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February 20, 2006 BURMA 1. House arrest extended for top democracy leaders in Burma According to a report by Amnesty International, the military regime in Burma, the State Peace & Development Council (SPDC), has extended the house arrest of U Tin Oo, aged 78, Deputy Chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD). Senior democracy activists and NLD MPs-elect Dr. Than Nyein, aged 68, and Daw May Win Myint, aged 56, both of whom have been in prison since 1997, face a further year in jail without charge or trial. These three NLD leaders are elderly or in poor health. For more information see http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA160022006?open&of=ENG-2AS 2. Crackdown on media informants in Burma Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association have expressed concern about a campaign by the military regime to track down people in Burma who give information to the international media. According to their report, “military officers have been trained in how to identify the sources used by international radio stations and new phone tapping facilities have been installed.” See http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=16406 3. Atrocities continue as mutilated body is found Fresh attacks have been carried out by the Burma Army
against Karen villagers in Taungoo district, resulting in several
killings, arrests and the use of forced labour 4. Is Burma the Next Iran? According to an article by Ian Bremmer, President of Eurasia Group, in Slate magazine: “The riches generated by Burma's natural-gas deposits may provide the junta with enough cash to realize its long-standing ambition to purchase nuclear technology. In 2002, the Russian government approved an agreement with Burma to help the regime build a civilian nuclear reactor. The deal was never consummated, according to the Russian foreign ministry, because Burma lacked the money to pay for it. But when Russia's atomic agency announced last October that talks on the subject had resumed, Western governments reacted with alarm and dismissed official Burmese claims that the facility is meant only for medical research and the production of radiopharmaceuticals for cancer treatment. More worrying still, the junta's long-rumored high-level contacts with North Korea may well include discussion of the transfer of nuclear technology.” – see http://www.burmanet.org/news/2006/02/15/slate-magazine-is-burma-the-next-iran-ian-bremmer/ 5. Burmese Prime Minister in Beijing General Soe Win, the prime
minister in Burma’s ruling junta, arrived in Beijing last week for a
four-day visit. But although China is Burma’s closest ally, there
are signs that China may be becoming disenchanted. According to
Larry Jagan in an article for the Bangkok Post, “China has been
quietly disturbed by the lack of progress on the junta’s seven-stage
roadmap announced in August 2003 by the then prime minister Gen Khin
Nyunt. Beijing was dismayed by the recent adjournment of the
National Convention until the end of this year. While China believes
political reform is an internal matter for the Burmese regime, they
fear that excessive delays in the national reconciliation process
are only likely to increase instability in Burma. This is China’s
greatest concern. They fear social unrest in Burma would
dramatically affect their southern provinces. More than 200,000
Chinese migrants have crossed into Burma in the past decade,
according to senior Chinese officials. Some western analysts believe
there could be as many as a million Chinese now resident in Burma.”
Jagan goes on to say: “There is no doubt that privately Beijing
continues to worry about the lack of progress towards political
reform in Burma. For more than a year now, a senior political
academic from Beijing has been in Rangoon advising the regime’s top
generals on various political scenarios ……. Many other diplomats
involved with Burma have also noted China’s ambivalence towards
Rangoon. The real issue is whether Beijing will actively encourage
Rangoon to move towards political reform, even if it does so
privately rather than publicly.” See:
http://www.burmanet.org/news/2006/02/15/bangkok-post-burma-china-strengthen-bilateral-ties-%E2%80%93-larry-jagan/6. Campaign to bring Burma to UNSC continues After the publication of Threat to the Peace: A Call for the UN Security Council to Act in Burma, commissioned by former Czech President Vaclav Havel and Nobel Laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu, the UN Security Council held a private briefing on Burma in December for the first time. However, a campaign to bring Burma to the full formal agenda of the UNSC, leading to a resolution, continues.
http://burmacampaign.org.uk/unitednations.php
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