Submission of suggestions on political situations in Burma/Myanmar

To: H.E. Mr. Banki-moon
The Secretary-General
Nations Organization

From: United Nationalities Alliance (UNA)
Rangoon, Burma

Date: June 25, 2009

Subject: Submission of suggestions on political situations in Burma/Myanmar

Your Excellency,

We, United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), have the honor to submit this letter of suggestions to help you solve the very complicated political situations of Burma/Myanmar which become worse and worse day after day by the powe-mongers, the top generals of SPDC, who want to maintain the state power in their hands against the will of people of country and international community. In spite of this, we are fully confident that Your Excellency could handle the matters according to the mandates of the UN bodies such as: the Presidential Statement of the UNSC on (11.10.2007), successive resolutions of the UN General Assemblies since 1994 and the power of Your Excellency’s good office.

We, United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), Strongly believe and have determined that every political dispute should be discussed and solved by negotiating on table by political ways and means. Especially in Burma/Myanmar a meaningful dialogue between government and oppositions must be introduced to implement political negotiations step by step. And release of all political prisoners, especially Daw Aung San su Kyi, leader fNLD and Khun Tun Oo, the leader of our UNA and ethnic groups is the first and foremost important to participate in the first round talk of dialogue.

So, we would like to suggest to Your Excellency to make more appropriate pressures upon the junta to accept and implement the imperative steps of:

(a) All political prisoners be released immediately and unconditionally

(b) Negotiation between the junta, democratic forces led by Daw Aung San Su Kyi and ethnic nationalities led by Khun Htun Oo be made.

In the ethnic nationalities category, representatives of ethnic political parties, seased fire groups, non-ceased fire groups and other ethnic activist abroad must have particaipted in the dialogue process. If it is permited, we undertake the responsibility of organizing these different ethnic nationalities groups.

We thank Your Excellency very much indeed and wish for Your Excellency’s well being and success.

With best regards,
United Nationalities Alliance (UNA)

Copy to: H.E. Mr, Ibraham A. Gambari
Special Advisor to Secretary – General Mr.Banki-moon

News & Articles on Burma, Tuesday, 07 April 2009

NCGUB: News & Articles on Burma
Tuesday, 07 April 2009
==============================================
Government troops attack rebel outpost
KIA?s second leader passed away
Arsenic found in 2 traditional Myanmar medicines, AS
Burma claims a strengthening economy
Local Firms Hesitant Toward Burmese Bid to Attract Investment in Plantations
Beverages in Burma under inspection for containing banned chemical dye
Myanmar PM to attend ASEAN summits with other regional countries
HIFF adds showing of controversial "Burma VJ"
Visitors to Myanmar dip on crackdown, typhoon
Veteran journalist Newton Gunarathna takes oaths as Myanmar ambassador
Obama Puts Global Engagement to the Test
Fence will hit those dependent on Bangladeshi services
========================
Government troops attack rebel outpost

Apr 7, 2009 (DVB)?Government military troops and fighters from a pro-junta ceasefire army attacked and captured an outpost close to a strategically important base of a prominent rebel group last week.
Burmese military personnel and troops from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army launched a raid on a base belonging to the Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the opposition group Karen National Union.
Lieutenant Kyi Aung, an official at the KNU base in Karen state?s Walakee region, said the attack on Saturday was the government?s first step in their plan to take control of the main base.
The base is located in a crucial position for regional trade and strategic military routes.
?Our soldiers [who fled the outpost] said the DKBA attacked them from behind while coming in from the Thai side,? said Kyi Aung.
He said the attack from government forces in the area continued over the weekend.
The DKBA split from the KNU in 1994, initially presenting itself as an alternative to the KNU before allying itself with the government.
Last week, the son of a former KNU leader joined another pro-government splinter group, the KNU Peace Council.
With three Karen splinter groups now allied to the ruling State Peace and Development Council, some Burmese military analysts have speculated that the recent attack by Burmese troops could be due to information supplied by the defectors.
Casualties from the latest assault are unknown.

Reporting by Soe Naing
==========================
KIA?s second leader passed away
by Salai Pi Pi
Monday, 06 April 2009 18:03

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Burmese cease-fire ethnic group, Kachin Independent Army (KIA)?s Deputy Chief of Staff, Brigadier Hpung Gan Zau Nan was died of Liver Cancer in it headquarter on Chino-Burma border.
An official from KIA, armed wing of Kachin Independent Organization (KIO) said in anonymity condition that Brigadier Hpung Gan Zau Nan was died in KIA?s Army hospital in Laiza in Kachin state at 10:10 AM on Monday.
?He was died of Liver Cancer this morning,? an official from KIA told Mizzima on Monday.
When Mizzima asked KIA official on how much the death of their leader will impact on the course of it organization, he said, ?It too early say anything on his death. We need to sit for meeting.?
Zau Nan was the former commander of Brigade 4 before he was being promoted to the present rank Deputy Commander-in-chief of Kachin Armed group, according to KIA official.
Meanwhile, Speaking to Mizzima, Chino-Burma border based Burmese military observer Aung Kyaw Zaw said, Zau Nan was known for his moderate in nationalism and skill in public relation.
?He was well-verse in communicate with the comrades from senior and junior. Not like other he was also very moderate in nationalism,? said Aung Kyaw Zaw.
?I think it was a great lost for KIA and KIO losing such a good person like him,? he added.
KIA formed in February 1961, fight for state independent. KIA reached a ceasefire agreement with the military regime in February 1994.
The delegates of KIO also joined the regime?s 15 year long national convention that drafted national constitution endorsed last year.

Moreover, Dr. Tuja, KIO Vice-chairman said, some civilian leaders of KIO, in the form of different party, are preparing to contest in the regime?s upcoming election slated in 2010.
=========================
Arsenic found in 2 traditional Myanmar medicines, AS
4/7/2009, 4:35 a.m. EDT
The Associated Press

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) ? YANGON, Myanmar (AP) ? Myanmar's Health Ministry has banned two popular traditional medicines commonly used to treat children's colds after tests showed they contain arsenic, an official said.
The official at the ministry's Food and Drug Administration said late Monday that the two medicines were not suitable for consumption. He declined to give details apart from confirming the ban, which was announced over the weekend by a state-run newspaper.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The ban has alarmed parents and consumers in military-ruled Myanmar, where some shops have continued to sell the medicines ? "Daw Htway" and "Daw Kyin." Both are widely used, particularly among rural households which prefer cheaper, traditional medicines to more expensive Western ones.
Licorice, camphor and garlic are among the 19 ingredients listed on a packet of Daw Htway, which costs 250 kyat (25 cents).
"We still sell these two brands because they are very popular," said the owner of a Yangon shop that sells traditional medicine. "I saw the announcement in the newspaper but I still sell them." He declined to give his name for fear of authorities closing his shop.
Arsenic has been linked to numerous health problems, including cancer.
Officials for the companies that make the medicines could not be immediately reached for comment. A phone call to Daw Htway was answered by a woman who identified herself as a "relative" of the family-run company's owner who she said was "surprised" by the ban.
"We have produced this medicine since the time of our great grandparents a hundred years ago," said the woman, who requested anonymity.
"We use the ingredients used by our ancestors. We don't have any scientific labs to test the samples," she said. "Our brand has been on the market with the approval of the Health Ministry."
Thet Thin, a 48-year-old mother of two in Yangon, the biggest city in Myanmar, said she has used Daw Kyin for her toddlers since they were born.
"I use it when they have a cough and cold and other general illnesses," the mother said. "I don't know what to do and I'm worried about the health consequences."
The medicine ban was the latest health scare in Myanmar.
The Health Ministry last month banned 100 brands of pickled tea leaves, a popular snack food found to contain Auramine O, a harmful chemical dye, commonly used to dye cotton, wool, silk and leather.
"I don't know what's safe," said carpenter Khin Maung Than, 57, who has used Daw Htway for his infant son. "We've been eating pickled tea for years, and now children's medicine has arsenic."

The Health Ministry will continue testing traditional medicines on the market, recent newspaper reports said.
========================
Burma claims a strengthening economy

Apr 7, 2009 (DVB)?Whilst world leaders gathered in London last week to discuss ways to combat the global economic crisis, the Burmese prime minister surprised listeners at home with news of an apparent 10 per cent rise in the country?s GDP.
In a week in which the leaders of the world?s largest economies flew to London for G20 talks aimed at rescuing themselves from the recession, Prime Minister Thein Sein broke the news that the economy of one of the world?s least developed countries was in good health.
According to figures cited by the prime minister at an annual meeting of private business owners in the capital Naypyidaw on 31 March, gross domestic product had risen by 10.4 per cent between 2008 and 2009.
There had, in fact, been an increase in agricultural produce, he added, despite last year?s cyclone Nargis destroying some 600,000 hectares of farmland.
?The situation is worse here as the storm hit an essential area,? countered one farmer from Kyunthaya village in the Irrawaddy delta.
?I could till only 50 acres out of one hundred this year,? she added.
The prime ministers comments have, unsurprisingly, been met with suspicion.
Sein Htay, program coordinator and researcher at the Washington-based Burma Fund, who worked with the former government Burma Socialist Programme Party, said that tweaking figures was an old tactic used to boost the government?s image.
?The government aimed for a certain percentage growth in the country's economy?and Burma always wanted to say that they hit their target every year,? he said.
"Based on my personal experiences with the BSPP?s Project Planning department, the number would even go higher than their proposed target in some years.?
According to the prime minister, average monthly income for the last fiscal year was 40,000 kyat ($US40).
A high school teacher in Irrawaddy division said however that, despite teachers not being the lowest paid in the civil service, they still had to start on a salary of around 20,000 to 30,000 kyat ($US20-30) a month.
?There are many more people who are worse paid and unemployed in Burma and the claim of Thein Sein that Burmese people on average have an income of 40,000 kyat a month is far from the truth,? he said.
The reason the Burmese economy has not yet collapsed is due to money gained from selling off the vast gas reserves, said Sein Htay, adding however that the money was being mismanaged.
?They built [the new capital] Naypyidaw and pocketed the money and they build nuclear reactors and buy military equipment for the army,? he said.
?That's why there is no productivity, as there have been no reinvestments in industrial and economic sections.
?In Burma, army cronyism causes the public to be poor, and only army-owned companies and companies who work with them are rich,? he added.

Reporting by Htet Aung Kyaw
==============================
The Jakarta Globe
April 6, 2009
Arti Ekawati
Local Firms Hesitant Toward Burmese Bid to Attract Investment in Plantations

Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono says the Burmese government has invited Indonesian companies to invest in developing that country?s oil palm and rubber plantations, although business players at home say they will have to first see for themselves whether conditions in Burma are favorable.
Commenting on his recent visits to Burma, Laos and Cambodia, Anton said on Monday, ?Myanmar has specifically asked Indonesia to invest in its plantation sector,? referring to Burma.
?Given the fact that they have plenty of suitable land, Indonesian firms may be interested in investing there.?
However, Anton did not mention how much land was actually involved, saying that the proposal had been made by the Burmese government in the form of a diplomatic request.
Derom Bangun, vice chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Council, or DMSI, welcomed the offer. However, he said, there were two factors that had to be considered by investors before establishing plantations.
The first factor would be the weather. Plantations located in Burma, Derom said, might receive less sunlight than plantations in some parts of Indonesia.
?The oil palm grows best in sunny areas,? Derom said. Interested companies, therefore, would have to make sure that the weather in the proposed areas was suitable for the development of oil palm plantations.
Another factor that would need to be taken into account, he said, was the country?s investment climate.
?We need to consider whether the local laws allow a company to manage extensive areas of plantations,? he said.
Derom pointed out that in Indonesia, a plantation company is allowed to manage a maximum of two million hectares of land, and must also fulfill requirements related to corporate social responsibility.
Besides investing in the plantations sector, the two countries have also agreed to increase cooperation in the agricultural products trade.
Given its population and geographical location, Anton said, Burma could become a good market for Indonesia?s agricultural products.
Burma has a population of about 56 million people and shares borders with Thailand, China, Bangladesh and India.
Many Indonesian processed food products, as well as agricultural machinery, are sold in Burma, the minister said. However, these are currently imported through third countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
?We could avail of this opportunity to start supplying products directly to Burma,? Anton said.
To help promote trade, the government would provide free agricultural machinery to Burma and Cambodia this year.
?We gave 13 hand tractors to Laos during our visit, and we plan to make similar donations to Burma and Cambodia later this year,? the minister said.
Indonesia?s imports from Burma are mostly comprised of beans, red onions and canned fish, while Burma imports palm oil for cooking and cigarettes from Indonesia.

==========================
Beverages in Burma under inspection for containing banned chemical dye
by Phanida
Monday, 06 April 2009 21:39

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) ? Burmese military junta authorities have started inspecting food and soft drinks in Burma, to check whether they are tainted with a chemical dye, which is dangerous for health of the people.
This latest move was initiated after the authorities banned over 100 brands of pickled tea leaves for using a banned chemical dye, 'Auramine O'. The authorities also recently, banned two alternative medicines for the high content of lead and arsenic in the products.
"We are inspecting all products, including soft drinks, fish paste, dried fish etc. We are inspecting soft drinks of domestic-make found in the market. Some of them are officially permitted brands," Chairman of 'Food and Drug Administration' (FDA), Dr. Kyaw Lin, told Mizzima.
"We have already tested samples of these soft drinks before production. But, the market survey is more important, so we are focusing on the market survey. We inspected all the brands, so as not to leave anything untested," he added.
The brands of domestically produced soft drinks are Scorpion, C +, Ve Ve, Max, Stan Crusher produced by Myanmar Golden Star (MGS), Pepsi, Sparking and Fantasy Orange among others.
A reliable source from Scorpion Soft Drink Trading and Distribution said that they had not yet received any notice from the department concerned, and they were distributing their products as usual to their customers.
"Scorpion is not yet included in the list of banned products. I do not know whether other brands are included in this list or not. So, we are continuing our sale to the customer companies. The buyers are still buying our products. We have not yet heard any significant news regarding it. We must inform our company, when we hear such news as we are agents for them. The ban order must be made public officially in newspapers," he said.
They buy these products from Pholapye Co. in wholesale and redistribute them.
The officials from the Health Department have not yet visited Pholapye Co. and have not yet banned their products, he added.
It has been learnt that local food and drug administration committees have been formed in each township.
The committee consists of a Township Medical Officer, a Township Health Department Officer, and responsible persons from the municipal body, police force, General Administration Department and Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department.
"These committees are in every township. They will inspect all the products, banned by the government as unfit for consumption in Burma, and recall these products from the shelves and destroy them in the presence of the shop owners. They can also inform about putting these products in the market again, depending on how much they are working," Dr. Kyaw Lin said.
It has also been learnt that no new rules and regulations have been announced yet and these tainted products will be removed in accordance with the existing National Food and Drug Law.
"They will know our Burma Food and Drug Administration regime in this way. We do not need to issue any new regulations. These regulations and rules are already in existence. We need to take action in accordance with them, such as the National Food and Drug Law. We will continue to enforce this law," Dr. Kyaw Lin said.
In today's edition of the state-run 'New Light of Myanmar', it has been reported that in a forum held in Rangoon, Liver Disease specialist, Professor Dr. Khin Maung Win, said that it had been found meat, fish and dried shrimps were tainted with chemical dyes for preservation and to artificially seem fresh. And also the salt found in the market was bleached with chemicals to whiten the product, which is originally brown, he added.
Fruits such as apples, grapes, papaya and watermelon were also dyed with chemicals to make them colourful and attractive to the customers. These banned chemicals, were also found in some snacks such as tea, roasted peanuts, cakes, phaluda and plums, the paper reported citing Dr. Khin Maung Win.
The state-run papers also explicitly announced on March 12 and March 29, that the Ministry of Health had banned 43 pickled tea leaf brands, including famous 'Ahyeetaung' and other 57 brands of pickled tea leaves for being tainted with the banned chemical dye called 'Auramine O'.
'Auramine O' is the industrial chemical dye usually used in dyeing of yarn, wool, silk, paper and hides, which may cause liver and renal diseases, cancer and may also affect the growth of the body if it is consumed for a long time.
=======================
Myanmar PM to attend ASEAN summits with other regional countries
www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-07 10:48:09

YANGON, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein will attend some summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with other regional countries as well as the United Nations scheduled to take place in Pattaya, Thailand, an official announcement from Nay Pyi Taw said Tuesday without specifying the date of his attendance.
The last 14th ASEAN Summit was held in Hua Hin, Thailand in February-March this year which Thein Sein also attended at the invitation of his Thai counterpart Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Myanmar has called for boosting economic cooperation among ASEAN members to win more development in the region.
Hailing some outcome of the last 14th ASEAN Summit, Myanmar said "ASEAN countries can enjoy greater regional development in the near future if they keep on boosting trade and investment cooperation in the economic sector in accordance with the fine tradition of their unity".
Noting that ASEAN is now trying hard to boost regional economic cooperation as part of the drive for establishing ASEAN economic community by 2015, Myanmar pointed out that being rich in natural and human resources, ASEAN region has economic opportunities and attracts the attention of investor.
Also taking note of that ASEAN members have endorsed the Declaration on Roadmap for ASEAN Community, Myanmar predicts that when ASEAN community emerges, the peoples of ASEAN members will be able to enjoy progress in the sectors of peace, stability, prosperity, social affairs and culture.
The Hua Hin ASEAN summit held discussions on the implementation of ASEAN Charter and exchanged views on regional and international issues, global financial crisis, disaster management, food and energy security, and regional and international situation.
At the summit, the ASEAN heads of government signed the Declaration on Roadmap for ASEAN Community.
More agreements were also inked which are -- ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement, ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement, Protocol to Implement the 7th Package of Commitments under ASEAN Framework Agreement on Service, and three programs for mutual recognition of ASEAN Quality.
Myanmar, which joined the ASEAN along with Laos in July 1997, ratified the ASEAN Charter in July last year.
Myanmar has urged its people to strive together in building the ASEAN community, anticipating that the future emergence of the ASEAN community by 2015 will benefit Myanmar citizens along with other regional members in sharing the fruits of peace and stability, prosperity and socio-cultural development.
ASEAN's three pillars are known as political security community, economic community and socio-culture community.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Editor: An
=========================
Monday, April 6, 2009
HIFF adds showing of controversial "Burma VJ"

A controversial film about the Burmese rebellion of 2007 has been added to HIFF's Spring Showcase where it will have its Hawaii premiere at 9:15 p.m. Tuesday.
"Burma VJ" is a documentary from Danish director Anders Ostergaard and will screen at the Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Cinemas. The film runs 85 minutes and is in Burmese with English subtitles.
The documentary is compelling in nature. Armed with pocket-sized video cameras, a tenacious band of Burmese reporters face down death to expose the repressive regime controlling their country.
In 2007, after decades of self-imposed silence, Burma became headline news across the globe when peaceful Buddhist monks led a massive rebellion. More than 100,000 people took to the streets protesting a cruel dictatorship that has held the country hostage for more than 40 years. Foreign news crews were banned, the Internet was shut down, and Burma was closed to the outside world.
The Democratic Voice of Burma ? the Burma VJs ? compiled handheld footage even as they themselves become the target of the Burmese government.
The spring showcase started this past Friday and ends Thursday.

For more information visit www.hiff.org.
========================
Visitors to Myanmar dip on crackdown, typhoon

YANGON (Kyodo) The number of Japanese tourists who visited Myanmar plunged 55 percent last year, according to the latest available official data.
Some 4,413 Japanese arrived on tourist visas at international airports in Myanmar from January to December, down from 9,889 in 2007, figures from the Central Statistical Organization show.
Last year, 261,472 international tourists visited Myanmar, down 17 percent from 314,224 in 2007.
Tourism suffered due to the military crackdown on prodemocracy protesters in September 2007 and Cyclone Nargis, which hit in May 2008 and left more than 130,000 people dead or missing.
The Japan Times: Tuesday, April 7, 2009
(C) All rights reserved
====================
Veteran journalist Newton Gunarathna takes oaths as Myanmar ambassador
Tue, 2009-04-07 00:28
Nay Pyi Taw, 07 April, (Asiantribune.com): Veteran journalist Newton Gunarathna took oaths as the Ambassador to the Union of Myanmar last week. And, the new ambassador presented his Credentials to Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State peace and Development Council of Myanmar on April 01, 2009.
He took oaths on April 01, 2009 at Bayintnaung Yeiktha in Nay Pyi Taw, the new capital city of the Union of Myanmar. Secretary -1, General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo, Minister of Foreign Affairs U Nyan Win, Director-General of the Protocol Department U Kyaw Kyaw and Indika Premadasa (from Embassy of Sri Lanka in Myanmar) were also present at the Credential ceremony.
Newton Gunarathna started his career as a journalist from the grass roots level. As a print journalist, he made immense contributions to local journalism, and, later in 1994, he took office as the Independent Television Network (ITN) chairman under Chandrika Bandaranayaka regime and he started Lakhanda FM radio station during his tenure at ITN. The veteran journalist knew well that he has two products to offer. Its content to viewers, and, then, the audience to advertisers.
In recognition of his journalistic excellence, President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed him as the Presidential Advisor on media relations. And, now, utilizing his rare skills in diplomatic relations, he has been appointed as the ambassador to Myanmar. Newton Gunarathna is the first journalist to be appointed as an ambassador representing Sri Lanka.

- Asian Tribune -
====================
April 7, 2009
Obama Puts Global Engagement to the Test

President Obama is about to test an important proposition ? that the United States can more effectively improve even the worst global institutions by participating in them than by shunning them.
In this case, the institution is the United Nations Human Rights Council, for which the Obama Administration has applied for U.S. membership, reversing a longstanding policy of the Bush Administration.
When the U.N. General Assembly approves its application in May, as it surely will, the United States will face the challenge of re-directing one of the U.N.?s most notorious and ill-named panels.
The United States can make progress, but only if it seizes the opportunity of council membership to promote its own values of human rights. What it must not do is go along to get along ? that is, object too tepidly to the council?s likely activities and, by doing so, give those activities more legitimacy on the world stage.
The United Nations created its Human Rights Council in 2006 to replace its discredited Human Rights Commission. If anything, the council has proved more a human rights embarrassment than its predecessor.
Membership in the 47-seat council is dominated by African and Asian regional groups, which together control 26 seats. These groups, in turn, are dominated by the influential Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
The council includes some of the world?s worst human rights abusers, and it avoids discussion of the world?s worst human rights situations. It has not condemned ethnic cleansing in Sudan, it recently stopped investigating bloodshed in Congo and it largely ignores day-to-day human rights abuses from Cuba to Burma to Zimbabwe.
Instead, the council focuses almost singularly on Israel, the Middle East?s lone democracy but a nation to which many council members are reflexively hostile. The council reserves one permanent agenda item for condemning Israel and another for investigating human rights in the rest of the world, says the Hudson Institute?s Anne Bayefsky, who edits the newsletter www.EyeontheUN.org.
Not surprisingly, the council has issued the vast majority of its condemnations against the Jewish State ? more than against all other nations combined. It also has barred Israel from participating in any of its five regional groups through which council members share information and plot strategy.
The council?s other preoccupation of late is a move to outlaw criticism of Islam. It recently passed a resolution that encourages nations to provide legal ?protections? against ?acts of hatred, discrimination, intimidation and coercion? that arise from ?defamation of religions? or ?incitement to religious hatred.?
Though it refers to religion in general, the resolution is clearly designed to prevent criticism of Islam. The resolution states that ?Islam is frequently and wrongly associated with human-rights violations and terrorism.? If enacted, such ?protections? could severely curtail free speech, including efforts to explore the theological roots of terrorism that emanates from the Middle East and elsewhere.
Obama?s decision to apply for council membership reflects his desire to send a clear message to the global community that, in contrast to President Bush, America?s new leader wants to engage more with allies and adversaries alike.
His decision comes as his administration seeks to develop a new relationship with the Islamic world in particular, highlighted by such steps as Obama?s interview on Al Arabiya TV, his high-profile stop in Turkey at the tail-end of his European trip and his efforts to open discussions between top administration officials and their counterparts in Iran ? a U.S. adversary for the last 30 years.
Whether the United States benefits from council membership will depend on what Obama does with it.
Several weeks ago, critics blasted Obama for sending U.S. officials to planning meetings for the upcoming ?Durban II? conference, arguing the United States should shun an event that has all the makings of another ?Durban I? ? the 2001 conference that degenerated into such an orgy of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism that Secretary of State Colin Powell ordered the U.S. delegation to leave.
In fact, Obama used the Durban II process to send a strong signal about U.S. values. After participating briefly, the administration announced it would not continue to do so unless organizers dropped the Israel-bashing and other unacceptable features of emerging conference documents.
Obama will face similar clashes between council priorities and U.S. values. If he turns these clashes into opportunities to promote our values forcefully, U.S. membership may prove a worthwhile endeavor.
? 2009 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.
http://www.northstarwriters.com/lh026.htm
==========================
Fence will hit those dependent on Bangladeshi services

Apr 7, 2009 (DVB)?A villager in Bangladesh has said that the construction of a border fence will disrupt the livelihoods of Burmese villagers dependent on Bangladeshi trade and services.
Construction of the fence is already underway by the Burmese government, who hope it will stem the flow of illegal cross-border trade into western Burma from Bangladesh.
Kohra Mott, leader of Wakhutchaung village union in Bangladesh?s Teknaf district, said the fence could harm people living on the Burmese side.
?This is going to make lives of villagers in Burma?s Maung Taw district more difficult,? he said.
?Because their villages are located in very remote places away from towns, they can only rely on the Bangladeshi markets across the river to buy medicine and food.?
It would make life difficult for people from both sides of the border who make a living from fishing in the river, he added.
Disputes between the respective governments have arisen over the exact demarcation of the fence.
The Bangladesh Rifles, a paramilitary group stationed on the border, claimed recently that in certain places the fence strays too close to Bangladeshi territory.
One Burmese national based on the Bangladesh side of the border said last week that there was a high military presence in the area.
?Burmese government agents, military and police members were sent to location of the planned fence in civilian uniforms to keep the situation under control,? said Khaing Pray Thein.

Reporting by Maung Too and Khin Maung Soe Min