Network Myanmar

Question: I have two questions. One is: there’s this letter to the Secretary-General from more than a hundred former presidents about Myanmar saying that he should make it clear that they should release political prisoners before the end of the year or seek some kind of sanctions from the Security Council. Has he gotten the letter? And what does he think about it? Has he spoken… Tony Blair is one signatory, who I know is a UN Envoy. Has he spoken to Mr. Blair about the topic of Myanmar and what’s his response to the letter generally?

Spokesperson: I can confirm that he has received the letter. I can also confirm that he has received a phone call this morning from the former Prime Minister of Norway, who is the coordinator of that initiative -– Prime Minister Bondevik of Norway, the former Prime Minister. They discussed the letter, asking the Secretary-General to visit Myanmar and to urge the release of political prisoners by the end of this year. The Secretary-General once more reiterated his pledge to remain fully engaged, both personally and through his Personal Envoy in Myanmar. He said he would like to visit Myanmar again to discuss a broader range of issues. However, he will not be able to do so without reasonable expectations of a meaningful outcome, which is what we have been saying all along. The Secretary-General has consistently said that the primary responsibility lies with the Government to deliver substantive results, including freeing political prisoners and including having a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi. So, the phone call took place this morning and that’s the reaction to the letter.

Question: Does the idea of not visiting, does this apply equally to his Envoy, Ibrahim Gambari? Or does that only apply to Mr. Ban’s, the Secretary-General’s, own visits?

Spokesperson: The Secretary-General’s own visits. However, Mr. Gambari himself will not go unless there is some chance that this will move forward. He will not just go for the sake of going, in other words.

Asian Leaders shun call for UN action on Burma - UK Telegraph 3 December 2008

Extract: Some 112 former Presidents and Prime Ministers, including Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher and George H.W. Bush, have signed this letter calling on the UN to take action against the Burmese junta unless it releases all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, by the end of the year.

It's an impressive list of leaders from all corners of the globe but representatives from Asia are conspicuous by their absence, with Burma's neighbours once more observing the unwritten regional convention that Southeast Asian nations do not criticise each other's domestic policy.

UN chief not likely to achieve much with visit: Win Tin of the National League for Democracy - The Irrawaddy 24 October 2008

Extract: Win Tin, a prominent member of Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), said he and the party would welcome a visit by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, but added that he had strong reservations about what the UN head could hope to achieve in Burma. “I am not sure what he could accomplish,” said Win Tin, a senior member of the NLD and one of the country’s longest-serving political prisoners, who was released from Insein Prison in September after serving 19 years. “The government plays with the time factor and it knows very well how to manipulate the UN,” Win Tin added. Ban, who visited Burma several weeks after a deadly cyclone slammed into southern Burma in May, has said that he was contemplating a return to Burma in December. However, his visit is now in doubt. “I understand that he doesn’t want to leave Burma empty handed,” said Win Tin, acknowledging Ban’s reluctance to make a return trip later in the year.

NLD leaders discuss role in 2010 Elections - The Irrawaddy 2 December 2008

Extract: Deciding whether or not to participate in the forthcoming 2010 Burmese election is now one of the issues being discussed by the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), say party sources. Khin Maung Swe, an NLD executive member, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that in recent weeks, the NLD has held executive meetings focused on its strategy in the 2010 general elections. “At the moment, the NLD stands on the party’s special political statement, issued on September 22,” said Khin Maung Swe. “The statement called for the government to review the constitution within six months and to conduct an inclusive process in Burmese politics. We think reviewing the constitution is an important step for national reconciliation.”

New Light of Myanmar - 29 November 2008 : Senior General Than Shwe addresses the 2008 Annual General Meeting of the Union and Solidarity Association (USDA)

Extracts: Senior General Than Shwe said during his address that USDA membership had now risen to 24.6 million and that more than 26.77 million of 27.28 million eligible voters had cast votes at the Referendum in May this year, of whom 24.76 million or 92.48% had voted in favour. This most crucial step for democratic transition had been implemented successfully. It was a landmark in the history of the nation. Plans were now well under way to see to the remianing steps including the 2010 transition work programme.

Deutsche Press Agentur - 29 November 2008: Myanmar junta chief sees "new nation" down the road

Extracts: 'A new nation is now very close despite some countries putting pressure on us,' Than Shwe said Friday in a speech to the annual mass meeting of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), held in Naypyitaw, the military's new capital situated about 350 kilometres north of Yangon. The USDA was formed on September 15, 1993, as a popular support base for the military. The association now claims to have 24 million members out of Myanmar's 56 million population, and has been cultivated to become the military's political arm for contesting elections.

'We will form two political parties for the 2010 elections,' said a USDA member, who asked to remain anonymous.

Asia-Pacific News - 29 November 2008: European envoy urges Myanmar opposition to contest polls

Extracts: Attilio Massimo Iannucci, Asia-Pacific chief of Italy's foreign ministry, met Friday with senior NLD party members including veteran journalist Win Tin at the ambassador's residence in Yangon. During the two-hour discussion, Iannucci urged the NLD to participate in 2010 election because there would be a chance to win again for them, Win Tin said. 'He said at present the military occupied 100 per cent of the government and after 2010, there would be only 25 per cent. It is much better than current situation,' Win Tin told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.The Italian diplomat also said the international community could [word omitted?] if NLD joins election.

'We told him that 25 percent would be just a word and in practice the military would be dominating. We said the constitution must be amended before the election,' Win Tin said. But he did not say whether the NLD would join [the] election or not. 'There are two different approaches on the election within the NLD. Some want to participate and some do not,' Win Tin said. Myanmar's ruling junta is expected to field at least two pro-military parties to contest the 2010 elections, forming them out of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).

Courtesy of Sue and Tony Wright

12 October 2007 Debate in the House of Lords on the Report of the Economic Affairs Committee on the Impact of Economic Sanctions

We review the Report of the sixteen distinguished members of the Economic Affairs Committee and the subsequent Debate on the Report in the House of Lords on 12 October 2007 (scroll down to Column 460 onwards) to which several non-Committee members of the House of Lords contributed. It is clear that nothing has changed in the intervening twelve months to weaken the unanimous conclusion of all the members concerned, both on the Committee and in the House, that sanctions against Myanmar have singularly failed to improve the situation, have undoubtedly affected the Burmese population as a whole and have made the military regime more unyielding and more determined than ever to press ahead with their constitutional Road Map and to reject political reform.

The members of the Committee included two former Chancellors of the Exchequer, a former Governor of the Bank of England, a former Chief Executive Officer of TESCO, the author of a prize-winning three-volume history of the economist Keynes, an economist at the London School of Economics, an Indian-born business magnate, an industrialist and a former Chairman of the Financial Services Authority. The members are both supporters of the Labour, Liberal-Democrat and Conservative Parties as well as "Crossbenchers".

We present a sample of comments from the Debate:

Lord Wakeham - The Government maintain that the sanctions are targeted against the military regime with little humanitarian impact. Important measures such as the strong discouragement of trade and tourism are said to be not formal sanctions. This entirely misses the point. The effect is the same - to hurt the Burmese people.

Lord Lawson - One of the principal effects of the sanctions has been not merely to harm the Burmese people but to throw the Burmese Government more and more into the arms of China. That is not a great foreign policy triumph either. We must live in the real world.

Lord Ramsbotham - I am sorry that his [Aung San] daughter [Aung San Suu Kyi] is calling for people not to go and see the country. I believe that the opposite is needed.

Lord Skidelsky - I do not think that the recent events in Burma [August - September 2007] have rendered our view obsolete, though as the noble Lord, Lord Lawson, rightly said, it is very hard to lift ineffective sanctions because it then seems to be a retreat from a position that was useless in the first place but now has to be stuck to because of loss of face in withdrawing it.

Viscount Eccles - In essence, the West has opted out of Burma. The sanctions are, in my view, irrelevant. What we are watching reminds me of an ancient Greek tragedy. There is a degree of inevitability. The events will unfold. Nobody can do anything about them. The awful generals are the villains of the piece, but also the victims. Nobody knows what to do, so we retreat into disapproval. This in no way measures up to the needs of the Burmese or the interests of the western world.

Lord Howell - Sanctions are much argued about, particularly on the so-called compassionate left of politics, but have had the opposite results and merely caused enormous suffering among a people who are longing for more contact, not less.

A broad selection of verbatim comments from the Debate and from the Oral Evidence given to the Committee follows.

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Courtesy of Sue and Tony Wright

Burma's hardwood resources facing dangerous shortages - Mizzima News 1 December 2008

Extract: Burma's valuable forest species have been in dramatic decline due to aggressive logging and a lack of sustainable measures, according to a leading environmental activist in Rangoon. "It's a sad scenario for the country as it heavily relies on forest products to generate foreign revenue," the activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Mizzima. Citing a report available at the Ministry of Forestry, the activist said the country extracted 30 percent of its exportable species from 1990 to 2000, primarily referring to the popular hardwood species teak (tectona grandis) and pyinkadoe (xylia xylocarpa). The study, carried out in 2005, also revealed that more than 780 million cubic meters of the top ten listed valuable species have been extracted within the same period. At least 92.51 million cubic meters of teak and 238.79 million cubic meters of pyinkado were extracted during the period, the report said.

Thai Press Reports: Myanmar timber export market declines : 26 November 2008

Extract: Quoting a recent "paper reading" session involving timber entrepreneurs, the reports said that in Myanmar’s legal teak export market, India took 38 percent, in first position, followed by Europe with 20 percent and North America 10 percent. As such countries as India, China and Europe are facing an economic crisis, Myanmar’s timber export market are also being impacted, it said. China stands as Myanmar’s largest consumer of tropical wood, while India lines up as the second.

Some experts were also of the view that along with increased large-scale infrastructural construction in China, demand for timber would certainly be high giving rise to more opportunity to Myanmar’s timber export. Meanwhile, as the market prices of teak worldwide rises, the inclusion of teak in furniture shows remain at only about 5-10 percent, the paper reading session said, however, adding that teak prices remain steady at 1.5-2.0 million Kyats (US$ 1,250-1,660) per ton. According to official statistics, Myanmar exported 399,596 cubic-meters of teak and 1.12 million cubic-meters of hardwood in the fiscal year of 2007-08 which ended in March, gaining a total of US$ 538 million of foreign exchange.

ITUC: Thai woodworking industry exploits Burma migrants - Scoop NZ 15 October 2008

Extract: Htat Khoung, aged 26, is an undocumented Burmese (ethnic Arakan) woodworker in Mae Sot, Thailand. As Secretary of the Arakan Workers’ Union (AWU), which is affiliated to the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB), he is fighting to improve exploitative working conditions for thousands of undocumented Burmese workers in the Mae Sot border area, which is home to an estimated 350,000 Burmese refugees and exiles.

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Courtesy of Sue and Tony Wright

UK Aid to Myanmar - Department for International Development September 2008

British Aid to Myanmar will total £57 million in the Fiscal Year 2008/09 (to 5 April 2009). This includes £45 million for emergency relief following Cyclone Nargis and £12 million of development and humanitarian assistance for non-Nargis support. The £12 million for the current year is part of an overall commitment since 2005/06 of more than £40 million to support poverty reduction in Burma. This includes:

Three Diseases Fund (Malaria, HIV/Aids and Tuberculosis) - £20.1 million over five years
Pre-school Education through Save the Children managed projects - £2.7 million (2006-2009)
Support for UNICEF's basic education programme - £3.3 million
Support for the UN Human Development Initiative programme - £4 million
Support for Burmese refugees in camps in Thailand and cross-border support to internally displaced people - £1.8 million.

Map of US Government Humanitarian Aid to Myanmar as at 17 November 2008

Burma/Myanmar after Nargis: Time to Normalise Aid Relations - International Crisis Group Asia Report N°161 - 20 October 2008

Extract: Twenty years of aid restrictions - which see Myanmar receiving twenty times less assistance per capita than other least-developed countries - have weakened, not strengthened, the forces for change. Bringing about peace and democracy will require visionary leaders at all levels, backed by strong organisations, who can manage the transition and provide effective governance. These are not common attributes of an isolated and impoverished society. As the country’s socio-economic crisis deepens and its human resources and administrative capacity decline, it will become harder and harder for any government to turn the situation around.

While "humanitarian" aid is a reasonable response to a temporary emergency, the deepening structural crisis in Myanmar demands a response of a different type and magnitude. The international community should commit unequivocally not only to helping Myanmar recover from the destruction of Nargis, but also to making up for years of neglect and helping move the country forward. This means much more aid. Equally importantly, it means different aid, aimed at raising income and education as well as health levels, fostering civil society, improving economic policy and governance, promoting the equality of ethnic minorities and improving disaster prevention and preparedness.

The Tatmadaw and their Perception of the External Threat

Burma and the Threat of Invasion: Regime Fantasy or Strategic Reality?

Andrew Selth - Griffith Asia Institute. Regional Outlook Paper № 17, 2008

Extract: Since 1988, there has never been any likelihood that Burma would actually be invaded, by the US or any other country. In international relations, however, threat perceptions are critical. Fears of armed intervention, and of indirect foreign interference in Burma’s internal affairs, have been strong influences on Burma’s defence planning and foreign policy. In that sense they are a strategic reality, and must be taken into account in the consideration of future approaches towards the military government. Failure to do so will make the continued delivery of humanitarian assistance, and the search for viable long term solutions to Burma’s many complex problems, much more difficult.

Clearly, humanitarian concerns have been a high priority for many countries, and broad international factors have played a part in determining certain policy settings. Yet the Burma policies of some countries appear to be driven more by ideology, moral outrage, domestic political pressures and an unrealistic hope for the collapse of the military regime, than a careful and objective assessment of what such policies might actually achieve, given the nature of Burma’s current rulers and the way they interpret the world around them.

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Welcome to Network Myanmar

We are an association are an linking people of all nationalities, including Burmese citizens, who wish to work together to improve the livelihood of the Burmese people and to help to resolve Myanmar’s many problems.

We believe that attempts to ostracize, isolate and punish Myanmar only serve to deprive the Burmese people of the necessary resources, tools and opportunities to address their existing day-to-day needs and to live in security and prosperity.

To achieve these objectives, Network Myanmar is striving to refocus the international debate on Myanmar by concentrating on both policy and practical issues which address in particular the day-to-day needs of the populace, young and old, urban and rural, in all regions of Myanmar.

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