Press release at the conclusion of the visit to Myanmar of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for Myanmar, Mr. Vijay Nambiar, from 12 to 17 February 2012
UNIC
17 Feb 2012

Press release at the conclusion of the visit to Myanmar of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for Myanmar, Mr. Vijay Nambiar, from 12 to 17 February 2012

The Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for Myanmar, Mr Vijay Nambiar, concluded today a five-day visit at the invitation of the Government of Myanmar. In Naypyitaw, the Special Adviser was received by President Thein Sein, Speaker Shwe Mann, Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, and the Ministers of Labour and Social Welfare, Border Affairs, Industry, Railways, and Immigration, as well as the Union Peace Committee and Union Election Commission. Jointly with Vice-President Sai Mauk Kham, the Special Adviser inaugurated the Conference on Development Options for Myanmar organized by the United Nations and the Government of Myanmar. The Special Adviser also met with the General Secretary of the USDP. In Mon and Kayin States, the Special Adviser met with the respective Chief Ministers and members of the State government and legislature and local ethnic representatives. He also visited a field project of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), and met with local civil society partners. In Yangon, the Special Adviser met again with NLD Chair Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. He also held separate meetings with civil society, ethnic and business representatives.

One year after the formation of the new Government and the launch of political and economic reforms under the leadership of President Thein Sein, the changes currently underway in Myanmar have attained an unprecedented level of initiative, as recognized by a range of stakeholders across the political spectrum. The Special Adviser strongly commends President Thein Sein and the Myanmar authorities for their determination and commitment to move the country forward in a way that meets the needs and aspirations of the peoples of Myanmar. He welcomes the openness with which the Myanmar authorities recognize the challenges, as well as opportunities, inherent to such a process. This has raised much expectation inside and outside the country, particularly in the context of Myanmar’s responsibilities as Chair of ASEAN in 2014.

During his meetings the Special Adviser highlighted three priorities that define domestic and international perceptions of the pace of reform:

• It is necessary to ensure that both the process leading to, and the conduct of, the by-elections on 1 April 2012 are credible, and that they are seen to be so by all. This includes ensuring conditions for a level playing field for all parties to compete openly and addressing complaints swiftly and transparently. The by-elections will be a critical test of the Government’s commitment to broaden and enhance the credibility of the democratic process in the country.

• Peace and national reconciliation are central to Myanmar’s overall stability and development. Recent successful efforts by all parties to reach ceasefire and peace agreements have brought Myanmar closer than ever to a historic achievement. Progress is now needed with regard to the situation in Kachin State, including the needs of the displaced population.

Overcoming decades of strife and mistrust through inclusive political dialogue remains an important prerequisite to building a durable peace, which the country requires in order to move forward as one.

• It is urgent that the Government delivers on the socio-economic needs of the people so that they start benefitting in real terms from the reforms so far. Health, education and job creation remain key responsibilities for both central and local authorities in order to empower people to participate fully and equitably in the country’s development and growth. Only through the formulation and implementation of sound economic policies can this change be accelerated in the interest of the entre population of Myanmar.

It is self-evident that neither peace nor development can be sustained without respect for human rights and the rule of law. Building on the recent release of political prisoners and other measures, further steps are necessary in order to build trust and enable the democratic transition to succeed.

The Special Adviser welcomes the Government’s recognition of the value of partnership with the United Nations to help Myanmar meet the challenges and opportunities before it. The good offices of the United Nations are ready to work with all stakeholders in this important task. The Special Adviser also feels that the international community must respond more robustly to the needs of the Myanmar people by lifting current restrictions on UN programmes. Now is the time to step up support and to adjust existing policies in order to help build conditions for sustaining the reform and for the betterment of Myanmar’s peoples.

Yangon, 17 February 2012
http://www.bdcburma.org

PRESS RELEASE
17th February 2012
ASEAN should support and promote a credible and transparent process of peace and reconciliation in Myanmar and mechanism of human rights protection
JAKARTA -- The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) today welcomed the upcoming visit of ASEAN Secretary General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan to Myanmar on 20 February but noted its continued and deep concern regarding the slow progress on the protection of human rights in Myanmar.
AIPMC views Dr. Surin’s visit as a key opportunity for ASEAN to ensure it engages with all political actors in Myanmar and fully exercises its role and duty to encourage and assist the government there to continue and improve on its transition towards full democracy.
The ASEAN secretary general’s visit comes at a time of hopeful change but also a time of continued concern. AIPMC would like to bring the following issues to the attention of Dr. Surin, and urges him and ASEAN to review its mandate and the options open to its various regional body’s and commissions in helping to address these concerns.
Violent conflict and human rights abuses persist in ethnic areas of Burma that are rich in natural resources and have become the target of aggressive investment for physical exploitation, such as in Kachin, Shan and Karen states. Despite the recent and welcome release of hundreds of prisoners of conscience, the Naypyidaw government has still failed to clarify the number, status and whereabouts of remaining political prisoners. There is also no transparency regarding the policy of releasing political prisoners and there is no guarantee that the government will relax restrictions as part of reforms of freedom of expression.
The government’s efforts to sign ceasefires with armed ethnic groups in an apparent first step towards national peace talks have so far failed to make any major inroads towards national reconciliation. In fact, on the contrary, the efforts have in some cases led to increased friction and distrust between the state and ethnic minority leaders, who have questioned the government’s true intentions.
Accountability for human rights violations in Myanmar remains extremely weak and impunity is inevitable. There is an urgent need to reform the judicial system. Issues of land rights, including widespread reports of forced and uncompensated evictions to make way for the development of mega projects, such as the proposed deep-sea port in Dawei, remains an area of major concern.
Despite these concerns, AIPMC considers Dr. Surin’s visit an important step in Myanmar’s transition to democracy. The visit of the secretary general is an opportunity for ASEAN to ‘re-integrate’ Myanmar into the regional grouping. Since Myanmar was officially accepted as a member in 1996, ASEAN has been under constant pressure from civil society organizations and the international community regarding Myanmar’s human rights record. Myanmar has prevented ASEAN from developing into a credible and effective regional organisation, rather than merely a forum of countries of Southeast Asian nations. Myanmar has always been the thorn in ASEAN’s side. The external pressure and internal confusion ASEAN faced when deliberating whether to skip Myanmar’s turn to take the rotating chairmanship in 2006 marked how its rogue member has at times threatened ASEAN’s internal stability as well as its relationship with strategic global partners.
Regarding this, Dr. Surin on his visit should ensure that Myanmar is ready to lead ASEAN in 2014, to be the face of ASEAN to the world and seriously implement the ASEAN charter. Dr Surin should raise for discussion some critical problems that continue to prevent further reform in Myanmar, including: a lack of strong and stable democratic state institutions, including the Parliament and national commissions, due to the vacuum of law, leadership and capacity; the government’s failure to fully engage in an inclusive and genuine roadmap for national peace and reconciliation (efforts to date have been insubstantial and have failed to contribute to any significant political change which guarantee the rights of ethnic groups or an end to the ongoing conflicts); the threat posed by current economic policy to the environment, sustained economic growth in the future, as well as the political, civil and economic rights of ordinary people; and, the urgent need to reform the legal system to ensure the rule of law, as a current lack of any mechanism of accountability means impunity and cronyism remain issues of major concern.
Dr. Surin should impress upon the Naypyitaw government and all political actors in Myanmar the urgency of embarking on national peace and reconciliation efforts, as well as exploring with them possible roles ASEAN could play in that process. ASEAN should facilitate democracy in Myanmar further by supporting ucpoming by-elections there in April and opening up dialogue with the opposition, in particular with National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi. ASEAN’s communication with opposition members, if and when elected to Parliament, should be developed further to facilitate the ongoing transition in Myanmar. ASEAN should work further to ensure the protection of human rights with systematic efforts to prevent the reoccurrence of rights abuses with credible laws, institutions and apparatus. ASEAN should also promote mechanisms of repatriation for refugees and economic migrants through constructive cooperation among ASEAN countries. ASEAN should also seriously tackle the issue of human trafficking and increase efforts to abolish its practice in the region.
###
The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) is a network formed in an inaugural meeting in Kuala Lumpur, on 26-28 November 2004 by and for Parliamentarians from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The aim is advocating for human rights and democratic reform in Myanmar/Burma. Its members represent both the ruling and non-ruling political parties of countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Cambodia.
For more information/ interview with AIPMC MPs, please contact AIPMC Secretariat: Agung Putri Astrid +62 81514006416

Precarious balance for Myanmar reform
By Larry Jagan

BANGKOK - The future of Myanmar's reform process is in question as hardliners and liberals in government ramp up an increasingly bitter power struggle. Change in Myanmar remains fragile despite some encouraging reform signals and growing international goodwill towards President Thein Sein.

So far, though, President Thein Sein's good intentions have produced only limited practical change. Now, there are growing fears that the recent political gains, including the release of political prisoners and allowances for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) to contest upcoming by-elections, could be reversed.
http://ping.fm/kQUXx

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC): Let’s build a genuine federal union

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) calls for all parties concerned to work by all means to restore ever lasting peace in Burma on the wake of 65th anniversary of Union Day of Burma. Burma is made up of with indigenous people of Burma; Kachin, Karreni, Karen, Chin, Mon, Bamar, Arakan and Shan, peacefully co-existing together under the same sky since time unmemorable. Union Day comes into existence after signing the Panlong Agreement on 12 February 1947 in which Bamar and ethnics minority leaders agree to exist together as a union.

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) strongly condemns U Thein Sein regime attacking on Kachin ethnics people of Burma and we are calling for immediate cessation on attacking ethnic people in order to achieve peace through political dialogue. Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) and justice loving all Burmese people will be with our Kachin brothers and sisters since the suffering of the Kachin people are tantamount to the suffering of the whole Burmese people. Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) opposes war and we truly believe that guns and bullets won’t solve the problems but through dialogue, mutual understanding, mutual trust and mutual respect.

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) would like to express our position that all the ethnics’ people of Burma must have the equal rights. We truly believe that to establish a genuine federal union, Burma must grantee to protect and promote ethnics rights such as language, culture, environment, religion and music. Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) would like to reaffirm our position that we will work until we can restore democracy, human rights and rule of law in Burma leading toward establishing a genuine federal union in Burma.

For more information please contact Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) at www.bdcburma.org

U Myo Thein [United Kingdom]
Director, Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)
Phone: 00-44-208-493-9137, 00-44-787- 788-2386

U Khin Maung Win [United States]
Director, Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)
Phone: 001-941-961-2622

Daw Khin Aye Aye Mar [United States]
Patron, Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)
Phone: 001 509-783-7223

U Tint Swe Thiha [United States]
Patron, Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)
Phone: 001-509-582-3261, 001-509-591-8459

AP - Prominent Myanmar monk taken in for questioning
Reuters - Myanmar refugees tell of violence despite peace calls
GMA News - DFA Sec. del Rosario meets Suu Kyi and Myanmar leader
KTAR.com - Legal challenge launched to Suu Kyi's candidacy
The Japan Times - Long courting of Myanmar may finally pay off
IRIN - MYANMAR-THAILAND: Dying for lack of reproductive healthcare
Sin Chew Jit Poh - Myanmar political exiles return after two decades
The Malaysian Insider - CIMB Group chief leads Asean support for Myanmar
Asian Correspondent - What’s in a name – Burma or Myanmar?
Asian Correspondent - Burma: Economists, generals and culture vultures
Scoop - Burma’s New Media Law May Fail to Ensure Press Freedom
The Wall Street Journal - Too Bad, Burma: Big Bank Loans Unlikely Anytime Soon
Washington Times - Civil war threatens reforms in Myanmar
VOA News - China Hosts Burma-Rebel Peace Talks for Economic, Strategic Benefit
Daily Mail - The Temple that brings monks closer to God (because it's nearly 5,000ft up a mountain)
National Times - Sanctions squeeze all but the tycoons
The Nation - Don't forget ethic minorities while democratising Burma, activists warn
The Nation - Burma's Forever Group eyes revenue boost
The Irrawaddy - Burmese Army Attacks Shan Base
The Irrawaddy - Strike Enters Fifth Day, Spreads to Other Factories
The Irrawaddy - Electricity: Burma’s Missing Ingredient for Success
Mizzima News - Education and health focus of U.N. conference
Mizzima News - The election will offer ‘intense rivalries’: NUP
Mizzima News - EU official to talk about aid package
DVB News - Burma ‘struggling’ with tourism boom
DVB News - Exiles emotional upon return to Burma
DVB News - Fighting breaks out in Shan state
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Prominent Myanmar monk taken in for questioning
Associated Press – 4 hrs ago

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A prominent Buddhist monk who was one of hundreds of political prisoners freed in Myanmar last month was detained Friday after a pre-dawn visit by authorities, an official said.

Shin Gambira, 33, was one of the leaders of the so-called Saffron Revolution, a 2007 anti-government uprising led by Buddhist monks against the then-ruling junta. He was detained after a military crackdown on protesters and released Jan. 13 as part of a mass prisoner release that has been hailed as a sign of Myanmar's new government's willingness to make reforms.

Friday's detention of Gambira, however, had echoes of the previous administration, which was known for whisking away its critics in the middle of the night.

An official from the Home Ministry said that Gambira was "taken away" from the Yangon monastery where he was staying and brought for "questioning in relation to incidents that happened after his release."

The official, who spoke on condition on anonymity, said that Gambira and other monks had illegally entered monasteries that had been shut after the 2007 uprising.

Authorities went after Gambira after he ignored a summons to report for questioning, the official said.

It was not immediately clear how long Gambira would be detained.

Gambira had also publicly voiced skepticism about the new government's commitment to democratic reforms.

His detention comes amid widespread international attention on Myanmar, where the new nominally civilian government has drawn cautious praise.

The U.S. and European Union have called the progress positive steps forward but say they will be closely watching an upcoming April by-election before deciding whether to lift sanctions that were imposed during military rule.
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Myanmar refugees tell of violence despite peace calls
By James Pomfret | Reuters – 4 hrs ago

NONGDAO, China (Reuters) - In an obscure part of southwest China, a refugee crisis from one of the world's longest running and least known conflicts in Myanmar is slowly unfolding, largely ignored by the outside world and denied by China.

Thousands of refugees bringing tales of rape and violence have flooded across the border into China, fleeing fighting between Myanmar government troops and ethnic minority Kachin rebels.

Conflicts between the Myanmar government and various minority rebel groups erupted soon after independence from Britain in 1948.

The Myanmar government is keen to end the violence as it introduces democratic reforms after five decades of iron-fisted military rule and as Western governments call for peace as they prepare to lift sanctions.

Concrete moves to end the conflicts is a condition for the full lifting of the embargoes.

While pacts have ended the fighting in most parts of Myanmar, the bloodshed has not stopped in Kachin state in the far north despite a call from the central government for an end.
Kachin state, a broad spur of Himalayan foothills wedged between China and India, has for generations produced some of the world's finest jade, as well as opium and timber.

Now it is central to the energy plans of both Myanmar and China, home to hydropower dams and twin pipelines that will transport oil and natural gas to China's southwestern Yunnan province.

In the town of Nongdao in a far western nook of Yunnan, talk of Myanmar's return to democracy and the release of political prisoners ordered by President Thein Sein rings hollow to refugees such as Da Shi Jar Raw.

"They used big rockets to hit the villages and they burned the fields," the 32-year-old told Reuters, describing attacks by government soldiers in the country also known as Burma.

"The Burmese soldiers are raping women and shooting children," she said. "They killed a lot of mothers so we don't dare go back."

"TERRIBLE THINGS"

Labang Roi Tawng took her four young children and fled on a four-day trek in December to the border and safety at a camp in China of more than 500 people.

"The military were killing, shooting and raping people, doing terrible things, so we were very afraid and ran," she said.

At least 10,000 refugees have entered China since fighting erupted between Myanmar's military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) after a 17-year-old ceasefire broke down last June. Some Chinese media reports have put the number at 40,000.

"How long the fighting continues, we cannot say," said Lahpai Zaulat, with the Kachin Relief and Development Committee at Longdao, another area where refugees have flocked.

"More and more will come," he said of the flow of people fleeing, adding new huts were being built every week.

At one camp, where a mass of huts nestled between an open rubbish heap and farmland, organizers said refugees were arriving at a rate of about 10 a day.

Most of the Kachin villagers have fled to several areas along the fenceless border including Mai Jai Yang in Kachin state, and Nongdao, Longchuan and Leiji on the Chinese side.
The flow of displaced appears to be under control for now, with authorities grudgingly providing land for shelters.

Many refugees in two border camps visited by Reuters looked relatively healthy and well fed despite often dirty and crowded conditions in huts of plastic tarpaulin strung over bamboo.

But what baffles many Kachin is that President Thein Sein's order for troops to end their offensives has fallen on deaf ears. The only explanation the government has provided is problems with communications equipment.

But few are convinced by that.

"The military has ignored government orders to stop fighting," Khon Ja, a Kachin activist based in Myanmar's commercial capital of Yangon, told Reuters.

"This should be the highest crime."

Channels for dialogue with the KIA are open and talks are going on, but without any real progress.

"BORDER PEOPLE"

For its part, China, keen to secure Myanmar's energy supplies and wary of an influx of displaced, officially denies the existence of the refugees. They are an embarrassment to a government which enjoys close ties with Myanmar and has stood by it in the face of Western sanctions.

"Remember these people aren't refugees, they're just here temporarily to escape the conflict," said a Chinese government official in the border town of Ruili after police detained a Reuters news team for nearly five hours.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin, speaking at a briefing on Friday, described the refugees as "border people" and said there were "not as many of them as outside reports say."

"China has all along dealt with this issue in a humanitarian way, and has provided daily necessities," he said.

China has been relatively tolerant in allowing the Kachin to stay, many without identity papers, sometimes in border towns among Chinese citizens who share the same ethnicity. But it is wary of allowing non-government organizations (NGOs) to help.

"The NGOs can't come to help us because China doesn't have any refugee laws," said refugee Joseph Dabang. "Really we have tremendous trouble and we have no money."
Many Kachin are Christian and Christian organizations are helping to run camps and supply rations.

In another camp, that spilt into a plantation, corrugated iron shacks were crammed with bedding and scores of children gathered at a school set up with plastic sheeting for walls.
Teacher Htu Raw darted between blackboards as she taught two classes at the same time, getting children to recite English words like "flower" and "cup."

"I'm very sorry for the children so it doesn't matter if I'm tired," said the round-faced teacher as a room full of wide-eyed children watched her every move.

"Many of these children have lost parents. But these students are now my children."
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GMA News - DFA Sec. del Rosario meets Suu Kyi and Myanmar leader
February 10, 2012 6:20pm

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario met with Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi at her home on Thursday as she geared up for the start of electoral campaign for the April by-elections there.

The meeting "was aimed at strengthening the ties between the two countries" according to state media reports.

Del Rosario and Suu Kyi posed for photos in front of the democracy leader's house in Yangon, where she held a press briefing for her National League for Democracy (NLD) party after their meeting.

Secretary del Rosario also met with Myanmar President U Thein Sein and held discussions with Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday.

The DFA said del Rosario “congratulated the Myanmar leadership on the political, economic and social reforms it has undertaken,” including the release of Suu Kyi.

It also said the Myanmar leader thanked the Philippines government for its support and encouragement to the various reforms that the Myanmar Government has undertaken.

Myanmar’s president “also expressed appreciation for the Philippine support towards the lifting of economic sanctions against Myanmar,” the DFA added.

“The Myanmar President invited the Philippine business community to invest in various sectors of Myanmar economy such as oil and gas, agriculture, mining, forestry and timber products, development of deep sea ports, infrastructure, among others,” the DFA said.

Election campaign

Suu Kyi and her allies are contesting 48 seats in various legislatures including the 440-seat lower house in the April 1 by-elections that could give political credibility to Myanmar and help advance the end of Western sanctions.

Suu Kyi addressed a crowd of supporters, mostly from the party's youth wing. "Concerted efforts can shake even the whole world," she told the gathering.

Official campaigning begins this weekend, but Suu Kyi had been delivering speeches in villages and cities in recent weeks, giving the unmistakeable feel of a campaign.

As the southeast Asian nation emerges from half a century of isolation, diplomats from the region have been holding meetings with Suu Kyi.

Joining the diplomats are business executives, mostly from Asia, swarmed into Yangon in recent weeks to hunt for investment opportunities in one of the last frontier markets in Asia.

They are encouraged by statements from the European Union and the US that sanctions could be lifted if voters were able to vote freely in April's elections.

Myanmar is also at the center of a struggle for strategic influence as the United States sees a chance to expand its ties there and balance China's fast-growing economic and political sway in the region.
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KTAR.com - Legal challenge launched to Suu Kyi's candidacy
jg (February 10th, 2012 @ 5:46am)

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Aung San Suu Kyi's bid for a seat in Myanmar's Parliament has been challenged by a rival candidate.

Suu Kyi's spokesman Nyan Win said Friday that Tin Yi of the Party for Unity and Peace had submitted a complaint to the district election commission that the Nobel peace laureate was not eligible to run in the April 1 by-election.

The basis for his protest was a constitutional provision barring persons enjoying the benefits of a foreign citizen from serving in parliament.

Nyan Win said Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party submitted a rebuttal stating that the complaint was based on hearsay and false information.

In 1990, Suu Kyi also filed to run in the general election, but was disqualified after a similar objection.
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Friday, Feb. 10, 2012
The Japan Times - Long courting of Myanmar may finally pay off
By JUNKO HORIUCHI, Kyodo

Japanese government and business officials have flocked to Myanmar in recent months with a keen interest in the untapped investment opportunities in the country, which is embarking on democratic and economic reforms after decades of seclusion.

Japanese entities that have been nurturing ties with Myanmar are encouraged that the time has finally come for various cooperative projects to resume operations after years of being in limbo under the country's military regime, while Myanmar welcomes Japan's assistance.

"With Myanmar's government starting to open up to the international community, what we have been working on for all these years may finally bear fruit," said Shigeto Kashiwazaki, managing director of the Asian business research department at Daiwa Institute of Research.

Kashiwazaki was referring to a quasi-stock exchange called Myanmar Securities Exchange Center Co. (MSEC) that Daiwa Institute, under Daiwa Securities Group Inc., and the Myanmar Economic Bank, the country's largest bank, set up as a joint venture in June 1996 with the aim of developing a securities market in Myanmar.

U Soe Thein, executive director at MSEC, said he is "always positive to any assistance given" by Japan and "appreciates all of those programs." Before working at MSEC, he worked as a public official for more than 40 years and was involved in receiving Japanese assistance.

Japan has provided aid to Myanmar since 1954, including grant since 1975. In cumulative terms, Japan is the top provider of official development assistance to Myanmar, at $3.27 billion as of 2010. It also began providing loan aid in 1968 although it has suspended giving new loans since 1987 due to delays in repayments.

U Soe Thein noted that technical assistance from Japan may be even "more beneficial" if its training programs are specially designed for a target country, and if the trainers or lecturers in the programs have knowledge or experience of the nation.

"Having in mind these realities, both sides should try to mitigate the adverse impacts and maximize the benefits," said U Soe Thein in an email.

MSEC was set up in response to a request by the Myanmar government, which wanted to prop up the market economy in the country. But to date, at MSEC, with 11 staff members, including two Japanese, the shares of just two firms and some government bonds are traded.

The 1997 Asian financial crisis prompted Myanmar to tighten regulations for financial institutions and as a result many problems with its financial regime, including the existence of multiple exchange rates, an opaque legal framework and weak banking system, were left unresolved, making it difficult for foreign firms to do business there.

The imposition of economic sanctions by the United States and European countries, the Myanmar junta's crackdown on democracy-leaning parties such as the one led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and reports of human rights abuses since the 1980s also dissuaded the Japanese government and businesses from deepening economic ties with Myanmar.

"Our joint project to develop a securities market in the country has been virtually halted for more than 10 years," Kashiwazaki said. "But now as Myanmar implements economic measures, we can finally get down to business."

Myanmar, a country with abundant resources and a cheap labor force, is widely seen as the last untapped market in Asia. Since a military-backed civilian government took over power from the junta last March and implemented a series of democratic reforms, it has attracted investment interest from firms around the globe.

Japan and Myanmar have decided to launch negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty following Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba's visit to the country in late December, the first visit by a Japanese foreign minister to Myanmar since August 2002.

Such a pact, if realized, would help improve the levels of protection and liberalization of investment and make it easier for Japanese companies to do business in Myanmar.

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano also visited the country in January, accompanied by around 100 business representatives and ministry officials, including senior executives from trading house Mitsui & Co., Sharp Corp. and Toshiba Corp., and expressed Japan's plan to help vital infrastructure projects in Myanmar.

"Myanmar is a key junction that connects Southeast Asia and China. I have no doubt about its growth," said Takashi Kawamura, chairman of the board at Hitachi Ltd., who participated in the business visit led by Edano.

"Japan should be able to make a strong showing (in Myanmar), such as through its energy-saving technologies," Kawamura said during his visit to Myanmar.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan's aid agency, has also stepped up efforts to assist Myanmar. In December, it invited 30 businesspeople and government officials from the country, including from the Myanmar Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance and Revenue, for a three-week training program in Japan, where they received lectures such as on Japanese farming, monetary systems and automobile manufacturing.

"We organized such a training program so that promising people from Myanmar will learn from our knowledge and expertise," said Tomonori Nagase, an official at JICA's Southeast Asia and Pacific Department.

"But at the same time, through such a program, we hope to forge better ties between Japan and Myanmar by getting to know each other," he said.

During the program, they visited places such as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; the Bank of Japan; Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ; and Tokyo Stock Exchange Group Inc.

"We have long been engaged with Myanmar but the reforms are unfolding at a faster pace than expected. The government seems serious this time," Nagase said.
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MYANMAR-THAILAND: Dying for lack of reproductive healthcare

BANGKOK, 10 February 2012 (IRIN) - Lack of access to reproductive health services in Myanmar has led to high rates of maternal deaths and unplanned pregnancies among the country's displaced, migrant and refugee populations, say health experts.

"There are huge unmet reproductive health needs for contraceptives, family planning, and access to skilled birth attendants," said Priya Manwell, the UN Population Fund's (UNFPA) humanitarian response coordinator for the Asia Pacific region.

Populations that are on the run or outside their home countries are often unable to gain access to reproductive healthcare, say health workers.

Without skilled birth attendants or contraception, complications from unsafe abortions and post-partum haemorrhage are common along the Thai-Burmese border, where there are more than 150,000 Burmese refugees, according to a new report by the international NGO, Ibis Reproductive Health.

"In Burma, the sad state of reproductive health... [bars] far too many, especially mobile populations, including migrants, refugees, and IDPs, from accessing appropriate, timely, and basic health services," Vit Suwanvanichkij, a research associate at the US-based Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told IRIN.

Nationwide, only 37 percent of women gave birth with a trained birth attendant in 2007, according to the most recent government data reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Health displaced

Displaced people in Myanmar's east face "a health disaster", with a maternal mortality rate (MMR) of 721 deaths per 100,000 live births - three times the national average of 240, according to a 2010 NGO-collaborative report, Diagnosis Critical.

Some 10 percent of Myanmar's national MMR has been traced to unsafe abortions.

"A lack of safe, legal abortion creates conditions where women in both eastern Burma and Thailand are likely to either self-abort or engage untrained providers who may use methods likely to cause harm or even death," said Cari Siestra, co-author of Ibis Reproductive Health's recent report.

The lack of health infrastructure in eastern Myanmar has led to frequent reproductive complications from preventable illnesses, such as malaria, which is "the number-one killer of pregnant women", said Suwanvanichkij.

"Malnutrition, malaria, and repeat pregnancies without adequate birth spacing all impact [on] women's ability to carry pregnancies, even wanted ones, to term," added Sietstra.

Overall health challenges include a shortage of workers, investment and proper infrastructure, San San Myint, a national technical officer and reproductive health specialist at the WHO country office in Myanmar, told IRIN.

"Reproductive health coverage is [available in fewer than] 150 townships out of 325 townships. The main problem is funding and geographical barriers."

Camps

Reproductive health improves for refugees on the Thai side of the border, who have better access to trained providers, according to Sietstra.

But Thailand's estimated two million Burmese migrant workers, are often reluctant to seek medical assistance.

"Undocumented Burmese migrants are hesitant to access services because of their immigration status," said Jaime Calderon, the Southeast Asia regional health migration adviser at the International Organization for Migration office in Bangkok.

This is compounded by providers' discriminatory policies, language constraints and inability to pay, say health workers along the border.

"Put this awful constellation of vulnerabilities together and the result is that far too many women again are sickened, disabled, or die from preventable causes, such as complications of pregnancy and abortions," said Suwanvanichkij.

While Myanmar's recent political reforms have the potential to translate into better care if there is long-term investment in the health system, "we still need to address the immediate needs of people urgently", said Taweesap Sirapapasiri, UNFPA's programme officer for Thailand.
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Sin Chew Jit Poh - Myanmar political exiles return after two decades
Foreign 2012-02-10 14:56

YANGON, February 10, 2012 (AFP) - Myanmar academics who fled a brutal crackdown on student protests over two decades ago returned to their homeland for the first time on Friday in a gesture of support for the country's reforms.

The exiles, who escaped through the jungle into Thailand after the bloody army assault on a failed uprising in 1988, were greeted by family and a small crowd of local journalists as they arrived in Yangon airport.

Aung Naing Oo said he was "overwhelmed" setting foot on home soil after almost half a lifetime away, and fellow exile Aung Thu Nyein was visibly moved.

The two men, senior staff of the Vahu Development Institute (VDI), an organisation working on development, economic reform and governance issues in the country, are in Myanmar for a short visit.

Their colleagues Zaw Oo and Tin Maung Than returned for good on Friday.

The academics cite the country's dramatic changes in the last year as a reason for their decision to open an office in Yangon, Myanmar's commercial hub.

A controversial 2010 election heralded the end of nearly half a century of outright military rule and a new regime has surprised skeptical observers with reforms including accepting democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi as a political force.

The government, which remains dominated by former generals, has also initiated a major release of jailed dissidents -- including key 1988 student leaders.

Aung Naing Oo said speed of developments in the country over the last year had been astonishing, given that they were initiated by an army that has been blamed for the country's decades of economic decline.

"I think in some ways it is a kind of miracle and I think the former military officers in government will suddenly wake up and realise that they have to catch up with the rest of the world," he told AFP ahead of the visit.

"We don't know how much we can do, we will go back with an open mind."

The academics, who plan to visit the capital Naypyidaw, will hold meetings with government officials, the private sector and other groups.
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The Malaysian Insider - CIMB Group chief leads Asean support for Myanmar
By Lisa J. Ariffin February 10, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 — A delegation of Southeast Asia’s top businessmen led by Malaysia’s top banker Datuk Seri Nazir Razak has pledged to support Myanmar as a potential investment partner while it undergoes a political and economic transformation.

In a meeting in Yangon earlier this week, the group met with Myanmar’s investment authorities, local business leaders and Aung San Suu Kyi to assure them that the ASEAN
Business Club (ABC) was committed to regional investment that was sustainable and would empower rather than crowd out local business enterprise as Myanmar nationals make up a large number of migrant workers who have contributed to the region’s growth.

The delegation said a reformed Myanmar could play a strategic role within the ASEAN economic community and discussed ways ASEAN businesses could support this linked process as they carried out trade and investment with Myanmar.

Myanmar’s Deputy Minister of Rail Transportation Thura U Thaung Lwin, who sits on the country’s investment commission, pledged that the government was committed to improving its legal and tax framework for foreign investment and outlined existing plans for special economic zones.

The delegation also included CIMB Group chairman Tan Sri Md Nor Yusof, AirAsia Bhd chief executive Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Malaysia’s state investment firm Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s chief director of investments Tengku Azmil Raja Abdul Aziz and Singapore-owned investment firm Temasek Holding’s director Goh Yew Lin.
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Asian Correspondent - What’s in a name – Burma or Myanmar?
Posted by Jo Lane on February 10, 2012 in Uncategorized

I AM always amazed at the utter confusion on people’s faces if I ever mention the name Myanmar. Yes Burma they know but Myanmar – where’s that exactly? Well there are plenty of places in the world that have changed names over the years such as Kolkata (Calcutta), Iran (Persia) and Cambodia (Kampuchea).

There are often political reasons for these name changes and it’s good to understand so you can then decide how you will refer to the place yourself.

Well let’s go back in time then. The country was called the Republic of Burma when it became independent from Great Britain in 1948. It was called that until 1989 when the military regime took over and changed the name to Myanmar.

As a result the pro-democracy movement and those that want to undermine the legitimacy of the ruling regime have elected to continue calling it Burma. The U.N. has recognised the name Myanmar, “presumably deferring to the idea that its members can call themselves what they wish” according to linguist Richard Coates.

In the media the BBC refers to it as Burma, the Washington Post will too but add, “also known as Myanmar” in each story. Lonely Planet calls it “Myanmar (Burma)”, CNN uses Myanmar, Wikipedia says “Burma, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar” and here at Travel Wire Asia, and sister publication Asian Correspondent, we prefer Burma.

Anyway that gives some of the history but the name options are a lot more complicated than just that. So let’s dig a bit deeper.

Essentially linguists hold that both words actually mean the same thing, that one is derived from the other. “Burma” is the colloquial form of “Myanmar”, considered the formal and literary form of the word. “Myanma” was the word often used and “Bama” the spoken word that derived when the “m” eroded into a “b” over time.

Hold on to your hats though, because it’s more complicated still. The name Burma is also seen to refer to the country’s ethnic majority, the Burmans or Bamar, and naming a country after one group of people is not considered particularly inclusive in a nation that is actually multi-ethnic.

The ruling regime has adopted the new name not only to break from the nation’s colonial past but claims it’s a way of being more ethnically inclusive. Sure, sure the cynics might say but many ethnic groups do prefer the name Myanmar for this exact reason.

However, even though the name changes are closer to their actual Burmese pronunciations and more inclusive, opposition has developed largely to the way in which the name was changed – without a referendum, with bloodshed and above all with the air of assumed authority.

In an article in the Washington Post was this comment:

“In some ways, Myanmar makes more sense,” said Aung Din, a former student protester and leader of the pro-democracy group U.S. Campaign for Burma. “But you look at the way the government did it. As if by changing the name, they could change the past … as if it could make people forget all those killed in the streets, all the suffering they caused.”

And have caused since, many would add. The BBC has similarly done an expose on the name in which there was this quote:

Mark Farmener, of Burma Campaign UK, says: “Often you can tell where someone’s sympathies lie if they use Burma or Myanmar. Myanmar is a kind of indicator of countries that are soft on the regime.

“But really it’s not important. Who cares what people call the country? It’s the human rights abuses that matter.

“There’s not a really strong call from the democracy movement saying you should not call it Myanmar, they just challenge the legitimacy of the regime. It’s probable it will carry on being called Myanmar after the regime is gone.”

It’s a good point and one I tend to agree with, particularly as the overwhelming majority of locals I spoke to defer to the name Myanmar. There didn’t even seem to be a question to them about what the country was called – it was simply Myanmar. They spoke largely of the ethnic and colonial overtones of the other name. There were many interesting discussions (for those interested these were people of varying ages, ethnicity, locations and education). One man even told me that Aung San Suu Kyi herself only used “Burma” with foreigners and English media, but at home she called it Myanmar like everyone else. Although in an interview with Lonely Planet last year she stated she preferred Burma (read this here).

So do you defy the regime or offend the locals? Well there’s no doubt the renaming of the nation will remain a contested issue and the only way it can be resolved is to put it to the people that matter – the 58.8 million that live there. And when a democratic government takes up the reins, they can decide once and for all, in a referendum, the official name of their own country.
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Asian Correspondent - Burma: Economists, generals and culture vultures
By Kyi May Kaung Feb 10, 2012 12:55PM UTC

On February 11th, three notable economists, including Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, will give lectures in Rangoon. In my previous piece I mentioned that both Ronald Findlay and Hla Myint were born in Burma, and as states scholars before World War II and in the democratic period immediately after Independence from Great Britain, studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and London School of Economics respectively.

Hla Myint (Burmese have one name only. Most don’t have first and last names) http://ping.fm/MqSgf was stranded in the UK during the war. In the postwar period he worked at LSE, and became, with Sir Arthur Lewis, one of the pioneers of development economics. http://ping.fm/9b38N

In Rangoon where I studied economics, Prof. Findlay was one of my mentors and my MA thesis supervisor. I remember reading a short article by H. Myint (this is one of the ways he signed his name) about how the name of the field itself had metamorphosed from “economic backwardness” to “underdeveloped countries” to “developing countries”.

I was one year late to become a student of his, as he left Burma in 1962, the year of Ne Win’s coup. He had been working as Rector of Rangoon University, and the rumor was that he and his British wife Joan, had sold their house in England to come and work in Burma, but Ne Win, the dictator made things hard on intellectuals with a western education, and he left. Shortly before he did so, I went with my friend, a very beautiful young woman from a very rich family, who had just gotten a Columbo Plan scholarship, to his house on campus.

As I remember it, Dr. Findlay was also there – it was noontime or so, and we were between classes. Yin (not her real name) talked about what career prospects she might have and what subjects she should take in Canada. Dr. Hla Myint did not seem to be in a bad humor. He joked “It won’t matter. You’ll be lost anyway.” Yin did not understand it. I explained what he meant when we walked back to the classrooms.

Ne Win had a poor education. It was said he had been a postal clerk before he joined the Burma Defense Army (under Aung San) against the Japanese invaders. He had the dictator’s classic insecurity and desire to dominate. All the time I was in Rangoon, I heard stories of how he had beat up someone with a golf club; how he beat up a university instructor who had had a bit too much to drink at a Burma Research dinner and had insulted Ne Win’s second wife Kitty. As late as the year 2000, when I interviewed Louis Wallinsky, then 92 or 93, in Washington DC, Louis told me of how he had witnessed Ne Win beat up the driver of their car at the Rangoon Golf Club because the car pulled up too quietly behind him as he tied his shoe laces. At that time Wallinsky was the then PM U Nu’s economic advisor.

Findlay likewise had a bad time, even though he was a brilliant economist (still is) – a likeable person and a mild-mannered one, and a gifted, generous teacher. He was passed over for the economics department professorship, solely on account of his racial origins, I thought, and given a research professorship, where he no longer taught.

All throughout the time I was writing my MA thesis, he was in small office at the Economics Institute. I seemed to be the only one who went to his office, to deliver chapters I had written. In 1969, he left Burma to work at Columbia University in New York.

http://ping.fm/tzMy9

By then we had lived through the July 7, 1962 shooting of students, the demonetization of kyat 100 notes and the rice riots of 1967, which Ne Win diverted to anti-Chinese riots.
The worst part of the military junta has been its treatment of its people, not realizing they are, to use Adam Smith’s words, the wealth of the nation.
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Scoop - Burma’s New Media Law May Fail to Ensure Press Freedom
Friday, 10 February 2012, 5:28 pm
Press Release: International Federation of Journalists

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the Burma Media Association (BMA) in its concerns that Burma’s proposed new media law may not guarantee freedom of media as the government promised.

The new media law, drafted by the Ministry of Information’s Press Scrutinization and Registration Department (PSRD) was introduced in January at a media workshop jointly organized by Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association and Singapore-based Asia Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC).

Despite inviting local journalists, foreign-based Burmese journalists and journalists from Asian countries to the two-day event, the participants were not given the opportunity to thoroughly discuss the substance of the law. According to Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), Mr. Tint Swe, the Deputy Director General of the PSRD only presented the Table of Contents of the draft law but no details of the law itself.

Sources close to the PSRD told the BMA that the draft law was adapted from the repressive Printers and Publishers Registration Act enacted after the 1962 military coup.

“It is important that any new media laws introduced by the government of Burma improve press freedom, and provide greater freedom and security for journalists”, IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

“The media laws need to represent a fresh start for the media environment in Burma. They should be drafted to ensure they are best suited to the modern media context and are able to protect press freedoms.

The IFJ joins the BMA in urging the government of Burma abolish the 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Act, and associated laws designed to restrict freedom of expression, such as the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act, Article 505/B of the Criminal Code and the 1923 Official Secrets Act.”

Although Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index 2011 ranked Burma a slightly better position (169th) than in 2010 (174th) as a result of political reforms including partial amnesties and a reduction in prior censorship, the country remains largely under the control of an authoritarian government run by former members of the military junta assuming new positions as civilian politicians. A number of journalists still remain in prison as of the start of 2012.
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February 9, 2012, 9:11 AM SGT
The Wall Street Journal - Too Bad, Burma: Big Bank Loans Unlikely Anytime Soon
By Patrick Barta

Now that the U.S. has agreed to lift some of its restrictions blocking the World Bank and other multilateral institutions from working in Myanmar, it should only be a matter of time before they start pouring money into the country, right?

Not exactly.

The world’s so-called international financial institutions (IFIs), which were launched decades ago in part to help poorer nations like Myanmar, were blocked for years from doing extensive work in the Southeast Asian nation in large part because of objections from Western countries including the U.S., which exercise considerable influence at the institutions.

On Monday, though, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a partial waiver of its restrictions that officially enables the U.S. to support “assessment missions and limited technical assistance” by the World Bank and other similar organizations, including the Asian Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Offers of big development grants or loans – the kind that the World Bank and other groups extend to developing countries to fund infrastructure, poverty alleviation and other much-needed projects – are another matter, and would require further green lights from the U.S. Although leaders in the U.S. and Europe have taken numerous steps to repair relations with Myanmar since its government embarked on major economic and political reforms over the past year, they are still waiting to see the results of a planned April 1 parliamentary by-election in the country, which is also known as Burma, before deciding whether to lift sanctions further.

Then there’s the matter of the roughly $11 billion that Myanmar owes the World Bank, ADB, and various foreign governments, and which must be repaid or restructured before more extensive lending can start again. Most of the debts were incurred decades ago, before the banks pulled out, with some $8.4 billion in debts built up during the socialist military regime headed by late strongman Gen. Ne Win between 1962 and 1988. Myanmar owes $489 million to the ADB, the ADB said, and several hundred million dollars to the World Bank. It also owes at least $6.4 billion to Japan, $2.1 billion to China and $580 million to Germany, according to the Myanmar government.

Although Myanmar has said it’s engaged in talks with some of its creditors to settle those debts, paying it all off won’t be easy. Myanmar has vast natural resource reserves and a growing economy, but it also only has about $7 billion in foreign exchange reserves.

Even if the debts were paid and Western governments cleared the way for a full resumption of lending, it would likely take a long time before money could flow. Shareholders in the institutions want to be sure their money will be spent wisely, and that Myanmar’s ministries have sufficient controls in place to make sure some of the money doesn’t disappear – a big worry in a country that ranked 180th out of 183 nations in Transparency International’s latest survey of corruption perceptions around the world. Staff at multilateral lenders also lack solid data on the health of Myanmar’s economy and financial institutions, which they’ll want before committing large sums.

It’s possible the banks could face pressure from Myanmar boosters – led by companies that want to re-enter the country after being away for years due to sanctions – to offer some money later this year as a goodwill gesture to encourage Myanmar with its reforms. Already, leaders of the key multilateral institutions are scheduling meetings to discuss their options going forward, especially in light of Ms. Clinton’s latest move. But people familiar with the banks’ thinking say the most likely outcome, even if their hands are untied on lending, would be to keep sending high-level delegations to study conditions on the ground, buying the banks more time before they have to put cash on the table.

Whatever happens, development economists generally agree that getting the ADB, World Bank and other such groups back into Myanmar could help boost living standards and help the country modernize its antiquated economic system, which has left its residents with some of the lowest living standards in Asia. Analysts estimate that Myanmar needs billions of dollars of foreign money to help pay for new roads, bridges, power plants, railways and other assets — all the kinds of things multilateral institutions can help with, though foreign nations such as Japan and China could also provide some of that money.

The IMF, for its part, has held recent meetings with Myanmar officials about simplifying the country’s complex foreign exchange system, which involves multiple exchange rates and which has long been cited by foreign companies as a major deterrent to investing there.

The ADB said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal that it hasn’t been asked by its member governments to expand its assessment activities in Myanmar yet, though it is widely assumed that such a request will come soon following Ms. Clinton’s latest move.

“Any analytical work by ADB on Myanmar would be subject to consultations with ADB’s shareholders, and close coordination with other multilateral institutions and development partners,” the bank said. It noted that any resumption of lending would require further progress in the country’s engagement with the outside world – and “a resolution to the arrears issue.”

Efforts to reach World Bank officials were unsuccessful. In a statement on its website posted in December, the World Bank said “a great deal needs to be done to open up and improve the economy and the living conditions of the people of Myanmar,” and that “the World Bank can provide examples from other countries that have successfully made this transition.” But it added that arrangements for clearing debts to the bank would be need to be sorted out before lending could restart.
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Washington Times - Civil war threatens reforms in Myanmar
By Ashish Kumar Sen
Updated: 11:26 a.m. on Friday, February 10, 2012

A civil war between Myanmar's army and Christian rebels in the Asian nation’s northernmost state is threatening the military-backed government’s efforts to normalize relations with the West.

The Obama administration and the European Union have made peace with rebel groups a key condition for lifting sanctions on Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Myanmar's government has achieved cease-fires with some rebels and promoted political reforms to shed the country’s status as an international pariah.

The fighting in the state of Kachin, however, has escalated since the breakdown of a 17-year truce with the government in June. It has continued despite President Thein Sein’s orders in early December that the army end the war. The Myanmar army and the Kachin Independence Army blame each other for provoking the recent hostilities.

Ethnic Kachin activists and human rights groups accuse the army of raping, torturing and executing civilians. They claim soldiers looted their food and forced some Kachins to walk in front of soldiers to trigger landmines.

Bauk Gyar, a Kachin activist who was in the conflict zone in December, said women, children and the elderly are not spared.

“Everyone has suffered abuses. And after they persecute these people, they kill them,” she told an audience at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington last week.

The rebels have also been accused of killing civilians.

In recent months, tens of thousands of Kachins have fled to refugee camps across the border in China.

Thein Sein, a retired general, has taken a number of steps during the past few months that have resulted in a thaw in his country’s relationship with the West.

Among his most significant reforms was his decision to allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent many years in prison and under house arrest, to participate in parliamentary elections on April 1. The government has also released hundreds of political prisoners and signed cease-fire agreements with ethnic rebels throughout the country.
Ending the decades-long ethnic rebellions is proving to the biggest challenge for the government.

“The ethnic issue is the most long-standing and difficult problem to resolve,” said a Western official who asked not to be identified citing the sensitive nature of the matter.

“The government has negotiated cease-fire agreements, but the question now is: Are these agreements going to be enforced?”

Uncertainty also hangs over the fate of more than 500 political prisoners freed as part of a government amnesty since October. The prisoners’ release is conditional. They can be forced to serve out the remaining portion of their prison terms if they are arrested again.

Among those released was Zarganar, a popular comedian and outspoken government critic, who remains skeptical about the reforms.

“We have been released, but we are not free,” Zarganar, who uses only one name, said in an interview in Washington last week.

He called on Thein Sein to sign an unconditional release of all political prisoners and said the reforms were nothing more than a “beautiful facade.”

Zarganar said the government needs to have a better plan to end ethnic conflicts and address their causes.

“Just saying, ‘Stop the war,’ is not a resolution,” he added.

None of the r

Corruptions in Immigration & Enforcement of Rule of Law in Burma

BURMA RELATED NEWS - FEBRUARY 09, 2012

AFP - Clinton meets freed Myanmar activists
AFP - First EU official off to Myanmar ahead of polls
Reuters - Thai hotelier Central Plaza sees 2012 profit up 50 pct, eyes Myanmar
Europe Online Magazine - EU gives more aid to Myanmar, might scrap sanctions in April
Asia Times Online - The master plan for Myanmar
AsiaOne - Aung San Suu Kyi wants to see Myanmar surpass Asean members
Sydney Morning Herald - Don't rush to Burma, firms told
Brisbane Times - Suu Kyi cites graft in urging business caution
Channel NewsAsia - S'pore delegates to explore business opportunities in Myanmar
Business Wire - Research and Markets: 3Q11 Myanmar Mobile Operator Forecast, 2011 - 2015
Sin Chew Jit Poh - Myanmar changes not like Arab Spring: state media
Bangkok Post - Mekong river patrol: China, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar
The Star - Nazir: Myanmar is an integral part of Asean
GlobalPost - Is Burma seeking a role in US war games?
BusinessWeek - Singapore Seeks First Mover Status in Myanmar After Reforms
Bernama - Myanmar's Defence Chief Meets Visiting Malaysian Counterpart
Wall Street Journal (blog) - Too Bad, Burma: Big Bank Loans Unlikely Anytime Soon
eTurboNews - E-visas arrive to Myanmar and probably to Vietnam
msnbc.com (blog) - Up to 10,000 Myanmar refugees seek refuge in China
The Irrawaddy - ABSDF Holds Peace Talks with Govt
The Irrawaddy - KNU Divided Over Peace Treaty
The Irrawaddy - Dying Behind Bars
Mizzima News - Shwe Mann delivers reformist-style speech
Mizzima News - Banks increase interest rate by 2 per cent
Mizzima News - Healthy jump in Burma’s foreign trade
DVB News - Burma pledges full release of dissidents
DVB News - After a decade ban, Mon revel in Rangoon
DVB News - Trouble brews as Burma turns to world markets
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Clinton meets freed Myanmar activists
AFP News – 13 hours ago

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed activists from Myanmar including a comedian recently freed from prison as part of Washington's efforts to encourage reform in the country.

Clinton stretched out both hands to greet Zarganar, a poet, filmmaker and performer who has been a prominent source of dissent in the country formerly known as Burma.

Zarganar, who was repeatedly incarcerated and sentenced to decades in prison after helping survivors of devastating Cyclone Nargis in 2008, was released in October as President Thein Sein seeks to ease decades of harsh rule.

Clinton also met at the State Department with Bauk Gyar, an ethnic minority activist from Kachin state who is running in closely watched April 1 by-elections, and women's campaigner Khin Than Myint.

The three activists are travelling together to Washington. They spoke last week at the National Endowment for Democracy, where they gave mixed opinions on whether reforms by the nominally civilian government were significant.

Clinton paid a landmark visit to Myanmar in December as part of an effort by President Barack Obama's administration to support change in the Southeast Asian country, long considered a pariah by the West.

Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said Wednesday that he was "hopeful" about Myanmar but that the United States would need to "temper our enthusiasm" to ensure that more is done.

"We will need to ensure that we have the support of others so that this historic opening can continue," Campbell told a conference on Singapore at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"The United States is supportive of this effort and we will want to take the appropriate diplomatic, political and assistance and economic steps in order to make clear to the leadership that we recognize and appreciate and support their steps towards reform," Campbell said.

The United States has started the process of restoring full diplomatic relations with Myanmar and on Monday announced a waiver to allow assessments in the country by international financial institutions.
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First EU official off to Myanmar ahead of polls
By Yann Ollivier | AFP News – 13 hours ago

Myanmar's upcoming elections will be crucial for the credibility of reforms that remain "fragile," the EU's foreign aid chief told AFP ahead of a trip to offer 150 million euros to the country.

While calling for free and fair polls that "bring more unity," Andris Piebalgs, the European Union development commissioner, said the EU would not be sending observers to the April 1 by-elections.

"There is a lot of opening and a very promising dynamic in Myanmar, even if it is still fragile," Piebalgs said in an interview before traveling to Myanmar on Saturday in the first trip by a top EU official since reforms began there.

"We'll pass the message that we have noticed it and appreciate what is being done, and what still has to be done," he said, adding that more political prisoners could be released.

"The elections will be crucial for the credibility of the change," the commissioner added.

After nearly half a century of outright military rule in the country formerly known as Burma, the regime has surprised observers with a series of reforms culminating recently with democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi standing for a seat in parliament.

A nominally-civilian government came to power in Myanmar last year following controversial November 2010 elections and has since surprised observers with a number of positive moves including a major release of political prisoners.

The EU agreed in January to begin easing sanctions on Myanmar to encourage reform, lifting travel bans against the nation's leaders and pledging further action pending continued change.

The 27-nation bloc will progressively re-examine its sanctions, which include an arms embargo, a ban on gems and an assets freeze on nearly 500 people and 900 entities.

"We haven't fully re-evaluated yet our relations with Myanmar," Piebalgs told AFP. "We have removed part of the restrictive measures, but the country is still in transition, the political situation is still delicate."

But the EU will provide 150 million euros (almost $200 million) in additional aid to Myanmar over the next two years, he said, adding that it "will make a huge difference."

The EU has provided 174 millions euros to the Southeast Asian nation since 1996 to help combat malaria and tuberculosis, improve conditions in rural areas and send more than six million children to school.

"The new situation allows us to beef up the support," Piebalgs said, noting that the aid is channeled through non-government organisations and the United Nations.

"The problem is how to use it, and the best way is to discuss with the government. We could look at the building of capacity in the administration to run the social services, for example," he said.

"Part of the money we provide could be used for microcredits, but the biggest engagements are in health and education."

The EU is not attaching conditions to the 150 million euros "because we would like to support the people of Myanmar," he said, adding: "I assume the process will not go backwards."
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Thai hotelier Central Plaza sees 2012 profit up 50 pct, eyes Myanmar
By Ploy Ten Kate and Saranya Suksomkij
BANGKOK | Thu Feb 9, 2012 6:03am EST

(Reuters) - Central Plaza Hotel Pcl, Thailand's second-largest listed hotelier by market value, expects 2012 net profit growth of 50 percent as tourism recovers and the company is considering a joint-venture opportunity in Myanmar, its executive said.

The Thai tourism industry has suffered a series of blows over the past few years, from airport closures in 2008 and civil unrest in 2009 and 2010 to devastating floods last year. It
accounts for about 6 percent of gross domestic product GDP.L and is picking up strongly, with arrivals expecting to reach 20 million in 2012.

Ronnachit Mahattanapreut, senior vice-president of finance, told Reuters the company's 2012 revenue would grow 20 percent to 13.7 billion baht, with net profit growth rising by half from a year earlier thanks to rising contributions of recently opened hotels in Thailand and fees from hotel management overseas.

"We're having a very busy year," Ronnachit said in an interview.

"Pre-bookings at all our hotels have been strong, starting this year despite all the (economic) troubles in Europe. Travel demand, especially from Asia and ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) -- like Malaysia, Singapore -- has not been any less but it is growing even more."

Revenue per available room, an industry benchmark, is expected to increase 11 percent in 2012 compared with 7 percent last year. The average daily room rate is projected to rise 9 percent to 3,994 baht, Ronnachit said.

The company, operator of Central Grand at CentralWorld, is expected to report a 49 percent rise in 2012 earnings of 867.3 million baht with revenue of 13.6 billion baht, according to five analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Central Plaza CENT.BK is due to report 2011 results later this month and Ronnachit said despite a brief disruption from flooding in the last quarter, its net profit would post a record high, turning round from a 51 million baht loss in 2010 because of political unrest.

Central Plaza runs 31 hotels and resorts in Thailand and other countries, of which 16 are under management contracts.

Central Plaza, operator of Centara Grand at CentralWorld, competes with local firms including Minor International MINT.BK, which runs the Four Seasons Bangkok, and Erawan Group ERAW.BK, which owns Grand Hyatt Erawan.

The company, which would invest 1.2 billion baht this year, also operates fast food chains including KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken, Mister Donut and Auntie Anne's. Last year, it acquired the Thai operation of the Ootoya Japanese restaurant chain for 600 million baht.

LOOKING AT MYANMAR

Central Plaza's strategy to expand its hotel business by focusing on international hotel management contracts to reduce domestic risk, or invest in a joint venture hotel to limit capital expenditure, is paying off, Ronnachit said.

The company is considering a joint venture investment with a hotel in Myanmar, which is fast opening up to tourism, as it prepares for expansion abroad ahead of the implementation of the EU-style ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 that would allow for a free flow of goods, capital, services and labour.

"We have our business development team looking at this ... however, we should be able to conclude this by the end of the year," he said, adding Myanmar was facing a hotel room shortage.

Global hotel chains including Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT.N) -- which runs chains such as Westin, Sheraton and Le Meridien -- and Marriott International (MAR.N) have expressed interest in running hotels in Myanmar, a country tightly controlled by the military for five decades until last year.

Central Plaza shares, valued at $499 million, were flat at 11.40 baht after rising as much as 1.75 percent to 11.60 baht at one point. The broader market .SETI was 0.1 percent higher.
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Europe Online Magazine - EU gives more aid to Myanmar, might scrap sanctions in April
Europe, 09.02.2012
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online

Brussels (dpa) - The European Union is set to increase aid to Myanmar by 150 million euros (200 million dollars) and might go as far as scrapping sanctions in April, officials from the bloc said Thursday.

The change in the EU‘s stance comes in reaction to progress towards democracy in the former military-ruled country. Since last year, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been released from house arrest, hundreds of political prisoners have been freed and ceasefires have been signed with ethnic militias.

"The momentum of change in Burma/Myanmar is impressive and the EU recognizes the need to do all it can to support the country at this time," EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said in a statement, using both names by which the country is known.

The announcement of new EU funding - coming on top of existing aid worth 104 million euros - comes ahead of Piebalgs‘ two-day visit to Myanmar, starting on Sunday. He is due to meet President Thein Sein, government ministers, Suu Kyi and non-governmental organizations.

In January, EU foreign ministers already decided to waive visa bans on the country‘s leadership, but sanctions remain on dozens of representatives of the former military regime.

The EU also bans investments in state-owned enterprises, has embargoes in place against arm exports to the country as well as on imports of hard wood, gems and precious metal.

On April 23, EU foreign ministers will "look at a possible new substantial reduction or even the ending of sanctions," a diplomatic source in Brussels said. EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton intends to visit the country after the move.

The bloc is also planning to open an office in Rangoon, where currently only the four biggest EU members - Germany, France, Britain and Italy - have embassies. dpa alv npr Author: Alvise Armellini
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Feb 10, 2012
Asia Times Online - The master plan for Myanmar
By Bertil Lintner

BANGKOK - Myanmar is winning more foreign friends while international criticism of the current and previous government's abysmal human rights records has all but ceased. Old adversaries in the United States and European Union have scrapped - or are planning to scrap - economic sanctions against the regime, and big-time multinational companies are preparing to lunge into what many seems to believe is Asia's last investment frontier.

A nearly unanimous Western world has heaped praise on President Thein Sein's supposed moves towards "democratic reform" and "national reconciliation". But what has actually changed and what's behind the hype?

In near unison, the international community condemned the Myanmar regime for its brutal repression of Buddhist monk-led pro-democracy protests in 2007, its initial callous response to the

Cyclone Nargis disaster in 2008 - when a widely condemned sham referendum on a new constitution was held in the killer storm's wake - and a blatantly rigged general election swept by military-backed candidates in November 2010.

One theory goes that the administration is locked in a power struggle between military "hardliners" and "reformers", and that the latter, at least for now, have the upper hand. Several Western countries have apparently taken the policy decision that every effort should therefore be made to support the "reformers" and recent reform signals to ensure that Myanmar doesn't return to its old repressive ways.

The EU and US have expressed public views to that effect. On January 31, EU president Herman Van Rompuy said in a statement after a summit in Brussels: "I welcome the important changes taking place in Burma/Myanmar and encourage its government to maintain its determination to continue on the path of reform." The US State Department said the day before that it was "encouraged " by Myanmar's recent reforms, "including its decision to allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to run in upcoming elections".

Others, however, suspect that the signs emerging from Myanmar's leadership reflects a well-orchestrated "good cop, bad-cop" routine to neutralize domestic opposition and win new foreign allies, especially among former critics in the West. Either way, Thein Sein's regime has so far skillfully played its cards in a way that few, probably even among themselves, could have foreseen. "Those in power are military men, not representatives of a democratic government. This is how they work," says a Myanmar national who has followed political developments for decades.

Well laid plans
In order to understand Myanmar's policy shift - and why the West has been so supportive - it is instructive to look back to the early 2000s. Then condemned and pressured by the international community, the ruling military junta announced in August 2003 a seven-step "Roadmap to Discipline-Flourishing Democracy." That plan called for the drafting of a new constitution, general elections, and convention of a new parliament which would "elect state leaders" charged with building "a modern, developed and democratic nation".

The "roadmap" was made public, but at the same time a confidential "master plan" which outlined ways and means to deal with both the international community, especially the US, and domestic opposition was also drawn up. The authors of that plan are not known but an internal military document written by Lt Col Aung Kyaw Hla, who is identified as a researcher at the country's prestigious Defense Services Academy, was completed and circulated in 2004.

The Burmese-language document, received and reviewed by this writer, outlines the thinking and strategy behind the master plan. It is, however, unclear whether "Aung Kyaw Hla" is a particular person, or a codename used by a military think-tank. Anecdotal evidence suggests the latter.

Entitled "A Study of Myanmar-US Relations", the main thesis of the 346-page dossier is that Myanmar's recent reliance on China as a diplomatic ally and economic patron has created a "national emergency" which threatens the country's independence.

According to the dossier, Myanmar must normalize relations with the West after implementing the roadmap and electing a government so that the regime can deal with the outside world on more acceptable terms. Evidently the internal thinking was that normalization with the West would not be possible as long as Myanmar was ruled by military juntas.

Aung Kyaw Hla goes on to argue in the master plan that although human rights are a concern in the West, the US would be willing to modify its policy to suit "strategic interests". Although the author does not specify those interests, it is clear from the thesis that he is thinking of common ground with the US vis-a-vis China. The author cites Vietnam and Indonesia under former dictator Suharto as examples of US foreign policy flexibility in weighing strategic interests against democratization.

If bilateral relations with the US were improved, the master plan suggests, Myanmar would also get access to badly needed funds from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other global financial institutions. The country would then emerge from "regionalism", where it currently depends on the goodwill and trade of its immediate neighbors, including China, and enter a new era of "globalization".

The master plan is acutely aware of the problems that must be addressed before Myanmar can lessen its reliance on China and become a trusted partner with the West. The main issue at the time of writing was the detention of pro-democracy icon Suu Kyi, who Aung Kyaw Hla wrote was a key "focal point": "Whenever she is under detention pressure increases, but when she is not, there is less pressure." While the report implies Suu Kyi's release would improve ties with the West, the plan's ultimate aim - which it spells out clearly - is to "crush" the opposition.

At the same time, the dossier identifies individuals, mostly Western academics, known for their opposition to the West's sanctions policy, and somewhat curiously suggests that "friendly" Indian diplomats could be helpful in providing background information about influential US congressmen.

The dossier concludes that the regime cannot compete with the media and non-governmental organizations run by Myanmar exiles, but if US politicians and lawmakers were invited to visit the country they could help to sway international opinion in the regime's favor. Over the years, many Americans have visited Myanmar and often left less critical of the regime than they were previously. In the end, it seems that Myanmar has successfully managed to engage the US rather than vice versa.

Institutional Sinophobia
Aung Kaw Hla's internal thesis is the first clear sign of dissatisfaction with the regime's close ties with China, which, in part, were forged because the West downgraded its relations with Myanmar after massacres of pro-democracy demonstrators in 1988 and other gross human-rights violations. More signs of a worsening relationship could be discerned in internal reports that began to circulate within the military in 2010.

China, until then praised as a dependable ally, was beginning to be viewed increasingly as the root of Myanmar's many ills, from the rape of the country's forests to rampant drug trafficking. China's close ties with the United Wa State Army, Myanmar's main drug-trafficking militia, has not go unnoticed by the authorities in Naypyidaw. Then, in September 2011, came Thein Sein's decision to suspend the China-backed US$3.6 billion joint-venture Myitsone dam project in the far north of the country.

Seen from a US perspective, encouraging Myanmar to move away from China became a priority when Naypyidaw showed that it was willing to engage with the US. Washington was also eager to undermine Myanmar's disturbing military ties with North Korea. Not surprisingly, North Korea was high on the agenda when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Myanmar last December.
The last of several recorded attempts to ship weaponry from North Korea to Myanmar took place in May and June 2011, several months after the supposedly "reformist" Thein Sein became president and after government officials had claimed that there was no military cooperation with North Korea.

On May 26, the USS McCampbell caught up with M/V Light, a Myanmar-bound North Korean cargo vessel suspected of carrying missile parts and possibly other military equipment. The US destroyer approached the ship and asked to board but the North Koreans refused. The first encounter took place in the sea south of Shanghai and a few days later closer to Singapore. The M/V Light eventually stopped and turned back to its home port in North Korea - all the way tracked by US surveillance planes and satellites.

After that incident - and incentives from the US such as easing restrictions on Naypyidaw's access to multilateral lending institutions - there has been no known attempt by North Korea to ship weapons to Myanmar. And the US is no doubt taking full advantage of Myanmar's drift away from China. "What the US is trying to do is to send every signal of support to the forces pushing for liberalization in Burma," said Robert Fitts, a former US diplomat in the region now attached to Thailand's Chulalongkorn university.

The US will soon send a new ambassador to Myanmar, representing an upgrade of diplomatic relations. On February 7, the New York Times quoted US officials as saying that the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), David Petraeus, may visit Myanmar later this year. The CIA is not exactly known for being a leading proponent and promoter of liberal values in the developing world; the agency has other priorities such as Myanmar's strategic importance to the US.

But therein lies a danger, which Aung Kyaw Hla outlined in his thesis of more than seven years ago. If Myanmar does manage to improve bilateral relations with the US, China could counteract in a way that threatens Myanmar's integrity and independence. A balanced approach is therefore needed, Aung Kyaw Hla argued, but it was not set out in the master plan how that balance may be achieved.

Well-worn routine
There are other reasons to doubt that Myanmar's new policies will work over the long term. While the international community appears to fall for the latest incarnation of the regime's well-worn good cop, bad cop routine, local and exiled mainstream opposition groups are less likely to be so gullible.

One of the supposed "good cops" in Myanmar's current nominally civilian leadership is former Maj Gen Aung Min, currently the railway minister, who has been tasked with shuttling back and forth between Myanmar and Thailand to meet with influential exiled dissidents. Some of those who have recently met him are deeply suspicious of his motives and the less conciliatory signals sent from the regime's "bad cops".

They note that Aung Min once served under Tin U, Myanmar's powerful intelligence chief until he was ousted in 1983, ostensibly for corrupt practices but more likely because he had built up a state within a state that threatened the leadership of former junta leader Gen Ne Win.

Writing in the Far Eastern Economic Review in 1983, British journalist Rodney Tasker characterized Tin U and his intelligence colleagues as "men of the world compared with other more short-sighted, dogmatic figures in the Burmese [Myanmar] leadership. They were allowed to travel abroad, talk freely to foreigners and generally look behind the rigid confines of the current regime."

But they were also known to be ruthless and extremely skilled at manipulating their enemies and adversaries. Tin U himself was trained by the CIA on the US-held Pacific island of Saipan in 1957. Aung Min somehow survived the 1983 purge and moved to join Myanmar's Intelligence Battalion 21 in 1992. He was with the 66th Light Infantry Division in 2000, was elevated to Southern Commander of the Myanmar Army in 2001, and became railway minister in 2003 under the previous military junta led by Gen Than Shwe.

In today's context, solving the long-burning ethnic issue will be key to realizing the master plan's ultimate vision of keeping the military in power. One of the supposed "bad cops" in the current power configuration is Aung Thaung, another peace negotiator, who met ethnic Kachin rebel leaders in Ruili in southwestern China earlier this year. A former heavy industry minister, he is believed by many to have been one of the architects behind a 2003 mob attack on Suu Kyi and her colleagues in Depayin that left scores of her supporters dead and wounded. "The good cop" Aung Min did not attend the talks in Ruili but some analysts suggest may later step in to "rescue" the talks with a softer approach.

Whether Myanmar's many rebellious ethnic minorities will accept these well-known personalities and well-worn negotiating tactics remains to be seen. The fact that the government has consistently refused to even consider a federal structure does not bode well for reaching lasting agreements with armed groups. The 2008 constitution lays down the fundamentals for a centralized state structure where the military is a main, if not dominant, player.

Thus the recent euphoria over recent "reforms" in Myanmar may therefore be short-lived. Unless the present constitution is scrapped or widely amended, which is extremely unlikely due to the military's de facto veto power in parliament, Myanmar's ethnic issue will likely remain unsolved. And if the country becomes an arena of competition between the US and China, there will certainly be more trouble ahead - as Aung Kyaw Hla warned in his master plan now being put into practice.

Bertil Lintner is a former correspondent with the Far Eastern Economic Review and author of several books on Burma/Myanmar, including Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's Struggle for Democracy (Published in 2011). He is currently a writer with Asia-Pacific Media Services.
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AsiaOne - Aung San Suu Kyi wants to see Myanmar surpass Asean members
The Nation/Asia News Network
Thursday, Feb 09, 2012

Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's icon of democracy, has what she calls a "simple ambition": she wants to see her country surpass its fellow Asean members in the next decade.

To achieve this, she said political reforms are as important as economic reforms that are slowly taking place. At the same time, she advised foreign businessmen to adopt a "wait-and-see" attitude "for their own good as well as that of the country" before investing.

Suu Kyi met with a 12-member delegation of the Asean Business Council (ABC) that visited Rangoon and Naypyidaw on an exploratory business trip on February 6 and 7. The delegation met with representatives from the local Chamber of Commerce as well as government officials to discuss Burma's business climate.

"I won't say 'satisfied' is the word. We're pleased with the reforms so far, but I think they need to be strengthened and they need to be put on the right path," Suu Kyi told a group of journalists who had travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Rangoon and Naypyidaw with the ABC delegation.

While she welcomed the keen interest of foreign businesses in Burma, which is slowly opening up its economy, Suu Kyi is worried that the country may not be ready to cope with changes.

"We [she and the ABC delegation] have been talking about the importance of sound investment laws and the importance of rule of law," Suu Kyi noted. "I think [businessmen] should wait and see a little, for their own good as well as that of the country."

She noted that she had discussed these concerns with the ABC delegation in an hour-long closed-door meeting at her home, and had expressed a keen interest in agriculture-related businesses among the many investment areas.

"I think it's not just a matter of potential investments, but also a matter of the potential of the country to cope with the investments," she explained. "This is an area of worry. We wonder how much potential there is to cope with the reforms we want. Of course, we can cope with them in the long run. But in the short run, how do we sequence these reforms so they can develop the right way as quickly as possible? We do need to think about speed because we're behind the others. There is a need to catch up. We can't say we will take our own sweet time. It doesn't work that way," she said.

Suu Kyi emphasised the need for economic and political reforms to take place at the same time, and said the rule of law should help address the country's ills such as corruption.

"These have to go in tandem. I don't think you can have genuine economic reforms without judicial reforms. It's no use having good investment laws if you don't have a good judicial system to make sure the laws are applied," she said.

In a separate meeting with the ABC delegation, Deputy Railway Minister U Thaung Lwin promised that Central Bank functions would be separated from the Finance Ministry in the next six months. He also said the government was prioritising employment creation by opening up to large industries, specifically those from the high-tech sector.

"We are now revising the investment law," U Thaung Lwin said.

Meanwhile, Nazir Razak, CEO of the CIMB Group and chief of the ABC delegation, noted that Burma needs laws that are clear enough to provide a conducive business environment.

"I was a bit concerned because I didn't get a sense that there is a holistic, comprehensive plan at this point of time," Nazir said. "Aung San Suu Kyi did mention that what she thought was important was to start with a proper diagnostics of this situation and then put together the holistic plan. If one is not careful with these things, you can put the cart before the horse and have a lot of mix-ups, disappointments and setbacks."

He acknowledged that the changes would not be easy and might take time. "You're talking about undoing culture and practices that have been there for many, many years. [Burma's] eagerness [to reform] must be applauded but somewhat tempered for reality."

John Pang, chief executive officer of the CIMB Asean Research Institute, said Burma offers huge business potential for the entire region, not just Southeast Asia.

"It links the rest of Southeast Asia to the Indian Ocean and the Middle East. It opens up the land side of logistics like railways and road networks to the Middle East and to India," Pang said, adding that this will shift the centre of gravity in Southeast Asia's geo-politics.

"Asean is very maritime. Burma is literally the link between landlocked countries and its opening up will also help develop not just Burma but the entire region, like India's northeast provinces.

"Everyone has worries whether reforms can be carried out. It is not a question of whether Burma is open for business. It is open for business, but it's how we go from here, taking the next step. Burma is coming on stream at a fascinating time in world economic history, it is full of potential."

Based on the ABC delegation's meetings with local businesses and government officials, Pang said there was a strong desire to move forward. "That's the sense we all got, people want to catch up. But they do not need just piece-meal liberalisation but a proper plan. Is there a blueprint? How do you plan for your economy to be ready?"

Despite these concerns, AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes - who flew the delegation over to Burma on one of his aircraft - noted that "business should drive change".

He said he had already received two proposals during the trip for a joint venture with Burmese firms and was keen to take the talks further. AirAsia has two flights daily to Rangoon from Bangkok, and one from Kuala Lumpur.

"Obviously, the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans have been slightly ahead in Burma but I get the feeling that the country welcomes any form of help to get things moving," he said.

Suu Kyi, meanwhile, said she believes in the future of Burma, adding that being behind its fellow Asean members gave the country a chance to learn from the mistakes of others.
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Sydney Morning Herald - Don't rush to Burma, firms told
Lindsay Murdoch, South-east Asia Correspondent
February 10, 2012

BURMA'S hardliners and reformers are locked in an intensifying power struggle as pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi warns foreign businesses against rushing to invest in the impoverished country.

''I think [business people] should wait and see a little, for their own good as well as the country,'' Ms Suu Kyi said in Rangoon, where hotels are full, mostly with visiting business delegations.

''I think it's not just a matter of potential investments but also a matter of the potential of the country to cope with the investments,'' she said.

Referring to Burma's corrupt judicial system, she told heads of large Asian corporations that ''it's no good having good investment laws if you don't have a good judicial system to make sure the laws are applied.''

Earlier this week US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a waiver that will make it easier for the World Bank and other multilateral institutions to advise Burma on reforms.

After 50 years of international isolation and disastrous military rule, Burma offers the least legal protection for foreign companies and investors of any country, a report by the risk analysis firm Maplecroft says.

Ms Suu Kyi repeated comments that the reforms implemented since August last year are not ''past the point where you can say it's irreversible''. ''We are going to have to make it irreversible … that's why we are contesting in the byelections.''

Ms Suu Kyi, daughter of Burma's independence hero Aung San, is campaigning for a seat in elections scheduled for April 1. Analysts say her message of political freedom and democracy could snowball into a groundswell of support for more aggressive reforms.

But Burma's Railways Minister, Aung Min, who has played a key role in negotiating peace deals with armed ethnic groups, has confirmed reports of the power struggle in the capital, Naypyidaw, telling Thailand-based exiles that reforms implemented by President Thein Sein had met with stiff opposition from within the government, the Irrawaddy newspaper run by Burmese exiles reported.

Reports have emerged from within the military-dominated government recently that hardliners led by Vice-President Tin Aung Myint Oo want to derail reforms.

Some of the hardliners who were close to ageing military strongman Than Shwe before he retired are said to be upset at the recent release of about 2000 political prisoners.

There has been heated debate about the release in the powerful 11-member National Defence and Security Council, which is co-chaired by Thein Sein, according to informed reports. Hardliners wanted the prisoner releases to occur after the April by-elections for more than 40 parliamentary seats.

They are said to be poised to attack the reformers if social unrest or political demonstrations breaks out, reports say.

But at least 60 per cent of government ministers are sitting on the fence, waiting to see who wins the power struggle, several reliable analysts say.
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Brisbane Times - Suu Kyi cites graft in urging business caution
Lindsay Murdoch
February 10, 2012

BURMA'S hardliners and reformers are locked in an intensifying power struggle as the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi warns foreign business people against rushing to invest in the impoverished country.

''I think [business people] should wait and see a little, for their own good as well as the country,'' Ms Suu Kyi told a delegation of the ASEAN Business Council in Rangoon. ''I think it's not just a matter of potential investments but also a matter of the potential of the country to cope with the investments.''

She told the representatives that ''it's no good having good investment laws if you don't have a good judicial system to make sure the laws are applied''.

This week the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, signed a waiver that will make it easier for the World Bank and other multilateral institutions to advise Burma on reforms.

After 50 years of international isolation and disastrous military rule, Burma offers the least legal protection for foreign companies and investors of any country, according to a report released this week by the risk analysis firm Maplecroft.

Ms Suu Kyi repeated earlier comments that reforms implemented since August were not ''past the point where you can say it's irreversible''.

''We are going to have to make it irreversible … that's why we are contesting in the byelections,'' she said.

Thousands of people are greeting Ms Suu Kyi, the daughter of Burma's independence hero Aung San, as she campaigns for a seat in parliamentary elections scheduled for April 1.
Analysts say her message of political freedom and democracy could snowball into a groundswell of support for more aggressive reforms.

But Burma's Railways Minister, Aung Min, who has played a key role in negotiating peace deals with armed ethnic groups, has confirmed reports of the power struggle in the capital Naypyidaw, telling Thailand-based exiles that reforms implemented by the President, Thein Sein, had met with stiff opposition from within the government, according to the Irrawaddy newspaper run by Burmese exiles.

Reports have recently emerged from within the military-dominated government that hardliners led by the Vice-President, Tin Aung Myint Oo, want to derail reforms already implemented.

Some of the hardliners, who were close to ageing military strongman Than Shwe before he retired, are said to be upset at the recent release of about 2000 political prisoners.

Hardliners reportedly wanted the prisoner releases to occur after the April byelections for more than 40 parliamentary seats.

They are said to be poised to attack the reformers if social unrest or political demonstrations break out, reports say.

The position of Mr Thein Sein, a former general who has won international praise for the reforms, has been buoyed by Shwe Mann, the third top man in the former military regime, who told parliament on Tuesday projects that did not ''benefit the people and the country'' should be suspended.

This was taken as an indirect reference to Mr Thein Sein's suspension last year of a Chinese-built hydro-electric project.

Mr Shwe Mann also supported reforms of state bureaucracies, urging ''clean government and good governance''.

In Washington the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, John Kerry, said the US would consider easing sanctions if the April elections went well.

''The country's welcome signs of spring are fragile,'' he said.
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Channel NewsAsia - S'pore delegates to explore business opportunities in Myanmar
By Millet Enriquez | Posted: 09 February 2012 2218 hrs

SINGAPORE: A group of Singaporean businesses will descend on Myanmar next week to explore opportunities thrown up by recent economic and political reforms.

The state-sponsored, week-long visit by 115 delegates from 74 companies will cover Yangon and the political capital of Nya Pi Taw.

The visiting companies come from various industries including construction, education, finance, infrastructure and logistics.

They will embark on networking and business matching sessions with local firms, and a courtesy call with Myanmar president Thein Sein.

A Singapore-Myanmar Investment Seminar is also slated for February 15 at the Myanmar International Convention Centre in Nya Pi Taw.

International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) which are leading the visit said in a statement the trip is expected to help Singaporean firms identify areas for investment including consultancy and master planning; education and vocational training; environmental services and infrastructure.

"Recent reforms undertaken in Myanmar and positive reactions from major economies augur well for the country," Teo Eng Cheong, IE Singapore's chief executive, said in the statement.

"Singapore's connections with overseas markets place our companies in a strong position to be first movers in an emerging new market like Myanmar," Mr Teo said.

Trade between Singapore and Myanmar totalled S$1.63 billion in 2011 and S$1.69 billion in 2010, said IE Singapore.

Apart from being the fourth largest trading partner, Singapore also provided some US$1.8 billion of foreign direct investments to Myanmar as at October last year.
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Business Wire - Research and Markets: 3Q11 Myanmar Mobile Operator Forecast, 2011 - 2015
Press Release: Research and Markets – 5 hours ago

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/8d8bd7/3q11_myanmar_mobil) has announced the addition of IE Market Research Corp.'s new report "3Q11 Myanmar Mobile Operator Forecast, 2011 - 2015: Monopoly operator MPT to have 1.3 million mobile subscribers in 2015" to their offering.

Mobile Operator Forecast on the Union of Myanmar (Burma) provides subscriber metrics for Myanmar's wireless market and is one of the best forecasts in the industry. We provide five-year forecasts at the operator level going out to 2015. We also provide quarterly historical and forecast data starting in 1Q2003 and ending in 2Q2013. The operator covered for Myanmar is MPT (Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications) which is a monopoly mobile network operator in the country.

Global Mobile Operator Forecast covers 50+ metrics on 800+ mobile operators in 200+ countries. Those forecasts are based on proprietary, country-specific forecasting models. These models deploy multiple regression analysis and cross-impact matrices that estimate relationships between subscriber data, technology use and deployment data, overall economic and demographic changes expected in a particular country; and relate these to company operational and financial metrics.

Key Topics Covered:

Annual Results & Forecasts are covered in this report for: CY 2001-CY 2015. Quarterly Results & Forecasts are covered for: March 2003 - June 2013.

Prepaid And Postpaid Subscribers Subscriber Growth (Yoy) Subscribers By Operator Subscriber Growth By Operator (Yoy) Net Subscriber Adds By Operator Net Subscriber Adds Growth By Operator Post-Paid Subscribers By Operator Post-Paid Subscriber Growth By Operator (Yoy) Prepaid/Wholesale Subscribers By Operator Prepaid/Wholesale Subscriber Growth By Operator Post-Paid % Of Total Subscribers By Operator Prepaid/Wholesale % Of Total Subscribers By Operator Post-Paid Net Adds By Operator Post-Paid Adds Growth By Operator (Yoy) Prepaid/Wholesale Net Adds By Operator Prepaid/Wholesale Adds Growth By Operator Share Of Total Subscribers By Operator Hhi Index By Subscriber Share Share Of Net Adds By Operator Share Of Post-Paid Net Adds By Operator Share Of Prepaid/Wholesale Net Adds By Operator

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/8d8bd7/3q11_myanmar_mobil

Contact: Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager,
press@researchandmarkets.com
U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
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Sin Chew Jit Poh - Myanmar changes not like Arab Spring: state media
Foreign, 2012-02-09 17:02

YANGON, February 9, 2012 (AFP) - Myanmar state media contrasted the country's reforms with the Arab Spring on Thursday, saying the nominally civilian government would avoid bloodshed in its transition to democracy.

The comment piece in the New Light of Myanmar also said the examples of Iraq and Afghanistan showed how "errors of strategy" condemn people to a "cycle of tears".

"Despite the poetic title, (the) Arab Spring is the spring painted in blood and is supposed to end with troubles and poverty. What resulted from it are only splits between ethnic groups," the English-language official paper said.

Myanmar will avoid this thanks to its "harmonious" changes and the "genuine goodwill" of the former and current governments that "helped the country walk on the road to democracy in (a) stable and peaceful manner".

The country has become a democracy "without suffering grief as in the above-mentioned countries thanks to this generosity," the paper said, highlighting recent talks and ceasefire deals with ethnic rebel groups.

After half a century of military rule, Myanmar's junta dissolved itself in March last year and transferred its powers to a supposedly civilian government that is dominated by ex-army generals.

The move was part of a seven-step "roadmap" to bring about "disciplined democracy" that was first presented by the junta in 2003.

To the surprise of the international community, the new regime has undertaken a series of sweeping reforms, most notably allowing opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to re-enter politics and participate in by-elections set for April.

Popular protests and uprisings are rare in the authoritarian country formerly known as Burma, where pro-democracy rallies in 1988 and 2007 were brutally crushed by the junta.
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Bangkok Post - Mekong river patrol: China, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar
Published: 9/02/2012 at 01:57 PM
Online news: Learning From News
Boat hijacking by Shan drug gang may be behind killing of 13 Chinese crew last year. Tighter security & joint patrol is the response.

Security MEKONG
Navy to step up patrols after Chinese slayings
Wassana Nanuam

CHIANG RAI : The navy will reinforce its patrols along the Mekong River to help the four-nation effort in policing this transnational river, following the slaying of 13 Chinese sailors last year.

"I'm considering increasing boat and troop numbers because we have many tasks to do," navy chief Surasak Roonroengrom said.

His plan to strengthen the navy's Me Khong Riverine Operation Unit is necessary because its task in Chiang Rai is hindered by a limited number of military personnel and supplies.

The operation unit employs only 11 boats in total - three patrol vessels and eight assault vessels - to serve only about 200 soldiers

"But there have been more seizures of illegal items, crashes and losses" during operations in the Mekong River, he said.

The latest loss, which has alerted Thailand, China, Laos and Myanmar to violent crimes on the river, is the mysterious killing of 13 crew members on two Chinese-flagged cargo boats, the Yi Xing 8 Hao and Hua Ping, on Oct 5 last year in Chiang Rai's Chiang Saen district.

Nine Thai soldiers of the Pa Muang Task Force, who reportedly seized 920,000 speed pills from the two barges, have been implicated in the murders. Inquiries are continuing.

They blamed a Shan drug trafficking gang, led by Nor Kham, for hijacking the boats and using them for smuggling the drugs into Thailand.

The group is believed to have 20 to 100 armed members and has been active along a 150km stretch of the river, Sorracha Sornprathum, chief of the Me Khong Riverine Operation Unit said.

Following the murders, the four countries joined forces to set up a patrol unit, made up of three Chinese boats and one boat each from Laos, Myanmar and the Thai Marine Police Division, to tighten security along the Mekong.

The multi-nation unit is responsible for areas from Sipsongpanna in China's southern Yunnan province, to the Golden Triangle where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet.

The navy's Me Khong Riverine Operation Unit will back up the j