May 2012 - Burma Campaign Japan

Northern Ireland welcomes Aung San Suu Kyi visit

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Human rights campaigners in Northern Ireland have welcomed the announcement of details of the visit by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi to Ireland next month.

Patrick Corrigan, Northern Ireland Programme Director of Amnesty International, said: "Over many decades Amnesty's members have campaigned for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and for thousands of other prisoners of conscience in Myanmar / Burma.

"We are delighted to welcome her to Ireland for an event that will celebrate our shared values of freedom and human rights and to honour her commitment to justice at home and abroad. We know that many of our members in Northern Ireland will be planning to travel to Dublin to honour her and hear her message of hope."

Amnesty International members in Northern Ireland have campaigned successfully for the release of prisoners of conscience over the last twenty-five years and continue to campaign against human rights abuses.

Irish and international artists from the worlds of music, drama, cinema and dance, will perform and give readings at the Electric Burma concert for Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi. The concert will take place at 4.45pm on Monday 18th June, in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre (formerly the Grand Canal Theatre), Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2.

The centrepiece of 'Electric Burma' will be the presentation by Bono to Aung San Suu Kyi of Amnesty International’s prestigious 'Ambassador of Conscience' Award that he announced live on-stage in Croke Park during U2's 360 tour in July 2009.

'Electric Burma' will be a celebration of music, dance, and spoken work, and will include contributions from Damien Rice, Angelique Kidjo, Vanessa Redgrave, Bob Geldof, Riverdance, Jack Gleeson and others. Artistic direction and set design has been created by celebrated Catalan designer and director Lluís Danés.

By agency reporter

Thailand's Two Faces

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Thailand hit the headlines twice this week. Bangkok won warm praise as host for Burma’s pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and her first visit outside of her country in 24 years. Thousands cheered as “The Lady” toured, visiting Burmese migrant workers, listening to their stories and focusing on issues like health.
She told workers she would raise their issues with Thai authorities as well as at the upcoming International Labor Conference in Geneva.
Thailand was in part driven by self interest. With Burma opening its doors with promises of democracy, the rest of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is working overtime to integrate Burma with the ASEAN Economic Community that will emerge in 2015.
Thailand is also worried that Burmese migrant workers, for years a source of cheap labor, will return home. Nevertheless Suu Kyi was feted.
This was a far cry from the treatment meted out by Thailand to one of their own.The Bangkok Criminal Court found Chiranuch Premchaiporn guilty of computer crimes and sentenced her to one year in prison, reduced to eight months and suspended. Chiranuch is the website manager of the online news portal Prachatai.
Her crime was that she didn’t move fast enough to delete online comments deemed by some as insulting to the country's royalty. In other words, this was another case of lèse-majesté and a legal action seen widely as a test of freedom of expression in Thailand.
It could have been worse. Chiranuch had faced up to 20 years in prison for failing to quickly remove 10 comments others had posted on her Prachatai news website. The verdict has come shortly after the death in prison of Ampon Tangnoppakul, 61, a polite working class man who lived with his mother and suffered from mouth cancer that impaired his speech.
He was jailed for 20 years for a crime he apparently knew nothing about: four SMS messages sent to the personal secretary of former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, deemed offensive to the monarch.
Lèse-majesté laws strictly forbid any action that could defame or insult the Thai monarchy, but critics argue they are simply used by politicians and their backers to silence their opposition. King Bhumibol Adulyadej has said he wasn’t opposed to criticism of the monarchy. No member of the royal family has ever filed a charge of lèse-majesté.
Chiranuch was arrested during a crackdown on online media initiated by Abhisit with a focus on content the government considered offensive to the monarchy. But she had thought she would be acquitted in a case that drew international attention over censorship of the Internet and the liability of a website operator for comments posted by a third party.
Thailand has endured massive political convulsions over the past six years, with Red and Yellow Shirts at times fanatical in their attempts to draw support from the broader public.
Suu Kyi’s historic visit, her first international trip since 1988, was an example of Thailand at its best and offered a breath of fresh air. But the verdict against Chiranuch will hardly rate among this country’s finer moments.

Image credit: Globalism Pictures

By Luke Hunt

471 confirmed political prisoners in Burma’s jails: AAPP

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In a recent update, the number of political prisoners is Burma has been put at 471 confirmed prisoners, with 465 more prisoners in a verification process as of May, according to The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners – Burma.

The confirmed figure will continue to fluctuate and is expected to increase as the verification process continues, said the AAPP.

The lifting of some sanctions against Burma “should not blur the fact that hundreds of political prisoners are still imprisoned and that the treatment they are given fails to comply with international standards,” said the AAPP.

For example, the AAPP said Phyo Wai Aung, a detainee who has been awaiting his trial verdict for more than two years in Insein Prison, is in urgent need of medical treatment as he suffers, among other things, from an enlarged liver. Prison authorities, however, have refused to hospitalize him in an outside hospital where he can see a specialist, it said.

It said military personnel who have expressed their political views in public continue to suffer “from confidential arrests and ruthless verdicts.”

The AAPP said that according to confidential information that has not yet been confirmed, three Air Force officers faced trial at a military court recently and were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment after one of them published a critical article about the Tatmawdaw (Burmese army) on a website. The whereabouts of the three officers remain unknown and their families are not allowed to contact them.

It said arrests, interrogations and imprisonments of people who resist and challenge land confiscations and forced evictions continued in April. In Lewe Township, three villagers who resisted eviction were jailed for six months, said AAPP.

A number of Buddhist monks released from prison during the recent amnesty continue to be harassed by the police and have been forced out of their monasteries, it said.

“As before, it seems that President Thein Sein’s regime remains deeply distrustful of the monks in Burma.
As the world commends Burma’s nominally civilian government’s first steps towards democracy, there is a growing concern that the international community may be moving too quickly in relaxing sanctions against it,” said the AAPP.

As one exiled Burmese activist, Soe Aung, from the Forum for Democracy in Burma, said, “The EU has suspended sanctions knowing that its own benchmarks on Burma have not been met: the unconditional release of all political prisoners and a cessation of attacks against ethnic minorities”.

For the latest list of Burmese political prisoners, go to http://www.aappb.org

Suu Kyi offers hope to Myanmar workers in Thailand

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Myanmar workers hold portraits of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as they gather to hear her speech in Samut Sakhon, Thailand on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Kicking off her first trip abroad in nearly a quarter-century, Suu Kyi offered encouragement Wednesday to impoverished migrants whose flight to neighboring Thailand is emblematic of the devastation wrought on her homeland by decades of misrule.

(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Downtrodden but hopeful migrants from Myanmar crowded the streets for a look at opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who said she will do all she can to reverse decades of economic ruin and make it possible for them to go home.

In the town of Mahachai, home to Thailand's largest population of Burmese migrants, thousands crowded around her Wednesday and chanted: "Long Live Mother Suu!"

"I had only seen her on TV and in newspapers," said Saw Hla Tun, who left Myanmar's Karen state seven years ago and earns a meager wage carrying heavy salt sacks on his back. "I couldn't hold back my tears when I saw her."

Khin Than Nu, who works at a Thai canning factory, said she dreams of her home in Myanmar's Mon state.

"We left our parents in Burma, and all my brothers and sisters work here to support our parents," she said. Using a Burmese honorific for Suu Kyi, she added, "I hope Daw Suu will help develop our country, and bring jobs so we can go home."

Suu Kyi arrived in Thailand on Tuesday night on a trip that shows just how much life has changed in her homeland. The Nobel Peace Prize winner lived 15 of the last 24 years under house arrest and dared not leave during the intermittent periods of freedom because she feared the then-ruling military junta would not allow her to return. Now an elected member of Parliament, she will speak this week at the World Economic Forum on East Asia.

She'll return to Myanmar briefly before heading to Europe for a five-country tour in mid-June. She'll address the British Parliament, formally accept her 1991 Nobel in Oslo, Norway, and be the guest of honor at a Dublin tribute concert organized by U2's Bono and others.

In Mahachai, southwest of Bangkok, Suu Kyi offered encouragement to the exuberant crowd, many of whom held signs that read, "We want to go home."

"Don't feel down, or weak. History is always changing," she said.

"Today, I will make you one promise: I will try my best for you."

After speaking to the crowd, Suu Kyi met with migrant workers who told her they are mistreated by employers but don't know their rights and have no legal means to settle disputes.

Fixing a battered economy is one of the most crucial challenges facing Myanmar as it begins opening up in the wake of 49 years of military governance that ended only last year.

Thailand hosts around 2.5 million impoverished Burmese who have fled here to work low-skilled jobs as domestic servants or in manual labor industries like fisheries and the garment sector.

Andy Hall, a migrant expert and researcher at the Institute for Population and Social Research at Thailand's Mahidol University, said the Myanmar migrants - up to a million of them lacking work permits - make up between 5 and 10 percent of the Thai work force, contributing as much as 7 percent of the nation's GDP.

Many are exploited and paid reduced wages. Some have been trafficked; some have had their passports confiscated by employers. Hall said they were nevertheless "the lifeblood of a lot of the Myanmar economy, sending home money to support families who don't have enough money to eat."

"They have no voice, they can never speak up or stand up," Hall said. "So for Aung San Suu Kyi to visit is like a dream come true, someone who finally may be able to bring attention to their suffering."

---

Associated Press writer Yadana Htun contributed to this report.

Japan to develop Burmese stock exchange by 2015

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An agreement on technical aid has been signed between the Central Bank of Myanmar and the Daiwa Research Institute and Tokyo Stock Exchange of Japan, the New Light of Myanmar said on Thursday.

Minister of Finance and Revenue Hla Tun, who is also chairman of the Capital Market Development Committee, said Burma would establish a stock exchange by 2015 under a blue print set out by the committee.

To provide for listed companies on the stock exchange, Burma has allowed the set-up of public companies in a bid to develop the market economy. The Directorate of Investment and Companies will encourage the public to invest their savings and capitals in appropriate business sectors.

According to the directorate, the seed capital for public companies is set to be at least 500 million kyat (about US$ 625,000).

Entities seeking to become public companies must have at least seven initial holders, sell unlimited shares to the public, be an economically sustainable business and employ skilled labor.

Many Japanese and foreign investors believe that the envisaged stock market will open up numerous business opportunities in the future, although many obstacles remain.

Experts have pointed out that after five decades of isolation from the global community, the move to an up-to-date economy will be fraught with problems. The IMF is currently working with the government in an effort to bring its financial system up to basic international standards.

The plan to set up a stock market by 2015 comes at the same year as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plans to integrate the region’s economies to create the Asean Economic Community, in which trade barriers will be dropped.

Meanwhile, the Tokyo bourse is expecting future benefits by helping Burma to open its stock exchange, the Japan Times said in early May.

“We hope our support will lead to more active trade on our exchange,” spokesman Naoya Takahashi was quoted as saying. For example, he said the TSE hopes to build a broader tie-up with Burma’s stock exchange by listing financial products on each other's markets or exchanging stock price information.

“For TSE, it is a long-term story, rather than a short-term business chance,” Takahashi told the newspaper.

Daiwa will be in charge of helping the country nurture a capital market through various measures, including the training of the stock exchange's workforce and giving advice to set up the IT systems necessary in the securities business, the article said. TSE will also help establish rules and standards to operate a stock exchange.

Daiwa said the company's approach to the country dates back to the early 1990s, which led to Daiwa's official contract with the country to help set up the Myanmar Securities Exchange Center Co., an over-the-counter stock market, in 1996.

Daiwa said it would use its experiences at the MSEC to create the new stock exchange. Currently, at the MSEC only the shares of two companies – Forest Products Joint Venture Co. and Myanmar Citizens Bank – are traded.

Renowned U.S. investor Jim Rogers told Forbes in a 2011 interview that if Burma opens a stock exchange, he would buy shares there “in a minute.”

But the fledgling democracy faces many serious hurdles in the short term, including the lack of an overall modern financial system and crucial Internet technology for transactions, money transfers and settlements.

Currently, only cash and checks are available for settlements at the MSEC, the tiny over-the-counter market. ATMs have only just been introduced at the country's banks, and credit cards can barely be used in Rangoon or the capital of Naypyitaw.

In total, there are about 50,000 firms in Burma, and nearly 80 per cent of them are small businesses.

Mizzima News

India extends olive branch to Myanmar's Suu Kyi

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India's prime minister on Tuesday invited Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to visit as New Delhi looks to rebuild a relationship damaged by its once close ties with the former junta.

Manmohan Singh, the first Indian premier to visit in a quarter of a century, said he "sincerely" hoped the Nobel laureate would visit, in a joint press conference in Yangon ahead of Suu Kyi's first trip abroad in 24 years.

"We in India are very proud of our long-standing association with her and members of the family, including her parents," he said. Suu Kyi has a strong personal tie to India, where she studied while her mother was ambassador there.

New Delhi has faced international criticism in the past for its engagement with Myanmar's former junta, which kept the democracy activist locked up and silenced under house arrest for 15 of the past 22 years.

But India has since pointed to recent dramatic reforms under a new quasi-civilian regime, including Suu Kyi's election to parliament in April by-elections, as a validation of its stance.

Singh's visit to Myanmar is seen as part of efforts by energy-hungry India to boost trade links and contest the influence of regional rival China.

The neighbours signed 12 agreements covering an array of issues including security, development of border areas, trade and transport links after the Indian leader held talks with reformist Myanmar President Thein Sein on Monday.

Suu Kyi said she was "very gratified" by the invitation to deliver the Jawaharlal Nehru memorial lecture, which honours India's first prime minister after independence, adding she hoped to be able to take up the offer "before too long".

"As you all know India and Burma have been particularly close over the years, not just because of our geographical positions but because we have shared deep ties of friendship for many, many long years," she said, using the country's former name.

The veteran activist spoke as she prepared to venture outside Myanmar for the first time since 1988, with a trip to Thailand that observers say is a clear sign of her confidence in the country's reform process.

New Delhi was once a staunch supporter of the democracy icon, but changed tack and sought engagement with Myanmar's former junta in the mid-1990s.

US President Barack Obama chided New Delhi during a visit to India in 2010 for not speaking out over human rights abuses in Myanmar.

Following her release from house arrest in 2010 after controversial elections, Suu Kyi said that she had been "saddened" by India's lack of support.
© ANP/AFP

Suu Kyi, in Myanmar since 1988, begins world tour

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Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi talks to journalists during a press conference after meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, unseen, at a hotel in Yangon, Myanmar, Tuesday, May 29, 2012. (AP / Soe Zeya Tun)

BANGKOK, Thailand — After 24 years in Myanmar, most of them spent under house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi leaves Tuesday on an international tour to connect with world leaders and to deliver a Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech more than two decades overdue.

Bangkok's towering skyscrapers and sprawling urban lights will be the opposition leader's first glimpse of the outside world, a stark contrast to the sleepy city of Yangon where the former military regime kept her a prisoner in her own home for a total of 15 years. She was to arrive Tuesday night and spend several days in Thailand, where she'll speak Friday at the World Economic Forum on East Asia.

In mid-June she'll head to Europe, with stops in Geneva and Oslo -- to formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize she won 21 years ago. In Dublin, she'll share a stage with U2 frontman Bono, a staunch Suu Kyi supporter, at a concert in her honour, according to Irish media. In England, she has been given the rare honour of addressing both houses of Parliament.

The tour of two continents marks Suu Kyi's latest step in a stunning trajectory from housewife to political prisoner to opposition leader in Parliament, as Myanmar opens to the outside world and sheds a half century of military rule.

She hadn't left Myanmar since a year before the Berlin Wall came down, in April 1988, when she flew to Myanmar to nurse her dying mother.

Until then she had led an international lifestyle, growing up partly in India, where her mother was ambassador. She later attended Oxford, worked for the United Nations in New York and Bhutan and then married British academic Michael Aris and raised their two sons in England.

She returned to Myanmar just as an uprising erupted against the military regime. As daughter of Gen. Aung San, the country's independence hero, she was thrust into the forefront of demonstrations until the military brutally crushed the protests and locked her under house arrest in 1989.

Over the next two decades she became the world's most famous political prisoner. During intermittent periods of freedom, she declined opportunities to go abroad for fear she would not be allowed to re-enter Myanmar.

Suu Kyi's commitment to the cause came at high personal cost. She stayed in Myanmar even as her husband in England was dying of cancer in 1999. They last saw each other in 1995, after which the junta denied Aris a visa.

After her release from house arrest in November 2010, Suu Kyi had an emotional reunion with her youngest son, Kim Aris, after a decade-long separation; the junta had given him a visa.

The English leg of Suu Kyi's trip is bound to include some family time. She will celebrate her 67th birthday on June 19 while in England, where Kim lives.

Suu Kyi's aides have offered few details about her trip aside from the destinations, saying only that she will pack medicine for motion sickness.

"She gets airsick and seasick very easily. She will have to take her pills to prevent airsickness," said Win Htein, a senior official from her National League for Democracy party. He said she was typically stoic ahead of her travels: "She doesn't look too excited about it."

Thailand was not part of the original itinerary but Suu Kyi decided last week to attend the economic forum. She has a Friday speaking slot that is bound to be the event's main attraction.

Suu Kyi's appearance at the conference had threatened to upstage that of Myanmar President Thein Sein, but he cancelled over the weekend citing "urgent matters" at home, said Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi. He rescheduled his first official visit to Thailand for next week.

Thein Sein took power last year from the military junta following elections that were deemed unfair by international observers. Since then he has surprised much of the world by engineering sweeping reforms, though military leaders still have great control over the country.

Since Suu Kyi's release, many international dignitaries have visited her in Myanmar, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in December and British Prime Minister David Cameron in April. Cameron suggested she visit her "beloved Oxford" in June.

Suu Kyi replied at the time: "Two years ago I would have said thank you for the invitation, but sorry. But now I am able to say perhaps, and that's great progress."

Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20120529/suu-kyi-begins-world-tour-120529/#ixzz1wGkTVCQW

India to open super highway to Burma and Thailand

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The new trilateral highway in India will allow traders and tourists to drive from its eastern tea state of Assam into Burma, Thailand and eventually Cambodia and Vietnam Photo: ALAMY

India is to open a new four lane motorway to allow traders and tourists to drive from its eastern tea state of Assam into Burma, Thailand and eventually Cambodia and Vietnam.

The new "trilateral highway" is aimed at creating a new economic zone ranging from Calcutta on the Bay of Bengal to Ho Chi Minh City on the South China Sea.

The first phase of the project was agreed during Indian prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh's visit to Burma this week when he and President Thein Sein set a 2016 deadline to complete a super highway linking Guwahati in Assam to Burma's border with Thailand via Mandalay and the former capital Rangoon.

According to analysts, the road is a key part of a plan to open the "Mekong-India Corridor" to link the world's second fastest growing market – India – with the new Asian Tiger economies of Indo-China.

Until now plans to open this new economic zone, which bypasses China, the world's fastest growing economy and superpower, have been hampered by international sanctions against the former military regime in Burma.

But with the gradual easing of sanctions following the series of democratic reforms unveiled by Burma's president Thein Sein since last August, the obstacles have now cleared.

For India, the new highway will open up new oil and gas opportunities off the coast of Burma, and also Vietnam, as well as easier access to Japanese products made in Thailand.
It would also bring new wealth to its poor and marginalised North-Eastern states like Manipur and Nagaland, which have been blighted by local insurgencies and heavy security.
The highway will also recall the historic ties between India and Burma which unravelled following their independence from Britain after the Second World War.
During most of the colonial period Burma was governed as a province of British India from Calcutta and later New Delhi. Aung San Suu Kyi, like other children of Burma's elite, was a pupil and university student in India.
Mohan Guruswamy of the New Delh-based Centre for Policy Alternatives, said a two lane highway connecting the Indian border to Mandalay, 375 miles away, had already been built, and the next phases will be to broaden it to a four-lane road and extend it a further 375 miles to Rangoon.
"The idea is that you can get in a car or bus and drive to Bangkok from Guwahati. Burma was the hurdle, but now it has opened up, thanks to the Americans. It marks a great opening of a new economic zone," he said.

By Dean Nelson, New Delhi

PM to meet Aung San Suu Kyi tomorrow

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Nay Pyi Taw, May 28:

India is expected to convey its support for further progress in Myanmar’s movement towards full democracy when the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, meets the Opposition leader, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, tomorrow in what is billed as one of the high-points of his landmark visit.

Ahead of the Dr Singh-Ms Suu Kyi meeting in Yangon which will see the pro-democracy icon sticking to protocol and calling on the Indian premier, the External Affairs Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, said that “Suu Kyi is one of the important leaders of Myanmar and it’s natural for the Prime Minister to receive her with due courtesy and convey our best wishes for a national reconciliation for a democratic process to blossom in this country.’’

Asked what more commitments can India make in helping democracy flourish in Myanmar, Mr Krishna said: “who are we to make more commitments to the democratic process here. This is a free, sovereign country with whom we have diplomatic and other relationships.’’

The meeting with India-educated 66-year-old Nobel Laureate Ms Suu Kyi will take place a day after Dr Singh’s talks with the Myanmar President, Mr Thein Sein, who is credited with initiating a series of political reforms in the last one year.

It speaks volumes of the changed environment in Myanmar that Dr Singh is meeting leaders at opposite ends of the political spectrum, in a break from the past few years when Indian leaders, including the former President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and the Vice-President, Mr Hamid Ansari, visited this country but could not meet Ms Suu Kyi who had been under house arrest.

Dr Singh’s meeting with Ms Suu Kyi is seen as a clear sign that New Delhi wants a reaffirmation of ties with the democracy activist after facing international criticism in the past for its engagement with Myanmar’s former military junta.

Indian prime minister in landmark visit to Burma

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Myanmar President Thein Sein, left, walks along with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as they inspect the guard of honor before their meeting at presidential house in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Photo: AP

India's prime minister held talks with Burma's president Monday in a historic visit aimed at boosting trade and energy links and contesting the influence of regional rival China.

Manmohan Singh, the first Indian premier to visit Burma in a quarter of a century, was greeted with a guard of honour as he met President Thein Sein in the capital Naypyidaw.

Energy-hungry India is eyeing a raft of agreements with its neighbour after dramatic reforms in Burma ended its international isolation.

Singh will travel to the main city of Yangon for talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday, in a move seen as a sign that India also wants to repair links with the veteran activist.

New Delhi was once a staunch supporter of the democracy icon, but changed tack in the mid-1990s as it sought closer ties with Burma, and drew international criticism for its engagement with the former junta.

India has since pointed to recent dramatic reforms under a new quasi-civilian regime, including Suu Kyi's election to parliament in April by-elections, as a validation of its stance.

Singh is the latest in a series of top-level visitors to Burma as the international community begins easing sanctions, raising hopes that the impoverished nation could be the next big frontier market.

An Indian diplomat who declined to be named told AFP that about 12 agreements were set to be inked during the talks on Monday.

Singh is seen as looking to expand India's influence after half a century of military rule lef tBurma heavily reliant on Chinese investment and political support.

Indian-backed infrastructure projects in the country include a port at Sittwe on the Bay of Bengal but New Delhi's presence lags well behind that of Beijing, which is behind a host of major energy developments.

"India does seem to have been rather slothful in its response to Burma's reforms compared to the enthusiasm shown by many other world leaders," said Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific Chief Economist at IHS Global Insight.

He said Burma was in the grips of a "gold rush", and that oil and gas are an area of "considerable opportunity" for investors.

Myanmar president expected to cancel Bangkok trip

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Yangon - Myanmar President Thein Sein has cancelled a trip to Thailand for an international economic forum that also invited opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, government officials said Sunday.

"The president has no plans to go to Bangkok," a senior government official said on condition of anonymity.

Thein Sein had been scheduled to make a speech about Myanmar’s promising future at the World Economic Forum on East Asia scheduled for Bangkok on Thursday and Friday.

The Thai government has also invited Myanmar’s president to visit the kingdom on Friday.

"Thein Sein’s planned visit was in response to joint invitation from the WEF and the Thai government," Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said. "We haven’t heard of a cancellation yet." Last week, the international forum invited Suu Kyi to the event,to the surprise of many including her own political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

"As the leader of a political party, why should they invite her?"NLD spokesman Nyan Win said.

Suu Kyi is scheduled to arrive in Bangkok on Tuesday, visit a refugee camp on Wednesday and then attend the WEF as a guest speaker.//DPA

Manmohan Singh visits Myanmar amid energy quest

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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh departed Sunday on a three-day visit to Myanmar that underscores India's quest for energy supplies and concerns about China's strong influence in the southeast Asian country.

Singh said he hoped to focus on stronger trade and investment links, development of border areas and improving connectivity between India and Myanmar.

India remains "committed to a close, cooperative and mutually beneficial partnership with the government and people of Myanmar," Singh said in a statement before leaving for Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city.

The visit highlights India's search for energy supplies to fuel its economic boom and concerns about China's influence in Myanmar, where the elected, but military-backed, government is opening up its economy for investment and trade.

In recent years, India has nervously watched Beijing's domination of Myanmar's oil and gas exploration projects. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers are in Myanmar working on infrastructure and other projects.

Indian officials, however, are loath to acknowledge that India's Myanmar policy is being driven by China's inroads there.

India wants to "secure a stronger and mutually beneficial relationship with a neighboring country that is integral to India's Look East policy," Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told reporters Friday.

India has adopted a "Look East" policy of engaging with southeast and east Asia, reaching out and deepening bilateral ties with Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Indonesia among others in the region.

Singh's visit will be the first in 25 years by an Indian prime minister, although the two countries share a 1,600-kilometer (1,000-mile) land border, as well as a maritime border in the Bay of Bengal.

Myanmar, which was once known as Burma, had been an international pariah for decades under a military junta that quashed any hopes of democratic reform. A 2010 election, though, has lead to at least some reforms and a gradual opening up to the rest of the world.

The competition between India and China in Myanmar is expected to surface again when Myanmar begins auctioning new natural gas blocks, both offshore and onshore, in which Indian companies are expected to participate actively.

"It would be in Myanmar's interest to not put all its eggs in one basket," says Rajiv Bhatia, a former Indian ambassador to Myanmar, referring to China's overwhelming presence in Myanmar's oil and gas exploration sector.

Mathai said that during Singh's visit, the two countries are slated to start a bus link between Imphal, capital of India's Manipur state, and Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city.

India also will announce the creation of an IT training institute, an agricultural research center and a rice research park in Myanmar, Mathai said.

Over decades of isolation by the West, China reached out to Myanmar, building billions of dollars in roads and gas pipelines in the impoverished country.

New Delhi too has offered Myanmar aid and assistance, but not on the same scale as China.

In recent years, India has offered around $800 million in credit to Myanmar to help develop infrastructure such as railways, roads and waterways. New Delhi also is helping build a port in the coastal Myanmar city of Sittwe. That port, Indian officials hope, will act as a trade gateway between India's northeastern states and Southeast Asia.

Bilateral trade between India and Myanmar was around $1.2 billion in 2011. Both sides hope to push trade to $3 billion by 2015.

Singh's trip follows high level visits to India by Myanmar's reformist President Thein Sein in October and visits by the foreign ministers of the two countries.

In the 1980s and early '90s, India was a strong supporter of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in her fight against the country's military. Singh will meet with Suu Kyi on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited Myanmar in 1987, the last visit by an Indian premier. But in the mid-'90s, India changed tack to engage with the country's military junta, resisting pressures from the Western democracies that had imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar.

New Delhi insisted it had to follow a pragmatic policy, because it needed its neighbor's help to crack down on Indian rebels who had built hideouts in the jungles along the India-Myanmar border.

India also argued that Myanmar's military leaders could be nudged toward democracy only by engaging with them _ not by isolating the impoverished nation.

Mathai said India also was opposed to the sanctions because Myanmar was a neighbor.

"When you are a neighboring country, you do not have the choice of a policy and engagement," Mathai said. "You remain engaged irrespective of the situation."

In the past year, Myanmar's military leaders have freed thousands of political prisoners, eased limits on the press and launched a series of economic reform measures. The military-backed regime allowed Suu Kyi's political party to contest elections and ushered in an elected government.

In April, the European Union suspended most of its sanctions to reward Myanmar's political reforms, and the United States said this month that it would suspend a ban on American investment in the country.

Protests in Myanmar against power outages test the patience of government and activists

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BANGKOK — Protests in Myanmar over persistent power shortages have provided a test of how the country’s elected but military-backed government will respond to rising expectations sparked by the past year’s democratic reforms.

Small demonstrations over the last week in Myanmar’s two largest cities and several towns could be seen as an indicator of the new openness under President Thein Sein, who has overseen the country’s emergence from decades of authoritarian rule and diplomatic isolation.

From another point of view, the peaceful protests — which have been limited to a few hundred people — serve as a reminder of the early stages of past unrest. Previous uprisings have started as small affairs sparked by complaints over the economy and then snowballed into large-scale challenges to authority.
In 2007, the former military regime used force to put down the so-called Saffron Revolution led by Buddhist monks. That rebellion began as small, localized protests over fuel price hikes.
“Protests like this in Myanmar always have the potential to escalate and lead to political unrest,” said Trevor Wilson, a former Australian envoy to Myanmar who now teaches at Australian National University. “It is hard to predict how these protests might develop.”
Thein Sein was prime minister of the previous repressive military government but shed his formal links with the army to run with its proxy political party in a 2010 general election. Those polls were boycotted by the party of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest at the time.
Last year, Thein Sein embarked on a reform program whose main objective was to win the easing of economic sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union. That goal has already been largely accomplished.
Also as a result of the reforms, the government won the cooperation of Suu Kyi, the once-implacable foe of army rule and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was freed after the 2010 elections. Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party even agreed to run for parliament in last month’s by-elections, snaring 43 seats to play a small but historically significant legislative role.
Along with the revival of parliamentary politics in Myanmar there has been a new assertiveness in civil society, especially in lobbying on environmental issues. One campaign, opposing the Chinese-funded Myitsone hydropower dam on the Irrawaddy River, won an astonishing victory when the government announced the cancellation of the project.
Still, the potential for conflict in Myanmar — also known as Burma — lies in the space between the political reforms achieved so far and the shortfall in other fundamental changes, particularly in the economy.
Suu Kyi has endorsed the protests, which have seen demonstrators holding candlelight vigils and marching in public streets.
Speaking Tuesday at the opening of a branch office for her party, Suu Kyi said “the country suffers from power shortages because of mismanagement. I believe that the system has to be changed to get electricity or to get water or to get jobs.”

Two Myanmarese killed in Malaysia bus accident

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At least two people were killed and 44 others injured after their bus plunged into a ravine in Malaysia's Penang state on Friday. All passengers were from Myanmar.

The bus, believed to be heading towards a mosque, suddenly went out of control at around 9pm and hit a tree and a utility pole in Penang's city of Balik Pulau. The bus then fell into a ravine, causing on the spot death of two people, one of them a 50-year-old, Xinhua reported.

At least six of the injured passengers were in critical condition and rescue work was underway till last report, said police officer Mohd Hatta Mohd Zin.

Myanmar Mystery: A Missing Vice President

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Myanmar's Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo attends the opening ceremony of a children's hospital in Yangon March 13, 2011.

By PATRICK BARTA

A mystery over the fate of Myanmar's vice president is raising concerns about the continuing lack of transparency in the Myanmar political system, despite major political and economic reforms over the past year.

Dissident media and some international news organizations reported earlier this month that Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo had resigned or temporarily stepped down, citing unidentified government sources and family members. Myanmar's government hasn't officially acknowledged any departure of the vice president, and officials contacted declined to comment on the record.

However, a government official familiar with the situation confirmed in response to questions that Mr. Tin Aung Myint Oo, who is 61 years old, was out on "medical leave" with "a serious medical problem" and "may be" considering resignation. The official declined to provide further details.

Specifics about the vice president's location, or his ailment, remain unknown. Some news organizations, including a prominent Thailand-based dissident publication called the Irrawaddy, have reported that he is suffering from throat cancer, while others say he is in a monastery about 50 kilometers, or 30 miles, outside the commercial capital of Yangon. Efforts to locate him through calls to monasteries in the area and to government offices in the capital of Naypyitaw were unsuccessful.

Local journalists say they have been warned by government officials not to report on the matter, despite promises by authorities to further relax censorship after loosening some media controls over the past year. Some publications have ignored the admonitions and published stories summarizing the rumors without punishment, however.

The uncertainty surrounding the vice president's situation runs counter to expectations of greater transparency in Myanmar's new government, which took power after a harsh military junta stepped down last year. Although the government is still dominated by current and former soldiers, it has eased curbs on the Internet, freed political prisoners and embraced the election of dissident Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament, winning kudos from governments world-wide. Last week, the Obama administration suspended key sanctions against Myanmar imposed years ago.

Tin Aung Myint Oo

Born 1950
Served as army Quartermaster General; military regime "Secretary One" (fifth-ranking leader)
Retired from military and elected to parliament in 2010
Selected vice president 2011
Left vice presidency for medical reasons 2012
Widely regarded as close to military factions in Myanmar government

-- Source: WSJ research

Yet many investors and nongovernmental groups say privately they still fear Myanmar's government is unstable or unpredictable, with reports of internal divisions among reformers and some former military leaders. Some investors have said the lack of transparency extends to other parts of the political system, and that it's difficult if not impossible to get details about some laws being discussed.

The vice president's case "is a reminder of the Myanmar before this new government came to power—and it's a reminder of the guessing game about fundamental political realities that we all played for so long in that country," said Michael Montesano, a regional expert at the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. "The fact that we're back in that position is troubling."

Many political analysts believe Mr. Tin Aung Myint Oo could be getting pushed aside to make way for a more moderate figure, possibly as part of a wider reshuffle of Myanmar's cabinet following a parliamentary by-election last month that was overwhelmingly dominated by Ms. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy opposition party. In the wake of that vote, presidential adviser Ko Ko Hlaing told The Wall Street Journal that remaining hard-liners within the government needed to more actively embrace change in the country "because this is the new reality."

On other occasions, officials have denied there is a rift between reformers and hard-liners.

Mr. Tin Aung Myint Oo was formerly one of the highest-ranking members of the country's old military junta, and he is routinely described in Myanmar's dissident press as a hard-liner with close ties to some of the country's wealthiest businessmen. He became vice president after being selected for the post by a bloc of military officers in parliament last year.

Along with speculation about Mr. Tin Aung Myint Oo's status, there is also growing debate over who would succeed him if he does officially resign. Although political analysts say the vice president role comes with limited powers in Myanmar, it could take on high importance if current President Thein Sein, who is 67 and believed to suffer from heart disease, is unable to complete his current term, which ends in 2015.

One possible choice, Myanmar experts say, is Lower House Speaker Thura Shwe Mann, who many consider to be the government's second-most powerful figure behind Mr. Thein Sein. Such a move could put the speaker, a former military officer believed to be pushing some reforms, in position to be a front-runner for president in elections in 2015. Attempts to reach Mr. Shwe Mann were unsuccessful.

Some analysts believe Ms. Suu Kyi could also be a possibility, though it would likely require a change to Myanmar's constitution, which blocks citizens who married foreigners—as Ms. Suu Kyi did—from posts such as president or vice president. Another possibility is that Ms. Suu Kyi could become house speaker if Mr. Shwe Mann gives up the job.

A spokesman for Ms. Suu Kyi's political party, Nyan Win, said she had not been offered any new post. "If there is an offer, the party will discuss it," he said.

Under Myanmar's political system, the military retains the right to choose one vice president, and is expected to get to pick a replacement if Mr. Tin Aung Myint Oo does indeed resign. The country also has a second vice president, an ethnic Shan doctor who is believed to hold little power.
—Celine Fernandez contributed to this article.
Write to Patrick Barta at patrick.barta@wsj.com

A version of this article appeared May 26, 2012, on page A9 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Myanmar Mystery: A Missing Official.

Amnesty International: Burma’s human rights abuses continue

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Amnesty International (AI) on Thursday said Burma’s military is committing crimes against humanity in ethnic conflict zones, where ongoing fighting has overshadowed sweeping political changes.

The rights group also said that authorities had blocked humanitarian aid from reaching tens of thousands of desperate refugees in conflict areas and said soldiers had sexually assaulted civilians.

“The government enacted limited political and economic reforms, but human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law in ethnic minority areas increased during the year,” AI said in its annual report.

“Some of these amounted to crimes against humanity or war crimes.”

The Burmese army had launched “indiscriminate attacks” that at times targeted ethnic minority civilians in Kachin State, Karen state and the Tanintharyi region, it said.

The following is the 2012 country report on Burma, which notes positive changes but says numerous human rights violations are continuing as the country undergoes democratic reforms.

The report:

“The government enacted limited political and economic reforms, but human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law in ethnic minority areas increased during the year. Some of these amounted to crimes against humanity or war crimes. Forced displacement reached its highest level in a decade, and reports of forced labour their highest level in several years.

“Authorities maintained restrictions on freedom of religion and belief, and perpetrators of human rights violations went unpunished. Despite releasing at least 313 political prisoners during the year, authorities continued to arrest such people, further violating their rights by subjecting them to ill-treatment and poor prison conditions.

Background

“Myanmar’s Parliament, elected in November 2010, convened on 31 January and voted in Thein Sein as President of a government formed on 30 March. It was the first civilian government in decades. In July and August, opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi travelled outside Yangon for the first time since 2003. She met with Labour Minister Aung Gyi four times during the year and with President Thein Sein in August.

“Beginning that month, the government carried out a series of limited political and economic reforms. It released at least 313 political prisoners; slightly relaxed media censorship; passed an improved labour law; and established the National Human Rights Commission. In September, the government suspended construction of the controversial, China-backed Myitsone Dam in Kachin state, citing domestic opposition to the project. It also reportedly ceased demanding that ethnic minority armed groups become official Border Guard Forces. In November, the National League for Democracy re-registered as a political party, and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi announced her intention to run for Parliament in the 2012 by-elections. Parliament also passed a law that month allowing peaceful protests under certain conditions.

Internal armed conflict

“The armed conflict in Kayin (Karen) state and Tanintharyi region that began in late 2010 escalated during the year. In March, conflict between the Myanmar army and various ethnic minority armed groups intensified in Shan state. In June, the army broke a 17-year ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Kachin state. Smaller conflicts continued or resumed in Kayah (Karenni) and Mon states.

“In all of these conflicts, the Myanmar army launched indiscriminate attacks causing civilian casualties, at times directly attacking ethnic minority civilians. Credible accounts of the army using prison convicts as porters, human shields and mine sweepers emerged from Kayin state and adjacent areas of Bago and Tanintharyi divisions. In Kachin state, sources reported extrajudicial executions, children killed by indiscriminate shelling, forced labour, and unlawful confiscation or destruction of food and property. Shan civilians were tortured, arbitrarily detained and forcibly relocated. Soldiers reportedly sexually assaulted Kachin and Shan civilians.

“In August, ethnic armed groups, including some that had committed abuses, rejected the government’s offer of talks between individual armed groups and the relevant regional administration rather than talks between an alliance of such groups and the federal government. However, several groups agreed to ceasefires with the army during the year. In September, the army intensified fighting in Kachin and Shan states, violating human rights law and international humanitarian law. Some of these acts amounted to crimes against humanity or war crimes.

On 7 June, a seven-year-old child was killed in Mae T’lar village in Kayin state’s Kawkareik township, when the army shelled the village with mortars.
On 16 June, soldiers in Hsipaw township, Shan state, shot and killed a 35-year-old man, a 70-year-old woman and one girl, aged 13; all were civilians.
On 18 September, soldiers in Shan state’s Kyethi township forced at least 10 local monks to act as human shields during an operation to deliver supplies to other troops in the area.
On 12 October, soldiers killed a 16-month-old baby in Mansi township, Bhamo district in Kachin state, while storming a village and shooting indiscriminately.
Beginning on 28 October and lasting several days, soldiers detained and reportedly gang-raped a 28-year-old Kachin woman in Hkai Bang village in Bhamo district, Sub-Loije township, Kachin state.
On 12 November, Myanmar army soldiers extrajudicially executed four captured KIA fighters and tortured four others in Nam Sang Yang village, Waingmaw township, Kachin state.

Forced displacement and refugees

“Fighting in ethnic minority areas displaced approximately 30,000 people in Shan state and a similar number in or near Kachin state. The majority of them were forced out of their homes and land by the Myanmar army. Most individuals and families were unable or unwilling to leave Myanmar, and so became internally displaced. In addition, approximately 36,000 people had already been displaced in Kayin state. In a one-year period ending in July, 112,000 people were reportedly forced from their homes in Myanmar, the highest such figure in 10 years.

– In March, the army forced approximately 200 households in Nansang township, Shan state, to move in preparation for the construction of a new regional command base.
– In April, soldiers burned down around 70 homes in seven villages in Mong Pieng township, Shan state, accusing the residents of supporting an armed group.
– In May, 1,200 refugees from Kyain Seikgyi township in Kayin state fled to Thailand.

“In many cases, authorities prevented humanitarian agencies from entering conflict-affected areas so that they were unable to reach tens of thousands of people displaced by the fighting or the army, especially those in camps on the Myanmar-China border. In Chin state and other ethnic minority areas, the government maintained lengthy and complex administrative procedures for obtaining travel permits both for humanitarian agencies that already have a presence and for new ones seeking permission to work in the country.

“Ethnic minority Rohingyas continued to face discrimination and repression primarily in Rakhine state and remained unrecognized as citizens. As a result, many continued to leave Myanmar on their own or were smuggled out, either overland to Bangladesh or on boats during the “sailing season”, in the first and final months of the year.

Forced labour

“In June, the ILO noted that there had been “no substantive progress” towards compliance with the 1998 ILO Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations on forced labour. On 12 August, Information Minister Kyaw Hsan stated that Myanmar was “almost free from forced labour”. In November, the ILO said that forced labour complaints in Myanmar had increased to an average of 30 per month since March compared with 21 per month for the same period in 2010, 10 per month in 2009, and five per month in both 2008 and 2007.

Approximately 75 per cent of these complaints related to under-age recruitment into the army, with the remainder pertaining to trafficking for forced labour and military forced labour. Labour activists and political prisoners U Thurein Aung, U Wai Lin, U Nyi Nyi Zaw, U Kyaw Kyaw, U Kyaw Win and U Myo Min remained in prison, as reportedly did 16 others.

In October, Myanmar border security forces in Rakhine state’s Maungdaw township forced villagers to carry out construction work at a military camp.

In August and early September, a government official in Chin State reportedly ordered civil servants to carry out manual forced labour in the capital Hakha.

Freedom of religion or belief

“Violations of the right to religious freedom affected every religious group in Myanmar. Buddhist monks who participated in the 2007 anti-government demonstrations continued to be arrested, ill-treated and harassed. Muslim Rohingyas were suppressed and forced to relocate on religious as well as ethnic grounds. Christian religious sites were relocated or destroyed.

On 9 August, soldiers set fire to the Mong Khawn monastery in Mansi township, Kachin state, apparently because they suspected that the monks had provided support to the KIA.
On 10 September, authorities in Htantlang village in Htantlang township, Chin state, ordered a Chin Christian preacher not to speak at a local church and to leave the area.
On 14 October, authorities in Hpakant township, Kachin state, ordered local Christian churches to request permission at least 15 days in advance to carry out many religious activities.
On 6 November, soldiers opened fire on a Christian church in Muk Chyik village, Waingmaw township in Kachin state, injuring several worshippers.

Impunity

“Government officials and military personnel who committed human rights violations, including some on a widespread or systematic basis, remained free from prosecution. Article 445 of the 2008 Constitution codifies total impunity for past violations. In September, the President appointed a National Human Rights Commission whose mandate included receiving and investigating human rights complaints, but

“Myanmar’s justice system continued to demonstrate a lack of impartiality and independence from the government. In January, the government stated that there was “no widespread occurrence of human rights violations with impunity” in Myanmar.

Political prisoners

“In May, the Myanmar government released at least 72 political prisoners under a one-year reduction of all prison sentences in the country. In October, it released 241 more political prisoners. However, few of those freed were from ethnic minorities. More than 1,000 political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, remained behind bars, but exact figures were uncertain due to Myanmar’s opaque prison system, differences in definitions of what constitutes a political prisoner, and ongoing arrests.

In February, a court sentenced Maung Maung Zeya, a reporter with Democratic Voice of Burma – a media outlet based outside Myanmar – to 13 years in prison for peaceful activities.
On 26 August, Nay Myo Zin, a former military officer and member of an NLD-supported blood donation group, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression.
On 14 September, Democratic Voice of Burma reporter Sithu Zeya, already serving an eight-year prison term, was sentenced to a further 10 years under the Electronic Transactions Act.

“Political prisoners continued to be subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and very poor prison conditions.

In February, Htet Htet Oo Wei, who was suffering from a number of health problems, was placed in solitary confinement reportedly for making too much noise. She was denied family visits and parcels.
In February, authorities in Yangon’s Insein prison placed political prisoner Phyo Wei Aung in solitary confinement for a month, after he complained about fellow inmates bullying other prisoners.
In May, at least 20 political prisoners in Insein prison went on hunger strike to protest the government’s limited release of such prisoners that month and to demand better prison conditions. As punishment, seven were placed in cells designed to hold dogs.
In July, the Monywa prison authorities in Sagaing division withdrew visitation rights to Nobel Aye (aka Hnin May Aung), after she urged high-ranking officials to withdraw recent public statements that claimed there were no political prisoners in Myanmar.
In October, 15 political prisoners in Insein staged a hunger strike in protest against the denial of sentence reductions for political prisoners, in contrast to criminal convicts. Some were reportedly deprived of drinking water and were otherwise ill-treated. Eight of them were placed in “dog cells”.
In October, information emerged that U Gambira, a Buddhist monk and leader of the 2007 anti-government demonstrations, was seriously ill and being held in solitary confinement. He had been suffering from severe headaches, possibly due to torture he was subjected to in prison in 2009. Prison authorities were reported to be regularly injecting him with drugs to sedate him.

International scrutiny

“In January, Myanmar’s human rights record was assessed under the UN Universal Periodic Review. In March, Latvia and Denmark added their support for the creation of a UN Commission of Inquiry into international crimes in Myanmar, bringing the total number of supporting countries to 16. Despite a January call by ASEAN to lift economic sanctions against Myanmar, the EU and the USA extended their sanctions.

“However, in April the EU eased travel restrictions on 24 officials. In May and October, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Myanmar visited the country.

“President Thein Sein visited China in May and India in October. After being denied a visa in 2010 and earlier in the year, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar visited in August. The US Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Burma visited in September, October, and November. In September, the ICRC was authorized for the first time since 2005 to conduct an international staff-led engineering survey in three of Myanmar’s prisons. After a year-long debate, Myanmar was named Chair of Asean for 2014 in November. In December, for the first time in over 50 years, the U.S. Secretary of State visited Myanmar.

Private Equity Funds Line Up $500 Million for Myanmar

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Juergen Ritterbach | The Image Bank | Getty Images

Hong Kong's Cube Capital and Marc Faber-backed Leopard Capital are among Asian private equity firms lining up nearly $500 million aimed at Myanmar, hoping to tap into its rich natural resources and fill its infrastructure void, as sanctions on the former pariah state are lifted.

After 50 years of military rule, Myanmar is one of Asia's poorest countries, but with abundant resources like oil and gemstones, it's one of the last untapped frontier markets. Dramatic political reforms have opened the path to oreign financial investments, though putting money to work there is expected to take time.

Leopard Capital, whose chairman is emerging markets investing guru Faber, plans to raise a $100 million fund dedicated to Myanmar, founder Douglas Clayton told Reuters.

"Myanmar's been on our list for a long time, but it wasn't the right time until recently," said Clayton, who has been visiting the country for the last 20 years.

Others drawing up plans include Cube, which could invest around a third of its up to $200 million fund invest in Myanmar, and the Indochina Opportunities Fund, a joint venture between Vietnam's Dragon Capital and private equity firm Frontier Investment & Development Partners, which has dedicated a portion of a $250 million fund to Myanmar.

Hong Kong-based Bagan Capital is raising $50 million for the country, and Link Road Capital Management, co-founded by Patricia Higase, a Japanese investor with Myanmarese roots, also plans to raise a fund.

Northstar, an affiliate of global private equity giant TPG Capital, is already scouting targets in Myanmar, after years of focusing its deals within Indonesia. The firm's latest $820 million fund is Indonesia's largest, but 15-20 percent of that money could be invested outside the country, one source told Reuters.

In response to the recent political reforms in Myanmar, the United States moved to suspend sanctions on the country last week, after similar moves from the European Union, Japan and Australia.

After years of isolation, the country has development needs in almost all its industries and the easing of restrictions are set to allow a flood of investments into the country.

Leopard Capital this week took 35 investors into Yangon to meet companies there, said Clayton.

Promising annual returns of around 30 percent, the firm will partner with Asian multinational companies to focus on investment opportunities in Myanmar's real estate, financial services, infrastructure and utilities sectors, he said.

The country's hotel industry is another area Leopard is eyeing, with tight supply causing Myanmar rooms to cost 4-5 times more than those in Cambodia, he said.

Risks

Myanmar plans to set up a securities exchange by 2015 with the help of the Tokyo Stock Exchange [.N225 8580.39

] and Daiwa Securities Group.

Still, the private equity opportunities, while open season, come with heavy risks.

The country so far lacks a clear legal framework to protect private and foreign investors, and allow capital repatriation, said Suvir Varma, Asia head of private equity at Bain & Company.

One challenge is a paucity of privately owned companies, with many of the major groups still tied to the government.

"It will be a hotbed of private equity investing in a few years time, but right now it's still too early," said Raj Rajkumar, Partner at Symphony Asia Holdings.

Malaysia-based Navis Capital, which has been investing in Southeast Asia for over two decades and manages $3 billion in funds, is not planning to do direct investments in Myanmar, said its managing partner Nicholas Bloy.

Instead, Navis seeks exposure to the country by investing in companies with regional operations and the potential to expand into Myanmar.

For example, Navis owns Singapore container storage firm Eng Kong Holdings, which could expand its port services to Myanmar when trade between the country and its Southeast Asian neighbours starts to thrive, Bloy said.

Comparing Myanmar to Indonesia a decade ago, he estimates that Myanmar may need another 10-12 years before it's ready for mainstream institutional private equity to invest in.

"The risk of being embarrassed in Myanmar is greater than the opportunity right now, if you're an institutional investor or a fiduciary," Bloy said.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Myanmar police move against spreading power protests

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Protesters hold candles during a candlelight vigil in downtown Yangon, Myanmar on May. 22. Myanmar's government made an uncharacteristic plea for understanding after chronic power cuts set off rare protests in the Southeast Asian country that is easing toward democracy after decades of military rule. (AP Photo)

YANGON -- Myanmar police broke up a protest against power cuts by several hundred people in the town of Pyi on May 24 and five members of Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party were taken in for questioning, a senior party official said.

Bono to appear on stage with Suu Kyi at concert during whistle-stop tour

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Bono has long been a vocal supporter of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi

BONO will appear on stage with Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi when she attends a special concert in her honour here next month.
A theatrical celebration has been planned for Ms Suu Kyi in the Bord Gais Theatre in Dublin's docklands on June 18. Ms Suu Kyi will attend the event as part of a whistle-stop visit to Dublin.
While U2 will not appear as a band, Bono has not ruled out making a musical contribution on the evening, according to sources close to the group.
The singer campaigned for many years on behalf of Ms Suu Kyi (66) and prominently featured her 15 years of house arrest in Burma during the band's performances.
The visit is being organised by Amnesty International and Art for Amnesty founder Bill Shipsey has promised a "special event to mark the occasion".
Ms Suu Kyi will be presented with Amnesty International's most prestigious award -- Ambassador of Conscience -- at the concert.
It is understood that the human rights organisation asked Dublin entrepreneur Harry Crosbie to stage the event in the theatre.
Mr Crosbie, who produced a concert for Queen Elizabeth's visit last year at the Convention Centre in the capital, was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Sources close to Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore confirmed that the Burmese opposition leader would, however, not be staying overnight in Dublin.
"Ms Suu Kyi will only be in Dublin for half a day or less and the concert will be the focal point, where she will receive awards and plaudits, but no details have been finalised," said the source.
Although she will address both Houses of Parliament at Westminster in London after she leaves Ireland, it is understood that there are no plans for her to address the houses of the Oireachtas.
"The Government will be happy to facilitate anything for the celebrated visitor but they are aware Ms Suu Kyi is a guest of Amnesty International," the source said.
Prize
Ms Suu Kyi is expected to fly to Dublin from Oslo where she will formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to her in 1991.
In Dublin Ms Suu Kyi will be presented with a number of honours awarded to her during her years of house arrest, including the freedom of Dublin city, granted to her in 2000 alongside the members of U2.
Earlier this month in Burma, Ms Suu Kyi was sworn in as an MP after her National League for Democracy won 43 seats in parliament.
Although the ruling military junta kept her under house arrest for 15 years, Ms Suu Kyi was always free to leave Burma -- but she refused, fearing she would not be readmitted.
Her European tour marks the first trip outside Burma since 1988. After her release from house arrest in 2010, Ms Suu Kyi said she wanted to develop closer ties with Ireland.
Mr Gilmore said he looked forward to discussing how Ireland can assist the people of Burma with Ms Suu Kyi.

- Sam Smyth

Irish Independent

Myanmar police move against spreading power protests

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By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar police broke up a protest against power cuts by several hundred people in the town of Pyi on Thursday and briefly held five people for questioning, including a member of Aung San Suu Kyi's party, party officials said.

Several members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) were also detained for questioning in the early hours in the city of Mandalay, where protests over electricity outages first started on Sunday.

Demonstrations have taken place in several urban centres this week, including the commercial capital, Yangon, as citizens test the limits of democratic changes in Myanmar, leaving the authorities struggling to respond.

Until now, security forces have allowed the peaceful demonstrations to go ahead and the civilian government, which took over from a repressive junta in March last year and has eased restrictions on demonstrations, has promised emergency measures to increase the electricity supply.

"So far as I heard from our members in the region, there was a protest of about 400 people at least," NLD official Nyan Win said, referring to the area around Pyi, about 260 km (160 miles) northwest of Yangon.

Nyan Win initially said five NLD members were picked up for questioning but Ba Shi, an NLD member in Pyi, said four of the people were members of a human rights group. Ba Shi said they were freed after brief detention at a prison, where a crowd had assembled to demand their release.

Tint Swe, an NLD committee member in Mandalay, told Reuters that he and two other party members were picked up by police at around 5 a.m. (2230 GMT on Wednesday) and questioned about who was behind the protests. They were treated well and taken home about five hours later, he said.

State television said on Wednesday six generators bought from U.S. firm Caterpillar Inc would be air-freighted within a week and two 25-megawatt gas turbines would be bought from General Electric Coto tackle the power shortage.

Urgent repairs would be carried out on power stations damaged in fighting with ethnic Kachin rebels, it added.

For decades, military authorities crushed protests against their rule, which often began because of frustration over bread-and-butter issues. The biggest and bloodiest uprisings against military rule, in 1988 and 2007, were sparked by economic grievances including soaring prices.

"WAIT AND SEE"

This week's marches pose a problem for reformist President Thein Sein - himself a former junta general - who has freed hundreds of political prisoners, relaxed state censorship, started peace talks with ethnic rebels and held by-elections that put Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi in parliament.

But the political and economic reforms are likely to raise expectations that both the government and the opposition led by Suu Kyi might struggle to meet.

Heavy-handed tactics to end the protests would be seized upon by government critics sceptical about the reforms, while the authorities will worry the demonstrations could spread.

The disturbances come as Suu Kyi, who spent 15 years in detention under the junta, is planning her first foreign trip in 24 years with a visit to Thailand next week for an economic conference. Under military rule, she refused to leave Myanmar, afraid she would not be allowed back.

The demonstrations are also taking place as employees of about 10 firms in industrial zones around Yangon have held strikes over pay and labour rights.

It was not clear if the protests over power cuts would fizzle or blow up into a broader show of dissatisfaction.

Some residents in Mandalay and Yangon said the power supply had improved there on Wednesday night, although activist Ko Htin Kyaw, 49, said Yangon suburbs were still experiencing outages.

"We have to wait and see whether they are as good as their word. This is not the first time they've said that," he said.

The protesters accuse the former junta of enriching themselves at the public's expense by selling natural gas to neighbouring China while Myanmar, among Asia's poorest nations, faces frequent power outages.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters in Beijing electricity deals involving Chinese firms were legal and protesters' anger was directed at Myanmar's overstretched power grid rather than China's energy imports.

Hong said China was willing to help Myanmar improve its power grid. Consumption in Myanmar, where only 25 percent of the population has access to the national grid, is one of the lowest in the world, averaging 104 kilowatts an hour per person, near the same level as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nepal, according to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Thu Rein Hlaing and Jason Szep in Yangon; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Martin Petty and Robert Birsel)

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