BURMA RELATED NEWS

BURMA RELATED NEWS - JULY 23, 2011
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Suu Kyi to meet Myanmar minister
By Soe Than Win | AFP News – 2 hours 20 minutes ago

Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will meet a minister on Monday in her first dialogue with the country's new civilian leadership, a government official told AFP on Saturday.

Suu Kyi has frequently called for dialogue with the government since her release from house arrest just days after last year's November elections, which were marred by claims of cheating and the exclusion of her party.

"Aung San Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi will meet at Sein Lei Kan Tha state guest house on Monday afternoon. It will be the first meeting between them after the new government was formed," a Myanmar government official told AFP, without elaborating.

Aung Kyi, who is currently Myanmar's labour minister, was in charge of relations between the military junta and Suu Kyi under Myanmar's previous regime.

The pair -- who are not related -- have met on several occasions, including in late 2009 when the Nobel Peace Prize winner was still under house arrest.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) were unable to confirm the meeting on Saturday.

"We have not been told anything yet," spokesman Nyan Win told AFP.

Journalists have been invited to cover some parts of the meeting, but will not be present during the talks themselves.

Suu Kyi has this month tested the boundaries of her freedom, with her first visit outside Yangon and, after her return, leading hundreds of supporters in memorials for her father, Myanmar's independence hero General Aung San.

News of the talks comes on the same day that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Myanmar's rulers to make "concrete, measurable progress" towards meeting the international community's demands for reform.

In an address to foreign ministers at an Asian security forum in Indonesia, Clinton suggested first steps should include "meaningful and inclusive dialogue" with the opposition and the release of more than 2,000 political prisoners.

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a renewal of sanctions on Myanmar, first passed in 2003 in response to alleged rights violations and failure to adopt democratic reforms.

Suu Kyi's party, which won a landslide election victory two decades ago that was never recognised by the junta, was disbanded by the military rulers last year because it boycotted the latest vote, saying the rules were unfair.
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Canada begins engagement with Myanmar, but rules out early end to sanctions
By The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – 1 hour 58 minutes ago

TORONTO - Canada has begun a strategic engagement with Myanmar that includes an exchange of ambassadors, but Ottawa has no plans to lift the economic sanctions imposed against the country anytime soon, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Saturday.

Baird, speaking from Bali, Indonesia, where he attended a regional security forum this week, said the "limited engagement" was focused exclusively on human rights.

He said he raised the issue during a meeting with Myanmar's foreign minister in Bali and that he had urged the government to release thousands of political prisoners from jail.

Canada imposed economic sanctions against Myanmar, also known as Burma, in 2007 because of its complete disregard for human rights.

Myanmar held elections late last year, officially handing power to a civilian administration after a half-century of military rule.

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest. But many see the changes as cosmetic and believe the army will continue to hold sway.

"I underlined the significance concern that the government of Canada and Canadians have with Aung San Suu Kyi's ability to be mobile in the country and highlighted the ongoing concerns about her safety and her security," Baird said.

The minister also held talks with his Australian and New Zealand counterparts.

The three foreign ministers reaffirmed the long-standing relations between their countries and committed to enhanced co-operation across the full range of international challenges.

"I raised the human rights situations in Burma and North Korea with my counterparts," Baird said.

"We also looked at human smuggling and illegal migration and reaffirmed that we remain committed to combatting these and other abuses of our respective immigration systems."
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Thailand's army says 3rd helicopter crashes near Myanmar border this month; 3 dead
By The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – 7 minutes ago

BANGKOK - A third Thai military helicopter has crashed near the country's forested border with Myanmar in just over a week, killing three soldiers Sunday and bringing the toll from all three accidents to 17.

Defence Ministry spokesman Col. Thanathit Sawang told The Associated Press that the Bell 212 chopper went down during a mission to retrieve bodies from an earlier crash on Tuesday.

Weather conditions were normal at the time, and initial indications were that an instrument in the chopper's tail which controlled aircraft movement malfunctioned, Thanathit said.
Two military pilots and two mechanics were on board, he said, and one survived.

Thai television stations broadcast images of the smoking helicopter in flames and reported that villagers took the survivor to a hospital in Kaeng Krachan district, where a densely forested national park is located.

Two other Thai military helicopters crashed in bad weather the same over the last eight days.

The first crash, of a Huey chopper on July 16, killed five troops. Then on Tuesday, a Black Hawk helicopter sent to retrieve bodies went down in the same remote area, killing eight soldiers and one television cameraman.
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India invites Myanmar's Suu Kyi
By Indo Asian News Service | IANS – 2 hours 59 minutes ago

New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) The government has invited Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to visit India.

The invitation was extended to Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, when Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao met her at her villa in Yangon last month. The meeting lasted for an hour.

'I hope she comes to India. She spoke warmly of India,' said a government source familiar with the discussions between Rao and Suu Kyi, who was recently freed from several years of house arrest.

This was the first high-level Indian contact with Myanmar's pro-democracy icon and Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, who studied in the Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi.

At the end of the meeting, both expressed a desire for the bilateral relationship to blossom and grow, sources said.

Rao had accompanied External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna on a three-day visit to Myanmar in June.

Amid criticism by some western countries that India was not doing enough to push the cause of democracy in Myanmar, the sources defended India's pursuit of its economic and strategic interests in that neighbouring country.
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The Age - Refugee admits to secret military past
Jessica Marszalek
July 24, 2011 - 12:49PM
AAP

A Brisbane refugee has come forward to confess to his secret military past, saying he caused the deaths of up to 50 people in Burma.

Moon Hsar, 44, says he worked as a secret agent for the Burmese military from within the Karen revolutionary army between 1984 and 1987, having been seduced by its power and wealth.

He claims it was his job to incite conflict between his own Karen people and other ethnic groups by rumour-mongering and blaming innocent parties for others' deeds.

He would also pass intelligence back to the junta via the animal trade.

"There was a lot of fighting. Three years is a long time," he told AAP through an interpreter.

"Forty to 50 people (died) because of me, because of order from military government.

"I feel guilty, very guilty. I feel like they use me as a knife to kill my own people."

It is the second time in two weeks a former junta functionary has come forward to clear his conscience.

Australian citizen Htoo Htoo Han last week confessed to executing 24 anti-government protesters and student leaders as an officer in Burmese intelligence from 1988.

Mr Han, who came to Australia as a refugee in 1996 and has since been involved in campaigns aimed at highlighting human rights abuses in Burma, said he was also indirectly involved in at least 100 other murders.

He said nine others from his group were now lived in Australia.

He is now being investigated by the Australian Federal Police and wants to go to jail for his crimes.

Mr Hsar, a father of five, said while his own situation was unrelated to that of Mr Han, he too wanted to get the secrets plaguing him off his chest.

The low-ranking sergeant said he stopped working for the military when he saw soldiers punishing a Karen-controlled village in about 1987.

"The army come in, they rape the women, everything, I see this woman being raped ... I very, very angry so I cut it off," Mr Hsar said through the interpreter.

"They kill really all woman, children, they kill them all."

An Australian citizen, Mr Hsar came to Australia five years ago after leaving the Karen army in 1998 and staying at a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border.

He indicated there may be more like him living in Australia, now willing to confess their pasts after reading Han's story.
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Channel NewsAsia - Clinton says Myanmar at 'critical juncture'
Posted: 23 July 2011 1127 hrs

NUSA DUA, Indonesia - Myanmar is at a "critical juncture" between a genuine civilian government and a military regime dressed up as a democracy, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saturday.

In an address to foreign ministers at an Asian security forum in Indonesia, Clinton said the country's rulers had to make "concrete, measurable progress" towards meeting the international community's demands for reform.

"The country has reached a critical juncture," Clinton said in prepared remarks.

"The authorities in Naypyidaw can differentiate themselves from the predecessor military regime by showing that they are indeed a 'new, civilian government'... Or they can continue the path they are on."

She said the Myanmar government could make a start by "releasing unconditionally" more than 2,000 political prisoners and conducting "meaningful and inclusive dialogue" with the opposition and ethnic minorities.

Clinton also said Myanmar must respect and adhere to its "nonproliferation obligations", a reference to US fears that it is cooperating with North Korea on a nuclear weapons programme.

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a renewal of sanctions on Myanmar first passed in 2003 in response to alleged rights violations and failure to adopt democratic reforms.

The annual legislation bans the import of goods from Myanmar, including lucrative gems, and restricts visas issued to government officials in the country earlier known as Burma.

President Barack Obama earlier in May extended a separate set of sanctions that bar US investment in Myanmar.

Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide election victory two decades ago that was never recognised by the then military regime.

Her party was was disbanded by the military rulers last year because it boycotted an election in November that was dismissed by many as a sham designed to perpetuate military control under the guise of democracy.

The military's political proxies claimed an overwhelming victory in the poll, which was marred by widespread complaints of cheating and intimidation.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi was freed by the military from seven years of house arrest last November, but the government has warned her to stay out of politics.
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Asian Correspondent - AIPMC urges ASEAN to review Burma issue cautiously
By Zin Linn Jul 23, 2011 9:17PM UTC

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) released a press statement yesterday on Current Military Offensive and Rights Abuse by the Myanmar or Burma Army in Ethnic Areas -Monitor recent rape cases, reject Myanmar’s bid to chair ASEAN and cut financial lifelines for despots, AIPMC urges ASEAN.

The AIPMC highlighted about atrocities against civilians during Burma Army offensives against ethnic armed groups in Shan State and Kachin State. It also denounced Burmese soldiers’ sexual violence against women and girls, including gang-rape by order of high level officials.

The statement continues revealing warfare in North and Eastern Burma which has been worsening since last year’s election. Almost two-decade long ceasefire with the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) have already been broken by the Burma Army.

According to Shan community based organizations, the statement says, 65 battles have taken place in Shan State over the last three weeks and now thousands people are displaced inside northern Shan State.

In Kachin State, more than 16,000 refugees fled to China from escalating fighting across ten townships since early June, according to the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT). In both areas, Burmese soldiers committed systematic sexual violence against women and girls, quoting local sources AIPMC said.

AIPMC also underlined the main cause of the combating in those ethnic areas. The ongoing battles are closely linked to the Burmese government’s economic interests in the resource rich ethnic areas, including hydropower dams on the Salween and Irrawaddy Rivers and trans-national oil and gas pipelines across northern Shan State, the statement criticizes.

It needs to clear out resistance forces and seize control of these areas to proceed with these projects. AIPMC pointed out that Burma has had no mechanism prepared to watch the impact of such projects for local people. Instead, they have taken control over ethnic areas and get rid of ethnic armed groups, rather than seeking a solution to essential political problems in the country.

Severe human rights violations have already occurred concerning these projects, including forced labor, land confiscations, torture, murder and rapes, causing an influx of refugees to neighboring countries, AIPMC said.

“Only the military rulers of Myanmar and their business cronies will benefit from these projects, which are built on the lives, blood and tear of ordinary civilians”, said Kraisak Choonhavan, AIPMC Senior Advisor in Thailand.

The current civil war comes on top of an already critical political situation in Burma. There has been no meaningful political progress since the elections. Besides, 2,000 political prisoners continue to languish in notorious prisons of Burma.

“We call on the Myanmar Army to immediately end rights abuses, particularly the systematic use of rape as a weapon to suppress ethnic women and to urgently engage in peace talks with ethnic armed groups”, said Eva Kusuma Sundari, Member of Indonesian Parliament and President of the AIPMC.

“The challenge is on ASEAN to live up to its responsibilities to protect the people of Myanmar. A meeting between the ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting and the UN is needed to stop this human rights crisis and its negative impacts on neighboring countries and regional stability. The international community should press upon ASEAN the urgency of such a meeting”, she emphasizes.

AIPMC calls on the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) to monitor these rape cases closely, and ASEAN and its member states must turn down Burma’s application to be the bloc’s chair in 2014, until and unless the government takes genuine steps towards ending human rights violations in the country.

Hence, AIPMC warns that ASEAN members states need paying attention to the repeated calls by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma (Myanmar), Tomas Ojea Quintana, for the creation of a UN-mandated Commission of Inquiry (CoI) in Burma.

It also reminds that prodemocracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has already supported CoI and altogether sixteen countries have already endorsed the establishment of such a CoI.
Finally, AIPMC calls Thailand and other investors to reassess their investments in Burma and discontinue financial lifelines that keep brutal and self-serving despots in power.
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Associated Press
Forbes - US takes hardline on North Korea, South China Sea
By MATTHEW LEE and ROBIN McDOWELL , 07.23.11, 01:46 AM EDT

BALI, Indonesia -- Tentative steps by North and South Korea to repair relations are not enough to warrant a return to multination nuclear disarmament talks, the Obama administration said at an Asian security conference Saturday, where it also took a tough line on resolving heightened tensions in the South China Sea.

Declaring the United States a "resident power" with vital strategic interests throughout the Asia-Pacific, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said North Korea must do more to improve ties with the South before Washington will consider resuming six-party talks aimed at getting Pyongyang to abandon nuclear weapons in return for concessions.

In addition, Clinton laid out specific guidelines for the peaceful settlement of competing territorial claims by China and its Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea, where she said such disputes are threatening the peace and security that has driven the region's economic growth and prosperity.

Also on the agenda at Saturday's talks on the Indonesian resort island of Bali was Myanmar, which Clinton said has reached a "critical juncture."

The new civilian government, which took over late last year after a half-century of military rule, needs to make "concrete, measurable progress" in bringing about democratic reforms if it wants to win the confidence of the international community.

That includes releasing more than 2,000 political prisoners and holding meaningful dialogue with its political opponents.

The meeting opened with a buzz, with South Korea's foreign minister, Kim Sung-hwan, and the North's Pak Ui Chun walking casually into the conference hall together.

A day before, their countries' top nuclear negotiators met for the first time since nuclear disarmament talks collapsed three years ago, opening the door for dialogue and a potential return, eventually, to more negotiations between the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia.

Clinton told diplomats from 26 other Asian and European countries that she was encouraged to see the change.

"But we remain firm that in order for six-party talks to resume, North Korea must take steps to improve North-South relations," she said. "North Korea continues to present a critical proliferation challenge to the international community and to threaten regional stability with its provocative actions."

Since the last round of talks, North Korea has conducted a second nuclear test and revealed a uranium enrichment facility that could give it another way to make atomic bombs.

Recent North Korean threats against Seoul's conservative government include a vow to retaliate over South Korean soldiers' use of pictures of the ruling North Korean family for target practice.

Ahead of the conference, China and its Southeast Asian neighbors also agreed to a preliminary plan to resolve territorial disputes in the potentially resource-rich South China Sea.

China claims the sea - of tremendous strategic importance to everyone because one-third of the world's shipping transits through it - in its entirety. The Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia loudly disagree.

There have been several flare-ups in the waterway in recent months, with Beijing usually accused of being the instigator.

Clinton urged all parties to show restraint and to comply with international law "and resolve their disputes through peaceful means." It's vital, she said, that they work together.

As a starting point, the U.S. wants all nations to map out their claims in terms consistent with customary international law, a senior U.S. official said on condition he not be named, adding that many of the claims seem to be "exaggerated."

North Korea's newly appointed envoy, Ri Yong Ho, meanwhile, said Friday that he and his South Korean counterpart, Wi Sung-lac, agreed during their meeting to work together to quickly restart nuclear talks.

Wi, who described the talks as "productive" and "helpful," confirmed the agreement and said he and Ri would continue their efforts.

North Korea stands to get badly needed aid and other concessions if it returns to the talks and has indicated in recent months that it may be ready.

North Korea's main ally, China, has been pressing for a speedy resumption of the talks. The U.S. and other countries have held out, saying that meaningful North-South dialogue must occur first. A senior U.S. official welcomed Friday's meeting but said it remains to be seen if the rapprochement is enough to warrant a return to the table.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy, said Clinton and the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea would meet in Bali on Saturday to assess the situation and plot a way forward. The official would not predict if a decision on resuming the six-party talks would be made at the meeting.

In a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Clinton affirmed "our mutual desire for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula" but offered no hint on whether the U.S. would agree to resume the nuclear talks.

Yang, however, signaled China's intense interest in getting things back on track. "Anything we can do together to promote better atmosphere and good dialogue among the parties concerned and to work together to restart the six-party talks would be in the best interests of peace, stability and security of the region," he said.

The disarmament talks have been stalled since 2008, when North Korea walked out to protest international criticism of a prohibited long-range rocket launch. Tensions between the North and South have remained high ever since.
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New Kerala - North East militants outfits shifting bases to Myanmar

Agartala, Jul 23 : With strong stand of Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh against northeastern militants, the banned outfits of the region planned to shift the base to Myanmar from Bangladesh, confessed self-style 'external affairs chief' of National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) Utpal Debbarma.

Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Tripura police here today said, quoting the confessional statement, northeastern militant organisations had recently floated United Front under NSCN (K) to carry out terror operation across the region.

According to report, United Front had been getting direct patronage of Inter Service Intelligence of Pakistan (ISI) and ISI representatives were attended their meeting and assured them to extend support to carry out insurgency in northeast.

Utpal was arrested early this month from Tripura-Mizoram border on the day he entered the state from Bangladesh and given 10 days police custody. He was sent for additional four days of police custody yesterday when he was again produced in the court.

The man revealed at present they have a stock of series of AK 56 rifles, 32000 live cartage, 15 LMG, 30 MMG and one air crack gun.

Meanwhile, the kidnapped eight tribals including two CPI(M) leaders of remote Debendra Karbaripara in Dhalai district of North Tripura were still traceless.

Police said the militants sent a ransom notice to East Chawmanu village council Chief Shanti Ranjan Chakma yesterday and had mentioned a phone number for further correspondent. The militants informed the abducted persons had been shifted to hide outs across the border.
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CNN - Which country requires the most education?
PUERTO RICO
July 22, 2011

When it comes to mandatory education, two countries stand apart from the rest of the world.

In Puerto Rico and Venezuela, children are required to attend school for 14 years. That's longer than any other country by at least one year, according to the most recent data from UNESCO.

Five countries -- Anguilla, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Turks and Caicos Islands -- require 13 years of education. The United States is among a large group of countries that requires 12 years.

Nobody starts a child sooner than Venezuela, which begins by age 3. Puerto Rico starts two years later and ends at 18, which is tied for the highest "ending age" along with Belgium, Germany and Uzbekistan.

At the other end of the spectrum are Bangladesh, Equatorial Guinea, Laos, Myanmar and Pakistan, which require only five years of education, according to UNESCO. By age 9, children in Myanmar and Pakistan are already finishing up their legal obligation for school.

Among all of the countries in the table, the average amount of compulsory education is nine years, starting by age 6 and ending near 14.

More Country Comparisons: Who's got the highest (and lowest) unemployment rates?
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Grand Island Independent - Workshop gives insight into Karen culture
By Kay Kemmet
kay.kemmet@theindependent.com
Published: Thursday, July 14, 2011 9:32 AM CDT

Karen people do not ask, "How are you?" Helena Asherin, a Karen refugee from Burma, said this is because they aren't doing well very often.

But hopefully that is changing.

More than 60 percent of Nebraska's refugee population are from Burma, according to Karen Parde, refugee program coordinator for the Nebraska Health Department, and many are members of the tribal group Karen.

While Grand Island hasn't had many refugees from Burma, almost 30 have moved here in the past month. The majority are Karen. To promote education about the new ethnic group in Grand Island, the Multicultural Coalition hosted a workshop about the Karen Wednesday.

"The Karen people are just wonderful people," said Parde. She presented the workshop, but also brought three Karen refugees with her from Omaha. There were two sessions at 1:30 and 5:30 p.m. at the Workforce Development Building in Grand Island. About 30 local people attended the 1:30 session.

Asherin works with the Omaha Public Schools and translates for the Karen refugees there. Omaha has the largest Karen population, and Lincoln comes in second in Nebraska.

"I think most of the people in the U.S. don't know much about the Karen," said Asherin, who moved to the U.S. four years ago from a refugee camp in Thailand.

She said that Karen people came to the U.S. for the same reason all immigrants come here: They wanted a better life. But with a refugee community, the motives are different. Most would like to still live in their home nation, according to Parde, but were forced to leave for many different reasons.

For the Karen, 50 years of constant fighting between the Burmese government and Karen nationals led to unsafe conditions. Asherin showed a video of interviews with Karen refugees.

In the video, some discussed the nomadic lifestyle the Karen people live in the jungle. They are constantly running from gunfire and searching for food. If they tried to grow crops -- the Karen mostly eat rice -- the Burmese would open fire on them.

Because of these conditions, almost 40,000 have immigrated to the United States, according to Asherin. But before immigrating here, they lived in Thailand in refugee camps.

"We hope this is going to be the last country (we live in)," Asherin said.

She lived in one of those camps, and talked about how their homes, which were more like shacks, were so close together that they could hear their neighbors' conversations. She said that one time a neighbor began singing a song in his home, but couldn't remember the next part, so her brother started singing. But he couldn't remember the ending, so another neighbor finished the song from another home.

In addition to difficult backgrounds, the Karen also have a unique culture.

Because the Karen were mostly farmers in Burma, many get their first job when they move to the United States. They also have never paid a bill. Asherin said many try to pay bills right away, because they are worried about being late.

They also do not shake hands, and men and women do not hold hands in public.

They have strict rules about marriage. Unmarried women and men are expected to abstain, and aren't allowed to openly date. Once a couple marries, they are expected to stay together.

Asherin is married to an American man, and she said that her mother used to cry every night. Her mother was worried that because the divorce rates in the U.S. are so high, the marriage wouldn't last. But Asherin said her marriage is working out, and she has a young son.

"They want to learn American culture while maintaining there own," Parde said.

It's also acceptable for teachers and parents to use violence to discipline children in their country, according to Asherin.

The Karen people are shy and quiet, she said. They also do not ask questions because teachers and doctors are well respected and expected to fully inform.

Asherin said that most Burmese refugees are Christian, but some are Buddhist and a small portion are Muslim.

They speak Karen and many speak Burmese. In the group that came to Grand Island, many understand English, but only a few speak fluently, said Carlos Barcenas, Multicultural Coalition director.

With a large population of Burmese refugees in Omaha and Lincoln, Parde said more could come to Grand Island.

With language and cultural barriers, Asherin said the new refugees will need help.

Barcenas is working to help the Grand Island Karen refugees find rental homes because they still are living in hotels after working at JBS Swift for four weeks.

In addition to help and community support, Asherin said, they want to be treated normally.

"They want to learn American culture, and they want you to understand them," Parde said.
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Business Standard India - N Chandra Mohan: Corporate India looks eastwards to Asean
N Chandra Mohan / July 24, 2011, 0:39 IST

India’s free trade agreement with Asean has spurred a globalising drive by India Inc, and the region has emerged as a significant destination for India’s outward investment.

India’s free trade agreement (FTA) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which kicked off in January 2010, is perhaps the country’s most important trade
agreement, because it is integral to its “look east” policy of integration with Asia. The 10-member Asean’s combined GDP of $1.5 trillion is similar to India’s GDP of $1.2 trillion.

This FTA is already resulting in substantial two-way trade. India, too, can benefit from the services trade, once the agreement is in place. But the best news so far is that it has
spurred the globalising drive of India Inc in an effort to benefit from the prosperity of this region.

Considering its nascent stage — this FTA is not fully in place, as only eight of Asean’s 10 members have ratified it — the uptrend in bilateral trade is extremely encouraging. Two-way trade volumes can easily touch $70 billion by 2012, up from $50 billion in 2010-11. Shedding its earlier ambivalence towards bilaterals like this FTA — thanks to the persisting domestic handicap of inverted duty structures, among other reasons — the more positive development is that India Inc is exhibiting greater self-confidence to engage with the region through foreign direct investments (FDI) since the agreement kicked in.

Asean, in fact, has emerged as a significant destination for India’s outward FDI, amounting to $12 billion, or 27 per cent of overall investments of $43.9 billion, in 2010-11. During the first two months of the current financial year, this regional grouping absorbed 21 per cent of India’s outward investments of $5 billion. On a year-on-year basis, India Inc’s investment forays in Asean doubled to $1 billion during April-May 2011, from $542 million in April-May 2010. These investments are in joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries, according to the latest month-wise numbers released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Within Asean, the overwhelming favourite destination for Indian investors is the city-state of Singapore with its open trading and business environment. Singapore alone accounts for 98 per cent and 92 per cent of India’s FDI to Asean in 2010-11 and April-May 2011 respectively. Much smaller amounts went to Vietnam ($76 million), Malaysia ($75 million), Philippines ($32.4 million), Indonesia ($29.4 million), Thailand ($9.6 million) and Laos ($2 million) during 2010-11. The same pattern continued in April-May 2011 as well, as these countries accounted for 8 per cent of India’s FDI to Asean.

To be sure, India Inc’s significant investments in Singapore since the India-Asean FTA took effect — which amount to one-fifth of India’s outbound FDI so far this year — does include big-ticket FDI by companies like Reliance Communications, Tata Steel and Lanco Infratech Ltd. But there is a notable contribution made by small- and medium-sized companies as well. The fact that India’s investments in the city-state grew by 69 per cent in April 2011 and 114 per cent in May 2011 on a year-on-year basis indicates that they have acquired critical mass to accelerate further in the future.

India Inc certainly can engage with this regional grouping more intensively, as the conditions for doing business there are not very different from back home. Constraints due to the paucity of strategic information to penetrate each other’s market therefore might not appear very different in India and Asean. India’s lowly ranking at 134 out of 183 countries this year is only a tad better than Cambodia (147), Philippines (148), Laos (171) and Myanmar. At the other end, Singapore leads the way, followed by Thailand (19), Malaysia (21), Vietnam (78), Brunei (112) and Indonesia (121).

Vietnam does business better than India! To be sure, setting up a new business there takes 44 days. Business spends 941 hours each year filing taxes. By contrast, in India it takes 29 days to start a new business while business spends 258 hours filing taxes. But to get an electricity connection, it takes fewer procedures (five) but more time (142 days) to get it there, when compared to seven procedures and 67 days to get it in India, according to the World Bank. Indonesia’s problems regarding legal uncertainties, corruption, inflexible labour laws and appalling roads, seaports and infrastructure are akin to those in India.

A far bigger problem for India Inc’s ambitions, however, is the presence of a vast overseas Chinese Diaspora that provides a strategic advantage to China. There are over 20 million of them living in this region, and their networks serve as a valuable bridge for China’s integration with Asia. Forty families, mostly overseas Chinese, dominate the economies of Southeast Asia and create formidable barriers of entry for Indian businessmen who want to penetrate Asean. They are hardy competitors and are mostly medium-size in scale. They have acquired big stakes in China’s booming economy.

India Inc must come to terms with this formidable rival if it is to set up outposts for business in Asean. Managers must better understand the competitive implications arising from this economic dominance in the region by overseas Chinese businessmen. They must make up for the paucity of strategic business information in the region by relying on the Indian Diaspora, including alliances with the Bhumiputras or local non-Chinese elites in Malaysia and Indonesia, who resent the dominance of the overseas Chinese. Ultimately, India must fall back on its historic association with Asean to succeed.

The upshot is that India’s FTA with Asean is beginning to rock’n’roll. The uptrend in bilateral trade and rising FDI are worthy of note. India’s comprehensive economic cooperation agreement with Malaysia is already operational and is bound to result in greater FDI. The country’s market opening pacts with Indonesia and Thailand will also see more ambitious forays by India Inc. Plans by Indian infrastructure companies to invest $3-5 billion to build airports in Bali and Java exemplify a growing self-confidence to engage with a $1.5 trillion entity. All of this would receive a further boost with the government’s plans to appoint a dedicated ambassador to Asean based in Jakarta to further India’s drive to integrate with this booming regional grouping.
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MorungExpress - 60-hour Pallel bandh stifles border trade from Myanmar

Imphal, July 23 (NNN): At least two vehicles were viciously attacked and damaged allegedly by bandh supporters along the Imphal-Moreh stretch of National Highway 39 today. A 60-hour chakka bandh has been imposed beginning 6 am today by several organizations from Pallel led by Youth Volunteers Association in protest against state government transport department move to prohibit renewal of contract permit to passenger Tata Wingers plying between Imphal and Pallel.

At about 8:30 am today, suspected bandh supporters viciously attacked and damaged a passenger auto rickshaw bearing registration no MN 04 B 7219 and a private Maruti (A-Star) bearing registration no MN 01 W 9903.

The 60-hour chakka bandh has been imposed in protest against the state government’s noncooperation on the demand of ten different organizations from Pallel area, including Kuki Students’ Organization, Pallel, Maring Students’ Union, Pallel, Winger Drivers’ Association, Pallel Bazar Board, and village chiefs of Pallel etc.

Pallel is located between the capital of Manipur and the trading border town of Moreh, approximately 50 km from Imphal. It is an important transit point for businesses.

The bandh severely constraint vehicular movements on the Imphal-Moreh stretch of National Highway 39, bringing business along the international border to a complete halt as businessmen could not travel along the highway.
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Kansas City Star - US praises Laos for pause in Mekong dam project
By ROBIN McDOWELL
Associated Press Posted on Fri, Jul. 22, 2011 10:46 AM

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton praised Laos as taking a "forward-leaning position" after the tiny, landlocked nation said it had no immediate plans to resume work on a dam across the Mekong River, a senior U.S. official said.

The dam - a multibillion-dollar, 1,260-megawatt hydroelectric project - would be the first across the river as it meanders through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. China has dammed its upper reaches, but the 3,000-mile (4,900-kilometer) river otherwise runs free.

Opponents say construction in Laos could open the way for 10 more dams downstream. That could affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people.

"This is a serious issue for all the countries that share the Mekong River," Clinton said at a meeting of ministers from affected nations Friday.

"Because if any of you build a dam, all of you will feel the consequences in environmental degradation, challenges to food security and impacts on communities."

Laos announced in May that it would defer building the $3.5 billion Xayaburi dam until an expert review was done. Hydropower is one of Laos' few major resources, and the country had hoped revenue from the dam would spur economic and social development.

It said Friday the suspension would continue, said Kurt Campbell, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia, quoting Clinton and others as welcoming the "forward-leaning" decision.

Laos has said the dam would not significantly impact the Mekong mainstream, but activists, scientists and officials in other countries say it would cause irreversible damage.

They say it would disrupt fish migrations, block nutrients for downstream farming and even foul Vietnam's rice bowl by slowing the river's speed and allowing saltwater to creep into the Mekong River Delta.

"I want to urge all parties to pause on any considerations to build new dams until we are able to do a better assessment of the likely consequences," Clinton said.
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The Telegraph - Delhi revives link with Suu Kyi
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, July 23: India’s foreign secretary Nirupama Rao met Aung San Suu Kyi in the first high-level contact with the Myanmarese pro-democracy leader in years, government sources confirmed today.

Rao, who was in Yangon on June 22 as part of foreign minister S.M. Krishna’s delegation, met Suu Kyi in her villa a day after her birthday and “had a long conversation free of tension”, the sources said.

Since presenting Suu Kyi with the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1992, New Delhi has moved away from being her solid political backer to a low-key but studied engagement with Myanmar’s junta. For much of the time in the intervening years, Suu Kyi was under house arrest before being freed in November last year.

In these years, India had increased its ties Myanmar, especially in defence co-operation, much to the consternation of the West that has imposed sanctions on the country.

The sources said Rao, during her meeting with Suu Kyi, emphasised that India had a long border with Myanmar and had its own interests. Though they did not elucidate, these are concerns over Northeast rebels who move across the border for shelter and support.

India was also closely watching the deep engagement that the Chinese had in Myanmar. Rao found a patient audience in Suu Kyi, the sources said.

Myanmar’s government restricts foreigners’ access to Suu Kyi even though she is not under house arrest.

The foreign secretary is understood to have told Suu Kyi she hoped the Myanmarese opposition leader would be able to visit India. Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate, is an alumnus of Lady Shri Ram College in New Delhi.

The foreign secretary was “warmly received” by Suu Kyi. Rao found that Suu Kyi is a “very people-oriented person” who was keeping in touch with youth not only in her own country but also abroad.
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INTERVIEW
The Irrawaddy - We Hope the Last Kachin Alive Continues to be Kachin
Friday, July 22, 2011

The Rev. Pungga Ja Li is a local Kachin historian and the author of several books on Kachin customs and culture. He is now living in Laiza, a town in Kachin State near the Chinese border that is under the control of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which is currently engaged in renewed fighting with Burmese government troops in the north of Burma. In this interview, conducted by The Irrawaddy reporter Ba Kaung in Laiza in early July, Pungga Ja Li reflects on the Kachin leaders’ decision to join with the Burmese majority a year before Burma gained its independence from British rule in 1948, and shares his views on the current armed clashes and the future of the Kachin people.

Question: How do you view the renewed conflict in Kachin State?

Answer: Apparently, this is a cloudy period for all of us. But this is good in a sense that many Kachins now remember God. Many, including the KIO leaders, are now saying prayers, and we are becoming more united within us. We are now praying for God's support, but he sometimes can be cruel for the sake of our maturity.

Q: Here in Laiza, there is talk that the Kachin made a mistake in joining with the Burmese majority when their leaders signed the Panglong Agreement. What is your opinion on this?

A: Many Kachin leaders in those days disagreed with Panglong, except Sama Duwa Sinwa Nawng and Zauring. The Kachin leaders wanted to stay under British rule for five more years and only afterward wanted to establish the Kachin State as an independent state. But since his own grandfather was killed by the British soldiers, Sama Duwa did not want to deal with the British any longer—he even slapped the ground and said that if he made a mistake, he would get struck by lightning from the heavens. That's how he won the trust of fellow Kachin leaders and signed the Panglong Agreement. Otherwise, we would have been on our own all along and would never have had anything to do with the Burmese. We have lived under our rule—the rule of Duwas. But even if we made a mistake, the Panglong Agreement itself is a good treaty, I think, with all the guarantees for us though they never materialized into realities.

Q: Do Kachins feel betrayed by Aung San, who organized the Panglong Conference? What is your personal view of his daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi?

A: I don't know what Aung San would have treated us to if he had lived. But he came to us for Burma's independence and years ago his daughter came to us again for Burma's democracy. I think Suu Kyi is a good leader, but when it comes to our affairs, she would only walk away with another Noble Prize but would never be able to come to our help.

Q: Do you regret the KIA's ceasefire with the government in 1994, given that it has not produced any political results for the Kachin.

A: In 1994, we hoped to hold discussions with the government officials for a political solution. But as you know, those discussions were more about chatting over drinks and meals—those discussions were never meaningful enough. On the other hand, the Kachins forgot to prepare the military side. Many forgot gun-shooting lessons. Only now, they are all alert again. They did not really know their enemy well.

Q: Do you think the KIA should sign another ceasefire agreement with the government at this point? What about calls for independence?
Meaningful discussions must come with the ceasefire, which will result in self-autonomy which has long been our demand. There are some talks about this call for independence within the leadership of the KIO. We have long wanted to walk towards that direction. Even if all of us are killed by the government army in consequence of that, we'd hope that the last Kachin who remains alive continues to be a Kachin, not a Burmese. But one thing that restrains us from moving in this direction is that our elders decided to stay with the Burmese—this agreement we should not break, I think.

Q: How strong is anti-Burmese sentiment among the Kachin people?

A: When we refer to the Burmese, by that we mean a group of leaders, not the Burmese population. But in terms of culture, we have been slowly engulfed by the Burmese ways. Culturally, we have been forced to become bankrupt under the Burmese rule. We are now left with the Burmese culture only. Our culture has been lost over time.

When you become bankrupt, you start borrowing the culture of others, which is Burmese in this case. Burmese culture is good for the Burmese of course. If I were Burmese, I might like such an idea that the minority groups in Burma are forced to assimilate with the Burmese majority and get rid of their identities. But the problem is we are not Burmese, and the majority don't seem to understand that our culture has its own values. For example, the crossing over the Irrawaddy River in Kachin State's capital of Myitkyina has long been called as Ninggawn Hkrai Wa among us, but when a bridge was built by the Burmese government, it was named Bala Min Htin, the name of a Burmese hero, which does not make sense to our Kachins.

Q: Didn't you face the same sort of cultural imposition under the British rule?

A: Of course, we have become Christians when coming into contact with Western missionary groups. But our previous faith in animism has many things in common with Christianity. Only after we have lived under the Burmese rule, our own style of ruling with Duwas has disappeared and then we lost our state.

But the disappearance of Duwas must also be blamed on our own Kachin leaders as well. Those leaders, as you see, also run away at the sound of gunfire. There were many Duwas up until 1961, when the KIA is founded. It was wrong that those Duwas did not become part of the KIA leadership. We are now left with culture only, which means everything to us. Culture represents our identity as a people and it is our religion too. We are trying to promote our own culture.

Q: What is the future of the Kachin people as a whole?

A: Before we can successfully resist the rule of the government, we have to fight with layers of its proxies. For example, some proxies will be Rawang, Lashi, etc., which are the smaller ethnics in our Kachin State too. Whether we like it or not, we will be forced to fight with those proxies. Until we have fought them off, we will not be able to hit the target. But one sure thing is we should no longer take the injustices lying down and we should stand up for our rights.

Q: There is talk that the KIA will be able fight a successful guerrilla war with the government troops should any political talks fail to take place. How do you think this would play out?

A: Yes, it is true. When the Burmese government troops came in, they needed trucks and porters who would carry the weapons in the jungle. But for us, we don't need them. We only need to provide a packet meal and a lighter to our soldiers, who would then be ready to fight with the government soldiers. In terms of weaponry, we are quite inferior. But we only regret that we have not taken good strongholds like those of the UWSA (United Wa State Army, the largest ethnic armed group in the east of Burma). There are very good places to build such strongholds in our Kachin State, which we have not prepared for war due to our ignorance.
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The Irrawaddy - Chiang Mai Office of Ethnic Armed Groups Shut Down
By LAWI WENG Friday, July 22, 2011

The Chiang Mai, Thailand office of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), a 12 member association of Burma’s ethnic armed groups, has been shut down after Thai authorities ordered it closed in early July.

“A dozen Thai officials came to our office while we were having lunch. They included police, immigration and military intelligence,” said an ethnic Mon leader who is a UNFC official.

“They ordered us to shut down the office, and we have been closed since then.”

“We believed that pressure came from the Burmese government,” he said. “We were almost arrested when the authorities were at the office. Fortunately, we called some military intelligence officers who we knew, and then they did not make trouble for us.”

In the almost twenty days the office has been closed, the ethnic leaders have been forced to stay at an alternate base, according to another source.

Previously, the ethnic armed leaders from the Kachin Independent Organization (KIO) and the New Mon State Party (NMSP) worked mostly at the office, while leaders from the other ethnic groups were based along the border. Together, they were attempting to develop a plan for a future federal army.

The UNFC is an umbrella group of Burmese ethnic armed groups, which include major ethnic armed groups such as the Karen National Union, the KIO, the Karenni National Progressive Party, the NMSP, the Shan State Army and the Chin National Front.

The UNFC was formed early this year and the office was set up afterward.

The ethnic armed leaders said that it is difficult for them to travel in Thailand while the new government is being set up.

Early in May, Thailand's National Security Council banned a Burmese pro-democracy event in Chiang Mai following a complaint from Naypyidaw, according to Burmese pro-democracy activists.

Other Burmese events in Chiang Mai, including a celebration of Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday on June 19, have also been banned by the Thai authorities.

Burmese exile groups have enjoyed relative freedom in Chiang Mai in recent years, but there was reported harassment and repression under the administration of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in the early 2000s.
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The Irrawaddy - Clinton Calls Burma to Free Political Prisoners
By ROBIN McDOWELL / AP WRITER Friday, July 22, 2011

BALI, Indonesia — US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Burma will lose the trust of the international community unless it releases its political prisoners and opens dialogue with the opposition.

She also called on the government to address growing concerns about weapons proliferation.

Burma held elections late last year, officially handing power to a civilian administration after a half-century of military rule and releasing pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

But many say the changes are cosmetic and the army still holds sway.

"We look to the government to unconditionally release the more than 2,000 political prisoners who continue to languish in prison," Clinton told representatives from 10 Southeast Asian nations gathering in Indonesia.

Burma, also known as Myanmar, should also conduct meaningful and inclusive dialogue with the political opposition and ethnic minorities, she said.

Last year, US officials said a North Korean ship, suspected of carrying weapons or missile heads, was intercepted as it headed to Burma.

That raised fears the country has nuclear ambitions.

Clinton called on the government to "address growing concerns on non-proliferation by committing to respect and adhere to relevant UN Security Council Resolutions."

"The choice is clear," she said. "They can take these steps and gain back the confidence of their people and the trust of the international community. Or they can continue down the path they've been on."

Clinton also signaled subtle disapproval of efforts by Burma to assume Asean's chairmanship in 2014, as is now being discussed.

"We trust that Asean members will gauge whether a potential chair can advance the organization's credibility and leadership role in the region," she said.

The Obama administration has sought to engage Burma to improve conditions, but the policy has produced little concrete results and has not eased sanctions on the country.

Burma came under military rule in 1962 and has brutally suppressed political dissent since then. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy swept 1990 elections but was barred from taking power.
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Big turnout for NLD classes on political science
Friday, 22 July 2011 15:24 Ko Pauk

New Delhi (Mizzima) – More than 100 people attended the first of a seven-day schedule of political science classes on Friday morning at the National League for Democracy (NLD) headquarters in Bahan Township in Rangoon.

Professor Brendam Howe from Ewha Woman’s University in Korea gave a lecture on human development and security. The names of other visiting professors were not made available.

A student, Myo Yan Naung Thein, who is attending from the Bayda Institute, told Mizzima that other professors’ names who were previously disclosed had to withdraw their classes so perhaps the NLD was being cautious this time.

Classes will continue until July 28. NLD members from regions and states and 33 students from the Bayda Institute will attend the classes.

“There are 70 registered students. Also unregistered students listened to the lectures,” Myo Yan Naung Thein said.
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Government troops moving closer to Laiza; heavy shelling in area
Friday, 22 July 2011 19:32 Phanida

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A Burmese government artillery unit fired more than 20 shells on Thursday at the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) headquarters in Laiza, said party secretary La Nan.

The firing took place from 9 to 11 p.m. The artillery unit was based in Dawphoneyan sub-township, 25 miles from Laiza, he said.

“I think they were 81 mm and 76 mm mortars,” he told Mizzima. There was no report on causalities.

KIA Battalion 24 is stationed east of Dawphoneyan, he said.

The KIO dynamited two bridges on the Myitkyina-Bhamo road between Dawphoneyan and Nwanlan villages on Thursday. One of the bridges was the Bailey bridge.

“We exploded a bridge between Dawphoneyan and Khala villages and another bridge upstream near Nwamlan village. Then the government retaliated with artillery fire. One of the bridges was not destroyed,” an officer told Mizzima.

The government’s artillery fire could be in retaliation for destroying the bridges, he said. The KIO also destroyed a 30-foot concrete bridge on the Pa Mwe River between Gayaran and Kazu villages in Waingmaw Township on Wednesday night.

La Nan said that the KIO destroyed the bridges because of a government troop buildup with convoys from Bhamo and Myitkyina in recent days.

“We got confirmation of military convoys coming to Laiza. So we destroyed these bridges,” he said.

The KIO said government solders were injured in an exchange of fire between government Battalion 228 and government soldiers wearing KIO uniforms on Wednesday, which left three dead and seven wounded.

“Wearing enemy uniforms in war time is a wicked tactic. They are cunning and dishonest. And also it is a coward’s act,” said La Nang. He said government troops in KIO uniforms questioned and beat people on the Bhamo highway in June.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Red Cross from Yinjiang County, Yunnan Province, has donated medicine to be used for the estimated 16,000 war refugees displaced by the fighting, said a KIO health department official.

“They have provided [the KIO] with a regular supply of medicine for infectious diseases such as malaria and influenza. Now the group has given medicine for our war refugees too,” the official said. Refugees are suffering from dysentery, colds, eyesores, skin diseases and other ailments.
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DVB News - Asian alarm at deadly hepatitis spread
By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 22 July 2011

More than five million people in South and Southeast Asia will die from viral hepatitis over the next decade as experts warn of a rampant epidemic that has already taken more lives than malaria, dengue and HIV/AIDS combined in the past 10 years.

The crisis is compounded by lack of awareness about the disease and the increasing resistance of drugs, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says. More than 130 million people from 11 Asian countries carry hepatitis B and C, out of a total of 520 million globally.

A statement released by WHO today said that “[s]eemingly healthy people may be infected, and can continue to spread the infection”, while chronic hepatitis B and C are “among the leading causes of preventable deaths” in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal, North Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

“These viruses are 30 times more prevalent than HIV in [these countries]. However, due to the asymptomatic nature of these infections, about 60 percent of infected individuals remain unaware that they are infected, until they show symptoms of cirrhosis or a type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma; this may take over 20 years.”

It added that more than half of the total deaths attributed to hepatitis E, which can be contracted by eating or drinking contaminated for or water, occur in this region.

The majority of these 11 countries suffer from regular and acute health crises, with rates of HIV/AIDS in Thailand among the highest in the world, and Burma and North Korea subjected to some of the world’s lowest government healthcare spending.

A revamped government budget announced in Burma earlier this year allocated less than three percent of total annual spending to healthcare and education combined. In contrast, regional spending averages at 10 percent. Hospitals are woefully undernourished, and infectious diseases borne in Burma are carried to neighbouring countries by the thousands of migrants that cross the border each year.

Up to date information on hepatitis however is scarce. Vismita Gupta-Smith, from the WHO’s regional office in India, said that the lack of public awareness meant the organisation was struggling to find accurate data for each country in the region.

“We’re asking national governments to give us all their data and advocating that monitoring [of the spread of hepatitis] should be strengthened,” she said. “We want disease to be on the radar for the general public so that people can go and test themselves.”

To boost awareness the WHO has set 28 July as the first World Hepatitis Day, Gupta-Smith said.
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