US calls on Myanmar to free political prisoners
by Shaun Tandon – Mon Aug 17, 9:58 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States has welcomed the release of an American detained in Myanmar but called on the regime to free all political prisoners including democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi as it reviews its policy.
American John Yettaw, jailed over a bizarre incident in which he swam to the Nobel laureate's home, flew out of Myanmar on Sunday after US Senator Jim Webb secured his release from the reclusive military junta.
The White House said President Barack Obama was "pleased" by Yettaw's release in Myanmar, earlier known as Burma.
"He appreciates this decision by the Burmese government," a White House statement said.
"We urge the Burmese leadership in this spirit to release all the political prisoners it is holding in detention or in house arrest, including Aung San Suu Kyi," the White House said.
Yettaw's eccentric behavior landed Aung San Suu Kyi with a further sentence for violating terms of her house arrest. She has been confined for most of the past two decades since her party swept elections but never allowed into power.
Webb, a member of Obama's Democratic Party who advocates engaging the junta, held unprecedented talks with Myanmar's leader Than Shwe and also a rare meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi.
Webb was hopeful for a breakthrough with the isolated regime.
"I think we have a moment where we might be able to do something," he told CNN, speaking from Bangkok.
He said he made clear to Than Shwe that rare elections called for next year would have no legitimacy unless Aung San Suu Kyi is able to participate.
He said that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10-member bloc including Myanmar, may issue a petition seeking an amnesty for Aung San Suu Kyi, "which would be a major step forward in resolving the situation."
ASEAN has frequently faced Western criticism for being weak-kneed on Myanmar, supporting a policy of engagement with the regime while the United States and European Union maintain sanctions.
The Obama administration, which has been skeptical of sanctions as a diplomatic tool, is conducting a review of Myanmar policy.
While the administration has previously indicated that it was not considering lifting sanctions, Webb said Aung San Suu Kyi -- long supportive of such tough measures -- was not opposed to easing some restrictions.
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was eager to hear more about Aung San Suu Kyi's opinions.
"Obviously if Aung San Suu Kyi has views on how we should proceed, we will listen closely to what she tells us," the official said.
But State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Myanmar needed to do more to return to US good graces.
"We'll be looking for signs that Burma's fundamentally changing its approach and its policies. I don't think that Mr. Yettaw's release is an indication of that," Crowley told reporters.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with Webb by telephone on Sunday and plans more extensive talks with him once he returns, officials said.
The initiative by Webb, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Asia, has angered many activists working on Myanmar who fear he is giving the junta a rare opportunity to appear in a favorable light.
Leonard Leo, chair of the US Commission on Religious Freedom, a government advisory board, said that the administration should "pursue a dual strategy of more sanctions and more engagement."
"Burma?s military leaders will continue their repressive ways unless diplomatic efforts are coordinated, targeted and tough," he said.
by Shaun Tandon – Mon Aug 17, 9:58 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States has welcomed the release of an American detained in Myanmar but called on the regime to free all political prisoners including democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi as it reviews its policy.
American John Yettaw, jailed over a bizarre incident in which he swam to the Nobel laureate's home, flew out of Myanmar on Sunday after US Senator Jim Webb secured his release from the reclusive military junta.
The White House said President Barack Obama was "pleased" by Yettaw's release in Myanmar, earlier known as Burma.
"He appreciates this decision by the Burmese government," a White House statement said.
"We urge the Burmese leadership in this spirit to release all the political prisoners it is holding in detention or in house arrest, including Aung San Suu Kyi," the White House said.
Yettaw's eccentric behavior landed Aung San Suu Kyi with a further sentence for violating terms of her house arrest. She has been confined for most of the past two decades since her party swept elections but never allowed into power.
Webb, a member of Obama's Democratic Party who advocates engaging the junta, held unprecedented talks with Myanmar's leader Than Shwe and also a rare meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi.
Webb was hopeful for a breakthrough with the isolated regime.
"I think we have a moment where we might be able to do something," he told CNN, speaking from Bangkok.
He said he made clear to Than Shwe that rare elections called for next year would have no legitimacy unless Aung San Suu Kyi is able to participate.
He said that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10-member bloc including Myanmar, may issue a petition seeking an amnesty for Aung San Suu Kyi, "which would be a major step forward in resolving the situation."
ASEAN has frequently faced Western criticism for being weak-kneed on Myanmar, supporting a policy of engagement with the regime while the United States and European Union maintain sanctions.
The Obama administration, which has been skeptical of sanctions as a diplomatic tool, is conducting a review of Myanmar policy.
While the administration has previously indicated that it was not considering lifting sanctions, Webb said Aung San Suu Kyi -- long supportive of such tough measures -- was not opposed to easing some restrictions.
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was eager to hear more about Aung San Suu Kyi's opinions.
"Obviously if Aung San Suu Kyi has views on how we should proceed, we will listen closely to what she tells us," the official said.
But State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Myanmar needed to do more to return to US good graces.
"We'll be looking for signs that Burma's fundamentally changing its approach and its policies. I don't think that Mr. Yettaw's release is an indication of that," Crowley told reporters.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with Webb by telephone on Sunday and plans more extensive talks with him once he returns, officials said.
The initiative by Webb, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Asia, has angered many activists working on Myanmar who fear he is giving the junta a rare opportunity to appear in a favorable light.
Leonard Leo, chair of the US Commission on Religious Freedom, a government advisory board, said that the administration should "pursue a dual strategy of more sanctions and more engagement."
"Burma?s military leaders will continue their repressive ways unless diplomatic efforts are coordinated, targeted and tough," he said.
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Myanmar says US visit a 'success,' could boost ties
Tue Aug 18, 7:41 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar's junta-controlled state media on Tuesday trumpeted a weekend visit by a US senator as a "success for both sides" that could improve the two countries' tense relations.
On a visit this weekend Democratic Senator Jim Webb secured the release of an American man who swam to the house of Aung San Suu Kyi and met both the democracy leader and the head of the military regime.
"The visit of Mr Jim Webb is a success for both sides as well as the first step to promotion of relations between the two countries," said a commentary in the New Light of Myanmar and Myanma Ahlin newspapers.
"Indeed, it is the first step towards marching to a 1,000-mile destination," said the piece, the first official reaction to the visit by Webb, who has close links to President Barack Obama.
"The government has been able to show a positive and friendly attitude in the area of international relations. It has also been able to show respect for humanitarianism and human rights," it added.
Myanmar's government mouthpiece newspapers normally take a harsh line against the United States and other critical nations.
Last week they warned against foreigners who "meddle in world affairs and... shake the world," while in July they said US troops "threaten the security of the whole world".
On Monday the United States welcomed the release of US citizen John Yettaw, who swam to Suu Kyi's house, but called for the release of all political prisoners.
Nobel laureate Suu Kyi was handed another 18 months house arrest last week after a court convicted her and Yettaw over the swimming incident, sparking international outrage and tougher EU sanctions.
Webb said after leaving Myanmar with Yettaw on Sunday that he too hoped the visit could lead to a "new approach" in US-Myanmar ties, including a rethink on US economic sanctions.
He said that Suu Kyi herself might ease her stance to support the lifting of some measures against the junta after years of publicly discouraging foreign investment in Myanmar.
The New Light used Webb's comments to attack pro-democracy groups that have called for sanctions to be maintained.
"Even an influential US senator opposes the economic sanctions against our country but it is found that anti-government Myanmar groups are demanding further economic sanctions to get their own country into trouble," it said.
"They are indeed quislings."
Dissidents have criticised Webb's visit, saying that he was used as a propaganda tool by the junta and lamenting the fact that he won the release of Yettaw while Suu Kyi stays in detention.
Yettaw was undergoing medical testing in Bangkok on Monday after his release from a sentence of seven years' hard labour but there was no immediate information on his condition on Tuesday.
The White House on Monday said Obama was "pleased" by Yettaw's release but called on the regime to free all political prisoners including Suu Kyi as it reviews its policy.
"He appreciates this decision by the Burmese government," a White House statement said, referring to the country by its former name.
"We urge the Burmese leadership in this spirit to release all the political prisoners it is holding in detention or in house arrest, including Aung San Suu Kyi," the White House said.
Officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will discuss a proposed joint call for Myanmar to free Suu Kyi during a meeting in Jakarta later this week, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.
Thailand, the current chair of the regional bloc, which includes Myanmar, has said it is pushing for consensus among member states to ask Myanmar's military rulers to pardon her.
ASEAN's reaction to the sentence was typically muted, expressing only "deep disappointment". It has traditionally taken a soft approach to the problem of Myanmar and opposes sanctions.
Tue Aug 18, 7:41 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar's junta-controlled state media on Tuesday trumpeted a weekend visit by a US senator as a "success for both sides" that could improve the two countries' tense relations.
On a visit this weekend Democratic Senator Jim Webb secured the release of an American man who swam to the house of Aung San Suu Kyi and met both the democracy leader and the head of the military regime.
"The visit of Mr Jim Webb is a success for both sides as well as the first step to promotion of relations between the two countries," said a commentary in the New Light of Myanmar and Myanma Ahlin newspapers.
"Indeed, it is the first step towards marching to a 1,000-mile destination," said the piece, the first official reaction to the visit by Webb, who has close links to President Barack Obama.
"The government has been able to show a positive and friendly attitude in the area of international relations. It has also been able to show respect for humanitarianism and human rights," it added.
Myanmar's government mouthpiece newspapers normally take a harsh line against the United States and other critical nations.
Last week they warned against foreigners who "meddle in world affairs and... shake the world," while in July they said US troops "threaten the security of the whole world".
On Monday the United States welcomed the release of US citizen John Yettaw, who swam to Suu Kyi's house, but called for the release of all political prisoners.
Nobel laureate Suu Kyi was handed another 18 months house arrest last week after a court convicted her and Yettaw over the swimming incident, sparking international outrage and tougher EU sanctions.
Webb said after leaving Myanmar with Yettaw on Sunday that he too hoped the visit could lead to a "new approach" in US-Myanmar ties, including a rethink on US economic sanctions.
He said that Suu Kyi herself might ease her stance to support the lifting of some measures against the junta after years of publicly discouraging foreign investment in Myanmar.
The New Light used Webb's comments to attack pro-democracy groups that have called for sanctions to be maintained.
"Even an influential US senator opposes the economic sanctions against our country but it is found that anti-government Myanmar groups are demanding further economic sanctions to get their own country into trouble," it said.
"They are indeed quislings."
Dissidents have criticised Webb's visit, saying that he was used as a propaganda tool by the junta and lamenting the fact that he won the release of Yettaw while Suu Kyi stays in detention.
Yettaw was undergoing medical testing in Bangkok on Monday after his release from a sentence of seven years' hard labour but there was no immediate information on his condition on Tuesday.
The White House on Monday said Obama was "pleased" by Yettaw's release but called on the regime to free all political prisoners including Suu Kyi as it reviews its policy.
"He appreciates this decision by the Burmese government," a White House statement said, referring to the country by its former name.
"We urge the Burmese leadership in this spirit to release all the political prisoners it is holding in detention or in house arrest, including Aung San Suu Kyi," the White House said.
Officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will discuss a proposed joint call for Myanmar to free Suu Kyi during a meeting in Jakarta later this week, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.
Thailand, the current chair of the regional bloc, which includes Myanmar, has said it is pushing for consensus among member states to ask Myanmar's military rulers to pardon her.
ASEAN's reaction to the sentence was typically muted, expressing only "deep disappointment". It has traditionally taken a soft approach to the problem of Myanmar and opposes sanctions.
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U.S., U.N. welcome Myanmar's release of American
Mon Aug 17, 5:48 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday welcomed a U.S. senator's success in winning the release of an American jailed in Myanmar and meeting with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar's military junta freed John Yettaw during Senator Jim Webb's visit to the Southeast Asian nation last week. The American politician also met junta leader Than Shwe on Saturday before visiting Suu Kyi at a guest house.
"The President is pleased that Senator Webb has facilitated the release of American citizen John Yettaw from detention in Burma. He appreciates this decision by the Burmese government," The White House said in a statement.
Ban "welcomes his engagement with Myanmar's leaders as well as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi toward a peaceful, united, democratic Myanmar," U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said in a statement. "The secretary-general also welcomes the release of Mr. Yettaw on humanitarian grounds."
Webb, a Democrat, landed in Bangkok on Sunday with Yettaw, whose swim to Suu Kyi's home in May led authorities to extend her detention. Myanmar officials said Yettaw's uninvited stay breached the terms of the Nobel Peace laureate's house arrest.
Ban met with Than Shwe and the other junta generals last month in Myanmar's new capital, Naypyidaw. The generals rejected Ban's request to also meet with Suu Kyi, citing her trial as the reason.
The trial ended last week with the extension of Suu Kyi's house arrest. Two days later, the U.N. Security Council voiced "serious concern" about the verdict, in a watered-down statement designed to win the consent of China and Russia.
Both the White House and U.N. statements called for the release of all political prisoners in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Although Britain and other Western countries would like to see U.N. sanctions imposed on Myanmar, Western council diplomats say that China, a neighbor and trade partner of Myanmar, opposes them.
Beijing is backed by Russia, which, like China, is a permanent veto-wielding member of the Security Council.
Mon Aug 17, 5:48 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday welcomed a U.S. senator's success in winning the release of an American jailed in Myanmar and meeting with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar's military junta freed John Yettaw during Senator Jim Webb's visit to the Southeast Asian nation last week. The American politician also met junta leader Than Shwe on Saturday before visiting Suu Kyi at a guest house.
"The President is pleased that Senator Webb has facilitated the release of American citizen John Yettaw from detention in Burma. He appreciates this decision by the Burmese government," The White House said in a statement.
Ban "welcomes his engagement with Myanmar's leaders as well as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi toward a peaceful, united, democratic Myanmar," U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said in a statement. "The secretary-general also welcomes the release of Mr. Yettaw on humanitarian grounds."
Webb, a Democrat, landed in Bangkok on Sunday with Yettaw, whose swim to Suu Kyi's home in May led authorities to extend her detention. Myanmar officials said Yettaw's uninvited stay breached the terms of the Nobel Peace laureate's house arrest.
Ban met with Than Shwe and the other junta generals last month in Myanmar's new capital, Naypyidaw. The generals rejected Ban's request to also meet with Suu Kyi, citing her trial as the reason.
The trial ended last week with the extension of Suu Kyi's house arrest. Two days later, the U.N. Security Council voiced "serious concern" about the verdict, in a watered-down statement designed to win the consent of China and Russia.
Both the White House and U.N. statements called for the release of all political prisoners in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Although Britain and other Western countries would like to see U.N. sanctions imposed on Myanmar, Western council diplomats say that China, a neighbor and trade partner of Myanmar, opposes them.
Beijing is backed by Russia, which, like China, is a permanent veto-wielding member of the Security Council.
*********************************************************
UN's Ban welcomes Myanmar's release of American
Mon Aug 17, 2:34 pm ET
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday welcomed a U.S. senator's success in winning the release of an American jailed in Myanmar and for meeting with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar's military junta freed John Yettaw during Senator Jim Webb's visit to the Southeast Asian nation last week. The American politician also met junta leader Than Shwe Saturday before visiting Suu Kyi at a guest house.
"(Ban) welcomes his engagement with Myanmar's leaders as well as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi toward a peaceful, united, democratic Myanmar," U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said in a statement. "The secretary-general also welcomes the release of Mr. (John) Yettaw on humanitarian grounds."
Webb, a Democrat, landed in Bangkok Sunday with Yettaw, whose swim to Suu Kyi's home in May led authorities to extend her detention. Myanmar officials said Yettaw's uninvited stay breached the terms of the Nobel Peace laureate's house arrest.
Ban met with Than Shwe and the other junta generals last month in Myanmar's new capital, Naypyidaw. The generals rejected Ban's request to also meet with Suu Kyi, citing her trial as the reason.
The trial ended last week with the extension of Suu Kyi's house arrest. Two days later, the U.N. Security Council voiced "serious concern" about the verdict, in a watered-down statement designed to win the consent of China and Russia.
The statement called for the release of all political prisoners in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Although Britain and other Western countries would like to see U.N. sanctions imposed on Myanmar, Western council diplomats say that China, a neighbor and trade partner of Myanmar, opposes them.
Beijing is backed by Russia, which, like China, is a permanent veto-wielding member of the Security Council.
Mon Aug 17, 2:34 pm ET
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday welcomed a U.S. senator's success in winning the release of an American jailed in Myanmar and for meeting with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar's military junta freed John Yettaw during Senator Jim Webb's visit to the Southeast Asian nation last week. The American politician also met junta leader Than Shwe Saturday before visiting Suu Kyi at a guest house.
"(Ban) welcomes his engagement with Myanmar's leaders as well as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi toward a peaceful, united, democratic Myanmar," U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said in a statement. "The secretary-general also welcomes the release of Mr. (John) Yettaw on humanitarian grounds."
Webb, a Democrat, landed in Bangkok Sunday with Yettaw, whose swim to Suu Kyi's home in May led authorities to extend her detention. Myanmar officials said Yettaw's uninvited stay breached the terms of the Nobel Peace laureate's house arrest.
Ban met with Than Shwe and the other junta generals last month in Myanmar's new capital, Naypyidaw. The generals rejected Ban's request to also meet with Suu Kyi, citing her trial as the reason.
The trial ended last week with the extension of Suu Kyi's house arrest. Two days later, the U.N. Security Council voiced "serious concern" about the verdict, in a watered-down statement designed to win the consent of China and Russia.
The statement called for the release of all political prisoners in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Although Britain and other Western countries would like to see U.N. sanctions imposed on Myanmar, Western council diplomats say that China, a neighbor and trade partner of Myanmar, opposes them.
Beijing is backed by Russia, which, like China, is a permanent veto-wielding member of the Security Council.
*********************************************************
Obama welcomes release of US citizen from Myanmar
Mon Aug 17, 5:57 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration said Monday it was pleased that Sen. Jim Webb had arranged the release of an American citizen from detention in military-run Myanmar.
Obama "appreciates this decision by the Burmese government," the White House said in a statement. Myanmar is also known as Burma.
Webb, D-Va., ended a short trip to Myanmar on Sunday, taking with him to Thailand John Yettaw, whose uninvited stay at opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's residence in May caused both him and her to be arrested.
"We urge the Burmese leadership in this spirit to release all the political prisoners it is holding in detention or in house arrest, including Aung San Suu Kyi," the White House statement said. Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years.
During his stay in Myanmar, Webb was allowed to meet with Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, and held talks with the junta's leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley played down Yettaw's release.
"We remain very concerned about the continued detainment of Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 prisoners that are in detention," Crowley told reporters Monday. "We'll be looking for signs that Burma's fundamentally changing its approach and its policies. I don't believe that Mr. Yettaw's release is an indication of that."
Mon Aug 17, 5:57 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration said Monday it was pleased that Sen. Jim Webb had arranged the release of an American citizen from detention in military-run Myanmar.
Obama "appreciates this decision by the Burmese government," the White House said in a statement. Myanmar is also known as Burma.
Webb, D-Va., ended a short trip to Myanmar on Sunday, taking with him to Thailand John Yettaw, whose uninvited stay at opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's residence in May caused both him and her to be arrested.
"We urge the Burmese leadership in this spirit to release all the political prisoners it is holding in detention or in house arrest, including Aung San Suu Kyi," the White House statement said. Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years.
During his stay in Myanmar, Webb was allowed to meet with Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, and held talks with the junta's leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley played down Yettaw's release.
"We remain very concerned about the continued detainment of Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 prisoners that are in detention," Crowley told reporters Monday. "We'll be looking for signs that Burma's fundamentally changing its approach and its policies. I don't believe that Mr. Yettaw's release is an indication of that."
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The Boston Globe - Editoral: Don’t relax Burma sanctions
August 18, 2009
SENATOR JIM WEBB of Virginia was acting as an advocate for a more accommodating US policy toward Burma’s despotic junta during his weekend visit to that country. But the folly of his project became obvious when the regime’s numero uno, General Than Shwe, rewarded Webb with the release of an American who received a seven-year sentence for swimming to the house where Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has long been held under house arrest - but not the freedom of that brave and dignified woman.
Webb has argued that sanctions have failed to alter the generals’ behavior. But there was a telling irony to his audience with Than Shwe and his rare, 40-minute meeting with Suu Kyi. The junta’s decision to grant Webb these two interviews was plainly in response to worldwide denunciations of the 18-month sentence of renewed house arrest imposed on Suu Kyi - but also to expanded European Union sanctions on the junta and US financial sanctions that President Obama signed into law at the end of last month.
The narco-trafficking generals are guilty of using rape as a weapon of war, forced labor on a massive scale, and the razing of thousands of ethnic minority villages. They want to keep Suu Kyi incarcerated until they conduct rigged elections next year under a constitution that will preserve military rule under a veneer of civilian participation.
The time to end sanctions is after Suu Kyi and her 2,100 fellow political prisoners are freed, and the junta enters a genuine political dialogue with ethnic minorities and Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, winners of Burma’s last free election in 1990.
Webb may mean well, but he risks playing the dupe to a vicious dictatorship.
August 18, 2009
SENATOR JIM WEBB of Virginia was acting as an advocate for a more accommodating US policy toward Burma’s despotic junta during his weekend visit to that country. But the folly of his project became obvious when the regime’s numero uno, General Than Shwe, rewarded Webb with the release of an American who received a seven-year sentence for swimming to the house where Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has long been held under house arrest - but not the freedom of that brave and dignified woman.
Webb has argued that sanctions have failed to alter the generals’ behavior. But there was a telling irony to his audience with Than Shwe and his rare, 40-minute meeting with Suu Kyi. The junta’s decision to grant Webb these two interviews was plainly in response to worldwide denunciations of the 18-month sentence of renewed house arrest imposed on Suu Kyi - but also to expanded European Union sanctions on the junta and US financial sanctions that President Obama signed into law at the end of last month.
The narco-trafficking generals are guilty of using rape as a weapon of war, forced labor on a massive scale, and the razing of thousands of ethnic minority villages. They want to keep Suu Kyi incarcerated until they conduct rigged elections next year under a constitution that will preserve military rule under a veneer of civilian participation.
The time to end sanctions is after Suu Kyi and her 2,100 fellow political prisoners are freed, and the junta enters a genuine political dialogue with ethnic minorities and Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, winners of Burma’s last free election in 1990.
Webb may mean well, but he risks playing the dupe to a vicious dictatorship.
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Vancouver Sun - Child soldier got reprieve, but others still being deported to Myanmar
By Jason Warick, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
August 18, 2009 6:01 AM
SASKATOON — A former child soldier escaped deportation from Saskatchewan to Myanmar over the weekend due to the last-minute intervention of a pair of federal government ministers — but more than a dozen others facing the same fate have not been so fortunate.
An official with the Canadian Border Services Agency has told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that 13 refugee claimants over the past five years have been deported to Myanmar, also known as Burma.
In an e-mail Monday, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said a blanket suspension of deportations to Burma is “not warranted.”
The number deported alarmed the group Canadian Friends of Burma, which said it was not aware anyone was being sent back to live under a military regime repeatedly condemned by Canada and other nations.
“We had no idea. Hearing that is quite shocking, quite disturbing,” board member Kevin McLeod said.
“We don’t think anyone should be deported to Burma. It is an arbitrary, unfair place.”
Nay Myo Hein says he was coerced into the Burmese military at age 12, but had no appetite for the work and eventually fled the country.
He escaped to Canada three years ago and was living in Saskatoon, but had his appeal for refugee status rejected by three separate hearings. He was set to be deported Tuesday, before federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan personally reviewed his case and intervened.
On Sunday, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney said it would not be safe to send Hein back to Burma, in part because of the large amounts of publicity the case generated. The regime may have taken note and targeted him because of it, Kenney said.
“We wouldn’t want to return someone to face persecution or punishment. It is a chance we were not prepared to take,” Kenney said.
The Canadian Friends of Burma, Amnesty International’s Canadian section, and others, have said Hein would have been jailed, tortured or executed if returned.
Van Loan, who is responsible for the Canadian Border Services Agency, said in his e-mail the Canadian government “has been clear and consistent in condemning the Burmese regime for its repressive actions.”
Van Loan said the issue of deportation to Myanmar “is always under consideration,” but there are no plans to place the country on Canada’s “temporary suspension of removals” list.
“There are many situations where potential political persecution is not a risk. As such, a blanket temporary suspension of removals is not warranted,” Van Loan said.
“While removal of some individuals to Burma would be unsafe, those cases can be dealt with on an individual basis.”
By Jason Warick, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
August 18, 2009 6:01 AM
SASKATOON — A former child soldier escaped deportation from Saskatchewan to Myanmar over the weekend due to the last-minute intervention of a pair of federal government ministers — but more than a dozen others facing the same fate have not been so fortunate.
An official with the Canadian Border Services Agency has told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that 13 refugee claimants over the past five years have been deported to Myanmar, also known as Burma.
In an e-mail Monday, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said a blanket suspension of deportations to Burma is “not warranted.”
The number deported alarmed the group Canadian Friends of Burma, which said it was not aware anyone was being sent back to live under a military regime repeatedly condemned by Canada and other nations.
“We had no idea. Hearing that is quite shocking, quite disturbing,” board member Kevin McLeod said.
“We don’t think anyone should be deported to Burma. It is an arbitrary, unfair place.”
Nay Myo Hein says he was coerced into the Burmese military at age 12, but had no appetite for the work and eventually fled the country.
He escaped to Canada three years ago and was living in Saskatoon, but had his appeal for refugee status rejected by three separate hearings. He was set to be deported Tuesday, before federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan personally reviewed his case and intervened.
On Sunday, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney said it would not be safe to send Hein back to Burma, in part because of the large amounts of publicity the case generated. The regime may have taken note and targeted him because of it, Kenney said.
“We wouldn’t want to return someone to face persecution or punishment. It is a chance we were not prepared to take,” Kenney said.
The Canadian Friends of Burma, Amnesty International’s Canadian section, and others, have said Hein would have been jailed, tortured or executed if returned.
Van Loan, who is responsible for the Canadian Border Services Agency, said in his e-mail the Canadian government “has been clear and consistent in condemning the Burmese regime for its repressive actions.”
Van Loan said the issue of deportation to Myanmar “is always under consideration,” but there are no plans to place the country on Canada’s “temporary suspension of removals” list.
“There are many situations where potential political persecution is not a risk. As such, a blanket temporary suspension of removals is not warranted,” Van Loan said.
“While removal of some individuals to Burma would be unsafe, those cases can be dealt with on an individual basis.”
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TMCnet - Myanmar computer association invites for search engine contest
YANGON, Aug 18, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Myanmar Computer Professional Association (MCPA) has invited individuals and groups to compete for MCPA Challenge Winner 2009 under the title of Myanmar Search Engine Contest, sources with the MCPA said on Tuesday.
The research-based contest is held with the aim of encouraging the development of country's information and communication technology (ICT), expanding the use of Myanmar language in ICT sector and enhancing the youth's interest in the creation and ICT research.
The contestants are given six months' time to prepare for the research and the best contributor will be awarded 3,000 U.S. dollars in cash, the sources said.
Registration for contest will close on August 30 and contestants are set to apply initial project application on Sept.
15, it said, adding that the final selection will be launched in May 2010 and the winner will be revealed in June.
MCPA had also invited computer software and hardware programmers to compete for the MCPA Excellence Award 2008 which would take place in September this year.
Meanwhile, a computer application development contest was also held in Yangon in March this year in which computer professional teams were prescribed to develop a part of software application, using any programming language on any platform through window application or web.
Myanmar education authorities have stressed the importance of computer literacy for younger generation to keep up with the rapid changes in the ICT sector.
Myanmar introduced e-education system in early 2001.
In December 2007, the country's largest ICT park, also known as the Yadanabon Cyber City was established in Pyin Oo Lwin.
Moreover, Myanmar has also planned full coverage of public access centers (PAC) in every township in the country to facilitate communication links.
YANGON, Aug 18, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Myanmar Computer Professional Association (MCPA) has invited individuals and groups to compete for MCPA Challenge Winner 2009 under the title of Myanmar Search Engine Contest, sources with the MCPA said on Tuesday.
The research-based contest is held with the aim of encouraging the development of country's information and communication technology (ICT), expanding the use of Myanmar language in ICT sector and enhancing the youth's interest in the creation and ICT research.
The contestants are given six months' time to prepare for the research and the best contributor will be awarded 3,000 U.S. dollars in cash, the sources said.
Registration for contest will close on August 30 and contestants are set to apply initial project application on Sept.
15, it said, adding that the final selection will be launched in May 2010 and the winner will be revealed in June.
MCPA had also invited computer software and hardware programmers to compete for the MCPA Excellence Award 2008 which would take place in September this year.
Meanwhile, a computer application development contest was also held in Yangon in March this year in which computer professional teams were prescribed to develop a part of software application, using any programming language on any platform through window application or web.
Myanmar education authorities have stressed the importance of computer literacy for younger generation to keep up with the rapid changes in the ICT sector.
Myanmar introduced e-education system in early 2001.
In December 2007, the country's largest ICT park, also known as the Yadanabon Cyber City was established in Pyin Oo Lwin.
Moreover, Myanmar has also planned full coverage of public access centers (PAC) in every township in the country to facilitate communication links.
*********************************************************
JoongAng Daily - [Letters] Humanitarian intervention in Myanmar
August 19, 2009
Myanmar’s military dictatorship continues to detain Aung San Suu Kyi because she is fighting for democracy. This is a gross violation of human rights and freedom.
As the Myanmar government lacks the ability and will to protect its citizens, humanitarian intervention is needed.
First of all, human rights are a universal value and must be protected at all costs. Human rights should be granted to any human regardless of race, religion, gender or nationality.
A state is a group of people and it exists for individuals. In this regard, individual human rights should be a priority.
The international community should step in to solve the human rights issues even though they may be domestic ones.
Moreover, international organizations, particularly the United Nations, should intervene in Myanmar for humanitarian purposes. According to Article 1.3 of the Charter of the UN, one of the UN’s goals and purposes is the protection of human rights. Thus, it has a strong responsibility to protect human rights in all countries around the globe.
Lastly, humanitarian intervention in Myanmar will enable the spread of liberal democracy and ensure world peace. The spread of democracy can bring about “democratic peace,” which is a peace that is maintained among democratic countries. Since rational citizens are the decision-makers in a democratic society, they will not risk their lives by starting a war.
Accordingly, protecting human rights and promoting democracy in Myanmar will be a building block for world peace.
All in all, international society should not simply neglect the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, but should intervene.
Sohn Seong-eun, Seoul
August 19, 2009
Myanmar’s military dictatorship continues to detain Aung San Suu Kyi because she is fighting for democracy. This is a gross violation of human rights and freedom.
As the Myanmar government lacks the ability and will to protect its citizens, humanitarian intervention is needed.
First of all, human rights are a universal value and must be protected at all costs. Human rights should be granted to any human regardless of race, religion, gender or nationality.
A state is a group of people and it exists for individuals. In this regard, individual human rights should be a priority.
The international community should step in to solve the human rights issues even though they may be domestic ones.
Moreover, international organizations, particularly the United Nations, should intervene in Myanmar for humanitarian purposes. According to Article 1.3 of the Charter of the UN, one of the UN’s goals and purposes is the protection of human rights. Thus, it has a strong responsibility to protect human rights in all countries around the globe.
Lastly, humanitarian intervention in Myanmar will enable the spread of liberal democracy and ensure world peace. The spread of democracy can bring about “democratic peace,” which is a peace that is maintained among democratic countries. Since rational citizens are the decision-makers in a democratic society, they will not risk their lives by starting a war.
Accordingly, protecting human rights and promoting democracy in Myanmar will be a building block for world peace.
All in all, international society should not simply neglect the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, but should intervene.
Sohn Seong-eun, Seoul
*********************************************************
Thai News Agency MCOT - Myanmar worker killed, 3 others wounded -- all women -- in Pattani shooting
PATTANI, Aug 18 (TNA) - Unidentified gunmen killed a Myanmar worker and wounded three others – all women -- in the violence plagued province of Pattani Tuesday.
The three wounded women labourers were taken to Pattani Hospital for treatment.
According to police investigation, an unknown number of gunmen opened fire at the four women workers as they worked at a construction site in the provincial seat. The police believed that the incident was related to the southern violence.
More than 3,500 people have been killed in the three southern border provinces since the unrest erupted in January 2004.
PATTANI, Aug 18 (TNA) - Unidentified gunmen killed a Myanmar worker and wounded three others – all women -- in the violence plagued province of Pattani Tuesday.
The three wounded women labourers were taken to Pattani Hospital for treatment.
According to police investigation, an unknown number of gunmen opened fire at the four women workers as they worked at a construction site in the provincial seat. The police believed that the incident was related to the southern violence.
More than 3,500 people have been killed in the three southern border provinces since the unrest erupted in January 2004.
*********************************************************
August 18, 9:58 AM, 2009
Harper's Magazine - Senator Webb: Burma’s man in Washington?
By Ken Silverstein
From Foreign Policy:
The release of John Yettaw to Senator Jim Webb illustrates just how tricky the engagement calculus is. Yettaw is the Missouri man who said a vision compelled him to swim a lake to visit Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Burmese democracy champion who has been under house arrest for most of the past two decades. His entrance into the home in which Suu Kyi is confined resulted in a three year extension of her term of house arrest despite the fact that she had nothing to do with the incident. This term was cut to 18 months by the leader of Burma’s military regime Than Shwe. Nonetheless, the central wrong here is that a woman whose party enjoyed a massive victory in Burma’s quickly and brutally quashed 1990 effort at democracy, a woman the Burmese people had selected to be their Prime Minister, is now going to be unjustly imprisoned for another year and a half for something she did not do.
Yettaw is thus a pawn in a bigger game and to the supporters of Suu Kyi it appears the U.S. has been played in precisely the way that was discussed on this blog last week. Webb, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sub-Committee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, comes out with his man and his headlines and support for his conclusion that a thaw in the U.S. relationship with Burma would benefit us. But the injustice against Suu Kyi is prolonged even as her jailers receive a reward for undoing a secondary wrong that they had already capitalized on as a pretext for continuing policies that amount to nothing less than keeping a boot on the throat of the Burmese people. In other words, thanks to this intervention, both the arrest and the release of John Yettaw provide benefits to the Burmese regime and none to democracy, Suu Kyi or America’s true interests in the country.
Harper's Magazine - Senator Webb: Burma’s man in Washington?
By Ken Silverstein
From Foreign Policy:
The release of John Yettaw to Senator Jim Webb illustrates just how tricky the engagement calculus is. Yettaw is the Missouri man who said a vision compelled him to swim a lake to visit Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Burmese democracy champion who has been under house arrest for most of the past two decades. His entrance into the home in which Suu Kyi is confined resulted in a three year extension of her term of house arrest despite the fact that she had nothing to do with the incident. This term was cut to 18 months by the leader of Burma’s military regime Than Shwe. Nonetheless, the central wrong here is that a woman whose party enjoyed a massive victory in Burma’s quickly and brutally quashed 1990 effort at democracy, a woman the Burmese people had selected to be their Prime Minister, is now going to be unjustly imprisoned for another year and a half for something she did not do.
Yettaw is thus a pawn in a bigger game and to the supporters of Suu Kyi it appears the U.S. has been played in precisely the way that was discussed on this blog last week. Webb, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sub-Committee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, comes out with his man and his headlines and support for his conclusion that a thaw in the U.S. relationship with Burma would benefit us. But the injustice against Suu Kyi is prolonged even as her jailers receive a reward for undoing a secondary wrong that they had already capitalized on as a pretext for continuing policies that amount to nothing less than keeping a boot on the throat of the Burmese people. In other words, thanks to this intervention, both the arrest and the release of John Yettaw provide benefits to the Burmese regime and none to democracy, Suu Kyi or America’s true interests in the country.
*********************************************************
Channel NewsAsia - ASEAN officials to discuss Suu Kyi amnesty
Posted: 18 August 2009 1430 hrs
SINGAPORE: Regional officials will discuss a proposed joint call for Myanmar to free democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi during a meeting in Jakarta later this week, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.
Thailand, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Friday it was pushing for a consensus among member states to ask Myanmar's military rulers to pardon Suu Kyi.
"We will discuss it at a senior officials' meeting this week in Jakarta," the source, who asked not to be named, told AFP. The meeting will be held Thursday and Friday in the Indonesian capital, the diplomat said.
"We support it, but I don't know if all ASEAN (members) support it," the diplomat said, when asked about his country's position.
"There's nothing firm, only a proposal so far," he added.
US Senator Jim Webb, in an interview with CNN on Monday after a visit to Myanmar, said he understood that ASEAN was working on the proposal to seek amnesty for Suu Kyi.
Webb had met with Myanmar's reclusive ruler, Senior General Than Shwe, during his trip.
ASEAN has faced frequent criticism for taking a soft line on its most troublesome member, but Webb indicated the bloc could be about to toughen its stance.
"I am of the understanding that we are possibly going to see from ASEAN... a petition of some sort that would ask for amnesty for her as well, which would be a major step forward in resolving the situation," he said.
The 64-year-old Suu Kyi was found guilty last week of breaching the terms of her house arrest after an eccentric American man, John Yettaw, swam to her lakeside villa in May and stayed there for two days.
Myanmar military leader Than Shwe commuted her sentence to 18 months under house arrest, but this would still rule her out of elections due to be held next year.
International anger erupted at Myanmar after Tuesday's verdict, but ASEAN's reaction was typically muted, expressing only "deep disappointment."
Yettaw flew out of Myanmar on Sunday with Webb, who secured the former military veteran's release from a sentence of seven years' hard labour.
ASEAN leaders will hold their next summit from October 23-25 in the Thai beach resort of Hua Hin.
As well as Myanmar, ASEAN also groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Posted: 18 August 2009 1430 hrs
SINGAPORE: Regional officials will discuss a proposed joint call for Myanmar to free democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi during a meeting in Jakarta later this week, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.
Thailand, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Friday it was pushing for a consensus among member states to ask Myanmar's military rulers to pardon Suu Kyi.
"We will discuss it at a senior officials' meeting this week in Jakarta," the source, who asked not to be named, told AFP. The meeting will be held Thursday and Friday in the Indonesian capital, the diplomat said.
"We support it, but I don't know if all ASEAN (members) support it," the diplomat said, when asked about his country's position.
"There's nothing firm, only a proposal so far," he added.
US Senator Jim Webb, in an interview with CNN on Monday after a visit to Myanmar, said he understood that ASEAN was working on the proposal to seek amnesty for Suu Kyi.
Webb had met with Myanmar's reclusive ruler, Senior General Than Shwe, during his trip.
ASEAN has faced frequent criticism for taking a soft line on its most troublesome member, but Webb indicated the bloc could be about to toughen its stance.
"I am of the understanding that we are possibly going to see from ASEAN... a petition of some sort that would ask for amnesty for her as well, which would be a major step forward in resolving the situation," he said.
The 64-year-old Suu Kyi was found guilty last week of breaching the terms of her house arrest after an eccentric American man, John Yettaw, swam to her lakeside villa in May and stayed there for two days.
Myanmar military leader Than Shwe commuted her sentence to 18 months under house arrest, but this would still rule her out of elections due to be held next year.
International anger erupted at Myanmar after Tuesday's verdict, but ASEAN's reaction was typically muted, expressing only "deep disappointment."
Yettaw flew out of Myanmar on Sunday with Webb, who secured the former military veteran's release from a sentence of seven years' hard labour.
ASEAN leaders will hold their next summit from October 23-25 in the Thai beach resort of Hua Hin.
As well as Myanmar, ASEAN also groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
*********************************************************
Channel NewsAsia - South Korea mourns dissident who became president
Posted: 18 August 2009 1314 hrs
SEOUL - Kim Dae-Jung, a tireless democracy campaigner who survived assassination attempts and a death sentence to win South Korea's presidency and the Nobel peace prize, died on Tuesday aged 85.
Kim was a towering figure in the country's decades of struggle for democracy against army-backed autocrats.
During his 1998-2003 presidency he held South Korea's first-ever summit with communist North Korea, in 2000, and was awarded the Nobel prize later that year.
He was admitted to hospital on July 13 with pneumonia and related complications.
"We lost a great political leader today," President Lee Myung-Bak said in a statement. "His accomplishments and aspirations to achieve democratisation and inter-Korean reconciliation will long be remembered by the people."
The government announced it was setting up mourning altars for the late leader in Seoul and provincial cities, as an outlet for national grief.
The presidential office said it would respect the family's wishes over whether to hold a state funeral, and would not stop North Korea sending a delegation to the funeral if it wishes.
Past leaders, including the man whose government condemned Kim to death, also paid tribute.
"I hope former President Kim, who underwent a stormy political life, will rest peacefully in the bosom of God," former leader Chun Doo-Hwan told reporters of the devoutly Catholic Kim.
In May 1980, during Chun's army-backed rule, Kim was thrown into prison on charges of treason. He was sentenced to death by a martial law court but reprieved following strong US pressure.
He had an even closer brush with death in 1973 during the rule of dictator Park Chung-Hee. Agents of the Korean CIA kidnapped him from a Tokyo hotel and were preparing to dump him into the sea from a boat. Swift intervention by Washington and Tokyo saved his life.
"A big tree has fallen in the country," said former president Kim Young-Sam, who spearheaded the democracy drive along with his namesake but later became politically estranged from him.
Mass street protests in 1987 ushered in democracy but Kim Dae-Jung won the presidency only in 1997 on his fourth attempt.
He took office the following February at the height of the Asian economic crisis, which ravaged South Korea and forced it to seek a 57-billion-dollar bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
The man once branded by opponents as a communist won praise for working with international financial bodies to revive the economy and launch major reforms and corporate restructuring.
Kim never wavered on the need for reconciliation with North Korea, even though his "sunshine" engagement and aid policy failed to halt the North's drive for nuclear weapons and its two atomic tests.
"This is the best way to end the national tragedy and make a reunified motherland," he said in his final speech in office.
"South Korea lost one of its greatest leaders today," the conservative ruling Grand National Party said in a statement.
The main opposition Democratic Party described Kim as "the great teacher of the age".
Hundreds of mourners including United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon paid last respects to Kim, whose body lay in a funeral hall at the hospital where he died.
The country had lost a "great leader," said Ban, a South Korean.
"He dedicated his life to developing democracy and helping the underprivileged," said Seoul resident Park Oh-Seok, 61.
Posted: 18 August 2009 1314 hrs
SEOUL - Kim Dae-Jung, a tireless democracy campaigner who survived assassination attempts and a death sentence to win South Korea's presidency and the Nobel peace prize, died on Tuesday aged 85.
Kim was a towering figure in the country's decades of struggle for democracy against army-backed autocrats.
During his 1998-2003 presidency he held South Korea's first-ever summit with communist North Korea, in 2000, and was awarded the Nobel prize later that year.
He was admitted to hospital on July 13 with pneumonia and related complications.
"We lost a great political leader today," President Lee Myung-Bak said in a statement. "His accomplishments and aspirations to achieve democratisation and inter-Korean reconciliation will long be remembered by the people."
The government announced it was setting up mourning altars for the late leader in Seoul and provincial cities, as an outlet for national grief.
The presidential office said it would respect the family's wishes over whether to hold a state funeral, and would not stop North Korea sending a delegation to the funeral if it wishes.
Past leaders, including the man whose government condemned Kim to death, also paid tribute.
"I hope former President Kim, who underwent a stormy political life, will rest peacefully in the bosom of God," former leader Chun Doo-Hwan told reporters of the devoutly Catholic Kim.
In May 1980, during Chun's army-backed rule, Kim was thrown into prison on charges of treason. He was sentenced to death by a martial law court but reprieved following strong US pressure.
He had an even closer brush with death in 1973 during the rule of dictator Park Chung-Hee. Agents of the Korean CIA kidnapped him from a Tokyo hotel and were preparing to dump him into the sea from a boat. Swift intervention by Washington and Tokyo saved his life.
"A big tree has fallen in the country," said former president Kim Young-Sam, who spearheaded the democracy drive along with his namesake but later became politically estranged from him.
Mass street protests in 1987 ushered in democracy but Kim Dae-Jung won the presidency only in 1997 on his fourth attempt.
He took office the following February at the height of the Asian economic crisis, which ravaged South Korea and forced it to seek a 57-billion-dollar bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
The man once branded by opponents as a communist won praise for working with international financial bodies to revive the economy and launch major reforms and corporate restructuring.
Kim never wavered on the need for reconciliation with North Korea, even though his "sunshine" engagement and aid policy failed to halt the North's drive for nuclear weapons and its two atomic tests.
"This is the best way to end the national tragedy and make a reunified motherland," he said in his final speech in office.
"South Korea lost one of its greatest leaders today," the conservative ruling Grand National Party said in a statement.
The main opposition Democratic Party described Kim as "the great teacher of the age".
Hundreds of mourners including United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon paid last respects to Kim, whose body lay in a funeral hall at the hospital where he died.
The country had lost a "great leader," said Ban, a South Korean.
"He dedicated his life to developing democracy and helping the underprivileged," said Seoul resident Park Oh-Seok, 61.
*********************************************************
Anchorage Daily News - How bad does bad have to get?
By FRIDA GHITIS / McClatchy Newspapers
Published: August 17th, 2009 04:12 AM
Last Modified: August 18th, 2009 04:11 AM
I could tell you stories of what I saw in Burma; stories of women holding their emaciated dying babies in their arms; stories of armed soldiers standing guard over teenage slave laborers building a highway under the broiling sun in 100-degree weather; stories of entire villages ordered to pack their bags and immediately move from their ancestral homes to desolated pieces of land.
I could tell you about a military regime running the country it renamed Myanmar, and destroying a once-prosperous economy, humiliating a proud people and spending almost nothing of the country's riches on health and education, instead enriching the generals and building one of the world's largest armies while the people were plunged into poverty.
But if I told you about that, you might look only at Burma and not at the rest of the world, which has stood by and allowed all this to happen for decade after decade, making empty gestures while thousands die year after year. I could tell you stories.
When I heard the entirely unsurprising news that the leader of Burma's pro-democracy movement, Aung San Suu Kyi, has just been sentenced once again to house arrest, I took a deep breath and counted the minutes until international condemnation started rising across the planet.
Yes, everyone is outraged.
I wondered if the amazing Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, got to hear all those statements in her support from world leaders after a Burmese court found her guilty of allowing a man to enter her house - where she has lived in isolation under house arrest - after he illegally swam across a lake adjacent to the property to talk to her. If she has heard the chorus of condemnation, I wonder how she reacted.
Yes, yes, everyone denounces the illegitimate regime, from the president of the United States to the secretary general of the United Nations.
Everyone says that denying her freedom is unacceptable, that the trial was a sham.
Everyone knows the person elected to govern Burma is none other than Su Kyi herself, whose National League for Democracy swept elections in 1990 and, as a result, saw most of its leaders thrown into prison.
That's a peculiar twist on democracy. But Burma under the generals is one peculiar place. I could tell you stories!
I wondered if Suu Kyi feels bitter, I wondered if she feels mocked by the rest of the world when she hears international condemnation again, and knows nothing will happen as a result. But figuring out Aung San Suu Kyi is impossible. She is unlike anyone I have have ever met.
I won't tell you the story of her life, but you should look it up. It defies belief. Suu Kyi, the daughter of Burma's independence hero, could have lived a life of comfort and privilege. Instead, she has spent a decade and a half as a prisoner. At almost any time she could have given up her nonviolent fight to end ruthless oppression in Burma and returned to her family in England. But her mere presence in the country gives sustenance to her despondent people. I could tell you stories of mentioning her name to people in Burma and seeing their faces light up.
Until recently, the rest of the world didn't have much of a reason to care about Burma, except for its concern for an entire nation in chains. There was not much of a "national interest" beyond our common humanity. Now, however, there is growing evidence that the generals are making common cause with North Korea, developing their own nuclear weapons program.
There are few regimes on Earth as amoral as Burma's. The thought of nuclear weapons in the hands of a junta that, to name one instance, thinks nothing of letting its own people die without help after a hurricane, should shake world leaders out of their worn-out routine of expressing indignation at Burma's outrages and following up with no action beyond the stale economic sanctions that have accomplished nothing.
Much more could be done. More muscular and better coordinated sanctions, more diplomatic pressure, charges against the generals for crimes against humanity, and yes, the threat of military action. The generals came to power 47 years ago. How long does it take? How bad does it have to get?
It's more than bad enough already. I could tell you stories.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Frida Ghitis writes about global affairs for The Miami Herald.
By FRIDA GHITIS / McClatchy Newspapers
Published: August 17th, 2009 04:12 AM
Last Modified: August 18th, 2009 04:11 AM
I could tell you stories of what I saw in Burma; stories of women holding their emaciated dying babies in their arms; stories of armed soldiers standing guard over teenage slave laborers building a highway under the broiling sun in 100-degree weather; stories of entire villages ordered to pack their bags and immediately move from their ancestral homes to desolated pieces of land.
I could tell you about a military regime running the country it renamed Myanmar, and destroying a once-prosperous economy, humiliating a proud people and spending almost nothing of the country's riches on health and education, instead enriching the generals and building one of the world's largest armies while the people were plunged into poverty.
But if I told you about that, you might look only at Burma and not at the rest of the world, which has stood by and allowed all this to happen for decade after decade, making empty gestures while thousands die year after year. I could tell you stories.
When I heard the entirely unsurprising news that the leader of Burma's pro-democracy movement, Aung San Suu Kyi, has just been sentenced once again to house arrest, I took a deep breath and counted the minutes until international condemnation started rising across the planet.
Yes, everyone is outraged.
I wondered if the amazing Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, got to hear all those statements in her support from world leaders after a Burmese court found her guilty of allowing a man to enter her house - where she has lived in isolation under house arrest - after he illegally swam across a lake adjacent to the property to talk to her. If she has heard the chorus of condemnation, I wonder how she reacted.
Yes, yes, everyone denounces the illegitimate regime, from the president of the United States to the secretary general of the United Nations.
Everyone says that denying her freedom is unacceptable, that the trial was a sham.
Everyone knows the person elected to govern Burma is none other than Su Kyi herself, whose National League for Democracy swept elections in 1990 and, as a result, saw most of its leaders thrown into prison.
That's a peculiar twist on democracy. But Burma under the generals is one peculiar place. I could tell you stories!
I wondered if Suu Kyi feels bitter, I wondered if she feels mocked by the rest of the world when she hears international condemnation again, and knows nothing will happen as a result. But figuring out Aung San Suu Kyi is impossible. She is unlike anyone I have have ever met.
I won't tell you the story of her life, but you should look it up. It defies belief. Suu Kyi, the daughter of Burma's independence hero, could have lived a life of comfort and privilege. Instead, she has spent a decade and a half as a prisoner. At almost any time she could have given up her nonviolent fight to end ruthless oppression in Burma and returned to her family in England. But her mere presence in the country gives sustenance to her despondent people. I could tell you stories of mentioning her name to people in Burma and seeing their faces light up.
Until recently, the rest of the world didn't have much of a reason to care about Burma, except for its concern for an entire nation in chains. There was not much of a "national interest" beyond our common humanity. Now, however, there is growing evidence that the generals are making common cause with North Korea, developing their own nuclear weapons program.
There are few regimes on Earth as amoral as Burma's. The thought of nuclear weapons in the hands of a junta that, to name one instance, thinks nothing of letting its own people die without help after a hurricane, should shake world leaders out of their worn-out routine of expressing indignation at Burma's outrages and following up with no action beyond the stale economic sanctions that have accomplished nothing.
Much more could be done. More muscular and better coordinated sanctions, more diplomatic pressure, charges against the generals for crimes against humanity, and yes, the threat of military action. The generals came to power 47 years ago. How long does it take? How bad does it have to get?
It's more than bad enough already. I could tell you stories.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Frida Ghitis writes about global affairs for The Miami Herald.
*********************************************************
Bangkok Post - Thailand calls for Suu Kyi's release
Writer: BangkokPost.com, AFP
Published: 18/08/2009 at 03:35 PM
Thailand welcomes the Burmese government's release of John William Yettaw and wishes it would also grant amnesty and full freedom to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
"Thailand views such leniency by Myanmar (Burma), based on a humanitarian reason, as a positive development.
''It has not only enabled Mr Yettaw to reunite with his beloved family, but also demonstrated Myanmar's willingness to constructively engage with the international community,'' the statement said.
John Yettaw, the American who on May 6 swam uninvited to the lakeside home of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest, in Rangoon, was sentenced to seven years jail with hard labour by a court at Insein Prison, sparking international outrage and tougher EU sanctions.
He spent two days at Mrs Suu Kyi's home.
He was released on the weekend into the care of US Senator Jim Webb, who had a meeting with Burma's top leader Than Shwe and met Mrs Suu Kyi.
"Thailand also wishes that the Government of the Union of Myanmar considers taking a similar approach by granting amnesty and full freedom to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," said the statement.
Burma's junta-controlled state media said visit by a US senator was a "success for both sides" that could improve the tense relations between the two countries.
Democratic Senator Jim Webb travelled to Burma at the weekend, securing the release of an American man who swam uninvited to the house of Mrs Suu Kyi, giving the junta an excuse to prosecute her, and meeting both the democracy leader and the head of the military regime.
"The visit of Mr Jim Webb is a success for both sides as well as the first step to promotion of the relations between the two countries," said a commentary in the government mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
"Indeed, it is the first step towards marching to a 1,000-mile destination," said the article, the first official reaction to the visit by Mr Webb, who has close links to US President Barack Obama.
"The government has been able to show positive and friendly attitude in the area of international relations. It has also been able to show respect for humanitarianism and human rights," the newspaper said.
Mr Webb said after leaving Burma with Yettaw on Sunday that he too hoped the visit could lead to a "new approach" in US-Burma ties, including a rethink on US economic sanctions.
He said that Suu Kyi herself might ease her position and support the lifting of some measures against the junta after years of publicly discouraging foreign investment in Burma.
The New Light used Mr Webb's comments to attack pro-democracy groups who have called for sanctions to be maintained.
"Even an influential US senator opposes the economic sanctions against our country but it is found that anti-government Burma groups are demanding further economic sanctions to get their own country into trouble," it said. "They are indeed quislings."
Dissidents have criticised Mr Webb's visit, saying that he was used as a propaganda tool by Burma's junta and lamenting the fact that he won the release of Yettaw while Suu Kyi stays in detention.
Yettaw was given a medical examination in Bangkok on Monday after his release from a sentence of seven years' hard labour, but there was no information on his condition or whereabouts on Tuesday.
The White House on Monday said Mr Obama was "pleased" by Yettaw's release but called on the regime to free all political prisoners including Suu Kyi.
"He appreciates this decision by the Burmese government," a White House statement said, referring to the country by its former name.
"We urge the Burmese leadership in this spirit to release all the political prisoners it is holding in detention or in house arrest, including Aung San Suu Kyi," the White House said.
Officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will discuss a proposed joint call for Burma to free Suu Kyi during a meeting in Jakarta later this week, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.
Thailand, the current chair of the regional bloc, which includes Burma, has said it is pushing for a consensus among member states to ask Burma's military rulers to pardon her.
Asean's reaction to the sentence was typically muted, expressing only "deep disappointment." It has traditionally taken a soft approach to the problem of Burma and opposes sanctions.
Writer: BangkokPost.com, AFP
Published: 18/08/2009 at 03:35 PM
Thailand welcomes the Burmese government's release of John William Yettaw and wishes it would also grant amnesty and full freedom to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
"Thailand views such leniency by Myanmar (Burma), based on a humanitarian reason, as a positive development.
''It has not only enabled Mr Yettaw to reunite with his beloved family, but also demonstrated Myanmar's willingness to constructively engage with the international community,'' the statement said.
John Yettaw, the American who on May 6 swam uninvited to the lakeside home of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest, in Rangoon, was sentenced to seven years jail with hard labour by a court at Insein Prison, sparking international outrage and tougher EU sanctions.
He spent two days at Mrs Suu Kyi's home.
He was released on the weekend into the care of US Senator Jim Webb, who had a meeting with Burma's top leader Than Shwe and met Mrs Suu Kyi.
"Thailand also wishes that the Government of the Union of Myanmar considers taking a similar approach by granting amnesty and full freedom to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," said the statement.
Burma's junta-controlled state media said visit by a US senator was a "success for both sides" that could improve the tense relations between the two countries.
Democratic Senator Jim Webb travelled to Burma at the weekend, securing the release of an American man who swam uninvited to the house of Mrs Suu Kyi, giving the junta an excuse to prosecute her, and meeting both the democracy leader and the head of the military regime.
"The visit of Mr Jim Webb is a success for both sides as well as the first step to promotion of the relations between the two countries," said a commentary in the government mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
"Indeed, it is the first step towards marching to a 1,000-mile destination," said the article, the first official reaction to the visit by Mr Webb, who has close links to US President Barack Obama.
"The government has been able to show positive and friendly attitude in the area of international relations. It has also been able to show respect for humanitarianism and human rights," the newspaper said.
Mr Webb said after leaving Burma with Yettaw on Sunday that he too hoped the visit could lead to a "new approach" in US-Burma ties, including a rethink on US economic sanctions.
He said that Suu Kyi herself might ease her position and support the lifting of some measures against the junta after years of publicly discouraging foreign investment in Burma.
The New Light used Mr Webb's comments to attack pro-democracy groups who have called for sanctions to be maintained.
"Even an influential US senator opposes the economic sanctions against our country but it is found that anti-government Burma groups are demanding further economic sanctions to get their own country into trouble," it said. "They are indeed quislings."
Dissidents have criticised Mr Webb's visit, saying that he was used as a propaganda tool by Burma's junta and lamenting the fact that he won the release of Yettaw while Suu Kyi stays in detention.
Yettaw was given a medical examination in Bangkok on Monday after his release from a sentence of seven years' hard labour, but there was no information on his condition or whereabouts on Tuesday.
The White House on Monday said Mr Obama was "pleased" by Yettaw's release but called on the regime to free all political prisoners including Suu Kyi.
"He appreciates this decision by the Burmese government," a White House statement said, referring to the country by its former name.
"We urge the Burmese leadership in this spirit to release all the political prisoners it is holding in detention or in house arrest, including Aung San Suu Kyi," the White House said.
Officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will discuss a proposed joint call for Burma to free Suu Kyi during a meeting in Jakarta later this week, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.
Thailand, the current chair of the regional bloc, which includes Burma, has said it is pushing for a consensus among member states to ask Burma's military rulers to pardon her.
Asean's reaction to the sentence was typically muted, expressing only "deep disappointment." It has traditionally taken a soft approach to the problem of Burma and opposes sanctions.
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The Nation - Growing Asean support for Suu Kyi
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee, Piyanart Srivalo
Published on August 18, 2009
A proposal requesting Burma pardon opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is getting more support from Asean members, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.
Counterparts from Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam, whom he had contacted, had expressed positive views on progress in Burma, he said. Kasit raised the idea last week about seeking a pardon from the junta for Suu Kyi after she was sentenced to another 18 months' house arrest.
Senior Asean officials will meet tomorrow and on Thursday in Jakarta to discuss a Thai-drafted text for the pardon request, he said.
"We respect Burma's justice system but are concerned about unity of Asean too, since Aung San Suu Kyi's case makes Asean and Burma a common target," he said.
Some Asean ministers suggested that Kasit lead a group to visit Burma to raise the issue with junta leaders.
Kasit yesterday met American Senator Jim Webb to discuss the issue. Webb had just returned from Burma where he managed to have American national John Yettaw - who swam across Inya Lake to Suu Kyi's residence in May - freed.
Yettaw's release from a long jail sentence and deportation sparked hope that junta might consider releasing Suu Kyi too, Kasit said.
Webb met junta chief Than Shwe and Suu Kyi while in Burma and asked the military-run government to free her. Webb said he did not discuss Asean's plan with Kasit, who chairs the regional grouping, but said in Bangkok "it is valuable if Asean communicates that particular concern to the government of Myanmar [Burma]."
Later, Webb, chairman of a US Senate sub-committee on East Asia and the Pacific, met with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajjva yesterday to discuss any Asean moves to save Suu Kyi.
Abhisit briefed him on Asean's way of engaging the military government without interfering in its domestic affairs, according to spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn. Thailand and Asean have opposed use of sanctions on Burma to get Suu Kyi freed, Panitan said.
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee, Piyanart Srivalo
Published on August 18, 2009
A proposal requesting Burma pardon opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is getting more support from Asean members, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.
Counterparts from Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam, whom he had contacted, had expressed positive views on progress in Burma, he said. Kasit raised the idea last week about seeking a pardon from the junta for Suu Kyi after she was sentenced to another 18 months' house arrest.
Senior Asean officials will meet tomorrow and on Thursday in Jakarta to discuss a Thai-drafted text for the pardon request, he said.
"We respect Burma's justice system but are concerned about unity of Asean too, since Aung San Suu Kyi's case makes Asean and Burma a common target," he said.
Some Asean ministers suggested that Kasit lead a group to visit Burma to raise the issue with junta leaders.
Kasit yesterday met American Senator Jim Webb to discuss the issue. Webb had just returned from Burma where he managed to have American national John Yettaw - who swam across Inya Lake to Suu Kyi's residence in May - freed.
Yettaw's release from a long jail sentence and deportation sparked hope that junta might consider releasing Suu Kyi too, Kasit said.
Webb met junta chief Than Shwe and Suu Kyi while in Burma and asked the military-run government to free her. Webb said he did not discuss Asean's plan with Kasit, who chairs the regional grouping, but said in Bangkok "it is valuable if Asean communicates that particular concern to the government of Myanmar [Burma]."
Later, Webb, chairman of a US Senate sub-committee on East Asia and the Pacific, met with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajjva yesterday to discuss any Asean moves to save Suu Kyi.
Abhisit briefed him on Asean's way of engaging the military government without interfering in its domestic affairs, according to spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn. Thailand and Asean have opposed use of sanctions on Burma to get Suu Kyi freed, Panitan said.
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The Irrawaddy - Suu Kyi Clarifies Her Sanctions Policy
By WAI MOE, Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Burma’s detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi told US Senator Jim Webb on Saturday that “interaction” must first be established inside the country, according to her lawyer.
The comment was made in response to Webb’s assertion that, with regard to sanctions, Burma “needs interaction with the international community,” the lawyer said.
“Daw Suu told me that when she met with Senator Webb on Saturday she reiterated the need for the Burmese regime to first interact ‘inside the country.’ She said only when that happens ‘will Burma benefit from relations with the international community,’” said Nyan Win, Suu Kyi’s lawyer, who met her for about one hour on Monday afternoon.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Nyan Win said he asked Suu Kyi about the recent reports in several British newspapers that she had agreed to an overturn of the international tourism boycott on Burma. “She replied that she had not discussed the issue with anyone recently,” Nyan Win said.
According to the lawyer, who is also a spokesperson for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party, Suu Kyi’s stance on sanctions has not changed since she issued a statement in 2007.
“Suu Kyi said that as she was not the one who imposed sanctions against the Burmese regime, she is not in a position to lift those sanctions,” he said.
The NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate has in the past, however, offered an olive branch to the ruling generals. In November 2007, following the crackdown on monk-led demonstrations, she said, “In the interest of the nation, I stand ready to cooperate with the government in order to make this process of dialogue a success …”
Suu Kyi said she explained to Webb that despite some early agreements with Maj-Gen Aung Kyi, the minister of relations, who was appointed by the government to liaise with her after the monk-led protests, nothing ultimately transpired from the meetings.
Nyan Win said that one of topics raised during Suu Kyi’s conversation with Webb was China’s influence within the Burmese regime. The US senator apparently referred to Beijing’s involvement in Burma as a “fearful influence.”
“However, Daw Suu told Webb that she rejects such terminology with regard to China, and she wants Burma to be on good terms with all its neighboring countries as well as the international community at large,” Nyan Win said. “She said China is Burma’s neighbor and wants to be a good friend of Burma. She said she did not see China as a fearful influence.”
Another issue raised by Webb on Saturday was about the participation of her party, the NLD, in the coming elections in 2010. She told Webb that she needed to discuss the matter with members of her party thoroughly, her lawyer said.
Suu Kyi met with the Democratic senator in Rangoon on Saturday. On Monday, Webb told reporters at a press conference in Bangkok that Suu Kyi favors the removal of some of the international sanctions applied by the US and EU.
“I don't want to misrepresent her views, but my clear impression is that she is not opposed to the lifting of some sanctions,” Webb said.
Webb is known for his strong criticism of the US administration’s Burma sanctions, arguing that isolating Burma has strengthened China's grip, weakened US influence and done nothing to improve the junta's behavior.
According to Nyan Win, Suu Kyi made no comment on whether she considered the US senator’s trip to Burma to have been beneficial.
By WAI MOE, Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Burma’s detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi told US Senator Jim Webb on Saturday that “interaction” must first be established inside the country, according to her lawyer.
The comment was made in response to Webb’s assertion that, with regard to sanctions, Burma “needs interaction with the international community,” the lawyer said.
“Daw Suu told me that when she met with Senator Webb on Saturday she reiterated the need for the Burmese regime to first interact ‘inside the country.’ She said only when that happens ‘will Burma benefit from relations with the international community,’” said Nyan Win, Suu Kyi’s lawyer, who met her for about one hour on Monday afternoon.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Nyan Win said he asked Suu Kyi about the recent reports in several British newspapers that she had agreed to an overturn of the international tourism boycott on Burma. “She replied that she had not discussed the issue with anyone recently,” Nyan Win said.
According to the lawyer, who is also a spokesperson for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party, Suu Kyi’s stance on sanctions has not changed since she issued a statement in 2007.
“Suu Kyi said that as she was not the one who imposed sanctions against the Burmese regime, she is not in a position to lift those sanctions,” he said.
The NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate has in the past, however, offered an olive branch to the ruling generals. In November 2007, following the crackdown on monk-led demonstrations, she said, “In the interest of the nation, I stand ready to cooperate with the government in order to make this process of dialogue a success …”
Suu Kyi said she explained to Webb that despite some early agreements with Maj-Gen Aung Kyi, the minister of relations, who was appointed by the government to liaise with her after the monk-led protests, nothing ultimately transpired from the meetings.
Nyan Win said that one of topics raised during Suu Kyi’s conversation with Webb was China’s influence within the Burmese regime. The US senator apparently referred to Beijing’s involvement in Burma as a “fearful influence.”
“However, Daw Suu told Webb that she rejects such terminology with regard to China, and she wants Burma to be on good terms with all its neighboring countries as well as the international community at large,” Nyan Win said. “She said China is Burma’s neighbor and wants to be a good friend of Burma. She said she did not see China as a fearful influence.”
Another issue raised by Webb on Saturday was about the participation of her party, the NLD, in the coming elections in 2010. She told Webb that she needed to discuss the matter with members of her party thoroughly, her lawyer said.
Suu Kyi met with the Democratic senator in Rangoon on Saturday. On Monday, Webb told reporters at a press conference in Bangkok that Suu Kyi favors the removal of some of the international sanctions applied by the US and EU.
“I don't want to misrepresent her views, but my clear impression is that she is not opposed to the lifting of some sanctions,” Webb said.
Webb is known for his strong criticism of the US administration’s Burma sanctions, arguing that isolating Burma has strengthened China's grip, weakened US influence and done nothing to improve the junta's behavior.
According to Nyan Win, Suu Kyi made no comment on whether she considered the US senator’s trip to Burma to have been beneficial.
*********************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Irish Mayor Launches Petition for Suu Kyi’s Release
By ARKAR MOE, Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Dublin’s Lord Mayor Emer Costello initiated a campaign calling for the immediate release of Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi at Dublin’s City Hall on Monday.
Costello was the first to sign a book of solidarity calling for Suu Kyi’s immediate release. The book will be open for the public to sign at the City Hall in Dublin, from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. till Thursday, August 20.
Suu Kyi was sentenced to a further 18 months of house arrest by a military-controlled court in Burma on August 11 for breaching the terms of her previous house arrest.
The lord mayor urged young people to be aware of human rights and to spread the message of support for Suu Kyi through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
“Dublin is a city that prides itself on its social conscience, and young people approached me last week who were truly angry at the 18 months house arrest sentence,” she said.
“I realize I could have just issued a statement condemning the injustice, but I wanted Dublin and its young people to have their say.
“Aung San Suu Kyi is a global icon of heroic and peaceful resistance in the face of military repression, and she takes her rightful place in history amongst other great civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, who I know inspired her. I am calling on the military junta in Burma to immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.
“I recall the great wisdom in the words of Aung San Suu Kyi when she said, ‘Please use your liberty to promote ours,’ in calling on people around the world to join the struggle for freedom in Burma,” she said.
Burma Action Ireland welcomed the opening of the book of solidarity and urged the public to sign the book in support of Suu Kyi, asking that they use their freedom “to promote hers".
Well-known singer Bono of the Irish rock band U2 also sent a message of support for the book of solidarity campaign.
“This bunch of crooks that call themselves a government continue to rob the people of Burma of their rightful leader,’ Bono said. “This mock trial and its sham verdict is a signal not of junta strength but of fear and cowardice–fear of a 64-year-old woman whom they dare not even let walk down the street.”
Another reaction to the sentencing of Suu Kyi came on August 13, when the New York-based Global Justice Center (GJC) denounced the UN secretary-general’s response to Suu Kyi’s conviction and called for a UN Security Council referral to bring Burma’s junta leaders to the International Criminal Court.
“The Global Justice Center takes exception to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks which fail to address the junta’s systematic rule by crime,” the GJC said, calling for Ban Ki-moon to end the junta’s impunity and not just “convey his ‘disappointment’ and call for ‘reconciliation.’
“Aung San Suu Kyi ‘s conviction is a crime against humanity by means of a judicial order. Judges are Sen-Gen Than Shwe’s weapons of choice and judges U Thaung Nyunt and U Nye Nye Soe, who convicted Aung San Suu Kyi, are ‘top performers’ in the junta’s judicial arsenal,” the GJC said.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Thein Oo, chairman of the exiled Burma Lawyers’ Council (BLC), said: “Suu Kyi’s trial shows that there are many unfair trials and sham verdicts in Burma, and that the Burmese military commit crimes against humanity.”
“The BLC is trying to initiate action to bring Burma’s junta leaders before the International Criminal Court in cooperation with the Global Justice Center, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH, Paris) and the Women's League of Burma (WLB). The UN Security Council can play an important role in this,” he said.
By ARKAR MOE, Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Dublin’s Lord Mayor Emer Costello initiated a campaign calling for the immediate release of Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi at Dublin’s City Hall on Monday.
Costello was the first to sign a book of solidarity calling for Suu Kyi’s immediate release. The book will be open for the public to sign at the City Hall in Dublin, from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. till Thursday, August 20.
Suu Kyi was sentenced to a further 18 months of house arrest by a military-controlled court in Burma on August 11 for breaching the terms of her previous house arrest.
The lord mayor urged young people to be aware of human rights and to spread the message of support for Suu Kyi through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
“Dublin is a city that prides itself on its social conscience, and young people approached me last week who were truly angry at the 18 months house arrest sentence,” she said.
“I realize I could have just issued a statement condemning the injustice, but I wanted Dublin and its young people to have their say.
“Aung San Suu Kyi is a global icon of heroic and peaceful resistance in the face of military repression, and she takes her rightful place in history amongst other great civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, who I know inspired her. I am calling on the military junta in Burma to immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.
“I recall the great wisdom in the words of Aung San Suu Kyi when she said, ‘Please use your liberty to promote ours,’ in calling on people around the world to join the struggle for freedom in Burma,” she said.
Burma Action Ireland welcomed the opening of the book of solidarity and urged the public to sign the book in support of Suu Kyi, asking that they use their freedom “to promote hers".
Well-known singer Bono of the Irish rock band U2 also sent a message of support for the book of solidarity campaign.
“This bunch of crooks that call themselves a government continue to rob the people of Burma of their rightful leader,’ Bono said. “This mock trial and its sham verdict is a signal not of junta strength but of fear and cowardice–fear of a 64-year-old woman whom they dare not even let walk down the street.”
Another reaction to the sentencing of Suu Kyi came on August 13, when the New York-based Global Justice Center (GJC) denounced the UN secretary-general’s response to Suu Kyi’s conviction and called for a UN Security Council referral to bring Burma’s junta leaders to the International Criminal Court.
“The Global Justice Center takes exception to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks which fail to address the junta’s systematic rule by crime,” the GJC said, calling for Ban Ki-moon to end the junta’s impunity and not just “convey his ‘disappointment’ and call for ‘reconciliation.’
“Aung San Suu Kyi ‘s conviction is a crime against humanity by means of a judicial order. Judges are Sen-Gen Than Shwe’s weapons of choice and judges U Thaung Nyunt and U Nye Nye Soe, who convicted Aung San Suu Kyi, are ‘top performers’ in the junta’s judicial arsenal,” the GJC said.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Thein Oo, chairman of the exiled Burma Lawyers’ Council (BLC), said: “Suu Kyi’s trial shows that there are many unfair trials and sham verdicts in Burma, and that the Burmese military commit crimes against humanity.”
“The BLC is trying to initiate action to bring Burma’s junta leaders before the International Criminal Court in cooperation with the Global Justice Center, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH, Paris) and the Women's League of Burma (WLB). The UN Security Council can play an important role in this,” he said.
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The Irrawaddy - No Change on Burma Policy: US
By LALIT K JHA / WASHINGTON, Tuesday, August 18, 2009
US President Barack Obama on Monday said he appreciated the decision of the Burmese military government US citizen John W Yettaw; however, his administration said it would have no impact on its review of the Burma policy, noting that it is looking for positive pro-democracy signals from military regime.
“We continue to look for signs that the Burmese government is prepared to embark on a meaningful dialogue with Aung Sun Suu Kyi, along with the rest of the democratic opposition,” the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, P.J. Crowley, told reporters at the daily State Department press briefing.
Soon thereafter, the White House issued a press statement which read: “The president is pleased that Senator Webb has facilitated the release of American citizen John Yettaw from detention in Burma. He appreciates this decision by the Burmese government.”
Yettaw was released following a meeting between Sen Jim Webb and Burmese leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe last week.
“The president also notes that in addition to meeting with head of state Than Shwe, Senator Webb was able to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, the first meeting by a US official with her for many years,” the statement said.
“We urge the Burmese leadership in this spirit to release all the political prisoners it is holding in detention or in house arrest, including Aung San Suu Kyi,” it said.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was briefed by telephone by Sen Webb and the two are expected to meet after the return of the latter to the US.
“Having just met with the Burmese leadership, having just met with Aung San Suu Kyi herself, I think the Secretary [of State] will look forward to having a fuller discussion with Sen Webb, getting his impressions ... based on his meetings. And that will inform what we think is both feasible and advisable in terms of our future policy with respect to Burma,” Crowley said.
Earlier responding to media queries, Crowley said the Obama administration will be looking for signs that Burma is fundamentally changing its approach and its policies. “I don’t think that this is by itself going to have an impact on our ongoing review,” he said.
Expressing concerned about the continued detainment of pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 political prisoners, Crowley said: “We continue to look for signs that the Burmese government is prepared to embark on a meaningful dialogue with Aung Sun Suu Kyi, along with the rest of the democratic opposition.”
Burma needs to have a dialogue with a full range of ethnic minority leaders in Burma, and move towards a peaceful transition to genuine democracy and national reconciliation, he argued. He said there is no timetable for the ongoing review of its Burma policy and the US is keeping a close watch on developments.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon welcomed the release of Yettaw. “The secretary-general notes the visit of United States Sen Webb to Myanmar over the weekend and welcomes his engagement with Myanmar leaders as well as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi towards a peaceful, united, democratic Myanmar with full respect for the human rights of all its people,” the deputy UN spokesperson, Marie Okabe, said.
“The secretary-general also welcomes the release of Mr Yettaw on humanitarian grounds,” Okabe said in response to a question.
By LALIT K JHA / WASHINGTON, Tuesday, August 18, 2009
US President Barack Obama on Monday said he appreciated the decision of the Burmese military government US citizen John W Yettaw; however, his administration said it would have no impact on its review of the Burma policy, noting that it is looking for positive pro-democracy signals from military regime.
“We continue to look for signs that the Burmese government is prepared to embark on a meaningful dialogue with Aung Sun Suu Kyi, along with the rest of the democratic opposition,” the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, P.J. Crowley, told reporters at the daily State Department press briefing.
Soon thereafter, the White House issued a press statement which read: “The president is pleased that Senator Webb has facilitated the release of American citizen John Yettaw from detention in Burma. He appreciates this decision by the Burmese government.”
Yettaw was released following a meeting between Sen Jim Webb and Burmese leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe last week.
“The president also notes that in addition to meeting with head of state Than Shwe, Senator Webb was able to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, the first meeting by a US official with her for many years,” the statement said.
“We urge the Burmese leadership in this spirit to release all the political prisoners it is holding in detention or in house arrest, including Aung San Suu Kyi,” it said.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was briefed by telephone by Sen Webb and the two are expected to meet after the return of the latter to the US.
“Having just met with the Burmese leadership, having just met with Aung San Suu Kyi herself, I think the Secretary [of State] will look forward to having a fuller discussion with Sen Webb, getting his impressions ... based on his meetings. And that will inform what we think is both feasible and advisable in terms of our future policy with respect to Burma,” Crowley said.
Earlier responding to media queries, Crowley said the Obama administration will be looking for signs that Burma is fundamentally changing its approach and its policies. “I don’t think that this is by itself going to have an impact on our ongoing review,” he said.
Expressing concerned about the continued detainment of pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 political prisoners, Crowley said: “We continue to look for signs that the Burmese government is prepared to embark on a meaningful dialogue with Aung Sun Suu Kyi, along with the rest of the democratic opposition.”
Burma needs to have a dialogue with a full range of ethnic minority leaders in Burma, and move towards a peaceful transition to genuine democracy and national reconciliation, he argued. He said there is no timetable for the ongoing review of its Burma policy and the US is keeping a close watch on developments.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon welcomed the release of Yettaw. “The secretary-general notes the visit of United States Sen Webb to Myanmar over the weekend and welcomes his engagement with Myanmar leaders as well as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi towards a peaceful, united, democratic Myanmar with full respect for the human rights of all its people,” the deputy UN spokesperson, Marie Okabe, said.
“The secretary-general also welcomes the release of Mr Yettaw on humanitarian grounds,” Okabe said in response to a question.
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Mizzima News - Journalists doubts effectiveness of sanctions on Burmese State-run media
by Nem Davies
Tuesday, 18 August 2009 12:27
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Journalists in Burma doubts the effectiveness of the European Union (EU)’s inclusion of four Burmese state-run media in their updated list of sanctions.
In the updated list of sanctions on August 14, the EU included the names of officials working at the New Light of Myanmar Newspaper (Burmese & English versions), the Mirror, the Myanmar TV (MRTV) including Myawaddy TV channels and the Myanmar Movies.
The EU list also included the names of the judges and officials responsible for sentencing pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on August 11. The restrictions imposed ban on the individuals to travel to European countries and freezing of their assets in foreign countries.
But journalists in Burma doubts the effectiveness of the sanctions as officials working at the state-run media are hardly making any profits and are rarely makes trips to any European countries.
“I don’t believe in sanctions. The inclusion of Myanmar Periodicals Corporation is done out of ignorance,” a Rangoon based journal editor told Mizzima.
“I think the sanction is missing the target. They should target business entities owned by family members of the military generals including their sons and daughters and their cronies,” the editor added.
Besides, another editor of a Journal in Rangoon remarks that journalists in Burma are often forced used as part of the junta’s propaganda as the journalists cannot resist the junta’s orders.
“There are many journalists in the private media, who have a good rapport with government officials. But at the same time no private journals can resist their command. We have to follow their dicktats though we resent it,” he added.
A veteran journalist remarks that the media environment has been controlled by the junta and no journalists can resist the orders saying the blame is not on the journalists but on the junta’s system.
“The state owned media will continue to be the machinery for state propaganda. They have been constituted only for being the state’s propaganda machinery. It is part of the junta’s tactic of ‘Counter media with media’,” he added.
Meanwhile, exiled based Burma Media Association welcome the EU’s updated list of sanctions saying they should have included the Burmese Censorship Board in the list and ban travel to those working at the censorship board.
San Moe Wai, Secretary BMA, said, “The EU should include the Censor Board in their sanctions list. They violate press freedom and control freedom of speech. The EU should also ban their travels.”
He said, by putting the state owned media in the list, it also serves as a warning to other private media. Moreover, the sanction will also impose restrictions on the junta’s mouthpiece media.
The EU sanction was first imposed on the junta in 1996 and it is renewed every year. This new renewal will expire on 30 April next year.
Moreover EU has imposed economic sanctions on 40 businesses ventures owned by the military regime and its private partners.
by Nem Davies
Tuesday, 18 August 2009 12:27
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Journalists in Burma doubts the effectiveness of the European Union (EU)’s inclusion of four Burmese state-run media in their updated list of sanctions.
In the updated list of sanctions on August 14, the EU included the names of officials working at the New Light of Myanmar Newspaper (Burmese & English versions), the Mirror, the Myanmar TV (MRTV) including Myawaddy TV channels and the Myanmar Movies.
The EU list also included the names of the judges and officials responsible for sentencing pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on August 11. The restrictions imposed ban on the individuals to travel to European countries and freezing of their assets in foreign countries.
But journalists in Burma doubts the effectiveness of the sanctions as officials working at the state-run media are hardly making any profits and are rarely makes trips to any European countries.
“I don’t believe in sanctions. The inclusion of Myanmar Periodicals Corporation is done out of ignorance,” a Rangoon based journal editor told Mizzima.
“I think the sanction is missing the target. They should target business entities owned by family members of the military generals including their sons and daughters and their cronies,” the editor added.
Besides, another editor of a Journal in Rangoon remarks that journalists in Burma are often forced used as part of the junta’s propaganda as the journalists cannot resist the junta’s orders.
“There are many journalists in the private media, who have a good rapport with government officials. But at the same time no private journals can resist their command. We have to follow their dicktats though we resent it,” he added.
A veteran journalist remarks that the media environment has been controlled by the junta and no journalists can resist the orders saying the blame is not on the journalists but on the junta’s system.
“The state owned media will continue to be the machinery for state propaganda. They have been constituted only for being the state’s propaganda machinery. It is part of the junta’s tactic of ‘Counter media with media’,” he added.
Meanwhile, exiled based Burma Media Association welcome the EU’s updated list of sanctions saying they should have included the Burmese Censorship Board in the list and ban travel to those working at the censorship board.
San Moe Wai, Secretary BMA, said, “The EU should include the Censor Board in their sanctions list. They violate press freedom and control freedom of speech. The EU should also ban their travels.”
He said, by putting the state owned media in the list, it also serves as a warning to other private media. Moreover, the sanction will also impose restrictions on the junta’s mouthpiece media.
The EU sanction was first imposed on the junta in 1996 and it is renewed every year. This new renewal will expire on 30 April next year.
Moreover EU has imposed economic sanctions on 40 businesses ventures owned by the military regime and its private partners.
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Win Tin undergoes heart surgery
Aug 18, 2009 (DVB)–A senior member of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party has undergone heart surgery following reports of poor health.
U Win Tin, a key member in the NLD’s Central Executive Committee, was taken to a Rangoon hospital last Saturday complaining of a slow heartbeat.
Win Tin had been a regular figure outside the gates of Insein prison during Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial, and has often acted as a press contact for the NLD.
“I was submitted to the hospital on Saturday and had a pacemaker inserted in my heart [on Sunday],” he said.
“The whole procedure took about one hour and 20 minutes. Now I’ve been released from the Intensive Care Unit [to a regular ward.]”
He will be released from the hospital in about two to three days depending on how fast the incision [from the surgery] recovered.
Win Tin, now 80-years-old, had a medical check up in mid-July this year for surgery in his eye.
Later he was diagnosed with slow a heart beat, which is beating at only half the speed of a normal heart. The subsequent medication did not work, and doctors decided to insert a pacemaker.
Win Tin is Burma’s longest serving political prisoner, released in November 2008 after a 19 year sentence.
He was originally chosen as one of four witnesses to testify on behalf of Suu Kyi at her trial, but judges dismissed him citing his past conviction.
Reporting by Naw Say Phaw
Aug 18, 2009 (DVB)–A senior member of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party has undergone heart surgery following reports of poor health.
U Win Tin, a key member in the NLD’s Central Executive Committee, was taken to a Rangoon hospital last Saturday complaining of a slow heartbeat.
Win Tin had been a regular figure outside the gates of Insein prison during Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial, and has often acted as a press contact for the NLD.
“I was submitted to the hospital on Saturday and had a pacemaker inserted in my heart [on Sunday],” he said.
“The whole procedure took about one hour and 20 minutes. Now I’ve been released from the Intensive Care Unit [to a regular ward.]”
He will be released from the hospital in about two to three days depending on how fast the incision [from the surgery] recovered.
Win Tin, now 80-years-old, had a medical check up in mid-July this year for surgery in his eye.
Later he was diagnosed with slow a heart beat, which is beating at only half the speed of a normal heart. The subsequent medication did not work, and doctors decided to insert a pacemaker.
Win Tin is Burma’s longest serving political prisoner, released in November 2008 after a 19 year sentence.
He was originally chosen as one of four witnesses to testify on behalf of Suu Kyi at her trial, but judges dismissed him citing his past conviction.
Reporting by Naw Say Phaw
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