Myanmar activist awarded Asia's Nobel prize
Mon Aug 3, 2:44 am ET
MANILA (Reuters) – An activist from Myanmar who was tortured by the military as a student and now runs an NGO probing infrastructure projects is among this year's winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, its committee said Monday.
Also cited for the award, Asia's equivalent of the Nobel, were two Chinese men, an Indian, a Filipino and a Thai woman.
Ka Hsaw Wa of Myanmar, co-founder of EarthRights International, was recognized for "dauntlessly pursuing non-violent yet effective channels of redress, exposure, and education for the defense of human rights, the environment and democracy," the committee said.
Yu Xiaogang of China was given the award for raising concerns about dams in his country and advocating social impact assessments in all such mega-infrastructure projects.
Ma Jun, also of China and a former journalist, was awarded for publicizing environmental issues in China, including naming over 10,000 companies violating emission standards.
Indian Deep Joshi, who has management and engineering degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was cited for decades of development work in rural India, and founding a non-profit organization that recruits university graduates and grooms them to do grassroots projects in poor communities.
Antonio Oposa Jr., a Filipino environmental activist and lawyer, was awarded for helping protest abuse of marine eco-systems, including organizing sea patrols to raid boat operators engaged in illegal dynamite fishing.
Krisana Kraisintu of Thailand was recognized for her work in producing generic drugs for HIV/AIDS victims, many times cheaper than the multiple pills from pharmaceutical companies. She has worked both in Thailand and in sub-Saharan Africa.
Mon Aug 3, 2:44 am ET
MANILA (Reuters) – An activist from Myanmar who was tortured by the military as a student and now runs an NGO probing infrastructure projects is among this year's winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, its committee said Monday.
Also cited for the award, Asia's equivalent of the Nobel, were two Chinese men, an Indian, a Filipino and a Thai woman.
Ka Hsaw Wa of Myanmar, co-founder of EarthRights International, was recognized for "dauntlessly pursuing non-violent yet effective channels of redress, exposure, and education for the defense of human rights, the environment and democracy," the committee said.
Yu Xiaogang of China was given the award for raising concerns about dams in his country and advocating social impact assessments in all such mega-infrastructure projects.
Ma Jun, also of China and a former journalist, was awarded for publicizing environmental issues in China, including naming over 10,000 companies violating emission standards.
Indian Deep Joshi, who has management and engineering degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was cited for decades of development work in rural India, and founding a non-profit organization that recruits university graduates and grooms them to do grassroots projects in poor communities.
Antonio Oposa Jr., a Filipino environmental activist and lawyer, was awarded for helping protest abuse of marine eco-systems, including organizing sea patrols to raid boat operators engaged in illegal dynamite fishing.
Krisana Kraisintu of Thailand was recognized for her work in producing generic drugs for HIV/AIDS victims, many times cheaper than the multiple pills from pharmaceutical companies. She has worked both in Thailand and in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Zee News - 'Myanmar could be close to testing nuke bomb'
Updated on Saturday, August 01, 2009, 14:07 IST
Melbourne: As world concerns remain focused on the clandestine nuclear programme of North Korea and Iran, reports are filtering in of Myanmar's isolated militaryjunta may be just a few years from testing its first atomic bomb.
The key far-eastern nation is building a secret nuclear reactor and plutonium extraction facilities with North Korea's help, Sydney Morning Herald has reported citing two key junta defectors.
The Myanmarese military has sited the reactor in mountain caves inter-linked by deep tunnels at Naung Laing in Northern part of the country, apparently to camouflage it from detection by satellites.
The secret complex, the paper said, runs parallel to a civilian reactor being built at another site by Russia that both the Moscow and Yangon authorities say will be put under international safeguards.
The revelations by the Australian Daily come as US Naval Warships recently shadowed a North Korean commercial vessel bound for Myanmar, suspecting it to be carrying contraband nuclear and missile components. However, the ship was not intercepted.
China and other Asian nations had helped persuade Myanmar to turn back the North Korean freighter, the Nam Kam 1. A month back Japanese police arrested a North Korean and two of its own nationals allegedly trying to export illegally to Myanmar magnetic measuring device that could be used to develop missiles.
The Hearld identified the two defectors as an officer with a Myanmar army's secret nuclear battalion and the other a former executive and leading regime business partner, Htoo Trading, who handled nuclear contracts with Russia and North Korea.
It said the defectors were extensively interviewed separately over the past two years by Australian strategic experts and a Thai-based Australian journalist.
The defectors testimony brings into sharp focus, hints and sightings emerging recently of North Korean delegations visiting Myanmar, the paper said.
Washington, the report said, is increasingly concerned that Myanmar is the main nuclear proliferation threat from North Korea, after Israel destroyed in September 2007 a reactor that North Koreans were apparently building in Syria.
It said that one of the defectors was picked up by the US intelligence agencies last year. Some weeks later Myanmar protested to Thai about overflights made by US drones across its territory.
The key to clandestine nuclear cooperation between Myanmar and North Korea could be because of Pyongyong's eye on securing supply of uranium from Yangon's proven huge reserves and earning hard currency, the Herald said.
Updated on Saturday, August 01, 2009, 14:07 IST
Melbourne: As world concerns remain focused on the clandestine nuclear programme of North Korea and Iran, reports are filtering in of Myanmar's isolated militaryjunta may be just a few years from testing its first atomic bomb.
The key far-eastern nation is building a secret nuclear reactor and plutonium extraction facilities with North Korea's help, Sydney Morning Herald has reported citing two key junta defectors.
The Myanmarese military has sited the reactor in mountain caves inter-linked by deep tunnels at Naung Laing in Northern part of the country, apparently to camouflage it from detection by satellites.
The secret complex, the paper said, runs parallel to a civilian reactor being built at another site by Russia that both the Moscow and Yangon authorities say will be put under international safeguards.
The revelations by the Australian Daily come as US Naval Warships recently shadowed a North Korean commercial vessel bound for Myanmar, suspecting it to be carrying contraband nuclear and missile components. However, the ship was not intercepted.
China and other Asian nations had helped persuade Myanmar to turn back the North Korean freighter, the Nam Kam 1. A month back Japanese police arrested a North Korean and two of its own nationals allegedly trying to export illegally to Myanmar magnetic measuring device that could be used to develop missiles.
The Hearld identified the two defectors as an officer with a Myanmar army's secret nuclear battalion and the other a former executive and leading regime business partner, Htoo Trading, who handled nuclear contracts with Russia and North Korea.
It said the defectors were extensively interviewed separately over the past two years by Australian strategic experts and a Thai-based Australian journalist.
The defectors testimony brings into sharp focus, hints and sightings emerging recently of North Korean delegations visiting Myanmar, the paper said.
Washington, the report said, is increasingly concerned that Myanmar is the main nuclear proliferation threat from North Korea, after Israel destroyed in September 2007 a reactor that North Koreans were apparently building in Syria.
It said that one of the defectors was picked up by the US intelligence agencies last year. Some weeks later Myanmar protested to Thai about overflights made by US drones across its territory.
The key to clandestine nuclear cooperation between Myanmar and North Korea could be because of Pyongyong's eye on securing supply of uranium from Yangon's proven huge reserves and earning hard currency, the Herald said.
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VOA News - Report: Defectors Allege Burma Seeking to Build Nuclear Weapons with North Korea's Help
By Daniel Schearf, Bangkok
03 August 2009
Researchers in Thailand say two defectors from Burma say the military government has a secret nuclear program that aims to build nuclear weapons, and could have a nuclear test as soon as five years from now. The researchers say the defectors have also linked North Korea to the program, raising further concerns about Pyongyang's nuclear proliferation, if the allegations prove true.
In interviews with Australian researchers over a two-year period in Thailand, the two defectors said that a hidden nuclear complex is being built in caves excavated in a mountainous area of northern Burma.
The defectors said that they were directly involved in the secret program, and that Burma's goal is to build nuclear weapons.
The defectors' testimony was first published in the Sydney Morning Herald, which did not publish their real names in order to protect their identities.
One of the researchers who interviewed the defectors is Desmond Ball, a professor in strategic studies at Australian National University. The Herald quotes Ball as saying, if their testimony is true, Burma could begin producing one nuclear weapon a year as early as 2014.
One of the defectors, a former Burmese army officer, told researchers he was trained in Moscow as part of Burma's plans for a "nuclear battalion" of one thousand men to build the weapons.
The other said he handled Burma's nuclear contracts with Moscow and Pyongyang and arranged the night-time delivery of equipment from North Korea.
Phil Thornton is a freelance journalist based in Thailand and the other researcher who interviewed the men. He says, although the defectors did not know each other, their stories agreed on the main facts, lending some weight to their credibility.
"Even if 10% of what they said is correct, it's still a concern, a regional concern, because a Burma with a nuclear facility is a deep worry," Thornton said.
Russia is helping Burma build a civilian nuclear reactor. But, Thornton says the military government's cooperation with North Korea is the real concern.
"Burma has signed the non-proliferation treaty and has Russia, who's doing training," Thonton said. "I don't think that's the concern. If Russia and Burma are working on something, then they'll probably follow the treaty. But, if you kick in North Korea, which is a bit of a wild card and a rogue state, then you crank it up another level."
Concerns have been raised occasionally about a possible nuclear link between North Korea and Burma.
In June, a North Korean ship believed to be headed to Burma with a suspicious cargo turned back under international pressure.
U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton told an Asian security conference last month they should be concerned that the two pariah states may be transferring nuclear technology.
Clinton said any military ties between Burma and North Korea would pose a direct threat to the region.
By Daniel Schearf, Bangkok
03 August 2009
Researchers in Thailand say two defectors from Burma say the military government has a secret nuclear program that aims to build nuclear weapons, and could have a nuclear test as soon as five years from now. The researchers say the defectors have also linked North Korea to the program, raising further concerns about Pyongyang's nuclear proliferation, if the allegations prove true.
In interviews with Australian researchers over a two-year period in Thailand, the two defectors said that a hidden nuclear complex is being built in caves excavated in a mountainous area of northern Burma.
The defectors said that they were directly involved in the secret program, and that Burma's goal is to build nuclear weapons.
The defectors' testimony was first published in the Sydney Morning Herald, which did not publish their real names in order to protect their identities.
One of the researchers who interviewed the defectors is Desmond Ball, a professor in strategic studies at Australian National University. The Herald quotes Ball as saying, if their testimony is true, Burma could begin producing one nuclear weapon a year as early as 2014.
One of the defectors, a former Burmese army officer, told researchers he was trained in Moscow as part of Burma's plans for a "nuclear battalion" of one thousand men to build the weapons.
The other said he handled Burma's nuclear contracts with Moscow and Pyongyang and arranged the night-time delivery of equipment from North Korea.
Phil Thornton is a freelance journalist based in Thailand and the other researcher who interviewed the men. He says, although the defectors did not know each other, their stories agreed on the main facts, lending some weight to their credibility.
"Even if 10% of what they said is correct, it's still a concern, a regional concern, because a Burma with a nuclear facility is a deep worry," Thornton said.
Russia is helping Burma build a civilian nuclear reactor. But, Thornton says the military government's cooperation with North Korea is the real concern.
"Burma has signed the non-proliferation treaty and has Russia, who's doing training," Thonton said. "I don't think that's the concern. If Russia and Burma are working on something, then they'll probably follow the treaty. But, if you kick in North Korea, which is a bit of a wild card and a rogue state, then you crank it up another level."
Concerns have been raised occasionally about a possible nuclear link between North Korea and Burma.
In June, a North Korean ship believed to be headed to Burma with a suspicious cargo turned back under international pressure.
U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton told an Asian security conference last month they should be concerned that the two pariah states may be transferring nuclear technology.
Clinton said any military ties between Burma and North Korea would pose a direct threat to the region.
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N.Korea 'helping Myanmar build nuclear plant': report
Sat Aug 1, 11:03 am ET
SYDNEY (AFP) – North Korea is helping Myanmar build a secret nuclear reactor and plutonium extraction plant to build an atomic bomb within five years, a report said on Saturday, citing the evidence of defectors.
The nuclear complex is hidden inside a mountain at Naung Laing, in Myanmar's north, and runs parallel to a civil reactor being built at another site by Russia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The revelations come just weeks after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced concerns that Pyongyang was transferring weapons and nuclear technology to fellow pariah state Myanmar.
Defectors codenamed Moe Jo and Tin Min reportedly told Australian investigator Desmond Ball the military junta has nuclear ambitions that far exceed its official line.
"They say it's to produce medical isotopes for health purposes in hospitals," Ball said, quoting Tin Min about the prospect of a Myanmar nuclear programme.
"How many hospitals in Burma have nuclear science?" Tin Min allegedly said, using Myanmar's former name. "Burma can barely get electricity up and running. It's a nonsense."
Giving an account of the men's testimony in the Herald, Ball said they "claim to know the regime's plans" and that a nuclear-armed Myanmar was a "genuine possibility".
"In the event that the testimony of the defectors is proved, the alleged secret reactor could be capable of being operational and producing one bomb a year, every year, after 2014," Ball wrote in the newspaper.
Moe Jo, a former army officer, allegedly told Ball he was trained for a 1,000-man "nuclear battalion" and that Myanmar had provided yellowcake uranium to North Korea and Iran.
"He said that the army planned a plutonium reprocessing system and that Russian experts were on site to show how it was done," wrote Ball, who is a strategic studies professor from the Australian National University.
Moe Jo said part of the army's nuclear battalion was stationed in a local village to work on a weapon, and a secret operations centre was hidden in the Setkhaya Mountains, according to Ball.
"(It was) a set up including engineers, artillery and communications to act as a command and control centre for the nuclear weapons program," wrote Ball.
Tin Min was said to have been a book keeper for Tay Za, a close associate of the junta's head General Than Shwe, and told Ball in 2004 he had paid a construction company to build a tunnel in the Naung Laing mountain "wide enough for two trucks to pass each other".
According to the report, Tin Min said Za negotiated nuclear contracts with Russia and North Korea and arranged the collection and transport, at night and by river, of containers of equipment from North Korean boats in Yangon's port.
Tin Min reportedly said Za told him the junta knew it couldn't compete with neighbouring Thailand on conventional weapons, but wanted to "play power like North Korea".
"They hope to combine nuclear and air defence missiles," Za said, according to Tin Min.
Sat Aug 1, 11:03 am ET
SYDNEY (AFP) – North Korea is helping Myanmar build a secret nuclear reactor and plutonium extraction plant to build an atomic bomb within five years, a report said on Saturday, citing the evidence of defectors.
The nuclear complex is hidden inside a mountain at Naung Laing, in Myanmar's north, and runs parallel to a civil reactor being built at another site by Russia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The revelations come just weeks after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced concerns that Pyongyang was transferring weapons and nuclear technology to fellow pariah state Myanmar.
Defectors codenamed Moe Jo and Tin Min reportedly told Australian investigator Desmond Ball the military junta has nuclear ambitions that far exceed its official line.
"They say it's to produce medical isotopes for health purposes in hospitals," Ball said, quoting Tin Min about the prospect of a Myanmar nuclear programme.
"How many hospitals in Burma have nuclear science?" Tin Min allegedly said, using Myanmar's former name. "Burma can barely get electricity up and running. It's a nonsense."
Giving an account of the men's testimony in the Herald, Ball said they "claim to know the regime's plans" and that a nuclear-armed Myanmar was a "genuine possibility".
"In the event that the testimony of the defectors is proved, the alleged secret reactor could be capable of being operational and producing one bomb a year, every year, after 2014," Ball wrote in the newspaper.
Moe Jo, a former army officer, allegedly told Ball he was trained for a 1,000-man "nuclear battalion" and that Myanmar had provided yellowcake uranium to North Korea and Iran.
"He said that the army planned a plutonium reprocessing system and that Russian experts were on site to show how it was done," wrote Ball, who is a strategic studies professor from the Australian National University.
Moe Jo said part of the army's nuclear battalion was stationed in a local village to work on a weapon, and a secret operations centre was hidden in the Setkhaya Mountains, according to Ball.
"(It was) a set up including engineers, artillery and communications to act as a command and control centre for the nuclear weapons program," wrote Ball.
Tin Min was said to have been a book keeper for Tay Za, a close associate of the junta's head General Than Shwe, and told Ball in 2004 he had paid a construction company to build a tunnel in the Naung Laing mountain "wide enough for two trucks to pass each other".
According to the report, Tin Min said Za negotiated nuclear contracts with Russia and North Korea and arranged the collection and transport, at night and by river, of containers of equipment from North Korean boats in Yangon's port.
Tin Min reportedly said Za told him the junta knew it couldn't compete with neighbouring Thailand on conventional weapons, but wanted to "play power like North Korea".
"They hope to combine nuclear and air defence missiles," Za said, according to Tin Min.
*************************************************************
Lawyers still hope Suu Kyi will be freed
Sun Aug 2, 5:15 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Lawyers for Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Sunday they still hoped she would be "freed unconditionally", despite widespread fears of a guilty verdict in her prolonged prison trial.
The Nobel peace laureate faces up to five years in jail if convicted on charges of breaching the terms of her house arrest following an incident in which an American man swam across a lake to her heavily-secured villa in May.
The two-and-a-half month trial has provoked international outrage and critics have accused Myanmar's junta of using the intrusion as an excuse to keep her locked up during elections scheduled for 2010.
A verdict had been expected on Friday but judges postponed their pronouncement until August 11, saying they needed time to review the case.
"We hope that she will be freed unconditionally," said Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi's lawyers and a spokesman for her National League for Democracy (NLD).
"We have nothing much to do. We are just waiting for the next trial date. Tomorrow we will submit an application to the authorities to meet Aung San Suu Kyi and we hope to meet her on Wednesday or Thursday," he told AFP.
He said Suu Kyi, currently detained at Yangon's notorious Insein prison, had instructed her defence team to visit her before August 11.
The delayed verdict, which adds to uncertainty over the junta's plans for the democracy icon, was hailed Friday by her lawyers as a sign that the judges have "serious legal problems".
Ahead of Friday's expected decision, UN chief Ban Ki-moon had pressed for the immediate release of Suu Kyi during a meeting with Myanmar's UN ambassador, a UN spokesman said.
Washington, which like the European Union has imposed sanctions against the Myanmar regime, also demanded Thursday that Suu Kyi and another 2,100 political prisoners in Myanmar should be "immediately and unconditionally released".
Analysts say Myanmar's rulers have showed rare concern for foreign opinion by delaying the verdict, but only because they want to minimise the fallout while pursuing a hard line against her.
The junta has kept Suu Kyi in detention for a total of nearly 14 years since refusing to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in elections in 1990.
Sun Aug 2, 5:15 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Lawyers for Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Sunday they still hoped she would be "freed unconditionally", despite widespread fears of a guilty verdict in her prolonged prison trial.
The Nobel peace laureate faces up to five years in jail if convicted on charges of breaching the terms of her house arrest following an incident in which an American man swam across a lake to her heavily-secured villa in May.
The two-and-a-half month trial has provoked international outrage and critics have accused Myanmar's junta of using the intrusion as an excuse to keep her locked up during elections scheduled for 2010.
A verdict had been expected on Friday but judges postponed their pronouncement until August 11, saying they needed time to review the case.
"We hope that she will be freed unconditionally," said Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi's lawyers and a spokesman for her National League for Democracy (NLD).
"We have nothing much to do. We are just waiting for the next trial date. Tomorrow we will submit an application to the authorities to meet Aung San Suu Kyi and we hope to meet her on Wednesday or Thursday," he told AFP.
He said Suu Kyi, currently detained at Yangon's notorious Insein prison, had instructed her defence team to visit her before August 11.
The delayed verdict, which adds to uncertainty over the junta's plans for the democracy icon, was hailed Friday by her lawyers as a sign that the judges have "serious legal problems".
Ahead of Friday's expected decision, UN chief Ban Ki-moon had pressed for the immediate release of Suu Kyi during a meeting with Myanmar's UN ambassador, a UN spokesman said.
Washington, which like the European Union has imposed sanctions against the Myanmar regime, also demanded Thursday that Suu Kyi and another 2,100 political prisoners in Myanmar should be "immediately and unconditionally released".
Analysts say Myanmar's rulers have showed rare concern for foreign opinion by delaying the verdict, but only because they want to minimise the fallout while pursuing a hard line against her.
The junta has kept Suu Kyi in detention for a total of nearly 14 years since refusing to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in elections in 1990.
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Poverty saps local interest in Suu Kyi trial
AFP - Monday, August 3
YANGON — While the international community condemns the prison trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, many people in military-ruled Myanmar have more pressing concerns as they struggle to make ends meet.
"I saw some barricades near the jail when I passed by on the bus but I have no interest in the verdict," father-of-two Maung Zaw told AFP.
The 40-year-old said he earns a meagre 1.50 dollars a day through his two jobs in construction and as a shop worker.
"I am only interested in my daily wages for my family which is a more important thing for me," he said.
Speculation is rife among diplomats and foreign observers as to the sentence the Nobel laureate could face if she is convicted of breaching her house arrest rules, after an American man swam to her lakeside home in May.
But while the international community awaits the verdict in the court case at Yangon's Insein prison, now expected on August 11, many in the poverty-stricken country are more preoccupied with daily financial worries.
Cho Mar, the 30-year-old manager of a tourism company who earns 250 dollars a month, was also concerned about the economy in what is one of the world's least developed countries.
"Although we are interested in her we have to see to our own situation first as we struggle in our daily life because our economic situation has been declining in recent years," he said.
As Suu Kyi's trial reconvened in the commercial hub of Yangon Friday, there were a noticeable lack of tourists in the area, which has been shunned by many because of Myanmar's 47 years of military rule.
Visitors were further deterred by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, which swept through the country's southwest, leaving 138,000 people dead.
At the Shwedagon pagoda, the city's leading attraction, tour guides and photographers milled about with nobody to employ them, while the few Asian visitors who did walk through the compound tried not to slip on loose tiles.
In a middle-class neighbourhood south of the city, two men in a cafe, who declined to be named, joked about "one very famous tourist" -- a reference to John Yettaw, the uninvited US man who swam to Suu Kyi's house, sparking her trial.
Foreign critics say the court case is a ploy to keep Suu Kyi, widely known as "The Lady" in Myanmar, locked up for elections scheduled for 2010.
The junta has detained her for a total of nearly 14 years since refusing to recognise her party's landslide victory in elections in 1990.
The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions against the Myanmar regime, demanding the release of Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 political prisoners.
But the impact of those sanctions has been weakened as neighbours, notably China, spend heavily on resource-rich Myanmar's natural gas, timber and precious stones.
However, a report in May said that while the country's foreign exchange reserves were at a record 3.6 billion dollars, the junta had not used them to help the people and the country's economic prospects were "bleak".
The report from the International Monetary Fund, quoted by the Financial Times newspaper, said social spending was the lowest in Asia.
This was even as the regime, officially known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), continued to splash out on showcase projects including the building of the new administrative capital Naypyidaw.
There are also serious concerns about the regime's military spending.
A report on Saturday, citing the evidence of defectors, said North Korea is helping Myanmar build a secret nuclear reactor and plutonium extraction plant to build an atomic bomb within five years.
"The poverty endured by the people in Burma is because of the SPDC's policy," said activist Debbie Stothard of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, referring to Myanmar by its former name.
Despite many citizens living a "hand-to-mouth existence", Stothard said she did not believe they were uninterested in Suu Kyi's fate.
"I think many are concerned about the trial and those who have access to information realise that their suffering is linked to the crisis in the political situation".
Htwe Htwe, a 50-year-old housewife in Yangon, agreed that there was a lot of interest in the trial, although it was often discreet.
"People in the market and at the teashops are secretly discussing the verdict," she said. "People want to know what will happen to her."
But some, it seems, have lost hope of a positive future.
One taxi driver, who did not wish to be named, had a dog-eared stash of copies of the state-run newspaper on his passenger seat and laughed when asked if he read them.
"No, I use these for cleaning the windshield when it fogs up. It's a waste of time to read that newspaper," he said.
AFP - Monday, August 3
YANGON — While the international community condemns the prison trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, many people in military-ruled Myanmar have more pressing concerns as they struggle to make ends meet.
"I saw some barricades near the jail when I passed by on the bus but I have no interest in the verdict," father-of-two Maung Zaw told AFP.
The 40-year-old said he earns a meagre 1.50 dollars a day through his two jobs in construction and as a shop worker.
"I am only interested in my daily wages for my family which is a more important thing for me," he said.
Speculation is rife among diplomats and foreign observers as to the sentence the Nobel laureate could face if she is convicted of breaching her house arrest rules, after an American man swam to her lakeside home in May.
But while the international community awaits the verdict in the court case at Yangon's Insein prison, now expected on August 11, many in the poverty-stricken country are more preoccupied with daily financial worries.
Cho Mar, the 30-year-old manager of a tourism company who earns 250 dollars a month, was also concerned about the economy in what is one of the world's least developed countries.
"Although we are interested in her we have to see to our own situation first as we struggle in our daily life because our economic situation has been declining in recent years," he said.
As Suu Kyi's trial reconvened in the commercial hub of Yangon Friday, there were a noticeable lack of tourists in the area, which has been shunned by many because of Myanmar's 47 years of military rule.
Visitors were further deterred by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, which swept through the country's southwest, leaving 138,000 people dead.
At the Shwedagon pagoda, the city's leading attraction, tour guides and photographers milled about with nobody to employ them, while the few Asian visitors who did walk through the compound tried not to slip on loose tiles.
In a middle-class neighbourhood south of the city, two men in a cafe, who declined to be named, joked about "one very famous tourist" -- a reference to John Yettaw, the uninvited US man who swam to Suu Kyi's house, sparking her trial.
Foreign critics say the court case is a ploy to keep Suu Kyi, widely known as "The Lady" in Myanmar, locked up for elections scheduled for 2010.
The junta has detained her for a total of nearly 14 years since refusing to recognise her party's landslide victory in elections in 1990.
The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions against the Myanmar regime, demanding the release of Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 political prisoners.
But the impact of those sanctions has been weakened as neighbours, notably China, spend heavily on resource-rich Myanmar's natural gas, timber and precious stones.
However, a report in May said that while the country's foreign exchange reserves were at a record 3.6 billion dollars, the junta had not used them to help the people and the country's economic prospects were "bleak".
The report from the International Monetary Fund, quoted by the Financial Times newspaper, said social spending was the lowest in Asia.
This was even as the regime, officially known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), continued to splash out on showcase projects including the building of the new administrative capital Naypyidaw.
There are also serious concerns about the regime's military spending.
A report on Saturday, citing the evidence of defectors, said North Korea is helping Myanmar build a secret nuclear reactor and plutonium extraction plant to build an atomic bomb within five years.
"The poverty endured by the people in Burma is because of the SPDC's policy," said activist Debbie Stothard of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, referring to Myanmar by its former name.
Despite many citizens living a "hand-to-mouth existence", Stothard said she did not believe they were uninterested in Suu Kyi's fate.
"I think many are concerned about the trial and those who have access to information realise that their suffering is linked to the crisis in the political situation".
Htwe Htwe, a 50-year-old housewife in Yangon, agreed that there was a lot of interest in the trial, although it was often discreet.
"People in the market and at the teashops are secretly discussing the verdict," she said. "People want to know what will happen to her."
But some, it seems, have lost hope of a positive future.
One taxi driver, who did not wish to be named, had a dog-eared stash of copies of the state-run newspaper on his passenger seat and laughed when asked if he read them.
"No, I use these for cleaning the windshield when it fogs up. It's a waste of time to read that newspaper," he said.
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Myanmar junta warns against demonstrations
Published: Aug. 3, 2009 at 11:28 AM
YANGON, Myanmar, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Myanmar's military regime has warned people not to demonstrate after judges postponed a verdict in the trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
An editorial in the newspaper New Light of Myanmar, the mouthpiece of the military regime, said the government would "ward off subversive elements and disruptions." The public should be on guard against "some (who) arouse the people to take to the streets to come to power," the English-language editorial said.
Observers have suggested the editorial shows the government would use heavy police force against anyone attempting to demonstrate around or near Insein Prison where Suu Kyi, 64, is being held.
She faces up to five years in jail if found guilty of violating her house arrest.
During the trial roads have been blockaded with barbed wire and several vans of riot police line the streets around the prison. Unconfirmed media reports say that several members of Suu Kyi's political party, the National League for Democracy, were arrested in the past week.
The on-again, off-again trial in Yangon, formerly Rangoon and the former capital of what was called Burma, began May 18.
A verdict was expected on Friday but will now come on Aug. 11. The judges said they needed more time to consider the case, according to the few foreign diplomats allowed in as observers to the mostly secret proceeding.
Diplomats from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Norway are among those allowed in to the trial. Journalists have been barred.
Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy won a landslide election victory in 1990. But the junta, in power since a coup in 1962, has never recognized the results. The 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate has spent 14 of the past 20 years under some kind of arrest and detention, including house arrest since 2003.
The government accuses her of violating her house arrest in early May when U.S. citizen John Yettaw swam across a lake and gained entry uninvited to her lakeside residence.
He was there for two days until persuaded by Suu Kyi to leave.
Suu Kyi's lawyer has argued that she cannot be tried because she was put under house arrest for allegedly violating laws based on a 1974 national constitution that had been superseded by a new one at the time.
He also argued that the government's security guards should have prevented the 53-year-old American from entering Suu Kyi's property.
Yettaw and Suu Kyi's two female assistants are also on trial with her over the same incident.
Yettaw, who made his swim only several days before the end of Suu Kyi's six years of house arrest, pleaded not guilty. The Mormon and father of seven children explained to the court that he dreamt Suu Kyi would be assassinated and that he had gone to warn her.
The trial has been widely condemned by the international community, including most recently Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Standing alongside U.S. President Barack Obama in the Oval Office last Thursday, she said the Philippines backs Washington's condemnation of human rights violations in Myanmar as well as South Korea.
The generals have dismissed all criticism.
A few days before the expected verdict last week, another editorial in the New Light of Myanmar ruled out any "illogical" release on the grounds that it would show Suu Kyi is privileged. "Making frequent demands for the release of Daw Suu Kyi implies that she is above the law. Here, our concept is that no one is above the law. Demanding her release shows reckless disregard for the law."
Comments by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for her release were "questionable" and "showed total disregard for the sovereignty of our country," the writer said.
Published: Aug. 3, 2009 at 11:28 AM
YANGON, Myanmar, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Myanmar's military regime has warned people not to demonstrate after judges postponed a verdict in the trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
An editorial in the newspaper New Light of Myanmar, the mouthpiece of the military regime, said the government would "ward off subversive elements and disruptions." The public should be on guard against "some (who) arouse the people to take to the streets to come to power," the English-language editorial said.
Observers have suggested the editorial shows the government would use heavy police force against anyone attempting to demonstrate around or near Insein Prison where Suu Kyi, 64, is being held.
She faces up to five years in jail if found guilty of violating her house arrest.
During the trial roads have been blockaded with barbed wire and several vans of riot police line the streets around the prison. Unconfirmed media reports say that several members of Suu Kyi's political party, the National League for Democracy, were arrested in the past week.
The on-again, off-again trial in Yangon, formerly Rangoon and the former capital of what was called Burma, began May 18.
A verdict was expected on Friday but will now come on Aug. 11. The judges said they needed more time to consider the case, according to the few foreign diplomats allowed in as observers to the mostly secret proceeding.
Diplomats from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Norway are among those allowed in to the trial. Journalists have been barred.
Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy won a landslide election victory in 1990. But the junta, in power since a coup in 1962, has never recognized the results. The 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate has spent 14 of the past 20 years under some kind of arrest and detention, including house arrest since 2003.
The government accuses her of violating her house arrest in early May when U.S. citizen John Yettaw swam across a lake and gained entry uninvited to her lakeside residence.
He was there for two days until persuaded by Suu Kyi to leave.
Suu Kyi's lawyer has argued that she cannot be tried because she was put under house arrest for allegedly violating laws based on a 1974 national constitution that had been superseded by a new one at the time.
He also argued that the government's security guards should have prevented the 53-year-old American from entering Suu Kyi's property.
Yettaw and Suu Kyi's two female assistants are also on trial with her over the same incident.
Yettaw, who made his swim only several days before the end of Suu Kyi's six years of house arrest, pleaded not guilty. The Mormon and father of seven children explained to the court that he dreamt Suu Kyi would be assassinated and that he had gone to warn her.
The trial has been widely condemned by the international community, including most recently Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Standing alongside U.S. President Barack Obama in the Oval Office last Thursday, she said the Philippines backs Washington's condemnation of human rights violations in Myanmar as well as South Korea.
The generals have dismissed all criticism.
A few days before the expected verdict last week, another editorial in the New Light of Myanmar ruled out any "illogical" release on the grounds that it would show Suu Kyi is privileged. "Making frequent demands for the release of Daw Suu Kyi implies that she is above the law. Here, our concept is that no one is above the law. Demanding her release shows reckless disregard for the law."
Comments by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for her release were "questionable" and "showed total disregard for the sovereignty of our country," the writer said.
*************************************************************
Reuters and AlertNet - Chin women from Myanmar find help down a winding lane in Delhi
03 Aug 2009 14:58:34 GMT
Source: UNHCR
NEW DELHI, India, August 3 (UNHCR) – Life as a refugee is often traumatic, but it sometimes helps if you can talk to someone sympathetic outside the family about your problems, challenges and hopes. In a nondescript house down a winding lane in western New Delhi, the UNHCR-run Women's Protection Clinic (WPC) provides that friendly shoulder for women refugees from Myanmar.
The WPC opened its doors in 2005 and has been funded for most of that time by the government of Australia. Senator Chris Evans, Australia's Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, pledged continued financial support for the clinic during a tour of the facility in late July.
More than 1,250 refugee women and girls from Myanmar's ethnic Chin community have received counselling in the clinic, which maintains a policy of strict confidentiality. Earlier this year, the WPC also opened its doors to female asylum seekers from Myanmar.
But the most vital function of the clinic is to highlight protection gaps and find solutions to immediate needs. The clinic helps UNHCR identify those women who are most vulnerable and in need of resettlement to a third country.
Joyce, a 56-year-old who fled to India three years ago with her husband and four children, is typical of those who come to see the counsellors and other experts at the centre.
"I had financial problems that led to mental problems," Joyce recalled. "When I shared my problems and difficulties with people at the clinic, my load became physically and mentally lighter. They gave good advice and counselling."
The WPC counsellors steered her towards the UNHCR partner, Don Bosco Ashayalam, which runs an income-generation project for refugee women. Joyce and her elder daughter now help produce a line of clothing under the Koshish label, which brings them valuable income and self-esteem. Under Indian law, refugees can only work in the informal, unregulated labour sector.
The centre has directed several women towards other non-governmental organizations that have expertise or programmes that can help them.
Theresa is a single mother with a three-year-old son. She fled from Myanmar not long after her first husband died three years ago. She remarried in New Delhi, but soon had marital problems. "My husband did not accept my child. I had no one to share this with in my community. It was all so personal," she told UNHCR.
The Chin woman and her husband divorced by mutual consent, but this was frowned on by some in her conservative community. Theresa decided to visit the centre for counselling. "I got a lot of support. I felt as if I was sharing my life with my mother," she said, adding: "When I was counselled, I felt strong – as if I could bear all the pain."
For women like Theresa, the clinic has provided a refuge where they can discuss their worries and concerns without fear of being judged. It has enabled many women to cope with their lives, to pick up the threads, learn skills. "We find our way again," Joyce reflected.
Aside from meeting UNHCR staff, women of the Myanmar refugee community in the Indian capital also use the WPC as a forum to discuss issues of general importance to them, such as health and education.
"When we meet with UNHCR officers here, they give us information that we can share with our communities," said Elisabeth, a representative of various women's groups.
"They explain what to do when we need assistance with health and education. They also explain why sometimes it takes so long to get a refugee status interview." For UNHCR this is also a good platform to share policy changes and to take stock of how well existing programmes are working.
One of the unexpected benefits of the WPC has been that it has empowered refugee women in the Myanmar community. "Some men don't understand why it's only for women. Now most have understood that it's also for the whole family," said Elisabeth. "We get more respect from our community now. The men tell us to take their problems to the WPC."
UNHCR provides protection and assistance to some 11,850 refugees in India, mostly from Afghanistan (8,500), Myanmar (2,500) and Somalia (600).
Source: UNHCR
NEW DELHI, India, August 3 (UNHCR) – Life as a refugee is often traumatic, but it sometimes helps if you can talk to someone sympathetic outside the family about your problems, challenges and hopes. In a nondescript house down a winding lane in western New Delhi, the UNHCR-run Women's Protection Clinic (WPC) provides that friendly shoulder for women refugees from Myanmar.
The WPC opened its doors in 2005 and has been funded for most of that time by the government of Australia. Senator Chris Evans, Australia's Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, pledged continued financial support for the clinic during a tour of the facility in late July.
More than 1,250 refugee women and girls from Myanmar's ethnic Chin community have received counselling in the clinic, which maintains a policy of strict confidentiality. Earlier this year, the WPC also opened its doors to female asylum seekers from Myanmar.
But the most vital function of the clinic is to highlight protection gaps and find solutions to immediate needs. The clinic helps UNHCR identify those women who are most vulnerable and in need of resettlement to a third country.
Joyce, a 56-year-old who fled to India three years ago with her husband and four children, is typical of those who come to see the counsellors and other experts at the centre.
"I had financial problems that led to mental problems," Joyce recalled. "When I shared my problems and difficulties with people at the clinic, my load became physically and mentally lighter. They gave good advice and counselling."
The WPC counsellors steered her towards the UNHCR partner, Don Bosco Ashayalam, which runs an income-generation project for refugee women. Joyce and her elder daughter now help produce a line of clothing under the Koshish label, which brings them valuable income and self-esteem. Under Indian law, refugees can only work in the informal, unregulated labour sector.
The centre has directed several women towards other non-governmental organizations that have expertise or programmes that can help them.
Theresa is a single mother with a three-year-old son. She fled from Myanmar not long after her first husband died three years ago. She remarried in New Delhi, but soon had marital problems. "My husband did not accept my child. I had no one to share this with in my community. It was all so personal," she told UNHCR.
The Chin woman and her husband divorced by mutual consent, but this was frowned on by some in her conservative community. Theresa decided to visit the centre for counselling. "I got a lot of support. I felt as if I was sharing my life with my mother," she said, adding: "When I was counselled, I felt strong – as if I could bear all the pain."
For women like Theresa, the clinic has provided a refuge where they can discuss their worries and concerns without fear of being judged. It has enabled many women to cope with their lives, to pick up the threads, learn skills. "We find our way again," Joyce reflected.
Aside from meeting UNHCR staff, women of the Myanmar refugee community in the Indian capital also use the WPC as a forum to discuss issues of general importance to them, such as health and education.
"When we meet with UNHCR officers here, they give us information that we can share with our communities," said Elisabeth, a representative of various women's groups.
"They explain what to do when we need assistance with health and education. They also explain why sometimes it takes so long to get a refugee status interview." For UNHCR this is also a good platform to share policy changes and to take stock of how well existing programmes are working.
One of the unexpected benefits of the WPC has been that it has empowered refugee women in the Myanmar community. "Some men don't understand why it's only for women. Now most have understood that it's also for the whole family," said Elisabeth. "We get more respect from our community now. The men tell us to take their problems to the WPC."
UNHCR provides protection and assistance to some 11,850 refugees in India, mostly from Afghanistan (8,500), Myanmar (2,500) and Somalia (600).
*************************************************************
Washington Post - Arroyo Calls for the Release of Burmese Dissident
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 31, 2009; 1:26 PM
Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called Friday for the immediate release of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, saying that Burma should demonstrate whether it has a legitimate hold on power by accelerating a "road map" to democracy and by permitting the full participation of Suu Kyi's party in elections.
"The best way to find out [whether the government is legitimate] would be to accelerate the road map and have elections being conducted in an atmosphere and an environment in which Aung San Suu Kyi and her party are able to participate fully," Arroyo said in an interview. "It would help to promote human rights, democracy and peace and stability in the region."
Burma, also known as Myanmar, is regarded as one of the world's most oppressive nations, run by generals who have enriched themselves while much of the country remains desperately poor. The National League for Democracy, Suu Kyi's party, won a landslide electoral victory in 1990, but the military leadership refused to accept it. Since then, she has been under house arrest for most of the time, as have hundreds of her supporters. The government has also used brutal tactics against its ethnic minorities, employing gang rape as an instrument of war.
In May, just days before Suu Kyi's six-year term under house arrest was due to expire, the government put the 64-year-old democracy activist on trial for an incident involving a U.S. citizen who swam across Rangoon's Lake Inya to reach Suu Kyi's lakefront bungalow. Suu Kyi was taken to the notorious Insein Prison on charges of violating the terms of her detention by hosting a foreigner. A verdict was due to be announced Friday, but judges postponed the verdict until Aug. 11, citing a need to review the case.
Intense international pressure has been placed on the government regarding Suu Kyi. The Philippines has been among the countries most vocal in its concerns about human rights violations in Burma. It helped raise the issue at the United Nations and at the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Arroyo, who met with President Obama at the White House on Thursday, said that the two leaders had an extensive discussion on the situation in Burma and that the United States and the Philippines "are on the same page." The Obama administration has conducted a review of its Burma policy, suggesting that a tough approach has not yielded much progress, but the review has been on hold pending the outcome of Suu Kyi's trial.
Although the Philippines does not have the clout to impose sanctions on Burma, "the United States has a very strong influence on many countries that in turn influence Burma," Arroyo said. "I hope that given the continued commitment of the United States to human rights in Burma that concerted action can become stronger."
She added that she and other members of her government have urged Burmese officials to examine how the Philippines, also a multi-ethnic country, has emerged from military rule and created a democracy, saying it was a "paradigm" that could be followed.
Arroyo also said that greater attention should be paid to human rights abuses in North Korea. "North Korea's nuclear adventurism needed to be addressed," she said, but the "people are suffering while they are rattling their nuclear saber."
Next year, the Philippines will chair a panel charged with updating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and Arroyo said Manila hoped to play a helpful role in ending the nuclear standoff with Pyongyang.
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 31, 2009; 1:26 PM
Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called Friday for the immediate release of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, saying that Burma should demonstrate whether it has a legitimate hold on power by accelerating a "road map" to democracy and by permitting the full participation of Suu Kyi's party in elections.
"The best way to find out [whether the government is legitimate] would be to accelerate the road map and have elections being conducted in an atmosphere and an environment in which Aung San Suu Kyi and her party are able to participate fully," Arroyo said in an interview. "It would help to promote human rights, democracy and peace and stability in the region."
Burma, also known as Myanmar, is regarded as one of the world's most oppressive nations, run by generals who have enriched themselves while much of the country remains desperately poor. The National League for Democracy, Suu Kyi's party, won a landslide electoral victory in 1990, but the military leadership refused to accept it. Since then, she has been under house arrest for most of the time, as have hundreds of her supporters. The government has also used brutal tactics against its ethnic minorities, employing gang rape as an instrument of war.
In May, just days before Suu Kyi's six-year term under house arrest was due to expire, the government put the 64-year-old democracy activist on trial for an incident involving a U.S. citizen who swam across Rangoon's Lake Inya to reach Suu Kyi's lakefront bungalow. Suu Kyi was taken to the notorious Insein Prison on charges of violating the terms of her detention by hosting a foreigner. A verdict was due to be announced Friday, but judges postponed the verdict until Aug. 11, citing a need to review the case.
Intense international pressure has been placed on the government regarding Suu Kyi. The Philippines has been among the countries most vocal in its concerns about human rights violations in Burma. It helped raise the issue at the United Nations and at the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Arroyo, who met with President Obama at the White House on Thursday, said that the two leaders had an extensive discussion on the situation in Burma and that the United States and the Philippines "are on the same page." The Obama administration has conducted a review of its Burma policy, suggesting that a tough approach has not yielded much progress, but the review has been on hold pending the outcome of Suu Kyi's trial.
Although the Philippines does not have the clout to impose sanctions on Burma, "the United States has a very strong influence on many countries that in turn influence Burma," Arroyo said. "I hope that given the continued commitment of the United States to human rights in Burma that concerted action can become stronger."
She added that she and other members of her government have urged Burmese officials to examine how the Philippines, also a multi-ethnic country, has emerged from military rule and created a democracy, saying it was a "paradigm" that could be followed.
Arroyo also said that greater attention should be paid to human rights abuses in North Korea. "North Korea's nuclear adventurism needed to be addressed," she said, but the "people are suffering while they are rattling their nuclear saber."
Next year, the Philippines will chair a panel charged with updating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and Arroyo said Manila hoped to play a helpful role in ending the nuclear standoff with Pyongyang.
*************************************************************
AsiaOne News - Verdict delay is "self-serving"
Sun, Aug 02, 2009
Reuters
YANGON, Myanmar - A Myanmar court Friday postponed the verdict in the high-profile trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to August 11, her lawyer said.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace prize winner who has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention, is charged under Section 22 of a law protecting the state from "subversive elements." A guilty verdict had been widely expected Friday.
"The judge adjourned the trial until August 11. He didn't elaborate on the reason why," lawyer Nyan Win told Reuters.
A diplomatic source who attended the proceedings said the verdict was delayed "because of the need to interpret legal terms relating to the 1974 constitution."
In New York, the United Nations suggested that the delay followed a meeting between Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Myanmar's U.N. envoy Than Swe, in which Ban called for the release of Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners.
Ban "reiterated his clear expectation and that of the international community that the government of Myanmar will give careful consideration to the implications of any verdict in the trial ... and exercise its responsibility to ensure immediate release," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said.
"After reporting the Secretary-General's messages to his authorities, the Permanent Representative of Myanmar informed us that the verdict was being postponed," Haq told reporters.
The charges stem from a bizarre incident in May when an American intruder, John Yettaw, swam across Inya lake to Suu Kyi's home, where he stayed uninvited for two days. Prosecutors said this breached the terms of her house arrest.
Yettaw told the court in May he had been "sent by God" to warn Suu Kyi she was going to be assassinated.
Nyan Win said Suu Kyi was cheerful during Friday's brief court session and had told him the adjournment was "typical."
Benjamin Zawacki, a Myanmar specialist for Amnesty International, said the repeated adjournments were orchestrated by the junta to make the court appear fair and impartial.
"It's very suspicious since most courts wouldn't take this long," he said. "We knew the verdict was decided long ago. This is clearly political and not legal."
MOUNTING PRESSURE
A Western diplomat in Yangon said the junta could be stalling as a result of international condemnation of the trial.
"The regime wants to take its time because of the mounting pressure it is under," the diplomat said. "They're being attacked from all fronts and they have a lot of things to consider."
Suu Kyi's legal team has argued that she should be acquitted because the law she is charged under was part of the 1974 constitution, which is no longer in use.
The prosecution, however, says the charges are relevant because the 1974 constitution was still in force when Suu Kyi's latest period of house arrest commenced in 2003.
The courts routinely favour the military junta, which has ruled Myanmar with an iron hand since a 1962 coup. Verdicts were also postponed for Yettaw and two women who live with Suu Kyi and who face charges similar to hers.
Suu Kyi faces five years in prison if found guilty. Yettaw is charged with immigration offences and for the municipal violation of swimming in a non-swimming area.
Myanmar could improve ties with the United States, which has long imposed sanctions on Myanmar, if it released Suu Kyi, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at a regional security forum earlier this month in Thailand.
But neither Western sanctions nor a strategy of engagement by Myanmar's neighbours in Southeast Asia has achieved much over the years. Myanmar occupies a strategic place between Asian powers India and China and both have been reluctant to apply pressure on the generals.
In Washington Thursday, President Barack Obama and his Philippine counterpart, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, voiced concern about Myanmar's human rights record.
Opponents of Myanmar's military government say the trial is an attempt to keep Suu Kyi in detention before and during elections next year, which they say will be a sham intended to legitimize the regime. -Reuters
Sun, Aug 02, 2009
Reuters
YANGON, Myanmar - A Myanmar court Friday postponed the verdict in the high-profile trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to August 11, her lawyer said.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace prize winner who has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention, is charged under Section 22 of a law protecting the state from "subversive elements." A guilty verdict had been widely expected Friday.
"The judge adjourned the trial until August 11. He didn't elaborate on the reason why," lawyer Nyan Win told Reuters.
A diplomatic source who attended the proceedings said the verdict was delayed "because of the need to interpret legal terms relating to the 1974 constitution."
In New York, the United Nations suggested that the delay followed a meeting between Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Myanmar's U.N. envoy Than Swe, in which Ban called for the release of Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners.
Ban "reiterated his clear expectation and that of the international community that the government of Myanmar will give careful consideration to the implications of any verdict in the trial ... and exercise its responsibility to ensure immediate release," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said.
"After reporting the Secretary-General's messages to his authorities, the Permanent Representative of Myanmar informed us that the verdict was being postponed," Haq told reporters.
The charges stem from a bizarre incident in May when an American intruder, John Yettaw, swam across Inya lake to Suu Kyi's home, where he stayed uninvited for two days. Prosecutors said this breached the terms of her house arrest.
Yettaw told the court in May he had been "sent by God" to warn Suu Kyi she was going to be assassinated.
Nyan Win said Suu Kyi was cheerful during Friday's brief court session and had told him the adjournment was "typical."
Benjamin Zawacki, a Myanmar specialist for Amnesty International, said the repeated adjournments were orchestrated by the junta to make the court appear fair and impartial.
"It's very suspicious since most courts wouldn't take this long," he said. "We knew the verdict was decided long ago. This is clearly political and not legal."
MOUNTING PRESSURE
A Western diplomat in Yangon said the junta could be stalling as a result of international condemnation of the trial.
"The regime wants to take its time because of the mounting pressure it is under," the diplomat said. "They're being attacked from all fronts and they have a lot of things to consider."
Suu Kyi's legal team has argued that she should be acquitted because the law she is charged under was part of the 1974 constitution, which is no longer in use.
The prosecution, however, says the charges are relevant because the 1974 constitution was still in force when Suu Kyi's latest period of house arrest commenced in 2003.
The courts routinely favour the military junta, which has ruled Myanmar with an iron hand since a 1962 coup. Verdicts were also postponed for Yettaw and two women who live with Suu Kyi and who face charges similar to hers.
Suu Kyi faces five years in prison if found guilty. Yettaw is charged with immigration offences and for the municipal violation of swimming in a non-swimming area.
Myanmar could improve ties with the United States, which has long imposed sanctions on Myanmar, if it released Suu Kyi, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at a regional security forum earlier this month in Thailand.
But neither Western sanctions nor a strategy of engagement by Myanmar's neighbours in Southeast Asia has achieved much over the years. Myanmar occupies a strategic place between Asian powers India and China and both have been reluctant to apply pressure on the generals.
In Washington Thursday, President Barack Obama and his Philippine counterpart, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, voiced concern about Myanmar's human rights record.
Opponents of Myanmar's military government say the trial is an attempt to keep Suu Kyi in detention before and during elections next year, which they say will be a sham intended to legitimize the regime. -Reuters
*************************************************************
Bangkok Post - EDITORIAL: Junta's power starts to slip
Published: 3/08/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
The absurd and ultimately self-defeating harassment of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to be dragged out for another two weeks. The dictators of that sad country were unable or unwilling to meet the promise of a verdict in her case. So the world will wait until at least next week for the judges to read the next justification for jailing and further impeding Mrs Suu Kyi. By tossing her into the infamous Insein prison and forcing her to appear at a trial, the Burmese generals seem to be trying to increase her intimidation. They have succeeded instead in further shaming their own country and increasing the sympathy around the globe for their prisoner.
Mrs Suu Kyi was arrested nearly three months ago in a case that Kafka could not have invented. She had been held for years under house arrest, without charges of any sort. Her home was guarded by armed soldiers. Early in May, an apparently deranged American swam to her lakeside home, supposedly to warn her that he had had a vision of an assassination plot. Because the American, John William Yettaw, simply walked into Mrs Suu Kyi's compound, the Burmese regime arrested her and charged her with harbouring the man.
If Burma were a rational nation, the soldiers who allowed the invasion, and their commander, would be in the dock. But since it is Burma, the completely powerless Mrs Suu Kyi was thrown into prison and charged with violating the terms of her house arrest. Mr Yettaw, who by all accounts appears to be a disturbed man, is on trial separately.
The Burmese foreign minister, U Nyan Win, absent a shred of evidence, told the world that the Yettaw invasion of Mrs Suu Kyi's home was the work of ''internal and external anti-government elements'' plotting against the regime. Just what Mr Yettaw could have achieved is unexplained.
The so-called trial of Mrs Suu Kyi has been the usual military-directed shambles. Court meetings have been modified at the last moment, testimony was delayed, the defence was harassed, the public was excluded. In a show of insolence seldom matched in diplomacy, the regime invited the secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, to visit the country, then refused to give him access to Mrs Suu Kyi or to listen seriously to his repeated pleas for at least a show of justice for the Nobel Peace laureate.
At the Asean-sponsored foreign ministers' meetings on Phuket, the regime shrugged off even minor suggestions that it could act in a more civilised manner. Its reply was to tell Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to cancel his planned trip to Burma.
There are welcome signs that Burma may have bitten off a bit more than it can chew. Southeast Asian leaders including Mr Abhisit have called for Mrs Suu Kyi's release.
In Washington, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines drew high-level attention to the plight of the Burmese leader. President Barack Obama, who had ordered a full review of harsh sanctions on Burma, has announced those sanctions will remain so long as Mrs Suu Kyi is, literally, under the gun.
The regime at last is finding it difficult to try to be both isolationist and an Asean member. It has earned strong attention recently over secret projects with North Korea, which apparently are nuclear related.
The generals are fighting a battle to hold a sham referendum next year and keep their power. Last Friday, they arrested scores of supporters of Mrs Suu Kyi. Faced with world outrage over the trial, the generals also must fear their own people.
Published: 3/08/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
The absurd and ultimately self-defeating harassment of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to be dragged out for another two weeks. The dictators of that sad country were unable or unwilling to meet the promise of a verdict in her case. So the world will wait until at least next week for the judges to read the next justification for jailing and further impeding Mrs Suu Kyi. By tossing her into the infamous Insein prison and forcing her to appear at a trial, the Burmese generals seem to be trying to increase her intimidation. They have succeeded instead in further shaming their own country and increasing the sympathy around the globe for their prisoner.
Mrs Suu Kyi was arrested nearly three months ago in a case that Kafka could not have invented. She had been held for years under house arrest, without charges of any sort. Her home was guarded by armed soldiers. Early in May, an apparently deranged American swam to her lakeside home, supposedly to warn her that he had had a vision of an assassination plot. Because the American, John William Yettaw, simply walked into Mrs Suu Kyi's compound, the Burmese regime arrested her and charged her with harbouring the man.
If Burma were a rational nation, the soldiers who allowed the invasion, and their commander, would be in the dock. But since it is Burma, the completely powerless Mrs Suu Kyi was thrown into prison and charged with violating the terms of her house arrest. Mr Yettaw, who by all accounts appears to be a disturbed man, is on trial separately.
The Burmese foreign minister, U Nyan Win, absent a shred of evidence, told the world that the Yettaw invasion of Mrs Suu Kyi's home was the work of ''internal and external anti-government elements'' plotting against the regime. Just what Mr Yettaw could have achieved is unexplained.
The so-called trial of Mrs Suu Kyi has been the usual military-directed shambles. Court meetings have been modified at the last moment, testimony was delayed, the defence was harassed, the public was excluded. In a show of insolence seldom matched in diplomacy, the regime invited the secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, to visit the country, then refused to give him access to Mrs Suu Kyi or to listen seriously to his repeated pleas for at least a show of justice for the Nobel Peace laureate.
At the Asean-sponsored foreign ministers' meetings on Phuket, the regime shrugged off even minor suggestions that it could act in a more civilised manner. Its reply was to tell Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to cancel his planned trip to Burma.
There are welcome signs that Burma may have bitten off a bit more than it can chew. Southeast Asian leaders including Mr Abhisit have called for Mrs Suu Kyi's release.
In Washington, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines drew high-level attention to the plight of the Burmese leader. President Barack Obama, who had ordered a full review of harsh sanctions on Burma, has announced those sanctions will remain so long as Mrs Suu Kyi is, literally, under the gun.
The regime at last is finding it difficult to try to be both isolationist and an Asean member. It has earned strong attention recently over secret projects with North Korea, which apparently are nuclear related.
The generals are fighting a battle to hold a sham referendum next year and keep their power. Last Friday, they arrested scores of supporters of Mrs Suu Kyi. Faced with world outrage over the trial, the generals also must fear their own people.
*************************************************************
The Independent - Burma's ruler: brutal, reclusive – and a skilled manipulator
By Benedict Rogers
Monday, 3 August 2009
The man behind Burma's secret nuclear plans, Senior General Than Shwe,is one of the world's most brutal and reclusive dictators. Hidden in his bunker in the newly built capital, Naypyidaw (which means "seat of kings"), his appearances in public are rare and his interactions with the international community unusual.
Aged 76, the former postal clerk became Burma's ruler in 1992, 30 years after the military under Ne Win first seized power. Colourless, uncharismatic and relatively uneducated Than Shwe rose through the ranks by simply obeying orders and showing loyalty. Indeed, his apparent lack of flair, initiative and intellect were precisely the qualities the army rewarded. He was not perceived by his superiors as a threat – and was rewarded accordingly. Far from showing courage or prowess on the battlefield, he led his troops into numerous defeats at the hands of the Communists – but that did not appear to have been a barrier to promotion.
A skilled manipulator, Than Shwe consolidated his power using classic divide-and-rule tactics against his rivals within the regime and his opponents among the democratic and ethnic groups. Trained in psychological warfare in the 1960s, he lectured for a time at Ne Win's Central Party School, so he is steeped in the use of propaganda. Billboards across the country display the regime's message in Orwellian tones.
His regime has relentlessly suppressed pro-democracy activists, while in its long war againt the ethnic minorities it has used forced labour, rape, extra-judicial killings and torture as weapons of war and has overseen the destruction of 3,000 villages. The Burmese junta ranks alongside its new partners North Korea as among the worst abusers of human rights in the world.
Than Shwe is heavily influenced by astrology. In 2005, he announced that he was moving the capital from bustling Rangoon to the middle of the jungle 600 kilometres away. It is believed that he made this decision on the advice of astrologers, although it was also a result of his fear of a US invasion and to protect him against another uprising. He reportedly has at least seven personal astrologers, including several dedicated solely to monitoring the fortunes of imprisoned democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
A new constitution will enshrine military rule, and elections scheduled for next year are expected to be a sham.
By Benedict Rogers
Monday, 3 August 2009
The man behind Burma's secret nuclear plans, Senior General Than Shwe,is one of the world's most brutal and reclusive dictators. Hidden in his bunker in the newly built capital, Naypyidaw (which means "seat of kings"), his appearances in public are rare and his interactions with the international community unusual.
Aged 76, the former postal clerk became Burma's ruler in 1992, 30 years after the military under Ne Win first seized power. Colourless, uncharismatic and relatively uneducated Than Shwe rose through the ranks by simply obeying orders and showing loyalty. Indeed, his apparent lack of flair, initiative and intellect were precisely the qualities the army rewarded. He was not perceived by his superiors as a threat – and was rewarded accordingly. Far from showing courage or prowess on the battlefield, he led his troops into numerous defeats at the hands of the Communists – but that did not appear to have been a barrier to promotion.
A skilled manipulator, Than Shwe consolidated his power using classic divide-and-rule tactics against his rivals within the regime and his opponents among the democratic and ethnic groups. Trained in psychological warfare in the 1960s, he lectured for a time at Ne Win's Central Party School, so he is steeped in the use of propaganda. Billboards across the country display the regime's message in Orwellian tones.
His regime has relentlessly suppressed pro-democracy activists, while in its long war againt the ethnic minorities it has used forced labour, rape, extra-judicial killings and torture as weapons of war and has overseen the destruction of 3,000 villages. The Burmese junta ranks alongside its new partners North Korea as among the worst abusers of human rights in the world.
Than Shwe is heavily influenced by astrology. In 2005, he announced that he was moving the capital from bustling Rangoon to the middle of the jungle 600 kilometres away. It is believed that he made this decision on the advice of astrologers, although it was also a result of his fear of a US invasion and to protect him against another uprising. He reportedly has at least seven personal astrologers, including several dedicated solely to monitoring the fortunes of imprisoned democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
A new constitution will enshrine military rule, and elections scheduled for next year are expected to be a sham.
*************************************************************
The Daily Times - Myanmar refugees' journey brings them to Aztec
By G. Jeff Golden The Daily Times
Posted: 08/03/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT
AZTEC — Aztec residents Saw Mee and Eh Dah first met in a refugee camp on the Thailand-Myanmar border.
Their affable eyes, quick smiles and stylish haircuts betray little about their horrific pasts. The two young men are Karen, an ethnic group in Myanmar that the military government has targeted for genocide since World War II.
Saw Mee, 21, and Eh Dah, 24, came to the United States about a year ago as part of a federal refugee relocation program. They escaped a country rife with slave labor, unwarranted arrests, burned villages, rape and murder. They knew little else.
"Many, many danger," Eh Dah said.
They left their families and homeland behind in 2008 to pursue a peaceful life in the United States. Both first lived in eastern states, but they followed the advice of a mutual friend and moved in May to New Mexico.
Saw Mee and Eh Dah reside in the basement of Animas Valley Community Church and work as part-time dish washers at Aztec Restaurant. They're taking English and computer courses at San Juan College, trying to master skills they hadn't known or needed before last year.
They still speak mostly in tattered, carefully chosen phrases, but their English has progressed enough for them to share their story for the first time.
It's a story of suffering and loss. It's a story of unimaginable violence. But in the end it's a story of a second chance — a second chance for which Saw Mee and Eh Dah have unmasked appreciation.
Genocide
The British colonized Myanmar, formerly Burma, in the late 1800s. For years, larger ethnic groups such as the Burmans had oppressed the Karen and other smaller groups.
The British allowed the Karen equal rights and opportunities, and many Karen took advantage by pursuing education and working government jobs.
Burman resentment of the British grew. The Japanese ousted the British from the region in 1941, and the Burmans unleashed years of pent-up fury on the Karen, who they viewed as British sympathizers.
The genocide had begun. It intensified in the 1960s, when the Myanmar Army overthrew the government and thrust the country into civil war.
The military government, now known as the State Peace and Development Council, remains in power.
The military's strategy is to force Karen villagers out of their homes and into government-controlled areas, where they will work as forced laborers, according to the Karen Human Rights Group. Resistance is met with strict punishment.
This is the world into which Saw Mee and Eh Dah were born. The Karen National Union has a military branch of resistance fighters, but they're almost always outnumbered.
The KNU often employs hit-and-run guerrilla tactics. The Myanmar Army retaliates by punishing the villagers.
"If the Karen soldier fight them, they don't fight the soldiers, they fight just only villagers. They hit villagers," Saw Mee said.
The Myanmar Army has the world's largest population of child soldiers, according to human rights groups.
Both Saw Mee and Eh Dah were forced out of their villages several times during their boyhood. Eh Dah had his village burned and land mines placed in the scattered ashes to deter his people from returning. This tactic is common practice.
"Many, many land mine," Eh Dah said.
The Myanmar troops left Saw Mee's village intact, but the troops were a constant threat. Saw Mee and his family left sometimes for as long as a year before returning home.
"The first time I left, because we have many, many problems in our village. Like a Burmese soldier, they come to our village, like many, many times, and they told the villagers to move to another village. So we have to move to another village, like that," Saw Mee said.
It wasn't as simple as taking up residence in an adjacent community. Displaced Karen leave behind their shelter and sources of nourishment. Saw Mee and his family had to take apart their house and hide the pieces every time they moved, to make sure it wasn't burned, he said.
"We move like that, we have many, many problems. Because if we move to another village we have no land, no garden, no food," Saw Mee said.
The path to freedom
Saw Mee and Eh Dah didn't know each other before they met at a refugee camp near the Thailand-Myanmar border.
Saw Mee went there in 2003, following the advice of his uncle, and Eh Dah traveled there in 2001 with his friend. It took Eh Dah a week to walk through the dense jungle from his village, he said.
They lived in a dormitory at the camp, taking advantage of free schooling provided by aid workers. There they met a group of missionaries from Aztec's Animas Valley Community Church.
The church began sending missionaries in 2003, after Pastor Fritz Polk's daughter visited the region and discovered the Partners Relief and Development program.
"We've gone every year since then. Some years we've gone twice," Polk said.
Through Partners, the Aztec missionaries work in refugee camps administering first aid, teaching school lessons, donating books and delivering essential items like blankets and water.
Saw Mee, Eh Dah and their 19-year-old friend, Eh Khu, sparked a relationship with the Aztec missionaries, but they remained in the camp until the summer of 2008.
The three young Karen men, despite being acquainted, took separate routes to the United States. Eh Dah first went to New Jersey, and Saw Mee ended up on the coast of North Carolina. They worked part-time jobs and received federal refugee assistance in the form of a $182 monthly stipend and food stamps.
Eh Khu is a bit more of a wanderer. He was the first of the three to come to Aztec, arriving in May, following stops in Dallas and Phoenix. He already has moved on, hitching a ride back to Texas.
But not before he called Saw Mee and Eh Dah to tell them about Aztec, and specifically, San Juan College.
"We want to go to school," Saw Mee said. "Eh Khu told me, Saw Mee, if you come here, you can go to school.'"
The pair contacted Polk and his congregation, who remembered them from the refugee camp. Polk offered them a room in the church's basement, and a few days later, Saw Mee and Eh Dah arrived in Aztec.
"It's good, it's fun," Saw Mee said, flashing his ubiquitous smile. "Oh, yes, New Mexico. It's really good."
The American Dream
Saw Mee and Eh Dah are realizing the dream they shared when they left their homeland.
They're living in peace. They're learning English and how to use computers. They have a steady job washing dishes at the Aztec Restaurant.
"The Karen are extremely hard-working people, just amazing. These guys, they'll do the same work as three guys," Polk said.
Most importantly, they have a roof over their heads that they don't have to worry about getting burned down.
The two refugees sleep on mattresses on the floor in the basement of Animas Valley Community Church. The room was decorated before their arrival, but it's fitting. The wall is painted with a scene of a tranquil sunset behind a tropical island, invoking a feeling of peace in those who look upon it.
They have a computer, a couch and a dresser. A white board covering one wall of their room is covered in scribbled words, both in English and Karen. Saw Mee and Eh Dah watch children's TV shows to try to improve their speech and listening comprehension.
Of course, they've had to overcome a few obstacles. Transportation to work and school was one of the first. Not only could they not drive, but they hadn't ever seen a car.
"When we live in (Myanmar), we don't have no car. Never seen," Saw Mee said.
Polk said he and his congregation are going to teach the pair to drive in the coming months. Until then, they're sharing a bicycle and relying on rides from friends.
They're also adjusting to a diet more heavy in meat. Their native jungle lacks game animals, and most of their meals revolved around fish paste, rice and vegetables.
When he took a job at a McDonald's in Morehead City, N.C., it was the first time Saw Mee had seen a hamburger, he said.
But the young men have taken advantage of America's bountiful supply of meat, preparing extravagant Thai meals for the church's congregation.
"These guys are amazing cooks," Polk said.
Both Saw Mee and Eh Dah's families remain in Southeast Asia. Eh Dah's father died of sickness a few years ago, and his mother still lives near the Thailand-Myanmar border.
His only sister lives in peace in Thailand and soon will be married, he said.
Saw Mee's parents, four brothers and one sister remain in his home village inside Myanmar. He rarely gets to communicate with them, one of the few facts that erases the smile from his face.
"In my village, we don't have no phone. But one of my sisters, I can talk to her," Saw Mee said.
His second sister lives in Thailand, and he is in communication with her. He recently sent her a portable music player.
Animas Valley Community Church is accepting donations to aid the two refugees. Polk said a second bicycle, one-on-one tutoring lessons and car rides to school are the most pressing needs.
Members of the congregation also are organizing a rodeo Aug. 7-8 to help kick off the San Juan County Fair. A portion of the proceeds is going to a film crew to make a documentary about the Karen people.
The church is located at 500 Sabena St. in Aztec and can be reached at
(505) 334-0239
.
Saw Mee and Eh Dah both said they'd like to stay in Aztec "for a long time." They plan to return to the Thailand-Myanmar border to visit and to assist in the refugee camps, possibly as translators, but they have no desire to move back.
Unless one condition is met.
"If (Myanmar) was free, I would go back," Saw Mee said.
By G. Jeff Golden The Daily Times
Posted: 08/03/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT
AZTEC — Aztec residents Saw Mee and Eh Dah first met in a refugee camp on the Thailand-Myanmar border.
Their affable eyes, quick smiles and stylish haircuts betray little about their horrific pasts. The two young men are Karen, an ethnic group in Myanmar that the military government has targeted for genocide since World War II.
Saw Mee, 21, and Eh Dah, 24, came to the United States about a year ago as part of a federal refugee relocation program. They escaped a country rife with slave labor, unwarranted arrests, burned villages, rape and murder. They knew little else.
"Many, many danger," Eh Dah said.
They left their families and homeland behind in 2008 to pursue a peaceful life in the United States. Both first lived in eastern states, but they followed the advice of a mutual friend and moved in May to New Mexico.
Saw Mee and Eh Dah reside in the basement of Animas Valley Community Church and work as part-time dish washers at Aztec Restaurant. They're taking English and computer courses at San Juan College, trying to master skills they hadn't known or needed before last year.
They still speak mostly in tattered, carefully chosen phrases, but their English has progressed enough for them to share their story for the first time.
It's a story of suffering and loss. It's a story of unimaginable violence. But in the end it's a story of a second chance — a second chance for which Saw Mee and Eh Dah have unmasked appreciation.
Genocide
The British colonized Myanmar, formerly Burma, in the late 1800s. For years, larger ethnic groups such as the Burmans had oppressed the Karen and other smaller groups.
The British allowed the Karen equal rights and opportunities, and many Karen took advantage by pursuing education and working government jobs.
Burman resentment of the British grew. The Japanese ousted the British from the region in 1941, and the Burmans unleashed years of pent-up fury on the Karen, who they viewed as British sympathizers.
The genocide had begun. It intensified in the 1960s, when the Myanmar Army overthrew the government and thrust the country into civil war.
The military government, now known as the State Peace and Development Council, remains in power.
The military's strategy is to force Karen villagers out of their homes and into government-controlled areas, where they will work as forced laborers, according to the Karen Human Rights Group. Resistance is met with strict punishment.
This is the world into which Saw Mee and Eh Dah were born. The Karen National Union has a military branch of resistance fighters, but they're almost always outnumbered.
The KNU often employs hit-and-run guerrilla tactics. The Myanmar Army retaliates by punishing the villagers.
"If the Karen soldier fight them, they don't fight the soldiers, they fight just only villagers. They hit villagers," Saw Mee said.
The Myanmar Army has the world's largest population of child soldiers, according to human rights groups.
Both Saw Mee and Eh Dah were forced out of their villages several times during their boyhood. Eh Dah had his village burned and land mines placed in the scattered ashes to deter his people from returning. This tactic is common practice.
"Many, many land mine," Eh Dah said.
The Myanmar troops left Saw Mee's village intact, but the troops were a constant threat. Saw Mee and his family left sometimes for as long as a year before returning home.
"The first time I left, because we have many, many problems in our village. Like a Burmese soldier, they come to our village, like many, many times, and they told the villagers to move to another village. So we have to move to another village, like that," Saw Mee said.
It wasn't as simple as taking up residence in an adjacent community. Displaced Karen leave behind their shelter and sources of nourishment. Saw Mee and his family had to take apart their house and hide the pieces every time they moved, to make sure it wasn't burned, he said.
"We move like that, we have many, many problems. Because if we move to another village we have no land, no garden, no food," Saw Mee said.
The path to freedom
Saw Mee and Eh Dah didn't know each other before they met at a refugee camp near the Thailand-Myanmar border.
Saw Mee went there in 2003, following the advice of his uncle, and Eh Dah traveled there in 2001 with his friend. It took Eh Dah a week to walk through the dense jungle from his village, he said.
They lived in a dormitory at the camp, taking advantage of free schooling provided by aid workers. There they met a group of missionaries from Aztec's Animas Valley Community Church.
The church began sending missionaries in 2003, after Pastor Fritz Polk's daughter visited the region and discovered the Partners Relief and Development program.
"We've gone every year since then. Some years we've gone twice," Polk said.
Through Partners, the Aztec missionaries work in refugee camps administering first aid, teaching school lessons, donating books and delivering essential items like blankets and water.
Saw Mee, Eh Dah and their 19-year-old friend, Eh Khu, sparked a relationship with the Aztec missionaries, but they remained in the camp until the summer of 2008.
The three young Karen men, despite being acquainted, took separate routes to the United States. Eh Dah first went to New Jersey, and Saw Mee ended up on the coast of North Carolina. They worked part-time jobs and received federal refugee assistance in the form of a $182 monthly stipend and food stamps.
Eh Khu is a bit more of a wanderer. He was the first of the three to come to Aztec, arriving in May, following stops in Dallas and Phoenix. He already has moved on, hitching a ride back to Texas.
But not before he called Saw Mee and Eh Dah to tell them about Aztec, and specifically, San Juan College.
"We want to go to school," Saw Mee said. "Eh Khu told me, Saw Mee, if you come here, you can go to school.'"
The pair contacted Polk and his congregation, who remembered them from the refugee camp. Polk offered them a room in the church's basement, and a few days later, Saw Mee and Eh Dah arrived in Aztec.
"It's good, it's fun," Saw Mee said, flashing his ubiquitous smile. "Oh, yes, New Mexico. It's really good."
The American Dream
Saw Mee and Eh Dah are realizing the dream they shared when they left their homeland.
They're living in peace. They're learning English and how to use computers. They have a steady job washing dishes at the Aztec Restaurant.
"The Karen are extremely hard-working people, just amazing. These guys, they'll do the same work as three guys," Polk said.
Most importantly, they have a roof over their heads that they don't have to worry about getting burned down.
The two refugees sleep on mattresses on the floor in the basement of Animas Valley Community Church. The room was decorated before their arrival, but it's fitting. The wall is painted with a scene of a tranquil sunset behind a tropical island, invoking a feeling of peace in those who look upon it.
They have a computer, a couch and a dresser. A white board covering one wall of their room is covered in scribbled words, both in English and Karen. Saw Mee and Eh Dah watch children's TV shows to try to improve their speech and listening comprehension.
Of course, they've had to overcome a few obstacles. Transportation to work and school was one of the first. Not only could they not drive, but they hadn't ever seen a car.
"When we live in (Myanmar), we don't have no car. Never seen," Saw Mee said.
Polk said he and his congregation are going to teach the pair to drive in the coming months. Until then, they're sharing a bicycle and relying on rides from friends.
They're also adjusting to a diet more heavy in meat. Their native jungle lacks game animals, and most of their meals revolved around fish paste, rice and vegetables.
When he took a job at a McDonald's in Morehead City, N.C., it was the first time Saw Mee had seen a hamburger, he said.
But the young men have taken advantage of America's bountiful supply of meat, preparing extravagant Thai meals for the church's congregation.
"These guys are amazing cooks," Polk said.
Both Saw Mee and Eh Dah's families remain in Southeast Asia. Eh Dah's father died of sickness a few years ago, and his mother still lives near the Thailand-Myanmar border.
His only sister lives in peace in Thailand and soon will be married, he said.
Saw Mee's parents, four brothers and one sister remain in his home village inside Myanmar. He rarely gets to communicate with them, one of the few facts that erases the smile from his face.
"In my village, we don't have no phone. But one of my sisters, I can talk to her," Saw Mee said.
His second sister lives in Thailand, and he is in communication with her. He recently sent her a portable music player.
Animas Valley Community Church is accepting donations to aid the two refugees. Polk said a second bicycle, one-on-one tutoring lessons and car rides to school are the most pressing needs.
Members of the congregation also are organizing a rodeo Aug. 7-8 to help kick off the San Juan County Fair. A portion of the proceeds is going to a film crew to make a documentary about the Karen people.
The church is located at 500 Sabena St. in Aztec and can be reached at
(505) 334-0239.Saw Mee and Eh Dah both said they'd like to stay in Aztec "for a long time." They plan to return to the Thailand-Myanmar border to visit and to assist in the refugee camps, possibly as translators, but they have no desire to move back.
Unless one condition is met.
"If (Myanmar) was free, I would go back," Saw Mee said.
*************************************************************
Aug 1, 2009
The Straits Times - Ban met Myanmar envoy
UNITED NATIONS - UN CHIEF Ban Ki Moon pressed for the immediate release of detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi during a meeting with Myanmar's UN ambassador ahead of the verdict in her trial, a UN spokesman said on Friday.
Farhan Haq told reporters that Mr Ban met with Ambassador Than Swe on Thursday and 'reiterated his clear expectation and that of the international community that the government of Myanmar (will) give careful consideration to the implication of any verdict in the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and exercise its responsibility to ensure her immediate release'.
Myanmar's junta has kept Ms Suu Kyi in detention for nearly 14 of the past 20 years, since it refused to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in elections in 1990.
In his meeting with Mr Than Swe, Mr Ban also reiterated the international community's expectation that the military regime 'will act in Myanmar's interest by taking timely and positive steps' in following up specific proposals he made during his recent visit there, 'starting with the release of all political prisoners'.
Mr Haq said the UN secretary general was informed during the meeting that the verdict in Ms Suu Kyi's trial was being postponed.
Earlier on Friday, a Myanmar court postponed its verdict in the trial until Aug 11, adding to uncertainty over the ruling junta's plans for the democracy icon.
Lawyers for the Nobel laureate said the judges announced they needed time to review the case, in which Ms Suu Kyi faces up to five years in jail on charges of violating her house arrest after an American swam to her lakeside home.
Earlier this month, Mr Than Swe told the Security Council that his government preparing an amnesty for some political prisoners after Mr Ban demanded the release of key political detainees ahead of national polls planned for next year.
But Myanmar's state media is yet to confirm the prisoner release and in the most recent amnesty, in February, only a handful of political detainees were among the 6,300 prisoners let out. -- AFP
The Straits Times - Ban met Myanmar envoy
UNITED NATIONS - UN CHIEF Ban Ki Moon pressed for the immediate release of detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi during a meeting with Myanmar's UN ambassador ahead of the verdict in her trial, a UN spokesman said on Friday.
Farhan Haq told reporters that Mr Ban met with Ambassador Than Swe on Thursday and 'reiterated his clear expectation and that of the international community that the government of Myanmar (will) give careful consideration to the implication of any verdict in the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and exercise its responsibility to ensure her immediate release'.
Myanmar's junta has kept Ms Suu Kyi in detention for nearly 14 of the past 20 years, since it refused to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in elections in 1990.
In his meeting with Mr Than Swe, Mr Ban also reiterated the international community's expectation that the military regime 'will act in Myanmar's interest by taking timely and positive steps' in following up specific proposals he made during his recent visit there, 'starting with the release of all political prisoners'.
Mr Haq said the UN secretary general was informed during the meeting that the verdict in Ms Suu Kyi's trial was being postponed.
Earlier on Friday, a Myanmar court postponed its verdict in the trial until Aug 11, adding to uncertainty over the ruling junta's plans for the democracy icon.
Lawyers for the Nobel laureate said the judges announced they needed time to review the case, in which Ms Suu Kyi faces up to five years in jail on charges of violating her house arrest after an American swam to her lakeside home.
Earlier this month, Mr Than Swe told the Security Council that his government preparing an amnesty for some political prisoners after Mr Ban demanded the release of key political detainees ahead of national polls planned for next year.
But Myanmar's state media is yet to confirm the prisoner release and in the most recent amnesty, in February, only a handful of political detainees were among the 6,300 prisoners let out. -- AFP
*************************************************************
Saturday, August 1, 2009
The Irish Times - A light that will not go out
JOE HUMPHREYS
PROFILE: AUNG SAN SUU KYI She is an international symbol of integrity, exhalted by celebrities worldwide – but some question whether her unbending stance is, in fact, the right path for Burma’s democracy movement
THE SIGHT of scores of U2 fans in Croke Park last weekend wearing cardboard masks of Aung San Suu Kyi was surreal, to say the least.
There are, internationally, few more deserving causes than that championed by this elegant, courageous Burmese pro-democracy leader.
Yet it is hard to imagine that the generals who have imprisoned her, and who continue to murder and persecute her supporters with impunity, will lose any sleep over something a rock band tells its fans to do.
Similarly, there will have been few reverberations in Rangoon from the announcement on Monday that Suu Kyi is the recipient of Amnesty International’s new Ambassador of Conscience Award.
The award-winner’s mantelpiece is already creaking under the weight of worthy gongs, including a Nobel Peace Prize from 1991 and the Freedom of Dublin City from 2000 (the latter being shared with U2, who released Walk On in her honour the following year).
She has an army of celebrity endorsers, from Jennifer Aniston to Ricky Gervais. But to what end? For 14 of the past 20 years, she has been in detention, while the generals – now led by the crusty Than Shwe – have tightened their grip on a terrified population.
They have railroaded in a new constitution, created a grassroots, Stasi-like police force and are building a new capital city, funding by growing business ties with regional allies, especially China.
Could Suu Kyi herself be holding back political progress? To ask this question just a few years ago would be seen as treacherous. But today, doubts are being voiced about the effectiveness of the imprisoned leader’s rigid campaigning stance and her reliance specifically on the twin pillars of non-violent resistance and international sanctions in order to bring about change.
A new generation of student activists has emerged that is less ideologically-driven. More significantly, elements within the National League for Democracy (NLD), the organisation she leads, have questioned her political nous and ability to adapt to events. In some western diplomatic circles, there is parallel concern that a cult surrounding her – or “the Lady”, as she is also known – could be accelerating Burma’s isolation, leaving it prey to unscrupulous sponsors.
Last week, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said that she was worried about military links between Burma and North Korea, after evidence emerged that the junta may be trying to acquire nuclear technology from Pyongyang. Countries such as India, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea are also creating business ties with the generals, as western governments – with France the main exception – pull out of Burma’s oil and gas industries under international trade embargoes.
To blame Suu Kyi, 64, for any of this, however, seems entirely unfair. Daw Suu, as she is affectionately known to her people, has no power beyond her formidable moral authority. Denied her basic rights, she also has little or no control over her fate. Worse still, she now faces a prison sentence of up to five years for violating the terms of her house arrest after an American man turned up at her home uninvited after swimming across a lake. The verdict in her widely condemned trial had been expected yesterday, but was adjourned until August 11th.
While there is no happy ending in sight, Suu Kyi’s life story reads like an epic. Her father, Aung San, founded the independence movement “We Burmese”, part modelled – he later revealed — on Sinn Fein. The Bogyoke (big leader) closely followed independence struggles in India and Ireland, and wrote favourably of Eamon de Valera and Michael Collins. In 1947, Aung San negotiated Burma’s independence from the UK. He was assassinated by rivals the same year, when his daughter was just two years old.
After some years in the political wilderness, Suu Kyi’s mother was persuaded to take up a role in the Burmese government, and in 1960 was appointed the country’s ambassador to India. Suu Kyi lived with her mother in India before travelling to the UK to continue her education.
Friends at Oxford typically described her as self-composed and unfailingly upright. She taught herself to punt on the river, and once tasted alcohol in a subversive operation in the ladies’ toilets – then vowed never to drink the stuff again.
While vacationing from Oxford, she stayed with the aristocratic Gore-Booths in their Chelsea townhouse in London, and it was here she met Michael Aris, a tall, tousle-haired scholar and expert in Tibetan studies. In 1972, she renounced her pledge to only ever marry a Burmese: Aris and she became husband and wife.
From her time in England, there was no indication of Suu Kyi’s steely reserves and her leadership qualities. She lived a relatively pampered existence in upper-class circles, and even spoke Burmese with an English accent. What chance did she have of playing a role in her country’s politics?
In 1988, she returned to Burma to nurse her ailing mother – coincidentally, at a time when decades of simmering discontent with the ruling military was just boiling over.
At least 3,000 civilians were gunned down or hacked to death by Burmese soldiers as they protested on the streets. The people cried out for a new leader and Suu Kyi – who had always harboured a quiet patriotism and sense of public duty – agreed to address a demonstration on the grounds of the Shwedagon pagoda that presides over Rangoon.
On August 26th, 1998, a crowd estimated at between 300,000 and one million heard her declare: “I could not, as my father’s daughter, remain indifferent to all that is going on. The national crisis could in fact be called the second struggle for national independence.”
In his critically-acclaimed biography of Suu Kyi, Perfect Hostage , Justin Wintle notes that “she projected herself as a sort of oriental Mary Poppins. Those who were well acquainted with her knew of her skittish humour and her capacity for laughter; but ‘on duty’, such qualities were not just rationed, they were banished.”
Tales of her heroism – including facing down soldiers at gunpoint — as she campaigned in the 1990 elections were legend. When her victory in the poll was annulled by the military, she began a new life as a political prisoner. In the process, she was separated from her husband and their children Alexander and Kim. When Aris was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the Burmese government refused him a visa to visit his wife, and he died in 1999, thousands of miles away.
They were “desperate” to be reunited at the time, Aris’ sister Lucinda Phillips – one of Suu Kyi’s closest friends in England – recalled this week. Asked whether her sister-in-law ever considered travelling to see Aris in his final days and run the risk of being refused re-entry to Burma, Phillips replied: “No, never. Michael would not have allowed it.”
Since her last period of detention began in May 2003, Suu Kyi has been denied any contact with the outside world and is prohibited from making any public statements. In the vacuum, some opponents have surfaced, including the charismatic founder of the Free Burma Coalition, Dr Maung Zarni. In 2005, he renounced his political asylum in the US and returned to Burma to attempt to broker a deal with the military, denouncing the NLD’s pre-conditioning stance.
More recently, activists have questioned whether Suu Kyi’s religiosity and intransigence may be working against them. An essay in the Guardian last year with the headline
“Not such a hero after all” quoted an unnamed elder figure in the democracy movement stating: “If Suu Kyi has a plan to end 20 years of political deadlock, only she knows it.”
One of her spokesmen did not deny disagreements in the movement, but claimed “this critical tendency is a sign of rude health”.
More recently, activists have fallen out over whether to maintain a tourism boycott, as recommended by Suu Kyi, and also whether to encourage international aid for reconstruction after Cyclone Nargis.
Aung Naing Oo, a leader in the 1988 student uprisings and prominent activist in exile, told the Irrawaddy news publication last year that, for the NLD to make progress “we seriously need to do some soul searching. We need a result-oriented way of thinking about how to proceed”.
In an implied criticism of Suu Kyi and other leaders, he added: “I think our politicians are naïve and no more than activists. They don’t know how to take power and they have no strategic policies.”
No one denies Suu Kyi’s bravery and integrity. Even Dr Maung conceded: “Fifty years hence, there will be a statue of her in every Burmese township”.
CV AUNG SAN SUU KYI
Who is she? Leading figure of Burma’s democracy movement
Why she’s in the news: Has been on trial for the “crime” of breaching the terms of her house arrest, and this week she was named Amnesty’s Ambassador of Conscience
Most likely to say: “As long as even one person remains in Burma who is not going to give up, then I am not going to leave that person and abandon the cause for my own peace of mind” (said in 1998)
Least likely to say: “Take up arms!”
Least appealing characteristic: She attracts much tokenistic support
Most appealing characteristic: She scares bullies
The Irish Times - A light that will not go out
JOE HUMPHREYS
PROFILE: AUNG SAN SUU KYI She is an international symbol of integrity, exhalted by celebrities worldwide – but some question whether her unbending stance is, in fact, the right path for Burma’s democracy movement
THE SIGHT of scores of U2 fans in Croke Park last weekend wearing cardboard masks of Aung San Suu Kyi was surreal, to say the least.
There are, internationally, few more deserving causes than that championed by this elegant, courageous Burmese pro-democracy leader.
Yet it is hard to imagine that the generals who have imprisoned her, and who continue to murder and persecute her supporters with impunity, will lose any sleep over something a rock band tells its fans to do.
Similarly, there will have been few reverberations in Rangoon from the announcement on Monday that Suu Kyi is the recipient of Amnesty International’s new Ambassador of Conscience Award.
The award-winner’s mantelpiece is already creaking under the weight of worthy gongs, including a Nobel Peace Prize from 1991 and the Freedom of Dublin City from 2000 (the latter being shared with U2, who released Walk On in her honour the following year).
She has an army of celebrity endorsers, from Jennifer Aniston to Ricky Gervais. But to what end? For 14 of the past 20 years, she has been in detention, while the generals – now led by the crusty Than Shwe – have tightened their grip on a terrified population.
They have railroaded in a new constitution, created a grassroots, Stasi-like police force and are building a new capital city, funding by growing business ties with regional allies, especially China.
Could Suu Kyi herself be holding back political progress? To ask this question just a few years ago would be seen as treacherous. But today, doubts are being voiced about the effectiveness of the imprisoned leader’s rigid campaigning stance and her reliance specifically on the twin pillars of non-violent resistance and international sanctions in order to bring about change.
A new generation of student activists has emerged that is less ideologically-driven. More significantly, elements within the National League for Democracy (NLD), the organisation she leads, have questioned her political nous and ability to adapt to events. In some western diplomatic circles, there is parallel concern that a cult surrounding her – or “the Lady”, as she is also known – could be accelerating Burma’s isolation, leaving it prey to unscrupulous sponsors.
Last week, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said that she was worried about military links between Burma and North Korea, after evidence emerged that the junta may be trying to acquire nuclear technology from Pyongyang. Countries such as India, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea are also creating business ties with the generals, as western governments – with France the main exception – pull out of Burma’s oil and gas industries under international trade embargoes.
To blame Suu Kyi, 64, for any of this, however, seems entirely unfair. Daw Suu, as she is affectionately known to her people, has no power beyond her formidable moral authority. Denied her basic rights, she also has little or no control over her fate. Worse still, she now faces a prison sentence of up to five years for violating the terms of her house arrest after an American man turned up at her home uninvited after swimming across a lake. The verdict in her widely condemned trial had been expected yesterday, but was adjourned until August 11th.
While there is no happy ending in sight, Suu Kyi’s life story reads like an epic. Her father, Aung San, founded the independence movement “We Burmese”, part modelled – he later revealed — on Sinn Fein. The Bogyoke (big leader) closely followed independence struggles in India and Ireland, and wrote favourably of Eamon de Valera and Michael Collins. In 1947, Aung San negotiated Burma’s independence from the UK. He was assassinated by rivals the same year, when his daughter was just two years old.
After some years in the political wilderness, Suu Kyi’s mother was persuaded to take up a role in the Burmese government, and in 1960 was appointed the country’s ambassador to India. Suu Kyi lived with her mother in India before travelling to the UK to continue her education.
Friends at Oxford typically described her as self-composed and unfailingly upright. She taught herself to punt on the river, and once tasted alcohol in a subversive operation in the ladies’ toilets – then vowed never to drink the stuff again.
While vacationing from Oxford, she stayed with the aristocratic Gore-Booths in their Chelsea townhouse in London, and it was here she met Michael Aris, a tall, tousle-haired scholar and expert in Tibetan studies. In 1972, she renounced her pledge to only ever marry a Burmese: Aris and she became husband and wife.
From her time in England, there was no indication of Suu Kyi’s steely reserves and her leadership qualities. She lived a relatively pampered existence in upper-class circles, and even spoke Burmese with an English accent. What chance did she have of playing a role in her country’s politics?
In 1988, she returned to Burma to nurse her ailing mother – coincidentally, at a time when decades of simmering discontent with the ruling military was just boiling over.
At least 3,000 civilians were gunned down or hacked to death by Burmese soldiers as they protested on the streets. The people cried out for a new leader and Suu Kyi – who had always harboured a quiet patriotism and sense of public duty – agreed to address a demonstration on the grounds of the Shwedagon pagoda that presides over Rangoon.
On August 26th, 1998, a crowd estimated at between 300,000 and one million heard her declare: “I could not, as my father’s daughter, remain indifferent to all that is going on. The national crisis could in fact be called the second struggle for national independence.”
In his critically-acclaimed biography of Suu Kyi, Perfect Hostage , Justin Wintle notes that “she projected herself as a sort of oriental Mary Poppins. Those who were well acquainted with her knew of her skittish humour and her capacity for laughter; but ‘on duty’, such qualities were not just rationed, they were banished.”
Tales of her heroism – including facing down soldiers at gunpoint — as she campaigned in the 1990 elections were legend. When her victory in the poll was annulled by the military, she began a new life as a political prisoner. In the process, she was separated from her husband and their children Alexander and Kim. When Aris was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the Burmese government refused him a visa to visit his wife, and he died in 1999, thousands of miles away.
They were “desperate” to be reunited at the time, Aris’ sister Lucinda Phillips – one of Suu Kyi’s closest friends in England – recalled this week. Asked whether her sister-in-law ever considered travelling to see Aris in his final days and run the risk of being refused re-entry to Burma, Phillips replied: “No, never. Michael would not have allowed it.”
Since her last period of detention began in May 2003, Suu Kyi has been denied any contact with the outside world and is prohibited from making any public statements. In the vacuum, some opponents have surfaced, including the charismatic founder of the Free Burma Coalition, Dr Maung Zarni. In 2005, he renounced his political asylum in the US and returned to Burma to attempt to broker a deal with the military, denouncing the NLD’s pre-conditioning stance.
More recently, activists have questioned whether Suu Kyi’s religiosity and intransigence may be working against them. An essay in the Guardian last year with the headline
“Not such a hero after all” quoted an unnamed elder figure in the democracy movement stating: “If Suu Kyi has a plan to end 20 years of political deadlock, only she knows it.”
One of her spokesmen did not deny disagreements in the movement, but claimed “this critical tendency is a sign of rude health”.
More recently, activists have fallen out over whether to maintain a tourism boycott, as recommended by Suu Kyi, and also whether to encourage international aid for reconstruction after Cyclone Nargis.
Aung Naing Oo, a leader in the 1988 student uprisings and prominent activist in exile, told the Irrawaddy news publication last year that, for the NLD to make progress “we seriously need to do some soul searching. We need a result-oriented way of thinking about how to proceed”.
In an implied criticism of Suu Kyi and other leaders, he added: “I think our politicians are naïve and no more than activists. They don’t know how to take power and they have no strategic policies.”
No one denies Suu Kyi’s bravery and integrity. Even Dr Maung conceded: “Fifty years hence, there will be a statue of her in every Burmese township”.
CV AUNG SAN SUU KYI
Who is she? Leading figure of Burma’s democracy movement
Why she’s in the news: Has been on trial for the “crime” of breaching the terms of her house arrest, and this week she was named Amnesty’s Ambassador of Conscience
Most likely to say: “As long as even one person remains in Burma who is not going to give up, then I am not going to leave that person and abandon the cause for my own peace of mind” (said in 1998)
Least likely to say: “Take up arms!”
Least appealing characteristic: She attracts much tokenistic support
Most appealing characteristic: She scares bullies
*************************************************************
August 03, 2009 17:52 PM
Myanmar To Hold Orchid Show To Promote Tourism
YANGON, Aug 3 (Bernama) -- An orchid show will be held in Nyaungshwe, one of Myanmar's tourist sites in the country's Shan state in early April next year, in an effort to promote its tourism industry, China's Xinhua news agency reported quoting the Ministry of Hotel and Tourism as saying Monday.
The orchids from Nyaungshwe, Inlay and its surrounding areas will mainly be on display at the show, the sources said, adding that, the booths will be decorated in traditional style, displaying other famous tourists-attracted products from the region.
It will be the second of its kind and the first one was held in Inlay, one of the country's famous tourist sites, in March this year.
Inlay region is well known for its outstanding natural beauty as some villages sitting on floating islands. Colorful hill tribes inhabit in surrounding fertile valleys and forested mountaintops and their hand-woven silks are a specialty of the region.
Meanwhile, Myanmar also conducted research on orchid in cooperation with Austrian plant experts at the Phonkanyarzi Mountain in March this year.
Moreover, in December last year, Myanmar inaugurated an orchid garden in Pyin Oo Lwin township, northern part of the country.
The garden, which is claimed as the largest in Myanmar and an international-level one, is located in the famous botanical National Kandawkyi Garden (NKG) in Mandalay division.
The garden showcases 304 kinds of domestic orchids as well as foreign ones imported from Australia, Vietnam, China and Thailand.
Statistics show that there is a total of over 800 species of orchids in Myanmar.
Myanmar To Hold Orchid Show To Promote Tourism
YANGON, Aug 3 (Bernama) -- An orchid show will be held in Nyaungshwe, one of Myanmar's tourist sites in the country's Shan state in early April next year, in an effort to promote its tourism industry, China's Xinhua news agency reported quoting the Ministry of Hotel and Tourism as saying Monday.
The orchids from Nyaungshwe, Inlay and its surrounding areas will mainly be on display at the show, the sources said, adding that, the booths will be decorated in traditional style, displaying other famous tourists-attracted products from the region.
It will be the second of its kind and the first one was held in Inlay, one of the country's famous tourist sites, in March this year.
Inlay region is well known for its outstanding natural beauty as some villages sitting on floating islands. Colorful hill tribes inhabit in surrounding fertile valleys and forested mountaintops and their hand-woven silks are a specialty of the region.
Meanwhile, Myanmar also conducted research on orchid in cooperation with Austrian plant experts at the Phonkanyarzi Mountain in March this year.
Moreover, in December last year, Myanmar inaugurated an orchid garden in Pyin Oo Lwin township, northern part of the country.
The garden, which is claimed as the largest in Myanmar and an international-level one, is located in the famous botanical National Kandawkyi Garden (NKG) in Mandalay division.
The garden showcases 304 kinds of domestic orchids as well as foreign ones imported from Australia, Vietnam, China and Thailand.
Statistics show that there is a total of over 800 species of orchids in Myanmar.
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Myanmar to participate in China-ASEAN trade fair
www.chinaview.cn 2009-08-03 21:08:36
YANGON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Businessmen from Myanmar will take part in the 6th China-ASEAN trade fair to be held in Nanning, capital of Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in October this year to seek expansion of international market.
The five-day Nanning Trade Fair, scheduled for Oct. 20 to 24, will showcase Myanmar products in 100 booths, according to the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) Monday.
In the last 5th China-ASEAN trade fair, Myanmar won the best booth award.
Besides, the country also won the best organizer award in the China-ASEAN-South Asia Kunming Import and Export Commodities Fair held in Kunming, Yunnan province of China in June.
Forest products, agricultural produces, marine products and food stuff were put on display by the UMFCCI and the Muse-Namkham Border Trade Merchants' Association.
In December last year, a three-day Myanmar-China border trade fair, which was the 8th of its kind, was held in the Muse 105th Mile Border Trade Zone on the Myanmar side.
Muse border trade point stands the biggest out of 11 with neighboring countries, where 70 percent of Myanmar's border trade are carried out.
According to Chinese official statistics, China-Myanmar bilateral trade amounted to 2.626 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, up26.4 percent. Of the total, China's export to Myanmar took 1.978 billion dollars.
Up to the end of 2008, China's contracted investment in Myanmar reached 1.331 billion dollars, of which that in mining, electric power and oil and gas respectively took 866 million dollars, 281 million dollars and 124 million dollars.
China now stands the 4th in Myanmar's foreign investment line-up.
China's Nanning and Myanmar's Yangon established friendship city relationship in July this year.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-08-03 21:08:36
YANGON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Businessmen from Myanmar will take part in the 6th China-ASEAN trade fair to be held in Nanning, capital of Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in October this year to seek expansion of international market.
The five-day Nanning Trade Fair, scheduled for Oct. 20 to 24, will showcase Myanmar products in 100 booths, according to the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) Monday.
In the last 5th China-ASEAN trade fair, Myanmar won the best booth award.
Besides, the country also won the best organizer award in the China-ASEAN-South Asia Kunming Import and Export Commodities Fair held in Kunming, Yunnan province of China in June.
Forest products, agricultural produces, marine products and food stuff were put on display by the UMFCCI and the Muse-Namkham Border Trade Merchants' Association.
In December last year, a three-day Myanmar-China border trade fair, which was the 8th of its kind, was held in the Muse 105th Mile Border Trade Zone on the Myanmar side.
Muse border trade point stands the biggest out of 11 with neighboring countries, where 70 percent of Myanmar's border trade are carried out.
According to Chinese official statistics, China-Myanmar bilateral trade amounted to 2.626 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, up26.4 percent. Of the total, China's export to Myanmar took 1.978 billion dollars.
Up to the end of 2008, China's contracted investment in Myanmar reached 1.331 billion dollars, of which that in mining, electric power and oil and gas respectively took 866 million dollars, 281 million dollars and 124 million dollars.
China now stands the 4th in Myanmar's foreign investment line-up.
China's Nanning and Myanmar's Yangon established friendship city relationship in July this year.
*************************************************************
Myanmar bans nearly dozen brands of imported edible oil
www.chinaview.cn 2009-08-02 20:22:36
YANGON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Myanmar Health Ministry has banned some 11 brands of imported edible oil for dyeing with chemicals which do not conform to the health standard, the local weekly Flower News reported Sunday.
Such brands of edible oil imported across border from Thailand and Malaysia as Sakura, Golding Oil, Fisherman, One Prawn, Fried Fish, Crab, Water Dragon, Red Star, Yellow Star and Green Star are being searched in the markets for confiscation.
These brands of edible oil are said to have been reproduced from cooked oil and dyed with colored chemicals threatening to create cancer, the report said.
According to the authorities, 2,000 viss (3.3 tons) of such imported edible oil have been seized.
Over the past four months, the Myanmar health authorities also banned 101 kinds of fish paste and 100 brands of pickled tealeaves on sale in the markets for finding chemical dye, Auramine O.
The authorities destroyed a total of about 24.7 tons of chemical-dyed fish paste in Yangon and about 240 kilograms of chemical-dyed pickled tealeaves in Mandalay during the period.
The authorities also banned some four brands of dyed chili powder on sale in markets in Mandalay for finding chemical dye Rhodamine B of red color as well as another four more brands of ready-made fish paste after testing that they contained the chemical dye used for coloring silk, cotton, paper and leather, and for screening diseases in laboratory, according to earlier official report.
Myanmar imported 298.14 million U.S. dollars worth of vegetable oil and other hydrogenated oil in the fiscal year of 2008-09 which ended in March, up from 195.8 million dollars in the previous year, figures showed.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-08-02 20:22:36
YANGON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Myanmar Health Ministry has banned some 11 brands of imported edible oil for dyeing with chemicals which do not conform to the health standard, the local weekly Flower News reported Sunday.
Such brands of edible oil imported across border from Thailand and Malaysia as Sakura, Golding Oil, Fisherman, One Prawn, Fried Fish, Crab, Water Dragon, Red Star, Yellow Star and Green Star are being searched in the markets for confiscation.
These brands of edible oil are said to have been reproduced from cooked oil and dyed with colored chemicals threatening to create cancer, the report said.
According to the authorities, 2,000 viss (3.3 tons) of such imported edible oil have been seized.
Over the past four months, the Myanmar health authorities also banned 101 kinds of fish paste and 100 brands of pickled tealeaves on sale in the markets for finding chemical dye, Auramine O.
The authorities destroyed a total of about 24.7 tons of chemical-dyed fish paste in Yangon and about 240 kilograms of chemical-dyed pickled tealeaves in Mandalay during the period.
The authorities also banned some four brands of dyed chili powder on sale in markets in Mandalay for finding chemical dye Rhodamine B of red color as well as another four more brands of ready-made fish paste after testing that they contained the chemical dye used for coloring silk, cotton, paper and leather, and for screening diseases in laboratory, according to earlier official report.
Myanmar imported 298.14 million U.S. dollars worth of vegetable oil and other hydrogenated oil in the fiscal year of 2008-09 which ended in March, up from 195.8 million dollars in the previous year, figures showed.
*************************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Suu Kyi Questions Burma’s Judiciary, Constitution
By WAI MOE - Monday, August 3, 2009
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said at her recent trial that the charges against her over the American intruder bring into question Burma’s judiciary and constitution, according a statement by her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), on Monday.
Suu Kyi reportedly said at the trial on July 24 that unless Burmese courts did something about her current period of detention, the current charge against her—harboring American intruder John W Yettaw—could not be examined correctly and completely.
“Equally critical is the principle that justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done, clearly and unequivocally,” she said in the statement before the court.
She said that in Burma, there is misuse of the definition of the word “constitution,” which calls into question “the credibility of the government’s dignity.”
In her statement, Suu Kyi said that Yettaw entered her compound that she acted carefully so as not to endanger the intruder and the security guards who were responsible for preventing people from entering her compound.
On Friday, the Rangoon Northern District Court postponed the verdict on Suu Kyi until August 11. The court said it had postponed the date of the verdict because the judges needed to review the law.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, who has been detained for nearly 14 of the past 20 years, could face up to five years’ imprisonment if the court finds her guilty of illegally harboring the American.
By WAI MOE - Monday, August 3, 2009
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said at her recent trial that the charges against her over the American intruder bring into question Burma’s judiciary and constitution, according a statement by her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), on Monday.
Suu Kyi reportedly said at the trial on July 24 that unless Burmese courts did something about her current period of detention, the current charge against her—harboring American intruder John W Yettaw—could not be examined correctly and completely.
“Equally critical is the principle that justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done, clearly and unequivocally,” she said in the statement before the court.
She said that in Burma, there is misuse of the definition of the word “constitution,” which calls into question “the credibility of the government’s dignity.”
In her statement, Suu Kyi said that Yettaw entered her compound that she acted carefully so as not to endanger the intruder and the security guards who were responsible for preventing people from entering her compound.
On Friday, the Rangoon Northern District Court postponed the verdict on Suu Kyi until August 11. The court said it had postponed the date of the verdict because the judges needed to review the law.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, who has been detained for nearly 14 of the past 20 years, could face up to five years’ imprisonment if the court finds her guilty of illegally harboring the American.
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The Irrawaddy - Singapore Foreign Minister Challenged Over Burma Remarks
By WAI MOE - Monday, August 3, 2009
Remarks on Burma by Singapore’s Foreign Minister George Yeo have raised eyebrows in Burmese exile circles.
In an interview with Singapore’s Online Citizen, Yeo made several wrong statements on Burma, leading to questions about the depth of his knowledge of that country.
In the most blatant of the errors, Yeo said Burma had been ruled by the military since independence. “Only the military could hold the country together,” he said.
In fact, post-independence Burma enjoyed democratic government until 1962, when Gen Ne Win’s coup introduced military rule.
Yeo was also wrong in telling the Online Citizen that independence hero Aung San had created the law that a Burmese citizen who married a foreigner could not take political office.
The law could be used to bar his daughter Aung San Suu Kyi from ever becoming Burma’s president.
In fact, Aung San did not introduce the law. According to Burma’s first constitution of 1947, the president of Burma has to be at least second generation Burmese.
“No person shall be eligible for election to the office of President unless he is a citizen of the Union who was, or both of whose parents were, born in any of the territories included within the Union,” according to the 1947 constitution.
And to be a qualified member of parliament, the constitution noted that, “Any person who is under any acknowledgment of allegiance or adherence to a foreign Power, or is a subject or citizen or entitled to the rights and privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign Power shall be disqualified for being chosen as and for being member of either Chamber.”
An application by Suu Kyi to be accepted as a candidate in the 1990 election was rejected on the grounds she had married a British scholar, Michael Aris.
“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was accused three things, one of them being that she was not qualified because she married to a foreigner,” said Moe Zaw Oo, a leader of the National League for Democracy (Youth) in the 1990s who closely worked with Suu Kyi before she was put under house arrest in 1989.
In the Online Citizen interview, Yeo also said that the problems of Burma must not be oversimplified. They were very complex because of ethnic diversity, he said.
By WAI MOE - Monday, August 3, 2009
Remarks on Burma by Singapore’s Foreign Minister George Yeo have raised eyebrows in Burmese exile circles.
In an interview with Singapore’s Online Citizen, Yeo made several wrong statements on Burma, leading to questions about the depth of his knowledge of that country.
In the most blatant of the errors, Yeo said Burma had been ruled by the military since independence. “Only the military could hold the country together,” he said.
In fact, post-independence Burma enjoyed democratic government until 1962, when Gen Ne Win’s coup introduced military rule.
Yeo was also wrong in telling the Online Citizen that independence hero Aung San had created the law that a Burmese citizen who married a foreigner could not take political office.
The law could be used to bar his daughter Aung San Suu Kyi from ever becoming Burma’s president.
In fact, Aung San did not introduce the law. According to Burma’s first constitution of 1947, the president of Burma has to be at least second generation Burmese.
“No person shall be eligible for election to the office of President unless he is a citizen of the Union who was, or both of whose parents were, born in any of the territories included within the Union,” according to the 1947 constitution.
And to be a qualified member of parliament, the constitution noted that, “Any person who is under any acknowledgment of allegiance or adherence to a foreign Power, or is a subject or citizen or entitled to the rights and privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign Power shall be disqualified for being chosen as and for being member of either Chamber.”
An application by Suu Kyi to be accepted as a candidate in the 1990 election was rejected on the grounds she had married a British scholar, Michael Aris.
“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was accused three things, one of them being that she was not qualified because she married to a foreigner,” said Moe Zaw Oo, a leader of the National League for Democracy (Youth) in the 1990s who closely worked with Suu Kyi before she was put under house arrest in 1989.
In the Online Citizen interview, Yeo also said that the problems of Burma must not be oversimplified. They were very complex because of ethnic diversity, he said.
*************************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Nuclear Fallout
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN - Monday, August 3, 2009
Although Burma signed an energy agreement with its Southeast Asian neighbors last week—and despite a stern warning from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—there are clear danger signs that the Burmese military government has embarked on a policy of close nuclear and military cooperation with North Korea.
The issue of military cooperation between the two rogue states has been documented for months by The Irrawaddy, including a cover story in the August issue titled “An Open Secret,” which examines the clandestine deals and negotiations between the two regimes.
It was echoed loudly in an article this weekend that quoted two Burmese defectors as claiming that the junta was preparing underground tunnels and trading uranium extracts—known as “yellowcake”—for North Korean military hardware and/ or technical expertise.
The article, based on research conducted by Professor Desmond Ball and journalist Phil Thornton, was published in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Bangkok Post on Saturday. Reporting on interviews with the defectors, the article claims that there are more than five North Koreans working at the Thabeik Kyin uranium processing plant in Burma, and that locally refined uranium from Burma was being traded to North Korea.
The junta has been browsing the nuclear bazaar since at least 2000, when science and technology minister U Thaung visited Moscow. A resulting agreement to build a low-grade research reactor, under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), initially fell through when questions arose about how the Burmese would pay for Russian assistance.
In recent years, several Burmese officials (both civilian and military) have claimed to have direct knowledge, or even first-hand experience, of a secret nuclear weapons program.
According to the defectors in this recent report, Burma’s military government began building a reactor near Maymyo in 2002 with the aim of developing a nuclear device by 2020. The reactor and some related nuclear fuel processing plants were said to be hidden underground. The expertise for this project reportedly came from North Korea, with help from Iran and possibly Pakistan.
The report adds to common fears that Burma is “going nuclear.”
In an article titled “A New Start for Non-Proliferation” published in July, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed El-Baradei, said:
“A number of countries with nuclear energy programs have the capability, if they choose, to manufacture nuclear weapons within a matter of months if their security perceptions change, because they have mastered the critical technology—uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing. If more countries take this path, it could prove to be the Achilles’ heel of non-proliferation.”
In other words, even civilian nuclear technology cooperation between well-intentioned states, who are signatories to the non-proliferation treaties (which includes Burma), has the potential to be misused, if countries can access the technology.
“We worry about the transfer of nuclear technology and other dangerous weapons,” Hillary Clinton told the Asean representatives in Phuket last month in reference to North Korea and Burma.
Notwithstanding Burma’s alleged role in nuclear trafficking, the junta followed on the heels of Phuket by chairing the Asean Energy Ministers meeting in Mandalay.
According to the statement released after the meeting on July 29: “Ministers adopted the Asean Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2010-2015, which will serve as a guideline for the Asean energy cooperation to support the realization of the Asean Economic Community toward 2010 and beyond.”
The statement went on to outline a seven-point energy plan of action for 2010-15, which consists of “seven program areas,” namely: (i) Asean Power Grid; (ii) Trans-Asean Gas Pipeline; (iii) Coal and Clean Coal Technology; (iv) Renewable Energy; (v) Energy Efficiency and Conservation; (vi) Regional Energy Policy and Planning; and (viii) Civilian Nuclear Energy.”
It would appear Asean does not share the rest of the world’s fears that Burma is a danger to the region. Indeed, Burma’s neighbors—in particular Thailand, China and India—seem prepared to condone the junta’s military expansion while they can still plunder the resource-rich country at bargain-basement prices.
Wong Aung, a representative of an environmental organization, the Shwe Gas Movement, said that electricity consumption rates per capita in Burma are less than 5 percent that of Thailand. Nonetheless, the military junta still aims to export more energy resources to its neighbors.
“These include plans for over 20 large hydroelectric dams to power Thailand, China and Asean power grids, and trans-Burma oil and gas pipelines to China set to begin in September this year,” he said.
“The revenue from the energy sector is the main source of income for the Burmese generals.”
Despite ample natural resources, ordinary Burmese do not benefit in any way, with some of the lowest health and education spending in the world.
“In a few years time, if you look down on Asia at night, there will be a dark spot where Burma is. The people of Burma sit in the dark while their natural resources are sold off to provide energy for their neighbors, and money for the generals who oppress them,” said Mark Farmaner, executive director of the Burma Campaign UK.
Like his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-il, Burmese junta head Snr-Gen Than Shwe is probably not losing sleep over whether his citizens are going without basic commodities and electricity while he pursues his self-interests in the military hardware store.
However, the US and the EU may not be prepared to turn a blind eye to the regime’s recent moves.
"If it was just the Russian reactor, under full International Energy supervision, then the likelihood of them being able to do something with it in terms of a bomb would be zero," Professor Ball said. "It's the North Korean element which adds danger to it.”
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN - Monday, August 3, 2009
Although Burma signed an energy agreement with its Southeast Asian neighbors last week—and despite a stern warning from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—there are clear danger signs that the Burmese military government has embarked on a policy of close nuclear and military cooperation with North Korea.
The issue of military cooperation between the two rogue states has been documented for months by The Irrawaddy, including a cover story in the August issue titled “An Open Secret,” which examines the clandestine deals and negotiations between the two regimes.
It was echoed loudly in an article this weekend that quoted two Burmese defectors as claiming that the junta was preparing underground tunnels and trading uranium extracts—known as “yellowcake”—for North Korean military hardware and/ or technical expertise.
The article, based on research conducted by Professor Desmond Ball and journalist Phil Thornton, was published in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Bangkok Post on Saturday. Reporting on interviews with the defectors, the article claims that there are more than five North Koreans working at the Thabeik Kyin uranium processing plant in Burma, and that locally refined uranium from Burma was being traded to North Korea.
The junta has been browsing the nuclear bazaar since at least 2000, when science and technology minister U Thaung visited Moscow. A resulting agreement to build a low-grade research reactor, under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), initially fell through when questions arose about how the Burmese would pay for Russian assistance.
In recent years, several Burmese officials (both civilian and military) have claimed to have direct knowledge, or even first-hand experience, of a secret nuclear weapons program.
According to the defectors in this recent report, Burma’s military government began building a reactor near Maymyo in 2002 with the aim of developing a nuclear device by 2020. The reactor and some related nuclear fuel processing plants were said to be hidden underground. The expertise for this project reportedly came from North Korea, with help from Iran and possibly Pakistan.
The report adds to common fears that Burma is “going nuclear.”
In an article titled “A New Start for Non-Proliferation” published in July, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed El-Baradei, said:
“A number of countries with nuclear energy programs have the capability, if they choose, to manufacture nuclear weapons within a matter of months if their security perceptions change, because they have mastered the critical technology—uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing. If more countries take this path, it could prove to be the Achilles’ heel of non-proliferation.”
In other words, even civilian nuclear technology cooperation between well-intentioned states, who are signatories to the non-proliferation treaties (which includes Burma), has the potential to be misused, if countries can access the technology.
“We worry about the transfer of nuclear technology and other dangerous weapons,” Hillary Clinton told the Asean representatives in Phuket last month in reference to North Korea and Burma.
Notwithstanding Burma’s alleged role in nuclear trafficking, the junta followed on the heels of Phuket by chairing the Asean Energy Ministers meeting in Mandalay.
According to the statement released after the meeting on July 29: “Ministers adopted the Asean Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2010-2015, which will serve as a guideline for the Asean energy cooperation to support the realization of the Asean Economic Community toward 2010 and beyond.”
The statement went on to outline a seven-point energy plan of action for 2010-15, which consists of “seven program areas,” namely: (i) Asean Power Grid; (ii) Trans-Asean Gas Pipeline; (iii) Coal and Clean Coal Technology; (iv) Renewable Energy; (v) Energy Efficiency and Conservation; (vi) Regional Energy Policy and Planning; and (viii) Civilian Nuclear Energy.”
It would appear Asean does not share the rest of the world’s fears that Burma is a danger to the region. Indeed, Burma’s neighbors—in particular Thailand, China and India—seem prepared to condone the junta’s military expansion while they can still plunder the resource-rich country at bargain-basement prices.
Wong Aung, a representative of an environmental organization, the Shwe Gas Movement, said that electricity consumption rates per capita in Burma are less than 5 percent that of Thailand. Nonetheless, the military junta still aims to export more energy resources to its neighbors.
“These include plans for over 20 large hydroelectric dams to power Thailand, China and Asean power grids, and trans-Burma oil and gas pipelines to China set to begin in September this year,” he said.
“The revenue from the energy sector is the main source of income for the Burmese generals.”
Despite ample natural resources, ordinary Burmese do not benefit in any way, with some of the lowest health and education spending in the world.
“In a few years time, if you look down on Asia at night, there will be a dark spot where Burma is. The people of Burma sit in the dark while their natural resources are sold off to provide energy for their neighbors, and money for the generals who oppress them,” said Mark Farmaner, executive director of the Burma Campaign UK.
Like his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-il, Burmese junta head Snr-Gen Than Shwe is probably not losing sleep over whether his citizens are going without basic commodities and electricity while he pursues his self-interests in the military hardware store.
However, the US and the EU may not be prepared to turn a blind eye to the regime’s recent moves.
"If it was just the Russian reactor, under full International Energy supervision, then the likelihood of them being able to do something with it in terms of a bomb would be zero," Professor Ball said. "It's the North Korean element which adds danger to it.”
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Ministry orders checks on “black listed” tourists
by Nem Davies
Friday, 31 July 2009 19:30
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Tour agencies have been directed by Burma’s Ministry of Hotel and Tourism to check tourists applying for ‘Arrival Visa’ with the list of people banned from entering the country.
“The people banned are among those ‘black listed’ and the list is with the Immigration Department,” Ohn Myint, Deputy Director at Ministry of Hotel and Tourism in Naypyitaw, told Mizzima.
The notice states that persons included in the ‘black list’ will not be issued ‘Arrival Visa’. Tour agencies as such are required to submit one of three forms to the Immigration Department in Rangoon six days in advance, in order to provide time for checking the list.
A director of a popular tour agency in Rangoon said the screening of ‘Arrival Visa’ is being done mainly to check people involved in politics.
“We have to submit the bio-data of tourists, who apply for ‘Arrival Visa’ to the Immigration Department. They [immigration] mainly check tourist’s into politics. The “black list” is with them and it is confidential,” the director told Mizzima.
Though tourists can apply for normal visas at respective Burmese embassies abroad, it is mandatory for tourists, who face time limits in applying for normal visas, to connect with tour agencies in Burma to apply for the ‘Arrival Visa’.
“For people, who do not have time to obtain a normal visa, authorities issue ‘Arrival Visa’ but they need to get in touch with tour companies before they come. Every tour agent takes care of his guests,” a director at another tour agency in Rangoon told Mizzima.
The ministry’s order on Thursday states that tour agents can enquire whether the list of their guests has been cleared by the Immigration Department. They have no right to question the decision of the Immigration rejecting a guest.
The order also said that the ‘Arrival Visa’ system has been introduced in order to make travelling to Burma easier and to provide maximum service to tourists. It is also to check that tour companies do not charge tourists extra for their services and prevent the companies from evading tax payment to the government, which is seven per cent.
“Tour agencies must understand that a country has the right to reject or welcome particular tourists, without giving any reason,” the order adds.
by Nem Davies
Friday, 31 July 2009 19:30
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Tour agencies have been directed by Burma’s Ministry of Hotel and Tourism to check tourists applying for ‘Arrival Visa’ with the list of people banned from entering the country.
“The people banned are among those ‘black listed’ and the list is with the Immigration Department,” Ohn Myint, Deputy Director at Ministry of Hotel and Tourism in Naypyitaw, told Mizzima.
The notice states that persons included in the ‘black list’ will not be issued ‘Arrival Visa’. Tour agencies as such are required to submit one of three forms to the Immigration Department in Rangoon six days in advance, in order to provide time for checking the list.
A director of a popular tour agency in Rangoon said the screening of ‘Arrival Visa’ is being done mainly to check people involved in politics.
“We have to submit the bio-data of tourists, who apply for ‘Arrival Visa’ to the Immigration Department. They [immigration] mainly check tourist’s into politics. The “black list” is with them and it is confidential,” the director told Mizzima.
Though tourists can apply for normal visas at respective Burmese embassies abroad, it is mandatory for tourists, who face time limits in applying for normal visas, to connect with tour agencies in Burma to apply for the ‘Arrival Visa’.
“For people, who do not have time to obtain a normal visa, authorities issue ‘Arrival Visa’ but they need to get in touch with tour companies before they come. Every tour agent takes care of his guests,” a director at another tour agency in Rangoon told Mizzima.
The ministry’s order on Thursday states that tour agents can enquire whether the list of their guests has been cleared by the Immigration Department. They have no right to question the decision of the Immigration rejecting a guest.
The order also said that the ‘Arrival Visa’ system has been introduced in order to make travelling to Burma easier and to provide maximum service to tourists. It is also to check that tour companies do not charge tourists extra for their services and prevent the companies from evading tax payment to the government, which is seven per cent.
“Tour agencies must understand that a country has the right to reject or welcome particular tourists, without giving any reason,” the order adds.
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‘Historic’ meeting of Burmese opposition in Indonesia
Aug 3, 2009 (DVB)–Burmese ethnic groups and pro-democracy parties are set to meet in Jakarta this month to draw up a national reconciliation programme for Burma, billed as “history being made”.
The alliance, the Movement for Democracy and Rights for Ethnic Nationalities (MDREN), will meet in the Indonesian capital on 12 and 13 August to formalize the ‘Proposal for National Reconciliation’.
A statement released today by MDREN said that “delegates from all groups aligned in opposition to the military regime” would be present at the meeting.
“The proposal envisages opening a process of dialogue with the junta, effectively offering a sustainable exit-strategy for the military rulers,” it said.
“Civil sector support, electoral and constitutional reforms, military demobilisation, ethnic relations and social infrastructure are among the central areas addressed in the [proposal].”
The Prime Minister of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), Sein Win, said that the convention was “history being made”.
“The last time all major ethnic and pro-democracy organizations have forged a common position was in 1947 when all forces agreed to seek independence from the British,” he said.
“As such, this is the first time an indigenous coalition has agreed to work together against a home-grown power.”
The MDREN is made up of opposition groups both within Burma and in exile, and includes the Ethnic Nationalities Council, the Women’s League of Burma and the Forum for Democracy in Burma.
International diplomats and non-governmental organizations will also attend the meeting.
Indonesia is hailed as a Southeast Asian success story after successful democratic transition from military rule in 1998, and is often cited as a potential model for Burma’s transition.
Reporting by Francis Wade
Aug 3, 2009 (DVB)–Burmese ethnic groups and pro-democracy parties are set to meet in Jakarta this month to draw up a national reconciliation programme for Burma, billed as “history being made”.
The alliance, the Movement for Democracy and Rights for Ethnic Nationalities (MDREN), will meet in the Indonesian capital on 12 and 13 August to formalize the ‘Proposal for National Reconciliation’.
A statement released today by MDREN said that “delegates from all groups aligned in opposition to the military regime” would be present at the meeting.
“The proposal envisages opening a process of dialogue with the junta, effectively offering a sustainable exit-strategy for the military rulers,” it said.
“Civil sector support, electoral and constitutional reforms, military demobilisation, ethnic relations and social infrastructure are among the central areas addressed in the [proposal].”
The Prime Minister of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), Sein Win, said that the convention was “history being made”.
“The last time all major ethnic and pro-democracy organizations have forged a common position was in 1947 when all forces agreed to seek independence from the British,” he said.
“As such, this is the first time an indigenous coalition has agreed to work together against a home-grown power.”
The MDREN is made up of opposition groups both within Burma and in exile, and includes the Ethnic Nationalities Council, the Women’s League of Burma and the Forum for Democracy in Burma.
International diplomats and non-governmental organizations will also attend the meeting.
Indonesia is hailed as a Southeast Asian success story after successful democratic transition from military rule in 1998, and is often cited as a potential model for Burma’s transition.
Reporting by Francis Wade
*************************************************************
Floods force hundreds from homes
Aug 3, 2009 (DVB)–Torrential rain in western Burma has forced the evacuation of over 300 homes, with some areas experiencing five feet of rain, state-run media reported on Saturday.
Heavy rains hit Arakan state’s Thandwe and An townships on 29 July and continued over the weekend, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.
“Over 300 households in the flood-hit wards and village were evacuated to safe places,” it said, adding that relief measures were being taken by local authorities.
“As some sections of An-Sittway and An-Tutaung motorways were submerged, the vehicles faced delays of some hours on the motorways.”
A flood warning in today’s New Light of Myanmar said that Shwegyin river was currently one foot above its danger, while the Sittoung river was 2.5 feet above danger level.
“It may remain above its danger level (1070) cm during the next (48) hours commencing noon today,” it said.
Reporting by Francis Wade
Aug 3, 2009 (DVB)–Torrential rain in western Burma has forced the evacuation of over 300 homes, with some areas experiencing five feet of rain, state-run media reported on Saturday.
Heavy rains hit Arakan state’s Thandwe and An townships on 29 July and continued over the weekend, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.
“Over 300 households in the flood-hit wards and village were evacuated to safe places,” it said, adding that relief measures were being taken by local authorities.
“As some sections of An-Sittway and An-Tutaung motorways were submerged, the vehicles faced delays of some hours on the motorways.”
A flood warning in today’s New Light of Myanmar said that Shwegyin river was currently one foot above its danger, while the Sittoung river was 2.5 feet above danger level.
“It may remain above its danger level (1070) cm during the next (48) hours commencing noon today,” it said.
Reporting by Francis Wade
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