Myanmar Doubles Political Arrests; Elections a Sham, Group Says
By Ed Johnson
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Myanmar’s military regime has doubled the number of political prisoners in the past two years and elections next year will have no credibility unless they are freed, Human Rights Watch said in a report.
Buddhist monks, journalists and artists are among more than 2,200 people held at more than 40 prisons or forced to perform hard labor at about 50 camps in the country formerly known as Burma, the New York-based group said.
The elections “will be a sham” if political opponents remain in jail, Tom Malinowski, the group’s advocacy director in Washington, said yesterday. The U.S., China, India and Southeast Asian countries “should make the release of all political prisoners a central goal of their engagement with Burma.”
The junta, the latest in a line of generals to rule Myanmar since 1962, triggered international condemnation last month when it extended opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest order for 18 months. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has spent more than 13 years in custody since her National League for Democracy won elections in 1990, a result rejected by the regime.
Repression increased in the country after an uprising led by Buddhist monks two years ago was crushed by the government, Human Rights Watch said.
More than 300 political and labor activists, monks, artists, comedians, journalists and Internet bloggers have been sentenced to jail after trials in closed courts, the group said. Some prison terms have been for more than 100 years.
More than 20 activists, including the country’s most-famous comedian, Zargana, were arrested for speaking out about obstacles to humanitarian relief following Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar in May 2008 leaving at least 138,000 people dead or missing, according to the report.
By Ed Johnson
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Myanmar’s military regime has doubled the number of political prisoners in the past two years and elections next year will have no credibility unless they are freed, Human Rights Watch said in a report.
Buddhist monks, journalists and artists are among more than 2,200 people held at more than 40 prisons or forced to perform hard labor at about 50 camps in the country formerly known as Burma, the New York-based group said.
The elections “will be a sham” if political opponents remain in jail, Tom Malinowski, the group’s advocacy director in Washington, said yesterday. The U.S., China, India and Southeast Asian countries “should make the release of all political prisoners a central goal of their engagement with Burma.”
The junta, the latest in a line of generals to rule Myanmar since 1962, triggered international condemnation last month when it extended opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest order for 18 months. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has spent more than 13 years in custody since her National League for Democracy won elections in 1990, a result rejected by the regime.
Repression increased in the country after an uprising led by Buddhist monks two years ago was crushed by the government, Human Rights Watch said.
More than 300 political and labor activists, monks, artists, comedians, journalists and Internet bloggers have been sentenced to jail after trials in closed courts, the group said. Some prison terms have been for more than 100 years.
More than 20 activists, including the country’s most-famous comedian, Zargana, were arrested for speaking out about obstacles to humanitarian relief following Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar in May 2008 leaving at least 138,000 people dead or missing, according to the report.
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Seven bomb blasts in Myanmar, no casualties: police
Thu Sep 17, 5:32 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Seven small bombs exploded in the suburbs of Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon but did not cause any casualties, police in the military-ruled nation said Thursday.
The blasts late Wednesday and early Thursday were the latest in a series to hit the former capital in recent months, with previous attacks blamed on armed exile groups or ethnic rebels.
Police said that the bombs were planted in the Hlaint Thayar, Shwe Paukkan and Mingalardon areas on the outskirts of the city and that the culprits remained unknown.
"There were no casualties because there were almost no people around when the blasts happened," a police officer said on condition of anonymity.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombs.
Myanmar authorities said in August that authorities had foiled a plot by a man sent by exile pro-democracy groups to bomb Yangon during a visit by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in July.
Ban was in Myanmar to seek the release of opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi, whose house arrest was extended by 18 months in August after she was convicted over an incident in which an American man swam to her house.
Myanmar was also rocked last month by intense clashes between government troops and rebels in Kokang, a mainly ethnic Chinese region of Myanmar's Shan state, which sent thousands of refugees pouring over the border into China.
The regime has recently stepped up its decades-long campaign against minority insurgent groups in an apparent attempt to crush them before controversial elections planned for next year.
Thu Sep 17, 5:32 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Seven small bombs exploded in the suburbs of Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon but did not cause any casualties, police in the military-ruled nation said Thursday.
The blasts late Wednesday and early Thursday were the latest in a series to hit the former capital in recent months, with previous attacks blamed on armed exile groups or ethnic rebels.
Police said that the bombs were planted in the Hlaint Thayar, Shwe Paukkan and Mingalardon areas on the outskirts of the city and that the culprits remained unknown.
"There were no casualties because there were almost no people around when the blasts happened," a police officer said on condition of anonymity.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombs.
Myanmar authorities said in August that authorities had foiled a plot by a man sent by exile pro-democracy groups to bomb Yangon during a visit by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in July.
Ban was in Myanmar to seek the release of opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi, whose house arrest was extended by 18 months in August after she was convicted over an incident in which an American man swam to her house.
Myanmar was also rocked last month by intense clashes between government troops and rebels in Kokang, a mainly ethnic Chinese region of Myanmar's Shan state, which sent thousands of refugees pouring over the border into China.
The regime has recently stepped up its decades-long campaign against minority insurgent groups in an apparent attempt to crush them before controversial elections planned for next year.
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Myanmar junta defends Suu Kyi court ban
Thu Sep 17, 4:18 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar's state media on Thursday defended the ruling junta's decision to bar opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi from court during final arguments in her appeal against her detention.
The Nobel laureate was convicted on August 11 of breaching security laws after an American swam to her house. She was sentenced to three years' hard labour but junta chief Than Shwe cut the term to 18 months' house arrest.
Her lawyers say the military regime has denied her permission to attend court on Friday to hear closing submissions in her appeal, but government mouthpiece newspapers said the decision was in line with the law.
"According to the practices of the courts, any defendants are not sent to the tribunal," a commentary in the English-language New Light of Myanmar daily said.
"If the defendant is a prisoner, there is no need to summon him to the court for his statements," said the editorial, which also appeared in state-run Burmese language newspapers.
"Courts hear criminal cases in accordance with the existing laws.... Therefore, it is fair to say that Myanmar's judicial practice meets the judicial principles," it said.
The article did not mention Suu Kyi's name nor her party but it was published one day after Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy said the decision to bar her from the appeal court was "not justice".
The 64-year-old pro-democracy leader appealed against the verdict earlier this month.
Eccentric US national John Yettaw was sentenced to seven years' hard labour at the same trial for swimming uninvited to her lakeside house in May, but the regime freed him last month after a visit by US Senator Jim Webb.
The guilty verdict against Suu Kyi sparked international outrage and the imposition of further sanctions against Myanmar's powerful generals, who have already kept the frail Suu Kyi locked up for 14 of the past 20 years.
Her extended house arrest keeps her off the scene for elections promised by the regime some time in 2010, adding to widespread criticism that the polls are a sham designed to legitimise the junta's grip on power.
In New York, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Wednesday that the number of political prisoners in Myanmar had doubled to more than 2,200 in the two years since a crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks.
The "brutality" of the military government had been highlighted by the latest detention term ordered against Suu Kyi, the group said.
"Burma's generals are planning elections next year that will be a sham if their opponents are in prison," said Tom Malinowski, an HRW official.
The NLD won a landslide victory in the country's last elections in 1990 but was never allowed to take power by the military, which has ruled the country since 1962.
US President Barack Obama's acting point man on Myanmar also urged the regime to free all political prisoners as he said that a review of US policy on the country, including sanctions, was almost complete.
"It is so important that we not forget about these people," Scot Marciel, deputy assistant secretary, East Asia and Pacific bureau, and ambassador for ASEAN affairs, said at the launch of the HRW report.
Thu Sep 17, 4:18 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar's state media on Thursday defended the ruling junta's decision to bar opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi from court during final arguments in her appeal against her detention.
The Nobel laureate was convicted on August 11 of breaching security laws after an American swam to her house. She was sentenced to three years' hard labour but junta chief Than Shwe cut the term to 18 months' house arrest.
Her lawyers say the military regime has denied her permission to attend court on Friday to hear closing submissions in her appeal, but government mouthpiece newspapers said the decision was in line with the law.
"According to the practices of the courts, any defendants are not sent to the tribunal," a commentary in the English-language New Light of Myanmar daily said.
"If the defendant is a prisoner, there is no need to summon him to the court for his statements," said the editorial, which also appeared in state-run Burmese language newspapers.
"Courts hear criminal cases in accordance with the existing laws.... Therefore, it is fair to say that Myanmar's judicial practice meets the judicial principles," it said.
The article did not mention Suu Kyi's name nor her party but it was published one day after Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy said the decision to bar her from the appeal court was "not justice".
The 64-year-old pro-democracy leader appealed against the verdict earlier this month.
Eccentric US national John Yettaw was sentenced to seven years' hard labour at the same trial for swimming uninvited to her lakeside house in May, but the regime freed him last month after a visit by US Senator Jim Webb.
The guilty verdict against Suu Kyi sparked international outrage and the imposition of further sanctions against Myanmar's powerful generals, who have already kept the frail Suu Kyi locked up for 14 of the past 20 years.
Her extended house arrest keeps her off the scene for elections promised by the regime some time in 2010, adding to widespread criticism that the polls are a sham designed to legitimise the junta's grip on power.
In New York, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Wednesday that the number of political prisoners in Myanmar had doubled to more than 2,200 in the two years since a crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks.
The "brutality" of the military government had been highlighted by the latest detention term ordered against Suu Kyi, the group said.
"Burma's generals are planning elections next year that will be a sham if their opponents are in prison," said Tom Malinowski, an HRW official.
The NLD won a landslide victory in the country's last elections in 1990 but was never allowed to take power by the military, which has ruled the country since 1962.
US President Barack Obama's acting point man on Myanmar also urged the regime to free all political prisoners as he said that a review of US policy on the country, including sanctions, was almost complete.
"It is so important that we not forget about these people," Scot Marciel, deputy assistant secretary, East Asia and Pacific bureau, and ambassador for ASEAN affairs, said at the launch of the HRW report.
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Myanmar announces amnesty for 7,114 prisoners
11 mins ago
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's junta has granted amnesty to 7,114 convicts at prisons across the country, but it was not immediately known if they included political detainees.
State television, which announced the amnesty Thursday evening, said the prisoners would be released for good behavior and on humanitarian grounds.
The United Nations and independent human rights groups estimate that the military regime holds more than 2,200 political prisoners, though the government insists that all detainees have been convicted of criminal offenses.
Those to be released were not identified. Previously mass releases have usually included a handful of political detainees. They are usually identified when they report to opposition groups, which then announce their release.
The country's best-known political prisoner is opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is under house arrest.
The government generally grants amnesties to mark important national days, but most of the recipients are petty criminals. The last release was in February this year when 6,313 prisoners were freed, including less than two dozen political prisoners.
It was not clear if the releases started Thursday. Friday is the 21st anniversary of the 1988 seizure of power by the current junta to quash vast pro-democracy demonstrations.
An amnesty had been expected since July, when Myanmar's envoy to the United Nations told the Security Council that the government was preparing such a move to allow prisoners to participate in elections next year, the first in two decades.
The amnesty comes just ahead of the opening of this year's U.N. General Assembly session, which will be attended by Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein, the highest-ranking government leader in recent years to participate.
The junta's powerful deputy chairman, Senior Gen. Maung Aye, attended the 50th anniversary General Assembly session in 1995, but the occasion is usually left to the foreign minister.
Human Rights Watch launched a campaign Wednesday for Myanmar's military government to release all political prisoners before the elections.
The New York-based rights group said the number of political prisoners has more than doubled in the past two years, and more than 100 have been jailed in recent months.
Among those imprisoned in the past two years include people involved in peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in 2007 and in assisting the victims of a devastating cyclone in 2008. The group said some were handed decades-long sentences.
It said the country has 43 known prisons holding political activists and more than 50 labor camps.
11 mins ago
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's junta has granted amnesty to 7,114 convicts at prisons across the country, but it was not immediately known if they included political detainees.
State television, which announced the amnesty Thursday evening, said the prisoners would be released for good behavior and on humanitarian grounds.
The United Nations and independent human rights groups estimate that the military regime holds more than 2,200 political prisoners, though the government insists that all detainees have been convicted of criminal offenses.
Those to be released were not identified. Previously mass releases have usually included a handful of political detainees. They are usually identified when they report to opposition groups, which then announce their release.
The country's best-known political prisoner is opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is under house arrest.
The government generally grants amnesties to mark important national days, but most of the recipients are petty criminals. The last release was in February this year when 6,313 prisoners were freed, including less than two dozen political prisoners.
It was not clear if the releases started Thursday. Friday is the 21st anniversary of the 1988 seizure of power by the current junta to quash vast pro-democracy demonstrations.
An amnesty had been expected since July, when Myanmar's envoy to the United Nations told the Security Council that the government was preparing such a move to allow prisoners to participate in elections next year, the first in two decades.
The amnesty comes just ahead of the opening of this year's U.N. General Assembly session, which will be attended by Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein, the highest-ranking government leader in recent years to participate.
The junta's powerful deputy chairman, Senior Gen. Maung Aye, attended the 50th anniversary General Assembly session in 1995, but the occasion is usually left to the foreign minister.
Human Rights Watch launched a campaign Wednesday for Myanmar's military government to release all political prisoners before the elections.
The New York-based rights group said the number of political prisoners has more than doubled in the past two years, and more than 100 have been jailed in recent months.
Among those imprisoned in the past two years include people involved in peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in 2007 and in assisting the victims of a devastating cyclone in 2008. The group said some were handed decades-long sentences.
It said the country has 43 known prisons holding political activists and more than 50 labor camps.
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Myanmar tells ethnic minorities to join elections
AP - Thursday, September 17
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's ethnic minorities and their militias should give up their arms and honor past agreements to enter politics, the country's state-controlled media said Thursday.
The commentary in the three state-run national newspapers came amid uncertainty over whether the ethnic groups will participate in elections called by the military junta next year. Critics say the elections are a sham designed to cement the military's grip on power.
After reaching peace pacts with the military in the past two decades, ethnic armed groups have been allowed a limited amount of autonomy in their areas, which are along the country's borders. But they question whether a constitution promulgated last year ensures their rights.
The commentary said the ethnic minorities agreed under the cease-fires to abandon their arms once a constitution came into force and join politics in the interest of their people and regions.
Seventeen armed ethnic groups have reached cease-fire agreements with the government since 1989.
"Peace groups will have to honor the commitments they made during the peace talks," the commentary said.
In an apparent effort to ensure stability ahead of the polls, the government has told the ethnic groups they will have to integrate their militias into a national border guard force.
Last month it cracked down on one of the recalcitrant groups, the Kokang in northern Myanmar, forcing its leader and his followers to flee to China and installing a more pliant leadership.
"All the peace groups are to take serious consideration whether they should continue carrying arms at a time when they are going to have equal rights to go into politics," the commentary said.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The current junta took power in 1988 after violently crushing a pro-democracy uprising. It failed to honor the results of the last elections in 1990 which were won by the party of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The military is still battling rebel groups from the Karen and Shan minorities which have refused to sign cease-fires. Those long-running conflicts have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and the military has been accused of serious human rights violations.
AP - Thursday, September 17
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's ethnic minorities and their militias should give up their arms and honor past agreements to enter politics, the country's state-controlled media said Thursday.
The commentary in the three state-run national newspapers came amid uncertainty over whether the ethnic groups will participate in elections called by the military junta next year. Critics say the elections are a sham designed to cement the military's grip on power.
After reaching peace pacts with the military in the past two decades, ethnic armed groups have been allowed a limited amount of autonomy in their areas, which are along the country's borders. But they question whether a constitution promulgated last year ensures their rights.
The commentary said the ethnic minorities agreed under the cease-fires to abandon their arms once a constitution came into force and join politics in the interest of their people and regions.
Seventeen armed ethnic groups have reached cease-fire agreements with the government since 1989.
"Peace groups will have to honor the commitments they made during the peace talks," the commentary said.
In an apparent effort to ensure stability ahead of the polls, the government has told the ethnic groups they will have to integrate their militias into a national border guard force.
Last month it cracked down on one of the recalcitrant groups, the Kokang in northern Myanmar, forcing its leader and his followers to flee to China and installing a more pliant leadership.
"All the peace groups are to take serious consideration whether they should continue carrying arms at a time when they are going to have equal rights to go into politics," the commentary said.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The current junta took power in 1988 after violently crushing a pro-democracy uprising. It failed to honor the results of the last elections in 1990 which were won by the party of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The military is still battling rebel groups from the Karen and Shan minorities which have refused to sign cease-fires. Those long-running conflicts have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and the military has been accused of serious human rights violations.
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Scoop - Ending Violence And Abuses Endured By Women
Wednesday, 16 September 2009, 11:28 am
Press Release: United Nations
UN Chief Urges Action To End Violence And Abuses Endured By Women
New York, Sep 15 2009 4:10PM - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today spotlighted the “shocking” abuse, violence and discrimination suffered by women, in a call for action to empower the gender that make up over half the world’s population.
In describing the diverse world population, “I would have to explain that fully half of those people face shocking abuses and discrimination,” Mr. Ban told the launch at United Nations Headquarters in New York of Half the Sky, a book depicting the violence and other abuses suffered by women worldwide and proposing action to combat the scourge.
“They are forced into slavery and prostitution,” said Mr. Ban at the launch, organized by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Women are denied the right to “speak their views, wear what they want, or pursue an education or a career,” said Mr. Ban, adding that they “are burned to death or scarred with acid with little or no punishment for the perpetrators.”
Mr. Ban noted that even with the technological advances in today’s modern world, women all too often die from easily preventable diseases as well as during childbirth. “The casualties dwarf those of most wars, [and] the costs are too high to put a figure on.”
The Secretary-General told how he was moved and angered when he met a girl in a hospital where he heard of how the 18 year-old was brutally raped at gunpoint by four soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Half the Sky, which was written by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and fellow Pulitzer Prize winner Sheryl WuDunn, details stories of sex trafficking and forced prostitution; honour killings and mass rape; and maternal mortality in the developing world, and proposes action to combat the scourge.
“Only by standing up for fundamental rights everywhere can we expect to achieve lasting change,” Mr. Ban said as he welcomed yesterday’s General Assembly decision to streamline all four UN women’s entities.
Wednesday, 16 September 2009, 11:28 am
Press Release: United Nations
UN Chief Urges Action To End Violence And Abuses Endured By Women
New York, Sep 15 2009 4:10PM - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today spotlighted the “shocking” abuse, violence and discrimination suffered by women, in a call for action to empower the gender that make up over half the world’s population.
In describing the diverse world population, “I would have to explain that fully half of those people face shocking abuses and discrimination,” Mr. Ban told the launch at United Nations Headquarters in New York of Half the Sky, a book depicting the violence and other abuses suffered by women worldwide and proposing action to combat the scourge.
“They are forced into slavery and prostitution,” said Mr. Ban at the launch, organized by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Women are denied the right to “speak their views, wear what they want, or pursue an education or a career,” said Mr. Ban, adding that they “are burned to death or scarred with acid with little or no punishment for the perpetrators.”
Mr. Ban noted that even with the technological advances in today’s modern world, women all too often die from easily preventable diseases as well as during childbirth. “The casualties dwarf those of most wars, [and] the costs are too high to put a figure on.”
The Secretary-General told how he was moved and angered when he met a girl in a hospital where he heard of how the 18 year-old was brutally raped at gunpoint by four soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Half the Sky, which was written by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and fellow Pulitzer Prize winner Sheryl WuDunn, details stories of sex trafficking and forced prostitution; honour killings and mass rape; and maternal mortality in the developing world, and proposes action to combat the scourge.
“Only by standing up for fundamental rights everywhere can we expect to achieve lasting change,” Mr. Ban said as he welcomed yesterday’s General Assembly decision to streamline all four UN women’s entities.
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VOA News - UN: Millions Denied Human Rights Because of Discrimination
By Lisa Schlein, Geneva
15 September 2009
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, says millions of people around the world are denied their human rights because of, what she calls, the "scourge of discrimination". Pillay told the 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council, that women and ethnic minorities are among those who are most victimized by human rights abuses.
U.N. Commissioner Navi Pillay says human rights abuses are increasing in many parts of the world. She says women's human rights continue to be denied or curtailed in too many countries.
She notes there have been recent positive developments in some Persian Gulf states. Yet, Pillay says, the overall situation of women in the region falls well short of international standards.
She notes that indigenous people and ethnic minorities, such as Tibetans or the Roma in Hungary suffer from discrimination and often are subjected to abuse.
She adds that all too often, discrimination and harmful prejudice sow the seeds of war. Pillay says civilians continue to be targets of attacks motivated by ethnic or religious hatred in conflicts in Afghanistan, Colombia, the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Palestinian territory.
"In some of these conflicts, ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples bear the brunt of hostilities. In virtually all of them, women and children suffer disproportionately. Let me reiterate that sexual violence is almost invariably a foreseeable consequence in situations of armed conflict and in a climate that fosters mass atrocities," she said.
Pillay describes what she calls another alarming global trend - attacks against peaceful opponents and critics of people in power. She says human rights advocates face arrest, abduction, torture and even death.
"We should all be dismayed by the recent sentencing of political opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to a further period of house arrest by the Myanmar [Burma] authorities.
Her unfair and arbitrary detention, along with that of more than 2,000 other political prisoners, makes a mockery of Myanmar's commitment to democratic transition. And I call for their immediate and unconditional release," she said.
Pillay says governments have to do more to protect human rights defenders. She notes that the issues of political participation, and free and fair elections have a direct impact on the realization of human rights. She urges the U.N. Human Rights Council to be vigilant, and to scrutinize and condemn abuses wherever they are found.
By Lisa Schlein, Geneva
15 September 2009
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, says millions of people around the world are denied their human rights because of, what she calls, the "scourge of discrimination". Pillay told the 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council, that women and ethnic minorities are among those who are most victimized by human rights abuses.
U.N. Commissioner Navi Pillay says human rights abuses are increasing in many parts of the world. She says women's human rights continue to be denied or curtailed in too many countries.
She notes there have been recent positive developments in some Persian Gulf states. Yet, Pillay says, the overall situation of women in the region falls well short of international standards.
She notes that indigenous people and ethnic minorities, such as Tibetans or the Roma in Hungary suffer from discrimination and often are subjected to abuse.
She adds that all too often, discrimination and harmful prejudice sow the seeds of war. Pillay says civilians continue to be targets of attacks motivated by ethnic or religious hatred in conflicts in Afghanistan, Colombia, the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Palestinian territory.
"In some of these conflicts, ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples bear the brunt of hostilities. In virtually all of them, women and children suffer disproportionately. Let me reiterate that sexual violence is almost invariably a foreseeable consequence in situations of armed conflict and in a climate that fosters mass atrocities," she said.
Pillay describes what she calls another alarming global trend - attacks against peaceful opponents and critics of people in power. She says human rights advocates face arrest, abduction, torture and even death.
"We should all be dismayed by the recent sentencing of political opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to a further period of house arrest by the Myanmar [Burma] authorities.
Her unfair and arbitrary detention, along with that of more than 2,000 other political prisoners, makes a mockery of Myanmar's commitment to democratic transition. And I call for their immediate and unconditional release," she said.
Pillay says governments have to do more to protect human rights defenders. She notes that the issues of political participation, and free and fair elections have a direct impact on the realization of human rights. She urges the U.N. Human Rights Council to be vigilant, and to scrutinize and condemn abuses wherever they are found.
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OPINION ASIA
SEPTEMBER 17, 2009
Today's Paper - - Burmese Lessons for Beijing
By PRISCILLA CLAPP
As the People's Republic of China approaches the 60th anniversary of its founding, Beijing has been unpleasantly surprised by the sudden outbreak of unrest on its long border with Burma. It's a lesson to China about the tenuous nature of its friendship with the junta, and a reminder that political change in Burma is in Beijing's best interests.
The flare up began last month when Burmese forces attacked a recalcitrant militia in Kokang, near the Chinese border, forcing tens of thousands of refugees to flee into China's Yunnan province. A diplomatic battle soon ensued. China issued an uncharacteristically stern warning that Burma should "properly deal with its domestic issue to safeguard regional stability." Burmese military leaders hinted at Beijing support for their move against Kokang. And for the first time in history, the official Burmese press published a news item about the Dalai Lama visiting Taiwan.
The public bickering is noteworthy because China has invested heavily in its relationship with the junta. Beijing has given Burma decades of generous military assistance, built factories and infrastructure and mined Burma's wealth of resources. China is Burma's largest trading partner. On the political front, Beijing has acted as the Burmese regime's primary protector in the United Nations Security Council and other international fora to blunt the impact of Western sanctions and hostility against the military government.
The situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. Burma's military leaders are determined to clear away the remaining vestiges of their long-running insurgencies before heading into multi-party elections next year as part of the country's transition to "disciplined democracy." According to local reports, Burmese army units have already begun to move into Mongla, another autonomous former insurgent area, as well as the heavily armed and fortified northern and southern Wa areas along the Chinese and Thai borders. Tens of thousands of refugees from the northern Wa area have reportedly already fled into China, even as Kokang refugees return home.
The Burmese regime may also be egged on by its own citizens, many of whom harbor strong anti-Chinese sentiment. The junta's move against the ethnic Chinese border groups, long notorious for drug dealing and other criminal activities, has been quietly cheered by many Burmese. Chinese investment has done little to improve the lives of average Burmese and they view Beijing as propping up a hugely unpopular government.
It's clear that this is a critical moment for China in its relations with Burma. Beijing harbors a strong interest in promoting political transition in Burma to replace the long-standing military regime with a more stable and rational civilian government. Chinese frustration with Burma's inept and capricious military leaders is only thinly disguised. Beijing recognizes that the underlying causes of instability and violence will only become more acute the longer the current situation lingers.
Burma also poses a regional threat that China can't ignore. Not only does violence inside Burma spill over into China, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India, the porous border with China is rife with illegal trafficking in narcotics, contraband, and humans, and HIV/AIDS has spread from Burma into Yunnan province at an alarming rate. Burma's expanding military relationship with North Korea, rumored to include a nuclear technology component, threatens to bring a new security threat to nuclear weapons-free Southeast Asia.
Beijing could start by making overtures to various political forces inside Burma that are likely to emerge soon in a new parliamentary setting, not just the generals and their business cronies. China might also strengthen ties with other ethnic minorities, not just with ethnic Chinese groups in Burma, as well as with the political opposition and Burmese exiles.
China could also help revive the U.N. effort to encourage political dialogue and transition in Burma. If China were to support U.N. and other international efforts to promote free and fair elections in Burma in 2010, it would not only win plaudits from the international community, but would be warmly welcomed by a wide swath of the Burmese population of all ethnic races. It would be awkward for the military regime to take issue with this stance without suggesting that it had no intention of running free and fair elections.
Beijing could also send a powerful signal to both the generals and the Burmese public by holding back on arms supplies to the regime during the transition period. China is Burma's primary source of military equipment and has been seen in the past to deliberately curtail arms supplies to signal its displeasure with the regime. In light of the current unrest on the border, it might be an appropriate gesture by Beijing to refrain openly from fuelling further instability with new arms supplies and to reassure the Burmese public of its friendly intentions to support a peaceful and stable political transition.
China has been extremely patient with its badly behaved clients in Naypyitaw for more than two decades and is not likely to make an abrupt turn at this stage. But there's no doubt that it would be in the best interest of China and of the Burmese people for Beijing to start treating Burma like the regional security threat that it is.
—Ms. Clapp was Charge d'Affairs for the U.S. embassy in Rangoon from 1999 to 2002
SEPTEMBER 17, 2009
Today's Paper - - Burmese Lessons for Beijing
By PRISCILLA CLAPP
As the People's Republic of China approaches the 60th anniversary of its founding, Beijing has been unpleasantly surprised by the sudden outbreak of unrest on its long border with Burma. It's a lesson to China about the tenuous nature of its friendship with the junta, and a reminder that political change in Burma is in Beijing's best interests.
The flare up began last month when Burmese forces attacked a recalcitrant militia in Kokang, near the Chinese border, forcing tens of thousands of refugees to flee into China's Yunnan province. A diplomatic battle soon ensued. China issued an uncharacteristically stern warning that Burma should "properly deal with its domestic issue to safeguard regional stability." Burmese military leaders hinted at Beijing support for their move against Kokang. And for the first time in history, the official Burmese press published a news item about the Dalai Lama visiting Taiwan.
The public bickering is noteworthy because China has invested heavily in its relationship with the junta. Beijing has given Burma decades of generous military assistance, built factories and infrastructure and mined Burma's wealth of resources. China is Burma's largest trading partner. On the political front, Beijing has acted as the Burmese regime's primary protector in the United Nations Security Council and other international fora to blunt the impact of Western sanctions and hostility against the military government.
The situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. Burma's military leaders are determined to clear away the remaining vestiges of their long-running insurgencies before heading into multi-party elections next year as part of the country's transition to "disciplined democracy." According to local reports, Burmese army units have already begun to move into Mongla, another autonomous former insurgent area, as well as the heavily armed and fortified northern and southern Wa areas along the Chinese and Thai borders. Tens of thousands of refugees from the northern Wa area have reportedly already fled into China, even as Kokang refugees return home.
The Burmese regime may also be egged on by its own citizens, many of whom harbor strong anti-Chinese sentiment. The junta's move against the ethnic Chinese border groups, long notorious for drug dealing and other criminal activities, has been quietly cheered by many Burmese. Chinese investment has done little to improve the lives of average Burmese and they view Beijing as propping up a hugely unpopular government.
It's clear that this is a critical moment for China in its relations with Burma. Beijing harbors a strong interest in promoting political transition in Burma to replace the long-standing military regime with a more stable and rational civilian government. Chinese frustration with Burma's inept and capricious military leaders is only thinly disguised. Beijing recognizes that the underlying causes of instability and violence will only become more acute the longer the current situation lingers.
Burma also poses a regional threat that China can't ignore. Not only does violence inside Burma spill over into China, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India, the porous border with China is rife with illegal trafficking in narcotics, contraband, and humans, and HIV/AIDS has spread from Burma into Yunnan province at an alarming rate. Burma's expanding military relationship with North Korea, rumored to include a nuclear technology component, threatens to bring a new security threat to nuclear weapons-free Southeast Asia.
Beijing could start by making overtures to various political forces inside Burma that are likely to emerge soon in a new parliamentary setting, not just the generals and their business cronies. China might also strengthen ties with other ethnic minorities, not just with ethnic Chinese groups in Burma, as well as with the political opposition and Burmese exiles.
China could also help revive the U.N. effort to encourage political dialogue and transition in Burma. If China were to support U.N. and other international efforts to promote free and fair elections in Burma in 2010, it would not only win plaudits from the international community, but would be warmly welcomed by a wide swath of the Burmese population of all ethnic races. It would be awkward for the military regime to take issue with this stance without suggesting that it had no intention of running free and fair elections.
Beijing could also send a powerful signal to both the generals and the Burmese public by holding back on arms supplies to the regime during the transition period. China is Burma's primary source of military equipment and has been seen in the past to deliberately curtail arms supplies to signal its displeasure with the regime. In light of the current unrest on the border, it might be an appropriate gesture by Beijing to refrain openly from fuelling further instability with new arms supplies and to reassure the Burmese public of its friendly intentions to support a peaceful and stable political transition.
China has been extremely patient with its badly behaved clients in Naypyitaw for more than two decades and is not likely to make an abrupt turn at this stage. But there's no doubt that it would be in the best interest of China and of the Burmese people for Beijing to start treating Burma like the regional security threat that it is.
—Ms. Clapp was Charge d'Affairs for the U.S. embassy in Rangoon from 1999 to 2002
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The Irrawaddy - Resettlement—the Black Market
By ALEX ELLGEE, Thursday, September 17, 2009
MAE SOT — Since 2005, when resettlement began, a network of brokers has evolved to assist individuals from Burma who wish to enter the refugee camps and resettle in a third country.
The black market business has helped many to escape Burma— but not always the people who fit the criteria and need resettlement the most.
Residents at the three main camps around Mae Sot, who are waiting for resettlement, blame the influx of “fake applicants” for the long delays they endure. Many claim that the “pseudo-refugees” leave the camps first, deferring the resettlement of real applicants.
“I see many fake refugees coming into the camp. They pay the brokers and the camp authorities. Then they get resettled first,” said Bo Bo, a resident at Nu Po camp.
He explained how he came to the camp in a large group from Mon State where their land was stolen by Burmese government forces. As farmers, they had been stripped of their entire livelihood. So, with nothing left, they fled to the border.
“We have to wait longer because the brokers help the fake refugees into the camp and they leave first. It’s not fair on us, We remain in the camp with nothing while they continue to run their businesses, often returning to Myawaddy and Rangoon,” he said.
Bo Bo claimed that many fake applicants entered Nu Po camp last year and that 27 had already arrived this month [September]. He explained that two brokers are working in conjunction with the palat (camp coordinator) to get people into the camp and sent quickly to a third country.
It has been alleged that the camp authorities are working in cahoots with the brokers and have become immersed in the corruption and fraud that has sprung up around the resettlement process. Residents claim that brokers pay the palat for their clients’ entrance to the camp, allowing people with no valid refugee claim to enter.
As a result of the black market which unscrupulous Burmese brokers have developed, money has become so important in the camps that new arrivals find it very difficult to settle into their new lives as refugees in Thailand.
“We can’t get into the camp because we have no documents and we were just released from prison,” said Ko Than, a recent arrival in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burmese border.
Having just finished a two-year sentence for his part in the 1988 protests, and deciding he had no future in Burma, Ko Than came to Thailand to apply for a new life in a third country where he could make up for the time he lost while in prison.
For ex- political prisoners like Ko Than, coming to Thailand with their families and getting safely to the refugee camps is difficult. If they go by taxi they run the risk of being arrested by the Thai police and either sent back to Burma or paying heavy bribes.
In contrast, the bogus refugees, who have traveled to Thailand without a solid refugee claim, have time to prepare for their trip well in advance and save up the necessary amount of cash. Once in the camp, their money will buy them influence and ultimately a better life than the real asylum seekers—and that creates tension and grievances in the camps.
“I do believe that refugees have the right to make money and better their lives, but it’s not fair that opportunists are allowed to buy their way into the camp and take the good homes and rations— more than the democracy activists who have given up everything,” said Kyaw Gyi, a resident of Mae La camp and former political prisoner.
However, not only are “real” refugees losing out as a result of the broker networks, but also the brokers’ customers—the bogus refugees—who often end up stranded in the camps. Many use their life savings to flee the economic woes of Burma, having been promised an easy trip to the West.
Once in Thailand though, it’s often a different story— they’re left in the camp while the brokers flee. With no realistic case for asylum—or any money to get back to Burma—many are left powerless and afraid.
Those who do complain find themselves in trouble and sometimes are evicted from the camp by the camp authorities.
In some cases, the brokers don’t just cause delays in the resettlement of refugees, they steal their chances of it.
Myat Thu, a former All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) member based in Mae Sot, told The Irrawaddy how friends of his had been accepted to go to the United States but were told at the last minute that they couldn’t go.
“When it came around to leaving, they met with officials who told them people registered with their names had already been resettled in a third country,” he said. “When they tried to prove who they were, the administrators just shrugged and said, ‘That’s the black market.’”
The issue of identity theft has been accepted by resettlement agencies, but people continue to speculate who and what has allowed this problem to occur.
“Substitution is a major problem,” explained a former UNHCR worker who wished to remain anonymous. “No one is sure who is behind it, but it’s very possible that some UNHCR staff members are involved—they have power in the camps and oversee what goes on.
“It’s hard to tackle because everyone is too scared to complain. People in the camps don’t know if they are complaining to the actual people who are involved in the corruption and are worried that everyone will find out,” she said.
“It needs to be stopped though. Every time it occurs they are robbing the real refugees of their chance to resettle,” she added.
The refugee and migrant worker communities in and around Mae Sot have long accused UNHCR staff of being involved in the broker network. There’s no evidence to prove it, but many say they know people who have paid staff to arrange resettlement.
“If you have money the process is a lot easier,” said Ko Myo Thein, a former political prisoner and resident at Umpiem camp. “You can use a broker who will hand money over to staff at the UNHCR, whether you are a real refugee or not. Then your application will be accepted and you will be sent over to America.”
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Kitty McKinsey, the UNHCR senior regional public information officer in Bangkok, said the agency takes the allegations very seriously. “We have a zero tolerance policy on fraud and misbehavior of any of our staff,” she said.
Despite the problems, the resettlement process on the Thai-Burmese border continues to be one of the most successful in the world.
As one NGO worker put it: “The work which has been done here is unprecedented. People are being resettled extremely quickly. There are around 40,000 who have already been resettled in third countries where they are enjoying fundamental rights and freedom from confinement in the camps.”
However, there are still activists, former political prisoners and victims of conflict, languishing in the refugee camps feeling that they have lost out to bogus refugees.
Ko Myo Thein expressed this frustration, saying: “The real refuges remain in the camps, while fake refugees rob them of the happy new lives they deserve. The broker network is to blame for this.”
By ALEX ELLGEE, Thursday, September 17, 2009
MAE SOT — Since 2005, when resettlement began, a network of brokers has evolved to assist individuals from Burma who wish to enter the refugee camps and resettle in a third country.
The black market business has helped many to escape Burma— but not always the people who fit the criteria and need resettlement the most.
Residents at the three main camps around Mae Sot, who are waiting for resettlement, blame the influx of “fake applicants” for the long delays they endure. Many claim that the “pseudo-refugees” leave the camps first, deferring the resettlement of real applicants.
“I see many fake refugees coming into the camp. They pay the brokers and the camp authorities. Then they get resettled first,” said Bo Bo, a resident at Nu Po camp.
He explained how he came to the camp in a large group from Mon State where their land was stolen by Burmese government forces. As farmers, they had been stripped of their entire livelihood. So, with nothing left, they fled to the border.
“We have to wait longer because the brokers help the fake refugees into the camp and they leave first. It’s not fair on us, We remain in the camp with nothing while they continue to run their businesses, often returning to Myawaddy and Rangoon,” he said.
Bo Bo claimed that many fake applicants entered Nu Po camp last year and that 27 had already arrived this month [September]. He explained that two brokers are working in conjunction with the palat (camp coordinator) to get people into the camp and sent quickly to a third country.
It has been alleged that the camp authorities are working in cahoots with the brokers and have become immersed in the corruption and fraud that has sprung up around the resettlement process. Residents claim that brokers pay the palat for their clients’ entrance to the camp, allowing people with no valid refugee claim to enter.
As a result of the black market which unscrupulous Burmese brokers have developed, money has become so important in the camps that new arrivals find it very difficult to settle into their new lives as refugees in Thailand.
“We can’t get into the camp because we have no documents and we were just released from prison,” said Ko Than, a recent arrival in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burmese border.
Having just finished a two-year sentence for his part in the 1988 protests, and deciding he had no future in Burma, Ko Than came to Thailand to apply for a new life in a third country where he could make up for the time he lost while in prison.
For ex- political prisoners like Ko Than, coming to Thailand with their families and getting safely to the refugee camps is difficult. If they go by taxi they run the risk of being arrested by the Thai police and either sent back to Burma or paying heavy bribes.
In contrast, the bogus refugees, who have traveled to Thailand without a solid refugee claim, have time to prepare for their trip well in advance and save up the necessary amount of cash. Once in the camp, their money will buy them influence and ultimately a better life than the real asylum seekers—and that creates tension and grievances in the camps.
“I do believe that refugees have the right to make money and better their lives, but it’s not fair that opportunists are allowed to buy their way into the camp and take the good homes and rations— more than the democracy activists who have given up everything,” said Kyaw Gyi, a resident of Mae La camp and former political prisoner.
However, not only are “real” refugees losing out as a result of the broker networks, but also the brokers’ customers—the bogus refugees—who often end up stranded in the camps. Many use their life savings to flee the economic woes of Burma, having been promised an easy trip to the West.
Once in Thailand though, it’s often a different story— they’re left in the camp while the brokers flee. With no realistic case for asylum—or any money to get back to Burma—many are left powerless and afraid.
Those who do complain find themselves in trouble and sometimes are evicted from the camp by the camp authorities.
In some cases, the brokers don’t just cause delays in the resettlement of refugees, they steal their chances of it.
Myat Thu, a former All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) member based in Mae Sot, told The Irrawaddy how friends of his had been accepted to go to the United States but were told at the last minute that they couldn’t go.
“When it came around to leaving, they met with officials who told them people registered with their names had already been resettled in a third country,” he said. “When they tried to prove who they were, the administrators just shrugged and said, ‘That’s the black market.’”
The issue of identity theft has been accepted by resettlement agencies, but people continue to speculate who and what has allowed this problem to occur.
“Substitution is a major problem,” explained a former UNHCR worker who wished to remain anonymous. “No one is sure who is behind it, but it’s very possible that some UNHCR staff members are involved—they have power in the camps and oversee what goes on.
“It’s hard to tackle because everyone is too scared to complain. People in the camps don’t know if they are complaining to the actual people who are involved in the corruption and are worried that everyone will find out,” she said.
“It needs to be stopped though. Every time it occurs they are robbing the real refugees of their chance to resettle,” she added.
The refugee and migrant worker communities in and around Mae Sot have long accused UNHCR staff of being involved in the broker network. There’s no evidence to prove it, but many say they know people who have paid staff to arrange resettlement.
“If you have money the process is a lot easier,” said Ko Myo Thein, a former political prisoner and resident at Umpiem camp. “You can use a broker who will hand money over to staff at the UNHCR, whether you are a real refugee or not. Then your application will be accepted and you will be sent over to America.”
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Kitty McKinsey, the UNHCR senior regional public information officer in Bangkok, said the agency takes the allegations very seriously. “We have a zero tolerance policy on fraud and misbehavior of any of our staff,” she said.
Despite the problems, the resettlement process on the Thai-Burmese border continues to be one of the most successful in the world.
As one NGO worker put it: “The work which has been done here is unprecedented. People are being resettled extremely quickly. There are around 40,000 who have already been resettled in third countries where they are enjoying fundamental rights and freedom from confinement in the camps.”
However, there are still activists, former political prisoners and victims of conflict, languishing in the refugee camps feeling that they have lost out to bogus refugees.
Ko Myo Thein expressed this frustration, saying: “The real refuges remain in the camps, while fake refugees rob them of the happy new lives they deserve. The broker network is to blame for this.”
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The Irrawaddy - Food Shortages Reported in Laogai
By LAWI WENG, Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tens of thousands of Kokang civilians are experiencing food shortages, partly because UN and NGO agencies have suspended aid projects after the clash between government troops and Kokang militias, according to the sources on the China-Burma border.
A Burmese source based in Ruili in China's Yunnan Province, said, “Previously, they relied on aid from WFP (World Food Program) and NGOs, but now the projects are suspended in the region and they don’t have enough rice to eat.”
The source said that available rice stock goes first to government forces.
“Laogai has become a military township,” he said. “The military is everywhere.”
A spokeswoman with the WFP in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, “We don’t know yet when we will restart our projects there. At the moment, we want to see a safe situation for our staff who works there.”
An estimated 120,000 people rely on the UN and NGO agencies for food and other aid, according to the WFP.
About 100 UN and NGO aid workers were trapped in Laogai Township after Burmese government troops and Kokang militias clashed in August. Many aid workers work with former opium farmers who are now growing substitute crops and in community development.
The Burmese government, in a recent press conference in Laogai, said that all markets and schools are open and many businesses are reopened.
“All those saying that are just repeating propaganda,” said the source. “There are still many students in China at refugee camps and many shopkeepers haven’t come back.”
Many people are afraid to return because they fear government troops will again clash with the Kokang militia led by Peng Jiasheng, who is on the run and reportedly in Wa territory.
An estimated 13,000 Kokang refugees have returned from China, and more than 20,000 are believed to have remained in Chinese refugee camps.
By LAWI WENG, Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tens of thousands of Kokang civilians are experiencing food shortages, partly because UN and NGO agencies have suspended aid projects after the clash between government troops and Kokang militias, according to the sources on the China-Burma border.
A Burmese source based in Ruili in China's Yunnan Province, said, “Previously, they relied on aid from WFP (World Food Program) and NGOs, but now the projects are suspended in the region and they don’t have enough rice to eat.”
The source said that available rice stock goes first to government forces.
“Laogai has become a military township,” he said. “The military is everywhere.”
A spokeswoman with the WFP in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, “We don’t know yet when we will restart our projects there. At the moment, we want to see a safe situation for our staff who works there.”
An estimated 120,000 people rely on the UN and NGO agencies for food and other aid, according to the WFP.
About 100 UN and NGO aid workers were trapped in Laogai Township after Burmese government troops and Kokang militias clashed in August. Many aid workers work with former opium farmers who are now growing substitute crops and in community development.
The Burmese government, in a recent press conference in Laogai, said that all markets and schools are open and many businesses are reopened.
“All those saying that are just repeating propaganda,” said the source. “There are still many students in China at refugee camps and many shopkeepers haven’t come back.”
Many people are afraid to return because they fear government troops will again clash with the Kokang militia led by Peng Jiasheng, who is on the run and reportedly in Wa territory.
An estimated 13,000 Kokang refugees have returned from China, and more than 20,000 are believed to have remained in Chinese refugee camps.
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The Irrawaddy - Eight Democracy Activists Arrested
By THE IRRAWADDY, Thursday, September 17, 2009
Eight democracy activists including one Buddhist monk in Myingyan Township in Mandalay were detained by Burmese military authorities on Wednesday, according to local sources.
A friend of a detainee said that the authorities appeared at the homes of those arrested about 3 am and took them into custody.
The source said Myo Han, Wint Thu, Hla Myo Kyaw, Aung Myo Lat, Soe Ya Zar Phyo, Kyi Soe, one unidentified civilian and one unidentified monk were arrested.
The mother of Wint Thu said, “They came and searched our home about 2:30 am. My son wasn’t here, but later I heard he had been arrested.”
The detainees were taken to Mandalay, sources said. Sources believe the authorities made the arrests in an effort to disrupt planned demonstrations.
Special Police have been mobilized at various Myingyan monasteries and at youth gatherings in the township in recent days, sources said.
Burmese authorities have also increased security in Mandalay and Rangoon, and several other cities, as the Saffron Revolution’s two-year anniversary nears in September. Security forces have been deployed at strategic road locations and near monasteries and pagodas.
Last week in Pokokku, a journalist and two unidentified civilians were detained by the authorities while they attempted to interview monks in a monastery. Pokokku was a center of monk-led demonstrations in 2007.
The regime continues to regard monks with suspicion, and they have been restricted from traveling abroad and inside Burma without special permission.
Meanwhile, the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP) reported that one monk from Rangoon and three from Magway Division were arrested in August.
According to the AAPP, of Burma’s 2,211 political prisoners, 237 are monks. According to official data, there are more than 400,000 monks in Burma. The monastic community has always played an important role in social and political affairs, often in opposition to oppressive regimes.
Ashin Gambira, one of the prominent Buddhist monk leaders of the 2007 demonstrations, is currently serving a 63-year prison sentence in Kalay Prison, located in a remote area of Sagaing Division.
Bo Kyi, the AAPP joint-secretary, said an estimated 100 political prisoners are in poor health and receive inadequate medical treatment.
By THE IRRAWADDY, Thursday, September 17, 2009
Eight democracy activists including one Buddhist monk in Myingyan Township in Mandalay were detained by Burmese military authorities on Wednesday, according to local sources.
A friend of a detainee said that the authorities appeared at the homes of those arrested about 3 am and took them into custody.
The source said Myo Han, Wint Thu, Hla Myo Kyaw, Aung Myo Lat, Soe Ya Zar Phyo, Kyi Soe, one unidentified civilian and one unidentified monk were arrested.
The mother of Wint Thu said, “They came and searched our home about 2:30 am. My son wasn’t here, but later I heard he had been arrested.”
The detainees were taken to Mandalay, sources said. Sources believe the authorities made the arrests in an effort to disrupt planned demonstrations.
Special Police have been mobilized at various Myingyan monasteries and at youth gatherings in the township in recent days, sources said.
Burmese authorities have also increased security in Mandalay and Rangoon, and several other cities, as the Saffron Revolution’s two-year anniversary nears in September. Security forces have been deployed at strategic road locations and near monasteries and pagodas.
Last week in Pokokku, a journalist and two unidentified civilians were detained by the authorities while they attempted to interview monks in a monastery. Pokokku was a center of monk-led demonstrations in 2007.
The regime continues to regard monks with suspicion, and they have been restricted from traveling abroad and inside Burma without special permission.
Meanwhile, the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP) reported that one monk from Rangoon and three from Magway Division were arrested in August.
According to the AAPP, of Burma’s 2,211 political prisoners, 237 are monks. According to official data, there are more than 400,000 monks in Burma. The monastic community has always played an important role in social and political affairs, often in opposition to oppressive regimes.
Ashin Gambira, one of the prominent Buddhist monk leaders of the 2007 demonstrations, is currently serving a 63-year prison sentence in Kalay Prison, located in a remote area of Sagaing Division.
Bo Kyi, the AAPP joint-secretary, said an estimated 100 political prisoners are in poor health and receive inadequate medical treatment.
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The Irrawaddy - Junta Selects Proxy Candidates
By THE IRRAWADDY, Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Burmese government has reportedly selected more than 300 proxy candidates to run in the general election in 2010.
Many of the candidates were selected from military personnel who are now attending the National Defense University in Naypyidaw, according to sources in Rangoon and Naypyidaw.
The candidates will run under the banner of the National Politics Party, a proxy party for the military, which has yet to be formed. No official announcement of the formation of the party or the selection of candidates has appeared in Burmese state-run media.
The candidates will undergo a three-month training process prior to the election, sources said.
Included among the government-selected candidates will also be members of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and the Myanmar
Maternal and Child Welfare Association (MMCWA).
While some members participate with the new political party, the two organizations will retain their current status as "social welfare groups," according to the sources.
Sources also said the government will provide campaign funds and offer its own candidates to other political parties that will take part in 2010 election.
According to the 2008 constitution, the military is guaranteed control of 25 percent of both the Upper House and Lower House seats in Parliament.
Meanwhile, the formation of a new political party, the Democratic Party, was announced on Monday in Rangoon. The party will be headed by the daughter of late Prime Minister U Nu, along with two daughters of former high-ranking political leaders.
The main Burmese opposition party, the National League for Democracy, has said it will not participate in the election unless the government meets certain conditions. It says the election is a sham designed to perpetuate military rule under the guise of democracy.
By THE IRRAWADDY, Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Burmese government has reportedly selected more than 300 proxy candidates to run in the general election in 2010.
Many of the candidates were selected from military personnel who are now attending the National Defense University in Naypyidaw, according to sources in Rangoon and Naypyidaw.
The candidates will run under the banner of the National Politics Party, a proxy party for the military, which has yet to be formed. No official announcement of the formation of the party or the selection of candidates has appeared in Burmese state-run media.
The candidates will undergo a three-month training process prior to the election, sources said.
Included among the government-selected candidates will also be members of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and the Myanmar
Maternal and Child Welfare Association (MMCWA).
While some members participate with the new political party, the two organizations will retain their current status as "social welfare groups," according to the sources.
Sources also said the government will provide campaign funds and offer its own candidates to other political parties that will take part in 2010 election.
According to the 2008 constitution, the military is guaranteed control of 25 percent of both the Upper House and Lower House seats in Parliament.
Meanwhile, the formation of a new political party, the Democratic Party, was announced on Monday in Rangoon. The party will be headed by the daughter of late Prime Minister U Nu, along with two daughters of former high-ranking political leaders.
The main Burmese opposition party, the National League for Democracy, has said it will not participate in the election unless the government meets certain conditions. It says the election is a sham designed to perpetuate military rule under the guise of democracy.
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Mizzima News - “We want justice”: Burmese rebels tell Court
by Mungpi
Thursday, 17 September 2009 19:30
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Detained for the past 11 years, Burmese rebels on Thursday told the City Sessions Court in India’s Kolkata city that they were falsely framed and demanded justice.
The rebels, currently lodged in Kolkata’s Presidency Jail, told the court that they were not criminals but are ‘freedom fighters’ and that they had come to India at the invitation of Indian authorities.
In the statement signed and submitted to the court on Thursday, Danya Linn, one of the 34 rebels said, “We came at the invitation and in peace of India – as friend. I did not have any weapons with me and none were taken from me.”
“This is a false case,” said Danya Linn appealing to the court saying “I want justice – I have spent 11 years in detention. Indian authorities want to send us to Burma – where we will be executed.”
Along with Danya Linn, on Thursday 16 other rebels gave their statement, which were in response to the court’s 29 questions based on the allegations made by prosecution witnesses.
The 34 Burmese rebels, belonging to National United Party of Arakan (NUPA) and Karen National Union (KNU), two armed groups fighting the Burmese military junta, were arrested in February 1998 at Landfall Island of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In his response to the judge’s last question, Danya Linn said, he had joined the armed struggle against Burmese military rulers, who brutally crushed the pro-democracy uprising in 1988.
After actively participating in the 1988 uprising as a student, Danya Linn said he returned home to Arakan state only to witness the military’s brutal treatment of the people.
“I have seen the Burmese Army extract forced labour, goats, chickens and rations from Arakanese villagers. The Burmese Army gave no payment to the Arakan people for their labour or supplies,” he said.
Danya Linn said, he had also actively campaigned for Arakan League for Democracy during Burma’s last general elections in 1990, but the junta refused to recognize the results and suppressed the opposition by arresting its leaders.
Danya Linn said he was also in the junta’s arrest-list, which forced him to flee and join the armed struggle under the National United Party of Arakan (NUPA).
While denying the allegation made by the prosecution witnesses, Danya Linn told the court that he and his friends were betrayed by Indian Army Colonel Grewal, who promised to give support of the Indian Army to their movement.
In 1997, his party leaders introduced him to an Indian Army Colonel Grewal, who spoke fluent Burmese. The colonel told NUPA that he had discussed with the Indian Army to support their movement.
After being informed by Grewal that the Indian Army had agreed to support them, Danya Linn said they set off for Coco Island on the Andaman Sea on the invitation of Indian authorities.
“We were to meet Indian authorities near Coco Island – we did so, and were brought to Landfall Island by them. We did not know how to get there on our own,” he told the court on Thursday.
Danya Linn said they were welcomed by Indian authorities on arrival on Landfall Island, but while resting and sipping cold drinks, six of their leaders were called by Grewal and other Indian Army officers.
“We were shocked to hear gun shots – we never saw our leaders after that. They started handcuffing us – since we did not know English we could not understand what was going on,” he said.
“I have realized that Grewal double crossed us. We gave our version to Indian authority/ CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] but they took no action,” he added.
But contrary to the rebels claim, the Indian military establishment had stated that the 34 rebels were caught during a joint military exercise codenamed ‘Operation Leech’ in February 1998 on the Landfall Island of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago along with a huge cache of arms and ammunitions.
The rebels, who were detained in Port Blair for eight years, are currently charged with having been in possession of explosive materials and arms and ammunition and illegal entry into India, Akshay Kumar Sharma, one of the defence lawyers of the rebels said.
“But so far there is no evidence to support the claim that the accused were caught carrying arms and ammunitions,” Sharma said.
After wrapping up the prosecution witnesses’ testimony, and obtaining statements from the accused, the court on Thursday scheduled the hearing of defence witnesses to begin in the next court session, scheduled to be held on November 11 and 12, 2009.
Sharma said that the defence witnesses are likely to include leaders of Burmese democracy movement and ethnic groups, but said the list of witnesses is still under consideration and would be submitted later.
Sharma said, “We are hoping for acquittal and even if the accused are convicted under the Foreigners Act, they might have already served their term.”
But concerns remain as under the Foreigners Act, even if the rebels are acquitted, they could be deported to Burma or could remain in jail, unless any other third country is ready to accept them and provide asylum.
Earlier the Czech Republic and East Timor announced that they have ‘in principle’ agreed to accept the rebels and provide asylum, if the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recognizes them as refugees.
by Mungpi
Thursday, 17 September 2009 19:30
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Detained for the past 11 years, Burmese rebels on Thursday told the City Sessions Court in India’s Kolkata city that they were falsely framed and demanded justice.
The rebels, currently lodged in Kolkata’s Presidency Jail, told the court that they were not criminals but are ‘freedom fighters’ and that they had come to India at the invitation of Indian authorities.
In the statement signed and submitted to the court on Thursday, Danya Linn, one of the 34 rebels said, “We came at the invitation and in peace of India – as friend. I did not have any weapons with me and none were taken from me.”
“This is a false case,” said Danya Linn appealing to the court saying “I want justice – I have spent 11 years in detention. Indian authorities want to send us to Burma – where we will be executed.”
Along with Danya Linn, on Thursday 16 other rebels gave their statement, which were in response to the court’s 29 questions based on the allegations made by prosecution witnesses.
The 34 Burmese rebels, belonging to National United Party of Arakan (NUPA) and Karen National Union (KNU), two armed groups fighting the Burmese military junta, were arrested in February 1998 at Landfall Island of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In his response to the judge’s last question, Danya Linn said, he had joined the armed struggle against Burmese military rulers, who brutally crushed the pro-democracy uprising in 1988.
After actively participating in the 1988 uprising as a student, Danya Linn said he returned home to Arakan state only to witness the military’s brutal treatment of the people.
“I have seen the Burmese Army extract forced labour, goats, chickens and rations from Arakanese villagers. The Burmese Army gave no payment to the Arakan people for their labour or supplies,” he said.
Danya Linn said, he had also actively campaigned for Arakan League for Democracy during Burma’s last general elections in 1990, but the junta refused to recognize the results and suppressed the opposition by arresting its leaders.
Danya Linn said he was also in the junta’s arrest-list, which forced him to flee and join the armed struggle under the National United Party of Arakan (NUPA).
While denying the allegation made by the prosecution witnesses, Danya Linn told the court that he and his friends were betrayed by Indian Army Colonel Grewal, who promised to give support of the Indian Army to their movement.
In 1997, his party leaders introduced him to an Indian Army Colonel Grewal, who spoke fluent Burmese. The colonel told NUPA that he had discussed with the Indian Army to support their movement.
After being informed by Grewal that the Indian Army had agreed to support them, Danya Linn said they set off for Coco Island on the Andaman Sea on the invitation of Indian authorities.
“We were to meet Indian authorities near Coco Island – we did so, and were brought to Landfall Island by them. We did not know how to get there on our own,” he told the court on Thursday.
Danya Linn said they were welcomed by Indian authorities on arrival on Landfall Island, but while resting and sipping cold drinks, six of their leaders were called by Grewal and other Indian Army officers.
“We were shocked to hear gun shots – we never saw our leaders after that. They started handcuffing us – since we did not know English we could not understand what was going on,” he said.
“I have realized that Grewal double crossed us. We gave our version to Indian authority/ CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] but they took no action,” he added.
But contrary to the rebels claim, the Indian military establishment had stated that the 34 rebels were caught during a joint military exercise codenamed ‘Operation Leech’ in February 1998 on the Landfall Island of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago along with a huge cache of arms and ammunitions.
The rebels, who were detained in Port Blair for eight years, are currently charged with having been in possession of explosive materials and arms and ammunition and illegal entry into India, Akshay Kumar Sharma, one of the defence lawyers of the rebels said.
“But so far there is no evidence to support the claim that the accused were caught carrying arms and ammunitions,” Sharma said.
After wrapping up the prosecution witnesses’ testimony, and obtaining statements from the accused, the court on Thursday scheduled the hearing of defence witnesses to begin in the next court session, scheduled to be held on November 11 and 12, 2009.
Sharma said that the defence witnesses are likely to include leaders of Burmese democracy movement and ethnic groups, but said the list of witnesses is still under consideration and would be submitted later.
Sharma said, “We are hoping for acquittal and even if the accused are convicted under the Foreigners Act, they might have already served their term.”
But concerns remain as under the Foreigners Act, even if the rebels are acquitted, they could be deported to Burma or could remain in jail, unless any other third country is ready to accept them and provide asylum.
Earlier the Czech Republic and East Timor announced that they have ‘in principle’ agreed to accept the rebels and provide asylum, if the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recognizes them as refugees.
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Mizzima News - Food insecurity aggravates in Chin state
by Salai Pi Pi
Thursday, 17 September 2009 21:44
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Unabated rat infestation continues to create acute food shortage for people in Chin state and northwest part of Burma, a new report said.
The Canada-based Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), in its new report ‘On the edge of Survival’ released on Thursday said, the ongoing rat infestation, which began in 2007 had aggravated food insecurity in seven townships in Chin state as well as some areas of Sagaing division in north-western Burma.
“Rats continue to destroy the crops in fields. In some areas, the people face shortage of food, while others survive with little rice and other crops in hand. But it will be just enough for a short period,” Terah Thantluang, Field Coordinator of CHRO told Mizzima on Thursday.
“Some villagers survive merely on wild yams dug up from the forests,” he added.
According to the previous report of the United Nation Development Program (UNDP), a total of 34,764 farmers in three townships in Chin state faced shortage of food while CHRO’s report last year claimed around 100,000 people were in ‘hunger condition’ from food insecurity related to bamboo flowering causing rat infestation.
Now, CHRO says the rat infestation has spread to Hakha, Falam, Matupi, Paletwa, Thantlang, Tiddim, and Tongzang in Chin state and some parts of Sagaing Division where the pests had already damaged about 82 percent of farmlands.
Adding the condition is worsening, the CHRO report said not only rats but also crop-eating insects, such as locusts or grasshoppers, destroyed rat-left crops in the fields.
“The insects reportedly not only eat the fruit and grain, but all the leaves and stalks, turning entire fields and farms into barren wastelands in a short time,” the report said.
Meanwhile, Win Hlaing Oo, director of Rangoon based Country Agency for Rural Development in Myanmar (CAD) said, the late monsoon and low rainfall this year in Chin state resulted in some farmers abandoning crop cultivation in some areas of Thangtlang and Matupi and Hakha Township.
“In my village [Hnaring village in Thangtlang], there are about 300 acres of farmlands but only 50 acres are cultivated because of low rainfall and late monsoons,” he told Mizzima.
Win Hlaing Oo also said food insecurity in the future is imminent as the people are just surviving on recently harvested few crops such as maize and millet which were left by rats.
“However, they are not in the condition where they are getting nothing to eat but are surviving on rat-leftover crops. It won’t be sustainable in the long run,” he explained.
Limited international aid
World Food Program (WFP) led International Non-governmental Organizations (INGOs) and National NGOs started implementing emergency food assistance for the first three month in the hardest hit townships in Chin state in early 2009.
Eighty five percent (85%) of households in Chin state were in debt and needed to repay the loan which they took for purchasing food, according to WFP’s recent report.
CHRO said the aid from WFP led aid groups is limited and could not cover the entire affected areas.
Each person just received about 7 to 10 kilograms of rice over a three-month period, while the people in some areas such as Thantlang, Hakha, Tonzang and Tedim Townships, were helped under the food-for-work/cash programmes, the CHRO report said.
Moreover, Win Hlaing Oo from CAD said the first four-month assistance programme was halted last month as no more relief aid remained.
“The food and cash distributing programmes were suspended for the time being as there is no more assistance remaining,” said Win Hlaing Oo from CAD.
But Win Hlaing Oo said, the aid work will possibly be resumed next month after the next batch of rice of an estimated 300 metric tons from WFP arrives in Chin state for another four-month assistance programme in his organization projected areas in Thangtlang, Matupi and Hakha.
Ban on cross-border aid
Recently, the commander of Military Tactical Command (1) of Chin state Brig-Gen Hung Ngai, who is also the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, warned the people not to accept relief aid from overseas except from WFP, said a relief worker from the community based Relief group known as Chin Mautam Relief Committee (CMRC).
“He told the people not to receive any foreign aid or they will face reprisal,” a relief worker told Mizzima on condition of anonymity.
Terah from CHRO said, the exile based Chin community, had been providing relief to the villagers through the India-Burma border. The aid was for people facing shortage of food in the areas which WFP led aids groups could not reach.
However, he said, “The aid is very little. Not enough to solve the problem.”
The Burmese junta, instead of helping is committing human right abuses including forced labour against the people in rat plagued areas, CHRO said.
“Constant demand for labourers has forced people to leave their farms and fields in order to work on SPDC projects without compensation,” the report added.
by Salai Pi Pi
Thursday, 17 September 2009 21:44
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Unabated rat infestation continues to create acute food shortage for people in Chin state and northwest part of Burma, a new report said.
The Canada-based Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), in its new report ‘On the edge of Survival’ released on Thursday said, the ongoing rat infestation, which began in 2007 had aggravated food insecurity in seven townships in Chin state as well as some areas of Sagaing division in north-western Burma.
“Rats continue to destroy the crops in fields. In some areas, the people face shortage of food, while others survive with little rice and other crops in hand. But it will be just enough for a short period,” Terah Thantluang, Field Coordinator of CHRO told Mizzima on Thursday.
“Some villagers survive merely on wild yams dug up from the forests,” he added.
According to the previous report of the United Nation Development Program (UNDP), a total of 34,764 farmers in three townships in Chin state faced shortage of food while CHRO’s report last year claimed around 100,000 people were in ‘hunger condition’ from food insecurity related to bamboo flowering causing rat infestation.
Now, CHRO says the rat infestation has spread to Hakha, Falam, Matupi, Paletwa, Thantlang, Tiddim, and Tongzang in Chin state and some parts of Sagaing Division where the pests had already damaged about 82 percent of farmlands.
Adding the condition is worsening, the CHRO report said not only rats but also crop-eating insects, such as locusts or grasshoppers, destroyed rat-left crops in the fields.
“The insects reportedly not only eat the fruit and grain, but all the leaves and stalks, turning entire fields and farms into barren wastelands in a short time,” the report said.
Meanwhile, Win Hlaing Oo, director of Rangoon based Country Agency for Rural Development in Myanmar (CAD) said, the late monsoon and low rainfall this year in Chin state resulted in some farmers abandoning crop cultivation in some areas of Thangtlang and Matupi and Hakha Township.
“In my village [Hnaring village in Thangtlang], there are about 300 acres of farmlands but only 50 acres are cultivated because of low rainfall and late monsoons,” he told Mizzima.
Win Hlaing Oo also said food insecurity in the future is imminent as the people are just surviving on recently harvested few crops such as maize and millet which were left by rats.
“However, they are not in the condition where they are getting nothing to eat but are surviving on rat-leftover crops. It won’t be sustainable in the long run,” he explained.
Limited international aid
World Food Program (WFP) led International Non-governmental Organizations (INGOs) and National NGOs started implementing emergency food assistance for the first three month in the hardest hit townships in Chin state in early 2009.
Eighty five percent (85%) of households in Chin state were in debt and needed to repay the loan which they took for purchasing food, according to WFP’s recent report.
CHRO said the aid from WFP led aid groups is limited and could not cover the entire affected areas.
Each person just received about 7 to 10 kilograms of rice over a three-month period, while the people in some areas such as Thantlang, Hakha, Tonzang and Tedim Townships, were helped under the food-for-work/cash programmes, the CHRO report said.
Moreover, Win Hlaing Oo from CAD said the first four-month assistance programme was halted last month as no more relief aid remained.
“The food and cash distributing programmes were suspended for the time being as there is no more assistance remaining,” said Win Hlaing Oo from CAD.
But Win Hlaing Oo said, the aid work will possibly be resumed next month after the next batch of rice of an estimated 300 metric tons from WFP arrives in Chin state for another four-month assistance programme in his organization projected areas in Thangtlang, Matupi and Hakha.
Ban on cross-border aid
Recently, the commander of Military Tactical Command (1) of Chin state Brig-Gen Hung Ngai, who is also the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, warned the people not to accept relief aid from overseas except from WFP, said a relief worker from the community based Relief group known as Chin Mautam Relief Committee (CMRC).
“He told the people not to receive any foreign aid or they will face reprisal,” a relief worker told Mizzima on condition of anonymity.
Terah from CHRO said, the exile based Chin community, had been providing relief to the villagers through the India-Burma border. The aid was for people facing shortage of food in the areas which WFP led aids groups could not reach.
However, he said, “The aid is very little. Not enough to solve the problem.”
The Burmese junta, instead of helping is committing human right abuses including forced labour against the people in rat plagued areas, CHRO said.
“Constant demand for labourers has forced people to leave their farms and fields in order to work on SPDC projects without compensation,” the report added.
***************************************************************
Australia to tackle human trafficking in Burma
Sept 17, 2009 (DVB)–Burma has been named as one of six countries that will receive funding from the Australian government to tackle human trafficking, Canberra announced on Tuesday.
More than $AUS10 million will be provided to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to fund three projects in the country over the next four years.
Other countries targeted in the programme are Laos, China, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. The announcement was made on Tuesday by Australia’s minister for immigration and citizen, Chris Evans.
According to a statement on the Australian government website, the first of the three projects will focus on computer-based training for border staff “to detect and stop people smuggling activities”.
The second will “finance the creation of a coordination and analysis unit to gather, examine and distribute statistics on people smuggling across the region”, while the third is aimed at strengthening cross-border cooperation.
According to International Labour Organisation (ILO) figures, at least 12.3 million people worldwide are in forced labour, bonded labour or commercial sexual exploitation.
A US State Department report released in June this year said that human trafficking within Burma remains “significant”, whist trafficking of young women into forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation is a “major problem”.
Many Burmese women and children are being trafficked to Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Korea, China and Malaysia, the latter two often for forced marriage.
The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the phenomenon as “modern slavery”.
“[It] weakens legitimate economies, fuels violence, threatens public health and safety, shatters families, and shreds the social fabric that is necessary for progress.”
Reporting by Francis Wade
Sept 17, 2009 (DVB)–Burma has been named as one of six countries that will receive funding from the Australian government to tackle human trafficking, Canberra announced on Tuesday.
More than $AUS10 million will be provided to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to fund three projects in the country over the next four years.
Other countries targeted in the programme are Laos, China, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. The announcement was made on Tuesday by Australia’s minister for immigration and citizen, Chris Evans.
According to a statement on the Australian government website, the first of the three projects will focus on computer-based training for border staff “to detect and stop people smuggling activities”.
The second will “finance the creation of a coordination and analysis unit to gather, examine and distribute statistics on people smuggling across the region”, while the third is aimed at strengthening cross-border cooperation.
According to International Labour Organisation (ILO) figures, at least 12.3 million people worldwide are in forced labour, bonded labour or commercial sexual exploitation.
A US State Department report released in June this year said that human trafficking within Burma remains “significant”, whist trafficking of young women into forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation is a “major problem”.
Many Burmese women and children are being trafficked to Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Korea, China and Malaysia, the latter two often for forced marriage.
The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the phenomenon as “modern slavery”.
“[It] weakens legitimate economies, fuels violence, threatens public health and safety, shatters families, and shreds the social fabric that is necessary for progress.”
Reporting by Francis Wade
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Opposition coalition ‘unable to materialise’
Sept 17, 2009 (DVB)–A coalition of political parties that won votes in the 1990 elections in Burma has struggled to provide a viable opposition threat due to government oppression, said a senior group member.
The Committee Representing the People’s Parliament (CRPP), which includes the National League for Democracy (NLD), yesterday marked its 11-year anniversary.
According to CRPP secretary Aye Thar Aung, pressure and harassment from Burma’s ruling junta has crippled the group’s ability to convene a people’s parliament, the reason behind its birth.
“We tried our best to convene the parliament but on the other hand, there were tremendous pressures [from the government], such as harassment, oppression and imprisonment of our members,” said Aye Thar Aung.
“Due to these pressures, we now have to say we were unable to materialise our idea to convene the parliament and implement the results of the 1990 elections.”
Aye Thar Aung said however that the group will continue with their commitment to bring success to their aim.
“There is only a small chance for us now but we [as representatives] of the political parties that won seats in the 1990 elections are to continue with our determination.”
The CRPP was formed in 1998 with people’s parliament representative members from various political organisations such as the NLD and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD).
Among the group’s leading members, chairman Aung Shwe, Lun Tin and U Lwin are in poor health while Aung San Suu Kyi, Tin Oo, Khun Htun Oo and Kyaw Min are under government detention.
The NLD’s landslide victory in the 1990 elections was dismissed by the military junta. The party’s leader, Suu Kyi, was put under house arrest shortly after.
Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet
Sept 17, 2009 (DVB)–A coalition of political parties that won votes in the 1990 elections in Burma has struggled to provide a viable opposition threat due to government oppression, said a senior group member.
The Committee Representing the People’s Parliament (CRPP), which includes the National League for Democracy (NLD), yesterday marked its 11-year anniversary.
According to CRPP secretary Aye Thar Aung, pressure and harassment from Burma’s ruling junta has crippled the group’s ability to convene a people’s parliament, the reason behind its birth.
“We tried our best to convene the parliament but on the other hand, there were tremendous pressures [from the government], such as harassment, oppression and imprisonment of our members,” said Aye Thar Aung.
“Due to these pressures, we now have to say we were unable to materialise our idea to convene the parliament and implement the results of the 1990 elections.”
Aye Thar Aung said however that the group will continue with their commitment to bring success to their aim.
“There is only a small chance for us now but we [as representatives] of the political parties that won seats in the 1990 elections are to continue with our determination.”
The CRPP was formed in 1998 with people’s parliament representative members from various political organisations such as the NLD and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD).
Among the group’s leading members, chairman Aung Shwe, Lun Tin and U Lwin are in poor health while Aung San Suu Kyi, Tin Oo, Khun Htun Oo and Kyaw Min are under government detention.
The NLD’s landslide victory in the 1990 elections was dismissed by the military junta. The party’s leader, Suu Kyi, was put under house arrest shortly after.
Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet
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UN to resume work in northeastern Burma
Sept 17, 2009 (DVB)–A United Nations relief agency is to resume work in the Kokang region of northeastern Burma after fierce fighting last month caused dozens of aid workers to flee.
All non-local staff of the World Food Programme (WFP) were withdrawn from Kokang in Shan state following fighting between Burmese troops and an armed Kokang ceasefire group.
“We cannot fully run our operation with the number of our local staff there, but we are aiming to go fully operational again next week,” said WFP official Swe Swe Win told DVB yesterday.
The WFP have been distributing aid in Kokang since 2003 in collaboration with partner organisations such as World Vision and the Asia Medical Doctor Association.
Around 20 staff from WFP and partner organisations had been temporarily blocked by Burmese troops from leaving Laogai.
Roads had been shut and the aid workers were being kept in a UN compound in the town. WFP staff had been distributing food and helping Laogai locals in a poppy substitution programme.
State-run media in Burma has said that the situation has returned to normal in the region, with fighting brought to a halt. Around 37,000 refugees had fled across the border into China, but many were reportedly returning.
A local from the regional capital Laogai said however that the town is deserted and shops remain closed, despite local authorities urging people to return.
“Teachers are urging students to come back to school. People from the mainland Burma, who ran businesses in town, have gone back to their regions,” he said, adding that businesses were suffering considerably.
“It’s going to take time before everything is up and running again. Because the town is so empty, there has been looting taking place in unattended houses and shops.”
The fighting pushed China to issue a rare rebuke to Burma, urging it to "properly deal with its domestic issue to safeguard the regional stability in the China-Myanmar [Burma] border area".
Reporting by Nan Kham Kaew
Sept 17, 2009 (DVB)–A United Nations relief agency is to resume work in the Kokang region of northeastern Burma after fierce fighting last month caused dozens of aid workers to flee.
All non-local staff of the World Food Programme (WFP) were withdrawn from Kokang in Shan state following fighting between Burmese troops and an armed Kokang ceasefire group.
“We cannot fully run our operation with the number of our local staff there, but we are aiming to go fully operational again next week,” said WFP official Swe Swe Win told DVB yesterday.
The WFP have been distributing aid in Kokang since 2003 in collaboration with partner organisations such as World Vision and the Asia Medical Doctor Association.
Around 20 staff from WFP and partner organisations had been temporarily blocked by Burmese troops from leaving Laogai.
Roads had been shut and the aid workers were being kept in a UN compound in the town. WFP staff had been distributing food and helping Laogai locals in a poppy substitution programme.
State-run media in Burma has said that the situation has returned to normal in the region, with fighting brought to a halt. Around 37,000 refugees had fled across the border into China, but many were reportedly returning.
A local from the regional capital Laogai said however that the town is deserted and shops remain closed, despite local authorities urging people to return.
“Teachers are urging students to come back to school. People from the mainland Burma, who ran businesses in town, have gone back to their regions,” he said, adding that businesses were suffering considerably.
“It’s going to take time before everything is up and running again. Because the town is so empty, there has been looting taking place in unattended houses and shops.”
The fighting pushed China to issue a rare rebuke to Burma, urging it to "properly deal with its domestic issue to safeguard the regional stability in the China-Myanmar [Burma] border area".
Reporting by Nan Kham Kaew
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