Suu Kyi urges monitoring of Myanmar
Published: Oct. 4, 2011 at 6:05 AM
YANGON, Myanmar, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Myanmar may be inching toward democracy but Western countries should remain vigilant that nascent reforms are genuine, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said.
In a rare face-to-face interview with foreign media, Suu Kyi told the BBC's Myanmar service that the jury is out on whether the nominally civilian government is serious about democratic reforms.
The BBC correspondent asked her whether she thought the wheels of democracy were turning.
"There are signs that President Thein Sein, a former senior military ruler, wants reform but it's early days, she said.
"I think I'd like to see a few more turns before I decide whether or not the wheels are moving along," she said.
"We are beginning to see the beginning of change. I believe that the president wants to institute reforms but how far these reforms will go and how effective these will be, that still needs to be seen."
Suu Kyi said the international community should coordinate its monitoring of events in Myanmar closely to see whether there was real and sustainable progress.
"I've always said that the more coordinated the efforts of the international community are, the better it will be for democracy in Burma (Myanmar). If different countries are doing different things, then it detracts from the effectiveness of their actions."
Her comments come after the government, elected last November and installed in March, appears increasingly concerned about its public image, both at home and abroad.
Last month Myanmar set up a Human Rights Commission, a brief report in the government newspaper New Light of Myanmar stated.
The formation comes after the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, called for an independent commission during a recent visit to the country.
The report said the commission was created "with a view to promoting and safeguarding fundamental rights of citizens described in the constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar."
Analysts said it remains to be seen if the commission will challenge the government.
One of the most prominent signs of government concern over its public image was the announcement last week to stop construction on the controversial $3.6 billion Myitsone hydro dam, which would have created a reservoir four times the size of Manhattan.
Suu Kyi was among the conservationists, environmentalists and others opposing the project. Objections ranged from a lack of transparency to the project's potential environmental impact.
The structure, at the head of the Irrawaddy River, was scheduled to be complete in 2019, would be, at 500 feet high, one of the world's tallest dams.
The economic repercussions for Myanmar if the dam isn't completed could be great. It's being built and financed by a Chinese company and 90 percent of the electricity will go to China.
But the dam also is in an area of conflict between the government and ethnic minority insurgents with whom the former junta -- from which many of the government members come -- had a modus vivendi for many years.
The insurgents, however, were concerned the dam would harm their traditional lands and the local people would not reap any financial benefit.
Halting construction gives the government some breathing time to discuss the area's future with ethnic minority leaders who want more local autonomy.
Sein, who is suspending construction only during his term which ends in 2015, extended an invitation in August to each rebel group to enter into a dialogue about the area's future.
But the ethnic groups rejected the government's invitation, saying it was a divide-and-rule tactic.
A recent report by the think tank International Crisis Group said Western countries should engage the new regime in Myanmar to encourage it to continue with reforms.
The briefing paper "Myanmar: Major Reform Underway" suggests that Sein "has moved rapidly to begin implementing an ambitious reform agenda first set out in his March 2011 inaugural address."
ICG also noted that Sein had met his main political rival, the populist Nobel Peace Prize winner and democracy advocate Suu Kyi in an effort to show the country is moving toward more transparent government.
Published: Oct. 4, 2011 at 6:05 AM
YANGON, Myanmar, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Myanmar may be inching toward democracy but Western countries should remain vigilant that nascent reforms are genuine, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said.
In a rare face-to-face interview with foreign media, Suu Kyi told the BBC's Myanmar service that the jury is out on whether the nominally civilian government is serious about democratic reforms.
The BBC correspondent asked her whether she thought the wheels of democracy were turning.
"There are signs that President Thein Sein, a former senior military ruler, wants reform but it's early days, she said.
"I think I'd like to see a few more turns before I decide whether or not the wheels are moving along," she said.
"We are beginning to see the beginning of change. I believe that the president wants to institute reforms but how far these reforms will go and how effective these will be, that still needs to be seen."
Suu Kyi said the international community should coordinate its monitoring of events in Myanmar closely to see whether there was real and sustainable progress.
"I've always said that the more coordinated the efforts of the international community are, the better it will be for democracy in Burma (Myanmar). If different countries are doing different things, then it detracts from the effectiveness of their actions."
Her comments come after the government, elected last November and installed in March, appears increasingly concerned about its public image, both at home and abroad.
Last month Myanmar set up a Human Rights Commission, a brief report in the government newspaper New Light of Myanmar stated.
The formation comes after the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, called for an independent commission during a recent visit to the country.
The report said the commission was created "with a view to promoting and safeguarding fundamental rights of citizens described in the constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar."
Analysts said it remains to be seen if the commission will challenge the government.
One of the most prominent signs of government concern over its public image was the announcement last week to stop construction on the controversial $3.6 billion Myitsone hydro dam, which would have created a reservoir four times the size of Manhattan.
Suu Kyi was among the conservationists, environmentalists and others opposing the project. Objections ranged from a lack of transparency to the project's potential environmental impact.
The structure, at the head of the Irrawaddy River, was scheduled to be complete in 2019, would be, at 500 feet high, one of the world's tallest dams.
The economic repercussions for Myanmar if the dam isn't completed could be great. It's being built and financed by a Chinese company and 90 percent of the electricity will go to China.
But the dam also is in an area of conflict between the government and ethnic minority insurgents with whom the former junta -- from which many of the government members come -- had a modus vivendi for many years.
The insurgents, however, were concerned the dam would harm their traditional lands and the local people would not reap any financial benefit.
Halting construction gives the government some breathing time to discuss the area's future with ethnic minority leaders who want more local autonomy.
Sein, who is suspending construction only during his term which ends in 2015, extended an invitation in August to each rebel group to enter into a dialogue about the area's future.
But the ethnic groups rejected the government's invitation, saying it was a divide-and-rule tactic.
A recent report by the think tank International Crisis Group said Western countries should engage the new regime in Myanmar to encourage it to continue with reforms.
The briefing paper "Myanmar: Major Reform Underway" suggests that Sein "has moved rapidly to begin implementing an ambitious reform agenda first set out in his March 2011 inaugural address."
ICG also noted that Sein had met his main political rival, the populist Nobel Peace Prize winner and democracy advocate Suu Kyi in an effort to show the country is moving toward more transparent government.
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China ups pressure on Myanmar over dam project
Chinese company steps up pressure on Myanmar over suspended dam project
Scott Mcdonald, Associated Press, On Tuesday October 4, 2011, 1:03 am EDT
BEIJING (AP) -- A Chinese company has stepped up pressure on Myanmar after it surprisingly suspended construction of a jointly backed but much criticized hydroelectric dam, saying scrapping the project would cause legal problems.
In an interview late Monday with official Xinhua News Agency, the president of China Power Investment Corp., Lu Qizhou, said he was "totally astonished" when Myanmar President Thein Sein announced Friday that the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam project had been halted.
Environmental activists have said the dam would displace countless villagers and upset the ecology of one of the Myanmar's most vital national resources, the Irrawaddy River. It also would submerge a culturally important site in the ethnic Kachin heartland.
The dam has also come under criticism because it was supposed to export about 90 percent of electricity it generated to China, while the vast majority of Myanmar's residents have no electricity.
The suspension was praised by many, including democracy advocates in Myanmar and the U.S. government.
The move, however, is a huge turnabout in relations with China, Myanmar's second-biggest trading partner after Thailand, and will likely have a political impact.
Beijing has poured billions of dollars of investment into Myanmar to operate mines, extract timber and build oil and gas pipelines. China has also been a staunch supporter of Myanmar's politically isolated government.
Lu said the Chinese side had followed all laws and regulations and "diligently fulfilled our duties and obligations."
He called the suspension bewildering and said it "will lead to a series of legal issues."
Lu did not give specifics, saying only that large amounts of money have been invested and that there would be a large number of default claims. It is not known how Myanmar's legal system would handle such a case.
China Power Investment, which is providing the financing for the project, is a state-owned company and its website says it operates under the leadership of the State Council, China's Cabinet.
China's Foreign Ministry has already stepped into the debate, urging Myanmar to protect Chinese companies' interests.
On Saturday, ministry spokesman Hong Lei called on Myanmar to hold consultations to handle any problems with the Myitsone dam and reminded the Myanmar that both countries agreed to the project after rigorous reviews.
"The Chinese government ... urges the relevant government to protect the legal and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," Hong said in a statement carried on the ministry's website.
Besides China Power Investment, some of China's biggest companies are involved in the Myitsone project, including China Gezhouba Group Corp., which is building the dam, and China Southern Power Grid Corp., which expects to buy most of the power generated.
In April, the countries announced plans to build a railroad together that will link China's landlocked Yunnan province to a deep-sea port being built in Myanmar's Rakhine state.
The completed railroad will extend to a port China is building in Myanmar's Kyaukphyu town in northwestern Rakhine. China National Petroleum Corp. already is building a 480-mile (770-kilometer) pipeline from Rakhine to Yunnan.
Chinese company steps up pressure on Myanmar over suspended dam project
Scott Mcdonald, Associated Press, On Tuesday October 4, 2011, 1:03 am EDT
BEIJING (AP) -- A Chinese company has stepped up pressure on Myanmar after it surprisingly suspended construction of a jointly backed but much criticized hydroelectric dam, saying scrapping the project would cause legal problems.
In an interview late Monday with official Xinhua News Agency, the president of China Power Investment Corp., Lu Qizhou, said he was "totally astonished" when Myanmar President Thein Sein announced Friday that the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam project had been halted.
Environmental activists have said the dam would displace countless villagers and upset the ecology of one of the Myanmar's most vital national resources, the Irrawaddy River. It also would submerge a culturally important site in the ethnic Kachin heartland.
The dam has also come under criticism because it was supposed to export about 90 percent of electricity it generated to China, while the vast majority of Myanmar's residents have no electricity.
The suspension was praised by many, including democracy advocates in Myanmar and the U.S. government.
The move, however, is a huge turnabout in relations with China, Myanmar's second-biggest trading partner after Thailand, and will likely have a political impact.
Beijing has poured billions of dollars of investment into Myanmar to operate mines, extract timber and build oil and gas pipelines. China has also been a staunch supporter of Myanmar's politically isolated government.
Lu said the Chinese side had followed all laws and regulations and "diligently fulfilled our duties and obligations."
He called the suspension bewildering and said it "will lead to a series of legal issues."
Lu did not give specifics, saying only that large amounts of money have been invested and that there would be a large number of default claims. It is not known how Myanmar's legal system would handle such a case.
China Power Investment, which is providing the financing for the project, is a state-owned company and its website says it operates under the leadership of the State Council, China's Cabinet.
China's Foreign Ministry has already stepped into the debate, urging Myanmar to protect Chinese companies' interests.
On Saturday, ministry spokesman Hong Lei called on Myanmar to hold consultations to handle any problems with the Myitsone dam and reminded the Myanmar that both countries agreed to the project after rigorous reviews.
"The Chinese government ... urges the relevant government to protect the legal and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," Hong said in a statement carried on the ministry's website.
Besides China Power Investment, some of China's biggest companies are involved in the Myitsone project, including China Gezhouba Group Corp., which is building the dam, and China Southern Power Grid Corp., which expects to buy most of the power generated.
In April, the countries announced plans to build a railroad together that will link China's landlocked Yunnan province to a deep-sea port being built in Myanmar's Rakhine state.
The completed railroad will extend to a port China is building in Myanmar's Kyaukphyu town in northwestern Rakhine. China National Petroleum Corp. already is building a 480-mile (770-kilometer) pipeline from Rakhine to Yunnan.
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ALertNet - China's CNPC says Myanmar pipeline work continues despite dam row
04 Oct 2011 01:08
BEIJING, Oct 4 (Reuters) - China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) continues work on an oil pipeline through Myanmar and has given aid to show its goodwill, the official Chinese news agency said after Myanmar abruptly halted work on a Chinese-led power dam.
The Xinhua news agency said construction of the pipeline was "proceeding smoothly" and that CNPC said it gave $1.3 million to Myanmar on Monday to help build eight schools, as part of an agreement signed in April to provide $6 million of aid.
China's long close relationship with Myanmar faltered after the Myanmar government last week suspended a controversial $3.6 billion, Chinese-led hydro-power project.
Any uncertainty about the oil pipeline project would be a fresh blow to China's ties with Myanmar, whose President Thein Sein told parliament on Friday that his government would shelve the dam project until his five-year term ends in April 2016.
CNPC began building a crude oil port on Maday island on Myanmar's western coast in November 2009 as part of a crude oil pipeline connecting the port with the Chinese border town of Ruili. It is scheduled to be completed in 2012 and designed to carry 12 million tonnes of crude oil a year.
The northern dam would flood an area about the size of Singapore, creating a 766-square-km (296-square-mile) reservoir, mainly to serve China's growing energy needs.
04 Oct 2011 01:08
BEIJING, Oct 4 (Reuters) - China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) continues work on an oil pipeline through Myanmar and has given aid to show its goodwill, the official Chinese news agency said after Myanmar abruptly halted work on a Chinese-led power dam.
The Xinhua news agency said construction of the pipeline was "proceeding smoothly" and that CNPC said it gave $1.3 million to Myanmar on Monday to help build eight schools, as part of an agreement signed in April to provide $6 million of aid.
China's long close relationship with Myanmar faltered after the Myanmar government last week suspended a controversial $3.6 billion, Chinese-led hydro-power project.
Any uncertainty about the oil pipeline project would be a fresh blow to China's ties with Myanmar, whose President Thein Sein told parliament on Friday that his government would shelve the dam project until his five-year term ends in April 2016.
CNPC began building a crude oil port on Maday island on Myanmar's western coast in November 2009 as part of a crude oil pipeline connecting the port with the Chinese border town of Ruili. It is scheduled to be completed in 2012 and designed to carry 12 million tonnes of crude oil a year.
The northern dam would flood an area about the size of Singapore, creating a 766-square-km (296-square-mile) reservoir, mainly to serve China's growing energy needs.
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Bloomberg - China Power Investment Says Myanmar Dam Halt Is ‘Bewildering’
By Guo Aibing - Oct 3, 2011 8:16 PM PT
China Power Investment Corp., an investor in Myanmar’s $3.6 billion Myitsone hydropower station, said the country’s sudden decision to halt the project is “bewildering,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
All legal documents and regulatory procedures have been cleared, Xinhua reported yesterday, citing Lu Qizhou, president of China Power Investment. A halt to construction will lead to “a series of legal issues,” Lu was cited as saying.
Myanmar President Thein Sein said on Sept. 30 the project on the Irrawaddy River should be suspended because it’s against the “will of the people,” according to the Associated Press. China, which also has oil and gas investments in the Southeast Asian nation, said the rights of Chinese companies ought to be respected and called for “friendly talks.”
The European Union welcomes Myanmar’s readiness to address the ecological concerns about the project and the government’s willingness to listen to “diverse voices,” according to a statement on Sept. 30. Last year, China, Myanmar and Thailand agreed to study a $10 billion hydropower project on the Salween River that discharges into the Andaman Sea.
By Guo Aibing - Oct 3, 2011 8:16 PM PT
China Power Investment Corp., an investor in Myanmar’s $3.6 billion Myitsone hydropower station, said the country’s sudden decision to halt the project is “bewildering,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
All legal documents and regulatory procedures have been cleared, Xinhua reported yesterday, citing Lu Qizhou, president of China Power Investment. A halt to construction will lead to “a series of legal issues,” Lu was cited as saying.
Myanmar President Thein Sein said on Sept. 30 the project on the Irrawaddy River should be suspended because it’s against the “will of the people,” according to the Associated Press. China, which also has oil and gas investments in the Southeast Asian nation, said the rights of Chinese companies ought to be respected and called for “friendly talks.”
The European Union welcomes Myanmar’s readiness to address the ecological concerns about the project and the government’s willingness to listen to “diverse voices,” according to a statement on Sept. 30. Last year, China, Myanmar and Thailand agreed to study a $10 billion hydropower project on the Salween River that discharges into the Andaman Sea.
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VOA News - Chinese Firm Warns of “Legal Issues” Over Burma Dam
Posted Tuesday, October 4th, 2011 at 2:00 am
A Chinese company involved in the construction of a hydroelectric dam in Burma is warning of “legal issues” if the Burmese government decides not to go ahead with the project.
Lu Qizhou, president of the China Power Investment Corporation, said in an interview with China's Xinhua news agency that his company has invested a huge sum of money in the Myitsone Hydropower Project and strictly observed all laws and regulations in both countries.
Burmese leaders said last week they are suspending work on the project, which is opposed by local residents and environmental groups. They say the dam will do irreparable damage to the Irrawaddy River.
But Lu said late Monday that he was “bewildered” by the announcement, which he learned of through news media. He said if construction is permanently halted, it will lead to “a series of legal issues.”
Lu said Burmese officials urged the company in February to accelerate work on the project, which was due for completion in 2019. He said villagers have already been resettled from the dam area and that work is under way on road construction, site leveling and excavation for the main spillway.
He said a final decision to halt the $3.6 billion project would prompt numerous default claims from contractors and cause “immeasurable” losses to both Burma and China. Most of the power from the dam would be sold to China.
The decision to halt the project has been welcomed by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and foreign governments, including the United States and the European Union.
Aung San Suu Kyi warned in August that the dam would have devastating consequences on the country's rice production and on the life of the local population.
Burma's new President Thein Sein, a former general, told the parliament last week that it should act according to the desire of the people.
Posted Tuesday, October 4th, 2011 at 2:00 am
A Chinese company involved in the construction of a hydroelectric dam in Burma is warning of “legal issues” if the Burmese government decides not to go ahead with the project.
Lu Qizhou, president of the China Power Investment Corporation, said in an interview with China's Xinhua news agency that his company has invested a huge sum of money in the Myitsone Hydropower Project and strictly observed all laws and regulations in both countries.
Burmese leaders said last week they are suspending work on the project, which is opposed by local residents and environmental groups. They say the dam will do irreparable damage to the Irrawaddy River.
But Lu said late Monday that he was “bewildered” by the announcement, which he learned of through news media. He said if construction is permanently halted, it will lead to “a series of legal issues.”
Lu said Burmese officials urged the company in February to accelerate work on the project, which was due for completion in 2019. He said villagers have already been resettled from the dam area and that work is under way on road construction, site leveling and excavation for the main spillway.
He said a final decision to halt the $3.6 billion project would prompt numerous default claims from contractors and cause “immeasurable” losses to both Burma and China. Most of the power from the dam would be sold to China.
The decision to halt the project has been welcomed by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and foreign governments, including the United States and the European Union.
Aung San Suu Kyi warned in August that the dam would have devastating consequences on the country's rice production and on the life of the local population.
Burma's new President Thein Sein, a former general, told the parliament last week that it should act according to the desire of the people.
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Asian Correspondent - Burma must be united to face China’s intimidation on dam issue
By Zin Linn Oct 04, 2011 6:29PM UTC
In the wake of postponement of controversial Myitsone dam in Burma (Myanmar), China Power Investment Corp. President Lu Qizhou said the project’s suspension by the Myanmar government last week was a shock. It will lead to a series of legal issues, he said. The suspension of dam project seems to be the latest sign of displeasing relations between the two countries.
Lu Qizhou, in an interview with the state-run Xinhua news agency on Monday, said he noticed about the suspension of the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam project through the media and he was completely surprised.
Lu Qizhou’s remarks notify the disagreement could stay behind while China hunts for more projects in Burma/Myanmar, a significant strategic neighbor to Beijing. It is ambiguous how the CPI may possibly force legal process. The company did not clarify that by way of which legal systems it will have to bring into play.
However, the Burmese government’s spokespersons didn’t give any comment so far.
On Sunday, in a statement posted on the Xinhua news agency’s website, spokesman for China’s foreign ministry Hong Lei said Burmese government should protect the rights of Chinese companies in Burma, highlighting the political nature of such a massive project.
But, if one looks on the side of the Union of Burma, people are criticizing openly against the Myitsone hydropower project at the Irrawaddy’s confluence, which is the origin of Burma’s lifeline river.
The worst is that the previous Burma’s junta together with the Chinese government did not take into consideration the desire of the native Kachin people who were never consulted about the dam prior of the projects in their neighborhood.
The CPI made the dam contract with the previous junta’s Electric Power Ministry in May 2007, without respecting the opinion of the people who live in the area.
The development has been ostracized throughout Burma because it will involve a reservoir the size of Singapore, will seriously damage the environmental and social surroundings. It is being built and invested by Chinese companies and over 90 percent of its electricity will go to China.
Even the Kachin people have a narrow chance to enjoy the electricity generated by the dam in their neighborhood.
In communities in Kachin state, guerrilla groups have armed-clashes recently with government’s armed forces and the Myitsone dam was viewed by local residents as a way for the government to start national unity with ethnic groups.
President Thein Sein on Friday sent a letter to the parliament mentioning dam building should be suspended as the project was against the will of the people. Thein Sein’s decision came as a surprise to many observers, including China, the Burmese government’s most reliable supporter.
Apart from the Myitsone dam, China has been allowed to build oil and gas pipeline through Burma to its Yunnan province, to branch out its fuel sources. In addition, Burma is situated at a geographically important place between China and India. So, rivaling with India, China needs Burma’s approval to get its doorway to the Bay of Bengal.
The Myitsone dam affair predicts the south-east Asian nation may be eager to free from China’s influence as it seeks greater favor among Western democracies.
This may be a new turning point for President Thein Sein’s government to determine which should be the most important priority – China’s backing or the whole support of its own people. Thein Sein’s decision to postpone the massive dam has been strongly supported by the majority of people.
More to the point, Burmese government and its people must be vigilant against the neo-colonialism of China which exploits political disunity in Burma. The previous military junta appeased China offering country’s precious natural resources cheaply in order to get veto-shield for its dictatorship.
So, China can interfere with current Burma’s political affairs at a junction of negotiation among political stakeholders including the ethnic armed groups. Even China can force reshuffle of the current Burmese administration to become pro-China organization.
Thus, the first priority of president must be national reconciliation and president himself has to be cautious with the danger of pro-China faction in his government.
By Zin Linn Oct 04, 2011 6:29PM UTC
In the wake of postponement of controversial Myitsone dam in Burma (Myanmar), China Power Investment Corp. President Lu Qizhou said the project’s suspension by the Myanmar government last week was a shock. It will lead to a series of legal issues, he said. The suspension of dam project seems to be the latest sign of displeasing relations between the two countries.
Lu Qizhou, in an interview with the state-run Xinhua news agency on Monday, said he noticed about the suspension of the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam project through the media and he was completely surprised.
Lu Qizhou’s remarks notify the disagreement could stay behind while China hunts for more projects in Burma/Myanmar, a significant strategic neighbor to Beijing. It is ambiguous how the CPI may possibly force legal process. The company did not clarify that by way of which legal systems it will have to bring into play.
However, the Burmese government’s spokespersons didn’t give any comment so far.
On Sunday, in a statement posted on the Xinhua news agency’s website, spokesman for China’s foreign ministry Hong Lei said Burmese government should protect the rights of Chinese companies in Burma, highlighting the political nature of such a massive project.
But, if one looks on the side of the Union of Burma, people are criticizing openly against the Myitsone hydropower project at the Irrawaddy’s confluence, which is the origin of Burma’s lifeline river.
The worst is that the previous Burma’s junta together with the Chinese government did not take into consideration the desire of the native Kachin people who were never consulted about the dam prior of the projects in their neighborhood.
The CPI made the dam contract with the previous junta’s Electric Power Ministry in May 2007, without respecting the opinion of the people who live in the area.
The development has been ostracized throughout Burma because it will involve a reservoir the size of Singapore, will seriously damage the environmental and social surroundings. It is being built and invested by Chinese companies and over 90 percent of its electricity will go to China.
Even the Kachin people have a narrow chance to enjoy the electricity generated by the dam in their neighborhood.
In communities in Kachin state, guerrilla groups have armed-clashes recently with government’s armed forces and the Myitsone dam was viewed by local residents as a way for the government to start national unity with ethnic groups.
President Thein Sein on Friday sent a letter to the parliament mentioning dam building should be suspended as the project was against the will of the people. Thein Sein’s decision came as a surprise to many observers, including China, the Burmese government’s most reliable supporter.
Apart from the Myitsone dam, China has been allowed to build oil and gas pipeline through Burma to its Yunnan province, to branch out its fuel sources. In addition, Burma is situated at a geographically important place between China and India. So, rivaling with India, China needs Burma’s approval to get its doorway to the Bay of Bengal.
The Myitsone dam affair predicts the south-east Asian nation may be eager to free from China’s influence as it seeks greater favor among Western democracies.
This may be a new turning point for President Thein Sein’s government to determine which should be the most important priority – China’s backing or the whole support of its own people. Thein Sein’s decision to postpone the massive dam has been strongly supported by the majority of people.
More to the point, Burmese government and its people must be vigilant against the neo-colonialism of China which exploits political disunity in Burma. The previous military junta appeased China offering country’s precious natural resources cheaply in order to get veto-shield for its dictatorship.
So, China can interfere with current Burma’s political affairs at a junction of negotiation among political stakeholders including the ethnic armed groups. Even China can force reshuffle of the current Burmese administration to become pro-China organization.
Thus, the first priority of president must be national reconciliation and president himself has to be cautious with the danger of pro-China faction in his government.
***********************************************************
Tuesday October 4, 2011
The Star - Myanmar dam suspension tests vital China ties
By Ben Blanchard and Aung Hla Tun
BEIJING/YANGON (Reuters) - The surprise decision by Myanmar's new civilian government to suspend a controversial, Chinese-backed dam is straining relations between the erstwhile allies, but neither is likely to risk lasting damage.
China is pressing for an "appropriate solution" to the shelving of the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam, a moved hailed by its opponents who had warned of the scheme's environmental damage and forced relocation of residents.
For Myanmar, under wide-reaching sanctions by Western countries for human rights issues, China is its most important diplomatic and economic ally.
And for China, the country formerly known as Burma provides access for its landlocked southwestern provinces to the Indian Ocean. China is building gas and oil pipelines across Myanmar to avoid the Malacca Strait choke point.
"Overall the relationship will be there, as the two countries have a very close relationship economically," said Zheng Yongnian, director of East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore.
"Myanmar relies on the Chinese side. Other countries, like India or the United States, are becoming actors. But China has geopolitical and economic advantages."
The ruling Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, noted that Myanmar's government had said it would talk to China about the dam project "to avoid damaging bilateral ties and friendship".
China is unlikely to give in easily over the project, which is part of a broader scheme to build seven dams, the majority of whose power will feed its booming economy.
The military junta proposed the dam in 2006, and in 2009 contracted Myanmar's military-backed Asia World Company and China Power Investment Corp to build it.
The Chinese-state owned firm has expressed shock at the Myanmar government's decision to suspend the project and warned of legal consequences.
"Given everything that China Power Investment has put into this project, it would be unlikely for them to walk away without first sitting down and pledging to do more environmental impact studies and so on," said Grace Mang, China Global Programme Coordinator at International Rivers.
"It's still too early to tell, but I don't think it's just as simple as Myitsone is cancelled."
China will likely now worry about another huge investment project it has in Myanmar, an oil pipeline being built into southwestern China by China National Petroleum Corp, which says work is continuing.
"The Chinese government is wise enough to handle this issue amicably with great care after taking into considerations other strategic interests like their seeking access to the Indian Ocean through us," a retired senior Myanmar diplomat said, referring to the pipeline and other rail and road projects.
"In fact, it was a big blunder of them to have made secret deals with such an illegitimate government for such strategic mega projects," added the retired diplomat, who asked not to be identified citing the sensitive nature of the subject.
MUTUAL TRUST, AND SUSPICION
Despite their reputation for being close, the two have deep mutual suspicions.
China's growing economic role in Myanmar has caused considerable popular resentment. Myanmar historically has feared being dominated by its much larger neighbour, while China worries about instability along its vast borders.
Beijing frets that Myanmar's civilian government may try and cosy up to the United States, adding to Chinese concerns about being "encircled" by hostile forces, such as the U.S. military bases in Japan and South Korea.
"I know historically there's been some issues of distrust with China but in general terms, I guess relations have warmed a lot and Myanmar still needs quite a bit in terms of trade in terms of gas and oil pipelines in 2013," said Christopher Roberts, a Myanmar expert at Australian National University, calling the move a gesture to show it was being accountable.
"But from Myanmar's perspective, I suspect something like the suspension of a dam is not a relationship-breaker like say the suspension of a gas plant or an oil pipeline. So I think strategically this is something that wouldn't put a significant dent in the relationship with China."
Economic relations are booming. Bilateral trade rose by more than half last year to $4.4 billion, and China's investment in Myanmar reached $12.3 billion, Chinese figures show. There is a strong focus on natural resources and energy projects.
"China and Hong Kong reached the top of the list of foreign investors just because of a few giant hydro power, oil and gas pipeline and mining projects. In fact, China has not invested much in the labour intensive manufacturing sectors," a senior official from Myanmar's Federation of Chambers of Commerce said.
"Since the Chinese bring thousands of workers, including manual labourers, their projects do not benefit local people much," he added, also asking not to be identified.
Ethnic minorities in Myanmar see the construction of Chinese-built dams as expanding military presence into their territory. Some analysts say Kachin rebels may be trying to hold the dams hostage in return for a share of the revenue from the projects.
The dam decision was a rare rebuke of China by Myanmar, especially as Beijing has gone out of its way to cultivate the new leadership.
Thein Sein's first major foreign visitor since taking office in February under Myanmar's "road map" back to democracy and civilian rule was the Chinese Communist Party's fourth ranked leader, Jia Qinglin.
During a visit to Beijing in May, Thein Sein praised the Chinese as a trustworthy, selfless ally, and received a line of credit worth 540 million euros.
Ultimately, observers expect Myanmar to compensate China somehow for the dam, but Beijing would become warier about future projects.
"The moral of the story is I think the Chinese side should now think, whatever the investments or the projects they'd like to do with Burma, they should look long-term," said Zaw Oo, director of the Chiang Mai, Thailand-based Vahu Development Institute.
"They should not consider or conceive any projects just for the sake of short-term benefits. (The Myitsone project) for the long-run is not going to be very positive for the development of Myanmar."
The Star - Myanmar dam suspension tests vital China ties
By Ben Blanchard and Aung Hla Tun
BEIJING/YANGON (Reuters) - The surprise decision by Myanmar's new civilian government to suspend a controversial, Chinese-backed dam is straining relations between the erstwhile allies, but neither is likely to risk lasting damage.
China is pressing for an "appropriate solution" to the shelving of the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam, a moved hailed by its opponents who had warned of the scheme's environmental damage and forced relocation of residents.
For Myanmar, under wide-reaching sanctions by Western countries for human rights issues, China is its most important diplomatic and economic ally.
And for China, the country formerly known as Burma provides access for its landlocked southwestern provinces to the Indian Ocean. China is building gas and oil pipelines across Myanmar to avoid the Malacca Strait choke point.
"Overall the relationship will be there, as the two countries have a very close relationship economically," said Zheng Yongnian, director of East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore.
"Myanmar relies on the Chinese side. Other countries, like India or the United States, are becoming actors. But China has geopolitical and economic advantages."
The ruling Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, noted that Myanmar's government had said it would talk to China about the dam project "to avoid damaging bilateral ties and friendship".
China is unlikely to give in easily over the project, which is part of a broader scheme to build seven dams, the majority of whose power will feed its booming economy.
The military junta proposed the dam in 2006, and in 2009 contracted Myanmar's military-backed Asia World Company and China Power Investment Corp to build it.
The Chinese-state owned firm has expressed shock at the Myanmar government's decision to suspend the project and warned of legal consequences.
"Given everything that China Power Investment has put into this project, it would be unlikely for them to walk away without first sitting down and pledging to do more environmental impact studies and so on," said Grace Mang, China Global Programme Coordinator at International Rivers.
"It's still too early to tell, but I don't think it's just as simple as Myitsone is cancelled."
China will likely now worry about another huge investment project it has in Myanmar, an oil pipeline being built into southwestern China by China National Petroleum Corp, which says work is continuing.
"The Chinese government is wise enough to handle this issue amicably with great care after taking into considerations other strategic interests like their seeking access to the Indian Ocean through us," a retired senior Myanmar diplomat said, referring to the pipeline and other rail and road projects.
"In fact, it was a big blunder of them to have made secret deals with such an illegitimate government for such strategic mega projects," added the retired diplomat, who asked not to be identified citing the sensitive nature of the subject.
MUTUAL TRUST, AND SUSPICION
Despite their reputation for being close, the two have deep mutual suspicions.
China's growing economic role in Myanmar has caused considerable popular resentment. Myanmar historically has feared being dominated by its much larger neighbour, while China worries about instability along its vast borders.
Beijing frets that Myanmar's civilian government may try and cosy up to the United States, adding to Chinese concerns about being "encircled" by hostile forces, such as the U.S. military bases in Japan and South Korea.
"I know historically there's been some issues of distrust with China but in general terms, I guess relations have warmed a lot and Myanmar still needs quite a bit in terms of trade in terms of gas and oil pipelines in 2013," said Christopher Roberts, a Myanmar expert at Australian National University, calling the move a gesture to show it was being accountable.
"But from Myanmar's perspective, I suspect something like the suspension of a dam is not a relationship-breaker like say the suspension of a gas plant or an oil pipeline. So I think strategically this is something that wouldn't put a significant dent in the relationship with China."
Economic relations are booming. Bilateral trade rose by more than half last year to $4.4 billion, and China's investment in Myanmar reached $12.3 billion, Chinese figures show. There is a strong focus on natural resources and energy projects.
"China and Hong Kong reached the top of the list of foreign investors just because of a few giant hydro power, oil and gas pipeline and mining projects. In fact, China has not invested much in the labour intensive manufacturing sectors," a senior official from Myanmar's Federation of Chambers of Commerce said.
"Since the Chinese bring thousands of workers, including manual labourers, their projects do not benefit local people much," he added, also asking not to be identified.
Ethnic minorities in Myanmar see the construction of Chinese-built dams as expanding military presence into their territory. Some analysts say Kachin rebels may be trying to hold the dams hostage in return for a share of the revenue from the projects.
The dam decision was a rare rebuke of China by Myanmar, especially as Beijing has gone out of its way to cultivate the new leadership.
Thein Sein's first major foreign visitor since taking office in February under Myanmar's "road map" back to democracy and civilian rule was the Chinese Communist Party's fourth ranked leader, Jia Qinglin.
During a visit to Beijing in May, Thein Sein praised the Chinese as a trustworthy, selfless ally, and received a line of credit worth 540 million euros.
Ultimately, observers expect Myanmar to compensate China somehow for the dam, but Beijing would become warier about future projects.
"The moral of the story is I think the Chinese side should now think, whatever the investments or the projects they'd like to do with Burma, they should look long-term," said Zaw Oo, director of the Chiang Mai, Thailand-based Vahu Development Institute.
"They should not consider or conceive any projects just for the sake of short-term benefits. (The Myitsone project) for the long-run is not going to be very positive for the development of Myanmar."
***********************************************************
ABC Radio Australia - Thai PM Yingluck goes to Burma to improve economic links
Updated October 4, 2011 21:55:50
Burma's suspension of a controversial Chinese-backed hydro-electric dam last week, has surprised those who fear China's growing influence in the resource-rich country.
But does the dropping of the 3-point-6 billion dollar project mean Burma is trying to be less reliant on China as a foreign investor?
And what will it mean for neighbouring states?
Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will find out, when she makes a one-day official visit to Burma on Wednesday, to
revive a special economic relationship with the close neighbour.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Dr Paul Chambers, director of research, Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Listen: Windows Media(http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/stories/m2035879.asx)
CHAMBERS: I think Yingluck is trying to reinforce the policy of "forward engagement" of the Thaksin Shinawatra government back in 2001 and 2006, and that policy was seeking to increase investments, Thai investments and Thai economic clout in Burma. She's trying to show the Burmese government that as another Shinawatra in the prime minister's seat, that she's seeking to have very close economic ties, increased ties with Burma.
LAM: So do you see the trip as the beginning of a revamping, if you like, of the relationship that was first started by her brother, the former prime minster, Thaksin Shinawatra?
CHAMBERS: Exactly, yes I do. And I'm not saying that the relationship dwindled after the coup of 2006 but relations between Thailand and Burma were very, very close and very, very tight under Thaksin's government and the Democrats Party in Thailand has traditionally not been as close as other parties that come to power in Thailand, vis a vis Burma. So, with Yingluck in office and with other foreign policy players in powerful seats now in the Yingluck government, then she's trying to impress upon the Burmese that Thailand means business, when it wants to do busines with Burma.
LAM: And Burma's President Thein Sein last week suspended construction of a controversial Chinese-backed hydro-electric dam, and he said that it wasn't what his people wanted. Is this is an indication of Burma being less China-reliant, if you like, and indeed, what will that mean for Thailand?
CHAMBERS: I think Thailand would be at a more advantageous position, if it can perhaps use, some of the hydro-electric power that could be offered to Thailand, if Burma does not go in the direction of China. In terms of economic realism, Thailand has the potential to really use a lot of resources, economic resources from Burma, petroleum, hydro-electric power, gas, all sorts of things, which are needed to really boost Thailand's growing economy.
LAM: Thai officials declined to comment, on whether or not, Yingluck might meet with pro-Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Do you see the Thai policy towards Ms Suu Kyi, altering in any way, particularly now, under the current Burmese civilian government?
CHAMBERS: That's a great question. I think that Yingluck's policy is much more economics-driven, than in terms of trying to work with human rights leaders or other opposition leaders in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi is increasingly finding agreement with some parts of the Burmese government, that Yingluck might want to have discussions with Aung San Suu Kyi, but I don't think that she will. I would be very surprised, and that she would probably just meet with the officials of the state.
LAM: What about ASEAN - in a regional capacity - do you think Thailand might see itself as being pivotal, in trying to bring Burma back into the ASEAN fold - particularly, in view of Burma's ambition to be ASEAN in 2014?
CHAMBERS: Sure, certainly. I think Thailand really wants to spearhead any ASEAN drive to bridge Burma's difficult position with the rest of ASEAN. Thailand was always helpful in the beginning, in getting Burma into ASEAN and as such, I think Yingluck wants Thailand to be the bridge to help Burma with regard to ASEAN, and also with the partners of ASEAN. If Thailand can be seen as the pivotal player, then that assists Thailand even more in terms of geo-political strategy.
Updated October 4, 2011 21:55:50
Burma's suspension of a controversial Chinese-backed hydro-electric dam last week, has surprised those who fear China's growing influence in the resource-rich country.
But does the dropping of the 3-point-6 billion dollar project mean Burma is trying to be less reliant on China as a foreign investor?
And what will it mean for neighbouring states?
Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will find out, when she makes a one-day official visit to Burma on Wednesday, to
revive a special economic relationship with the close neighbour.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Dr Paul Chambers, director of research, Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Listen: Windows Media(http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/stories/m2035879.asx)
CHAMBERS: I think Yingluck is trying to reinforce the policy of "forward engagement" of the Thaksin Shinawatra government back in 2001 and 2006, and that policy was seeking to increase investments, Thai investments and Thai economic clout in Burma. She's trying to show the Burmese government that as another Shinawatra in the prime minister's seat, that she's seeking to have very close economic ties, increased ties with Burma.
LAM: So do you see the trip as the beginning of a revamping, if you like, of the relationship that was first started by her brother, the former prime minster, Thaksin Shinawatra?
CHAMBERS: Exactly, yes I do. And I'm not saying that the relationship dwindled after the coup of 2006 but relations between Thailand and Burma were very, very close and very, very tight under Thaksin's government and the Democrats Party in Thailand has traditionally not been as close as other parties that come to power in Thailand, vis a vis Burma. So, with Yingluck in office and with other foreign policy players in powerful seats now in the Yingluck government, then she's trying to impress upon the Burmese that Thailand means business, when it wants to do busines with Burma.
LAM: And Burma's President Thein Sein last week suspended construction of a controversial Chinese-backed hydro-electric dam, and he said that it wasn't what his people wanted. Is this is an indication of Burma being less China-reliant, if you like, and indeed, what will that mean for Thailand?
CHAMBERS: I think Thailand would be at a more advantageous position, if it can perhaps use, some of the hydro-electric power that could be offered to Thailand, if Burma does not go in the direction of China. In terms of economic realism, Thailand has the potential to really use a lot of resources, economic resources from Burma, petroleum, hydro-electric power, gas, all sorts of things, which are needed to really boost Thailand's growing economy.
LAM: Thai officials declined to comment, on whether or not, Yingluck might meet with pro-Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Do you see the Thai policy towards Ms Suu Kyi, altering in any way, particularly now, under the current Burmese civilian government?
CHAMBERS: That's a great question. I think that Yingluck's policy is much more economics-driven, than in terms of trying to work with human rights leaders or other opposition leaders in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi is increasingly finding agreement with some parts of the Burmese government, that Yingluck might want to have discussions with Aung San Suu Kyi, but I don't think that she will. I would be very surprised, and that she would probably just meet with the officials of the state.
LAM: What about ASEAN - in a regional capacity - do you think Thailand might see itself as being pivotal, in trying to bring Burma back into the ASEAN fold - particularly, in view of Burma's ambition to be ASEAN in 2014?
CHAMBERS: Sure, certainly. I think Thailand really wants to spearhead any ASEAN drive to bridge Burma's difficult position with the rest of ASEAN. Thailand was always helpful in the beginning, in getting Burma into ASEAN and as such, I think Yingluck wants Thailand to be the bridge to help Burma with regard to ASEAN, and also with the partners of ASEAN. If Thailand can be seen as the pivotal player, then that assists Thailand even more in terms of geo-political strategy.
***********************************************************
The Nation - Yingluck to visit Burma tomorrow
October 4, 2011 2:02 pm
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will make a one-day official visit to Burma tomorrow, during which she is expected to discuss anti-narcotics smuggling efforts and illegal immigrant workers, among other issues.
Yingluck said yesterday that during the visit, she would have a discussion with Burmese leaders about boosting bilateral ties, particularly involving trade and investment. The opening of more permanent border crossing points would also be discussed, she said.
At Government House, she took part in recording a special television programme chronicling the Burma visit.
The visit, Yingluck's first to Burma as prime minister, comes as Burma is the focus of significant international attention following last year's general election.
Yingluck is scheduled to leave Bangkok military airport at 1.30 pm tomorrow on a flight to Naypyidaw, Burma's new administrative capital. There, she is scheduled to pay a visit to Burmese President Thein Sein, before taking part in a meeting between Thai and Burmese leaders.
The Burmese president is to host a dinner for the Thai leader in the evening. Yingluck and her entourage are scheduled to return to Bangkok shortly before midnight on the same day.
Later this month, the prime minister is scheduled to visit other member countries of Asean: Malaysia on October 10, Singapore on the following day and Vietnam on October 17. She will visit China between October 19 and 21.
October 4, 2011 2:02 pm
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will make a one-day official visit to Burma tomorrow, during which she is expected to discuss anti-narcotics smuggling efforts and illegal immigrant workers, among other issues.
Yingluck said yesterday that during the visit, she would have a discussion with Burmese leaders about boosting bilateral ties, particularly involving trade and investment. The opening of more permanent border crossing points would also be discussed, she said.
At Government House, she took part in recording a special television programme chronicling the Burma visit.
The visit, Yingluck's first to Burma as prime minister, comes as Burma is the focus of significant international attention following last year's general election.
Yingluck is scheduled to leave Bangkok military airport at 1.30 pm tomorrow on a flight to Naypyidaw, Burma's new administrative capital. There, she is scheduled to pay a visit to Burmese President Thein Sein, before taking part in a meeting between Thai and Burmese leaders.
The Burmese president is to host a dinner for the Thai leader in the evening. Yingluck and her entourage are scheduled to return to Bangkok shortly before midnight on the same day.
Later this month, the prime minister is scheduled to visit other member countries of Asean: Malaysia on October 10, Singapore on the following day and Vietnam on October 17. She will visit China between October 19 and 21.
***********************************************************
The Nation - Opinion: Burma must sign international nuclear treaties
Robert Kelley, Bangkok
October 3, 2011 5:33 pm
With the recent admission that Burma does not have the resources to contemplate pursuing nuclear weapons, the government has made an important step towards rejoining the world community.
It should take this opportunity to sign the international agreements it has praised, and join the club of responsible nations. Failing to do so could provide something of an acid test regarding allegations levelled against its military ambitions.
That Burma "cannot afford" nuclear weapons, as the ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Tin Win, said in Vienna last week, may come as no surprise: its decision in 2005 to relocate the capital from Rangoon to Naypyidaw would have cost billions of dollars and strained the country's treasuries. Last year's expose by the Democratic Voice of Burma of a nascent weapons programme clearly stated that the project would likely prove too ambitious for the government.
But the admission last week could have myriad benefits for the country and its decrepit energy and health sectors. Burma has had an on-off agreement with Russia to build a nuclear reactor and research laboratory in the country since 2001. The agreement was formalised in 2007, but Russia has never been willing to complete the deal because Burma has obsolete agreements with the IAEA. No country could consider giving nuclear technology to Burma when it has insulated itself against any IAEA inspections.
Burma's treaty agreements with the IAEA stipulate that it has no nuclear materials and no nuclear facilities, and in practice, the IAEA waives the right to normal inspections in the country since both parties agree there is nothing to inspect. There has never been an inspection in Burma to verify the misuse of nuclear materials, and it's unlikely there ever will be, because according to the agreement there are no materials. This is, of course, an endless circular argument.
A research reactor would be a very ordinary research tool in a small country like Burma. It would represent no threat to world peace, particularly when it is subject to regular IAEA nuclear material inspections. But without inspections there would be constant concerns that even a small facility could be used for nefarious purposes. A research reactor would cost Burma about US$150 million, a very small sum for a country rich in mineral, timber and gas resources. If the government decides this is a strain on the budget, it is making a conscious choice in favour of other activities instead of spending on public health and welfare. The probable recipient would be the military, which accounts for more than a quarter of government spending.
It is not clear how Burma planned to use its research reactor. The most likely use would have been to produce medical isotopes for healthcare, a sector so fractured that it might be that the relatively high technology products for nuclear medicine go unused. The reactor could be used to train nuclear engineers for bigger projects in the distant future, for at present, Burma's decrepit technology base means that nuclear power is a distant dream.
Now that Burma has publicly renounced any nuclear activities, there should be no barriers to signing a modern nuclear materials safeguards agreement with the IAEA and modifying its existing codicils that essentially prohibit nuclear inspections in the country. Burma's current agreements are dated from the early 1990s and are completely obsolete.
Burma needs to consider signing the Model Additional Protocol, which grants the IAEA additional inspection rights. It requires Naypyidaw to submit more information on imports and exports of nuclear materials, and report on existing nuclear activities. Because Burma has declared that all planned nuclear activities have ceased, this should be no problem.
It would help to refute accusations by some exiles and analysts, including me, that the government is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. This evidence comes from activities in two mechanical workshops built around 2005 and equipped with modern European machine tools of high calibre. These tools are possibly building processing equipment that could produce uranium for a reactor or a bomb. The equipment was photographed by a Burmese army defector, who smuggled the images out of the country.
To be sure, even if Burma allows inspections under a modern IAEA agreement, the workshops would not be the immediate sites for vetting because they have no nuclear materials, but are only workplaces supporting a programme elsewhere. Fears surrounding these programmes are fuelled by reports of uranium mining, mostly in Shan state, and alleged nuclear activities at Thabeikkyin, north of Mandalay. None of this is being reported to the IAEA.
If Naypyidaw steps up to the table and signs a modern full inspection agreement with the IAEA, then Burma can put these claims to rest. IAEA supervision would also temper concerns about a research reactor.
Failing to do this, however, means that it remains in the small club of countries, alongside Iran and Syria, that have refused to sign the modern agreements, and will retain pariah status. Using the occasion in Vienna to reiterate Burma's commitment to international nuclear material safeguards and robust nuclear inspections holds little credibility unless it is followed with more tangible action.
Robert Kelley is a former director at the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Robert Kelley, Bangkok
October 3, 2011 5:33 pm
With the recent admission that Burma does not have the resources to contemplate pursuing nuclear weapons, the government has made an important step towards rejoining the world community.
It should take this opportunity to sign the international agreements it has praised, and join the club of responsible nations. Failing to do so could provide something of an acid test regarding allegations levelled against its military ambitions.
That Burma "cannot afford" nuclear weapons, as the ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Tin Win, said in Vienna last week, may come as no surprise: its decision in 2005 to relocate the capital from Rangoon to Naypyidaw would have cost billions of dollars and strained the country's treasuries. Last year's expose by the Democratic Voice of Burma of a nascent weapons programme clearly stated that the project would likely prove too ambitious for the government.
But the admission last week could have myriad benefits for the country and its decrepit energy and health sectors. Burma has had an on-off agreement with Russia to build a nuclear reactor and research laboratory in the country since 2001. The agreement was formalised in 2007, but Russia has never been willing to complete the deal because Burma has obsolete agreements with the IAEA. No country could consider giving nuclear technology to Burma when it has insulated itself against any IAEA inspections.
Burma's treaty agreements with the IAEA stipulate that it has no nuclear materials and no nuclear facilities, and in practice, the IAEA waives the right to normal inspections in the country since both parties agree there is nothing to inspect. There has never been an inspection in Burma to verify the misuse of nuclear materials, and it's unlikely there ever will be, because according to the agreement there are no materials. This is, of course, an endless circular argument.
A research reactor would be a very ordinary research tool in a small country like Burma. It would represent no threat to world peace, particularly when it is subject to regular IAEA nuclear material inspections. But without inspections there would be constant concerns that even a small facility could be used for nefarious purposes. A research reactor would cost Burma about US$150 million, a very small sum for a country rich in mineral, timber and gas resources. If the government decides this is a strain on the budget, it is making a conscious choice in favour of other activities instead of spending on public health and welfare. The probable recipient would be the military, which accounts for more than a quarter of government spending.
It is not clear how Burma planned to use its research reactor. The most likely use would have been to produce medical isotopes for healthcare, a sector so fractured that it might be that the relatively high technology products for nuclear medicine go unused. The reactor could be used to train nuclear engineers for bigger projects in the distant future, for at present, Burma's decrepit technology base means that nuclear power is a distant dream.
Now that Burma has publicly renounced any nuclear activities, there should be no barriers to signing a modern nuclear materials safeguards agreement with the IAEA and modifying its existing codicils that essentially prohibit nuclear inspections in the country. Burma's current agreements are dated from the early 1990s and are completely obsolete.
Burma needs to consider signing the Model Additional Protocol, which grants the IAEA additional inspection rights. It requires Naypyidaw to submit more information on imports and exports of nuclear materials, and report on existing nuclear activities. Because Burma has declared that all planned nuclear activities have ceased, this should be no problem.
It would help to refute accusations by some exiles and analysts, including me, that the government is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. This evidence comes from activities in two mechanical workshops built around 2005 and equipped with modern European machine tools of high calibre. These tools are possibly building processing equipment that could produce uranium for a reactor or a bomb. The equipment was photographed by a Burmese army defector, who smuggled the images out of the country.
To be sure, even if Burma allows inspections under a modern IAEA agreement, the workshops would not be the immediate sites for vetting because they have no nuclear materials, but are only workplaces supporting a programme elsewhere. Fears surrounding these programmes are fuelled by reports of uranium mining, mostly in Shan state, and alleged nuclear activities at Thabeikkyin, north of Mandalay. None of this is being reported to the IAEA.
If Naypyidaw steps up to the table and signs a modern full inspection agreement with the IAEA, then Burma can put these claims to rest. IAEA supervision would also temper concerns about a research reactor.
Failing to do this, however, means that it remains in the small club of countries, alongside Iran and Syria, that have refused to sign the modern agreements, and will retain pariah status. Using the occasion in Vienna to reiterate Burma's commitment to international nuclear material safeguards and robust nuclear inspections holds little credibility unless it is followed with more tangible action.
Robert Kelley is a former director at the International Atomic Energy Agency.
***********************************************************
Brisbane Times - Opinion: Judge Burma's rulers by actions not words
Lindsay Murdoch
October 4, 2011 - 11:32AM
It is unrealistic to expect Burma to emerge suddenly from four decades of isolation and misrule to become a modern, competitive and democratic Asian nation.
Corrupt generals still in charge of the impoverished nation have too much blood on their hands to give up their authority entirely.
But there are indications they intend to allow at least some change, stirring excitement among Burmese analysts and foreign diplomats.
Even if that happens, the outside world should not rush to bring the errant nation back into the fold, past sins forgiven.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was one of south-east Asia's most important commercial and cultural hubs.
People from around the region, including Bangkok, would travel to Rangoon, the nation's bustling riverside capital, to shop or dine in fine restaurants.
But in 1962 Ne Win, a highly superstitious nationalist general, seized power in a coup and introduced what he called the "Burmese way to socialism" that was based in part on extreme elements of Marxism.
Ne Win's policies were disastrous for most Burmese, cutting them off from the world, wiping out their savings, plunging them into poverty and triggering a number of ethnic conflicts in border areas.
Corrupt and brutal military generals ruled the country for the following four decades, ignoring the results of elections in 1990 and violently suppressing uprisings.
But six months ago the generals took off their uniforms, donned civilian clothes and proclaimed a new era of reform under the guise of a civilian government.
The outside world remained sceptical because in the past the generals had made promises to appease the United Nations and its Western member nations, only to renege later.
They worried that the generals were again faking reform to tighten their stranglehold with the help of Western aid and trade.
But in a flurry of recent activity pro-democracy leader Aung Suu Kyi, who has spent 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest, has met three times with the country's president Thein Sein, one of the moderate former generals.
Bans on websites have been eased.
Promises have been made to release prisoners.
New labour laws have been drafted.
And in the most notable development the government last Friday called a halt to work on a $US3.6 billion dam and hydroelectric plant on the Irrawaddy River that was being built in co-operation with China.
Suu Kyi had been among a large number of critics of the project, including environmental and human rights groups.
The generals had never before bowed to public pressure.
The decision was even more significant because it upset Burma's powerful neighbour China.
The next test will be whether the government releases the 2000 political prisoners being held in the country's jails, including key supporters of Suu Kyi.
Western nations, including Australia, have told the generals the release of prisoners, many of whom have been tortured, would be seen internationally as an important step in any reform process.
Analysts warn that much of what the government has promised so far lacks legal backing and could be quickly reversed.
There are hardliners in government with vested interests to protect who are waiting for first opportunity to sabotage the reforms, government insiders have publicly warned.
Progress should be judged on what is happening across the entire country of 50 million people, not just in the new capital, Naypyidaw.
Since the November election fighting has escalated in ethnic minority areas, forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes.
Hundreds of prisoners taken from prisons and labour camps are being forced to work as porters in an army offensive against Karen rebels in the east of the country.
Human rights groups say the Burmese army is still committing human rights abuses on a "massive scale" in clashes with rebel groups.
Fighting has recently spread to some border areas where it had not occurred for 20 years.
The upsurge in violence comes amid $US20 billion of investments in infrastructure projects such as dams and pipelines over the past year alone, much of it from resource-hungry China.
Thein Sein has been lobbying for the end of US and European economic sanctions, promoting the vision of Burma becoming an important regional trade and industrial hub.
He also wants Burma to be given the nod to chair the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations in 2014, a role it was previously denied.
What has become clear is that Thein Sein believes accommodating Suu Kyi in the decision-making will help achieve these goals, no matter how despised she is by some government hardliners.
His relationship with her will be critical to Burma's future.
For decades the generals refused to speak to or negotiate with Suu Kyi, the daughter of Burma's independence hero General Aung San, whose National League for Democracy won 80 per cent of parliamentary seats in 1990 elections.
But Suu Kyi's views will be pivotal to how the international community reacts to developments in Burma in the coming weeks and months.
ASEAN nations should not endorse Burma's bid to chair their organisation until all political prisoners are released and there is a solid timetable for genuine human rights reforms.
Any easing of international economic sanctions should be tied to specific benchmarks, including guarantees for the future of 140,000 Burmese languishing in camps in Thailand, too afraid to return home.
Suu Kyi believes there is an opportunity for change in the country while remaining cautiously optimistic it will occur.
"This is the kind of thing I could never have done (previously), so we are making progress, but we need more," she said in a recent video-link to a conference in New York.
Lindsay Murdoch is Age and Sydney Morning Herald South-East Asia correspondent.
Lindsay Murdoch
October 4, 2011 - 11:32AM
It is unrealistic to expect Burma to emerge suddenly from four decades of isolation and misrule to become a modern, competitive and democratic Asian nation.
Corrupt generals still in charge of the impoverished nation have too much blood on their hands to give up their authority entirely.
But there are indications they intend to allow at least some change, stirring excitement among Burmese analysts and foreign diplomats.
Even if that happens, the outside world should not rush to bring the errant nation back into the fold, past sins forgiven.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was one of south-east Asia's most important commercial and cultural hubs.
People from around the region, including Bangkok, would travel to Rangoon, the nation's bustling riverside capital, to shop or dine in fine restaurants.
But in 1962 Ne Win, a highly superstitious nationalist general, seized power in a coup and introduced what he called the "Burmese way to socialism" that was based in part on extreme elements of Marxism.
Ne Win's policies were disastrous for most Burmese, cutting them off from the world, wiping out their savings, plunging them into poverty and triggering a number of ethnic conflicts in border areas.
Corrupt and brutal military generals ruled the country for the following four decades, ignoring the results of elections in 1990 and violently suppressing uprisings.
But six months ago the generals took off their uniforms, donned civilian clothes and proclaimed a new era of reform under the guise of a civilian government.
The outside world remained sceptical because in the past the generals had made promises to appease the United Nations and its Western member nations, only to renege later.
They worried that the generals were again faking reform to tighten their stranglehold with the help of Western aid and trade.
But in a flurry of recent activity pro-democracy leader Aung Suu Kyi, who has spent 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest, has met three times with the country's president Thein Sein, one of the moderate former generals.
Bans on websites have been eased.
Promises have been made to release prisoners.
New labour laws have been drafted.
And in the most notable development the government last Friday called a halt to work on a $US3.6 billion dam and hydroelectric plant on the Irrawaddy River that was being built in co-operation with China.
Suu Kyi had been among a large number of critics of the project, including environmental and human rights groups.
The generals had never before bowed to public pressure.
The decision was even more significant because it upset Burma's powerful neighbour China.
The next test will be whether the government releases the 2000 political prisoners being held in the country's jails, including key supporters of Suu Kyi.
Western nations, including Australia, have told the generals the release of prisoners, many of whom have been tortured, would be seen internationally as an important step in any reform process.
Analysts warn that much of what the government has promised so far lacks legal backing and could be quickly reversed.
There are hardliners in government with vested interests to protect who are waiting for first opportunity to sabotage the reforms, government insiders have publicly warned.
Progress should be judged on what is happening across the entire country of 50 million people, not just in the new capital, Naypyidaw.
Since the November election fighting has escalated in ethnic minority areas, forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes.
Hundreds of prisoners taken from prisons and labour camps are being forced to work as porters in an army offensive against Karen rebels in the east of the country.
Human rights groups say the Burmese army is still committing human rights abuses on a "massive scale" in clashes with rebel groups.
Fighting has recently spread to some border areas where it had not occurred for 20 years.
The upsurge in violence comes amid $US20 billion of investments in infrastructure projects such as dams and pipelines over the past year alone, much of it from resource-hungry China.
Thein Sein has been lobbying for the end of US and European economic sanctions, promoting the vision of Burma becoming an important regional trade and industrial hub.
He also wants Burma to be given the nod to chair the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations in 2014, a role it was previously denied.
What has become clear is that Thein Sein believes accommodating Suu Kyi in the decision-making will help achieve these goals, no matter how despised she is by some government hardliners.
His relationship with her will be critical to Burma's future.
For decades the generals refused to speak to or negotiate with Suu Kyi, the daughter of Burma's independence hero General Aung San, whose National League for Democracy won 80 per cent of parliamentary seats in 1990 elections.
But Suu Kyi's views will be pivotal to how the international community reacts to developments in Burma in the coming weeks and months.
ASEAN nations should not endorse Burma's bid to chair their organisation until all political prisoners are released and there is a solid timetable for genuine human rights reforms.
Any easing of international economic sanctions should be tied to specific benchmarks, including guarantees for the future of 140,000 Burmese languishing in camps in Thailand, too afraid to return home.
Suu Kyi believes there is an opportunity for change in the country while remaining cautiously optimistic it will occur.
"This is the kind of thing I could never have done (previously), so we are making progress, but we need more," she said in a recent video-link to a conference in New York.
Lindsay Murdoch is Age and Sydney Morning Herald South-East Asia correspondent.
***********************************************************
Brisbane Times - Opinion: Burma's mooted reforms must be watched closely
Lindsay Murdoch
October 4, 2011
It is unrealistic to expect Burma to emerge suddenly from four decades of isolation and misrule to become a modern, competitive and democratic Asian nation. The corrupt generals still in charge of the impoverished nation have too much blood on their hands to give up their authority entirely.
But there are indications they intend to allow at least some change, stirring excitement among Burmese analysts and foreign diplomats. Even if that happens, the outside world should not rush to bring the errant nation back into the fold, past sins forgiven.
In the late '50s and early '60s the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was one of south-east Asia's most important commercial and cultural hubs. People from around the region, including Bangkok, would travel to Rangoon, the nation's bustling riverside capital, to shop or dine in fine restaurants.
But in 1962 Ne Win, a highly superstitious nationalist general, seized power in a coup and introduced what he called the ''Burmese way to socialism'', which was based in part on extreme elements of Marxism.
His policies were disastrous for most Burmese, cutting them off from the world, wiping out their savings, plunging them into poverty and triggering a number of ethnic conflicts in border areas.
Corrupt and brutal military generals ruled the country for the following four decades, ignoring the results of elections in 1990 and brutally suppressing uprisings.
But six months ago the generals took off their uniforms, donned civilian clothes and proclaimed a new era of reform under the guise of a civilian government. The outside world remained sceptical because in the past the generals had made promises to appease the United Nations and its Western member nations, only to renege later.
They worried the generals were again faking reform to tighten their stranglehold with the help of Western aid and trade. But, in a flurry of recent activity, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest, has met the country's President, Thein Sein, one of the more moderate former generals, three times.
Bans on websites have been eased. Promises have been made to release prisoners. New labour laws have been drafted.
And in the most notable development, the government on Friday called a halt to work on a $US3.6 billion dam and hydroelectric plant on the Irrawaddy River that was being built in co-operation with China.
Ms Suu Kyi had been among a large number of critics of the project, including environmental and human rights groups. The generals had never before bowed to public pressure. The decision was even more significant because it upset Burma's powerful neighbour, China.
The next test will be whether the government releases all 2000 political prisoners being held in the country's jails, including supporters of Ms Suu Kyi. Western nations, including Australia, have told the generals the release of prisoners, many of whom have been tortured, would be seen internationally as an important step in any reform process.
Analysts warn much of what the government has promised so far lacks legal backing and could be quickly reversed. There are hardliners in government with vested interests to protect who are waiting for the first opportunity to sabotage the reforms, government insiders have publicly said.
Progress should be judged on what is happening across the entire country of 50 million people, not just in the new capital, Naypyidaw. Since the November election fighting has increased in ethnic minority areas, forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes.
Hundreds of prisoners taken from prisons and labour camps are being forced to work as porters in an army offensive against Karen rebels in the east of the country. Human rights groups say the Burmese Army is still committing human rights abuses on a ''massive scale'' in clashes with rebel groups. Fighting has recently spread to some border areas where it had not occurred for 20 years.
The upsurge in violence comes amid $US20 billion of investments in infrastructure projects such as dams and pipelines over the past year alone, much of it from resource-hungry China.
Mr Thein Sein has been lobbying for the end of US and European economic sanctions, promoting the vision of Burma becoming an important regional trade and industrial hub.
He also wants Burma to be given the nod to chair the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations in 2014, a role it has previously been denied.
What has become clear is that Mr Thein Sein believes accommodating Ms Suu Kyi in the decision-making will help achieve these goals, no matter how despised she is by some government hardliners. His relationship with her will be critical to Burma's future.
For decades the generals refused to speak to Ms Suu Kyi, the daughter of Burma's independence hero General Aung San, whose National League for Democracy party won 80 per cent of parliamentary seats in the 1990 elections.
But Ms Suu Kyi's views will be pivotal to how the international community reacts to developments in Burma in the coming weeks and months.
ASEAN nations should not endorse Burma's bid to chair their organisation until all political prisoners are released and there is a solid timetable for genuine human rights reforms.
Any easing of international economic sanctions should be tied to specific benchmarks, including guarantees for the future of 140,000 Burmese languishing in camps in Thailand, too afraid to return home.
Ms Suu Kyi believes there is an opportunity for change in the country while remaining cautiously optimistic it will occur.
''This is the kind of thing I could never have done [previously], so we are making progress, but we need more,'' she said in a recent video-link to a conference in New York.
Lindsay Murdoch
October 4, 2011
It is unrealistic to expect Burma to emerge suddenly from four decades of isolation and misrule to become a modern, competitive and democratic Asian nation. The corrupt generals still in charge of the impoverished nation have too much blood on their hands to give up their authority entirely.
But there are indications they intend to allow at least some change, stirring excitement among Burmese analysts and foreign diplomats. Even if that happens, the outside world should not rush to bring the errant nation back into the fold, past sins forgiven.
In the late '50s and early '60s the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was one of south-east Asia's most important commercial and cultural hubs. People from around the region, including Bangkok, would travel to Rangoon, the nation's bustling riverside capital, to shop or dine in fine restaurants.
But in 1962 Ne Win, a highly superstitious nationalist general, seized power in a coup and introduced what he called the ''Burmese way to socialism'', which was based in part on extreme elements of Marxism.
His policies were disastrous for most Burmese, cutting them off from the world, wiping out their savings, plunging them into poverty and triggering a number of ethnic conflicts in border areas.
Corrupt and brutal military generals ruled the country for the following four decades, ignoring the results of elections in 1990 and brutally suppressing uprisings.
But six months ago the generals took off their uniforms, donned civilian clothes and proclaimed a new era of reform under the guise of a civilian government. The outside world remained sceptical because in the past the generals had made promises to appease the United Nations and its Western member nations, only to renege later.
They worried the generals were again faking reform to tighten their stranglehold with the help of Western aid and trade. But, in a flurry of recent activity, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest, has met the country's President, Thein Sein, one of the more moderate former generals, three times.
Bans on websites have been eased. Promises have been made to release prisoners. New labour laws have been drafted.
And in the most notable development, the government on Friday called a halt to work on a $US3.6 billion dam and hydroelectric plant on the Irrawaddy River that was being built in co-operation with China.
Ms Suu Kyi had been among a large number of critics of the project, including environmental and human rights groups. The generals had never before bowed to public pressure. The decision was even more significant because it upset Burma's powerful neighbour, China.
The next test will be whether the government releases all 2000 political prisoners being held in the country's jails, including supporters of Ms Suu Kyi. Western nations, including Australia, have told the generals the release of prisoners, many of whom have been tortured, would be seen internationally as an important step in any reform process.
Analysts warn much of what the government has promised so far lacks legal backing and could be quickly reversed. There are hardliners in government with vested interests to protect who are waiting for the first opportunity to sabotage the reforms, government insiders have publicly said.
Progress should be judged on what is happening across the entire country of 50 million people, not just in the new capital, Naypyidaw. Since the November election fighting has increased in ethnic minority areas, forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes.
Hundreds of prisoners taken from prisons and labour camps are being forced to work as porters in an army offensive against Karen rebels in the east of the country. Human rights groups say the Burmese Army is still committing human rights abuses on a ''massive scale'' in clashes with rebel groups. Fighting has recently spread to some border areas where it had not occurred for 20 years.
The upsurge in violence comes amid $US20 billion of investments in infrastructure projects such as dams and pipelines over the past year alone, much of it from resource-hungry China.
Mr Thein Sein has been lobbying for the end of US and European economic sanctions, promoting the vision of Burma becoming an important regional trade and industrial hub.
He also wants Burma to be given the nod to chair the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations in 2014, a role it has previously been denied.
What has become clear is that Mr Thein Sein believes accommodating Ms Suu Kyi in the decision-making will help achieve these goals, no matter how despised she is by some government hardliners. His relationship with her will be critical to Burma's future.
For decades the generals refused to speak to Ms Suu Kyi, the daughter of Burma's independence hero General Aung San, whose National League for Democracy party won 80 per cent of parliamentary seats in the 1990 elections.
But Ms Suu Kyi's views will be pivotal to how the international community reacts to developments in Burma in the coming weeks and months.
ASEAN nations should not endorse Burma's bid to chair their organisation until all political prisoners are released and there is a solid timetable for genuine human rights reforms.
Any easing of international economic sanctions should be tied to specific benchmarks, including guarantees for the future of 140,000 Burmese languishing in camps in Thailand, too afraid to return home.
Ms Suu Kyi believes there is an opportunity for change in the country while remaining cautiously optimistic it will occur.
''This is the kind of thing I could never have done [previously], so we are making progress, but we need more,'' she said in a recent video-link to a conference in New York.
***********************************************************
Guardian Unlimited - Editorial; Burma: letting the waters flow
The decision to halt the Myitsone dam could be a sign that, after nearly two decades of international isolation, reformists are gaining the upper hand
guardian.co.uk, Monday 3 October 2011 15.26 EDT
There are many good reasons why construction on a huge Chinese-funded dam on the Irrawaddy river in Burma should never be completed. It was going to cause an environmental disaster, sucking the life out of Burma's most important river and devastating the downstream rice paddy communities; it would have flooded an area the size of Singapore, displacing 10,000 people; 90% of the electricity generated from its turbines would have gone north to China, which is only one-10th as energy-efficient as Japan; the project has exacerbated ethnic tensions with the Kachins in the north of the country. But none of these would have been cited as valid reasons by a Burmese leader. Until now.
Quite why President Thein Sein ordered the suspension of the project remains a mystery. He informed parliament that it was against the will of the people, but that has never been much of an obstacle in the past for a nation ruled by military fiat. The dam has certainly been the source of major domestic controversy, amplified by the arrival of a civilian government in March. The decision could be a sign that, after nearly two decades of international isolation, reformists are gaining the upper hand. There are others. A reporter from the BBC's Burmese language service was allowed into the country – a rare enough event – to interview the de facto opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She has been cautious in her criticisms of the government since her release from house arrest last year, but wrote an open letter calling for the project to be scrapped. She thought she was starting to see the beginnings of change. There are rumours of a mass release of political prisoners. Some websites have been unblocked, and there have been a number of meetings between the new government and Aung San Suu Kyi, although she herself will judge the new government by the results: "I think I'd like to see a few more turns before I believe the wheels are turning."
The halt to the $3.6bn Myitsone dam, the largest single Chinese investment in Burma, will seriously annoy Beijing. There are six other dams in the same cascade which represent a $20bn investment by China. For the same reason that Thein Sein's decision went down well in Burma, it will be interpreted by China as a move to break free of its orbit. Burma was pushed into China's arms by the sanctions imposed on it by the EU, US, Canada and Japan. That process could now be about to be reversed. China saw in Burma a ready source of energy and raw materials. It had eager clients in the crony generals who ran Burma. If one faction in the government is now forging an independent path, it should be encouraged to do so.
The decision to halt the Myitsone dam could be a sign that, after nearly two decades of international isolation, reformists are gaining the upper hand
guardian.co.uk, Monday 3 October 2011 15.26 EDT
There are many good reasons why construction on a huge Chinese-funded dam on the Irrawaddy river in Burma should never be completed. It was going to cause an environmental disaster, sucking the life out of Burma's most important river and devastating the downstream rice paddy communities; it would have flooded an area the size of Singapore, displacing 10,000 people; 90% of the electricity generated from its turbines would have gone north to China, which is only one-10th as energy-efficient as Japan; the project has exacerbated ethnic tensions with the Kachins in the north of the country. But none of these would have been cited as valid reasons by a Burmese leader. Until now.
Quite why President Thein Sein ordered the suspension of the project remains a mystery. He informed parliament that it was against the will of the people, but that has never been much of an obstacle in the past for a nation ruled by military fiat. The dam has certainly been the source of major domestic controversy, amplified by the arrival of a civilian government in March. The decision could be a sign that, after nearly two decades of international isolation, reformists are gaining the upper hand. There are others. A reporter from the BBC's Burmese language service was allowed into the country – a rare enough event – to interview the de facto opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She has been cautious in her criticisms of the government since her release from house arrest last year, but wrote an open letter calling for the project to be scrapped. She thought she was starting to see the beginnings of change. There are rumours of a mass release of political prisoners. Some websites have been unblocked, and there have been a number of meetings between the new government and Aung San Suu Kyi, although she herself will judge the new government by the results: "I think I'd like to see a few more turns before I believe the wheels are turning."
The halt to the $3.6bn Myitsone dam, the largest single Chinese investment in Burma, will seriously annoy Beijing. There are six other dams in the same cascade which represent a $20bn investment by China. For the same reason that Thein Sein's decision went down well in Burma, it will be interpreted by China as a move to break free of its orbit. Burma was pushed into China's arms by the sanctions imposed on it by the EU, US, Canada and Japan. That process could now be about to be reversed. China saw in Burma a ready source of energy and raw materials. It had eager clients in the crony generals who ran Burma. If one faction in the government is now forging an independent path, it should be encouraged to do so.
***********************************************************
Mail & Guardian - Aung San Suu Kyi hails Archbishop Desmond Tutu
KATHARINE CHILD - Oct 04 2011 07:44
Burma's pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's, says she sometimes thinks the South African government "does not stand up for human rights in same way as its individuals such as Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu do".
But she maintained that the country's struggle against apartheid was nevertheless an inspiration to her and her followers.
The Nobel Laureate answered questions and addressed about 50 activists and academics at the University of Johannesburg on Monday evening via a video link up that was described by the audience as a "historic" occasion.
Suu Kyi is being awarded an honorary doctorate from the university on Tuesday night. Her cousin Dr Sein Win has flown from the United States, where he lives in exile, to accept the degree on her behalf.
Members of the audience that included Burmese exiles and activists called the event "emotional".
Suu Kyi has not left Burma since 1989 when she was first placed under house arrest for her involvement in pro-democracy activities in the country.
It is believed she is afraid she would not be permitted re-entry by the military-run government should she ever leave. This decision to stay within the borders of Burma meant she was did not see her British husband for the last years of his life as he had returned to the UK and was banned from entering Burma.
Suu Kyi has spent 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest and at one point was offered freedom if she left Burma permanently but she chose not to. She was awarded a Nobel peace prize in 1991 for her efforts to obtain democracy peacefully.
Despite the fact she doesn't travel abroad, the Nobel Laureate told the university's audience she "would like to come to South Africa and see what is going on there".
Suu Kyi, sitting on a couch in Burma, with her hair in a trademark ponytail, fielded questions from the audience about life in her country.
On the Dalai Lama
One question touched on South Africa's foreign policy and continued reluctance to grant the Dalai Lama a visa. The Tibetan spiritual leader has been invited to speak at Desmond Tutu's 80th birthday party on Saturday but the South African government has not granted him a visa despite growing civil pressure on the state to do so.
Suu Kyi was diplomatic. "I do not want to say anything that would hurt South Africa" she said. "It would be so good if those who successfully overcame their problems would remember those who would remember these who did."
South Africa used its seat on the United Nations Security Council in 2007 to side with China and Russia and voted against placing sanctions on Burma, and has refused to join campaigns to isolate the military-led government.
'SA has achieved so much'
Yet Suu Kyi heaped praise on South Africa for overcoming the divisions in apartheid. "You have achieved so much. We think will be able to achieve so much with friends of you".
Suu Kyi graciously shrugged off the compliments she was given by members by the Johannesburg audience. "I am terribly flattered you are inspired by me. I am inspired by you ... We draw our inspiration from you. We have always followed developments in South Africa."
"Your support means so much," she told South Africans.
Not so fast
However, Dr Thein Win, leader of the local chapter of the Free Burma campaign was scathing of the South Africa's foreign policy.
The doctor, who is not allowed to re-enter Burma due to his pro-democracy work, says the Burmese people he meets in nearby Thailand have all heard about Mandela -- yet he is unable to explain to them why the South Africa government does not support the Burmese activists despite its own liberation history.
"Grass roots activism [to support Burmese democracy] stands in stark contrast to the government's foreign policy" said the founder of the free Burma campaign," Dr Kiru Naidoo, after Suu Kyi's address.
But despite the country's failure to support her cause, Suu Kyi wished South Africa well. "I hope South Africa can go from strength to strength and become a beacon of hope to the world."
KATHARINE CHILD - Oct 04 2011 07:44
Burma's pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's, says she sometimes thinks the South African government "does not stand up for human rights in same way as its individuals such as Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu do".
But she maintained that the country's struggle against apartheid was nevertheless an inspiration to her and her followers.
The Nobel Laureate answered questions and addressed about 50 activists and academics at the University of Johannesburg on Monday evening via a video link up that was described by the audience as a "historic" occasion.
Suu Kyi is being awarded an honorary doctorate from the university on Tuesday night. Her cousin Dr Sein Win has flown from the United States, where he lives in exile, to accept the degree on her behalf.
Members of the audience that included Burmese exiles and activists called the event "emotional".
Suu Kyi has not left Burma since 1989 when she was first placed under house arrest for her involvement in pro-democracy activities in the country.
It is believed she is afraid she would not be permitted re-entry by the military-run government should she ever leave. This decision to stay within the borders of Burma meant she was did not see her British husband for the last years of his life as he had returned to the UK and was banned from entering Burma.
Suu Kyi has spent 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest and at one point was offered freedom if she left Burma permanently but she chose not to. She was awarded a Nobel peace prize in 1991 for her efforts to obtain democracy peacefully.
Despite the fact she doesn't travel abroad, the Nobel Laureate told the university's audience she "would like to come to South Africa and see what is going on there".
Suu Kyi, sitting on a couch in Burma, with her hair in a trademark ponytail, fielded questions from the audience about life in her country.
On the Dalai Lama
One question touched on South Africa's foreign policy and continued reluctance to grant the Dalai Lama a visa. The Tibetan spiritual leader has been invited to speak at Desmond Tutu's 80th birthday party on Saturday but the South African government has not granted him a visa despite growing civil pressure on the state to do so.
Suu Kyi was diplomatic. "I do not want to say anything that would hurt South Africa" she said. "It would be so good if those who successfully overcame their problems would remember those who would remember these who did."
South Africa used its seat on the United Nations Security Council in 2007 to side with China and Russia and voted against placing sanctions on Burma, and has refused to join campaigns to isolate the military-led government.
'SA has achieved so much'
Yet Suu Kyi heaped praise on South Africa for overcoming the divisions in apartheid. "You have achieved so much. We think will be able to achieve so much with friends of you".
Suu Kyi graciously shrugged off the compliments she was given by members by the Johannesburg audience. "I am terribly flattered you are inspired by me. I am inspired by you ... We draw our inspiration from you. We have always followed developments in South Africa."
"Your support means so much," she told South Africans.
Not so fast
However, Dr Thein Win, leader of the local chapter of the Free Burma campaign was scathing of the South Africa's foreign policy.
The doctor, who is not allowed to re-enter Burma due to his pro-democracy work, says the Burmese people he meets in nearby Thailand have all heard about Mandela -- yet he is unable to explain to them why the South Africa government does not support the Burmese activists despite its own liberation history.
"Grass roots activism [to support Burmese democracy] stands in stark contrast to the government's foreign policy" said the founder of the free Burma campaign," Dr Kiru Naidoo, after Suu Kyi's address.
But despite the country's failure to support her cause, Suu Kyi wished South Africa well. "I hope South Africa can go from strength to strength and become a beacon of hope to the world."
***********************************************************
Asia News Network - 'Myanmar dam not an eco threat': Chinese businessman
News Desk, China Daily
Publication Date : 04-10-2011
A senior Chinese executive involved in Myanmar's halted Myitsone hydropower project on Monday refuted claims by green NGOs that the dam poses a serious threat to the environment.
According to local media, Myanmar President Thien Sein has suspended work on the plant in the country's northern Kachin State over concerns the dam will inundate an area roughly the size of Singapore, submerging dozens of villages and displacing at least 10,000 people.
The project is the largest of several dams planned for the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy River.
However, in an interview with Chinese media, Lu Qizhou, president of China Power Investment, Myitsone's largest investor, insisted more than 100 experts from China and Myanmar had conducted environmental impact studies and found no cause for alarm.
"According to site investigations, vegetation only accounts for a small part in the flooded area, and the flooded land only accounts for 1.4 percent of the whole (Irrawaddy) basin," he said, adding that any protected plants are already widely found outside the reservoir area.
Lu also said his company has assisted in the resettlement of 2,146 people, while fully respecting local religious and ethnic customs.
The Myitsone project is a joint venture between China Power Investment, Myanmar's Ministry of Electric Power and Asia World, a private company in Myanmar.
Lu said that China Power Investment will be responsible for operation of the dam for 50 years, following which it will be transferred to the Myanmar government for free. After its transfer, the Myanmar government will have a fixed-asset increase worth tens of billions of dollars, in addition to hundreds of billions of dollars in direct economic benefits, he added.
"Either in terms of direct economic benefit or indirect profit, the upstream Irrawaddy hydropower project will significantly boost economic and social development in Myanmar," Lu said, in answer to NGO claims that the plant will benefit only China. "In terms of direct economic benefit, when the hydropower stations, including Myitsone, are completed, Myanmar will gain US$54 billion through taxation, free electricity and share dividends, far more than China Power Investment's return during our operation period," he said.
China's Foreign Ministry on Saturday urged consultation over the suspended project, saying the legitimate rights and interests of companies involved should be protected.
The Myitsone project was started in December 2009. With an installed capacity of 6,000 megawatts, it is estimated to yield 29,400 million kilowatt-hours a year on completion, scheduled to be in 2019.
Lu said the project will help Myanmar's electric industry realize leapfrog development, raise flood prevention standards, improve infrastructure (750 km of roads will be built) and boost job opportunities, as more than 40,000 workers will be needed during construction.
Myanmar is regarded one of few countries in the world with abundant hydropower resources, although its current rate of development and utilization is only 2.45 percent, compared with an average of 60 percent in developed nations.
News Desk, China Daily
Publication Date : 04-10-2011
A senior Chinese executive involved in Myanmar's halted Myitsone hydropower project on Monday refuted claims by green NGOs that the dam poses a serious threat to the environment.
According to local media, Myanmar President Thien Sein has suspended work on the plant in the country's northern Kachin State over concerns the dam will inundate an area roughly the size of Singapore, submerging dozens of villages and displacing at least 10,000 people.
The project is the largest of several dams planned for the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy River.
However, in an interview with Chinese media, Lu Qizhou, president of China Power Investment, Myitsone's largest investor, insisted more than 100 experts from China and Myanmar had conducted environmental impact studies and found no cause for alarm.
"According to site investigations, vegetation only accounts for a small part in the flooded area, and the flooded land only accounts for 1.4 percent of the whole (Irrawaddy) basin," he said, adding that any protected plants are already widely found outside the reservoir area.
Lu also said his company has assisted in the resettlement of 2,146 people, while fully respecting local religious and ethnic customs.
The Myitsone project is a joint venture between China Power Investment, Myanmar's Ministry of Electric Power and Asia World, a private company in Myanmar.
Lu said that China Power Investment will be responsible for operation of the dam for 50 years, following which it will be transferred to the Myanmar government for free. After its transfer, the Myanmar government will have a fixed-asset increase worth tens of billions of dollars, in addition to hundreds of billions of dollars in direct economic benefits, he added.
"Either in terms of direct economic benefit or indirect profit, the upstream Irrawaddy hydropower project will significantly boost economic and social development in Myanmar," Lu said, in answer to NGO claims that the plant will benefit only China. "In terms of direct economic benefit, when the hydropower stations, including Myitsone, are completed, Myanmar will gain US$54 billion through taxation, free electricity and share dividends, far more than China Power Investment's return during our operation period," he said.
China's Foreign Ministry on Saturday urged consultation over the suspended project, saying the legitimate rights and interests of companies involved should be protected.
The Myitsone project was started in December 2009. With an installed capacity of 6,000 megawatts, it is estimated to yield 29,400 million kilowatt-hours a year on completion, scheduled to be in 2019.
Lu said the project will help Myanmar's electric industry realize leapfrog development, raise flood prevention standards, improve infrastructure (750 km of roads will be built) and boost job opportunities, as more than 40,000 workers will be needed during construction.
Myanmar is regarded one of few countries in the world with abundant hydropower resources, although its current rate of development and utilization is only 2.45 percent, compared with an average of 60 percent in developed nations.
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Ever since the brutal Burmese suppression of democracy movement in the late 1980s, China has emerged as the principal backer of the military regime that renamed the country Myanmar. Sanctioned by the West, the military regime depends on China for trade, arms supplies and infrastructure aid. Now a presidential announcement suspending the Myitsone Dam project on the Irrawaddy River, a joint venture with China, could signal the Burmese military’s disenchantment with China or at least a show of desire to distance itself from the powerful neighbor if only to win Western support, explains Burma expert Bertil Lintner. The move could also give the regime a degree of legitimacy because 90 percent of power generated was expected to go to China and Burmese citizens, including Nobel laureate Aung San Su Kie, protested the environmental damage. But playing the “China Card” while repressing citizen demands for democratic reforms may not be enough to satisfy the critical West. – YaleGlobal
YaleGlobal - Burma Delivers Its First Rebuff to China
Shelving of gigantic Chinese hydroelectric dam could be a signal to the West
Bertil Lintner
YaleGlobal, 3 October 2011
CHIANG MAI: At a time when Asian countries are increasingly worried about China’s growing assertiveness, Burma’s rejection of a huge Chinese hydroelectric dam project has raised new questions: Is this a rare victory for civil society in a repressive country? Or does it indicate an internal dispute over the country’s dependence on China? Regardless of the answers to these questions, the public difference over a close ally’s project marks a new stage in the Burma-China relationship.
On September 30, Burma’s new president, Thein Sein, sent a statement to the country’s parliament announcing that a joint venture with China to build a mega-dam in the far north of the country had been suspended because “it was contrary to the will of the people.” The US$3.6 billion The Myitsone Dam would have been world’s 15th tallest and submerged 766 square kilometers of forestland, an area bigger than Singapore.
It’s unclear if Chinese counterparts were consulted before the decision was made public. Burma has depended on its powerful northern neighbor for trade, political support and arms deliveries since the West shunned the Burmese regime following massacres of pro-democracy demonstrators in 1988.
Public opinion may have played its part. Under the 2006 deal, 90 percent of power generated from Myitsone would have gone to China. Anger over environmental destruction galvanized people against the regime in a way that the country had not seen for years. The dam was a dagger in the heart of the Kachins, the predominant ethnic minority in the area. Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi threw her support behind the anti-dam movement. Many made their voices heard over Facebook – a new tool for anti-regime activists.
People inside Burma can’t protest openly, but "Save the Irrawaddy" meetings have been held in Rangoon. Burmese exiles have staged anti-Chinese demonstrations outside Burmese and Chinese embassies abroad. Anti-Chinese sentiment is growing in Burma, especially in the north where Chinese influence is the strongest. According to reports from Kachin State, many Chinese nationals working in the state, including traders, have fled to China following the outbreak of hostilities between the Kachin Independence Army and government forces.
But public opinion has never been a strong factor when it comes to influencing the Burmese regime. The regime doesn’t want to risk another outbreak of anti-government protests similar to the 2007 monks’ movement and invite international condemnation with more US and EU sanctions.
Dissatisfaction within the armed forces over China's growing influence in Burma is a more likely reason for the move to suspend the dam project.
Burma has historically had a strained relationship with its northern neighbor. From the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 until 1962, Beijing maintained a cordial relationship with the non-aligned democratic government of Prime Minister U Nu. Burma was the first country outside the communist bloc to recognize the new regime in Beijing. After General Ne Win staged a coup d’etat in 1962, the Chinese, long wary of the ambitious, sometimes unpredictable general, prepared for all-out support for the insurgent Communist Party of Burma (CPB).
Anti-Chinese riots in Rangoon in 1967 – orchestrated by military authorities to deflect public anger over a deteriorating economy – provided an excuse for Chinese to intervene. On New Year’s Day 1968, armed CPB units entered northeastern Burma from China’s Yunnan Province. Over the next decade, China poured more aid into the CPB effort than any other communist movement outside of Indochina.
A clandestine radio station, the People’s Voice of Burma, began transmitting from the Yunnan side of the frontier in 1971. Thousands of Chinese streamed across the border, providing additional support to the CPB.
Mao’s death in 1976, and the subsequent return to power of pragmatist Deng Xiaoping, marked the beginning of the end of massive Chinese aid to the CPB. Supporting revolutionary movements in the region was no longer in Beijing's interest. Still, China coveted Burma’s forests, rich deposits of minerals and natural gas, and hydroelectric power potential.
Ending Chinese support to the CPB ushered in a more cordial era in Sino-Burmese relations, the relations growing by leaps and bound after the 1988 bloody suppression of pro-democracy movement in Burma. Apart from supplying Burma with vast quantities of military hardware, by 1991, Chinese experts assisted in a series of infrastructure projects.
Chinese military advisers soon arrived, the first foreign military personnel stationed in Burma since the 1950s. Cross-border trade between China and Burma boomed.
More recently, China has provided Burma with low-interest loans, and Chinese investment in the sanctions-hit economy is substantial, particularly true of the energy sector. For example, an agreement on a gas pipeline from the Bay of Bengal will be supplemented with an oil pipeline designed to allow Chinese ships carrying Middle Eastern oil to skirt the congested Malacca Strait.
The heavy dependence on China has led to consternation among many Burmese military leaders. Those leaders do not forget that they once fought against the China-backed CPB, that their comrades were killed by Chinese arms. Aung Lynn Htut, a former intelligence officer who sought US political asylum in 2005, drew on those memories in a September commentary for The Irrawaddy, a website run by Burmese exiles.
China has called for “talks” after President Thein Sein’s statement, but skeptics point out that a 2009 internal report by the China Power Investment Corporation, the company behind the dam, said that the size was unnecessary and called for the project to be scrapped. And China still has contracts to build six other mega-dams on the Irrawaddy and source rivers.
That Thein Sein dared to make his public statement reveals a wrinkle in Sino-Burmese relations – and how Burma may try to balance foreign relations, perhaps returning to its former policy of strict neutrality and non-alignment.
Some academic observers assert that Beijing’s influence over the Burmese government is exaggerated. China, the argument goes, “has not been as successful in winning Burma’s confidence as often is reported,” as suggested by Andrew Selth, author and strategic studies researcher. The source of Burma’s arms suppliers offers evidence: Although China provided Burma with up to US$1.6 billion worth of military hardware since 1989, the regime has recently turned to Russia, the Ukraine and North Korea to diversify its arms-procurement program.
Instead of democratizing the country, Burma’s new government seems to have chosen to play “the China card,” an attempt to win support of the West. An unsigned opinion piece in The Bangkok Post, written by a Burmese government official, reportedly approved at the highest level in Naypyidaw, lays out its position: “We do not want our country to become a satellite state of the Chinese government. However, Western countries should not force us into a corner where we have no option but to increasingly rely on China.”
In this context, “force” means insistence on genuine democratic reforms. From the regime’s point of view, improved relations with the West could be accomplished simply by playing up the Chinese threat, with the hope of diminishing Western criticism of the regime.
But the regime has time and again stressed that how the country is governed is an internal matter. The West must decide if it will play along.
Bertil Lintner is a Swedish journalist based in Thailand and the author of several works on Asia, including “Blood Brothers: The Criminal Underworld of Asia” and “Great Leader, Dear Leader: Demystifying North Korea under the Kim Clan.” He can be reached at lintner@asiapacificms.com
YaleGlobal - Burma Delivers Its First Rebuff to China
Shelving of gigantic Chinese hydroelectric dam could be a signal to the West
Bertil Lintner
YaleGlobal, 3 October 2011
CHIANG MAI: At a time when Asian countries are increasingly worried about China’s growing assertiveness, Burma’s rejection of a huge Chinese hydroelectric dam project has raised new questions: Is this a rare victory for civil society in a repressive country? Or does it indicate an internal dispute over the country’s dependence on China? Regardless of the answers to these questions, the public difference over a close ally’s project marks a new stage in the Burma-China relationship.
On September 30, Burma’s new president, Thein Sein, sent a statement to the country’s parliament announcing that a joint venture with China to build a mega-dam in the far north of the country had been suspended because “it was contrary to the will of the people.” The US$3.6 billion The Myitsone Dam would have been world’s 15th tallest and submerged 766 square kilometers of forestland, an area bigger than Singapore.
It’s unclear if Chinese counterparts were consulted before the decision was made public. Burma has depended on its powerful northern neighbor for trade, political support and arms deliveries since the West shunned the Burmese regime following massacres of pro-democracy demonstrators in 1988.
Public opinion may have played its part. Under the 2006 deal, 90 percent of power generated from Myitsone would have gone to China. Anger over environmental destruction galvanized people against the regime in a way that the country had not seen for years. The dam was a dagger in the heart of the Kachins, the predominant ethnic minority in the area. Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi threw her support behind the anti-dam movement. Many made their voices heard over Facebook – a new tool for anti-regime activists.
People inside Burma can’t protest openly, but "Save the Irrawaddy" meetings have been held in Rangoon. Burmese exiles have staged anti-Chinese demonstrations outside Burmese and Chinese embassies abroad. Anti-Chinese sentiment is growing in Burma, especially in the north where Chinese influence is the strongest. According to reports from Kachin State, many Chinese nationals working in the state, including traders, have fled to China following the outbreak of hostilities between the Kachin Independence Army and government forces.
But public opinion has never been a strong factor when it comes to influencing the Burmese regime. The regime doesn’t want to risk another outbreak of anti-government protests similar to the 2007 monks’ movement and invite international condemnation with more US and EU sanctions.
Dissatisfaction within the armed forces over China's growing influence in Burma is a more likely reason for the move to suspend the dam project.
Burma has historically had a strained relationship with its northern neighbor. From the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 until 1962, Beijing maintained a cordial relationship with the non-aligned democratic government of Prime Minister U Nu. Burma was the first country outside the communist bloc to recognize the new regime in Beijing. After General Ne Win staged a coup d’etat in 1962, the Chinese, long wary of the ambitious, sometimes unpredictable general, prepared for all-out support for the insurgent Communist Party of Burma (CPB).
Anti-Chinese riots in Rangoon in 1967 – orchestrated by military authorities to deflect public anger over a deteriorating economy – provided an excuse for Chinese to intervene. On New Year’s Day 1968, armed CPB units entered northeastern Burma from China’s Yunnan Province. Over the next decade, China poured more aid into the CPB effort than any other communist movement outside of Indochina.
A clandestine radio station, the People’s Voice of Burma, began transmitting from the Yunnan side of the frontier in 1971. Thousands of Chinese streamed across the border, providing additional support to the CPB.
Mao’s death in 1976, and the subsequent return to power of pragmatist Deng Xiaoping, marked the beginning of the end of massive Chinese aid to the CPB. Supporting revolutionary movements in the region was no longer in Beijing's interest. Still, China coveted Burma’s forests, rich deposits of minerals and natural gas, and hydroelectric power potential.
Ending Chinese support to the CPB ushered in a more cordial era in Sino-Burmese relations, the relations growing by leaps and bound after the 1988 bloody suppression of pro-democracy movement in Burma. Apart from supplying Burma with vast quantities of military hardware, by 1991, Chinese experts assisted in a series of infrastructure projects.
Chinese military advisers soon arrived, the first foreign military personnel stationed in Burma since the 1950s. Cross-border trade between China and Burma boomed.
More recently, China has provided Burma with low-interest loans, and Chinese investment in the sanctions-hit economy is substantial, particularly true of the energy sector. For example, an agreement on a gas pipeline from the Bay of Bengal will be supplemented with an oil pipeline designed to allow Chinese ships carrying Middle Eastern oil to skirt the congested Malacca Strait.
The heavy dependence on China has led to consternation among many Burmese military leaders. Those leaders do not forget that they once fought against the China-backed CPB, that their comrades were killed by Chinese arms. Aung Lynn Htut, a former intelligence officer who sought US political asylum in 2005, drew on those memories in a September commentary for The Irrawaddy, a website run by Burmese exiles.
China has called for “talks” after President Thein Sein’s statement, but skeptics point out that a 2009 internal report by the China Power Investment Corporation, the company behind the dam, said that the size was unnecessary and called for the project to be scrapped. And China still has contracts to build six other mega-dams on the Irrawaddy and source rivers.
That Thein Sein dared to make his public statement reveals a wrinkle in Sino-Burmese relations – and how Burma may try to balance foreign relations, perhaps returning to its former policy of strict neutrality and non-alignment.
Some academic observers assert that Beijing’s influence over the Burmese government is exaggerated. China, the argument goes, “has not been as successful in winning Burma’s confidence as often is reported,” as suggested by Andrew Selth, author and strategic studies researcher. The source of Burma’s arms suppliers offers evidence: Although China provided Burma with up to US$1.6 billion worth of military hardware since 1989, the regime has recently turned to Russia, the Ukraine and North Korea to diversify its arms-procurement program.
Instead of democratizing the country, Burma’s new government seems to have chosen to play “the China card,” an attempt to win support of the West. An unsigned opinion piece in The Bangkok Post, written by a Burmese government official, reportedly approved at the highest level in Naypyidaw, lays out its position: “We do not want our country to become a satellite state of the Chinese government. However, Western countries should not force us into a corner where we have no option but to increasingly rely on China.”
In this context, “force” means insistence on genuine democratic reforms. From the regime’s point of view, improved relations with the West could be accomplished simply by playing up the Chinese threat, with the hope of diminishing Western criticism of the regime.
But the regime has time and again stressed that how the country is governed is an internal matter. The West must decide if it will play along.
Bertil Lintner is a Swedish journalist based in Thailand and the author of several works on Asia, including “Blood Brothers: The Criminal Underworld of Asia” and “Great Leader, Dear Leader: Demystifying North Korea under the Kim Clan.” He can be reached at lintner@asiapacificms.com
***********************************************************
Monsters and Critics - Myanmar back in the world rice trade after long hiatus
By Peter Janssen Oct 4, 2011, 5:21 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar, plagued for decades by government interference in its rice industry, aims to increase its rice exports to 1 million tons this fiscal year, helped by Thailand's price support programme that promises to make the Thai crop less competitive on the world market.
'Our rice is the cheapest in the world,' said Myo Thuya Aye, managing director of the Ayeyar Wun Trading Co.
'Myanmar rice is 50 to 60 dollars cheaper [per ton] than Thai rice, 40 to 50 dollars cheaper than Vietnamese rice and 30 to 40 dollars cheaper than Pakistan's,' Myo Thuya Aye said.
The price differential is seen as a way for the country to nearly double the exports of 570,000 tons it saw in the past fiscal year, which ended March 30.
Last year's low number was largely because the then-ruling military junta was worried about domestic rice prices.
'That was an election year, so the government and the rice association had to consider price stability,' Myo Thuya Aye said.
Myanmar held its first general election in 20 years on November 7, ushering in a government led by the Union Solidarity and Development Party, which is packed with former military men.
Myanmar's new president, former general Thein Sein, has implemented some policies beneficial for Myanmar's private sector, such as dropping an 8-per-cent export tax on rice and 14 other goods in August.
In the first half of this fiscal year, Myanmar shipped an estimated 370,000 tons of rice to markets such as West Africa, Bangladesh and the Philippines. Shipments should rise for the rest of the year, and Myo Thuya Aye said traders hope to export 1 million tons for the entire fiscal year.
'For years, no other country has had an export tax on rice,' said Sein Win Hlaing, chairman of the Myanmar Paddy Producers Association. 'We have been suffering for a long time.'
Myanmar's rice traders have actually been suffering for as much as six decades.
Prior to World War II, Myanmar was the world's leading rice exporter, shipping an average of 3 million tons a year from the Irrawaddy Delta, the country's rice bowl.
Myanmar's first post-independence president, socialist-leaning U Nu (1949-1962), put rice exports under government control, limiting the private sector to the domestic trade.
When military strongman Ne Win seized power in 1962, he nationalized the entire rice industry - exports and domestic trade, mills and warehouses.
Thereafter, Thailand swiftly replaced Myanmar as the world's top exporter, a position it has held for almost four decades but is now in danger of losing.
Thailand exported about 10 million tons of rice in 2010 and is expected to reach a similar level this year.
But nobody knows how Thailand's rice exports will fare in 2012 after the government on Friday introduces a price guarantee scheme for Thai rice farmers.
Under the programme, which was expected to be discussed when Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra visits Myanmar Wednesday, the government is to pay farmers 500 dollars per ton of plain white rice, regardless of the prevailing market price, and 666 dollars for jasmine rice, the fragrant grain Thailand is famed for.
The price guarantees, designed to win votes for the Pheu Thai Party in Thailand's July 3 general election, which it won, is expected to boost Thai rice prices by 40 per cent on the world market.
'It will create a lot of opportunities for other people to come in,' said Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
The Thai move towards government intervention comes just as Myanmar is lifting decades of constraints on its own private sector.
The process began before the current government came to power.
In 2003, the junta allowed private businesses to get involved in rice exports, an activity previously monopolized by the State Agricultural Marketing Board.
In 2009, a year after Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy Delta, the government allowed the establishment of 39 'rice specialist' companies to provide farmers with low-interest loans to purchase fertilizers, pesticides and rice seeds.
Besides waiving the export tax on rice exports, a waiver that is to be reconsidered in February, the new government has also allowed the Myanmar rice association to elect its own board and determine rice export quotas on a monthly basis.
By Peter Janssen Oct 4, 2011, 5:21 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar, plagued for decades by government interference in its rice industry, aims to increase its rice exports to 1 million tons this fiscal year, helped by Thailand's price support programme that promises to make the Thai crop less competitive on the world market.
'Our rice is the cheapest in the world,' said Myo Thuya Aye, managing director of the Ayeyar Wun Trading Co.
'Myanmar rice is 50 to 60 dollars cheaper [per ton] than Thai rice, 40 to 50 dollars cheaper than Vietnamese rice and 30 to 40 dollars cheaper than Pakistan's,' Myo Thuya Aye said.
The price differential is seen as a way for the country to nearly double the exports of 570,000 tons it saw in the past fiscal year, which ended March 30.
Last year's low number was largely because the then-ruling military junta was worried about domestic rice prices.
'That was an election year, so the government and the rice association had to consider price stability,' Myo Thuya Aye said.
Myanmar held its first general election in 20 years on November 7, ushering in a government led by the Union Solidarity and Development Party, which is packed with former military men.
Myanmar's new president, former general Thein Sein, has implemented some policies beneficial for Myanmar's private sector, such as dropping an 8-per-cent export tax on rice and 14 other goods in August.
In the first half of this fiscal year, Myanmar shipped an estimated 370,000 tons of rice to markets such as West Africa, Bangladesh and the Philippines. Shipments should rise for the rest of the year, and Myo Thuya Aye said traders hope to export 1 million tons for the entire fiscal year.
'For years, no other country has had an export tax on rice,' said Sein Win Hlaing, chairman of the Myanmar Paddy Producers Association. 'We have been suffering for a long time.'
Myanmar's rice traders have actually been suffering for as much as six decades.
Prior to World War II, Myanmar was the world's leading rice exporter, shipping an average of 3 million tons a year from the Irrawaddy Delta, the country's rice bowl.
Myanmar's first post-independence president, socialist-leaning U Nu (1949-1962), put rice exports under government control, limiting the private sector to the domestic trade.
When military strongman Ne Win seized power in 1962, he nationalized the entire rice industry - exports and domestic trade, mills and warehouses.
Thereafter, Thailand swiftly replaced Myanmar as the world's top exporter, a position it has held for almost four decades but is now in danger of losing.
Thailand exported about 10 million tons of rice in 2010 and is expected to reach a similar level this year.
But nobody knows how Thailand's rice exports will fare in 2012 after the government on Friday introduces a price guarantee scheme for Thai rice farmers.
Under the programme, which was expected to be discussed when Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra visits Myanmar Wednesday, the government is to pay farmers 500 dollars per ton of plain white rice, regardless of the prevailing market price, and 666 dollars for jasmine rice, the fragrant grain Thailand is famed for.
The price guarantees, designed to win votes for the Pheu Thai Party in Thailand's July 3 general election, which it won, is expected to boost Thai rice prices by 40 per cent on the world market.
'It will create a lot of opportunities for other people to come in,' said Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
The Thai move towards government intervention comes just as Myanmar is lifting decades of constraints on its own private sector.
The process began before the current government came to power.
In 2003, the junta allowed private businesses to get involved in rice exports, an activity previously monopolized by the State Agricultural Marketing Board.
In 2009, a year after Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy Delta, the government allowed the establishment of 39 'rice specialist' companies to provide farmers with low-interest loans to purchase fertilizers, pesticides and rice seeds.
Besides waiving the export tax on rice exports, a waiver that is to be reconsidered in February, the new government has also allowed the Myanmar rice association to elect its own board and determine rice export quotas on a monthly basis.
***********************************************************
Myanmar's surprising government
The Economist - Dammed if they don't
Oct 4th 2011, 1:15 by The Economist online
OBSERVERS are still wrestling with the implications of a stunning piece of news out of Myanmar on September 30th. Thein Sein, the president, informed parliament that work on a huge $3.6 billion dam on a confluence of the Irrawaddy river in the north-east of the country would be suspended for the duration of his term in office, ie, until at least 2015.
The decision has provoked China, which has been building the Myitsone dam and would buy almost all of the electricity generated by the associated 6,000MW hydropower plant, into a rare public rebuke of a friendly neighbour. And critics at home and abroad have been taken aback by the reason Mr Thein Sein gave for the suspension: that it was “contrary to the will of the people”. That has not, in the past, been a consideration for Myanmar’s rulers.
Like many members of his government, Mr Thein Sein is a former general. But the “civilian” regime that succeeded the military junta after rigged elections last year is trying hard to look different. The suspension of the dam comes after a series of conciliatory gestures, notably a meeting in August between the president and Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar’s opposition, who was freed from house arrest last November, just after the election.
That the new regime seems willing to antagonise China is the latest sign that things may really be different. Shunned by the West, Myanmar had been falling ever more closely into China’s orbit. China is Myanmar's biggest foreign investor, followed by Thailand. A Chinese foreign-ministry spokesman has condemned the suspension of the dam and called on Myanmar to protect the rights of the Chinese companies involved.
Myitsone is one of the most important of China’s many projects in Myanmar. The main investor is the state-owned China Power Investment Corporation, whose construction arm had already started work. On a visit to the site this year, The Economist’s correspondent found that it had built supply roads and large pre-fabricated living quarters for the Chinese workers, cleared hillsides and moved the population to a resettlement village (pictured to the right).
Of a series of seven Chinese-built dams planned on the Irrawaddy, the Myitsone was to be the largest, and at about 150 metres (458 feet), one of the highest in the world. If completed, the dam’s reservoir would flood an area the size of Singapore and drive more than 10,000 people, mainly from the Kachin ethnic group, from their ancestral lands. The area straddles territory controlled by the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), one of Myanmar’s myriad insurgencies. Last May the KIO warned China that building the dam would lead to “civil war”. Since then fighting between government forces and the KIO’s armed wing, the Kachin Independence Army, has increased markedly. Thousands of villagers caught up in the clashes have fled the area.
Hitherto suppressed environmental NGOs spoke out against the project. They were backed by Miss Suu Kyi, who in August wrote an open letter calling for a reassessment of the project. She has welcomed the suspension because “every government should listen carefully to people's voices.”
It is not just concerns about the environment or the people displaced that have raised hackles. There is widespread popular resentment against Chinese economic expansion within Myanmar, and against the large-scale immigration of Chinese nationals into northern Myanmar—estimates range from 1m to 2m—that has accompanied it. Many Burmese complain that Myanmar’s states have become like provinces of China.
The government’s decision to suspend the dam comes at a time when it is also showing more willingness to engage with the West. Barack Obama’s special envoy to Myanmar was there in September. The regime has even been hinting that it might release at least some of its 2,000 political prisoners. Their continued detention makes it hard for Miss Suu Kyi to advocate the lifting of Western sanctions, and her support for sanctions makes it hard for Western governments to drop them. In an interview this week with the BBC, she urged caution in assessing the government’s intentions, but expressed at least moderate optimism: “We are beginning to see the beginning of change.”
Among the many signals the regime is sending by suspending the dam is that it does not want to be dependent solely on its neighbours, especially China. The regime is trying to build bridges with both its opponents at home and its critics overseas. The danger is that the changes it is making may not be fast enough or fundamental enough to win big concessions from the West. And in the past, when engagement has failed, there has been no shortage of vengeful hardliners waiting to come out of the woodwork.
The Economist - Dammed if they don't
Oct 4th 2011, 1:15 by The Economist online
OBSERVERS are still wrestling with the implications of a stunning piece of news out of Myanmar on September 30th. Thein Sein, the president, informed parliament that work on a huge $3.6 billion dam on a confluence of the Irrawaddy river in the north-east of the country would be suspended for the duration of his term in office, ie, until at least 2015.
The decision has provoked China, which has been building the Myitsone dam and would buy almost all of the electricity generated by the associated 6,000MW hydropower plant, into a rare public rebuke of a friendly neighbour. And critics at home and abroad have been taken aback by the reason Mr Thein Sein gave for the suspension: that it was “contrary to the will of the people”. That has not, in the past, been a consideration for Myanmar’s rulers.
Like many members of his government, Mr Thein Sein is a former general. But the “civilian” regime that succeeded the military junta after rigged elections last year is trying hard to look different. The suspension of the dam comes after a series of conciliatory gestures, notably a meeting in August between the president and Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar’s opposition, who was freed from house arrest last November, just after the election.
That the new regime seems willing to antagonise China is the latest sign that things may really be different. Shunned by the West, Myanmar had been falling ever more closely into China’s orbit. China is Myanmar's biggest foreign investor, followed by Thailand. A Chinese foreign-ministry spokesman has condemned the suspension of the dam and called on Myanmar to protect the rights of the Chinese companies involved.
Myitsone is one of the most important of China’s many projects in Myanmar. The main investor is the state-owned China Power Investment Corporation, whose construction arm had already started work. On a visit to the site this year, The Economist’s correspondent found that it had built supply roads and large pre-fabricated living quarters for the Chinese workers, cleared hillsides and moved the population to a resettlement village (pictured to the right).
Of a series of seven Chinese-built dams planned on the Irrawaddy, the Myitsone was to be the largest, and at about 150 metres (458 feet), one of the highest in the world. If completed, the dam’s reservoir would flood an area the size of Singapore and drive more than 10,000 people, mainly from the Kachin ethnic group, from their ancestral lands. The area straddles territory controlled by the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), one of Myanmar’s myriad insurgencies. Last May the KIO warned China that building the dam would lead to “civil war”. Since then fighting between government forces and the KIO’s armed wing, the Kachin Independence Army, has increased markedly. Thousands of villagers caught up in the clashes have fled the area.
Hitherto suppressed environmental NGOs spoke out against the project. They were backed by Miss Suu Kyi, who in August wrote an open letter calling for a reassessment of the project. She has welcomed the suspension because “every government should listen carefully to people's voices.”
It is not just concerns about the environment or the people displaced that have raised hackles. There is widespread popular resentment against Chinese economic expansion within Myanmar, and against the large-scale immigration of Chinese nationals into northern Myanmar—estimates range from 1m to 2m—that has accompanied it. Many Burmese complain that Myanmar’s states have become like provinces of China.
The government’s decision to suspend the dam comes at a time when it is also showing more willingness to engage with the West. Barack Obama’s special envoy to Myanmar was there in September. The regime has even been hinting that it might release at least some of its 2,000 political prisoners. Their continued detention makes it hard for Miss Suu Kyi to advocate the lifting of Western sanctions, and her support for sanctions makes it hard for Western governments to drop them. In an interview this week with the BBC, she urged caution in assessing the government’s intentions, but expressed at least moderate optimism: “We are beginning to see the beginning of change.”
Among the many signals the regime is sending by suspending the dam is that it does not want to be dependent solely on its neighbours, especially China. The regime is trying to build bridges with both its opponents at home and its critics overseas. The danger is that the changes it is making may not be fast enough or fundamental enough to win big concessions from the West. And in the past, when engagement has failed, there has been no shortage of vengeful hardliners waiting to come out of the woodwork.
***********************************************************
The Daily Yomiuri - Editorial: Myanmar's democratization efforts deserve support
The Yomiuri Shimbun
President Thein Sein of the new administration of Myanmar, which has shifted to civilian control after 22 years of rule by a military junta, has launched an extensive reform drive in politics, the economy and other fields.
We hope he will be able to achieve stability and democratization for his country.
The president began with a dialogue with government opponents, called for peace with ethnic minority guerrilla groups and took a stance of welcoming exiles home. He is believed to recognize the importance of national reconciliation for the sake of political stability.
He released political prisoners, albeit in small numbers, in May. He had his first meeting with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest last autumn, in the capital city of Napyidaw in August.
The president approved a pro-democracy rally of about 100 people in Yangon, the country's biggest city, on Sept. 26, the fourth anniversary of the junta's crackdown on 2007 antigovernment demonstrations.
Reform drive far-reaching
Since its inauguration this spring, the new Myanmar administration has relaxed its censorship of political articles in newspapers and magazines and dramatically reduced Internet restrictions. This made it possible, at least in Napyidaw and Yangon, to access Internet services including video-sharing sites, which was impossible under the junta rule.
These changes could not be imagined under military rule. We hope for the further promotion of freedom of speech.
As for the country's economic reform drive, legislative steps are being prepared to promote a foreign exchange system and introduce foreign capital.
Behind such moves is the fact that the new administration has put itself forward as a candidate to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2014.
Myanmar aims to strengthen its position in ASEAN by emphasizing its promotion of reform. The country seeks to realize the lifting of economic sanctions imposed by the United States and European countries as a step toward reconstructing its economy.
China, which deepened relations with Myanmar during junta rule, has been ramping up its economic influence over the country. A railway construction project is likely to start before the end of this year, following those already under way to build oil and natural gas pipelines linking the two countries.
Great potential
With a population of about 50 million people and rich natural resources, Myanmar has great potential. If democratization progresses in the country, it will become possible to lure foreign capital and promote trade. This is expected to bring about a virtuous circle of improving people's livelihoods and supporting regional stability.
Taking note of Myanmar's potential, the United States, which took a stern stance against the junta, began to move toward improving bilateral relations. In September, a U.S. government special envoy visited Myanmar, and Myanmar's foreign minister visited Washington.
Japan, for its part, has resumed official development assistance to Myanmar. And an increasing number of Japanese firms have been sending inspection missions to the country.
Japan must provide further support to help the country establish a market economy, to say nothing of promoting democratization.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
President Thein Sein of the new administration of Myanmar, which has shifted to civilian control after 22 years of rule by a military junta, has launched an extensive reform drive in politics, the economy and other fields.
We hope he will be able to achieve stability and democratization for his country.
The president began with a dialogue with government opponents, called for peace with ethnic minority guerrilla groups and took a stance of welcoming exiles home. He is believed to recognize the importance of national reconciliation for the sake of political stability.
He released political prisoners, albeit in small numbers, in May. He had his first meeting with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest last autumn, in the capital city of Napyidaw in August.
The president approved a pro-democracy rally of about 100 people in Yangon, the country's biggest city, on Sept. 26, the fourth anniversary of the junta's crackdown on 2007 antigovernment demonstrations.
Reform drive far-reaching
Since its inauguration this spring, the new Myanmar administration has relaxed its censorship of political articles in newspapers and magazines and dramatically reduced Internet restrictions. This made it possible, at least in Napyidaw and Yangon, to access Internet services including video-sharing sites, which was impossible under the junta rule.
These changes could not be imagined under military rule. We hope for the further promotion of freedom of speech.
As for the country's economic reform drive, legislative steps are being prepared to promote a foreign exchange system and introduce foreign capital.
Behind such moves is the fact that the new administration has put itself forward as a candidate to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2014.
Myanmar aims to strengthen its position in ASEAN by emphasizing its promotion of reform. The country seeks to realize the lifting of economic sanctions imposed by the United States and European countries as a step toward reconstructing its economy.
China, which deepened relations with Myanmar during junta rule, has been ramping up its economic influence over the country. A railway construction project is likely to start before the end of this year, following those already under way to build oil and natural gas pipelines linking the two countries.
Great potential
With a population of about 50 million people and rich natural resources, Myanmar has great potential. If democratization progresses in the country, it will become possible to lure foreign capital and promote trade. This is expected to bring about a virtuous circle of improving people's livelihoods and supporting regional stability.
Taking note of Myanmar's potential, the United States, which took a stern stance against the junta, began to move toward improving bilateral relations. In September, a U.S. government special envoy visited Myanmar, and Myanmar's foreign minister visited Washington.
Japan, for its part, has resumed official development assistance to Myanmar. And an increasing number of Japanese firms have been sending inspection missions to the country.
Japan must provide further support to help the country establish a market economy, to say nothing of promoting democratization.
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in Burma’s Karenni State
Shan Herald Agency for News - Press Release: Dam-induced floods spur calls to suspend new Chinese dams in Burma’s Karenni State
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 17:11 Khu Thaw Reh
Press Release by the Karenni Development Research Group - KDRG
4 October, 2011
Unprecedented releases of water from Burma’s first major hydropower dam at Moebye due to heavy rainfall have caused severe flooding around the Karenni capital, Loikaw, spurring calls by community groups to suspend construction of three large hydropower dams planned by Chinese investors in Karenni state.
Unusually heavy rains during September caused dam operators to repeatedly release large quantities of water from the Moebye dam, leading to widespread flooding around Loikaw. In three villages alone, over 500 houses were submerged up to the roof, and 500 acres of paddy fields inundated under several meters of water. Thousands of residents who were evacuated remain homeless as the floodwaters have yet to recede.
“We have never experienced floods like this in our lifetime,” said a 50-year-old man from Paya Pyu near Loikaw. “The government has done nothing to help us, even though it was their decision to release the water from the dam.”
The latest floods have stoked fears among Karenni communities of the impacts of three new mega dams planned by the China Datang Corporation under an MOU signed with the Burmese regime in early 2010. The dams include the 600 MW Ywathit dam on the Salween River, a 130 MW dam on the Pon River, a Salween tributary, and a 110 MW dam on the Thabet River, north of Loikaw.
“Releases from the Moebye dam have turned natural heavy rainfall into a disastrous man-made flood,” said Khu Thaw Reh, coordinator of the Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG). “We fear worse disasters if new dams are built.”
Karenni communities have long suffered from increased militarization around the Moebye dam, including the laying of thousands of land-mines near the dam site and power-plant. 12,000 villagers were displaced by the dam reservoir, while electricity from the dam was never made available locally but sent to Burma’s former capital Rangoon.
Encouraged by President Thein Sein’s recent announcement of the suspension of the Myitsone Dam, KDRG is now calling for a suspension of the planned Chinese dams in Karenni State, and a careful re-investigation of their social and environmental impacts.
“No dams should be built in Karenni State without the agreement of local communities,” said Khu Thaw Reh. “We are joining our voices with peoples throughout Burma against destructive Chinese dams.”
Shan Herald Agency for News - Press Release: Dam-induced floods spur calls to suspend new Chinese dams in Burma’s Karenni State
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 17:11 Khu Thaw Reh
Press Release by the Karenni Development Research Group - KDRG
4 October, 2011
Unprecedented releases of water from Burma’s first major hydropower dam at Moebye due to heavy rainfall have caused severe flooding around the Karenni capital, Loikaw, spurring calls by community groups to suspend construction of three large hydropower dams planned by Chinese investors in Karenni state.
Unusually heavy rains during September caused dam operators to repeatedly release large quantities of water from the Moebye dam, leading to widespread flooding around Loikaw. In three villages alone, over 500 houses were submerged up to the roof, and 500 acres of paddy fields inundated under several meters of water. Thousands of residents who were evacuated remain homeless as the floodwaters have yet to recede.
“We have never experienced floods like this in our lifetime,” said a 50-year-old man from Paya Pyu near Loikaw. “The government has done nothing to help us, even though it was their decision to release the water from the dam.”
The latest floods have stoked fears among Karenni communities of the impacts of three new mega dams planned by the China Datang Corporation under an MOU signed with the Burmese regime in early 2010. The dams include the 600 MW Ywathit dam on the Salween River, a 130 MW dam on the Pon River, a Salween tributary, and a 110 MW dam on the Thabet River, north of Loikaw.
“Releases from the Moebye dam have turned natural heavy rainfall into a disastrous man-made flood,” said Khu Thaw Reh, coordinator of the Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG). “We fear worse disasters if new dams are built.”
Karenni communities have long suffered from increased militarization around the Moebye dam, including the laying of thousands of land-mines near the dam site and power-plant. 12,000 villagers were displaced by the dam reservoir, while electricity from the dam was never made available locally but sent to Burma’s former capital Rangoon.
Encouraged by President Thein Sein’s recent announcement of the suspension of the Myitsone Dam, KDRG is now calling for a suspension of the planned Chinese dams in Karenni State, and a careful re-investigation of their social and environmental impacts.
“No dams should be built in Karenni State without the agreement of local communities,” said Khu Thaw Reh. “We are joining our voices with peoples throughout Burma against destructive Chinese dams.”
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The Irrawaddy - Karennis Call for Cancellation of Hydropower Dams
By KO HTWE Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Encouraged by President Thein Sein’s recent announcement of the suspension of the Myitsone Dam in Burma's northern Kachin State, the Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG) on Tuesday called for a suspension of the planned Chinese dams in nearby Karenni State, and a careful re-investigation of their social and environmental impacts.
The ethnic Karenni community group urged the Burmese government to suspend construction of three large hydropower dams: the 600 MW Ywathit Dam on the Salween River; a 130 MW dam on the Pon River; and a 110 MW dam on the Thabet River, north of Loikaw, the capital of Karenni State.
The three hydropower projects are in their initial phases, and are contracted to the state-owned China Datang Corporation under an MOU which was signed with the Burmese regime in early 2010.
However, recent floods have stoked fears among Karenni communities of the impacts of the three planned new projects after more than 500 houses and 500 acres of paddy fields were submerged in September due to the unprecedented release of water from Burma’s first major hydropower dam at Moebye, which caused severe flooding around Loikaw.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, KDRG coordinator Khu Thaw Reh said due to the recent rains the water level of the Moebye Dam has reached dangerous levels. He said the authorities were opening the sluice gates every hour to release water, which has caused flooding in three villages.
“The older people in our village said they have never seen such flooding in their lifetimes,” he said. “It has a double impact because not only is there high rainfall, but the dam has released its water upon us as well.”
He said that many villagers have taken shelter in monasteries, churches and in friends' and relatives' houses in other towns.
In its statement, the KDRG said that Karenni communities have long suffered from increased militarization around the Moebye Dam, including the laying of thousands of landmines near the dam site and power plant. Some 12,000 villagers were displaced by the dam reservoir, while electricity from the dam was never made available locally but sent to Burma’s former capital, Rangoon.
An estimated 18,000 landmines were planted around the site, and thousands of Burmese troops were moved in to secure the project, resulting in abuses against the local population, including forced labor, sexual violence and extra-judicial killings, according to the KDRG.
According to a former statement by the same group released in March, if the dams go ahead, at least 37,000 people will be displaced including the Yintale, an ethnic group numbering only around 1,000. The Yintale live as subsistence farmers traditionally planting millet and sesame on the banks of the Salween and Pon rivers near the sites of two of the proposed dams.
“We fear worse disasters if the new dams are built,” said Khu Thaw Reh.
At present, 21 major dam projects are under construction around the country, in Kachin, Shan and Karenni states, and in Mandalay and Sagaing divisions. The total output of these dams, many of which are being built by Chinese companies, is expected to be 35,640 MW of electricity.
“No dams should be built in Karenni State without the agreement of local communities,” said Khu Thaw Reh.
Burma's President Thein Sein announced on Sept. 30 that the controversial Myitsone hydropower dam on the Irrawaddy River will be suspended because it is “against the will of the people of Burma.”
Lu Qizhou, the president of China Power Investment Corp (CPI), the main investor in the $3.6 billion megadam project, said Burma’s sudden decision to halt the dam project is “bewildering,” and could lead to “a series of legal issues,” according to a report by Xinhua News Agency on Monday.
Campaigns against the continuation of the remaining hydropower dams in Burma have been growing following the announcement that the Myitsone project was suspended. A Thailand-based NGO, Burma Rivers Network, urged the Burmese government and CPI to immediately cancel the six other megadams planned on the Irrawaddy source rivers, saying they will have the same devastating impact on the nation.
By KO HTWE Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Encouraged by President Thein Sein’s recent announcement of the suspension of the Myitsone Dam in Burma's northern Kachin State, the Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG) on Tuesday called for a suspension of the planned Chinese dams in nearby Karenni State, and a careful re-investigation of their social and environmental impacts.
The ethnic Karenni community group urged the Burmese government to suspend construction of three large hydropower dams: the 600 MW Ywathit Dam on the Salween River; a 130 MW dam on the Pon River; and a 110 MW dam on the Thabet River, north of Loikaw, the capital of Karenni State.
The three hydropower projects are in their initial phases, and are contracted to the state-owned China Datang Corporation under an MOU which was signed with the Burmese regime in early 2010.
However, recent floods have stoked fears among Karenni communities of the impacts of the three planned new projects after more than 500 houses and 500 acres of paddy fields were submerged in September due to the unprecedented release of water from Burma’s first major hydropower dam at Moebye, which caused severe flooding around Loikaw.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, KDRG coordinator Khu Thaw Reh said due to the recent rains the water level of the Moebye Dam has reached dangerous levels. He said the authorities were opening the sluice gates every hour to release water, which has caused flooding in three villages.
“The older people in our village said they have never seen such flooding in their lifetimes,” he said. “It has a double impact because not only is there high rainfall, but the dam has released its water upon us as well.”
He said that many villagers have taken shelter in monasteries, churches and in friends' and relatives' houses in other towns.
In its statement, the KDRG said that Karenni communities have long suffered from increased militarization around the Moebye Dam, including the laying of thousands of landmines near the dam site and power plant. Some 12,000 villagers were displaced by the dam reservoir, while electricity from the dam was never made available locally but sent to Burma’s former capital, Rangoon.
An estimated 18,000 landmines were planted around the site, and thousands of Burmese troops were moved in to secure the project, resulting in abuses against the local population, including forced labor, sexual violence and extra-judicial killings, according to the KDRG.
According to a former statement by the same group released in March, if the dams go ahead, at least 37,000 people will be displaced including the Yintale, an ethnic group numbering only around 1,000. The Yintale live as subsistence farmers traditionally planting millet and sesame on the banks of the Salween and Pon rivers near the sites of two of the proposed dams.
“We fear worse disasters if the new dams are built,” said Khu Thaw Reh.
At present, 21 major dam projects are under construction around the country, in Kachin, Shan and Karenni states, and in Mandalay and Sagaing divisions. The total output of these dams, many of which are being built by Chinese companies, is expected to be 35,640 MW of electricity.
“No dams should be built in Karenni State without the agreement of local communities,” said Khu Thaw Reh.
Burma's President Thein Sein announced on Sept. 30 that the controversial Myitsone hydropower dam on the Irrawaddy River will be suspended because it is “against the will of the people of Burma.”
Lu Qizhou, the president of China Power Investment Corp (CPI), the main investor in the $3.6 billion megadam project, said Burma’s sudden decision to halt the dam project is “bewildering,” and could lead to “a series of legal issues,” according to a report by Xinhua News Agency on Monday.
Campaigns against the continuation of the remaining hydropower dams in Burma have been growing following the announcement that the Myitsone project was suspended. A Thailand-based NGO, Burma Rivers Network, urged the Burmese government and CPI to immediately cancel the six other megadams planned on the Irrawaddy source rivers, saying they will have the same devastating impact on the nation.
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The Irrawaddy - Mon Rebels Form Peace Talk Mission
By LAWI WENG Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The New Mon State Party (NMSP), an ethnic armed group, has formed a “peace mission” and is expected to hold peace talks with the Mon State government in mid-October, according sources close to the NMSP.
The NMSP formed the mission group after the Burmese government granted the Mon State government’s request to engage in peace talks with the NMSP, which observers say is part of Naypyidaw’s plan to hold discussions with all ethnic armed groups separately.
The NMSP peace mission will be led by Nai Oung Min, a member of the NMSP Executive Committee, said a source close to the party.
The source added that a date for the peace talks will be set following the NMSP Executive Committee meeting in mid-October.
According to Nai Hang Thar, the NMSP secretary, the party will attend the talks just to inform the government of their policy with respect to peace negotiations, which is to allow talks to be led by the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an umbrella group comprised of several ethnic armed groups, including the Karen National Union and the Kachin Independence Organization.
“This is just to meet them and tell them about our policy of not engaging in separate peace talks with the government. If there are political discussions and ceasefire negotiations, the UNFC will lead them,” he said.
Mon community leaders have told the NMSP that it should have peace talks directly with Naypyidaw, rather than state-level authorities.
“I told them to talk directly to Naypyidaw, because the state government does not have power,” said Nai Kao Rot, a former deputy army chief of the NMSP.
Mon community leaders also said that the NMSP should hold firmly to the principle of UNFC-led talks in order to maintain solidarity among the ethnic groups.
“We encourage them to follow the principles of the UNFC and honor their agreement with its members,” said Nai Sunthorn, who is the chairman of Mon Unity League, based in Thailand.
“We are worried that the talks will have no benefit for the people and cause misunderstanding among ethnic groups,” he said.
Recently, government delegations also held talks with the United Wa State Army and its ally, the Mongla Group known as the National Democratic Alliance Army, in Shan State.
Another government delegation—comprised of both Christian and Buddhist religious leaders—recently held talks with the KNU near the Thai-Burma border. It was also reported that a group of local government authorities in Tenasserim Division told members of the local Karen community that they would be willing to hold peace talks with KNU Brigade 4.
Critics said the move by Naypyidaw to enter into peace talks with the NMSP while continuing to fight with the KIA, KNU and Shan State Army-North is creating misunderstanding, distrust and division among the ethnic groups.
A statement released on Monday by the Overseas Mon Coordinating Committee (OMCC) said that the government’s plan to hold peace talks with the NMSP is merely a “divide-and-rule” tactic, which successive governments have applied in order to control the ethnic people of Burma.
The OMCC has called on the NMSP not to accept peace talks with the Burmese government without participation by the 12-member UNFC.
The UNFC has stated a desire to hold peace talks with the government with representatives from all ethnic armed groups involved.
By LAWI WENG Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The New Mon State Party (NMSP), an ethnic armed group, has formed a “peace mission” and is expected to hold peace talks with the Mon State government in mid-October, according sources close to the NMSP.
The NMSP formed the mission group after the Burmese government granted the Mon State government’s request to engage in peace talks with the NMSP, which observers say is part of Naypyidaw’s plan to hold discussions with all ethnic armed groups separately.
The NMSP peace mission will be led by Nai Oung Min, a member of the NMSP Executive Committee, said a source close to the party.
The source added that a date for the peace talks will be set following the NMSP Executive Committee meeting in mid-October.
According to Nai Hang Thar, the NMSP secretary, the party will attend the talks just to inform the government of their policy with respect to peace negotiations, which is to allow talks to be led by the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an umbrella group comprised of several ethnic armed groups, including the Karen National Union and the Kachin Independence Organization.
“This is just to meet them and tell them about our policy of not engaging in separate peace talks with the government. If there are political discussions and ceasefire negotiations, the UNFC will lead them,” he said.
Mon community leaders have told the NMSP that it should have peace talks directly with Naypyidaw, rather than state-level authorities.
“I told them to talk directly to Naypyidaw, because the state government does not have power,” said Nai Kao Rot, a former deputy army chief of the NMSP.
Mon community leaders also said that the NMSP should hold firmly to the principle of UNFC-led talks in order to maintain solidarity among the ethnic groups.
“We encourage them to follow the principles of the UNFC and honor their agreement with its members,” said Nai Sunthorn, who is the chairman of Mon Unity League, based in Thailand.
“We are worried that the talks will have no benefit for the people and cause misunderstanding among ethnic groups,” he said.
Recently, government delegations also held talks with the United Wa State Army and its ally, the Mongla Group known as the National Democratic Alliance Army, in Shan State.
Another government delegation—comprised of both Christian and Buddhist religious leaders—recently held talks with the KNU near the Thai-Burma border. It was also reported that a group of local government authorities in Tenasserim Division told members of the local Karen community that they would be willing to hold peace talks with KNU Brigade 4.
Critics said the move by Naypyidaw to enter into peace talks with the NMSP while continuing to fight with the KIA, KNU and Shan State Army-North is creating misunderstanding, distrust and division among the ethnic groups.
A statement released on Monday by the Overseas Mon Coordinating Committee (OMCC) said that the government’s plan to hold peace talks with the NMSP is merely a “divide-and-rule” tactic, which successive governments have applied in order to control the ethnic people of Burma.
The OMCC has called on the NMSP not to accept peace talks with the Burmese government without participation by the 12-member UNFC.
The UNFC has stated a desire to hold peace talks with the government with representatives from all ethnic armed groups involved.
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The Irrawaddy - Backing Naypyidaw Should It Respond to Public Interest
By DR ZARNI Tuesday, October 4, 2011
President Thein Sein and his senior colleagues took a significant decision on Sept. 30 to halt the US$3.6 billion Chinese-run project to dam the Irrawaddy River at the confluence of Maykha and Malikka rivers, risking Beijing’s anger. The official reasons for the Myitsone Dam u-turn included long-term ecological concerns, damage to local private (i.e., cronies’) interest, adverse impact on the livelihoods of hundreds of communities and popular opposition across the political, ethnic and class divide.
This is the decision that enjoys solid public backing at home and qualified praise by international critics abroad. The government will pass a real litmus test when it made the irreversible decision to cancel – not just suspend – the bad idea of damming the Irrawaddy at its origin.
I count myself among those critics who would like to keep an open mind about Naypyidaw’s deeds.
In a deeply polarized society, the Myitsone dam construction has created a common ground for the government, the mainstream public, the dissidents, local private interests, and the
Kachin communities which have suffered direct and immediate consequences of this mega-development project.
In his Financial Times essay of June 21 entitled “It is time to fine-tune sanctions on Burma,” Germany’s Federal Commission for Human Rights Policy Markus Loening characterized our country as a “de facto province of China.” Likewise, ex-Major Aung Lynn Htut, former counterintelligence officer and Acting Chief of Mission at the Burmese Embassy in Washington, labeled Burma as “a semi-colony” of China.
And local people would certainly agree with these characterizations of their country.
Because of this lop-sided Sino-Burmese relationship, as well as the demographic and commercial penetration of their country—especially in Upper Burma—the overwhelming majority of the domestic public have come to greatly resent what they perceive and experience as Beijing’s “resource and access colonialism.” This opposing publiceven includes local Burmese-born Chinese and Sino-Burmese for whom Burma is the only home they have ever known.
Naypyidaw is now in a position to build on the new found popular support for its decision and expand the emerging common ground.
There should be a new thinking in Naypyidaw. The current government should realize that a strong government that needs not fear external threats and pressure is, above all, the government that enjoys popular backing at home.
President and his colleagues should now capitalize on this unexpected popular backing in various areas of public concerns such as the need to cease all hostilities towards armed ethnic organizations, the plight of 2,000 dissidents behind bars and numerous ecologically and socially damaging mega-development projects.
In all these areas, they should make an unequivocal break with its past mindset which disregarded any valid and legitimate popular opposition towards certain governmental actions and policies.
The governmental leaders are, in fact, presented with perhaps their best opportunity to kill a few birds with a single stone, if they are to claw Burma back from the predatory vice of Beijing’s neighborhood colonialism. They can potentially repair the tarnished image of the military, build a more balanced foreign policy, and kick-start the long overdue process of national dialogue and healing.
For starters, President Thein Sein and his colleagues should launch a national multi-dimensional review process of all existing commercial contracts—including dam constructions, special economic zone building or other economic infrastructural mega-projects—which were signed by the previous military government.
In suspending the dam project Naypyidaw has cited ecological damage, livelihood damage, popular opposition and the future of local civilizations as reasons. It can also use these as legitimate, popular rationales for launching a national multi-dimensional review process of all existing commercial contracts.
Protecting the Irrawaddy River is protecting Burma's civilization—not just the country’s dominant Buddhist communities and their livelihoods, but also the spiritual identities of non-Buddhist ethnic communities such as Jeng-hpaw, Lisu, Ahka and so on.
With the exceptions of Pegu, Mrauk-U and Taunggoo, virtually all of Burma’s civilizations have sprung out on the banks of the Irrawaddy, from the very first seat of Bama feudal power at Maimaw in the 9th century AD and the majestic Pagan (11th-13th century AD) to Amarapura and Mandalay of the late 19th century.
A simple cost-benefit analysis will show that the loss of direct foreign investment of $3.6 billion pales in comparison to the risks this Chinese project to dam Burma's bloodline poses to local civilizations and their natural habitat.
Needless to say, there will be short-term damage to Sino-Burmese bilateral relations. But these commercial, demographic, geo-strategic and international relations are so skewered in favor of China’s national and provincial interests anyway, why should we the Burmese public —not just the ruling government in Naypyidaw—be too concerned about incurring Beijing’s wrath?
As Naypyidaw repairs and revives the country’s strained relations with the entire western world Burma’s bargaining power with neighborhood bully such as China will only increase. The governmental deed of halting extremely unpopular project such as the Myitsone dam will go a long way in shoring up both domestic and international support for Naypyidaw.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s reactive statement which calls for Naypyidaw to “protect Chinese enterprises' legal and legitimate rights,” is typical of its own callous promotion of commercial and strategic interests at the expense of its Asian neighbors, as well as communities across Africa and Latin America.
But Beijing is not alone in acting in ways that do not befit a “friendly neighbor.” Former Thai PM Abbisit Vejjajiva is on record as saying that the Tavoy Special Economic Zone project, by Bangkok-based Italia-Thai Company, must house petroleum processing projects in a southern strip of Burma because those projects are “unsuitable on Thai soil.” The implication, of course, is that Thailand’s public health concerns arising out of these projects do not apply to the millions of Burmese, Tavoyans, Karens and so on.
Already, international governments have welcomed Naypyidaw doing the right thing out of its consideration for public welfare. If the generals and ex-generals continue to tread this path they will regain the trust of the domestic public and restore amicable and beneficial relations globally.
Finally, so much ink has been spilled on the re-appearance of photos of late Bogyoke (General) Aung San in Thein Sein’s presidential office. While such a symbolic gesture of governmental concessions to popular aspirations is welcome, what will re-win the hearts and minds of the multi-ethnic public, if that is what the government in Naypyidaw really wants, is to actively revive the “big tent” vision of the slain founder of modern Burma.
Aside from the impersonal forces and structural factors such as a considerably weakened and impoverished Britain, it was U Aung San’s national vision of ethnic equality and political autonomy which actually persuaded doubters among non-Bama communities to join hands with Dry Zone Bama in building the Union of Burma as a voluntary union of mutually respectful ethnic communities.
Additionally, U Aung San wildly excited the post-World War II constituencies in so-called proper Burma with his democratic secularism which would avoid the excesses of both Leftist and Rightist ideologies.
Unfortunately, since his tragic assassination in July 1947, successive civilian and military governments have moved away from Aung San’s worthy national vision without which neither national prosperity nor peace and harmony are conceivable.
It is nice to see U Aung San’s picture on a presidential wall. But what would be far more consequential for the development of peace, harmony, and reconciliation in Burma, is for Naypyidaw to revive and actively pursue his “big tent” national vision. No amount of the now much-touted technocratic expertise in Rangoon, parliamentary proceedings in Naypyidaw, or well-publicized meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi can serve as the substitute for the only workable national vision developed bythe late U Aung San.
Naypyidaw’s decision to halt the Chinese Myitssone Dam project on the country’s lifeblood of the Irrawaddy River is something modern Burma’s founding father himself would have approved. It has certainly injected the desperately needed sense of popular hope and optimism among the public at home and exiles abroad.
The Myitsone project has presented the whole of Burma with something to unite everyone who wants good things for the country and her peoples. Naypyidaw’s generals and ex-generals should seize the day. They should not miss the opportunity to initiate the country’s reconstruction and reconciliation, repair the military’s tarnished reputation, and enshrine Bogyoke Aung San’s vision as their new road map for peace and prosperity.
The opinions expressed in this guest commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Irrawaddy.
By DR ZARNI Tuesday, October 4, 2011
President Thein Sein and his senior colleagues took a significant decision on Sept. 30 to halt the US$3.6 billion Chinese-run project to dam the Irrawaddy River at the confluence of Maykha and Malikka rivers, risking Beijing’s anger. The official reasons for the Myitsone Dam u-turn included long-term ecological concerns, damage to local private (i.e., cronies’) interest, adverse impact on the livelihoods of hundreds of communities and popular opposition across the political, ethnic and class divide.
This is the decision that enjoys solid public backing at home and qualified praise by international critics abroad. The government will pass a real litmus test when it made the irreversible decision to cancel – not just suspend – the bad idea of damming the Irrawaddy at its origin.
I count myself among those critics who would like to keep an open mind about Naypyidaw’s deeds.
In a deeply polarized society, the Myitsone dam construction has created a common ground for the government, the mainstream public, the dissidents, local private interests, and the
Kachin communities which have suffered direct and immediate consequences of this mega-development project.
In his Financial Times essay of June 21 entitled “It is time to fine-tune sanctions on Burma,” Germany’s Federal Commission for Human Rights Policy Markus Loening characterized our country as a “de facto province of China.” Likewise, ex-Major Aung Lynn Htut, former counterintelligence officer and Acting Chief of Mission at the Burmese Embassy in Washington, labeled Burma as “a semi-colony” of China.
And local people would certainly agree with these characterizations of their country.
Because of this lop-sided Sino-Burmese relationship, as well as the demographic and commercial penetration of their country—especially in Upper Burma—the overwhelming majority of the domestic public have come to greatly resent what they perceive and experience as Beijing’s “resource and access colonialism.” This opposing publiceven includes local Burmese-born Chinese and Sino-Burmese for whom Burma is the only home they have ever known.
Naypyidaw is now in a position to build on the new found popular support for its decision and expand the emerging common ground.
There should be a new thinking in Naypyidaw. The current government should realize that a strong government that needs not fear external threats and pressure is, above all, the government that enjoys popular backing at home.
President and his colleagues should now capitalize on this unexpected popular backing in various areas of public concerns such as the need to cease all hostilities towards armed ethnic organizations, the plight of 2,000 dissidents behind bars and numerous ecologically and socially damaging mega-development projects.
In all these areas, they should make an unequivocal break with its past mindset which disregarded any valid and legitimate popular opposition towards certain governmental actions and policies.
The governmental leaders are, in fact, presented with perhaps their best opportunity to kill a few birds with a single stone, if they are to claw Burma back from the predatory vice of Beijing’s neighborhood colonialism. They can potentially repair the tarnished image of the military, build a more balanced foreign policy, and kick-start the long overdue process of national dialogue and healing.
For starters, President Thein Sein and his colleagues should launch a national multi-dimensional review process of all existing commercial contracts—including dam constructions, special economic zone building or other economic infrastructural mega-projects—which were signed by the previous military government.
In suspending the dam project Naypyidaw has cited ecological damage, livelihood damage, popular opposition and the future of local civilizations as reasons. It can also use these as legitimate, popular rationales for launching a national multi-dimensional review process of all existing commercial contracts.
Protecting the Irrawaddy River is protecting Burma's civilization—not just the country’s dominant Buddhist communities and their livelihoods, but also the spiritual identities of non-Buddhist ethnic communities such as Jeng-hpaw, Lisu, Ahka and so on.
With the exceptions of Pegu, Mrauk-U and Taunggoo, virtually all of Burma’s civilizations have sprung out on the banks of the Irrawaddy, from the very first seat of Bama feudal power at Maimaw in the 9th century AD and the majestic Pagan (11th-13th century AD) to Amarapura and Mandalay of the late 19th century.
A simple cost-benefit analysis will show that the loss of direct foreign investment of $3.6 billion pales in comparison to the risks this Chinese project to dam Burma's bloodline poses to local civilizations and their natural habitat.
Needless to say, there will be short-term damage to Sino-Burmese bilateral relations. But these commercial, demographic, geo-strategic and international relations are so skewered in favor of China’s national and provincial interests anyway, why should we the Burmese public —not just the ruling government in Naypyidaw—be too concerned about incurring Beijing’s wrath?
As Naypyidaw repairs and revives the country’s strained relations with the entire western world Burma’s bargaining power with neighborhood bully such as China will only increase. The governmental deed of halting extremely unpopular project such as the Myitsone dam will go a long way in shoring up both domestic and international support for Naypyidaw.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s reactive statement which calls for Naypyidaw to “protect Chinese enterprises' legal and legitimate rights,” is typical of its own callous promotion of commercial and strategic interests at the expense of its Asian neighbors, as well as communities across Africa and Latin America.
But Beijing is not alone in acting in ways that do not befit a “friendly neighbor.” Former Thai PM Abbisit Vejjajiva is on record as saying that the Tavoy Special Economic Zone project, by Bangkok-based Italia-Thai Company, must house petroleum processing projects in a southern strip of Burma because those projects are “unsuitable on Thai soil.” The implication, of course, is that Thailand’s public health concerns arising out of these projects do not apply to the millions of Burmese, Tavoyans, Karens and so on.
Already, international governments have welcomed Naypyidaw doing the right thing out of its consideration for public welfare. If the generals and ex-generals continue to tread this path they will regain the trust of the domestic public and restore amicable and beneficial relations globally.
Finally, so much ink has been spilled on the re-appearance of photos of late Bogyoke (General) Aung San in Thein Sein’s presidential office. While such a symbolic gesture of governmental concessions to popular aspirations is welcome, what will re-win the hearts and minds of the multi-ethnic public, if that is what the government in Naypyidaw really wants, is to actively revive the “big tent” vision of the slain founder of modern Burma.
Aside from the impersonal forces and structural factors such as a considerably weakened and impoverished Britain, it was U Aung San’s national vision of ethnic equality and political autonomy which actually persuaded doubters among non-Bama communities to join hands with Dry Zone Bama in building the Union of Burma as a voluntary union of mutually respectful ethnic communities.
Additionally, U Aung San wildly excited the post-World War II constituencies in so-called proper Burma with his democratic secularism which would avoid the excesses of both Leftist and Rightist ideologies.
Unfortunately, since his tragic assassination in July 1947, successive civilian and military governments have moved away from Aung San’s worthy national vision without which neither national prosperity nor peace and harmony are conceivable.
It is nice to see U Aung San’s picture on a presidential wall. But what would be far more consequential for the development of peace, harmony, and reconciliation in Burma, is for Naypyidaw to revive and actively pursue his “big tent” national vision. No amount of the now much-touted technocratic expertise in Rangoon, parliamentary proceedings in Naypyidaw, or well-publicized meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi can serve as the substitute for the only workable national vision developed bythe late U Aung San.
Naypyidaw’s decision to halt the Chinese Myitssone Dam project on the country’s lifeblood of the Irrawaddy River is something modern Burma’s founding father himself would have approved. It has certainly injected the desperately needed sense of popular hope and optimism among the public at home and exiles abroad.
The Myitsone project has presented the whole of Burma with something to unite everyone who wants good things for the country and her peoples. Naypyidaw’s generals and ex-generals should seize the day. They should not miss the opportunity to initiate the country’s reconstruction and reconciliation, repair the military’s tarnished reputation, and enshrine Bogyoke Aung San’s vision as their new road map for peace and prosperity.
The opinions expressed in this guest commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Irrawaddy.
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Chinese company says Burma could face legal consequences
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 23:19 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Chinese builder of the suspended Myitsone Dam project said China may seek legal damages from the Burmese government, the Chinese Power Investment (CPI) Corporation said on Monday.
CPI chairman Lu Qizhou told Xinhua, the Chinese news agency, that he was “totally astonished” to learn that Burmese President Thein Sein had changed his mind and suspended the project.
“In February this year, Burma’s prime minister urged us to accelerate the construction when he inspected the project site, so the sudden proposal of suspension now is very bewildering. If suspension means a construction halt, then it will lead to a series of legal issues,” he was quoted as saying.
Xinhua, in an interview with Li Qizhou, quoted him saying: “I am totally astonished to hear the news of suspending this project. Under the announcement of halting this project, we must stop all of our construction work there.”
China’s total investment in the dam project is approximately US$ 3.6 billion and the bilateral project was scheduled to be completed in 2019.
Burma has signed two formal agreements, one in December 2006 between CPI and the Burmese No. 1 Electricity Power Ministry, and the second in March 2009 explicitly supporting CPI in developing the upstream-Irrawaddy hydropower project, Li Qizhou said.
He said all legal documents, including the application for approval, the signing of a Joint Venture Agreement, a business license for the Joint Venture, an investment permit, concession rights and legal opinions of judges were all in strict compliance with Burma’s procedures.
All legal supporting documents for Myitsone Hydropower Station, to which a Burmese company, Asia World Company, is a partner are complete, said the CPI chairman.
The dam project raised protests throughout Burma for its environmental impact, and the damage it would cause to the country’s historical and archeological heritage. A major objection was also the increase in salinity to farmland downstream in Burma’s delta region.
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, citing her opposition to the project, said, “Conserving the Irrawaddy is conserving the country’s environment and economy and also it is the conservation of our cultural heritage,” in an appeal to the people and government released in August.
Under the agreement, CPI has the right to operate the huge dam and hydropower plant for 50 years. The CPI-funded study on the environmental impact upstream of the Irrawaddy was conducted by the Changjiang Institute, which designed the dam project, and involved more than 100 authoritative experts in the field. Surprisingly, the study was critical of the project’s impact on the environment and area.
Chairman Lu Qizhou said: “In my opinion, having undergone sufficient scientific proving and fulfilled stringent legal procedures of both countries, Myitsone Hydropower Station is sure to withstand the test of history. I strongly hope that with unremitting efforts of relevant parties, this project can smoothly move forward on schedule, and mutual benefit and a win-win result will become a reality for China and Myanmar.”
Pianporn Deetes, in charge of the Thai branch of the International Rivers Network, said that all the dam projects to be built upstream of the Irrawaddy River should be openly discussed, because the Irrawaddy River is the lifeline of all people living along the basin from Kachin State to the Irrawaddy delta in south.
“It is worrisome because it could impact the rice production in the delta region which is the rice bowl of the entire country. Moreover the dam will block the channels and waterways for migration of fish and other aquatic creatures,” he told Mizzima.
A total of eight hydropower projects are scheduled to be built on the Irrawaddy and two of its tributaries, the Maykha and the Malikha rivers. The Myitsone Dam project is the largest with an installed capacity of 6,000 megawatts. Ten per cent of the project has been completed.
The CPI chairman said that Burma would receive US$ 5.4 billion as withholding tax during this period and will also receive 10 per cent of the electricity generated.
The announcement of the suspension of the project came as a surprise. No. 1 Electric Power Ministry Minister Zaw Min said on September 10 that the project would be continued in spite of the strong protests from activists and environmentalists. A workshop on the project was held in Naypyitaw on September 17, and the CPI chairman read a paper at the workshop.
Minister Zaw Min said during the workshop an environmental impact study for the Irrawaddy delta region had not yet been done. He cited as a reason Burma did not yet have an “environment law” to be applied.
Pianporn Deetes said that Burma needed to draft a conclusive and comprehensive environment law. He said that the environmental impact on the upstream area of the Irrawaddy River should be made public.
“We don’t want to see two countries and companies involved in this project negotiate secretly behind the scenes after officially announcing the suspension of the dam project,” he said. All of these projects should be made public and they should take responsibility for all the people who will suffer the negative consequences from this project,” he said.
A total of 18 hydropower projects are being implemented in the Irrawaddy basin in Kachin State. According to official announcements made in early 2011, the total installed capacity of the combined projects would be 20,760 megawatts.
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 23:19 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Chinese builder of the suspended Myitsone Dam project said China may seek legal damages from the Burmese government, the Chinese Power Investment (CPI) Corporation said on Monday.
CPI chairman Lu Qizhou told Xinhua, the Chinese news agency, that he was “totally astonished” to learn that Burmese President Thein Sein had changed his mind and suspended the project.
“In February this year, Burma’s prime minister urged us to accelerate the construction when he inspected the project site, so the sudden proposal of suspension now is very bewildering. If suspension means a construction halt, then it will lead to a series of legal issues,” he was quoted as saying.
Xinhua, in an interview with Li Qizhou, quoted him saying: “I am totally astonished to hear the news of suspending this project. Under the announcement of halting this project, we must stop all of our construction work there.”
China’s total investment in the dam project is approximately US$ 3.6 billion and the bilateral project was scheduled to be completed in 2019.
Burma has signed two formal agreements, one in December 2006 between CPI and the Burmese No. 1 Electricity Power Ministry, and the second in March 2009 explicitly supporting CPI in developing the upstream-Irrawaddy hydropower project, Li Qizhou said.
He said all legal documents, including the application for approval, the signing of a Joint Venture Agreement, a business license for the Joint Venture, an investment permit, concession rights and legal opinions of judges were all in strict compliance with Burma’s procedures.
All legal supporting documents for Myitsone Hydropower Station, to which a Burmese company, Asia World Company, is a partner are complete, said the CPI chairman.
The dam project raised protests throughout Burma for its environmental impact, and the damage it would cause to the country’s historical and archeological heritage. A major objection was also the increase in salinity to farmland downstream in Burma’s delta region.
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, citing her opposition to the project, said, “Conserving the Irrawaddy is conserving the country’s environment and economy and also it is the conservation of our cultural heritage,” in an appeal to the people and government released in August.
Under the agreement, CPI has the right to operate the huge dam and hydropower plant for 50 years. The CPI-funded study on the environmental impact upstream of the Irrawaddy was conducted by the Changjiang Institute, which designed the dam project, and involved more than 100 authoritative experts in the field. Surprisingly, the study was critical of the project’s impact on the environment and area.
Chairman Lu Qizhou said: “In my opinion, having undergone sufficient scientific proving and fulfilled stringent legal procedures of both countries, Myitsone Hydropower Station is sure to withstand the test of history. I strongly hope that with unremitting efforts of relevant parties, this project can smoothly move forward on schedule, and mutual benefit and a win-win result will become a reality for China and Myanmar.”
Pianporn Deetes, in charge of the Thai branch of the International Rivers Network, said that all the dam projects to be built upstream of the Irrawaddy River should be openly discussed, because the Irrawaddy River is the lifeline of all people living along the basin from Kachin State to the Irrawaddy delta in south.
“It is worrisome because it could impact the rice production in the delta region which is the rice bowl of the entire country. Moreover the dam will block the channels and waterways for migration of fish and other aquatic creatures,” he told Mizzima.
A total of eight hydropower projects are scheduled to be built on the Irrawaddy and two of its tributaries, the Maykha and the Malikha rivers. The Myitsone Dam project is the largest with an installed capacity of 6,000 megawatts. Ten per cent of the project has been completed.
The CPI chairman said that Burma would receive US$ 5.4 billion as withholding tax during this period and will also receive 10 per cent of the electricity generated.
The announcement of the suspension of the project came as a surprise. No. 1 Electric Power Ministry Minister Zaw Min said on September 10 that the project would be continued in spite of the strong protests from activists and environmentalists. A workshop on the project was held in Naypyitaw on September 17, and the CPI chairman read a paper at the workshop.
Minister Zaw Min said during the workshop an environmental impact study for the Irrawaddy delta region had not yet been done. He cited as a reason Burma did not yet have an “environment law” to be applied.
Pianporn Deetes said that Burma needed to draft a conclusive and comprehensive environment law. He said that the environmental impact on the upstream area of the Irrawaddy River should be made public.
“We don’t want to see two countries and companies involved in this project negotiate secretly behind the scenes after officially announcing the suspension of the dam project,” he said. All of these projects should be made public and they should take responsibility for all the people who will suffer the negative consequences from this project,” he said.
A total of 18 hydropower projects are being implemented in the Irrawaddy basin in Kachin State. According to official announcements made in early 2011, the total installed capacity of the combined projects would be 20,760 megawatts.
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Myanmar Insurance to offer protection for low-income bank deposits
Monday, 03 October 2011 22:18 Nyi Thit
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Burma’s state-owned Myanmar Insurance will offer an insurance plan to protect people’s money deposited in private and government banks should they fail.
The insurance will cover people who deposit between 100,000 kyat (about US$ 125) and 500,000 kyat in their bank accounts, and will not cover people who deposit more than 500,000 kyat, said sources close to the banking business.
The insurance plan is intended to make banking more systematic and ensure lower-income depositors that they can trust depositing their money in banks.
Myanmar Insurance has already informed all banks about the new plan, according to a senior official at a bank that is a joint venture with the Burmese government.
The insurance plan went into effect on Saturday. If a bank offers the service to its customers, a one-year insurance premium is 0.25 kyat per 100 kyat. If a bank fails within the one-year period, Myanmar Insurance will compensate customers who are insured.
“Although the insurance is not a must-buy, if a bank wants to provide better service to its customers, it can offer the insurance,” said a senior bank official.
Observers said the goal of the insurance coverage is to provide a service for lower income and middle class depositors to reassure them about the safety of putting their money in banks. The insurance premium compares to similar insurance in regional countries.
Bank insurance is among a number of Burmese banking reforms. Last week, Mizzima reported that the Central Bank has given a green light for banks to begin offering installment loans under a “hire-purchase system” to private citizens in cooperation with commercial companies and banks.
An official from the Central Bank in Naypyitaw told Mizzima: “The central bank has informed all state-owned banks and private banks that they can now do hire-purchase loans if they wish to do so.” The advisory was sent to all state-owned and private banks on September 15.
The banks will be provided a guarantee for the loan repayment by either an employer of the buyer or the sales company.
“This system is needed for the country. We will use a secure-guarantee system,” said Ye Min Oo. He said a bank would not incur losses under this system.
Commodities that may be purchased include furniture, home electrical appliances, electronic products, computers and other items.
Finance and Revenue Minister Hla Tun told Parliament in late August that the government was consulting the Union Attorney General on amending the Burma Central Bank Law and Burma Financial Institutions Law in order to update them according to current needs.
According to the Encyclopedia of Nations, all 78 foreign insurance companies registered in Burma were nationalized in March 1963. All forms of insurance, including life, fire, marine, automobile, workers' compensation, personal accident, and burglary, are handled by the Myanmar Insurance Corp. Life insurance coverage is compulsory for government employees.
Monday, 03 October 2011 22:18 Nyi Thit
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Burma’s state-owned Myanmar Insurance will offer an insurance plan to protect people’s money deposited in private and government banks should they fail.
The insurance will cover people who deposit between 100,000 kyat (about US$ 125) and 500,000 kyat in their bank accounts, and will not cover people who deposit more than 500,000 kyat, said sources close to the banking business.
The insurance plan is intended to make banking more systematic and ensure lower-income depositors that they can trust depositing their money in banks.
Myanmar Insurance has already informed all banks about the new plan, according to a senior official at a bank that is a joint venture with the Burmese government.
The insurance plan went into effect on Saturday. If a bank offers the service to its customers, a one-year insurance premium is 0.25 kyat per 100 kyat. If a bank fails within the one-year period, Myanmar Insurance will compensate customers who are insured.
“Although the insurance is not a must-buy, if a bank wants to provide better service to its customers, it can offer the insurance,” said a senior bank official.
Observers said the goal of the insurance coverage is to provide a service for lower income and middle class depositors to reassure them about the safety of putting their money in banks. The insurance premium compares to similar insurance in regional countries.
Bank insurance is among a number of Burmese banking reforms. Last week, Mizzima reported that the Central Bank has given a green light for banks to begin offering installment loans under a “hire-purchase system” to private citizens in cooperation with commercial companies and banks.
An official from the Central Bank in Naypyitaw told Mizzima: “The central bank has informed all state-owned banks and private banks that they can now do hire-purchase loans if they wish to do so.” The advisory was sent to all state-owned and private banks on September 15.
The banks will be provided a guarantee for the loan repayment by either an employer of the buyer or the sales company.
“This system is needed for the country. We will use a secure-guarantee system,” said Ye Min Oo. He said a bank would not incur losses under this system.
Commodities that may be purchased include furniture, home electrical appliances, electronic products, computers and other items.
Finance and Revenue Minister Hla Tun told Parliament in late August that the government was consulting the Union Attorney General on amending the Burma Central Bank Law and Burma Financial Institutions Law in order to update them according to current needs.
According to the Encyclopedia of Nations, all 78 foreign insurance companies registered in Burma were nationalized in March 1963. All forms of insurance, including life, fire, marine, automobile, workers' compensation, personal accident, and burglary, are handled by the Myanmar Insurance Corp. Life insurance coverage is compulsory for government employees.
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No NMSP peace talks without UNFC members: Overseas Mon group
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 18:15 Kun Chan
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Overseas Mon Coordinating Committee (OMCC) has urged the New Mon State Party (NMSP) not to engage the Burmese government in peace talks without members of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) taking part.
“The Mon State government is dominated by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and to hold these meeting with the NMSP divides ethnic forces and it is just a part of successive governments’ policies to divide ethnic people,” said an OMCC statement.
“We would like to strongly urge the NMSP not to accept the USDP-dominated Mon State government’s offer to hold peace talk,” the statement said.
The OMCC pointed out that while the Mon State government is planning to meet with the NMSP, the central government has launched military offensives against the Kachin Independence Organization, the Shan State Army-South, the Karen National Union (KNU) and other ethnic armed groups.
Nai Thiri Mon Chan, an OMCC spokesperson, told Mizzima, “If the government really wants to stop the civil war, it must set policies to seek peace and national reconciliation and must hold an all-inclusive dialogue to achieve a nationwide a cease-fire.”
The OMCC statement noted that in the past the former junta sought cease-fire agreements with ethnic armed groups separately and divided the groups by giving different opportunities to different groups, causing divisions.
Nai Han Thar, the general-secretary of the NMSP and the UNFC, told Mizzima: “The Mon State government has not officially offered [peace talks]. If it offers, we will welcome it. We will discuss it as an initial step. But, regarding a cease-fire and politics, we will only discuss [with the government] as a whole group [the UNFC].”
The Mon State government formed a delegation led by Mon State Energy and Electric Power Minister Nai Lawi Aung, aka Nai Myint Swe, in September, according to a person who is close to the delegates.
In late September, a delegation led by Colonel Aung Lwin, the Karen State Minister for security and border affairs, met with the KNU, a member-group of the UNFC, on the Thai-Burmese border to offer to hold peace talks. The KNU replied that it wanted discussions with the central government, not with the Karen State government, according to KNU sources.
The UNFC was formed on February 17 to work to establish a genuine federal union. It comprises both ethnic cease-fire groups and non-ceasefire groups. There are six dedicated member groups and six associate member groups. The group’s aim to cooperate in resisting the government’s political pressure for individual cease-fires and its military offensives.
In late August, the Kachin Independence Organizaiton spokesman, La Nang, said the government is afraid of nationwide cease-fire talks because it might lead to local or foreign pro-democracy groups entering the discussions, creating “tri-party” talks.
“The authorities do not want to lose absolute power. So to prevent that, it does not want to agree to a cease-fire with ethnic armed groups,” La Nang told Mizzima. “All ethnic people living in the hill lands are losing their rights. The government does not want ethnic groups to form a political alliance to conduct a dialogue. The government’s afraid it would suffer and have to give up something in such a dialogue.
“The government wants only regional-level negotiations. Although we have demanded a nationwide cease-fire and a political dialogue, the government doesn’t want to negotiate on that.”
Because of the government’s unwillingness to hold a political dialogue, the civil war might spread more widely, he said.
The KIO has said that it cannot accept the central government’s offer to conduct negotiations with the Kachin State government. The Kachin have been fighting for more political autonomy and human rights, he said, and the state government does not have the power to solve those issues.
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 18:15 Kun Chan
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Overseas Mon Coordinating Committee (OMCC) has urged the New Mon State Party (NMSP) not to engage the Burmese government in peace talks without members of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) taking part.
“The Mon State government is dominated by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and to hold these meeting with the NMSP divides ethnic forces and it is just a part of successive governments’ policies to divide ethnic people,” said an OMCC statement.
“We would like to strongly urge the NMSP not to accept the USDP-dominated Mon State government’s offer to hold peace talk,” the statement said.
The OMCC pointed out that while the Mon State government is planning to meet with the NMSP, the central government has launched military offensives against the Kachin Independence Organization, the Shan State Army-South, the Karen National Union (KNU) and other ethnic armed groups.
Nai Thiri Mon Chan, an OMCC spokesperson, told Mizzima, “If the government really wants to stop the civil war, it must set policies to seek peace and national reconciliation and must hold an all-inclusive dialogue to achieve a nationwide a cease-fire.”
The OMCC statement noted that in the past the former junta sought cease-fire agreements with ethnic armed groups separately and divided the groups by giving different opportunities to different groups, causing divisions.
Nai Han Thar, the general-secretary of the NMSP and the UNFC, told Mizzima: “The Mon State government has not officially offered [peace talks]. If it offers, we will welcome it. We will discuss it as an initial step. But, regarding a cease-fire and politics, we will only discuss [with the government] as a whole group [the UNFC].”
The Mon State government formed a delegation led by Mon State Energy and Electric Power Minister Nai Lawi Aung, aka Nai Myint Swe, in September, according to a person who is close to the delegates.
In late September, a delegation led by Colonel Aung Lwin, the Karen State Minister for security and border affairs, met with the KNU, a member-group of the UNFC, on the Thai-Burmese border to offer to hold peace talks. The KNU replied that it wanted discussions with the central government, not with the Karen State government, according to KNU sources.
The UNFC was formed on February 17 to work to establish a genuine federal union. It comprises both ethnic cease-fire groups and non-ceasefire groups. There are six dedicated member groups and six associate member groups. The group’s aim to cooperate in resisting the government’s political pressure for individual cease-fires and its military offensives.
In late August, the Kachin Independence Organizaiton spokesman, La Nang, said the government is afraid of nationwide cease-fire talks because it might lead to local or foreign pro-democracy groups entering the discussions, creating “tri-party” talks.
“The authorities do not want to lose absolute power. So to prevent that, it does not want to agree to a cease-fire with ethnic armed groups,” La Nang told Mizzima. “All ethnic people living in the hill lands are losing their rights. The government does not want ethnic groups to form a political alliance to conduct a dialogue. The government’s afraid it would suffer and have to give up something in such a dialogue.
“The government wants only regional-level negotiations. Although we have demanded a nationwide cease-fire and a political dialogue, the government doesn’t want to negotiate on that.”
Because of the government’s unwillingness to hold a political dialogue, the civil war might spread more widely, he said.
The KIO has said that it cannot accept the central government’s offer to conduct negotiations with the Kachin State government. The Kachin have been fighting for more political autonomy and human rights, he said, and the state government does not have the power to solve those issues.
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DVB News - China said to be arming Indian rebels
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 4 October 2011
Indian separatists hiding out in northwest Burma have been aided by China since they were expelled from Bangladesh, according to a leaked Indian government memo.
A “top official” was quoted from the internal memo in India’s Deccan Herald newspaper as saying that, “India’s success in Bangladesh had given an opportunity to China to deal with these outfits at one place in Myanmar [Burma] and use them against India”.
The memo also allegedly notes that Chinese and Pakistani operatives have visited Indian separatists at their bases in Burma.
China has been organising groups to bring about more unity amongst the ethnic rebel groups who are fighting for more autonomy from the Indian state in the northeast region of the country, the memo continues. China claims parts of this region, namely Arunachal Pradesh, which they say is part of Tibet, despite having belonged to British India.
“These outfits were getting weapons from China, which was a matter of serious concern,” says the memo.
India separatist outfits such as the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) are rumoured to have sheltered in remote areas along the Indo-Burma border and receive arms from China.
China sees India’s harbouring of the Dalai Lama as an affront, as it views the Tibetan spiritual leader as a threat to Beijing’s sovereignty. His cause is rumoured to have been funded by US intelligence.
Bangladesh for its part has moved towards India following the election of the Awami League Party led by Sheikh Hasina, whose father was aided by Indira Gandhi in the country’s struggle for independence against Pakistan in 1971. Her daughter-in-law, Sonia Gandhi, now presides over India’s ruling Congress Party and made an historic visit to Dhaka this year after years of frosty relations between the two South Asian nations.
The Bangladesh about-face saw ULFA cadres arrested and serious assets seized, including textile mills and other businesses.
Where Burma stands in the tussle between its two neighbours is in doubt. Some allege that Naypyidaw has remained apathetic about India’s concerns, repeatedly pledging to flush out separatists from its territory but not lifting a finger.
Journalist Bertil Lintner called a recent operation against ULFA by the Burmese as a “phantom operation”.
But India’s former ambassador to Burma, Gopalapuram Parthasrathy, sees more commitment from the Burmese. He told DVB in August that, “The reality is that on occasions in the past Myanmar [Burmese] soldiers have shed their lives fighting Indian terrorists.”
As with Burma, there is a common fear that ethnic armed groups in India will unify, thereby causing a greater headache to planners and the military. The memo expresses fear that the National Socialist Council of Nagaland – Khaplang (NSCN-K) had made alliances with Meitei groups from the state of Manipur.
The Indian state for its part is rumoured to fund various groups to perpetuate division amongst armed groups. The rumours that groups receive Chinese funding is not new, but may instead be a deliberate leak in order to put pressure on the Chinese at a crucial time.
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 4 October 2011
Indian separatists hiding out in northwest Burma have been aided by China since they were expelled from Bangladesh, according to a leaked Indian government memo.
A “top official” was quoted from the internal memo in India’s Deccan Herald newspaper as saying that, “India’s success in Bangladesh had given an opportunity to China to deal with these outfits at one place in Myanmar [Burma] and use them against India”.
The memo also allegedly notes that Chinese and Pakistani operatives have visited Indian separatists at their bases in Burma.
China has been organising groups to bring about more unity amongst the ethnic rebel groups who are fighting for more autonomy from the Indian state in the northeast region of the country, the memo continues. China claims parts of this region, namely Arunachal Pradesh, which they say is part of Tibet, despite having belonged to British India.
“These outfits were getting weapons from China, which was a matter of serious concern,” says the memo.
India separatist outfits such as the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) are rumoured to have sheltered in remote areas along the Indo-Burma border and receive arms from China.
China sees India’s harbouring of the Dalai Lama as an affront, as it views the Tibetan spiritual leader as a threat to Beijing’s sovereignty. His cause is rumoured to have been funded by US intelligence.
Bangladesh for its part has moved towards India following the election of the Awami League Party led by Sheikh Hasina, whose father was aided by Indira Gandhi in the country’s struggle for independence against Pakistan in 1971. Her daughter-in-law, Sonia Gandhi, now presides over India’s ruling Congress Party and made an historic visit to Dhaka this year after years of frosty relations between the two South Asian nations.
The Bangladesh about-face saw ULFA cadres arrested and serious assets seized, including textile mills and other businesses.
Where Burma stands in the tussle between its two neighbours is in doubt. Some allege that Naypyidaw has remained apathetic about India’s concerns, repeatedly pledging to flush out separatists from its territory but not lifting a finger.
Journalist Bertil Lintner called a recent operation against ULFA by the Burmese as a “phantom operation”.
But India’s former ambassador to Burma, Gopalapuram Parthasrathy, sees more commitment from the Burmese. He told DVB in August that, “The reality is that on occasions in the past Myanmar [Burmese] soldiers have shed their lives fighting Indian terrorists.”
As with Burma, there is a common fear that ethnic armed groups in India will unify, thereby causing a greater headache to planners and the military. The memo expresses fear that the National Socialist Council of Nagaland – Khaplang (NSCN-K) had made alliances with Meitei groups from the state of Manipur.
The Indian state for its part is rumoured to fund various groups to perpetuate division amongst armed groups. The rumours that groups receive Chinese funding is not new, but may instead be a deliberate leak in order to put pressure on the Chinese at a crucial time.
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DVB News - Karen rebels cautious on peace talks
By KHIN MIN ZAW
Published: 4 October 2011
The Karen National Liberation Army has said it will only negotiate with the Burmese government if it accepts that armed groups will no longer hold talks individually but as part of a wider alliance. It follows a recent approach by security officials in Karen state tasked with kick-starting dialogue with the rebels.
Naypyidaw has been busy attempting to court the myriad rebel groups in the country’s periphery, many of whom have seen fighting escalate in recent months.
The war against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) however goes back six decades, and mistrust of government overtures is deep-seated.
A nominal alliance of groups, including the KNLA and the Kachin Independence Army, was formed last year under the banner of United Nationalities Federation Council (UNFC).
“We do want to have a ceasefire and peace as well as to solve the problems via political means,” said Major Saw Hla Ngwe, joint-secretary 1 of the KNLA’s political wing, the Karen National Union.
“But because we work as a group, we will only hold discussions as the UNFC and not as one group. And we would like to discuss directly with the central government.”
The offer of talks from Karen state’s Security and Border Affairs minister, Colonel Aung Lwin, pre-empted a recent trip by President Thein Sein’s political advisor, Nay Zin Latt, toIndonesia. Billed as a ‘study’ visit, the delegation sought to get to grips withIndonesia’s transition from military rule and cessation of conflicts with ethnic minority groups – something the new Burmese government has pledged as a goal.
The fighting in recent months, particular against the KIA inBurma’s north, has taken on a sometimes brutal front, with multiple rapes of Kachin women by Burmese soldiers reported.
Observers have questioned whether the armed groups will accept offers of peace from the government in light of the nature of the fighting, although most say they are ostensibly looking for an end to hostilities.
Major Saw Hla Ngwe was sceptical of the tactics being used by the central government to negotiate an end to fighting. Historically the government has favoured talks with individual groups, rather than alliances.
“It is their policy to hold talks separately with individual groups. They would talk to groups separately and then play political and military games – we know this based on our past experiences,” he said.
By KHIN MIN ZAW
Published: 4 October 2011
The Karen National Liberation Army has said it will only negotiate with the Burmese government if it accepts that armed groups will no longer hold talks individually but as part of a wider alliance. It follows a recent approach by security officials in Karen state tasked with kick-starting dialogue with the rebels.
Naypyidaw has been busy attempting to court the myriad rebel groups in the country’s periphery, many of whom have seen fighting escalate in recent months.
The war against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) however goes back six decades, and mistrust of government overtures is deep-seated.
A nominal alliance of groups, including the KNLA and the Kachin Independence Army, was formed last year under the banner of United Nationalities Federation Council (UNFC).
“We do want to have a ceasefire and peace as well as to solve the problems via political means,” said Major Saw Hla Ngwe, joint-secretary 1 of the KNLA’s political wing, the Karen National Union.
“But because we work as a group, we will only hold discussions as the UNFC and not as one group. And we would like to discuss directly with the central government.”
The offer of talks from Karen state’s Security and Border Affairs minister, Colonel Aung Lwin, pre-empted a recent trip by President Thein Sein’s political advisor, Nay Zin Latt, toIndonesia. Billed as a ‘study’ visit, the delegation sought to get to grips withIndonesia’s transition from military rule and cessation of conflicts with ethnic minority groups – something the new Burmese government has pledged as a goal.
The fighting in recent months, particular against the KIA inBurma’s north, has taken on a sometimes brutal front, with multiple rapes of Kachin women by Burmese soldiers reported.
Observers have questioned whether the armed groups will accept offers of peace from the government in light of the nature of the fighting, although most say they are ostensibly looking for an end to hostilities.
Major Saw Hla Ngwe was sceptical of the tactics being used by the central government to negotiate an end to fighting. Historically the government has favoured talks with individual groups, rather than alliances.
“It is their policy to hold talks separately with individual groups. They would talk to groups separately and then play political and military games – we know this based on our past experiences,” he said.
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