The Irrawaddy - KNU Says Ceasefire Agreements Essential for Peaceful Burma
By SAW YAN NAING
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Burmese regime should sign ceasefire agreements with all ethnic armed groups, including the Karen National Union (KNU), if it wants peace for the country, said KNU leaders after talks in Thailand with Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.
KNU General-Secretary Zipporah Sein said her organization was happy to talk to the regime if the junta really wanted a constructive dialogue.
Kasit, who visited Naypyidaw last month, told Zipporah Sein and other KNU leaders at a meeting in Bangkok on Monday that Burmese Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein wanted to meet the KNU and discuss its stand.
Five Thai officials were also present at the meeting with the KNU leaders.
During his two-day visit to the Burmese capital, Kasit had talks with Thein Sein and Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win. Kasit said he had been asked to help in efforts to encourage ethnic rebels to involve themselves in the junta’s seven-step roadmap.
In their meeting with Kasit, the KNU leaders repeated their stand that any talks with Burmese government should take place in Thailand or a third country.
“If we go and talk in Burma, there is no third party and we will be under the management of the Burmese regime,” Zipporah Sein said.
She and other KNU leaders expressed skepticism about any Burmese government offer to engage in talks. Such an offer “could be part of the Burmese regime election process. If we have chance to meet, I think that they [junta] will talk about the general election.”
Burmese observers in exile say they believe talk between Burmese government officials and KNU leaders could be held in the near future, most likely in Thailand.
Htay Aung, a Burmese researcher for the exile-based Network for Democracy and Development, said there would be a “gap” between the KNU and Burmese opposition groups in exile if the KNU signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese government.
The Thai authorities were also likely to increase pressure on Burmese opposition groups and the democracy movement would be weakened if the KNU reached a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese regime, Htay Aung said.
The KNU has been fighting for autonomy since Burma gained independence from British colonial rule in 1948. Several other splinter groups have signed separate peace agreements with the military regime since 1994.
About 70 Karen rebels led by Nay Soe Mya, son of the late KNU leader Gen Saw Bo Mya, defected to the Burmese military government on March 30, the state-run newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, reported on Saturday.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Mizzima News - RSF demands release of two bloggers
Mizzima News - RSF demands release of two bloggers
by Nem Davies
Wednesday, 08 April 2009 22:29
New Delhi (Mizzima) – 'Reporters Sans Frontier' (RSF), an international media freedom group, today demanded the release of two Burmese bloggers Ko Thura a.k.a. Ko Zargana and Nay Phone Latt because they were punished unfairly.
'Reporters Sans Frontier' (RSF) based in France demanded that the junta release the two bloggers because the long term jail sentences awarded to them was unfair. They were arrested for possession of video CDs allegedly attacking the junta and wrote their views and opinions on their blogs.
"They do not deserve such long terms in prison so they must be released," the RSF statement issued today said.
The lawyer representing the two bloggers said that his clients should not have been given such long prison terms for just using the internet.
"Usually such cases are not awarded long prison terms because it was just use of the internet," he said.
The RSF statement also urged the special envoy of the United Nations Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, to focus on what is going on in Burma during his forthcoming visit to the country as the junta interferes with the judiciary by directly ordering the special tribunals which hear these cases.
Ko Zargana was whisked away from his home in early June last year while he was into Cyclone Nargis relief work. He was sentenced to 59 years in prison after being charged under the Electronic Law, State Security and Video Law. His sentence was later commuted to 35 years.
Youth blogger Nay Phone Latt was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being charged with inciting crime against public tranquility and state security, and under the Video Law and Electronic Law. His sentence was reduced to eight and-a-half years in February this year.
Appeals have been filed at the Rangoon Supreme Court again for their acquittal.
"We submitted appeals in Nay Phone Latt's case on April 6. It will take some time given the court procedure. This appeal argues for the acquittal. We hope for the best but we have to wait and see how the regime handles our appeal," advocate U Aung Thein said.
At present, the junta is holding Ko Zargana in Myitkyina prison and Nay Phone Latt is being held in Pa-An prison in Karen State.
Ko Zargana's sister-in-law Ma Nyein returned from Myitkyina prison today without meeting him. She was denied permission to meet him in a prison interview by the prison authorities on the pretext that it was not yet time.
"Myitkyina prison jailor U Hla Shwe had promised me that I could see Ko Zargana one day before my departure from Rangoon. But he didn't let me meet him when I arrived there. I requested them to let me meet him but they refused. So I did not leave the food parcels and other packages that I brought from Rangoon with the jailors as I was not certain it would reach Ko Zargana," Ma Nyein told Mizzima.
Poet Saw Wei, who is serving a two-year prison term in Yemethin prison, is now suffering from severe gastric ailments. He was arrested in February 2008 after his poem appeared in the Rangoon based 'Love' Journal. The poem allegedly ridiculed the junta leader. The sentence 'Snr. Gen. Than Shwe mad with power' appeared when the first word of each stanza in his poem was pieced together.
"He has been suffering from gastric disorder for a long time. Now I hear that he cannot eat as he is suffering from severe gastric problems. I will meet him tomorrow during the prison interview," his wife Daw Nan San San Aye told Mizzima.
The Burmese junta has a tight leash on the media and at least 10 bloggers are being held in prisons apart from other media persons.
by Nem Davies
Wednesday, 08 April 2009 22:29
New Delhi (Mizzima) – 'Reporters Sans Frontier' (RSF), an international media freedom group, today demanded the release of two Burmese bloggers Ko Thura a.k.a. Ko Zargana and Nay Phone Latt because they were punished unfairly.
'Reporters Sans Frontier' (RSF) based in France demanded that the junta release the two bloggers because the long term jail sentences awarded to them was unfair. They were arrested for possession of video CDs allegedly attacking the junta and wrote their views and opinions on their blogs.
"They do not deserve such long terms in prison so they must be released," the RSF statement issued today said.
The lawyer representing the two bloggers said that his clients should not have been given such long prison terms for just using the internet.
"Usually such cases are not awarded long prison terms because it was just use of the internet," he said.
The RSF statement also urged the special envoy of the United Nations Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, to focus on what is going on in Burma during his forthcoming visit to the country as the junta interferes with the judiciary by directly ordering the special tribunals which hear these cases.
Ko Zargana was whisked away from his home in early June last year while he was into Cyclone Nargis relief work. He was sentenced to 59 years in prison after being charged under the Electronic Law, State Security and Video Law. His sentence was later commuted to 35 years.
Youth blogger Nay Phone Latt was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being charged with inciting crime against public tranquility and state security, and under the Video Law and Electronic Law. His sentence was reduced to eight and-a-half years in February this year.
Appeals have been filed at the Rangoon Supreme Court again for their acquittal.
"We submitted appeals in Nay Phone Latt's case on April 6. It will take some time given the court procedure. This appeal argues for the acquittal. We hope for the best but we have to wait and see how the regime handles our appeal," advocate U Aung Thein said.
At present, the junta is holding Ko Zargana in Myitkyina prison and Nay Phone Latt is being held in Pa-An prison in Karen State.
Ko Zargana's sister-in-law Ma Nyein returned from Myitkyina prison today without meeting him. She was denied permission to meet him in a prison interview by the prison authorities on the pretext that it was not yet time.
"Myitkyina prison jailor U Hla Shwe had promised me that I could see Ko Zargana one day before my departure from Rangoon. But he didn't let me meet him when I arrived there. I requested them to let me meet him but they refused. So I did not leave the food parcels and other packages that I brought from Rangoon with the jailors as I was not certain it would reach Ko Zargana," Ma Nyein told Mizzima.
Poet Saw Wei, who is serving a two-year prison term in Yemethin prison, is now suffering from severe gastric ailments. He was arrested in February 2008 after his poem appeared in the Rangoon based 'Love' Journal. The poem allegedly ridiculed the junta leader. The sentence 'Snr. Gen. Than Shwe mad with power' appeared when the first word of each stanza in his poem was pieced together.
"He has been suffering from gastric disorder for a long time. Now I hear that he cannot eat as he is suffering from severe gastric problems. I will meet him tomorrow during the prison interview," his wife Daw Nan San San Aye told Mizzima.
The Burmese junta has a tight leash on the media and at least 10 bloggers are being held in prisons apart from other media persons.
VOA News - Burma Film About Underground Reporters Captures Top Honors
VOA News - Burma Film About Underground Reporters Captures Top Honors
08 April 2009
A film about underground reporters who risk their lives to document political repression in Burma has turned out to be the big winner at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in the southeastern U.S. state of North Carolina.
Burma VJ - Reporting from a Closed Country - won in three categories at the festival, the most for any entry.
Burma VJ, which was directed by Andreas Ostergaard, captured the "Grand Jury Award." The film also won the "Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award" and the "Full Frame/Working Films Award" at the three-day festival that ended on April 5.
The film festival, in the city of Durham, is an annual international event. Organizers say it is dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema.
The other films honored include Unmistaken Child, which is about the search for the reincarnation of a Tibetan mediator and Love on Delivery, a story about a woman's efforts to help Thai women find Danish husbands.
08 April 2009
A film about underground reporters who risk their lives to document political repression in Burma has turned out to be the big winner at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in the southeastern U.S. state of North Carolina.
Burma VJ - Reporting from a Closed Country - won in three categories at the festival, the most for any entry.
Burma VJ, which was directed by Andreas Ostergaard, captured the "Grand Jury Award." The film also won the "Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award" and the "Full Frame/Working Films Award" at the three-day festival that ended on April 5.
The film festival, in the city of Durham, is an annual international event. Organizers say it is dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema.
The other films honored include Unmistaken Child, which is about the search for the reincarnation of a Tibetan mediator and Love on Delivery, a story about a woman's efforts to help Thai women find Danish husbands.
ReliefWeb - ASEAN Hub Officers: Frontrunners of humanitarian coordination in the Delta - affected townships of Myanmar
ReliefWeb - ASEAN Hub Officers: Frontrunners of humanitarian coordination in the Delta - affected townships of Myanmar
Source: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Date: 01 Apr 2009
Myanmar has always been a fascinating country that Sok Phoeuk had wanted to visit. However, it was not the fascination that brought him to Myanmar. With over 25 years of experience in training and disaster risk management, it was a noble calling for Sok when Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar in May 2008 and he became an ASEAN Hub Officer there, hoping to share his skills and knowledge as well as to learn more about ASEAN.
Joseph and Anggiet, coming from Indonesia, however, saw the ASEAN Hub Officer position as a new challenge that they would like to take up because, according to Joseph, "Indonesia is a "supermarket" for natural disasters but it has never been struck by a cyclone".
For Philipp Danao from the Philippines, it was a challenging yet unique opportunity for ASEAN to initiate and lead the world's first Tripartite Core Group (TCG). He said, "With my field and regional experience in project management, disaster response and community-managed risk reduction, I wanted to be part of this history-making endeavour and contribute to strengthening the mechanism at the township level."
Despite different reasons for joining the ASEAN Hub Offices, the four ASEAN Hub Officers, together with their staff, share a common goal, which is to cooperate with the hub offices of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to strengthen coordination in terms of humanitarian assistance at the township level.
Based in Labutta Township, one of the initial challenges for Sok and his staff was to build trust and relations between humanitarian agencies and the local authorities.
However, the team has been able to turn the challenge into one of the key successes for ASEAN at the township level. Sok said, "There had been no general coordination meeting at the township level between the Township Coordination Committee (representative of the Government of Myanmar) and the international community before ASEAN came to Labutta. ASEAN's presence in the hub has changed the situation." Anggiet, a Yangon Hub Officer, also shared the same sentiment, "ASEAN has been really successful in encouraging Myanmar to open the gate for international agencies and this is something to be proud of."
Meanwhile, according to Philipp, ASEAN Hub Officer in Pyapone Township, the presence of ASEAN goes beyond strengthening hub coordination. He said, "ASEAN's presence at the hub level reinforces ASEAN's people-centred approach. It brings the people to ASEAN and ASEAN to the people. It has made the villagers realise that they are part of one community. They no longer feel that they are neglected or isolated from the rest of the region."
In addition to strengthening hub coordination, the four Hub Officers are also the frontrunners of the ASEAN Volunteer programme and the implementation of the Periodic Review which monitors humanitarian needs at the household level.
With experience and interest in social science research, Anggiet enjoys the process of the Periodic Review, saying that "there are so many things to do and everyday is a different challenge and I enjoy it."
Despite basic living conditions in Bogale and the difficulty of being away from his wife and two young children, Joseph feels proud of what he is doing in the Delta. "It is an honour for me to have a chance to serve the Myanmar people. Although we Hub Officers do not provide humanitarian aid directly, our work contribute to the whole relief and recovery effort. For example, the Periodic Review serves as an important tool for strategic decision making amongst stakeholders to continue providing support to the affected population," he said.
For Thet Win Naing, being an ASEAN Hub Assistant is a rewarding experience. He said "Being a Hub Assistant helps me learn how to coordinate with the local government and the local and international NGOs. I also have learned how to work closely with the people and how to identify their needs in order to help them."
With their extensive experiences and successes accumulated on the ground, ASEAN Hub Officers and Hub Assistants will continue to strengthen ASEAN's leading role in humanitarian assistance in Myanmar.
Source: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Date: 01 Apr 2009
Myanmar has always been a fascinating country that Sok Phoeuk had wanted to visit. However, it was not the fascination that brought him to Myanmar. With over 25 years of experience in training and disaster risk management, it was a noble calling for Sok when Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar in May 2008 and he became an ASEAN Hub Officer there, hoping to share his skills and knowledge as well as to learn more about ASEAN.
Joseph and Anggiet, coming from Indonesia, however, saw the ASEAN Hub Officer position as a new challenge that they would like to take up because, according to Joseph, "Indonesia is a "supermarket" for natural disasters but it has never been struck by a cyclone".
For Philipp Danao from the Philippines, it was a challenging yet unique opportunity for ASEAN to initiate and lead the world's first Tripartite Core Group (TCG). He said, "With my field and regional experience in project management, disaster response and community-managed risk reduction, I wanted to be part of this history-making endeavour and contribute to strengthening the mechanism at the township level."
Despite different reasons for joining the ASEAN Hub Offices, the four ASEAN Hub Officers, together with their staff, share a common goal, which is to cooperate with the hub offices of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to strengthen coordination in terms of humanitarian assistance at the township level.
Based in Labutta Township, one of the initial challenges for Sok and his staff was to build trust and relations between humanitarian agencies and the local authorities.
However, the team has been able to turn the challenge into one of the key successes for ASEAN at the township level. Sok said, "There had been no general coordination meeting at the township level between the Township Coordination Committee (representative of the Government of Myanmar) and the international community before ASEAN came to Labutta. ASEAN's presence in the hub has changed the situation." Anggiet, a Yangon Hub Officer, also shared the same sentiment, "ASEAN has been really successful in encouraging Myanmar to open the gate for international agencies and this is something to be proud of."
Meanwhile, according to Philipp, ASEAN Hub Officer in Pyapone Township, the presence of ASEAN goes beyond strengthening hub coordination. He said, "ASEAN's presence at the hub level reinforces ASEAN's people-centred approach. It brings the people to ASEAN and ASEAN to the people. It has made the villagers realise that they are part of one community. They no longer feel that they are neglected or isolated from the rest of the region."
In addition to strengthening hub coordination, the four Hub Officers are also the frontrunners of the ASEAN Volunteer programme and the implementation of the Periodic Review which monitors humanitarian needs at the household level.
With experience and interest in social science research, Anggiet enjoys the process of the Periodic Review, saying that "there are so many things to do and everyday is a different challenge and I enjoy it."
Despite basic living conditions in Bogale and the difficulty of being away from his wife and two young children, Joseph feels proud of what he is doing in the Delta. "It is an honour for me to have a chance to serve the Myanmar people. Although we Hub Officers do not provide humanitarian aid directly, our work contribute to the whole relief and recovery effort. For example, the Periodic Review serves as an important tool for strategic decision making amongst stakeholders to continue providing support to the affected population," he said.
For Thet Win Naing, being an ASEAN Hub Assistant is a rewarding experience. He said "Being a Hub Assistant helps me learn how to coordinate with the local government and the local and international NGOs. I also have learned how to work closely with the people and how to identify their needs in order to help them."
With their extensive experiences and successes accumulated on the ground, ASEAN Hub Officers and Hub Assistants will continue to strengthen ASEAN's leading role in humanitarian assistance in Myanmar.
Scoop - Aid To Myanmar Not Enough To Meet Existing Needs – UN Relief Official
Scoop - Aid To Myanmar Not Enough To Meet Existing Needs – UN Relief Official
Monday, 6 April 2009, 10:47 am
Press Release: United Nations
New York, Apr 3 2009 1:10PM The level of humanitarian assistance that is currently being provided in Myanmar is much lower than the actual needs of the people, a senior United Nations relief official said today at a donors meeting in Yangon, calling for increased support for cyclone-affected communities and others.
Last May, Cyclone Nargis battered the South-East Asian nation, leaving around 140,000 dead or missing and uprooting 800,000 from their homes.
Bishow Parajuli, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator highlighted the urgent needs for the cyclone-affected communities in the Ayeryarwady Delta, the hardest hit region, as well as other areas of the country at today’s meeting.
“Whilst steadily recovering from Cyclone Nargis-affected areas remains high on the agenda, the UN also addresses needs for funding to other parts of the country, where immense humanitarian and development challenges exists,” he told the gathering, which drew participants from diplomatic missions, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Mr. Parajuli stressed in particular the imminent need for sustainable shelter and agricultural support ahead of the upcoming monsoon season. Early- and medium-term recovery efforts are outlined in the three-year Post-Nargis Response and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP), which was launched earlier this year by the Tripartite Core Group (TCG) – comprising the Myanmar Government, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the UN – and has a price tag of nearly $700 million.
During a visit to Northern Rakhine State earlier this week, Mr. Parajuli witnessed just how acute the needs were for many people. Among the issues faced by those he met were the need for employment and livelihood, access to education for children, and reproductive health and family planning.
The UN, working with its partners and the Government, is working to scale up its activities in that region, the Humanitarian Coordinator said, stressing that increased donor support is crucial to these efforts.
Monday, 6 April 2009, 10:47 am
Press Release: United Nations
New York, Apr 3 2009 1:10PM The level of humanitarian assistance that is currently being provided in Myanmar is much lower than the actual needs of the people, a senior United Nations relief official said today at a donors meeting in Yangon, calling for increased support for cyclone-affected communities and others.
Last May, Cyclone Nargis battered the South-East Asian nation, leaving around 140,000 dead or missing and uprooting 800,000 from their homes.
Bishow Parajuli, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator highlighted the urgent needs for the cyclone-affected communities in the Ayeryarwady Delta, the hardest hit region, as well as other areas of the country at today’s meeting.
“Whilst steadily recovering from Cyclone Nargis-affected areas remains high on the agenda, the UN also addresses needs for funding to other parts of the country, where immense humanitarian and development challenges exists,” he told the gathering, which drew participants from diplomatic missions, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Mr. Parajuli stressed in particular the imminent need for sustainable shelter and agricultural support ahead of the upcoming monsoon season. Early- and medium-term recovery efforts are outlined in the three-year Post-Nargis Response and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP), which was launched earlier this year by the Tripartite Core Group (TCG) – comprising the Myanmar Government, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the UN – and has a price tag of nearly $700 million.
During a visit to Northern Rakhine State earlier this week, Mr. Parajuli witnessed just how acute the needs were for many people. Among the issues faced by those he met were the need for employment and livelihood, access to education for children, and reproductive health and family planning.
The UN, working with its partners and the Government, is working to scale up its activities in that region, the Humanitarian Coordinator said, stressing that increased donor support is crucial to these efforts.
Myanmar people appeal for lifting sanctions on Myanmar
Myanmar people appeal for lifting sanctions on Myanmar
www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-07 05:55:24
www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-07 05:55:24
YANGON, April 7 (Xinhua) -- A group of people in Myanmar Tuesday appealed to the United States and the European Union to lift their sanctions imposed on Myanmar.
The group, in the name of "Lifting Sanctions, Internal and External Forces, 2009 Campaign", told a press briefing held at the City Star Hotel in Yangon that they are initiating a campaign this year involving forces at home and abroad to effect the lifting of sanctions.
In a statement issued at the press briefing, the group said " economic sanction is an inhuman policy which delays Myanmar's path to democracy in the transition period. Data related to the impact and loss suffered by Myanmar people due to the economic sanctions will be systematically compiled and effectively presented to the U. S. government and governments of the EU countries as well as other governments of respective countries".
The organizer said the economic sanctions have led to the closing of about 400 factories with about 80,000 unemployed in Myanmar.
The organizer boasts that anyone who agrees with the lifting of economic sanctions belongs to its force.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Myanmar since 1997 which include suspension of economic aid, withdrawal of Myanmar from the general system of preferences and overseas private investment program, implementation of arms embargo, freezing assets from international financial institutions, downgrading of U. S. representation in Myanmar from the level of ambassador to charge d' affaires, imposition of visa restriction of senior government officials and a ban on new investment in the country by the U.S. citizens.
The EU, along with the United States, has also imposed such sanctions which were renewed annually.
Myanmar PM to attend ASEAN summits with other regional countries
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.
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.
What is the East Asia Summit all about?
What is the East Asia Summit all about?
Tue Apr 7, 2009 5:36pm IST
By Bill Tarrant
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The global economic crisis and the security threat posed by North Korea's rocket launch will grab much of the attention this weekend when Asian leaders gather in Thailand for their annual summit.
The "East Asia Summit", bringing together the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its dialogue partners, will be held in the Thai resort of Pattaya from April 10-12.
It will offer the first opportunity for the leaders of Japan, China and South Korea to meet after North Korea launched a rocket on Sunday, and also comes barely a week after G20 members agreed a $1.1 trillion blueprint to revive the global economy.
Here are some key questions about the meeting.
WHAT IS THE EAST ASIA SUMMIT? It came into being in 2005 as an annual meeting among leaders of 16 Asian nations, including the 10 ASEAN countries -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- and their dialogue partners China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
It mainly discusses trade and economic issues, although security, human rights and geopolitical issues often feature in discussions on the sidelines.
WHY ARE INDIA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND INVOLVED?
This summit was originally the brainchild of former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, who wanted to create an East Asia Economic Caucus among the "Asian Tiger" economies. (Some pundits called it the caucus without the Caucasians). The United States through Japan lobbied hard to first bring Australia and New Zealand into the group and later India, which shares security and trade concerns with the summit participants.
WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA?
The summit has been searching for an existential purpose since the 2005 inaugural meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The next summit in Cebu, Philippines sketched out a vision of an East Asia free trade area, and signed a declaration on energy security. The last one in Singapore in November 2007 came out with a declaration on climate change and energy.
The leaders this time are expected to talk about macroeconomic responses to the global financial crisis, how to kickstart the stalled Doha round of world trade talks, and ways to protect their currencies from speculative attacks. They will discuss a coordinated stand for the conference on climate change in Copenhagen later this year and their previous initiatives on energy and food security.
Some of the more interesting stuff takes place on the sidelines. The first summit was largely spoiled by spats between Japan and its neighbours over then prime minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the controversial Yakusini war shrine. The three North Asian countries this time are expected to discuss how to restart stalled nuclear talks with North Korea after Pyongyang fired a long-range rocket over Japan at the weekend.
The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will have the opportunity to discuss their border dispute after last week's clashes caused casualties on both sides.
Myanmar's poor human rights record is usually a talking point in the corridors, although it rarely figures in the discussion among leaders. Myanmar successfully blocked any discussion of its internal affairs at the last summit in Singapore.
WHAT IS THE "CHIANG MAI INITIATIVE"?
It is a pool of foreign currency reserves among the ASEAN+3 countries worth $120 billion. It is aimed at providing emergency balance of payments support through currency swap arrangements, should one of the members experience the kind of capital flight that marked the Asian financial crisis of 1997/98.
Like many of ASEAN's initiatives, it is more viable on paper than in practice. The requirement that a country must be in an IMF programme, or in talks for one, is likely to deter most would-be recipients -- including Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia, which have bitter memories of their IMF bailouts of a decade ago.
There has been some brainstorming around the idea that the Chiang Mai Initiative could eventually lead to an Asian Monetary Unit, similar to the old European Currency Unit that eventually led to the creation of the euro.
That appears to be pie-in-the-sky at the moment. But China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand joined Russia in calling for an international reserve currency system at last week's G20 meeting in London, and that could get another airing at this weekend's summit in Pattaya.
China and Russia have floated ideas about reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar as the world's primary unit of foreign exchange, possible by developing the Special Drawing Rights issued by the IMF.
WHY MEET IN PATTAYA?
The summit is being held in Pattaya, a resort town famed for its racy nightlife about 150 km (90 miles) from Bangkok, to avoid protesters in the Thai capital, who have surrounded Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's offices to force him from power.
On Tuesday, protesters smashed the window of Abhisit's official car following a cabinet meeting in Pattaya to inspect the summit facilities.
The summit was supposed to be held in Bangkok in December after the annual ASEAN leaders' meeting, as is customary. But those meetings were postponed after protesters seized Bangkok's main airport and effectively shut down passenger and cargo traffic.
Tue Apr 7, 2009 5:36pm IST
By Bill Tarrant
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The global economic crisis and the security threat posed by North Korea's rocket launch will grab much of the attention this weekend when Asian leaders gather in Thailand for their annual summit.
The "East Asia Summit", bringing together the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its dialogue partners, will be held in the Thai resort of Pattaya from April 10-12.
It will offer the first opportunity for the leaders of Japan, China and South Korea to meet after North Korea launched a rocket on Sunday, and also comes barely a week after G20 members agreed a $1.1 trillion blueprint to revive the global economy.
Here are some key questions about the meeting.
WHAT IS THE EAST ASIA SUMMIT? It came into being in 2005 as an annual meeting among leaders of 16 Asian nations, including the 10 ASEAN countries -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- and their dialogue partners China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
It mainly discusses trade and economic issues, although security, human rights and geopolitical issues often feature in discussions on the sidelines.
WHY ARE INDIA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND INVOLVED?
This summit was originally the brainchild of former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, who wanted to create an East Asia Economic Caucus among the "Asian Tiger" economies. (Some pundits called it the caucus without the Caucasians). The United States through Japan lobbied hard to first bring Australia and New Zealand into the group and later India, which shares security and trade concerns with the summit participants.
WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA?
The summit has been searching for an existential purpose since the 2005 inaugural meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The next summit in Cebu, Philippines sketched out a vision of an East Asia free trade area, and signed a declaration on energy security. The last one in Singapore in November 2007 came out with a declaration on climate change and energy.
The leaders this time are expected to talk about macroeconomic responses to the global financial crisis, how to kickstart the stalled Doha round of world trade talks, and ways to protect their currencies from speculative attacks. They will discuss a coordinated stand for the conference on climate change in Copenhagen later this year and their previous initiatives on energy and food security.
Some of the more interesting stuff takes place on the sidelines. The first summit was largely spoiled by spats between Japan and its neighbours over then prime minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the controversial Yakusini war shrine. The three North Asian countries this time are expected to discuss how to restart stalled nuclear talks with North Korea after Pyongyang fired a long-range rocket over Japan at the weekend.
The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will have the opportunity to discuss their border dispute after last week's clashes caused casualties on both sides.
Myanmar's poor human rights record is usually a talking point in the corridors, although it rarely figures in the discussion among leaders. Myanmar successfully blocked any discussion of its internal affairs at the last summit in Singapore.
WHAT IS THE "CHIANG MAI INITIATIVE"?
It is a pool of foreign currency reserves among the ASEAN+3 countries worth $120 billion. It is aimed at providing emergency balance of payments support through currency swap arrangements, should one of the members experience the kind of capital flight that marked the Asian financial crisis of 1997/98.
Like many of ASEAN's initiatives, it is more viable on paper than in practice. The requirement that a country must be in an IMF programme, or in talks for one, is likely to deter most would-be recipients -- including Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia, which have bitter memories of their IMF bailouts of a decade ago.
There has been some brainstorming around the idea that the Chiang Mai Initiative could eventually lead to an Asian Monetary Unit, similar to the old European Currency Unit that eventually led to the creation of the euro.
That appears to be pie-in-the-sky at the moment. But China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand joined Russia in calling for an international reserve currency system at last week's G20 meeting in London, and that could get another airing at this weekend's summit in Pattaya.
China and Russia have floated ideas about reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar as the world's primary unit of foreign exchange, possible by developing the Special Drawing Rights issued by the IMF.
WHY MEET IN PATTAYA?
The summit is being held in Pattaya, a resort town famed for its racy nightlife about 150 km (90 miles) from Bangkok, to avoid protesters in the Thai capital, who have surrounded Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's offices to force him from power.
On Tuesday, protesters smashed the window of Abhisit's official car following a cabinet meeting in Pattaya to inspect the summit facilities.
The summit was supposed to be held in Bangkok in December after the annual ASEAN leaders' meeting, as is customary. But those meetings were postponed after protesters seized Bangkok's main airport and effectively shut down passenger and cargo traffic.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Myanmar to operate liner to East Asian countries with salvaged Japanese vessel
Myanmar to operate liner to East Asian countries with salvaged Japanese vessel
www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-01 11:12:46
YANGON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has planned to operate cargo liner to three East Asian countries with a recently salvaged Japanese vessel, the local Voice journal reported Wednesday.
Salvaged by Myanmar engineers after it was stranded by a cyclone storm in last May, the MV Cosmic Leader liner, will ply between the three destinations of China, Japan and South Korea, the report said.
The vessel, formerly owned by the Japan-based Eastern Car Liner, was stranded on the Haigyigyun Island in southwestern Ayeyawaddy division during the storm.
After being salvaged by engineers of the Myanmar Five Star Lines, it was brought to Yangon earlier this month for repair and maintenance.
The vessel, having a dead weight of 9,800 tons, was built in 1991 and was operating between Southeast Asian countries, Japan and India.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has so far salvaged 32 vessels out of 40 sunk during the severe storm and further efforts are being made to do so on the remaining eight sunk vessels.
Deadly cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar's five divisions and states --Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bago, Mon and Kayin on May 2 and 3 last year, of which Ayeyawaddy and Yangon inflicted the heaviest casualties and massive infrastructure damage.
The storm has killed 84,537 people and left 53,836 missing and 19,359 injured according to official death toll.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-01 11:12:46
YANGON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has planned to operate cargo liner to three East Asian countries with a recently salvaged Japanese vessel, the local Voice journal reported Wednesday.
Salvaged by Myanmar engineers after it was stranded by a cyclone storm in last May, the MV Cosmic Leader liner, will ply between the three destinations of China, Japan and South Korea, the report said.
The vessel, formerly owned by the Japan-based Eastern Car Liner, was stranded on the Haigyigyun Island in southwestern Ayeyawaddy division during the storm.
After being salvaged by engineers of the Myanmar Five Star Lines, it was brought to Yangon earlier this month for repair and maintenance.
The vessel, having a dead weight of 9,800 tons, was built in 1991 and was operating between Southeast Asian countries, Japan and India.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has so far salvaged 32 vessels out of 40 sunk during the severe storm and further efforts are being made to do so on the remaining eight sunk vessels.
Deadly cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar's five divisions and states --Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bago, Mon and Kayin on May 2 and 3 last year, of which Ayeyawaddy and Yangon inflicted the heaviest casualties and massive infrastructure damage.
The storm has killed 84,537 people and left 53,836 missing and 19,359 injured according to official death toll.
The International Herald Tribune - Dying, and Alone, in Myanmar
The International Herald Tribune - Dying, and Alone, in Myanmar
By SETH MYDANS
Published: March 31, 2009
The most heartbreaking moment for doctors and nurses treating people with H.I.V./AIDS in Myanmar is the arrival of a new patient. Running short of funds and medications, clinics have started turning dying people away.
“They continue to knock on our doors, even though we can’t take in most of them,” said Joe Belliveau, operations manager of the international aid group Médecins Sans Frontières.
The 23 clinics run by the group, also known as Doctors Without Borders, are the primary dispensers in Myanmar of the antiretroviral drugs that can prolong the lives of those infected with H.I.V., the virus that leads to AIDS. So most of the people it cannot treat are likely to die.
The people of Myanmar, a country that seems to have been marked for suffering, receive little foreign assistance — the country ranks among the lowest per capita for such aid in the world. The same is true for assistance for people with H.I.V./AIDS.
Médecins Sans Frontières estimates that 240,000 people are currently infected with H.I.V. in Myanmar and that 76,000 are in urgent need of antiretroviral drugs. Every year, about 25,000 people with the virus die.
The group’s clinics have been providing 11,000 people with the antiretroviral drugs that keep them alive. The longer they live, the more treatment they need. The group says it is unable to increase its budget there without taking money away from people in need elsewhere.
Last year it made the difficult decision to stop accepting any new patients in order to continue treating the old ones. It has opened its doors a little bit this year, accepting 3,000 new patients, still a fraction of those in need.
“When we stopped last July it was devastating for the staff,“ Belliveau said. “They couldn’t even treat the ones dying on their doorsteps.”
This year, the United Nations-backed Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has applied for government permits to bring antiretroviral drugs into Myanmar, and the number of people receiving treatment is likely to rise.
But that will only be one step. Fewer than 20 percent of those who need the drugs receive them, either from international groups or, in very small amounts, from the government, Médecins Sans Frontières said in a report released in November.
When a photographer visited a clinic a few months ago, he found anguish and fatalism among the people who had not received the drugs.
“I can only live longer if I have ART,” said one 28-year-old woman, referring to the antiretroviral treatment she needs. “Most of the money and possessions I had are already gone. My family sends me food from the village, but they cannot support my treatment. If I get ART I will be able to live, if not, I will die.”
In one room the photographer found a 49-year-old man, gaunt and weak, sitting on the side of a bed. He had no family, and because of the stigma of the disease he was ashamed to tell his friends or co-workers about it.
“The worst thing for me is the loneliness,” he said.
Two weeks after his picture was taken, he was dead.
By SETH MYDANS
Published: March 31, 2009
The most heartbreaking moment for doctors and nurses treating people with H.I.V./AIDS in Myanmar is the arrival of a new patient. Running short of funds and medications, clinics have started turning dying people away.
“They continue to knock on our doors, even though we can’t take in most of them,” said Joe Belliveau, operations manager of the international aid group Médecins Sans Frontières.
The 23 clinics run by the group, also known as Doctors Without Borders, are the primary dispensers in Myanmar of the antiretroviral drugs that can prolong the lives of those infected with H.I.V., the virus that leads to AIDS. So most of the people it cannot treat are likely to die.
The people of Myanmar, a country that seems to have been marked for suffering, receive little foreign assistance — the country ranks among the lowest per capita for such aid in the world. The same is true for assistance for people with H.I.V./AIDS.
Médecins Sans Frontières estimates that 240,000 people are currently infected with H.I.V. in Myanmar and that 76,000 are in urgent need of antiretroviral drugs. Every year, about 25,000 people with the virus die.
The group’s clinics have been providing 11,000 people with the antiretroviral drugs that keep them alive. The longer they live, the more treatment they need. The group says it is unable to increase its budget there without taking money away from people in need elsewhere.
Last year it made the difficult decision to stop accepting any new patients in order to continue treating the old ones. It has opened its doors a little bit this year, accepting 3,000 new patients, still a fraction of those in need.
“When we stopped last July it was devastating for the staff,“ Belliveau said. “They couldn’t even treat the ones dying on their doorsteps.”
This year, the United Nations-backed Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has applied for government permits to bring antiretroviral drugs into Myanmar, and the number of people receiving treatment is likely to rise.
But that will only be one step. Fewer than 20 percent of those who need the drugs receive them, either from international groups or, in very small amounts, from the government, Médecins Sans Frontières said in a report released in November.
When a photographer visited a clinic a few months ago, he found anguish and fatalism among the people who had not received the drugs.
“I can only live longer if I have ART,” said one 28-year-old woman, referring to the antiretroviral treatment she needs. “Most of the money and possessions I had are already gone. My family sends me food from the village, but they cannot support my treatment. If I get ART I will be able to live, if not, I will die.”
In one room the photographer found a 49-year-old man, gaunt and weak, sitting on the side of a bed. He had no family, and because of the stigma of the disease he was ashamed to tell his friends or co-workers about it.
“The worst thing for me is the loneliness,” he said.
Two weeks after his picture was taken, he was dead.
National Jeweler - Customs clarifies rules on banned Burmese gems
National Jeweler - Customs clarifies rules on banned Burmese gems
By null
January 26, 2009
New York--The U.S. Customs Department has issued a set of more specific regulations for ruby and jadeite importers, including requirements that the companies obtain exporter certification and evidence of tracking, to ensure they are complying with a law banning the importation of Burmese rubies and jadeite into the United States.
In September 2008, the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act of 2008 became law, specifying that all rubies and jadeite originally from Myanmar (formerly called Burma), including jewelry containing those gemstones, be banned from the United States, even if the gemstones had been "substantially transformed" in a third-party nation.
The act was an effort by U.S. lawmakers to encourage democratic reforms in Myanmar, where the ruling military junta--which profits from state-run gemstone auctions--has a long history of human rights violations.
After the act passed, there were some lingering questions among gem dealers regarding how the law would be enforced and how companies could comply. On Jan. 16, 2009, Customs issued updated regulations addressing "conditions for importation" of Burmese and non-Burmese rubies and jadeite.
Burmese rubies and jadeite that were in the United States prior to Sept. 27, 2008, and items imported for personal use are exempt.
After reviewing the revamped Customs regulations, The Burma Task Force, composed of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) and Jewelers of America (JA), issued a press release that provides guidance on the steps importers and exporters must follow to import non-Burmese rubies and jadeite.
"We look forward to assisting the trade to fully comply with the previsions of this law," said Cecilia L. Gardner, JVC's president, chief executive officer and general counsel, in a media release.
The guidance from The Burma Task Force is as follows:
Importer obligations: Under the new regulations, importers are still required to certify that their rubies and jadeite were not mined or extracted from Myanmar. The importer certification is created through the use of new Harmonized Tariff Codes.
Exporters must ensure that Burmese rubies and jadeite are not intermingled with non-Burmese-origin rubies and jadeite. Importers must secure a written certification from the exporter stating that the rubies and jadeite were not mined or extracted from Myanmar.
The exporter must also provide "verifiable evidence" that tracks rough stones from mine to place of first export, polished loose gems from mine to place of final finishing, and finished jewelry from mine to place of final finishing of the jewelry.
Exceptions to these provisions include the re-importation of rubies, jadeite or jewelry containing either that were in the United States prior to Sept. 27, 2008, but only if those materials were re-imported by the same entity or person who exported them originally from the United States and as long as their value has not increased. Another exception applies to rubies, jadeite or jewelry containing either that was re-imported for personal use.
Recordkeeping obligations: Importers of non-Burmese rubies and jadeite must maintain records of each transaction for five years. These records include complete information regarding purchase, manufacture or shipment of covered articles and the exporter's certification. Importers are required to produce such records to Customs upon demand.
This includes maintaining the exporter certification and the statement regarding "verifiable evidence" indicating the source of rough, polished or finished jewelry, depending on which was imported.
Verifiable evidence could be an exporter's warranty stating the country of origin of the covered articles, the place in which they were polished and the place where they were manufactured into jewelry. Such a warranty should also include a statement that the exporter has available records that corroborate the statement in the warranty.
Importers and exporters are required to name on the invoice a "responsible employee" of the exporter who has or can obtain knowledge of the transactions. The information that this employee should have access to includes the verifiable evidence of the source and movement of the covered articles.
Industry leaders say the new information from Customs should clear up many of the questions surrounding the Lantos act.
"The guidance created by the Burma Task Force reflects the culmination of a tremendous amount of work and cooperation between jewelry industry representatives and the U.S. government," AGTA Chief Executive Officer Douglas Hucker said in the release. "It will certainly help to clear up a lot of the anxiety we had about complying with the act. We look forward to introducing this guidance at the AGTA GemFair in Tucson. AGTA is eager to communicate this important information to our members and to help them to be in compliance with this important legislation."
JA also praised the clarifications from Customs.
"Jewelers of America welcomes the government's amended Burmese gem regulations, which further clarify importers' obligations and place new responsibilities on exporters," JA President and Chief Executive Officer Matthew Runci said in the release. "We will ensure that our members are fully aware of the new requirements."
For those seeking further information, the JVC, AGTA and JA will present a seminar titled "Burma and Beyond--Operating Your Business in Today's New Regulatory Environment" at the AGTA GemFair in Tucson on Feb. 7. This seminar can help importers and exporters avoid interruptions in international business and will ensure they understand their legal obligations in this seemingly complex area. An international trade specialist from U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be present to answer questions, and written resources will be available.
The AGTA GemFair seminar will take place in the Mohave Room at 11:00 a.m. Registration is not required but space is limited. E-mail AGTA's Adam Graham at adam@agta.org or the JVC's Amy Greenbaum at amy@jvclegal.org with questions.
Visit the JVC's Web site, JVCLegal.org, for an explanation of the Jan. 16 regulations and other important legal-compliance information, products and services.
By null
January 26, 2009
New York--The U.S. Customs Department has issued a set of more specific regulations for ruby and jadeite importers, including requirements that the companies obtain exporter certification and evidence of tracking, to ensure they are complying with a law banning the importation of Burmese rubies and jadeite into the United States.
In September 2008, the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act of 2008 became law, specifying that all rubies and jadeite originally from Myanmar (formerly called Burma), including jewelry containing those gemstones, be banned from the United States, even if the gemstones had been "substantially transformed" in a third-party nation.
The act was an effort by U.S. lawmakers to encourage democratic reforms in Myanmar, where the ruling military junta--which profits from state-run gemstone auctions--has a long history of human rights violations.
After the act passed, there were some lingering questions among gem dealers regarding how the law would be enforced and how companies could comply. On Jan. 16, 2009, Customs issued updated regulations addressing "conditions for importation" of Burmese and non-Burmese rubies and jadeite.
Burmese rubies and jadeite that were in the United States prior to Sept. 27, 2008, and items imported for personal use are exempt.
After reviewing the revamped Customs regulations, The Burma Task Force, composed of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) and Jewelers of America (JA), issued a press release that provides guidance on the steps importers and exporters must follow to import non-Burmese rubies and jadeite.
"We look forward to assisting the trade to fully comply with the previsions of this law," said Cecilia L. Gardner, JVC's president, chief executive officer and general counsel, in a media release.
The guidance from The Burma Task Force is as follows:
Importer obligations: Under the new regulations, importers are still required to certify that their rubies and jadeite were not mined or extracted from Myanmar. The importer certification is created through the use of new Harmonized Tariff Codes.
Exporters must ensure that Burmese rubies and jadeite are not intermingled with non-Burmese-origin rubies and jadeite. Importers must secure a written certification from the exporter stating that the rubies and jadeite were not mined or extracted from Myanmar.
The exporter must also provide "verifiable evidence" that tracks rough stones from mine to place of first export, polished loose gems from mine to place of final finishing, and finished jewelry from mine to place of final finishing of the jewelry.
Exceptions to these provisions include the re-importation of rubies, jadeite or jewelry containing either that were in the United States prior to Sept. 27, 2008, but only if those materials were re-imported by the same entity or person who exported them originally from the United States and as long as their value has not increased. Another exception applies to rubies, jadeite or jewelry containing either that was re-imported for personal use.
Recordkeeping obligations: Importers of non-Burmese rubies and jadeite must maintain records of each transaction for five years. These records include complete information regarding purchase, manufacture or shipment of covered articles and the exporter's certification. Importers are required to produce such records to Customs upon demand.
This includes maintaining the exporter certification and the statement regarding "verifiable evidence" indicating the source of rough, polished or finished jewelry, depending on which was imported.
Verifiable evidence could be an exporter's warranty stating the country of origin of the covered articles, the place in which they were polished and the place where they were manufactured into jewelry. Such a warranty should also include a statement that the exporter has available records that corroborate the statement in the warranty.
Importers and exporters are required to name on the invoice a "responsible employee" of the exporter who has or can obtain knowledge of the transactions. The information that this employee should have access to includes the verifiable evidence of the source and movement of the covered articles.
Industry leaders say the new information from Customs should clear up many of the questions surrounding the Lantos act.
"The guidance created by the Burma Task Force reflects the culmination of a tremendous amount of work and cooperation between jewelry industry representatives and the U.S. government," AGTA Chief Executive Officer Douglas Hucker said in the release. "It will certainly help to clear up a lot of the anxiety we had about complying with the act. We look forward to introducing this guidance at the AGTA GemFair in Tucson. AGTA is eager to communicate this important information to our members and to help them to be in compliance with this important legislation."
JA also praised the clarifications from Customs.
"Jewelers of America welcomes the government's amended Burmese gem regulations, which further clarify importers' obligations and place new responsibilities on exporters," JA President and Chief Executive Officer Matthew Runci said in the release. "We will ensure that our members are fully aware of the new requirements."
For those seeking further information, the JVC, AGTA and JA will present a seminar titled "Burma and Beyond--Operating Your Business in Today's New Regulatory Environment" at the AGTA GemFair in Tucson on Feb. 7. This seminar can help importers and exporters avoid interruptions in international business and will ensure they understand their legal obligations in this seemingly complex area. An international trade specialist from U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be present to answer questions, and written resources will be available.
The AGTA GemFair seminar will take place in the Mohave Room at 11:00 a.m. Registration is not required but space is limited. E-mail AGTA's Adam Graham at adam@agta.org or the JVC's Amy Greenbaum at amy@jvclegal.org with questions.
Visit the JVC's Web site, JVCLegal.org, for an explanation of the Jan. 16 regulations and other important legal-compliance information, products and services.
EarthTimes - Myanmar: Fencing on Bangladesh border not 'defence structure'
EarthTimes - Myanmar: Fencing on Bangladesh border not 'defence structure'
Posted : Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:33:09 GMT
Author : DPA
Dhaka - Myanmar said Tuesday that its planned fencing on its border with Bangladesh was not a "defence structure" and would be placed away from the border. "It's not a defence structure," Myanmar Ambassador Phae Thann Oo told reporters in Dhaka after a meeting with Bangladesh's junior minister for foreign affairs, Hasan Mahmud. "It is for the prevention of smuggling of narcotics and trafficking in persons."
The ministry had summoned the Myanmar envoy for an explanation of his country's planned fencing, fearing it would violate international boundary norms.
The ambassador said Yangon was constructing a 60-kilometre-long barbed wire fence on the 180-kilometre border with Bangladesh.
A Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Ministry official said there was nothing wrong with the construction because the envoy said the fencing was a minimum of 100 metres inside Myanmar.
The construction of the barbed-wire fence would not worsen relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar, the official added.
In November, Dhaka protested an intrusion by Myanmar ships exploring for oil and gas in Bangladesh's territorial waters in the Bay of Bengal.
Multipronged diplomatic efforts by Dhaka involving China and South Korea forced Myanmar to pull out its exploration ships after nearly two weeks of tensions.
Both Bangladesh and Myanmar sent warships into the disputed waters at the time.
Posted : Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:33:09 GMT
Author : DPA
Dhaka - Myanmar said Tuesday that its planned fencing on its border with Bangladesh was not a "defence structure" and would be placed away from the border. "It's not a defence structure," Myanmar Ambassador Phae Thann Oo told reporters in Dhaka after a meeting with Bangladesh's junior minister for foreign affairs, Hasan Mahmud. "It is for the prevention of smuggling of narcotics and trafficking in persons."
The ministry had summoned the Myanmar envoy for an explanation of his country's planned fencing, fearing it would violate international boundary norms.
The ambassador said Yangon was constructing a 60-kilometre-long barbed wire fence on the 180-kilometre border with Bangladesh.
A Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Ministry official said there was nothing wrong with the construction because the envoy said the fencing was a minimum of 100 metres inside Myanmar.
The construction of the barbed-wire fence would not worsen relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar, the official added.
In November, Dhaka protested an intrusion by Myanmar ships exploring for oil and gas in Bangladesh's territorial waters in the Bay of Bengal.
Multipronged diplomatic efforts by Dhaka involving China and South Korea forced Myanmar to pull out its exploration ships after nearly two weeks of tensions.
Both Bangladesh and Myanmar sent warships into the disputed waters at the time.
US names religious freedom violators
US names religious freedom violators
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer
Mon Mar 30, 6:42 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AP) – On its final working day in office, the Bush administration re-designated eight countries as severe violators of religious freedom but waived possible sanctions against Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan, officials said Monday.
The moves were reported to key members of Congress in late January but were not made public until Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's State Department informed the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom about them last week, State officials said.
On Jan. 16, then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed documents labeling Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea and Sudan as "countries of particular concern" for abuses of religious worshippers. The Obama administration took office four days later.
The U.S. commission, an independent congressionally mandated panel that provides recommendations to the government on religious freedom matters, took issue with the timing of the designations and the waivers to Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. The commission also questioned Rice's failure to add more countries to the blacklist.
"The commission is disappointed that Secretary Rice refused to designate any new countries and that waivers were granted for both Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia," said Felice Gaer, the group's chair. "Religious freedom conditions in Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia are appalling and a specific U.S. government response is required."
The commission had wanted Rice to add Iraq, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam to the list. Such a designation can bring about a range of U.S. sanctions unless a waiver is granted.
The designations were the first by the Bush administration under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act since 2006, when it named the same eight nations "countries of particular concern." Bush officials also waived sanctions against Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan in 2006.
Normally the designations have been made annually. The commission said Rice's last-minute move was "long overdue."
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer
Mon Mar 30, 6:42 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AP) – On its final working day in office, the Bush administration re-designated eight countries as severe violators of religious freedom but waived possible sanctions against Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan, officials said Monday.
The moves were reported to key members of Congress in late January but were not made public until Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's State Department informed the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom about them last week, State officials said.
On Jan. 16, then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed documents labeling Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea and Sudan as "countries of particular concern" for abuses of religious worshippers. The Obama administration took office four days later.
The U.S. commission, an independent congressionally mandated panel that provides recommendations to the government on religious freedom matters, took issue with the timing of the designations and the waivers to Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. The commission also questioned Rice's failure to add more countries to the blacklist.
"The commission is disappointed that Secretary Rice refused to designate any new countries and that waivers were granted for both Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia," said Felice Gaer, the group's chair. "Religious freedom conditions in Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia are appalling and a specific U.S. government response is required."
The commission had wanted Rice to add Iraq, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam to the list. Such a designation can bring about a range of U.S. sanctions unless a waiver is granted.
The designations were the first by the Bush administration under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act since 2006, when it named the same eight nations "countries of particular concern." Bush officials also waived sanctions against Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan in 2006.
Normally the designations have been made annually. The commission said Rice's last-minute move was "long overdue."
The National - Officers fear a coup on road to vote
The National - Officers fear a coup on road to vote
Larry Jagan, Foreign Correspondent
March 29. 2009 4:30AM GMT
BANGKOK // Myanmar’s leader has warned political parties planning to contest elections scheduled for next year that they must shun foreign ideologies.
“Democracy in Myanmar today is at a fledgling stage and still requires patient care and attention,” Gen Than Shwe said in an address to troops assembled in Naypitdaw, the capital, to celebrate Armed Forces Day.
“We have to ensure that the progress of democracy in the country does not affect non-disintegration of the union and non-disintegration of national solidarity.”
Gen Than rarely speaks in public except at the annual Armed Forces Day, which marks the day in 1945 when the army of Myanmar, also known as Burma, launched its resistance fight against the Japanese occupation forces. But this year’s celebration is different, as it may be the last before the country is ruled by a civilian government – which would be the first since 1962.
Beneath the pomp and ceremony, and the show of strength and harmony, there are signs of splits and dissension within the ranks over the army’s future role in the country as well as over the country’s political future and the road map to democracy.
The last three stages of the seven-stage road map to democracy, announced in Aug 2003, could dramatically change the role of the army as it involves free and fair elections and the convening of the national and provincial parliaments, followed by the establishment of a developed and democratic nation under the new parliament and constitution.
A battle is emerging between those who control most of Myanmar’s assets and those who see themselves as the country’s guardians.
On one side are the ministers and members of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, who have major business interests and are associated with Gen Than’s brainchild, the mass community-based organisation, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA). They have been running the government for nearly a decade and have accumulated massive wealth.
On the other side are the middle- and top-ranking generals, who graduated from the Defence Services Academy, as did their mentor, second-in-command Maung Aye. They see their main role as the protector of the people, and are anxious to see the military machine transformed into a professional army and withdraw from politics and the economy. They have become dismayed at the excessive corruption within government and understand that it is undermining the army’s future role in the country.
As the conflict between these two groups escalates, Gen Than’s deteriorating health and increasing reclusiveness have effectively left the country without a real leader. The result is inertia in government administration.
“Everyone is trying to second guess the big boss, and all critical decisions are being deferred until they are sure he has actually given them the go-ahead,” said a European businessman who was recently in Naypitdaw.
There is also fear that one of the contesting factions may launch a “soft coup” in the near future, according to military sources in Myanmar. But the real army, as these officers see themselves as, is going to have to act quickly if it is to remain a force to be reckoned with.
In the new political environment, the USDA will play a crucial role: either as the key pro-military party or an intermediary between the army and whatever political party emerges. All this will significantly increase its power and control over the country’s new political process.
Senior members of the army are increasingly resentful of the growing dominance of Gen Than’s USDA and the likely curtailment of the army’s authority in the months leading up to the election.
“When the new parliament is elected, it will bring an abrupt end to the army’s absolute power,” said a Myanmar government official.
These ministers and top USDA officials have all amassed huge personal fortunes from smuggling and kickbacks. “These fellows are out of control and raking in the money from bribery and fraud; no one can touch them,” a military source in Myanmar said. “They are building enormous war chests while they can. Some will use it for the elections, but there are others who are reluctant to squander their ill-gotten wealth on the election campaign.”
Many in the army are concerned that this group is planning a grab for power using the USDA as a front.
There is also resentment and frustration among junior officers in the ministry of defence, many of them divisional commanders.
“They are watching their unscrupulous colleagues hiding behind the uniform, building up massive fortunes from corruption in government, and they are worried that this is tarnishing the image of the army as a result,” a source in Naypitdaw said.
Although the grumbling and resentment have increased, there are still no signs of a coup.
“There is no doubt that many in the army are extremely unhappy with they way things are going, and are concerned about what will happen to them after the elections,” said Byo Nein, the son of a former government minister and a Thailand-based writer who follows Myanmar’s military affairs.
“But they are army officers and will continue to obey their orders unquestioningly.”
So far there is little to suggest that they are planning a purge of their opponents in the same way that the former prime minister, Khin Nyunt, and his intelligence apparatus were crushed five years ago.
“Nothing can be ruled out at this stage as resentment and anger is growing among the junior officers and the rank-and-file soldiers,” said Win Min, an independent analyst based at Chiang Mai University in northern Thailand.
Larry Jagan, Foreign Correspondent
March 29. 2009 4:30AM GMT
BANGKOK // Myanmar’s leader has warned political parties planning to contest elections scheduled for next year that they must shun foreign ideologies.
“Democracy in Myanmar today is at a fledgling stage and still requires patient care and attention,” Gen Than Shwe said in an address to troops assembled in Naypitdaw, the capital, to celebrate Armed Forces Day.
“We have to ensure that the progress of democracy in the country does not affect non-disintegration of the union and non-disintegration of national solidarity.”
Gen Than rarely speaks in public except at the annual Armed Forces Day, which marks the day in 1945 when the army of Myanmar, also known as Burma, launched its resistance fight against the Japanese occupation forces. But this year’s celebration is different, as it may be the last before the country is ruled by a civilian government – which would be the first since 1962.
Beneath the pomp and ceremony, and the show of strength and harmony, there are signs of splits and dissension within the ranks over the army’s future role in the country as well as over the country’s political future and the road map to democracy.
The last three stages of the seven-stage road map to democracy, announced in Aug 2003, could dramatically change the role of the army as it involves free and fair elections and the convening of the national and provincial parliaments, followed by the establishment of a developed and democratic nation under the new parliament and constitution.
A battle is emerging between those who control most of Myanmar’s assets and those who see themselves as the country’s guardians.
On one side are the ministers and members of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, who have major business interests and are associated with Gen Than’s brainchild, the mass community-based organisation, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA). They have been running the government for nearly a decade and have accumulated massive wealth.
On the other side are the middle- and top-ranking generals, who graduated from the Defence Services Academy, as did their mentor, second-in-command Maung Aye. They see their main role as the protector of the people, and are anxious to see the military machine transformed into a professional army and withdraw from politics and the economy. They have become dismayed at the excessive corruption within government and understand that it is undermining the army’s future role in the country.
As the conflict between these two groups escalates, Gen Than’s deteriorating health and increasing reclusiveness have effectively left the country without a real leader. The result is inertia in government administration.
“Everyone is trying to second guess the big boss, and all critical decisions are being deferred until they are sure he has actually given them the go-ahead,” said a European businessman who was recently in Naypitdaw.
There is also fear that one of the contesting factions may launch a “soft coup” in the near future, according to military sources in Myanmar. But the real army, as these officers see themselves as, is going to have to act quickly if it is to remain a force to be reckoned with.
In the new political environment, the USDA will play a crucial role: either as the key pro-military party or an intermediary between the army and whatever political party emerges. All this will significantly increase its power and control over the country’s new political process.
Senior members of the army are increasingly resentful of the growing dominance of Gen Than’s USDA and the likely curtailment of the army’s authority in the months leading up to the election.
“When the new parliament is elected, it will bring an abrupt end to the army’s absolute power,” said a Myanmar government official.
These ministers and top USDA officials have all amassed huge personal fortunes from smuggling and kickbacks. “These fellows are out of control and raking in the money from bribery and fraud; no one can touch them,” a military source in Myanmar said. “They are building enormous war chests while they can. Some will use it for the elections, but there are others who are reluctant to squander their ill-gotten wealth on the election campaign.”
Many in the army are concerned that this group is planning a grab for power using the USDA as a front.
There is also resentment and frustration among junior officers in the ministry of defence, many of them divisional commanders.
“They are watching their unscrupulous colleagues hiding behind the uniform, building up massive fortunes from corruption in government, and they are worried that this is tarnishing the image of the army as a result,” a source in Naypitdaw said.
Although the grumbling and resentment have increased, there are still no signs of a coup.
“There is no doubt that many in the army are extremely unhappy with they way things are going, and are concerned about what will happen to them after the elections,” said Byo Nein, the son of a former government minister and a Thailand-based writer who follows Myanmar’s military affairs.
“But they are army officers and will continue to obey their orders unquestioningly.”
So far there is little to suggest that they are planning a purge of their opponents in the same way that the former prime minister, Khin Nyunt, and his intelligence apparatus were crushed five years ago.
“Nothing can be ruled out at this stage as resentment and anger is growing among the junior officers and the rank-and-file soldiers,” said Win Min, an independent analyst based at Chiang Mai University in northern Thailand.
ASEAN rights body better than nothing: Philippines
ASEAN rights body better than nothing: Philippines
Fri Mar 27, 6:03 am ET
MANILA (AFP) - A regional human rights watchdog expected to come into being later this year will have limited scope but still represents an important first step for Southeast Asia, one of its drafters said here Friday.
The body, which should be launched in October, is not expected to get sanction to investigate human rights violations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Rosario Manalo.
Nor will it have the power to prosecute abusers at the out-set, added Manalo, the Filipino envoy among a team appointed by members of the 10-nation ASEAN to draft the body's "terms of reference".
Manalo told reporters "there is no political will" in ASEAN -- which has junta-ruled Myanmar among its members -- to give the new watchdog an investigative brief.
"You don't change societies in the wink of an eye," she said in defence. "We are still grappling with what 'human rights' really is."
Manalo said she sees the watchdog initially doing "promotions" and education so that ASEAN, which includes democracies, communist regimes, Myanmar's junta and a monarchy, would eventually "internalise it in their own societies."
The draft is to be submitted to ASEAN foreign ministers later this year, and ASEAN leaders are expected to launch the body in October.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Fri Mar 27, 6:03 am ET
MANILA (AFP) - A regional human rights watchdog expected to come into being later this year will have limited scope but still represents an important first step for Southeast Asia, one of its drafters said here Friday.
The body, which should be launched in October, is not expected to get sanction to investigate human rights violations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Rosario Manalo.
Nor will it have the power to prosecute abusers at the out-set, added Manalo, the Filipino envoy among a team appointed by members of the 10-nation ASEAN to draft the body's "terms of reference".
Manalo told reporters "there is no political will" in ASEAN -- which has junta-ruled Myanmar among its members -- to give the new watchdog an investigative brief.
"You don't change societies in the wink of an eye," she said in defence. "We are still grappling with what 'human rights' really is."
Manalo said she sees the watchdog initially doing "promotions" and education so that ASEAN, which includes democracies, communist regimes, Myanmar's junta and a monarchy, would eventually "internalise it in their own societies."
The draft is to be submitted to ASEAN foreign ministers later this year, and ASEAN leaders are expected to launch the body in October.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Myanmar junta open to talks after U.S. diplomat visit
Myanmar junta open to talks after U.S. diplomat visit
By Aung Hla Tun
Fri Mar 27, 5:30 am ET
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar (Reuters) – Myanmar's military junta is open to talks with the United States, its information minister said after a rare visit by a top U.S. diplomat amid a review of Washington's policy toward the regime.
"President Obama has pledged to make changes. I think that visit was just the beginning of the change," Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan told local reporters summoned to the new capital for Friday's annual Armed Forces Day parade.
Washington insisted this week's visit by Stephen Blake, director of the Office for Mainland Southeast Asia at the State Department, did not reflect any shift in policy toward a regime the former Bush administration labeled an "outpost of tyranny."
For its part, the junta has often blasted a "certain superpower" for meddling in its internal affairs.
"Our relations were strained, but not because we did not want to deal with them," Kyaw Hsan said.
Blake met with Foreign Minister Nyan Win, representatives of ethnic minority groups and members of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party during his visit, part of a five-country tour of the region.
The trip, which U.S. officials confirmed after it was reported by Myanmar's state-run newspaper, came a month after Hillary Clinton announced the policy review during her first tour of Asia as U.S. Secretary of State.
Over the years Washington has tightened sanctions on the military, which has ruled for more than four decades, to try to force a political rapprochement with Nobel laureate Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
But Clinton admitted last month that sanctions had not worked and she was looking at new ways to sway one of the world's most reclusive regimes.
Efforts by Myanmar's neighbors to engage the junta have also failed to win any meaningful political reforms as the country gears up for controversial general elections in 2010.
Western governments have criticized the forthcoming poll as a sham aimed at entrenching rule by the military, which refused to recognize the last election in 1990, won by Suu Kyi's party.
The NLD has insisted on a list of preconditions before it will negotiate with the regime, including the release of all political prisoners, a review of the new constitution and the honoring of the 1990 election results.
The junta has ignored those demands as it pushes ahead with its seven-step "roadmap" to democracy.
In his address to the troops, junta leader Senior General Than Shwe, 76, warned politicians to "refrain from inciting unrest, to avoid personal attacks and smear campaigns against other parties" during next year's campaign.
A day earlier, a bomb killed one man and wounded two women at a guesthouse in the commercial capital, Yangon, witnesses said.
Small bomb attacks are common in the run-up to the annual "army day" parade in a country that has been riven by ethnic insurgencies since its independence from Britain in 1948.
More than 13,000 members of the police and Tatmadaw, as the army is known, took part in the parade at a specially designed ground in Naypyidaw, a dusty town that became the capital in 2005 in a move that further isolated the regime.
By Aung Hla Tun
Fri Mar 27, 5:30 am ET
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar (Reuters) – Myanmar's military junta is open to talks with the United States, its information minister said after a rare visit by a top U.S. diplomat amid a review of Washington's policy toward the regime.
"President Obama has pledged to make changes. I think that visit was just the beginning of the change," Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan told local reporters summoned to the new capital for Friday's annual Armed Forces Day parade.
Washington insisted this week's visit by Stephen Blake, director of the Office for Mainland Southeast Asia at the State Department, did not reflect any shift in policy toward a regime the former Bush administration labeled an "outpost of tyranny."
For its part, the junta has often blasted a "certain superpower" for meddling in its internal affairs.
"Our relations were strained, but not because we did not want to deal with them," Kyaw Hsan said.
Blake met with Foreign Minister Nyan Win, representatives of ethnic minority groups and members of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party during his visit, part of a five-country tour of the region.
The trip, which U.S. officials confirmed after it was reported by Myanmar's state-run newspaper, came a month after Hillary Clinton announced the policy review during her first tour of Asia as U.S. Secretary of State.
Over the years Washington has tightened sanctions on the military, which has ruled for more than four decades, to try to force a political rapprochement with Nobel laureate Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
But Clinton admitted last month that sanctions had not worked and she was looking at new ways to sway one of the world's most reclusive regimes.
Efforts by Myanmar's neighbors to engage the junta have also failed to win any meaningful political reforms as the country gears up for controversial general elections in 2010.
Western governments have criticized the forthcoming poll as a sham aimed at entrenching rule by the military, which refused to recognize the last election in 1990, won by Suu Kyi's party.
The NLD has insisted on a list of preconditions before it will negotiate with the regime, including the release of all political prisoners, a review of the new constitution and the honoring of the 1990 election results.
The junta has ignored those demands as it pushes ahead with its seven-step "roadmap" to democracy.
In his address to the troops, junta leader Senior General Than Shwe, 76, warned politicians to "refrain from inciting unrest, to avoid personal attacks and smear campaigns against other parties" during next year's campaign.
A day earlier, a bomb killed one man and wounded two women at a guesthouse in the commercial capital, Yangon, witnesses said.
Small bomb attacks are common in the run-up to the annual "army day" parade in a country that has been riven by ethnic insurgencies since its independence from Britain in 1948.
More than 13,000 members of the police and Tatmadaw, as the army is known, took part in the parade at a specially designed ground in Naypyidaw, a dusty town that became the capital in 2005 in a move that further isolated the regime.
UN rights body condemns systematic abuses in Myanmar
UN rights body condemns systematic abuses in Myanmar
Fri Mar 27, 2009 6:18pm IST
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, March 27 (Reuters) - The United Nations on Friday condemned what it called systematic human rights violations in Myanmar and urged the ruling military junta to release all its political prisoners, believed to number 2,100.
The Western-sponsored resolution was criticised by most Asian countries and Russia who said the non-binding resolution was counter-productive.
"Condemnation and exerting pressure are not helpful to fundamentally solving the problem," China's envoy said. The resolution called on Myanmar's military rulers to halt "politically motivated arrests" and immediately release without conditions all political prisoners held in "harsh conditions, in unknown locations or without charge."
They included opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate whose latest house arrest began in 2003.
The Human Rights Council also called on Myanmar authorities to review the "harsh sentences" handed down against critics since November at closed-door trials and to end impunity for human rights abusers.
The council also extended for one year the mandate of its special investigator on Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, saying the situation in the country needed careful monitoring.
Quintana, in a report to the Council earlier this month, said about 400 political prisoners had been given sentences ranging from 24 to 65 years in recent months.
The Argentinean lawyer called for the release of more than 2,100 political prisoners -- including activists, journalists and people arrested for lodging complaints about forced labour -- to allow them to take part in an election set for 2010.
Quintana, who has visited Myanmar twice in the past six months, has urged the country to halt its use of civilians in forced labour -- including as "human minesweepers."
Wunna Maung Win, Myanmar's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, rejected the resolution as "lopsided and highly intrusive." "We believe country-specific, politically motivated resolutions have no place in the work of the Council," he said. "Nevertheless, as a member of the United Nations we shall continue cooperation with the Human Rights Council."
Yangon's envoy recently told the Council the country holds no political prisoners, only individuals serving prison terms for breaking domestic laws.
Myanmar's military, which has ruled in various guises since 1962, has promised an election in 2010 as part of what it calls a "roadmap to democracy." Western governments have criticised the poll as a sham aimed at entrenching military rule.
The country's information minister said on Friday his country would open talks with the United States after a rare visit by a top U.S. diplomat amid a review of Washington's policy towards the regime.
The United States, which is not a Council member, was among co-sponsors of the EU text, along with Australia and Canada.
The Geneva forum ends its four-week session on Friday.
Fri Mar 27, 2009 6:18pm IST
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, March 27 (Reuters) - The United Nations on Friday condemned what it called systematic human rights violations in Myanmar and urged the ruling military junta to release all its political prisoners, believed to number 2,100.
The Western-sponsored resolution was criticised by most Asian countries and Russia who said the non-binding resolution was counter-productive.
"Condemnation and exerting pressure are not helpful to fundamentally solving the problem," China's envoy said. The resolution called on Myanmar's military rulers to halt "politically motivated arrests" and immediately release without conditions all political prisoners held in "harsh conditions, in unknown locations or without charge."
They included opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate whose latest house arrest began in 2003.
The Human Rights Council also called on Myanmar authorities to review the "harsh sentences" handed down against critics since November at closed-door trials and to end impunity for human rights abusers.
The council also extended for one year the mandate of its special investigator on Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, saying the situation in the country needed careful monitoring.
Quintana, in a report to the Council earlier this month, said about 400 political prisoners had been given sentences ranging from 24 to 65 years in recent months.
The Argentinean lawyer called for the release of more than 2,100 political prisoners -- including activists, journalists and people arrested for lodging complaints about forced labour -- to allow them to take part in an election set for 2010.
Quintana, who has visited Myanmar twice in the past six months, has urged the country to halt its use of civilians in forced labour -- including as "human minesweepers."
Wunna Maung Win, Myanmar's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, rejected the resolution as "lopsided and highly intrusive." "We believe country-specific, politically motivated resolutions have no place in the work of the Council," he said. "Nevertheless, as a member of the United Nations we shall continue cooperation with the Human Rights Council."
Yangon's envoy recently told the Council the country holds no political prisoners, only individuals serving prison terms for breaking domestic laws.
Myanmar's military, which has ruled in various guises since 1962, has promised an election in 2010 as part of what it calls a "roadmap to democracy." Western governments have criticised the poll as a sham aimed at entrenching military rule.
The country's information minister said on Friday his country would open talks with the United States after a rare visit by a top U.S. diplomat amid a review of Washington's policy towards the regime.
The United States, which is not a Council member, was among co-sponsors of the EU text, along with Australia and Canada.
The Geneva forum ends its four-week session on Friday.
Myanmar junta chief sets guidelines for 2010 polls
Myanmar junta chief sets guidelines for 2010 polls
Fri Mar 27, 9:47 am ET
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's junta chief set some ground rules Friday for elections scheduled for 2010, calling on political parties to avoid smear campaigns and to remember it will take awhile to establish a "mature" democracy.
Senior Gen. Than Shwe rarely says anything in public except at the annual Armed Forces Day, a holiday celebrated Friday to mark the military's might with a customary ostentatious display of troops and equipment.
As is tradition, the public was not allowed to attend the tightly guarded event at a massive parade ground in Naypyitaw, the remote administrative capital the junta moved its government offices to in 2005.
After reviewing more than 13,000 troops from inside a moving convertible, Than Shwe gave a 17-minute speech that focused on elections scheduled for 2010 — the first polls in almost two decades.
The elections are the last stage of the junta's so-called "roadmap to democracy," a process critics have called a sham designed to cement the military's four-decade grip on power.
The 76-year-old Than Shwe said political parties that contest the elections should "refrain from inciting unrest, avoid personal attacks and smear campaigns against other parties."
Parties that carry out "mature party organizing work will receive the blessing of the government," he told the audience, which included military leaders, government ministers and reporters. Foreign media were denied visas to cover the event.
But he added the country should not expect a "well-established democracy" overnight.
A precise election date has not been set and it is not yet known who will contest the polls. Before a political party can participate it must meet the standards of a "political parties registration law," which has not yet been announced.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962.
The current junta took power in 1988 after violently crushing a pro-democracy uprising. Two years later it refused to hand over power when Aung San Suu Kyi's political party won a landslide election victory.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years.
As part of its roadmap, the junta drafted a new constitution that enshrines the military's leading role in politics. One of the provisions of the constitution effectively bars Suu Kyi from holding any kind of political office in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy did not participate in the drafting process and says last year's constitutional referendum — which adopted the charter by 92 percent — was engineered by the junta.
Armed Forces Day is held every March 27 to commemorate the day in 1945 when the Myanmar army rose up against Japanese occupation forces.
Fri Mar 27, 9:47 am ET
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's junta chief set some ground rules Friday for elections scheduled for 2010, calling on political parties to avoid smear campaigns and to remember it will take awhile to establish a "mature" democracy.
Senior Gen. Than Shwe rarely says anything in public except at the annual Armed Forces Day, a holiday celebrated Friday to mark the military's might with a customary ostentatious display of troops and equipment.
As is tradition, the public was not allowed to attend the tightly guarded event at a massive parade ground in Naypyitaw, the remote administrative capital the junta moved its government offices to in 2005.
After reviewing more than 13,000 troops from inside a moving convertible, Than Shwe gave a 17-minute speech that focused on elections scheduled for 2010 — the first polls in almost two decades.
The elections are the last stage of the junta's so-called "roadmap to democracy," a process critics have called a sham designed to cement the military's four-decade grip on power.
The 76-year-old Than Shwe said political parties that contest the elections should "refrain from inciting unrest, avoid personal attacks and smear campaigns against other parties."
Parties that carry out "mature party organizing work will receive the blessing of the government," he told the audience, which included military leaders, government ministers and reporters. Foreign media were denied visas to cover the event.
But he added the country should not expect a "well-established democracy" overnight.
A precise election date has not been set and it is not yet known who will contest the polls. Before a political party can participate it must meet the standards of a "political parties registration law," which has not yet been announced.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962.
The current junta took power in 1988 after violently crushing a pro-democracy uprising. Two years later it refused to hand over power when Aung San Suu Kyi's political party won a landslide election victory.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years.
As part of its roadmap, the junta drafted a new constitution that enshrines the military's leading role in politics. One of the provisions of the constitution effectively bars Suu Kyi from holding any kind of political office in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy did not participate in the drafting process and says last year's constitutional referendum — which adopted the charter by 92 percent — was engineered by the junta.
Armed Forces Day is held every March 27 to commemorate the day in 1945 when the Myanmar army rose up against Japanese occupation forces.
The National Post - Isolated heroine still haunts Burma
The National Post - Isolated heroine still haunts Burma
Aung San Suu Kyi
Peter Goodspeed, National Post Published: Thursday, March 26, 2009
Despite years in detention and forced isolation, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi still has the power to encourage her followers and enrage Burma's military rulers.
The charismatic daughter of independence hero, Aung San, and winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle to bring democracy to her country, she has been confined to her home without any contact with the outside world since September, 2000.
Known fondly to the residents of Rangoon simply as "The Lady," she has lived in virtual solitary confinement for 13 of the last 19 years in a heavily guarded, whitewashed villa on the south shore of Inya Lake.
Surrounded by soldiers and coils of barbed wire, the sickly 63-year-old widow is allowed to see only her doctor -- every two months -- a live-in maid and her jailers.
Not since Nelson Mandela became the personification of South Africa's struggle against apartheid, despite spending 27 years in jail, has anyone else approached the same level of political heroism in the face of repression.
Now, the United Nations has declared, for the fifth time in 18 years, Ms. Suu Kyi's detention is arbitrary and a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But this time, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention added a twist to its ruling by declaring it also violates Burma's own constitution.
The working group, an arm of the UN Human Rights Council, said Ms. Suu Kyi is being held under Burma's 1975 State Protection Law, which provides for the detention of anyone deemed a threat to the "security of the state or public peace and tranquility" for up to five years.
Under this law, the detention order must be renewed every year and the law says it is renewable for a maximum of only five years.
In Ms. Suu Kyi's case, that five-year period ended at the end of May, 2008.
The UN group called for her immediate release.
"I am under no illusion the junta will listen to the United Nations," says Jared Genser, her family's Washington lawyer. "There is no quick and easy answer to the problem of Burma, so we have to take it one step forward at a time."
A breakthrough appears unlikely since Burma is undergoing yet another political crackdown before parliamentary elections scheduled for early next year.
This month, five members of Ms. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) were arrested, joining about 2,100 political prisoners in Burma's jails. That is almost double the number of political prisoners held in the country at the same time last year.
The Burmese junta has unveiled a "road-map to democracy," which calls for a national election next year to transfer power from uniformed officers to a civilian dictatorship.
But the new constitution, approved by 94.5% of voters in an apparently rigged referendum last year, guarantees a quarter of all legislative seats to the armed forces and bars opposition leaders, such as Ms, Suu Kyi, from ever holding office.
However, her continued imprisonment is proof of her political clout. Though silent and ailing, she remains dangerous as the only person who can unite a broad array of forces against the generals.
pgoodspeed@nationalpost.com---------
National PostTIMELINE OF DETENTION
1988: Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent most of her life in Britain, returns to Burma as pro-democracy protests sweep country. Uprising crushed. 1989: Placed under house arrest.
1990: As head of the opposition movement and NLD leader, wins national elections by a landslide. Generals nullify elections.
1991: Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades"
1995: Released and tens of thousands rally to her cause. 2000: Again placed under house arrest. Awarded U. S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, U. S.'s highest civilian honour.
Aung San Suu Kyi
Peter Goodspeed, National Post Published: Thursday, March 26, 2009
Despite years in detention and forced isolation, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi still has the power to encourage her followers and enrage Burma's military rulers.
The charismatic daughter of independence hero, Aung San, and winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle to bring democracy to her country, she has been confined to her home without any contact with the outside world since September, 2000.
Known fondly to the residents of Rangoon simply as "The Lady," she has lived in virtual solitary confinement for 13 of the last 19 years in a heavily guarded, whitewashed villa on the south shore of Inya Lake.
Surrounded by soldiers and coils of barbed wire, the sickly 63-year-old widow is allowed to see only her doctor -- every two months -- a live-in maid and her jailers.
Not since Nelson Mandela became the personification of South Africa's struggle against apartheid, despite spending 27 years in jail, has anyone else approached the same level of political heroism in the face of repression.
Now, the United Nations has declared, for the fifth time in 18 years, Ms. Suu Kyi's detention is arbitrary and a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But this time, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention added a twist to its ruling by declaring it also violates Burma's own constitution.
The working group, an arm of the UN Human Rights Council, said Ms. Suu Kyi is being held under Burma's 1975 State Protection Law, which provides for the detention of anyone deemed a threat to the "security of the state or public peace and tranquility" for up to five years.
Under this law, the detention order must be renewed every year and the law says it is renewable for a maximum of only five years.
In Ms. Suu Kyi's case, that five-year period ended at the end of May, 2008.
The UN group called for her immediate release.
"I am under no illusion the junta will listen to the United Nations," says Jared Genser, her family's Washington lawyer. "There is no quick and easy answer to the problem of Burma, so we have to take it one step forward at a time."
A breakthrough appears unlikely since Burma is undergoing yet another political crackdown before parliamentary elections scheduled for early next year.
This month, five members of Ms. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) were arrested, joining about 2,100 political prisoners in Burma's jails. That is almost double the number of political prisoners held in the country at the same time last year.
The Burmese junta has unveiled a "road-map to democracy," which calls for a national election next year to transfer power from uniformed officers to a civilian dictatorship.
But the new constitution, approved by 94.5% of voters in an apparently rigged referendum last year, guarantees a quarter of all legislative seats to the armed forces and bars opposition leaders, such as Ms, Suu Kyi, from ever holding office.
However, her continued imprisonment is proof of her political clout. Though silent and ailing, she remains dangerous as the only person who can unite a broad array of forces against the generals.
pgoodspeed@nationalpost.com---------
National PostTIMELINE OF DETENTION
1988: Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent most of her life in Britain, returns to Burma as pro-democracy protests sweep country. Uprising crushed. 1989: Placed under house arrest.
1990: As head of the opposition movement and NLD leader, wins national elections by a landslide. Generals nullify elections.
1991: Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades"
1995: Released and tens of thousands rally to her cause. 2000: Again placed under house arrest. Awarded U. S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, U. S.'s highest civilian honour.
U.S. Denies Envoy’s Meeting With Myanmar Junta Is Policy Change
U.S. Denies Envoy’s Meeting With Myanmar Junta Is Policy Change
By Michael Heath
March 26 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. said a meeting between a senior State Department official and members of Myanmar’s military junta this week doesn’t represent a softening of America’s position toward the regime.
Director of the Office for Mainland Southeast Asia Stephen Blake met with Foreign Minister Nyan Win on March 24 in the capital, Naypyidaw, according to the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
Blake didn’t have “any substantive conversations” with officials in the country formerly known as Burma, “nor has the U.S. position on Burma changed,” State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said. The visit came as President Barack Obama’s administration reviews the stance of its predecessor on Myanmar.
The Bush administration led international criticism following the regime’s crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners in 2007 and tightened sanctions in January in one of its last acts. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last month the Obama administration is reviewing its policy to try to better influence the regime and help the people of Myanmar.
The New Light of Myanmar said Blake and Nyan Win held “cordial discussions on issues of mutual interest and promotion of bilateral relations.”
Blake later traveled to the former capital, Yangon, to meet with members of the opposition National League for Democracy, whose leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, has had only brief periods of freedom from detention since her party won 1990 elections. Those results were rejected by the military, which has ruled the country since 1962.
2010 Election
Blake met with the NLD’s central committee at its Yangon headquarters for an hour, Agence France-Presse reported, citing a party official.
The junta plans elections in 2010 after a referendum last year on a new constitution that it said was approved by 92 percent of voters. The NLD has denounced the charter, which bars Suu Kyi, 63, from holding office, saying it aims to extend military rule.
On the same day as Blake’s visit, a United Nations body affirmed the continued detentions of Suu Kyi and other pro- democracy activists are arbitrary and unjustified. Suu Kyi’s detention contravenes Myanmar’s own law, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said.
The State Department repeated its call for the regime to release more than 2,100 political prisoners immediately and unconditionally.
Blake’s visit to Naypyidaw was the first to the city by a U.S. official to promote bilateral relations, AFP cited unidentified Myanmar officials as saying. They also said the U.S. embassy’s reception in Naypyidaw to introduce the director was the first held by any foreign mission in the capital.
A Myanmar official said the U.S. misunderstood the country’s situation after a 1988 uprising, AFP reported. Anti- government protests that year were crushed in a military crackdown that killed more than 1,000 demonstrators, according to State Department figures. The U.S. and Myanmar won’t understand each other without talking, AFP cited the official as saying.
By Michael Heath
March 26 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. said a meeting between a senior State Department official and members of Myanmar’s military junta this week doesn’t represent a softening of America’s position toward the regime.
Director of the Office for Mainland Southeast Asia Stephen Blake met with Foreign Minister Nyan Win on March 24 in the capital, Naypyidaw, according to the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
Blake didn’t have “any substantive conversations” with officials in the country formerly known as Burma, “nor has the U.S. position on Burma changed,” State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said. The visit came as President Barack Obama’s administration reviews the stance of its predecessor on Myanmar.
The Bush administration led international criticism following the regime’s crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners in 2007 and tightened sanctions in January in one of its last acts. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last month the Obama administration is reviewing its policy to try to better influence the regime and help the people of Myanmar.
The New Light of Myanmar said Blake and Nyan Win held “cordial discussions on issues of mutual interest and promotion of bilateral relations.”
Blake later traveled to the former capital, Yangon, to meet with members of the opposition National League for Democracy, whose leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, has had only brief periods of freedom from detention since her party won 1990 elections. Those results were rejected by the military, which has ruled the country since 1962.
2010 Election
Blake met with the NLD’s central committee at its Yangon headquarters for an hour, Agence France-Presse reported, citing a party official.
The junta plans elections in 2010 after a referendum last year on a new constitution that it said was approved by 92 percent of voters. The NLD has denounced the charter, which bars Suu Kyi, 63, from holding office, saying it aims to extend military rule.
On the same day as Blake’s visit, a United Nations body affirmed the continued detentions of Suu Kyi and other pro- democracy activists are arbitrary and unjustified. Suu Kyi’s detention contravenes Myanmar’s own law, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said.
The State Department repeated its call for the regime to release more than 2,100 political prisoners immediately and unconditionally.
Blake’s visit to Naypyidaw was the first to the city by a U.S. official to promote bilateral relations, AFP cited unidentified Myanmar officials as saying. They also said the U.S. embassy’s reception in Naypyidaw to introduce the director was the first held by any foreign mission in the capital.
A Myanmar official said the U.S. misunderstood the country’s situation after a 1988 uprising, AFP reported. Anti- government protests that year were crushed in a military crackdown that killed more than 1,000 demonstrators, according to State Department figures. The U.S. and Myanmar won’t understand each other without talking, AFP cited the official as saying.
Nasdaq - Myanmar Talks Do Not Signal Policy Shift - US
Nasdaq - Myanmar Talks Do Not Signal Policy Shift - US
WASHINGTON (AFP)--A surprise meeting this week between a senior U.S. official and Myanmar's junta does not signal a change in U.S. policy towards the military-ruled nation, the State Department said Wednesday.
Stephen Blake, the State Department's director of Southeast Asian Affairs, met Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday, State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said.
"His visit does not reflect a change in policy or approach to Burma," Duguid said. "Office director-level officials, including Mr. Blake's two immediate predecessors, have visited Burma and met with Burmese officials on a number of occasions in recent years." The U.S. and the U.K. refer to Myanmar as Burma.
Duguid said a review of U.S. policy toward Myanmar announced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "is still underway."
"While we have not yet finalized our approach, we remain committed to encouraging a genuine dialogue between the Burmese authorities and opposition that leads to a free and democratic Burma that respects the rights of its diverse citizens and is at peace with its neighbors," he said.
Blake's visit was first disclosed by the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper, which said Blake and Nyan Win held "cordial discussions on issues of mutual interest and promotion of bilateral relations."
Duguid stressed that Blake also met with representatives of the opposition during his visit, notably leaders of the National League for Democracy of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
An NLD spokesman, also called Nyan Win, said the party's central committee met Blake at its headquarters for an hour in the afternoon but the U.S. official would not reveal Washington's likely future stance towards Myanmar or Aung San Suu Kyi.
"He (Blake) asked us about the NLD's opinions on the recent political situation and the coming 2010 election. We also asked him about the policy of the U.S. State Department," the spokesman said.
"We told him that we haven't decided yet whether or not to participate in the elections but we told him the important thing for us is to review the state constitution and to begin dialogue" with authorities.
The spokesman said Blake "did not bring any message from the authorities. He did not mention about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."
WASHINGTON (AFP)--A surprise meeting this week between a senior U.S. official and Myanmar's junta does not signal a change in U.S. policy towards the military-ruled nation, the State Department said Wednesday.
Stephen Blake, the State Department's director of Southeast Asian Affairs, met Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday, State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said.
"His visit does not reflect a change in policy or approach to Burma," Duguid said. "Office director-level officials, including Mr. Blake's two immediate predecessors, have visited Burma and met with Burmese officials on a number of occasions in recent years." The U.S. and the U.K. refer to Myanmar as Burma.
Duguid said a review of U.S. policy toward Myanmar announced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "is still underway."
"While we have not yet finalized our approach, we remain committed to encouraging a genuine dialogue between the Burmese authorities and opposition that leads to a free and democratic Burma that respects the rights of its diverse citizens and is at peace with its neighbors," he said.
Blake's visit was first disclosed by the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper, which said Blake and Nyan Win held "cordial discussions on issues of mutual interest and promotion of bilateral relations."
Duguid stressed that Blake also met with representatives of the opposition during his visit, notably leaders of the National League for Democracy of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
An NLD spokesman, also called Nyan Win, said the party's central committee met Blake at its headquarters for an hour in the afternoon but the U.S. official would not reveal Washington's likely future stance towards Myanmar or Aung San Suu Kyi.
"He (Blake) asked us about the NLD's opinions on the recent political situation and the coming 2010 election. We also asked him about the policy of the U.S. State Department," the spokesman said.
"We told him that we haven't decided yet whether or not to participate in the elections but we told him the important thing for us is to review the state constitution and to begin dialogue" with authorities.
The spokesman said Blake "did not bring any message from the authorities. He did not mention about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."
The Peninsula - Obama aide holds talks with Myanmar junta, Suu Kyi
The Peninsula - Obama aide holds talks with Myanmar junta, Suu Kyi
Web posted at: 3/26/2009 0:45:30
Source ::: AFP
YANGON: A senior US official held talks with Myanmar’s junta and the party of opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi during a rare visit to the military-ruled nation, officials and state media said yesterday.
The trip by State Department official Stephen Blake came as US President Barack Obama’s administration continues to review the tough stance taken on Myanmar by his predecessor, George W Bush.
Blake, the department’s director of Mainland Southeast Asian Affairs, met Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the administrative capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
The government-run paper said they held “cordial discussions on issues of mutual interests and promotion of bilateral relations between the Union of Myanmar and the United States.”
Blake later went to the main city of Yangon to meet leaders of the opposition National League for Democracy, whose leader, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has been detained for most of the past 19 years.
An NLD spokesman, also called Nyan Win, said the party’s central committee met Blake at its headquarters for an hour in the afternoon but the US official would not reveal Washington’s likely future stance towards Myanmar or Aung San Suu Kyi.
“He (Blake) asked us about the NLD’s opinions on the recent political situation and the coming 2010 election. We also asked him about the policy of the US State Department,” spokesman Nyan Win said. “We told him that we haven’t decided yet whether or not to participate in the elections but we told him the important thing for us is to review the state constitution and to begin dialogue (with authorities).”
The spokesman said he believed Blake was the most senior official from the State Department to see the NLD in recent years.
“He did not bring any message from the authorities. He did not mention about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” Nyan Win added.
An official from the US embassy in Yangon said that Blake’s visit was “routine.” “What he did in this trip is not different from what he has done in the other countries and not different from the previous directors,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
But official Myanmar sources insisted that Blake’s visit to Naypyidaw was the first to the city to promote bilateral relations between the two countries.
They also said that a reception held by the US embassy for officials in Naypyidaw to introduce the visiting director was the first held by any foreign mission in the capital.
“Myanmar and the US have been friendly countries since the beginning. They were also the first country to recognise our independence from the British in 1948,” a senior Myanmar official said on condition of anonymity.
“They misunderstood our country’s situation after the 1988 uprising. We will not understand each other without talking. It was the first time a director of the US visited here for talks—the US did what they should do,” he said.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the army since 1962 and a student-led uprising in 1988 ended in a brutal military crackdown which left an estimated 3,000 people dead.
The junta ignored a landslide election victory by Aung San Suu Kyi’s party in 1990 and critics say general elections planned for 2010 are a sham aimed at entrenching the generals’ power.
The regime has handed out heavy jail terms to dozens of pro-democracy activists in recent months, many of them involved in protests led by Buddhist monks that erupted in 2007.
But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last month that the Obama administration is reviewing its policy towards Myanmar to find ways to better influence the regime and help the country’s people.
Web posted at: 3/26/2009 0:45:30
Source ::: AFP
YANGON: A senior US official held talks with Myanmar’s junta and the party of opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi during a rare visit to the military-ruled nation, officials and state media said yesterday.
The trip by State Department official Stephen Blake came as US President Barack Obama’s administration continues to review the tough stance taken on Myanmar by his predecessor, George W Bush.
Blake, the department’s director of Mainland Southeast Asian Affairs, met Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the administrative capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
The government-run paper said they held “cordial discussions on issues of mutual interests and promotion of bilateral relations between the Union of Myanmar and the United States.”
Blake later went to the main city of Yangon to meet leaders of the opposition National League for Democracy, whose leader, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has been detained for most of the past 19 years.
An NLD spokesman, also called Nyan Win, said the party’s central committee met Blake at its headquarters for an hour in the afternoon but the US official would not reveal Washington’s likely future stance towards Myanmar or Aung San Suu Kyi.
“He (Blake) asked us about the NLD’s opinions on the recent political situation and the coming 2010 election. We also asked him about the policy of the US State Department,” spokesman Nyan Win said. “We told him that we haven’t decided yet whether or not to participate in the elections but we told him the important thing for us is to review the state constitution and to begin dialogue (with authorities).”
The spokesman said he believed Blake was the most senior official from the State Department to see the NLD in recent years.
“He did not bring any message from the authorities. He did not mention about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” Nyan Win added.
An official from the US embassy in Yangon said that Blake’s visit was “routine.” “What he did in this trip is not different from what he has done in the other countries and not different from the previous directors,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
But official Myanmar sources insisted that Blake’s visit to Naypyidaw was the first to the city to promote bilateral relations between the two countries.
They also said that a reception held by the US embassy for officials in Naypyidaw to introduce the visiting director was the first held by any foreign mission in the capital.
“Myanmar and the US have been friendly countries since the beginning. They were also the first country to recognise our independence from the British in 1948,” a senior Myanmar official said on condition of anonymity.
“They misunderstood our country’s situation after the 1988 uprising. We will not understand each other without talking. It was the first time a director of the US visited here for talks—the US did what they should do,” he said.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the army since 1962 and a student-led uprising in 1988 ended in a brutal military crackdown which left an estimated 3,000 people dead.
The junta ignored a landslide election victory by Aung San Suu Kyi’s party in 1990 and critics say general elections planned for 2010 are a sham aimed at entrenching the generals’ power.
The regime has handed out heavy jail terms to dozens of pro-democracy activists in recent months, many of them involved in protests led by Buddhist monks that erupted in 2007.
But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last month that the Obama administration is reviewing its policy towards Myanmar to find ways to better influence the regime and help the country’s people.
One dead in Myanmar blast: official
One dead in Myanmar blast: official
Thu Mar 26, 11:00 am ET
YANGON (AFP) - One person was killed and two others injured in a suspected bomb blast in Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon Thursday, on the eve of the country's annual military parade, official sources said.
The explosion happened at a guest house in the city's North Okkalapa township, killing a man and wounding two women, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
Military-ruled Myanmar has been rocked by a series of small bomb blasts in recent months, with two small bombs exploding in Yangon in early March, causing minor damage but no injuries.
In a string of explosions late last year, one man was killed in Yangon in October and two people died in a township outside the city in a video cafe bombing.
Although the country's ruling junta usually blames armed exile groups or ethnic rebels, it has also pointed the finger at democracy activists.
State-run media in September accused two members of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) of bombing pro-government offices last year.
The NLD won a landslide victory in 1990 elections, but the junta never allowed it to take office. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest almost constantly since.
The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962, partly justifying its grip on power by claiming the need to fend off ethnic rebellions which have plagued remote border areas for decades.
Thu Mar 26, 11:00 am ET
YANGON (AFP) - One person was killed and two others injured in a suspected bomb blast in Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon Thursday, on the eve of the country's annual military parade, official sources said.
The explosion happened at a guest house in the city's North Okkalapa township, killing a man and wounding two women, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
Military-ruled Myanmar has been rocked by a series of small bomb blasts in recent months, with two small bombs exploding in Yangon in early March, causing minor damage but no injuries.
In a string of explosions late last year, one man was killed in Yangon in October and two people died in a township outside the city in a video cafe bombing.
Although the country's ruling junta usually blames armed exile groups or ethnic rebels, it has also pointed the finger at democracy activists.
State-run media in September accused two members of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) of bombing pro-government offices last year.
The NLD won a landslide victory in 1990 elections, but the junta never allowed it to take office. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest almost constantly since.
The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962, partly justifying its grip on power by claiming the need to fend off ethnic rebellions which have plagued remote border areas for decades.
U.S. Department of State - UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Calls for Release of Political Prisoners in Burma
U.S. Department of State - UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Calls for Release of Political Prisoners in Burma
Robert Wood
Acting Department Spokesman, Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
March 24, 2009
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued opinions today affirming that the continued detentions of Aung San Suu Kyi, Aung Myin, Ko Jimmy, Paw Oo Tun, and Mtay Win Aung are arbitrary and unjustified and that the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi is in contravention of Burma’s own law. The U.N. working group urged the Burmese government to release these individuals immediately.
We are disappointed that the regime continues to ignore the calls of the international community, including the UN Security Council, to release the more than 2,100 political prisoners immediately and unconditionally. We once again urge the Burmese authorities to release all political prisoners and initiate a genuine dialogue that can help move the country forward.
Robert Wood
Acting Department Spokesman, Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
March 24, 2009
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued opinions today affirming that the continued detentions of Aung San Suu Kyi, Aung Myin, Ko Jimmy, Paw Oo Tun, and Mtay Win Aung are arbitrary and unjustified and that the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi is in contravention of Burma’s own law. The U.N. working group urged the Burmese government to release these individuals immediately.
We are disappointed that the regime continues to ignore the calls of the international community, including the UN Security Council, to release the more than 2,100 political prisoners immediately and unconditionally. We once again urge the Burmese authorities to release all political prisoners and initiate a genuine dialogue that can help move the country forward.
Nasdaq - European Union Could Ease Myanmar Sanctions - Envoy
Nasdaq - European Union Could Ease Myanmar Sanctions - Envoy
Mar 25, 2009 | 2:51PM
JAKARTA (AFP)--The European Union could consider easing sanctions on Myanmar at a top meeting next month if it sees democratic progress in the military-ruled nation, the E.U.'s senior Myanmar envoy said Wednesday.
The European Council, the E.U.'s principal decision-making body, could vote for an easing of sanctions if Myanmar's military junta eases restrictions on opponents ahead of elections slated for 2010, Piero Fassino told reporters.
"The European Council many times declared we are ready to change the sanctions, suspend the sanctions, if there are some positive steps in the direction of our goal," Fassino said.
"If in the next month, there is some positive evolution, for example putting in place real democratic guarantees, we'll consider this, we'll reflect how to handle these measures," he said.
The European Council's external relations council is slated to discuss sanctions against Myanmar at the end of April.
Fassino said the E.U. would only consider the 2010 elections to be free and fair if the government passes fair electoral rules and frees political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
"It is impossible to achieve a free and fair election if the leader of the opposition is in prison," he said.
Fassino's comments were made at the end of his visit to Indonesia, following meetings with Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda and Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan.
Asian nations including Indonesia, which underwent a turbulent transition from military-led rule to democracy a decade ago, could play a key role in ensuring the fairness of 2010 elections, Fassino said.
Mar 25, 2009 | 2:51PM
JAKARTA (AFP)--The European Union could consider easing sanctions on Myanmar at a top meeting next month if it sees democratic progress in the military-ruled nation, the E.U.'s senior Myanmar envoy said Wednesday.
The European Council, the E.U.'s principal decision-making body, could vote for an easing of sanctions if Myanmar's military junta eases restrictions on opponents ahead of elections slated for 2010, Piero Fassino told reporters.
"The European Council many times declared we are ready to change the sanctions, suspend the sanctions, if there are some positive steps in the direction of our goal," Fassino said.
"If in the next month, there is some positive evolution, for example putting in place real democratic guarantees, we'll consider this, we'll reflect how to handle these measures," he said.
The European Council's external relations council is slated to discuss sanctions against Myanmar at the end of April.
Fassino said the E.U. would only consider the 2010 elections to be free and fair if the government passes fair electoral rules and frees political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
"It is impossible to achieve a free and fair election if the leader of the opposition is in prison," he said.
Fassino's comments were made at the end of his visit to Indonesia, following meetings with Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda and Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan.
Asian nations including Indonesia, which underwent a turbulent transition from military-led rule to democracy a decade ago, could play a key role in ensuring the fairness of 2010 elections, Fassino said.
EU eyes extending Myanmar sanctions - officials
EU eyes extending Myanmar sanctions - officials
Wed Mar 25, 2009 4:25pm IST
JAKARTA (Reuters) - The European Union will wait until next month before deciding whether to extend sanctions against Myanmar, a special envoy said on Tuesday, although another EU official saw little prospect of them being lifted.
There has been an emerging debate in the international community over policies towards Myanmar after Washington said it was reviewing its policy and conceded that sanctions had not influenced the junta on human rights and democracy.
The EU's special envoy to Myanmar, Piero Fassino, said there had been no decision yet on new sanctions, which expire at the end of April.
"Our attitude about this is in relation with the evolution of the situation. If there will be some positive new steps, we take note," said Fassino, who is on a trip to the region before reporting back to Brussels.
"The European Council many times declared we are ready to change the sanctions if there are some positive steps in (the) direction to obtain our goals," he said, without elaborating.
But another EU official was pessimistic there could be progress within a month to justify lifting sanctions.
"The chances that (the junta) will move in the next month, there is only one month's time, I don't think they're very big," the official told Reuters, asking not to be identified.
The sanctions apply to a long list of Myanmar officials and firms associated with its military rulers.
The EU has been pushing Myanmar to open a dialogue with the opposition, release political prisoners and guarantee elections due in 2010 are free and fair.
The junta, which has ruled the former Burma since 1962, has refused to recognise a 1990 landslide election victory of the opposition National League for Democracy. Its leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the past two decades.
Myanmar has been pursuing its own "roadmap" to democracy, which includes a referendum on an army-drafted constitution.
Western governments have criticised the poll as a sham aimed at entrenching military rule. The 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, has sought to address democratic reforms and human rights issues in the former Burma under a policy of "constructive engagement".
But the EU and Washington have urged ASEAN to put more pressure on their neighbour.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last month on a trip to the region that the sanctions had not influenced the junta, but also said that trying to engage them had failed.
Wed Mar 25, 2009 4:25pm IST
JAKARTA (Reuters) - The European Union will wait until next month before deciding whether to extend sanctions against Myanmar, a special envoy said on Tuesday, although another EU official saw little prospect of them being lifted.
There has been an emerging debate in the international community over policies towards Myanmar after Washington said it was reviewing its policy and conceded that sanctions had not influenced the junta on human rights and democracy.
The EU's special envoy to Myanmar, Piero Fassino, said there had been no decision yet on new sanctions, which expire at the end of April.
"Our attitude about this is in relation with the evolution of the situation. If there will be some positive new steps, we take note," said Fassino, who is on a trip to the region before reporting back to Brussels.
"The European Council many times declared we are ready to change the sanctions if there are some positive steps in (the) direction to obtain our goals," he said, without elaborating.
But another EU official was pessimistic there could be progress within a month to justify lifting sanctions.
"The chances that (the junta) will move in the next month, there is only one month's time, I don't think they're very big," the official told Reuters, asking not to be identified.
The sanctions apply to a long list of Myanmar officials and firms associated with its military rulers.
The EU has been pushing Myanmar to open a dialogue with the opposition, release political prisoners and guarantee elections due in 2010 are free and fair.
The junta, which has ruled the former Burma since 1962, has refused to recognise a 1990 landslide election victory of the opposition National League for Democracy. Its leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the past two decades.
Myanmar has been pursuing its own "roadmap" to democracy, which includes a referendum on an army-drafted constitution.
Western governments have criticised the poll as a sham aimed at entrenching military rule. The 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, has sought to address democratic reforms and human rights issues in the former Burma under a policy of "constructive engagement".
But the EU and Washington have urged ASEAN to put more pressure on their neighbour.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last month on a trip to the region that the sanctions had not influenced the junta, but also said that trying to engage them had failed.
Myanmar opposition urges US to talk to junta
Myanmar opposition urges US to talk to junta
Wed Mar 25, 10:57 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's opposition party urged the U.S. to open talks with the country's junta, a spokesman said Wednesday, the last day of an American diplomat's visit amid signs of a shifting U.S. approach to the military rulers.
The U.S. is Myanmar's strongest critic and applies political and economic sanctions against the junta for its poor human rights record and failure to hand over power to a democratically elected government.
But President Barack Obama's administration has said it is reviewing its Myanmar policy, which thus far has done little to nudge the junta toward reforms.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has said Washington is "looking at what steps we might take that might influence the current Burmese government and we're also looking for ways that we could more effectively help the Burmese people." Burma is another name for Myanmar.
During a four-day visit, Stephen Blake, director of the State Department's Mainland Southeast Asia office, held talks with senior members of the opposition National League for Democracy, led by Nobel Peace laureate Ang San Suu Kyi.
He told the party that "no decision has been made" about future U.S. policy toward Myanmar, party spokesman Nyan Win said, adding that the party urged the U.S. to initiate talks with the junta.
Blake also met with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win at the administrative capital of Naypyitaw during the trip, U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Mei said.
The state-controlled New Light of Myanmar newspaper said Wednesday that Blake and the foreign minister, who is not related to the opposition party spokesman, "discussed issues of mutual interest and promotion of bilateral relations."
Myanmar was Blake's last stop on a tour of Southeast Asia that also took him to Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, Mei said. He called Blake's Myanmar trip "a fairly routine visit by the person in charge of these countries."
Blake also met other government officials, representatives of the United Nations and private groups, Mei said.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing pro-democracy demonstrations and killing as many as 3,000 people. It called elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results when Suu Kyi's party won overwhelmingly. Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years under house arrest.
Wed Mar 25, 10:57 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's opposition party urged the U.S. to open talks with the country's junta, a spokesman said Wednesday, the last day of an American diplomat's visit amid signs of a shifting U.S. approach to the military rulers.
The U.S. is Myanmar's strongest critic and applies political and economic sanctions against the junta for its poor human rights record and failure to hand over power to a democratically elected government.
But President Barack Obama's administration has said it is reviewing its Myanmar policy, which thus far has done little to nudge the junta toward reforms.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has said Washington is "looking at what steps we might take that might influence the current Burmese government and we're also looking for ways that we could more effectively help the Burmese people." Burma is another name for Myanmar.
During a four-day visit, Stephen Blake, director of the State Department's Mainland Southeast Asia office, held talks with senior members of the opposition National League for Democracy, led by Nobel Peace laureate Ang San Suu Kyi.
He told the party that "no decision has been made" about future U.S. policy toward Myanmar, party spokesman Nyan Win said, adding that the party urged the U.S. to initiate talks with the junta.
Blake also met with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win at the administrative capital of Naypyitaw during the trip, U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Mei said.
The state-controlled New Light of Myanmar newspaper said Wednesday that Blake and the foreign minister, who is not related to the opposition party spokesman, "discussed issues of mutual interest and promotion of bilateral relations."
Myanmar was Blake's last stop on a tour of Southeast Asia that also took him to Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, Mei said. He called Blake's Myanmar trip "a fairly routine visit by the person in charge of these countries."
Blake also met other government officials, representatives of the United Nations and private groups, Mei said.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing pro-democracy demonstrations and killing as many as 3,000 people. It called elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results when Suu Kyi's party won overwhelmingly. Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years under house arrest.
US official in rare talks with Myanmar regime
US official in rare talks with Myanmar regime
Wed Mar 25, 12:13 pm ET
YANGON (AFP) – A senior US official held talks with Myanmar's junta and the party of opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi during a rare visit to the military-ruled nation, officials and state media said Wednesday.
The trip by State Department official Stephen Blake came as US President Barack Obama's administration continues to review the tough stance taken on Myanmar by his predecessor, George W. Bush.
Blake, the department's director of Mainland Southeast Asian Affairs, met Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the administrative capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
The government-run paper said they held "cordial discussions on issues of mutual interests and promotion of bilateral relations between the Union of Myanmar and the United States."
Blake later went to the main city of Yangon to meet leaders of the opposition National League for Democracy, whose leader, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has been detained for most of the past 19 years.
An NLD spokesman, also called Nyan Win, said the party's central committee met Blake at its headquarters for an hour in the afternoon but the US official would not reveal Washington's likely future stance towards Myanmar or Aung San Suu Kyi.
"He (Blake) asked us about the NLD's opinions on the recent political situation and the coming 2010 election. We also asked him about the policy of the US State Department," spokesman Nyan Win told AFP.
"We told him that we haven't decided yet whether or not to participate in the elections but we told him the important thing for us is to review the state constitution and to begin dialogue (with authorities)."
The spokesman said he believed Blake was the most senior official from the State Department to see the NLD in recent years.
"He did not bring any message from the authorities. He did not mention about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," Nyan Win added.
An official from the US embassy in Yangon said that Blake's visit was "routine."
"What he did in this trip is not different from what he has done in the other countries and not different from the previous directors," the official said on condition of anonymity.
But official Myanmar sources insisted that Blake's visit to Naypyidaw was the first to the city to promote bilateral relations between the two countries.
They also said that a reception held by the US embassy for officials in Naypyidaw to introduce the visiting director was the first held by any foreign mission in the capital.
"Myanmar and the US have been friendly countries since the beginning. They were also the first country to recognise our independence from the British in 1948," a senior Myanmar official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"They misunderstood our country's situation after the 1988 uprising. We will not understand each other without talking. It was the first time a director of the US visited here for talks -- the US did what they should do," he said.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the army since 1962 and a student-led uprising in 1988 ended in a brutal military crackdown which left an estimated 3,000 people dead.
The junta ignored a landslide election victory by Aung San Suu Kyi's party in 1990 and critics say general elections planned for 2010 are a sham aimed at entrenching the generals' power.
The regime has handed out heavy jail terms to dozens of pro-democracy activists in recent months, many of them involved in protests led by Buddhist monks that erupted in 2007.
But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last month that the Obama administration is reviewing its policy towards Myanmar to find ways to better influence the regime and help the country's people.
Bush's administration strengthened decade-old sanctions against Myanmar -- imposed under his predecessor Bill Clinton -- while his wife Laura was an outspoken critic of the
military regime.
Wed Mar 25, 12:13 pm ET
YANGON (AFP) – A senior US official held talks with Myanmar's junta and the party of opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi during a rare visit to the military-ruled nation, officials and state media said Wednesday.
The trip by State Department official Stephen Blake came as US President Barack Obama's administration continues to review the tough stance taken on Myanmar by his predecessor, George W. Bush.
Blake, the department's director of Mainland Southeast Asian Affairs, met Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the administrative capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
The government-run paper said they held "cordial discussions on issues of mutual interests and promotion of bilateral relations between the Union of Myanmar and the United States."
Blake later went to the main city of Yangon to meet leaders of the opposition National League for Democracy, whose leader, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has been detained for most of the past 19 years.
An NLD spokesman, also called Nyan Win, said the party's central committee met Blake at its headquarters for an hour in the afternoon but the US official would not reveal Washington's likely future stance towards Myanmar or Aung San Suu Kyi.
"He (Blake) asked us about the NLD's opinions on the recent political situation and the coming 2010 election. We also asked him about the policy of the US State Department," spokesman Nyan Win told AFP.
"We told him that we haven't decided yet whether or not to participate in the elections but we told him the important thing for us is to review the state constitution and to begin dialogue (with authorities)."
The spokesman said he believed Blake was the most senior official from the State Department to see the NLD in recent years.
"He did not bring any message from the authorities. He did not mention about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," Nyan Win added.
An official from the US embassy in Yangon said that Blake's visit was "routine."
"What he did in this trip is not different from what he has done in the other countries and not different from the previous directors," the official said on condition of anonymity.
But official Myanmar sources insisted that Blake's visit to Naypyidaw was the first to the city to promote bilateral relations between the two countries.
They also said that a reception held by the US embassy for officials in Naypyidaw to introduce the visiting director was the first held by any foreign mission in the capital.
"Myanmar and the US have been friendly countries since the beginning. They were also the first country to recognise our independence from the British in 1948," a senior Myanmar official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"They misunderstood our country's situation after the 1988 uprising. We will not understand each other without talking. It was the first time a director of the US visited here for talks -- the US did what they should do," he said.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the army since 1962 and a student-led uprising in 1988 ended in a brutal military crackdown which left an estimated 3,000 people dead.
The junta ignored a landslide election victory by Aung San Suu Kyi's party in 1990 and critics say general elections planned for 2010 are a sham aimed at entrenching the generals' power.
The regime has handed out heavy jail terms to dozens of pro-democracy activists in recent months, many of them involved in protests led by Buddhist monks that erupted in 2007.
But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last month that the Obama administration is reviewing its policy towards Myanmar to find ways to better influence the regime and help the country's people.
Bush's administration strengthened decade-old sanctions against Myanmar -- imposed under his predecessor Bill Clinton -- while his wife Laura was an outspoken critic of the
military regime.
Time Magazine - The Scramble For A Piece of Burma
Time Magazine - The Scramble For A Piece of Burma
By Hannah Beech / Arakan and Kachin States
Thursday, Mar. 19, 2009
Last year, the Chinese came. The villagers living in western Burma's remote Arakan state couldn't quite fathom what the Chinese told them, that below their rice fields might lie a vast reserve of oil. For three months the Chinese drilled the earth near the muddy Kaladan River in search of black gold. Then, just as suddenly, they left. In December, the Indians arrived. Through Burmese intermediaries, they took the village's paddies as their own, depriving locals of their main source of income. Compensation was promised, villagers tell me, but none has been paid so far. So the impoverished residents of Mee Laung Yaw village, who lack electricity and eat eggplant curry as a poor substitute for meat, spend their days gazing at their expropriated fields, now fenced in and dominated by an oil-exploration tower that dwarfs their bamboo shacks. Several villagers took lowly construction jobs on the site but they were never paid so they've stopped showing up for work. "I hope they don't find any oil," says village chief Aye Thein Tun.
"Because even if they do, none of it will come to us. It will just go to other countries."
The Western dialogue over what to do about Burma's repressive military regime is often framed as a single dilemma: whether or not to impose international sanctions. The debate is polarizing. The pro-sanctions crowd claims the moral high ground, deploring the enrichment of a clutch of ethnocentric Burmese generals whose impulses are most brutal against the roughly 40% of the population that, like the villages of Arakan state, is composed of ethnic minorities. The engagement side preaches practicality, arguing that some investment will trickle down to the populace and that cultural exchange is better than imposed isolationism. When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Asia on her inaugural foreign trip last month, she weighed in on the Burma question, acknowledging: "Clearly the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn't influenced the Burmese junta ... [which is] impervious to influence from anyone." (See pictures of Burma's discontent.)
The truth about Burma, renamed as Myanmar by its generals, is that the sanctions debate is immaterial. While American and European foreign policy thinkers ponder how to financially strangle an army government that has ruled since 1962, Burma's regional neighbors are embarking on a new Great Game, scrambling to outdo each other for access to this resource-rich land. "Sanctions don't work if most countries ignore them," says Naw La, an exiled environmentalist with the Kachin Development Networking Group in Thailand. "The military is selling our natural heritage without any concern for our people."
The Mosquito Coast
In return for oil, natural gas, timber, hydropower, gemstones, cash crops and a periodic table's worth of minerals, countries like China, India, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea are propping up — and massively enriching — Burma's top brass. In the first nine months of 2008, foreign investment in Burma almost doubled year on year to nearly $1 billion, according to government figures that don't even take into account significant underground economic activity. Burma today is estimated to produce 90% of the world's rubies by value, 80% of its teak, and is home to one of Asia's biggest oil and natural-gas reserves. The country's jade is the world's finest, and its largely untouched rivers promise plentiful hydropower for its neighbors. "Multinationals are getting rich off Burma, and so is the military regime," says Ka Hsaw Wa, co-founder of EarthRights International, an NGO that sued U.S. energy giant Unocal, which eventually provided out-of-court compensation to villagers who are believed to have toiled as slave labor for the Yadana gas pipeline from southern Burma to Thailand. "It is the local people who are suffering and dying," says Ka Hsaw Wa.
But as resource-hungry countries cozy up to the junta, they are discovering that Burma's natural wealth is most bountiful in areas where ethnic minorities simmer under the rule of the ethnic Burmese generals. Officially, the Burmese junta recognizes that the country is a union of at least 135 distinct groups. Yet the top ranks of the military are practically devoid of any non-Burmese presence. Army persecution of Burma's diverse tribes has festered for decades, and the proliferation of junta-controlled mines and concessions in the minority regions only exacerbates the tensions. Hundreds of thousands of ethnic villagers have been forced to relocate or have been conscripted into chain gangs, according to human-rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Even when operations begin, paid jobs land disproportionately in the hands of ethnic Burmese migrants, not those of local minorities. A new report by the Geneva-based International Displacement Monitoring Center estimates that in eastern Burma alone nearly half a million minority people have been displaced.
The British, trying to hold together an ethnic patchwork of a colony, knew too well the perils of Burma's tribal politics. They resorted to divide-and-conquer schemes, much as the current military regime has done. Intense negotiations by the junta led to many ethnic insurgencies laying down their guns in the 1980s and '90s — and opened up a vast territory for resource exploitation. But as the inequities between the Burmese majority and the tribal groups — the Arakanese, the Shan, the Kachin, the Karen, the Mon, the Wa and the Chin, to name a few — yawns ever wider, the chance of renewed armed conflict grows stronger. "To the military, we [ethnic minorities] are like mosquitoes," says a young Arakanese Buddhist monk, who participated in the crushed antigovernment uprising of September 2007 and chafes at Burmese discrimination against his people. "We buzz in their ear, and they slap at us and don't care if they kill us." But, he adds, "there are many mosquitoes." In the end, it may be the foreign participants in this new Great Game, unschooled in how to navigate ethnic complexities, who will get bitten.
By Hannah Beech / Arakan and Kachin States
Thursday, Mar. 19, 2009
Last year, the Chinese came. The villagers living in western Burma's remote Arakan state couldn't quite fathom what the Chinese told them, that below their rice fields might lie a vast reserve of oil. For three months the Chinese drilled the earth near the muddy Kaladan River in search of black gold. Then, just as suddenly, they left. In December, the Indians arrived. Through Burmese intermediaries, they took the village's paddies as their own, depriving locals of their main source of income. Compensation was promised, villagers tell me, but none has been paid so far. So the impoverished residents of Mee Laung Yaw village, who lack electricity and eat eggplant curry as a poor substitute for meat, spend their days gazing at their expropriated fields, now fenced in and dominated by an oil-exploration tower that dwarfs their bamboo shacks. Several villagers took lowly construction jobs on the site but they were never paid so they've stopped showing up for work. "I hope they don't find any oil," says village chief Aye Thein Tun.
"Because even if they do, none of it will come to us. It will just go to other countries."
The Western dialogue over what to do about Burma's repressive military regime is often framed as a single dilemma: whether or not to impose international sanctions. The debate is polarizing. The pro-sanctions crowd claims the moral high ground, deploring the enrichment of a clutch of ethnocentric Burmese generals whose impulses are most brutal against the roughly 40% of the population that, like the villages of Arakan state, is composed of ethnic minorities. The engagement side preaches practicality, arguing that some investment will trickle down to the populace and that cultural exchange is better than imposed isolationism. When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Asia on her inaugural foreign trip last month, she weighed in on the Burma question, acknowledging: "Clearly the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn't influenced the Burmese junta ... [which is] impervious to influence from anyone." (See pictures of Burma's discontent.)
The truth about Burma, renamed as Myanmar by its generals, is that the sanctions debate is immaterial. While American and European foreign policy thinkers ponder how to financially strangle an army government that has ruled since 1962, Burma's regional neighbors are embarking on a new Great Game, scrambling to outdo each other for access to this resource-rich land. "Sanctions don't work if most countries ignore them," says Naw La, an exiled environmentalist with the Kachin Development Networking Group in Thailand. "The military is selling our natural heritage without any concern for our people."
The Mosquito Coast
In return for oil, natural gas, timber, hydropower, gemstones, cash crops and a periodic table's worth of minerals, countries like China, India, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea are propping up — and massively enriching — Burma's top brass. In the first nine months of 2008, foreign investment in Burma almost doubled year on year to nearly $1 billion, according to government figures that don't even take into account significant underground economic activity. Burma today is estimated to produce 90% of the world's rubies by value, 80% of its teak, and is home to one of Asia's biggest oil and natural-gas reserves. The country's jade is the world's finest, and its largely untouched rivers promise plentiful hydropower for its neighbors. "Multinationals are getting rich off Burma, and so is the military regime," says Ka Hsaw Wa, co-founder of EarthRights International, an NGO that sued U.S. energy giant Unocal, which eventually provided out-of-court compensation to villagers who are believed to have toiled as slave labor for the Yadana gas pipeline from southern Burma to Thailand. "It is the local people who are suffering and dying," says Ka Hsaw Wa.
But as resource-hungry countries cozy up to the junta, they are discovering that Burma's natural wealth is most bountiful in areas where ethnic minorities simmer under the rule of the ethnic Burmese generals. Officially, the Burmese junta recognizes that the country is a union of at least 135 distinct groups. Yet the top ranks of the military are practically devoid of any non-Burmese presence. Army persecution of Burma's diverse tribes has festered for decades, and the proliferation of junta-controlled mines and concessions in the minority regions only exacerbates the tensions. Hundreds of thousands of ethnic villagers have been forced to relocate or have been conscripted into chain gangs, according to human-rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Even when operations begin, paid jobs land disproportionately in the hands of ethnic Burmese migrants, not those of local minorities. A new report by the Geneva-based International Displacement Monitoring Center estimates that in eastern Burma alone nearly half a million minority people have been displaced.
The British, trying to hold together an ethnic patchwork of a colony, knew too well the perils of Burma's tribal politics. They resorted to divide-and-conquer schemes, much as the current military regime has done. Intense negotiations by the junta led to many ethnic insurgencies laying down their guns in the 1980s and '90s — and opened up a vast territory for resource exploitation. But as the inequities between the Burmese majority and the tribal groups — the Arakanese, the Shan, the Kachin, the Karen, the Mon, the Wa and the Chin, to name a few — yawns ever wider, the chance of renewed armed conflict grows stronger. "To the military, we [ethnic minorities] are like mosquitoes," says a young Arakanese Buddhist monk, who participated in the crushed antigovernment uprising of September 2007 and chafes at Burmese discrimination against his people. "We buzz in their ear, and they slap at us and don't care if they kill us." But, he adds, "there are many mosquitoes." In the end, it may be the foreign participants in this new Great Game, unschooled in how to navigate ethnic complexities, who will get bitten.
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