From editor@burmanet.org Fri Dec 13 17:24:30 2002 From: editor@burmanet.org (editor@burmanet.org) Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 12:24:30 -0500 (EST) Subject: BurmaNet News: December 13 2002 Message-ID: <41670.207.10.94.131.1039800270.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> December 13 2002 Issue # 2139 INSIDE BURMA BBC: Aung San Suu Kyi talks to the world Economist: Ne Win DRUGS AFP: Thailand, Myanmar hold joint anti-narcotics meeting SHAN: Opium tax for army levied SHAN: Speed precursors coming from outside Burma a lame excuse, retorts Shan exile MONEY Bangkok Post: MDX plans dam on Salween Xinhua: Myanmar exports more marine products in first 8 months INTERNATIONAL Augusta Chronicle: UGA students urge release of alumnus ON THE BORDER Bangkok Post: Burma revives claims of Thai support for rebels Nation: Soldier killed in shootout with Wa Bangkok Post: Rights group says more proof needed for probe go-ahead STATEMENTS/OTHER Korea Herald: Migrant worker indie rock band: Eureka Irrawaddy: Aiding Burma INSIDE BURMA British Broadcasting Corporation December 13 2002 Aung San Suu Kyi talks to the world By Lyse Doucet She is a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a symbol of her nation's hopes, a woman who has spent most of the past 15 years under arrest in her house. But for a little more than a hour this week, Aung San Suu Kyi was a voice at the end of our telephone line to Rangoon - a voice so powerful, yet so calm. This was Talking Point with a difference: Aung San Suu Kyi seemed to be dispensing advice to the world. There was no mistaking her precise diction, that soft distinctive lilt. "I can only give you 20 to 30 minutes," she cautioned in a most gracious way. That would leave us with half a programme. We all worried whether the telephone line would also fail. Either the connection to Burma would go down or the military authorities would make sure it did. Advice But, somehow, I believed that once Aung San Suu Kyi began to hear from people around the world, she would not leave us. And she did not. Maybe it was because many did not just call or e-mail, as they do for our guests every week, to seek her opinion or to challenge her. They wanted her to tell them what to do. Jeremy in London asked whether he should travel to Burma - Myanmar as it is known - over the holiday period. Neil Roberts e-mailed from Hanoi to ask if it was OK to apply for a teaching job in Rangoon. Almost everyone who called began by expressing admiration for her and her long struggle for democracy in Burma. Frustration In our post-11 September world, when so much of our political coverage uses words like militancy, violence and protest, Aung San Suu Kyi's language was noticeably different. She told Barbara, who e-mailed from Sri Lanka, that violence sometimes seemed to win in the short run but in the long run it would only destroy more than it created. Political dialogue with the military government was the priority - everything else had to wait including tourism and investment. Even crackling telephone lines could not hide the sadness and frustration from exiles far away. "We hoped good news would be on the way," said Tin Htun a Burmese national living in the United States. "But there is nothing, only hope." Aung San Suu Kyi offered nothing specific except glimpses of her commitment and her calm certitude that change would come - in its own time. Thanks For many callers, there was clearly magic in just speaking to her. Ahmad Nasir barely managed to express his excitement that he in the Maldives could speak to Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon. In the end, I realised this was Aung San Suu Kyi's present to us for the 70th birthday of the BBC World Service. She reminded us of what we have long tried to do - give people a chance to speak and to speak to each other. That day, all of us at talking point felt touched by the power of that thought and that voice down our telephone line. Before we said goodbye, I also thanked the Burmese generals who may have been listening in. _____ Economist December 13 2002 Ne Win IN THE winter of 1960, Ne Win, then prime minister of Burma, visited China to sign a treaty of friendship. He felt instantly comfortable with the Chinese, partly perhaps because of a blood tie through a distant ancestor, but mostly because of the welcome he received from Zhou Enlai, the Chinese prime minister, who had the gift of charm, rare in China at that time. "We are almost brothers," Zhou told him amid embraces. More importantly, Zhou seemed to dispense power effortlessly. His wishes seemed to be obeyed without question, with military-style thoroughness. He had only one master to consult, Chairman Mao Zedong. On his way home Mr Ne Win contrasted the system in China with that in Burma. He was irked by the tedium of the democratic ways of his country since it had been granted independence by Britain in 1948. He was primarily a military man, holding the job of army chief in addition to civilian duties. Why, he reasoned, could he not run the country in the efficient, no-nonsense way he had witnessed in China? Mr Ne Win liked to watch, and watch again, a newsreel that had been taken of his meeting with Zhou. In 1962, he struck, leading an army coup that dismissed parliament, scrapped the constitution and jailed most government ministers. He adopted the title "chairman". Only one party, Mr Ne Win's, was allowed. When university students objected he blew up their lodgings. All land, industry and commerce were taken over by the state, as they had been in China. Dance halls were closed, gambling was forbidden. Foreigners were expelled, tourism was abolished. No high-rise building was allowed; no neon signs, even for Coca-Cola. Burma became one of the most difficult countries in the world to enter. Mr Ne Win's one-man rule, during which the modern world was locked out, was to last for 26 years. These foolish acts The modern world was not too bothered about being excluded. Burma was not seen as strategically important, as Vietnam and Korea were. U Thant, the secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, was for many people the "decent" Burma, whatever was happening inside the country. Nor, it should be said, was Burma an easy country to govern. For years before Mr Ne Win came to power some ethnic areas had been in rebellion against the central government. However, his policy of state control, isolation and repression made things worse. Ethnic groups became bolder. Opium chiefs expanded their fiefs and corrupted the soldiers sent to close them down. Burma had been the world's largest exporter of rice, but by 1973 could hardly provide enough for its own needs. Income per person fell from $670 a year in 1960 to $200 in 1989. Despite having good farmland, high quality timber such as teak and minerals including oil, Burma was rated one of the world's poorest countries. Mr Ne Win was not a fool. He was of middle-class stock and briefly attended university. But he was foolishly in the thrall of obsolescent ideologies, the communism of China, a country he visited a dozen times, and the former fascism of Japan. During the second world war he had been recruited by Japan to fight against the British in Burma, and became one of the leaders of a Japanese-run "independent" Burma, along with Aung San, the father of the country's present democratic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Both men joined the British towards the end of the war when the Japanese were in retreat. Aung San was murdered in 1947. Miss Suu Kyi says in her book about her father that he had planned to devote his life to "his family and writing". Mr Ne Win, though, was committed to power. When he became dictator his slogan was, "One blood, one voice, one command". As dictators do, he adopted a new name. Ne Win means "brilliant as the sun". His real name, Shu Maung, means "apple of my eye". Those who did penetrate the lost land of Burma emerged with a rare lot of travellers' tales. Astrologers advised the dictator that nine was his lucky number, and he decreed that only currency notes divisible by nine were of value. All others were declared worthless. He was said to have married nine times, although some reports said only seven. He liked to dress up to look like the ancient kings of Burma. He bathed in dolphin's blood, believing it kept him youthful. He was obsessional about English and fined editors whose newspapers had spelling mistakes. In 1988 Mr Ne Win announced his retirement. A group of generals took over the dictatorship and marked the change by calling the country Myanmar, a traditional name. A surprisingly free general election was won by Miss Suu Kyi's democrats in 1990, but the result was not honoured. It was assumed that Mr Ne Win continued to be consulted by the generals into old age. But his power seemed finally to have withered this year when some members of his family were accused, on little published evidence, of plotting a coup. His last public appearance was at a lunch he gave to Buddhist monks, 99 of them. He died, apparently peacefully, in his villa on the palm-fringed shore of Lake Inya, not far from Miss Suu Kyi's own house. Whatever the power of numbers may be, he could count himself pretty lucky. DRUGS Agence France-Presse December 13 2002 Thailand, Myanmar hold joint anti-narcotics meeting Senior Thai and Myanmar officials on Friday opened a bilateral anti-narcotics meeting aimed at improving cooperation in the fight against drugs. The two-day meeting in this northern Thai city is chaired by Thailand's Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) secretary general Kitti Limchaikit and attended by some 60 top law enforcement officials. Myanmar's 16-member delegation is led by Police Major General Khin Yi, national police chief and secretary of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC). "The two-day meeting will centre on matters relating to joint efforts in law enforcement and supression of drug trafficking in the border area," said an ONCB official. "The meeting is to continue discussions held during the previous joint drug law enforcement cooperation seminar in Yangon early this year," he told AFP. In the past the two countries had traded accusations that the other supports ethnic armies accused of involvement in the drugs trafficking business. Thai army officials angered Myanmar recently by predicting that a record one billion "speed" pills would be trafficked into Thailand in 2003 from dozens of Myanmar drug factories along the border. The border drugs trade, which Thai and US authorities say is masterminded by the Yangon-allied United Wa State Army (UWSA), is a perennial irritant to relations between Thailand and Myanmar. The troublesome issue flared again this week with the death of a Thai soldier in a shootout in northern Chiang Mai province with ethnic Wa drug traffickers, Thai army officials said Friday. Three Wa traffickers were killed and one was wounded and captured in the clash, where Thai forces also seized 36,000 amphetamine pills, they said. While the opium crop in Myanmar is decreasing, methamphetamine production is increasing fast and fuelling a massive addiction crisis in Thailand. _______ Shan Herald Agency for News December 13 2002 Opium tax for army levied Local militia units have been collecting tax on the newly harvested opium in an eastern Shan State township opposite Chiangmai since late last month, according to reliable sources. The three Lahu militia leaders in Mongton Township: Tin Win of Pangsak; Pikoy, his deputy and Jalaw of Mongkarng were met by Captain Han Sein, Commander, Company 1, Infantry Battalion 65, on 23 November at Hwe Nawngsak, about 40 miles from the border, to receive the assignment, they said. The three were ordered to collect a minimum of 65 joy (1 joy = 1.6 kg) of opium between them: Tin Win, 24 joy (west of the Mongton-Thai border road); Pikoy, 16 joy (east of the road) and Jalaw, 25 joy (north of the Tasarng-Mongton-Monghsat road). In addition, they were appointed as official buying agents for the army, purchasing as many joy as possible at the rate of 6,000-8,000 baht per joy. "You can draw as much cash as you need from Chao Ching (a.k.a. Chaw Ching)," he was quoted to have said. According to all the sources, IB 65, among the 4 permanent battalions in Mongton, handles all drug business in the township, in cooperation with the United Wa State Army's 171st Brigade commanded by Wai Hsuehying, younger brother of Wei Hsuehkang: Li Hsien, 56, heads the production division and Chao Ching, 50, acts as sales manager while Captain Han Sein, 49, is responsible for security. Han Sein arrived in Mongton in 1981 as a lance-corporal. Distinguishing himself in the campaigns against the Lahu resistance, he rose steadily until 1996, when he was promoted to the present rank. He is married to a local Shan woman, Nang Mon of Hpakhae Village near Mongton, and has two children, 1 boy and 1 girl. (Some reports say the two were from Nang Mon's previous marriage with an ethnic Chinese trader, Lao Yang.) "He enjoys excellent relationship with both the local populace and the business sector," said a source. "Many villagers who were arrested on minor, or sometimes even major, charges were often released through his intercessions." According to sources close to Han Sein, it is difficult for Burmese units to be free from "unsavory practices" to maintain themselves, when Rangoon authorities is expecting them to survive on their own. "So, in the end, they have only two choices: to live by their wits or to live off the land," said one. __________ Shan Herald Agency for News December 13 2002 Speed precursors coming from outside Burma a lame excuse, retorts Shan exile In response to Foreign Minister Win Aung's claim that although amphetamines were produced in Burma, the precursor chemicals were made in India, Thailand and China, a prominent Shan expatriate in Chiangmai said it was a much worn-out justification for Rangoon's involvement in drugs. "While no one argues that precursors are coming from outside Burma, we should also stop a while to figure out why there are so many drug refineries in Burma but very few in its neighboring countries," responded Liang Parng, a social worker for Shan refugees in Chiangmai. "My bet is that we will eventually come to the conclusion that it is an economic necessity there." Liang Parng had also spoken in the same vein at the seminar on Wa, held in Chiangmai on 30 November. A participant, who requested anonymity, from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University told S.H.A.N. and a few selected NGO workers later that he saw no way out for Bangkok and Rangoon in the event that they chose to go tough on each other. "While the Thais know who, among the Burmese and Wa top officials, are involved, the latter is also aware who among the Thais are involved," he said. "It would certainly end up as a disaster for both sides if they decide to expose one another." "That explains why (Prime Minister) Thaksin is suddenly walking soft-footed on drugs, after a year of talking tough," quipped an NGO worker. A two-day meeting on drugs is being held today at Chiangmai's Mae Ping Hotel. Burma's new police chief, Brig Gen Khin Yi, was reported to be among the participants. His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, while delivering his annual birthday eve address on 4 December, had called for a nationwide war on drugs. MONEY Bangkok Post December 13 2002 MDX plans dam on Salween By Yuthana Praiwan MDX Plc, a local major construction group, is set to sign a memorandum of understanding with Rangoon for the construction of a 3,600-megawatt hydro-power dam on the Salween River. Sitthiporn Ratanopas, governor of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, said the signing would take place on Dec 20. The firm would develop the project in the upper part of the Salween River. The project is being developed separately from those of Egat. GMS Power, a subsidiary of MDX, has been conducting studies on the project since 1997. MDX has also won deals with Rangoon to build a coal mine in a Burmese town opposite Prachuap Khiri Khan, a port project in Tavoy and a Mae Sot-Rangoon road project. The company also has construction projects for dams in China and Laos. MDX's shares have been suspended and are in the rehabilitation sector of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. A 1991 survey by Energy and Power Development Corporation, a Japanese government-owned generating firm, identified six potential sites along the Salween River in 1991 for hydro-power projects. MDX has expressed interest in developing one site and has signed an initial agreement with Rangoon while Egat has focused attention on another two sites for possible dam construction. The other three sites had attracted little attention from developers. The project to be developed by MDX is located at Tasang, in Shan state, Burma. Although the site is not in Thai territory, electricity transmission cables could be linked. MDX executives declined to give details of the project. However, it is expected the dam construction would require a total investment of at least US$3.6 billion. A source at Egat said the two dams the authority was interested in constructing would have power generation capacity of 4,540 and 792 megawatts, respectively. The project site is opposite Mae Sariang district in Mae Hong Son province. Egat has already submitted the project for the two dams to the cabinet for consideration. The government was considering whether the project should be implemented by Egat or private companies. The project also depended on negotiations with the governments of the two neighbouring countries. The study by the Japanese firm showed the 4,540-megawatt dam is expected to be around 570 metres long and 168 metres high. The dam, if completely built, could result in a flooded area of 21,400 rai, compared with 150,000 rai flooded by the Sirikit and Bhumibol dams in Thailand. The project to be developed by Egat is expected to require total investment of between $5 billion and 5.6 billion. Mr Sitthiporn said the plant on the Salween River could begin supplying power to Thailand in 2009. Its generation cost would be the lowest in Asia at 90 satang per unit compared with 1.80 to two baht per unit for petroleum and coal-fired power plants. ______ Xinhua News Agency December 13 2002 Myanmar exports more marine products in first 8 months Myanmar exported 82,600 tons of fish and prawn in the first eight months of 2002, a 108.5-percent increase from the same period of 2001, the government's Fisheries Department said in its latest figures. Of the total, fish export accounted for 70,800 tons or 85.7 percent, while prawn took up the rest. Export earning through the export of these marine products totaled 95 million US dollars during the eight-month period, making up 4.7 percent of the country's total export earning. In 2001, Myanmar yielded 1.37 million tons of fish and prawn, of which 61,000 tons were exported, mainly to China and Singapore. It is reported that there are 120 seafood processing plants in Myanmar, of which 25 are being upgraded to international standard to boost the export. Myanmar is rich in fishery resources and the fishery sector is the third mainstay of its economy after agriculture and forestry, contributing 7.3 percent to its gross domestic product and standing as the third largest foreign exchange earner. According to official statistics, since Myanmar opened to foreign investment in late 1988, such contracted foreign investment in the fishery sector has so far reached 197 million dollars. INTERNATIONAL Augusta Chronicle December 13 2002 UGA students urge release of alumnus University of Georgia students are calling for the release of an alumnus arrested in Myanmar for demanding political reform. Students signed a resolution and sent letters to their legislators urging them to work for the release of Salai Tun Than, a 1955 Georgia graduate. Mr. Tun Than, a retired professor who earned his master's degree in agronomy from Georgia, was arrested Nov. 29, 2001, for handing out pro-democracy fliers and staging a solo protest in front of the city hall in the capital of Yangon. He also read a speech calling for freedom and an end to 40 years of military rule, according to a release from the Free Burma Coalition. He was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison. ON THE BORDER Bangkok Post December 13 2002 Burma revives claims of Thai support for rebels By Subin Khuenkaew Burma's Township Border Committee chairman Lt-Col Aye Saw has accused Thailand of supporting the anti-Rangoon Shan State Army, saying the rebels now have military bases on Thai soil. Lt-Col Aye Saw surprised his Thai counterpart, Col Apichart Meesomonmade, with the allegation during a meeting in Chiang Saen district yesterday. Calling the SSA a group of terrorists, Lt-Col Aye Saw said the Shan rebels had their stronghold at Doi Tai Laeng, opposite Mae Hong Son's Pang Ma Pha district; a base at Muang Na, opposite Chiang Mai's Chiang Dao district, and another base near Koh Wan, opposite Chiang Rai's Mae Fa Luang district. All were located inside Thailand, he said. Col Apichart denied the allegation, saying the military had never given the SSA support. He also denied that Thai soldiers deployed at the disputed Doi Lang area, in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district, had established outposts on Burmese territory. ______ Nation December 13 2002 Soldier killed in shootout with Wa By Wiwatchai Somkam Military intelligence officers predicted there would be more clashes between drug traffickers and Thai soldiers following a fierce gunfight between a Thai patrol and a Wa drug caravan on the northern border that left one Thai trooper and three infiltrators dead. Wa-affiliated operatives have stationed themselves in Thai border villages to facilitate more shipments, the sources said. Army private Kamla Kotarak was blown up and three soldiers from the Chiang Mai-based Pha Muang Task Force were seriously wounded when a trafficker tossed two hand grenades at the unit during last night's shootout. Thai soldiers shot dead three of the four men smuggling 36,6000 methamphetamine pills from a nearby lab on the Burmese side. The 30-minute exchange took place near Ban Pong Hai village in Chiang Rai's Mae Fa Luang sub-district. Military officers said the traffickers were linked to the 171st brigade of the pro-Rangoon United Wa State Army. The brigade is under the command of Wei Hsue-kang, a convicted heroin trafficker wanted by the United States with a US$2 million (Bt86 million) bounty on his head. UWSA chairman Bao Yu-xiang told The Nation in an interview at his Panghsang headquarters that his troops are not involv-ed in methamphetamine production and that Wa-controlled areas will be opium-free by 2005. _______ Bangkok Post December 13 2002 Rights group says more proof needed for probe go-ahead By Anucha Charoenpo A Bangkok-based regional human rights organisation says it is willing to take up the case of a Burmese rebel leader said to have been executed by the Thai army, but more evidence is needed. Asia Forum coordinator Chalida Phacharoensuk said if the statement of the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors (VBSW) was true, the army had violated the human rights of Kyaw Ni. Better known as Johnny, Kyaw Ni took part in the October 1999 seizure of the Burmese embassy in Bangkok. A VBSW statement on Wednesday claimed he had been lured to a meeting along the border by the Karen National Union (KNU), captured by Thai soldiers and later executed. The army has denied the allegation. Mrs Chalida said if the rebel group could provide solid evidence Johnny was killed by Thai soldiers, Asia Forum would be willing to take up the case. At this stage it is just the rebel group's claim. To make this case clear the group should directly send more reliable information and evidence to my organisation,'' she said. Asia Forum had no authority to ask the army for clarification, but she could ask the National Human Rights Commission to help investigate. Prasert Luengaramvej, a Thai hostage during the embassy siege who acted as a go-between with the authorities, said if the allegation was true he felt sorry for Johnny, who had died for his political ideals''. Mr Prasert, 44, said he had not kept track of Johnny or the student group. Although Johnny was not friendly to me and the other hostages, he was good enough not to harm or kill all of us,'' he said. STATEMENTS/OTHER Korea Herald December 13 2002 Migrant worker indie rock band:Eureka By Chun Min-sung Wipe out your tears, never give up/ To make our dreams come true/ Don't count those we already lost/ Keep walking the road to dreams/ Put aside our longing for families/ Let's work hard/ Though sweat covers us from forehead to toes/ I believe bright days will come after darkness. ("Road to Dreams," Migrant Workers' Music Project - "What Is Life")This Sunday, at 7:30 p.m., Eureka, an independent rock band composed of migrant workers, will hold its debut concert at Baram, Ssamzie Space Hall, in Sincheon. The band, composed of seven Myanmar citizens, will sing about the hearts of migrant workers in Korea. Currently working in furniture, dye and paper box factories on the outskirts of Seoul, the members of the group have been practicing music on Sundays, their only day-off. "It has been very hard to work and sing both. I wanted to rest on Sundays like others, watching television, reading books, or taking a nap. But my heart wants music so dearly," said San Naing, the base guitarist and leader of the band, during last Sunday's press conference in Sincheon. Even though the rock band has performed on various occasions since its organization in 1998, they could not write their own music mostly due to members' unstable positions as illegal workers in Korea. However, last year the group met Park Kyung-ju, a film and video artist. They began participating in her music project, and the band was finally able to write and compose their own songs for a CD. Park, who had studied and worked as a migrant worker in Germany, has devoted herself to the issue of migrant workers for four years and launched her music project last year. The producer and artist said, "The purpose of the project is to provide migrant workers with opportunities to participate in producing their own music." "We often think that migrant workers are people to be protected and undertake various projects 'for them.' But they also have cultural aspirations just like us," she added. Park's music project includes production of a music CD and a music video. The CD will be released on the day of concert, and all together has eight songs written by migrant workers in Korea. The songs, written in both Korean and English, were composed by professional musicians. Eureka wrote and composed three songs, "Hope," "To My Mother" and "Road to Dreams." The CD also has two experimental songs written by migrant workers from Thailand and China. The music video produced by Park features Eureka singing the title song "What Is Life." The song was written by a Nigerian worker and composed by a Korean musician. Throughout last summer, the future of Park's music project seemed gloomy when there were mass raids by police on illegal migrant workers in Korea. The rock band had to repeatedly stop and resume their practice sessions. Amid heavy physical labor in the factory and being far away from their families, the members of Eureka found music as a source of their strength. Soe Moe Thu said of music, "To have good memories while in Korea, I tried music." The guitarist, who also wrote and composed songs for the CD, said, "I saw my mother was in difficult situation while I was a freshman in college. I decided to quit school and move to Korea to earn money. I have sent my monthly payments to Myanmar," he said. "My two younger sisters could finish college. They call me 'father,'" the 27-year-old musician said as he beamed with pride. Korea, with its short history of migrant workers, already has more than 300,000 migrant workers at present. "However, Korea has failed to embrace their cultures. The existence of migrant workers has great cultural potential for Koreans. I would like people to recognize this project as the first attempt to embrace the peripheral cultures of migrant workers and bring them into the mainstream," the project artist said. When asked about the name of the band, Soe Moe Thu whispered, "I found it on the boxes that I was working on. I looked it up later in dictionary and learned that the word has a nice meaning." Eureka's concert this Sunday will certainly be a "Eureka!" not only for the audience but also to many future audiences including migrant workers in Korea, who can discover the true meaning of singing. Tickets are 8,000 won in advance and 10,000 won at the door. Visit Ssamzi Net (www.ssamnet.com), or Nanum (www.lcnet.org/nanum) for details. For more information call 02-338-4236 or visit the Ssamzie Space Hall Web site at (www.ssamziespace.co.kr) ________ Irrawaddy December 13 2002 Aiding Burma Since her release in May this year, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has become more pragmatic in dealing with Burma’s medieval generals as well as in her outlook on the country’s problems. Immediately after being freed, Suu Kyi was confronted by the humanitarian crisis wracking the country and its citizens. She did not deny the enormity of existing problems, and quickly affirmed that as long as aid reaches people in need, she has no objections. But she also called for transparency, accountability and independent monitoring of assistance given to Burma. Suu Kyi has made several trips upcountry and has been saddened by poverty and the widespread suffering of Burma’s people. According to aides and aid agencies, Suu Kyi believes urgent assistance is needed for HIV prevention and care for those already infected with the disease. In response to all humanitarian crises, the generals have been mute. UN agencies in Rangoon, however, have voiced concern at the country’s deteriorating social conditions and have called for action. Burma’s deepening humanitarian crisis, particularly the issue of HIV/AIDS, has been the focus of recent Burma-related conferences and seminars worldwide. The issue has created divisions and heated debate among Burmese, foreign NGOs and junta officials. But this sense of urgency in Burma is not unique to the present day. Sadly, the need for humanitarian assistance in isolated Burma has been ignored for decades. Even under Gen Ne Win in the 1960s and 1970s, many of Burma’s ethnic regions were in desperate need of aid. The social and economic mismanagement by successive homegrown dictators in Burma has only deepened humanitarian problems plaguing the country. Administering financial aid with the necessary political will is vital. Aid and technical assistance to Burma in the 1970s and 1980s was squandered by avaricious and inept officials. When Burma committed to join the US-led war on drugs in the 1970s, they received Bell helicopters and M1 automatic rifles from US authorities. But instead of using the American weaponry to fight against the drug lords—who later became Burma’s "national leaders"—the military offensive hit at ethnic rebels. Only in recent years have phrases such as "humanitarian crisis" been put to use in Burma, only to be exploited by groups with vested interests inside and outside the country. A few years ago, senior government officials from Southeast Asia, Europe and the US held a meeting with representatives from the UN and the World Bank at Chilston Park in London. They agreed to offer an aid-for-reform plan to the junta, but Burma’s leaders showed little interest and refused to make any worthwhile concessions. Foreign Minister Win Aung responded: "For us, giving a banana to the monkey and then asking it to dance is not the way. We are not monkeys." While Burma’s nationalist officials didn’t appreciate the aid package and knocked back the reform plan, we should not lose sight of the matter that aid alone won’t solve Burma’s problems. Above all, aid should not create more problems and conflicts, but must help shape structural and institutional reform. Donors and aid agencies will inevitably encounter stubborn resistance from Burma’s unyielding political forces. In the delivery process, these forces will muddle and interfere. Importantly, economic reform requires political will. Today, the top generals seek advice from yes-men, bureaucrats and businessmen with interests in jade and the opium trade. Leaders in Burma who believe the free market enjoys special privileges will not want to be lectured on banking reform, removing obstacles to economic growth and an enhanced role for the private sector. Even if aid is delivered, we doubt whether Burma’s rulers have the capacity to handle it. Thus, it is imperative not to put the cart before the horse. First of all, an in-depth analysis of Burma’s economic and social problems is in order to design broad-based humanitarian policies for implementation. If conservative political forces in Burma are prepared to make way for structural and institutional reform, economic and technical aid may bring some benefits, but not before the Burmese people can be guaranteed a democratic future. Otherwise, aid will become collateral damage in Burma’s humanitarian crisis, and we are certain that Burmese people will be unable to cope with this extra burden.