BURMA NEWS INTERNATIONAL

 

December 7, 2004

 

Dear All BNI Reader, You Can Visit Updated www.bnionline.net.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

(1)Report Recommends Enhancing India-Burma border trade (Business)

(2)The Clear Message of the Burmese Junta (Commentary)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Report Recommends Enhancing India-Burma border trade

====================================================

Guwahati, Mizzima News

 

A recently published India-Myanmar (Burma) joint task force report

made certain important recommendations to enhance official border

trade between the two neighboring countries.

 

The recommendations include the revision of India-Burma Border Trade

Agreements to give a fresh impetus to border trade. The report,

published by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) also

suggests setting up a proper banking system to accelerate border trade.

 

In its 21-point suggestion, the joint task force also recommends that

unofficial trade be converted to official trade by amplification of

the formalities required to register export or import of commodities

across the border. The creation of adequate transport-transit

infrastructure by building expressways, bridges, roads, and railway

linkages is also emphasized.

 

The joint task force was formed at a recent meeting in New Delhi

intended to promote bilateral trade between India and Burma. The

meeting in the Indian capital was attended by representatives from

both the CII and the Union of the Burmese Federation of Chambers of

Commerce and Industry.

 

However, the report reveals that formal Indo-Burma border trade

through Manipur’s Moreh-Tamu sector decreased from Rs 59.56 cores in

1997-98 to Rs 7.54 cores only in 2000-01. On the other hand, the

informal trade volume increased to around Rs 8365 cores (US$1.7

billion) in the same financial year (2000-01).

 

“Border trade between India and Burma (Myanmar) has special

significance, and the Northeast (India) has a special role to play

geographically with immense potential to enhance it. However, lack of

infrastructure on both sides of the border always remains a

limitation, and security is another important factor hampering border

trade,” the report added.

 

The task force report discloses that the volume of trade between

Northeast India and Burma through the banking channel is escalating

from Rs. 34 million in imports in 2000-01 to Rs 080.6 million in 2003-

04. Similarly, exports increased from Rs 55.3 million to Rs 87.4

million between 2000 and 2004.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

The Clear Message of the Burmese Junta

======================================

Kanbawza Win, Mizzima News

 

"We will release criminals but not prisoners of conscience lest they

threaten our position" is the clear message given to the people of

Burma and the international community. Besides Min Ko Naing, only a

handful of lesser-known political prisoners were among those released,

but the junta hopes it will take some pressure off their heads and

lend a helping hand in legitimizing itself in the international

community. But the most unmistakeable message is: "We don't want any

national reconciliation or real genuine democracy, and that is why we

will not release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo."

 

The Burmese Generals headed by their kingpin Than Shwe seems to

say, "What kind of message do you want from us?  When we have

demonstrated that we don't recognise our own election results in 1990

and have persecuted most pro-democracy leaders and winning party

members. So why brag about not having released these political

prisoners? Have we not released nearly 10,000 prisoners? So why did

you mention about a thousand (political) prisoners in custody? You are

all ungrateful fellows. Instead of thanking us for our magnanimity you

are now asking for more.

 

"Don't you think we know about the story of the 'Arab and the Camel'

in which the camel, on a cold and freezing night, requests the Arab to

let his head in, to warm himself. Later his neck and the whole body

follow and finally he kicks out the Arab. We won't be like that Camel.

We want to hold on to power indefinitely, that is the unwritten

message to you all. You are idiots."

 

"Don't you have ears to hear what my Foreign Minister Nyan Win said in

a press conference concerning the Depayin episode? It was just a

quarrel between two groups and there was nothing to do with us. From

the beginning we told her (Daw Aung San Suu Kyi), not to go to

Depayin, as it is a dangerous place.

 

"This is because as a government we are responsible for everybody

including Suu Kyi. But you might as well know that she is very hard-

headed and of course the USDA groups do not like her as they construe

Suu Kyi and the NLD to be lackeys of Western imperialism. Besides she

is the wife of a foreigner (a British Colonialist whose ancestors

sucked Burmese blood for nearly a century) and the result was that

there was a scuffle between the two groups. In this scenario we have

no choice but are compelled to protect her by taking her into our

protective custody. This action lays to rest the animosity between the

two groups.  Even in our custody, when she was indisposed, we sent her

to the best hospital in Rangoon and now she is resting quietly in her

residence. What more do you have to say? This is because we have metta

(love) for her, and what more authentic proof is wanted when we

downplay the quarrel between her and her brother Aung San Oo, who also

inherited their parents house, where she is now residing.

 

"If we allowed this case to continue, she might have no place to

reside. And mind, nobody in Burma would dare take her into his or her

home, and she will be on the street. Of course, we are magnanimous and

don't want to see the only daughter of our cherished Bogyoke Aung San

on the streets. What do you expect more from us."

 

"As far as ASEAN is concerned, they are just a bunch of lame ducks.

Their grandiose rhetoric does not match their actions. Everybody lied

there and we also lied, and so what? They are all a group of

dictatorships with a thin cover of democracy. Name any country you

like, Singapore, the PAP dictatorship; Malaysia, the UMNO

dictatorship; Brunei, the sultanate dictatorship; not to mention the

Indo-Chinese countries of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. The only aspect

we could concede is that they can cleverly camouflage their actions

whereas we are somewhat of a brute, as we did not know much diplomacy

and the tactics of camouflage. But if we were to look at it from an

ethical point of view, their hypocrisy is far advanced and more

sophisticated than ours. What more proof is there that we are just

soldiers forced to take up power against our will and you cannot

expect much diplomacy. We know how to treat them as we have amply

demonstrated in Vientiane. See how I slap them in the face by

extending custody of Suu Kyi while they were meeting. Ha ha ha. This

is also a clear message to the international community not to meddle

in our internal affairs and we won't meddle in theirs.".

 

"We are not a neighbor of Nga Pwa Gyi ("big nose" or America). Bush

can bully Canadians into joining them in escape to reach North America

from the China sea. But this is their business.

 

We have learned to live with our next-door neighbor and our "paukpaw"

(brotherly love) relation is excellent. As you might know that China

has given us just $1.4 billion worth of arms. What is the difference

between Americans and the people of Burma? They are all idiotic and

rulers can treat them in any way. What more authenticated proof do you

need when they have unanimously elected Bush again who is just an

international rogue? He does not respect the international law or the

UN and attacked independent countries like Afghanistan and Iraq

without the consensus of the international community or the UN, so if

we treat our own people badly without the consensus of the UN or

international community so what? In fact we are a rogue in our own

state whereas Bush is an international rogue."

 

"As far as ethnic cleansing is concerned, this is our prerogative.

Call it Myanmar chauvinism or whatsoever, we don't care. Look at North

America, what did they do to the native aborigines (Red Indians)? They

cleansed them, so do we. In British history, the Normans (led by

William the Conqueror) annihilated the Saxons and became a great

nation called England. We are just in the beginning of Myanmar

chauvinism. So don't accuse us of systematic raping of ethnic women;

it is just part and parcel of the game. See, we can easily divide and

rule the ethnic nationalities. Now some of the ethnic groups are

solidly behind us and after our talk with ceasefire groups you will

soon know the results."

 

"Our lips may say pyidaungsu (union) but in our heart of hearts you

know what we are? Even among the Burmese diaspora, who all loudly

profess themselves to be democracy fighters, are Myanmar chauvinists

as they think the country is a monolithic unity, and we are quite

positive they will never go along with the ethnics. See, the Myanmar

group interrelates only among themselves while the non-Myanmar ethnic

groups also stay aloof in their own groups. These are clear writings

on the wall. So whatever they say, led by expatriate Sein Win, is all

bullshit. The Myanmar intelligentsia in the diaspora are so aligned to

this kind of chauvinist thinking that they never consider ethnics as

their equal. Look at TAN, a think tank ivory tower group that never

comes down to reality, planning to have its meetings in the West, not

in the vicinity of .ethnic groups, effectively leaving out the latter.

 

 "Of course we are worried about the ENSC and ENSCC if they really

work, as they have all ethnic people under their umbrella, but in name

only. We can divide and rule them easily as they are not visionary

enough and unable to draw up a long-term plan and will not allow

ethnic intellects among them , not to mention aligning themselves with

the Myanmar group led by the NLD.

 

"Of course, if there were a serious amalgamation of the ENSC, the UNLD

and the diaspora, cold shivers would run through our spines. But that

can never happen. They are hopelessly divided among themselves. The

message we get is that they would rather let us rule than patch up

among themselves to fight the mighty me. So for the time being, no

worry.

 

"What! You mentioned our neighbors China and India. Have you not seen

how we played off one against another? They had been rivals for

centuries and they will still be rivals since both have billions of

people and are strong. But China is not only our immediate neighbor

with more than 2,000 kilometers of common border but much stronger in

every aspect of military or economics. But you must remember that

their aim is not the same. China is hegemonic while India is more

economic and we can exploit them both by playing their strong and weak

points.

 

"As far is narcotics iare concerned, what is there to brag about? We

did not know the sophisticated economic rules in this globalization

but at least we know how to run the economy with narco dollars. See

the narco barons are all gentlemen of Rangoon. Besides, you remember

how the imperialists unleashed three opium wars in China. Let us pay

back the Imperialist West in their own coins."

 

So this is our logic as everybody has his own logic. Keep your mouth

shut and even if you yell at the top of your voice we won't care, for

you are all just paper tigers. You may not have heard of a broken

Anglo-Burmese proverb saying 'Good Tae Htin Do the Do,' meaning 'what

you think is right, implement it.' Ha ha ha."

 

=====================================================================

Professor. Win, who has worked 14 years with the generals erroneously

thinking he could change them, and who gained valuable experience, is

able to read the generals' mind ,no, and presents some aspects of the

Burmese generals' reasoning.

 

#END#

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Burma News International is a network of nine exiled media groups

such as Mizzima News, Shan Herald Agency for News, Kao Wao News Group,

Khonumthung News Group, Narinjara News, Kaladan Press Network,

Independent Mon News Agency, Karenni Information

Network Group and Network Media Group.

 

WWW.BNIONLINE.NET

.........................

Burma News International

Contact: Duty Editor

       +66 9 54 94 296

[email protected]