Aung San Suu Kyi verdict set for Friday in Myanmar
Tue Jul 28, 4:45 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – The high-profile trial of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi concluded Tuesday with the court announcing it will deliver its verdict at the end of the week, a lawyer said.
Judge Thaung Nyunt said the court will make its ruling on Friday, according to defense attorney Nyan Win, who said he preferred not to speculate on the outcome.
"I don't want to guess what the verdict will be," Nyan Win told reporters. Without directly calling Suu Kyi's case politically motivated, he noted: "I have never seen any defendant in a political case being set free."
Suu Kyi's lawyers had expected a verdict next month. Details on why the court set the earlier date were not immediately available.
The detained 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man — John William Yettaw — who swam to her lakeside home and stayed for two days.
Suu Kyi faces up to five years in prison. She is widely expected to be convicted, although there has been speculation she may stay under house arrest rather than serve time in jail. Suu Kyi has been in detention for nearly 14 of the last 20 years.
Defense lawyers gave their reply Tuesday to the prosecution's final arguments in the case that has drawn international condemnation from world leaders, Hollywood celebrities and the United Nations.
The court rejected a bid by the defense to call a Myanmar foreign ministry official as an additional witness, calling it "not important," Nyan Win said.
Speaking softly, Suu Kyi stood and turned to diplomats attending the hearing and thanked them for coming.
"She thanked us for trying to promote a just outcome," said an Asian diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the United States were allowed to attend the trial Tuesday, one of the diplomats said, citing embassy protocol for speaking on condition of anonymity.
Suu Kyi won London-based Amnesty International's highest award Monday for her defense of human rights, underscoring international support for her struggle to bring democracy to the military-ruled country.
At a concert Monday in Dublin, Ireland, U2's Bono publicly announced the award — Amnesty's Ambassador of Conscience Award — before 80,000 cheering fans. The rights group said it hopes its highest honor would help deter Myanmar's junta from imposing any harsh new punishments on her.
But neither international outrage, nor offers of closer ties with the U.S. if Suu Kyi is freed, appear to have deflected the ruling junta's determination to neutralize — if not imprison — her.
Suu Kyi emerged as the country's democracy icon during a popular uprising in 1988, which was brutally suppressed by the military that has ruled the country since 1962.
Yettaw, meanwhile, was also charged with violating terms of Suu Kyi's house arrest — as an abettor — and could be sent to prison for five years. He also faces a municipal charge of swimming in a non-swimming area and is accused of immigration violations.
Yettaw pleaded not guilty and explained in court he went to warn Suu Kyi after having a dream she would be assassinated.
The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, a junta mouthpiece, rejected criticism that the government had seized on the incident as an excuse to keep Suu Kyi behind bars. In its editorial Tuesday, the paper said Yettaw had "illegally intruded" into Suu Kyi's home and appeared to be plotting an escape for her.
"He even left two chadors and dark sunglasses to (serve as a) disguise. Was it aimed at taking her out of the house?" the editorial said. "There are many points to ponder."
Tue Jul 28, 4:45 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – The high-profile trial of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi concluded Tuesday with the court announcing it will deliver its verdict at the end of the week, a lawyer said.
Judge Thaung Nyunt said the court will make its ruling on Friday, according to defense attorney Nyan Win, who said he preferred not to speculate on the outcome.
"I don't want to guess what the verdict will be," Nyan Win told reporters. Without directly calling Suu Kyi's case politically motivated, he noted: "I have never seen any defendant in a political case being set free."
Suu Kyi's lawyers had expected a verdict next month. Details on why the court set the earlier date were not immediately available.
The detained 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man — John William Yettaw — who swam to her lakeside home and stayed for two days.
Suu Kyi faces up to five years in prison. She is widely expected to be convicted, although there has been speculation she may stay under house arrest rather than serve time in jail. Suu Kyi has been in detention for nearly 14 of the last 20 years.
Defense lawyers gave their reply Tuesday to the prosecution's final arguments in the case that has drawn international condemnation from world leaders, Hollywood celebrities and the United Nations.
The court rejected a bid by the defense to call a Myanmar foreign ministry official as an additional witness, calling it "not important," Nyan Win said.
Speaking softly, Suu Kyi stood and turned to diplomats attending the hearing and thanked them for coming.
"She thanked us for trying to promote a just outcome," said an Asian diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the United States were allowed to attend the trial Tuesday, one of the diplomats said, citing embassy protocol for speaking on condition of anonymity.
Suu Kyi won London-based Amnesty International's highest award Monday for her defense of human rights, underscoring international support for her struggle to bring democracy to the military-ruled country.
At a concert Monday in Dublin, Ireland, U2's Bono publicly announced the award — Amnesty's Ambassador of Conscience Award — before 80,000 cheering fans. The rights group said it hopes its highest honor would help deter Myanmar's junta from imposing any harsh new punishments on her.
But neither international outrage, nor offers of closer ties with the U.S. if Suu Kyi is freed, appear to have deflected the ruling junta's determination to neutralize — if not imprison — her.
Suu Kyi emerged as the country's democracy icon during a popular uprising in 1988, which was brutally suppressed by the military that has ruled the country since 1962.
Yettaw, meanwhile, was also charged with violating terms of Suu Kyi's house arrest — as an abettor — and could be sent to prison for five years. He also faces a municipal charge of swimming in a non-swimming area and is accused of immigration violations.
Yettaw pleaded not guilty and explained in court he went to warn Suu Kyi after having a dream she would be assassinated.
The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, a junta mouthpiece, rejected criticism that the government had seized on the incident as an excuse to keep Suu Kyi behind bars. In its editorial Tuesday, the paper said Yettaw had "illegally intruded" into Suu Kyi's home and appeared to be plotting an escape for her.
"He even left two chadors and dark sunglasses to (serve as a) disguise. Was it aimed at taking her out of the house?" the editorial said. "There are many points to ponder."
*****************************************************
Aung San Suu Kyi trial enters final day in Myanmar
Tue Jul 28, 12:55 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – The trial of Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was expected to conclude Tuesday with the defense given the final statement in a case that has drawn international condemnation, her lawyer said.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate stands accused of violating terms of her house arrest by feeding and providing shelter to an American intruder — John William Yettaw — who swam to her lakeside home uninvited and stayed for two days.
Suu Kyi is widely expected to be convicted and faces a possible five years in prison, although there has been speculation she may stay under house arrest rather than serve time in jail.
But defense lawyer Nyan Win said before the start of Tuesday's session that he held out hope for a court verdict in Suu Kyi's favor. "We are confident that we will win the case if things go according to the law."
Suu Kyi and three other defendants will reply to arguments presented Monday by prosecutor Myint Kyaing, the lawyer said.
Diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the United States were allowed to attend the trial Tuesday, one of the diplomats said, citing embassy protocol for speaking on condition of anonymity.
Suu Kyi won London-based Amnesty International's highest award Monday for her defense of human rights, underscoring international support for her struggle to bring democracy to the military-ruled country.
But neither international outrage, nor offers of closer ties with the U.S. if Suu Kyi is freed, appear to have deflected the ruling junta's determination to neutralize — if not imprison — the 64-year-old.
The international community and Suu Kyi's local supporters worry the case has given the ruling junta an excuse to keep her behind bars through elections planned for next year.
At a concert Monday in Dublin, Ireland, U2's Bono publicly announced that Suu Kyi was awarded Amnesty's Ambassador of Conscience Award before 80,000 cheering fans.
The rights group said it hopes its highest honor would help deter Myanmar's junta from imposing any harsh new punishments on her.
Suu Kyi — who has spent nearly 14 of the last 20 years under house arrest — emerged as the country's democracy icon during a popular uprising in 1988, which was brutally suppressed by the military that has ruled the country since 1962.
Yettaw, meanwhile, was also charged with violating terms of Suu Kyi's house arrest — as an abettor — and could be sent to prison for five years. He also faces a municipal charge of swimming in a non-swimming area and is accused of immigration violations.
Yettaw pleaded not guilty and explained in court he went to warn Suu Kyi after having a dream she would be assassinated.
Tue Jul 28, 12:55 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – The trial of Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was expected to conclude Tuesday with the defense given the final statement in a case that has drawn international condemnation, her lawyer said.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate stands accused of violating terms of her house arrest by feeding and providing shelter to an American intruder — John William Yettaw — who swam to her lakeside home uninvited and stayed for two days.
Suu Kyi is widely expected to be convicted and faces a possible five years in prison, although there has been speculation she may stay under house arrest rather than serve time in jail.
But defense lawyer Nyan Win said before the start of Tuesday's session that he held out hope for a court verdict in Suu Kyi's favor. "We are confident that we will win the case if things go according to the law."
Suu Kyi and three other defendants will reply to arguments presented Monday by prosecutor Myint Kyaing, the lawyer said.
Diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the United States were allowed to attend the trial Tuesday, one of the diplomats said, citing embassy protocol for speaking on condition of anonymity.
Suu Kyi won London-based Amnesty International's highest award Monday for her defense of human rights, underscoring international support for her struggle to bring democracy to the military-ruled country.
But neither international outrage, nor offers of closer ties with the U.S. if Suu Kyi is freed, appear to have deflected the ruling junta's determination to neutralize — if not imprison — the 64-year-old.
The international community and Suu Kyi's local supporters worry the case has given the ruling junta an excuse to keep her behind bars through elections planned for next year.
At a concert Monday in Dublin, Ireland, U2's Bono publicly announced that Suu Kyi was awarded Amnesty's Ambassador of Conscience Award before 80,000 cheering fans.
The rights group said it hopes its highest honor would help deter Myanmar's junta from imposing any harsh new punishments on her.
Suu Kyi — who has spent nearly 14 of the last 20 years under house arrest — emerged as the country's democracy icon during a popular uprising in 1988, which was brutally suppressed by the military that has ruled the country since 1962.
Yettaw, meanwhile, was also charged with violating terms of Suu Kyi's house arrest — as an abettor — and could be sent to prison for five years. He also faces a municipal charge of swimming in a non-swimming area and is accused of immigration violations.
Yettaw pleaded not guilty and explained in court he went to warn Suu Kyi after having a dream she would be assassinated.
*****************************************************
Myanmar court hears final arguments in Suu Kyi case
By Aung Hla Tun – Mon Jul 27, 10:19 pm ET
YANGON (Reuters) – A court in army-ruled Myanmar heard final arguments on Monday in a case involving opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who faces five years in prison if found guilty of breaching a draconian security law.
Lawyers read closing arguments for the other defendants, two of Suu Kyi's housemaids and John Yettaw, an American intruder whose two-night stay at Suu Kyi's home in May could land all four defendants in jail.
The prosecution also wrapped up its case against Suu Kyi. The Nobel laureate's lawyers said they will answer the prosecution's case on Tuesday.
"It's not over yet -- the defense will get anther chance to respond to the prosecution's arguments," Suu Kyi's lawyer, Nyan Win, told reporters.
Nyan Win earlier said he did not believe a verdict would come soon and might take as long as 2-3 weeks.
A guilty verdict is widely expected in a country where courts are known to rule in favor of the army, which has governed the former Burma for nearly 50 years.
The trial began in May and has been held mostly behind closed doors, although several Asian and European diplomats were allowed to attend proceedings on Monday and last Friday.
SHOW TRIAL
The case has been dismissed as a show trial by critics, and the international community has repeatedly called for the charges to be dropped and for Suu Kyi, 64, to be freed.
She is charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest by allowing Yettaw to stay at her Yangon home after he evaded security guards and swam across the Inya lake using homemade fins.
Her legal team says that the law she is charged under, which protects the state from "subversive elements," is obsolete.
Nyan Win also said he will argue that the charge was irrelevant since the junta had officially referred to her detention as "protective custody" and not "house arrest."
Suu Kyi has been in detention for 14 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest.
Rights group Amnesty International on Monday awarded her the title of "Ambassador of Conscience" for her role in the struggle for democracy in Myanmar.
"Aung San Suu Kyi has remained a symbol of hope, courage and the undying defense of human rights, not only to the people of Myanmar but to people around the world," Amnesty's secretary-general, Irene Khan, said in a statement.
Suu Kyi's NLD won Myanmar's last general election in 1990 by a landslide but the generals ignored the result. Critics have expressed concern that next year's polls will be rigged to further entrench army rule.
By Aung Hla Tun – Mon Jul 27, 10:19 pm ET
YANGON (Reuters) – A court in army-ruled Myanmar heard final arguments on Monday in a case involving opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who faces five years in prison if found guilty of breaching a draconian security law.
Lawyers read closing arguments for the other defendants, two of Suu Kyi's housemaids and John Yettaw, an American intruder whose two-night stay at Suu Kyi's home in May could land all four defendants in jail.
The prosecution also wrapped up its case against Suu Kyi. The Nobel laureate's lawyers said they will answer the prosecution's case on Tuesday.
"It's not over yet -- the defense will get anther chance to respond to the prosecution's arguments," Suu Kyi's lawyer, Nyan Win, told reporters.
Nyan Win earlier said he did not believe a verdict would come soon and might take as long as 2-3 weeks.
A guilty verdict is widely expected in a country where courts are known to rule in favor of the army, which has governed the former Burma for nearly 50 years.
The trial began in May and has been held mostly behind closed doors, although several Asian and European diplomats were allowed to attend proceedings on Monday and last Friday.
SHOW TRIAL
The case has been dismissed as a show trial by critics, and the international community has repeatedly called for the charges to be dropped and for Suu Kyi, 64, to be freed.
She is charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest by allowing Yettaw to stay at her Yangon home after he evaded security guards and swam across the Inya lake using homemade fins.
Her legal team says that the law she is charged under, which protects the state from "subversive elements," is obsolete.
Nyan Win also said he will argue that the charge was irrelevant since the junta had officially referred to her detention as "protective custody" and not "house arrest."
Suu Kyi has been in detention for 14 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest.
Rights group Amnesty International on Monday awarded her the title of "Ambassador of Conscience" for her role in the struggle for democracy in Myanmar.
"Aung San Suu Kyi has remained a symbol of hope, courage and the undying defense of human rights, not only to the people of Myanmar but to people around the world," Amnesty's secretary-general, Irene Khan, said in a statement.
Suu Kyi's NLD won Myanmar's last general election in 1990 by a landslide but the generals ignored the result. Critics have expressed concern that next year's polls will be rigged to further entrench army rule.
*****************************************************
Jul 28, 2009 | 11:29AM
NASDAQ - Thai PM's Myanmar Trip Postponed Over Suu Kyi Trial
BANGKOK (AFP)--Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva has postponed a visit to Myanmar this Friday at the request of the ruling junta because of an impending verdict in the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, the government said.
Thailand announced earlier Tuesday that Abhisit would make a one-day trip to the neighboring country aimed at cementing ties and discussing efforts to tackle drugs and human trafficking.
But a Thai government spokesman said later the visit had been put off because it would come on the same day as a Myanmar court is set to rule in the case of democracy activist Suu Kyi.
The Nobel peace laureate faces up to five years in jail on charges of violating her house arrest which relate to an incident in which an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside house in May.
"Myanmar asked for a postponement because Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein will be engaged in important business - the verdict on Aung San Suu Kyi," spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
"Therefore the trip must be suspended for now," he added.
A Thai official said on condition of anonymity that Abhisit would now most likely visit in the third week of August.
Myanmar's military regime faces huge international pressure over the trial of Suu Kyi.
Panitan said earlier that Abhisit - the chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, of which both countries are members - would not "directly" bring up the case during his trip.
"Thailand will not interfere with Myanmar's internal affairs, and neither does Thailand agree with sanctions, which are not good for Asean," he said.
NASDAQ - Thai PM's Myanmar Trip Postponed Over Suu Kyi Trial
BANGKOK (AFP)--Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva has postponed a visit to Myanmar this Friday at the request of the ruling junta because of an impending verdict in the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, the government said.
Thailand announced earlier Tuesday that Abhisit would make a one-day trip to the neighboring country aimed at cementing ties and discussing efforts to tackle drugs and human trafficking.
But a Thai government spokesman said later the visit had been put off because it would come on the same day as a Myanmar court is set to rule in the case of democracy activist Suu Kyi.
The Nobel peace laureate faces up to five years in jail on charges of violating her house arrest which relate to an incident in which an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside house in May.
"Myanmar asked for a postponement because Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein will be engaged in important business - the verdict on Aung San Suu Kyi," spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
"Therefore the trip must be suspended for now," he added.
A Thai official said on condition of anonymity that Abhisit would now most likely visit in the third week of August.
Myanmar's military regime faces huge international pressure over the trial of Suu Kyi.
Panitan said earlier that Abhisit - the chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, of which both countries are members - would not "directly" bring up the case during his trip.
"Thailand will not interfere with Myanmar's internal affairs, and neither does Thailand agree with sanctions, which are not good for Asean," he said.
*****************************************************
Human Rights Watch - Burma's Amnesty Claim Sure To Be Yet Another Bluff
by David Scott Mathieson
July 27, 2009
Published in The Huffington Post
MAE SOT--United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appears to have been granted a belated booby prize from Burma's military rulers after his recent trip. On July 13, Ban bleakly reported to the Security Council that his visit was a major lost opportunity for the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to demonstrate their commitment to change. They did not allow him to visit Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi nor did they release any political prisoners.
Yet after Ban's speech, the Burmese ambassador to the UN, Than Shwe, said that his government was "processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 elections." This step was one of three benchmarks Ban announced before his visit, the others being the resumption of a substantive dialogue inside Burma, and to create conditions conducive to a credible and legitimate election.
Burma's president, General Than Shwe (no relation to the ambassador), had assured Ban during his visit that the long-planned elections would be "free, fair, and credible."
Can the SPDC be trusted to release all of Burma's 2,100 political prisoners and allow them to run in elections? Unfortunately we've been through this all before.
Recent amnesties in Burma have been little more than public relations stunts. In September 2008, 9,000 prisoners were released, but only six of them, including the 78-year-old journalist U Win Tin were political activists. The amnesty was to detract attention from the one-year anniversary of the brutal 2007 crackdown against monks and other activists in which at least 21 people were killed. In February this year, to illustrate cooperation with a visiting UN human rights envoy, another amnesty freed 6,000 prisoners. Only 24 of these were imprisoned for political activities.
Meanwhile, in the two years since the 2007 crackdown, the number of political prisoners in Burma doubled, to 2,100 and courts have sentenced hundreds of activists to long prison terms.
Political prisoners in Burma are incarcerated because they have called on the military government to protect basic freedoms. They have urged Burma's rulers to engage with Burmese society and address long neglected social issues such as health, education and basic living standards. Or they have spoken to foreigners about repression in their country.
They include Burma's most famous comedian Zargana, sentenced to 59 years of imprisonment for providing aid to cyclone victims and then publicly criticizing the government's poor relief efforts (his sentence was later reduced to 35 years). The student leader Min Ko Naing has spent most of the last 20 years in prison for heading the 1988 democracy uprising. A young Buddhist monk, U Gambira, led other monks in the September 2007 protests and is serving 68 years in prison. Authorities hunted Ma Su Su Nway, a firebrand labor activist, for months before she emerged from hiding to stage a protest near a visiting UN human rights envoy in late 2007.
Many of these prominent activists have been transferred to isolated prisons in Burma's hinterlands, far from family and friends. The squalid conditions, including lack of adequate health care and basic sanitation, have exacerbated chronic health problems. The International Committee of the Red Cross has not been allowed inside Burma's prisons for nearly four years.
Burma's political prisoners are the nucleus of an emerging civil society network inside Burma consisting of activists, writers, journalists, bloggers, hip-hop artists, monks, nuns, and aid workers. Their activities are peaceful; their message is of cooperation, consultation and community. These are the very people who should be preparing now for multi-party elections next year.
Despite the SPDC's promises, even if a few of these 2,100 prisoners are released, it is unlikely that they will be permitted to participate in the 2010 elections. Without political party registration or electoral laws, there is widespread uncertainty about who can run in the first elections for twenty years. Systematic intimidation and repression of political activities are not conducive conditions for any sort of democratic process. Moreover, Burma's new SPDC orchestrated constitution bars convicted criminals from running.
It's time now for Burma's allies and trade partners, including Security Council members China and Russia, to act and call Ambassador Than Shwe's bluff. They should push Burma to free all 2,100 political prisoners and enable them to participate fully in the elections. As long as these brave individuals remain in prison they are the starkest reminder of Burma's illegitimate political reforms.
David Scott Mathieson is Burma Researcher for Human Rights Watch.
by David Scott Mathieson
July 27, 2009
Published in The Huffington Post
MAE SOT--United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appears to have been granted a belated booby prize from Burma's military rulers after his recent trip. On July 13, Ban bleakly reported to the Security Council that his visit was a major lost opportunity for the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to demonstrate their commitment to change. They did not allow him to visit Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi nor did they release any political prisoners.
Yet after Ban's speech, the Burmese ambassador to the UN, Than Shwe, said that his government was "processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 elections." This step was one of three benchmarks Ban announced before his visit, the others being the resumption of a substantive dialogue inside Burma, and to create conditions conducive to a credible and legitimate election.
Burma's president, General Than Shwe (no relation to the ambassador), had assured Ban during his visit that the long-planned elections would be "free, fair, and credible."
Can the SPDC be trusted to release all of Burma's 2,100 political prisoners and allow them to run in elections? Unfortunately we've been through this all before.
Recent amnesties in Burma have been little more than public relations stunts. In September 2008, 9,000 prisoners were released, but only six of them, including the 78-year-old journalist U Win Tin were political activists. The amnesty was to detract attention from the one-year anniversary of the brutal 2007 crackdown against monks and other activists in which at least 21 people were killed. In February this year, to illustrate cooperation with a visiting UN human rights envoy, another amnesty freed 6,000 prisoners. Only 24 of these were imprisoned for political activities.
Meanwhile, in the two years since the 2007 crackdown, the number of political prisoners in Burma doubled, to 2,100 and courts have sentenced hundreds of activists to long prison terms.
Political prisoners in Burma are incarcerated because they have called on the military government to protect basic freedoms. They have urged Burma's rulers to engage with Burmese society and address long neglected social issues such as health, education and basic living standards. Or they have spoken to foreigners about repression in their country.
They include Burma's most famous comedian Zargana, sentenced to 59 years of imprisonment for providing aid to cyclone victims and then publicly criticizing the government's poor relief efforts (his sentence was later reduced to 35 years). The student leader Min Ko Naing has spent most of the last 20 years in prison for heading the 1988 democracy uprising. A young Buddhist monk, U Gambira, led other monks in the September 2007 protests and is serving 68 years in prison. Authorities hunted Ma Su Su Nway, a firebrand labor activist, for months before she emerged from hiding to stage a protest near a visiting UN human rights envoy in late 2007.
Many of these prominent activists have been transferred to isolated prisons in Burma's hinterlands, far from family and friends. The squalid conditions, including lack of adequate health care and basic sanitation, have exacerbated chronic health problems. The International Committee of the Red Cross has not been allowed inside Burma's prisons for nearly four years.
Burma's political prisoners are the nucleus of an emerging civil society network inside Burma consisting of activists, writers, journalists, bloggers, hip-hop artists, monks, nuns, and aid workers. Their activities are peaceful; their message is of cooperation, consultation and community. These are the very people who should be preparing now for multi-party elections next year.
Despite the SPDC's promises, even if a few of these 2,100 prisoners are released, it is unlikely that they will be permitted to participate in the 2010 elections. Without political party registration or electoral laws, there is widespread uncertainty about who can run in the first elections for twenty years. Systematic intimidation and repression of political activities are not conducive conditions for any sort of democratic process. Moreover, Burma's new SPDC orchestrated constitution bars convicted criminals from running.
It's time now for Burma's allies and trade partners, including Security Council members China and Russia, to act and call Ambassador Than Shwe's bluff. They should push Burma to free all 2,100 political prisoners and enable them to participate fully in the elections. As long as these brave individuals remain in prison they are the starkest reminder of Burma's illegitimate political reforms.
David Scott Mathieson is Burma Researcher for Human Rights Watch.
*****************************************************
iafrica - Suu Kyi to learn fate
Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:50
A court in military-ruled Myanmar will deliver its verdict in the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday, on charges that could see the democracy leader jailed for up to five years, her lawyer said.
Myanmar's junta has sparked international outrage for prosecuting the Nobel peace laureate for breaching the rules of her house arrest after an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside house in May.
"The verdict will be given this coming Friday. We are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst," defence lawyer Nyan Win told AFP Tuesday after the trial wrapped up with a final reply by Suu Kyi's legal team.
Judges Thaung Nyunt and Nyi Nyi Soe indicated to the court at the notorious Insein prison in Yangon, where Suu Kyi is being held, that sentencing was expected on the same day, Nyan Win said.
"We have a good chance according to the law, but we cannot know what the court will decide because this is a political case," said Nyan Win, who is also the spokesperson for her National League for Democracy.
"If she is released unconditionally she will be home on that day — if not, the sentence will be together with the verdict."
The verdict is widely expected to be a guilty one given the previous form of Myanmar's courts, which have handed down heavy sentences to dozens of dissidents over the past year.
Repeatedly delayed
But the Suu Kyi case has been repeatedly delayed since it started on 18 May amid signs that the regime is trying to quell the storm of international outrage over its treatment of the opposition leader.
U2 singer Bono publicly announced during a concert in Dublin on Monday that Suu Kyi had been named Amnesty International's ambassador of conscience for 2009, the rights group's highest honour.
Diplomats from Thailand, Japan, Singapore and the United States attended Tuesday's hearing, a Myanmar official said on condition of anonymity. Most of the trial has taken place behind closed doors.
Critics have accused the junta of trying to keep Suu Kyi locked up ahead of elections next year, and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led calls for her release at an Asian security conference last week.
Suu Kyi has been in jail or under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years since the junta refused to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in Myanmar's last national elections, in 1990.
The court made the announcement about the verdict after hearing final comments by lawyers for Suu Kyi, her two female aides and US national John Yettaw, in response to closing statements delivered by prosecutors on Monday.
All face similar sentences.
Is Suu Kyi innocent?
Her lawyers say that she was not responsible for the intrusion by Yettaw —who has said that he was inspired by a divine vision that she would be assassinated — and that she was charged under outdated laws.
But Myanmar's rulers have strongly defended the trial.
State media on Tuesday made the strongest suggestions yet that Yettaw was an agent of an outside power, possibly the United States, and was trying to smuggle Suu Kyi out of detention.
The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the trial "has not been intentionally created by the government" but was the fault of Yettaw, who "might have been sent to the country by an anonymous country or organisation".
"The aim of his meeting with Daw Suu Kyi has not been known clearly. He even left two chadors (Muslim shawls) and dark sunglasses to her to act herself in disguise. Was it aimed at taking her out of the house?" it said.
The newspaper also pointed out that the route Yettaw used to enter her house was the "ditch beside the US embassy" and said the place he was arrested was 25 yards (metres) from the house of the US charge d'affaires.
"So there are many points to ponder," the editorial said.
Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:50
A court in military-ruled Myanmar will deliver its verdict in the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday, on charges that could see the democracy leader jailed for up to five years, her lawyer said.
Myanmar's junta has sparked international outrage for prosecuting the Nobel peace laureate for breaching the rules of her house arrest after an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside house in May.
"The verdict will be given this coming Friday. We are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst," defence lawyer Nyan Win told AFP Tuesday after the trial wrapped up with a final reply by Suu Kyi's legal team.
Judges Thaung Nyunt and Nyi Nyi Soe indicated to the court at the notorious Insein prison in Yangon, where Suu Kyi is being held, that sentencing was expected on the same day, Nyan Win said.
"We have a good chance according to the law, but we cannot know what the court will decide because this is a political case," said Nyan Win, who is also the spokesperson for her National League for Democracy.
"If she is released unconditionally she will be home on that day — if not, the sentence will be together with the verdict."
The verdict is widely expected to be a guilty one given the previous form of Myanmar's courts, which have handed down heavy sentences to dozens of dissidents over the past year.
Repeatedly delayed
But the Suu Kyi case has been repeatedly delayed since it started on 18 May amid signs that the regime is trying to quell the storm of international outrage over its treatment of the opposition leader.
U2 singer Bono publicly announced during a concert in Dublin on Monday that Suu Kyi had been named Amnesty International's ambassador of conscience for 2009, the rights group's highest honour.
Diplomats from Thailand, Japan, Singapore and the United States attended Tuesday's hearing, a Myanmar official said on condition of anonymity. Most of the trial has taken place behind closed doors.
Critics have accused the junta of trying to keep Suu Kyi locked up ahead of elections next year, and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led calls for her release at an Asian security conference last week.
Suu Kyi has been in jail or under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years since the junta refused to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in Myanmar's last national elections, in 1990.
The court made the announcement about the verdict after hearing final comments by lawyers for Suu Kyi, her two female aides and US national John Yettaw, in response to closing statements delivered by prosecutors on Monday.
All face similar sentences.
Is Suu Kyi innocent?
Her lawyers say that she was not responsible for the intrusion by Yettaw —who has said that he was inspired by a divine vision that she would be assassinated — and that she was charged under outdated laws.
But Myanmar's rulers have strongly defended the trial.
State media on Tuesday made the strongest suggestions yet that Yettaw was an agent of an outside power, possibly the United States, and was trying to smuggle Suu Kyi out of detention.
The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the trial "has not been intentionally created by the government" but was the fault of Yettaw, who "might have been sent to the country by an anonymous country or organisation".
"The aim of his meeting with Daw Suu Kyi has not been known clearly. He even left two chadors (Muslim shawls) and dark sunglasses to her to act herself in disguise. Was it aimed at taking her out of the house?" it said.
The newspaper also pointed out that the route Yettaw used to enter her house was the "ditch beside the US embassy" and said the place he was arrested was 25 yards (metres) from the house of the US charge d'affaires.
"So there are many points to ponder," the editorial said.
*****************************************************
Monsters and Critics - Myanmar's beleaguered Aung San Suu Kyi faces new court case
Asia-Pacific News
Jul 28, 2009, 5:24 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, currently on trial for breaking the terms of her house detention, now faces a civil court case in which she must fight for ownership of her house, her lawyer said Tuesday.
Suu Kyi's cousin, retired army officer Lieutenant Colonel Khin Maung Aye, on July 24 posted a public notice in the Mirror newspaper, claiming that he owned a portion of Suu Kyi's compound in Yangon and had already sold it.
The advertisement said that anybody who wanted to oppose the sale could register a legal objection within seven days.
'I have informed Daw (Mrs) Aung San Suu Kyi of this matter and she said she will take the necessary legal action against this announcement,' Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win told the German Press Agency dpa.
Suu Kyi, 64, is currently on trial for breaking the terms of her detention in her lakeside house-cum-prison for allowing US national John William Yettaw to swim in to her compound and spend two nights, albeit uninvited, without informing the authorities.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has spent 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest, faces a three to five years in jail if found guilty at a special court set up in Insein Prison.
Final arguments for the case will be made Tuesday.
If the verdict is guilty, it is unclear where authorities would detain Suu Kyi if not at her lakeside home.
The compound was initially owned by Suu Kyi's mother Khin Kyi, who died in 1988.
A quarrel over ownership of the property has been an issue for years. Khin Maung Aye has claimed Khin Kyi gave him a portion of the compound before she died.
Suu Kyi's lawyers deny the claim.
'The whole compound is legally possessed by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,' said Nyan Win.
Asked whether the civil case may have been raised for political reasons, Nyan Win said, 'Of course, they want her to be busier.'
Khin Maung Aye was a former managing director of a news and periodicals enterprise under the Ministry of Information.
Asia-Pacific News
Jul 28, 2009, 5:24 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, currently on trial for breaking the terms of her house detention, now faces a civil court case in which she must fight for ownership of her house, her lawyer said Tuesday.
Suu Kyi's cousin, retired army officer Lieutenant Colonel Khin Maung Aye, on July 24 posted a public notice in the Mirror newspaper, claiming that he owned a portion of Suu Kyi's compound in Yangon and had already sold it.
The advertisement said that anybody who wanted to oppose the sale could register a legal objection within seven days.
'I have informed Daw (Mrs) Aung San Suu Kyi of this matter and she said she will take the necessary legal action against this announcement,' Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win told the German Press Agency dpa.
Suu Kyi, 64, is currently on trial for breaking the terms of her detention in her lakeside house-cum-prison for allowing US national John William Yettaw to swim in to her compound and spend two nights, albeit uninvited, without informing the authorities.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has spent 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest, faces a three to five years in jail if found guilty at a special court set up in Insein Prison.
Final arguments for the case will be made Tuesday.
If the verdict is guilty, it is unclear where authorities would detain Suu Kyi if not at her lakeside home.
The compound was initially owned by Suu Kyi's mother Khin Kyi, who died in 1988.
A quarrel over ownership of the property has been an issue for years. Khin Maung Aye has claimed Khin Kyi gave him a portion of the compound before she died.
Suu Kyi's lawyers deny the claim.
'The whole compound is legally possessed by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,' said Nyan Win.
Asked whether the civil case may have been raised for political reasons, Nyan Win said, 'Of course, they want her to be busier.'
Khin Maung Aye was a former managing director of a news and periodicals enterprise under the Ministry of Information.
*****************************************************
ReliefWeb - ESCAP to discuss Myanmar's agriculture economy and rice policies through development partnership
Source: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
Date: 28 Jul 2009
Press Release No: G/49/2009
Bangkok (UN/ESCAP Information Services) -- At the invitation of Mr. Htay Oo, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Dr. Noeleen Heyzer is visiting Myanmar to launch ESCAP's study on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security. The agricultural economy is the most important sector in Myanmar and contributes 42 per cent of the country's GDP and 70 per cent of its labour force. This is the first step in a development partnership with the Government of Myanmar to discuss its agricultural economy and policy.
Dr. Heyzer's visit takes place at a critical time. The current economic crisis has led to a loss of employment, income and fall in commodity prices, causing enormous hardships for people living in the rural sector throughout Asia. As citizens working abroad return home to rural areas, many countries now face the additional pressure of providing adequate income and livelihood opportunities for people working in the agricultural sector.
ESCAP's study was conducted in 2008, and published this year, at the request of member States who required timely analysis and policy options on how to ensure food security and sustainable agriculture. This was requested at the time when the region is facing triple threats to development, in terms of food-fuel volatility and the economic crisis, and when many in the region are developing stimulus packages to revitalize their economies. The Executive Secretary subsequently convened a Ministerial Roundtable during the sixty-fifth Commission session April 2009 to discuss the study's key findings and delineate key policy responses for Member States' consideration. The study was also a response to some of the key findings of ESCAP's Economic and Social Survey 2008 which showed that investment in the agricultural sector was declining and that a lack of agricultural credit was driving up farmers' indebtedness.
Dr. Heyzer stated that there are a number of key areas where immediate action could be taken by countries in the region. They include enhancing the purchasing power of the poor by undertaking pro-poor public expenditures, cash for work, rural infrastructure programmes and by developing the foundations for social protection. ESCAP's agricultural study also indicates that agricultural income and profitability can be improved by allowing higher prices for agricultural products and by reducing production and transportation cost. The study finds that the marketing of agricultural produce may be improved by removing restrictions on the movement of food including rice. Regional cooperation is needed for the development and transfer of technologies for production, post harvest and storage of food.
"Adequate and sustained agricultural credit is crucial to prevent rural indebtedness and improve agricultural production, livelihoods and wage employment in rural areas," observed Dr. Noeleen Heyzer. "These measures would reduce the hardships currently experienced by farmers and help address social impacts from the current economic crisis including return migration and human trafficking."
The Executive Secretary stated that ESCAP is in a strategic position to be in a development partnership with the Government of Myanmar. "Launching the study here in Naypyitaw is the beginning of this development partnership," observed the Executive Secretary. "As the regional arm of the United Nations in the Asia Pacific, ESCAP provides a forum that allows groups of diverse countries to share experiences, to learn from peers, and coordinate their development activities for greater development impact through regional cooperation," she stated. She went on to add that ESCAP facilitates cooperation among member States to develop common regional positions and solutions to global problems. By taking ownership of reviving their economies, regional members can ensure that the recovery is built on a new development paradigm that is both inclusive and sustainable. By doing so, developing countries will make a quantum leap from merely increasing their crisis-resilience, to becoming crisis-resistant, while ensuring that future growth truly helps the region and the people to live in greater freedom from want, from fear, and from discrimination.
The Executive Secretary will be discussing agricultural economic policies including for rice, agricultural credit, rural infrastructure and livelihood opportunities in Myanmar as possible stimulus for the economy and well being of the people. Besides meeting the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, ESCAP's chief will hold talks with General Thein Sein, the Prime Minister, Mr. Nyan Win, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Soe Tha, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Mr. Kyaw Thu, Chairman, Civil Service Selection and Training Board. Discussions will consist of how ESCAP can support Myanmar in meeting its current development challenges in a comprehensive manner.
Dr. Heyzer outlined a number of areas where ESCAP has been requested by the Government of Myanmar to provide assistance. They include supporting the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals through capacity building; providing technical advice and support for relevant data analysis and statistics as well as for enhancing institutional capacity to deliver development services; and providing a platform for exchange of regional experiences and good practices in the Asian region.
The Executive Secretary of ESCAP will also be visiting a number of villages in rural areas of the arid zone, meeting with local people and officials.
For further queries, please contact:
Mr. Mitchell Hsieh
UN/ESCAP Information Services
Tel: (66) 2 288 1862-69
Email: hsieh@un.org and unisbkk.unescap@un.org
Source: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
Date: 28 Jul 2009
Press Release No: G/49/2009
Bangkok (UN/ESCAP Information Services) -- At the invitation of Mr. Htay Oo, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Dr. Noeleen Heyzer is visiting Myanmar to launch ESCAP's study on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security. The agricultural economy is the most important sector in Myanmar and contributes 42 per cent of the country's GDP and 70 per cent of its labour force. This is the first step in a development partnership with the Government of Myanmar to discuss its agricultural economy and policy.
Dr. Heyzer's visit takes place at a critical time. The current economic crisis has led to a loss of employment, income and fall in commodity prices, causing enormous hardships for people living in the rural sector throughout Asia. As citizens working abroad return home to rural areas, many countries now face the additional pressure of providing adequate income and livelihood opportunities for people working in the agricultural sector.
ESCAP's study was conducted in 2008, and published this year, at the request of member States who required timely analysis and policy options on how to ensure food security and sustainable agriculture. This was requested at the time when the region is facing triple threats to development, in terms of food-fuel volatility and the economic crisis, and when many in the region are developing stimulus packages to revitalize their economies. The Executive Secretary subsequently convened a Ministerial Roundtable during the sixty-fifth Commission session April 2009 to discuss the study's key findings and delineate key policy responses for Member States' consideration. The study was also a response to some of the key findings of ESCAP's Economic and Social Survey 2008 which showed that investment in the agricultural sector was declining and that a lack of agricultural credit was driving up farmers' indebtedness.
Dr. Heyzer stated that there are a number of key areas where immediate action could be taken by countries in the region. They include enhancing the purchasing power of the poor by undertaking pro-poor public expenditures, cash for work, rural infrastructure programmes and by developing the foundations for social protection. ESCAP's agricultural study also indicates that agricultural income and profitability can be improved by allowing higher prices for agricultural products and by reducing production and transportation cost. The study finds that the marketing of agricultural produce may be improved by removing restrictions on the movement of food including rice. Regional cooperation is needed for the development and transfer of technologies for production, post harvest and storage of food.
"Adequate and sustained agricultural credit is crucial to prevent rural indebtedness and improve agricultural production, livelihoods and wage employment in rural areas," observed Dr. Noeleen Heyzer. "These measures would reduce the hardships currently experienced by farmers and help address social impacts from the current economic crisis including return migration and human trafficking."
The Executive Secretary stated that ESCAP is in a strategic position to be in a development partnership with the Government of Myanmar. "Launching the study here in Naypyitaw is the beginning of this development partnership," observed the Executive Secretary. "As the regional arm of the United Nations in the Asia Pacific, ESCAP provides a forum that allows groups of diverse countries to share experiences, to learn from peers, and coordinate their development activities for greater development impact through regional cooperation," she stated. She went on to add that ESCAP facilitates cooperation among member States to develop common regional positions and solutions to global problems. By taking ownership of reviving their economies, regional members can ensure that the recovery is built on a new development paradigm that is both inclusive and sustainable. By doing so, developing countries will make a quantum leap from merely increasing their crisis-resilience, to becoming crisis-resistant, while ensuring that future growth truly helps the region and the people to live in greater freedom from want, from fear, and from discrimination.
The Executive Secretary will be discussing agricultural economic policies including for rice, agricultural credit, rural infrastructure and livelihood opportunities in Myanmar as possible stimulus for the economy and well being of the people. Besides meeting the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, ESCAP's chief will hold talks with General Thein Sein, the Prime Minister, Mr. Nyan Win, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Soe Tha, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Mr. Kyaw Thu, Chairman, Civil Service Selection and Training Board. Discussions will consist of how ESCAP can support Myanmar in meeting its current development challenges in a comprehensive manner.
Dr. Heyzer outlined a number of areas where ESCAP has been requested by the Government of Myanmar to provide assistance. They include supporting the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals through capacity building; providing technical advice and support for relevant data analysis and statistics as well as for enhancing institutional capacity to deliver development services; and providing a platform for exchange of regional experiences and good practices in the Asian region.
The Executive Secretary of ESCAP will also be visiting a number of villages in rural areas of the arid zone, meeting with local people and officials.
For further queries, please contact:
Mr. Mitchell Hsieh
UN/ESCAP Information Services
Tel: (66) 2 288 1862-69
Email: hsieh@un.org and unisbkk.unescap@un.org
*****************************************************
Influenza cases rise to 7 in Myanmar
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-28 12:13:29
YANGON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- New influenza A/H1N1 cases have risen to seven in Myanmar with a 25-year-old man being found to have been infected with the virus as the seventh flu patient in the country, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday.
The man arrived in Yangon from Thailand on July 16 through Thai Airways flight TG-305 but was confirmed with the infection of the virus after he was hospitalized on complaint of illness on July 25.
Two hundred and forty-four passengers, who were together with the patients on the same flight, are under surveillance and six of his family members are also kept in home quarantine, the report said.
Of Myanmar's seven flu patients, the prior four have recovered and were discharged from hospital, the report added.
Myanmar reported the first case of new flu A/H1N1 in the country on June 27 with a 13-year-old girl who developed the symptoms after coming back home from Singapore a day earlier.
So far, the authorities have given medical check up to over 2 million people at airports, ports and border check points and examined those suspicious of the deadly disease since the outbreak in Mexico on April 28, it said.
The authorities claimed that the seven human flu cases are all imported ones.
The authorities continue to take preventive measures against the possible spread of the global human flu pandemic, advising all private clinics in the country to report or transfer all flu-suspected patients, who returned from abroad, to local state-run hospitals or health departments for increased surveillance.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-28 12:13:29
YANGON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- New influenza A/H1N1 cases have risen to seven in Myanmar with a 25-year-old man being found to have been infected with the virus as the seventh flu patient in the country, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday.
The man arrived in Yangon from Thailand on July 16 through Thai Airways flight TG-305 but was confirmed with the infection of the virus after he was hospitalized on complaint of illness on July 25.
Two hundred and forty-four passengers, who were together with the patients on the same flight, are under surveillance and six of his family members are also kept in home quarantine, the report said.
Of Myanmar's seven flu patients, the prior four have recovered and were discharged from hospital, the report added.
Myanmar reported the first case of new flu A/H1N1 in the country on June 27 with a 13-year-old girl who developed the symptoms after coming back home from Singapore a day earlier.
So far, the authorities have given medical check up to over 2 million people at airports, ports and border check points and examined those suspicious of the deadly disease since the outbreak in Mexico on April 28, it said.
The authorities claimed that the seven human flu cases are all imported ones.
The authorities continue to take preventive measures against the possible spread of the global human flu pandemic, advising all private clinics in the country to report or transfer all flu-suspected patients, who returned from abroad, to local state-run hospitals or health departments for increased surveillance.
*****************************************************
ASEAN+3 senior officials to meet in Myanmar on energy
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-28 11:25:06
YANGON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Senior energy officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, Japan and South Korea are due to meet in Myanmar's second largest city of Mandalay later on Tuesday to consult on energy cooperation.
The discussions of the Senior Officials Meeting on Energy (SOME)+3 on oil reserve issue will be forwarded to the 6th ASEAN+3 Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) to be followed the next day.
ASEAN countries' plans on oil reserve will be drafted at the SOME and are expected to be released at the 6th AMEM.
ASEAN has consented work on plans for building oil reserve system in each country to cope with increasing demand for oil in the Asian region and rising prices of oil in the future.
A working-level talks of ASEAN will also take place with the three East Asian countries to work out their respective countries' plan to build up oil reserves.
Myanmar has attracted foreign involvement in oil and gas exploration in the country mainly from such ASEAN member countries as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia as well as from China, Japan and South Korea.
Myanmar has abundance of natural gas resources especially in the offshore areas. With three main large offshore oil and gas fields and 19 onshore ones, Myanmar has proven recoverable reserve of 510 billion cubic meters (BCM) out of 2.54 trillion cubic meters (TCM)'s estimated reserve of offshore and onshore gas, experts said, adding that the country is also estimated to have 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserve.
Official statistics reveal that foreign investment in Myanmar's oil and gas sector had reached 3.398 billion U.S. dollars in 89 projects as of the end of May 2009, standing the second in the country's foreign investment after electric power.
According to the Central Statistical Organization, in the fiscal year 2008-09, Myanmar produced 6.89 million barrels of crude oil and 11.381 BCM of gas.
More statistics show that during the year, Myanmar gained 2.384 billion dollars from exporting 10.674 BCM of natural gas.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-28 11:25:06
YANGON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Senior energy officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, Japan and South Korea are due to meet in Myanmar's second largest city of Mandalay later on Tuesday to consult on energy cooperation.
The discussions of the Senior Officials Meeting on Energy (SOME)+3 on oil reserve issue will be forwarded to the 6th ASEAN+3 Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) to be followed the next day.
ASEAN countries' plans on oil reserve will be drafted at the SOME and are expected to be released at the 6th AMEM.
ASEAN has consented work on plans for building oil reserve system in each country to cope with increasing demand for oil in the Asian region and rising prices of oil in the future.
A working-level talks of ASEAN will also take place with the three East Asian countries to work out their respective countries' plan to build up oil reserves.
Myanmar has attracted foreign involvement in oil and gas exploration in the country mainly from such ASEAN member countries as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia as well as from China, Japan and South Korea.
Myanmar has abundance of natural gas resources especially in the offshore areas. With three main large offshore oil and gas fields and 19 onshore ones, Myanmar has proven recoverable reserve of 510 billion cubic meters (BCM) out of 2.54 trillion cubic meters (TCM)'s estimated reserve of offshore and onshore gas, experts said, adding that the country is also estimated to have 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserve.
Official statistics reveal that foreign investment in Myanmar's oil and gas sector had reached 3.398 billion U.S. dollars in 89 projects as of the end of May 2009, standing the second in the country's foreign investment after electric power.
According to the Central Statistical Organization, in the fiscal year 2008-09, Myanmar produced 6.89 million barrels of crude oil and 11.381 BCM of gas.
More statistics show that during the year, Myanmar gained 2.384 billion dollars from exporting 10.674 BCM of natural gas.
*****************************************************
Myanmar strengthens co-op with foreign countries on energy
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-28 11:47:56
By Feng Yingqiu
YANGON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar is strengthening cooperation with foreign countries on energy sector, especially in oil and gas exploration and production, attracting dozens of foreign oil companies to make investment in the sector since it opened to foreign investment in late 1988.
Those from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are represented by Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, while those from other regions by China, South Korea, India, Australia, Britain, Canada and Russia.
Official statistics revealed that foreign investment in Myanmar's oil and gas sector had reached 3.398 billion U.S. dollars in 89projects as of the end of May 2009, standing the second in the country's foreign investment spectrally after electric power.
According to the Central Statistical Organization, in the fiscal year 2008-09, Myanmar produced 6.89 million barrels of crude oil and 11.381 billion cubic-meters (BCM) of gas.
More statistics showed that during the year, Myanmar gained 2.384 billion dollars from exporting 10.674 BCM of natural gas.
Following the exploration and development of two huge offshore gas fields of Yadana and Yetagun, the Thai PTTEP has been engaged in five more offshore blocks as the sole operator covering blocks M-7, M-9, M-3, M-4 and M-11 in Mottama offshore area since 2003 and seven test wells were found with large and commercial gas deposits since 2005 which are Zawtika-1, Gawthaka-1, Karkonna-1, Zawtika-2, Zawtika-3, Zawtika-4 and Zawtika-5.
In June last year, the PTTEP and PTT Public Co Ltd jointly signed a deal with Myanmar on sale of natural gas produced from M-9 block in Myanmar's Mottama offshore area.
With a total estimated gas reserve of more than 8 trillion cubic-feet (TCF) or 226.5 billion cubic-meters (BCM) and a production rate of about 300 million cubic-feet (MCF) or 8.49 million cubic-meters (MCM) per day, the M-9 field is expected to be able to produce gas and export to Thailand by late 2012.
Meanwhile, a consortium of South Korea's Daewoo International comprising another one South Korean company and two Indian companies found natural gas deposits at block A-1 (Shwe field and Shwephyu field) and block A-3 (Mya field) in the Rakhine offshore area in January 2004 and April 2005 respectively.
The consortium stake is held Daewoo with 60 percent, South Korea Gas Corporation 10 percent, ONGC Videsh Ltd of India 20 percent and GAIL 10 percent.
The Shwe field holds a gas reserve of 4 to 6 trillion cubic-feet (TCF) or 113.2 to 170 billion cubic-meters (BCM), while the Shwephyu 5 TCF and the Mya 2 TCF with a combined proven reserve of 5.7 to 10 TCF of gas are being estimated by experts.
In December last year, the China National United Oil Corporation (CNUOC) formally signed with Myanmar and the Daewoo-led consortium an export gas sale and purchase agreement from the Shwe project (blocks A-1 and A-3).
Natural gas produced from the Shwe Field will be exported to China's southwestern region under the agreement. The Shwe gas will be transmitted through pipeline and partly tapped along the route lying in Myanmar's territory to promote the economic development of the region. The contract agreement is effective for 30 years and it is estimated to start supplying gas by 2013.
Besides, one more Indian company, the Essar, which is next to ONGC Videsh Ltd and the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) is to start drilling test well at the inland block-L in Myanmar's western coastal Rakhine state covering Sittway and Maungtaw to explore natural gas in the coming open season in late this year.
Moreover, two Vietnamese oil companies -- the Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corporation Ltd and the Joint Venture Vietsovpetro of Vietnam and Eden Group Co Ltd of Myanmar have reached a production sharing contract with Myanmar to explore oil and gas at Block M-2 in Myanmar's Mottama offshore area.
It is the first engagement of Vietnamese companies in Myanmar's oil and gas sector and the move came more than a year after the two countries initiated a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in oil and gas during Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's visit to Myanmar in August 2007.
Myanmar has abundance of natural gas resources especially in the offshore areas. With three main large offshore oil and gas fields and 19 onshore ones, Myanmar has proven recoverable reserve of 18.012 trillion cubic-feet (TCF) or 510 billion cubic-meters (BCM) out of 89.722 TCF or 2.54 trillion cubic-meters (TCM)'s estimated reserve of offshore and onshore gas, experts said, adding that the country is also estimated to have 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserve.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-28 11:47:56
By Feng Yingqiu
YANGON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar is strengthening cooperation with foreign countries on energy sector, especially in oil and gas exploration and production, attracting dozens of foreign oil companies to make investment in the sector since it opened to foreign investment in late 1988.
Those from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are represented by Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, while those from other regions by China, South Korea, India, Australia, Britain, Canada and Russia.
Official statistics revealed that foreign investment in Myanmar's oil and gas sector had reached 3.398 billion U.S. dollars in 89projects as of the end of May 2009, standing the second in the country's foreign investment spectrally after electric power.
According to the Central Statistical Organization, in the fiscal year 2008-09, Myanmar produced 6.89 million barrels of crude oil and 11.381 billion cubic-meters (BCM) of gas.
More statistics showed that during the year, Myanmar gained 2.384 billion dollars from exporting 10.674 BCM of natural gas.
Following the exploration and development of two huge offshore gas fields of Yadana and Yetagun, the Thai PTTEP has been engaged in five more offshore blocks as the sole operator covering blocks M-7, M-9, M-3, M-4 and M-11 in Mottama offshore area since 2003 and seven test wells were found with large and commercial gas deposits since 2005 which are Zawtika-1, Gawthaka-1, Karkonna-1, Zawtika-2, Zawtika-3, Zawtika-4 and Zawtika-5.
In June last year, the PTTEP and PTT Public Co Ltd jointly signed a deal with Myanmar on sale of natural gas produced from M-9 block in Myanmar's Mottama offshore area.
With a total estimated gas reserve of more than 8 trillion cubic-feet (TCF) or 226.5 billion cubic-meters (BCM) and a production rate of about 300 million cubic-feet (MCF) or 8.49 million cubic-meters (MCM) per day, the M-9 field is expected to be able to produce gas and export to Thailand by late 2012.
Meanwhile, a consortium of South Korea's Daewoo International comprising another one South Korean company and two Indian companies found natural gas deposits at block A-1 (Shwe field and Shwephyu field) and block A-3 (Mya field) in the Rakhine offshore area in January 2004 and April 2005 respectively.
The consortium stake is held Daewoo with 60 percent, South Korea Gas Corporation 10 percent, ONGC Videsh Ltd of India 20 percent and GAIL 10 percent.
The Shwe field holds a gas reserve of 4 to 6 trillion cubic-feet (TCF) or 113.2 to 170 billion cubic-meters (BCM), while the Shwephyu 5 TCF and the Mya 2 TCF with a combined proven reserve of 5.7 to 10 TCF of gas are being estimated by experts.
In December last year, the China National United Oil Corporation (CNUOC) formally signed with Myanmar and the Daewoo-led consortium an export gas sale and purchase agreement from the Shwe project (blocks A-1 and A-3).
Natural gas produced from the Shwe Field will be exported to China's southwestern region under the agreement. The Shwe gas will be transmitted through pipeline and partly tapped along the route lying in Myanmar's territory to promote the economic development of the region. The contract agreement is effective for 30 years and it is estimated to start supplying gas by 2013.
Besides, one more Indian company, the Essar, which is next to ONGC Videsh Ltd and the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) is to start drilling test well at the inland block-L in Myanmar's western coastal Rakhine state covering Sittway and Maungtaw to explore natural gas in the coming open season in late this year.
Moreover, two Vietnamese oil companies -- the Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corporation Ltd and the Joint Venture Vietsovpetro of Vietnam and Eden Group Co Ltd of Myanmar have reached a production sharing contract with Myanmar to explore oil and gas at Block M-2 in Myanmar's Mottama offshore area.
It is the first engagement of Vietnamese companies in Myanmar's oil and gas sector and the move came more than a year after the two countries initiated a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in oil and gas during Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's visit to Myanmar in August 2007.
Myanmar has abundance of natural gas resources especially in the offshore areas. With three main large offshore oil and gas fields and 19 onshore ones, Myanmar has proven recoverable reserve of 18.012 trillion cubic-feet (TCF) or 510 billion cubic-meters (BCM) out of 89.722 TCF or 2.54 trillion cubic-meters (TCM)'s estimated reserve of offshore and onshore gas, experts said, adding that the country is also estimated to have 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserve.
*****************************************************
Myanmar central bank to replace some old banknotes with new ones
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-28 13:34:50
YANGON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Myanmar is making arrangement to replace some old and worn banknotes with new ones to facilitate the public use and handling of the existing banknotes in circulation, according to the bank's notice carried in Tuesday's official press media.
The old banknotes exchangeable at Myanmar Economic Banks range from Kyats 10 to 200 notes, the notice said.
The central bank is also providing small changes to All Bus lines Supervisory Committee and Market Departments of the municipal authorities of Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay weekly, the notice added.
Residents here said considerable amount of the existing banknotes in circulation are quite worn and no longer unsuitable to be kept on further circulation. The status is mostly found in public buses and vegetable markets.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-28 13:34:50
YANGON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Myanmar is making arrangement to replace some old and worn banknotes with new ones to facilitate the public use and handling of the existing banknotes in circulation, according to the bank's notice carried in Tuesday's official press media.
The old banknotes exchangeable at Myanmar Economic Banks range from Kyats 10 to 200 notes, the notice said.
The central bank is also providing small changes to All Bus lines Supervisory Committee and Market Departments of the municipal authorities of Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay weekly, the notice added.
Residents here said considerable amount of the existing banknotes in circulation are quite worn and no longer unsuitable to be kept on further circulation. The status is mostly found in public buses and vegetable markets.
*****************************************************
BangkokPost - Two drug smugglers killed near border
Published: 28/07/2009 at 03:03 PM
Two drug traffickers were killed in a nighttime battle with paramilitary rangers of the Pha Muang special force near the border with Burma early on Tuesday morning, Third Army commander Lt-Gen Thanongsak Apirakyothin said.
The clash occured about 1.50am at Pang Mahan village in Chiang Rai’s Mea Fah Luang district.
After the rangers cleared the area they found the bodies of two smugglers, 142,000 methamphetamine pills, one gun and one handgrenade.
He said the Pha Muang special force had also set up a check point at 12.30am on the Huay Bu-Samakkee intra-village road in Mae Fah Luang and arrested three Hmong tribesmen on charges of possessing illegal drugs.
The paramilitary rangers found 12,000 yaba pills (crazy pills) hidden under the saddles of three motorbikes ridden the suspects.
The total seizure of methamphetamines overnight was 154,000 pills.
Published: 28/07/2009 at 03:03 PM
Two drug traffickers were killed in a nighttime battle with paramilitary rangers of the Pha Muang special force near the border with Burma early on Tuesday morning, Third Army commander Lt-Gen Thanongsak Apirakyothin said.
The clash occured about 1.50am at Pang Mahan village in Chiang Rai’s Mea Fah Luang district.
After the rangers cleared the area they found the bodies of two smugglers, 142,000 methamphetamine pills, one gun and one handgrenade.
He said the Pha Muang special force had also set up a check point at 12.30am on the Huay Bu-Samakkee intra-village road in Mae Fah Luang and arrested three Hmong tribesmen on charges of possessing illegal drugs.
The paramilitary rangers found 12,000 yaba pills (crazy pills) hidden under the saddles of three motorbikes ridden the suspects.
The total seizure of methamphetamines overnight was 154,000 pills.
*****************************************************
The Nation - Prison court extends Aung San Suu Kyi case by a day
By Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published on July 28, 2009
Rangoon - A court in Rangoon's Insein Prison on Monday extended by a day the trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her two aides and a US national who swam to her lakeside home three months ago.
Defence and prosecution lawyers presented their final arguments Monday in the case against Suu Kyi's two housekeepers, Khin Win and Win Ma Ma, and John William Yettaw, who swam to Suu Kyi's house-cum-prison on May 3 and stayed there until May 5.
At the end of the hearing, the court allowed the defence another hearing on Tuesday to permit it to present its answers to the prosecution's arguments, defence lawyer Nyan Win said.
Final arguments for Suu Kyi's case were already presented on Friday, but Nyan Win said he would attempt Tuesday to persuade the court to allow new witnesses for her case.
He said he intends to argue that since Suu Kyi was never officially under detention, according to the government's wording, and had been kept in her Rangoon house for six years for "security reasons," she could not have broken the terms of her detention and, therefore, requires new witnesses to argue this point.
Nyan Win said he would also object to an article that appeared in a government-run newspaper Thursday that said Suu Kyi was guilty, which, he said, unfairly biased judges against her in the case.
Suu Kyi, who has been confined for 13 of the past 19 years, faces an additional five years of detention for breaching the terms of her house arrest after Yettaw's intrusion.
Her housekeepers face similar charges for facilitating Yettaw's uninvited visit, and Yettaw himself has been charged with violating the terms of his visa and swimming illegally in Rangoon's Inya Lake.
It was not yet known when the court would issue its verdicts in the four cases.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been accused of breaking the terms of her detention by allowing Yettaw to enter her compound without informing the authorities.
On Friday, the prison court heard her lead attorney, U Kyi Win, present the 30-page defence case that she was an innocent party to an intrusion that should have been prevented by her military guards.
Suu Kyi's legal team has asked why the authorities did not respond to Suu Kyi's earlier complaint when Yettaw first broke into her compound to try to contact her in November.
Critics of Burma's military regime consider Yettaw's intrusions an unintended gift to the junta, giving it an excuse to detain Suu Kyi after her previous six-year detention expired on May 27.
The military government is believed to want her confined until at least after elections planned for 2010.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won the 1990 general elections by a landslide but has been blocked from power by Burma's junta for the past 19 years.
The new trial of Suu Kyi has sparked a chorus of protests from world leaders and even strongly worded statements from Burma's regional allies in the Association of South-East Asian Nations.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton last week offered Burma improved relations if it released Suu Kyi, but there was no indication the junta would agree.
The New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper, said Friday in an editorial that "demanding the release of Suu Kyi means showing reckless disregard for the law."
By Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published on July 28, 2009
Rangoon - A court in Rangoon's Insein Prison on Monday extended by a day the trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her two aides and a US national who swam to her lakeside home three months ago.
Defence and prosecution lawyers presented their final arguments Monday in the case against Suu Kyi's two housekeepers, Khin Win and Win Ma Ma, and John William Yettaw, who swam to Suu Kyi's house-cum-prison on May 3 and stayed there until May 5.
At the end of the hearing, the court allowed the defence another hearing on Tuesday to permit it to present its answers to the prosecution's arguments, defence lawyer Nyan Win said.
Final arguments for Suu Kyi's case were already presented on Friday, but Nyan Win said he would attempt Tuesday to persuade the court to allow new witnesses for her case.
He said he intends to argue that since Suu Kyi was never officially under detention, according to the government's wording, and had been kept in her Rangoon house for six years for "security reasons," she could not have broken the terms of her detention and, therefore, requires new witnesses to argue this point.
Nyan Win said he would also object to an article that appeared in a government-run newspaper Thursday that said Suu Kyi was guilty, which, he said, unfairly biased judges against her in the case.
Suu Kyi, who has been confined for 13 of the past 19 years, faces an additional five years of detention for breaching the terms of her house arrest after Yettaw's intrusion.
Her housekeepers face similar charges for facilitating Yettaw's uninvited visit, and Yettaw himself has been charged with violating the terms of his visa and swimming illegally in Rangoon's Inya Lake.
It was not yet known when the court would issue its verdicts in the four cases.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been accused of breaking the terms of her detention by allowing Yettaw to enter her compound without informing the authorities.
On Friday, the prison court heard her lead attorney, U Kyi Win, present the 30-page defence case that she was an innocent party to an intrusion that should have been prevented by her military guards.
Suu Kyi's legal team has asked why the authorities did not respond to Suu Kyi's earlier complaint when Yettaw first broke into her compound to try to contact her in November.
Critics of Burma's military regime consider Yettaw's intrusions an unintended gift to the junta, giving it an excuse to detain Suu Kyi after her previous six-year detention expired on May 27.
The military government is believed to want her confined until at least after elections planned for 2010.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won the 1990 general elections by a landslide but has been blocked from power by Burma's junta for the past 19 years.
The new trial of Suu Kyi has sparked a chorus of protests from world leaders and even strongly worded statements from Burma's regional allies in the Association of South-East Asian Nations.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton last week offered Burma improved relations if it released Suu Kyi, but there was no indication the junta would agree.
The New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper, said Friday in an editorial that "demanding the release of Suu Kyi means showing reckless disregard for the law."
*****************************************************
The Nation - Japan-Mekong meeting in October
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
Published on July 28, 2009
Foreign ministers from Japan and the Mekong basin countries of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam would meet in Cambodia's Siem Reap in October for development cooperation, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.
The meeting would pave the way for a leaders' summit in November or December, he said.
Japan has taken a proactive approach in bridging the development gap between the newer and older members of Asean.
It established the Japan-Asean Integration Fund in 2006 and hosted the first Japan-Mekong ministerial meeting in Tokyo last year.
It has pledged about US$20 million (Bt690 million) for development projects in the Mekong basin.
The Siem Reap meeting would emphasise regional interconnectivity through transportation routes.
Thailand, which has many cooperation schemes with its neighbours such as the Ayeyawady-Chao Phya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy and the Emerald Triangle, would play some role in enhancing linkages, he said.
Thailand has been a donor country to its neighbours for years. It recently committed financial assistance to Cambodia's construction and renovation of Highway 68 from Kralanh to Samrong and Highway 48 from Koh Kong to Sre Ambel, Kasit added.
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
Published on July 28, 2009
Foreign ministers from Japan and the Mekong basin countries of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam would meet in Cambodia's Siem Reap in October for development cooperation, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.
The meeting would pave the way for a leaders' summit in November or December, he said.
Japan has taken a proactive approach in bridging the development gap between the newer and older members of Asean.
It established the Japan-Asean Integration Fund in 2006 and hosted the first Japan-Mekong ministerial meeting in Tokyo last year.
It has pledged about US$20 million (Bt690 million) for development projects in the Mekong basin.
The Siem Reap meeting would emphasise regional interconnectivity through transportation routes.
Thailand, which has many cooperation schemes with its neighbours such as the Ayeyawady-Chao Phya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy and the Emerald Triangle, would play some role in enhancing linkages, he said.
Thailand has been a donor country to its neighbours for years. It recently committed financial assistance to Cambodia's construction and renovation of Highway 68 from Kralanh to Samrong and Highway 48 from Koh Kong to Sre Ambel, Kasit added.
*****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Suu Kyi Insists Her Trial Will Test Rule of Law in Burma
By SAW YAN NAING - Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Aung San Suu Kyi insisted after Tuesday’s final session of her trial before Friday’s scheduled verdict that the proceedings would show “whether or not the rule of law exists in the country,” according to her lawyer Nyan Win.
Suu Kyi made the comment to Nyan Win after the court announced a verdict would be announced on Friday. Suu Kyi is charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest order by giving refuge to an American trespasser, John Yettaw, and faces a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment if convicted.
Nyan Win, who is also a spokesman of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, told The Irrawaddy that his legal team had tried its best in accordance with the law.
Suu Kyi was innocent, Nyan Win insisted. “She [Suu Kyi] did not break the law. According to the law, it will be unlawful if the court even sentences her.”
During Tuesday’s two-hour morning session, a defense plea for more witnesses to be heard was rejected by the court, Nyan Win said.
Win Tin, an NLD executive leader who joined Suu Kyi supporters outside Insein Prison on Tuesday, said her two female companions and Yettaw also appeared at Tuesday’s session.
Suu Kyi’s companions Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma also face a charge of giving unlawful refuge to Yettaw. They are represented by Hla Myo Myint.
Nyan Win was one of four lawyers representing Suu Kyi at Tuesday’s session. The others were Kyi Wynn, Hla Myo Myint and Khin Htay Kywe, according to Khin Maung Swe, an NLD spokesperson.
Diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the US were allowed to attend Tuesday’s session, according to an Associated Press report.
Last weekend, Suu Kyi told Nyan Win that she is unhappy with the continual delays in her trial, which she said gave the prosecution more time to prepare its final arguments.
The trial began on May 18 and has been interrupted by several adjournments.
The proceedings against Suu Kyi have drawn wide international condemnation.
Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and several Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers called for the release of Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 other political prisoners during the Asean Ministerial Meeting and Asean Regional Forum at Phuket in southern Thailand.
The Burmese state-owned newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, carried an editorial last weekend saying that “demanding the release of Suu Kyi means showing reckless disregard for the law.”
The opposition leader has spent nearly 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest. Her latest term of detention began in May 2003, when she and her supporters came under attack by junta-backed thugs while traveling in central Burma.
By SAW YAN NAING - Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Aung San Suu Kyi insisted after Tuesday’s final session of her trial before Friday’s scheduled verdict that the proceedings would show “whether or not the rule of law exists in the country,” according to her lawyer Nyan Win.
Suu Kyi made the comment to Nyan Win after the court announced a verdict would be announced on Friday. Suu Kyi is charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest order by giving refuge to an American trespasser, John Yettaw, and faces a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment if convicted.
Nyan Win, who is also a spokesman of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, told The Irrawaddy that his legal team had tried its best in accordance with the law.
Suu Kyi was innocent, Nyan Win insisted. “She [Suu Kyi] did not break the law. According to the law, it will be unlawful if the court even sentences her.”
During Tuesday’s two-hour morning session, a defense plea for more witnesses to be heard was rejected by the court, Nyan Win said.
Win Tin, an NLD executive leader who joined Suu Kyi supporters outside Insein Prison on Tuesday, said her two female companions and Yettaw also appeared at Tuesday’s session.
Suu Kyi’s companions Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma also face a charge of giving unlawful refuge to Yettaw. They are represented by Hla Myo Myint.
Nyan Win was one of four lawyers representing Suu Kyi at Tuesday’s session. The others were Kyi Wynn, Hla Myo Myint and Khin Htay Kywe, according to Khin Maung Swe, an NLD spokesperson.
Diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the US were allowed to attend Tuesday’s session, according to an Associated Press report.
Last weekend, Suu Kyi told Nyan Win that she is unhappy with the continual delays in her trial, which she said gave the prosecution more time to prepare its final arguments.
The trial began on May 18 and has been interrupted by several adjournments.
The proceedings against Suu Kyi have drawn wide international condemnation.
Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and several Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers called for the release of Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 other political prisoners during the Asean Ministerial Meeting and Asean Regional Forum at Phuket in southern Thailand.
The Burmese state-owned newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, carried an editorial last weekend saying that “demanding the release of Suu Kyi means showing reckless disregard for the law.”
The opposition leader has spent nearly 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest. Her latest term of detention began in May 2003, when she and her supporters came under attack by junta-backed thugs while traveling in central Burma.
*****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Asean May Request Development Funds for Burma
By WAI MOE - Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is considering approaching the international community for development funds to assist in the democratization of Burma rather than applying pressure on the Burmese junta, according to the Malaysian foreign minister.
Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman told Malaysian reporters during the Asean Regional Forum in Phuket, Thailand, last week that the international community in general should pour funds into Burma to develop infrastructure and lift Burmese people out of poverty.
“Since the [Burmese] people are so poor right now, the generals would be kicked out if they called for an election,” he said, adding that Malaysia might raise the idea of development funding during 15th Asean Summit.
“So why don’t we put in some development funds, and bring the people out of poverty?” he said. “Then the voters can see that under the military’s rule, things did improve and they [might] even vote for the junta.”
The Malaysian foreign minister said that his development fund idea could ease the junta’s fears of losing power once the country becomes fully democratic.
Based on the Malaysian model of “Barisan Nasional,” Anifah added that it would help the people and give the junta an incentive “if they are confident of winning.”
Kuala Lumpur-based daily The New Straits Times reported on Friday that Malaysia would raise the idea at the 15th Asean Summit in Phuket in October.
In his report, Sheridan Mahavera said the idea is a 180-degree turnaround from Asean and the international community’s current approach that calls for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, as well as an inclusive free-and-fair election.
The Malaysian minister reportedly said the current approach of condemning Burma is not working, though it has been used for more than a decade.
He did not comment on whether Asean’s constructive engagement policy is working to bring about positive changes in Burma, according to the report. However, other Asean members said last week that the bloc will use its policy of engagement rather than pressure while they are dealing with the Burmese junta.
The Malaysian foreign minister’s comments would appear to counter remarks made by Singaporean Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at the end of a four-day visit to Burma in June when he said that Singaporean investors would likely wait until after Burma’s elections next year before pouring any more money into the country.
“I don't believe any Singapore investors would come in in a big way before the picture is clear, before this move to democracy is seen to produce results,” Goh said.
Meanwhile, Sean Turnell, an economist at Australia’s Macquarie University, recently said the economic policies of Burma’s ruling junta have done far more damage to the country’s prospects for development than international sanctions.
“Burma is not poor because of sanctions. The biggest sanction on Burma is the Burmese regime itself,” said Turnell, adding that the junta’s “willful mismanagement” of the economy, including its refusal to respect property rights, is the main obstacle to the country’s economic development.
According to Burma experts, the country had great potential before the 1962 military coup.
But that all changed after the coup and leader Ne Win’s isolationist policy.
Though Burma had strong insurgent movements in the 1950s, the international airport in Rangoon was still a major air hub in Southeast Asia and airlines such as Pan American, Northwest, Air France and KLM all flew to Burma directly from Europe and North America.
Turnell said that during the parliamentary period (1948-62), the newly independent nation made a remarkable recovery from the devastation wrought by the Second World War.
“Burma doesn’t need a foreign model of development,” he said. “It just needs to look at its own history.”
Looking at successful economic reforms in China and Vietnam, some observers expect the Burmese regime could follow Beijing and Hanoi’s model to develop the country.
However, based on recent reports of closer relations between North Korea and Burma, could it be that Naypyidaw is rather looking at Pyongyang’s model of isolation than any other policy?
By WAI MOE - Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is considering approaching the international community for development funds to assist in the democratization of Burma rather than applying pressure on the Burmese junta, according to the Malaysian foreign minister.
Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman told Malaysian reporters during the Asean Regional Forum in Phuket, Thailand, last week that the international community in general should pour funds into Burma to develop infrastructure and lift Burmese people out of poverty.
“Since the [Burmese] people are so poor right now, the generals would be kicked out if they called for an election,” he said, adding that Malaysia might raise the idea of development funding during 15th Asean Summit.
“So why don’t we put in some development funds, and bring the people out of poverty?” he said. “Then the voters can see that under the military’s rule, things did improve and they [might] even vote for the junta.”
The Malaysian foreign minister said that his development fund idea could ease the junta’s fears of losing power once the country becomes fully democratic.
Based on the Malaysian model of “Barisan Nasional,” Anifah added that it would help the people and give the junta an incentive “if they are confident of winning.”
Kuala Lumpur-based daily The New Straits Times reported on Friday that Malaysia would raise the idea at the 15th Asean Summit in Phuket in October.
In his report, Sheridan Mahavera said the idea is a 180-degree turnaround from Asean and the international community’s current approach that calls for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, as well as an inclusive free-and-fair election.
The Malaysian minister reportedly said the current approach of condemning Burma is not working, though it has been used for more than a decade.
He did not comment on whether Asean’s constructive engagement policy is working to bring about positive changes in Burma, according to the report. However, other Asean members said last week that the bloc will use its policy of engagement rather than pressure while they are dealing with the Burmese junta.
The Malaysian foreign minister’s comments would appear to counter remarks made by Singaporean Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at the end of a four-day visit to Burma in June when he said that Singaporean investors would likely wait until after Burma’s elections next year before pouring any more money into the country.
“I don't believe any Singapore investors would come in in a big way before the picture is clear, before this move to democracy is seen to produce results,” Goh said.
Meanwhile, Sean Turnell, an economist at Australia’s Macquarie University, recently said the economic policies of Burma’s ruling junta have done far more damage to the country’s prospects for development than international sanctions.
“Burma is not poor because of sanctions. The biggest sanction on Burma is the Burmese regime itself,” said Turnell, adding that the junta’s “willful mismanagement” of the economy, including its refusal to respect property rights, is the main obstacle to the country’s economic development.
According to Burma experts, the country had great potential before the 1962 military coup.
But that all changed after the coup and leader Ne Win’s isolationist policy.
Though Burma had strong insurgent movements in the 1950s, the international airport in Rangoon was still a major air hub in Southeast Asia and airlines such as Pan American, Northwest, Air France and KLM all flew to Burma directly from Europe and North America.
Turnell said that during the parliamentary period (1948-62), the newly independent nation made a remarkable recovery from the devastation wrought by the Second World War.
“Burma doesn’t need a foreign model of development,” he said. “It just needs to look at its own history.”
Looking at successful economic reforms in China and Vietnam, some observers expect the Burmese regime could follow Beijing and Hanoi’s model to develop the country.
However, based on recent reports of closer relations between North Korea and Burma, could it be that Naypyidaw is rather looking at Pyongyang’s model of isolation than any other policy?
*****************************************************
Mizzima News - Legally Suu Kyi is innocent: Defence lawyer
by Mungpi
Tuesday, 28 July 2009 20:07
New Delhi (Mizzima) – The over two-month long trial of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi points to her innocence, legally and the verdict to be pronounced on Friday will put to acid test the rule of law in the military-ruled country, her lawyer said on Tuesday.
Nyan Win, one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers told Mizzima after the arguments put forward by the defence on Tuesday that testimonies of the witnesses, arguments of lawyers of both the defence and the prosecution have all proved that the Burmese pro-democracy leader is innocent.
“As far as I have analysed the trial, legally there is no evidence to convict her [Aung San Suu Kyi,” said Nyan Win, adding that it would surprise him and the other members of the defence team if the verdict pronounces her guilty.
On Tuesday Nyan Win submitted his clarification on the prosecution’s arguments stating that there are no grounds to charge the Nobel Peace Laureate and the charges filed by the prosecution are not valid as the 1974 constitution is no more in effect.
Fellow party member and one of the spokesperson of the National League for Democracy, Ohn Kyaing told Mizzima earlier that he believed legally there is no ground to charge and convict the Burmese democracy icon but expressed concern that the court might not independently take a decision.
“I think the court will convict her because that’s the junta’s plan,” he said.
Like Ohn Kyaing, observers and critics believe that the junta is using the incident of John William Yettaw’s visit to Aung San Suu Kyi’s home as an excuse to charge her and sentence her to yet another prison term, in a move to keep her out of the 2010 election scenario.
But Nyan Win said, the defence team has not given up, and is willing to go to any extent in trying to bring justice to the pro-democracy leader.
“Aung San Suu Kyi has agreed with us and has given us permission to continue fighting the case legally and we plan to take the case to higher courts if the verdict pronounces her guilty,’ Nyan Win said.
Opposition activists widely believe that the military has chalked out a plan to sentence Aung San Suu Kyi before the end of July to avoid the verdict coinciding with the ensuing anniversary of the 8.8.88 uprising on August 8.
But the junta, which initially thought of sentencing Aung San Suu Kyi in a short trial, is also taking into account the possible reaction – both international and domestic - that may erupt in the wake of her being sentenced.
Win Tin, a senior leader of the NLD and veteran journalist, earlier told Mizzima that pronouncing Aung San Suu Kyi guilty and sentencing her to a prison term could provoke peoples’ anger that could lead to yet another mass movement particularly in Burma’s former capital city Rangoon.
by Mungpi
Tuesday, 28 July 2009 20:07
New Delhi (Mizzima) – The over two-month long trial of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi points to her innocence, legally and the verdict to be pronounced on Friday will put to acid test the rule of law in the military-ruled country, her lawyer said on Tuesday.
Nyan Win, one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers told Mizzima after the arguments put forward by the defence on Tuesday that testimonies of the witnesses, arguments of lawyers of both the defence and the prosecution have all proved that the Burmese pro-democracy leader is innocent.
“As far as I have analysed the trial, legally there is no evidence to convict her [Aung San Suu Kyi,” said Nyan Win, adding that it would surprise him and the other members of the defence team if the verdict pronounces her guilty.
On Tuesday Nyan Win submitted his clarification on the prosecution’s arguments stating that there are no grounds to charge the Nobel Peace Laureate and the charges filed by the prosecution are not valid as the 1974 constitution is no more in effect.
Fellow party member and one of the spokesperson of the National League for Democracy, Ohn Kyaing told Mizzima earlier that he believed legally there is no ground to charge and convict the Burmese democracy icon but expressed concern that the court might not independently take a decision.
“I think the court will convict her because that’s the junta’s plan,” he said.
Like Ohn Kyaing, observers and critics believe that the junta is using the incident of John William Yettaw’s visit to Aung San Suu Kyi’s home as an excuse to charge her and sentence her to yet another prison term, in a move to keep her out of the 2010 election scenario.
But Nyan Win said, the defence team has not given up, and is willing to go to any extent in trying to bring justice to the pro-democracy leader.
“Aung San Suu Kyi has agreed with us and has given us permission to continue fighting the case legally and we plan to take the case to higher courts if the verdict pronounces her guilty,’ Nyan Win said.
Opposition activists widely believe that the military has chalked out a plan to sentence Aung San Suu Kyi before the end of July to avoid the verdict coinciding with the ensuing anniversary of the 8.8.88 uprising on August 8.
But the junta, which initially thought of sentencing Aung San Suu Kyi in a short trial, is also taking into account the possible reaction – both international and domestic - that may erupt in the wake of her being sentenced.
Win Tin, a senior leader of the NLD and veteran journalist, earlier told Mizzima that pronouncing Aung San Suu Kyi guilty and sentencing her to a prison term could provoke peoples’ anger that could lead to yet another mass movement particularly in Burma’s former capital city Rangoon.
*****************************************************
DVB News - Bulldozing Burma’s rivers
JJ Kim
July 28, 2009 (DVB)–Intense militarization of Burma’s river areas is a byproduct of the government’s near obsession with hydropower, for which the only benefits will be felt by energy hungry neighbours and Burma’s expanding military.
For as long as Burma has been under military rule, hydropower development has been high on the junta’s agenda. It has attracted numerous foreign investors that have brought in unprecedented profits for the country’s military regime, yet the livelihoods of millions living close to these rivers are perilously under threat.
Last year the government announced that 28 dams were under construction, adding to the 12 that already produce around 47 percent of the country’s total electricity output.
The ruling generals have plans for another 10, meaning that the country’s three main rivers will soon be carved up by 50 large scale hydropower dams.
All together these facilities have the potential to produce almost 25 times the country’s current hydropower output. The majority of these projects are to be financed, built and ultimately used by foreign governments and corporations from Thailand, China, India and Bangladesh. The largest of these dams will be the Tasang on the Salween River in conflict-torn Shan state. When complete, it will be the largest dam in Southeast Asia, taller than China’s Three Gorges dam and will produce more than twice the country’s entire current installed capacity. However, according to the Thailand-based Shan Sapawa Environmental Group (Sapawa), this dam is inflicting considerable damage on the lives of local people.
“The worst impact is forced relocation,” said Khur Hseng, from Sapawa. “Altogether 300,000 people from central and southern Shan state have been made to leave their homes. Many of these people have run away to Thailand and to this day some people are staying in the jungle.” When the Tasang Dam is built they will be unable go back because their homes will be underwater, he added. “They are losing their culture, their livelihoods and their homeland.”
Between 40 and 60 million people worldwide have been displaced by hydropower projects, according to environmental group, International Rivers. The issue of displacement is an all too common consequence of infrastructure projects in Burma that apparently necessitate intense militarization and land clearance.
"Those responsible for building the dam are perfectly happy to have the military depopulate most of the areas in the context of fighting so they don’t have to pay compensation costs,” said a spokesperson for campaigning group, Salween Watch. “These huge costs are then externalised, borne by other countries that take on the burden of refugee resettlement.”
The Tasang is one of five dams to be built on the Salween river, which up until recently had been one of only a handful of the world’s untouched major rivers, and Southeast Asia’s longest undammed waterway. Most of the power from these dams will be exported to Thailand to fuel the rapid expansion of its industry and commercial sectors.
According to Burma environmental expert, Steve Green, Thailand’s natural gas is running out. “They’ve had strong domestic opposition to hydropower developments in their own country so their policy is now to look beyond their borders to other people’s energy sources," he said. "If they insist on continuing with the unsustainable growth paradigm instead of using demand side reduction and alternative energy, then basically they will keep taking energy from their neighbours.”
Furthermore, the multiple agreements between the Burmese regime and foreign governments clearly state that high-level security will be provided free of charge in project areas. The Salween dams are “right in the heart of an active war-zone and they are very specifically part of the Burmese military's strategy of occupation and control," says Steve Green, meaning conflict zones in eastern Burma will be further militarized.
Nowhere has this been felt more than in Shan state, where according to Khur Hseng, the number of army battalions surrounding towns near to the Tasang dam site has tripled in the past 13 years. Numerous cases of extortion, torture, rape and murder by Burmese troops have been documented in this area. “Between 1996 and 2001, there were hundreds of cases of rape within a 50 kilometer radius of the Tasang dam,” said Khur Hseng.
The spectre of river damming is not new to Burma. The country’s first dam was built during the reign of the country’s first military ruler, General Ne Win. Shortly after he came to power in 1962, construction began on a hydropower installment at Lawpita falls in Karenni state, which led to water shortages, destructive floods and large-scale militarisation in the area. In 1964, 8,000 citizens of southern Shan state were forcibly displaced to make way for the Mobye dam, upstream from Lawpita falls, which subsequently flooded 114 villages. This started a trend that has continued to this day as the military regime persistently exploits Burma’s waterways to make short-term profits, which are then largely used to fund their ever-expanding army.
Perhaps the most widespread and lasting impact these projects will have is the devastation of traditional livelihoods. The majority of Burma’s population lives in undeveloped rural areas with minimal access to imported foods or modern infrastructure, and therefore rely heavily on local rivers for subsistence. Not only are they used daily for washing, drinking, cooking, water and fishing, but most of the nation’s rice comes from the banks of rivers such as the Irrawaddy and the Kaladan. Indeed, access to local rivers is as essential for these citizens as electricity, transport and running water are to much of the world’s population.
Hydropower dams disrupt river-based ecosystems, causing a series of knock-on effects which irrevocably decrease food supplies. According to Steve Green, one of the more serious impacts is caused by the trapping of sediment behind the dams, which stops the natural fertilisation of rice fields on the flood plains. “This gradually forces farmers to become dependent on chemical fertilisers and pesticides at huge financial and health cost,” he said.
Furthermore, large hydropower dams can obstruct migratory paths of fish and alter streamflow and oxygen levels, damaging the natural habitats of many integral species. In many cases hydropower dams have also been reported to cause greater greenhouse emissions than even fossil fuel plants. This happens shortly after the dam is built, when a large area is flooded, causing trees and plants to rot and releasing harmful gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
Despite the sheer might of the corporations and governments involved in the implementation of these projects, opposition groups based outside Burma are making noticeable progress to protect Burma’s rivers. “We are calling to the investors and shareholders to stop investing,” said Khur Hseng. “The government gets the money and does not give it to the people. Instead, they use it to buy weapons and finance the development of military infrastructure, which is not beneficial to us at all.”
JJ Kim
July 28, 2009 (DVB)–Intense militarization of Burma’s river areas is a byproduct of the government’s near obsession with hydropower, for which the only benefits will be felt by energy hungry neighbours and Burma’s expanding military.
For as long as Burma has been under military rule, hydropower development has been high on the junta’s agenda. It has attracted numerous foreign investors that have brought in unprecedented profits for the country’s military regime, yet the livelihoods of millions living close to these rivers are perilously under threat.
Last year the government announced that 28 dams were under construction, adding to the 12 that already produce around 47 percent of the country’s total electricity output.
The ruling generals have plans for another 10, meaning that the country’s three main rivers will soon be carved up by 50 large scale hydropower dams.
All together these facilities have the potential to produce almost 25 times the country’s current hydropower output. The majority of these projects are to be financed, built and ultimately used by foreign governments and corporations from Thailand, China, India and Bangladesh. The largest of these dams will be the Tasang on the Salween River in conflict-torn Shan state. When complete, it will be the largest dam in Southeast Asia, taller than China’s Three Gorges dam and will produce more than twice the country’s entire current installed capacity. However, according to the Thailand-based Shan Sapawa Environmental Group (Sapawa), this dam is inflicting considerable damage on the lives of local people.
“The worst impact is forced relocation,” said Khur Hseng, from Sapawa. “Altogether 300,000 people from central and southern Shan state have been made to leave their homes. Many of these people have run away to Thailand and to this day some people are staying in the jungle.” When the Tasang Dam is built they will be unable go back because their homes will be underwater, he added. “They are losing their culture, their livelihoods and their homeland.”
Between 40 and 60 million people worldwide have been displaced by hydropower projects, according to environmental group, International Rivers. The issue of displacement is an all too common consequence of infrastructure projects in Burma that apparently necessitate intense militarization and land clearance.
"Those responsible for building the dam are perfectly happy to have the military depopulate most of the areas in the context of fighting so they don’t have to pay compensation costs,” said a spokesperson for campaigning group, Salween Watch. “These huge costs are then externalised, borne by other countries that take on the burden of refugee resettlement.”
The Tasang is one of five dams to be built on the Salween river, which up until recently had been one of only a handful of the world’s untouched major rivers, and Southeast Asia’s longest undammed waterway. Most of the power from these dams will be exported to Thailand to fuel the rapid expansion of its industry and commercial sectors.
According to Burma environmental expert, Steve Green, Thailand’s natural gas is running out. “They’ve had strong domestic opposition to hydropower developments in their own country so their policy is now to look beyond their borders to other people’s energy sources," he said. "If they insist on continuing with the unsustainable growth paradigm instead of using demand side reduction and alternative energy, then basically they will keep taking energy from their neighbours.”
Furthermore, the multiple agreements between the Burmese regime and foreign governments clearly state that high-level security will be provided free of charge in project areas. The Salween dams are “right in the heart of an active war-zone and they are very specifically part of the Burmese military's strategy of occupation and control," says Steve Green, meaning conflict zones in eastern Burma will be further militarized.
Nowhere has this been felt more than in Shan state, where according to Khur Hseng, the number of army battalions surrounding towns near to the Tasang dam site has tripled in the past 13 years. Numerous cases of extortion, torture, rape and murder by Burmese troops have been documented in this area. “Between 1996 and 2001, there were hundreds of cases of rape within a 50 kilometer radius of the Tasang dam,” said Khur Hseng.
The spectre of river damming is not new to Burma. The country’s first dam was built during the reign of the country’s first military ruler, General Ne Win. Shortly after he came to power in 1962, construction began on a hydropower installment at Lawpita falls in Karenni state, which led to water shortages, destructive floods and large-scale militarisation in the area. In 1964, 8,000 citizens of southern Shan state were forcibly displaced to make way for the Mobye dam, upstream from Lawpita falls, which subsequently flooded 114 villages. This started a trend that has continued to this day as the military regime persistently exploits Burma’s waterways to make short-term profits, which are then largely used to fund their ever-expanding army.
Perhaps the most widespread and lasting impact these projects will have is the devastation of traditional livelihoods. The majority of Burma’s population lives in undeveloped rural areas with minimal access to imported foods or modern infrastructure, and therefore rely heavily on local rivers for subsistence. Not only are they used daily for washing, drinking, cooking, water and fishing, but most of the nation’s rice comes from the banks of rivers such as the Irrawaddy and the Kaladan. Indeed, access to local rivers is as essential for these citizens as electricity, transport and running water are to much of the world’s population.
Hydropower dams disrupt river-based ecosystems, causing a series of knock-on effects which irrevocably decrease food supplies. According to Steve Green, one of the more serious impacts is caused by the trapping of sediment behind the dams, which stops the natural fertilisation of rice fields on the flood plains. “This gradually forces farmers to become dependent on chemical fertilisers and pesticides at huge financial and health cost,” he said.
Furthermore, large hydropower dams can obstruct migratory paths of fish and alter streamflow and oxygen levels, damaging the natural habitats of many integral species. In many cases hydropower dams have also been reported to cause greater greenhouse emissions than even fossil fuel plants. This happens shortly after the dam is built, when a large area is flooded, causing trees and plants to rot and releasing harmful gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
Despite the sheer might of the corporations and governments involved in the implementation of these projects, opposition groups based outside Burma are making noticeable progress to protect Burma’s rivers. “We are calling to the investors and shareholders to stop investing,” said Khur Hseng. “The government gets the money and does not give it to the people. Instead, they use it to buy weapons and finance the development of military infrastructure, which is not beneficial to us at all.”
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