Daily News - March 28, 2007 - Wednesday

Burma Must Release All 1,200 Political Prisoners, UN Says

Burma's army document spotlights low morale

Goods left stranded as Burma shuts Three-Pagodas checkpoint

Burma Must Release All 1,200 Political Prisoners, UN Says

March 28 (Bloomberg) -- Burma's military government must free more than 1,200 political prisoners to demonstrate its commitment to returning the country to democracy, United Nations envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said.

``The path to democracy to which the government has committed itself is one in which there is no place for political prisoners,'' Pinheiro said in a statement issued yesterday in Geneva. ``Processes of national reconciliation and democratic transition are invariably facilitated by the release of all political prisoners.''

Pinheiro appealed for the release of poet and editor U Win Tin, 77, who has been in jail since July 1989 and is the longest- serving political prisoner. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy, has been held under house arrest for 10 of the past 17 years.

The military, which has ruled the country of 47 million people since 1962, held a national convention in 2004 to draw up a new constitution that includes democratic changes. The UN and U.S. said the exclusion of several opposition and ethnic groups from discussions makes the process illegitimate.

``Several political prisoners are now elderly or in poor health and in urgent need of medical attention,'' Pinheiro said, according to the UN's Web site. U Win Tin ``is one of a large number of detainees whose state of health has been severely exacerbated by their conditions of detention and who should be released on humanitarian grounds alone.''

Military Leader

Burma rejects attempts by countries to rebuke the government over human rights and democratic changes, Agence France-Presse cited General Than Shwe, the leader of the junta, as saying yesterday.

``Judging from lessons of history, it is certain that powerful countries, wishing to impose their influence on our nation, will make any attempt in various ways to undermine national unity,'' AFP cited the general as saying.

He was addressing an annual military parade held in the new capital, Naypyidaw. International media was invited to see the capital for the first time since the government moved from Yangon, about 460 kilometers (300 miles) to the south.

The military government will crush "every danger of internal and external destructive elements obstructing the stability and development of the state,'' AFP cited Than Shwe as saying in his speech.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said earlier this month the military government is restricting visits to prisoners and civilians displaced in army operations and the group's humanitarian operations are ``near-paralysis.''

As many as 10,000 civilians were forced to leave their villages last year during the army's biggest offensive since 1997 against rebels in the ethnic Karen region bordering Thailand, the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said at the time.

The Karen National Union has been fighting since 1948 for an independent state in Burma.

Forced Labor

Amnesty International, the London-based rights group, has said hundreds of thousands of people, including women and children, are forced to work on so-called ``development projects'' such as building roads and military installations.

Members of the Shan, Karen and Karenni ethnic minorities living in the Thai border region have been singled out for such work, without pay, Amnesty said.

Burma has been under international sanctions since the junta rejected the results of elections in 1990 won by Suu Kyi's NLD. Economic growth in the teak and rubber-exporting nation has been stifled by the junta's political isolation and gross domestic product was estimated at $1,800 for each citizen in 2006, according to U.S. government data.

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Rare glimpse of Burma's military chief

NAYPYITAW (AP) - The head of Burma's ruling junta made a rare public appearance Tuesday at a ceremony in the country's new capital, reviewing thousands of troops under a blazing sun for nearly an hour despite reports of ill health.

Gen. Than Shwe was the only speaker at a ceremony marking Armed Forces Day, which commemorates the day when the Burma Independence Army revolted against Japanese occupation forces during World War II.

Arriving in a Mercedes limousine, Than Shwe drove by thousands of troops before stopping at a reviewing stand at the side of the massive parade grounds, overlooked by three 33-foot statues of the country's most famous kings.

Although the 74-year-old leader has been suffering from an undisclosed illness, Than Shwe stood steady and straight in the tropical heat as he spoke to about 500 invited dignitaries, diplomats and journalists, and then reviewed the troops as they marched past.

It was the second time the ceremony was held in the country's new capital of Naypyitaw, after years of being observed in a park in the former capital, Rangoon.

The secretive government abruptly moved its administrative headquarters from Rangoon to Naypyitaw in 2005, uprooting thousands of officials to the remote region flanked by a mountain range and dense forests.

The official reason for moving the capital to the town 250 miles north of Rangoon was a need for a centrally located national "command and control center."

Many people believe it reflected the military's insecurity over possible internal unrest. Historically, mass movements for political change blossomed in the southern port of Rangoon.

Than Shwe said at the ceremony that that building a "strong, efficient, modern and patriotic" military and cementing the unity of the military and the people were the two essential elements for defending Burma.

Than Shwe said the country has been divided by strife among its many ethnic minorities since its independence from Britain in 1948, depriving it of the peace and stability needed for prosperity.

He warned that the nation still faces danger from "powerful countries" that are trying to undermine its unity and weaken the military, said Than Shwe, who is head of the military as well as junta chief.

"They will try to sow the seeds of discord and dissension not only among national races but also within each particular ethnic group in various spheres such as religion, ideologies, social classes, etc.," he said.

The ruling junta frequently warns that the pro-democracy movement of detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is seeking to destabilize Burma with the backing of Western nations. Countries such as the United States and Britain have denounced the junta for its poor human rights record and for refusing to hand over power to Suu Kyi's party after it won a landslide election victory in 1990.

He vowed to keep the military strong to ensure the country's unity so it can move forward economically and politically.

Absent from the ceremony was Prime Minister Gen. Soe Win, who is hospitalized in Singapore.

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Burma's army document spotlights low morale

Jane’s Defence Weekly, UK

A confidential internal document obtained by Jane's shows that the Burmese Armed Forces suffer from false reporting, haphazard inspections and poor record keeping.

The document summarises an 11-15 September 2006 meeting in Kyatpyay, Naypyidaw. Meetings are normally convened every four months, with typical attendance involving some 200 senior military officers, including the 12 members of the ruling council and the 13 regional commanders.

General Shwe Mann, the government's third highest-ranking official, reported manpower losses of 9,497 during a four-month period preceding September 2006, much of this due to desertions.

Adjutant General Thein Sein reported at the meeting that 13,764 soldiers were enlisted during the preceding four months: an increase of more than 15 per cent. This indicates that recruitment has intensified. Jane's reported last year that a recruitment campaign during the second four-month period of 2005 produced just 6,275 new personnel.

Recruitment drives are expected to persist for the foreseeable future. An officer with a newly created air-defence battalion interviewed by Jane's said that regiments are expected to actively recruit in appointed areas and are fined when they fail to meet quotas. However, maintaining current staffing levels is a challenge due to the high desertion rate, the officer added.

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Goods left stranded as Burma shuts Three-Pagodas checkpoint

Bangkok Post

Large quantities of goods were left stranded along the Burmese border after Burma closed a checkpoint opposite the Three Pagodas Pass yesterday, in retaliation for Thailand's earlier closure of two border checkpoints. Burma's closure of its Phaya Tongsu (Three Pagodas) checkpoint obstructed trade along the border.

Thai and Burmese traders were told by troops from Burma's 18th Infantry Battalion that the checkpoint would be closed indefinitely.

The move followed Thailand's closure over the weekend of the Three Pagodas Pass checkpoint in Kanchanaburi's Sangkhla Buri district and the Singkhon border pass in Prachuap Khiri Khan, in protest against the abductions of two Thai border patrol policemen.

Pol Sub-Lt Chavalit Rattanaphan and Pol L/C Prayongyuth Panthang were captured in the border area of Sangkhla Buri district on March 21 by the Rangoon-backed Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). They were released on Monday, though the reason for their capture remains unclear.

The Phra Phutthayodfa army camp, to which the two officers were attached, has launched an inquiry into why they were taken hostage.

Thailand reopened the Singkhon border pass immediately after the officers were released on Monday, and the Three Pagodas Pass checkpoint yesterday.

Before the Three Pagodas Pass was re-opened, Thai representatives held negotiations with senior Burmese officers to ensure the safety of Thai traders and tourists near the border checkpoint.

Thailand wanted Burma to guarantee that the DKBA would not attack innocent people who crossed the border into Burma.

Around 40 other border passes along a 370km stretch were also re-activated.

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India bans poultry imports from Burma

Times of India, India

AIZAWL - India's Mizoram state government has prohibited import of chicken, pig, fodder and all kinds of rearing equipments from Burma as bird flu virus (H5N1) was recently detected in that country.

State Animal Husbandry and Veterinary department officials said on Tuesday that the prohibition was imposed to prevent the dreaded avian influenza from affecting the country.

The official said that training had been conducted for the departmental officials to meet any eventuality.

They, however, said the avian flu had not reached the country and there is no danger in consuming the chicken and egg produced in the country.

Reports said that bird flu virus was recently detected in the dead bodies of chickens at four different cities in Burma.

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