INO News - Without Suu Kyi Myanmar's Elections Not Credible: U.N.
9 hours ago
(RTTNews) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday sought the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners, saying without her participation the proposed general elections can't be held "credible," reports say.
Calling on Myanmar's military junta to deliver on their pledge to ensure "inclusive, free and fair" polls next year, he asked Myanmar's military rulers to take the necessary steps on his specific proposals in the very near future.
"To be credible and legitimate, Suu Kyi and all political prisoners should be released," Ban said later while responding to reporters' queries after briefing the Security Council on his visit to Myanmar earlier this month.
"I emphasized that, without participation of Aung San Suu Kyi, without her being able to campaign freely, and without her NLD (National League For Democracy) party being able to establish party offices all throughout the provinces, this election may not be regarded as credible and legitimate," he said.
"The world is now watching closely whether they (the military rulers) will choose to act in the best interest of their country or ignore our concerns and expectations and the needs of their people," the U.N. chief said, adding that the choice for Myanmar's leaders in the coming days and weeks would be between meeting that responsibility in the interest of all concerned, or failing their own people and each one of you.
Ban also described as "not only a deep disappointment but also a major lost opportunity for Myanmar" the refusal by junta head Senior General Myanmar Than Shwe to allow him to visit jailed democracy leader Suu Kyi during his visit.
Several members of the powerful Security Council, including the U.S., Britain and France, expressed their disappointment that Ban was not allowed to meet the Nobel Peace laureate, who has been under house arrest for more than 13 of the last 19 years.
However, China argued that the success or failure of Ban's trip to Myanmar should not be determined by him not being able to meet Suu Kyi.
9 hours ago
(RTTNews) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday sought the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners, saying without her participation the proposed general elections can't be held "credible," reports say.
Calling on Myanmar's military junta to deliver on their pledge to ensure "inclusive, free and fair" polls next year, he asked Myanmar's military rulers to take the necessary steps on his specific proposals in the very near future.
"To be credible and legitimate, Suu Kyi and all political prisoners should be released," Ban said later while responding to reporters' queries after briefing the Security Council on his visit to Myanmar earlier this month.
"I emphasized that, without participation of Aung San Suu Kyi, without her being able to campaign freely, and without her NLD (National League For Democracy) party being able to establish party offices all throughout the provinces, this election may not be regarded as credible and legitimate," he said.
"The world is now watching closely whether they (the military rulers) will choose to act in the best interest of their country or ignore our concerns and expectations and the needs of their people," the U.N. chief said, adding that the choice for Myanmar's leaders in the coming days and weeks would be between meeting that responsibility in the interest of all concerned, or failing their own people and each one of you.
Ban also described as "not only a deep disappointment but also a major lost opportunity for Myanmar" the refusal by junta head Senior General Myanmar Than Shwe to allow him to visit jailed democracy leader Suu Kyi during his visit.
Several members of the powerful Security Council, including the U.S., Britain and France, expressed their disappointment that Ban was not allowed to meet the Nobel Peace laureate, who has been under house arrest for more than 13 of the last 19 years.
However, China argued that the success or failure of Ban's trip to Myanmar should not be determined by him not being able to meet Suu Kyi.
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Pro-democracy politician sentenced in Myanmar
AP - Wednesday, July 15
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - An 87-year-old member of Myanmar's pro-democracy party has been sentenced by the military regime to a two-year prison term for alleged defamation, a party member said Tuesday.
Kyaw Khaing _ a member of the National League for Democracy headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, who faces a five-year prison term herself if found guilty in an ongoing trial _ was sentenced Monday by a court in Tauggok in northwestern Rakhine State, said Thein Hlaing, a senior party member there.
Kyaw Khaing was sued by an expelled party member after comments made over fundraising for the party.
"The court decision was biased and unfair. This is a severe and unjustified punishment because Kyaw Khaing is an opposition party member and an elected party candidate," said Aung Thein, a lawyer whose license was revoked in May, a day before he applied to represent Suu Kyi at her trial.
Kyaw Khaing was elected to office when his party won a landslide victory in the 1990 general elections, the results of which have never been recognized by the government. He was given a seven-year prison sentence in 2007 following an pro-democracy uprising led by Buddhist monks, but was released 12 days later.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962 and is widely accused of human rights violations. Western human rights groups say the regime holds more than 2,000 political prisoners.
Suu Kyi is facing a separate trial in which she has been charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man who entered her residence.
AP - Wednesday, July 15
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - An 87-year-old member of Myanmar's pro-democracy party has been sentenced by the military regime to a two-year prison term for alleged defamation, a party member said Tuesday.
Kyaw Khaing _ a member of the National League for Democracy headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, who faces a five-year prison term herself if found guilty in an ongoing trial _ was sentenced Monday by a court in Tauggok in northwestern Rakhine State, said Thein Hlaing, a senior party member there.
Kyaw Khaing was sued by an expelled party member after comments made over fundraising for the party.
"The court decision was biased and unfair. This is a severe and unjustified punishment because Kyaw Khaing is an opposition party member and an elected party candidate," said Aung Thein, a lawyer whose license was revoked in May, a day before he applied to represent Suu Kyi at her trial.
Kyaw Khaing was elected to office when his party won a landslide victory in the 1990 general elections, the results of which have never been recognized by the government. He was given a seven-year prison sentence in 2007 following an pro-democracy uprising led by Buddhist monks, but was released 12 days later.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962 and is widely accused of human rights violations. Western human rights groups say the regime holds more than 2,000 political prisoners.
Suu Kyi is facing a separate trial in which she has been charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man who entered her residence.
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Suu Kyi's party skeptical on Myanmar amnesty claim
Tue Jul 14, 2:01 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar's opposition party has said it was skeptical the military junta would release political prisoners including its leader Aung San Suu Kyi, despite new assurances given to the UN.
The possible amnesty was announced by Myanmar's UN ambassador Than Swe to diplomats in New York after UN chief Ban Ki-moon demanded the release of key political detainees ahead of national polls planned for next year.
But Myanmar's state media is yet to confirm the prisoner release and in the most recent amnesty, in February, only a handful of political detainees were among the 6,300 prisoners let out.
"We would welcome it if they released political prisoners in an amnesty but very few political prisoners have been included in previous amnesties," said National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman Nyan Win.
Than Swe said the release was being prepared to allow the prisoners to contest next year's elections that critics have derided as a sham intended to entrench the generals' power.
"At the request of the (UN) Secretary General, the Myanmar government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections," he told the Security Council.
But the envoy also criticised "undue pressure from the outside" while claiming that his government "intends to implement all appropriate recommendations" from the UN.
Ban had earlier briefed the 15-member UN Security Council on his visit to the military-ruled nation earlier this month in which he failed to secure any concessions or meet Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The UN chief has repeatedly called for the release of political prisoners, including the NLD party leader, and cautiously welcomed Than Swe's statement.
"This is encouraging but I have to continue to follow up how they will implement all the issues raised during my visit to Myanmar," he told reporters, adding that he was not sure who would be included in the amnesty.
"I have made it quite clear that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi should be released and free to participate in the elections," he said.
Myanmar's English-language newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, Tuesday published an editorial defending the regime's handling of Ban's visit and denounced the focus on Aung San Suu Kyi by the NLD and "anti-government media".
It said that Ban's two meetings with junta leader Senior General Than Shwe and a speech he was permitted to make in Yangon were evidence of the government's cooperation with the United Nations.
The NLD's Nyan Win, who is also representing Aung San Suu Kyi in her ongoing trial, said he thought it unlikely the opposition leader would be released.
"(Aung San Suu Kyi's) release depends on the authorities and we do not have high hopes. If she is released it will be good for all," Nyan Win said.
Aung San Suu Kyi faces up to five years in jail on charges that she breached the terms of her house arrest when an American man swam to her lakeside home uninvited in May.
The democracy leader has been either jailed or under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years since the junta refused to recognise the NLD's victory in Myanmar's last elections, in 1990.
Nyan Win said about 400 NLD members were among the more than 2,100 political prisoners in Myanmar's notorious jails.
Tue Jul 14, 2:01 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar's opposition party has said it was skeptical the military junta would release political prisoners including its leader Aung San Suu Kyi, despite new assurances given to the UN.
The possible amnesty was announced by Myanmar's UN ambassador Than Swe to diplomats in New York after UN chief Ban Ki-moon demanded the release of key political detainees ahead of national polls planned for next year.
But Myanmar's state media is yet to confirm the prisoner release and in the most recent amnesty, in February, only a handful of political detainees were among the 6,300 prisoners let out.
"We would welcome it if they released political prisoners in an amnesty but very few political prisoners have been included in previous amnesties," said National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman Nyan Win.
Than Swe said the release was being prepared to allow the prisoners to contest next year's elections that critics have derided as a sham intended to entrench the generals' power.
"At the request of the (UN) Secretary General, the Myanmar government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections," he told the Security Council.
But the envoy also criticised "undue pressure from the outside" while claiming that his government "intends to implement all appropriate recommendations" from the UN.
Ban had earlier briefed the 15-member UN Security Council on his visit to the military-ruled nation earlier this month in which he failed to secure any concessions or meet Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The UN chief has repeatedly called for the release of political prisoners, including the NLD party leader, and cautiously welcomed Than Swe's statement.
"This is encouraging but I have to continue to follow up how they will implement all the issues raised during my visit to Myanmar," he told reporters, adding that he was not sure who would be included in the amnesty.
"I have made it quite clear that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi should be released and free to participate in the elections," he said.
Myanmar's English-language newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, Tuesday published an editorial defending the regime's handling of Ban's visit and denounced the focus on Aung San Suu Kyi by the NLD and "anti-government media".
It said that Ban's two meetings with junta leader Senior General Than Shwe and a speech he was permitted to make in Yangon were evidence of the government's cooperation with the United Nations.
The NLD's Nyan Win, who is also representing Aung San Suu Kyi in her ongoing trial, said he thought it unlikely the opposition leader would be released.
"(Aung San Suu Kyi's) release depends on the authorities and we do not have high hopes. If she is released it will be good for all," Nyan Win said.
Aung San Suu Kyi faces up to five years in jail on charges that she breached the terms of her house arrest when an American man swam to her lakeside home uninvited in May.
The democracy leader has been either jailed or under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years since the junta refused to recognise the NLD's victory in Myanmar's last elections, in 1990.
Nyan Win said about 400 NLD members were among the more than 2,100 political prisoners in Myanmar's notorious jails.
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Myanmar dangles amnesty, UN demands prisoner release
AFP - Tuesday, July 14
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - – Myanmar has offered an amnesty for some political prisoners after UN chief Ban Ki-moon demanded the release of key political detainees, including Aung San Suu Kyi, to ensure "credible and legitimate" polls next year.
Myanmar's UN ambassador Than Swe said his government was preparing an amnesty for political prisoners on humanitarian grounds so they can contest next year's general elections.
"At the request of the (UN) Secretary General, the Myanmar government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections," he told the Security Council. He gave no further details.
Ban welcomed the statement, telling reporters: "This is encouraging but I have to continue to follow up how they will implement all the issues raised during my visit to Myanmar."
He said that he was "not quite sure who will be included in the amnesty," but added, "I have made it quite clear that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi should be released and free to participate in the elections."
Earlier Ban briefed the 15-member UN Security Council on his visit to military-ruled Myanmar early this month.
"The (Myanmar) government needs to deliver on the promise to make the 2010 elections inclusive, free and fair and to take the necessary steps on my specific proposals in the very near future," the UN boss said.
He made it clear that for the poll to be viewed as fair, political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained members of her National League for Democracy (NLD), must be released and allowed to campaign freely.
"The choice for Myanmar's leaders in the coming days and weeks will be between meeting that responsibility in the interest of all concerned, or failing their own people and each one of you," he said.
"The world is now watching closely whether they will choose to act in the best interest of their country or ignore our concerns and expectations and the needs of their people."
In a conciliatory rejoinder, envoy Than Swe said his government "intends to implement all appropriate recommendations that the secretary general had proposed."
Earlier in his address to the council, Ban described the junta's refusal to allow him to meet with jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as "a deep disappointment but also a major lost opportunity for Myanmar."
The democracy activist, who faces an internationally condemned trial for violating the terms of her house arrest, has been either jailed or under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years since the junta refused to recognize her National League for Democracy's victory in Myanmar's last elections, in 1990.
She faces up to five years in jail if convicted of violating her house arrest rules, after an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside home in May.
Than Swe pleaded for understanding of his country's predicament.
"Undue pressure from the outside without fully comprehending the challenges faced by Myanmar will not be conducive to the country's home-grown political process," he said.
Western members of the council strongly backed Ban's demands.
"There can be no free and fair elections while key leaders of Burmas democratic opposition, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 other political prisoners, languish in Burmas prisons," US delegate Rosemary DiCarlo told the council."
"Now is the time for Burma to match its words with deeds... When Burma demonstrates its willingness to respond to the international communitys demands and commit to genuine progress toward reform, the United States stands ready to respond," she added.
Britain's deputy UN ambassador Philip Parham also slammed the Myanmar regime, saying its failure to take advantage of Ban's visit to "transform its relationship with the international community... has only served to isolate it further."
"We can only hope that we may yet see progress in the coming days; It is not too late. But if it does not come, and if we see an unjust outcome in Daw Aung San Suu Kyis trial, the international community will need to follow the Secretary Generals lead and respond robustly," Parham warned.
France's outgoing UN Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert also served notice that the Security Council "will have to react firmly if Aung San Suu Kyi were to be sentenced."
AFP - Tuesday, July 14
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - – Myanmar has offered an amnesty for some political prisoners after UN chief Ban Ki-moon demanded the release of key political detainees, including Aung San Suu Kyi, to ensure "credible and legitimate" polls next year.
Myanmar's UN ambassador Than Swe said his government was preparing an amnesty for political prisoners on humanitarian grounds so they can contest next year's general elections.
"At the request of the (UN) Secretary General, the Myanmar government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections," he told the Security Council. He gave no further details.
Ban welcomed the statement, telling reporters: "This is encouraging but I have to continue to follow up how they will implement all the issues raised during my visit to Myanmar."
He said that he was "not quite sure who will be included in the amnesty," but added, "I have made it quite clear that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi should be released and free to participate in the elections."
Earlier Ban briefed the 15-member UN Security Council on his visit to military-ruled Myanmar early this month.
"The (Myanmar) government needs to deliver on the promise to make the 2010 elections inclusive, free and fair and to take the necessary steps on my specific proposals in the very near future," the UN boss said.
He made it clear that for the poll to be viewed as fair, political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained members of her National League for Democracy (NLD), must be released and allowed to campaign freely.
"The choice for Myanmar's leaders in the coming days and weeks will be between meeting that responsibility in the interest of all concerned, or failing their own people and each one of you," he said.
"The world is now watching closely whether they will choose to act in the best interest of their country or ignore our concerns and expectations and the needs of their people."
In a conciliatory rejoinder, envoy Than Swe said his government "intends to implement all appropriate recommendations that the secretary general had proposed."
Earlier in his address to the council, Ban described the junta's refusal to allow him to meet with jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as "a deep disappointment but also a major lost opportunity for Myanmar."
The democracy activist, who faces an internationally condemned trial for violating the terms of her house arrest, has been either jailed or under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years since the junta refused to recognize her National League for Democracy's victory in Myanmar's last elections, in 1990.
She faces up to five years in jail if convicted of violating her house arrest rules, after an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside home in May.
Than Swe pleaded for understanding of his country's predicament.
"Undue pressure from the outside without fully comprehending the challenges faced by Myanmar will not be conducive to the country's home-grown political process," he said.
Western members of the council strongly backed Ban's demands.
"There can be no free and fair elections while key leaders of Burmas democratic opposition, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 other political prisoners, languish in Burmas prisons," US delegate Rosemary DiCarlo told the council."
"Now is the time for Burma to match its words with deeds... When Burma demonstrates its willingness to respond to the international communitys demands and commit to genuine progress toward reform, the United States stands ready to respond," she added.
Britain's deputy UN ambassador Philip Parham also slammed the Myanmar regime, saying its failure to take advantage of Ban's visit to "transform its relationship with the international community... has only served to isolate it further."
"We can only hope that we may yet see progress in the coming days; It is not too late. But if it does not come, and if we see an unjust outcome in Daw Aung San Suu Kyis trial, the international community will need to follow the Secretary Generals lead and respond robustly," Parham warned.
France's outgoing UN Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert also served notice that the Security Council "will have to react firmly if Aung San Suu Kyi were to be sentenced."
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Hindustan Times - Without Suu Kyi 2010 Myanmar's polls cannot be credible: Ban
Press Trust Of India
New York, July 14, 2009
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked Myanmar's military junta to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and allow her to take part in the polls, saying without her participation the proposed 2010 general elections can't be held "credible".
"To be credible and legitimate, Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners should be released," Ban told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, soon after briefing the Security Council on his recent visit to Burma.
Several members of the powerful Security Council, including the US, Britain and France, expressed their disappointment that Ban was not allowed to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, the popular Burmese leader, who has been under house arrest for more than 13 of the last 19 years.
China on the other hand argued the success or failure of Ban's trip to Burma should not be determined by him not able to meet Suu Kyi.
Responding to reporters queries after the meeting, Ban said he made it quite clear to the Burmese leaders that Aung San Suu Kyi in particular should be released and free to participate in the election.
"I emphasised that, without participation of Aung San Suu Kyi, without her being able to campaign freely, and without her NLD party (being able) to establish party offices all throughout the provinces, this election may not be regarded as credible and legitimate," he said.
Press Trust Of India
New York, July 14, 2009
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked Myanmar's military junta to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and allow her to take part in the polls, saying without her participation the proposed 2010 general elections can't be held "credible".
"To be credible and legitimate, Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners should be released," Ban told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, soon after briefing the Security Council on his recent visit to Burma.
Several members of the powerful Security Council, including the US, Britain and France, expressed their disappointment that Ban was not allowed to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, the popular Burmese leader, who has been under house arrest for more than 13 of the last 19 years.
China on the other hand argued the success or failure of Ban's trip to Burma should not be determined by him not able to meet Suu Kyi.
Responding to reporters queries after the meeting, Ban said he made it quite clear to the Burmese leaders that Aung San Suu Kyi in particular should be released and free to participate in the election.
"I emphasised that, without participation of Aung San Suu Kyi, without her being able to campaign freely, and without her NLD party (being able) to establish party offices all throughout the provinces, this election may not be regarded as credible and legitimate," he said.
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Irish Sun - UN chief makes three demands on Myanmar's rulers
Tuesday 14th July, 2009
(IANS)
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked the Myanmar leadership to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, resume a dialogue between the government and opposition, and create conditions for credible and legitimate elections to be held next year.
'I made specific proposals with a particular focus on three outstanding concerns, which if left unaddressed could undermine any confidence in Myanmar's political process,' he told the Security Council in a briefing following a two-day visit to the country July 3-4.
The visit included a meeting with the Prime Minister General Thein Sein, Senior General Than Shwe and members of several political parties. Next year, Myanmar has scheduled its first elections in more than 20 years.
'Any successful transition will require overcoming the country's twin legacy of political deadlock and civil conflict,' said Ban.
The UN chief called the ruling regime's refusal to allow a meeting with political prisoner and Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi a 'deep disappointment' and 'a major lost opportunity for Myanmar'.
Myanmar ambassador to the UN Than Swe told the Security Council that his government intended to implement all 'appropriate recommendations' proposed. 'At the request of the Secretary General the Myanmar government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections.'
'This is encouraging but I will have to continue to follow up how they will implement all the issues raised during my visit in Myanmar,' the UN chief told the media.
The representatives of the US, France and Britain also expressed deep regret at the Myanmar authorities' refusal to grant access to Suu Kyi and its inability to address grave human rights violations.
'There can be no free and fair elections while key leaders of Burma's democratic opposition including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 other political prisoners languish in Burma's prisons,' said Rosemary A. DiCarlo, speaking for the US.
'As the only political figure in the country to have received a popular democratic mandate, she (Suu Kyi) has a central role to play in the future of a democratic Burma,' said British envoy Philip Parham.
Suu Kyi, 64, has been under detention for most of the past two past decades. She is the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the national elections in 1990.
The military rulers ignored the results and did not hand over power. She is presently on trial for breaching the conditions of her house arrest when a US national swam across a lake and broke into her compound.
Ambassador Swe called the Secretary-General's visit 'successful', adding that 'his inability to meet with Ms. Suu Kyi should not be seen as the only benchmark for the success or failure of his visit'.
On the humanitarian front, the Secretary General said: 'I saw for myself the progress made one year later in the recovery and reconstruction of the cyclone affected region'.
In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis tore through southern Myanmar claiming at least 140,000 victims and affecting 2.4 million others.
Tuesday 14th July, 2009
(IANS)
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked the Myanmar leadership to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, resume a dialogue between the government and opposition, and create conditions for credible and legitimate elections to be held next year.
'I made specific proposals with a particular focus on three outstanding concerns, which if left unaddressed could undermine any confidence in Myanmar's political process,' he told the Security Council in a briefing following a two-day visit to the country July 3-4.
The visit included a meeting with the Prime Minister General Thein Sein, Senior General Than Shwe and members of several political parties. Next year, Myanmar has scheduled its first elections in more than 20 years.
'Any successful transition will require overcoming the country's twin legacy of political deadlock and civil conflict,' said Ban.
The UN chief called the ruling regime's refusal to allow a meeting with political prisoner and Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi a 'deep disappointment' and 'a major lost opportunity for Myanmar'.
Myanmar ambassador to the UN Than Swe told the Security Council that his government intended to implement all 'appropriate recommendations' proposed. 'At the request of the Secretary General the Myanmar government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections.'
'This is encouraging but I will have to continue to follow up how they will implement all the issues raised during my visit in Myanmar,' the UN chief told the media.
The representatives of the US, France and Britain also expressed deep regret at the Myanmar authorities' refusal to grant access to Suu Kyi and its inability to address grave human rights violations.
'There can be no free and fair elections while key leaders of Burma's democratic opposition including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 other political prisoners languish in Burma's prisons,' said Rosemary A. DiCarlo, speaking for the US.
'As the only political figure in the country to have received a popular democratic mandate, she (Suu Kyi) has a central role to play in the future of a democratic Burma,' said British envoy Philip Parham.
Suu Kyi, 64, has been under detention for most of the past two past decades. She is the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the national elections in 1990.
The military rulers ignored the results and did not hand over power. She is presently on trial for breaching the conditions of her house arrest when a US national swam across a lake and broke into her compound.
Ambassador Swe called the Secretary-General's visit 'successful', adding that 'his inability to meet with Ms. Suu Kyi should not be seen as the only benchmark for the success or failure of his visit'.
On the humanitarian front, the Secretary General said: 'I saw for myself the progress made one year later in the recovery and reconstruction of the cyclone affected region'.
In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis tore through southern Myanmar claiming at least 140,000 victims and affecting 2.4 million others.
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Jul 15, 2009
Asia Times Online - UN gains leverage over Myanmar
By Haseenah Koyakutty
BANGKOK - The consensus headlines from United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon's recent trip to Myanmar focused on his failure to meet with detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The ruling military junta's Senior General Than Shwe disallowed the diplomatic contact because Suu Kyi is currently on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest.
But an emerging parallel narrative is starting to generate different headlines, where UN pressure on the military regime and political fatigue among its top generals produces results. According to reports, Myanmar's ambassador to the UN, U Than Swe, told the Security Council on Monday that his government was "processing to grant amnesty" to an undisclosed number of political prisoners to allow them to participate in democratic elections scheduled for 2010.
Ban had pressed the military regime during his recent visit to release over 2,100 political prisoners and ensure that the democratic elections would be free and fair. The prisoner release announcement comes notably while the global spotlight is focused on Myanmar's secretive military modernization and nuclear energy designs. The UN's latest and unanimous Security Council Resolution 1874, passed last month against North Korea, recently forced a North Korean ship suspected of carrying arms or missile components to abort its voyage to Myanmar and return home.
Chief of US naval operations Admiral Gary Roughhead told reporters that the UN resolution was indication of the international community coming together on the issue and the US navy's tracking of the North Korean ship was a "very effective way" of preventing arms proliferation. Significantly, China and Russia, which have both shielded Myanmar from UN Security Council censure with their veto votes, cooperated with the toughened sanctions against Pyongyang.
What the purportedly Myanmar-bound North Korean ship was actually carrying remains a mystery, but the incident underscored how the UN and US are collaborating on security issues more effectively under the Barack Obama administration than the two sides did under the outgoing George W Bush government. Tying Myanmar to North Korea could also pay strategic dividends for the UN, which has for years tried to mediate national reconciliation in Myanmar without any meaningful breakthroughs.
During Ban's most recent visit, his second to Myanmar as the UN's chief envoy, Than Shwe dropped what some considered a symbolic bombshell. According to the UN, the reclusive military leader told Ban during their discussions that the next time the UN chief visited Myanmar, "I will be an ordinary citizen, a lay person, and my colleagues will too because it will be a civilian government."
Myanmar's generals plan to hold democratic elections next year after nearly a half century of uninterrupted military rule. Myanmar ambassador Swe told the UN on Monday that the country was "steadfastly proceeding on its chosen path to democracy" and hinted that the regime might accept international assistance in arranging the polls if deemed "necessary". Several opposition groups, including Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, may boycott the polls if their conditions for a free and fair poll are not met, while exiled activists have slammed the polls as a sham designed to perpetuate Than Shwe's and the military's rule under a civilian guise.
But people familiar with Ban's recent closed-door meetings say the general conjured up the prospect of a civilian government in the presence of his military lieutenants who may still be split on the issue. The septuagenarian leader, a former expert in psychological warfare, is notorious for his mind games, making promises to the UN only to later break them. But political fatigue, an under-appreciated concept in conflict resolution, cannot be ruled out.
In neighboring Indonesia, nobody predicted its all-powerful military would step aside constitutionally in favor of civilian rule after former dictator Suharto's fall from grace in 1998. Military schisms and fatigue were contributing factors in that democratic breakthrough. Myanmar lacks a credible constitution, impartial institutions, and a vocal middle class to press for democratic change, but like all decrepit regimes the end game often comes about through a succession of policy mishaps.
Repressive record
Than Shwe has in recent years overseen state-sponsored killing of Buddhist monks, the initial rejection of international emergency aid for over two million cyclone victims, and now subjected Suu Kyi to a show trial few if any in the international community believes has legal merit. The regime's top general has ignored the world's pleas for her release and once again bid to manipulate the UN in the process.
A UN official who requested anonymity out of protocol described Ban's first two-hour meeting with Than Shwe as a mission to "speak truth to power"; as unscripted, frank and "forceful back-and-forth" through an interpreter. When the capricious dictator dismissed an idea out-of-hand, the UN official recounted, he would reply with a curt "Yes, thank you."
The second meeting eventuated with the general's refusal to allow Ban to visit Suu Kyi, and the UN's top envoy had to make do with meeting her NLD party stalwarts. Ban's exclusive time with Than Shwe was notable as the mercurial general has in the past rebuffed top UN envoys who visited the country.
It's unclear if the two sides spoke about weapons proliferation or Myanmar's nuclear designs. Upon his departure, Ban said Myanmar's generals had missed an opportunity to work through the UN, but has yet to indicate whether the UN would consider tabling a resolution against Myanmar similar to the one passed against North Korea.
Prior to Ban's courtesy call, Than Shwe met with Singapore's former prime minister Goh Chok Tong, who last month led an official delegation to Myanmar. Singapore is a leading foreign investor in Myanmar, its second-largest trade partner after Thailand and one of the first countries to offer Cyclone Nargis assistance. A Singapore hospital has also provided treatment to Than Shwe for an undisclosed medical condition.
A source who accompanied Goh during the four-day visit said Myanmar is at a "tipping point" and that there's a genuine need and want for change among the military and population. The Singapore source said that during their meetings the army expressed "deep frustration" over its inability to tame armed ethnic insurgent groups. At the upcoming elections, the Singapore official estimated, the downtrodden population "would buy into the rhetoric of the party that promises them the most peace".
History has shown that political breakthroughs often occur when least expected. The UN and international community should recognize the growing signs of political fatigue in Myanmar's stalemate, while at the same time treat Than Shwe's overtures of democratic change through elections with deep skepticism as long as Suu Kyi remains behind bars and her NLD is excluded from any political transition.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum to be held in Thailand later this month, and North Korea and Myanmar are expected to dominate the security-oriented agenda. All eyes will be on China, which has big investment interests in Myanmar and in the past protected its military regime from UN censure, but may now frown on the generals' weapons proliferation and alleged nuclear gambit with North Korea - both clear threats to international peace and stability.
It is possible that the UN, ASEAN and its dialogue partners could, with the backing of the US and China, move to close ranks and apply more uniform pressure for change on the military regime. Than Shwe is arguably running out of options and time-trusted allies and if China were to meet the regime's brinksmanship with support for a new punitive UN resolution, a new diplomatic dynamic would emerge where the UN might yet make a difference in Myanmar.
Haseenah Koyakutty is a freelance Southeast Asia correspondent based in Bangkok.
Asia Times Online - UN gains leverage over Myanmar
By Haseenah Koyakutty
BANGKOK - The consensus headlines from United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon's recent trip to Myanmar focused on his failure to meet with detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The ruling military junta's Senior General Than Shwe disallowed the diplomatic contact because Suu Kyi is currently on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest.
But an emerging parallel narrative is starting to generate different headlines, where UN pressure on the military regime and political fatigue among its top generals produces results. According to reports, Myanmar's ambassador to the UN, U Than Swe, told the Security Council on Monday that his government was "processing to grant amnesty" to an undisclosed number of political prisoners to allow them to participate in democratic elections scheduled for 2010.
Ban had pressed the military regime during his recent visit to release over 2,100 political prisoners and ensure that the democratic elections would be free and fair. The prisoner release announcement comes notably while the global spotlight is focused on Myanmar's secretive military modernization and nuclear energy designs. The UN's latest and unanimous Security Council Resolution 1874, passed last month against North Korea, recently forced a North Korean ship suspected of carrying arms or missile components to abort its voyage to Myanmar and return home.
Chief of US naval operations Admiral Gary Roughhead told reporters that the UN resolution was indication of the international community coming together on the issue and the US navy's tracking of the North Korean ship was a "very effective way" of preventing arms proliferation. Significantly, China and Russia, which have both shielded Myanmar from UN Security Council censure with their veto votes, cooperated with the toughened sanctions against Pyongyang.
What the purportedly Myanmar-bound North Korean ship was actually carrying remains a mystery, but the incident underscored how the UN and US are collaborating on security issues more effectively under the Barack Obama administration than the two sides did under the outgoing George W Bush government. Tying Myanmar to North Korea could also pay strategic dividends for the UN, which has for years tried to mediate national reconciliation in Myanmar without any meaningful breakthroughs.
During Ban's most recent visit, his second to Myanmar as the UN's chief envoy, Than Shwe dropped what some considered a symbolic bombshell. According to the UN, the reclusive military leader told Ban during their discussions that the next time the UN chief visited Myanmar, "I will be an ordinary citizen, a lay person, and my colleagues will too because it will be a civilian government."
Myanmar's generals plan to hold democratic elections next year after nearly a half century of uninterrupted military rule. Myanmar ambassador Swe told the UN on Monday that the country was "steadfastly proceeding on its chosen path to democracy" and hinted that the regime might accept international assistance in arranging the polls if deemed "necessary". Several opposition groups, including Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, may boycott the polls if their conditions for a free and fair poll are not met, while exiled activists have slammed the polls as a sham designed to perpetuate Than Shwe's and the military's rule under a civilian guise.
But people familiar with Ban's recent closed-door meetings say the general conjured up the prospect of a civilian government in the presence of his military lieutenants who may still be split on the issue. The septuagenarian leader, a former expert in psychological warfare, is notorious for his mind games, making promises to the UN only to later break them. But political fatigue, an under-appreciated concept in conflict resolution, cannot be ruled out.
In neighboring Indonesia, nobody predicted its all-powerful military would step aside constitutionally in favor of civilian rule after former dictator Suharto's fall from grace in 1998. Military schisms and fatigue were contributing factors in that democratic breakthrough. Myanmar lacks a credible constitution, impartial institutions, and a vocal middle class to press for democratic change, but like all decrepit regimes the end game often comes about through a succession of policy mishaps.
Repressive record
Than Shwe has in recent years overseen state-sponsored killing of Buddhist monks, the initial rejection of international emergency aid for over two million cyclone victims, and now subjected Suu Kyi to a show trial few if any in the international community believes has legal merit. The regime's top general has ignored the world's pleas for her release and once again bid to manipulate the UN in the process.
A UN official who requested anonymity out of protocol described Ban's first two-hour meeting with Than Shwe as a mission to "speak truth to power"; as unscripted, frank and "forceful back-and-forth" through an interpreter. When the capricious dictator dismissed an idea out-of-hand, the UN official recounted, he would reply with a curt "Yes, thank you."
The second meeting eventuated with the general's refusal to allow Ban to visit Suu Kyi, and the UN's top envoy had to make do with meeting her NLD party stalwarts. Ban's exclusive time with Than Shwe was notable as the mercurial general has in the past rebuffed top UN envoys who visited the country.
It's unclear if the two sides spoke about weapons proliferation or Myanmar's nuclear designs. Upon his departure, Ban said Myanmar's generals had missed an opportunity to work through the UN, but has yet to indicate whether the UN would consider tabling a resolution against Myanmar similar to the one passed against North Korea.
Prior to Ban's courtesy call, Than Shwe met with Singapore's former prime minister Goh Chok Tong, who last month led an official delegation to Myanmar. Singapore is a leading foreign investor in Myanmar, its second-largest trade partner after Thailand and one of the first countries to offer Cyclone Nargis assistance. A Singapore hospital has also provided treatment to Than Shwe for an undisclosed medical condition.
A source who accompanied Goh during the four-day visit said Myanmar is at a "tipping point" and that there's a genuine need and want for change among the military and population. The Singapore source said that during their meetings the army expressed "deep frustration" over its inability to tame armed ethnic insurgent groups. At the upcoming elections, the Singapore official estimated, the downtrodden population "would buy into the rhetoric of the party that promises them the most peace".
History has shown that political breakthroughs often occur when least expected. The UN and international community should recognize the growing signs of political fatigue in Myanmar's stalemate, while at the same time treat Than Shwe's overtures of democratic change through elections with deep skepticism as long as Suu Kyi remains behind bars and her NLD is excluded from any political transition.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum to be held in Thailand later this month, and North Korea and Myanmar are expected to dominate the security-oriented agenda. All eyes will be on China, which has big investment interests in Myanmar and in the past protected its military regime from UN censure, but may now frown on the generals' weapons proliferation and alleged nuclear gambit with North Korea - both clear threats to international peace and stability.
It is possible that the UN, ASEAN and its dialogue partners could, with the backing of the US and China, move to close ranks and apply more uniform pressure for change on the military regime. Than Shwe is arguably running out of options and time-trusted allies and if China were to meet the regime's brinksmanship with support for a new punitive UN resolution, a new diplomatic dynamic would emerge where the UN might yet make a difference in Myanmar.
Haseenah Koyakutty is a freelance Southeast Asia correspondent based in Bangkok.
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The Korea Herald - 'U.S. eyeing N.K.-Myanmar nuke ties'
2009.07.15
The newly-appointed U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific reportedly said Washington was eyeing nuclear ties between North Korea and Myanmar.
Kurt Campbell said in a written reply for a Congressional confirmation hearing that the Southeast Asian country and North Korea were strengthening their partnership, according to Radio Free Asia, a private station funded by the U.S. Congress that broadcasts in nine Asian languages.
RFA reported that Campbell picked North Korea and Russia as supporters of Myanmar's nuclear development, while noting that the Southeast Asian country was not running a nuclear reactor.
Russia and Myanmar signed an agreement in May 2007 to build nuclear facilities, including a 10-megawatt reactor for research purposes, Campbell was quoted as saying by the radio station.
The United States raised concerns regarding this in an ASEAN Regional Forum where both Russia and North Korea attended, Campbell said.
Under the bilateral agreement, hundreds of Burmese scientists were to be trained in Russia, he said.
As North Korea was strengthening its ties with Burma, Campbell said he would continue to closely watch all external support for Burma's nuclear development, including those by Russia and North Korea.
The U.S. official added that he believed Burma did not have the legal, technological or financial infrastructure essential for safe nuclear development.
Campbell, who assumed the post last month, is expected to visit Seoul later this week to meet with top officials here ahead of talks between Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum from July 17-23.
Campbell is expected to make his first tour to Northeast Asian nations, including South Korea, just before attending the ASEAN Regional Forum in Phuket.
Campbell, who replaced Christopher Hill, is known to be an expert on Asian affairs, having served as a top adviser on Asian affairs to former U.S. president Bill Clinton.
2009.07.15
The newly-appointed U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific reportedly said Washington was eyeing nuclear ties between North Korea and Myanmar.
Kurt Campbell said in a written reply for a Congressional confirmation hearing that the Southeast Asian country and North Korea were strengthening their partnership, according to Radio Free Asia, a private station funded by the U.S. Congress that broadcasts in nine Asian languages.
RFA reported that Campbell picked North Korea and Russia as supporters of Myanmar's nuclear development, while noting that the Southeast Asian country was not running a nuclear reactor.
Russia and Myanmar signed an agreement in May 2007 to build nuclear facilities, including a 10-megawatt reactor for research purposes, Campbell was quoted as saying by the radio station.
The United States raised concerns regarding this in an ASEAN Regional Forum where both Russia and North Korea attended, Campbell said.
Under the bilateral agreement, hundreds of Burmese scientists were to be trained in Russia, he said.
As North Korea was strengthening its ties with Burma, Campbell said he would continue to closely watch all external support for Burma's nuclear development, including those by Russia and North Korea.
The U.S. official added that he believed Burma did not have the legal, technological or financial infrastructure essential for safe nuclear development.
Campbell, who assumed the post last month, is expected to visit Seoul later this week to meet with top officials here ahead of talks between Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum from July 17-23.
Campbell is expected to make his first tour to Northeast Asian nations, including South Korea, just before attending the ASEAN Regional Forum in Phuket.
Campbell, who replaced Christopher Hill, is known to be an expert on Asian affairs, having served as a top adviser on Asian affairs to former U.S. president Bill Clinton.
*****************************************************
Business Standard - ONGC Videsh to join Chinese gas pipeline from Myanmar
Press Trust of India / New Delhi July 14, 2009, 17:03 IST
ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), may pick up a stake in the $1.95 billion gas pipeline that China is building for ferrying natural gas found off the Myanmar coast.
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is laying a 870-km pipeline in Myanmar to transport gas found in blocks A-1 and A-3 to mainland China.
Sources said, CNPC has offered 49.9 per cent stake to the consortium developing gas fields in blocks A-1 and A-3.
South Korea's Daewoo Corp holds 60 per cent stake each in block A-1 and A-3 while OVL has 20 per cent interest. GAIL and Korea Gas Corp have 10 per cent each.
Myanmar's state-run Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) has right to take 15 per cent, subsequent to which Daewoo would have 51 per cent, OVL 17 per cent and GAIL and KOGAS 8.5 per cent each.
Since Daewoo was inclined to participate in the 40-inch pipeline and OVL board too has approved taking stake in the project, they added.
If all the consortium members decide to participate, the shareholding in the pipeline project would be CNPC-50.9 per cent, MOGE-7.37 per cent, Daewoo- 25.04 per cent, OVL- 8.35 per cent, GAIL and KOGAS- 4.17 per cent each.
Gas will be sold to China for $7.72 per million British thermal unit at the landfall point in Myanmar.
Daewoo-OVL-GAIL-KOGAS may invest $2.79 billion in three gas fields in block A-1 and A-3 off the Myanmar coast and another $936.26 million in laying an under-sea pipeline to take the gas to the shore, sources said.
They added operator Daewoo has prepared a preliminary Field Development Plan (FDP) to tie-up Shwe and Shwe Phyu in Block A-1 and Mya in Block A-3 together to produce a plateau of 500 million standard cubic feet per day of gas for 19 years. The field life is envisaged for 28 years.
First gas is anticipated in first quarter of 2013, they said adding that the final FDP is likely by August.
Myanmar has decided that the gas from A-1 and A-3 would go to China. CNPC will pay $6.71 per mmBtu for the gas plus a offshore pipeline tariff of $1.02 per mmBtu. The 30 year sale contract is indexed to US inflation, sources said.
The preliminary FDP envisages development of gas fields in phased manner — Shwe and Mya (North) fields in phase-1, addition of Mya (South) field in phase-2, addition of Shwe Phyu field in phase-3 and installation of future compressor once pressure declines at Central Process Platform (CPP).
Sources shared the gas in A-1 and A-3 is lean (99 per cent methane) with less impurities.
Gas reserves of 4.532 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in Blocks A-1 and A-3 have been certified. In the preliminary FDP, 4.162 Tcf of reserves in Shwe, Shwe Phyu and Mya have been taken.
So far, the commercial viability of the natural gas discovery in both the blocks has not been declared.
Press Trust of India / New Delhi July 14, 2009, 17:03 IST
ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), may pick up a stake in the $1.95 billion gas pipeline that China is building for ferrying natural gas found off the Myanmar coast.
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is laying a 870-km pipeline in Myanmar to transport gas found in blocks A-1 and A-3 to mainland China.
Sources said, CNPC has offered 49.9 per cent stake to the consortium developing gas fields in blocks A-1 and A-3.
South Korea's Daewoo Corp holds 60 per cent stake each in block A-1 and A-3 while OVL has 20 per cent interest. GAIL and Korea Gas Corp have 10 per cent each.
Myanmar's state-run Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) has right to take 15 per cent, subsequent to which Daewoo would have 51 per cent, OVL 17 per cent and GAIL and KOGAS 8.5 per cent each.
Since Daewoo was inclined to participate in the 40-inch pipeline and OVL board too has approved taking stake in the project, they added.
If all the consortium members decide to participate, the shareholding in the pipeline project would be CNPC-50.9 per cent, MOGE-7.37 per cent, Daewoo- 25.04 per cent, OVL- 8.35 per cent, GAIL and KOGAS- 4.17 per cent each.
Gas will be sold to China for $7.72 per million British thermal unit at the landfall point in Myanmar.
Daewoo-OVL-GAIL-KOGAS may invest $2.79 billion in three gas fields in block A-1 and A-3 off the Myanmar coast and another $936.26 million in laying an under-sea pipeline to take the gas to the shore, sources said.
They added operator Daewoo has prepared a preliminary Field Development Plan (FDP) to tie-up Shwe and Shwe Phyu in Block A-1 and Mya in Block A-3 together to produce a plateau of 500 million standard cubic feet per day of gas for 19 years. The field life is envisaged for 28 years.
First gas is anticipated in first quarter of 2013, they said adding that the final FDP is likely by August.
Myanmar has decided that the gas from A-1 and A-3 would go to China. CNPC will pay $6.71 per mmBtu for the gas plus a offshore pipeline tariff of $1.02 per mmBtu. The 30 year sale contract is indexed to US inflation, sources said.
The preliminary FDP envisages development of gas fields in phased manner — Shwe and Mya (North) fields in phase-1, addition of Mya (South) field in phase-2, addition of Shwe Phyu field in phase-3 and installation of future compressor once pressure declines at Central Process Platform (CPP).
Sources shared the gas in A-1 and A-3 is lean (99 per cent methane) with less impurities.
Gas reserves of 4.532 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in Blocks A-1 and A-3 have been certified. In the preliminary FDP, 4.162 Tcf of reserves in Shwe, Shwe Phyu and Mya have been taken.
So far, the commercial viability of the natural gas discovery in both the blocks has not been declared.
*****************************************************
EarthTimes - China ranks as Myanmar's top investor in fiscal 2008-09
Posted : Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:41:35 GMT
Yangon - China was Myanmar's top foreign investor in the fiscal year 2008-09, official statistics revealed Tuesday. China's total investments in Myanmar last fiscal year, ending on March 31, amounted to 856 million dollars, compared with the country's total of 985 million dollars in foreign direct investment, according to figures released by the Central Statistical Organization.
Much of China's investments were accounted for by the China Metal Mining Group, which signed a nickel-production contract in 2008 with a mining company under Myanmar's Ministry of Mines.
The contract involved the development of a large-scale nickel mining and smelting project in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Russia came second among foreign investor nations, with 94 million dollars sunk in oil and gas exploration, and Vietnam ranked third with 20 million dollars in investments.
Myanmar's neighbour Thailand was the fourth largest investor with 15 million dollars committed by Thai companies, mostly in the tourism sector.
"China has mostly been investing in exploration of mineral resources because they need minerals for their industrial development," said one Yangon-based university economist who asked to remain anonymous.
"We would like to see China invest in the industrial sector if they really want to see Myanmar become a developed country," he added.
Myanmar's ruling junta has maintained close ties with China since it took power in 1988, after a crackdown on a pro-democracy movement that left an estimated 3,000 dead.
China, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has repeatedly defended the country's poor human rights record and failure to implement democratic reforms.
Posted : Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:41:35 GMT
Yangon - China was Myanmar's top foreign investor in the fiscal year 2008-09, official statistics revealed Tuesday. China's total investments in Myanmar last fiscal year, ending on March 31, amounted to 856 million dollars, compared with the country's total of 985 million dollars in foreign direct investment, according to figures released by the Central Statistical Organization.
Much of China's investments were accounted for by the China Metal Mining Group, which signed a nickel-production contract in 2008 with a mining company under Myanmar's Ministry of Mines.
The contract involved the development of a large-scale nickel mining and smelting project in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Russia came second among foreign investor nations, with 94 million dollars sunk in oil and gas exploration, and Vietnam ranked third with 20 million dollars in investments.
Myanmar's neighbour Thailand was the fourth largest investor with 15 million dollars committed by Thai companies, mostly in the tourism sector.
"China has mostly been investing in exploration of mineral resources because they need minerals for their industrial development," said one Yangon-based university economist who asked to remain anonymous.
"We would like to see China invest in the industrial sector if they really want to see Myanmar become a developed country," he added.
Myanmar's ruling junta has maintained close ties with China since it took power in 1988, after a crackdown on a pro-democracy movement that left an estimated 3,000 dead.
China, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has repeatedly defended the country's poor human rights record and failure to implement democratic reforms.
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JULY 14, 2009
Wall Street Journal - The U.N.'s 'Invisible Man'
Ban Ki-moon Struggles to Make Mark; U.S. Urges Stronger Role
By JOE LAURIA and STEVE STECKLOW
As the Obama administration implements a new U.S. strategy toward the United Nations, it's working with a U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, who is struggling to prove himself on the world stage.
The latest example: Mr. Ban's trip to Myanmar this month. Despite Mr. Ban's requests, Myanmar's ruling junta declined to let him visit opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. On Monday, Myanmar's U.N. envoy did say the junta would release some political prisoners, but provided no details. Outside groups say similar promises in the past have gone unfulfilled, and even Mr. Ban reacted cautiously.
U.N. Leaders: Diplomats, Bureaucrats and Media Superstars
Mr. Ban had been warned by some about making the trip. "I told him, 'Don't go there if you are not sure you will get something, because it will not help you, it will weaken you,'" France's U.N. ambassador, Jean-Maurice Ripert, a supporter of Mr. Ban, said in an interview before the trip.
On Monday, Mr. Ban called Myanmar's actions "encouraging, but I will have to continue to follow up how they will implement all the issues raised during my visit." Speaking to reporters, he added: "I am not quite sure ... who will be included in this amnesty."
At the midpoint of a five-year term as secretary-general, the 65-year-old Mr. Ban is defined by his low profile. "I am known as invisible man," he said during a recent interview, adding that he "really struggled" with issues related to his public perception. "I am more interested in results and am not a fiery rhetoric person" in public, he said.
Mr. Ban -- who rose from deep poverty in Korea to his current post -- steers the U.N. at a pivotal moment. He succeeded the charismatic Kofi Annan, who shared a 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for his U.N. stewardship only to have the "oil for food" scandal break out, which exposed graft in the handling of Iraqi humanitarian aid by the U.N. and some member states.
Mr. Ban took over as U.N. head in 2007 and pushed for reform, blasting a bureaucracy last year that wastes "incredible amounts of time on largely meaningless matters."
Today, Mr. Ban acknowledges his reform effort has, to some extent, stalled. In the recent interview, he spoke of it in the past tense. "I really wanted to change the working culture," he says.
Mr. Ban seeks to lower expectations. During last month's interview, he said less should be expected of the U.N. chief in the post-Cold War era, as regional organizations take on greater roles. However, a senior aide quickly interjected that the U.N. was never more necessary than today, pointing out that it currently oversees some of the biggest humanitarian operations in its history, and has 110,000 peacekeepers deployed. By comparison, in 1988 there were fewer than 10,000 deployed.
The U.S. is redefining its sometimes strained relationship with the world body. In September, President Barack Obama plans to make his first address to the General Assembly, laying out his vision for the organization. Speaking a week ago in Italy at a meeting of the Group of Eight wealthy nations, Mr. Obama said he has told Mr. Ban that the U.N. needs "revitalizing" so that it can tackle global problems now taken up by the G8 and Group of 20 industrial and developing nations' summits.
A few disagreements and missteps have popped up. On Thursday, Mr. Ban criticized the G-8 talks in Italy, saying the group didn't go far enough in tackling climate change. And in March, Mr. Ban had to apologize after calling the U.S. a "deadbeat" because it owed more than $800 million in U.N. dues. Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, a Ban supporter, calls the statement "unquestionably the most foolish thing he's done in two-and-a-half years."
The U.S. recently paid its peacekeeping arrears and the House has voted to pay the rest of what is owed. U.S. officials also had suggested that Mr. Ban not lend legitimacy to Myanmar's leaders without extracting political reforms in return, U.N. officials and a Western diplomat say. But a U.N. official added that, had the U.S. strongly protested, Mr. Ban "would have thought twice about going." Other countries, including Britain, backed the trip.
Overall, Mr. Ban says he enjoys "very positive personal relations with U.S. officials."
In a statement, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said Mr. Ban "is principled, hard-working, cares deeply and is willing to take risks" in what she called "one of the most difficult jobs in the world."
Mr. Ban's aides describe him as a master of quiet diplomacy, working behind the scenes to advance causes as diverse as deploying U.N. peacekeepers into a defiant Sudan to enlisting world leaders to fight climate change.
U.N. officials acknowledge Mr. Ban lacks the powerful personality of some of his predecessors. And to their frustration, they say, many of his public pronouncements pass relatively unnoticed, despite his bully pulpit.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Libyan strongman Col. Moammar Gadhafi attended the G-8 summit in Italy last week.
"No matter what he does, he just can't make a splash," says one U.N. official. "Nothing sticks."
Some U.N. observers say the secretary-general's low profile is a liability. "It's fair to say you can accomplish very good things as the steward of the U.N. even if you don't have the communication skills or charisma," says historian Steven C. Schlesinger, a backer of Mr. Ban and of the U.N. in general. "The problem is that if you don't get any recognition...it hurts the U.N." because it looks like "the U.N. is back to its old ineffectiveness."
Critics also accuse Mr. Ban of failing to take a strong enough stand against oppressive regimes. Nile Gardiner, director of the Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, says, "He's barely said a word about massive human-rights violations" in places including North Korea, Sudan and Zimbabwe.
In the June interview, Mr. Ban defended his record of private diplomacy with dictators. "With all these kinds of very difficult leaders I have been much more vocal than, I bet, any of my predecessors," he said.
Mr. Ban argues that his tough talk saved a half-million lives, after a May 2008 cyclone devastated Myanmar, when he persuaded the country's generals to open their ports to foreign aid. Lex Rieffel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, called Mr. Ban a "commendable and significant" part of the global call for Myanmar to allow aid.
Mr. Ban says in March 2007 he berated Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to accept U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur, to which Mr. al-Bashir agreed three weeks later. "You could hear the screaming through the wall," says an aide to Mr. Ban. John Prendergast, co-founder of an anti-genocide project at the nonprofit Center for American Progress, says Mr. Ban's "personal advocacy" was a factor in getting the regime to acquiesce.
Sudan's U.N. ambassador, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, denied Mr. Ban played a role.
Mr. Ban also says he persuaded Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad not to deny the existence of the Holocaust in a speech at a U.N. conference. Nevertheless, Mr. Ahmadinejad sparked a walkout of European delegates after labeling Israel the "most cruel and repressive racist regime." Iran's mission to the U.N. didn't respond to a request for comment.
The U.N.'s charter gives the secretary-general two main roles: to be an administrator, and to help shape the U.N.'s diplomatic agenda by bringing issues to the Security Council. The latter role can be controversial. Mr. Bolton, the former U.S. envoy to the U.N., decries activist secretaries-general who confront member states' own interests. The charter doesn't call the secretary-general "president of the world" or "chief poet and visionary," he says.
Mr. Bolton says the Bush administration "got exactly what we asked for" in Mr. Ban, describing him as an administrator as opposed to an activist.
Mr. Ban's predecessor, Mr. Annan, was a charismatic act to follow. Former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke once called him "an international rock star of diplomacy."
Under the U.N.'s power-sharing arrangement among regions of the world, Mr. Annan's successor (chosen by Security Council members) was to be from Asia. In his book,
"Surrender Is Not an Option," Mr. Bolton wrote that former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice personally liked Mr. Annan, but that while discussing possible successors to him, she privately told him, "I'm not sure we want a strong secretary-general."
In an interview, Ms. Rice denied making the statement. "I would certainly want the strongest possible secretary-general. But a secretary-general who isn't supported by and can't bring the member states to do things isn't going to get very far," she said.
Mr. Ban feared from the start he might be misunderstood in the West. "Asia is a region where modesty is a virtue," he said in his acceptance speech in October 2006. "But the modesty is about demeanor, not about vision and goals."
Mr. Ban grew up in war-ravaged Korea, where his parents were so poor, they foraged for wild grain in Sangdong, a village about 200 miles south of Seoul. One of eight children (two died before he was born), Mr. Ban walked miles everyday to a schoolhouse that had no roof.
In 1962, the 18-year-old Mr. Ban won an English-language competition in high school, and was rewarded with a trip to the U.S. and the White House, where he shook President Kennedy's hand. He says he vowed that day to become a diplomat. Mr. Ban earned a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University in 1984 and became an adviser to South Korean presidents.
Upon rising to U.N. secretary-general, he dismissed most of Mr. Annan's top staff and increased the number of women in senior positions from 17 to 45, or about a quarter of the total. He asked top U.N. officials voluntarily to file public financial-disclosure forms, although not all have done so.
U.N. officials cite Mr. Ban's diplomatic success promoting the need to combat climate change, an issue he calls his No. 1 priority, winning over some world leaders, including President George W. Bush. Mr. Ban says he ignored the advice of his advisers and raised the issue at his first Oval Office meeting with Mr. Bush in January 2007. "The response was cool," Mr. Ban says, but adds that Mr. Bush later agreed to attend a dinner that year during a U.N. meeting on fighting global warming.
Mr. Ban says he has no plans to alter his style, although he hopes Americans will change their "fixed perception" of him. But a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll last month found 81% of Americans either had no opinion or had never heard of him.
"That's why I have been traveling a lot through American cities," he says. Last month, he addressed students at St. Louis University, and last year sat with 27 Chicago high-schoolers in a simulated U.N. debate on climate change.
Mr. Ban concedes it will take a lot more than speeches to prove himself. "Improving our image," he says, means "you have to deliver some results."
Wall Street Journal - The U.N.'s 'Invisible Man'
Ban Ki-moon Struggles to Make Mark; U.S. Urges Stronger Role
By JOE LAURIA and STEVE STECKLOW
As the Obama administration implements a new U.S. strategy toward the United Nations, it's working with a U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, who is struggling to prove himself on the world stage.
The latest example: Mr. Ban's trip to Myanmar this month. Despite Mr. Ban's requests, Myanmar's ruling junta declined to let him visit opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. On Monday, Myanmar's U.N. envoy did say the junta would release some political prisoners, but provided no details. Outside groups say similar promises in the past have gone unfulfilled, and even Mr. Ban reacted cautiously.
U.N. Leaders: Diplomats, Bureaucrats and Media Superstars
Mr. Ban had been warned by some about making the trip. "I told him, 'Don't go there if you are not sure you will get something, because it will not help you, it will weaken you,'" France's U.N. ambassador, Jean-Maurice Ripert, a supporter of Mr. Ban, said in an interview before the trip.
On Monday, Mr. Ban called Myanmar's actions "encouraging, but I will have to continue to follow up how they will implement all the issues raised during my visit." Speaking to reporters, he added: "I am not quite sure ... who will be included in this amnesty."
At the midpoint of a five-year term as secretary-general, the 65-year-old Mr. Ban is defined by his low profile. "I am known as invisible man," he said during a recent interview, adding that he "really struggled" with issues related to his public perception. "I am more interested in results and am not a fiery rhetoric person" in public, he said.
Mr. Ban -- who rose from deep poverty in Korea to his current post -- steers the U.N. at a pivotal moment. He succeeded the charismatic Kofi Annan, who shared a 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for his U.N. stewardship only to have the "oil for food" scandal break out, which exposed graft in the handling of Iraqi humanitarian aid by the U.N. and some member states.
Mr. Ban took over as U.N. head in 2007 and pushed for reform, blasting a bureaucracy last year that wastes "incredible amounts of time on largely meaningless matters."
Today, Mr. Ban acknowledges his reform effort has, to some extent, stalled. In the recent interview, he spoke of it in the past tense. "I really wanted to change the working culture," he says.
Mr. Ban seeks to lower expectations. During last month's interview, he said less should be expected of the U.N. chief in the post-Cold War era, as regional organizations take on greater roles. However, a senior aide quickly interjected that the U.N. was never more necessary than today, pointing out that it currently oversees some of the biggest humanitarian operations in its history, and has 110,000 peacekeepers deployed. By comparison, in 1988 there were fewer than 10,000 deployed.
The U.S. is redefining its sometimes strained relationship with the world body. In September, President Barack Obama plans to make his first address to the General Assembly, laying out his vision for the organization. Speaking a week ago in Italy at a meeting of the Group of Eight wealthy nations, Mr. Obama said he has told Mr. Ban that the U.N. needs "revitalizing" so that it can tackle global problems now taken up by the G8 and Group of 20 industrial and developing nations' summits.
A few disagreements and missteps have popped up. On Thursday, Mr. Ban criticized the G-8 talks in Italy, saying the group didn't go far enough in tackling climate change. And in March, Mr. Ban had to apologize after calling the U.S. a "deadbeat" because it owed more than $800 million in U.N. dues. Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, a Ban supporter, calls the statement "unquestionably the most foolish thing he's done in two-and-a-half years."
The U.S. recently paid its peacekeeping arrears and the House has voted to pay the rest of what is owed. U.S. officials also had suggested that Mr. Ban not lend legitimacy to Myanmar's leaders without extracting political reforms in return, U.N. officials and a Western diplomat say. But a U.N. official added that, had the U.S. strongly protested, Mr. Ban "would have thought twice about going." Other countries, including Britain, backed the trip.
Overall, Mr. Ban says he enjoys "very positive personal relations with U.S. officials."
In a statement, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said Mr. Ban "is principled, hard-working, cares deeply and is willing to take risks" in what she called "one of the most difficult jobs in the world."
Mr. Ban's aides describe him as a master of quiet diplomacy, working behind the scenes to advance causes as diverse as deploying U.N. peacekeepers into a defiant Sudan to enlisting world leaders to fight climate change.
U.N. officials acknowledge Mr. Ban lacks the powerful personality of some of his predecessors. And to their frustration, they say, many of his public pronouncements pass relatively unnoticed, despite his bully pulpit.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Libyan strongman Col. Moammar Gadhafi attended the G-8 summit in Italy last week.
"No matter what he does, he just can't make a splash," says one U.N. official. "Nothing sticks."
Some U.N. observers say the secretary-general's low profile is a liability. "It's fair to say you can accomplish very good things as the steward of the U.N. even if you don't have the communication skills or charisma," says historian Steven C. Schlesinger, a backer of Mr. Ban and of the U.N. in general. "The problem is that if you don't get any recognition...it hurts the U.N." because it looks like "the U.N. is back to its old ineffectiveness."
Critics also accuse Mr. Ban of failing to take a strong enough stand against oppressive regimes. Nile Gardiner, director of the Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, says, "He's barely said a word about massive human-rights violations" in places including North Korea, Sudan and Zimbabwe.
In the June interview, Mr. Ban defended his record of private diplomacy with dictators. "With all these kinds of very difficult leaders I have been much more vocal than, I bet, any of my predecessors," he said.
Mr. Ban argues that his tough talk saved a half-million lives, after a May 2008 cyclone devastated Myanmar, when he persuaded the country's generals to open their ports to foreign aid. Lex Rieffel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, called Mr. Ban a "commendable and significant" part of the global call for Myanmar to allow aid.
Mr. Ban says in March 2007 he berated Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to accept U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur, to which Mr. al-Bashir agreed three weeks later. "You could hear the screaming through the wall," says an aide to Mr. Ban. John Prendergast, co-founder of an anti-genocide project at the nonprofit Center for American Progress, says Mr. Ban's "personal advocacy" was a factor in getting the regime to acquiesce.
Sudan's U.N. ambassador, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, denied Mr. Ban played a role.
Mr. Ban also says he persuaded Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad not to deny the existence of the Holocaust in a speech at a U.N. conference. Nevertheless, Mr. Ahmadinejad sparked a walkout of European delegates after labeling Israel the "most cruel and repressive racist regime." Iran's mission to the U.N. didn't respond to a request for comment.
The U.N.'s charter gives the secretary-general two main roles: to be an administrator, and to help shape the U.N.'s diplomatic agenda by bringing issues to the Security Council. The latter role can be controversial. Mr. Bolton, the former U.S. envoy to the U.N., decries activist secretaries-general who confront member states' own interests. The charter doesn't call the secretary-general "president of the world" or "chief poet and visionary," he says.
Mr. Bolton says the Bush administration "got exactly what we asked for" in Mr. Ban, describing him as an administrator as opposed to an activist.
Mr. Ban's predecessor, Mr. Annan, was a charismatic act to follow. Former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke once called him "an international rock star of diplomacy."
Under the U.N.'s power-sharing arrangement among regions of the world, Mr. Annan's successor (chosen by Security Council members) was to be from Asia. In his book,
"Surrender Is Not an Option," Mr. Bolton wrote that former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice personally liked Mr. Annan, but that while discussing possible successors to him, she privately told him, "I'm not sure we want a strong secretary-general."
In an interview, Ms. Rice denied making the statement. "I would certainly want the strongest possible secretary-general. But a secretary-general who isn't supported by and can't bring the member states to do things isn't going to get very far," she said.
Mr. Ban feared from the start he might be misunderstood in the West. "Asia is a region where modesty is a virtue," he said in his acceptance speech in October 2006. "But the modesty is about demeanor, not about vision and goals."
Mr. Ban grew up in war-ravaged Korea, where his parents were so poor, they foraged for wild grain in Sangdong, a village about 200 miles south of Seoul. One of eight children (two died before he was born), Mr. Ban walked miles everyday to a schoolhouse that had no roof.
In 1962, the 18-year-old Mr. Ban won an English-language competition in high school, and was rewarded with a trip to the U.S. and the White House, where he shook President Kennedy's hand. He says he vowed that day to become a diplomat. Mr. Ban earned a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University in 1984 and became an adviser to South Korean presidents.
Upon rising to U.N. secretary-general, he dismissed most of Mr. Annan's top staff and increased the number of women in senior positions from 17 to 45, or about a quarter of the total. He asked top U.N. officials voluntarily to file public financial-disclosure forms, although not all have done so.
U.N. officials cite Mr. Ban's diplomatic success promoting the need to combat climate change, an issue he calls his No. 1 priority, winning over some world leaders, including President George W. Bush. Mr. Ban says he ignored the advice of his advisers and raised the issue at his first Oval Office meeting with Mr. Bush in January 2007. "The response was cool," Mr. Ban says, but adds that Mr. Bush later agreed to attend a dinner that year during a U.N. meeting on fighting global warming.
Mr. Ban says he has no plans to alter his style, although he hopes Americans will change their "fixed perception" of him. But a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll last month found 81% of Americans either had no opinion or had never heard of him.
"That's why I have been traveling a lot through American cities," he says. Last month, he addressed students at St. Louis University, and last year sat with 27 Chicago high-schoolers in a simulated U.N. debate on climate change.
Mr. Ban concedes it will take a lot more than speeches to prove himself. "Improving our image," he says, means "you have to deliver some results."
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Strategy Page - Derailing The Burma Missile Express
July 14, 2009: Japanese police recently arrested three men and charged them with trying to illegally export ballistic missile guidance system components to Myanmar (Burma).
This was apparently done as part of a North Korean contract to transfer ballistic missile technology to Myanmar. The Hong Kong based company that was handling the deal was recently sanctioned by the United States for acting as an agent for illegal North Korean military technology exports.
A North Korean cargo ship, apparently on its way to Myanmar from North Korea, recently turned around and headed back to North Korea. The ship was being shadowed by an American destroyer, and was believed to be carrying assault rifles and other infantry weapons. But the cargo may have included ballistic missile components as well.
Apparently the North Koreans did not want to risk having the cargo examined.
July 14, 2009: Japanese police recently arrested three men and charged them with trying to illegally export ballistic missile guidance system components to Myanmar (Burma).
This was apparently done as part of a North Korean contract to transfer ballistic missile technology to Myanmar. The Hong Kong based company that was handling the deal was recently sanctioned by the United States for acting as an agent for illegal North Korean military technology exports.
A North Korean cargo ship, apparently on its way to Myanmar from North Korea, recently turned around and headed back to North Korea. The ship was being shadowed by an American destroyer, and was believed to be carrying assault rifles and other infantry weapons. But the cargo may have included ballistic missile components as well.
Apparently the North Koreans did not want to risk having the cargo examined.
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China calls on int'l community to assess Myanmar in "fair, objective" way
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-14 06:05:41
UNITED NATIONS, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The international community should give a more balanced assessment of the political progress Myanmar has made and treat it with less arrogance and prejudice, a senior Chinese diplomat said here Monday.
Liu Zhenmin, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, told an open meeting of the Security Council that "it has been unfair to turn a blind eye to the progress Myanmar has made, or instead, always be picky at its government."
Liu said the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been actively conducted good offices in Myanmar as mandated by the General Assembly in recent years.
"His unremitting efforts and the positive outcome thereby achieved deserve an objective and fair assessment by the international community," he said.
Ban briefed the 15 members of the Security Council at the meeting on his latest visit to the south-eastern Asian country on July 3-4, the second in just over a year.
During his visit, Ban met with Senior-General Than Shwe, Myanmar's head of state, and people from other political parties including the National League for Democracy (NLD), but was under pressure from some media and certain countries due to his failure to meet with NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Liu voiced China's support to Ban and highly appreciated his recent visit, calling the visit "positive and full of significance."
"Whether or not he met with Aung San Suu Kyi should not be used as a criterion to measure the success of the visit," he said.
Also on Monday, Myanmar's UN Ambassador U Than Swe told the Security Council that his government regretted its inability to arrange the meeting as the special court has its independent jurisdiction over the matter.
"Aung San Suu Kyi was unfortunately involved in the legal proceed. In order to maintain the justice of judicial process, the Myanmar government did not arrange the bilateral meeting. This is totally understandable. The UN should respect the jurisdiction of its member state," Liu said.
He said China has time and again stressed that the secretary-general's good offices are a process and his visit is a part of the efforts.
Ban had in-depth talks with top leaders of Myanmar, directly conveyed to them the concern of the international community and enhanced mutual trust between Myanmar and the UN, Liu said.
"This will play an important role in encouraging the Myanmar side to maintain the current momentum and promote the democratic process according to the established plans," Liu said.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-14 06:05:41
UNITED NATIONS, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The international community should give a more balanced assessment of the political progress Myanmar has made and treat it with less arrogance and prejudice, a senior Chinese diplomat said here Monday.
Liu Zhenmin, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, told an open meeting of the Security Council that "it has been unfair to turn a blind eye to the progress Myanmar has made, or instead, always be picky at its government."
Liu said the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been actively conducted good offices in Myanmar as mandated by the General Assembly in recent years.
"His unremitting efforts and the positive outcome thereby achieved deserve an objective and fair assessment by the international community," he said.
Ban briefed the 15 members of the Security Council at the meeting on his latest visit to the south-eastern Asian country on July 3-4, the second in just over a year.
During his visit, Ban met with Senior-General Than Shwe, Myanmar's head of state, and people from other political parties including the National League for Democracy (NLD), but was under pressure from some media and certain countries due to his failure to meet with NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Liu voiced China's support to Ban and highly appreciated his recent visit, calling the visit "positive and full of significance."
"Whether or not he met with Aung San Suu Kyi should not be used as a criterion to measure the success of the visit," he said.
Also on Monday, Myanmar's UN Ambassador U Than Swe told the Security Council that his government regretted its inability to arrange the meeting as the special court has its independent jurisdiction over the matter.
"Aung San Suu Kyi was unfortunately involved in the legal proceed. In order to maintain the justice of judicial process, the Myanmar government did not arrange the bilateral meeting. This is totally understandable. The UN should respect the jurisdiction of its member state," Liu said.
He said China has time and again stressed that the secretary-general's good offices are a process and his visit is a part of the efforts.
Ban had in-depth talks with top leaders of Myanmar, directly conveyed to them the concern of the international community and enhanced mutual trust between Myanmar and the UN, Liu said.
"This will play an important role in encouraging the Myanmar side to maintain the current momentum and promote the democratic process according to the established plans," Liu said.
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Myanmar voices commitment to continue cooperation with UN
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-14 03:18:59
UNITED NATIONS, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar on Monday voiced its commitment to continue cooperation with the United Nations, but warns against any UN Security Council action on the Asian nation.
The statement came as U Than Swe, the Myanmar permanent representative to the United Nations, was speaking at an open Security Council meeting to hear the briefing by UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on his visit to Myanmar early this month.
The Myanmese UN ambassador, while taking the floor at the Council meeting, reiterated his country's "commitment to continue cooperation with the United Nations and the good offices role by the secretary-general."
"The continued support, understanding and cooperation of the United Nations and the international community will best assist our endeavors of establishing a democratic nation," he said.
During the secretary-general's recent visit to Myanmar, the second in just over a year, "we have done our utmost to accommodate the requests made by (the) secretary-general except the meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," he said.
"It is an established protocol practice that our head of state receives foreign dignitaries only once during their visits," he said. "However, at the request of the secretary-general, Senior General Than Shwe received (the) secretary-general twice."
"During their meetings, (the) secretary-general expressed the views of the United Nations and the international community," he said. "Likewise, Senior General Than Shwe thoroughly explained the development of Myanmar's political process and highlighted the two most important priorities of the government at this moment, i.e. to hand over State power to a civilian government after the 2010 general elections and to lay down a good foundation for future social-economic development."
"He also assured that 2010 general elections will be free, fair, and credible and will arrange for participation of all citizens," he said.
"With regard to the success of the visit, (the) Myanmar government intends to implement all appropriate recommendations that (the) secretary-general had proposed," he said.
"At the request of the secretary-general, the Myanmar government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian ground and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections," he said.
"Myanmar today is steadfastly proceeding on its chosen path to democracy," he said. "The challenges faced by Myanmar are complex and multifaceted."
"We are making significant strides in national reconciliation and democratization process," he said. "Therefore, Myanmar is almost in the final stage of achieving our ultimate goal. Myanmar is not a threat to international peace and security, so no Security Council action is warranted."
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-14 03:18:59
UNITED NATIONS, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar on Monday voiced its commitment to continue cooperation with the United Nations, but warns against any UN Security Council action on the Asian nation.
The statement came as U Than Swe, the Myanmar permanent representative to the United Nations, was speaking at an open Security Council meeting to hear the briefing by UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on his visit to Myanmar early this month.
The Myanmese UN ambassador, while taking the floor at the Council meeting, reiterated his country's "commitment to continue cooperation with the United Nations and the good offices role by the secretary-general."
"The continued support, understanding and cooperation of the United Nations and the international community will best assist our endeavors of establishing a democratic nation," he said.
During the secretary-general's recent visit to Myanmar, the second in just over a year, "we have done our utmost to accommodate the requests made by (the) secretary-general except the meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," he said.
"It is an established protocol practice that our head of state receives foreign dignitaries only once during their visits," he said. "However, at the request of the secretary-general, Senior General Than Shwe received (the) secretary-general twice."
"During their meetings, (the) secretary-general expressed the views of the United Nations and the international community," he said. "Likewise, Senior General Than Shwe thoroughly explained the development of Myanmar's political process and highlighted the two most important priorities of the government at this moment, i.e. to hand over State power to a civilian government after the 2010 general elections and to lay down a good foundation for future social-economic development."
"He also assured that 2010 general elections will be free, fair, and credible and will arrange for participation of all citizens," he said.
"With regard to the success of the visit, (the) Myanmar government intends to implement all appropriate recommendations that (the) secretary-general had proposed," he said.
"At the request of the secretary-general, the Myanmar government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian ground and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections," he said.
"Myanmar today is steadfastly proceeding on its chosen path to democracy," he said. "The challenges faced by Myanmar are complex and multifaceted."
"We are making significant strides in national reconciliation and democratization process," he said. "Therefore, Myanmar is almost in the final stage of achieving our ultimate goal. Myanmar is not a threat to international peace and security, so no Security Council action is warranted."
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China opposes putting Myanmar question on UN Security Council agenda: diplomat
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-14 03:25:22
UNITED NATIONS, July 13 (Xinhua) -- China is opposed to putting the Myanmar question on the UN Security Council agenda and is against isolating and sanctioning against the country, a senior Chinese diplomat said here on Monday, stressing the events that happened inside Myanmar were its internal affairs.
"We believe that the events happened inside Myanmar are the internal affairs of Myanmar itself, which should be handled by its own government and people in consultation," Liu Zhenmin, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said at an open Security Council meeting on Myanmar.
The situation in Myanmar has not posed any threat to international or regional peace and security, Liu said.
"China has explicitly opposed the inclusion of the Myanmar question on the Security Council agenda. And we are against the policy of isolating and sanctioning against Myanmar," he told the 15-member Council. "That position of China has remained unchanged."
UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon briefed the Security Council at the meeting on his latest visit to the southeastern Asian country earlier this month, the second in just over a year.
Liu said China supports Ban and his special representative Ibrahim Gambari in their continued good offices on the issue.
"It is our sincere hope that the secretary-general's good offices will help Myanmar to achieve domestic stability and national reconciliation and that the United Nations will play a constructive role in helping Myanmar address its economic, social and humanitarian and human rights issues," said the ambassador.
He said that China has been and will be helping and facilitating the government of Myanmar and its efforts to address the problem in a responsible and constructive manner.
"As Myanmar's friendly neighbor, China will always provide assistance to the government and people of Myanmar within its capability," Liu said, calling on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other regional countries to join hands in helping Myanmar out of its current difficulties.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-14 03:25:22
UNITED NATIONS, July 13 (Xinhua) -- China is opposed to putting the Myanmar question on the UN Security Council agenda and is against isolating and sanctioning against the country, a senior Chinese diplomat said here on Monday, stressing the events that happened inside Myanmar were its internal affairs.
"We believe that the events happened inside Myanmar are the internal affairs of Myanmar itself, which should be handled by its own government and people in consultation," Liu Zhenmin, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said at an open Security Council meeting on Myanmar.
The situation in Myanmar has not posed any threat to international or regional peace and security, Liu said.
"China has explicitly opposed the inclusion of the Myanmar question on the Security Council agenda. And we are against the policy of isolating and sanctioning against Myanmar," he told the 15-member Council. "That position of China has remained unchanged."
UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon briefed the Security Council at the meeting on his latest visit to the southeastern Asian country earlier this month, the second in just over a year.
Liu said China supports Ban and his special representative Ibrahim Gambari in their continued good offices on the issue.
"It is our sincere hope that the secretary-general's good offices will help Myanmar to achieve domestic stability and national reconciliation and that the United Nations will play a constructive role in helping Myanmar address its economic, social and humanitarian and human rights issues," said the ambassador.
He said that China has been and will be helping and facilitating the government of Myanmar and its efforts to address the problem in a responsible and constructive manner.
"As Myanmar's friendly neighbor, China will always provide assistance to the government and people of Myanmar within its capability," Liu said, calling on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other regional countries to join hands in helping Myanmar out of its current difficulties.
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Scoop - Security Council On Latest Trip To Myanmar
Tuesday, 14 July 2009, 12:50 pm
Press Release: United Nations
Ban Briefs Security Council On Latest Trip To Myanmar
New York, Jul 13 2009 12:10PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is briefing Security Council members on his recent visit to Myanmar, where he called on authorities to immediately release all political prisoners and said the country’s future must be rooted in respect for human rights.
Mr. Ban spent two days in Myanmar earlier this month, meeting with Government officials as well as leaders of the country’s registered political parties, including the National League for Democracy (NLD).
But authorities did not allow Mr. Ban to meet with opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently facing trial.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009, 12:50 pm
Press Release: United Nations
Ban Briefs Security Council On Latest Trip To Myanmar
New York, Jul 13 2009 12:10PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is briefing Security Council members on his recent visit to Myanmar, where he called on authorities to immediately release all political prisoners and said the country’s future must be rooted in respect for human rights.
Mr. Ban spent two days in Myanmar earlier this month, meeting with Government officials as well as leaders of the country’s registered political parties, including the National League for Democracy (NLD).
But authorities did not allow Mr. Ban to meet with opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently facing trial.
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The Nation - Ban: UN awaits response from Burma on democratic reform
Published on July 14, 2009
New York - The Burmese government has received international proposals to move the country forward by instituting political and democratic reforms, but has so far not responded, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday during a meeting with the UN Security Council.
Ban visited Burma July 3-4 and met with the country's leader, Army Senior General Than Shwe. But he was not allowed to see opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, on trial for allegedly harbouring an American in her home and violating the terms of her house arrest.
"Now that I have conveyed in the clearest terms what is expected of Myanmar's leaders, it is up to them to respond positively in their country's own interest," Ban said in briefing the 15-nation council about the trip, his second since last May when Burma was partly destroyed by Cyclone Nargis.
Ban asked Burma's military government to release all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi, resume government-opposition dialogue and create conditions for a free and fair general election in 2010. Suu Kyi is head of the National League for Democracy.
The UN chief said he was "deeply disappointed" that Than Shwe did not allow him to meet with Suu Kyi, which amounted to a "major lost opportunity" for Burma to prove its sincerity to embrace democracy.
"The world is now watching closely whether they will choose to act in the best interest of their country or ignore our concerns and expectations and the needs of their people," he said.
Ban warned that if Suu Kyi is not allowed to take part in the election in 2010, "that election may not be regarded as legitimate and credible."
Burma adopted a revised constitution last May, which bars Suu Kyi from running in the election because she married a foreigner, a Briton who has passed away.
While Ban deplored the lack of concrete results during his visit, Burma's new ambassador, U Than Swe, told the council that the visit was a success because Ban met with Than Shwe for a second time, adding that the general rarely met with the same dignitary twice.
"With regard to the success of the visit, the Myanmar government intends to implement all appropriate recommendations that the secretary general had proposed," U Than Swe said.
He said political prisoners will be granted amnesty on humanitarian grounds so they can take part in the 2010 election, but did not mention Suu Kyi.
U Than Swe said if his government needs technical assistance to organise the election, it will let the UN know.
"Myanmar today is steadfastly proceeding on its chosen path to democracy," he said.
Council members agreed that Ban was right in visiting Burma and calling for democracy, human rights and economic development. Some deplored the continued arrest of Suu Kyi.
"The secretary general's visit was an opportunity for the government of Burma (Myanmar) to transform its relationship with the international community, which stands ready to respond positively to real progress," British Deputy Ambassador Philip Parham said.
"The regime's failure to take this opportunity has only served to isolate it further," he said.
"We can only hope that we may yet see progress in the coming days - it is not too late."
Published on July 14, 2009
New York - The Burmese government has received international proposals to move the country forward by instituting political and democratic reforms, but has so far not responded, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday during a meeting with the UN Security Council.
Ban visited Burma July 3-4 and met with the country's leader, Army Senior General Than Shwe. But he was not allowed to see opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, on trial for allegedly harbouring an American in her home and violating the terms of her house arrest.
"Now that I have conveyed in the clearest terms what is expected of Myanmar's leaders, it is up to them to respond positively in their country's own interest," Ban said in briefing the 15-nation council about the trip, his second since last May when Burma was partly destroyed by Cyclone Nargis.
Ban asked Burma's military government to release all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi, resume government-opposition dialogue and create conditions for a free and fair general election in 2010. Suu Kyi is head of the National League for Democracy.
The UN chief said he was "deeply disappointed" that Than Shwe did not allow him to meet with Suu Kyi, which amounted to a "major lost opportunity" for Burma to prove its sincerity to embrace democracy.
"The world is now watching closely whether they will choose to act in the best interest of their country or ignore our concerns and expectations and the needs of their people," he said.
Ban warned that if Suu Kyi is not allowed to take part in the election in 2010, "that election may not be regarded as legitimate and credible."
Burma adopted a revised constitution last May, which bars Suu Kyi from running in the election because she married a foreigner, a Briton who has passed away.
While Ban deplored the lack of concrete results during his visit, Burma's new ambassador, U Than Swe, told the council that the visit was a success because Ban met with Than Shwe for a second time, adding that the general rarely met with the same dignitary twice.
"With regard to the success of the visit, the Myanmar government intends to implement all appropriate recommendations that the secretary general had proposed," U Than Swe said.
He said political prisoners will be granted amnesty on humanitarian grounds so they can take part in the 2010 election, but did not mention Suu Kyi.
U Than Swe said if his government needs technical assistance to organise the election, it will let the UN know.
"Myanmar today is steadfastly proceeding on its chosen path to democracy," he said.
Council members agreed that Ban was right in visiting Burma and calling for democracy, human rights and economic development. Some deplored the continued arrest of Suu Kyi.
"The secretary general's visit was an opportunity for the government of Burma (Myanmar) to transform its relationship with the international community, which stands ready to respond positively to real progress," British Deputy Ambassador Philip Parham said.
"The regime's failure to take this opportunity has only served to isolate it further," he said.
"We can only hope that we may yet see progress in the coming days - it is not too late."
*****************************************************
The Nation - Hillary in Asia, Round Two
By SIMON TAY, Singapore
Published on July 14, 2009
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to travel to Asia again later this month to meet foreign ministers at the Asean Regional Forum, and to visit India. On her first Asian trip in February, she provided a welcome contrast to the past with her openness to others' views, her willingness to cooperate, and her star power. She made Asians look at America anew. But this trip will be trickier. One challenge is that part of the plot for the US and Clinton is being written by others. North Korea will be on the agenda after its missile tests, as will Burma, since its generals persist in prosecuting Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's most famous political detainee, on trivial charges.
After all that has happened in recent weeks, the definition of "success" must be set low. Nothing positive will come from the US condemning these two difficult regimes unilaterally. So a key goal of Clinton's visit must be to pull together with the Asian leaders present at the Asean Regional Forum.
As for Burma, its neighbours and fellow Asean members - Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand - are also concerned about Suu Kyi's continued prosecution. The US should begin to work with these countries not only on this matter, but also on the elections that Burma's military junta has promised for 2010. Together, they should press for assurances of a free and fair process, with the aim of avoiding the kind of mess that followed the Iranian elections.
Indonesia can be one ally. After decades of autocracy, this vast archipelago of a country just concluded a presidential election that has solidified its transition to democracy. India, proud of its long-standing democracy and fresh from its own election, shares a border with Burma and can also assist efforts there.
The approach to North Korea is similar. Kim Jong-il is a naughty boy who wants attention and incentives to behave decently. Rather than debate with her counterparts, Clinton needs to ensure that other countries in the six-party framework, especially China and South Korea, are on the same page as the US.
On both issues, there is little capacity to exert force or sufficient pressure for solutions any time soon. So diplomatic efforts must instead aim to join Americans and like-minded Asians in common cause, to push for steps forward in the medium to longer term. Others must be brought on board, especially the Regional Forum hosts, Asean and Thailand. A moral community should form in Asia, one that displaces its leaders' usual cynical calculations of power in order to jump on the right bandwagon.
In all this, China is the 800-pound dragon in the room. China is already closer to Asean and a key player with respect to Burma, North Korea and other sticky issues. A "bamboo" economic zone appears to be emerging, perhaps to replace today's weakening US-centric trans-Pacific ties.
This is the context for Clinton's visit to India, as well. George W Bush's administration should be credited for giving overdue recognition to India, but this was done primarily on a bilateral basis. The US should now leverage that relationship to work on regional and even global issues.
Besides her own work, Clinton is likely to also be inundated during this visit with requests concerning President Barack Obama. There is still no confirmation concerning when Obama will visit Asia, though many expect that he will attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, to be held in Singapore in November.
China, Japan, and Indonesia must be among Obama's priorities, but many others will clamour for him to visit their capitals. Clinton and the US administration would do well to decide which requests are merely photo ops and confine these to meetings at the sidelines of Apec. The US should insist on a substantive agenda as a pre-condition for any Obama visit. In China, for example, Clinton successfully established an agenda for the two countries to work together on climate change. Plans and resources now must be prepared.
Clinton has reopened the doors for Obama in Asia with charm and confidence. Obama will eventually come to Asia with many high expectations and star billing. While his charisma and openness to dialogue will be sought after, substance will also be measured and much needed. By November, after all, it will be more than a year since the global crisis began in the US, and Obama and his team must show tangible prospects for recovery.
American leadership - globally and in Asia - can no longer be presumed. It must be earned.
Simon Tay is chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and a fellow of the Asia Society.
By SIMON TAY, Singapore
Published on July 14, 2009
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to travel to Asia again later this month to meet foreign ministers at the Asean Regional Forum, and to visit India. On her first Asian trip in February, she provided a welcome contrast to the past with her openness to others' views, her willingness to cooperate, and her star power. She made Asians look at America anew. But this trip will be trickier. One challenge is that part of the plot for the US and Clinton is being written by others. North Korea will be on the agenda after its missile tests, as will Burma, since its generals persist in prosecuting Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's most famous political detainee, on trivial charges.
After all that has happened in recent weeks, the definition of "success" must be set low. Nothing positive will come from the US condemning these two difficult regimes unilaterally. So a key goal of Clinton's visit must be to pull together with the Asian leaders present at the Asean Regional Forum.
As for Burma, its neighbours and fellow Asean members - Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand - are also concerned about Suu Kyi's continued prosecution. The US should begin to work with these countries not only on this matter, but also on the elections that Burma's military junta has promised for 2010. Together, they should press for assurances of a free and fair process, with the aim of avoiding the kind of mess that followed the Iranian elections.
Indonesia can be one ally. After decades of autocracy, this vast archipelago of a country just concluded a presidential election that has solidified its transition to democracy. India, proud of its long-standing democracy and fresh from its own election, shares a border with Burma and can also assist efforts there.
The approach to North Korea is similar. Kim Jong-il is a naughty boy who wants attention and incentives to behave decently. Rather than debate with her counterparts, Clinton needs to ensure that other countries in the six-party framework, especially China and South Korea, are on the same page as the US.
On both issues, there is little capacity to exert force or sufficient pressure for solutions any time soon. So diplomatic efforts must instead aim to join Americans and like-minded Asians in common cause, to push for steps forward in the medium to longer term. Others must be brought on board, especially the Regional Forum hosts, Asean and Thailand. A moral community should form in Asia, one that displaces its leaders' usual cynical calculations of power in order to jump on the right bandwagon.
In all this, China is the 800-pound dragon in the room. China is already closer to Asean and a key player with respect to Burma, North Korea and other sticky issues. A "bamboo" economic zone appears to be emerging, perhaps to replace today's weakening US-centric trans-Pacific ties.
This is the context for Clinton's visit to India, as well. George W Bush's administration should be credited for giving overdue recognition to India, but this was done primarily on a bilateral basis. The US should now leverage that relationship to work on regional and even global issues.
Besides her own work, Clinton is likely to also be inundated during this visit with requests concerning President Barack Obama. There is still no confirmation concerning when Obama will visit Asia, though many expect that he will attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, to be held in Singapore in November.
China, Japan, and Indonesia must be among Obama's priorities, but many others will clamour for him to visit their capitals. Clinton and the US administration would do well to decide which requests are merely photo ops and confine these to meetings at the sidelines of Apec. The US should insist on a substantive agenda as a pre-condition for any Obama visit. In China, for example, Clinton successfully established an agenda for the two countries to work together on climate change. Plans and resources now must be prepared.
Clinton has reopened the doors for Obama in Asia with charm and confidence. Obama will eventually come to Asia with many high expectations and star billing. While his charisma and openness to dialogue will be sought after, substance will also be measured and much needed. By November, after all, it will be more than a year since the global crisis began in the US, and Obama and his team must show tangible prospects for recovery.
American leadership - globally and in Asia - can no longer be presumed. It must be earned.
Simon Tay is chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and a fellow of the Asia Society.
*****************************************************
Mizzima News - Explosion at Asia World’s Rangoon port
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 21:03
New Delhi (Mizzima) - A small explosion occurred on Tuesday at a port in western Rangoon’s Ahlone Township, according to an official at the Township fire brigade.
The official told Mizzima that the explosion occurred at the Asia World port on Tuesday evening, but said he did not have any details.
“We don’t know what happened but we heard there was an explosion in the port at about 4 p.m. But firefighters from our station did not go to the site. We were only informed after everything settled down. I don’t know any details of it,” the official said.
An official at the Asia World port, however, denied the information, saying, “We don’t know anything in detail. I have not heard anything like that here.”
But contrary to the official’s statement, an official at the Myanmar Industrial Port, located nearby the Asia World port, said, “We heard that there was an explosion at Asia World. But I don’t know any details.”
The Asia World terminal is owned by Steven Law, son of notorious drug lord Lo Hsing Han. The United States has imposed sanctions on both father and son, resulting in Asia World being banned from doing business with any American citizens.
Earlier in January, Rangoon police seized packets of heroin from a container loaded on a ship at the Asia World port.
Police reportedly seized 38 kilograms of heroin hidden inside teak logs in a ship set to sail for Singapore.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 21:03
New Delhi (Mizzima) - A small explosion occurred on Tuesday at a port in western Rangoon’s Ahlone Township, according to an official at the Township fire brigade.
The official told Mizzima that the explosion occurred at the Asia World port on Tuesday evening, but said he did not have any details.
“We don’t know what happened but we heard there was an explosion in the port at about 4 p.m. But firefighters from our station did not go to the site. We were only informed after everything settled down. I don’t know any details of it,” the official said.
An official at the Asia World port, however, denied the information, saying, “We don’t know anything in detail. I have not heard anything like that here.”
But contrary to the official’s statement, an official at the Myanmar Industrial Port, located nearby the Asia World port, said, “We heard that there was an explosion at Asia World. But I don’t know any details.”
The Asia World terminal is owned by Steven Law, son of notorious drug lord Lo Hsing Han. The United States has imposed sanctions on both father and son, resulting in Asia World being banned from doing business with any American citizens.
Earlier in January, Rangoon police seized packets of heroin from a container loaded on a ship at the Asia World port.
Police reportedly seized 38 kilograms of heroin hidden inside teak logs in a ship set to sail for Singapore.
*****************************************************
Mizzima News - A cursed treasure – ‘Jade Land’ Hpakant
by Mungpi & Solomon
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 13:39
New Delhi (mizzima) - While the world’s highest quality green stone, jade, continues to be a money maker for the military rulers of Burma, the precious gem has literally turned into a poisoned chalice for local miners in Hpakant in the absence of proper procedural safeguards.
According to initial reports at least 30 people, including miners, were buried alive in early July when a landslide occurred near Hpakant in Kachin State of northern Burma.
Local residents said the landslide was caused by heavy rainfall, which flooded the Uru River that flows through the mines. But others said the Uru River was disturbed by loose soil blocking the flow of the river, subsequently causing the flood.
Locals further said the death toll could be as high as 70 or more, with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) saying the casualty tally has yet to be verified.
OCHA said at least 700 to 800 people were affected by the landslide, mandating the establishment of five camps for those displaced.
As water continues to inundate areas in Hpakant Township, locals added that flooding is also affecting several nearby towns including Seng Tawng and Long Khin, taking with it loose soil dumped from the mines.
Hpakant, which produces some of the world’s highest quality jade, is among the least developed towns in Burma, with no proper electricity, sanitation or drainage system and no clear policy regarding the disposal of loose soil.
Located in the tropical rainforest in northern Burma, the areas surrounding Hpakant were once thickly populated with green plants and trees. But the jade producing town today has become largely barren with few trees and little greenery to be seen, according to locals.
Local residents maintain that the mines do not provide adequate security for miners, failing to have in place any protective measures against potentially fatal disasters, including landslides and floods.
While the landslide in early July came as a shock, locals said they were not shocked by the sight of so many dead bodies, most of whom had innocently come to the area in the hope of becoming rich.
Life for common miners in the largely underdeveloped town is rough and fortune can be fickle. But, nonetheless, people from all over the country continue to arrive in search of a financial windfall that could permanently, or at the least temporarily, change their lives.
Yet sadly, most people fall drastically short of their hoped for dreams.
While some at Hpakant are simply killed by natural disaster, others end up drug addicts or infected with disease, including AIDS.
The least that can commonly be expected from working in Hpakant is a bout of malaria, which is often treated by inhaling raw opium in the form of a smoke – resulting in many miners becoming addicted to the drug.
“A lot of people come here and die because of drug abuse instead of fulfilling their hopes,” a businessman living in Hpakant since 1992 told Mizzima.
He said prostitution and drug abuse are normal sights in the town and in areas where mines are located.
“A lot of people do not know the limits to this and continue to stay, searching and waiting for their opportunity, but instead end up dying,” he said.
The ceasefire agreement between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the Burmese junta, finalized in 1994, significantly altered the means to business in Hpakant.
Earlier, despite its many hardships, Hpakant was dominated by individual businessmen and fortune seekers, a few of whom actually did realize their dream in the jungles of northern Burma.
But following the truce, Hpakant saw a reordering of its business as the junta, who gained access to jade producing areas as part of the agreement, began opening up the area for corporate businesses to come in with their significant equipment and deep pockets.
The result was an influx of several new companies and players, mostly Chinese and doing the bidding of the junta. Additionally, the government began to introduce mining licenses, with people without a license suddenly finding themselves on the wrong side of the law.
Further, the price for a mining license is often quite high and it is almost impossible for a common miner to obtain, in accordance with the junta's preference to award contracts to large companies. As a result, many who previously relied on the mines for their livelihood found themselves with no means of income.
“Only the big fish survived,” a Myitkyina businessman told Mizzima.
While corporate mining has succeeded in greatly increasing the revenue of the ruling junta, it has also destroyed the environment.
Awng Wa, chairman of the Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) based in Kachin State, told Mizzima that the environment, particularly the forests, in Hpakant have changed – with most big trees already cut down and farms completely destroyed by big mining machines.
“The companies are using machines to dig into the ground in search of the green stone, doing it fast and leaving the lands unusable,” explained Awng Wa.
“It is almost impossible to find a tree in the area as the machines have uprooted villages, farms and mountain hills,” he added.
He warned that if things continue at this rate and no preventive measures are taken, there could be more floods, landslides and other natural disasters resulting in the unnecessary loss of additional life.
“The ruling junta is responsible. They are reckless, allowing companies to use machines and permitting them to destroy places without proper measures to protect the environment or even the lives of villagers,” Awng Wa said.
He added that while the junta reaps the benefits along with their close friends, the local people, who have been mostly expelled from jade mining in accordance with the new system, are left with piles of loose soil that are often washed away by rising river water.
Locals believe the number of deaths caused by the recent landslide may never be determined, as a lot of people live on such piles of loose soil and there is no proper registration of the people.
“This is not the first time, flooding occurs here every now and then. But this is one of the worst,” one local residing near the site of the disaster told Mizzima.
He said companies which have heavily invested in the search for jade and dig into the ground are dumping loose soil on the course of the Uru River, blocking the flow of water and enhancing the risk of heavy flooding.
Another reason for the threat of devastating landslides and floods, according to locals, is companies have altered the flow of the Uru River as they have discovered that there is a potential jade mine beneath the river.
“Since the river’s course is altered, it often causes floods when the water level grows higher, resulting in more loose soil being swept away and landslides,” said Awng Wa.
“Still today, the water is inundating the Maw Wan, Hpakant Gyi and Seng Tawng areas,” a local said.
Awng Wa said before the ceasefire the risk of environmental degradation in Hpakant was much less, as local miners used their bare hands to dig into the ground in search of jade and other precious minerals.
Ever Winner, Myanmar Dagon and Share Family are the most powerful companies operating in the area, each with strong ties to the ruling junta. The companies are headed by Chinese and own several mines each, with the government having a 40 percent share while the companies hold 60 percent.
“Chinese owned companies are the strongest and most powerful here,” a local resident, who worked for one of the companies, told Mizzima.
Besides prostitution, as a quick means to earn money, Hpakant is also a safe haven for drug dealers. However, both prostitution and drug dealing, or even running a casino, do not go unnoticed by the local authorities, who demand bribes to keep silent.
A local resident said before the 1994 ceasefire, people coming to Hpakant, whatever job they might take, typically did not leave empty-handed.
“But now, people are thrown out of the mining business and many have become prostitutes or drug dealers,” he explained.
However, with financial life getting harder to manage in other parts of the country, Hpakant is still a popular destination for many people. And it often is difficult to determine the number of people working in the mines at any one time, as there are is no process for worker registration.
“It might never be possible to know the true number of casualties from the landslide in July because there is no registration of the number of people, and death in this part of the world is too common,” a local lamented.
He said the government has done little to help the people in solving problems, leaving individuals to fend for themselves.
UNOCHA in Rangoon has appealed for humanitarian assistance for victims of the landslide and called on humanitarian groups to provide food, water and shelter.
But the government of Burma, so far, has made no public announcement of the disaster, which is believed to have killed at least 70 and affected over 700 more.
A local remarked, “There are so many incidents of mine workers dying due to disasters, but no one knows how many people die, who they are or how they died. And the government has never rendered any help.”
He said, in Hpakant, people only know the government for their collection of money, never even contemplating that the government should, and could, help in alleviating their daily struggles.
by Mungpi & Solomon
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 13:39
New Delhi (mizzima) - While the world’s highest quality green stone, jade, continues to be a money maker for the military rulers of Burma, the precious gem has literally turned into a poisoned chalice for local miners in Hpakant in the absence of proper procedural safeguards.
According to initial reports at least 30 people, including miners, were buried alive in early July when a landslide occurred near Hpakant in Kachin State of northern Burma.
Local residents said the landslide was caused by heavy rainfall, which flooded the Uru River that flows through the mines. But others said the Uru River was disturbed by loose soil blocking the flow of the river, subsequently causing the flood.
Locals further said the death toll could be as high as 70 or more, with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) saying the casualty tally has yet to be verified.
OCHA said at least 700 to 800 people were affected by the landslide, mandating the establishment of five camps for those displaced.
As water continues to inundate areas in Hpakant Township, locals added that flooding is also affecting several nearby towns including Seng Tawng and Long Khin, taking with it loose soil dumped from the mines.
Hpakant, which produces some of the world’s highest quality jade, is among the least developed towns in Burma, with no proper electricity, sanitation or drainage system and no clear policy regarding the disposal of loose soil.
Located in the tropical rainforest in northern Burma, the areas surrounding Hpakant were once thickly populated with green plants and trees. But the jade producing town today has become largely barren with few trees and little greenery to be seen, according to locals.
Local residents maintain that the mines do not provide adequate security for miners, failing to have in place any protective measures against potentially fatal disasters, including landslides and floods.
While the landslide in early July came as a shock, locals said they were not shocked by the sight of so many dead bodies, most of whom had innocently come to the area in the hope of becoming rich.
Life for common miners in the largely underdeveloped town is rough and fortune can be fickle. But, nonetheless, people from all over the country continue to arrive in search of a financial windfall that could permanently, or at the least temporarily, change their lives.
Yet sadly, most people fall drastically short of their hoped for dreams.
While some at Hpakant are simply killed by natural disaster, others end up drug addicts or infected with disease, including AIDS.
The least that can commonly be expected from working in Hpakant is a bout of malaria, which is often treated by inhaling raw opium in the form of a smoke – resulting in many miners becoming addicted to the drug.
“A lot of people come here and die because of drug abuse instead of fulfilling their hopes,” a businessman living in Hpakant since 1992 told Mizzima.
He said prostitution and drug abuse are normal sights in the town and in areas where mines are located.
“A lot of people do not know the limits to this and continue to stay, searching and waiting for their opportunity, but instead end up dying,” he said.
The ceasefire agreement between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the Burmese junta, finalized in 1994, significantly altered the means to business in Hpakant.
Earlier, despite its many hardships, Hpakant was dominated by individual businessmen and fortune seekers, a few of whom actually did realize their dream in the jungles of northern Burma.
But following the truce, Hpakant saw a reordering of its business as the junta, who gained access to jade producing areas as part of the agreement, began opening up the area for corporate businesses to come in with their significant equipment and deep pockets.
The result was an influx of several new companies and players, mostly Chinese and doing the bidding of the junta. Additionally, the government began to introduce mining licenses, with people without a license suddenly finding themselves on the wrong side of the law.
Further, the price for a mining license is often quite high and it is almost impossible for a common miner to obtain, in accordance with the junta's preference to award contracts to large companies. As a result, many who previously relied on the mines for their livelihood found themselves with no means of income.
“Only the big fish survived,” a Myitkyina businessman told Mizzima.
While corporate mining has succeeded in greatly increasing the revenue of the ruling junta, it has also destroyed the environment.
Awng Wa, chairman of the Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) based in Kachin State, told Mizzima that the environment, particularly the forests, in Hpakant have changed – with most big trees already cut down and farms completely destroyed by big mining machines.
“The companies are using machines to dig into the ground in search of the green stone, doing it fast and leaving the lands unusable,” explained Awng Wa.
“It is almost impossible to find a tree in the area as the machines have uprooted villages, farms and mountain hills,” he added.
He warned that if things continue at this rate and no preventive measures are taken, there could be more floods, landslides and other natural disasters resulting in the unnecessary loss of additional life.
“The ruling junta is responsible. They are reckless, allowing companies to use machines and permitting them to destroy places without proper measures to protect the environment or even the lives of villagers,” Awng Wa said.
He added that while the junta reaps the benefits along with their close friends, the local people, who have been mostly expelled from jade mining in accordance with the new system, are left with piles of loose soil that are often washed away by rising river water.
Locals believe the number of deaths caused by the recent landslide may never be determined, as a lot of people live on such piles of loose soil and there is no proper registration of the people.
“This is not the first time, flooding occurs here every now and then. But this is one of the worst,” one local residing near the site of the disaster told Mizzima.
He said companies which have heavily invested in the search for jade and dig into the ground are dumping loose soil on the course of the Uru River, blocking the flow of water and enhancing the risk of heavy flooding.
Another reason for the threat of devastating landslides and floods, according to locals, is companies have altered the flow of the Uru River as they have discovered that there is a potential jade mine beneath the river.
“Since the river’s course is altered, it often causes floods when the water level grows higher, resulting in more loose soil being swept away and landslides,” said Awng Wa.
“Still today, the water is inundating the Maw Wan, Hpakant Gyi and Seng Tawng areas,” a local said.
Awng Wa said before the ceasefire the risk of environmental degradation in Hpakant was much less, as local miners used their bare hands to dig into the ground in search of jade and other precious minerals.
Ever Winner, Myanmar Dagon and Share Family are the most powerful companies operating in the area, each with strong ties to the ruling junta. The companies are headed by Chinese and own several mines each, with the government having a 40 percent share while the companies hold 60 percent.
“Chinese owned companies are the strongest and most powerful here,” a local resident, who worked for one of the companies, told Mizzima.
Besides prostitution, as a quick means to earn money, Hpakant is also a safe haven for drug dealers. However, both prostitution and drug dealing, or even running a casino, do not go unnoticed by the local authorities, who demand bribes to keep silent.
A local resident said before the 1994 ceasefire, people coming to Hpakant, whatever job they might take, typically did not leave empty-handed.
“But now, people are thrown out of the mining business and many have become prostitutes or drug dealers,” he explained.
However, with financial life getting harder to manage in other parts of the country, Hpakant is still a popular destination for many people. And it often is difficult to determine the number of people working in the mines at any one time, as there are is no process for worker registration.
“It might never be possible to know the true number of casualties from the landslide in July because there is no registration of the number of people, and death in this part of the world is too common,” a local lamented.
He said the government has done little to help the people in solving problems, leaving individuals to fend for themselves.
UNOCHA in Rangoon has appealed for humanitarian assistance for victims of the landslide and called on humanitarian groups to provide food, water and shelter.
But the government of Burma, so far, has made no public announcement of the disaster, which is believed to have killed at least 70 and affected over 700 more.
A local remarked, “There are so many incidents of mine workers dying due to disasters, but no one knows how many people die, who they are or how they died. And the government has never rendered any help.”
He said, in Hpakant, people only know the government for their collection of money, never even contemplating that the government should, and could, help in alleviating their daily struggles.
*****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - US, Britain and France Doubt Credible Election; China Calls for Lifting Sanctions
By LALIT K JHA, Tuesday, July 14, 2009
WASHINGTON — Three permanent members of United Nations Security Council—the United States, Britain and France—expressed skepticism that the Burmese junta will hold free, fair and credible general elections in 2010, while urging the military rulers to match their words with deeds.
China, on the other hand, which has been a strong supporter of the totalitarian Burmese rulers both inside and outside the Security Council, urged Western countries including the US, Britain and France to lift their economic sanctions on Burma.
“Now is the time for Burma to match its words with deeds,” said Rosemary A DiCarlo, the US alternate representative for special political affairs, following a Security Council briefing on Burma by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN headquarters in New York.
DiCarlo expressed US disappointment that the Burmese authorities refused Ban’s request to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi.
“By turning down this simple, straightforward request, the Burmese government missed a critical opportunity to, in your words, ‘show its commitment to a new era of political openness,’” she said.
Calling on the Burmese regime to free Aung San Suu Kyi immediately and unconditionally, she said the junta is clearly not respecting the popular will by putting the leader of the country’s democratic opposition on trial for spurious charges of violating her house arrest, which itself was illegitimate. “We are deeply concerned about these proceedings,” she said.
British Deputy Permanent Representative Philip Parham said Ban’s visit was an opportunity for the junta to transform its relationship with the international community which stands ready to respond positively to real progress.
“The regime’s failure to take this opportunity has only served to isolate it further. We can only hope that we may yet see progress in the coming days; it is not too late. But if it does not come, and if we see an unjust outcome in Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial, the international community will need to follow the secretary-general’s lead and respond robustly,” Parham said. “The onus is on the government to act.”
He said the generals heard the strong message the secretary-general delivered in Rangoon when he addressed ministers and the diplomatic and NGO communities.
“They can be in no doubt about his disappointment and the disappointment of the international community as a whole,” Parham said.
France called for stronger actions by the Security Council.
“The current impasse is no reason for the international community to do nothing. The council must respond firmly if she [Suu Kyi] is found guilty, but inaction must not be the price of its unity,” said Jean-Maurice Ripert of France.
Far from initiating a dialogue with political parties and ethnic groups, Ripert said the junta has unilaterally implemented a “road map” to democracy which had led to increased polarization.
In defense of the junta, Chinese Deputy Ambassador Liu Zhenmin said Ban’s failure to meet with Suu Kyi should not be the criterion to judge the success of the visit.
“Gen Than Shwe had not made arrangements for the secretary-general to meet with her, and the United Nations must respect that decision by a member state. During his visit, the secretary-general had held in-depth dialogues with top leaders and that would play an important role in encouraging the democratic process,” he said.
Liu said that Ban’s visit had been significant and its positive outcome deserved to be assessed fairly by the international community.
He said Burma’s problems could not be addressed in a Western manner, the junta should steadily reform and the international community should fairly assess the country’s challenges.
He called for lifting the international sanctions against Burma, a necessary step for economic development.
“Events occurring inside Myanmar [Burma] are internal affairs that should be handled by the government, as they posed no threat to international peace and security. China is against isolating and sanctioning Myanmar and its position in that regard remained unchanged,” Liu said.
By LALIT K JHA, Tuesday, July 14, 2009
WASHINGTON — Three permanent members of United Nations Security Council—the United States, Britain and France—expressed skepticism that the Burmese junta will hold free, fair and credible general elections in 2010, while urging the military rulers to match their words with deeds.
China, on the other hand, which has been a strong supporter of the totalitarian Burmese rulers both inside and outside the Security Council, urged Western countries including the US, Britain and France to lift their economic sanctions on Burma.
“Now is the time for Burma to match its words with deeds,” said Rosemary A DiCarlo, the US alternate representative for special political affairs, following a Security Council briefing on Burma by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN headquarters in New York.
DiCarlo expressed US disappointment that the Burmese authorities refused Ban’s request to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi.
“By turning down this simple, straightforward request, the Burmese government missed a critical opportunity to, in your words, ‘show its commitment to a new era of political openness,’” she said.
Calling on the Burmese regime to free Aung San Suu Kyi immediately and unconditionally, she said the junta is clearly not respecting the popular will by putting the leader of the country’s democratic opposition on trial for spurious charges of violating her house arrest, which itself was illegitimate. “We are deeply concerned about these proceedings,” she said.
British Deputy Permanent Representative Philip Parham said Ban’s visit was an opportunity for the junta to transform its relationship with the international community which stands ready to respond positively to real progress.
“The regime’s failure to take this opportunity has only served to isolate it further. We can only hope that we may yet see progress in the coming days; it is not too late. But if it does not come, and if we see an unjust outcome in Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial, the international community will need to follow the secretary-general’s lead and respond robustly,” Parham said. “The onus is on the government to act.”
He said the generals heard the strong message the secretary-general delivered in Rangoon when he addressed ministers and the diplomatic and NGO communities.
“They can be in no doubt about his disappointment and the disappointment of the international community as a whole,” Parham said.
France called for stronger actions by the Security Council.
“The current impasse is no reason for the international community to do nothing. The council must respond firmly if she [Suu Kyi] is found guilty, but inaction must not be the price of its unity,” said Jean-Maurice Ripert of France.
Far from initiating a dialogue with political parties and ethnic groups, Ripert said the junta has unilaterally implemented a “road map” to democracy which had led to increased polarization.
In defense of the junta, Chinese Deputy Ambassador Liu Zhenmin said Ban’s failure to meet with Suu Kyi should not be the criterion to judge the success of the visit.
“Gen Than Shwe had not made arrangements for the secretary-general to meet with her, and the United Nations must respect that decision by a member state. During his visit, the secretary-general had held in-depth dialogues with top leaders and that would play an important role in encouraging the democratic process,” he said.
Liu said that Ban’s visit had been significant and its positive outcome deserved to be assessed fairly by the international community.
He said Burma’s problems could not be addressed in a Western manner, the junta should steadily reform and the international community should fairly assess the country’s challenges.
He called for lifting the international sanctions against Burma, a necessary step for economic development.
“Events occurring inside Myanmar [Burma] are internal affairs that should be handled by the government, as they posed no threat to international peace and security. China is against isolating and sanctioning Myanmar and its position in that regard remained unchanged,” Liu said.
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Burma prisoner amnesty 'to avoid Security Council action'
July 14, 2009 (DVB)–Burma is setting in motion plans to release prisoners in lieu of the 2010 elections, said the Burmese ambassador to the UN yesterday at a Security Council briefing given by UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
The comments followed criticism from Ban Ki-moon of the Burmese government’s commitment to democratic reform after he was twice refused a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi during his recent visit to Burma.
"At the request of the Secretary General, the Myanmar [Burma] government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections," ambassador U Than Swe told the Security Council.
However, observers are concerned that the government is using the amnesty in order to avoid Security Council action.
“Whenever they receive strong international pressure the Burmese government always says they are preparing to release political prisoners,” said Bo Kyi, secretary of Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP).
“We cannot believe their promise - they are just scared of Security Council action so they try to divide the international community and buy time.”
Than Swe did not however specifically state that those to be released are political prisoners. The Burmese government has repeatedly attempted to dodge criticism by denying that it holds ‘political prisoners’, instead that all of Burma’s prisoners are common criminals.
Similarly, Than Swe declined to comment on how many political prisoners would be released and whether the amnesty would extend to Aung San Suu Kyi, but said that the Burmese government will "implement all appropriate recommendations that [the] Secretary General had proposed."
As well as the release of political prisoners, Ban Ki-moon urged the start of dialogue between the government and opposition groups, and that elections next year be free and fair.
The Burmese government has previously granted an amnesty to prisoners following a visit by UN human rights rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana. Over 6,000 prisoners were released but only around 30 had been charged on political grounds.
According to AAPP, over 2,160 prisoners remain languishing in Burma’s notorious prisons, 472 of which are members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party.
Reporting by Alex Ellgee
July 14, 2009 (DVB)–Burma is setting in motion plans to release prisoners in lieu of the 2010 elections, said the Burmese ambassador to the UN yesterday at a Security Council briefing given by UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
The comments followed criticism from Ban Ki-moon of the Burmese government’s commitment to democratic reform after he was twice refused a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi during his recent visit to Burma.
"At the request of the Secretary General, the Myanmar [Burma] government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections," ambassador U Than Swe told the Security Council.
However, observers are concerned that the government is using the amnesty in order to avoid Security Council action.
“Whenever they receive strong international pressure the Burmese government always says they are preparing to release political prisoners,” said Bo Kyi, secretary of Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP).
“We cannot believe their promise - they are just scared of Security Council action so they try to divide the international community and buy time.”
Than Swe did not however specifically state that those to be released are political prisoners. The Burmese government has repeatedly attempted to dodge criticism by denying that it holds ‘political prisoners’, instead that all of Burma’s prisoners are common criminals.
Similarly, Than Swe declined to comment on how many political prisoners would be released and whether the amnesty would extend to Aung San Suu Kyi, but said that the Burmese government will "implement all appropriate recommendations that [the] Secretary General had proposed."
As well as the release of political prisoners, Ban Ki-moon urged the start of dialogue between the government and opposition groups, and that elections next year be free and fair.
The Burmese government has previously granted an amnesty to prisoners following a visit by UN human rights rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana. Over 6,000 prisoners were released but only around 30 had been charged on political grounds.
According to AAPP, over 2,160 prisoners remain languishing in Burma’s notorious prisons, 472 of which are members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party.
Reporting by Alex Ellgee
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Junta fear UN chief’s influence on judiciary
July 14, 2009 (DVB)–UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was denied a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi during his visit to Burma because of fears that he could influence the courtroom, said Burmese state-run media today.
Ban Ki-moon was twice snubbed over a meeting with Suu Kyi when he visited the country earlier this month, with the ruling generals claiming that the Burmese judicial system didn’t permit a meeting with someone currently on trial.
An article in the government mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar newspaper today however expressed “fear that his strong influence would have an adverse effect on the judicial system”.
“If the court comes to have sympathy to the accused, and pronounce an order to release her out of the influence of [Ban Ki-moon], such an imprudent order will have negative impact on the nation’s judicial system,” said the author, Maung Hmat.
Legal experts say however that Burma’s judiciary is under direct control of the government, and therefore the trial of Suu Kyi, which many label a pretext to keep her in detention beyond the 2010 elections, is likely to end in a guilty verdict.
A prominent exiled activist lawyer, Nyi Nyi Hlaing, says however that judicial independence is enshrined in Burma’s constitution.
“Even the legislative and the executive powers can have no influence on the judiciary, so how could one guest visiting our country have such an influence?” he said.
He added that the true motives behind Ban Ki-moon's rebuttal were questionable, given that Suu Kyi was allowed to meet with three diplomats from Russia, Singapore and Thailand during the early stages of the trial.
Briefing the UN Security Council yesterday on his Burma visit, Ban Ki-moon said that his refusal of a meeting with Suu Kyi was “not only a deep disappointment, but also a major lost opportunity for the country”.
The last contact Suu Kyi had with the UN was while she was under house arrest in February, when she met with UN special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari.
She reportedly told him that Ban Ki-moon should not visit the country, given that she "could not accept having meetings without achieving any outcome".
The UN has, since Ban Ki-moon’s visit, been criticized for its lack of authority in the country, with veteran Burmese journalist Ludu Thein Win calling it a “toothless tiger”.
However, Ban Ki-moon said his failure to meet Suu Kyi should not be the sole measure of how successful the visit was.
Reporting by Francis Wade
July 14, 2009 (DVB)–UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was denied a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi during his visit to Burma because of fears that he could influence the courtroom, said Burmese state-run media today.
Ban Ki-moon was twice snubbed over a meeting with Suu Kyi when he visited the country earlier this month, with the ruling generals claiming that the Burmese judicial system didn’t permit a meeting with someone currently on trial.
An article in the government mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar newspaper today however expressed “fear that his strong influence would have an adverse effect on the judicial system”.
“If the court comes to have sympathy to the accused, and pronounce an order to release her out of the influence of [Ban Ki-moon], such an imprudent order will have negative impact on the nation’s judicial system,” said the author, Maung Hmat.
Legal experts say however that Burma’s judiciary is under direct control of the government, and therefore the trial of Suu Kyi, which many label a pretext to keep her in detention beyond the 2010 elections, is likely to end in a guilty verdict.
A prominent exiled activist lawyer, Nyi Nyi Hlaing, says however that judicial independence is enshrined in Burma’s constitution.
“Even the legislative and the executive powers can have no influence on the judiciary, so how could one guest visiting our country have such an influence?” he said.
He added that the true motives behind Ban Ki-moon's rebuttal were questionable, given that Suu Kyi was allowed to meet with three diplomats from Russia, Singapore and Thailand during the early stages of the trial.
Briefing the UN Security Council yesterday on his Burma visit, Ban Ki-moon said that his refusal of a meeting with Suu Kyi was “not only a deep disappointment, but also a major lost opportunity for the country”.
The last contact Suu Kyi had with the UN was while she was under house arrest in February, when she met with UN special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari.
She reportedly told him that Ban Ki-moon should not visit the country, given that she "could not accept having meetings without achieving any outcome".
The UN has, since Ban Ki-moon’s visit, been criticized for its lack of authority in the country, with veteran Burmese journalist Ludu Thein Win calling it a “toothless tiger”.
However, Ban Ki-moon said his failure to meet Suu Kyi should not be the sole measure of how successful the visit was.
Reporting by Francis Wade
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