China's sway over Myanmar limited, says crisis group
Sun Sep 13, 9:45 pm ET
BEIJING (Reuters) – Beijing's sway over Myanmar may be too weak to deter the junta from launching fresh offensives against armed ethnic groups on its volatile frontier with China, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a new report.
In a survey of the opaque relationship between China and its neighbor, the group found Beijing's influence over the generals who rule Myanmar is more brittle than many human rights campaigners and Western diplomats assume.
Myanmar launched an army attack last month that overran Kokang, a territory on its border with China run by an ethnic Chinese militia that long paid little heed to the central government.
The fighting pushed tens of thousands of refugees into neighboring China, which has sought to send them back and prevent new fighting on the mountainous frontier.
The ICG found Beijing "was not even forewarned" about the Myanmar offensive against Kokang, and may not wield enough influence to ward off similar campaigns against other, bigger ethnic enclaves in far northern Myanmar.
"Tensions continue to rise, and the possibility of conflict between the Myanmar army and the remaining ethnic groups is the highest it has been in 20 years," says the group's report.
If Myanmar attacks the bigger Wa or Kachin groups on the frontier with China, that could unleash bloodshed, refugee surges and political aftershocks that overshadow the Kokang conflict.
"Yet it is unclear whether Beijing will be able to dissuade the generals from undertaking further offensives," says the report.
"While conceding that its influence with the (Myanmar) military likely eclipses that of many countries, Chinese officials unanimously assert that it is far less than believed by many in the West," it says.
The ICG is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Brussels that seeks to defuse conflicts. The report will be available on its website (www.crisisgroup.org).
SHEDDING LIGHT
The study "China's Myanmar Dilemma" was mostly researched before the outbreak of the Kokang fighting, and by drawing on interviews with Chinese diplomats and officials it sheds rare light on the two neighbors' ambivalent relationship.
"The relationship between China and Myanmar is best characterized as a marriage of convenience, rather than a love match," it says.
China's growing investments and trade in Myanmar give it a special stake in the country that Western governments have shunned and other Asian neighbors often kept at arm's length. That stake will be deepened by planned gas and oil pipelines through Myanmar into China.
Yet Chinese mines, products, traders and other economic footprints spreading across Myanmar also breed resentment and wariness, a problem Beijing often encounters with many of its smaller neighbors.
Beijing long supported Burmese Communists and maintains its own low-key links with the rebel ethnic groups in far-northern Myanmar, where China is worried about the spread of drugs and of HIV/AIDS across the two nations' 2,200 kilometre (about 1,400 mile) border.
These factors mean Myanmar's generals look to Beijing for support, but also that the generals are suspicious of China, especially when it appears to be echoing Western pressure.
Often in its relations with states condemned by Western powers -- Iran, North Korea and Myanmar -- China has tacked between occasionally using its influence to pressure those states into concessions and resisting calls for sanctions that could badly damage bilateral relations.
The ICG report sees little chance of that pattern changing in ties between China and Myanmar, and it says other countries should take a more realistic and nuanced view of Beijing's sway.
"A workable international approach will remain elusive as Myanmar continues to play China and the West against each other," it says.
Sun Sep 13, 9:45 pm ET
BEIJING (Reuters) – Beijing's sway over Myanmar may be too weak to deter the junta from launching fresh offensives against armed ethnic groups on its volatile frontier with China, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a new report.
In a survey of the opaque relationship between China and its neighbor, the group found Beijing's influence over the generals who rule Myanmar is more brittle than many human rights campaigners and Western diplomats assume.
Myanmar launched an army attack last month that overran Kokang, a territory on its border with China run by an ethnic Chinese militia that long paid little heed to the central government.
The fighting pushed tens of thousands of refugees into neighboring China, which has sought to send them back and prevent new fighting on the mountainous frontier.
The ICG found Beijing "was not even forewarned" about the Myanmar offensive against Kokang, and may not wield enough influence to ward off similar campaigns against other, bigger ethnic enclaves in far northern Myanmar.
"Tensions continue to rise, and the possibility of conflict between the Myanmar army and the remaining ethnic groups is the highest it has been in 20 years," says the group's report.
If Myanmar attacks the bigger Wa or Kachin groups on the frontier with China, that could unleash bloodshed, refugee surges and political aftershocks that overshadow the Kokang conflict.
"Yet it is unclear whether Beijing will be able to dissuade the generals from undertaking further offensives," says the report.
"While conceding that its influence with the (Myanmar) military likely eclipses that of many countries, Chinese officials unanimously assert that it is far less than believed by many in the West," it says.
The ICG is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Brussels that seeks to defuse conflicts. The report will be available on its website (www.crisisgroup.org).
SHEDDING LIGHT
The study "China's Myanmar Dilemma" was mostly researched before the outbreak of the Kokang fighting, and by drawing on interviews with Chinese diplomats and officials it sheds rare light on the two neighbors' ambivalent relationship.
"The relationship between China and Myanmar is best characterized as a marriage of convenience, rather than a love match," it says.
China's growing investments and trade in Myanmar give it a special stake in the country that Western governments have shunned and other Asian neighbors often kept at arm's length. That stake will be deepened by planned gas and oil pipelines through Myanmar into China.
Yet Chinese mines, products, traders and other economic footprints spreading across Myanmar also breed resentment and wariness, a problem Beijing often encounters with many of its smaller neighbors.
Beijing long supported Burmese Communists and maintains its own low-key links with the rebel ethnic groups in far-northern Myanmar, where China is worried about the spread of drugs and of HIV/AIDS across the two nations' 2,200 kilometre (about 1,400 mile) border.
These factors mean Myanmar's generals look to Beijing for support, but also that the generals are suspicious of China, especially when it appears to be echoing Western pressure.
Often in its relations with states condemned by Western powers -- Iran, North Korea and Myanmar -- China has tacked between occasionally using its influence to pressure those states into concessions and resisting calls for sanctions that could badly damage bilateral relations.
The ICG report sees little chance of that pattern changing in ties between China and Myanmar, and it says other countries should take a more realistic and nuanced view of Beijing's sway.
"A workable international approach will remain elusive as Myanmar continues to play China and the West against each other," it says.
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Reuters - Bangladesh: Myanmar refugees weave together self-reliance and hope
14 Sep 2009 15:12:20 GMT
Source: UNHCR
FARUK PARA, Bangladesh, September 14 (UNHCR) – Kil Cer, a shy, petite 34-year Chin refugee from Myanmar, can be found every morning weaving blankets along with five other women in the village community centre in this remote lush green village in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
But they're not just turning out the colourful traditional blankets their mothers and grandmothers have always made. In their own quiet way they've woven together a small-scale economic revolution in the settlement of 700, liberating their families from debt and dependence on handouts.
"I am happy now," says Kil Cer. "Before, it was a difficult struggle." Largely because of Kil Cer's weaving skills, her community has paid back all their debts. They are able to take care of their families without UNHCR's support and have invested money in other businesses, such as banana plantations, that also employ the local Bangladeshi host community, known as the Bawm.
"We speak almost the same language as they do and they have been very good to us," Kil Cer, a mother of two, says about her hosts.
Behind the success is a new UNHCR approach to developing self-reliance as part of UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres's focus on refugees living outside camps. Learning from earlier projects that gave grants to refugees who did not have the proper skills or business education to use the money properly, UNHCR began relying on the expertise of local businesses to develop the skills of refugees in Bangladesh living outside camps.
Eight months ago, Kil Cer and other refugees in the village were heavily in debt after many of their projects – small rice mills, grocery shops and farming – failed. For many years, they had relied on UNHCR to pay their rent and give them money for basic commodities. Even when Kil Cer tried to support herself with weaving, she was only able to earn US$2 per blanket – hardly enough to cover her expenses.
"Like many girls in Myanmar, I was taught to weave by my mother in Myanmar when I was 15 years old," she says. In Bangladesh, she began weaving blankets and passed on the skill to a few other young women, both refugees and Bangladeshis.
The turning point came when UNHCR introduced her to Samantha Morshed, chief executive officer of Hathay Bunano, a company that was already employing rural Bangladeshi women and other disadvantaged people to make soft toys for the international market under fair trade rules. She provided free professional advice to Kil Cer and her team on improving their products and marketing them, to make best use of a UNHCR start-up loan of US$250.
Today their offerings include shawls, scarves, ponchos, baby blankets, picnic blankets, bedspreads and bags marketed under Expression in Exile, a brand that is becoming popular with the urban elite in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. Within a month, they made a profit of US$800, a substantial amount for the residents of Farak Pura, and today demand is outstripping supply.
"I was excited when I first saw the blankets from Expression in Exile and am happy to give the group a little direction in terms of colours, sizes, pricing and raw materials," says Morshed. "I see no reason why these blankets cannot achieve mainstream export sales in the near future."
Now that her daily needs are taken care of, Kil Cer is already looking to a future she could scarcely have dreamed of a year ago. "I want to invest the money in my children's education," she says. Her 19-year-old colleague, Siang Khin Par, has similar high hopes: "I do this because I would like to be self-reliant. I would like to learn computing and English."
UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh Saber Azam says the programme is paying benefits not only for the refugees but for Bangladesh as well.
"Ensuring that refugees are able to take care of themselves and their communities is often a more humanitarian activity than giving them free hand-outs for years," he says. "Kil Cer has also demonstrated how refugees can help their Bangladeshi hosts rather than being a burden on them."
By Jelvas Musau in Faruk Para and Arjun Jain in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Source: UNHCR
FARUK PARA, Bangladesh, September 14 (UNHCR) – Kil Cer, a shy, petite 34-year Chin refugee from Myanmar, can be found every morning weaving blankets along with five other women in the village community centre in this remote lush green village in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
But they're not just turning out the colourful traditional blankets their mothers and grandmothers have always made. In their own quiet way they've woven together a small-scale economic revolution in the settlement of 700, liberating their families from debt and dependence on handouts.
"I am happy now," says Kil Cer. "Before, it was a difficult struggle." Largely because of Kil Cer's weaving skills, her community has paid back all their debts. They are able to take care of their families without UNHCR's support and have invested money in other businesses, such as banana plantations, that also employ the local Bangladeshi host community, known as the Bawm.
"We speak almost the same language as they do and they have been very good to us," Kil Cer, a mother of two, says about her hosts.
Behind the success is a new UNHCR approach to developing self-reliance as part of UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres's focus on refugees living outside camps. Learning from earlier projects that gave grants to refugees who did not have the proper skills or business education to use the money properly, UNHCR began relying on the expertise of local businesses to develop the skills of refugees in Bangladesh living outside camps.
Eight months ago, Kil Cer and other refugees in the village were heavily in debt after many of their projects – small rice mills, grocery shops and farming – failed. For many years, they had relied on UNHCR to pay their rent and give them money for basic commodities. Even when Kil Cer tried to support herself with weaving, she was only able to earn US$2 per blanket – hardly enough to cover her expenses.
"Like many girls in Myanmar, I was taught to weave by my mother in Myanmar when I was 15 years old," she says. In Bangladesh, she began weaving blankets and passed on the skill to a few other young women, both refugees and Bangladeshis.
The turning point came when UNHCR introduced her to Samantha Morshed, chief executive officer of Hathay Bunano, a company that was already employing rural Bangladeshi women and other disadvantaged people to make soft toys for the international market under fair trade rules. She provided free professional advice to Kil Cer and her team on improving their products and marketing them, to make best use of a UNHCR start-up loan of US$250.
Today their offerings include shawls, scarves, ponchos, baby blankets, picnic blankets, bedspreads and bags marketed under Expression in Exile, a brand that is becoming popular with the urban elite in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. Within a month, they made a profit of US$800, a substantial amount for the residents of Farak Pura, and today demand is outstripping supply.
"I was excited when I first saw the blankets from Expression in Exile and am happy to give the group a little direction in terms of colours, sizes, pricing and raw materials," says Morshed. "I see no reason why these blankets cannot achieve mainstream export sales in the near future."
Now that her daily needs are taken care of, Kil Cer is already looking to a future she could scarcely have dreamed of a year ago. "I want to invest the money in my children's education," she says. Her 19-year-old colleague, Siang Khin Par, has similar high hopes: "I do this because I would like to be self-reliant. I would like to learn computing and English."
UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh Saber Azam says the programme is paying benefits not only for the refugees but for Bangladesh as well.
"Ensuring that refugees are able to take care of themselves and their communities is often a more humanitarian activity than giving them free hand-outs for years," he says. "Kil Cer has also demonstrated how refugees can help their Bangladeshi hosts rather than being a burden on them."
By Jelvas Musau in Faruk Para and Arjun Jain in Dhaka, Bangladesh
********************************************************************
Myanmar police release veteran opposition leader
Sat Sep 12, 10:10 pm ET
YANGON (Reuters) – Veteran Myanmar opposition leader Win Tin said he was taken in for questioning by police intelligence but released after a few hours late on Saturday with a warning he could be called in again.
The 80-year-old is a founding member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and was the longest-serving political prisoner in army-ruled Myanmar until his release in an amnesty in September last year.
"They said that they wanted to ask me some questions in connection with information they got from some people during interrogation under detention," Win Tin told Reuters, giving no details on the information or the other people.
"They treated me well but all their questions were groundless so I denied them all," he added.
"They said they would send me back home this time for health reasons but might call me in again if necessary."
Win Tin has had heart problems and recently had a pacemaker fitted.
He is a close aide to party leader Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest and has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention of one form or another.
Win Tin said he was not asked anything about an opinion piece written by him and published in the Washington Post last week, in which he criticized plans being drawn up by the military regime for an election next year in the former Burma.
In the article, Win Tin said "the showcase election planned by the military regime makes a mockery of the freedom sought by our people and would make military dictatorship permanent."
The United States is in the process of reviewing its policy toward Myanmar, although it has said closer ties would depend, among other things, on the release of political prisoners including Suu Kyi.
Win Tin wrote in the article: "Some international observers view next year's planned elections as an opportunity. But under the circumstances imposed by the military's constitution, the election will be a sham."
Sat Sep 12, 10:10 pm ET
YANGON (Reuters) – Veteran Myanmar opposition leader Win Tin said he was taken in for questioning by police intelligence but released after a few hours late on Saturday with a warning he could be called in again.
The 80-year-old is a founding member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and was the longest-serving political prisoner in army-ruled Myanmar until his release in an amnesty in September last year.
"They said that they wanted to ask me some questions in connection with information they got from some people during interrogation under detention," Win Tin told Reuters, giving no details on the information or the other people.
"They treated me well but all their questions were groundless so I denied them all," he added.
"They said they would send me back home this time for health reasons but might call me in again if necessary."
Win Tin has had heart problems and recently had a pacemaker fitted.
He is a close aide to party leader Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest and has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention of one form or another.
Win Tin said he was not asked anything about an opinion piece written by him and published in the Washington Post last week, in which he criticized plans being drawn up by the military regime for an election next year in the former Burma.
In the article, Win Tin said "the showcase election planned by the military regime makes a mockery of the freedom sought by our people and would make military dictatorship permanent."
The United States is in the process of reviewing its policy toward Myanmar, although it has said closer ties would depend, among other things, on the release of political prisoners including Suu Kyi.
Win Tin wrote in the article: "Some international observers view next year's planned elections as an opportunity. But under the circumstances imposed by the military's constitution, the election will be a sham."
********************************************************************
Myanmar briefly detains Suu Kyi aide: friend
Sat Sep 12, 2:01 pm ET
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar authorities on Saturday briefly detained Win Tin, a veteran opposition leader and the country's former longest serving political prisoner, a friend said.
The 80-year-old former journalist was taken from his home in the morning for questioning but was allowed to return home several hours later, his friend Maung Maung Khin said.
The ruling junta freed Win Tin, a leading member of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party, in September 2008 after almost two decades behind bars.
"He was taken this morning at 10:30 am and the authorities sent him home at 4:00 pm. They took him for questioning because some arrested youths mentioned his name," Maung Maung Khin told AFP.
"It was meant to harm his dignity".
Maung Maung Khin said Win Tin's health situation was "not stable" because he recently had a pacemaker installed, but said that he was now fine and resting at home.
The incident came just three days after the Washington Post published a piece written by Win Tin about Myanmar's upcoming elections, which the ruling generals have promised to hold in 2010.
The comment piece said that "the showcase election planned by the military regime makes a mockery of the freedom sought by our people and would make military dictatorship permanent."
Win Tin was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment on July 4, 1989 for acting as an advisor to Suu Kyi and writing letters to the then-United Nations envoy to Myanmar.
After his release he frequently campaigned outside Yangon's notorious Insein Prison while Suu Kyi was being held there on trial over a bizarre incident in which an American man swam uninvited to her house in May.
In August the regime extended her house arrest for another 18 months after she was found guilty. Critics accused the junta of using the case as an excuse to keep her locked up until after the polls.
Sat Sep 12, 2:01 pm ET
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar authorities on Saturday briefly detained Win Tin, a veteran opposition leader and the country's former longest serving political prisoner, a friend said.
The 80-year-old former journalist was taken from his home in the morning for questioning but was allowed to return home several hours later, his friend Maung Maung Khin said.
The ruling junta freed Win Tin, a leading member of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party, in September 2008 after almost two decades behind bars.
"He was taken this morning at 10:30 am and the authorities sent him home at 4:00 pm. They took him for questioning because some arrested youths mentioned his name," Maung Maung Khin told AFP.
"It was meant to harm his dignity".
Maung Maung Khin said Win Tin's health situation was "not stable" because he recently had a pacemaker installed, but said that he was now fine and resting at home.
The incident came just three days after the Washington Post published a piece written by Win Tin about Myanmar's upcoming elections, which the ruling generals have promised to hold in 2010.
The comment piece said that "the showcase election planned by the military regime makes a mockery of the freedom sought by our people and would make military dictatorship permanent."
Win Tin was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment on July 4, 1989 for acting as an advisor to Suu Kyi and writing letters to the then-United Nations envoy to Myanmar.
After his release he frequently campaigned outside Yangon's notorious Insein Prison while Suu Kyi was being held there on trial over a bizarre incident in which an American man swam uninvited to her house in May.
In August the regime extended her house arrest for another 18 months after she was found guilty. Critics accused the junta of using the case as an excuse to keep her locked up until after the polls.
********************************************************************
Myanmar politicians' kin set to join new party
AP - Monday, September 14
YANGON, Myanmar – The daughters of two of Myanmar's former prime ministers are set to join a new political party to be set up for next year's general election, a veteran politician said Monday.
Thu Wai, 77, announced that he will form the Democratic Party once the military government announces a planned political party registration law. He had previously chaired a party with a similar name.
Thu Wai, a longtime democracy activist who was freed in 2004 after nearly a decade as a political prisoner, said he would chair the party, while its executive secretaries would include former Prime Minister U Nu's daughter Than Than Nu, former Prime Minister Ba Swe's daughter Nay Yee Ba Swe, and Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, the daughter of a former deputy prime minister.
U Nu was the country's first prime minister after independence from Britain in 1948 as well as its last before the military took over in 1962. He died in 1995. Ba Swe, his contemporary, was the country's second prime minister, serving in 1956-57. He died in 1987.
The military government has planned the 2010 election as part of its seven-step "roadmap to democracy" in accordance with a constitution promulgated last year, but it has yet to introduce a political parties registration law or an election law.
Detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy has not yet decided whether to take part in next year's polls, for which an exact date has not been set. The party won the most seats in a 1990 election, but was not allowed to take power by the military, which refused to convene parliament.
Parties representing the country's many big ethnic minorities have also not yet committed to next year's polls.
Win Tin, a leading member of Suu Kyi's party, wrote in a recent opinion piece in the Washington Post that "the showcase election planned by the military regime makes a mockery of the freedom sought by our people and would make military dictatorship permanent."
Parties representing the country's sizable ethnic minorities have also not yet committed themselves to next year's polls.
AP - Monday, September 14
YANGON, Myanmar – The daughters of two of Myanmar's former prime ministers are set to join a new political party to be set up for next year's general election, a veteran politician said Monday.
Thu Wai, 77, announced that he will form the Democratic Party once the military government announces a planned political party registration law. He had previously chaired a party with a similar name.
Thu Wai, a longtime democracy activist who was freed in 2004 after nearly a decade as a political prisoner, said he would chair the party, while its executive secretaries would include former Prime Minister U Nu's daughter Than Than Nu, former Prime Minister Ba Swe's daughter Nay Yee Ba Swe, and Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, the daughter of a former deputy prime minister.
U Nu was the country's first prime minister after independence from Britain in 1948 as well as its last before the military took over in 1962. He died in 1995. Ba Swe, his contemporary, was the country's second prime minister, serving in 1956-57. He died in 1987.
The military government has planned the 2010 election as part of its seven-step "roadmap to democracy" in accordance with a constitution promulgated last year, but it has yet to introduce a political parties registration law or an election law.
Detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy has not yet decided whether to take part in next year's polls, for which an exact date has not been set. The party won the most seats in a 1990 election, but was not allowed to take power by the military, which refused to convene parliament.
Parties representing the country's many big ethnic minorities have also not yet committed to next year's polls.
Win Tin, a leading member of Suu Kyi's party, wrote in a recent opinion piece in the Washington Post that "the showcase election planned by the military regime makes a mockery of the freedom sought by our people and would make military dictatorship permanent."
Parties representing the country's sizable ethnic minorities have also not yet committed themselves to next year's polls.
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EarthTimes - Myanmar military urges ethnic groups to become frontier forces
Posted : Sun, 13 Sep 2009 07:11:23 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar's junta on Sunday used state-run media to urge the country's myriad ethnic-minority armies to transform themselves into frontier forces before the 2010 general election. An article titled "They will choose the correct way" in The New Light of Myanmar called on the 17 main ethnic militias and 20 smaller ones to abide by past agreements to transform themselves into "frontier forces" before next year's elections.
The editorial in the government mouthpiece followed the army's occupation of the Kokang region in the northern Shan State last month after Kokang leaders opposed efforts to transform their 1,500-strong army into a "frontier force" under government control.
The attack on the Kokang was seen as a warning to other ethnic groups to heed the junta's demands.
The military junta signed ceasefire agreements with some 37 ethnic minority insurgent groups two decades ago in an effort to "bring them in to the fold."
Those jungle forces were allowed a measure of autonomy in their traditional territories and permitted to keep their weapons.
"The state on its part has spent 20 years getting the national races armed groups to transform themselves into frontier forces," the article said. "This duration of time is more than enough for a transition period."
The second step, as spelled out in the 2008 constitution, will be to hold elections and transform the former insurgencies into frontier forces, under the command of the national army.
"Members of the national race peace groups can face difficulties when they abandon their arms ... so the government initiated the programme to form them into frontier forces under the control of the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services," the article said.
The commentary denied reports that the government was using force to persuade minority groups to transform their armies into frontier forces, an apparent reference to the Kokang case.
Myanmar authorities claimed to have cracked down on the Kokang because they were involved in illicit arms manufacturing and drug trafficking.
The military, which has ruled Myanmar since 1962, has been known to bend the truth in the past to serve its own purposes.
There are fears that the largest ethnic groups such as the Wa and Kachin could join with other forces that have never signed ceasefires with the government, such as the Karen and Shan, in openly opposing the junta's efforts to bring them to heel before next year's planned elections.
Posted : Sun, 13 Sep 2009 07:11:23 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar's junta on Sunday used state-run media to urge the country's myriad ethnic-minority armies to transform themselves into frontier forces before the 2010 general election. An article titled "They will choose the correct way" in The New Light of Myanmar called on the 17 main ethnic militias and 20 smaller ones to abide by past agreements to transform themselves into "frontier forces" before next year's elections.
The editorial in the government mouthpiece followed the army's occupation of the Kokang region in the northern Shan State last month after Kokang leaders opposed efforts to transform their 1,500-strong army into a "frontier force" under government control.
The attack on the Kokang was seen as a warning to other ethnic groups to heed the junta's demands.
The military junta signed ceasefire agreements with some 37 ethnic minority insurgent groups two decades ago in an effort to "bring them in to the fold."
Those jungle forces were allowed a measure of autonomy in their traditional territories and permitted to keep their weapons.
"The state on its part has spent 20 years getting the national races armed groups to transform themselves into frontier forces," the article said. "This duration of time is more than enough for a transition period."
The second step, as spelled out in the 2008 constitution, will be to hold elections and transform the former insurgencies into frontier forces, under the command of the national army.
"Members of the national race peace groups can face difficulties when they abandon their arms ... so the government initiated the programme to form them into frontier forces under the control of the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services," the article said.
The commentary denied reports that the government was using force to persuade minority groups to transform their armies into frontier forces, an apparent reference to the Kokang case.
Myanmar authorities claimed to have cracked down on the Kokang because they were involved in illicit arms manufacturing and drug trafficking.
The military, which has ruled Myanmar since 1962, has been known to bend the truth in the past to serve its own purposes.
There are fears that the largest ethnic groups such as the Wa and Kachin could join with other forces that have never signed ceasefires with the government, such as the Karen and Shan, in openly opposing the junta's efforts to bring them to heel before next year's planned elections.
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EarthTimes - Dissident questioned over pacemaker in Myanmar
Posted : Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:35:23 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar's military junta have summoned a known dissident for questioning to establish who had paid for his pacemaker, one of his friends said Sunday. Win Tin, 80, who was released from prison last September after serving 19 years, was picked up by police without warning on Saturday, Maung Maung Khin said in Yangon.
The officers demanded that he provide information on who had paid for and fitted the artificial device that regulates his heart, his friend said. Win Tin was released after several hours.
Speaking after he was freed from Yangon's notorious Insein Prison, regime critic Win Tin said: "I am fighting for democracy to be restored in this country."
He is a senior member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party of opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi herself has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention and is current under house arrest.
The NLD suspects that Win Tin's latest interrogation had more to do with an article that appeared in the Washington Post, in which he dismissed the junta's planned elections in the coming year as a farce.
Posted : Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:35:23 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar's military junta have summoned a known dissident for questioning to establish who had paid for his pacemaker, one of his friends said Sunday. Win Tin, 80, who was released from prison last September after serving 19 years, was picked up by police without warning on Saturday, Maung Maung Khin said in Yangon.
The officers demanded that he provide information on who had paid for and fitted the artificial device that regulates his heart, his friend said. Win Tin was released after several hours.
Speaking after he was freed from Yangon's notorious Insein Prison, regime critic Win Tin said: "I am fighting for democracy to be restored in this country."
He is a senior member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party of opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi herself has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention and is current under house arrest.
The NLD suspects that Win Tin's latest interrogation had more to do with an article that appeared in the Washington Post, in which he dismissed the junta's planned elections in the coming year as a farce.
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Myanmar strives for expansion of gems market
www.chinaview.cn 2009-09-13 20:58:30
YANGON, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar is striving for the expansion of its gems market, introducing domestically several gems emporiums annually and joining international gem shows occasionally.
In recent years, Myanmar have sought attendance of gems shows in China, Thailand and Sri Lanka to display the country's quality jade, ruby, sapphire and pearl in the international shows to attract more foreign traders.
In July this year, Myanmar gems merchants took part in a gem show of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province.
Later this month, Myanmar will also take part in another five-day ASEAN gem show scheduled to launch in Bangkok, Thailand.
On the occasion of the forthcoming 6th China-ASEAN trade fair slated for next month in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, a total of 70 Myanmar gems companies will head for the event.
Moreover, Myanmar is also seeking gem trade with Sri Lanka, participating in some gem shows held in Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka for the market expansion.
In another endeavors of its gem market expansion, Myanmar eyes the United Arab Emirates and Oman, planning to launch gem shows there within three years.
Myanmar's gem market in Asia seems to have not been much affected by the global economic downturn as seen by observers as the country's gems and jewelry stand high in demand among the Asian countries.
Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, boasts ruby, diamond, cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnet tinged with yellow.
The country started to hold gem shows at home annually in 1964,introducing the mid-year one in 1992 and the special one in 2004.
The authorities designated the proceeds from the sale of gems at these emporiums as legal export earning to encourage the private sector in the development of the gem industry.
In March this year, an annual gems emporium, which was the 46th,was held in Yangon on the basis of competitive bidding. In the emporium, more than 5,000 jade lots were displayed and 191 million U.S. dollars worth gems and jewelry were sold out.
The event was attended by over 2,300 foreign traders mostly from China and China's Hong Kong.
The gem merchants attending the show are mainly from Asian countries of China, China's Hong Kong, China's Taiwan and Singapore.
In June this year, a special Myanmar gem emporium again attracted more than 3,000 foreign gem traders, registering the highest number of visitors compared with the last few years' and the proceeds from it amounted to 292 million dollars.
Meanwhile, the country will launch another mid-year gems emporium here in October-November this year to encourage local private gem traders to sell more quality items of gems, jade, pearl and jewelry.
Without specific date set, the 18th Mid-Year Myanmar Gems Emporium will take place at the Myanmar Convention Center.
In the latest development, Myanmar will hold its biannual pearl auction for the first time in the country's largest gems museum newly built in new capital of Nay Pyi Taw in late this month.
The three-day auction, which runs from Sept. 23 to 25, is expected to draw increased number of local pearl traders from two major cities of Yangon and Mandalay.
Myanmar cultures about 400,000 units of pearls every year from eight pearl farms in the country with investment from Australia, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Thailand, according to report.
Myanmar's ruby, diamond, cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and pearl gain reputation in the world market.
The government's Central Statistical Organization revealed that in the fiscal year 2008-09, Myanmar produced 32,921 tons of jade and 18,728 million carats of gems which include ruby, sapphire, spinel and peridot, as well as 201,081 mommis (754 kilograms) of pearl.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-09-13 20:58:30
YANGON, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar is striving for the expansion of its gems market, introducing domestically several gems emporiums annually and joining international gem shows occasionally.
In recent years, Myanmar have sought attendance of gems shows in China, Thailand and Sri Lanka to display the country's quality jade, ruby, sapphire and pearl in the international shows to attract more foreign traders.
In July this year, Myanmar gems merchants took part in a gem show of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province.
Later this month, Myanmar will also take part in another five-day ASEAN gem show scheduled to launch in Bangkok, Thailand.
On the occasion of the forthcoming 6th China-ASEAN trade fair slated for next month in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, a total of 70 Myanmar gems companies will head for the event.
Moreover, Myanmar is also seeking gem trade with Sri Lanka, participating in some gem shows held in Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka for the market expansion.
In another endeavors of its gem market expansion, Myanmar eyes the United Arab Emirates and Oman, planning to launch gem shows there within three years.
Myanmar's gem market in Asia seems to have not been much affected by the global economic downturn as seen by observers as the country's gems and jewelry stand high in demand among the Asian countries.
Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, boasts ruby, diamond, cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnet tinged with yellow.
The country started to hold gem shows at home annually in 1964,introducing the mid-year one in 1992 and the special one in 2004.
The authorities designated the proceeds from the sale of gems at these emporiums as legal export earning to encourage the private sector in the development of the gem industry.
In March this year, an annual gems emporium, which was the 46th,was held in Yangon on the basis of competitive bidding. In the emporium, more than 5,000 jade lots were displayed and 191 million U.S. dollars worth gems and jewelry were sold out.
The event was attended by over 2,300 foreign traders mostly from China and China's Hong Kong.
The gem merchants attending the show are mainly from Asian countries of China, China's Hong Kong, China's Taiwan and Singapore.
In June this year, a special Myanmar gem emporium again attracted more than 3,000 foreign gem traders, registering the highest number of visitors compared with the last few years' and the proceeds from it amounted to 292 million dollars.
Meanwhile, the country will launch another mid-year gems emporium here in October-November this year to encourage local private gem traders to sell more quality items of gems, jade, pearl and jewelry.
Without specific date set, the 18th Mid-Year Myanmar Gems Emporium will take place at the Myanmar Convention Center.
In the latest development, Myanmar will hold its biannual pearl auction for the first time in the country's largest gems museum newly built in new capital of Nay Pyi Taw in late this month.
The three-day auction, which runs from Sept. 23 to 25, is expected to draw increased number of local pearl traders from two major cities of Yangon and Mandalay.
Myanmar cultures about 400,000 units of pearls every year from eight pearl farms in the country with investment from Australia, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Thailand, according to report.
Myanmar's ruby, diamond, cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and pearl gain reputation in the world market.
The government's Central Statistical Organization revealed that in the fiscal year 2008-09, Myanmar produced 32,921 tons of jade and 18,728 million carats of gems which include ruby, sapphire, spinel and peridot, as well as 201,081 mommis (754 kilograms) of pearl.
********************************************************************
Myanmar strives for promotion of development of traditional medicine
www.chinaview.cn 2009-09-13 13:26:42
By Ding Lingling
YANGON, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar will hold its traditional medicine expo in the former capital of Yangon early next month, aimed at promoting the development of the country's traditional medicines and disseminating medical knowledge to the public.
With 200 booths, the four-day exhibition, will take place at the Tatmataw Convention Hall from Oct. 1 to 4, sources with the Ministry of Health said Sunday.
Myanmar traditional medicine is recognized as one of the principal contributors to the public health and a genuine legacy left by ancestors.
As the Myanmar traditional medicine is playing a more and more important role in treating diseases in the country, the government places more emphasis on the aspects, calling on traditional medicine practitioners to protect and preserve them from depletion and extinction and to ensure their perpetual existence.
At the same time, the practitioners are also urged to harmoniously strive for the promotion of the standard of Myanmar traditional medicine to reach international level.
According to the health authorities, Myanmar has made arrangements for the development of the traditional medicine in line with the set standards, opening diploma courses and practitioner courses to train out skilled experts in the field.
A decade before, Myanmar's Institute of Traditional Medicine conferred diplomas on traditional medicine to those who had completed two-year theoretical course and one-year practical course.
In 2001, Myanmar established its University of Traditional Medicine in Mandalay, the second largest city, where traditional medicine, anatomy and physiology, microbiology and medicine and Chinese acupuncture are taught.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has set up the first national herbal park in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw and the second one has planned to set up in Putao, a border town in northernmost Kachin state of the country, to grow herbal and medicinal plants used in producing medicines for treating various diseases.
The 81-hectare National Herbal Park, aimed at becoming an international-level one, was established by the Ministry of Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs.
Over 20,000 herbal and medicinal plants of over 700 species from some 10 states and divisions for producing medicines used in treating diseases like cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hypertension, diabetes, malaria and tuberculosis are being grown in the park.
Encouragement has also been made to set up large traditional medicine industries with the private sector to produce potent drugs for common diseases, herbal gardens for medicinal plant conservation and find means to treat patients with the combined potency of the Western and Myanmar traditional medicine.
The Myanmar traditional medicine, composed of such ingredients as roots, tubers, bulbs, natural items and animal products, has in a historical perspective, represented the typical Myanmar culture and traditional value and norms.
Meanwhile, practitioners in the country are also being urged to make efforts for the promotion of Myanmar traditional medicines through cooperation with the international community.
There are 12 traditional medicine hospitals and 214 such clinics in the country with services provided by nearly 10,000 practitioners, earlier statistics show.
Myanmar is conducting research on treatment of six major diseases -- diabetes, hypertension, malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhea and dysentery through traditional medicine.
Myanmar holds traditional medicine practitioners conference every year to introduce the country's traditional medicines and its medical practices and the last conference, which was the 9th, took place in Nay Pyi Taw in December last year.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-09-13 13:26:42
By Ding Lingling
YANGON, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar will hold its traditional medicine expo in the former capital of Yangon early next month, aimed at promoting the development of the country's traditional medicines and disseminating medical knowledge to the public.
With 200 booths, the four-day exhibition, will take place at the Tatmataw Convention Hall from Oct. 1 to 4, sources with the Ministry of Health said Sunday.
Myanmar traditional medicine is recognized as one of the principal contributors to the public health and a genuine legacy left by ancestors.
As the Myanmar traditional medicine is playing a more and more important role in treating diseases in the country, the government places more emphasis on the aspects, calling on traditional medicine practitioners to protect and preserve them from depletion and extinction and to ensure their perpetual existence.
At the same time, the practitioners are also urged to harmoniously strive for the promotion of the standard of Myanmar traditional medicine to reach international level.
According to the health authorities, Myanmar has made arrangements for the development of the traditional medicine in line with the set standards, opening diploma courses and practitioner courses to train out skilled experts in the field.
A decade before, Myanmar's Institute of Traditional Medicine conferred diplomas on traditional medicine to those who had completed two-year theoretical course and one-year practical course.
In 2001, Myanmar established its University of Traditional Medicine in Mandalay, the second largest city, where traditional medicine, anatomy and physiology, microbiology and medicine and Chinese acupuncture are taught.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has set up the first national herbal park in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw and the second one has planned to set up in Putao, a border town in northernmost Kachin state of the country, to grow herbal and medicinal plants used in producing medicines for treating various diseases.
The 81-hectare National Herbal Park, aimed at becoming an international-level one, was established by the Ministry of Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs.
Over 20,000 herbal and medicinal plants of over 700 species from some 10 states and divisions for producing medicines used in treating diseases like cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hypertension, diabetes, malaria and tuberculosis are being grown in the park.
Encouragement has also been made to set up large traditional medicine industries with the private sector to produce potent drugs for common diseases, herbal gardens for medicinal plant conservation and find means to treat patients with the combined potency of the Western and Myanmar traditional medicine.
The Myanmar traditional medicine, composed of such ingredients as roots, tubers, bulbs, natural items and animal products, has in a historical perspective, represented the typical Myanmar culture and traditional value and norms.
Meanwhile, practitioners in the country are also being urged to make efforts for the promotion of Myanmar traditional medicines through cooperation with the international community.
There are 12 traditional medicine hospitals and 214 such clinics in the country with services provided by nearly 10,000 practitioners, earlier statistics show.
Myanmar is conducting research on treatment of six major diseases -- diabetes, hypertension, malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhea and dysentery through traditional medicine.
Myanmar holds traditional medicine practitioners conference every year to introduce the country's traditional medicines and its medical practices and the last conference, which was the 9th, took place in Nay Pyi Taw in December last year.
********************************************************************
09/14/2009 13:23
MYANMAR - INDIA
AsiaNews.it - Total and Chevron are not alone in enriching the Burmese junta, while people starve
by Tint Swe
The minister of the Burmese government in exile AsiaNews denounces the collusion between governments, corporations and the military in power. Economic interests and trafficking of the most important moral issues such as democracy and human rights. Companies must compensate the people, the victim of harassment and violence.
New Delhi (AsiaNews) - The NGO EarthRights International has launched a serious accusation against the big energy companies Total and Chevron, accused of enriching the military junta in Burma with funds and of exploiting the local population. It amounts to 4.83 billion U.S. dollars in capital hidden by the Burmese leadership in two offshore banks in Singapore. The NGO also denounces the practice of forced labour, murder and harassment on the population affected by the implementation of the Yadana gas pipeline that, from Myanmar, conveys natural gas to Thailand.
We publish the analysis of Tint Swe, a member of the Council of Ministers of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) composed of refugees from Myanmar after the 1990 elections won by the National League for Democracy and never acknowledged by the junta . Fled to India in 1990, since 21 December 1991 he lives in New Delhi, and is a member of the NCGUB where he holds the post of information officer for South Asia and East Timor.
Democracy or humanitarian projects are humiliated when they are dealing with Myanmar. Everything is politics. Politics is money. This is what most ignorant Burmese, lately, have experienced. But they must also be patient, to let the foreign governments and organizations learn something more about the true face of the military junta. Many accuse them of only highlighting the bad side of the generals.
The movement for democracy in Myanmar did not have the right means to speak to the world of 3 thousand deaths during the riots of 1988. Thanks to camera phones, it was different for the revolt of the monks in 2007. However, the media are still ineffective in influencing the majority of foreign governments. The harsh reactions and statements show strong tones, while pressures towards the generals of the Burmese army remain futile.
Within the UN Security Council, it is clear the right of veto exercised by China and Russia [on sanctions]. Moreover, there are many other invisible powers that work behind the scenes. Economic interests, energy, security, arms trafficking and drugs are far more important than moral issues: democracy, human rights and humanitarian aid.
The occasional visitors, who spend a couple of weeks in tourist centres such as Pagan, Inlay and beaches, go home and tell how sweet the smile of the Burmese people is, and how picturesque the landscapes. The common people are driven to think that everything is as usual in Myanmar. These commentators do not have access to the wretched dinner table of those living in towns and satellite villages, they do not know the hardships of those who, from the cities of origin, face long journeys to reach the most remote prisons in the areas of the country where their loved ones are held for their struggle for democracy.
Nobody criticizes the lack of democracy, because the generals are viewed as good guys able to hide secret agreements. And the results are the birth of the nuclear program, the secret tunnel and dollars in the energy sector. What was once called "the rice fields of Asia”, is still blessed by God with natural resources, after two decades, Myanmar is still unable to emerge from the lowest position among developing countries. But look at the video of the "diamond" wedding of the first daughter (of chief general Than Shwe), turn your gaze from the unnecessary development of the capital Naypyiday, to listen to the Burmese-language radio, the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and Democratic Voice of Burma. Those who really need honest-to-date information and news from the inside, just need to translate RSS feeds of these radios. If your newspapers continues to defend the policy of [the junta] and the approach of your governments, then it means that maybe you are a bit 'blinded.
The truth is that Myanmar is a desperately poor country, while the regime is extremely rich. Health and education levels are at a minimum, military spending at a maximum. Drugs and the black market far exceeds what the government reveals to the public on the economy.
The report published by EarthRights International, about 4.8 billion U.S. dollars paid by two of the largest oil companies in the world is a plus. It is clear that companies in the first instance, should deny any wrongdoing. Multinationals such as Total - Under the pressure of public opinion - should change their attitude and compensate people for the violation of human rights and labour standards. There are many companies from different countries, where neither democracy nor the public can be of help. Banks in Singapore and South Korean companies are just one example. Not to mention the Chinese and Indian companies.
In the United States there are joint efforts of politicians, information systems and activists who would benefit from removal of American businessmen from Myanmar. The secret plots and the invisible hands have always played a role in history. Not all, however, have been successful. Poor Burmese, who have yet to wait for tens of years.
MYANMAR - INDIA
AsiaNews.it - Total and Chevron are not alone in enriching the Burmese junta, while people starve
by Tint Swe
The minister of the Burmese government in exile AsiaNews denounces the collusion between governments, corporations and the military in power. Economic interests and trafficking of the most important moral issues such as democracy and human rights. Companies must compensate the people, the victim of harassment and violence.
New Delhi (AsiaNews) - The NGO EarthRights International has launched a serious accusation against the big energy companies Total and Chevron, accused of enriching the military junta in Burma with funds and of exploiting the local population. It amounts to 4.83 billion U.S. dollars in capital hidden by the Burmese leadership in two offshore banks in Singapore. The NGO also denounces the practice of forced labour, murder and harassment on the population affected by the implementation of the Yadana gas pipeline that, from Myanmar, conveys natural gas to Thailand.
We publish the analysis of Tint Swe, a member of the Council of Ministers of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) composed of refugees from Myanmar after the 1990 elections won by the National League for Democracy and never acknowledged by the junta . Fled to India in 1990, since 21 December 1991 he lives in New Delhi, and is a member of the NCGUB where he holds the post of information officer for South Asia and East Timor.
Democracy or humanitarian projects are humiliated when they are dealing with Myanmar. Everything is politics. Politics is money. This is what most ignorant Burmese, lately, have experienced. But they must also be patient, to let the foreign governments and organizations learn something more about the true face of the military junta. Many accuse them of only highlighting the bad side of the generals.
The movement for democracy in Myanmar did not have the right means to speak to the world of 3 thousand deaths during the riots of 1988. Thanks to camera phones, it was different for the revolt of the monks in 2007. However, the media are still ineffective in influencing the majority of foreign governments. The harsh reactions and statements show strong tones, while pressures towards the generals of the Burmese army remain futile.
Within the UN Security Council, it is clear the right of veto exercised by China and Russia [on sanctions]. Moreover, there are many other invisible powers that work behind the scenes. Economic interests, energy, security, arms trafficking and drugs are far more important than moral issues: democracy, human rights and humanitarian aid.
The occasional visitors, who spend a couple of weeks in tourist centres such as Pagan, Inlay and beaches, go home and tell how sweet the smile of the Burmese people is, and how picturesque the landscapes. The common people are driven to think that everything is as usual in Myanmar. These commentators do not have access to the wretched dinner table of those living in towns and satellite villages, they do not know the hardships of those who, from the cities of origin, face long journeys to reach the most remote prisons in the areas of the country where their loved ones are held for their struggle for democracy.
Nobody criticizes the lack of democracy, because the generals are viewed as good guys able to hide secret agreements. And the results are the birth of the nuclear program, the secret tunnel and dollars in the energy sector. What was once called "the rice fields of Asia”, is still blessed by God with natural resources, after two decades, Myanmar is still unable to emerge from the lowest position among developing countries. But look at the video of the "diamond" wedding of the first daughter (of chief general Than Shwe), turn your gaze from the unnecessary development of the capital Naypyiday, to listen to the Burmese-language radio, the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and Democratic Voice of Burma. Those who really need honest-to-date information and news from the inside, just need to translate RSS feeds of these radios. If your newspapers continues to defend the policy of [the junta] and the approach of your governments, then it means that maybe you are a bit 'blinded.
The truth is that Myanmar is a desperately poor country, while the regime is extremely rich. Health and education levels are at a minimum, military spending at a maximum. Drugs and the black market far exceeds what the government reveals to the public on the economy.
The report published by EarthRights International, about 4.8 billion U.S. dollars paid by two of the largest oil companies in the world is a plus. It is clear that companies in the first instance, should deny any wrongdoing. Multinationals such as Total - Under the pressure of public opinion - should change their attitude and compensate people for the violation of human rights and labour standards. There are many companies from different countries, where neither democracy nor the public can be of help. Banks in Singapore and South Korean companies are just one example. Not to mention the Chinese and Indian companies.
In the United States there are joint efforts of politicians, information systems and activists who would benefit from removal of American businessmen from Myanmar. The secret plots and the invisible hands have always played a role in history. Not all, however, have been successful. Poor Burmese, who have yet to wait for tens of years.
********************************************************************
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Korea Herald - Myanmar - a headache for ASEAN
By Yoav Cerralbo (yoav@heraldm.com)
Burma has become a major stumbling block for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and to a lesser extent, Asia, said Khin Ohmar, the secretary for the Foreign Affairs Committee for the political coalition group Forum for Democracy in Burma.
"There is no way ASEAN will be able to move forward to achieve economic development and prosperity for the ASEAN community as a whole by 2015."
Ohmar wears several hats: In addition to her role with the Forum for Democracy, she is the chairperson for the Network for Democracy and Development, and the vice chair for the Burmese Women's Union.
During her recent two-day stay in Seoul she explained the current situation in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
"ASEAN has traditional policies of non-interference and constructive engagement. However, Burma will never be able to resolve its issues and will become more problematic for the whole region," she said.
The spillover effects are worse than the problems and challenges Myanmar faces today.
"Right now, the democratization process of the region is fragile but if there is democratic change in Burma, then there is definitely another democratic ally within ASEAN," Ohmar said.
Kicking Myanmar out of ASEAN is not an option, she pointed out. Instead, she would like to see ASEAN demonstrate their new leadership by going beyond their traditional dealings in the region vis-a-vis Myanmar.
She noted that, in spite of ASEAN's non-interference policy, they are already involved through business dealings, natural resource extraction and their harsh condemnation of the Myanmar junta during the trial of Nobel Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Suu Kyi was recently convicted for sheltering an American man who swam to her lakeside home. She was found guilty and ordered to spend 18 months under house arrest which will keep her far removed from the political scene during crucial elections scheduled for 2010.
"Since its founding 40 years ago, ASEAN now has a charter so there are certain rules that member states must respect, even though there is no such clause that forces them to comply," Ohmar said.
For ASEAN to show their legitimacy on the international scene, Ohmar believes that the two most powerful nations on the block - Indonesia and Thailand - need to step up and prove to the world that what ASEAN has ratified is a "living document."
When the trial of Suu Kyi broke, ASEAN quickly called for the democratization of Myanmar, the release of Suu Kyi and all political prisoners, and demanded that the regime make the election legitimate.
"The all-inclusive political process ASEAN demanded is something we've been calling for," she said. "Also, we want them to review the 2008 Constitution that's been forcibly adopted by the regime whose only goal is to entrench military rule in Burma forever."
Ohmar would like to see the situation in Myanmar made part of the official agenda at next month's 15th ASEAN Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand.
"We already have political support from some ASEAN parliamentarians who are calling for the suspension of Burma's membership if the regime doesn't comply with their appeal," she said.
Ohmar predicted that sanctions would never be enforced by ASEAN, mostly because of China and India's involvement in Myanmar's energy-rich sector.
Instead, her group as a democratic movement is recommending to the United Nations and international governments that a national reconciliation proposal be offered to Myanmar's regime but she stands firm that there would have to be a certain acknowledgment before any meeting could occur.
That would include the release of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners and would involve talks with various ethnic groups that currently oppose the junta.
Ohmar explained that the current proposal by the regime is not the answer because it only offers the pretense of democracy, instead of giving true democracy to the people. It does not address the many problems currently plaguing the nation, including unemployment, AIDS, internally-displaced people, migrants and refugees.
The way the regime's "democracy" will work is it will create its own opposition run by businesspeople who have received privileges in the past by the junta, Ohmar elaborated.
"The constitution is not amendable without over 70 percent of the vote, so you have 25 percent from the military, then you have a certain percentage who are former military in civilian uniform taking a seat and then some of these business cronies ... It's an illusion of democracy."
On the international front, Ohmar would like to see Korea take a more active role.
Binding resolution
"We want the Security Council to impose an arms embargo and to establish a commission against war crimes and crimes against humanity," she said. "These are the two actions we want from the Security Council and we want Korea to support that."
Ohmar added that she would like to see "Korea take a stand like other countries are doing. So far Korea has been politically quiet and that silence has to be broken."
There is also a plan from some of the world's parliamentarians to punish Myanmar through financial sanctions.
"The international community needs to step up their aggressive diplomatic engagement by continuing to knock the regime hard and keep forcing them to comply and if they don't, then this regime needs a timeline," she said. "They have played the international community with their own timeline for too long."
She noted, every year the U.N. passes at least two resolutions concerning Myanmar "and yet nothing happens."
The Korea Herald - Myanmar - a headache for ASEAN
By Yoav Cerralbo (yoav@heraldm.com)
Burma has become a major stumbling block for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and to a lesser extent, Asia, said Khin Ohmar, the secretary for the Foreign Affairs Committee for the political coalition group Forum for Democracy in Burma.
"There is no way ASEAN will be able to move forward to achieve economic development and prosperity for the ASEAN community as a whole by 2015."
Ohmar wears several hats: In addition to her role with the Forum for Democracy, she is the chairperson for the Network for Democracy and Development, and the vice chair for the Burmese Women's Union.
During her recent two-day stay in Seoul she explained the current situation in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
"ASEAN has traditional policies of non-interference and constructive engagement. However, Burma will never be able to resolve its issues and will become more problematic for the whole region," she said.
The spillover effects are worse than the problems and challenges Myanmar faces today.
"Right now, the democratization process of the region is fragile but if there is democratic change in Burma, then there is definitely another democratic ally within ASEAN," Ohmar said.
Kicking Myanmar out of ASEAN is not an option, she pointed out. Instead, she would like to see ASEAN demonstrate their new leadership by going beyond their traditional dealings in the region vis-a-vis Myanmar.
She noted that, in spite of ASEAN's non-interference policy, they are already involved through business dealings, natural resource extraction and their harsh condemnation of the Myanmar junta during the trial of Nobel Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Suu Kyi was recently convicted for sheltering an American man who swam to her lakeside home. She was found guilty and ordered to spend 18 months under house arrest which will keep her far removed from the political scene during crucial elections scheduled for 2010.
"Since its founding 40 years ago, ASEAN now has a charter so there are certain rules that member states must respect, even though there is no such clause that forces them to comply," Ohmar said.
For ASEAN to show their legitimacy on the international scene, Ohmar believes that the two most powerful nations on the block - Indonesia and Thailand - need to step up and prove to the world that what ASEAN has ratified is a "living document."
When the trial of Suu Kyi broke, ASEAN quickly called for the democratization of Myanmar, the release of Suu Kyi and all political prisoners, and demanded that the regime make the election legitimate.
"The all-inclusive political process ASEAN demanded is something we've been calling for," she said. "Also, we want them to review the 2008 Constitution that's been forcibly adopted by the regime whose only goal is to entrench military rule in Burma forever."
Ohmar would like to see the situation in Myanmar made part of the official agenda at next month's 15th ASEAN Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand.
"We already have political support from some ASEAN parliamentarians who are calling for the suspension of Burma's membership if the regime doesn't comply with their appeal," she said.
Ohmar predicted that sanctions would never be enforced by ASEAN, mostly because of China and India's involvement in Myanmar's energy-rich sector.
Instead, her group as a democratic movement is recommending to the United Nations and international governments that a national reconciliation proposal be offered to Myanmar's regime but she stands firm that there would have to be a certain acknowledgment before any meeting could occur.
That would include the release of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners and would involve talks with various ethnic groups that currently oppose the junta.
Ohmar explained that the current proposal by the regime is not the answer because it only offers the pretense of democracy, instead of giving true democracy to the people. It does not address the many problems currently plaguing the nation, including unemployment, AIDS, internally-displaced people, migrants and refugees.
The way the regime's "democracy" will work is it will create its own opposition run by businesspeople who have received privileges in the past by the junta, Ohmar elaborated.
"The constitution is not amendable without over 70 percent of the vote, so you have 25 percent from the military, then you have a certain percentage who are former military in civilian uniform taking a seat and then some of these business cronies ... It's an illusion of democracy."
On the international front, Ohmar would like to see Korea take a more active role.
Binding resolution
"We want the Security Council to impose an arms embargo and to establish a commission against war crimes and crimes against humanity," she said. "These are the two actions we want from the Security Council and we want Korea to support that."
Ohmar added that she would like to see "Korea take a stand like other countries are doing. So far Korea has been politically quiet and that silence has to be broken."
There is also a plan from some of the world's parliamentarians to punish Myanmar through financial sanctions.
"The international community needs to step up their aggressive diplomatic engagement by continuing to knock the regime hard and keep forcing them to comply and if they don't, then this regime needs a timeline," she said. "They have played the international community with their own timeline for too long."
She noted, every year the U.N. passes at least two resolutions concerning Myanmar "and yet nothing happens."
********************************************************************
USA Today - U.S. attends UN rights council for first time
Posted 1h 26m ago |
GENEVA (AP) — The United States attended its first formal meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday, saying it will try to promote dialogue at a body it once avoided and heavily criticized.
The U.S. was elected in June to the 47-nation council, which was criticized by the previous American administration for primarily denouncing Israel while ignoring abuses elsewhere.
"We will strive for discussions that are thoughtful, focused and open to all viewpoints and perspectives," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Esther Brimmer told the council.
The decision in May to seek a seat on the Geneva-based body after three years of staying on the sidelines was a major shift in U.S. policy in line with President Obama's stated aim to closer cooperate with the United Nations.
Brimmer did not mention Israel or the earlier U.S. boycott of the council but she echoed remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton last week that upholding freedom of speech and combatting intolerance and discrimination are priorities for the U.S.
The council in March approved a proposal by Muslim nations urging passage of laws around the world to protect religion from criticism — a move that drew strong criticism from free-speech campaigners and liberal democracies.
The council is dominated by African and Asian countries, who have blocked criticism of allies such as Zimbabwe, Sudan and Sri Lanka while passing a series of resolutions critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
Since its creation three years ago, the council has held five urgent meetings on Israel alone. There have been only four such meetings on other country-specific situations, including Myanmar, Darfur, Sri Lanka and Congo.
Although the rights council is virtually powerless compared to the U.N. Security Council, its decisions carry considerable symbolic weight, particularly in the developing world, to which the Obama administration wants to reach out.
Western countries, human rights groups and senior U.N. officials have warned that the council needs to improve its work if it wants to avoid the fate of the discredited U.N. Human Rights Commission it replaced in 2006.
Brimmer, who acknowledged that the U.S.' human rights record is "imperfect," called on council members to try to "end this session with a more strengthened and robust human rights mechanism than we had before."
Juliette de Rivero, a spokeswoman for New York-based group Human Rights Watch, said that the real test would come when the council debates a report on human rights abuses during Israel's assault on the Palestinian territory of Gaza earlier this year. Criticism of its ally by the council was one of the main reasons the former administration withdrew from the council in June 2008.
Posted 1h 26m ago |
GENEVA (AP) — The United States attended its first formal meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday, saying it will try to promote dialogue at a body it once avoided and heavily criticized.
The U.S. was elected in June to the 47-nation council, which was criticized by the previous American administration for primarily denouncing Israel while ignoring abuses elsewhere.
"We will strive for discussions that are thoughtful, focused and open to all viewpoints and perspectives," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Esther Brimmer told the council.
The decision in May to seek a seat on the Geneva-based body after three years of staying on the sidelines was a major shift in U.S. policy in line with President Obama's stated aim to closer cooperate with the United Nations.
Brimmer did not mention Israel or the earlier U.S. boycott of the council but she echoed remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton last week that upholding freedom of speech and combatting intolerance and discrimination are priorities for the U.S.
The council in March approved a proposal by Muslim nations urging passage of laws around the world to protect religion from criticism — a move that drew strong criticism from free-speech campaigners and liberal democracies.
The council is dominated by African and Asian countries, who have blocked criticism of allies such as Zimbabwe, Sudan and Sri Lanka while passing a series of resolutions critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
Since its creation three years ago, the council has held five urgent meetings on Israel alone. There have been only four such meetings on other country-specific situations, including Myanmar, Darfur, Sri Lanka and Congo.
Although the rights council is virtually powerless compared to the U.N. Security Council, its decisions carry considerable symbolic weight, particularly in the developing world, to which the Obama administration wants to reach out.
Western countries, human rights groups and senior U.N. officials have warned that the council needs to improve its work if it wants to avoid the fate of the discredited U.N. Human Rights Commission it replaced in 2006.
Brimmer, who acknowledged that the U.S.' human rights record is "imperfect," called on council members to try to "end this session with a more strengthened and robust human rights mechanism than we had before."
Juliette de Rivero, a spokeswoman for New York-based group Human Rights Watch, said that the real test would come when the council debates a report on human rights abuses during Israel's assault on the Palestinian territory of Gaza earlier this year. Criticism of its ally by the council was one of the main reasons the former administration withdrew from the council in June 2008.
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Monday, September 14, 2009
The Manila Times - Myanmar media working toward 2010 election
YANGON: Myanmar official media stressed on Sunday the need to start a transition period in accordance with the new state constitution in anticipation of 2010 multi-party general election.
“This is concerned not only with an individual group but with the entire national people including all the national race groups,“ the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said in an article under the pen name of Kyaw Ye Min.
The article disclosed that the government has initiated a program for ethnic armed groups, which have returned to the legal fold, to be formed into frontier forces under the control of the Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Services.
“The government will take responsibilities for security of their assets and lives. The leaders of the peace groups will have the rights to stand for 2010 election and take seats in the administrative organs of the regions concerned in consistent with the law,” the article said.
The article quoted local ethnic sources as saying that the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) recently allowed its six top members, led by Vice Chairman Dr. Tuja to resign and form Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) and run for 2010 general election.
The KIO itself, which returned to the legal fold in 1994, is coordinating matters with the government on the formation of a frontier force under the name of KRGF, it said.
The article also quoted another local ethnic sources as saying that the New Mon State Party (NMSP) peace group, which returned to the legal fold in 1995, will also form a political party to run for the election, led by resigned central committee members.
Since the present government came to power in late 1988, 17 anti-government major ethnic armed groups and over 20 small groups were claimed to have returned to the legal fold by signing respective ceasefire agreements with the government.
The Manila Times - Myanmar media working toward 2010 election
YANGON: Myanmar official media stressed on Sunday the need to start a transition period in accordance with the new state constitution in anticipation of 2010 multi-party general election.
“This is concerned not only with an individual group but with the entire national people including all the national race groups,“ the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said in an article under the pen name of Kyaw Ye Min.
The article disclosed that the government has initiated a program for ethnic armed groups, which have returned to the legal fold, to be formed into frontier forces under the control of the Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Services.
“The government will take responsibilities for security of their assets and lives. The leaders of the peace groups will have the rights to stand for 2010 election and take seats in the administrative organs of the regions concerned in consistent with the law,” the article said.
The article quoted local ethnic sources as saying that the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) recently allowed its six top members, led by Vice Chairman Dr. Tuja to resign and form Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) and run for 2010 general election.
The KIO itself, which returned to the legal fold in 1994, is coordinating matters with the government on the formation of a frontier force under the name of KRGF, it said.
The article also quoted another local ethnic sources as saying that the New Mon State Party (NMSP) peace group, which returned to the legal fold in 1995, will also form a political party to run for the election, led by resigned central committee members.
Since the present government came to power in late 1988, 17 anti-government major ethnic armed groups and over 20 small groups were claimed to have returned to the legal fold by signing respective ceasefire agreements with the government.
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The News Tribune - CIA hiding behind secrets, judge says
SUIT: Former drug agent cites wiretap
DEVLIN BARRETT; The Associated Press
Published: 09/12/09 12:05 am
WASHINGTON – A federal judge says the CIA is hiding behind dubious national security arguments to shield itself from a potentially embarrassing lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who earlier ruled that CIA officials committed fraud to protect a former covert agent accused in the suit, has rejected an emergency request to put the case on hold while the government appeals.
The CIA has argued that allowing the case to proceed would divulge classified information, but, in an opinion made public Friday, Lamberth said there was no good reason to delay.
In the suit, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent claims the CIA illegally wiretapped his home when he was stationed in Rangoon, Burma, in 1993. The agent, Richard Horn, said he became suspicious when he returned from a trip to find his government-issued rectangular coffee table had been replaced with a round one.
The case has been a test of the Obama administration’s use of the so-called state secrets privilege, when the government seeks to block legal action by saying the details that would be revealed would harm national security.
Administration officials have pledged to review all state secrets claims made by the Bush administration, but in many cases the government is still asserting the need to prevent disclosures that it says would harm national security.
In the DEA case, Lamberth has previously rejected the state secrets claim. Government lawyers are attempting to reassert the privilege but on different grounds, but the judge isn’t buying it.
“Having lost on their assertion of the state secrets privilege, the government’s new refrain is heads you lose, tails we win,” the judge wrote.
The court case is rooted in an old squabble between the DEA and CIA operating overseas.
Horn claims Arthur Brown, the former CIA station chief in Burma, and Franklin Huddle Jr., the chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Burma, were trying to get him relocated because they disagreed with his work with Burmese officials on the country’s drug trade.
The CIA has not said in court filings whether or not it monitored Horn, but Horn claims he was monitored without lawful authority and in violation of his constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
SUIT: Former drug agent cites wiretap
DEVLIN BARRETT; The Associated Press
Published: 09/12/09 12:05 am
WASHINGTON – A federal judge says the CIA is hiding behind dubious national security arguments to shield itself from a potentially embarrassing lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who earlier ruled that CIA officials committed fraud to protect a former covert agent accused in the suit, has rejected an emergency request to put the case on hold while the government appeals.
The CIA has argued that allowing the case to proceed would divulge classified information, but, in an opinion made public Friday, Lamberth said there was no good reason to delay.
In the suit, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent claims the CIA illegally wiretapped his home when he was stationed in Rangoon, Burma, in 1993. The agent, Richard Horn, said he became suspicious when he returned from a trip to find his government-issued rectangular coffee table had been replaced with a round one.
The case has been a test of the Obama administration’s use of the so-called state secrets privilege, when the government seeks to block legal action by saying the details that would be revealed would harm national security.
Administration officials have pledged to review all state secrets claims made by the Bush administration, but in many cases the government is still asserting the need to prevent disclosures that it says would harm national security.
In the DEA case, Lamberth has previously rejected the state secrets claim. Government lawyers are attempting to reassert the privilege but on different grounds, but the judge isn’t buying it.
“Having lost on their assertion of the state secrets privilege, the government’s new refrain is heads you lose, tails we win,” the judge wrote.
The court case is rooted in an old squabble between the DEA and CIA operating overseas.
Horn claims Arthur Brown, the former CIA station chief in Burma, and Franklin Huddle Jr., the chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Burma, were trying to get him relocated because they disagreed with his work with Burmese officials on the country’s drug trade.
The CIA has not said in court filings whether or not it monitored Horn, but Horn claims he was monitored without lawful authority and in violation of his constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
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Crackdown on Burmese Dissidents in Chiang Mai
By THE IRRAWADDY, Monday, September 14, 2009
Thai police officers on Sunday raided the offices of several exiled Burmese opposition groups including the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma, the Burmese Women’s Union and the National Health and Education Committee.
A Burmese source confirmed that 10 Burmese women from the Burmese Women’s Union who were attending a capacity-building workshop in Chiang Mai were apprehended and are now in custody.
The police came with information and photos of the locations of Burmese offices. The arrests took place on Sunday when many offices were closed for the weekend.
The offices of several Chiang Mai-based Burmese opposition groups and media organizations have remained temporarily closed on Monday. The motive for the arrests and the reason why Burmese human rights workers and dissidents have been targeted is not yet known.
Several exiled Burmese and foreign groups have opened NGOs and advocacy offices in Chiang Mai in recent years.
Burmese groups faced the most repressive times under Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration in the early 2000s. Many offices were shut down for several weeks due to fears of intimidation and crackdowns.
International human rights groups and Western governments expressed concern for the safety of exiled Burmese dissidents living in Thailand at the time.
Under the current Thai government, Burmese groups in Thailand have enjoyed relative freedom without any major harassment.
According to diplomatic sources, Western embassies in Bangkok are closely watching the situation.
By THE IRRAWADDY, Monday, September 14, 2009
Thai police officers on Sunday raided the offices of several exiled Burmese opposition groups including the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma, the Burmese Women’s Union and the National Health and Education Committee.
A Burmese source confirmed that 10 Burmese women from the Burmese Women’s Union who were attending a capacity-building workshop in Chiang Mai were apprehended and are now in custody.
The police came with information and photos of the locations of Burmese offices. The arrests took place on Sunday when many offices were closed for the weekend.
The offices of several Chiang Mai-based Burmese opposition groups and media organizations have remained temporarily closed on Monday. The motive for the arrests and the reason why Burmese human rights workers and dissidents have been targeted is not yet known.
Several exiled Burmese and foreign groups have opened NGOs and advocacy offices in Chiang Mai in recent years.
Burmese groups faced the most repressive times under Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration in the early 2000s. Many offices were shut down for several weeks due to fears of intimidation and crackdowns.
International human rights groups and Western governments expressed concern for the safety of exiled Burmese dissidents living in Thailand at the time.
Under the current Thai government, Burmese groups in Thailand have enjoyed relative freedom without any major harassment.
According to diplomatic sources, Western embassies in Bangkok are closely watching the situation.
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The Irrawaddy - Retired Military Personnel to Form Political Party
By AUNG THET WINE, Monday, September 14, 2009
RANGOON — The Myanmar War Veterans Organization (MWVO) will meet on Oct. 6-9 to form a political party to field candidates in the 2010 general election in Burma.
Members will reportedly be selected to run campaigns in every division and state, said sources in Naypyidaw, the capital.
Sources said that those selected are likely to be high-ranking retired officers, such as retired generals and colonels.
MWVO has more than 3,800 members who are former officers, more than 80,000 from lower ranks and more than 50,000 auxiliary members.
The MWVO has divisions devoted to politics, national defense and security, economics, social welfare and welfare.
The meeting will focus on preparing for the election and will be attended by retired Burmese officials who have represented states or divisions, according to sources.
“After the meeting, a list of retired officers who could contest elections will be released,” said a retired Burmese official in Rangoon.
Also, the regime-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) will meet in late October to iron out preparations for the 2010 election, including the selection of candidates, said sources.
The junta will form numerous proxy parties to increase their chances of sweeping the election, said a Rangoon journalist.
The Burmese people have both positive and negative perspectives on the upcoming election. Some view it as the beginning of positive change in Burma while others see it as an extension of military rule.
A resident in Pegu said, “We were forced to vote ‘Yes’ in the national [constitutional] referendum. If we look at the example of the referendum, there is no way that the election will be fair.”
Ethnic ceasefire groups also have different perspectives on the election. Some Kachin and Mon leaders have already formed political parties field candidates while others say they will not take part in the election.
By AUNG THET WINE, Monday, September 14, 2009
RANGOON — The Myanmar War Veterans Organization (MWVO) will meet on Oct. 6-9 to form a political party to field candidates in the 2010 general election in Burma.
Members will reportedly be selected to run campaigns in every division and state, said sources in Naypyidaw, the capital.
Sources said that those selected are likely to be high-ranking retired officers, such as retired generals and colonels.
MWVO has more than 3,800 members who are former officers, more than 80,000 from lower ranks and more than 50,000 auxiliary members.
The MWVO has divisions devoted to politics, national defense and security, economics, social welfare and welfare.
The meeting will focus on preparing for the election and will be attended by retired Burmese officials who have represented states or divisions, according to sources.
“After the meeting, a list of retired officers who could contest elections will be released,” said a retired Burmese official in Rangoon.
Also, the regime-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) will meet in late October to iron out preparations for the 2010 election, including the selection of candidates, said sources.
The junta will form numerous proxy parties to increase their chances of sweeping the election, said a Rangoon journalist.
The Burmese people have both positive and negative perspectives on the upcoming election. Some view it as the beginning of positive change in Burma while others see it as an extension of military rule.
A resident in Pegu said, “We were forced to vote ‘Yes’ in the national [constitutional] referendum. If we look at the example of the referendum, there is no way that the election will be fair.”
Ethnic ceasefire groups also have different perspectives on the election. Some Kachin and Mon leaders have already formed political parties field candidates while others say they will not take part in the election.
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The Irrawaddy - Chinese Blood on Burmese Soil
Monday, September 14, 2009
Peng Jiasheng is the Kokang leader whose residence was raided by government troops on August 8, setting off a regime offensive and leading to the loss of the Kokang region to junta troops. He was interviewed by The Irrawaddy on the reasons for the offensive, the role of China, the allegations of illegal drug trafficking, the borders guard force and the future of ethnic minorities in Burma.
Question: How would you describe the current situation in the Kokang region?
Answer: The incident on August 8 was the junta’s excuse. It wanted to do away with the local ethnic minority army a long time ago. A larger nationality wants to eliminate a smaller one. This is typical nationalistic chauvinism. This was a massacre.
In order to avoid further harm to the Kokang people, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) retreated. This is not what we wanted and also it is not what the people in the international community who support our people would like to see.
Now the situation in Kokang is even more complicated. Currently, the situation is very bad. The government troops took over the Kokang area for about 10 days, but there were many reported cases where their soldiers committed robbery, rape and killed civilians. Many people are still afraid to go back home. Most of the shops owned by Chinese businessmen were either destroyed or robbed. This is a calamity. The prosperous environment of Kokang of only a few months ago no longer exists. People are living in deep distress.
This conflict has brought great trauma to the Kokang people. The war will be long. It will be impossible to end soon.
Q: The ceasefire agreement you signed with the regime in 1989 has collapsed. What do you believe was the motive behind the offensive and the regime’s attempt to arrest you?
A: In March 1989, the Kokang people agreed to peace and development. In the same year, 17 other local ethnic armed forces also started peace talks with the junta. This brought to an end the large scale of armed conflict in the country.
The alliance army is also one of the legal ethnic armed forces that were recognized by the military government. Over the past 20 years of peace and development, the Kokang was the first group in the country to promise the international community that we would stop drug production. We enforced the ban on poppy cultivation in 2002 in our area. The anti-drug production effort and success were recognized by the UN and the international communities. With help from the World Food Programme, the Chinese government and other international aid agencies, we implemented a lot of poppy substitution projects, mainly to grow sugar crane, tea, walnuts and other crops. We achieved very good progress in the poppy substitution.
Step by step, the people in our area began to work their way up from poverty. This can be seen by everybody. However, as the military government wants to achieve their goal of controlling the whole country, it felt it needed to take action against the peace and the ceasefire groups.
Q: Soon after the government troops captured Laogai, the state-run-media repeatedly accused you of involvement in illegal arms factories and drugs. How do you respond to those allegations?
A: Burma is still a country without a real government. The army cannot represent the government. After the election in 1990, the junta usurped power in the country. Ever since then, there has been no proper government in our country. The international community has never officially acknowledged them as the government. Burma is currently a country managed by a temporary council that was set up by the junta. It was called the State Law and Order Restoration Council and was later changed to the State Peace and Development Council. The government army is also an ethnic armed force, so it can not represent this country.
In 1989, for the sake of the peace and welfare of the country, the Kokang people took the initiative to approach the junta-controlled council. This was to protect peace in the country, and to let the people live in peace.
Over the past 20 years, we trusted the junta and have been respectful of them. Our political proposition is always the same: support the central government, take the road to peace and development, maintain nationality unification, guard national unity and strive for the autonomous rights of the Kokang people. We never wanted to separate from the country; we only wanted a recognized position for the Kokang people among all of Burma’s nationalities.
Q: How many people were killed in the latest conflict?
A: In this conflict, the Kokang people suffered great loss. We had 14 alliance army soldiers killed in battle, but what we do not know is the number of civilians killed. For example, some na?ve young people joined with the traitor Bai Suocheng and his army. In the battles, they were to be used by the government troops to fight against us.
These young people refused because they were Kokang and could not kill their own people. The government troops took their weapons away and shot them with machine guns. On Aug. 27, 27 Kokang youth were killed together.
Q: Why did the junta decide to single out your group? Was there any reason other than the regime’s allegation of your involvement in opium and illegal drugs?
A: A lot of things happened over the past month that we never thought could happen. The Kokang alliance army is one of the legal armed forces in the country. All our weapons are old and the ammunition is left over from the days of the Burmese Communist Party. Many of these weapons are in need of repair. It is reasonable to have a factory to repair weapons. This factory is well known by all the SPDC officials in Kokang. They have visited it before. But now they used it as an excuse to take action against us.
The motivation behind this is obvious. They want to eliminate the Kokang and other ethnic armed forces and achieve their goal of a junta-managed “unified” country. It goes without saying that the junta will not stop with the Kokang. They will take the war to other groups with all kinds of excuses. If you want to condemn something, you can always find a charge. The government army is the strongest in the country. It can crack down on whichever ethnic groups it wishes. It can accuse any ceasefire group of drugs, or weapons…anything. The current situation on drugs, for example, in the four special regions in Shan State is that there is no poppy cultivation, according to investigations by the international agencies. However, in SPDC-controlled areas, there is more than 250,000 mu [Chinese land unit: 667 square meters] of poppy cultivation. This is the work of the junta, and this is how it behaves.
Q: Several ethnic ceasefire groups including the MNDAA rejected the junta's proposal for a Border Guard Force (BGF). Why did you reject the BGF plan?
A: We are not really against the idea of transferring the army to a BGF, but the terms and conditions were too rigorous. For example, all the officers above 50 would be forced to retire and find their own livelihood. The key leaders of the local government and the commanders of the army would also be appointed by the junta. These proposals are not acceptable to any of the ceasefire groups. It is also not acceptable to the local people. Our requirements were simple: we want to have a high level of national autonomy to protect the interests of the Kokang people.
Q: The Kokang and other ethnic groups are unhappy with the 2008 constitution. What do you see as its faults?
A: Regarding the constitution proposed by the junta in 2008, it is all about the power and interest of the junta. We do not believe that any rights and interests of the minorities are ensured in the constitution. How can we accept such a constitution that does not represent the people of the country? on the approval of this constitution, there are things that happened that few people know about. For example, in some of the Kokang villages, the junta sent people to vote in the referendum. The local people did not want to participate, so the junta officials themselves wrote [out] all the votes. There were villages where about 100 people voted No, but on their ballots it was reported that more than 3,000 people voted Yes. This is how it was approved.
Q: You merged with the CPB in the past and led the successful mutiny in 1989. You went to Beijing and you were closely associated with Chinese officials in the past. Today, China is the closest ally of the regime as well as a good friend of ethnic groups along the Sino-Burmese border.What was China's role in the recent conflict in the Kokang region?
A: During the Aug. 8 incident planned by the junta and the armed conflict afterwards, the Chinese government did not give us assistance. We could not talk to the Chinese government about protection and asylum. However, as the Kokang are in fact Chinese, when the refugees fled to China the local authorities took very good care of them. That we really appreciate.
Q: What is your message to Chinese leaders who plan to build a gas pipeline through the Kokang region?
A: What I want to say here is no matter what happens in Burma, we are ethnic Chinese and our roots are in China. This we will never forget. For the sake of the rights and position of the Chinese in Burma, we will continue our struggle.
Q: How do you see the future of Burma and the ethnic minorities?
A: Regarding the future of the ethnic minorities in Burma, this is a complicated issue. If Burma does not set up a democratic government that is elected by the people and therefore really represents the people, the future of the minorities in Burma will get worse.
Q: Did you receive any political backing or military support from other ethnic groups along the border? Are they united in their goals?
A: All the minority ceasefire groups along the China-Burma border areas have good relations with each other and have supported each other over a long period of time. Our fate and experiences are the same. But due to certain difficulties, our alliance is not as strong as it should be. Therefore the junta had its opportunity, and now the Kokang area is under junta control.
Q: Are you worried about losing your personal property and your businesses in Burma and China?
A: Currently, all my personal property has been confiscated by the junta. My property in China was also taken away by the relevant department of the Chinese government. This is a problem that I can not solve by worrying about it.
Q: Please describe the refugee situation. There were reports of government officials and soldiers attacking Chinese nationals? Was the recent attack designed to demonstrate that the government is not a puppet of China?
A: I think the reason why the junta attacked the Kokang is because of the following:
First, the junta wanted to develop better relationships with America, India and some Western authorities, in particular with America. In order to improve the relationship with America, the junta is eager to prove that the junta is not a puppet government supported by the Chinese government. That is why the junta chose the Kokang to fight against.
They also wanted to test the response of the Chinese government. The Kokang and the Chinese have a blood relationship. The Kokang people are basically Chinese; they are part of the Chinese family. The Chinese in Burma were not officially recognized by the Burmese and therefore for centuries they lived in a very low economic and social position. Only after the meeting in Ninakan in 1947, after the national government’s recognition, were the Chinese living in these areas called Kokang. But as a matter of fact, the Kokang people are Chinese. We are the descendants of the Yellow emperor. The anti-Chinese movement in 1967 in Burma feels like yesterday.
Even today, many Chinese living in Burma still do not dare to declare that they are Chinese. In 1989, when the Kokang Alliance Army was established, all the Chinese in Burma looked at the Chinese armed forces as the “lighthouse.” Now the ‘”lighthouse” has gone off.
The second reason I think is that the SPDC forces were already in Kokang for more than 10 years, and they understood the situation in Kokang, including the relationships among the Kokang leaders.
They therefore bought off the traitors Bai Suocheng and Wei Chaoren. This resulted in an internal split in Kokang before the war broke out. Bai Suocheng and Wei Chaoren betrayed their people and surrendered to the junta.
Now the junta has taken over the Kokang area, and it is clear about the response of the Chinese government. So their next step will be to reinforce the policy of cracking down on other minority groups along the border. The junta will act recklessly and become more unbridled.
Q: Where are you living now?
A: For many years, I worked in Kokang. I never had a chance to travel to the big cities in Burma. Now that I have more time, I am travelling in the big cities in Burma. I really feel that my country is beautiful, and it deserves a government that can represent the people by building and developing the country. I currently have no plans to go back to Kokang.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Peng Jiasheng is the Kokang leader whose residence was raided by government troops on August 8, setting off a regime offensive and leading to the loss of the Kokang region to junta troops. He was interviewed by The Irrawaddy on the reasons for the offensive, the role of China, the allegations of illegal drug trafficking, the borders guard force and the future of ethnic minorities in Burma.
Question: How would you describe the current situation in the Kokang region?
Answer: The incident on August 8 was the junta’s excuse. It wanted to do away with the local ethnic minority army a long time ago. A larger nationality wants to eliminate a smaller one. This is typical nationalistic chauvinism. This was a massacre.
In order to avoid further harm to the Kokang people, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) retreated. This is not what we wanted and also it is not what the people in the international community who support our people would like to see.
Now the situation in Kokang is even more complicated. Currently, the situation is very bad. The government troops took over the Kokang area for about 10 days, but there were many reported cases where their soldiers committed robbery, rape and killed civilians. Many people are still afraid to go back home. Most of the shops owned by Chinese businessmen were either destroyed or robbed. This is a calamity. The prosperous environment of Kokang of only a few months ago no longer exists. People are living in deep distress.
This conflict has brought great trauma to the Kokang people. The war will be long. It will be impossible to end soon.
Q: The ceasefire agreement you signed with the regime in 1989 has collapsed. What do you believe was the motive behind the offensive and the regime’s attempt to arrest you?
A: In March 1989, the Kokang people agreed to peace and development. In the same year, 17 other local ethnic armed forces also started peace talks with the junta. This brought to an end the large scale of armed conflict in the country.
The alliance army is also one of the legal ethnic armed forces that were recognized by the military government. Over the past 20 years of peace and development, the Kokang was the first group in the country to promise the international community that we would stop drug production. We enforced the ban on poppy cultivation in 2002 in our area. The anti-drug production effort and success were recognized by the UN and the international communities. With help from the World Food Programme, the Chinese government and other international aid agencies, we implemented a lot of poppy substitution projects, mainly to grow sugar crane, tea, walnuts and other crops. We achieved very good progress in the poppy substitution.
Step by step, the people in our area began to work their way up from poverty. This can be seen by everybody. However, as the military government wants to achieve their goal of controlling the whole country, it felt it needed to take action against the peace and the ceasefire groups.
Q: Soon after the government troops captured Laogai, the state-run-media repeatedly accused you of involvement in illegal arms factories and drugs. How do you respond to those allegations?
A: Burma is still a country without a real government. The army cannot represent the government. After the election in 1990, the junta usurped power in the country. Ever since then, there has been no proper government in our country. The international community has never officially acknowledged them as the government. Burma is currently a country managed by a temporary council that was set up by the junta. It was called the State Law and Order Restoration Council and was later changed to the State Peace and Development Council. The government army is also an ethnic armed force, so it can not represent this country.
In 1989, for the sake of the peace and welfare of the country, the Kokang people took the initiative to approach the junta-controlled council. This was to protect peace in the country, and to let the people live in peace.
Over the past 20 years, we trusted the junta and have been respectful of them. Our political proposition is always the same: support the central government, take the road to peace and development, maintain nationality unification, guard national unity and strive for the autonomous rights of the Kokang people. We never wanted to separate from the country; we only wanted a recognized position for the Kokang people among all of Burma’s nationalities.
Q: How many people were killed in the latest conflict?
A: In this conflict, the Kokang people suffered great loss. We had 14 alliance army soldiers killed in battle, but what we do not know is the number of civilians killed. For example, some na?ve young people joined with the traitor Bai Suocheng and his army. In the battles, they were to be used by the government troops to fight against us.
These young people refused because they were Kokang and could not kill their own people. The government troops took their weapons away and shot them with machine guns. On Aug. 27, 27 Kokang youth were killed together.
Q: Why did the junta decide to single out your group? Was there any reason other than the regime’s allegation of your involvement in opium and illegal drugs?
A: A lot of things happened over the past month that we never thought could happen. The Kokang alliance army is one of the legal armed forces in the country. All our weapons are old and the ammunition is left over from the days of the Burmese Communist Party. Many of these weapons are in need of repair. It is reasonable to have a factory to repair weapons. This factory is well known by all the SPDC officials in Kokang. They have visited it before. But now they used it as an excuse to take action against us.
The motivation behind this is obvious. They want to eliminate the Kokang and other ethnic armed forces and achieve their goal of a junta-managed “unified” country. It goes without saying that the junta will not stop with the Kokang. They will take the war to other groups with all kinds of excuses. If you want to condemn something, you can always find a charge. The government army is the strongest in the country. It can crack down on whichever ethnic groups it wishes. It can accuse any ceasefire group of drugs, or weapons…anything. The current situation on drugs, for example, in the four special regions in Shan State is that there is no poppy cultivation, according to investigations by the international agencies. However, in SPDC-controlled areas, there is more than 250,000 mu [Chinese land unit: 667 square meters] of poppy cultivation. This is the work of the junta, and this is how it behaves.
Q: Several ethnic ceasefire groups including the MNDAA rejected the junta's proposal for a Border Guard Force (BGF). Why did you reject the BGF plan?
A: We are not really against the idea of transferring the army to a BGF, but the terms and conditions were too rigorous. For example, all the officers above 50 would be forced to retire and find their own livelihood. The key leaders of the local government and the commanders of the army would also be appointed by the junta. These proposals are not acceptable to any of the ceasefire groups. It is also not acceptable to the local people. Our requirements were simple: we want to have a high level of national autonomy to protect the interests of the Kokang people.
Q: The Kokang and other ethnic groups are unhappy with the 2008 constitution. What do you see as its faults?
A: Regarding the constitution proposed by the junta in 2008, it is all about the power and interest of the junta. We do not believe that any rights and interests of the minorities are ensured in the constitution. How can we accept such a constitution that does not represent the people of the country? on the approval of this constitution, there are things that happened that few people know about. For example, in some of the Kokang villages, the junta sent people to vote in the referendum. The local people did not want to participate, so the junta officials themselves wrote [out] all the votes. There were villages where about 100 people voted No, but on their ballots it was reported that more than 3,000 people voted Yes. This is how it was approved.
Q: You merged with the CPB in the past and led the successful mutiny in 1989. You went to Beijing and you were closely associated with Chinese officials in the past. Today, China is the closest ally of the regime as well as a good friend of ethnic groups along the Sino-Burmese border.What was China's role in the recent conflict in the Kokang region?
A: During the Aug. 8 incident planned by the junta and the armed conflict afterwards, the Chinese government did not give us assistance. We could not talk to the Chinese government about protection and asylum. However, as the Kokang are in fact Chinese, when the refugees fled to China the local authorities took very good care of them. That we really appreciate.
Q: What is your message to Chinese leaders who plan to build a gas pipeline through the Kokang region?
A: What I want to say here is no matter what happens in Burma, we are ethnic Chinese and our roots are in China. This we will never forget. For the sake of the rights and position of the Chinese in Burma, we will continue our struggle.
Q: How do you see the future of Burma and the ethnic minorities?
A: Regarding the future of the ethnic minorities in Burma, this is a complicated issue. If Burma does not set up a democratic government that is elected by the people and therefore really represents the people, the future of the minorities in Burma will get worse.
Q: Did you receive any political backing or military support from other ethnic groups along the border? Are they united in their goals?
A: All the minority ceasefire groups along the China-Burma border areas have good relations with each other and have supported each other over a long period of time. Our fate and experiences are the same. But due to certain difficulties, our alliance is not as strong as it should be. Therefore the junta had its opportunity, and now the Kokang area is under junta control.
Q: Are you worried about losing your personal property and your businesses in Burma and China?
A: Currently, all my personal property has been confiscated by the junta. My property in China was also taken away by the relevant department of the Chinese government. This is a problem that I can not solve by worrying about it.
Q: Please describe the refugee situation. There were reports of government officials and soldiers attacking Chinese nationals? Was the recent attack designed to demonstrate that the government is not a puppet of China?
A: I think the reason why the junta attacked the Kokang is because of the following:
First, the junta wanted to develop better relationships with America, India and some Western authorities, in particular with America. In order to improve the relationship with America, the junta is eager to prove that the junta is not a puppet government supported by the Chinese government. That is why the junta chose the Kokang to fight against.
They also wanted to test the response of the Chinese government. The Kokang and the Chinese have a blood relationship. The Kokang people are basically Chinese; they are part of the Chinese family. The Chinese in Burma were not officially recognized by the Burmese and therefore for centuries they lived in a very low economic and social position. Only after the meeting in Ninakan in 1947, after the national government’s recognition, were the Chinese living in these areas called Kokang. But as a matter of fact, the Kokang people are Chinese. We are the descendants of the Yellow emperor. The anti-Chinese movement in 1967 in Burma feels like yesterday.
Even today, many Chinese living in Burma still do not dare to declare that they are Chinese. In 1989, when the Kokang Alliance Army was established, all the Chinese in Burma looked at the Chinese armed forces as the “lighthouse.” Now the ‘”lighthouse” has gone off.
The second reason I think is that the SPDC forces were already in Kokang for more than 10 years, and they understood the situation in Kokang, including the relationships among the Kokang leaders.
They therefore bought off the traitors Bai Suocheng and Wei Chaoren. This resulted in an internal split in Kokang before the war broke out. Bai Suocheng and Wei Chaoren betrayed their people and surrendered to the junta.
Now the junta has taken over the Kokang area, and it is clear about the response of the Chinese government. So their next step will be to reinforce the policy of cracking down on other minority groups along the border. The junta will act recklessly and become more unbridled.
Q: Where are you living now?
A: For many years, I worked in Kokang. I never had a chance to travel to the big cities in Burma. Now that I have more time, I am travelling in the big cities in Burma. I really feel that my country is beautiful, and it deserves a government that can represent the people by building and developing the country. I currently have no plans to go back to Kokang.
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The Irrawaddy - Female Dissident Put in Solitary Confinement: AAPP
By THE IRRAWADDY, Monday, September 14, 2009
An imprisoned female activist of the 88 Generation Students group faces additional anguish after being put in solitary confinement in a remote prison, a human rights group said on Monday.
Thailand-based Burmese human rights group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said that prison authorities incarcerated Nobel Aye (aka Hnin May Aung), 28, in a solitary confinement cell in Monywa Prison in Sagaing Division recently.
The AAPP did not specify the reasons for the solitary confinement punishment in its press release on Monday. However, Tate Naing, the secretary of the group, told The Irrawaddy by telephone that political prisoners in Burma have often faced additional punishments or solitary confinement if they complain about human rights violations or prison condition.
Nobel Aye has been arrested twice. The first time was in 1998 when she faced a 42-year jail sentence for non-violent political activities. She was released under an amnesty in July 2005 following Gen Khin Nyunt and his military intelligence apparatus’ downfall.
She was arrested again in August 23, 2007, after the 88 Generation Students group led a protest against a hike in fuel prices that sparked monk-led national demonstrations.
In November 2008, she was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment and transferred to Monywa Prison in February 2009.
“Since she is not well, we are very concerned about her life in prison,” said Tate Naing.
According to the AAPP, Nobel Aye is one of 191 female political prisoners in Burma. The Burmese regime currently keeps 2,211 political dissidents under arrest.
By THE IRRAWADDY, Monday, September 14, 2009
An imprisoned female activist of the 88 Generation Students group faces additional anguish after being put in solitary confinement in a remote prison, a human rights group said on Monday.
Thailand-based Burmese human rights group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said that prison authorities incarcerated Nobel Aye (aka Hnin May Aung), 28, in a solitary confinement cell in Monywa Prison in Sagaing Division recently.
The AAPP did not specify the reasons for the solitary confinement punishment in its press release on Monday. However, Tate Naing, the secretary of the group, told The Irrawaddy by telephone that political prisoners in Burma have often faced additional punishments or solitary confinement if they complain about human rights violations or prison condition.
Nobel Aye has been arrested twice. The first time was in 1998 when she faced a 42-year jail sentence for non-violent political activities. She was released under an amnesty in July 2005 following Gen Khin Nyunt and his military intelligence apparatus’ downfall.
She was arrested again in August 23, 2007, after the 88 Generation Students group led a protest against a hike in fuel prices that sparked monk-led national demonstrations.
In November 2008, she was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment and transferred to Monywa Prison in February 2009.
“Since she is not well, we are very concerned about her life in prison,” said Tate Naing.
According to the AAPP, Nobel Aye is one of 191 female political prisoners in Burma. The Burmese regime currently keeps 2,211 political dissidents under arrest.
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Mizzima News - Defector KNLA Captain killed in ambush
by Don Talenywun
Monday, 14 September 2009 14:11
Mae Sot (Mizzima) - A former Karen National Liberation Army Captain, who defected to the Burmese Army, was killed in an attack by his former battalion, sources in the KNLA said.
Captain Ta Baw, who defected to the ruling military junta last year, was killed on September 5, during an ambush by soldiers of KNLA’s 6th Brigade’s Battalion 201.
The former KNLA officer earlier this year was assigned by the military junta, officially known as State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), to work with the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, a splinter group that broke away from the KNLA.
While the Captain retained his rank either side – the KNLA and Burmese Army – did not consider his defection of any great significance.
The Captain, after defecting leaked intelligence to the DKBA and SPDC about Wah Lay Kee’s defences, the former base of the KNLA’s 201 battalion, which earlier this year was overrun by the joint forces of the DKBA and the Burmese Army.
Wah Lay Kee fell on April 28, when the KNLA pulled out after a 14-day siege that left many dead and scores injured.
Ta Baw was killed by landmines – stepping on to a mine and staggering onto another - during an ambush launched by the KNLA, the armed wing of the Karen National Union, which is the longest operating insurgent group in Burma, that has fought the central government for over 60 years.
KNLA sources said, the DKBA Captain Ta Baw died of blood loss in the field, during the skirmishes, where two other Burmese soldiers were also wounded, with one reportedly dying later.
The attack occurred in the Kanelay area of Karen State, in the mountainous areas between Wah Lay Kee and Umphiem Mai refugee camp, to the south of Thailand’s border town of Mae Sot.
Colonel Nerdah Mya, a KNLA commander, said neither the Burmese Army nor the DKBA would cry over Ta Baw’s death.
“They don’t care,” he said.
“It’s just another dead Karen, better we die fighting each other in their eyes,” Col Nerdah Mya, said.
On Monday, Colonel Nerdah, who is currently in the field, backed a claim made last week by KNU Vice President David Thackrabaw that DKBA leaders are feuding.
“That’s right, they know that if the KNU is eliminated then they will be next,” he said. “They’ve got to be smarter than that, surely.”
Following the KNLA’s defeat of the 7th Brigade, during June and July, KNLA commanders expected a rapid advance to their 5th Brigade. But so far the anticipated attack on KNLA 5th Brigade, near Mae Sariang, across the Moei River, has not occurred.
Thackrabaw last week said the 7th Brigade was the KNLA’s weakest, still reeling after former Brigadier-General Htein Maung’s defection in 2006 to form the KNU/KNLA Peace Council.
Peace Council vehicles, once boldly emblazoned with the militia’s name, still move around Mae Sot, but have been stripped of all markings, some observers suggesting they too have fallen foul of Thai authorities.
Thailand early this year demanded all KNLA commanders and senior KNU figures leave safe havens in Thailand, upping the pressure on the ethnic army that has in the past enjoyed cordial relations with senior Thai military figures.
The KNLA in recent months has been facing a joint military operation launched by the Burmese Army and the DKBA, with some observers suggesting that the junta is campaigning to eliminate them.
The KNU, which took to arms since Burma’s independence from British colonials in 1947, has been waging war against successive military regimes demanding self-determination and greater autonomy.
by Don Talenywun
Monday, 14 September 2009 14:11
Mae Sot (Mizzima) - A former Karen National Liberation Army Captain, who defected to the Burmese Army, was killed in an attack by his former battalion, sources in the KNLA said.
Captain Ta Baw, who defected to the ruling military junta last year, was killed on September 5, during an ambush by soldiers of KNLA’s 6th Brigade’s Battalion 201.
The former KNLA officer earlier this year was assigned by the military junta, officially known as State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), to work with the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, a splinter group that broke away from the KNLA.
While the Captain retained his rank either side – the KNLA and Burmese Army – did not consider his defection of any great significance.
The Captain, after defecting leaked intelligence to the DKBA and SPDC about Wah Lay Kee’s defences, the former base of the KNLA’s 201 battalion, which earlier this year was overrun by the joint forces of the DKBA and the Burmese Army.
Wah Lay Kee fell on April 28, when the KNLA pulled out after a 14-day siege that left many dead and scores injured.
Ta Baw was killed by landmines – stepping on to a mine and staggering onto another - during an ambush launched by the KNLA, the armed wing of the Karen National Union, which is the longest operating insurgent group in Burma, that has fought the central government for over 60 years.
KNLA sources said, the DKBA Captain Ta Baw died of blood loss in the field, during the skirmishes, where two other Burmese soldiers were also wounded, with one reportedly dying later.
The attack occurred in the Kanelay area of Karen State, in the mountainous areas between Wah Lay Kee and Umphiem Mai refugee camp, to the south of Thailand’s border town of Mae Sot.
Colonel Nerdah Mya, a KNLA commander, said neither the Burmese Army nor the DKBA would cry over Ta Baw’s death.
“They don’t care,” he said.
“It’s just another dead Karen, better we die fighting each other in their eyes,” Col Nerdah Mya, said.
On Monday, Colonel Nerdah, who is currently in the field, backed a claim made last week by KNU Vice President David Thackrabaw that DKBA leaders are feuding.
“That’s right, they know that if the KNU is eliminated then they will be next,” he said. “They’ve got to be smarter than that, surely.”
Following the KNLA’s defeat of the 7th Brigade, during June and July, KNLA commanders expected a rapid advance to their 5th Brigade. But so far the anticipated attack on KNLA 5th Brigade, near Mae Sariang, across the Moei River, has not occurred.
Thackrabaw last week said the 7th Brigade was the KNLA’s weakest, still reeling after former Brigadier-General Htein Maung’s defection in 2006 to form the KNU/KNLA Peace Council.
Peace Council vehicles, once boldly emblazoned with the militia’s name, still move around Mae Sot, but have been stripped of all markings, some observers suggesting they too have fallen foul of Thai authorities.
Thailand early this year demanded all KNLA commanders and senior KNU figures leave safe havens in Thailand, upping the pressure on the ethnic army that has in the past enjoyed cordial relations with senior Thai military figures.
The KNLA in recent months has been facing a joint military operation launched by the Burmese Army and the DKBA, with some observers suggesting that the junta is campaigning to eliminate them.
The KNU, which took to arms since Burma’s independence from British colonials in 1947, has been waging war against successive military regimes demanding self-determination and greater autonomy.
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