U.N.'s Ban says to urge Myanmar to release Suu Kyi
Tue Jun 30, 7:59 am ET
TOKYO (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will strongly urge Myanmar's ruling generals to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, when he visits the country this week, he told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Speaking after talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, he said he was aware of concerns about his July 3-4 visit coinciding with the trial of Suu Kyi, the main
opposition leader, who has been under house arrest for years.
"It may be the case that the trial happens during my visit to Myanmar. I am very much conscious of that," Ban told reporters.
"I try to use this visit as an opportunity to raise in the strongest possible terms and convey the concerns of the international community of the United Nations to the highest authorities of the Myanmar government," he added.
Ban said he would press the Myanmar government to carry out a range of political reforms.
"I consider that three of the most important issues for Myanmar cannot be left unaddressed at this juncture," Ban told reporters. "The first, release of all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."
The other two items were the resumption of dialogue between the government and opposition and the creation of conditions conducive to a credible election, he added.
Suu Kyi, 64, has been in prison or under house arrest on and off since 1989. The military junta that has ruled Myanmar since 1962 put her on trial again recently, accusing her of breaking the terms of her house arrest by allowing an unauthorised guest to stay at her lakeside home.
Tue Jun 30, 7:59 am ET
TOKYO (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will strongly urge Myanmar's ruling generals to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, when he visits the country this week, he told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Speaking after talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, he said he was aware of concerns about his July 3-4 visit coinciding with the trial of Suu Kyi, the main
opposition leader, who has been under house arrest for years.
"It may be the case that the trial happens during my visit to Myanmar. I am very much conscious of that," Ban told reporters.
"I try to use this visit as an opportunity to raise in the strongest possible terms and convey the concerns of the international community of the United Nations to the highest authorities of the Myanmar government," he added.
Ban said he would press the Myanmar government to carry out a range of political reforms.
"I consider that three of the most important issues for Myanmar cannot be left unaddressed at this juncture," Ban told reporters. "The first, release of all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."
The other two items were the resumption of dialogue between the government and opposition and the creation of conditions conducive to a credible election, he added.
Suu Kyi, 64, has been in prison or under house arrest on and off since 1989. The military junta that has ruled Myanmar since 1962 put her on trial again recently, accusing her of breaking the terms of her house arrest by allowing an unauthorised guest to stay at her lakeside home.
*****************************************************
UN chief urges Myanmar to release Suu Kyi
Tue Jun 30, 8:24 am ET
TOKYO (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged Myanmar on Tuesday to free all political prisoners, including detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, days ahead of a visit to the military-ruled country.
Ban is due to arrive in Myanmar on Friday for rare talks with the military junta, but Aung San Suu Kyi's party says he must also meet her if he hopes to make real progress toward democratic reforms.
"They should release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi," said Ban, who was in Japan en route to Myanmar where the Nobel Peace laureate has been detained for 13 of the past 19 years.
"They (the junta) should immediately resume dialogue between the government and opposition leaders," he added after talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone.
His diplomatically risky two-day trip starts on the day a Myanmar court is due to resume its trial of the 64-year-old on charges of violating her house arrest after an American man swam to her lakeside home.
"We welcome Mr Ban Ki-moon's visit," Nyan Win, the spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) and a member of her legal team, told AFP.
He said the visit would focus on three issues: "to release all political prisoners, to start dialogue, and also to ensure free and fair elections in 2010.
"Regarding these three things, he needs to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi."
A UN statement said Ban looked forward to meeting "all key stakeholders," but did not specify whether he would meet the woman he described in May as an "indispensable patron for reconsidering the dialogue in Myanmar."
Aung San Suu Kyi is currently being held at Insein prison in Yangon where her internationally condemned trial is taking place alongside that of American John Yettaw. She faces up to five years in jail if convicted.
Her NLD won a landslide victory in Myanmar's last election in 1990, but it was never recognised by the military and she has spent most of the intervening years in detention.
Ban decided to go ahead with his mission after being briefed Sunday by his special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, who paid a short preparatory visit to the country last week.
Gambari met twice with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the generals' remote administrative capital Naypyidaw before holding talks with Singapore's ambassador and UN staff in Yangon, but did not meet with Aung San Suu Kyi.
The UN statement said Ban would highlight a resumption of dialogue between the government and opposition as a necessary part of reconciliation.
He would also focus on "the need to create conditions conducive to credible elections," as well as on the release of political prisoners, it added.
The junta has vowed to hold elections in 2010, but critics say they are a sham designed to entrench its hold on power and that Aung San Suu Kyi's trial is intended to keep
her behind bars during the polls.
Diplomats at the United Nations said Ban had faced a dilemma in responding to the invitation from Myanmar's rulers.
Refusing to visit would be seen as not fulfilling his role as UN secretary general, but to accept and return empty-handed would be seen as a slap in the face, said a diplomat on condition of anonymity.
Other diplomats said Ban faced conflicting pressures.
Veto-wielding China, a traditional ally of Myanmar, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, were pushing Ban to go without setting conditions, they said.
But Western nations were pressing him to secure at least some concessions from the military regime.
Ban's last Myanmar trip was in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in May last year, when he visited devastated regions and pressured the junta into allowing foreign aid workers into the hardest-hit areas.
He was the first UN chief in 44 years to visit Myanmar but was effectively barred from bringing up issues of political reform.
Tue Jun 30, 8:24 am ET
TOKYO (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged Myanmar on Tuesday to free all political prisoners, including detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, days ahead of a visit to the military-ruled country.
Ban is due to arrive in Myanmar on Friday for rare talks with the military junta, but Aung San Suu Kyi's party says he must also meet her if he hopes to make real progress toward democratic reforms.
"They should release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi," said Ban, who was in Japan en route to Myanmar where the Nobel Peace laureate has been detained for 13 of the past 19 years.
"They (the junta) should immediately resume dialogue between the government and opposition leaders," he added after talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone.
His diplomatically risky two-day trip starts on the day a Myanmar court is due to resume its trial of the 64-year-old on charges of violating her house arrest after an American man swam to her lakeside home.
"We welcome Mr Ban Ki-moon's visit," Nyan Win, the spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) and a member of her legal team, told AFP.
He said the visit would focus on three issues: "to release all political prisoners, to start dialogue, and also to ensure free and fair elections in 2010.
"Regarding these three things, he needs to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi."
A UN statement said Ban looked forward to meeting "all key stakeholders," but did not specify whether he would meet the woman he described in May as an "indispensable patron for reconsidering the dialogue in Myanmar."
Aung San Suu Kyi is currently being held at Insein prison in Yangon where her internationally condemned trial is taking place alongside that of American John Yettaw. She faces up to five years in jail if convicted.
Her NLD won a landslide victory in Myanmar's last election in 1990, but it was never recognised by the military and she has spent most of the intervening years in detention.
Ban decided to go ahead with his mission after being briefed Sunday by his special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, who paid a short preparatory visit to the country last week.
Gambari met twice with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the generals' remote administrative capital Naypyidaw before holding talks with Singapore's ambassador and UN staff in Yangon, but did not meet with Aung San Suu Kyi.
The UN statement said Ban would highlight a resumption of dialogue between the government and opposition as a necessary part of reconciliation.
He would also focus on "the need to create conditions conducive to credible elections," as well as on the release of political prisoners, it added.
The junta has vowed to hold elections in 2010, but critics say they are a sham designed to entrench its hold on power and that Aung San Suu Kyi's trial is intended to keep
her behind bars during the polls.
Diplomats at the United Nations said Ban had faced a dilemma in responding to the invitation from Myanmar's rulers.
Refusing to visit would be seen as not fulfilling his role as UN secretary general, but to accept and return empty-handed would be seen as a slap in the face, said a diplomat on condition of anonymity.
Other diplomats said Ban faced conflicting pressures.
Veto-wielding China, a traditional ally of Myanmar, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, were pushing Ban to go without setting conditions, they said.
But Western nations were pressing him to secure at least some concessions from the military regime.
Ban's last Myanmar trip was in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in May last year, when he visited devastated regions and pressured the junta into allowing foreign aid workers into the hardest-hit areas.
He was the first UN chief in 44 years to visit Myanmar but was effectively barred from bringing up issues of political reform.
*****************************************************
UN chief urged to meet Suu Kyi on Myanmar visit
Tue Jun 30, 2:49 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon must meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi when he visits military-ruled Myammar this week if he hopes to make real progress towards democratic reform, her party has said.
The world body announced late Monday that secretary general Ban would visit Myanmar on Friday and Saturday for talks with the ruling junta on the release of all political prisoners, including the Nobel Peace laureate.
The diplomatically risky visit starts the same day as a Myanmar court is due to resume the trial of the 64-year-old on charges that she violated her house arrest after an American man swam to her lakeside home.
"We welcome Mr Ban Ki-moon's visit," Nyan Win, the spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) and a member of her legal team, told AFP.
"His visit will focus on three main things: to release all political prisoners, to start dialogue and also to ensure free and fair elections in 2010. Regarding these three things, he needs to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi."
A UN statement said Ban "looks forward to meeting all key stakeholders" during his two-day visit but did not specify whether he would meet Aung San Suu Kyi herself.
But the UN chief in May described her as an "indispensable patron for reconsidering the dialogue in Myanmar".
Aung San Suu Kyi is currently being held at Insein prison in Yangon where her internationally condemned trial is taking place alongside that of eccentric American John Yettaw. She faces up to five years in jail if convicted.
The NLD leader has spent 13 of the last 19 years in jail since the junta refused to recognise the party's landslide victory in Myanmar's last elections, in 1990.
The UN chief decided to go ahead with his trip after being briefed Sunday by his special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, who paid a short preparatory visit to the country last week.
Gambari met twice with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the junta's remote administrative capital Naypyidaw before holding talks with Singapore's ambassador and UN staff in Yangon, but he did not meet with Aung San Suu Kyi.
When Ban visits, he will address "the resumption of dialogue between the Government and Opposition as a necessary part of any national reconciliation process," the UN statement said.
He will also focus on "the need to create conditions conducive to credible elections", as well as on the release of political prisoners, it added.
The ruling junta has promised to hold elections in 2010, but critics say they are a sham designed to entrench the generals' hold on power and that Aung San Suu Kyi's trial is designed to keep her behind bars during the polls.
Diplomats at the United Nations said Ban had faced a dilemma in responding to the formal invitation from Myanmar rulers.
Refusing to make the visit would be seen as not fulfilling his role as secretary general, but to accept and return empty-handed would be seen as a slap in the face for him and for the international community, said a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Other diplomats said Ban was also in a delicate position because of conflicting pressures from different countries.
Veto-wielding China, a traditional ally of Myanmar, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations of which Myanmar is a member, were pushing Ban to go without setting conditions, they said.
But Western nations were pressing him to secure at least some concessions from the military regime.
Ban's last trip to Myanmar was in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, when he visited devastated regions and pressured the junta into allowing foreign aid workers into the hardest-hit areas.
The trip made him the first UN secretary general in 44 years to visit Myanmar but he was also effectively barred from bringing up issues of political reform.
The UN statement said he "considers it important to consolidate and build on the joint humanitarian effort following his visit last year".
Tue Jun 30, 2:49 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon must meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi when he visits military-ruled Myammar this week if he hopes to make real progress towards democratic reform, her party has said.
The world body announced late Monday that secretary general Ban would visit Myanmar on Friday and Saturday for talks with the ruling junta on the release of all political prisoners, including the Nobel Peace laureate.
The diplomatically risky visit starts the same day as a Myanmar court is due to resume the trial of the 64-year-old on charges that she violated her house arrest after an American man swam to her lakeside home.
"We welcome Mr Ban Ki-moon's visit," Nyan Win, the spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) and a member of her legal team, told AFP.
"His visit will focus on three main things: to release all political prisoners, to start dialogue and also to ensure free and fair elections in 2010. Regarding these three things, he needs to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi."
A UN statement said Ban "looks forward to meeting all key stakeholders" during his two-day visit but did not specify whether he would meet Aung San Suu Kyi herself.
But the UN chief in May described her as an "indispensable patron for reconsidering the dialogue in Myanmar".
Aung San Suu Kyi is currently being held at Insein prison in Yangon where her internationally condemned trial is taking place alongside that of eccentric American John Yettaw. She faces up to five years in jail if convicted.
The NLD leader has spent 13 of the last 19 years in jail since the junta refused to recognise the party's landslide victory in Myanmar's last elections, in 1990.
The UN chief decided to go ahead with his trip after being briefed Sunday by his special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, who paid a short preparatory visit to the country last week.
Gambari met twice with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the junta's remote administrative capital Naypyidaw before holding talks with Singapore's ambassador and UN staff in Yangon, but he did not meet with Aung San Suu Kyi.
When Ban visits, he will address "the resumption of dialogue between the Government and Opposition as a necessary part of any national reconciliation process," the UN statement said.
He will also focus on "the need to create conditions conducive to credible elections", as well as on the release of political prisoners, it added.
The ruling junta has promised to hold elections in 2010, but critics say they are a sham designed to entrench the generals' hold on power and that Aung San Suu Kyi's trial is designed to keep her behind bars during the polls.
Diplomats at the United Nations said Ban had faced a dilemma in responding to the formal invitation from Myanmar rulers.
Refusing to make the visit would be seen as not fulfilling his role as secretary general, but to accept and return empty-handed would be seen as a slap in the face for him and for the international community, said a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Other diplomats said Ban was also in a delicate position because of conflicting pressures from different countries.
Veto-wielding China, a traditional ally of Myanmar, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations of which Myanmar is a member, were pushing Ban to go without setting conditions, they said.
But Western nations were pressing him to secure at least some concessions from the military regime.
Ban's last trip to Myanmar was in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, when he visited devastated regions and pressured the junta into allowing foreign aid workers into the hardest-hit areas.
The trip made him the first UN secretary general in 44 years to visit Myanmar but he was also effectively barred from bringing up issues of political reform.
The UN statement said he "considers it important to consolidate and build on the joint humanitarian effort following his visit last year".
*****************************************************
Inner City Press - On Myanmar, UN's Ban "Not Talking About the Trial," Hand Picks Press Coverage
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, June 29 -- Myanmar's courts have barred two of Aung San Suu Kyi's four witnesses, just as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced he will travel to the country on July 3-4. In New York, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesperson Michele Montas if Ban has any comment on the barring of these two witnesses, Win Tin and Tin Oo of the National League for Democracy.
Ms. Montas said of Ban, "He's not talking about the trial right now."
Inner City Press asked, since in previous trip Ms. Montas' office had informed all UN resident correspondence of such trips and allow them to ask to accompany the Secretary General, if that was done in the case of Myanmar and if not, why not. Montas admitted that it was not done. She said that from among "people who had expressed interest" they "picked people willing to pool for others."
Since Inner City Press has asked numerous questions about the UN and Myanmar of Ms. Montas and others in the UN briefing room, one wonders what "expressing interest" means.
Asking publicly in the briefing room does not count, Ms. Montas said. "You have to come to my office and register on a list."
In fact, Ms. Montas' Office reached out to media organizations which indicated they would have staffers from Bangkok and elsewhere in the Far East accompany Ban and told them that Ban wants only particular reporters who cover him at the UN.
It would appear that, faced with negative press coverage of the first half of his term, particularly of his pro-government victory tour in Sri Lanka, Team Ban has sought to control how the Myanmar trip is covered by hand selecting who gets to cover it. Watch this space.
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, June 29 -- Myanmar's courts have barred two of Aung San Suu Kyi's four witnesses, just as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced he will travel to the country on July 3-4. In New York, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesperson Michele Montas if Ban has any comment on the barring of these two witnesses, Win Tin and Tin Oo of the National League for Democracy.
Ms. Montas said of Ban, "He's not talking about the trial right now."
Inner City Press asked, since in previous trip Ms. Montas' office had informed all UN resident correspondence of such trips and allow them to ask to accompany the Secretary General, if that was done in the case of Myanmar and if not, why not. Montas admitted that it was not done. She said that from among "people who had expressed interest" they "picked people willing to pool for others."
Since Inner City Press has asked numerous questions about the UN and Myanmar of Ms. Montas and others in the UN briefing room, one wonders what "expressing interest" means.
Asking publicly in the briefing room does not count, Ms. Montas said. "You have to come to my office and register on a list."
In fact, Ms. Montas' Office reached out to media organizations which indicated they would have staffers from Bangkok and elsewhere in the Far East accompany Ban and told them that Ban wants only particular reporters who cover him at the UN.
It would appear that, faced with negative press coverage of the first half of his term, particularly of his pro-government victory tour in Sri Lanka, Team Ban has sought to control how the Myanmar trip is covered by hand selecting who gets to cover it. Watch this space.
*****************************************************
Jun. 30, 2009
The Yomiuri Shimbun - 3 held over export bid of DPRK missile know-how to Myanmar
YOKOHAMA--Kanagawa prefectural police arrested three people Monday over an attempt to illegally export to Myanmar a magnetic measuring device believed necessary for developing long-range ballistic missile systems on instructions from North Korea, the police said.
Arrested on suspicion of violating the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law were Lee Kyoung Ho, 41, of Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, president of trading firm Toko Boeki; Miaki Katsuki, 75, of Setagaya Ward, president of a manufacturing firm; and Yasuhiko Muto, 57, of Nerima Ward, president of an export agency.
The police initially thought the company was trying to export the device to North Korea itself via Myanmar, but they then found out the content of the order from a North Korea-aligned Hong Kong-based firm.
As the police now suspect the firm has exported other missile development-related equipment to Myanmar, they believe North Korea was attempting to promote the transfer of missile technologies, such as its Taepodong system, to Myanmar. According to the police, the three conspired to export the magnetic measuring device to Myanmar via Malaysia around January 2009 at a price of about 7 million yen without seeking approval from the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry.
Export of the device is restricted under the so-called Catch-all Control that prohibits exports of products that could be used for weapons of mass destruction.
Previously, around September 2008, the company had also tried to export the same instrument to Myanmar's Second Industry Ministry. Both attempts to export the device were aborted immediately before shipment when METI notified the company that it had failed to submit an export application.
According to investigation sources, the prefectural police have analyzed material they seized during a search of Toko Boeki in February this year.
The illegal export attempts to Myanmar were based on an order by the Beijing office of New East International Trading Ltd. based in Hong Kong around spring 2008. The firm is believed to be under the direct control of the Second Economic Committee of Pyongyang's Workers' Party of Korea. The committee is responsible for the party's military procurement.
The company's Pyongyang office has been included in a METI-announced blacklist of companies believed to have been involved in the development of weapons of mass destruction.
Diplomatic ties between Myanmar and North Korea were severed after a 1983 terrorist attack by North Korean agents in Yangon, but the two countries resumed ties in 2007. In 2004 a high-ranking U.S. government official revealed that North Korea had proposed the sale of missiles to Myanmar.
The Yomiuri Shimbun - 3 held over export bid of DPRK missile know-how to Myanmar
YOKOHAMA--Kanagawa prefectural police arrested three people Monday over an attempt to illegally export to Myanmar a magnetic measuring device believed necessary for developing long-range ballistic missile systems on instructions from North Korea, the police said.
Arrested on suspicion of violating the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law were Lee Kyoung Ho, 41, of Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, president of trading firm Toko Boeki; Miaki Katsuki, 75, of Setagaya Ward, president of a manufacturing firm; and Yasuhiko Muto, 57, of Nerima Ward, president of an export agency.
The police initially thought the company was trying to export the device to North Korea itself via Myanmar, but they then found out the content of the order from a North Korea-aligned Hong Kong-based firm.
As the police now suspect the firm has exported other missile development-related equipment to Myanmar, they believe North Korea was attempting to promote the transfer of missile technologies, such as its Taepodong system, to Myanmar. According to the police, the three conspired to export the magnetic measuring device to Myanmar via Malaysia around January 2009 at a price of about 7 million yen without seeking approval from the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry.
Export of the device is restricted under the so-called Catch-all Control that prohibits exports of products that could be used for weapons of mass destruction.
Previously, around September 2008, the company had also tried to export the same instrument to Myanmar's Second Industry Ministry. Both attempts to export the device were aborted immediately before shipment when METI notified the company that it had failed to submit an export application.
According to investigation sources, the prefectural police have analyzed material they seized during a search of Toko Boeki in February this year.
The illegal export attempts to Myanmar were based on an order by the Beijing office of New East International Trading Ltd. based in Hong Kong around spring 2008. The firm is believed to be under the direct control of the Second Economic Committee of Pyongyang's Workers' Party of Korea. The committee is responsible for the party's military procurement.
The company's Pyongyang office has been included in a METI-announced blacklist of companies believed to have been involved in the development of weapons of mass destruction.
Diplomatic ties between Myanmar and North Korea were severed after a 1983 terrorist attack by North Korean agents in Yangon, but the two countries resumed ties in 2007. In 2004 a high-ranking U.S. government official revealed that North Korea had proposed the sale of missiles to Myanmar.
*****************************************************
The Guardian - SKorean official: Kim successor not final in North, 2nd Ld-Writethru, AS
AP foreign, Tuesday June 30 2009
KWANG-TAE KIM Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The decision on who will become North Korea's next leader may not be final yet despite reports that Kim Jong Il has tapped his youngest son to succeed him, South Korea's defense chief said Tuesday.
Who will take over as ruler of nuclear-armed North Korea after Kim has been the focus of intense speculation since the 67-year-old reportedly suffered a stroke last August.
South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers that Pyongyang notified its diplomatic missions and government agencies overseas that 26-year-old Kim Jong Un, the youngest of Kim's three sons, will inherit the leadership of the communist nation.
But Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee told the National Assembly that current intelligence suggests that a final decision has not been made. He did not elaborate on the intelligence.
His comments added to the murky succession drama in the reclusive country. The conflicting assessments come amid tensions over the North's May 25 nuclear test and signs that the regime is preparing to test-fire short- or medium-range missiles, or even a long-range missile, in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Pyongyang has issued a no-sail zone through July 10 in waters off its east coast for "military drills."
Kim Jong Il has controlled the impoverished nation of 24 million with absolute authority since his father's death in 1994. Regional powers fear instability and a power struggle if he dies without naming a successor. North Korea has denied Kim was ever ill, but he appeared gaunt in an April appearance at parliament.
Lee told lawmakers that South Korea's military was keeping a close watch on Kim's health amid possible signs his condition has worsened.
On Monday, the Chosun Ilbo said a photo of Kim that aired on North Korean state TV in mid-June appeared to be a doctored version of one published in April. Unidentified intelligence officials said there was a "a high possibility" the April image was recycled, sparking renewed concerns about his health, the report said.
Lee also said it's clear that the North — which conducted two underground nuclear tests in 2006 and in May this year was pursuing an uranium enrichment program, which can be more easily hidden than a plutonium-producing reactor.
Meanwhile, U.S. envoy Phil Goldberg was to leave soon for Beijing to discuss implementing the Security Council resolution imposed on the North for the May nuclear test, the State Department said.
The new resolution seeks to clamp down on North Korea's trading of banned arms and weapons-related material by requiring U.N. member states to request inspections of ships suspected of carrying prohibited cargo.
A U.S. destroyer is currently trailing a North Korean ship suspected of carrying banned weapons on board, possibly bound for Myanmar, U.S. and South Korean officials say.
Myanmar's authorities have told the North Korean ambassador they won't allow the Kang Nam 1 to dock if it is carrying weapons or other banned materials, a Radio Free Asia report said.
Myanmar authorities also told the ambassador last week that they would search the ship if its enters its waters, the U.S. government-funded RFA reported Monday from Washington, citing an unidentified senior diplomat from the Southeast Asian nation.
Jack Pritchard, the U.S. State Department's chief North Korea expert until 2003, said he believes the North Korean ship will not be stopped or searched.
"My own belief is that this particular ship will not be stopped because we have not, as far as I know, developed (an) active level of intelligence that can be shared," Pritchard told a Seoul forum.
"We cannot simply track a ship, tell people we believe it has illegal cargo and then ask another nation, for example Singapore," to search the vessel when it comes in for refueling, he said.
In Tokyo, Japanese police have arrested a North Korean and two Japanese nationals for allegedly trying to illegally export to Myanmar a magnetic measuring device that could be used to develop missiles, an official said.
Kanagawa prefectural police official Hideshi Koshita said the three suspects, working under instruction from a North Korean trading firm based in China, were arrested Monday on suspicion of violating the Japanese foreign exchange and trade laws.
Koshita said that the measuring device could be used to develop missiles and that officials were investigating the case as a possible example of arms technology links between North Korea and Myanmar — both repressive and isolated regimes that are facing international sanctions.
Also Tuesday, a North Korean fishing boat drifted into South Korean waters across their disputed western sea border for more than two hours due to engine problems before being taken away by a North Korean patrol, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The disputed waters are under close watch because there has been concern the North could start an armed clash near the sea border — the scene of deadly naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.
AP foreign, Tuesday June 30 2009
KWANG-TAE KIM Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The decision on who will become North Korea's next leader may not be final yet despite reports that Kim Jong Il has tapped his youngest son to succeed him, South Korea's defense chief said Tuesday.
Who will take over as ruler of nuclear-armed North Korea after Kim has been the focus of intense speculation since the 67-year-old reportedly suffered a stroke last August.
South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers that Pyongyang notified its diplomatic missions and government agencies overseas that 26-year-old Kim Jong Un, the youngest of Kim's three sons, will inherit the leadership of the communist nation.
But Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee told the National Assembly that current intelligence suggests that a final decision has not been made. He did not elaborate on the intelligence.
His comments added to the murky succession drama in the reclusive country. The conflicting assessments come amid tensions over the North's May 25 nuclear test and signs that the regime is preparing to test-fire short- or medium-range missiles, or even a long-range missile, in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Pyongyang has issued a no-sail zone through July 10 in waters off its east coast for "military drills."
Kim Jong Il has controlled the impoverished nation of 24 million with absolute authority since his father's death in 1994. Regional powers fear instability and a power struggle if he dies without naming a successor. North Korea has denied Kim was ever ill, but he appeared gaunt in an April appearance at parliament.
Lee told lawmakers that South Korea's military was keeping a close watch on Kim's health amid possible signs his condition has worsened.
On Monday, the Chosun Ilbo said a photo of Kim that aired on North Korean state TV in mid-June appeared to be a doctored version of one published in April. Unidentified intelligence officials said there was a "a high possibility" the April image was recycled, sparking renewed concerns about his health, the report said.
Lee also said it's clear that the North — which conducted two underground nuclear tests in 2006 and in May this year was pursuing an uranium enrichment program, which can be more easily hidden than a plutonium-producing reactor.
Meanwhile, U.S. envoy Phil Goldberg was to leave soon for Beijing to discuss implementing the Security Council resolution imposed on the North for the May nuclear test, the State Department said.
The new resolution seeks to clamp down on North Korea's trading of banned arms and weapons-related material by requiring U.N. member states to request inspections of ships suspected of carrying prohibited cargo.
A U.S. destroyer is currently trailing a North Korean ship suspected of carrying banned weapons on board, possibly bound for Myanmar, U.S. and South Korean officials say.
Myanmar's authorities have told the North Korean ambassador they won't allow the Kang Nam 1 to dock if it is carrying weapons or other banned materials, a Radio Free Asia report said.
Myanmar authorities also told the ambassador last week that they would search the ship if its enters its waters, the U.S. government-funded RFA reported Monday from Washington, citing an unidentified senior diplomat from the Southeast Asian nation.
Jack Pritchard, the U.S. State Department's chief North Korea expert until 2003, said he believes the North Korean ship will not be stopped or searched.
"My own belief is that this particular ship will not be stopped because we have not, as far as I know, developed (an) active level of intelligence that can be shared," Pritchard told a Seoul forum.
"We cannot simply track a ship, tell people we believe it has illegal cargo and then ask another nation, for example Singapore," to search the vessel when it comes in for refueling, he said.
In Tokyo, Japanese police have arrested a North Korean and two Japanese nationals for allegedly trying to illegally export to Myanmar a magnetic measuring device that could be used to develop missiles, an official said.
Kanagawa prefectural police official Hideshi Koshita said the three suspects, working under instruction from a North Korean trading firm based in China, were arrested Monday on suspicion of violating the Japanese foreign exchange and trade laws.
Koshita said that the measuring device could be used to develop missiles and that officials were investigating the case as a possible example of arms technology links between North Korea and Myanmar — both repressive and isolated regimes that are facing international sanctions.
Also Tuesday, a North Korean fishing boat drifted into South Korean waters across their disputed western sea border for more than two hours due to engine problems before being taken away by a North Korean patrol, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The disputed waters are under close watch because there has been concern the North could start an armed clash near the sea border — the scene of deadly naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.
*****************************************************
The Globalist - Ending Burma’s Isolation (Part I)
By Susan Braden | Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Given the international isolation of Burma’s military government, Susan Braden provides a rare glimpse into daily life in the country. In the first of a two-part series, she explores the consequences of a repressive and bizarre political climate.
Does one’s body ever acclimatize itself to Burma in April or early May, when the sun shines down from the sky like an angry god and your head aches from its glare?
Before the rain from the monsoons turn the paddy fields the color of jade, Burma must be one of the hottest and most humid places on Earth.
Movement in this kind of heat takes gargantuan effort and may help explain why the slightly deranged American John Yettaw suddenly jumped into Yangon’s largest lake the night of May 3, dashing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s prospects for obtaining her freedom anytime soon.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years. She was scheduled to be released from house arrest within days of Yettaw’s visit and could now spend five years in jail.
Why did he do it? My guess is that Yettaw was driven by the heat to jump in the lake and swim to her house, not knowing it belonged to her. She responded to his unauthorized visit in the middle of the night by telling him to leave, but he was too tired to make the return trip across the lake. She then reluctantly let him stay, and for this is charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest.
While the heat is as good a reason as any to explain why Yettaw did what he did, it does not explain why Burma’s military regime responded the way it did.
The prevailing assumption, in and outside of the country, is that hardline leader General Than Shwe saw Yettaw’s unauthorized visit as the opportunity he was looking for to keep Suu Kyi off the streets and out of politics until after the 2010 parliamentary election, which is part of the junta’s planned “road map to democracy.”
While this assumption is probably correct, the government’s response has backfired. Nothing it does now can keep Suu Kyi from being the centerpiece of the election, if it is indeed held, since all pretense of fairness has been removed, and any hope that the election could facilitate an end to Burma’s isolation has been dashed.
General Than Shwe wanted the election to improve the junta’s international image and therefore encourage an end to the U.S.-led sanctions linked to his poor human rights record. Clearly, he underestimated the international reaction to Suu Kyi’s plight with everyone from President Obama to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to Abhisit Vejjajiva, the current chairman of ASEAN, criticizing the decision to put her on trial.
Democracy leader Suu Kyi goes on trial as the symbol of a nation that has no voice. In the way she has peacefully but persistently resisted the Generals, she is also the conscience of humanity in the fight for common decency.
The Burmese government does things all the time that make no sense unless viewed in the context of its isolation and, therefore, its ignorance. For example, in 2005 it picked up and moved the capital 400 kilometers north of Yangon to a place it calls Naypyidaw, leaving scores of British-style colonial government buildings in Yangon empty and rotting. The move was apparently done for security reasons, but the new capital Naypyidaw is so isolated that if someone wanted to take out the government of Burma, forget the sanctions — all it would have to do is bomb Naypyidaw.
Yangon remains the social, economic and cultural center of the country. There is nobody in Naypyidaw except government officials, many of whom were forced to go there under the threat of arrest or punishment.
Other examples of the government’s peculiar behavior include the issuing of two currencies and a travel permit requirement. In addition to the local kyat, there is the FEC, which is tied to the U.S. dollar. But why use the FEC when the U.S. dollar is easier to use and more sought after by the Burmese?
Also, going anywhere as a foreigner in Burma requires a travel permit — and they can be hard to get. You must “know the right people.” If and when you get the permit and arrive at your desired destination, however, you wonder why a permit is required when there is so little of any strategic value to see.
Travel in Burma is difficult by any standard. Many places can only be reached by boat, plane or both. Traveling to the villages around Thingangone on Middle Island in the Ayeyarwady Delta, for example, requires a 45-minute ride on a helicopter, a four-hour boat ride entirely dependent on the tides, and a one hour motor bike ride on foot paths linking the paddy fields.
What will you see there? The delta is flat and hot. There are few trees, so there is not much shade. People live in houses with raised teak floors and walls of thatch. They farm or fish with nets for shrimp along the banks of the Ayeyarwady.
Those that are the worst off are working in the salt fields or collecting stones, crushing them with mallets and filling holes in the road with baskets of pebbles to be paved over by road crews.
There is no electricity, and good drinking water is scarce because last year’s cyclone filled the wells with salt water. Before the cyclone, most people had never seen a white person in the flesh before. They had only seen people like me in an occasional film, watched on a generator-operated television set for the entire village.
Children go to school if they can afford the associated costs. There are at least 50 kids in a class with two or three teachers.
They learn by rote, screaming their lessons out at the top of their lungs. After primary school, most kids stop going because the walk to the secondary school would take a couple of hours each day and their parents can’t afford the time away from work to take them.
Editor's Note: This second part of this feature will be published on The Globalist tomorrow.
By Susan Braden | Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Given the international isolation of Burma’s military government, Susan Braden provides a rare glimpse into daily life in the country. In the first of a two-part series, she explores the consequences of a repressive and bizarre political climate.
Does one’s body ever acclimatize itself to Burma in April or early May, when the sun shines down from the sky like an angry god and your head aches from its glare?
Before the rain from the monsoons turn the paddy fields the color of jade, Burma must be one of the hottest and most humid places on Earth.
Movement in this kind of heat takes gargantuan effort and may help explain why the slightly deranged American John Yettaw suddenly jumped into Yangon’s largest lake the night of May 3, dashing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s prospects for obtaining her freedom anytime soon.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years. She was scheduled to be released from house arrest within days of Yettaw’s visit and could now spend five years in jail.
Why did he do it? My guess is that Yettaw was driven by the heat to jump in the lake and swim to her house, not knowing it belonged to her. She responded to his unauthorized visit in the middle of the night by telling him to leave, but he was too tired to make the return trip across the lake. She then reluctantly let him stay, and for this is charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest.
While the heat is as good a reason as any to explain why Yettaw did what he did, it does not explain why Burma’s military regime responded the way it did.
The prevailing assumption, in and outside of the country, is that hardline leader General Than Shwe saw Yettaw’s unauthorized visit as the opportunity he was looking for to keep Suu Kyi off the streets and out of politics until after the 2010 parliamentary election, which is part of the junta’s planned “road map to democracy.”
While this assumption is probably correct, the government’s response has backfired. Nothing it does now can keep Suu Kyi from being the centerpiece of the election, if it is indeed held, since all pretense of fairness has been removed, and any hope that the election could facilitate an end to Burma’s isolation has been dashed.
General Than Shwe wanted the election to improve the junta’s international image and therefore encourage an end to the U.S.-led sanctions linked to his poor human rights record. Clearly, he underestimated the international reaction to Suu Kyi’s plight with everyone from President Obama to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to Abhisit Vejjajiva, the current chairman of ASEAN, criticizing the decision to put her on trial.
Democracy leader Suu Kyi goes on trial as the symbol of a nation that has no voice. In the way she has peacefully but persistently resisted the Generals, she is also the conscience of humanity in the fight for common decency.
The Burmese government does things all the time that make no sense unless viewed in the context of its isolation and, therefore, its ignorance. For example, in 2005 it picked up and moved the capital 400 kilometers north of Yangon to a place it calls Naypyidaw, leaving scores of British-style colonial government buildings in Yangon empty and rotting. The move was apparently done for security reasons, but the new capital Naypyidaw is so isolated that if someone wanted to take out the government of Burma, forget the sanctions — all it would have to do is bomb Naypyidaw.
Yangon remains the social, economic and cultural center of the country. There is nobody in Naypyidaw except government officials, many of whom were forced to go there under the threat of arrest or punishment.
Other examples of the government’s peculiar behavior include the issuing of two currencies and a travel permit requirement. In addition to the local kyat, there is the FEC, which is tied to the U.S. dollar. But why use the FEC when the U.S. dollar is easier to use and more sought after by the Burmese?
Also, going anywhere as a foreigner in Burma requires a travel permit — and they can be hard to get. You must “know the right people.” If and when you get the permit and arrive at your desired destination, however, you wonder why a permit is required when there is so little of any strategic value to see.
Travel in Burma is difficult by any standard. Many places can only be reached by boat, plane or both. Traveling to the villages around Thingangone on Middle Island in the Ayeyarwady Delta, for example, requires a 45-minute ride on a helicopter, a four-hour boat ride entirely dependent on the tides, and a one hour motor bike ride on foot paths linking the paddy fields.
What will you see there? The delta is flat and hot. There are few trees, so there is not much shade. People live in houses with raised teak floors and walls of thatch. They farm or fish with nets for shrimp along the banks of the Ayeyarwady.
Those that are the worst off are working in the salt fields or collecting stones, crushing them with mallets and filling holes in the road with baskets of pebbles to be paved over by road crews.
There is no electricity, and good drinking water is scarce because last year’s cyclone filled the wells with salt water. Before the cyclone, most people had never seen a white person in the flesh before. They had only seen people like me in an occasional film, watched on a generator-operated television set for the entire village.
Children go to school if they can afford the associated costs. There are at least 50 kids in a class with two or three teachers.
They learn by rote, screaming their lessons out at the top of their lungs. After primary school, most kids stop going because the walk to the secondary school would take a couple of hours each day and their parents can’t afford the time away from work to take them.
Editor's Note: This second part of this feature will be published on The Globalist tomorrow.
*****************************************************
Asbury Park Press - 50,000th refugee from Myanmar resettling in NJ
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS • June 30, 2009
CAMDEN — The 50,000th Myanmar refugee leaving Thailand with the help of the United Nations is resettling in New Jersey's most impoverished city.
The U.N. High Commission for Refugees says school teacher Plu Reh, his wife and their 2-year-old daughter have left a refugee camp for Camden.
The man spent 12 years at the Ban Mai Nai Soi camp in northern Thailand to escape war in his homeland.
He represents a milestone in the biggest current resettlement program in the world.
The U.N. says 112,000 refugees remain in the nine camps and that 6,000 to 7,000 more will be resettled this year.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS • June 30, 2009
CAMDEN — The 50,000th Myanmar refugee leaving Thailand with the help of the United Nations is resettling in New Jersey's most impoverished city.
The U.N. High Commission for Refugees says school teacher Plu Reh, his wife and their 2-year-old daughter have left a refugee camp for Camden.
The man spent 12 years at the Ban Mai Nai Soi camp in northern Thailand to escape war in his homeland.
He represents a milestone in the biggest current resettlement program in the world.
The U.N. says 112,000 refugees remain in the nine camps and that 6,000 to 7,000 more will be resettled this year.
*****************************************************
Alertnet - A big welcome for Asian refugees from a small village in Bohemia
30 Jun 2009 12:33:14 GMT
Source: UNHCR
OSECEK, Czech Republic, June 25 (UNHCR) – Dal eyed the cherry tree in the garden of his new home in rural Central Europe. "With eight of us, these will be gone in a few days," the youngster told UNHCR visitors through an interpreter. In his native Myanmar, cherries don't grow on trees.
A lot of things are different in this village in the Czech Republic from Myanmar and tropical Malaysia, where eight-year-old Dal and his ethnic Chin family lived in exile for six years. But the rain was familiar, reminding them of the more humid monsoon that hits South-East Asia every year.
They moved into their new home last week, some eight months after arriving in Prague late October as part of a group of 23 people from Myanmar – the first refugees ever resettled in the Czech Republic. A second group of 23 arrived in February.
The first families have spent the time since their arrival at the Stra? refugee centre north of the capital, going through intensive language training and orientation courses to learn about their new homeland.
The government's State Integration Programme, meanwhile, found permanent accommodation in the country's Bohemia and Moravia regions for all five of the resettled families. Dal and his family, led by former farmer Biak, moved into their home last Friday.
A warm welcome awaited them on arrival at their new municipal apartment in Osecek, including government officials, the village mayor and a priest – 80-90 percent of Chins are Christans. A kindly neighbour dropped by to say hello and to deliver some hot chicken soup that she had just prepared.
"The furniture and basic equipment was provided by NGOs with support from the European Refugee Fund, but many other things were given by locals," said Petr Novak from the Interior Ministry's department of asylum and migration Politics of the Interior Ministry, pointing at toys and four bicycles.
Novak said there were only a limited number of flats available, and a large number of applicants. When placing the refugees, they had to consider many factors. "Every refugee dreams of living in Prague, but such wishes are simply impossible to meet," he said, adding: "We try to find housing according to the individual needs of each refugee and their families, with special focus on employment opportunities."
Biak is lucky because he will be able to use his farming skills to provide for his family, while the four youngest children will get a good start by studying at local schools. Before his departure from Kuala Lumpur last year, the family patriarch had said he and his wife would "take any job we can: cooking, serving in a restaurant or working on farms."
They don't need to worry about employment, explained Roman Varga from the Organization for Aid to Refugees, which will help the family during the first six months in their new home.
"A nearby agriculture corporation offered jobs for the parents and the oldest son," he said. "The very first thing we need to do is to take the parents around and to introduce them to the authorities in Podebrady, the nearest district town, and have their new residence properly registered," he added.
That will be done this week, but on their first day in the village the family were happy just to explore and meet their neighbours. It's a long way from Myanmar and from Malaysia, where many refugees have limited legal access to labour and schooling.
Biak clearly believes education for his children is the most important thing. "We did not leave for the Czech Republic to get a better life for ourselves, but for our children."
The summer holiday starts very soon, but the youngest four children will visit the local primary school today to enrol for September and meet their future teachers and classmates. The children picked up the language quickly during their courses in Stra?, but the adults may need more classes.
UNHCR has welcomed the assistance provided by the Czech authorities. "Seeing the families moving to a private environment is a relieving experience," said Marcela Skalkova, who heads the refugee agency's Prague office. "At the same time, we all need to understand that this is just the beginning."
Becoming a resettlement country is yet another milestone for the Czech Republic, which emerged from decades of isolation under Soviet domination as part of Czechoslovakia less than 20 years ago. Born as a new nation in 1993, the Czech Republic joined the European Union in 2004.
The Czech pilot programme is aimed at assistance to vulnerable refugees; top consideration was given to survivors of trauma and refugees with serious medical problems or protection needs. Some of the refugees had spent nearly 10 years in exile in Malaysia, and resettlement was seen as the only solution for them.
By Marta Miklusakova in Prague, Czech Republic
Source: UNHCR
OSECEK, Czech Republic, June 25 (UNHCR) – Dal eyed the cherry tree in the garden of his new home in rural Central Europe. "With eight of us, these will be gone in a few days," the youngster told UNHCR visitors through an interpreter. In his native Myanmar, cherries don't grow on trees.
A lot of things are different in this village in the Czech Republic from Myanmar and tropical Malaysia, where eight-year-old Dal and his ethnic Chin family lived in exile for six years. But the rain was familiar, reminding them of the more humid monsoon that hits South-East Asia every year.
They moved into their new home last week, some eight months after arriving in Prague late October as part of a group of 23 people from Myanmar – the first refugees ever resettled in the Czech Republic. A second group of 23 arrived in February.
The first families have spent the time since their arrival at the Stra? refugee centre north of the capital, going through intensive language training and orientation courses to learn about their new homeland.
The government's State Integration Programme, meanwhile, found permanent accommodation in the country's Bohemia and Moravia regions for all five of the resettled families. Dal and his family, led by former farmer Biak, moved into their home last Friday.
A warm welcome awaited them on arrival at their new municipal apartment in Osecek, including government officials, the village mayor and a priest – 80-90 percent of Chins are Christans. A kindly neighbour dropped by to say hello and to deliver some hot chicken soup that she had just prepared.
"The furniture and basic equipment was provided by NGOs with support from the European Refugee Fund, but many other things were given by locals," said Petr Novak from the Interior Ministry's department of asylum and migration Politics of the Interior Ministry, pointing at toys and four bicycles.
Novak said there were only a limited number of flats available, and a large number of applicants. When placing the refugees, they had to consider many factors. "Every refugee dreams of living in Prague, but such wishes are simply impossible to meet," he said, adding: "We try to find housing according to the individual needs of each refugee and their families, with special focus on employment opportunities."
Biak is lucky because he will be able to use his farming skills to provide for his family, while the four youngest children will get a good start by studying at local schools. Before his departure from Kuala Lumpur last year, the family patriarch had said he and his wife would "take any job we can: cooking, serving in a restaurant or working on farms."
They don't need to worry about employment, explained Roman Varga from the Organization for Aid to Refugees, which will help the family during the first six months in their new home.
"A nearby agriculture corporation offered jobs for the parents and the oldest son," he said. "The very first thing we need to do is to take the parents around and to introduce them to the authorities in Podebrady, the nearest district town, and have their new residence properly registered," he added.
That will be done this week, but on their first day in the village the family were happy just to explore and meet their neighbours. It's a long way from Myanmar and from Malaysia, where many refugees have limited legal access to labour and schooling.
Biak clearly believes education for his children is the most important thing. "We did not leave for the Czech Republic to get a better life for ourselves, but for our children."
The summer holiday starts very soon, but the youngest four children will visit the local primary school today to enrol for September and meet their future teachers and classmates. The children picked up the language quickly during their courses in Stra?, but the adults may need more classes.
UNHCR has welcomed the assistance provided by the Czech authorities. "Seeing the families moving to a private environment is a relieving experience," said Marcela Skalkova, who heads the refugee agency's Prague office. "At the same time, we all need to understand that this is just the beginning."
Becoming a resettlement country is yet another milestone for the Czech Republic, which emerged from decades of isolation under Soviet domination as part of Czechoslovakia less than 20 years ago. Born as a new nation in 1993, the Czech Republic joined the European Union in 2004.
The Czech pilot programme is aimed at assistance to vulnerable refugees; top consideration was given to survivors of trauma and refugees with serious medical problems or protection needs. Some of the refugees had spent nearly 10 years in exile in Malaysia, and resettlement was seen as the only solution for them.
By Marta Miklusakova in Prague, Czech Republic
*****************************************************
Myanmar's first new flu patient recovers
www.chinaview.cn 2009-06-30 16:57:56
YANGON, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The first flu A/H1N1 patient in Myanmar, a girl, has recovered after receiving medical treatment, a spokesman with the Yangon General Hospital said Tuesday.
"On Monday, her temperature fell and she is gradually recovering from her illness," the spokesman said.
Her family, private class teacher and classmates are still under monitoring. No contacts of her have fallen ill or shown symptoms, the spokesman said.
The girl, aged 13, together with her family members paid a visit to Singapore on June 21 and arrived at the Yangon International Airport by Singapore Airlines on June 26.
She checked out at the airport with no fever but she developed symptoms after getting home and studying with her friends at a private tutorial class. She was then admitted to hospital at the same night.
The Myanmar health authority has asked all the people who have come into contact with her including her family members, classmates, private class teachers to stay at home in order to prevent possible spread of the flu virus.
All the 91 passengers, who flew together with the infected girl, and all airport staff members serving at the arrival lounge of the Yangon International Airport have been kept under surveillance.
No detailed development has been disclosed by the authorities about the 91 passengers flying along with her.
Meanwhile, Myanmar is taking preventive measures against the possible outbreak of influenza A/H1N1 following report of the first case of the flu infection in the country on June 26.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-06-30 16:57:56
YANGON, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The first flu A/H1N1 patient in Myanmar, a girl, has recovered after receiving medical treatment, a spokesman with the Yangon General Hospital said Tuesday.
"On Monday, her temperature fell and she is gradually recovering from her illness," the spokesman said.
Her family, private class teacher and classmates are still under monitoring. No contacts of her have fallen ill or shown symptoms, the spokesman said.
The girl, aged 13, together with her family members paid a visit to Singapore on June 21 and arrived at the Yangon International Airport by Singapore Airlines on June 26.
She checked out at the airport with no fever but she developed symptoms after getting home and studying with her friends at a private tutorial class. She was then admitted to hospital at the same night.
The Myanmar health authority has asked all the people who have come into contact with her including her family members, classmates, private class teachers to stay at home in order to prevent possible spread of the flu virus.
All the 91 passengers, who flew together with the infected girl, and all airport staff members serving at the arrival lounge of the Yangon International Airport have been kept under surveillance.
No detailed development has been disclosed by the authorities about the 91 passengers flying along with her.
Meanwhile, Myanmar is taking preventive measures against the possible outbreak of influenza A/H1N1 following report of the first case of the flu infection in the country on June 26.
*****************************************************
Myanmar special gem show attracts foreign traders
www.chinaview.cn 2009-06-30 21:09:40
By Chen Meihua
YANGON, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The current Myanmar special gem emporium, being held at the Myanmar Conventional Center (MCC), has attracted more than 3,000 foreign gem traders, the highest number of visitors compared with the last few years' events.
The gem merchants attending the show are mainly from China, China's Hong Kong and Taiwan, and Singapore, according to the organizer.
Commenting on the Myanmar gem market in Asia, some traders viewed that Myanmar seems to have not much impact by the global economic downturn as the country's gem and jewelry stand high in demand among Asian countries, which suffer the least impact of the global financial crisis.
The 13-day special gem show from June 22 to July 4 put on sale the country's quality gems and jewelries on the basis of competitive bidding.
Aimed at encouraging national gem traders to sell more quality gems and boosting the country's gem industry, Myanmar sponsors regular gem shows annually in March, including a mid-year one in October and a special one occasionally.
Myanmar is not only striving for the development of its gem industry but also endeavoring to expand new foreign markets to the United Arab Emirates and Oman, planning to launch Myanmar gem shows there within three years.
Moreover, The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) has sought gem trade with Sri Lanka, planning to participate in Facet Sri Lanka 2009 gems show scheduled for September this year in Colombo.
Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, boasts ruby, diamond, cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnet tinged with yellow.
The country started to hold gem shows annually in 1964, introducing the mid-year one in 1992 and the special one in 2004.
In the last annual gems emporium, which was the 46th held in March this year, more than 5,000 jade lots were displayed and 191 million U.S. dollars worth of gems and jewelry were sold out.
The event was attended by over 2,300 foreign traders mostly from China and China's Hong Kong.
The authorities designated the proceeds from the sale of gems at these emporiums as legal export earning to encourage the private sector in the development of the gem industry.
Of Myanmar's 6.043 billion U.S. dollars' exports in 2007-08, gem products stood the third after natural gas and agricultural produce with 647.53 million dollars, according to the official statistics.
The government's Central Statistical Organization also revealed that in the fiscal year 2007-08, Myanmar produced 20,235 tons of jade and 22.668 million carats of gems which include ruby, sapphire, spinel and peridot, as well as 225,661 mommis (846 kilograms) of pearl.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-06-30 21:09:40
By Chen Meihua
YANGON, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The current Myanmar special gem emporium, being held at the Myanmar Conventional Center (MCC), has attracted more than 3,000 foreign gem traders, the highest number of visitors compared with the last few years' events.
The gem merchants attending the show are mainly from China, China's Hong Kong and Taiwan, and Singapore, according to the organizer.
Commenting on the Myanmar gem market in Asia, some traders viewed that Myanmar seems to have not much impact by the global economic downturn as the country's gem and jewelry stand high in demand among Asian countries, which suffer the least impact of the global financial crisis.
The 13-day special gem show from June 22 to July 4 put on sale the country's quality gems and jewelries on the basis of competitive bidding.
Aimed at encouraging national gem traders to sell more quality gems and boosting the country's gem industry, Myanmar sponsors regular gem shows annually in March, including a mid-year one in October and a special one occasionally.
Myanmar is not only striving for the development of its gem industry but also endeavoring to expand new foreign markets to the United Arab Emirates and Oman, planning to launch Myanmar gem shows there within three years.
Moreover, The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) has sought gem trade with Sri Lanka, planning to participate in Facet Sri Lanka 2009 gems show scheduled for September this year in Colombo.
Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, boasts ruby, diamond, cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnet tinged with yellow.
The country started to hold gem shows annually in 1964, introducing the mid-year one in 1992 and the special one in 2004.
In the last annual gems emporium, which was the 46th held in March this year, more than 5,000 jade lots were displayed and 191 million U.S. dollars worth of gems and jewelry were sold out.
The event was attended by over 2,300 foreign traders mostly from China and China's Hong Kong.
The authorities designated the proceeds from the sale of gems at these emporiums as legal export earning to encourage the private sector in the development of the gem industry.
Of Myanmar's 6.043 billion U.S. dollars' exports in 2007-08, gem products stood the third after natural gas and agricultural produce with 647.53 million dollars, according to the official statistics.
The government's Central Statistical Organization also revealed that in the fiscal year 2007-08, Myanmar produced 20,235 tons of jade and 22.668 million carats of gems which include ruby, sapphire, spinel and peridot, as well as 225,661 mommis (846 kilograms) of pearl.
*****************************************************
Sydney Morning Herald - Opinion: Burmese women react to brutality with inspiring courage and dignity
Laura Bush
July 1, 2009
For two weeks, the world has been transfixed by images of Iranians taking to the streets to demand the most basic human freedoms and rights. Watching these courageous men and women, I am reminded of a similar scene nearly two years ago in Burma, when tens of thousands of Buddhist monks peacefully marched through their nation's streets. They, too, sought to reclaim basic human dignity for all Burmese citizens, but they were beaten back by that nation's harsh regime.
Since those brutal days Burma's suffering has intensified. In the past 21 months, the number of political prisoners incarcerated by the junta has doubled. Within the past 10 days, two Burmese citizens were sentenced to 18 months in prison. Their offence: praying in a Buddhist pagoda for the release of the jailed opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
That is only the tip of the regime's brutality. Inside Burma, more than 3000 villages have been "forcibly displaced" - a number exceeding the mass relocations in Darfur. The military junta has forced tens of thousands of child soldiers into its army and routinely uses civilians as minesweepers and slave labourers. It has closed churches and mosques; it has imprisoned comedians for joking about the Government and bloggers for writing about it. Human trafficking, where women and children are snatched and sold, is pervasive. Summary executions pass for justice, while lawyers are arrested for the "crime" of defending the persecuted.
Rape is routinely used as a "weapon of war". In 2006 I convened a roundtable at the United Nations to address the situation in Burma and listened as the Burmese activist Hseng Noung described the rape victims she had aided. The youngest victim was eight; the oldest was 80. Her words silenced the room.
Yet time and again, the women of Burma, often the regime's chief targets, have responded to this brutality with inspiring courage. I will never forget visiting the remote and crowded refugee camps on the mountainous border between Burma and Thailand. There I watched the tireless efforts of Dr Cynthia Maung to provide life-saving medical aid for hundreds of Burmese. I sat with victims of landmines who had lost legs or feet and were waiting quietly, often for hours, for basic care.
Last year it was my great privilege to present a Vital Voices award to 17-year-old Charm Tong, who testified before UN officials and eloquently described the systematic military campaign of rape and abuse waged against women in Burma's Shan state. She spoke unflinchingly, even though her audience included representatives of the very regime she condemned.
More of us in America should make such courage our courage. At this moment, Suu Kyi, 64 and in fragile health, faces sentencing on trumped-up charges. The junta leaders wish to undermine the Nobel Peace laureate's influence before next year's elections. Leaders from around the world have called forcefully for the junta to release Suu Kyi and the 2100 other political prisoners it is holding. But the world must do more than express concern.
A new report from Harvard Law School asks the UN Security Council to establish a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma. Harvard's panel of international law experts has catalogued the junta's "widespread and systemic" human rights violations. The Security Council has already referred the crisis in Darfur to the International Criminal Court. It should do the same for Burma.
With the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, planning to visit Burma, it is crucial he press the regime to take immediate steps to end human rights abuses, particularly in ethnic minority areas. There have been 38 UN resolutions condemning these abuses, yet the horrors continue unabated.
But Aung San Suu Kyi's continued example of civil courage - like those brave protesters in Iran - reminds all of us that no matter how callous the regime, it cannot lock up what she stands for: the fundamental desire of all people to live in freedom and with dignity. During the brief moments that foreign diplomats were allowed to observe her show trial, Suu Kyi calmly apologised for having to greet them in a prison, saying, "I hope to meet you in better times." We should all share her hope - and add our voices to those who risk so much to protest tyranny and injustice in Burma and beyond.
Laura Bush is the former first lady of the United States.
Laura Bush
July 1, 2009
For two weeks, the world has been transfixed by images of Iranians taking to the streets to demand the most basic human freedoms and rights. Watching these courageous men and women, I am reminded of a similar scene nearly two years ago in Burma, when tens of thousands of Buddhist monks peacefully marched through their nation's streets. They, too, sought to reclaim basic human dignity for all Burmese citizens, but they were beaten back by that nation's harsh regime.
Since those brutal days Burma's suffering has intensified. In the past 21 months, the number of political prisoners incarcerated by the junta has doubled. Within the past 10 days, two Burmese citizens were sentenced to 18 months in prison. Their offence: praying in a Buddhist pagoda for the release of the jailed opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
That is only the tip of the regime's brutality. Inside Burma, more than 3000 villages have been "forcibly displaced" - a number exceeding the mass relocations in Darfur. The military junta has forced tens of thousands of child soldiers into its army and routinely uses civilians as minesweepers and slave labourers. It has closed churches and mosques; it has imprisoned comedians for joking about the Government and bloggers for writing about it. Human trafficking, where women and children are snatched and sold, is pervasive. Summary executions pass for justice, while lawyers are arrested for the "crime" of defending the persecuted.
Rape is routinely used as a "weapon of war". In 2006 I convened a roundtable at the United Nations to address the situation in Burma and listened as the Burmese activist Hseng Noung described the rape victims she had aided. The youngest victim was eight; the oldest was 80. Her words silenced the room.
Yet time and again, the women of Burma, often the regime's chief targets, have responded to this brutality with inspiring courage. I will never forget visiting the remote and crowded refugee camps on the mountainous border between Burma and Thailand. There I watched the tireless efforts of Dr Cynthia Maung to provide life-saving medical aid for hundreds of Burmese. I sat with victims of landmines who had lost legs or feet and were waiting quietly, often for hours, for basic care.
Last year it was my great privilege to present a Vital Voices award to 17-year-old Charm Tong, who testified before UN officials and eloquently described the systematic military campaign of rape and abuse waged against women in Burma's Shan state. She spoke unflinchingly, even though her audience included representatives of the very regime she condemned.
More of us in America should make such courage our courage. At this moment, Suu Kyi, 64 and in fragile health, faces sentencing on trumped-up charges. The junta leaders wish to undermine the Nobel Peace laureate's influence before next year's elections. Leaders from around the world have called forcefully for the junta to release Suu Kyi and the 2100 other political prisoners it is holding. But the world must do more than express concern.
A new report from Harvard Law School asks the UN Security Council to establish a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma. Harvard's panel of international law experts has catalogued the junta's "widespread and systemic" human rights violations. The Security Council has already referred the crisis in Darfur to the International Criminal Court. It should do the same for Burma.
With the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, planning to visit Burma, it is crucial he press the regime to take immediate steps to end human rights abuses, particularly in ethnic minority areas. There have been 38 UN resolutions condemning these abuses, yet the horrors continue unabated.
But Aung San Suu Kyi's continued example of civil courage - like those brave protesters in Iran - reminds all of us that no matter how callous the regime, it cannot lock up what she stands for: the fundamental desire of all people to live in freedom and with dignity. During the brief moments that foreign diplomats were allowed to observe her show trial, Suu Kyi calmly apologised for having to greet them in a prison, saying, "I hope to meet you in better times." We should all share her hope - and add our voices to those who risk so much to protest tyranny and injustice in Burma and beyond.
Laura Bush is the former first lady of the United States.
*****************************************************
June 30, 2009 15:15 PM
Diplomatic Initiative Underway To Resolve Rohingya Issues
By Shafiqul Bashar
DHAKA, June 30 (Bernama) -- Diplomatic initiatives are underway for a permanent solution of the two-decade-old Rohingya refugee problem between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Rohingyas, belonging to an ethnic group of northern Myanmar, started entering into Bangladesh territory from early 1980s for shelter due to unfavourable social and political situation in their homeland Arakan province.
Over 250,000 Rohingyas, mostly Muslims, were registered as refugees between 1991 and 1992 and given shelter at camps in Bangladesh with the assistance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Following negotiations between Dhaka and Yangon, over 230,000 Rohingya refugees returned to their homeland in phases with the help of UNHCR.
However, over 20,000 refugees remained at the camps.
On Saturday, Bangladesh minister for disaster management Abur Razzak met UNHCR representative Pia Prytz Phiri in Dhaka and discussed the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees.
"The Rohingya problem is an extra-burden for a disaster-prone country like Bangladesh.
"This problem needs a quick solution and Bangladesh wants Rohingya refugees to go back to their country," the minister said, adding that diplomatic initiatives were underway to resolve the problem.
Praising Bangladesh for giving shelter to Rohingya refugees, the UNHCR representative described the Rohingya problem as a regional problem and said that joint initiatives by Bangladesh and Myanmar were needed to resolve the problem.
Diplomatic Initiative Underway To Resolve Rohingya Issues
By Shafiqul Bashar
DHAKA, June 30 (Bernama) -- Diplomatic initiatives are underway for a permanent solution of the two-decade-old Rohingya refugee problem between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Rohingyas, belonging to an ethnic group of northern Myanmar, started entering into Bangladesh territory from early 1980s for shelter due to unfavourable social and political situation in their homeland Arakan province.
Over 250,000 Rohingyas, mostly Muslims, were registered as refugees between 1991 and 1992 and given shelter at camps in Bangladesh with the assistance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Following negotiations between Dhaka and Yangon, over 230,000 Rohingya refugees returned to their homeland in phases with the help of UNHCR.
However, over 20,000 refugees remained at the camps.
On Saturday, Bangladesh minister for disaster management Abur Razzak met UNHCR representative Pia Prytz Phiri in Dhaka and discussed the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees.
"The Rohingya problem is an extra-burden for a disaster-prone country like Bangladesh.
"This problem needs a quick solution and Bangladesh wants Rohingya refugees to go back to their country," the minister said, adding that diplomatic initiatives were underway to resolve the problem.
Praising Bangladesh for giving shelter to Rohingya refugees, the UNHCR representative described the Rohingya problem as a regional problem and said that joint initiatives by Bangladesh and Myanmar were needed to resolve the problem.
*****************************************************
North Korea's Myanmar links
The Economist - Cocking a snuke
Jun 25th 2009
From The Economist print edition
Carrots, sticks and now a bullhorn fail to deter North Korea
ONE is an ageing North Korean cargo tub with more than one previous owner and a record of weapons trafficking. The other, shadowing the Kang Nam 1 as it chugs slowly round China’s coast on its way, it is believed, to a port in Myanmar via the Malacca Strait, is an American guided-missile destroyer, bristling with up-to-date radars and weaponry. But it is to be hoped that the captain of the USS McCampbell, reportedly taking over the tracking from a sister ship, the USS John McCain, has at least one old-fashioned bit of naval kit on board: a bullhorn.
The American ships are doing UN-approved duty. Resolution 1874, passed unanimously by the Security Council on June 12th permits the searching of North Korean cargoes on vessels on the high seas suspected of carrying illegal arms shipments. But, in what seems a nose-thumbers’ charter, it requires the flag-owner’s consent, which in this case is highly unlikely to be forthcoming. If the Americans cannot direct the Kang Nam 1 with stern words to a nearby port for a search, they will have to hope a shortage of fuel forces it to dock.
The new restrictions on North Korea limit its weapons imports to small arms, and ban all arms exports, conventional or otherwise. They followed a provocative long-range missile test and last month a defiant claim of the country’s second nuclear test. Puzzlingly, sensors failed to detect telltale gases that usually leak out within days of such a test, but that could be because North Korea is, troublingly, better at testing small nuclear warheads deep underground than observers had guessed.
The regime’s ailing boss, Kim Jong Il, is preparing more fireworks: perhaps another nuclear test; almost certainly short- and medium-range missile firings. A new launch-pad being prepared in the west of the country would allow testing of intercontinental-range rockets to the south, instead of as now across the Pacific towards America, which has threatened to shoot down any that appear threatening.
Where will all this lead? China and Russia, angered at Mr Kim’s nuclear antics, agreed to support sanctions on his illicit weapons trade, but want six-party negotiations that also include America, South Korea and Japan, as well as North Korea, to resume. North Korea says it will come to the table as a “proud nuclear power” with no intention of giving up its bombs. “Delusional” is how one senior American official describes Mr Kim’s demand to be accepted as a nuclear power; South Korea and Japan concur.
Meanwhile the fear is that Mr Kim will resume (if he ever stopped) helping others with their nuclear work. Financial records show that Mr Kim co-operated with a network run by a disgraced former Pakistani scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, to help supply Libya with nuclear material for uranium-enrichment work before the country abandoned its weapons effort. A nuclear reactor Mr Kim was secretly building for Syria, one ideally sized for producing plutonium for bombs, was destroyed by Israel in 2007 just before its completion.
Some reports say the Kang Nam 1 is carrying missile parts; others that it is shipping mostly small arms to the junta in Myanmar. Mr Kim has sometimes used Myanmar to trans-ship missile parts, and who knows what else, to Iran. But Myanmar itself is a headache now, too. Russia has agreed to build it a small nuclear-research reactor. The worry is this nuclear toing and froing could disguise another joint venture, with North Korea: the secret building of a reactor like both Syria’s and the one Mr Kim has used to produce plutonium for his own weapons tests.
The Economist - Cocking a snuke
Jun 25th 2009
From The Economist print edition
Carrots, sticks and now a bullhorn fail to deter North Korea
ONE is an ageing North Korean cargo tub with more than one previous owner and a record of weapons trafficking. The other, shadowing the Kang Nam 1 as it chugs slowly round China’s coast on its way, it is believed, to a port in Myanmar via the Malacca Strait, is an American guided-missile destroyer, bristling with up-to-date radars and weaponry. But it is to be hoped that the captain of the USS McCampbell, reportedly taking over the tracking from a sister ship, the USS John McCain, has at least one old-fashioned bit of naval kit on board: a bullhorn.
The American ships are doing UN-approved duty. Resolution 1874, passed unanimously by the Security Council on June 12th permits the searching of North Korean cargoes on vessels on the high seas suspected of carrying illegal arms shipments. But, in what seems a nose-thumbers’ charter, it requires the flag-owner’s consent, which in this case is highly unlikely to be forthcoming. If the Americans cannot direct the Kang Nam 1 with stern words to a nearby port for a search, they will have to hope a shortage of fuel forces it to dock.
The new restrictions on North Korea limit its weapons imports to small arms, and ban all arms exports, conventional or otherwise. They followed a provocative long-range missile test and last month a defiant claim of the country’s second nuclear test. Puzzlingly, sensors failed to detect telltale gases that usually leak out within days of such a test, but that could be because North Korea is, troublingly, better at testing small nuclear warheads deep underground than observers had guessed.
The regime’s ailing boss, Kim Jong Il, is preparing more fireworks: perhaps another nuclear test; almost certainly short- and medium-range missile firings. A new launch-pad being prepared in the west of the country would allow testing of intercontinental-range rockets to the south, instead of as now across the Pacific towards America, which has threatened to shoot down any that appear threatening.
Where will all this lead? China and Russia, angered at Mr Kim’s nuclear antics, agreed to support sanctions on his illicit weapons trade, but want six-party negotiations that also include America, South Korea and Japan, as well as North Korea, to resume. North Korea says it will come to the table as a “proud nuclear power” with no intention of giving up its bombs. “Delusional” is how one senior American official describes Mr Kim’s demand to be accepted as a nuclear power; South Korea and Japan concur.
Meanwhile the fear is that Mr Kim will resume (if he ever stopped) helping others with their nuclear work. Financial records show that Mr Kim co-operated with a network run by a disgraced former Pakistani scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, to help supply Libya with nuclear material for uranium-enrichment work before the country abandoned its weapons effort. A nuclear reactor Mr Kim was secretly building for Syria, one ideally sized for producing plutonium for bombs, was destroyed by Israel in 2007 just before its completion.
Some reports say the Kang Nam 1 is carrying missile parts; others that it is shipping mostly small arms to the junta in Myanmar. Mr Kim has sometimes used Myanmar to trans-ship missile parts, and who knows what else, to Iran. But Myanmar itself is a headache now, too. Russia has agreed to build it a small nuclear-research reactor. The worry is this nuclear toing and froing could disguise another joint venture, with North Korea: the secret building of a reactor like both Syria’s and the one Mr Kim has used to produce plutonium for his own weapons tests.
*****************************************************
24-7PressRelease.com - Arrest, censorship and manipulation amid trial of Aung San Suu Kyi
BURMA, June 30, 2009 /EIN News/ -- Reporters Without Borders, Burma Media Association
Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association today condemned the military junta for intimidating the press trying to cover recent national and international events, as a journalist was jailed for two years after being arrested near the home of Aung San Suu Kyi.
"Since the UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Burma one might expect greater tolerance on the part of the authorities, but on the contrary, the trial of Suu Kyi is being held in a climate of repression and censorship," the press freedom organisations said."We call on the UN envoy to show firmness in his talks with the authorities, including on the release of all political prisoners and an end to prior censorship. Without this, there can be no approval of any reconciliation process or elections," they said.
The two organisations strongly condemned the two-year sentence imposed on freelance journalist Zaw Tun on 18 June. A former journalist with the magazine The News Watch, he was arrested near the Suu Kyi's home by a police officer who claimed he had shown 'hostility' towards him. He was found guilty at a court in Bahan, near Rangoon, of obstructing the work of an official. A Rangoon journalist said that Zaw Tun was taken immediately to jail after the verdict.
Military intelligence agents on 23 June went to several media offices to demand lists of journalists who had taken part in journalism training sessions at the US Embassy in Rangoon.
The renowned journalist U Win Tin, who was cited as a defence witness in the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, has been under constant surveillance by the special police. The prosecutor refused to accept the former political prisoner as a witness because he criticises the government, particularly in foreign media.
The junta has imposed strict censorship on both national and international news items. The censorship bureau, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, banned the publication of news on the arrival of a North Korean cargo ship, Kang Nam 1, in a port near Rangoon, which is suspected of transporting weapons.
A journalist in Rangoon told the magazine Irrawaddy that "most newspapers have tried to report on the arrival of the cargo vessel but the government censor rejected all the articles".
The censorship bureau also banned some articles on demonstrations that followed the disputed elections in Iran.
The press was refused the right at the start of June to publish information about the investigation into the collapse of the Danoke pagoda in Dala, near Rangoon, in which several people died. "We cannot publish articles or photos about this incident, because it was the wife of [junta leader] General Than Shwe who installed the sunshade on the pagoda on 7 May 2009", one journalists explained. She is known to be very superstitious.
The censorship bureau on 1st June threatened the privately owned weekly True News for carrying an article in its 19 May issue by the famous journalist Ludu Sein Win who said that "many governments cannot tolerate criticism from journalists". The censors alleged that the paper changed the front page after it had been passed by the censors.
Reporters Without Borders revealed at the end of 2008 that the censorship bureau sent all media offices a document detailing ten rules imposed on editors, who would be punished if changes were made after the article had been checked.
The state-run media reported the charges against Suu Kyi, without giving anything the full statements by the defence. The daily New Light of Myanmar reported the main developments in the trial insisting there was complicity between the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the American William Yetaw, who swam to her lakeside home on 3 May. In its 27 May edition, the daily published the full questioning of Suu Kyi by the judge, but the cross examination by defence lawyers were only briefly summarised in the official press.
The state press also relays the junt's threats against the opposition, as happened on 5 June, when the New Light of Myanmar carried threats by the authorities against the youth branch of the National League for Democracy for putting out a statement.
BURMA, June 30, 2009 /EIN News/ -- Reporters Without Borders, Burma Media Association
Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association today condemned the military junta for intimidating the press trying to cover recent national and international events, as a journalist was jailed for two years after being arrested near the home of Aung San Suu Kyi.
"Since the UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Burma one might expect greater tolerance on the part of the authorities, but on the contrary, the trial of Suu Kyi is being held in a climate of repression and censorship," the press freedom organisations said."We call on the UN envoy to show firmness in his talks with the authorities, including on the release of all political prisoners and an end to prior censorship. Without this, there can be no approval of any reconciliation process or elections," they said.
The two organisations strongly condemned the two-year sentence imposed on freelance journalist Zaw Tun on 18 June. A former journalist with the magazine The News Watch, he was arrested near the Suu Kyi's home by a police officer who claimed he had shown 'hostility' towards him. He was found guilty at a court in Bahan, near Rangoon, of obstructing the work of an official. A Rangoon journalist said that Zaw Tun was taken immediately to jail after the verdict.
Military intelligence agents on 23 June went to several media offices to demand lists of journalists who had taken part in journalism training sessions at the US Embassy in Rangoon.
The renowned journalist U Win Tin, who was cited as a defence witness in the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, has been under constant surveillance by the special police. The prosecutor refused to accept the former political prisoner as a witness because he criticises the government, particularly in foreign media.
The junta has imposed strict censorship on both national and international news items. The censorship bureau, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, banned the publication of news on the arrival of a North Korean cargo ship, Kang Nam 1, in a port near Rangoon, which is suspected of transporting weapons.
A journalist in Rangoon told the magazine Irrawaddy that "most newspapers have tried to report on the arrival of the cargo vessel but the government censor rejected all the articles".
The censorship bureau also banned some articles on demonstrations that followed the disputed elections in Iran.
The press was refused the right at the start of June to publish information about the investigation into the collapse of the Danoke pagoda in Dala, near Rangoon, in which several people died. "We cannot publish articles or photos about this incident, because it was the wife of [junta leader] General Than Shwe who installed the sunshade on the pagoda on 7 May 2009", one journalists explained. She is known to be very superstitious.
The censorship bureau on 1st June threatened the privately owned weekly True News for carrying an article in its 19 May issue by the famous journalist Ludu Sein Win who said that "many governments cannot tolerate criticism from journalists". The censors alleged that the paper changed the front page after it had been passed by the censors.
Reporters Without Borders revealed at the end of 2008 that the censorship bureau sent all media offices a document detailing ten rules imposed on editors, who would be punished if changes were made after the article had been checked.
The state-run media reported the charges against Suu Kyi, without giving anything the full statements by the defence. The daily New Light of Myanmar reported the main developments in the trial insisting there was complicity between the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the American William Yetaw, who swam to her lakeside home on 3 May. In its 27 May edition, the daily published the full questioning of Suu Kyi by the judge, but the cross examination by defence lawyers were only briefly summarised in the official press.
The state press also relays the junt's threats against the opposition, as happened on 5 June, when the New Light of Myanmar carried threats by the authorities against the youth branch of the National League for Democracy for putting out a statement.
*****************************************************
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
MYANMAR COURT REJECTS TWO DEFENSE WITNESSES
The Manila Times - Guilty verdict over Suu Kyi’s case looms
YANGON: Myanmar’s Supreme Court Monday rejected an appeal to reinstate two defense witnesses at the internationally condemned trial of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, an official said. The Nobel laureate faces up to five years in jail on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest after an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside home and has been held at a notorious jail in Yangon since May.
The Supreme Court upheld a decision by the trial court at Insein prison last month to bar two out of four defense witnesses, both senior members of her National League for Democracy (NLD).
“The appeal [by her defense team] was rejected. The decision was posted on the board of the Supreme Court,” a Myanmar official said on condition of anonymity.
The two barred witnesses are Win Tin, a journalist who was Myanmar’s longest-serving political prisoner until his release in September, and detained deputy NLD leader Tin Oo.
Nyan Win, one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers and the spokesman for the NLD, said Monday he could not yet confirm the appeal rejection.
“I cannot say anything right now about about how we will continue as I have to have discussions with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” he added.
One defense witness, a legal expert, has already testified. Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers earlier this month successfully appealed against a ban on a second witness. The next hearing in the trial is on July 3.
The prosecution has so far called 14 witnesses, adding to opposition and international claims that the proceedings are a show trial designed to keep the democracy icon locked up ahead of elections scheduled by the regime for 2010.
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention since Myanmar’s ruling junta refused to recognize the NLD’s landslide victory in the country’s last democratic polls in 1990.
MYANMAR COURT REJECTS TWO DEFENSE WITNESSES
The Manila Times - Guilty verdict over Suu Kyi’s case looms
YANGON: Myanmar’s Supreme Court Monday rejected an appeal to reinstate two defense witnesses at the internationally condemned trial of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, an official said. The Nobel laureate faces up to five years in jail on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest after an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside home and has been held at a notorious jail in Yangon since May.
The Supreme Court upheld a decision by the trial court at Insein prison last month to bar two out of four defense witnesses, both senior members of her National League for Democracy (NLD).
“The appeal [by her defense team] was rejected. The decision was posted on the board of the Supreme Court,” a Myanmar official said on condition of anonymity.
The two barred witnesses are Win Tin, a journalist who was Myanmar’s longest-serving political prisoner until his release in September, and detained deputy NLD leader Tin Oo.
Nyan Win, one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers and the spokesman for the NLD, said Monday he could not yet confirm the appeal rejection.
“I cannot say anything right now about about how we will continue as I have to have discussions with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” he added.
One defense witness, a legal expert, has already testified. Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers earlier this month successfully appealed against a ban on a second witness. The next hearing in the trial is on July 3.
The prosecution has so far called 14 witnesses, adding to opposition and international claims that the proceedings are a show trial designed to keep the democracy icon locked up ahead of elections scheduled by the regime for 2010.
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention since Myanmar’s ruling junta refused to recognize the NLD’s landslide victory in the country’s last democratic polls in 1990.
*****************************************************
Mizzima News - Burma's cyber war rages on
by Celeste Chenard
Monday, 29 June 2009 15:07
Mizzima News - While the Internet has became one of the main tools at the disposal of opposition elements against political and cultural repression in authoritarian states, governments have in turn used the same technology to limit the effectiveness of political opposition by either commercial or propagandist means.
A debate about the Internet as a tool of democratization has emerged since the first uses of the Internet under authoritarian systems of government. On the one hand, there are those who subscribe to the “determinist” theory, for whom the Internet can contribute to the collapse of dictatorships. On the other hand are the so-called “instrumentalists”, who take the position that an authoritarian regime can control the Web and exploit the Internet to serve its own interests. But the most important question is how authoritarian rulers choose an information technology strategy.
According to Nina Hachigian, in her paper 'The internet and power in one-party East Asian States': “The Internet presents a dilemma to leaders of authoritarian states and illiberal democracies. It promises enticing commercial advantages, such as transaction cost reductions, e-commerce possibilities, and foreign trade facilitation. Yet, by giving citizens access to outside information and platforms for discussion and organization, the Internet can also help politically empower populations and potentially threaten regimes."
According to a report recently released by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) on information filtering in Asia, Asian governments are taking increasingly sophisticated steps to control access to Web content. The report reveals accelerating restrictions on Internet content as Asian governments shift to next generation controls. These new techniques go beyond blocking access to websites and are more informal and fluid while often backed-up by increasingly restrictive and broadly interpreted laws.
The report further points to an emerging inclination for states to actively engage in cyberspace as a way to achieve enhanced control of information: “Since 2006, many Asian governments have quickly realized the potential benefits of exploiting opportunities for conducting propaganda or public relations strategies over the Internet, even while cracking down on independent and critical voices thriving in these online spaces – an example of the evolution towards next generation controls,” finds the report.
Yet, the Internet has simultaneously been shown to be an especially effective tool for journalists, civil society activists and opposition leaders in Asia during elections or other times of national political crisis.
Burma showed one of the most dramatic examples of citizens using online tools to circumvent government control over information during the Saffron Revolution. It is clear that the particular attention of the international community and foreign media toward the 2007 uprising in Burma was partly due to the various uses of new information technology – and particularly the Internet.
These “netizens” have demonstrated that new tools of communication, and especially the Internet, can impact on the global coverage of events and even on the sequence of events themselves. Vital information coming from inside Burma was posted by overseas Burmese news organizations and the international media, ultimately being fed back into the country of origin via satellite television and radio, thus achieving a bi-directional flow of information. Such newly available networks for the diffusion of information are surely challenging the rulers of closed countries like Burma.
Nonetheless, while “citizen journalists” provided the world with footage and news, the government eventually imposed a “blackout of the information”. By cutting all Internet connections, the junta tried to disarm "netizens" – in further testament to the perceived potential destabilizing effects triggered by such endeavors.
The push and pull battle over the Internet raises a serious question: Can emerging online technologies truly alter a country's isolationism and foster real political change?
In a closed country the Internet can effectively serve the propaganda efforts of the authoritarian regime while simultaneously providing a new capacity with which dissidents can communicate relatively freely without considering boarders. Further, more than simply a political weapon, the Internet can also help to mobilize and raise public awareness and coordinate demonstrations and campaigns.
But still, there is a dark side to the Internet that must be considered.
Since 1997 the junta has purchased sophisticated technology from a Singapore-based company to assist in the development of a Cyber Warfare Center in order to accentuate efficacy and surveillance over the Army. Additionally, in May 2004, the junta purchased filtering software from American company Fortinet. ONI, largely as a result of such information technology transfers, has chronicled an increasing level of effectiveness on the part of the Burmese regime in the control of information over recent years.
Burma, in the end, is caught in a vicious cycle. As the junta appears unwilling to improve the life conditions of the population, as one tactic to stay in power, the economy of the country is consequently not industrially and technologically adapted to take maximum advantage of the Internet. Moreover, launching economic development via information technology is not deemed worth the political risk in the battle over the dissemination of information. Severe restrictions on Internet access is thus perceived as one strategy in denying opposition elements a greater foothold in Burmese society.
To summarize, as economic stakes are low and political risks much higher, the junta is less willing to let the population make use of the Internet than other authoritarian countries who limit Internet access to a lesser extent in order to foment economic development. “The exception," highlights the ONI report, "to the general embrace of ICT development [in Asian countries] has consistently been Burma.” However, for the regime there is also a concurrent downside in such an approach, as the country becomes even less attractive to potential foreign investors.
The junta, though, is aware of the necessity to economically compete in the world economy. The construction of a cyber city by the generals is proof of this knowledge, while also further exemplifying the misappropriation of information technology development. The country’s largest information technology development, Yadanabon City – inaugurated in 2007, is projected to serve as the connection point for the regime with economic partners such as China, India and Thailand.
Apart from economic interests, the Internet can also serve the propagandist aims of governments. The junta tries to use the Internet as a tool to spread its propaganda and political message to the world and to contradict accusations of its detractors. An active presence on the Web allows the government to present the world its own version of the facts. That is why the junta launched www.myanmar.com, allowing foreigners to read an electronic version of the state-run English newspaper The New Light of Myanmar.
However, examples of the collapse of governments in Southeast Asia because of popular mass protest with the support of the media – as in the Philippines in 1986 and Indonesia in 1998 – still keeps hope alive of a coming shift in Burma.
But the Burmese example also reveals media pressure and "People Power" are not enough by themselves to ensure political transition. The media can assist in transition but not set the transition itself in motion. The media is dependant on a nexus connecting the economic, social and political spheres.
Nonetheless, if an authoritarian regime can be affected by the uses of the Internet abroad, it is clear the Internet can in fact impact events inside a closed society like Burma as well – by at least forcing the junta to act in a space open to everybody’s eyes.
by Celeste Chenard
Monday, 29 June 2009 15:07
Mizzima News - While the Internet has became one of the main tools at the disposal of opposition elements against political and cultural repression in authoritarian states, governments have in turn used the same technology to limit the effectiveness of political opposition by either commercial or propagandist means.
A debate about the Internet as a tool of democratization has emerged since the first uses of the Internet under authoritarian systems of government. On the one hand, there are those who subscribe to the “determinist” theory, for whom the Internet can contribute to the collapse of dictatorships. On the other hand are the so-called “instrumentalists”, who take the position that an authoritarian regime can control the Web and exploit the Internet to serve its own interests. But the most important question is how authoritarian rulers choose an information technology strategy.
According to Nina Hachigian, in her paper 'The internet and power in one-party East Asian States': “The Internet presents a dilemma to leaders of authoritarian states and illiberal democracies. It promises enticing commercial advantages, such as transaction cost reductions, e-commerce possibilities, and foreign trade facilitation. Yet, by giving citizens access to outside information and platforms for discussion and organization, the Internet can also help politically empower populations and potentially threaten regimes."
According to a report recently released by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) on information filtering in Asia, Asian governments are taking increasingly sophisticated steps to control access to Web content. The report reveals accelerating restrictions on Internet content as Asian governments shift to next generation controls. These new techniques go beyond blocking access to websites and are more informal and fluid while often backed-up by increasingly restrictive and broadly interpreted laws.
The report further points to an emerging inclination for states to actively engage in cyberspace as a way to achieve enhanced control of information: “Since 2006, many Asian governments have quickly realized the potential benefits of exploiting opportunities for conducting propaganda or public relations strategies over the Internet, even while cracking down on independent and critical voices thriving in these online spaces – an example of the evolution towards next generation controls,” finds the report.
Yet, the Internet has simultaneously been shown to be an especially effective tool for journalists, civil society activists and opposition leaders in Asia during elections or other times of national political crisis.
Burma showed one of the most dramatic examples of citizens using online tools to circumvent government control over information during the Saffron Revolution. It is clear that the particular attention of the international community and foreign media toward the 2007 uprising in Burma was partly due to the various uses of new information technology – and particularly the Internet.
These “netizens” have demonstrated that new tools of communication, and especially the Internet, can impact on the global coverage of events and even on the sequence of events themselves. Vital information coming from inside Burma was posted by overseas Burmese news organizations and the international media, ultimately being fed back into the country of origin via satellite television and radio, thus achieving a bi-directional flow of information. Such newly available networks for the diffusion of information are surely challenging the rulers of closed countries like Burma.
Nonetheless, while “citizen journalists” provided the world with footage and news, the government eventually imposed a “blackout of the information”. By cutting all Internet connections, the junta tried to disarm "netizens" – in further testament to the perceived potential destabilizing effects triggered by such endeavors.
The push and pull battle over the Internet raises a serious question: Can emerging online technologies truly alter a country's isolationism and foster real political change?
In a closed country the Internet can effectively serve the propaganda efforts of the authoritarian regime while simultaneously providing a new capacity with which dissidents can communicate relatively freely without considering boarders. Further, more than simply a political weapon, the Internet can also help to mobilize and raise public awareness and coordinate demonstrations and campaigns.
But still, there is a dark side to the Internet that must be considered.
Since 1997 the junta has purchased sophisticated technology from a Singapore-based company to assist in the development of a Cyber Warfare Center in order to accentuate efficacy and surveillance over the Army. Additionally, in May 2004, the junta purchased filtering software from American company Fortinet. ONI, largely as a result of such information technology transfers, has chronicled an increasing level of effectiveness on the part of the Burmese regime in the control of information over recent years.
Burma, in the end, is caught in a vicious cycle. As the junta appears unwilling to improve the life conditions of the population, as one tactic to stay in power, the economy of the country is consequently not industrially and technologically adapted to take maximum advantage of the Internet. Moreover, launching economic development via information technology is not deemed worth the political risk in the battle over the dissemination of information. Severe restrictions on Internet access is thus perceived as one strategy in denying opposition elements a greater foothold in Burmese society.
To summarize, as economic stakes are low and political risks much higher, the junta is less willing to let the population make use of the Internet than other authoritarian countries who limit Internet access to a lesser extent in order to foment economic development. “The exception," highlights the ONI report, "to the general embrace of ICT development [in Asian countries] has consistently been Burma.” However, for the regime there is also a concurrent downside in such an approach, as the country becomes even less attractive to potential foreign investors.
The junta, though, is aware of the necessity to economically compete in the world economy. The construction of a cyber city by the generals is proof of this knowledge, while also further exemplifying the misappropriation of information technology development. The country’s largest information technology development, Yadanabon City – inaugurated in 2007, is projected to serve as the connection point for the regime with economic partners such as China, India and Thailand.
Apart from economic interests, the Internet can also serve the propagandist aims of governments. The junta tries to use the Internet as a tool to spread its propaganda and political message to the world and to contradict accusations of its detractors. An active presence on the Web allows the government to present the world its own version of the facts. That is why the junta launched www.myanmar.com, allowing foreigners to read an electronic version of the state-run English newspaper The New Light of Myanmar.
However, examples of the collapse of governments in Southeast Asia because of popular mass protest with the support of the media – as in the Philippines in 1986 and Indonesia in 1998 – still keeps hope alive of a coming shift in Burma.
But the Burmese example also reveals media pressure and "People Power" are not enough by themselves to ensure political transition. The media can assist in transition but not set the transition itself in motion. The media is dependant on a nexus connecting the economic, social and political spheres.
Nonetheless, if an authoritarian regime can be affected by the uses of the Internet abroad, it is clear the Internet can in fact impact events inside a closed society like Burma as well – by at least forcing the junta to act in a space open to everybody’s eyes.
*****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - No Hope for Suu Kyi from Ban’s Trip: NLD Leader
By WAI MOE, Tuesday, June 30, 2009
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to visit Burma on Friday and Saturday, and there’s little hope for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from the trip, said a prominent Burmese opposition leader.
Ban plans to focus on three issues: the release of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners; the resumption of dialogue between the junta and opposition as a necessary part of national reconciliation process; and to create a condition conducive to credible elections in 2010, according to a UN press briefing on Monday.
Commenting on the trip, Win Tin, a prominent leader of the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) said that the international community has achieved little in the way of real progress toward national reconciliation.
“Therefore, I do not expect Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would be released during or after Ban Ki-moon’s trip,” he said. “But it’s because the junta has failed to response to the international calls.”
Win Tin, who spent 19 years as a political prisoner, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that he welcomed Ban’s trip.
“I agree with Mr Ban Ki-moon’s agenda: release of political prisoners and dialogue for national reconciliation. But I want to point out that Burma’s problem now is about its constitution rather than the election,” Win Tin said.
“So we need to review this unjust constitution first and then talk about the election. That will be more reasonable for the country’s democracy process,” he said.
The junta has scheduled elections in 2010 under a constitution which was approved by a referendum in May 2008. The constitution reserves 25 percent of the seats in the upper and lower house of parliament for the military. The referendum was neither free or nor fair, analysts say.
Ban Ki-moon’s last visit to the military-ruled country was in May 2008 following the Cyclone Nargis disaster in the Irrawaddy delta, during which he met the leader of the junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
Although Ban’s trip is confirmed, a UN spokesperson indicated there was no agreement that he would meet with Suu Kyi, even though he requested to meet with the pro-democracy leader.
Suu Kyi is on trial charged with violating the terms of her house arrest, in what observers say is a trumped-up charge designed to remove her from active political life during the 2010 election. She was schedule to be released last month.
“Despite the NLD’s protestations and the growing international pressure, there was never any real likelihood of Aung San Suu Kyi being freed ahead of the planned election in 2010,” noted a London-based think-tank, The Economist Intelligence Unit, in its June report on Burma.
“The last time she was released, in May 2002, the junta clearly miscalculated the extent to which she had remained a popular and influential figure,” said the report.
By WAI MOE, Tuesday, June 30, 2009
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to visit Burma on Friday and Saturday, and there’s little hope for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from the trip, said a prominent Burmese opposition leader.
Ban plans to focus on three issues: the release of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners; the resumption of dialogue between the junta and opposition as a necessary part of national reconciliation process; and to create a condition conducive to credible elections in 2010, according to a UN press briefing on Monday.
Commenting on the trip, Win Tin, a prominent leader of the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) said that the international community has achieved little in the way of real progress toward national reconciliation.
“Therefore, I do not expect Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would be released during or after Ban Ki-moon’s trip,” he said. “But it’s because the junta has failed to response to the international calls.”
Win Tin, who spent 19 years as a political prisoner, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that he welcomed Ban’s trip.
“I agree with Mr Ban Ki-moon’s agenda: release of political prisoners and dialogue for national reconciliation. But I want to point out that Burma’s problem now is about its constitution rather than the election,” Win Tin said.
“So we need to review this unjust constitution first and then talk about the election. That will be more reasonable for the country’s democracy process,” he said.
The junta has scheduled elections in 2010 under a constitution which was approved by a referendum in May 2008. The constitution reserves 25 percent of the seats in the upper and lower house of parliament for the military. The referendum was neither free or nor fair, analysts say.
Ban Ki-moon’s last visit to the military-ruled country was in May 2008 following the Cyclone Nargis disaster in the Irrawaddy delta, during which he met the leader of the junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
Although Ban’s trip is confirmed, a UN spokesperson indicated there was no agreement that he would meet with Suu Kyi, even though he requested to meet with the pro-democracy leader.
Suu Kyi is on trial charged with violating the terms of her house arrest, in what observers say is a trumped-up charge designed to remove her from active political life during the 2010 election. She was schedule to be released last month.
“Despite the NLD’s protestations and the growing international pressure, there was never any real likelihood of Aung San Suu Kyi being freed ahead of the planned election in 2010,” noted a London-based think-tank, The Economist Intelligence Unit, in its June report on Burma.
“The last time she was released, in May 2002, the junta clearly miscalculated the extent to which she had remained a popular and influential figure,” said the report.
*****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Burmese Internet Users Share Video, Documents about North Korea
By MIN LWIN, Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Amid revelations about recent secret meetings between Burmese and North Korean leaders and growing concerns that the two countries may be cooperating in illegal weapons programs, a video showing the 1983 bombing of the Martyr’s Mausoleum in Rangoon has attracted strong interest among Burmese Internet users.
The video, which has been on the Web site Youtube for at least a year, has suddenly become a big hit among Burmese both inside and outside the country, reminding them of a savage incident that resulted in the severing of relations between the two countries two-and-a-half decades ago.
Apparently taken from Japanese news footage, the video shows a blast that killed 19 people, including 16 South Korean officials. The attack, by North Korean agents, was targeted at former South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan, who escaped death by being a few minutes late for a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument to Aung San and other assassinated leaders of Burma’s independence movement.
“The video footage is horrific, showing the killing and injuring of South Korean and Burmese officials. It reveals North Korea’s cruelty,” said an Internet user in Rangoon, Burma’s largest city.
The interest in the video comes amid growing evidence that Naypyidaw and Pyongyang are forging stronger military ties. Over the past two weeks, a series of documents have been leaked to exiled Burmese and international media organizations showing meetings between senior Burmese and North Korean military leaders.
“I am seriously wondering how these documents, including an MoU [Memorandum of Understanding] signed in North Korea, got out of Burma,” said one journalist in Rangoon.
The MoU appears in a top-secret document detailing a visit to North Korea by the Burmese junta’s No 3, Gen Thura Shwe Mann, and is related to North Korean technical assistance in the construction of a maze of tunnels in the Burmese regime’s capital of Naypyidaw.
Electronic copies of the MoU have been spreading widely among Internet users in Burma.
Some Burmese political analysts say they believe the documents were leaked by moderate military officials who are not happy with the Burmese senior leadership’s decision to restore diplomatic and military ties with North Korea.
“There are many moderate military officials who dislike what Snr-Gen Than Shwe did with North Korea, but they didn’t dare to criticize Than Shwe,” said a retired military official from Rangoon.
“Many military commanders don’t like North Korea, because North Korean agents killed members of a visiting South Korean delegation and Burmese officials on Burmese land,” he added. “These confidential documents may have come from military officials who don’t want diplomatic and military relations with North Korea.”
Burma’s ruling military council has been sending secret delegations to North Korea since 1999. A North Korean delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Park Kil-yon met with his counterpart, Khin Maung Win, in Rangoon in June 2001.
Win Tin, a prominent member of Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, said that the growing relationship between the two pariah states would likely pose serious challenges for the international community.
Quoting a Burmese proverb, he added: “It is look like saintly people in pursuit of virtue seek each other’s company.”
By MIN LWIN, Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Amid revelations about recent secret meetings between Burmese and North Korean leaders and growing concerns that the two countries may be cooperating in illegal weapons programs, a video showing the 1983 bombing of the Martyr’s Mausoleum in Rangoon has attracted strong interest among Burmese Internet users.
The video, which has been on the Web site Youtube for at least a year, has suddenly become a big hit among Burmese both inside and outside the country, reminding them of a savage incident that resulted in the severing of relations between the two countries two-and-a-half decades ago.
Apparently taken from Japanese news footage, the video shows a blast that killed 19 people, including 16 South Korean officials. The attack, by North Korean agents, was targeted at former South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan, who escaped death by being a few minutes late for a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument to Aung San and other assassinated leaders of Burma’s independence movement.
“The video footage is horrific, showing the killing and injuring of South Korean and Burmese officials. It reveals North Korea’s cruelty,” said an Internet user in Rangoon, Burma’s largest city.
The interest in the video comes amid growing evidence that Naypyidaw and Pyongyang are forging stronger military ties. Over the past two weeks, a series of documents have been leaked to exiled Burmese and international media organizations showing meetings between senior Burmese and North Korean military leaders.
“I am seriously wondering how these documents, including an MoU [Memorandum of Understanding] signed in North Korea, got out of Burma,” said one journalist in Rangoon.
The MoU appears in a top-secret document detailing a visit to North Korea by the Burmese junta’s No 3, Gen Thura Shwe Mann, and is related to North Korean technical assistance in the construction of a maze of tunnels in the Burmese regime’s capital of Naypyidaw.
Electronic copies of the MoU have been spreading widely among Internet users in Burma.
Some Burmese political analysts say they believe the documents were leaked by moderate military officials who are not happy with the Burmese senior leadership’s decision to restore diplomatic and military ties with North Korea.
“There are many moderate military officials who dislike what Snr-Gen Than Shwe did with North Korea, but they didn’t dare to criticize Than Shwe,” said a retired military official from Rangoon.
“Many military commanders don’t like North Korea, because North Korean agents killed members of a visiting South Korean delegation and Burmese officials on Burmese land,” he added. “These confidential documents may have come from military officials who don’t want diplomatic and military relations with North Korea.”
Burma’s ruling military council has been sending secret delegations to North Korea since 1999. A North Korean delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Park Kil-yon met with his counterpart, Khin Maung Win, in Rangoon in June 2001.
Win Tin, a prominent member of Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, said that the growing relationship between the two pariah states would likely pose serious challenges for the international community.
Quoting a Burmese proverb, he added: “It is look like saintly people in pursuit of virtue seek each other’s company.”
No comments:
Post a Comment