vote. (MAP Foundation)

 
19 March 2008
USDA members have been assigned to persuade people to vote in favor of the unpublicized draft. “We were threatened by the township council with fitting punishment if the draft is defeated at the referendum,” a USDA member is quoted as saying. (SHAN)
 
20 March 2008
A resident in Mandalay says even state personnel are saying they will vote no to the draft constitution. A Myitkyina resident says it fails to guarantee ethnic rights. The military government has in the meanwhile formed township sub-commissions to prepare for the referendum. They are staffed mainly with officials from the township councils and regime supporters. Executive members from USDA are not included. Detailed information about the referendum voting process is yet to be released. (Irrawaddy)
 
20 March 2008
Some NLD members form People’s Movement Committee (PMC) to oppose the referendum. (DVB)
 
20 March 2008
Committee Representing People’s Parliament (CRPP) says it will not accept a draft constitution “that will firmly establish a military dictatorship.” (Statement)

21 March 2008
Sasana Moli, the monks in exile group, calls for boycotting the regime and its plan from 26 April 2008. There is an alternative way which is neither boycott nor No vote, says Ashin Panya Zawta, patron of the group. (Mizzima)

Shans/ Shan State
16 March 2008

Shans in Chiangmai hold memorial service in honor of singer Sai Htee Hseng who passed away on 10 March. (SHAN)
 
17 March 2008
_{Col Yawdserk}
Due to increased activities and movements of junta forces, there have been a marked increase in the number of clashes between the Shan State Army (SSA) South and the Burma Army, says SSA South leader Col Yawdserk. Clashes are reported in several townships in southern Shan State. (SHAN)
 
20 March 2008
Professor Kambawza Win exhorts the Shan State Army, both North and South, and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) to say No to the junta-drawn draft constitution. (SHAN)

Economy/ Business
14 March 2008
Six months after September’s bloody crackdown on monk-led protests, the trickle of tourists – 350,000 in 2006 compared to 13 million in Thailand – has all but dried up. (Reuters)
 
18 March 2008
Bean farmers in Pegu division hit by law bean harvest and prices:

• Harvest only one-fifth of the amount produced previous years
• One tin of beans formerly fetching K20,000 ($16.7) now gets only K14,000-15,000 ($11.7-12.5).

(DVB)
 
19 March 2008
Thailand’s Loxley Plc is planning to launch the first convenience store in Burma in partnership with Dagon Win Aung, one of the junta cronies who owns the Dagon Shopping Center in Rangoon. (Irrawaddy)

Human Rights
17 March 2008
Two weeklies: Seven Day News and The Voice told by Maj Tint Swe, head of Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PRSD) that they were “crossing the line” by publishing news about a murder case which took place two weeks ago near Aung San Suu Kyi’s residence. Seven Day ordered to suspend publication for one week and The Voice warned. (Irrawaddy)
 
17 March 2008

On 8 March, “Diamond Studded” Khin Thandar Shwe, Gen Than Shwe’s daughter who got married in July 2006, took away furniture worth $10,000 without payment from Myanmar Furniture Fair 2008, held at the Armed Forces Hall on U Wisara Road. (Mizzima)
 
18 March 2008
Since September recruiting of child soldiers has returned, says ILO’s Rangoon representative Steve Marshall who has prepared a report of 15 forced recruitment cases, “a tip of the ice berg.” (IPS)

Environment
14 March 2008
The construction of the first dam (Liuku) on the Nu-Salween has commenced, despite Beijing’s postponement:

• An official Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) exists, but it has not been released due to “national security” reasons
• Hutgyi in Karen State is the only dam with an EIA done
• Bai Enpei, head of Yunnan Communist Party, announced earlier this month that the Burmese regime will need to be consulted in order to get Beijing to sign off the Nu-Salween dams
• A cumulative EIA study for the Salween dams necessary
• The river should be cooperatively managed by all stakeholders
• The EIA should not be considered as an inconvenience for developers but rather as a legal mechanism to ensure public participation and to achieve the best outcome

(Bangkok Post)
 
14 March 2008
Networks of people affected by the dams march along the bank of Thailand’s Moon river and petition Bangkok to scrap all dam projects on the International Day of Action Against Dams. (Bangkok Post)
 
14 March 2008

250 villagers in the area affected by Hutgyi dam gather to pray to the spirits of the river and the land around it for protection against planned construction of the dam. Chinese companies have been involved in the construction of 25 dams on the Irrawaddy, Salween and Sittaung. (Irrawaddy)
 
20 March 2008
Survey says casual and unprotected sex is pushing up the rate of new HIV/AIDS cases: at least 40 per day in Thailand. (Bangkok Post)

Drugs
15 March 2008
Justice minister Sompong Amornwiwat says the new anti-drug campaign will place emphasis on efforts to crack down the money trail that keeps the illicit business going. (Bangkok Post)

15 March 2008
A clash between Shan State Army and an armed group escorting a drug-trafficking caravan reportedly belonging to an influential drug dealer in the Golden Triangle. The clash takes place near Mongphong pier. No report of casualties. (Bangkok Post)

19 March 2008
Opium production levels have quietly risen in Burma’s Shan State. Its heroin and ATS flow into China, a major consumption and transit point. An ala 2003 War on Drugs strategy in Thailand will only be a temporary fix to an issue that requires long-term, sustainable solutions, without which it will only be a matter of time before Burma’s narcotics begin to flood the kingdom once again. (International Relations and Security Networks)
 
20 March 2008
Samak administration’s international policies seem to be in consistent with its domestic policies. When he visited neighboring countries, he discussed bilateral cooperation on economics but appeared to have said nothing on drugs. Without bilateral agreements, drug fighters in Chiangmai and Chiangrai can do nothing. There is a drugs bazaar located less than 100 km away from our northern border. According to Office of the Narcotics Control Board (NCB):
        100,000 drug users                  in 2003
        575,000 drug users                  in 2007
With    290,927                                   in the South
            128,707                                   in Bangkok
            8,789                                       in the Northeast
            40,445                                     in Central Region
            27,338                                     in the North
(Bangkok Post)
 
21 March 2008
Thailand launches fresh war on drugs. (Bangkok Post)

War
14 March 2008
China has exported two 16PA6 shipborne diesel engines to Burma to be fitted on its navy’s indigenous patrol ships, says German MAN Diesel Co, which designed the original engines. (UPI Energy)
 
16 March 2008
Security tightened along Indo-Burma border following attack on Indian paramilitary personnel by Manipur People’s Army (MPA). (Kuwait News Agency)

Obituary
16 March 2008
_{Saw Nay Kaw Mya}
Lt-Col Saw Nay Kaw Mya, 44, Commander of Karen National Liberation Army’s 202nd Special Battalion, passes away in Chiangmai from diabetes. He was the eldest son of the late Gen Bo Mya. (New Era Journal)