Weekly Diary, No. 232 (6 – 12 January 2007)

THAN SHWE MISSES DINNER!
ENC WORK RECOGNIZED!
KNU 7th BDE: THERE YOU GO AGAIN!
MIN KO NAING FREED!

Think Piece
We have pants for 4,000 years. In comparison, we have been wearing longyis for only 600 years. Wearing pants is our tradition. We acquired the habit of wearing longyis from Tamils and of wearing shirts from the Europeans.

Dr Than Tun (1923 – 2005), Nga Pyaw Chin Tha Hmya-Nga Ah Kyaung (About myself as much as I want to tell), 2001.

The World
8 January 2007
El Nino that made 1998 the warmest year on record is underway in the Pacific and is expected to last until May, according to Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, UK. (AP/ Bangkok Post)

8 January 2007
Bangkok blocks a US-based pornography website Buddha-porn.com and calls for Buddhists around the world to condemn it. (AP)

International Relations
1 January 2007

Saddam Hussein's execution not reported by junta media. (DVB)

5 January 2007
13 Nobel laureates are submitting visa applications in an attempt to visit Aung San Suu Kyi. Among them are Shirin Ebadi (from Iran), Jody Williams and Kim Dae-Jung. Kim's application has already been rejected today by the Burmese embassy in Seoul. (Mizzima)

8 January 2006
According to the World Bank Cambodia, Laos and Burma rank alongside 23 other countries listed as "fragile states". However Asian Development Bank on the other hand is upbeat about the 3 countries. (Asia Pulse)

8 January 2007
Ban Ki-moon
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urges Burma to release all political prisoners. The junta is holding more than 1,100 political prisoners, according to rights groups. (AP)

9 January 2007
US draft resolution urging Burma's rulers to initiate democratic reforms, release all political prisoners and stop using rape as a weapon of war, introduced. (AFP)

11 January 2007
Asean will not step in to defend Burma from US attempts to push the UN toward declaring Burma's authorian rule a threat to regional peace, says Ong Keng Yong, the group's secretary general. (AP)

11 January 2007
Vietnam becomes 150th member of WTO. (AP)

Thai-Burma Relations
8 January 2007
Dr Lian Hmung Sakhong

Martin Luther King
Dr Lian Hmung Sakhong, General Secretary of Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC), the largest ethnic based coalition advocating for Tripartite Dialogue, has been honored with Martin Luther King Prize for 2007 in Sweden. The prize giving ceremony is scheduled to be held in the Swedish parliament on 15 January. (Chinland Guardian)

11 January 2007
Nitya Pibulsongram
FM Nitya Pibulsongram says UN Security Council should not sanctions on Rangoon. (Bangkok Post)

Politics/ Inside Burma
3 January 2007
More than 60 customs officials in Rangoon's Kanna Road arrested on corruption charges. (DVB)

4 January 2007
Open Heart campaign, urging people to write about their feelings under the junta, launched. 88 Generation Students leader Mya Aye is the campaign's spokesman. (Mizzima)

4 January 2007

Than Shwe
Than Shwe's absence from the Independence dinner, the first time since he took power in 1992, has raised concerns about his health. (AP) He is being treated at Singapore's General Hospital, Building # 7, Ward # 78, under tight security. He is said to be suffering under intestinal cancer. (DVB)

5 January 2007
KNU's 7th Brigade commander Htain Maung will be meeting Maj-Gen Ye Myint of the Military Affairs Security (MAS) in Rangoon, according to KNU officials. (Irrawaddy)

7 January 2007
Gen Than Shwe leaves Singapore General Hospital today. He wears a business suit and walks without much assistance to a while limousine. He has been there since 31 December. (Kyodo)

8 January 2007
What ceasefire groups have been going under:
Positive development:
Relative decrease in human rights abuse

Reemergence of civil society networks

Negative aspects:
Burma Army expansion into previously contested zones, land confiscations

No longer access to the center of power in Burma since the fall of Khin Nyunt
Likely to come under renewed pressure in 2007 from the SPDC (The Nation)

8 January 2007
Col Nerdah Mya
Karen-junta talks are going smoothly but details are not yet known, says Col Nerdah Mya. The 7th Brigade commander. Htain Maung is currently negotiating with Military Affairs Security chief Ye Myint. (Mizzima)

9 January 2007
An embassy official in Singapore says Than Shwe's health is okay and he remains in the city-state at a hotel. (AFP)

10 January 2007
KNU delegation returns from Rangoon. Burma Army has agreed to withdraw from 3 bases in Papun, Pa-an and Dooplaya (Hlaingbwe), according to a 7th Brigade officer. (Network Media Group)

11 January 2007
Min Ko Naing
Min Ko Naing and his 4 colleagues: Ko Ko Kyi, Htay Kywe, Min Zeya and Pyone Cho released at 01:30. (DVB)

Shans/ Shan State
4 – 6 January 2007
Shan State Army South holds annual meeting. Among the resolutions:

Continued fighting against drugs
Readiness to settle political issues with SPDC by peaceful means (SHAN)

Economy/ Business
5 January 2007
Burma will designate six free trade zones in the near future, reports Myanmar Times:

Thilawa port in Rangoon
Moulmein
Myawaddy
Hpa-an
Kyaukphyu
Pyin Oo Lwin (Maymyo)

(Xinhua)

8 January 2007
Statistics show that Burmese migrant workers mostly sought overseas jobs in Singapore during 1996 – 2001 but starting 2001 Malaysia is becoming the market for overseas employment, reports Flower News weekly. They now account for the majority out of 1.84 million overseas workers in Malaysia. Other countries include Qatar, South Korea, Japan and Thailand. Meanwhile, there are 60,000 registered seafarers in Burma. (Xinhua)

Human Rights
2 January 2007
More than 400 homes in Kachin State removed on 17 November following joint purchase of jade plots by the mining ministry and Htoo Co. of tycoon Tayza. No compensation has been given so far. (DVB)

10 January 2007
Proxy sites used until 8 January are not working any more due to increased list of banned sites, forcing internet users to look for new proxy sites. Psiphon, a new open source software, is said to be more secure than proxy services. It can be studied at http://psiphon.vicisec.org. (Mizzima)

10 January 2007
EU has allocated $ 20.2 million in humanitarian aid for refugees and to people suffering from food shortages in Burma, says Development Commission Louis Michel. It has given $ 138 million to Burma since 1992. (AP)

Environment
6 December 2006
The link between AIDS and tuberculoses is already well established. Now new studies suggest that those infected with HIV are more susceptible to malaria and vice versa. (The Economist)

10 January 2007

Valley of Darkness, a report by Kachin Development Network Group, released today says the Hugawng valley, trumpeted as the world's largest tiger reserve in 2004, has become infested with dozens of goldmines. (The Independent)

Drugs

War
January
Reports in 1992 of a large Chinese signals intelligence (sigint) station have proven to be "a cautionary tale". The existence of the Coco base has not been confirmed by any government other than India. Even the country's chief of naval staff had stated categorically in 2005 that it had "firm information" that there was no listening post belonging to the Chinese. (Irrawaddy)