Gloom in Yangon as Aung San Suu Kyi trial resumes
By JOHN HEILPRIN – 23 minutes ago
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Along the shores of artificial Inya Lake, the empty compound of Aung San Suu Kyi lies within plain sight as couples stroll the path. Her home also is a curious attraction to onlookers from a hotel a minute's walk away.
But it is her absence from it that has been on people's minds lately in and around Yangon — a hub of commerce and scholarship and the epicenter of anti-government sentiment — with the trial of the pro-democracy leader set to resume Friday.
The failure of visiting U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to gain a meeting with the opposition leader last weekend or win her release seems to have only intensified widespread feelings of gloom and frustration, though only brief interviews were possible without raising suspicions in this police state.
The trial of Suu Kyi, who turned 64 in the city's Insein Prison last month, had been postponed during the U.N. chief's visit.
There had been some hope that intervention by the international community might have avoided the continuation of the Nobel Prize laureate's trial. She faces trumped-up charges that resulted from a bizarre incident involving an American who swam to her home across the artificial lake, a popular place for leisurely walks and sailing.
"I will never see real democracy flourish in Myanmar. Not in my lifetime. We live in a hopeless situation where even the U.N. secretary-general fails to nudge the stubborn regime," said U Hla Shwe, a 72-year old retired lawyer.
The New Light of Myanmar reported on July 5 that junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe denied the U.N. secretary-general's request for a prison visit because "the case is being heard freely and fairly, so they have no right to arrange a meeting between the UNSG and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi." "Daw" is a term of respect.
Suu Kyi faces up to five years in jail on charges of violating the terms of her long-standing house arrest, after the uninvited American man, also imprisoned at Insein, swam to her tightly guarded lakeside home and stayed two days. He made the same swim last year.
Her defense will call a second witness Friday. Then Suu Kyi's defense plans to ask the court to give it sufficient time — about a week — to prepare for closing arguments. A separate date is expected for the court to deliver the verdict, which could still be appealed.
Her supporters and human rights groups see the trial as an excuse for the government to throw her back in jail, now that they've reached the legal limit on detaining her. She has spent nearly 14 of the last 20 years in detention, mostly under house arrest.
It has been two decades since the military refused to hand over control to a civilian government despite Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy winning an extraordinary landslide victory in May 1990. Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962.
An editor of a local news magazine, who did not want to be named for fear of retaliation, said, "I had thought that the government was eager to hold all inclusive elections at least to give some credibility to the elections. But after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was put on trial, I realize that the government was not sincere with the intention."
Since the referendum last year, when the junta pushed through a 92 percent vote to affirm a new constitution despite the devastation and disorder of Cyclone Nargis, despair set in that anyone's vote would ever count. Ban's visit did nothing to alleviate that.
"The government is going to hold the elections to cement their power and they will see to it that they get what they want, so my vote won't make any difference," said a 44-year old school teacher named Lei Lei.
Ban said Than Shwe indicated he might finally hand over control and become a civilian himself next year after an election is held. Some people hold out a glimmer of hope that might actually happen.
"Now everybody wants to have democracy — most of the people," said a 27-year-old Burmese man who, like many under the watchful eye of the military regime, did not want to be identified for fear harm would come to his family. "Maybe it will take two to three years."
Even as hopes dim for Suu Kyi's release and for a freely elected government, some people won't give up trying.
"I am skeptical that we will ever see change in the country. I will continue fighting for our rights working as a citizen journalist," said 25-year-old Zaw Zaw, who said he reports for an exiled anti-government media group. "It is dangerous working as a CJ and I am fearful all the time when I might get caught."
By JOHN HEILPRIN – 23 minutes ago
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Along the shores of artificial Inya Lake, the empty compound of Aung San Suu Kyi lies within plain sight as couples stroll the path. Her home also is a curious attraction to onlookers from a hotel a minute's walk away.
But it is her absence from it that has been on people's minds lately in and around Yangon — a hub of commerce and scholarship and the epicenter of anti-government sentiment — with the trial of the pro-democracy leader set to resume Friday.
The failure of visiting U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to gain a meeting with the opposition leader last weekend or win her release seems to have only intensified widespread feelings of gloom and frustration, though only brief interviews were possible without raising suspicions in this police state.
The trial of Suu Kyi, who turned 64 in the city's Insein Prison last month, had been postponed during the U.N. chief's visit.
There had been some hope that intervention by the international community might have avoided the continuation of the Nobel Prize laureate's trial. She faces trumped-up charges that resulted from a bizarre incident involving an American who swam to her home across the artificial lake, a popular place for leisurely walks and sailing.
"I will never see real democracy flourish in Myanmar. Not in my lifetime. We live in a hopeless situation where even the U.N. secretary-general fails to nudge the stubborn regime," said U Hla Shwe, a 72-year old retired lawyer.
The New Light of Myanmar reported on July 5 that junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe denied the U.N. secretary-general's request for a prison visit because "the case is being heard freely and fairly, so they have no right to arrange a meeting between the UNSG and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi." "Daw" is a term of respect.
Suu Kyi faces up to five years in jail on charges of violating the terms of her long-standing house arrest, after the uninvited American man, also imprisoned at Insein, swam to her tightly guarded lakeside home and stayed two days. He made the same swim last year.
Her defense will call a second witness Friday. Then Suu Kyi's defense plans to ask the court to give it sufficient time — about a week — to prepare for closing arguments. A separate date is expected for the court to deliver the verdict, which could still be appealed.
Her supporters and human rights groups see the trial as an excuse for the government to throw her back in jail, now that they've reached the legal limit on detaining her. She has spent nearly 14 of the last 20 years in detention, mostly under house arrest.
It has been two decades since the military refused to hand over control to a civilian government despite Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy winning an extraordinary landslide victory in May 1990. Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962.
An editor of a local news magazine, who did not want to be named for fear of retaliation, said, "I had thought that the government was eager to hold all inclusive elections at least to give some credibility to the elections. But after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was put on trial, I realize that the government was not sincere with the intention."
Since the referendum last year, when the junta pushed through a 92 percent vote to affirm a new constitution despite the devastation and disorder of Cyclone Nargis, despair set in that anyone's vote would ever count. Ban's visit did nothing to alleviate that.
"The government is going to hold the elections to cement their power and they will see to it that they get what they want, so my vote won't make any difference," said a 44-year old school teacher named Lei Lei.
Ban said Than Shwe indicated he might finally hand over control and become a civilian himself next year after an election is held. Some people hold out a glimmer of hope that might actually happen.
"Now everybody wants to have democracy — most of the people," said a 27-year-old Burmese man who, like many under the watchful eye of the military regime, did not want to be identified for fear harm would come to his family. "Maybe it will take two to three years."
Even as hopes dim for Suu Kyi's release and for a freely elected government, some people won't give up trying.
"I am skeptical that we will ever see change in the country. I will continue fighting for our rights working as a citizen journalist," said 25-year-old Zaw Zaw, who said he reports for an exiled anti-government media group. "It is dangerous working as a CJ and I am fearful all the time when I might get caught."
*****************************************************
24 miners killed in Myanmar by landslide
AP - Friday, July 10
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's state-run television says 24 jade mine workers have been killed in landslides triggered by monsoon rains.
The report Thursday said the workers, including 13 women, were killed by the landslide July 3 at a mine near Phakant, 600 miles (900 kilometers) north of Yangon.
The report says the accident occurred after heavy rains.
Tun Myint, a jade merchant who has a mine in the area said such accidents are common especially during the annual rainy season.
AP - Friday, July 10
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's state-run television says 24 jade mine workers have been killed in landslides triggered by monsoon rains.
The report Thursday said the workers, including 13 women, were killed by the landslide July 3 at a mine near Phakant, 600 miles (900 kilometers) north of Yangon.
The report says the accident occurred after heavy rains.
Tun Myint, a jade merchant who has a mine in the area said such accidents are common especially during the annual rainy season.
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Thursday July 9, 2009
G8 calls for multi-party elections in Myanmar
L'AQUILA, Italy (Reuters) - Major powers in the Group of Eight called on Wednesday for transparent, multi-party elections in Myanmar and the release of all political prisoners.
G8 calls for multi-party elections in Myanmar
L'AQUILA, Italy (Reuters) - Major powers in the Group of Eight called on Wednesday for transparent, multi-party elections in Myanmar and the release of all political prisoners.
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Jul 9, 2009 | 12:25PM
NASDAQ - UK Brown Meets S Africa President, UN Chief On G8 Sidelines
L'AQUILA, Italy -(Dow Jones)- U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown discussed the situations in Zimbabwe and Myanmar with fellow leaders Thursday morning on the sidelines of the Group of Eight developed nations meeting.
Brown met with South African president Jacob Zuma and U.N. Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon.
His spokesman said Brown and Ban agreed "there could be no credible elections in Burma without (opposition leader) Aun Sun Suu Key's participation."
Ban visited Myanmar last week.
In his meeting with Zuma, the two leaders discussed Zimbabwe, with Brown's spokesman saying "it was important that the power-sharing government delivered on the reform commitments that it had entered into."
Late Tuesday, Brown also met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Relations between the U.K. and Russia have been strained in recent years. Brown's spokesman said the two discussed the global economy, energy cooperation and the situation in Iran.
"While not ducking the difficult, outstanding bilateral issues, this was a constructive meeting," the spokesman said.
NASDAQ - UK Brown Meets S Africa President, UN Chief On G8 Sidelines
L'AQUILA, Italy -(Dow Jones)- U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown discussed the situations in Zimbabwe and Myanmar with fellow leaders Thursday morning on the sidelines of the Group of Eight developed nations meeting.
Brown met with South African president Jacob Zuma and U.N. Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon.
His spokesman said Brown and Ban agreed "there could be no credible elections in Burma without (opposition leader) Aun Sun Suu Key's participation."
Ban visited Myanmar last week.
In his meeting with Zuma, the two leaders discussed Zimbabwe, with Brown's spokesman saying "it was important that the power-sharing government delivered on the reform commitments that it had entered into."
Late Tuesday, Brown also met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Relations between the U.K. and Russia have been strained in recent years. Brown's spokesman said the two discussed the global economy, energy cooperation and the situation in Iran.
"While not ducking the difficult, outstanding bilateral issues, this was a constructive meeting," the spokesman said.
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'Banks will not be allowed to violate UN sanctions'
Posted by admin
Thursday, 09 July 2009 20:03
(Bernama) - Malaysia is looking into claims that one of its banks has been used to channel payment in an arms sale transaction between North Korea and Myanmar.
The country would also assist the US in its investigations into the matter, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak told reporters after chairing the National Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council meeting here on Thursday.
According to reports from South Korea, North Korea had sought payment through an unnamed Malaysian bank for a suspected shipment of weapons bound for Myanmar, which was being tracked by the US Navy.
On Monday, US envoy Philip Goldberg, who is coordinating financial, arms and other sanctions against North Korea under a recent United Nations (UN) resolution, came to Malaysia for talks.
He had told reporters that his delegation had a very good meeting at Bank Negara with Malaysian officials but did not say whether the suspected violation of the UN sanction by a local bank had been discussed.
The US would share information with other countries on any abuse of the international banking system particularly with regard to the UN sanction against North Korea to make sure that whatever trade and financial activities that took place were legal and did not violate the UN Security Council Resolution, he had said.
"We are looking at the details on it," said Najib, who is also Finance Minister when asked about the allegation.
"We don't want to be accused of doing things against the United Nations’ resolutions or international norms. We don't want Malaysia, including its banking system, to be used for those purposes," he added.
He said Malaysia would not allow the country or its banking system to be used for transactions involving the proliferation of nuclear weapons as it did not support the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Posted by admin
Thursday, 09 July 2009 20:03
(Bernama) - Malaysia is looking into claims that one of its banks has been used to channel payment in an arms sale transaction between North Korea and Myanmar.
The country would also assist the US in its investigations into the matter, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak told reporters after chairing the National Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council meeting here on Thursday.
According to reports from South Korea, North Korea had sought payment through an unnamed Malaysian bank for a suspected shipment of weapons bound for Myanmar, which was being tracked by the US Navy.
On Monday, US envoy Philip Goldberg, who is coordinating financial, arms and other sanctions against North Korea under a recent United Nations (UN) resolution, came to Malaysia for talks.
He had told reporters that his delegation had a very good meeting at Bank Negara with Malaysian officials but did not say whether the suspected violation of the UN sanction by a local bank had been discussed.
The US would share information with other countries on any abuse of the international banking system particularly with regard to the UN sanction against North Korea to make sure that whatever trade and financial activities that took place were legal and did not violate the UN Security Council Resolution, he had said.
"We are looking at the details on it," said Najib, who is also Finance Minister when asked about the allegation.
"We don't want to be accused of doing things against the United Nations’ resolutions or international norms. We don't want Malaysia, including its banking system, to be used for those purposes," he added.
He said Malaysia would not allow the country or its banking system to be used for transactions involving the proliferation of nuclear weapons as it did not support the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
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Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune - Official says 7 SKorean Web sites hacked again after slew of cyber attacks in South, US
By HYUNG-JIN KIM , Associated Press
Last update: July 9, 2009 - 10:51 AM
Only indirectly related to this article is the good news the NK freighter Kang Nam was left with no choice but to reverse course and head … read more home after US lead UN sanctions prevented her from reaching Myanmar to deliver her cargo of weapons with no shots fired, no one dead. This is a definite win for Obama foreign policy and I look forward to the kudos sure to come from the mouthes of CONS like Coulter and Limbo.
SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean Web sites were attacked again Thursday after a wave of Web site outages in the U.S. and South Korea that several officials suspect North Korea was behind.
Seven sites — one belonging to the government and the others to private entities — were attacked in the third round of cyber assaults, said Ku Kyo-young, an official from the state-run Korea Communications Commission.
Earlier in the day, the country's leading computer security company, AhnLab, had warned of a new attack after analyzing a virus program that sent a flood of Internet traffic to paralyze Web sites in both South Korea and the United States.
About two hours after the latest assault, all but one shopping site were working normally. The Yonhap news agency had earlier reported that the Web site of the leading Kookmin Bank was down for about 30 minutes.
Twelve South Korean sites were initially hit Tuesday, followed by strikes Wednesday on 10 others, including those for government offices. The U.S. targets included the White House, Pentagon, Treasury Department and the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Like previous ones, the latest assault was also caused by so-called denial of service attacks in which floods of computers try to connect to a single site at the same time, overwhelming the server, the commission official said.
Some South Korean sites hit in the past few days remained inaccessible or unstable on Thursday, including the National Cyber Security Center, affiliated with the main spy agency. No major disruptions, however, were reported.
"The damage from the latest attack appears to be limited because those sites took necessary measures to fend off the attack," Ku said.
Seoul's main intelligence agency, the National Intelligence Service, informed members of parliament's intelligence committee Wednesday that it believes North Korea or pro-Pyongyang forces were behind the cyber attacks, a lawmaker said.
By HYUNG-JIN KIM , Associated Press
Last update: July 9, 2009 - 10:51 AM
Only indirectly related to this article is the good news the NK freighter Kang Nam was left with no choice but to reverse course and head … read more home after US lead UN sanctions prevented her from reaching Myanmar to deliver her cargo of weapons with no shots fired, no one dead. This is a definite win for Obama foreign policy and I look forward to the kudos sure to come from the mouthes of CONS like Coulter and Limbo.
SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean Web sites were attacked again Thursday after a wave of Web site outages in the U.S. and South Korea that several officials suspect North Korea was behind.
Seven sites — one belonging to the government and the others to private entities — were attacked in the third round of cyber assaults, said Ku Kyo-young, an official from the state-run Korea Communications Commission.
Earlier in the day, the country's leading computer security company, AhnLab, had warned of a new attack after analyzing a virus program that sent a flood of Internet traffic to paralyze Web sites in both South Korea and the United States.
About two hours after the latest assault, all but one shopping site were working normally. The Yonhap news agency had earlier reported that the Web site of the leading Kookmin Bank was down for about 30 minutes.
Twelve South Korean sites were initially hit Tuesday, followed by strikes Wednesday on 10 others, including those for government offices. The U.S. targets included the White House, Pentagon, Treasury Department and the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Like previous ones, the latest assault was also caused by so-called denial of service attacks in which floods of computers try to connect to a single site at the same time, overwhelming the server, the commission official said.
Some South Korean sites hit in the past few days remained inaccessible or unstable on Thursday, including the National Cyber Security Center, affiliated with the main spy agency. No major disruptions, however, were reported.
"The damage from the latest attack appears to be limited because those sites took necessary measures to fend off the attack," Ku said.
Seoul's main intelligence agency, the National Intelligence Service, informed members of parliament's intelligence committee Wednesday that it believes North Korea or pro-Pyongyang forces were behind the cyber attacks, a lawmaker said.
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redOrbit - Longest Total Solar Eclipse To Be Broadcast Worldwide
Posted on: Thursday, 9 July 2009, 07:55 CDT
In partnership with Madrid Regional Government's ASTROCAM network and Extremadura Regional Government's Department of Youth and Sports, the Ciclope Group led by Francisco Manuel Sánchez Moreno of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's School of Computing is to Internet broadcast the 21st century's longest total solar eclipse from the Chinese city of Chongqing on July 22, 2009. The eclipse's is central duration will be over six minutes.
The Ciclope Group's scholarship holder, Urko Serrano, is to join the Shelios expedition and travel to the site in the company of over 20 professionals from all over Spain. The expedition has all the equipment necessary to capture and Internet broadcast the images in real time. At this end, Diego López will coordinate the webcasting of the images over the network of networks at the UPM's School of Computing.
The expedition's team is due to arrive in China on July 14. Team members will stay in the country until July 26, when they will embark on the journey back to Spain. During their stay, Marcos Casilda, an audiovisual communicator dispatched by Extremadura's Regional Government and Urko Serrano will enter daily reports and post information about the expedition on the website with the aim of publicizing this spectacle worldwide.
From the scientific viewpoint, the broadcast will give the Ciclope Group chance to run several experiments as part of their research into multimedia broadcasting with P2P technology. The development of this technology could make provision for an unlimited audience of viewers in the future, where each connected client would operate as a repeater or proxy. This, today, is a far-off prospect.
Ciclope is an ICT research and collaborative learning group. Last year they received second prize in the Eighth New Applications for the Internet contest organized by the Chair of New Generation Internet for the "Open source software for educational robotized astronomical observatories remotely operated over the Internet".
The longest total eclipse in the 21st century
The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century is to take place on July 22, 2009. Until June 13, 2132, there will no other eclipse to rival its duration. It will last 6 minutes and 39 seconds, and it will reach its maximum phase at 02:35:21 UTC, some 100 km south of the Bonin Islands to the southeast of Japan.
The eclipse, with a magnitude of 1.0799, will be visible from northern India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, the northern tip of Union of Myanmar, central China and the Pacific Ocean, including the Ryukyu Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati. The total eclipse will be seen by citizens of Surat, Varanasi, Patna, Thimphu, Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Hangzhou and Shanghai. A partial eclipse will be observable in the much wider path of the moon's penumbra, covering most of southeast Asia and northeast Oceania. Via the Internet, however, it will be visible all over the world.
2009 Shelios Expedition to China
The 2009 Shelios Expedition to China, organized by a group of experts in astronomy, has been sponsored by Extremadura Regional Government's Department of Youth and Sports. The expedition sets out to study, observe and record everything related to the solar eclipse of 22 July.
The expedition's organizer, Miquel Serra-Ricart, an astronomer working for the Canary Islands Astrophysical Institute and administrator of the Teide Observatory, explained at a press conference held in Extremadura that this is the only solar eclipse this year and will not be visible from any part of Spain.
He added that the total solar eclipse will be observed from the environs of the city of Chongqing (China). Inland China is one of the best places within the eclipse's path for viewing the event, as the probability of clear skies is high, the likelihood of typhoons is low and, finally, the central duration of the total eclipse phase is near maximum.
Posted on: Thursday, 9 July 2009, 07:55 CDT
In partnership with Madrid Regional Government's ASTROCAM network and Extremadura Regional Government's Department of Youth and Sports, the Ciclope Group led by Francisco Manuel Sánchez Moreno of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's School of Computing is to Internet broadcast the 21st century's longest total solar eclipse from the Chinese city of Chongqing on July 22, 2009. The eclipse's is central duration will be over six minutes.
The Ciclope Group's scholarship holder, Urko Serrano, is to join the Shelios expedition and travel to the site in the company of over 20 professionals from all over Spain. The expedition has all the equipment necessary to capture and Internet broadcast the images in real time. At this end, Diego López will coordinate the webcasting of the images over the network of networks at the UPM's School of Computing.
The expedition's team is due to arrive in China on July 14. Team members will stay in the country until July 26, when they will embark on the journey back to Spain. During their stay, Marcos Casilda, an audiovisual communicator dispatched by Extremadura's Regional Government and Urko Serrano will enter daily reports and post information about the expedition on the website with the aim of publicizing this spectacle worldwide.
From the scientific viewpoint, the broadcast will give the Ciclope Group chance to run several experiments as part of their research into multimedia broadcasting with P2P technology. The development of this technology could make provision for an unlimited audience of viewers in the future, where each connected client would operate as a repeater or proxy. This, today, is a far-off prospect.
Ciclope is an ICT research and collaborative learning group. Last year they received second prize in the Eighth New Applications for the Internet contest organized by the Chair of New Generation Internet for the "Open source software for educational robotized astronomical observatories remotely operated over the Internet".
The longest total eclipse in the 21st century
The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century is to take place on July 22, 2009. Until June 13, 2132, there will no other eclipse to rival its duration. It will last 6 minutes and 39 seconds, and it will reach its maximum phase at 02:35:21 UTC, some 100 km south of the Bonin Islands to the southeast of Japan.
The eclipse, with a magnitude of 1.0799, will be visible from northern India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, the northern tip of Union of Myanmar, central China and the Pacific Ocean, including the Ryukyu Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati. The total eclipse will be seen by citizens of Surat, Varanasi, Patna, Thimphu, Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Hangzhou and Shanghai. A partial eclipse will be observable in the much wider path of the moon's penumbra, covering most of southeast Asia and northeast Oceania. Via the Internet, however, it will be visible all over the world.
2009 Shelios Expedition to China
The 2009 Shelios Expedition to China, organized by a group of experts in astronomy, has been sponsored by Extremadura Regional Government's Department of Youth and Sports. The expedition sets out to study, observe and record everything related to the solar eclipse of 22 July.
The expedition's organizer, Miquel Serra-Ricart, an astronomer working for the Canary Islands Astrophysical Institute and administrator of the Teide Observatory, explained at a press conference held in Extremadura that this is the only solar eclipse this year and will not be visible from any part of Spain.
He added that the total solar eclipse will be observed from the environs of the city of Chongqing (China). Inland China is one of the best places within the eclipse's path for viewing the event, as the probability of clear skies is high, the likelihood of typhoons is low and, finally, the central duration of the total eclipse phase is near maximum.
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Myanmar first flu-infected patient recovers from illness: official
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-09 11:11:46
YANGON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's first flu-infected girl patient has been discharged from hospital after recovering from illness, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Thursday.
The 13-year-old girl patient was discharged on Wednesday evening after she underwent medical treatment in the Yangon General Hospital and was found fully recovering from her illness.
All those 91 passengers, who were on board the plane with the girl, have also been stopped for surveillance as the 10-day period of possible disease spread passed, the report said.
The Myanmar Health Ministry declared on Wednesday that the new flu A/H1N1 case has been under control in the country, saying that none of the 203 persons coming into contact with a new flu girl victim were found further infected with the A/H1N1 virus.
The period of surveillance carried out on 203 persons who came into contact with the 13-year-old female victim has been over since Tuesday and the virus has not spread to any other person and the case is now under control, the announcement said.
According to the results of laboratory tests, of 36 people suspicious with new influenza A/H1N1 in the nation, only one was found infected with the virus -- 21 suffering from seasonal flu only and 14 in healthy condition, it also said.
So far, the authorities have given medical check up to over 1.79 million people at airports, ports and border check points and examined those suspicious of the deadly disease.
Myanmar reported the first case of flu A/H1N1 in the country on June 27 with the 13-year-old girl who developed the symptoms after coming back home from Singapore a day earlier.
The authorities continued to take preventive measures against the possible outbreak of the new influenza, 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 2009-07-09 11:11:46
YANGON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's first flu-infected girl patient has been discharged from hospital after recovering from illness, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Thursday.
The 13-year-old girl patient was discharged on Wednesday evening after she underwent medical treatment in the Yangon General Hospital and was found fully recovering from her illness.
All those 91 passengers, who were on board the plane with the girl, have also been stopped for surveillance as the 10-day period of possible disease spread passed, the report said.
The Myanmar Health Ministry declared on Wednesday that the new flu A/H1N1 case has been under control in the country, saying that none of the 203 persons coming into contact with a new flu girl victim were found further infected with the A/H1N1 virus.
The period of surveillance carried out on 203 persons who came into contact with the 13-year-old female victim has been over since Tuesday and the virus has not spread to any other person and the case is now under control, the announcement said.
According to the results of laboratory tests, of 36 people suspicious with new influenza A/H1N1 in the nation, only one was found infected with the virus -- 21 suffering from seasonal flu only and 14 in healthy condition, it also said.
So far, the authorities have given medical check up to over 1.79 million people at airports, ports and border check points and examined those suspicious of the deadly disease.
Myanmar reported the first case of flu A/H1N1 in the country on June 27 with the 13-year-old girl who developed the symptoms after coming back home from Singapore a day earlier.
The authorities continued to take preventive measures against the possible outbreak of the new influenza, 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.
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07-09-2009 15:16
Korea Times - Advocate Democracy in Myanmar
By John Smith Thang
Members of the Chin Democracy and Human Rights Network staged a rally against the Myanmar government in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Korea on July 5.
The protest was in memorial of a pro-democracy leader ― an ethnic Chin student, Salai Tin Mg Oo, who was killed by Myanmar's military government on June 24, 1976.
Salai Tin Maung Oo was popular among university students in 1974-75 for his dedicated fight against the brutal military regime in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
He and his colleagues organized a ``U Thant Uprising'' there in honor of U Thant, a former U.N. secretary general. After the military government prohibited the public from holding an honorable funeral for U Thant, Salai Tin Maung Oo and students led demonstrations to protest the dictatorial military rule.
Apart from the uprising, Salai Tin Maung Oo organized a ``labor strike anniversary day'' and ``Mai-yar-pih events.'' The military arrested him for his role in the uprising and pro-democracy movement.
Before Salai Tin Maung Oo was executed, military intelligence officers tried to persuade him to pledge to follow their authority in exchange for freedom. But he refused to do so and shouted, ``I shall never kneel down under your soldiers' boots.''
And he continued to shout in jail, ``Comrades, they are killing me secretly.'' Finally he was secretly hanged at Insein Jail on June 24, 1976.
His death brought great shock and anger to the whole country and particularly to ethnic minorities who were yearning for freedom and democracy. Salai Tin Maung Oo belonged to one of these groups.
In Myanmar, oppressing activists is routine. Since, the Myanmarese military government massacred student activists on July 7, 1962. Subsequently there were several repressive acts against Salai Tin Maung Oo and students in 1974.
And then there was a nationwide mass uprising in 1988 when the government forces brutally fired on the crowd ― killing about 3,000 innocent people. The Depayin massacre took place in May 2003 when the military alleged killed hundreds of people.
Again in September 2007, the military attacked and killed innocent people and monks who peacefully protested ― and many more people have ``disappeared.''
Allegations have it that the military regime still continues to arrest pro-democracy and human rights activists. In recent days, the military took into custody pro-democracy icon Daw Aung San Su Kyi after 13 years of house arrest, without honoring the Nobel Peace Prize she won.
There are around 2,100 political prisoners in Myanmar. And many ethnic minorities and Christians continue to be persecuted by the military regime.
At the moment, Myanmar's military government is escalating its war in peripheral ethnic regions using weapons supplied by its closest allies, China and North Korea. Innocent people are suffering and tormented, and thousand of refugees have had to flee their homeland due to the military government's policy,
The military regime is preparing for 2010 elections in order to tighten its grip on power, which is ostensibly supposed to be transferred to a democratic government.
A democratic government should have the following basic elements: a people's constitution, judicial independence, free media, and free and fair elections. But the military government has failed to introduce any of these elements.
The government is reluctant to acknowledge the multiethnic fabric of Myanmarese society. There should be guaranteed ethnic-civil rights through mutual agreement, however, the military regime has adopted an ethnic cleansing policy.
The military government has neither guaranteed civil rights nor ethnic rights. It will never bring true democracy to Myanmar.
The military government should stop oppressing pro-democracy activists. The international community, particularly the United Nations, must make concerted efforts to ensure free and fair elections next year.
Also it is necessary for China to stop supporting Myanmar's military regime. Additionally, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should do more to promote democracy in Myanmar, and not support the military government.
Finally we urge the international community to work to advocate democracy and freedom in Myanmar.
John Smith Thang is executive director of Chin Democracy and Human Rights Network based in Korea. He can be reached at cdhrn.kr@gmail.com.
Korea Times - Advocate Democracy in Myanmar
By John Smith Thang
Members of the Chin Democracy and Human Rights Network staged a rally against the Myanmar government in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Korea on July 5.
The protest was in memorial of a pro-democracy leader ― an ethnic Chin student, Salai Tin Mg Oo, who was killed by Myanmar's military government on June 24, 1976.
Salai Tin Maung Oo was popular among university students in 1974-75 for his dedicated fight against the brutal military regime in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
He and his colleagues organized a ``U Thant Uprising'' there in honor of U Thant, a former U.N. secretary general. After the military government prohibited the public from holding an honorable funeral for U Thant, Salai Tin Maung Oo and students led demonstrations to protest the dictatorial military rule.
Apart from the uprising, Salai Tin Maung Oo organized a ``labor strike anniversary day'' and ``Mai-yar-pih events.'' The military arrested him for his role in the uprising and pro-democracy movement.
Before Salai Tin Maung Oo was executed, military intelligence officers tried to persuade him to pledge to follow their authority in exchange for freedom. But he refused to do so and shouted, ``I shall never kneel down under your soldiers' boots.''
And he continued to shout in jail, ``Comrades, they are killing me secretly.'' Finally he was secretly hanged at Insein Jail on June 24, 1976.
His death brought great shock and anger to the whole country and particularly to ethnic minorities who were yearning for freedom and democracy. Salai Tin Maung Oo belonged to one of these groups.
In Myanmar, oppressing activists is routine. Since, the Myanmarese military government massacred student activists on July 7, 1962. Subsequently there were several repressive acts against Salai Tin Maung Oo and students in 1974.
And then there was a nationwide mass uprising in 1988 when the government forces brutally fired on the crowd ― killing about 3,000 innocent people. The Depayin massacre took place in May 2003 when the military alleged killed hundreds of people.
Again in September 2007, the military attacked and killed innocent people and monks who peacefully protested ― and many more people have ``disappeared.''
Allegations have it that the military regime still continues to arrest pro-democracy and human rights activists. In recent days, the military took into custody pro-democracy icon Daw Aung San Su Kyi after 13 years of house arrest, without honoring the Nobel Peace Prize she won.
There are around 2,100 political prisoners in Myanmar. And many ethnic minorities and Christians continue to be persecuted by the military regime.
At the moment, Myanmar's military government is escalating its war in peripheral ethnic regions using weapons supplied by its closest allies, China and North Korea. Innocent people are suffering and tormented, and thousand of refugees have had to flee their homeland due to the military government's policy,
The military regime is preparing for 2010 elections in order to tighten its grip on power, which is ostensibly supposed to be transferred to a democratic government.
A democratic government should have the following basic elements: a people's constitution, judicial independence, free media, and free and fair elections. But the military government has failed to introduce any of these elements.
The government is reluctant to acknowledge the multiethnic fabric of Myanmarese society. There should be guaranteed ethnic-civil rights through mutual agreement, however, the military regime has adopted an ethnic cleansing policy.
The military government has neither guaranteed civil rights nor ethnic rights. It will never bring true democracy to Myanmar.
The military government should stop oppressing pro-democracy activists. The international community, particularly the United Nations, must make concerted efforts to ensure free and fair elections next year.
Also it is necessary for China to stop supporting Myanmar's military regime. Additionally, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should do more to promote democracy in Myanmar, and not support the military government.
Finally we urge the international community to work to advocate democracy and freedom in Myanmar.
John Smith Thang is executive director of Chin Democracy and Human Rights Network based in Korea. He can be reached at cdhrn.kr@gmail.com.
*****************************************************
ReliefWeb - Myanmar: From Golden Triangle to Rubber Belt ?
Source: The Transnational Institute (TNI)
Date: 09 Jul 2009
The Future of Opium Bans in the Kokang and Wa Regions
By Tom Kramer
In the Kokang and Wa regions in northern Burma opium bans have ended over a century of poppy cultivation. The bans have had dramatic consequences for local communities. They depended on opium as a cash crop, to buy food, clothing, and medicines. The bans have driven poppy-growing communities into chronic poverty and have adversely affected their food security. Very few alternatives are being offered to households for their survival.
The Kokang and Wa cease-fire groups have implemented these bans following international pressure, especially from neighbouring China. In return, they hope to gain international political recognition and aid to develop their impoverished and war-torn regions. The Kokang and Wa authorities have been unable to provide alternative sources of income for ex-poppy farmers. Instead they have promoted Chinese invest-ment in monoplantations, especially in rubber. These projects have created many undesired effects and do not significantly profit the population.
The Burmese military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has also been unwilling and unable to provide assistance. The international community has provided emergency aid through inter-national NGOs and UN agencies. However, current levels of support are insufficient, and need to be upgraded in order to provide sustainable alternatives for the population. The international community should not abandon former opium-growing communities in the Kokang and Wa regions at this critical time.
This paper is based upon interviews with 51 ex-poppy farmers in the Wa and Kokang regions in February and March 2009.
Conclusions & Recommendations
- The opium bans have driven communities into chronic poverty and have adversely affected their food security and access to health care and education.
- The Kokang and Wa authorities have promoted Chinese investment in mono-plantations, especially in rubber. These projects are unsustainable and do not significantly profit the population.
- Ex-poppy farmers mainly rely on casual labour and collecting Non-Timber Forest Products as alternative source of income.
- Current interventions by international NGOs and UN agencies are still limited in scale and can best be described as "emer-gency responses".
- If the many challenges to achieving viable legal livelihoods in the Kokang and Wa regions are not addressed, the reductions in opium cultivation are unlikely to be sustainable.
Source: The Transnational Institute (TNI)
Date: 09 Jul 2009
The Future of Opium Bans in the Kokang and Wa Regions
By Tom Kramer
In the Kokang and Wa regions in northern Burma opium bans have ended over a century of poppy cultivation. The bans have had dramatic consequences for local communities. They depended on opium as a cash crop, to buy food, clothing, and medicines. The bans have driven poppy-growing communities into chronic poverty and have adversely affected their food security. Very few alternatives are being offered to households for their survival.
The Kokang and Wa cease-fire groups have implemented these bans following international pressure, especially from neighbouring China. In return, they hope to gain international political recognition and aid to develop their impoverished and war-torn regions. The Kokang and Wa authorities have been unable to provide alternative sources of income for ex-poppy farmers. Instead they have promoted Chinese invest-ment in monoplantations, especially in rubber. These projects have created many undesired effects and do not significantly profit the population.
The Burmese military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has also been unwilling and unable to provide assistance. The international community has provided emergency aid through inter-national NGOs and UN agencies. However, current levels of support are insufficient, and need to be upgraded in order to provide sustainable alternatives for the population. The international community should not abandon former opium-growing communities in the Kokang and Wa regions at this critical time.
This paper is based upon interviews with 51 ex-poppy farmers in the Wa and Kokang regions in February and March 2009.
Conclusions & Recommendations
- The opium bans have driven communities into chronic poverty and have adversely affected their food security and access to health care and education.
- The Kokang and Wa authorities have promoted Chinese investment in mono-plantations, especially in rubber. These projects are unsustainable and do not significantly profit the population.
- Ex-poppy farmers mainly rely on casual labour and collecting Non-Timber Forest Products as alternative source of income.
- Current interventions by international NGOs and UN agencies are still limited in scale and can best be described as "emer-gency responses".
- If the many challenges to achieving viable legal livelihoods in the Kokang and Wa regions are not addressed, the reductions in opium cultivation are unlikely to be sustainable.
*****************************************************
New Zealand Herald - Ethical issues for future free trade talks
4:00AM Friday Jul 10, 2009
By Greg Ansley
CANBERRA - The free trade agreement between New Zealand, Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations may lead to new layers of complexity in future negotiations.
In addition to the minefield of vested interests arguing for exemptions or special treatment, and the labyrinth of tariff and similar issues, an influential Australian parliamentary committee now wants trade pacts to canvass human rights and environmental provisions.
There has been no official Government response so far to the call by the parliamentary treaties committee, although the policy of successive administrations has been to approach negotiations on a case by case basis.
New Zealand's former Labour Government argued strongly for non-trade issues to be included in negotiating packages, and human rights, labour and environmental issues were covered in talks leading to Canberra's free trade agreement with the United States.
They were also embraced in principle in the free trade agreement between Australia and Chile that came into force last March - Canberra's most comprehensive with another agricultural producer since the transtasman CER pact.
Negotiators were able to work their way through sensitive non-trade issues to produce an agreement that will eliminate tariffs on all existing merchandise trade by 2015, mainly by relegating them to an "indicative" list of areas for future co-operation.
This list includes the environment, labour and "human capital development".
"Co-operation on the environment will reflect the commitment of both parties to strengthening environmental protection and the promotion of sustainable development, in the context of strengthening trade and investment relations between them," the agreement says.
But the Asean-CER free trade agreement would not have survived insistence on negotiating similar provisions, and demonstrates the problems Canberra would find in embracing them as a condition of talks.
The issue emerged from the treaties committee's inquiry into the agreement signed last February in Thailand by Australian, New Zealand and Asean trade ministers, creating a free trade area of 600 million people with an estimated GDP of A$3.2 trillion. Australia was delighted: the first multi-country FTA it has signed, worth more than A$100 billion a year.
Tariffs will be eliminated on between 90 per cent and 100 per cent for 96 per cent of Australia's exports to the region.
The committee did not think this was sufficient.
"[The agreement] contains some useful and innovative provisions that will liberalise trade with Asean countries in the coming years, but the committee found that there is scope to improve some aspects of the free trade negotiation process," committee chairman Kelvin Thomson said.
"In particular, the committee has recommended that the Government include consideration of environmental protection, protection of human rights and labour standards in the negotiation mandates for all future free trade agreements.
"For example [the agreement] encourages trade with Burma without regard to the human rights situation there, and may also permit trade in tropical timbers, threatening endangered species."
During its hearings Michael Mugliston, head of the Foreign Affairs and Trade Department's Asia trade task force, said that outside a general reference and a preamble to the sustainable development objectives, the agreement held no environment or labour provisions.
"There was a lot of debate in the negotiations about the scope of the agreement, how comprehensive it should be, and in the course of the negotiations in the early stages New Zealand pushed very strongly to have labour and environmental provisions included in the FTA," Mugliston told the committee. "Asean was opposed to it. Australia, under the former [Coalition] government, was also opposed and did not support [their] inclusion ... on the basis that those issues were more appropriately and better considered in other relevant fora."
The issue had been dropped after Asean made its opposition final and New Zealand and Australia conceded, after accepting that if they wanted a deal, those provisions were off the table.
But the committee said Canberra should include environmental protection, human rights and labour standards in all future free trade talks.
"It is important for the Australian Government to commence each FTA negotiation with an intention to address issues such as these," Thomson said.
4:00AM Friday Jul 10, 2009
By Greg Ansley
CANBERRA - The free trade agreement between New Zealand, Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations may lead to new layers of complexity in future negotiations.
In addition to the minefield of vested interests arguing for exemptions or special treatment, and the labyrinth of tariff and similar issues, an influential Australian parliamentary committee now wants trade pacts to canvass human rights and environmental provisions.
There has been no official Government response so far to the call by the parliamentary treaties committee, although the policy of successive administrations has been to approach negotiations on a case by case basis.
New Zealand's former Labour Government argued strongly for non-trade issues to be included in negotiating packages, and human rights, labour and environmental issues were covered in talks leading to Canberra's free trade agreement with the United States.
They were also embraced in principle in the free trade agreement between Australia and Chile that came into force last March - Canberra's most comprehensive with another agricultural producer since the transtasman CER pact.
Negotiators were able to work their way through sensitive non-trade issues to produce an agreement that will eliminate tariffs on all existing merchandise trade by 2015, mainly by relegating them to an "indicative" list of areas for future co-operation.
This list includes the environment, labour and "human capital development".
"Co-operation on the environment will reflect the commitment of both parties to strengthening environmental protection and the promotion of sustainable development, in the context of strengthening trade and investment relations between them," the agreement says.
But the Asean-CER free trade agreement would not have survived insistence on negotiating similar provisions, and demonstrates the problems Canberra would find in embracing them as a condition of talks.
The issue emerged from the treaties committee's inquiry into the agreement signed last February in Thailand by Australian, New Zealand and Asean trade ministers, creating a free trade area of 600 million people with an estimated GDP of A$3.2 trillion. Australia was delighted: the first multi-country FTA it has signed, worth more than A$100 billion a year.
Tariffs will be eliminated on between 90 per cent and 100 per cent for 96 per cent of Australia's exports to the region.
The committee did not think this was sufficient.
"[The agreement] contains some useful and innovative provisions that will liberalise trade with Asean countries in the coming years, but the committee found that there is scope to improve some aspects of the free trade negotiation process," committee chairman Kelvin Thomson said.
"In particular, the committee has recommended that the Government include consideration of environmental protection, protection of human rights and labour standards in the negotiation mandates for all future free trade agreements.
"For example [the agreement] encourages trade with Burma without regard to the human rights situation there, and may also permit trade in tropical timbers, threatening endangered species."
During its hearings Michael Mugliston, head of the Foreign Affairs and Trade Department's Asia trade task force, said that outside a general reference and a preamble to the sustainable development objectives, the agreement held no environment or labour provisions.
"There was a lot of debate in the negotiations about the scope of the agreement, how comprehensive it should be, and in the course of the negotiations in the early stages New Zealand pushed very strongly to have labour and environmental provisions included in the FTA," Mugliston told the committee. "Asean was opposed to it. Australia, under the former [Coalition] government, was also opposed and did not support [their] inclusion ... on the basis that those issues were more appropriately and better considered in other relevant fora."
The issue had been dropped after Asean made its opposition final and New Zealand and Australia conceded, after accepting that if they wanted a deal, those provisions were off the table.
But the committee said Canberra should include environmental protection, human rights and labour standards in all future free trade talks.
"It is important for the Australian Government to commence each FTA negotiation with an intention to address issues such as these," Thomson said.
*****************************************************
BURMA
Bangkok Post - Opinion: Ban Ki-moon vs Than Shwe: Did the UN really lose?
By: LARRY JAGAN
Published: 9/07/2009 at 09:28 AM
Newspaper section: News
Everyone seems to want to dismiss UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's ill-timed trip to Burma as a disaster.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expresses disappointment at being denied a visit to jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, while briefing reporters on the outcome of his second meeting with the Burmese junta chief on July 4 at the airport in Naypyidaw. - AP
Although he seems to have left the country empty-handed, on what was seen beforehand as a crucial visit to strengthen the UN's role in the country and encourage the junta to be inclusive and transparent in its national reconciliation process, his score card is not as bad as those who want to write his trip off as a major mistake, without looking at what he may have achieved.
The UN chief obviously was personally rebuffed by the junta's top general, when he denied him access to the Lady _ who is currently in Insein prison on trial for allegedly breaking the conditions of her house aarrest.
Mr Ban was obviously personally disappointed by this, as he believed he had established a special relationship with Senior General Than Shwe during his discussions with him last year and was sure he would listen favourably to his request.
``I'm deeply disappointed,'' Mr Ban told journalists at Rangoon airport when he arrived by plane from the capital Naypyidaw, after a second meeting with the top junta leader.
``I think they have missed a very important opportunity of demonstrating their willingness to commit to continuing reconciliation with all political leaders. It is a setback to
the international community's efforts to provide a helping hand to Myanmar at this time.''
But is it really such a big deal _ symbolically important for sure? Even Mr Ban on reflection seems to concede this much.
``My meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, however, should not be seen as the only benchmark for success or failure of my visit,'' he told journalists in Bangkok after he flew out of Rangoon.
But of course he would say that, wouldn't he?
Access to Aung San Suu Kyi is the only card the regime has to play when dealing with the UN and its Western detractors.
But the UN involvement in Burma is far greater than that, and involves political, development and humanitarian issues.
The photo opportunity of the senior UN officials, even the boss, is really a matter for the scrapbooks.
What is really important, as Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly said, is the start of genuine dialogue with the military regime.
And for many of the poor in Burma, the more immediate question is humanitarian aid and development assistance, especially the thousands still struggling to rebuild their homes and lives in the Irrawaddy delta after last year's devastaing cyclone.
Mr Ban came with an extensive and detailed agenda that he laid out before the regime's top leaders during his meetings with them.
Apart from the need for credible, political change, which the regime smugly believes is the central aim of its ``road map to democracy,'' the UN boss reminded the generals that they were missing out on the region's economic miracle.
While the government has taken steps to develop the country, tackle human trafficking and curtail opium cultivation and control the spread of the HIV/Aids problem in the country: ``The reality is that millions continue to live in poverty,'' Mr Ban said. ``Standards of living in Myanmar remain among the lowest in Asia.
``The people of Myanmar need jobs, they need food security and they need access to health care,'' Mr Ban advised the junta. ``We must work to ensure that the people of Myanmar can benefit from and contribute to the regional and global economy.''
Mr Ban also made these remarks in a public address to a joint gathering of diplomats, civil leaders and representatives of community groups and international aid organisations shortly before he boarded the plane to leave.
This in itself was an important concession that the UN secretary-general's special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, was able to wring out of the generals in advance, a week before his boss was due to arrive.
This is something that neither Bangladesh nor Sri Lanka allowed when the UN chief recently visited for fear that the government would not like what he said, according to senior UN officials. The junta leaders will certainly not have liked what they heard, though most of the country's businessmen, middle class and poor would have endorsed his remarks unreservedly.
Now it remains unclear whether Mr Ban was able to get any concessions on any of the major issues they discussed during the two meetings with Gen Than Shwe _ national reconciliation, economic development, dealing with the cease-fire groups and humanitarian assistance.
One thing is for sure: Gen Than Shwe was never going to make any public concessions during the visit.
``These things happen in the weeks after UN envoys leave _ like in the case of the last time Aung San Suu Kyi was freed from house arrest
[on May 6, 2002]. Mr Razali
[the envoy at the time] was clearly told: it will happen two weeks after you leave the country,'' a senior diplomat involved in the process said.
``This is not a make or break trip,'' the secretary-general's special envoy to Burma, Mr Gambari, told the Bangkok Post on the eve of the visit. ``The important thing is to keep the process of UN engagement in the country going, and, if possible strengthen and deepen it.''
While Mr Ban raised the issues of the release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi as soon as possible, the resumption of talks between the military and the pro-democracy parties, and making sure the planned elections in 2010 are inclusive and credible, he also discussed ways the UN could support the Burmese government's plans for economic development, especially in the agriculture, fisheries and livestock sector.
On the extremely vexed question of post-Nargis recovery plans related to humanitarian assistance, he raised the need especially for the swift issuance of visas.
``I discussed, as well, the expansion of humanitarian assistance beyond the delta area.These are all areas where I expect the Myanmar government to demonstrate progress in the very near future,'' he told Bangkok-based journalists.
So what assurrances did he receive from the senior general?
``I was assured that the Myanmar authorities will make sure that this election will be held in a fair and free and transparent manner,'' Mr Ban did say after his first meeting with the general.
But to his other key suggestions, the junta's response is pending.
``It's too early to tell whether Than Shwe completely rebuffed Ban Ki-moon, the regime seldom makes concessions during these kinds of visits. It's usually before or after,'' said Derek Tonkin, former British ambassador to Thailand and veteran Burma watcher.
``I sense that there may be a few concessions later, like the release of non-political prisoners, but little else,'' he added.
Diplomats and UN officials in Rangoon believe there will be some goodwill gestures from the regime in the weeks to come.
``We can expect some releases of political prisoners _ maybe even hundreds as the UN SG requested during his talks with the Senior General,'' said a western diplomat in Rangoon.
But most analysts fear that the UN's role in brokering national reconciliation between the two sides has hit a dead end. So, as always, whether Mr Ban or Burma's top general won this round, the Burmese people have lost again. But the UN is unlikely to keep trying to assist Burma in whatever ways might be possible.
Mr Ban will brief the Security Council later this week on his visit.
Then the United Nations will be expected to make the next move in what is becoming a serious chess game.
``The question today is this: how much longer can Myanmar afford to wait for national reconciliation, democratic transition and full respect for human rights,'' Ban Ki-moon said in his public address in Rangoon.
``The cost of delay will be counted in wasted lives, lost opportunities and prolonged isolation from the international community.''
The real question is how can the UN actually help bring about these changes that will allow the Burmese people to enjoy the fundamental rights enshrined in the UN charter, to which Burma was one of the first signatories.
Bangkok Post - Opinion: Ban Ki-moon vs Than Shwe: Did the UN really lose?
By: LARRY JAGAN
Published: 9/07/2009 at 09:28 AM
Newspaper section: News
Everyone seems to want to dismiss UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's ill-timed trip to Burma as a disaster.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expresses disappointment at being denied a visit to jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, while briefing reporters on the outcome of his second meeting with the Burmese junta chief on July 4 at the airport in Naypyidaw. - AP
Although he seems to have left the country empty-handed, on what was seen beforehand as a crucial visit to strengthen the UN's role in the country and encourage the junta to be inclusive and transparent in its national reconciliation process, his score card is not as bad as those who want to write his trip off as a major mistake, without looking at what he may have achieved.
The UN chief obviously was personally rebuffed by the junta's top general, when he denied him access to the Lady _ who is currently in Insein prison on trial for allegedly breaking the conditions of her house aarrest.
Mr Ban was obviously personally disappointed by this, as he believed he had established a special relationship with Senior General Than Shwe during his discussions with him last year and was sure he would listen favourably to his request.
``I'm deeply disappointed,'' Mr Ban told journalists at Rangoon airport when he arrived by plane from the capital Naypyidaw, after a second meeting with the top junta leader.
``I think they have missed a very important opportunity of demonstrating their willingness to commit to continuing reconciliation with all political leaders. It is a setback to
the international community's efforts to provide a helping hand to Myanmar at this time.''
But is it really such a big deal _ symbolically important for sure? Even Mr Ban on reflection seems to concede this much.
``My meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, however, should not be seen as the only benchmark for success or failure of my visit,'' he told journalists in Bangkok after he flew out of Rangoon.
But of course he would say that, wouldn't he?
Access to Aung San Suu Kyi is the only card the regime has to play when dealing with the UN and its Western detractors.
But the UN involvement in Burma is far greater than that, and involves political, development and humanitarian issues.
The photo opportunity of the senior UN officials, even the boss, is really a matter for the scrapbooks.
What is really important, as Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly said, is the start of genuine dialogue with the military regime.
And for many of the poor in Burma, the more immediate question is humanitarian aid and development assistance, especially the thousands still struggling to rebuild their homes and lives in the Irrawaddy delta after last year's devastaing cyclone.
Mr Ban came with an extensive and detailed agenda that he laid out before the regime's top leaders during his meetings with them.
Apart from the need for credible, political change, which the regime smugly believes is the central aim of its ``road map to democracy,'' the UN boss reminded the generals that they were missing out on the region's economic miracle.
While the government has taken steps to develop the country, tackle human trafficking and curtail opium cultivation and control the spread of the HIV/Aids problem in the country: ``The reality is that millions continue to live in poverty,'' Mr Ban said. ``Standards of living in Myanmar remain among the lowest in Asia.
``The people of Myanmar need jobs, they need food security and they need access to health care,'' Mr Ban advised the junta. ``We must work to ensure that the people of Myanmar can benefit from and contribute to the regional and global economy.''
Mr Ban also made these remarks in a public address to a joint gathering of diplomats, civil leaders and representatives of community groups and international aid organisations shortly before he boarded the plane to leave.
This in itself was an important concession that the UN secretary-general's special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, was able to wring out of the generals in advance, a week before his boss was due to arrive.
This is something that neither Bangladesh nor Sri Lanka allowed when the UN chief recently visited for fear that the government would not like what he said, according to senior UN officials. The junta leaders will certainly not have liked what they heard, though most of the country's businessmen, middle class and poor would have endorsed his remarks unreservedly.
Now it remains unclear whether Mr Ban was able to get any concessions on any of the major issues they discussed during the two meetings with Gen Than Shwe _ national reconciliation, economic development, dealing with the cease-fire groups and humanitarian assistance.
One thing is for sure: Gen Than Shwe was never going to make any public concessions during the visit.
``These things happen in the weeks after UN envoys leave _ like in the case of the last time Aung San Suu Kyi was freed from house arrest
[on May 6, 2002]. Mr Razali
[the envoy at the time] was clearly told: it will happen two weeks after you leave the country,'' a senior diplomat involved in the process said.
``This is not a make or break trip,'' the secretary-general's special envoy to Burma, Mr Gambari, told the Bangkok Post on the eve of the visit. ``The important thing is to keep the process of UN engagement in the country going, and, if possible strengthen and deepen it.''
While Mr Ban raised the issues of the release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi as soon as possible, the resumption of talks between the military and the pro-democracy parties, and making sure the planned elections in 2010 are inclusive and credible, he also discussed ways the UN could support the Burmese government's plans for economic development, especially in the agriculture, fisheries and livestock sector.
On the extremely vexed question of post-Nargis recovery plans related to humanitarian assistance, he raised the need especially for the swift issuance of visas.
``I discussed, as well, the expansion of humanitarian assistance beyond the delta area.These are all areas where I expect the Myanmar government to demonstrate progress in the very near future,'' he told Bangkok-based journalists.
So what assurrances did he receive from the senior general?
``I was assured that the Myanmar authorities will make sure that this election will be held in a fair and free and transparent manner,'' Mr Ban did say after his first meeting with the general.
But to his other key suggestions, the junta's response is pending.
``It's too early to tell whether Than Shwe completely rebuffed Ban Ki-moon, the regime seldom makes concessions during these kinds of visits. It's usually before or after,'' said Derek Tonkin, former British ambassador to Thailand and veteran Burma watcher.
``I sense that there may be a few concessions later, like the release of non-political prisoners, but little else,'' he added.
Diplomats and UN officials in Rangoon believe there will be some goodwill gestures from the regime in the weeks to come.
``We can expect some releases of political prisoners _ maybe even hundreds as the UN SG requested during his talks with the Senior General,'' said a western diplomat in Rangoon.
But most analysts fear that the UN's role in brokering national reconciliation between the two sides has hit a dead end. So, as always, whether Mr Ban or Burma's top general won this round, the Burmese people have lost again. But the UN is unlikely to keep trying to assist Burma in whatever ways might be possible.
Mr Ban will brief the Security Council later this week on his visit.
Then the United Nations will be expected to make the next move in what is becoming a serious chess game.
``The question today is this: how much longer can Myanmar afford to wait for national reconciliation, democratic transition and full respect for human rights,'' Ban Ki-moon said in his public address in Rangoon.
``The cost of delay will be counted in wasted lives, lost opportunities and prolonged isolation from the international community.''
The real question is how can the UN actually help bring about these changes that will allow the Burmese people to enjoy the fundamental rights enshrined in the UN charter, to which Burma was one of the first signatories.
*****************************************************
[July 09, 2009]
TMCnet - The Co-operative Launches Campaign to Release Burma VJ Prisoners
Digital campaign being delivered by digital marketing agency Substance and mobile messaging company Mediaburst Alderley Edge, 9th July, 2009 � The nation's favourite retailer is calling for the release of young video journalists (VJs) who risked their lives to tell the story of the 2007 SaffronRevolution ( News - Alert) in Burma. Co-operative Members and the public are being encouraged to �Free the VJs� via the film�s website, postcards in cinemas, twitition and by texting Free the VJs to 87103.
Burma is a nation of fear and poverty despite its wealth of natural resources. Its rulers are intolerant of free speech and many of the journalists and activists shown in the award-winning Burma VJ film face prison sentences of up to 65 years.
The individuals imprisoned include Htin Kyaw, Su Su Nway, Ohn Than, Si Thu Maung and Ko Win Maw together with over 2,100 others in Burmese jails includingNobel ( News - Alert) Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who have been imprisoned simply for peacefully calling for democracy and freedom in the country.
The Co-operative does not trade with Burma, Co-operative Travel has delisted the country as a tourist destination, and The Co-operative Bank will not finance any organisation supporting the Burmese regime.
The digital campaign is being delivered by digital marketing agency Substance of "Shine a Light" fame, supported by mobile messaging company Mediaburst.
Gary Bury, Mediaburst's managing director, comments: "Clearly, Mediaburst is pleased to be working with Substance and The Co-operative on this campaign, which represents yet another innovative use of mobiles to generate response and interaction from the general public." About Substance Substance is a multi-award winning digital media and publicity agency specialising in the film and entertainment industry sector. As an established provider of on-line creative, promotional and marketing materials to leading film distributors such as Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Pictures, Substance have recently handled campaigns for titles such as Ice Age 3, Wolverine and TheQuantum ( News - Alert) of Solace.
About Mediaburst Mediaburst is an award-winning mobile marketing and business messaging company. Created in 2000, the company is the trusted mobile campaign partner for brands and media agencies and the preferred supplier of messaging solutions for businesses, developers, and network operators. For more information, visit www.mediaburst.co.uk.
TMCnet - The Co-operative Launches Campaign to Release Burma VJ Prisoners
Digital campaign being delivered by digital marketing agency Substance and mobile messaging company Mediaburst Alderley Edge, 9th July, 2009 � The nation's favourite retailer is calling for the release of young video journalists (VJs) who risked their lives to tell the story of the 2007 SaffronRevolution ( News - Alert) in Burma. Co-operative Members and the public are being encouraged to �Free the VJs� via the film�s website, postcards in cinemas, twitition and by texting Free the VJs to 87103.
Burma is a nation of fear and poverty despite its wealth of natural resources. Its rulers are intolerant of free speech and many of the journalists and activists shown in the award-winning Burma VJ film face prison sentences of up to 65 years.
The individuals imprisoned include Htin Kyaw, Su Su Nway, Ohn Than, Si Thu Maung and Ko Win Maw together with over 2,100 others in Burmese jails includingNobel ( News - Alert) Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who have been imprisoned simply for peacefully calling for democracy and freedom in the country.
The Co-operative does not trade with Burma, Co-operative Travel has delisted the country as a tourist destination, and The Co-operative Bank will not finance any organisation supporting the Burmese regime.
The digital campaign is being delivered by digital marketing agency Substance of "Shine a Light" fame, supported by mobile messaging company Mediaburst.
Gary Bury, Mediaburst's managing director, comments: "Clearly, Mediaburst is pleased to be working with Substance and The Co-operative on this campaign, which represents yet another innovative use of mobiles to generate response and interaction from the general public." About Substance Substance is a multi-award winning digital media and publicity agency specialising in the film and entertainment industry sector. As an established provider of on-line creative, promotional and marketing materials to leading film distributors such as Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Pictures, Substance have recently handled campaigns for titles such as Ice Age 3, Wolverine and TheQuantum ( News - Alert) of Solace.
About Mediaburst Mediaburst is an award-winning mobile marketing and business messaging company. Created in 2000, the company is the trusted mobile campaign partner for brands and media agencies and the preferred supplier of messaging solutions for businesses, developers, and network operators. For more information, visit www.mediaburst.co.uk.
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The Irrawaddy - Suu Kyi Denied Access to News
By WAI MOE, Thursday, July 9, 2009
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is denied access to a radio during her time in Rangoon’s Insein Prison, according to her lawyer, Nyan Win.
Suu Kyi was able to keep in touch with world events by listening to the radio during her house detention, but that possibility has been denied her since she was removed to Insein Prison, where she is on trial for transgressing the terms of her house arrest.
Nyan Win said Suu Kyi was allowed to read the state-controlled press, but was denied the possibility of receiving “uncensored information via foreign broadcasting.”
Nyan Win met Suu Kyi on Wednesday, and said afterwards that she was in a good mood and healthy.
The meeting was to allow Nyan Win to prepare for Suu Kyi’s next appearance in court, scheduled for Friday. He said he didn’t know if a verdict could be expected then. She faces a sentence of up to five years imprisonment if convicted of allowing an American intruder to stay at her home.
A scheduled session of the trial last Friday was postponed because of the visit to Burma by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The UN chief asked for a meeting with Suu Kyi, but his request was rejected by junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
“I believe the government of Myanmar [Burma] has lost a unique opportunity to show its commitment to a new era of political openness,” Ban commented.
“Allowing a visit to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would have been an important symbol of the government’s willingness to embark on the kind of meaningful engagement that will be essential if the elections in 2010 are to be seen as credible,” he said.
Ban is expected to brief the UN Security Council shortly on his Burma visit.
Analysts say the Burma issue is sure to be raised before the Security Council in August, when the UK has the chair, and in September, when the US takes over the position.
Burma has been able in the past to rely on the vetoes of two permanent members of the Security Council, China and Russia, to block unfavorable resolutions. But diplomatic sources say China is disappointed by the Burmese regime’s treatment of Ban.
By WAI MOE, Thursday, July 9, 2009
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is denied access to a radio during her time in Rangoon’s Insein Prison, according to her lawyer, Nyan Win.
Suu Kyi was able to keep in touch with world events by listening to the radio during her house detention, but that possibility has been denied her since she was removed to Insein Prison, where she is on trial for transgressing the terms of her house arrest.
Nyan Win said Suu Kyi was allowed to read the state-controlled press, but was denied the possibility of receiving “uncensored information via foreign broadcasting.”
Nyan Win met Suu Kyi on Wednesday, and said afterwards that she was in a good mood and healthy.
The meeting was to allow Nyan Win to prepare for Suu Kyi’s next appearance in court, scheduled for Friday. He said he didn’t know if a verdict could be expected then. She faces a sentence of up to five years imprisonment if convicted of allowing an American intruder to stay at her home.
A scheduled session of the trial last Friday was postponed because of the visit to Burma by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The UN chief asked for a meeting with Suu Kyi, but his request was rejected by junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
“I believe the government of Myanmar [Burma] has lost a unique opportunity to show its commitment to a new era of political openness,” Ban commented.
“Allowing a visit to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would have been an important symbol of the government’s willingness to embark on the kind of meaningful engagement that will be essential if the elections in 2010 are to be seen as credible,” he said.
Ban is expected to brief the UN Security Council shortly on his Burma visit.
Analysts say the Burma issue is sure to be raised before the Security Council in August, when the UK has the chair, and in September, when the US takes over the position.
Burma has been able in the past to rely on the vetoes of two permanent members of the Security Council, China and Russia, to block unfavorable resolutions. But diplomatic sources say China is disappointed by the Burmese regime’s treatment of Ban.
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The Irrawaddy - Many Die as Landslide Sweeps through Jade-mining Area
By LAWI WENG, Thursday, July 9, 2009
At least 30 people have died in a massive landslide that swept away homes, blocked roads and cut communications in Burma’s northern Kachin State.
No official death toll has been released. Reuters news agency put the toll at 30, but local sources told The Irrawaddy at least 70 people died when the landslide swept through an area near the jade-mining center of Hpakant.
The dead included several miners. Local people blamed the disaster on jade mining, which creates large dumps that block the flow of water from the heavy rain that has been falling in the area since the start of July.
“The landslide occurred because the water can’t flow into the Uru River,” said a Hpakant resident. “I’ve never seen so much water in my life.”
About 100 jade mining companies operate in the Hpakant area. The Kachin Environmental Organization, based on the Sino-Burmese border, says that people living in the Hpakant area had appealed to the companies not to dump waste near the Uru River and to avoid environmental damage. The companies enjoy government backing, however, and locals complain that their appeals and warnings are ignored.
Local people said that at least 60 homes were swept away by the landslide.
On Thursday, the water level was receding and telephone communications had been restored. But several roads were still blocked.
An official at the hospital of Kachin State's capital Myitkyina told The Irrawaddy on Thursday he was not authorized to disclose how many victims had been admitted. Burma’s state-owned media carried no report on the disaster.
Several thousand workers are employed in the jade mines of Hpakant, which are a major foreign currency earner for the state. Working conditions are very bad and TB and HIV/AIDS are rife in the camps where the miners are housed.
By LAWI WENG, Thursday, July 9, 2009
At least 30 people have died in a massive landslide that swept away homes, blocked roads and cut communications in Burma’s northern Kachin State.
No official death toll has been released. Reuters news agency put the toll at 30, but local sources told The Irrawaddy at least 70 people died when the landslide swept through an area near the jade-mining center of Hpakant.
The dead included several miners. Local people blamed the disaster on jade mining, which creates large dumps that block the flow of water from the heavy rain that has been falling in the area since the start of July.
“The landslide occurred because the water can’t flow into the Uru River,” said a Hpakant resident. “I’ve never seen so much water in my life.”
About 100 jade mining companies operate in the Hpakant area. The Kachin Environmental Organization, based on the Sino-Burmese border, says that people living in the Hpakant area had appealed to the companies not to dump waste near the Uru River and to avoid environmental damage. The companies enjoy government backing, however, and locals complain that their appeals and warnings are ignored.
Local people said that at least 60 homes were swept away by the landslide.
On Thursday, the water level was receding and telephone communications had been restored. But several roads were still blocked.
An official at the hospital of Kachin State's capital Myitkyina told The Irrawaddy on Thursday he was not authorized to disclose how many victims had been admitted. Burma’s state-owned media carried no report on the disaster.
Several thousand workers are employed in the jade mines of Hpakant, which are a major foreign currency earner for the state. Working conditions are very bad and TB and HIV/AIDS are rife in the camps where the miners are housed.
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Mizzima News - Aung San Suu Kyi meets legal team refuses comment on Ban visit
by Myint Maung
Thursday, 09 July 2009 20:30
New Delhi (mizzima)- Burma’s detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has refused to comment on the just concluded visit of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, after she was briefed by her legal team, who met her on Wednesday.
Three members of the democracy icon’s legal team on Wednesday met the detained Nobel Peace Laureate in Rangoon’s Insein prison to discuss preparations for the final argument of her trial. During the meeting, the legal team briefed her on the details of the visit by the UN Chief.
Nyan Win, a member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s legal team and spokesperson for her party said, “We briefed her about the visit of Ban Ki-moon. I told her of the meeting between the NLD Central Executive Committee members with Ban Ki-moon but she did not make any comment.”
Four CEC members of the NLD on July 3 met the visiting UN Chief for a mere 10 minutes and were able to highlight the party’s stand and aspirations.
The NLD urged Ban to call on the junta to release party leader Aung San Suu Kyi and those of other political parties, to kick-start the process of national reconciliation, recognise the 1990 election results, and to review the 2008 constitution.
The world body chief, during his visit, requested a meeting with detained Aung San Suu Kyi but it was turned down by Snr. Gen Than Shwe.
Nyan Win said, on Wednesday he along with two of Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers – Kyi Win and Khin Htay Kywe – were allowed to meet her for about two hours in Insein prison to discuss the preparations for the final argument of her case.
“We have drafted an 18-page final argument and shown it to Aung San Suu Kyi. We will have to discuss it later. We met her to discuss the final argument and she has approved the draft we have prepared,” Nyan Win said.
The district court in Insein prison has fixed July 10, for the hearing of one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s witness Khin Moe Moe.
Khin Moh Moh along with veteran journalist Win Tin and NLD vice-chairman Tin Oo were rejected by the district court as defence witnesses. But following appeals by the defence team, Khin Moh Moh was reinstated as a defence witness. But the divisional court as well as the high court continued to reject Win Tin and Tin Oo.
by Myint Maung
Thursday, 09 July 2009 20:30
New Delhi (mizzima)- Burma’s detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has refused to comment on the just concluded visit of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, after she was briefed by her legal team, who met her on Wednesday.
Three members of the democracy icon’s legal team on Wednesday met the detained Nobel Peace Laureate in Rangoon’s Insein prison to discuss preparations for the final argument of her trial. During the meeting, the legal team briefed her on the details of the visit by the UN Chief.
Nyan Win, a member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s legal team and spokesperson for her party said, “We briefed her about the visit of Ban Ki-moon. I told her of the meeting between the NLD Central Executive Committee members with Ban Ki-moon but she did not make any comment.”
Four CEC members of the NLD on July 3 met the visiting UN Chief for a mere 10 minutes and were able to highlight the party’s stand and aspirations.
The NLD urged Ban to call on the junta to release party leader Aung San Suu Kyi and those of other political parties, to kick-start the process of national reconciliation, recognise the 1990 election results, and to review the 2008 constitution.
The world body chief, during his visit, requested a meeting with detained Aung San Suu Kyi but it was turned down by Snr. Gen Than Shwe.
Nyan Win said, on Wednesday he along with two of Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers – Kyi Win and Khin Htay Kywe – were allowed to meet her for about two hours in Insein prison to discuss the preparations for the final argument of her case.
“We have drafted an 18-page final argument and shown it to Aung San Suu Kyi. We will have to discuss it later. We met her to discuss the final argument and she has approved the draft we have prepared,” Nyan Win said.
The district court in Insein prison has fixed July 10, for the hearing of one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s witness Khin Moe Moe.
Khin Moh Moh along with veteran journalist Win Tin and NLD vice-chairman Tin Oo were rejected by the district court as defence witnesses. But following appeals by the defence team, Khin Moh Moh was reinstated as a defence witness. But the divisional court as well as the high court continued to reject Win Tin and Tin Oo.
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Mizzima News - Thai PM proposes visit to Burma
Thursday, 09 July 2009 15:20
New Delhi (mizzima) - Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjejiva proposes to visit neighbouring military-ruled Burma later this month, sources in the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The PM, according to a ministry official, has sounded out the Burmese junta on his visit as the current rotating Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), of which Burma is also a member.
“It will be at a convenient date for both sides [Thailand and Burma]. It is tentatively planned but so far there is no response from the Burmese government,” the official told Mizzima on Thursday.
The official, however, declined from commenting on the purpose of the Thai Premier’s proposed visit.
Meanwhile, sources said Burma’s military rulers are unhappy with Thailand for its sharp reaction over the trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a special court in Rangoon’s Insein prison.
Following the framing of charges and trial against the Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate, Thailand, as the Chair of the Asean issued a statement expressing ‘grave concern’ over the developments in its member state, and said the ‘honour and credibility’ of Burma is at stake.
"The Government of the Union of Myanmar [Burma], as a responsible member of ASEAN, has the responsibility to protect and promote human rights," Thailand said on behalf of the group.
In retaliation, Burma’s military regime ran commentary pieces on its state-run newspapers accusing Thailand and the Asean of interfering in its internal affairs and justifying its action of charging and conducting a trial against Aung San Suu Kyi.
The visit of Vejjejiva could be diplomatic protocol as the new Prime Minister, sources in the Thai government said.
Reporting by Solomon, writing by Mungpi
Thursday, 09 July 2009 15:20
New Delhi (mizzima) - Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjejiva proposes to visit neighbouring military-ruled Burma later this month, sources in the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The PM, according to a ministry official, has sounded out the Burmese junta on his visit as the current rotating Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), of which Burma is also a member.
“It will be at a convenient date for both sides [Thailand and Burma]. It is tentatively planned but so far there is no response from the Burmese government,” the official told Mizzima on Thursday.
The official, however, declined from commenting on the purpose of the Thai Premier’s proposed visit.
Meanwhile, sources said Burma’s military rulers are unhappy with Thailand for its sharp reaction over the trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a special court in Rangoon’s Insein prison.
Following the framing of charges and trial against the Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate, Thailand, as the Chair of the Asean issued a statement expressing ‘grave concern’ over the developments in its member state, and said the ‘honour and credibility’ of Burma is at stake.
"The Government of the Union of Myanmar [Burma], as a responsible member of ASEAN, has the responsibility to protect and promote human rights," Thailand said on behalf of the group.
In retaliation, Burma’s military regime ran commentary pieces on its state-run newspapers accusing Thailand and the Asean of interfering in its internal affairs and justifying its action of charging and conducting a trial against Aung San Suu Kyi.
The visit of Vejjejiva could be diplomatic protocol as the new Prime Minister, sources in the Thai government said.
Reporting by Solomon, writing by Mungpi
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DVB News - US ‘concerned’ about North Korea-Burma nuclear trade
July 9, 2009 (DVB)–The United States has expressed concern over the possibility of an emerging nexus between North Korea and Burma that would see the two countries trade in material for nuclear proliferation.
The issue of Burma’s nuclear ambitions, and North Korea’s role in achieving these, has been thrown into the spotlight over the past month following an incident in which a North Korean ship carrying suspect cargo was thought to be heading toward Burma, before making a U-turn last week.
A network of underground tunnels constructed throughout Burma with the help of North Korean advisers was also recently exposed by DVB, with intercepted intelligence documents revealing the possibility of them accommodating heavy weaponry.
A senior US State Department official during a press briefing yesterday was questioned about whether strengthening ties between North Korea and Burma were related to respective nuclear ambitions.
“I think we're concerned about trade and cooperation between countries that have undertaken nuclear programs, but I don't want to go much further than that,” he said.
On the subject of the North Korean ship, the Kang Nam 1, the official said that its decision not to arrive in Burma was perhaps a result of “a combination of sharing information with many of the countries in the region” about obligations to inspect and warn on suspect ships.
The US navy had been closely monitoring the Kang Nam 1, which arrived back in North Korea yesterday, following new UN sanctions on Pyongyang that banned the export of any weapons material.
Burma is also under far-reaching sanctions from both the US and European Union.
Journalist and North Korea expert Bertil Lintner said last month that the two incidences are a sign that ties between the countries are strengthening.
“Even China is reluctant to sell certain types of equipment to Burma but North Korea will be willing to sell anything they want,” he said, adding that “Burma has absolutely no interest in supporting an arms embargo”.
Reporting by Francis Wade
July 9, 2009 (DVB)–The United States has expressed concern over the possibility of an emerging nexus between North Korea and Burma that would see the two countries trade in material for nuclear proliferation.
The issue of Burma’s nuclear ambitions, and North Korea’s role in achieving these, has been thrown into the spotlight over the past month following an incident in which a North Korean ship carrying suspect cargo was thought to be heading toward Burma, before making a U-turn last week.
A network of underground tunnels constructed throughout Burma with the help of North Korean advisers was also recently exposed by DVB, with intercepted intelligence documents revealing the possibility of them accommodating heavy weaponry.
A senior US State Department official during a press briefing yesterday was questioned about whether strengthening ties between North Korea and Burma were related to respective nuclear ambitions.
“I think we're concerned about trade and cooperation between countries that have undertaken nuclear programs, but I don't want to go much further than that,” he said.
On the subject of the North Korean ship, the Kang Nam 1, the official said that its decision not to arrive in Burma was perhaps a result of “a combination of sharing information with many of the countries in the region” about obligations to inspect and warn on suspect ships.
The US navy had been closely monitoring the Kang Nam 1, which arrived back in North Korea yesterday, following new UN sanctions on Pyongyang that banned the export of any weapons material.
Burma is also under far-reaching sanctions from both the US and European Union.
Journalist and North Korea expert Bertil Lintner said last month that the two incidences are a sign that ties between the countries are strengthening.
“Even China is reluctant to sell certain types of equipment to Burma but North Korea will be willing to sell anything they want,” he said, adding that “Burma has absolutely no interest in supporting an arms embargo”.
Reporting by Francis Wade
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