Burmese left with no choice but to protest in wake of fuel-price hike

The people of Burma have been publicly protesting since August 21 against the arbitrary and dramatic increase of fuel prices announced six days earlier.

The Nation: Published on September 1, 2007

The protests that started in Rangoon have been spreading to other parts of Burma despite a brutal crackdown by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The junta has arrested hundreds of peaceful protesters including "1988 generation" student leaders and active members from the National League for Democracy (NLD). The military authorities and their militias have been violently cracking down on unarmed civilian protesters, who have been peacefully protesting against their desperate economic situation.

The people of Burma are hoping that the international community, especially regional players Japan and Asean members, will push for changes in Burma. Two other important players are China and Russia. They should think over their vetoes on the Burma issue in sympathy with the poor Burmese people, who have been facing heavy taxes, starvation, disease, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings.

Zin Linn

Bangkok

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/01/opinion/opinion_30047329.php

“Burmese People's Protests Against Fuel Prices Hike Amid Ruffians' Attacks ”

31 August, 2007: New Era Journal The financial assistance to subsidize fuel prices may need not more than $300 million while the regime has already earned $2600 from natural gas export to Thailand in 2006-2007. Zin Linn The Burmese Military authorities continue to commit institutionalised human rights abuses through the use of gang of ruffians or the Swan-ar Shin. The people of Burma (Myanmar) have been publicly protesting against the arbitrary and dramatic increase of fuel prices since 21 August 2007. The protests that started in Rangoon (Yangon) have been spreading to other parts of Burma despite a brutal crackdown by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The junta has arrested hundreds of peaceful protesters including 88 generation student leaders and active members from the National League for Democracy (NLD). The military authorities and their gang of blood-thirsty Swan-ar Shin have been violently cracking down on unarmed civilian protesters, who have been peacefully protesting against their desperate economic situation. More and more families are facing starvation because the price of rice has doubled, there are no public transportation services to take people to work, and worse proceedings may follow. If the SPDC continues its ferocious crackdown in reaction to the growing protests, it will drag the country into an anarchic state. The crackdown is more likely practicing state-sponsored terrorism. Supporters of democracy around the world including the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour condemn the violent crackdown on pro-democracy activists by the Burmese military junta and call for their immediate and unconditional release. State media of Burma (Myanmar) including the Myanmar Times Journal said last week that an increase in fuel prices in Myanmar on August 15 was corresponding to a global trend among governments of withdrawing fuel subsidies to deal with the rising cost of oil. The price of petrol in military ruled country went from K1500 to K2500 a gallon, while diesel rose from K1500 to K3000. The biggest jump occurred with compressed natural gas (CNG), which changed from K10 to K50 a liter. The officials from the Yangon (Rangoon) Division Transport Supervisory Committee said that bus fares increases in the city since 15 August was in reaction to a massive rise in fuel prices. As a result of the increases, bus fares that were previously K40 have gone up to K100, K60 fares have raised to K150, and K80 fares to K200, said the official. But, according to local passengers, K100 for just a stop to the next and from suburb area to downtown costs K400 for one way. So, it will cost K800 for a round-trip while a daily wage-earner can make K1000 in average. An excuse to raise the fuel prices, the junta explained through its media that oil prices have reached as high as US$78.8 a barrel and several countries have taken action to the high prices by cutting subsidies to fuel-consuming sectors. The global oil market has been at an angle, as demand for fuel grows in developing countries whose governments use subsidies to keep oil prices at well below the free-market price. As a result, growing oil demand in China, India and the Middle East has driven the free-market oil price ever higher for developed countries. Egypt withdrew its oil subsidies for the electricity sector on August 14, one day before Burma/Myanmar raised its fuel prices. Egypt’s Trade and Industry Minister, Rachid Mohamed Rachid, said the reduction in subsidies would save the government £15 billion in the next three years. The editor-in-chief of Yangon-based International Economic Journal, Khin Maung Nyo (Economy) said he thought last week’s rise in fuel prices in Myanmar had resulted from a reduction in oil subsidies by the government. “The governments of many countries are having trouble offering fuel subsidies as oil prices go up. We already saw petrol prices in Myanmar go from K180 to K1500 a gallon after the government reduced subsidies in 2005,” he said. The junta’s Information Minister himself and the state media also highlighted that even though CNG now costs K190 ($0.15) a gallon in Myanmar/Burma, the price is still lower than the countries where subsidies are still government policy. For example, CNG is about $3.04 a gallon in Thailand and $3.86 in Singapore, says the Myanmar Times Journal. The junta’s Information Minister failed to mention the minimum wage in Thailand is currently 191 baht ($ 5.62) per day in Bangkok and slightly less in the provinces. The Minister Kyaw San also did not talk about the minimum wage in Burma which is currently 1000 kyat or less than 35 baht ($1) per day in Rangoon and Naypyidaw. The monthly salary of a university professor in Burma is only K170, 000 ($ 130 or 4,485 baht) and it means $ 4.01 (138 baht) for a day. Currently, 2 kilos of middle grade rice is around K1200 ($ 1 or 35 baht). The real question is that there are no enough jobs providing payments in line with neighbouring countries for the Burmese people within the country. The unemployment problem of Burma is now spilling over the region. Out of 55 million population of Burma more than 5 million is working not only in the neighbouring countries but also through out the world. The military regime always refuses listening to its general public who are only asking fair prices for fuel and commodity goods. The stubbornness of the generals pulled the country down to an abyss of starvation. The people have no other way out than a protest. The protests are the legitimate expression of dissatisfaction over the widely suffered effects of the regime’s economic mismanagement and bad governance. These peaceful protests, triggered by the junta's precipitous increases in fuel prices, are the logical consequences of many years of political repression and irresponsible administration. Burma's economy has remained moribund in 2006-2007, as inflation is going up as much as 50 percent. According to the UN reports, 75 percent of the people live under the poverty line and 25 percent of household are below minimum subsistence level, half of rural families are landless, 2.2 percent of adults are suffering HIV positive and around 50,000 die yearly. Moreover, one-third of the children are undernourished and one-tenth of them die before five years of age. According to the UN Development Programme's 2006 Human Development Report, public health expenditure equaled only 0.3% of Burma's GDP. High infant mortality rates and short life expectancies further highlight poor health and living conditions. The HIV/AIDS epidemic poses a serious threat to the Burmese population, as do tuberculosis and malaria. In 2006, the UNDP's Human Development Index, which measures achievements in terms of life expectancy, educational attainment, and adjusted real income, ranked Burma 130 out of 177 countries. Due to the economic downturn caused by the military's mismanagement, there is an estimated 2 to 3 million Burmese living in Thailand. There are numerous documented human rights violations, and internal displacement of ethnic minorities is still rampant. Over a million Burmese, many of them ethnic minorities have fled for economic and political raison d'être to Bangladesh, India, China, Malaysia, and Thailand to seek work and asylum. More than 150,000 Burmese live in nine refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border and roughly 30,000 live in two camps in Bangladesh. Roughly 30,000 Burmese, most of them are from Arakan and Chin States, have fled to Malaysia. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), referring Asian Development Bank (ADB), the total public sector deficit reached around six percent of the GDP for 2004-2005. Heavy losses by the country's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) typically account for over 60 percent of the overall deficit. The junta's fiscal position is also weighed down by high off-budget spending on its huge armed forces. Such corollary has resulted due to the junta's draconian policies that led to economic and social downturn proved by sky rocketing commodity-prices and rates of hyperinflation. The current raising-price in fuel sector is the junta’s dishonest policy which tends putting the overall deficit on the shoulder of the people. If the military leaders have benevolence towards the people, they should not have been done such policy. Instead, they should subsidize fuel prices for the domestic consumption to help poor majority population. The financial assistance to subsidize fuel prices may need not more than $300 million while the regime has already earned $2600 milloin from natural gas export to Thailand in 2006-2007. It is obvious that the latest precariousness in Burma is part of a long stream of problems inflicted on the people by the foolish military regime. By systematically violating the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the people and blocking genuine reforms, the junta has established itself as the main threat to national and regional stability. Political and economic oppression of the people does not go with a roadmap to democracy. The people of Burma are hoping for a new dawn in order to enjoy basic freedom, and it is the role of the international community, especially regional players Japan and ASEAN members, to play for changes in Burma. Another two important players or the UN Security Council members, China and Russia, should also think over their vetoes on Burma issue in sympathy with the poor Burmese population who has been facing heavy taxes, starvation, diseases, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings.

Burma may not get out of Constitutional Quagmire, Regardless of Self-determination

New Era Journal
14 August, 2007; Tuesday

- by – Zin Linn

Burma is bogging down in a constitutional quagmire rooted in the question of equality for all nationalities or democratic rights for all citizen of the nation. The ethnic nationalities in Burma have a strong political aspiration to establish a genuine federal union as highlighted in the 1947 Panglong Agreement. But, that burning aspiration was disregarded by the successive Burmese military regimes. As a result, the civil war has been going on because of the failed promise guaranteed in the Panglong Agreement. Contrary to the Panglong Contract, Burma’s 1947 Constitution which was completed in September failed to meet equal rights of ethnic nationalities had lasted for only fourteen years. Similarly, the 1974 Constitution, which also failed to meet establishing a Federal Union based on the principle of self-determination, had also lasted for merely fourteen years.

Now, as a consequence of the failed 1947 and 1974 constitutions, Burma has been still struggling in the constitutional quagmire. Burma's military junta has continued holding the last session of its controversial national convention on 18 July this year. While the final session of 14-year-old junta's National Convention is underway, the two strongest ethnic ceasefire groups - the KIO and United Wa State Army (UWSA) are threatened militarily and economically by the ruling junta. Recently KIO officials told Kachin News Group (KNG) that they have no reason to surrender weapons if the junta keeps denying autonomy for Kachin State which it has repeatedly demanded of successive ruling juntas. Relations between KIO and UWSA are strong and they seem to be alert their military units in order to resist inevitable military threats by the ruling junta, added news sources.

At the same time, New Mon State Party has cautiously sending an observation team to the final session of the controversial National Convention, according to Kaowao News Group. Meanwhile, the Mon civilians from both inside and outside the country are concerned about pressure by the military regime during or after the National Convention. The Mon population has grown disenchanted with the so-called ‘Road Map’ and its purpose to disarm the cease-fire groups without standard appreciation. Although the junta is pressuring the ceasefire groups, the NMSP stands decisively to uphold its four principles; not to dissolve the NMSP, not to disband its military wing, Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA), not to separate the party from its army, and not to give up the 14 territorial positions that were agreed during the cease-fire deal in 1995.

Under the menace of the military junta (SPDC), brushing aside the majority of people’s representatives-elect and allowing pro-military hand-picked delegates, how could it be a free and autonomous convention to make any social-contract. While contentious national convention is underway, the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association, together with members of the local authorities and police, brazenly assaulted on human rights defenders in Burma.

Hence, this current convention may not represent a democratic mechanism as the military regime put aside the question of equality for all nationalities or democratic rights for all citizen of the nation. The junta’s pledges of democratic and economic reforms are merely rhetorical propagandas. Moreover, respect for the rule of law and human rights continue to be empty speechifying. It is, in fact, a magic show appeasing the ASEAN and China that the Burmese junta is working to perform a mufti-clad regime.

Accordingly, United Nations Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon issued a statement on 18 July 2007, in which he urged the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of Myanmar/Burma to seize the current opportunity to ensure that this and subsequent steps in Myanmar's political roadmap are as inclusive, participatory and transparent as possible, with a view to allowing all the relevant parties to Myanmar's national reconciliation process to fully contribute to defining their country's future.

Meanwhile, more than 50 British MPs have strongly called for the release of detained Burmese Parliamentarians who have been imprisoned under the military dictatorship. The British Parliamentarians are demanding that the UN Special Envoy to Burma and the British government step up efforts to release those parliamentarians, and all political prisoners in Burma.

In the mean time, on 1^st August 2007, 92 Elected Members of Parliament in 1990 Elections submitted a letter to Mr. Ban Ki-moon. In the letter, they expressed that they all are relentlessly working for political dialogue. And declaring, they will not accept any solution made by unilateral action of the SPDC with use of force, threat, pressure and manipulation. The group of 92-Mps also mentioned, the SPDC has been embarking on the path to legalize its military rule with a new constitution through the seven-step road map, in which the national convention with its selected delegates is the first step.

The peoples' representatives are not allowed to participate in this constitution drafting process. All delegates are forced to agree on the SPDC's readymade chapters and basic principles, which grant the military's Commander-in-Chief the supreme power. General populations are threatened not to raise their voice about the future of their country with the SPDC's decree No. 5/96, which is designed to punish lengthy imprisonment to those who dare to criticize the national convention.

Looking back into times of yore, it's easy to perceive the real culprit holding up national reconciliation and democratization in Burma. The people of Burma still have vivid memories of the August massacre in 1988. It took place 19 years ago, on 8th August of 1988, the people of Burma from all walks of life including soldiers and police force marched through the streets of the country demanding for political and economic changes and an end to the one-party or totalitarian rule.

The military opened fire on the protesters and it is estimated that in the five days from August 8 to 12, more than 3,000 demonstrators were cold-bloodedly shot down throughout the country by the armed forces. But the brutal shootings of the heavily armed troops could not do away with the protest. The people continued to carry on the street demonstrations with their demands for restoration of democracy and human rights in the nation. When the then totalitarian socialist government could not afford to halt the swelling people’s protests, the military dictators re-entered into the power game on 18th September 1988 with the bloody coup.

The 8^th August Uprising was a nation-wide people's movement, which broke out on an unprecedented scale in the history of Burma. Three totalitarian presidents had to step down from power due to massive pressure of the people's demonstrations all over the country. Nonetheless, the 8888 people’s protests paved way for the 1990 elections; these were however invalidated by the military. The National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi and its ethnic allies won over 90 % of parliamentary seats in a 1990 general election.

Actually, the result of 1990 elections clearly showed the genuine desire of the people from all walks of life. But, the crooked junta has played a trickery game of national convention to buy the time. The junta first promised in its 1/90 declaration that the task of the convention was to draft a constitution and all of the elected representatives must be participated in the process. But, when the 11/92 Declaration of the junta came out, it allowed only 99 Members of Parliament out of 485 or 15.24 percent of elected representatives only. In the current session, there are merely 12 representatives-elect and they are all pro-junta delegates.

Although the military regime is yelling towards disciplinary democracy, it has debarred nearly 200 Members of Parliament who disagreed with the No.6 objective – for the Tatmadaw (Army) to be able to participate in the national political leadership role of the state.) – laid down by the junta and 13 representatives-elect are continue languishing in various prisons together with 1200 political prisoners.

Although democracy and human rights are yet to restore in Burma, the democracy activists both inside and outside the country continue to be unwavering in their commitment to carry out the struggle for restoration of democracy in Burma. Governments, international institutions and the United Nations General Assembly have condemned the military junta for human rights abuses in the country and for not transferring power to the elected Members of Parliament.

On this historic occasion of the 19th Anniversary of "8^th August Uprising", the 92 members of parliament in 1990 elections submitted a proposal to the UNSG that the United Nations’ good offices might play important role to avoid the upcoming national crisis in Myanmar/Burma.

Especially, to modify the step two of the road map as a meaningful political dialogue between the SPDC and the elected representatives from the NLD and ethnic political parties. In the dialogue, various national issues and procedures and time frame to implement the rest of the road map, as well as the role of elected representatives from the 1990 elections during the transitional period should be discussed and agreed.

If the SPDC continues to put into practice its seven-step road map without cooperating with the representatives-elect and without listening to the real aspiration of the people and repeated requests from the international community, including the UN, the SPDC's orchestrated constitution would be definitely challenged by the people (including ethnic nationalities) of Myanmar (Burma). The group of 88 generation students, the group of 92-MPs and numerous dissident groups inside and outside the country are declaring to join with those challenging citizens who oppose this sham-constitution and taking part to educate and organize the people to vote against the military-monopolized constitution in the referendum.

It has been undisputable that Burma’s constitutional crisis becomes one serious case on the global stage. For instance, Ibrahim Gambari’s important global diplomatic tour is noticeable to the Burma-watchers. He started a four-nation (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia) trip on 6 August 2007 consulting on the topic of Burma, before a final leg to military-ruled country, according to a UN statement. Gambari was appointed as the UN secretary-general's special adviser on Burma in late May. In last July, he had made a diplomatic-tour to China, India, Japan, Russia and some European countries to seek advice bringing about “national reconciliation, the restoration of democracy and the protection of human rights” in Burma.

However, Burmese and non-Burmese people are worrying that whether Mr. Gambari himself understands the root of the question or not. According to some critics, Gambari should not hope a good result from the junta’s orchestrated constitution drafting assembly or the sham national convention. According to people’s vigilance, the convention is just for a show to International Community in the absence of the representatives-elect in the 1990 elections. The convention on the draft constitution has taken an appearance of being a democratic option, but it is being carried out under an indisputably undemocratic and unfair political environment.

The key factor for Burma’s key players is to concentrate upon the question of equality for all nationalities and fundamental rights for all citizen of the nation. The sixty-year-long civil war that stem out from a constitutional crisis of the country may not be ceased simply, if this current national convention fails to provide self-determination for every nationality.

http://www.khitpyaing.org/english_page/august07/14-8-07_zinlin.php
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Forced Labor: The Junta’s Revenge

The Irrawaddy, Vol. 9 No. 7 – August-September 2001

A political prisoner discovers a suffering greater than his own, as he learns the real reason behind the massive use of forced labor in Burma.

By Zin Linn

“The generals were extremely angry with the masses for demanding democracy. As retaliation, they decided to ‘re-educate’ the people once and for all. They were determined to suppress the democratic soul forever. What they wanted was nothing less than total revenge against their own people.”

These remarks, made by a former high-ranking police officer, were almost unbelievably shocking to me, even though I, as a political prisoner in Burma’s notorious Insein prison, had already experienced the generals’ brutality firsthand.

The year was 1996. I was serving a seven-year sentence under Section 5 (J) of the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act. For years, I had been held in solitary confinement in Cellblock 5, Cell 10. Then, one day in September, seven gentlemen unexpectedly appeared in Cellblock 5. Suddenly, my years of isolation of isolation came to an end, as one of them was put into Cell 10 with me.

This was completely contrary to the standard practice of keeping political prisoners apart from other inmates. Under normal circumstances, the authorities would never think of putting newcomers in with prisoners of conscience, as it was feared that we would “infect” them with our thoughts. But these men were no ordinary prisoners: They were high-ranking police officers.

One of them was U Tin Maung Nyo, my new cellmate , who had served as the deputy-director of the Central Intelligence Department (CID) for Rangoon Division. Another was U Kyaw Paing, a former infantry major who had once served as a personal assistant to the Interior Minister; at the time of his arrest, he was in charge of the police force in Rangoon’s Yankin Township. Another, U Htin Kyaw, was a thirty-year veteran of the police force. U Kyaw Htin was a senior officer in the CID. U Shwe Oo, an ex-army captain, was in charge of the Pabedan Township police force in downtown Rangoon. U Tun Lin served as a senior officer in the Bureau of Special Intelligence. And U Aung San Myint was the police-station master in Pabedan Township.

How did men of such standing end up in prison? According to their accounts, they were luckless pawns in a power struggle between the ruling junta’s Secretary-1, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, and Secretary-2, Lt-Gen Tin Oo. They said that they belonged to S-2’s group, and that during a struggle for decision-making positions, they had fallen into a trap set by their rivals.

They explained that the S-1 group had orchestrated a crackdown on a brothel that serviced the top brass. The Military Intelligence Services (MIS), under the direction of Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, “persuaded” the proprietor, Tin Maung Lwin (a.k.a. Lin Maung Thet), to state in court that the seven police officers regularly took bribes from him. In fact, he had never seen any of these men before. But Tin Maung Lwin’s testimony was enough to earn each of these men a seven-year prison sentence. This, very briefly, is how they found themselves in our company.

This remarkable story was not the only thing that excited our attention at that time. We political prisoners, who often received information from sympathetic wardens, learned that there was an incessant turnover of ordinary prisoners. By our calculations, 1,200-1,500 new prisoners were entering the prison each day, while at least 1,000 a week were being transferred to prison labor camps. As many as 5,000 were being shipped out each month, but the total prison population never dropped below 12,000. What was going on?

The wardens informed us that every day at dusk, each of the more than 40 townships in Rangoon was required to send around 30 detainees to Insein Prison. Within a week or two, each of these prisoners would be “tried” and automatically receive a sentence ranging from six months to three years. Prisoners were warned that if they protested, their sentence would be doubled. The judge also told them that top generals had made the decision to punish them, so they would understood that it was futile to appeal to justice.

Unlike our new cellmates, the overwhelming majority of these new prisoners were drawn from Rangoon’s vast underclass. They were typically held under Articles 54 or 13 (d) of the Criminal Code. Article 54 permits the authorities to detain persons on suspicion of committing a crime, while 13 (d) allows for the detention of those who are caught hiding under the cover of darkness.

Eventually, we came to understand the significance of these mass arrests. In order to build roads, bridges, railways, airports, dams, irrigation canals, and even pagodas, the junta relies heavily on forced labor. To meet the demand for workers, law enforcement officials and the courts, under the direction of the junta, conspired to round up members of the lower classes and send them to labor camps. Ironically, the junta undertook many of these infrastructure projects to demonstrate to the international community that it was ruling Burma in a noble-minded manner. The generals didn’t seem to realize that their use of citizens as slaves would meet with condemnation from the rest of the world.

As Burmese, the use of forced labor was nothing new to us, although it was disturbing to witness this system at work on such a massive scale. What did come as a shock was the insight into this phenomenon that we gained from talking with the former senior police officers who had so recently become our fellow inmates.

Three of these men had once been close to the Interior Minister, so they were in a good position to understand the inner workings of the junta’s cabinet. My fellow political prisoners and I asked them many questions concerning this issue, and received excellent answers. On one occasion, I had an opportunity to ask my cellmate about the motivation behind this systematic exploitation of the poorest members of Burmese society. It was then that I received the shocking reply that has stayed with me ever since. It was, in fact, so unbelievable to me that I made an effort to speak to the other former police officers to confirm whether what my cellmate had said was true or not. They all told me exactly the same story.

At one cabinet meeting, they explained, the junta came to the conclusion that the 1988 democracy movement derived its greatest support from the poorest members of society. This was why, soon after they had successfully suppressed the people’s uprising, they forcibly relocated many of the poor—particularly those from areas that were most active during the struggle to end military rule—to the so-called “new townships” on the outskirts of Rangoon and other cities. But this did not satisfy the country's new rulers, who also devised a “re-education” scheme that involved arresting many of the poor on the slimmest of pretexts, and forcing them into prisons and labor camps. There, their jailors taunted them, explaining that this was their chance to “taste democracy”.

We learned much about conditions at these labor camps through other prisoners. Min Khin was a prisoner who had escaped from the Taungzun quarry site near the Sittaung Bridge, on the border between Pegu Divison and Mon State. After he was recaptured, he was put in shackles and sent to Insein, where he told us about his experiences at this infamous labor camp.

Min Khin recalled that the prisoners awoke every day at 4 a.m. and began work no later than an hour later. There were eleven units at the Taungzun camp, each with about 120 prisoners. Every day, each unit lost at least one prisoner to starvation, exhaustion, illness or mistreatment. Prisoners who were too sick to work were often taken behind nearby bushes and killed. Many others, unable to bear the crushing labor and brutal persecution any longer, committed suicide by throwing themselves under passing lorries or over cliffs. Thus the first event of the day was a mass burial of dead prisoners. After this and a breakfast that consisted of a mug of plain boiled rice, the workday began, usually lasting until 9 p.m.

The enormous death toll at Taungzun never came under investigation, because the administrator of the camp, Thein Tun, never failed to bribe the relevant authorities, including the Home Minister. He could easily afford to do this, because every day he forced his prisoners to quarry double the daily quota of 25,00 tonnes per unit. This surplus was sold to private contractors, giving Thein Tun an income of two million kyat a day.

Every day, the mountain at Taungzun was dynamited to produce huge masses of rock. The prisoners hammered the rocks into small pieces and carried them by hand to railway carriages for transport to construction sites. Prisoners were never allowed to slow down, and were permitted to urinate just once a day. To maintain this grueling routine, Thein Tun had a loyal assistant, known to the wardens and prisoners as Dah Tint Swe, who persecuted the prisoners mercilessly. “Dah” is the Burmese word for a sort of dagger. It was with this weapon that Dah Tint Swe murdered anyone under his supervision who failed to keep up with the pace demanded by Thein Tun.

The worst thing, according to Min Khin, is that prisoners at labor camps are forced to wear iron shackles, reducing them to the level of mere beasts. Not counting smaller camps, there are at least 300 camps like the one at the Taungzun quarry located around Burma. Conditions at each one of them are every bit as degrading and inhumane as those described here.

Labor camps represent just a fraction of the forced labor that exists in Burma. In war zones along the country’s borders, civilians are regularly forced to act as porters for soldiers, while on countless infrastructure projects, normal citizens are called upon to “volunteer” their services. People of all ages and both sexes are required to work long hours under sub-human conditions, all in the name of “development and prosperity”. Women are often subjected to rape, in addition to the abuses faced by all forced laborers. To refuse to submit to these horrific demands would mean torture, or worse.

“It’s an unbelievable story, I know,” remarked my cellmate after he revealed the junta’s underlying motive for inflicting such suffering on the Burmese people. “But it’s true. In 1988, I lost many relatives and friends in my native town. At first, I couldn’t even believe that the army shot them down in cold blood. But it really happened. No man can erase history, no matter how hard it is to accept.”

Zin Linn is a former political prisoner based in exile.

Burma: The Verdict of the People Can not be Stamped Out

Asian Tribune
Tue, 2007-05-29 04:40

by - Zin Linn*

2007 is an important year for the democracy movement in Burma. Political and diplomatic analysts are unanimous on this score. This is notwithstanding the latest Junta decision to extend the detention of symbol Burmese hope, Suu Kyi, for another year. For the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), a priority is drafting of the Constitution by the National Convention this year.

It also has a dream, a day dream at that a referendum on the new constitution followed by elections in 2008. Majority of the people do not agree with the road map designed to put in place military dominated rule. The Junta is going out of its way to court the support of ASEAN and other neighbouring countries especially China and India for its constitutional makeover. At the same time it is riding roughshod over the National League for Democracy (NLD) which is the only challenger to its supremacy at home.

On May 27, the Burmese observed the 17th anniversary of NLD's decisive victory in the 1990 General Elections. NLD had won 392 of the 485 seats on offer in Parliament. NLD allies, the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) won 23 seats and the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) bagged 11 seats in what was certainly one of the free and fair elections that had taken place in the South-East Asia region.

In the contemporary history of Burma, that election will remain an important bench mark for decades to come. For a variety of reasons.

After 26 years of military dictatorship, the people got an opportunity to vote for a government of their choice. However, instead of transferring power as it promised before polls, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) decreed that the newly elected representatives would report to a national convention which would be charged with the task of drafting a new democratic constitution. The decree, 1/90 Declaration was issued on July 27, 1990.

A constitution is a contract between the people and the government of a nation. Only a statute that is willingly accepted by the people will endure the test of time. The National League for Democracy believes that if a genuine multi-party democracy is to be established in Burma, a constitution based on democratic principles is an absolute necessity.

The NLD was set up to usher in a genuine democratic system which lives upto the aspirations and hopes of the people and contributes to building a strong Union of Burma. It believes that the state derives its power from the people. And a democratic nation must have the rule of law and a constitution that guarantees human rights, and basic freedoms - of worship, expression and association. Moreover, the NLD believes that the foundation for a strong, lasting and prosperous union has to be laid through a national convention where all the ethnic groups of Burma are represented and decide collectively the destiny of the nation. The landslide victory in 1990 was a public endorsement of what all the NLD has come to stand for.

Unfortunately, SPDC and its earlier incarnation, SLORC adopted means fair and foul to undo the electoral verdict. First, it invalidated the result, and then it sacked the MPs. They were also disqualified them from standing for elections again. When the MPs resisted pressure to resign, false cases were slapped and they were thrown into jail. Once this exercise was complete and 200 members were eased out, the Junta said "Parliament is not being constituted as we don't have enough elected members".

96 of the 426 elected MPs passed away during the 17 years. Three MPs died in police custody. Tin Maung Win, NLD MP of Khayan Constituency (1), Rangoon Division, passed away on January18, 1991 in the notorious Insein Prison. Hla Than from Coco Islands Constituency (also Rangoon Division) died on August 2, 1996 at the guard ward in Rangoon General Hospital. Saw Win (a.k.a) Kyaw Zaw Lin, who had won Htee Lin Constituency (Magwe Division) on Aug 7, 1998 in Thayawaddy Prison.

Three law makers passed away soon after their release from jail. Kyaw Min of Bassein West Constituency (Irrawaddy Division), died of liver cirrhosis on July1, 1999 in Rangoon General Hospital. San San Win, who represents the Ahlon Constituency (Rangoon Division), passed away in 2000 and Hla Maung who had won Kyainseikkyi seat from Karen State died November 27, 2003.

Win Ko who represented Ye Oo Constituency (Sagaing Division), was assassinated in Kunming, China, on Nov 1, 1992 and Hla Pe, (Pyaw Bwe Constituency, Mandalay Division), was eliminated on the outskirts of Bangkok on June 16, 1993. At least 12 law makers are languishing in the Junta's notorious prison. And the appeals by the international community -United Nations General Assembly including for their release have gone in vain. In fact, there are some 1000 political prisoners. They include the 1991 Nobel Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi but the Junta has withstood the pressure calls for their release.

Suu Kyi and NLD stand for dialogue as they firmly believe in Gandhian values and concepts. But the Junta has cold shouldered NLD and ignored its dialogue offer. So NLD has no place at the National Convention the Junta has convened. The second-largest pro-democracy party, the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD), did not turn up dubbing the convention as undemocratic. The United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), which represents the ethnic parties of Shans, Karens, Kachins, Chins, Arakans, Mons and Karennis also declared ahead of the convention that they would not go to the forum in the absence of the NLD.

It goes without saying that minus NLD the junta's national convention becomes a farce with no genuine democratic principles and objectives. SPDC's Convention has three foremost objectives. First whitewash the premeditated massacre at Depayin. Second do away with the result of the 1990 General Elections. Third persuade regional governments to support a sugar-coated military-monopolized parliament as a legislative body of Burma.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi says: " Democracy means pluralism. That means many parties, many strands of thought. That means that we have to be able to disagree. That means we have to be able to agree to disagree. Because of that, the holding of political prisoners saps peoples' confidence in the possibility of change. If people are going to be arrested for expressing their opinions, their political opinions, then how can we say that there is a hope for political freedom in Burma, and without political freedom, how can there be democracy? So, we repeat, again and again, we reiterate, that the release of political prisoners is the most important thing for all those who truly wish to bring about change in Burma.

However, present situation in Burma shows that the military junta has been adamantly marching along the anti-democracy road. For instance, 29 pro-democracy activists including Su Su Nway, the winner of the John Humphrey Freedom Award, were arrested on 15 May as they bumped into plain clothes security police and members of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) on their way to a pagoda in Insein Township. On the same day, 13 NLD members from Hlaingtharyar township of Rangoon were arrested. Another 15 members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) who staged prayer services at a pagoda in Mingaladon were also temporarily detained by the military authorities. The authorities charged them with trying to stir up unrest by exploiting religious practice.

The state-run newspaper the New Light of Myanmar said the arrests were made by peace-loving people to prevent instigators from trying to cause insecurity and strife. The '88 Generation Students', a student group, condemned the action. It is improper and immoral to assault, perturb, harass and detain those praying peacefully for Aung San Suu Kyi. The student group urged the government to release Aung San Suu Kyi for the sake of national reconciliation.

In an unprecedented gesture, 59 former presidents and prime ministers around the world have sent a signed appeal for the unconditional release of the Nobel laureate who has been in the jail for past 11 years. The appeal followed an initiative taken by a former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) made a similar demand. Both appeals have fallen on deaf ears.

ASEAN countries and the international community have been frustrated by the slow pace of political reform in Burma. The military junta should review its policy on the NLD, stop brutal and inhumane oppressions and act in accordance with international standards of human rights.

On 30 April 2007, a seminar on Burma held on the sidelines of the 116th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in Bali openly acknowledged that the Myanmar military junta's misrule had a spill over effect on the region and its stability. Speaker of the Indonesian Parliament Agung Laksono said that all parliamentarians have a role in encouraging the restoration of civil, political and democratic rights in Burma. There is agreement that all lovers of Burma must rally in support of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution on Burma.

On the 17th anniversary of Burma's 1990 General Elections, the key regional players China, India, Japan and ASEAN should recognize their obligation to Burma. They must urge SPDC to give up its fruitless policies and unproductive plans. If the junta is reluctant to recognize the will of its own people, the consequences that follow may not be to its likings. People's will cannot be wished away nor their aspirations just as the verdict in a popular election cannot be brushed aside for days no end.

*Zin Linn is a Burmese journalist living in exile. He is an executive member of the Burma Media Association (BMA).

- Asian Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/5926

“Burma Media Watch: Ups and downs in 2006”

2006 BMA Conference Paper

Burma did earn a good reputation for press freedom after it gained independence from Britain between 1948 and 1962. The 1950s were the golden period for press freedom in Burma. As the country was freed from the yoke of British colonialism, there were around three dozens newspapers, including English and Chinese dailies. Every newspaper had its own network of reporters to gather news from across the country. Foreign news came in directly from respective news agencies, wire services and media companies. The news media was free to publish any thing that they believed fit and fair and worthy of circulation to the public. At that time media were no need to undergo a censorship board.

But it was really a short period that came to an end when the military seized power in March 1962. In the wake of the military coup, the junta nationalized all media outlets and introduced harsh publishing legislation. It also established a Press Scrutiny Board (PSB), which has been imposing the strictest censorship codes on all forms of publications including calendars, advertisements and obituaries.

The military dictators' major instrument of censorship is the Printers and Publishers Registration Law of 1962, which was promulgated shortly after the military coup by Gen. Ne Win. Then Burma becomes one of the world's most repressive countries for media. Actually, Freedoms of Expression, and the press have been practically non-existent in Burma since then. All forms of printed matter are under the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD). The PSRD took over the censorship duties from the MIS-run Press Scrutiny Board since October 2004.

Let's look into the year 2006. It began with an unpleasant note for the media in Burma. Major Wunna, whose pen-name is "Mar Jay", was dismissed from his job. His senior position in the Air Force did not afford to protect him since the Junta displeased with his satirical articles in Yangon Times weekly. Mar Jay contributes satirical writings to make fun of the relocation of the capital to Pyinmana and the National Convention, which has been dubbed as a sham exercise by both the international community and the oppositions. The sack order was delivered at his residence after his two articles appeared in the weekly.

Another abuse of press freedom took place in March, 2006. Two senior journalists U Thar Cho(52) and Ko Moe Htun(42) were sentenced to three year jail term later. Their sentences were imposed by a court in Yamaethin, which found them guilty of violating article 32 (A) of the Television and Video Act. The court made the judgment on 21 June 2006, reportedly without hearing any witnesses. According to their lawyer, U Khin Maung Zaw, the Television and Video Act don’t forbid taking pictures in authorized areas.

Also in March, two student Aung Than & Zeya Aung, and two civilians Maung Maung Oo & Sein Hlaing were arrested near the Thai-Burmese border town of Myawaddy. They were all charged with publishing an unlawful book of poems. Under the Emergency Provisions Act and the Printers and Publishers Registration Law of 1962, Aung Than and Zeya Aung were sentenced to 19 years in prison for writing the poems; Maung Maung Oo and Sein Hlaing were sentenced to 14 years and 7 years in prison respectively.

Then, the ban on Zargana came. A well-known comedian and movie director Ko Thura, 46, better known as Zargana was banned from all of his professional activities - performing, directing and acting in videos/movies and writing articles – due to participating in a BBC Burmese Service cultural radio program aired in April.

The regime also does not allow public access to the Internet; in particular the military monitors all incoming and outgoing e-mails. Web mails are blocked by the military's secret police and people have no chance for advance Information Technology and update news.

Possessing or using a modem or fax machine without government permission is unlawful in Burma. The Computer Science Development Law which promulgated on 20th September, 1996 says '' Whoever sets up a computer network or connects a link inside the computer network, without the prior sanction of the Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend from a minimum of 7 years to a maximum of 15 years and may also be liable to a fine.'' While denying 'free media' to the people and the opposition, the Generals have been using the media to disgrace the democratic opposition and to propagate their xenophobic ideas.

Right at the moment, all news media in Burma is strictly censored and tightly controlled by the military junta—all daily newspapers, radio and television stations are in government hands. Most media businesses and publication companies are owned by generals and their cronies. Whatever few privately-owned journals and magazines are there, they are strictly under the censor's scanner. No printed matter can be seen in the book stalls without 'permission'. Photos, cassette tapes, movies and video footage also need the censor's stamp before delivering the people.

Burma Media Association (BMA) says that at least 18 media persons are in detention by the end of October 2006. All of them are held under life-threatening conditions and some of them are suffering from serious physical and mental illness having remained behind bars for over a decade. Take example the case of U Win Tin, a former editor-in-chief of Hanthawaddy Newspaper and Secretary of National League for Democracy. He has been languishing in the notorious Insein Prison, where over 130 political dissidents died in recent years. He has not seen the world outside for the past 17 years. Now, it seems his 77th birth day on coming March 12 has to observe in the hellish cell.

Anyhow, let's try to find out something that may become beneficial to Media in Burma. In 2001, the number of the journals was not more than a dozen. But, in this 2006, there are over 150 journals apart from scores of magazines. One can find more than 20 fresh journals a day in the market. In addition, quality control of the journals becomes more improve than ever. According to a source, 36% of the audience love to read the journals. The consequence is that the journal industries turn out to be competitive and demand more and more new journalists. And the journalism trainings are allowed to fill the gap. Another reason is the junta's policy change to counter the influence of foreign media.

Then, the military backed-USDA (Union Solidarity and Development Association) is sponsoring lessons in basic journalism. In last October, 53 USDA members from various regions are attending the ten-week course. Besides journalism training, they will be taught national and international developments, the New Light of Myanmar said. And there are also series of workshops and training for Burmese journalists in foreign countries. Whoever sponsored the journalism training is not so important. When these trainees worked in their respective field, the practical experience would show the way they should act.

However, these new-born journalists may change their minds in accordance with the changing world towards freedom and democracy. In a democracy, the people have the rights to choose their government. In making intelligent choices, people need to know what members of the government are doing. They must be able to get news that is not interfered with or controlled by the government. Newspapers and other news organizations must be able to report freely and fearlessly. That's why journalism has become the fourth pillar of a democracy after the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

Free Press and Democracy compliment each other. People become participants in the democratic process of their country only when they can depend on the integrity, profundity and conscientiousness of the media.

In Burma, the entire media network is in the clutch of military-dictatorship. Both censorship and self-censorship are commonplace in Burma and these have severely restricted political rights and civil liberties. People are witnessing a gloomy epoch where generals and their cronies have started owning media and making it a profitable business. The more control they have on media and Internet, the higher the danger for the society. The junta is abusing the media as its tool to control and influence people's thinking.

Burma mired in a Constitutional tangle?

By – Zin Linn

August 11, 2007 - Burma is being bogged down in a constitutional quagmire rooted in the question of equality for all nationalities or democratic rights for citizens of the nation. The ethnic nationalities in the country have a strong political aspiration to establish a genuine federal union as agreed by 1947 Panglong conference. But, that burning aspiration was disregarded by successive Burmese military regimes. As a result, civil war has been going on because of the failed promise guaranteed in the Panglong Agreement. Contrary to the Panglong spirit, Burma's 1947 Constitution which was completed in September failed to meet equal rights of ethnic nationalities had lasted for only 14 years. Similarly, the 1974 Constitution, which also failed to meet establishing a Federal Union based on the principle of self-determination, had also lasted for merely 14 years.

Now, as a consequence of the failed 1947 and 1974 constitutions, Burma has been still struggling with a constitutional dilemma. Burma's military junta has continued holding the last session of its controversial national convention on 18 July this year. While the final session of 14-year-old junta's National Convention is underway, the two strongest ethnic ceasefire groups - the KIO and United Wa State Army (UWSA) are threatened militarily and economically by the ruling junta. Recently KIO officials warned that they have no reason to surrender weapons if the junta keeps denying autonomy for Kachin State which it has repeatedly demanded of successive ruling juntas. Relations between KIO and UWSA are strong and they seem to have alerted their military units in order to resist inevitable military threats by the ruling junta.

Meanwhile, the Mon ethnic nationalities cease-fired group New Mon State Party stands decisively to uphold its four principles; not to dissolve the party, not to disband its military wing, Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA), not to separate the party from its army, and not to give up the 14 territorial positions that were agreed during the cease-fire deal in 1995.

Under the menace of the military junta (SPDC), brushing aside the majority of people's representatives-elect and with military hand-picked delegates, how could it be a free and autonomous convention to make any social-contract. While the contentious national convention is underway, the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association, together with members of the local authorities and police, brazenly assaulted human rights defenders in Burma.

All the delegates in the National Convention are forced to agree to the SPDC's ready made chapters and basic principles, which grant the military's Commander-in-Chief the supreme power. The general population is threatened not to raise its voice about the future of their country with the SPDC's decree No. 5/96, designed to punish through lengthy imprisonment to those who criticize the national convention.

The junta's pledges of democratic and economic reforms are merely rhetorical propaganda. Moreover, respect for the rule of law and human rights continue to be empty speechifying. It is, in fact, a magic show appeasing the ASEAN and China that the Burmese junta is working to perform a mufti-clad regime.

The United Nations Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon issued a statement on 18 July 2007, in which he urged the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of Myanmar/Burma to seize the current opportunity to ensure that this and subsequent steps in Myanmar's political road map are as inclusive, participatory and transparent as possible, with a view to allowing all the relevant parties to Myanmar's national reconciliation process to fully contribute to defining their country's future.

More than 50 British MPs have strongly called for the release of detained Burmese Parliamentarians who have been imprisoned under the military dictatorship. The British Parliamentarians are demanding that the UN Special Envoy to Burma and the British government step up efforts to release those parliamentarians, and all political prisoners in Burma.

In the meantime, on August 1, 2007, 92 Burmese MPs elected in 1990 elections submitted a letter to Mr. Ban Ki-moon. In the letter, they expressed that they all are relentlessly working for political dialogue. And declared they will not accept any solution made unilaterally by the SPDC with use of force, threat, pressure and manipulation.

Looking back in time, it's easy to perceive the real culprit holding up national reconciliation and democratization in Burma. The people of Burma still have vivid memories of the August massacre in 1988. It took place 19 years ago, on 8th August of 1988, when the people of Burma from all walks of life including soldiers and police force marched through the streets of the country demanding political and economic changes and an end to the one-party or totalitarian rule.

The military opened fire on the protesters and it is estimated that in the five days from August 8 to 12, more than 3,000 demonstrators were shot down in cold blood throughout the country by the armed forces. But the people continued to carry on the street demonstrations with their demands for restoration of democracy and human rights in the nation. When the then totalitarian socialist government could not afford to halt the swelling people's protests, the military dictators re-entered the power game on 18th September 1988 with the bloody coup.

Three totalitarian presidents had to step down from power due to massive pressure of the people's demonstrations all over the country. Nonetheless, the 8888 people's protests paved way for the 1990 elections; these were however invalidated by the military. The National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi and its ethnic allies won over 82 percent of parliamentary seats in a 1990 general election.

However, the crooked junta has played the game of national convention for buying time. The junta first promised in its 1/90 declaration that the task of the convention was to draft a constitution and all of the elected representatives must participate in the process. But, when the 11/92 Declaration of the junta came out, it allowed only 99 Members of Parliament out of 485 or 15.24 percent of elected representatives only. In the current session, there are merely 12 representatives-elect but only advocates of militarization.

Not surprisingly, the military regime is yelling for military guidance to democracy, it has debarred nearly 200 Members of Parliament who disagreed with the No.6 objective – for the Tatmadaw (Army) to be able to participate in the national political leadership role of the state.) – laid down by the junta and 13 representatives-elect continue languishing in various prisons together with 1200 political prisoners.

If the SPDC continues to put into practice its seven-step road map without cooperating with the representatives-elect and without listening to the real aspiration of the people and repeated requests from the international community, including the UN, the SPDC's orchestrated constitution would be definitely challenged by the people (including ethnic nationalities) of Myanmar (Burma).

It has been indisputable that Burma's constitutional crisis becomes one serious case on the global stage. For instance, global diplomatic tour of Ibrahim Gambari, the special adviser of the UN secretary-general is noticeable to Burma-watchers. He started a four-nation tour in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia after his trip to China, India, Japan, Russia and some European countries to consult the issue of Burma, before a final leg to the region's problem child.

However, Burmese and non-Burmese people are worries whether Mr. Gambari himself understands the root of the question or not. Gambari should not hope for good results from the junta's orchestrated constitution drafting assembly or the sham national convention. The convention on the draft constitution appears to be a democratic option, but it is being carried out under an indisputably undemocratic and unfair political environment.

The main factor for Burma's key players to consider is the question of equality for all nationalities and fundamental rights for all citizens of the nation. The 60-year-long civil war that stems from a constitutional crisis of the country may not simply cease, if this current national convention fails to provide self-determination for every nationality.

Burma long stuck in a constitutional morass

The Nation: Saturday, August 11,2007: 8A

Burma is sinking in a constitutional quagmire rooted in the question of equality for all nationalities or democratic rights for all citizen of the nation. The ethnic nationalities in Burma have long had strong political aspiration to establish a genuine federal union as highlighted in the 1947 Panglong Agreement. But, that agreement was disregarded by the successive Burmese military regimes. As a result, the civil war has been going on because of the failed promise guaranteed in the Panglong Agreement. Burma’s 1947 Constitution failed to provide equal rights for ethnic nationalities and lasted for only 14 years. Similarly, the 1974 Constitution, which also failed to meet establishing a Federal Union based on the principle of self-determination, also lasted for merely fourteen years.

Now, as a consequence of the failed 1947 and 1974 constitutions, Burma remains in this constitutional quagmire. Burma's military junta held the last session of its controversial national convention on 18 July this year. The convention is just for a show to International Community in the absence of the representatives-elect in the 1990 elections. The convention on the draft constitution has taken an appearance of being a democratic option, but it is being carried out under an indisputably undemocratic and unfair political environment.

Meanwhile, the 92 Members of Parliament in 1990 elections submitted a proposal to the United Nations that it play an important role to avoid the upcoming national crisis in Burma.

If the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) continues to put into practice its seven-step road map without cooperating with the representatives-elect and without listening to the real aspiration of the people of Burma and repeated requests from the international community, including the UN, the SPDC's orchestrated constitution would be definitely challenged by the people (including ethnic nationalities) of Burma.

The main factor for the key players to consider is the question of equality for all nationalities and fundamental rights for all citizen of the nation. For the 60-year-long civil war that stem from a constitutional crisis of the country may not cease, if this current national convention fails to provide self-determination for every nationality.


Zin Linn
Bangkok