“They really want a bomb, that is their main objective,” said former Myanmar army major Sai Thein Win, who also served as the deputy commander of the Myanmar army’s nuclear battalion.

North Korea is assisting Myanmar generals with their nuclear weapon programs. According to Brian McCartan of Asia Times, “Two nuclear reactors are believed to be under construction in Myanmar. One, at Naung Laing in central Mandalay Division, is being constructed with North Korean help. Several hundred Myanmar military personnel have undergone nuclear training in North Korea in recent years.” Desmond Ball, a defense analyst at Australia National University, thinks the reactor could be online in 2012 and a deliverable weapon could be developed before 2020.

“In many ways, Myanmar is a parallel to North Korea,” Aung Zaw, exiled Myanmar journalist and editor of the Thailand-based Irrawaddy, told Al Jazeera, “They live in fear of an invasion by the West and they want the ultimate insurance against regime change.”

To make things worse, while Myanmar might be shunned by the West, the country’s giant neighbor, China, is working closely with Myanmar generals. Since 1988, Myanmar has become China’s closest ally in Southeast Asia and a major recipient of Chinese military hardware.

Beijing sees Myanmar as its “tribute state” to project China’s military power into the region and safeguard its new trade routes through Southeast and South Asia. What is perhaps even more important for rulers in Beijing, however, is the “region’s bounty — Southeast Asia’s biggest proven gas reserve in Myanmar’s Shwe Field. Since 2008, massive works have begun on a pipeline to carry these riches to China,” according to the Economist.

Unfortunately, most governments in the region are taking a laissez-faire attitude toward Myanmar generals’ nuclear ambitions. Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the two most important regional organizations, are doing nothing to stop the military regime’s nuclear program, in accordance with their principle of “non-interference.” Japan’s Myanmar policy, say Benedict Rogers, author of “A Land without Evil,” and Yuki Akimoto, director of Burma-Info in Tokyo, is based on a “misguided view that appeasement will bear fruit. Tokyo is extending political and financial support to Burma’s military regime to protect its own short-term economic interests.”

Washington’s policy toward the Myanmar military regime is, at best, ambiguous. “The Obama administration,” writes Bertil Lintner of Far Eastern Economic Review, “has adopted a more conciliatory approach, sending emissaries to Myanmar to ‘engage’ the generals. But Washington also believes that concern over Myanmar’s WMD programs — and increasingly close ties with North Korea — should be equally important considerations in any new U.S. policy towards Myanmar.”

The Myanmar junta’s nuclear ambitions have been known for years, but no one had done anything. It is time for the world to act and send a strong message of “no tolerance” to the paranoid ruling generals in Naypyidaw. An “engagement” strategy with Myanmar junta risks allowing another rogue state to go nuclear, a risk that the world cannot afford to take.

Naypyidaw junta’s nuclear scheme might amount to little more than a monumental waste of state resources, but its probable failure should not be a reason for world leaders to regard such a development as negligible. Not only is the total outlay of Myanmar’s weapon programs astronomical, running into billions of dollars, but also the world is starting to witness a “bunker mentality” nuclear arms race that represents a clear and present danger, with the rise of terrorist groups that are willing to pay any price for a device.

Yi is the director of Marietta College’s China Program.

The 6th Conference of the Students and Youth Congress of Burma (SYCB) was successfully held from
August 17- 21, 2009 on the Thai-Burma Border hosting 44 representatives from SYCB’s 16 member
organisations. Reports on the current political situation in Burma were given, followed by financial and
narrative updates. Attendees were also presented with proposed changes to the SYCB constitution, leading to an active and energetic discussion which ended with unanimous approval for the changes. Finally, a new presidium and secretariat were elected by the membership.

All the representatives at the conference actively discussed many topics including how to develop SYCB into a strong and efficient student and youth force, how to make positive changes, current politics, organisational strategies under the current political situation both inside and outside of Burma. All those present unanimously agreed to oppose the SPDC’s 2008 sham constitution and the upcoming 2010 elections that will officially legalise the current military rule. SYCB member organizations will do this by a number of legal and extra-legal actions.

As the 6th conference of the SYCB has shown, students and youths play a pivotal role in building a
nation’s future and their concerted intensive efforts and sacrifices were also seen during the independence struggle and fight against the military dictatorship.

Many of Burma’s political events in 2009 and 2010 mark a turning point in the country. SYCB members
pledged to continue to play a vital role in providing effective and efficient actions against military rule in Burma and to help build a genuine democratic federal union.

The 6th conference established seven action plans of SYCB, based on political analysis and views of the fifth step of the SPDC’s 7 Steps Road Map for the upcoming 2010 elections.

To effectively and efficiently carry out policies and the day-to-day activities of the action plans agreed to at the conference, 16 presidium members and 5 secretariat members were democratically elected. SYCB would like to announce the five secretariat members:

1) Naw San (General Secretary
2) Nai Nyan Seik (Joint General Secretary)
3) Saw Victor Lin (Secretariat Member)
4) Lway Hlar Reang (Secretariat Member)
5) Ma Ni Ni Kyaw (Secretariat Member)

Presidium and Secretariat
Students and Youth Congress of Burma (SYCB)

Media contacts: Saw Hla Tun (+ 66 81 283 6455) : Naw San (+ 66 84 811 9594)

Some PSLF members wanted to support the Ta’ang youth, and established the Palaung Students and Youth Organization (PSYO) on the Thai-Burma border in 1993. The name was changed to the Palaung Youth Network Group (PYNG) during the second meeting on in 1998.

The main goals of TSYO are:

1. To work for peace and to develop the Ta’ang region
2. To increase the number of Ta’ang youth who can participate as leaders
3. To promote gender equality
4. To end the military dictatorship system
5. To build a federalist democratic country with equality and  self-determination

The main objectives of TSYO are:

1. To promote the social status of the Ta’ang nationality and students and young Ta’ang through youth capacity building and training
2. To cooperate with democratic organizations and national revolution moments, international youth and women’s organizations, Students and Youth Congress and Ta’ang people for the struggle
3. To implement activities to preserve and encourage the value of culture, literature, traditions and national identity of the Ta’ang people
4. To implement the activities for fighting against the drug dispersion in the Ta’ang region
5. To provide education and increased awareness of health care issues and to combat the health issues of the Ta’ang people
6. To advocate the international community and alliance groups to protect Ta’ang people and reduce the human right violations in the Ta’ang region
7. To safeguard the environment and natural resources of the Ta’ang people and Ta’ang land
8. To enable Ta’ang youth to continue their education
9. To implement the work plan to generate support from the Ta’ang people
10. To work against the activities of the military dictatorship system

For detailed information of TSYO, please visit its website at http://www.palaungland.org/tsyo/.

The main objectives of ZSYO are:

1. Eliminate despotism;
2. Build federalism;
3. Establish the rights of self-determination;
4. Uphold political, democracy and human rights awareness and knowledge amongst Zomi students and youths;
5. Build and uphold effective and efficient knowledge through education and fellowship amongst Zomi student and youth solidarity;

The main aim of TYO is:

1. To participate in the process of rebuilding our country and in the struggle for democracy in Burma

The main objectives of TYO are:

1. To build up solidarity among Tavoyan people and to work together with different youth organizations from Burma
2. To build the capacity and ability of Tavoyan’s younger generations
3. To maintain Tavoy’s culture and customs

The main aims of PYO are:

1)   To establish a new society based on the principles of justice and peace

2)   To nurture Pa-O’s younger generation to become future leaders

The main objectives of PYO are:

1. To preserve Pa-O’s literature and culture
2. To promote the quality and critical thinking of Pa-O youth
3. To educate the people in Pa-O areas regarding human rights and the environment
4. To build a federal union in Burma with equality and self-determination for each state

For detailed information of PYO, please visit its blog at www.paoyouthorganization.blogspot.com

Aims and Objectives

1. To represent the voices of the Naga Youth living in Burma
2. To strive for cultural, economic, environmental and political justice of the Nagas
3. To seek for a democratic and just solution to the Naga political process
4. To promote self-reliance and self-assertion as the working principle of the Naga Youth
5. To struggle for basic human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
6. To support all democratic movements around Burma in particular and in the international arena
7. To express and encourage solidarity among those suffering in Burma

For more information on NYO, please visit its website or blog at www…….

NLD-LA (Youth) was established in 1996 with the following main objectives:

1. To cultivate a new generation of experienced and qualified leaders
2. To effectively implement the activities of NLD/LA in accordance with its basic principles

For more information of NLA-LA (Youth), please visit its website at www.nldla.com.

The following are the main objectives of MYPO:

1. To strengthen civil society organizations inside Mon State.
2. To empower youth and grass-root activists for the struggle for democracy.
3. To introduce concepts of democracy and civil society among a wider Mon community
4. To build networks among different Mon grass-root activists and democracy activists

For more information of MYPO, please visit its blog at www.mypo31.blogspot.com.