UN News Centre - Myanmar should release all political prisoners, Ban says ahead of visit
30 June 2009 – Myanmar should release all political prisoners, including the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today ahead of a planned visit to the Asian country for talks with the leadership on key issues.
Mr. Ban, who is scheduled to visit Myanmar for two days starting on Friday, told journalists in Japan – where he has begun a five-country international tour – that he realized there were concerns about the timing of the visit given that the trial of Ms. Suu Kyi is pending.
“It may be the case that the trial may happen during my visit in Myanmar. I am very much conscious of that. At the same time, to find the most appropriate timing has been a challenge for me, too,” he said.
The Secretary-General said he would use the visit to try to “raise in the strongest possible terms” the concerns of the international community about the situation inside Myanmar.
Mr. Ban reiterated that the authorities should release all political prisoners, including Ms. Suu Kyi, immediately resume dialogue between the Government and opposition leaders, and create both a political atmosphere and a legal framework conducive to the holding of credible elections next year.
“This is the commitment and concerns and aspiration of the international community. I am going to convey this strongly to Senior General Than Shwe and other leaders,” he said, adding that he also hopes to have dialogue with grassroots groups during his visit.
He last visited Myanmar in May 2008 in the wake of the catastrophic impact of Cyclone Nargis, which killed almost 150,000 people, and he said today that he hopes to build on the joint humanitarian efforts that emerged following that disaster.
While in Japan, Mr. Ban has held talks with the country’s Foreign Minister, Hirofumi Nakasone, with the two men discussing Myanmar, UN-Japanese cooperation and the implementation of the Security Council resolution on the recent nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
“I urge the North Korean authorities to refrain from taking any further measures which may deteriorate the already very serious situation,” the Secretary-General said to reporters. “These measures taken by the DPRK authorities run counter to the ongoing international community’s efforts to realize nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.”
Tomorrow Mr. Ban is slated to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, other political leaders, business figures, UN goodwill ambassadors, students and children.
After visiting Japan and Myanmar on this trip, the UN chief is scheduled to travel to Switzerland, Ireland and Italy.
30 June 2009 – Myanmar should release all political prisoners, including the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today ahead of a planned visit to the Asian country for talks with the leadership on key issues.
Mr. Ban, who is scheduled to visit Myanmar for two days starting on Friday, told journalists in Japan – where he has begun a five-country international tour – that he realized there were concerns about the timing of the visit given that the trial of Ms. Suu Kyi is pending.
“It may be the case that the trial may happen during my visit in Myanmar. I am very much conscious of that. At the same time, to find the most appropriate timing has been a challenge for me, too,” he said.
The Secretary-General said he would use the visit to try to “raise in the strongest possible terms” the concerns of the international community about the situation inside Myanmar.
Mr. Ban reiterated that the authorities should release all political prisoners, including Ms. Suu Kyi, immediately resume dialogue between the Government and opposition leaders, and create both a political atmosphere and a legal framework conducive to the holding of credible elections next year.
“This is the commitment and concerns and aspiration of the international community. I am going to convey this strongly to Senior General Than Shwe and other leaders,” he said, adding that he also hopes to have dialogue with grassroots groups during his visit.
He last visited Myanmar in May 2008 in the wake of the catastrophic impact of Cyclone Nargis, which killed almost 150,000 people, and he said today that he hopes to build on the joint humanitarian efforts that emerged following that disaster.
While in Japan, Mr. Ban has held talks with the country’s Foreign Minister, Hirofumi Nakasone, with the two men discussing Myanmar, UN-Japanese cooperation and the implementation of the Security Council resolution on the recent nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
“I urge the North Korean authorities to refrain from taking any further measures which may deteriorate the already very serious situation,” the Secretary-General said to reporters. “These measures taken by the DPRK authorities run counter to the ongoing international community’s efforts to realize nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.”
Tomorrow Mr. Ban is slated to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, other political leaders, business figures, UN goodwill ambassadors, students and children.
After visiting Japan and Myanmar on this trip, the UN chief is scheduled to travel to Switzerland, Ireland and Italy.
*****************************************************
Q+A - Will Ban's visit to Myanmar yield results?
Wed Jul 1, 2009 4:23pm IST
BANGKOK (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has pledged to deliver the "strongest possible" message to Myanmar's military regime to release all political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, when he visits the country this week.
Questions have been raised about what Ban believes he can achieve, and about the timing of his visit, which will start on Friday as Suu Kyi's widely condemned trial resumes in Yangon.
WHY IS SUU KYI ON TRIAL?
The Nobel laureate is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest last month by allowing an American intruder to stay at her home, which prosecutors say breached a security law designed to protect the state from "subversive elements".
However, critics say the charges are trumped up and the trial is an attempt to keep Suu Kyi out of multi-party elections next year, which are expected to entrench nearly half a century of army rule.
IS THERE A CHANCE SUU KYI WILL BE FREED?
There is very little hope of her release at this stage. Her participation in any political process would be a major threat to the junta's grip on the country.
Analysts say a suspended sentence and a return to house arrest is the best Suu Kyi can hope for. The generals might favour this outcome, hoping it might be seen as lenient, while still keeping Suu Kyi out of the political picture.
But diplomats in New York say it would not be enough to call Ban's visit a success. Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention, mostly under house arrest at her lakeside home in Yangon.
WHAT DOES BAN HOPE TO ACHIEVE?
Ban wants the junta to release all political prisoners, Suu Kyi included, and make meaningful democratic reforms.
The junta is usually impervious to international pressure, although Ban may believe he has some sway with the generals, having convinced them to allow aid agencies to operate in Myanmar after the devastating Cyclone Nargis last year.
Analysts say Ban may have been given some indication by the generals, or by U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari after his trip last week, that his visit can bring some kind of positive result.
"There must be something worthwhile he can achieve but it won't be enough to satisfy the international community," said Trevor Wilson, a former Australian ambassador to Myanmar.
"He has to be seen to be tough and uncompromising when he meets the generals and they will appear attentive. However, they're a hardline bunch and I'm not optimistic they'll change."
WHY IS BAN VISITING MYANMAR NOW?
The timing of Ban's visit -- just as Suu Kyi's trial resumes -- has baffled analysts who follow Myanmar.
Diplomats in New York have said that the generals offered him the dates of July 3-4 and were probably not willing to negotiate. Ban would have preferred to push his trip back so it did not coincide with the resumption of Suu Kyi's trial but was unable to do so, the diplomats said.
Ban is midway through a five-year term as U.N. chief and the chances of the junta making any concessions are slim. A fruitless visit at such a critical time would do nothing to enhance the reputation of Ban, who has been fighting off accusations of being too soft on the leaders of Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Sudan.
"The visit could be auspicious if he sends an unequivocal signal that the U.N. and the international community wants progress," said Amnesty International researcher Benjamin Zawacki, a specialist on Myanmar.
"But if he doesn't do that and he lets the generals set the agenda, he'll have achieved nothing."
Diplomats acknowledge the probability of failure is high. But members of the U.N. Security Council are backing Ban's visit, some of them reluctantly. Given China's reluctance to back U.N. sanctions, a visit of secretary-general is the only card they have to play in Myanmar at the moment.
WHY HAS THE JUNTA INVITED BAN?
U.N. diplomats have said Ban was apprehensive about accepting the invitation because he feared such a visit would be used as propaganda to legitimise the Myanmar regime and Suu Kyi's trial.
Analysts say the normally reclusive regime will portray the visit as a seal of international approval for its much-criticised "road map" to democracy.
"He's walking into a trap and anyone with any rational thinking can see that," said one Southeast Asian academic, who asked not to be named.
"The generals will use the visit to show they are open, legitimate and important enough for the U.N. secretary-general to give them a 'courtesy call'."
Wed Jul 1, 2009 4:23pm IST
BANGKOK (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has pledged to deliver the "strongest possible" message to Myanmar's military regime to release all political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, when he visits the country this week.
Questions have been raised about what Ban believes he can achieve, and about the timing of his visit, which will start on Friday as Suu Kyi's widely condemned trial resumes in Yangon.
WHY IS SUU KYI ON TRIAL?
The Nobel laureate is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest last month by allowing an American intruder to stay at her home, which prosecutors say breached a security law designed to protect the state from "subversive elements".
However, critics say the charges are trumped up and the trial is an attempt to keep Suu Kyi out of multi-party elections next year, which are expected to entrench nearly half a century of army rule.
IS THERE A CHANCE SUU KYI WILL BE FREED?
There is very little hope of her release at this stage. Her participation in any political process would be a major threat to the junta's grip on the country.
Analysts say a suspended sentence and a return to house arrest is the best Suu Kyi can hope for. The generals might favour this outcome, hoping it might be seen as lenient, while still keeping Suu Kyi out of the political picture.
But diplomats in New York say it would not be enough to call Ban's visit a success. Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention, mostly under house arrest at her lakeside home in Yangon.
WHAT DOES BAN HOPE TO ACHIEVE?
Ban wants the junta to release all political prisoners, Suu Kyi included, and make meaningful democratic reforms.
The junta is usually impervious to international pressure, although Ban may believe he has some sway with the generals, having convinced them to allow aid agencies to operate in Myanmar after the devastating Cyclone Nargis last year.
Analysts say Ban may have been given some indication by the generals, or by U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari after his trip last week, that his visit can bring some kind of positive result.
"There must be something worthwhile he can achieve but it won't be enough to satisfy the international community," said Trevor Wilson, a former Australian ambassador to Myanmar.
"He has to be seen to be tough and uncompromising when he meets the generals and they will appear attentive. However, they're a hardline bunch and I'm not optimistic they'll change."
WHY IS BAN VISITING MYANMAR NOW?
The timing of Ban's visit -- just as Suu Kyi's trial resumes -- has baffled analysts who follow Myanmar.
Diplomats in New York have said that the generals offered him the dates of July 3-4 and were probably not willing to negotiate. Ban would have preferred to push his trip back so it did not coincide with the resumption of Suu Kyi's trial but was unable to do so, the diplomats said.
Ban is midway through a five-year term as U.N. chief and the chances of the junta making any concessions are slim. A fruitless visit at such a critical time would do nothing to enhance the reputation of Ban, who has been fighting off accusations of being too soft on the leaders of Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Sudan.
"The visit could be auspicious if he sends an unequivocal signal that the U.N. and the international community wants progress," said Amnesty International researcher Benjamin Zawacki, a specialist on Myanmar.
"But if he doesn't do that and he lets the generals set the agenda, he'll have achieved nothing."
Diplomats acknowledge the probability of failure is high. But members of the U.N. Security Council are backing Ban's visit, some of them reluctantly. Given China's reluctance to back U.N. sanctions, a visit of secretary-general is the only card they have to play in Myanmar at the moment.
WHY HAS THE JUNTA INVITED BAN?
U.N. diplomats have said Ban was apprehensive about accepting the invitation because he feared such a visit would be used as propaganda to legitimise the Myanmar regime and Suu Kyi's trial.
Analysts say the normally reclusive regime will portray the visit as a seal of international approval for its much-criticised "road map" to democracy.
"He's walking into a trap and anyone with any rational thinking can see that," said one Southeast Asian academic, who asked not to be named.
"The generals will use the visit to show they are open, legitimate and important enough for the U.N. secretary-general to give them a 'courtesy call'."
*****************************************************
Q+A-How North Korea earns money from arms sales
Tue Jun 30, 2009 10:05pm EDT
By Jon Herskovitz
SEOUL, July 1 (Reuters) - The United States said it has cracked down on companies involved in suspected sales of North Korean weapons, a major source of foreign currency for the cash-strapped state.
Here are some questions and answers about the North's suspected proliferation activities:
HOW MUCH DOES NORTH KOREA MAKE FROM ARMS SALES?
The U.S.-based Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis estimates that North Korea, with an annual GDP of about $20 billion, earns some $1.5 billion a year from missile sales. Other studies said the figure may be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, but that U.N. sanctions have cut into exports.
The United States suspects the North has also sold nuclear know-how, but there are no figures readily available on income.
WHO ARE THE CUSTOMERS?
Since the 1980s North Korea has sold missile systems to Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen, the International Crisis Group said in a report last month. Experts said these include the North's variants of the Scud missile and its mid-range Rodong ballistic missile.
The ICG report also said there is strong evidence that North Korea was cooperating with Syria in an attempt to build a reactor that could be used in a plutonium-based weapons programme. The suspected Syrian facility was destroyed by the Israeli air force about two years ago.
WILL U.N. SANCTIONS WORK?
Sanctions from the United Nations and others have made it more difficult for the North to sell arms abroad, experts say, but Pyongyang has almost nothing else to export and is likely to search for ways to bust the sanctions.
The key to enforcing sanctions is global cooperation, with the North's neighbour and biggest benefactor China playing a major role. Fearful of moves that could lead to a collapse of the North Korean government and chaos on its border, China has expressed caution in the enforcement of sanctions.
The U.S. Treasury brought North Korea's international finances to a virtual halt in 2005 by cracking down on a Macau bank suspected of aiding the North's illicit financial activities. Other banks, worried about being snared by U.S. financial authorities, steered clear of the North's money.
HOW ELSE IS THE NORTH EARNING FOREIGN CURRENCY?
The U.S. government has accused North Korea of trafficking in narcotics, counterfeiting U.S. currency and producing fake cigarettes. Intelligence sources say the North also earns foreign currency through insurance fraud while its overseas missions have also developed various minor schemes to boost Pyongyang's coffers.
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
The North uses foreign currency to buy goods overseas that reward the ruling elite. The funds enrich leader Kim Jong-il and his family and they are also used to buy materials for its arms and nuclear programmes.
Tue Jun 30, 2009 10:05pm EDT
By Jon Herskovitz
SEOUL, July 1 (Reuters) - The United States said it has cracked down on companies involved in suspected sales of North Korean weapons, a major source of foreign currency for the cash-strapped state.
Here are some questions and answers about the North's suspected proliferation activities:
HOW MUCH DOES NORTH KOREA MAKE FROM ARMS SALES?
The U.S.-based Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis estimates that North Korea, with an annual GDP of about $20 billion, earns some $1.5 billion a year from missile sales. Other studies said the figure may be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, but that U.N. sanctions have cut into exports.
The United States suspects the North has also sold nuclear know-how, but there are no figures readily available on income.
WHO ARE THE CUSTOMERS?
Since the 1980s North Korea has sold missile systems to Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen, the International Crisis Group said in a report last month. Experts said these include the North's variants of the Scud missile and its mid-range Rodong ballistic missile.
The ICG report also said there is strong evidence that North Korea was cooperating with Syria in an attempt to build a reactor that could be used in a plutonium-based weapons programme. The suspected Syrian facility was destroyed by the Israeli air force about two years ago.
WILL U.N. SANCTIONS WORK?
Sanctions from the United Nations and others have made it more difficult for the North to sell arms abroad, experts say, but Pyongyang has almost nothing else to export and is likely to search for ways to bust the sanctions.
The key to enforcing sanctions is global cooperation, with the North's neighbour and biggest benefactor China playing a major role. Fearful of moves that could lead to a collapse of the North Korean government and chaos on its border, China has expressed caution in the enforcement of sanctions.
The U.S. Treasury brought North Korea's international finances to a virtual halt in 2005 by cracking down on a Macau bank suspected of aiding the North's illicit financial activities. Other banks, worried about being snared by U.S. financial authorities, steered clear of the North's money.
HOW ELSE IS THE NORTH EARNING FOREIGN CURRENCY?
The U.S. government has accused North Korea of trafficking in narcotics, counterfeiting U.S. currency and producing fake cigarettes. Intelligence sources say the North also earns foreign currency through insurance fraud while its overseas missions have also developed various minor schemes to boost Pyongyang's coffers.
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
The North uses foreign currency to buy goods overseas that reward the ruling elite. The funds enrich leader Kim Jong-il and his family and they are also used to buy materials for its arms and nuclear programmes.
*****************************************************
Myanmar rally in Japan calls on UN chief to press junta
AFP - Wednesday, July 1
TOKYO (AFP) — About 100 Myanmar activists rallied in Japan on Wednesday, calling on visiting UN chief Ban Ki-moon to press the junta to free political prisoners including democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Protesters said Ban, who is slated to visit Myanmar on Friday and Saturday, must press the military regime for a concrete outcome when he meets the generals ruling the isolated country formerly known as Burma.
"Ban Ki-moon used to say he would not visit until the military regime makes visible progress" toward democracy, said Myat Thu, 44, a Japan-based activist.
"I want him to achieve the release of political prisoners, like Aung San Suu Kyi," he said, referring to the Nobel Peace laureate who has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.
Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported Wednesday that the junta had given Ban permission to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, quoting an anonymous regime source, but the report could not be independently verified.
Ban visits Myanmar as the regime prepares to resume the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest after an American man swam to her lakeside villa.
She faces up to five years in jail if convicted.
Ban has said he understood concern over the timing of his visit, but that he would urge Myanmar to release all political prisoners and resume talks with opposition leaders on holding elections.
The protesters rallying outside the foreign ministry held pictures of the democracy leader and chanted for democracy in Myanmar.
Japan has historically maintained relatively friendly ties with Myanmar and was previously its leading donor.
Tokyo drastically reduced development aid to Myanmar over human rights concerns, particularly after the junta cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrations led by Buddhist monks in 2007.
However, the Japanese government refused to join its Western allies in imposing sanctions.
AFP - Wednesday, July 1
TOKYO (AFP) — About 100 Myanmar activists rallied in Japan on Wednesday, calling on visiting UN chief Ban Ki-moon to press the junta to free political prisoners including democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Protesters said Ban, who is slated to visit Myanmar on Friday and Saturday, must press the military regime for a concrete outcome when he meets the generals ruling the isolated country formerly known as Burma.
"Ban Ki-moon used to say he would not visit until the military regime makes visible progress" toward democracy, said Myat Thu, 44, a Japan-based activist.
"I want him to achieve the release of political prisoners, like Aung San Suu Kyi," he said, referring to the Nobel Peace laureate who has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.
Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported Wednesday that the junta had given Ban permission to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, quoting an anonymous regime source, but the report could not be independently verified.
Ban visits Myanmar as the regime prepares to resume the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest after an American man swam to her lakeside villa.
She faces up to five years in jail if convicted.
Ban has said he understood concern over the timing of his visit, but that he would urge Myanmar to release all political prisoners and resume talks with opposition leaders on holding elections.
The protesters rallying outside the foreign ministry held pictures of the democracy leader and chanted for democracy in Myanmar.
Japan has historically maintained relatively friendly ties with Myanmar and was previously its leading donor.
Tokyo drastically reduced development aid to Myanmar over human rights concerns, particularly after the junta cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrations led by Buddhist monks in 2007.
However, the Japanese government refused to join its Western allies in imposing sanctions.
*****************************************************
Myanmar fossil may shed light on evolution
By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer – 51 mins ago
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) – Fossils recently discovered in Myanmar could prove that the common ancestors of humans, monkeys and apes — known as anthropoids — evolved from primates in Asia, rather than Africa, researchers contend in a study released Wednesday.
The 38 million-year-old pieces of jawbones and teeth are part of a growing body of evidence that is helping scientists to understand the origin of primates, said Dr. Chris Beard, a paleontologist at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh and a member of the team who found the fossils near Bagan in central Myanmar in 2005.
"When we found it, we knew we had a new type of primate and basically what kind of primate it was," Beard said in a telephone interview from Pittsburgh. "It turns out that jaws and teeth are very diagnostic. ... They are almost like fingerprints for fossils like this."
The findings were published in the Proceedings of The Royal Society B, a London-based peer-reviewed journal.
Other scientists not involved in the study said that the findings were significant but that they would not end the debate over the origin of anthropoid (highly developed) primates.
Beard and his team from France, Thailand and Myanmar concluded that the fossils — which they dubbed Ganlea megacanina — came from 10 to 15 individuals of a new species that belonged to an extinct family of Asian anthropoid primates known on Amphipithecidae. Wear and tear found on the canine teeth suggest the tree-dwelling, monkey-like creatures with long tails used their teeth to crack open tropical fruit to get to the pulp and seeds — behavior similar to modern South American saki monkeys that inhabit the Amazon basin.
"Not only does Ganlea look like an anthropoid, but it was acting like an anthropoid 38 million years ago by having this feeding ecology that was quite specialized," Beard said.
His team determined that the fossil was 38 million years old, making it several million years older than any anthropoid found in Africa and the second-oldest discovered in Asia.
In 1994, Beard and his Chinese colleagues found fossilized foot bones of the anthropoid Eosimias — one of the worlds smallest primates — which lived between 40 million and 45 million years ago and roamed ancient rain forest on the eastern coast of China.
Beard said the age of both fossils was the evidence he needed to challenge contentions that anthropoid primates had evolved in Africa, where Lucy, a 3.2 million-year-old fossil, was discovered in 1974.
"This new fossil Ganlea definitely helps us argue — and we think the argument is pretty close to settled now — that when you go back this far in time, the common ancestor of monkeys, apes and humans was definitely in Asia, not in Africa," Beard said.
In May, researchers unveiled a nearly intact skeleton of a 47 million-year-old primate, found in Germany and dubbed "Ida," that they said provides a glimpse into how our distant ancestors may have looked.
Jorn Hurum, who brought Ida to the University of Oslo Natural History Museum, that it was too early to draw conclusions from the Myanmar fossils because only jawbones and teeth were found.
"These fragments are still too few and far between," Hurum said. "This is the kind of scientific debate that will continue until more complete skeletons like Ida has been found, and this may take several hundred years."
Professor Colin Groves, a primate expert from the Australian National University's School of Archaeology & Anthropology argued it was wrong to rule out Africa altogether because of the dearth of good dig sites on the continent from that period.
"There are no sites of comparable age in Africa ... so we just can't tell what the real locus of anthropoid evolution at this time was," Groves told the Associated Press in an e-mail. "It could still have been Africa (but) most likely these proto-anthropoids were widespread throughout the old world tropics."
By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer – 51 mins ago
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) – Fossils recently discovered in Myanmar could prove that the common ancestors of humans, monkeys and apes — known as anthropoids — evolved from primates in Asia, rather than Africa, researchers contend in a study released Wednesday.
The 38 million-year-old pieces of jawbones and teeth are part of a growing body of evidence that is helping scientists to understand the origin of primates, said Dr. Chris Beard, a paleontologist at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh and a member of the team who found the fossils near Bagan in central Myanmar in 2005.
"When we found it, we knew we had a new type of primate and basically what kind of primate it was," Beard said in a telephone interview from Pittsburgh. "It turns out that jaws and teeth are very diagnostic. ... They are almost like fingerprints for fossils like this."
The findings were published in the Proceedings of The Royal Society B, a London-based peer-reviewed journal.
Other scientists not involved in the study said that the findings were significant but that they would not end the debate over the origin of anthropoid (highly developed) primates.
Beard and his team from France, Thailand and Myanmar concluded that the fossils — which they dubbed Ganlea megacanina — came from 10 to 15 individuals of a new species that belonged to an extinct family of Asian anthropoid primates known on Amphipithecidae. Wear and tear found on the canine teeth suggest the tree-dwelling, monkey-like creatures with long tails used their teeth to crack open tropical fruit to get to the pulp and seeds — behavior similar to modern South American saki monkeys that inhabit the Amazon basin.
"Not only does Ganlea look like an anthropoid, but it was acting like an anthropoid 38 million years ago by having this feeding ecology that was quite specialized," Beard said.
His team determined that the fossil was 38 million years old, making it several million years older than any anthropoid found in Africa and the second-oldest discovered in Asia.
In 1994, Beard and his Chinese colleagues found fossilized foot bones of the anthropoid Eosimias — one of the worlds smallest primates — which lived between 40 million and 45 million years ago and roamed ancient rain forest on the eastern coast of China.
Beard said the age of both fossils was the evidence he needed to challenge contentions that anthropoid primates had evolved in Africa, where Lucy, a 3.2 million-year-old fossil, was discovered in 1974.
"This new fossil Ganlea definitely helps us argue — and we think the argument is pretty close to settled now — that when you go back this far in time, the common ancestor of monkeys, apes and humans was definitely in Asia, not in Africa," Beard said.
In May, researchers unveiled a nearly intact skeleton of a 47 million-year-old primate, found in Germany and dubbed "Ida," that they said provides a glimpse into how our distant ancestors may have looked.
Jorn Hurum, who brought Ida to the University of Oslo Natural History Museum, that it was too early to draw conclusions from the Myanmar fossils because only jawbones and teeth were found.
"These fragments are still too few and far between," Hurum said. "This is the kind of scientific debate that will continue until more complete skeletons like Ida has been found, and this may take several hundred years."
Professor Colin Groves, a primate expert from the Australian National University's School of Archaeology & Anthropology argued it was wrong to rule out Africa altogether because of the dearth of good dig sites on the continent from that period.
"There are no sites of comparable age in Africa ... so we just can't tell what the real locus of anthropoid evolution at this time was," Groves told the Associated Press in an e-mail. "It could still have been Africa (but) most likely these proto-anthropoids were widespread throughout the old world tropics."
*****************************************************
The Globalist - Ending Burma’s Isolation (Part II)
By Susan Braden | Tuesday, June 30, 2009
In the second part of her series on the plight of the Burmese people, Susan Braden describes the staggering lack of development and recovery since the 2008 cyclone. Fearing indirect support to Burma’s repressive government, the international community has largely neglected to give the amount of aid required to provide even the most basic benefits, she argues.
The Burmese manage the heat by getting up at 4:00 in the morning, going out to work until 10:00, coming home to rest until 2:00 and going out again until dusk.
Spend any time in Burma and one thing becomes very clear. Burma’s 50 million people are some of the hardest-working people on earth. They deserve better from their government and also from the international community.
The Burmese have to work hard because they would otherwise die. There is no so-called safety net of government support for them. A fisherman or farmer in Burma makes approximately $3 a day, and he spends 75% of that on securing adequate food for his family.
If his house blows down because of some natural disaster, such as last year's cyclone, this farmer or fisherman does not have enough left over money to pay for the reconstruction of his house — let alone to replace his boat or get the salt water out of the community’s drinking water. And he can’t go to the bank for a loan or the government for credit.
He goes without, and is forced deeper into poverty unless the international community comes to his assistance.
However, because those in power in Burma care more about enriching themselves than taking care of their citizenry, the international community has not been particularly responsive to supporting the needs of the Burmese people.
According to UN estimates, Burma is the 13th poorest country in the world, but receives less overseas development assistance — $4.08 per person as of 2007 — than any of the poorest 55 countries. The average assistance in this group of countries is more than $42 per person.
Many other countries with similarly repressive governments and levels of poverty receive much larger assistance packages, such as Sudan ($51 per person), Zimbabwe ($41 per person) and Laos ($58 per person).
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s re-arrest is tragic for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the United States and other Western governments will find it hard to increase the size and scope of their assistance to the people of Burma.
Doing so would somehow be viewed as undermining the wishes of Suu Kyi. She once discouraged travel to Burma on the grounds that it would help the government, and was apparently initially against providing assistance to the Burmese people after the cyclone for the same reason.
However, if Suu Kyi were able to travel around the country and see what I have seen, she would know that the sanctions are not hurting the government; they are only further impoverishing the people.
She would agree that despite the challenges of working in Burma, significant opportunities exist to support the survivors of the cyclone, combat infectious diseases, improve education and strengthen civil society without providing financial, technical or material assistance to Burmese government institutions.
There are huge needs in the areas of health, education and livelihood throughout the country. Doing what we can to meet the basic needs of people living below the poverty line is just as much a human right as our efforts to secure their political rights. Building local capacity to think, analyze, solve problems and mediate their differences are, in any case, democracy-building activities with a small “d.”
The United States gave generously to the people of Burma after the cyclone, providing $75 million to the emergency response effort. This funding was carefully monitored and proven to provide lifesaving shelter, healthcare and livelihood support to the people of the delta.
Despite the success of the effort and the realization that much more needs to be done, the Obama Administration recently requested only $38 million for humanitarian assistance programs to Burma for 2009, $21 million of which will be spent on humanitarian aid inside Burma.
The remainder of the money will support important and long-standing programs to meet the needs of Burmese refugees throughout Asia, as well as cross-border assistance to areas of southeast Burma that cannot be reached by agencies working inside the country. The funds that are dedicated to humanitarian operations inside the country represent a dramatic drop in funding from the commitment that the United States showed during the cyclone.
With conditions throughout Burma continuing to deteriorate, and the Obama Administration having committed to reviewing U.S. policy toward Burma, the United States should come up with a new policy towards Burma that does not legitimize the government or contribute to its coffers — but also does not drive the Burmese people deeper into poverty.
For the Delta, this would mean, among other things, funding a second wave of shelters. The plastic sheeting given out during the initial stages of the relief effort make the houses too hot, and people cannot afford the wood and thatch that their homes were constructed of before the cyclone hit.
It could also mean supporting Disaster Risk Reduction projects so that fewer people die the next time disaster strikes.
The United States could also be funding cash for work programs that promote democracy building with a small “d,” but are also a good way to get roads, schools, foot paths and water storage containers built. This will give folks an alternative source of income as they try to get back on their feet.
By Susan Braden | Tuesday, June 30, 2009
In the second part of her series on the plight of the Burmese people, Susan Braden describes the staggering lack of development and recovery since the 2008 cyclone. Fearing indirect support to Burma’s repressive government, the international community has largely neglected to give the amount of aid required to provide even the most basic benefits, she argues.
The Burmese manage the heat by getting up at 4:00 in the morning, going out to work until 10:00, coming home to rest until 2:00 and going out again until dusk.
Spend any time in Burma and one thing becomes very clear. Burma’s 50 million people are some of the hardest-working people on earth. They deserve better from their government and also from the international community.
The Burmese have to work hard because they would otherwise die. There is no so-called safety net of government support for them. A fisherman or farmer in Burma makes approximately $3 a day, and he spends 75% of that on securing adequate food for his family.
If his house blows down because of some natural disaster, such as last year's cyclone, this farmer or fisherman does not have enough left over money to pay for the reconstruction of his house — let alone to replace his boat or get the salt water out of the community’s drinking water. And he can’t go to the bank for a loan or the government for credit.
He goes without, and is forced deeper into poverty unless the international community comes to his assistance.
However, because those in power in Burma care more about enriching themselves than taking care of their citizenry, the international community has not been particularly responsive to supporting the needs of the Burmese people.
According to UN estimates, Burma is the 13th poorest country in the world, but receives less overseas development assistance — $4.08 per person as of 2007 — than any of the poorest 55 countries. The average assistance in this group of countries is more than $42 per person.
Many other countries with similarly repressive governments and levels of poverty receive much larger assistance packages, such as Sudan ($51 per person), Zimbabwe ($41 per person) and Laos ($58 per person).
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s re-arrest is tragic for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the United States and other Western governments will find it hard to increase the size and scope of their assistance to the people of Burma.
Doing so would somehow be viewed as undermining the wishes of Suu Kyi. She once discouraged travel to Burma on the grounds that it would help the government, and was apparently initially against providing assistance to the Burmese people after the cyclone for the same reason.
However, if Suu Kyi were able to travel around the country and see what I have seen, she would know that the sanctions are not hurting the government; they are only further impoverishing the people.
She would agree that despite the challenges of working in Burma, significant opportunities exist to support the survivors of the cyclone, combat infectious diseases, improve education and strengthen civil society without providing financial, technical or material assistance to Burmese government institutions.
There are huge needs in the areas of health, education and livelihood throughout the country. Doing what we can to meet the basic needs of people living below the poverty line is just as much a human right as our efforts to secure their political rights. Building local capacity to think, analyze, solve problems and mediate their differences are, in any case, democracy-building activities with a small “d.”
The United States gave generously to the people of Burma after the cyclone, providing $75 million to the emergency response effort. This funding was carefully monitored and proven to provide lifesaving shelter, healthcare and livelihood support to the people of the delta.
Despite the success of the effort and the realization that much more needs to be done, the Obama Administration recently requested only $38 million for humanitarian assistance programs to Burma for 2009, $21 million of which will be spent on humanitarian aid inside Burma.
The remainder of the money will support important and long-standing programs to meet the needs of Burmese refugees throughout Asia, as well as cross-border assistance to areas of southeast Burma that cannot be reached by agencies working inside the country. The funds that are dedicated to humanitarian operations inside the country represent a dramatic drop in funding from the commitment that the United States showed during the cyclone.
With conditions throughout Burma continuing to deteriorate, and the Obama Administration having committed to reviewing U.S. policy toward Burma, the United States should come up with a new policy towards Burma that does not legitimize the government or contribute to its coffers — but also does not drive the Burmese people deeper into poverty.
For the Delta, this would mean, among other things, funding a second wave of shelters. The plastic sheeting given out during the initial stages of the relief effort make the houses too hot, and people cannot afford the wood and thatch that their homes were constructed of before the cyclone hit.
It could also mean supporting Disaster Risk Reduction projects so that fewer people die the next time disaster strikes.
The United States could also be funding cash for work programs that promote democracy building with a small “d,” but are also a good way to get roads, schools, foot paths and water storage containers built. This will give folks an alternative source of income as they try to get back on their feet.
*****************************************************
The Huffington Post - North Korean Ship May Have Turned Around Because Of Burma's Rejection
KWANG-TAE KIM | July 1, 2009 06:48 AM EST |
SEOUL, South Korea — A North Korean ship monitored for more than a week by the U.S. Navy has changed course and is heading back the way it came, U.S. officials said, as Pyongyang warned Wednesday it will take military action if anyone attempts to search its vessels.
The Kang Nam 1 _ originally believed to be bound for Myanmar with suspicious cargo on board, possibly illicit weapons _ turned around and headed back north on Sunday, two U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.
The U.S. officials, speaking in Washington on Tuesday, said they do not know where the ship is going. But it was some 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of Hong Kong on Tuesday and heading north, one official said.
The North Korean ship is the first vessel monitored under U.N. sanctions aimed at punishing the regime for conducting an underground nuclear test in May.
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.
The communist nation has said it would consider interception of its ships a declaration of war. On Wednesday, North Korea's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper renewed the warning.
"Touching our ships constitutes a grave military provocation against our country," the paper said in commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. "These acts will be followed immediately by self-defensive military countermeasures."
The North's warning did not specifically mention the Kang Nam 1, which the two U.S. officials said has been moving very slowly in recent days in a possible sign it was trying to conserve fuel. The resolution prohibits U.N. members from providing fuel to ships suspected of carrying banned items.
The officials said they did not know what the ship's turnaround means, nor what prompted it.
Myanmar's authorities had informed the North Korean ambassador that it would not allow the Kang Nam to dock if it was carrying weapons or other banned materials, a Radio Free Asia report said.
Koh Yu-hwan, an expert at Seoul's Dongguk University, said North Korea appears to have decided to bring home its vessel because of Myanmar's reaction.
"The North's cargo ship appears to have changed its course as the country's rogue image could be further strengthened if illegal weapons were on board," he said.
A U.S. delegation headed by envoy Philip Goldberg, meanwhile, arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss the U.N. sanctions with Chinese officials later this week. Goldberg, a former ambassador who is in charge of coordinating the sanctions' implementation, did not speak to reporters at the airport.
China's cooperation in enforcing the sanctions against neighboring North Korea, which counts Beijing as its main ally, is seen as crucial to encouraging the North back to nuclear disarmament talks the regime abandoned in April.
Pyongyang also threatened in April to launch a long-range missile. A no-sail zone remains in effect off North Korea's east coast through July 10. An announcement cited "military drills" but there were concerns the defiant nation might test-fire short- or medium-range missiles, or even a long-range missile, in further violation of Security Council resolutions.
However, there was no sign of an imminent missile launch Wednesday, an official at South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff said. He asked not to be named, citing agency policy.
In Washington, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed financial sanctions on Hong Kong Electronics, a company located in Kish Island, Iran, accused of involvement in North Korea's missile proliferation network.
That means any bank accounts or other financial assets found in the U.S. belonging to the company must be frozen. Americans also are prohibited from doing business with the firm.
Meanwhile, North Korea's government has sought to whip up anti-American sentiment with a series of state-organized rallies. KCNA said Wednesday that the latest anti-U.S. demonstrations were held through Tuesday in three provinces where participants condemned the U.N. resolution and what the regime calls a U.S. plot to invade the country.
Such rallies have been held since June 25, the anniversary of the 1950 outbreak of the Korean War where the U.S. fought alongside South Korea against invading troops from North Korea. The war ended in 1953 in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas still technically at war.
In Beijing, the U.N. World Food Program said Wednesday it was unable to reach millions of hungry women and children in the North due to a lack of international funding, and the North's new restrictions on its staff and where it can operate.
KWANG-TAE KIM | July 1, 2009 06:48 AM EST |
SEOUL, South Korea — A North Korean ship monitored for more than a week by the U.S. Navy has changed course and is heading back the way it came, U.S. officials said, as Pyongyang warned Wednesday it will take military action if anyone attempts to search its vessels.
The Kang Nam 1 _ originally believed to be bound for Myanmar with suspicious cargo on board, possibly illicit weapons _ turned around and headed back north on Sunday, two U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.
The U.S. officials, speaking in Washington on Tuesday, said they do not know where the ship is going. But it was some 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of Hong Kong on Tuesday and heading north, one official said.
The North Korean ship is the first vessel monitored under U.N. sanctions aimed at punishing the regime for conducting an underground nuclear test in May.
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.
The communist nation has said it would consider interception of its ships a declaration of war. On Wednesday, North Korea's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper renewed the warning.
"Touching our ships constitutes a grave military provocation against our country," the paper said in commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. "These acts will be followed immediately by self-defensive military countermeasures."
The North's warning did not specifically mention the Kang Nam 1, which the two U.S. officials said has been moving very slowly in recent days in a possible sign it was trying to conserve fuel. The resolution prohibits U.N. members from providing fuel to ships suspected of carrying banned items.
The officials said they did not know what the ship's turnaround means, nor what prompted it.
Myanmar's authorities had informed the North Korean ambassador that it would not allow the Kang Nam to dock if it was carrying weapons or other banned materials, a Radio Free Asia report said.
Koh Yu-hwan, an expert at Seoul's Dongguk University, said North Korea appears to have decided to bring home its vessel because of Myanmar's reaction.
"The North's cargo ship appears to have changed its course as the country's rogue image could be further strengthened if illegal weapons were on board," he said.
A U.S. delegation headed by envoy Philip Goldberg, meanwhile, arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss the U.N. sanctions with Chinese officials later this week. Goldberg, a former ambassador who is in charge of coordinating the sanctions' implementation, did not speak to reporters at the airport.
China's cooperation in enforcing the sanctions against neighboring North Korea, which counts Beijing as its main ally, is seen as crucial to encouraging the North back to nuclear disarmament talks the regime abandoned in April.
Pyongyang also threatened in April to launch a long-range missile. A no-sail zone remains in effect off North Korea's east coast through July 10. An announcement cited "military drills" but there were concerns the defiant nation might test-fire short- or medium-range missiles, or even a long-range missile, in further violation of Security Council resolutions.
However, there was no sign of an imminent missile launch Wednesday, an official at South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff said. He asked not to be named, citing agency policy.
In Washington, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed financial sanctions on Hong Kong Electronics, a company located in Kish Island, Iran, accused of involvement in North Korea's missile proliferation network.
That means any bank accounts or other financial assets found in the U.S. belonging to the company must be frozen. Americans also are prohibited from doing business with the firm.
Meanwhile, North Korea's government has sought to whip up anti-American sentiment with a series of state-organized rallies. KCNA said Wednesday that the latest anti-U.S. demonstrations were held through Tuesday in three provinces where participants condemned the U.N. resolution and what the regime calls a U.S. plot to invade the country.
Such rallies have been held since June 25, the anniversary of the 1950 outbreak of the Korean War where the U.S. fought alongside South Korea against invading troops from North Korea. The war ended in 1953 in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas still technically at war.
In Beijing, the U.N. World Food Program said Wednesday it was unable to reach millions of hungry women and children in the North due to a lack of international funding, and the North's new restrictions on its staff and where it can operate.
*****************************************************
The Financial Times - N Korea-Burma link suspected
By Jonathan Soble in Tokyo
Published: July 1 2009 02:10 | Last updated: July 1 2009 02:10
The arrest by Japanese police this week of three men over an alleged attempt to send high-tech arms-making equipment to Burma at the behest of North Korean agents has deepened suspicions that Pyongyang is helping to arm Burma’s military junta.
Evidence of co-operation between the two pariah states has mounted in recent weeks. A US warship has been trailing a North Korean vessel believed to be carrying small arms to Burma in violation of UN sanctions, while Burmese exiles have published photographs of underground tunnels and bunkers that they said were built inside Burma with North Korean help.
Japanese police on Tuesday said the three arrested men – a North Korean citizen and two Japanese – had attempted to ship to Burma a magnetometer, a device used to measure the strength of magnetic fields. Export of “dual use” devices is restricted under Japanese law because they are employed in the manufacture of ballistic missiles.
The arrested men were identified as Lee Kyoung Ho and Yasuhiko Muto, operators of two export and trading firms, and Miaki Katsuki, president of a small electronics maker that is believed to have manufactured the device. They were detained on Monday in Kanagawa prefecture, west of Tokyo.
Representatives for the men could not be reached for comment.
Police said searches of the men’s offices had uncovered an order for the magnetometer issued by a Hong Kong-based trading company with links to the North Korean military. Such an order would suggest that North Korea was attempting indirectly to transfer potential missile-building technology.
Police said the men had first attempted to ship the Y7m ($73,000) device to Burma last year but were told by Japan’s trade ministry that its export required a licence. They attempted another shipment early this year, this time through Malaysia but still without the required licence, according to police.
Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s leader, has long been suspected of trading arms and arms-making technology with unsavoury allies, either for cash or for secrets such as the nuclear expertise he is believed to have obtained from Pakistan. North Korea provoked an international outcry by conducting its second test of a nuclear device last month.
North Korea’s apparent reaching out to the Burmese junta adds to its history of provocative behaviour. It test-fired a Taepodong long-range missile over Japan in April and, more recently, has launched short-distance missiles into the sea and sent a patrol boat into South Korean waters.
High-level military talks scheduled for next year between the US and China – historically a supporter of both North Korea and Burma – are expected to focus on strategies for containing Mr Kim’s totalitarian regime.
By Jonathan Soble in Tokyo
Published: July 1 2009 02:10 | Last updated: July 1 2009 02:10
The arrest by Japanese police this week of three men over an alleged attempt to send high-tech arms-making equipment to Burma at the behest of North Korean agents has deepened suspicions that Pyongyang is helping to arm Burma’s military junta.
Evidence of co-operation between the two pariah states has mounted in recent weeks. A US warship has been trailing a North Korean vessel believed to be carrying small arms to Burma in violation of UN sanctions, while Burmese exiles have published photographs of underground tunnels and bunkers that they said were built inside Burma with North Korean help.
Japanese police on Tuesday said the three arrested men – a North Korean citizen and two Japanese – had attempted to ship to Burma a magnetometer, a device used to measure the strength of magnetic fields. Export of “dual use” devices is restricted under Japanese law because they are employed in the manufacture of ballistic missiles.
The arrested men were identified as Lee Kyoung Ho and Yasuhiko Muto, operators of two export and trading firms, and Miaki Katsuki, president of a small electronics maker that is believed to have manufactured the device. They were detained on Monday in Kanagawa prefecture, west of Tokyo.
Representatives for the men could not be reached for comment.
Police said searches of the men’s offices had uncovered an order for the magnetometer issued by a Hong Kong-based trading company with links to the North Korean military. Such an order would suggest that North Korea was attempting indirectly to transfer potential missile-building technology.
Police said the men had first attempted to ship the Y7m ($73,000) device to Burma last year but were told by Japan’s trade ministry that its export required a licence. They attempted another shipment early this year, this time through Malaysia but still without the required licence, according to police.
Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s leader, has long been suspected of trading arms and arms-making technology with unsavoury allies, either for cash or for secrets such as the nuclear expertise he is believed to have obtained from Pakistan. North Korea provoked an international outcry by conducting its second test of a nuclear device last month.
North Korea’s apparent reaching out to the Burmese junta adds to its history of provocative behaviour. It test-fired a Taepodong long-range missile over Japan in April and, more recently, has launched short-distance missiles into the sea and sent a patrol boat into South Korean waters.
High-level military talks scheduled for next year between the US and China – historically a supporter of both North Korea and Burma – are expected to focus on strategies for containing Mr Kim’s totalitarian regime.
*****************************************************
Volume 26 - Issue 14 :: Jul. 04-17, 2009
FrontLine - Torture by law
Aung San Suu Kyi’s latest arrest shows that the junta plans to keep her out of the public domain during the elections promised for next year.
P.S. SURYANARAYANA
IF there be soft persecution, Myanmar’s military rulers seem adept at subjecting the celebrated democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi to that form of state policy. This alone can explain the saga or her continuing detention on one charge or another despite her fidelity to the path of peaceful protest.
It is often said of the junta that it has not resorted to brutish methods against the Nobel Peace laureate. Cited as a contrast in this situation are the notorious practices that the United States has allowed to take place at Guantanamo Bay and at Abu Ghraib in recent times. Viewed in this skewed perspective, Suu Kyi’s last phase of house arrest in Yangon, which ended on May 27, and her being lodged in a two-storey house during a new trial can be seen as softer persecution.
As this is written, during a pause in the new trial, Myanmar’s apex court has set a date, June 24, to hear a petition on the number of defence witnesses that a lower court could hear. This procedural issue was not without political significance. Myanmar’s junta, formally known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), was keen to send a message to the international community. The SPDC wanted the world to know that “due legal process” was being followed in the new case against the 64-year-old Suu Kyi, frail in physique but resolute in spirit.
The junta did not, of course, seek to put any kind of political gloss over the strange charge against her. Not only that. A Myanmarese Minister, while speaking at the Asian Security Summit in Singapore on May 31, digressed to portray the bizarre charge as a serious case of crime against the state. The summit was organised by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. Surprisingly, the Minister’s tirade against Suu Kyi went unchallenged by the summit participants. Asked about this, the institute indicated that its politically neutral policy was to provide a platform for the representatives of different states.
THE CHARGE
The crux of the charge against Suu Kyi is that she, while still under house arrest in early May, violated the terms under which she was granted that facility rather than confinement in a jail. Outwardly, such a charge does not stretch the limits of credibility. However, the specific offence, as alleged, does.
She is said to have sheltered a male American intruder for two days, without notifying the authorities at the first opportunity so that he could have been caught instantly. The intruder is said to have swam to her lakeside house. There is a mismatch between the basis of the charge and the fact that her house was under constant surveillance of the junta’s security and intelligence agencies.
This fundamental flaw was pointed out by a former Secretary-General of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the sidelines of the recent Singapore conference. Inexplicable was how the American national could indeed make it to Suu Kyi’s house totally undetected as he took some time to swim across the adjacent lake.
Suu Kyi’s defence lawyers, Nyan Win and Kyi Win, in their initial responses to this correspondent over the telephone from Yangon, indicated that she, as a good-natured leader, might have shown some hospitality to a person who seemed exhausted after a long swim. However, the lawyers emphasised that she had nothing to do with the intruder whom she did not invite at all. In any case, they said, she expressed absolute willingness to face the bizarre charge. Her reasoning was that the junta would otherwise harass and might even launch a crackdown against her followers in the National League for Democracy (NLD).
In those circumstances, she was shifted to a “detention house” on the premises of the high-security Insein Prison, in the same city. The “detention house” is, however, located outside the jail. She was taken to this place even before the expiry of her house arrest, which could not be extended any further under the junta’s own laws.
On June 19, Suu Kyi marked her 64th birthday at this new “detention house” within the confines of which she was allowed free movement under the watchful eyes of male and female security personnel. On that day, she was allowed to pray in Buddhist style. In a related “ceremony”, she offered “Indian biriyani”, in a customary practice, to the security personnel who generally occupied one floor, leaving the other storey for her privacy. Some NLD leaders sent across birthday cakes to her but were not allowed to visit.
This episode, as narrated over the telephone by Nyan Win, who is also the NLD spokesman, does bring into focus two aspects of the junta’s attitude towards Suu Kyi. One, a non-political posture of some courtesy towards her, and the other, a hostile political agenda against her.
The little courtesy part relates to the fact that she was allowed at all to mark her birthday through unhindered prayers and customary offerings to the custodial security personnel. In striking contrast, the agenda of hostility was writ all over the refusal by the junta to let her receive political associates on her birthday.
This agenda becomes all the more emphatic, given two legal facts. On her 64th birthday, Suu Kyi was “technically free” because her last house arrest had come to an end. It is a widely chronicled fact that she has served prolonged detentions of one kind or another for over 13 years in less than two decades since she led the NLD to a landslide electoral victory under the frightened eyes of the military rulers.
The other fact is that she was only under trial in a new case and not a “convict” in the legal lexicon of the present junta. She was of course being held on a charge with no room for bail. Yet, political hostility alone can explain the junta’s refusal to let her savour “technical freedom” at least on her latest birthday.
Also obvious to long-time Myanmar watchers is the possibility that the SPDC is now seeking, under the cover of a “legal process”, to keep Suu Kyi out of the public domain during the “democracy-restoring” elections promised for next year. The promised poll forms a critical part of the junta’s “democracy road map”.
The SPDC’s hostility towards the chief leader of the NLD becomes all the more glaring on another count. Suu Kyi’s late husband was a foreigner, and for that reason she is barred from contesting under Myanmar’s new Constitution. This statute was approved in a referendum that the SPDC hustled through amid the recent devastation by Cyclone Nargis. Given Suu Kyi’s electoral ineligibility, it requires no clairvoyance to see the utter hostility behind the SPDC’s latest move to keep her out of the political space altogether at the time of the promised poll. The junta does not want her personally to rally the democratic forces in the public domain.
Will the SPDC now move against other opposition forces, too, such as the Buddhist monks who unsuccessfully staged an uprising in 2007? And, do military dictatorships all over the world have naked faces that cannot even be masked?
FrontLine - Torture by law
Aung San Suu Kyi’s latest arrest shows that the junta plans to keep her out of the public domain during the elections promised for next year.
P.S. SURYANARAYANA
IF there be soft persecution, Myanmar’s military rulers seem adept at subjecting the celebrated democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi to that form of state policy. This alone can explain the saga or her continuing detention on one charge or another despite her fidelity to the path of peaceful protest.
It is often said of the junta that it has not resorted to brutish methods against the Nobel Peace laureate. Cited as a contrast in this situation are the notorious practices that the United States has allowed to take place at Guantanamo Bay and at Abu Ghraib in recent times. Viewed in this skewed perspective, Suu Kyi’s last phase of house arrest in Yangon, which ended on May 27, and her being lodged in a two-storey house during a new trial can be seen as softer persecution.
As this is written, during a pause in the new trial, Myanmar’s apex court has set a date, June 24, to hear a petition on the number of defence witnesses that a lower court could hear. This procedural issue was not without political significance. Myanmar’s junta, formally known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), was keen to send a message to the international community. The SPDC wanted the world to know that “due legal process” was being followed in the new case against the 64-year-old Suu Kyi, frail in physique but resolute in spirit.
The junta did not, of course, seek to put any kind of political gloss over the strange charge against her. Not only that. A Myanmarese Minister, while speaking at the Asian Security Summit in Singapore on May 31, digressed to portray the bizarre charge as a serious case of crime against the state. The summit was organised by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. Surprisingly, the Minister’s tirade against Suu Kyi went unchallenged by the summit participants. Asked about this, the institute indicated that its politically neutral policy was to provide a platform for the representatives of different states.
THE CHARGE
The crux of the charge against Suu Kyi is that she, while still under house arrest in early May, violated the terms under which she was granted that facility rather than confinement in a jail. Outwardly, such a charge does not stretch the limits of credibility. However, the specific offence, as alleged, does.
She is said to have sheltered a male American intruder for two days, without notifying the authorities at the first opportunity so that he could have been caught instantly. The intruder is said to have swam to her lakeside house. There is a mismatch between the basis of the charge and the fact that her house was under constant surveillance of the junta’s security and intelligence agencies.
This fundamental flaw was pointed out by a former Secretary-General of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the sidelines of the recent Singapore conference. Inexplicable was how the American national could indeed make it to Suu Kyi’s house totally undetected as he took some time to swim across the adjacent lake.
Suu Kyi’s defence lawyers, Nyan Win and Kyi Win, in their initial responses to this correspondent over the telephone from Yangon, indicated that she, as a good-natured leader, might have shown some hospitality to a person who seemed exhausted after a long swim. However, the lawyers emphasised that she had nothing to do with the intruder whom she did not invite at all. In any case, they said, she expressed absolute willingness to face the bizarre charge. Her reasoning was that the junta would otherwise harass and might even launch a crackdown against her followers in the National League for Democracy (NLD).
In those circumstances, she was shifted to a “detention house” on the premises of the high-security Insein Prison, in the same city. The “detention house” is, however, located outside the jail. She was taken to this place even before the expiry of her house arrest, which could not be extended any further under the junta’s own laws.
On June 19, Suu Kyi marked her 64th birthday at this new “detention house” within the confines of which she was allowed free movement under the watchful eyes of male and female security personnel. On that day, she was allowed to pray in Buddhist style. In a related “ceremony”, she offered “Indian biriyani”, in a customary practice, to the security personnel who generally occupied one floor, leaving the other storey for her privacy. Some NLD leaders sent across birthday cakes to her but were not allowed to visit.
This episode, as narrated over the telephone by Nyan Win, who is also the NLD spokesman, does bring into focus two aspects of the junta’s attitude towards Suu Kyi. One, a non-political posture of some courtesy towards her, and the other, a hostile political agenda against her.
The little courtesy part relates to the fact that she was allowed at all to mark her birthday through unhindered prayers and customary offerings to the custodial security personnel. In striking contrast, the agenda of hostility was writ all over the refusal by the junta to let her receive political associates on her birthday.
This agenda becomes all the more emphatic, given two legal facts. On her 64th birthday, Suu Kyi was “technically free” because her last house arrest had come to an end. It is a widely chronicled fact that she has served prolonged detentions of one kind or another for over 13 years in less than two decades since she led the NLD to a landslide electoral victory under the frightened eyes of the military rulers.
The other fact is that she was only under trial in a new case and not a “convict” in the legal lexicon of the present junta. She was of course being held on a charge with no room for bail. Yet, political hostility alone can explain the junta’s refusal to let her savour “technical freedom” at least on her latest birthday.
Also obvious to long-time Myanmar watchers is the possibility that the SPDC is now seeking, under the cover of a “legal process”, to keep Suu Kyi out of the public domain during the “democracy-restoring” elections promised for next year. The promised poll forms a critical part of the junta’s “democracy road map”.
The SPDC’s hostility towards the chief leader of the NLD becomes all the more glaring on another count. Suu Kyi’s late husband was a foreigner, and for that reason she is barred from contesting under Myanmar’s new Constitution. This statute was approved in a referendum that the SPDC hustled through amid the recent devastation by Cyclone Nargis. Given Suu Kyi’s electoral ineligibility, it requires no clairvoyance to see the utter hostility behind the SPDC’s latest move to keep her out of the political space altogether at the time of the promised poll. The junta does not want her personally to rally the democratic forces in the public domain.
Will the SPDC now move against other opposition forces, too, such as the Buddhist monks who unsuccessfully staged an uprising in 2007? And, do military dictatorships all over the world have naked faces that cannot even be masked?
*****************************************************
The People's Daily Online - China Hong Kong trade fair seeks exhibitors from Myanmar
+-13:15, July 01, 2009
Sponsor of China's Hong Kong Trade Fair is seeking exhibitors and buyers from Myanmar, aiming at strengthening bilateral trade between Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Myanmar.
According to sources with the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) Wednesday, The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is having talks in Yangon with the UMFCCI for the participation of Myanmar entrepreneurs in the upcoming Hong Kong Trade Fair scheduled for July 6 to 9 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.
Senior Exhibition Manager of the HKTDC Johnny Wong told Myanmar entrepreneurs in an introductory meeting here about the Hong Kong trade fair that the exhibits on display include gifts, decorations, garments, textiles, electronics, badges from around the world and works of Beside Couture in Lebanon and Indonesia-based Italian designer Espen Salberg.
Similar fair will also be introduced in 2010, he said.
According to Myanmar official statistics, Myanmar-Hong Kong bilateral trade amounted to 766.88 million U.S. dollars in 2008, of which Myanmar's import from Hong Kong took 34.8 million dollars, while its export to Hong Kong represented 732.08 million dollars.
Hong Kong SAR stood the third in Myanmar's exporting country or region line-up after Thailand and India, while the fourth went to Chinese mainland with over 500 million dollars.
The HKSAR's investment in Myanmar was registered at 504.218 million dollars in 31 projects standing the 6th largest foreign investor in the country after Thailand, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Chinese mainland and Malaysia.
+-13:15, July 01, 2009
Sponsor of China's Hong Kong Trade Fair is seeking exhibitors and buyers from Myanmar, aiming at strengthening bilateral trade between Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Myanmar.
According to sources with the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) Wednesday, The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is having talks in Yangon with the UMFCCI for the participation of Myanmar entrepreneurs in the upcoming Hong Kong Trade Fair scheduled for July 6 to 9 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.
Senior Exhibition Manager of the HKTDC Johnny Wong told Myanmar entrepreneurs in an introductory meeting here about the Hong Kong trade fair that the exhibits on display include gifts, decorations, garments, textiles, electronics, badges from around the world and works of Beside Couture in Lebanon and Indonesia-based Italian designer Espen Salberg.
Similar fair will also be introduced in 2010, he said.
According to Myanmar official statistics, Myanmar-Hong Kong bilateral trade amounted to 766.88 million U.S. dollars in 2008, of which Myanmar's import from Hong Kong took 34.8 million dollars, while its export to Hong Kong represented 732.08 million dollars.
Hong Kong SAR stood the third in Myanmar's exporting country or region line-up after Thailand and India, while the fourth went to Chinese mainland with over 500 million dollars.
The HKSAR's investment in Myanmar was registered at 504.218 million dollars in 31 projects standing the 6th largest foreign investor in the country after Thailand, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Chinese mainland and Malaysia.
*****************************************************
June 30, 2009, 2:49 pm
The New York Times - Second Chance | Burmese Monks
In September 2007, thousands of Buddhist monks led the “saffron revolution,” a series of peaceful marches in response to military oppression and a dire economic situation in Myanmar, formerly Burma.
Since then, three monks who escaped Myanmar and settled in Utica, N.Y., have continued campaigning across the United States for democracy and human rights for their country with the All Burma Monks’ Alliance.
During the revolution, U Gawsita was beaten by military soldiers, along with hundreds other protesters. “When our nonviolent protest began to threaten power of authority, the government accused us as terrorists, and started to crack down with guns and sticks,” he said.
But the monks remain dedicated to the cause. U Agga Nya Na, who wants to study political science, said that he was confident that he could contribute to the campaign for Burma’s democracy even while living in the United States.
“We can make many young students inspired for democracy and human rights for Burma,” he said.
The founder of the alliance and one of the leaders of the 2007 revolution, U Pyinya Zawta, said he was tortured and incarcerated by the government in Myanmar for 10 years. He says he believes that the cause demands attention now.
“It is a very critical time in history of Burma,” he said. “Aung San Suu Kyi is being tried now. If the world leaders can come together now to free Aung San Suu Kyi, this will be great opportunity to promote democracy in Burma.”
He also stresses that the saffron revolution has not ended. “My country has not gained democracy yet,” he said. “I will continue to struggle for democracy as long as Burma is not free.”
The New York Times - Second Chance | Burmese Monks
In September 2007, thousands of Buddhist monks led the “saffron revolution,” a series of peaceful marches in response to military oppression and a dire economic situation in Myanmar, formerly Burma.
Since then, three monks who escaped Myanmar and settled in Utica, N.Y., have continued campaigning across the United States for democracy and human rights for their country with the All Burma Monks’ Alliance.
During the revolution, U Gawsita was beaten by military soldiers, along with hundreds other protesters. “When our nonviolent protest began to threaten power of authority, the government accused us as terrorists, and started to crack down with guns and sticks,” he said.
But the monks remain dedicated to the cause. U Agga Nya Na, who wants to study political science, said that he was confident that he could contribute to the campaign for Burma’s democracy even while living in the United States.
“We can make many young students inspired for democracy and human rights for Burma,” he said.
The founder of the alliance and one of the leaders of the 2007 revolution, U Pyinya Zawta, said he was tortured and incarcerated by the government in Myanmar for 10 years. He says he believes that the cause demands attention now.
“It is a very critical time in history of Burma,” he said. “Aung San Suu Kyi is being tried now. If the world leaders can come together now to free Aung San Suu Kyi, this will be great opportunity to promote democracy in Burma.”
He also stresses that the saffron revolution has not ended. “My country has not gained democracy yet,” he said. “I will continue to struggle for democracy as long as Burma is not free.”
*****************************************************
July 02, 2009 01:01 AM
Small Riot At Semenyih Immigration Detention Camp
KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- A small riot broke out at the Semenyih Immigration camp near Kajang about 8pm involving 30 Bangladeshi, Indonesian and Myanmar detainees.
Kajang police district chief ACP Shakarudin Che Mood when contacted said swift action by Immigration personnel brought the situation under control and from spreading.
In the incident, the illegal immigrants broke the walls of their rooms.
He said no one was injured and early investigation revealed that the riot stemmed from dissatisfaction of the detainees involved of being transferred to another camp.
He added that investigation papers in the case will be handed over to the Immigration Department to determine the actual cause of the riot and allegations that detainees had escaped.
Obervation by Bernama saw a truck load of Federal Reserve Unit personnel and four empty trucks at the scene.
Small Riot At Semenyih Immigration Detention Camp
KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- A small riot broke out at the Semenyih Immigration camp near Kajang about 8pm involving 30 Bangladeshi, Indonesian and Myanmar detainees.
Kajang police district chief ACP Shakarudin Che Mood when contacted said swift action by Immigration personnel brought the situation under control and from spreading.
In the incident, the illegal immigrants broke the walls of their rooms.
He said no one was injured and early investigation revealed that the riot stemmed from dissatisfaction of the detainees involved of being transferred to another camp.
He added that investigation papers in the case will be handed over to the Immigration Department to determine the actual cause of the riot and allegations that detainees had escaped.
Obervation by Bernama saw a truck load of Federal Reserve Unit personnel and four empty trucks at the scene.
*****************************************************
Human Rights Watch - Burma: Make Ban’s Visit Meaningful
UN Leader Should Stand Firm on Prisoners, Election, Political Dialogue, Minorities
July 1, 2009
Time and again, the UN has politely requested Aung San Suu Kyi’s release, but her ‘release’ back to house arrest would be a huge failure. Secretary-General Ban’s last visit followed Cyclone Nargis, yet the aid workers, including the comedian Zargana, who were jailed for criticizing the government’s handling of the crisis, are still not free.
Kenneth Roth, executive director
(New York) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during his trip to Burma should press the ruling generals to publicly commit to the release of all political prisoners and to engage in a dialogue with the opposition that leads to genuine political reforms, Human Rights Watch said today. Ban should not accept the return of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to house arrest or vague statements about political reform as signs of a successful visit.
Ban arrives in Burma on July 3, 2009, the same day that Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial on politically motivated charges is set to resume. Speaking from Tokyo on July 1, Ban rightly noted that three of most important benchmarks are the release of all political prisoners, the immediate resumption of national reconciliation dialogue between Burma’s military government and opposition leaders, and the creation of conditions for credible elections “which needs to be taken next year in a most objective, transparent and democratic manner.”
“Ban Ki-moon has offered Burma’s generals a roadmap to ending their international isolation,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “He should make it clear that the time for stalling and playing games is over and that real change is needed now.”
Human Rights Watch said that human rights conditions in Burma are deteriorating. Arbitrary arrests, intimidation, and mistreatment of political activists have intensified. In the last two years, the number of political prisoners has doubled to 2,100. Armed attacks on ethnic minority populations continue to lead to large-scale displacement. Basic freedoms of expression, association, and assembly remain almost nonexistent.
Ban has recognized Aung San Suu Kyi as an “essential partner” in political reforms and called her recent detention and trial “completely unacceptable.” She was transferred from house arrest to prison on politically motivated charges in mid-May. She has spent more than 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest.
Other human rights defenders in prison include labor activist Su Su Nway, former student leader Min Ko Naing, and activist monk U Gambira. The military government has also unfairly tried and imprisoned at least 21 community aid workers who sought to help survivors of Cyclone Nargis, including Burma’s most famous comedian, Zargana, who received a 35-year sentence, reduced from 59 years.
“Time and again, the UN has politely requested Aung San Suu Kyi’s release, but her ‘release’ back to house arrest would be a huge failure,” said Roth. “Secretary-General Ban’s last visit followed Cyclone Nargis, yet the aid workers, including the comedian Zargana, who were jailed for criticizing the government’s handling of the crisis, are still not free.”
Burma’s military government has announced elections for 2010 as the next step in a sham political process that has dragged on for more than 15 years. Yet under current conditions credible elections are impossible, as many opposition leaders are in prison, many offices of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy have been forcibly closed, and freedoms of expression, assembly, and association have been sharply curtailed.
Human Rights Watch said that Ban should press the military government to lift immediately the restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, and association in order for there to be any possibility that the 2010 elections could be considered credible. He should insist on a genuine process in which all political parties and ethnic groups can freely participate.
Human Rights Watch also urged Ban to express deep concern about rising ethnic tensions in border areas in the lead-up to the elections and to remind the government firmly of its responsibility to respect international human rights and humanitarian law. In recent weeks, Burmese military offensives have driven more than 4,000 ethnic Karen civilians into neighboring Thailand. Increasing tensions between the Burmese army and armed ethnic groups are evidence of the overall failure of the national reform process.
The Burmese government should make a public commitment to end the continued persecution of Burma’s ethnic Rohingya Muslim minority, whose members the government has long refused to recognize as Burmese citizens.
The UN’s recent efforts at mediation between the government and the National League for Democracy have not produced any concrete results. Ibrahim Gambari, the current special adviser on Burma for the UN secretary-general, has visited Burma several times, and his most recent trip was to organize Ban’s visit.
“There is a real danger that Burma’s generals will try to use Ban’s visit to legitimize the 2010 elections,” said Roth. “If no commitments for reform are made, Ban should clearly and publicly state that a process that mocks the very idea of fundamental freedoms and democracy will have no legitimacy. His voice could be a real call to action for the UN Security Council and regional bodies that have thus far failed the Burmese people."
UN Leader Should Stand Firm on Prisoners, Election, Political Dialogue, Minorities
July 1, 2009
Time and again, the UN has politely requested Aung San Suu Kyi’s release, but her ‘release’ back to house arrest would be a huge failure. Secretary-General Ban’s last visit followed Cyclone Nargis, yet the aid workers, including the comedian Zargana, who were jailed for criticizing the government’s handling of the crisis, are still not free.
Kenneth Roth, executive director
(New York) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during his trip to Burma should press the ruling generals to publicly commit to the release of all political prisoners and to engage in a dialogue with the opposition that leads to genuine political reforms, Human Rights Watch said today. Ban should not accept the return of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to house arrest or vague statements about political reform as signs of a successful visit.
Ban arrives in Burma on July 3, 2009, the same day that Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial on politically motivated charges is set to resume. Speaking from Tokyo on July 1, Ban rightly noted that three of most important benchmarks are the release of all political prisoners, the immediate resumption of national reconciliation dialogue between Burma’s military government and opposition leaders, and the creation of conditions for credible elections “which needs to be taken next year in a most objective, transparent and democratic manner.”
“Ban Ki-moon has offered Burma’s generals a roadmap to ending their international isolation,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “He should make it clear that the time for stalling and playing games is over and that real change is needed now.”
Human Rights Watch said that human rights conditions in Burma are deteriorating. Arbitrary arrests, intimidation, and mistreatment of political activists have intensified. In the last two years, the number of political prisoners has doubled to 2,100. Armed attacks on ethnic minority populations continue to lead to large-scale displacement. Basic freedoms of expression, association, and assembly remain almost nonexistent.
Ban has recognized Aung San Suu Kyi as an “essential partner” in political reforms and called her recent detention and trial “completely unacceptable.” She was transferred from house arrest to prison on politically motivated charges in mid-May. She has spent more than 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest.
Other human rights defenders in prison include labor activist Su Su Nway, former student leader Min Ko Naing, and activist monk U Gambira. The military government has also unfairly tried and imprisoned at least 21 community aid workers who sought to help survivors of Cyclone Nargis, including Burma’s most famous comedian, Zargana, who received a 35-year sentence, reduced from 59 years.
“Time and again, the UN has politely requested Aung San Suu Kyi’s release, but her ‘release’ back to house arrest would be a huge failure,” said Roth. “Secretary-General Ban’s last visit followed Cyclone Nargis, yet the aid workers, including the comedian Zargana, who were jailed for criticizing the government’s handling of the crisis, are still not free.”
Burma’s military government has announced elections for 2010 as the next step in a sham political process that has dragged on for more than 15 years. Yet under current conditions credible elections are impossible, as many opposition leaders are in prison, many offices of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy have been forcibly closed, and freedoms of expression, assembly, and association have been sharply curtailed.
Human Rights Watch said that Ban should press the military government to lift immediately the restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, and association in order for there to be any possibility that the 2010 elections could be considered credible. He should insist on a genuine process in which all political parties and ethnic groups can freely participate.
Human Rights Watch also urged Ban to express deep concern about rising ethnic tensions in border areas in the lead-up to the elections and to remind the government firmly of its responsibility to respect international human rights and humanitarian law. In recent weeks, Burmese military offensives have driven more than 4,000 ethnic Karen civilians into neighboring Thailand. Increasing tensions between the Burmese army and armed ethnic groups are evidence of the overall failure of the national reform process.
The Burmese government should make a public commitment to end the continued persecution of Burma’s ethnic Rohingya Muslim minority, whose members the government has long refused to recognize as Burmese citizens.
The UN’s recent efforts at mediation between the government and the National League for Democracy have not produced any concrete results. Ibrahim Gambari, the current special adviser on Burma for the UN secretary-general, has visited Burma several times, and his most recent trip was to organize Ban’s visit.
“There is a real danger that Burma’s generals will try to use Ban’s visit to legitimize the 2010 elections,” said Roth. “If no commitments for reform are made, Ban should clearly and publicly state that a process that mocks the very idea of fundamental freedoms and democracy will have no legitimacy. His voice could be a real call to action for the UN Security Council and regional bodies that have thus far failed the Burmese people."
*****************************************************
Khaleej Times Online - UN head to meet Myanmar ruler, unlikely Suu Kyi: official
(AFP) 1 July 2009
YANGON - UN chief Ban Ki-moon is to meet the leader of Myanmar’s military regime when he visits the country this week but is unlikely to see jailed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, an official said Wednesday.
Ban will hold talks with Senior General Than Shwe in the administrative capital Naypyidaw on Friday, the first day of his two-day trip, the Myanmar official said on condition of anonymity.
The start of the diplomatically risky visit coincides with the resumption of Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial on charges of breaching the terms of her house arrest after an American man swam uninvited to her house in May.
But he is “unlikely” to meet the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy, the official said — despite an earlier report in a Japanese newspaper that the junta had given him permission to do so.
Ban flies into the commercial hub Yangon on Friday and will fly to Naypyidaw later that day for the meeting with Than Shwe, before returning to Yangon on Saturday and leaving the country that same evening, the official said.
There was no immediate confirmation of the details of the visit from the United Nations.
The UN Secretary General, who is currently in Tokyo, on Tuesday urged Myanmar to release all political prisoners including Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and resume dialogue with opposition leaders.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 64, faces up to five years in jail if convicted of the charges against her. Her trial is taking place at Yangon’s notorious Insein prison, where she is currently being held.
The proceedings against her have drawn international condemnation, with US President Barack Obama describing it as a “show trial.”
While acknowledging worries over the timing of his visit, Ban said in Tokyo that finding an appropriate time to visit Myanmar had been “a challenge” and said he wished to focus on relaying his message.
He will also call on the junta to hold democratic elections, which the regime has promised in 2010.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been in detention or under house arrest for most of the time since the junta refused to recognise her party’s landslide victory in Myanmar’s last elections, in 1990.
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962.
(AFP) 1 July 2009
YANGON - UN chief Ban Ki-moon is to meet the leader of Myanmar’s military regime when he visits the country this week but is unlikely to see jailed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, an official said Wednesday.
Ban will hold talks with Senior General Than Shwe in the administrative capital Naypyidaw on Friday, the first day of his two-day trip, the Myanmar official said on condition of anonymity.
The start of the diplomatically risky visit coincides with the resumption of Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial on charges of breaching the terms of her house arrest after an American man swam uninvited to her house in May.
But he is “unlikely” to meet the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy, the official said — despite an earlier report in a Japanese newspaper that the junta had given him permission to do so.
Ban flies into the commercial hub Yangon on Friday and will fly to Naypyidaw later that day for the meeting with Than Shwe, before returning to Yangon on Saturday and leaving the country that same evening, the official said.
There was no immediate confirmation of the details of the visit from the United Nations.
The UN Secretary General, who is currently in Tokyo, on Tuesday urged Myanmar to release all political prisoners including Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and resume dialogue with opposition leaders.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 64, faces up to five years in jail if convicted of the charges against her. Her trial is taking place at Yangon’s notorious Insein prison, where she is currently being held.
The proceedings against her have drawn international condemnation, with US President Barack Obama describing it as a “show trial.”
While acknowledging worries over the timing of his visit, Ban said in Tokyo that finding an appropriate time to visit Myanmar had been “a challenge” and said he wished to focus on relaying his message.
He will also call on the junta to hold democratic elections, which the regime has promised in 2010.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been in detention or under house arrest for most of the time since the junta refused to recognise her party’s landslide victory in Myanmar’s last elections, in 1990.
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962.
*****************************************************
July 1, 2009, Wednesday
Borneo Bulletin - Myanmar mask prices soar after first swine flu case
YANGON (AFP) - Prices for scarce surgical masks in impoverished Myanmar have soared more than threefold after the military-ruled nation confirmed its first case of swine flu, residents said Tuesday.
Myanmar's tightly-controlled state media said on Saturday that a 13-year-old girl from the commercial hub Yangon had tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus on her return from Singapore.
"I went to many pharmacies to buy surgical masks because my office wanted to use them to prevent swine flu. But they said they had run out," Yangon worker Moe Moe, 28, told AFP.
"I finally found them at a pharmacy downtown but the price is really high - it has gone from 60 kyats (five cents) to 200 kyats (18 cents). I bought some because I was worried I might not be able to buy them later."
State media have urged people to wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus in crowded places and on public transport but few people are doing so, largely because of the price, witnesses said.
At Yangon People's Hospital, prices had also increased by three times because of the shortage.
"My child has to wear a mask at their school starting from today. He cried and said he would not go to school if he did not have one," the father of a five-year-old boy said at the hospital, asking not to be named.
People living on the outskirts of the city said paying so much was out of the question.
"Where can I get the money to buy these masks every day? I cannot afford it, I have to worry about my family's daily expenses first," said Maung Zaw, 35.
Borneo Bulletin - Myanmar mask prices soar after first swine flu case
YANGON (AFP) - Prices for scarce surgical masks in impoverished Myanmar have soared more than threefold after the military-ruled nation confirmed its first case of swine flu, residents said Tuesday.
Myanmar's tightly-controlled state media said on Saturday that a 13-year-old girl from the commercial hub Yangon had tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus on her return from Singapore.
"I went to many pharmacies to buy surgical masks because my office wanted to use them to prevent swine flu. But they said they had run out," Yangon worker Moe Moe, 28, told AFP.
"I finally found them at a pharmacy downtown but the price is really high - it has gone from 60 kyats (five cents) to 200 kyats (18 cents). I bought some because I was worried I might not be able to buy them later."
State media have urged people to wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus in crowded places and on public transport but few people are doing so, largely because of the price, witnesses said.
At Yangon People's Hospital, prices had also increased by three times because of the shortage.
"My child has to wear a mask at their school starting from today. He cried and said he would not go to school if he did not have one," the father of a five-year-old boy said at the hospital, asking not to be named.
People living on the outskirts of the city said paying so much was out of the question.
"Where can I get the money to buy these masks every day? I cannot afford it, I have to worry about my family's daily expenses first," said Maung Zaw, 35.
*****************************************************
Published: Wednesday July 1, 2009 MYT 10:23:00 AM
The Star Online - UN chief says climate pact must be finalized
TOKYO (AP): U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday the world must seal the deal on a new treaty to curb pollution at a crucial climate change meeting in Copenhagen in December, urging global business leaders to join efforts against global warming.
Ban, who has put climate change among his top priorities, said he would mobilize "every effort" to reach an agreement at the U.N. meeting to adopt an ambitious global treaty to replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.
"We must seal the deal in Copenhagen in December this year," the U.N. chief told a group of Japanese business leaders.
"It will be a moment of truth in Copenhagen whether we will set ourselves on course for disaster by taking business as usual attitude or we will find the path of sustainable green growth," he said. "We know the answer. We must take the course of sustainable green growth."
Ban is on a three-day trip to Japan before heading to Myanmar on Friday. The U.N. chief will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso later in the day.
The two leaders will likely discuss Ban's upcoming visit to the military-ruled country as well as North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
On climate change, Ban told Japanese business leaders that they should do more to help the world reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"Your role is extremely, crucially important. I count on your leadership," Ban said.
The U.N. chief was stopping by Japan ahead of his trip to Myanmar.
On Tuesday, Ban urged Myanmar's ruling junta to release all of its political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The pro-democracy icon is being held in Myanmar's Insein prison and is being tried on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest after an uninvited American man swam to her closely guarded lakeside home in Yangon in May and stayed two days.
Ban is set to arrive in Yangon - Myanmar's commercial capital - the same day Suu Kyi's trial resumes.
Suu Kyi's trial has drawn outrage from world leaders and human rights groups who say the junta is using the incident as an excuse to keep the pro-democracy icon behind bars through elections scheduled for 2010. She faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
The junta called elections in 1990, but refused to recognize a landslide victory by Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy.
The U.N. chief - who is scheduled to meet with junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe - said he would use the trip to convey the concerns of the international community "to the highest authority" of Myanmar's government.
But he did not say whether he would meet the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has already spent more than 13 of the past 19 years in detention without trial, mostly under house arrest.
The U.N. chief leaves for Singapore Thursday before heading to Myanmar on Friday.
The Star Online - UN chief says climate pact must be finalized
TOKYO (AP): U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday the world must seal the deal on a new treaty to curb pollution at a crucial climate change meeting in Copenhagen in December, urging global business leaders to join efforts against global warming.
Ban, who has put climate change among his top priorities, said he would mobilize "every effort" to reach an agreement at the U.N. meeting to adopt an ambitious global treaty to replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.
"We must seal the deal in Copenhagen in December this year," the U.N. chief told a group of Japanese business leaders.
"It will be a moment of truth in Copenhagen whether we will set ourselves on course for disaster by taking business as usual attitude or we will find the path of sustainable green growth," he said. "We know the answer. We must take the course of sustainable green growth."
Ban is on a three-day trip to Japan before heading to Myanmar on Friday. The U.N. chief will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso later in the day.
The two leaders will likely discuss Ban's upcoming visit to the military-ruled country as well as North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
On climate change, Ban told Japanese business leaders that they should do more to help the world reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"Your role is extremely, crucially important. I count on your leadership," Ban said.
The U.N. chief was stopping by Japan ahead of his trip to Myanmar.
On Tuesday, Ban urged Myanmar's ruling junta to release all of its political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The pro-democracy icon is being held in Myanmar's Insein prison and is being tried on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest after an uninvited American man swam to her closely guarded lakeside home in Yangon in May and stayed two days.
Ban is set to arrive in Yangon - Myanmar's commercial capital - the same day Suu Kyi's trial resumes.
Suu Kyi's trial has drawn outrage from world leaders and human rights groups who say the junta is using the incident as an excuse to keep the pro-democracy icon behind bars through elections scheduled for 2010. She faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
The junta called elections in 1990, but refused to recognize a landslide victory by Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy.
The U.N. chief - who is scheduled to meet with junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe - said he would use the trip to convey the concerns of the international community "to the highest authority" of Myanmar's government.
But he did not say whether he would meet the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has already spent more than 13 of the past 19 years in detention without trial, mostly under house arrest.
The U.N. chief leaves for Singapore Thursday before heading to Myanmar on Friday.
*****************************************************
The Himal Southasian - The pagoda's repudiation
By: Larry Jagan
July 2009
Once again, everything appears to be aligning against the Burmese junta, but once again it may not make a difference.
Democracy in Burma today is at a fledgling stage, and still requires patient care and attention,” General Than Shwe told Burma in late March, during his annual speech to mark Armed Forces Day. He also warned, “Some parties look to foreign countries for guidance and inspiration; they follow imported ideologies and directives irrationally.” But the general’s carefully laid plans for next year’s elections – including ensuring that the country’s iconic pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, remains in detention – may have been derailed by his own arrogance and disregard for the people.
Since Gen Than Shwe’s confident pronouncement in March, almost everything has gone wrong for him. First, the long-restive ethnic groups that have signed ceasefire agreements with the junta have defied instructions to hand in their weapons and join a border police force instead. More recently, the general has been taken aback by the overwhelming international reaction to his plans to put Suu Kyi on trial (on trumped-up charges) and lock her up in jail until after the elections. As a result of these hitches, the expected electoral law, which will spell out the procedures for the elections slated for March 2010, has yet to be announced.
Even the gods seem to be against the generals. In a highly superstitious society such as Burma, the collapse of a temple can send shockwaves through the country. So when the Danok Pagoda, on the outskirts of Rangoon, crumbled to the ground on 31 May (see pic), it was seen as a bad omen for the regime. Indeed, it was seen as particularly ominous for Than Shwe himself, as only weeks earlier his wife had overseen a blessing ceremony in which worshipers fixed a diamond orb (which she had donated) to the top of the pagoda. While that ceremony had been widely publicised in the captive local media, the pagoda’s collapse, killing more than a dozen people, was almost completely kept out of the press.
Nevertheless rumours of the collapse circulated quickly, and this, on top of last year’s devastating Cyclone Nargis, was readily seen by much of the public as evidence of the gods having deserted the generals. “It’s clear retribution for trampling and killing the monks,” one Rangoon resident told this writer by e-mail, referring to the military’s brutal crackdown on the Saffron Revolution of September 2007. At that time, Buddhist monks led massive street protests against rising fuel and food prices, and more than a hundred people were killed in the subsequent official reaction.
Anthropologist Ingrid Jordt, a Burma scholar, has been quoted as stating, “The fact that the [orb] did not stay was a sign that more bad things are to come, according to astrologers. It is also a sign that Than Shwe does not have the spiritual power any longer to be able to undertake or reap the benefit from good acts such as this.” She continued: “In a sense, the pagoda repudiated Than Shwe’s right to remain ruler.”
Best Manure
Than Shwe’s latest political ploy is also set to backfire. This is, of course, putting Suu Kyi on trial for purportedly having broken the ‘terms’ of her house arrest (The Nobel Prize laureate has been under house arrest for much of the past two decades, but even Burmese law stipulates that her term cannot be extended again beyond late May). when she received an unwanted late-night visit by a mentally unstable American war veteran, John William Yettaw, who swam to her backyard across the lake behind her residence. While analysts suggest that the move was an attempt to legitimise Suu Kyi’s continued incarceration, the trial has sparked massive anger across the country.
Almost every night in Rangoon since the trial began, government buildings are re-painted with graffiti demanding, Free Aung San Suu Kyi – a very unusual happening, and something that did not take place even during the 2007 uprising. “The security forces are busy all night and morning scrubbing off the slogans as quickly as they find them,” said one Rangoon resident, who declined to be identified. And according to opposition sources, these spray-paint attacks are being replicated in many cities and towns throughout the country. Even in ethnic-minority areas in the Kachin and Shan states, young activists are painting such slogans on government buildings and handing out pamphlets. “The ethnic youth are demanding Aung San Suu Kyi’s immediate release,” said Zin Linn, a spokesman for the Burmese opposition based in Thailand.
This is, perhaps, a moment of rare opportunity for Burma’s pro-democracy activists. Their movement has been repeatedly trampled flat by the generals, most recently in September 2007. Meanwhile, the people have been beaten down by starvation and deprivation in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, and this has created its own reservoir of anger.
But it remains to be seen whether outrage will come to anything amidst the near certainty that Suu Kyi will remain in detention for at least another five years, as is being suggested by diplomats based in Rangoon. Her trial, although having lingered for longer than anticipated (it is currently set to resume on 26 June) will almost certainly finish in July in yet another secret session inside Insein prison.
Still, there is reason to believe that, during the course of his recent run-in with Suu Kyi, Gen Than Shwe may have shot himself in the foot. Britain, France and the United States have demanded Suu Kyi’s immediate release, a move endorsed by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Meanwhile, several Southeast Asian leaders, normally loath to criticise their neighbours, have also joined the international outcry. Thailand, as the current president of ASEAN, has issued a collective statement raising the region’s concerns, expressing “grave concern about recent developments relating to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, given her fragile health.” Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines have also individually raised their concerns publicly. Even China voiced a veiled warning, with the Foreign Ministry spokesperson telling reporters in Beijing shortly after the trial started, “Myanmar’s affairs should be decided by its people. As a neighbour, China hopes Myanmar can realise reconciliation, stability and development through dialogues of all parties.” India, meanwhile, has been embarrassingly quiet.
As important have been the protests that have been sparked within Burma by the movement to free the detained opposition leader. Young members of Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), have in recent weeks been preparing for a silent protest when she is sentenced. Students and other young people with no political affiliations have also joined the underground campaign, which is currently handing out leaflets and pictures of the democracy hero throughout the country. In several towns where the NLD has strong bases, including Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, more than a thousand photos of Suu Kyi are distributed every day, even as the campaigners dodge the police and security personnel who are trying to stop them. Some young people have now formed a group known as Myay All Zar in Burmese, which translates to Best Manure (referring to refuse that is easily discarded but which can act as a fertiliser), and intend to challenge the government in every possible way if Suu Kyi is sentenced to jail at the end of the trial. “We’ll sacrifice our lives if we need to,” said one of the group’s leaders.
The simmering anger within the clergy is also another factor. “Young monks are angry, and are preparing to vent their feelings if Suu Kyi is not freed soon,” a senior cleric from Rangoon told this writer on condition of anonymity. The monks are still seething after the government’s brutal crackdown on their protest movement in September 2007, when numerous activist monks were arrested and sentenced to lengthy prison sentences. Many now see the release of all political prisoners, including the imprisoned monks, as a priority. Suu Kyi’s sentencing will only heighten their anger, according to opposition sources with good contacts amongst the monks.
Contentious sentencing
Instead of the quiet trial and sentencing that Gen Than Shwe was undoubtedly hoping for, the international community is up in arms, and renewed protests within the country are growing. “With one fell swoop, Than Shwe has undermined his own strategy of trying to sideline Aung San Suu Kyi,” said a senior Western diplomat who knows the opposition leader well. “Than Shwe’s actions have proved once again that she remains in everyone’s minds – inside and outside the country – as Burma’s real leader.”
It appears to be the reaction from those outside of the country that is really making the junta leaders anxious. “The regime is really worried now: they never expected the international community to be so vociferous and united in pressuring them,” said Zin Linn. He believes this is what brought about the surprise series of suspensions of the trial. Linn says this was most likely to allow the junta leaders to formulate a new strategy to tackle the mounting international pressure in addition to the growing social and political unrest within the country. On the other hand, most diplomats and observers in Burma are convinced that Than Shwe has been hoping to delay the inevitable outcome. These hold-ups, goes the thinking, are part of Than Shwe’s strategy to bide time until the international pressure subsides, as it has at many tense occasions in the past – particularly when Suu Kyi and her entourage were brutally attacked while she was travelling north of Mandalay in May 2003.
The turmoil around Suu Kyi’s trial has meant that there still has been no official announcement about next year’s planned elections. Nonetheless, preparations for these polls seem to be dominating almost everything in Burma at the moment, outside of the trial-related machinations. “The regime is pre-occupied with the elections, and everything that happens now is related to them,” said Steve Marshall, ILO Liaison Officer based in Rangoon. During the last elections, in 1990, Suu Kyi’s NLD party won convincingly, but the junta leadership has never allowed a civilian government to form. This time around, the generals are not planning to make the same mistake, and are tightly controlling everything to ensure they do not lose.
The delay in the electoral-law announcement could be a seen as a central part of this strategy, which largely seems to consist of simply keeping everyone in the dark. “Than Shwe is keeping everyone guessing,” said Win Min, an independent Burmese academic based in Chiang Mai. “The electoral law is likely to only be revealed only a few months before the election is scheduled to take place, so that the opposition is kept off-guard and has little time to select candidates and register them, let alone plan a campaign.” During the 1990 election, election-related legislation was made public 20 months before the polls took place.
Then again, 20 years on, Burma is a very different country. Repression, harassment and economic decay have left many Burmese livid at the military – and this cannot but translate into a strong anti-government vote at the polls, if held freely and fairly whenever they eventually take place. As of now, the election seems certain to be delayed until the second half of 2010, according to military sources. Originally scheduled for 7 March, the Suu Kyi trial, the continued resistance of the ethnic groups, and the growing international pressure on the regime has forced Gen Than Shwe onto his heels. But the possibility that, at this late date, he could go back to the drawing board – let alone consider giving Suu Kyi and the NLD a role in the ‘roadmap to democracy’ – is highly unlikely.
Larry Jagan is a freelance journalist and Burma specialist based in Bangkok.
By: Larry Jagan
July 2009
Once again, everything appears to be aligning against the Burmese junta, but once again it may not make a difference.
Democracy in Burma today is at a fledgling stage, and still requires patient care and attention,” General Than Shwe told Burma in late March, during his annual speech to mark Armed Forces Day. He also warned, “Some parties look to foreign countries for guidance and inspiration; they follow imported ideologies and directives irrationally.” But the general’s carefully laid plans for next year’s elections – including ensuring that the country’s iconic pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, remains in detention – may have been derailed by his own arrogance and disregard for the people.
Since Gen Than Shwe’s confident pronouncement in March, almost everything has gone wrong for him. First, the long-restive ethnic groups that have signed ceasefire agreements with the junta have defied instructions to hand in their weapons and join a border police force instead. More recently, the general has been taken aback by the overwhelming international reaction to his plans to put Suu Kyi on trial (on trumped-up charges) and lock her up in jail until after the elections. As a result of these hitches, the expected electoral law, which will spell out the procedures for the elections slated for March 2010, has yet to be announced.
Even the gods seem to be against the generals. In a highly superstitious society such as Burma, the collapse of a temple can send shockwaves through the country. So when the Danok Pagoda, on the outskirts of Rangoon, crumbled to the ground on 31 May (see pic), it was seen as a bad omen for the regime. Indeed, it was seen as particularly ominous for Than Shwe himself, as only weeks earlier his wife had overseen a blessing ceremony in which worshipers fixed a diamond orb (which she had donated) to the top of the pagoda. While that ceremony had been widely publicised in the captive local media, the pagoda’s collapse, killing more than a dozen people, was almost completely kept out of the press.
Nevertheless rumours of the collapse circulated quickly, and this, on top of last year’s devastating Cyclone Nargis, was readily seen by much of the public as evidence of the gods having deserted the generals. “It’s clear retribution for trampling and killing the monks,” one Rangoon resident told this writer by e-mail, referring to the military’s brutal crackdown on the Saffron Revolution of September 2007. At that time, Buddhist monks led massive street protests against rising fuel and food prices, and more than a hundred people were killed in the subsequent official reaction.
Anthropologist Ingrid Jordt, a Burma scholar, has been quoted as stating, “The fact that the [orb] did not stay was a sign that more bad things are to come, according to astrologers. It is also a sign that Than Shwe does not have the spiritual power any longer to be able to undertake or reap the benefit from good acts such as this.” She continued: “In a sense, the pagoda repudiated Than Shwe’s right to remain ruler.”
Best Manure
Than Shwe’s latest political ploy is also set to backfire. This is, of course, putting Suu Kyi on trial for purportedly having broken the ‘terms’ of her house arrest (The Nobel Prize laureate has been under house arrest for much of the past two decades, but even Burmese law stipulates that her term cannot be extended again beyond late May). when she received an unwanted late-night visit by a mentally unstable American war veteran, John William Yettaw, who swam to her backyard across the lake behind her residence. While analysts suggest that the move was an attempt to legitimise Suu Kyi’s continued incarceration, the trial has sparked massive anger across the country.
Almost every night in Rangoon since the trial began, government buildings are re-painted with graffiti demanding, Free Aung San Suu Kyi – a very unusual happening, and something that did not take place even during the 2007 uprising. “The security forces are busy all night and morning scrubbing off the slogans as quickly as they find them,” said one Rangoon resident, who declined to be identified. And according to opposition sources, these spray-paint attacks are being replicated in many cities and towns throughout the country. Even in ethnic-minority areas in the Kachin and Shan states, young activists are painting such slogans on government buildings and handing out pamphlets. “The ethnic youth are demanding Aung San Suu Kyi’s immediate release,” said Zin Linn, a spokesman for the Burmese opposition based in Thailand.
This is, perhaps, a moment of rare opportunity for Burma’s pro-democracy activists. Their movement has been repeatedly trampled flat by the generals, most recently in September 2007. Meanwhile, the people have been beaten down by starvation and deprivation in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, and this has created its own reservoir of anger.
But it remains to be seen whether outrage will come to anything amidst the near certainty that Suu Kyi will remain in detention for at least another five years, as is being suggested by diplomats based in Rangoon. Her trial, although having lingered for longer than anticipated (it is currently set to resume on 26 June) will almost certainly finish in July in yet another secret session inside Insein prison.
Still, there is reason to believe that, during the course of his recent run-in with Suu Kyi, Gen Than Shwe may have shot himself in the foot. Britain, France and the United States have demanded Suu Kyi’s immediate release, a move endorsed by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Meanwhile, several Southeast Asian leaders, normally loath to criticise their neighbours, have also joined the international outcry. Thailand, as the current president of ASEAN, has issued a collective statement raising the region’s concerns, expressing “grave concern about recent developments relating to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, given her fragile health.” Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines have also individually raised their concerns publicly. Even China voiced a veiled warning, with the Foreign Ministry spokesperson telling reporters in Beijing shortly after the trial started, “Myanmar’s affairs should be decided by its people. As a neighbour, China hopes Myanmar can realise reconciliation, stability and development through dialogues of all parties.” India, meanwhile, has been embarrassingly quiet.
As important have been the protests that have been sparked within Burma by the movement to free the detained opposition leader. Young members of Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), have in recent weeks been preparing for a silent protest when she is sentenced. Students and other young people with no political affiliations have also joined the underground campaign, which is currently handing out leaflets and pictures of the democracy hero throughout the country. In several towns where the NLD has strong bases, including Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, more than a thousand photos of Suu Kyi are distributed every day, even as the campaigners dodge the police and security personnel who are trying to stop them. Some young people have now formed a group known as Myay All Zar in Burmese, which translates to Best Manure (referring to refuse that is easily discarded but which can act as a fertiliser), and intend to challenge the government in every possible way if Suu Kyi is sentenced to jail at the end of the trial. “We’ll sacrifice our lives if we need to,” said one of the group’s leaders.
The simmering anger within the clergy is also another factor. “Young monks are angry, and are preparing to vent their feelings if Suu Kyi is not freed soon,” a senior cleric from Rangoon told this writer on condition of anonymity. The monks are still seething after the government’s brutal crackdown on their protest movement in September 2007, when numerous activist monks were arrested and sentenced to lengthy prison sentences. Many now see the release of all political prisoners, including the imprisoned monks, as a priority. Suu Kyi’s sentencing will only heighten their anger, according to opposition sources with good contacts amongst the monks.
Contentious sentencing
Instead of the quiet trial and sentencing that Gen Than Shwe was undoubtedly hoping for, the international community is up in arms, and renewed protests within the country are growing. “With one fell swoop, Than Shwe has undermined his own strategy of trying to sideline Aung San Suu Kyi,” said a senior Western diplomat who knows the opposition leader well. “Than Shwe’s actions have proved once again that she remains in everyone’s minds – inside and outside the country – as Burma’s real leader.”
It appears to be the reaction from those outside of the country that is really making the junta leaders anxious. “The regime is really worried now: they never expected the international community to be so vociferous and united in pressuring them,” said Zin Linn. He believes this is what brought about the surprise series of suspensions of the trial. Linn says this was most likely to allow the junta leaders to formulate a new strategy to tackle the mounting international pressure in addition to the growing social and political unrest within the country. On the other hand, most diplomats and observers in Burma are convinced that Than Shwe has been hoping to delay the inevitable outcome. These hold-ups, goes the thinking, are part of Than Shwe’s strategy to bide time until the international pressure subsides, as it has at many tense occasions in the past – particularly when Suu Kyi and her entourage were brutally attacked while she was travelling north of Mandalay in May 2003.
The turmoil around Suu Kyi’s trial has meant that there still has been no official announcement about next year’s planned elections. Nonetheless, preparations for these polls seem to be dominating almost everything in Burma at the moment, outside of the trial-related machinations. “The regime is pre-occupied with the elections, and everything that happens now is related to them,” said Steve Marshall, ILO Liaison Officer based in Rangoon. During the last elections, in 1990, Suu Kyi’s NLD party won convincingly, but the junta leadership has never allowed a civilian government to form. This time around, the generals are not planning to make the same mistake, and are tightly controlling everything to ensure they do not lose.
The delay in the electoral-law announcement could be a seen as a central part of this strategy, which largely seems to consist of simply keeping everyone in the dark. “Than Shwe is keeping everyone guessing,” said Win Min, an independent Burmese academic based in Chiang Mai. “The electoral law is likely to only be revealed only a few months before the election is scheduled to take place, so that the opposition is kept off-guard and has little time to select candidates and register them, let alone plan a campaign.” During the 1990 election, election-related legislation was made public 20 months before the polls took place.
Then again, 20 years on, Burma is a very different country. Repression, harassment and economic decay have left many Burmese livid at the military – and this cannot but translate into a strong anti-government vote at the polls, if held freely and fairly whenever they eventually take place. As of now, the election seems certain to be delayed until the second half of 2010, according to military sources. Originally scheduled for 7 March, the Suu Kyi trial, the continued resistance of the ethnic groups, and the growing international pressure on the regime has forced Gen Than Shwe onto his heels. But the possibility that, at this late date, he could go back to the drawing board – let alone consider giving Suu Kyi and the NLD a role in the ‘roadmap to democracy’ – is highly unlikely.
Larry Jagan is a freelance journalist and Burma specialist based in Bangkok.
*****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Ban Says He’ll Urge Junta to Free Suu Kyi
By ARKAR MOE, Wednesday, July 1, 2009
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon assured reporters on Tuesday during a Tokyo stopover on his way to Burma that he will urge the Burmese military junta to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, when he visits the country this week.
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 a total of more than 13 years.
The UN Information Center in Rangoon said on Wednesday that it could not provide any details about Ban Ki-moon’s Burma schedule.
Suu Kyi, 64, is on trial in Rangoon on a charge of breaking the terms of her house arrest.
“It may be the case that the trial may happen during my visit in [Burma]. I am very much conscious of that. At the same time, to find the most appropriate timing has been a challenge for me, too,” 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 [Burmese] government," he added.
“We have received no notification yet from the Burmese authorities regarding a meeting with Ban Ki-moon.” said Ohn Kyaing, a member of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
Ban said he would press the Burmese government to carry out a range of political reforms.
"I consider that three of the most important issues for [Burma] cannot be left unaddressed at this juncture," Ban told reporters. “The first [is the] release of all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."
“This is the commitment and concerns and aspiration of the international community. I am going to convey this strongly to Snr-Gen Than Shwe and other leaders,” he said.
Ban also plans to meet with political parties and ethnic groups and travel to the Irrawaddy delta region that was devastated by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008.
He visited Burma shortly after the cyclone, the first UN chief in 44 years to go there.
By ARKAR MOE, Wednesday, July 1, 2009
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon assured reporters on Tuesday during a Tokyo stopover on his way to Burma that he will urge the Burmese military junta to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, when he visits the country this week.
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 a total of more than 13 years.
The UN Information Center in Rangoon said on Wednesday that it could not provide any details about Ban Ki-moon’s Burma schedule.
Suu Kyi, 64, is on trial in Rangoon on a charge of breaking the terms of her house arrest.
“It may be the case that the trial may happen during my visit in [Burma]. I am very much conscious of that. At the same time, to find the most appropriate timing has been a challenge for me, too,” 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 [Burmese] government," he added.
“We have received no notification yet from the Burmese authorities regarding a meeting with Ban Ki-moon.” said Ohn Kyaing, a member of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
Ban said he would press the Burmese government to carry out a range of political reforms.
"I consider that three of the most important issues for [Burma] cannot be left unaddressed at this juncture," Ban told reporters. “The first [is the] release of all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."
“This is the commitment and concerns and aspiration of the international community. I am going to convey this strongly to Snr-Gen Than Shwe and other leaders,” he said.
Ban also plans to meet with political parties and ethnic groups and travel to the Irrawaddy delta region that was devastated by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008.
He visited Burma shortly after the cyclone, the first UN chief in 44 years to go there.
*****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Mae La Refugees Fear DKBA Attack
By SAW YAN NAING, Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Burmese refugees at Mae La refugee camp are on alert due to a threat of attack by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), according to the vice chairman of the camp.
“The DKBA said they will destroy our camp,” said Vice-Chairman Htun Htun, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
Many of the refugees have packed clothing and belongings in preparation for a military assault, sources in nearby Mae Sot said. Camp authorities have imposed a curfew of 9 p.m. On all refugee residents.
The DKBA threatened to attack Mae La camp after one of their influential commanders, San Pyote (aka Soe Myint), the head of Battalion 7, was ambushed and killed by an unknown armed group while traveling by longtail boat on the Moei River on June 26.
Mae La refugee camp is located on the Thai side of the river, not far from where the ambush took place. It is the largest refugee camp in Thailand and currently houses about 37,000 Burmese refugees—mostly Karens from Eastern Burma displaced by the ongoing civil war.
Despite the camp being established on Thai soil in 1984, Mae La refugee camp has been attacked by the DKBA in the past.
After the DKBA split from the KNU in 1995, the splinter group staged daring attacks on several Karen refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border with the help of Burmese troops.
In 1997-98, Huay Kaloke refugee camp, about 10 km (6 miles) from Mae Sot, was attacked and burned down by DKBA soldiers.
Former DKBA Battalion 7 commander San Pyote is rumored to have been behind the assassination of former Karen National Union (KNU) General-Secretary Mahn Sha on February 14, 2008.
The Battalion 7 commander and seven others—believed to be DKBA soldiers and porters—were killed as they were returning to DKBA Battalion 999 base in Shwe Koko in Karen State. Another eight soldiers were reportedly injured in the attack. The DKBA have blamed the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU, for the deadly ambush.
DKBA soldiers reportedly gunned down two Karen villagers on Thai soil a few days after they seized KNLA Brigade 7 headquarters on June 23.
After the fall of KNLA Brigade 7, many observers and sources in Mae Sot predicted that more targeted killings would take place between the Karen enemies, because the DKBA will have more access to Mae Sot, traditionally the home base of the KNU.
In August 2007, Lt-Col Kyi Linn, a commander of the KNLA Battalion 18 was shot dead while crossing the Haungthayaw River in Kawkareik Township, Karen State, after meeting government officials and other Karen ceasefire groups, including the DKBA.
Mahn Sha’s death came two weeks after the death of Col Ler Moo, son-in-law of Maj Gen Htain Maung, leader of a Karen breakaway group, the KNU/KNLA Peace Council. Ler Moon was killed in January 2008 and Mahn Sha was suspected of being involved.
After Mahn Sha’s assassination, two more KNLA senior military leaders were rumored to also be on the Karen splinter groups’ hit list: Gen Mu Tu, commander in chief of the KNLA and Brig-Gen Jonny, commander of KNLA Brigade 7.
By SAW YAN NAING, Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Burmese refugees at Mae La refugee camp are on alert due to a threat of attack by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), according to the vice chairman of the camp.
“The DKBA said they will destroy our camp,” said Vice-Chairman Htun Htun, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
Many of the refugees have packed clothing and belongings in preparation for a military assault, sources in nearby Mae Sot said. Camp authorities have imposed a curfew of 9 p.m. On all refugee residents.
The DKBA threatened to attack Mae La camp after one of their influential commanders, San Pyote (aka Soe Myint), the head of Battalion 7, was ambushed and killed by an unknown armed group while traveling by longtail boat on the Moei River on June 26.
Mae La refugee camp is located on the Thai side of the river, not far from where the ambush took place. It is the largest refugee camp in Thailand and currently houses about 37,000 Burmese refugees—mostly Karens from Eastern Burma displaced by the ongoing civil war.
Despite the camp being established on Thai soil in 1984, Mae La refugee camp has been attacked by the DKBA in the past.
After the DKBA split from the KNU in 1995, the splinter group staged daring attacks on several Karen refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border with the help of Burmese troops.
In 1997-98, Huay Kaloke refugee camp, about 10 km (6 miles) from Mae Sot, was attacked and burned down by DKBA soldiers.
Former DKBA Battalion 7 commander San Pyote is rumored to have been behind the assassination of former Karen National Union (KNU) General-Secretary Mahn Sha on February 14, 2008.
The Battalion 7 commander and seven others—believed to be DKBA soldiers and porters—were killed as they were returning to DKBA Battalion 999 base in Shwe Koko in Karen State. Another eight soldiers were reportedly injured in the attack. The DKBA have blamed the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU, for the deadly ambush.
DKBA soldiers reportedly gunned down two Karen villagers on Thai soil a few days after they seized KNLA Brigade 7 headquarters on June 23.
After the fall of KNLA Brigade 7, many observers and sources in Mae Sot predicted that more targeted killings would take place between the Karen enemies, because the DKBA will have more access to Mae Sot, traditionally the home base of the KNU.
In August 2007, Lt-Col Kyi Linn, a commander of the KNLA Battalion 18 was shot dead while crossing the Haungthayaw River in Kawkareik Township, Karen State, after meeting government officials and other Karen ceasefire groups, including the DKBA.
Mahn Sha’s death came two weeks after the death of Col Ler Moo, son-in-law of Maj Gen Htain Maung, leader of a Karen breakaway group, the KNU/KNLA Peace Council. Ler Moon was killed in January 2008 and Mahn Sha was suspected of being involved.
After Mahn Sha’s assassination, two more KNLA senior military leaders were rumored to also be on the Karen splinter groups’ hit list: Gen Mu Tu, commander in chief of the KNLA and Brig-Gen Jonny, commander of KNLA Brigade 7.
*****************************************************
No comments:
Post a Comment