US unveils plan to engage Myanmar
by Lachlan Carmichael – Thu Sep 24, 2:24 am ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The Obama administration, sketching out a new policy toward Myanmar, pledged to engage diplomatically with the country's military rulers in a bid to promote democratic reform there.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the possibility of an eventual easing or lifting of sanctions if US engagement produces political changes in Myanmar, earlier known as Burma.
Clinton told reporters that "we believe that sanctions remain important as part of our policy, but by themselves they have not produced the results that had been hoped for on behalf of the people of Burma."
The United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on Myanmar due to its refusal to recognize the last elections in 1990 and prolonged detention of the victor, democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
"So going forward, we will be employing both of those tolls pursuing our same goals, and to help achieve democratic reform, we will be engaging directly with Burmese authorities," the chief US diplomat said.
Taking a less confrontational international approach than his predecessor George W. Bush, President Barack Obama has already taken steps or announced plans to engage hardline regimes in Tehran, Pyongyang, Damascus and Havana.
Clinton said she could "preview" the new approach toward Myanmar, because a policy review begun by the administration days after it took office in January was almost complete.
She made the information public after briefing foreign ministers from a group of countries concerned about the situation in Myanmar that was chaired by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
"2010 will be a very critical year for Myanmar," Ban said after the meeting.
He echoed calls by other members of the international community for the release of political prisoners so that they can take part in elections next year.
Critics have dismissed the planned polls as a sham designed to entrench the military's hold on power.
Clinton said the "basic objectives" of US policy toward Myanmar have not changed.
"We want credible democratic reform, a government that responds to the needs of the Burmese people, immediate, unconditional release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi," she said.
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention since the junta refused to recognize the National League for Democracy's landslide victory in the country's last elections in 1990.
The junta, Clinton added, must also engage in a "serious dialogue with the opposition and minority ethnic groups."
A senior US official said the Obama administration sought to change its policy partly because the military rulers themselves showed signs of wanting to improve relations with the United States.
Clinton outlined the new US stand on sanctions to the foreign ministers from countries of the Group of Friends Burma, which includes a cross-section of countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, China, Britain and France.
"Lifting sanctions now would send the wrong signal, and we will maintain our existing sanctions until we see concrete progress towards reform," according to a copy of her prepared remarks released by the State Department.
"But we will be willing to discuss the easing of sanctions in response to significant actions on the part of Burma's generals that address the core human rights and democracy issues that are inhibiting Burma's progress," she said.
by Lachlan Carmichael – Thu Sep 24, 2:24 am ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The Obama administration, sketching out a new policy toward Myanmar, pledged to engage diplomatically with the country's military rulers in a bid to promote democratic reform there.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the possibility of an eventual easing or lifting of sanctions if US engagement produces political changes in Myanmar, earlier known as Burma.
Clinton told reporters that "we believe that sanctions remain important as part of our policy, but by themselves they have not produced the results that had been hoped for on behalf of the people of Burma."
The United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on Myanmar due to its refusal to recognize the last elections in 1990 and prolonged detention of the victor, democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
"So going forward, we will be employing both of those tolls pursuing our same goals, and to help achieve democratic reform, we will be engaging directly with Burmese authorities," the chief US diplomat said.
Taking a less confrontational international approach than his predecessor George W. Bush, President Barack Obama has already taken steps or announced plans to engage hardline regimes in Tehran, Pyongyang, Damascus and Havana.
Clinton said she could "preview" the new approach toward Myanmar, because a policy review begun by the administration days after it took office in January was almost complete.
She made the information public after briefing foreign ministers from a group of countries concerned about the situation in Myanmar that was chaired by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
"2010 will be a very critical year for Myanmar," Ban said after the meeting.
He echoed calls by other members of the international community for the release of political prisoners so that they can take part in elections next year.
Critics have dismissed the planned polls as a sham designed to entrench the military's hold on power.
Clinton said the "basic objectives" of US policy toward Myanmar have not changed.
"We want credible democratic reform, a government that responds to the needs of the Burmese people, immediate, unconditional release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi," she said.
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention since the junta refused to recognize the National League for Democracy's landslide victory in the country's last elections in 1990.
The junta, Clinton added, must also engage in a "serious dialogue with the opposition and minority ethnic groups."
A senior US official said the Obama administration sought to change its policy partly because the military rulers themselves showed signs of wanting to improve relations with the United States.
Clinton outlined the new US stand on sanctions to the foreign ministers from countries of the Group of Friends Burma, which includes a cross-section of countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, China, Britain and France.
"Lifting sanctions now would send the wrong signal, and we will maintain our existing sanctions until we see concrete progress towards reform," according to a copy of her prepared remarks released by the State Department.
"But we will be willing to discuss the easing of sanctions in response to significant actions on the part of Burma's generals that address the core human rights and democracy issues that are inhibiting Burma's progress," she said.
***************************************************************
Myanmar's Suu Kyi welcomes US plan to engage junta
Thu Sep 24, 8:29 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has welcomed US plans to engage diplomatically with the country's military rulers, her lawyer said Thursday.
Her comments came a day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the possibility of an eventual easing or lifting of sanctions if US engagement produces political changes in Myanmar.
"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that direct engagement is good," her lawyer Nyan Win said after meeting her at her home in Yangon to discuss her appeal against her recently extended house arrest.
Thu Sep 24, 8:29 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has welcomed US plans to engage diplomatically with the country's military rulers, her lawyer said Thursday.
Her comments came a day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the possibility of an eventual easing or lifting of sanctions if US engagement produces political changes in Myanmar.
"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that direct engagement is good," her lawyer Nyan Win said after meeting her at her home in Yangon to discuss her appeal against her recently extended house arrest.
***************************************************************
US Senator Webb meets Myanmar foreign minister
14 mins ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Senator Jim Webb, a strong supporter of engaging Myanmar, met last weekend with the military-ruled country's Foreign Minister Nyan Win, the Democratic lawmaker's spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.
"Senator Webb met with the Burmese foreign minister on Saturday to discuss the road forward for improved US-Burma relations," Jessica Smith said, referring to Myanmar's former name.
"Senator Webb conveyed his hopes that the foreign minister?s meetings in the United States would be positive and forward-looking," she said.
Webb, who has been sharply critical of US economic sanctions on Myanmar, has set a September 30 hearing on their effectivness in fostering democratic reforms there.
The Virginia senator chairs the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
Webb, whose home state is Virginia, denounced US sanctions in late August after making a rare visit to Myanmar, warning they were "overwhelmingly counterproductive" and risked pushing Myanmar closer to regional giant China.
14 mins ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Senator Jim Webb, a strong supporter of engaging Myanmar, met last weekend with the military-ruled country's Foreign Minister Nyan Win, the Democratic lawmaker's spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.
"Senator Webb met with the Burmese foreign minister on Saturday to discuss the road forward for improved US-Burma relations," Jessica Smith said, referring to Myanmar's former name.
"Senator Webb conveyed his hopes that the foreign minister?s meetings in the United States would be positive and forward-looking," she said.
Webb, who has been sharply critical of US economic sanctions on Myanmar, has set a September 30 hearing on their effectivness in fostering democratic reforms there.
The Virginia senator chairs the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
Webb, whose home state is Virginia, denounced US sanctions in late August after making a rare visit to Myanmar, warning they were "overwhelmingly counterproductive" and risked pushing Myanmar closer to regional giant China.
***************************************************************
Myanmar's Suu Kyi said to welcome new US approach
AP - Friday, September 25
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi welcomes a U.S. initiative to step up contacts with Myanmar's military government, a spokesman for her political party said Thursday.
Nyan Win, spokesman for the National League for Democracy party, said Suu Kyi agreed with plans announced by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Obama administration to engage in direct high-level talks with the junta as part of efforts to promote democracy in Myanmar.
Washington has for many years taken a hard-line approach toward the junta, applying political and economic sanctions while trying to keep it isolated.
Nyan Win spoke after he met Suu Kyi at her home, where she is serving her latest term of house arrest. He and other lawyers are involved in her appeal of her 18-month sentence for violating the terms of her previous house arrest by allowing an uninvited American visitor in May to stay for two days.
Suu Kyi "said she accepted the idea of engagement by the U.S. administration. She said she has always espoused engagement, however, (she) suggested that engagement had to be done with both sides — the government as well as the democratic forces," Nyan Win said.
Clinton announced the new U.S. approach Wednesday at the United Nations after meeting with counterparts from a number of countries that are trying to convince Myanmar's authoritarian regime to reform, allow dissent and release thousands of political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi.
Clinton said U.S. sanctions against members of Myanmar's leadership would remain in place but that those measures would now be accompanied by outreach. For months, Clinton had lamented that the sanctions alone were having little impact.
"We believe that sanctions remain important as part of our policy, but by themselves they have not produced the results that had been hoped for on behalf of the people of Burma," Clinton told reporters, using the country's traditional name.
"Engagement versus sanctions is a false choice in our opinion," she said. "So, going forward we will be employing both of those tools, pursuing our same goals."
AP - Friday, September 25
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi welcomes a U.S. initiative to step up contacts with Myanmar's military government, a spokesman for her political party said Thursday.
Nyan Win, spokesman for the National League for Democracy party, said Suu Kyi agreed with plans announced by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Obama administration to engage in direct high-level talks with the junta as part of efforts to promote democracy in Myanmar.
Washington has for many years taken a hard-line approach toward the junta, applying political and economic sanctions while trying to keep it isolated.
Nyan Win spoke after he met Suu Kyi at her home, where she is serving her latest term of house arrest. He and other lawyers are involved in her appeal of her 18-month sentence for violating the terms of her previous house arrest by allowing an uninvited American visitor in May to stay for two days.
Suu Kyi "said she accepted the idea of engagement by the U.S. administration. She said she has always espoused engagement, however, (she) suggested that engagement had to be done with both sides — the government as well as the democratic forces," Nyan Win said.
Clinton announced the new U.S. approach Wednesday at the United Nations after meeting with counterparts from a number of countries that are trying to convince Myanmar's authoritarian regime to reform, allow dissent and release thousands of political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi.
Clinton said U.S. sanctions against members of Myanmar's leadership would remain in place but that those measures would now be accompanied by outreach. For months, Clinton had lamented that the sanctions alone were having little impact.
"We believe that sanctions remain important as part of our policy, but by themselves they have not produced the results that had been hoped for on behalf of the people of Burma," Clinton told reporters, using the country's traditional name.
"Engagement versus sanctions is a false choice in our opinion," she said. "So, going forward we will be employing both of those tools, pursuing our same goals."
***************************************************************
US changes tack on Myanmar
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer – Wed Sep 23, 9:08 pm ET
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that the Obama administration has decided to engage in direct high-level talks with Myanmar's junta as part of international efforts to promote democracy in the military-run state.
Clinton made the announcement at the United Nations after meeting with her counterparts from a number of countries trying to convince the authoritarian regime to reform, allow dissent and release thousands of political prisoners, including Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
She said that U.S. sanctions against members of Myanmar's leadership would remain in place but that those measures would now be accompanied by outreach. For months, Clinton had lamented that the sanctions alone were having little impact.
"We believe that sanctions remain important as part of our policy, but by themselves they have not produced the results that had been hoped for on behalf of the people of Burma," Clinton told reporters, using the country's traditional name.
"Engagement versus sanctions is a false choice in our opinion," she said. "So, going forward we will be employing both of those tools, pursuing our same goals. To help achieve democratic reform, we will be engaging directly with Burmese authorities."
The move is the latest in a series of reversals in Bush administration foreign policy by Obama's national security team. The new administration is also reaching out to Iran and has scrapped major elements of Bush's plan to construct a missile shield in eastern Europe.
The decision to engage Myanmar stemmed from a review of U.S. policy toward the country initiated after President Barack Obama took office. The Bush administration had shunned Myanmar in protest of multiple crackdowns on the opposition.
U.S. officials said Congress would be briefed on specifics of the new policy on Thursday.
A senior State Department official familiar with the review said the administration planned to name an envoy to deal with an "interlocutor" who Myanmar is expected to name soon to handle the dialogue with Washington.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because U.S. lawmakers have not yet been briefed on the plans, said discussions with Myanmar would now take place at a significantly higher level.
The official added that the administration did not expect "dramatic, immediate results" from engagement but hoped that over time the dialogue would help to pursuade the regime on reform, particularly in ensuring that elections set for 2010 are free and fair.
Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since 1962, currently holds almost 2,200 political prisoners, according to estimates by human rights groups. None of them, however, are as well known as pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi.
Her National League for Democracy party handily won the country's last elections in 1990 but the military never honored the results.
She has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, and a global groundswell of international pressure to release the 64-year-old opposition leader has kept the impoverished military-ruled country under sanctions in recent years.
Last month, Suu Kyi was sentenced to another 18-month stint under house arrest for allowing an American intruder to stay at her home, ensuring she cannot participate in next year's election.
That intruder, John Yettaw, was freed during a rare visit to Myanmar by a top U.S. lawmaker, Sen. James Webb, a Virginia Democrat, who returned from the country advocating engagement with the military regime.
Webb was instrumental in getting the State Department to waive travel restrictions included in the sanctions and allow Myanmar's foreign minister to visit Washington ahead of his participation in this week's U.N. General Assembly session.
The gathering that Clinton attended Friday's on the sidelines of the General Assembly was the second of U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon's so-called "Group of Friends on Myanmar" at the foreign minister level.
Afterward, Ban issued a statement calling 2010 "a critical year for Myanmar," in which the upcoming election will be seen as credible only if it iincludes the political opposition.
Before Clinton spoke, Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo told reporters that re-engaging "will enable the U.S. and Europe to have more influence in the political evolution of the country."
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer – Wed Sep 23, 9:08 pm ET
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that the Obama administration has decided to engage in direct high-level talks with Myanmar's junta as part of international efforts to promote democracy in the military-run state.
Clinton made the announcement at the United Nations after meeting with her counterparts from a number of countries trying to convince the authoritarian regime to reform, allow dissent and release thousands of political prisoners, including Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
She said that U.S. sanctions against members of Myanmar's leadership would remain in place but that those measures would now be accompanied by outreach. For months, Clinton had lamented that the sanctions alone were having little impact.
"We believe that sanctions remain important as part of our policy, but by themselves they have not produced the results that had been hoped for on behalf of the people of Burma," Clinton told reporters, using the country's traditional name.
"Engagement versus sanctions is a false choice in our opinion," she said. "So, going forward we will be employing both of those tools, pursuing our same goals. To help achieve democratic reform, we will be engaging directly with Burmese authorities."
The move is the latest in a series of reversals in Bush administration foreign policy by Obama's national security team. The new administration is also reaching out to Iran and has scrapped major elements of Bush's plan to construct a missile shield in eastern Europe.
The decision to engage Myanmar stemmed from a review of U.S. policy toward the country initiated after President Barack Obama took office. The Bush administration had shunned Myanmar in protest of multiple crackdowns on the opposition.
U.S. officials said Congress would be briefed on specifics of the new policy on Thursday.
A senior State Department official familiar with the review said the administration planned to name an envoy to deal with an "interlocutor" who Myanmar is expected to name soon to handle the dialogue with Washington.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because U.S. lawmakers have not yet been briefed on the plans, said discussions with Myanmar would now take place at a significantly higher level.
The official added that the administration did not expect "dramatic, immediate results" from engagement but hoped that over time the dialogue would help to pursuade the regime on reform, particularly in ensuring that elections set for 2010 are free and fair.
Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since 1962, currently holds almost 2,200 political prisoners, according to estimates by human rights groups. None of them, however, are as well known as pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi.
Her National League for Democracy party handily won the country's last elections in 1990 but the military never honored the results.
She has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, and a global groundswell of international pressure to release the 64-year-old opposition leader has kept the impoverished military-ruled country under sanctions in recent years.
Last month, Suu Kyi was sentenced to another 18-month stint under house arrest for allowing an American intruder to stay at her home, ensuring she cannot participate in next year's election.
That intruder, John Yettaw, was freed during a rare visit to Myanmar by a top U.S. lawmaker, Sen. James Webb, a Virginia Democrat, who returned from the country advocating engagement with the military regime.
Webb was instrumental in getting the State Department to waive travel restrictions included in the sanctions and allow Myanmar's foreign minister to visit Washington ahead of his participation in this week's U.N. General Assembly session.
The gathering that Clinton attended Friday's on the sidelines of the General Assembly was the second of U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon's so-called "Group of Friends on Myanmar" at the foreign minister level.
Afterward, Ban issued a statement calling 2010 "a critical year for Myanmar," in which the upcoming election will be seen as credible only if it iincludes the political opposition.
Before Clinton spoke, Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo told reporters that re-engaging "will enable the U.S. and Europe to have more influence in the political evolution of the country."
***************************************************************
Myanmar unveils new higher denomination bank note
AP - Friday, September 25
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar announced Thursday it will soon introduce a 5,000-kyat bank note, the country's highest-denomination currency.
State radio and television reported that the Central Bank of Myanmar will release the note Oct. 1.
Existing notes and coins will remain legal tender.
Five thousand kyat is worth about $4.70 at the free market _ or black market _ rate of exchange used for most commercial transactions. It is worth a bit more than $800 at the nominal official rate of exchange.
The last time a new denomination was introduced was in 1998 with the 1,000-kyat note. Because it is worth only about $0.94 at the free market exchange rate, even minor business transactions require large wads of money.
Rumors of the introduction of a 5,000-kyat note had been circulating since 2003, but the government repeatedly described them as speculation.
Currency is a sensitive subject in Myanmar, where demonetization of some notes in 1987 sparked protests that turned into vast pro-democracy demonstrations that were quelled with military force.
"There will be some panic in the market" over issuing the new bank note, a banker said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. "The price of black market dollars will go up and so will the price of gold. However, the introduction of such a big denomination note will help our banking transactions, as there will be a lower volume of cash."
He added that the negative impact would not last long.
The new bank note will be red and have an elephant as its main motif.
AP - Friday, September 25
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar announced Thursday it will soon introduce a 5,000-kyat bank note, the country's highest-denomination currency.
State radio and television reported that the Central Bank of Myanmar will release the note Oct. 1.
Existing notes and coins will remain legal tender.
Five thousand kyat is worth about $4.70 at the free market _ or black market _ rate of exchange used for most commercial transactions. It is worth a bit more than $800 at the nominal official rate of exchange.
The last time a new denomination was introduced was in 1998 with the 1,000-kyat note. Because it is worth only about $0.94 at the free market exchange rate, even minor business transactions require large wads of money.
Rumors of the introduction of a 5,000-kyat note had been circulating since 2003, but the government repeatedly described them as speculation.
Currency is a sensitive subject in Myanmar, where demonetization of some notes in 1987 sparked protests that turned into vast pro-democracy demonstrations that were quelled with military force.
"There will be some panic in the market" over issuing the new bank note, a banker said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. "The price of black market dollars will go up and so will the price of gold. However, the introduction of such a big denomination note will help our banking transactions, as there will be a lower volume of cash."
He added that the negative impact would not last long.
The new bank note will be red and have an elephant as its main motif.
***************************************************************
Change in Japan's Myanmar policy urged
Published: Sept. 24, 2009 at 1:09 AM
TOKYO, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Japan needs to change its policy toward military-ruled Myanmar more than any other country, two human rights activists say.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Benedict Rogers of London's Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Yuki Akimoto, director of BurmaInfo in Tokyo, said "one particular area crying out for change" by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's new government is "Japan's relationship with Burma," the former name of Myanmar.
Rogers and Akimoto said Japan's historical dealing with Myanmar includes giving military training in the 1930s and 1940s to Aung San, who led the Burmese struggle for freedom from British colonialism. During Japan's World War II occupation of the country, Burmese ethnic groups seen as siding with the British were cruelly put down.
Aung San's daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi -- who has been under house arrest for years under the Myanmar military junta because of her pro-democracy campaign -- studied in Kyoto, Japan. However, her recent trial, condemned widely around the world, was dismissed by Japan as "a domestic issue," Rogers and Akimoto wrote.
They said "Japan has extended political and financial support to Burma's military regime to protect its own short-term economic interests, safeguard relations with China and pursue a misguided view that appeasement will bear fruit" and they claim the policy has tied Japan's Foreign Ministry in "moral and rhetorical knots."
"If Hatoyama is serious about change, Tokyo's entire approach must change … Rather than support the junta, Tokyo could call for a genuine process of democratization and refuse to verify sham elections," the authors wrote.
Published: Sept. 24, 2009 at 1:09 AM
TOKYO, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Japan needs to change its policy toward military-ruled Myanmar more than any other country, two human rights activists say.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Benedict Rogers of London's Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Yuki Akimoto, director of BurmaInfo in Tokyo, said "one particular area crying out for change" by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's new government is "Japan's relationship with Burma," the former name of Myanmar.
Rogers and Akimoto said Japan's historical dealing with Myanmar includes giving military training in the 1930s and 1940s to Aung San, who led the Burmese struggle for freedom from British colonialism. During Japan's World War II occupation of the country, Burmese ethnic groups seen as siding with the British were cruelly put down.
Aung San's daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi -- who has been under house arrest for years under the Myanmar military junta because of her pro-democracy campaign -- studied in Kyoto, Japan. However, her recent trial, condemned widely around the world, was dismissed by Japan as "a domestic issue," Rogers and Akimoto wrote.
They said "Japan has extended political and financial support to Burma's military regime to protect its own short-term economic interests, safeguard relations with China and pursue a misguided view that appeasement will bear fruit" and they claim the policy has tied Japan's Foreign Ministry in "moral and rhetorical knots."
"If Hatoyama is serious about change, Tokyo's entire approach must change … Rather than support the junta, Tokyo could call for a genuine process of democratization and refuse to verify sham elections," the authors wrote.
***************************************************************
Burma Junta Up to Old Tricks, Say Observers
Larry Jagan, Inter Press Service – Wed Sep 23, 9:33 pm ET
BANGKOK, Sep 23 (IPS) - Having released more than 7,000 prisoners in the last few days as part of the preparations for next year's planned polls, Burma's military rulers are up to their old tricks, according to Burmese activists and human rights groups.
Most of those released are petty criminals, although around 200 political prisoners are among the freed.
Many analysts believe these releases are intended to increase the credibility of next year's multi-party elections – the first in 20 years. But activists accuse the junta of releasing political prisoners to deflect international pressure, especially at the United Nations, where the annual General Assembly got underway this week. Burma usually comes under intense scrutiny during this meeting.
"Every one of these prisoners is a person, and it is unacceptable that the junta uses them as chips to bargain with and play the international community," said Thailand-based David Scott Mathieson, the Burma researcher for Human Rights Watch, a U.S.-based independent organisation.
At least 127 political prisoners have been freed, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners - Burma (AAPPB) in Thailand, which closely monitors the situation inside the junta-ruled Southeast Asian state.
So far more than 40 members of Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, have been freed, three of whom were elected as members of parliament in 1990.
Six members of the 88 Generation Students group, who were sentenced to more than 60 years in jail for their alleged part in organising the Buddhist monk-led mass protests two years ago against rising food prices, were also among those released from jail. Four monks arrested after the Saffron Revolt in 2007, four journalists, 13 students and a lawyer were also freed, according to the AAPPB.
"These releases are a showcase to ease international pressure," Bo Kyi, the head of the AAPPB, told Inter Press Service. "We expect more than 200 to be released within the next few days."
The government's announcement last week that exactly 7,114 prisoners were to be released on compassionate grounds came on the eve of the anniversary of the current military rulers seizing power in a bloody coup on Sep. 18, 1988, and the start of the U.N. annual meeting, to be attended by the Burmese prime minister, General Thein Sein – the highest junta leader to attend the U.N. session in more than 15 years. It is usually the foreign minister and a large team of diplomats who defend the regime during these U.N. proceedings.
"The choice of 7,114 prisoners clearly smacks of the influence of astrologers," said Bertil Lintner, a writer and Burma specialist based in Thailand. The regime's leaders are known to consult astrologers to establish the most auspicious dates and times for key events, and number like this.
Many analysts and activists believe this amnesty is intended to deflect criticism of Burma's human rights' record at the U.N. meeting and to show the international community that the military regime is cooperating with the U.N.
Some of the political prisoners that have been freed were on the U.N.'s priority list submitted to the junta's leaders by the U.N. secretary-general's special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, earlier this year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also raised this issue with the top general Than Shwe during his failed mission to Burma in July, when the U.N. official was refused permission to meet detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
At the time, Ban was promised that a substantial number of political prisoners would be released before the elections in 2010.
"Clearly, this is a gesture in response to Ban Ki-moon's request, made on behalf of the international community during his visit to Myanmar earlier this year," the Burma researcher for the Britain-based human rights group Amnesty International, Benjamin Zawacki, told IPS. "And as such it is disingenuous and insultingly insufficient."
"These prisoner releases are simply too little, too late" he added. "Too little, because releasing around 120 political prisoners represents less than 5 percent of the more than 2,200 political prisoners who are still languishing in Myanmar's jails."
"And too late, because at the current rate of release -- every 6 to 12 months -- it will be literally decades before the last of the political prisoners are released. By then, of course, the 2010 elections will have long since passed and many of the prisoners will have served their terms."
Diplomats in Rangoon – Burma's former capital – believe more political prisoners will be released in the coming months, but that these will be freed in drips and drabs. The junta's seven-stage roadmap to democracy includes a mass amnesty for political prisoners. This was agreed more than five years ago between the former prime minister, General Khin Nyunt – now under house arrest -- and the U.N. envoy at the time, Dato Razali Ismail, according to the former U.N. human rights rapporteur for Burma, Paulo Pinheiro.
Few believe that the regime will honour this promise, though a few more political prisoners may see the light of day. "Technically, there is still time before the elections for this (recent) mass release to be only the first step -- with many more to follow in quick succession – but all the signs and signals suggest this will not be the case," said Zawacki.
"If the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council, as the military regime is officially called) was serious about making the elections free and fair, they would release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi," said Zin Linn, a spokesman for the National Coalition Government for the Union of Burma, the democratically elected Burmese government currently in exile in Thailand. "They may free other activists, but the key opposition leaders will certainly be kept behind bars until after the election."
There is no doubt that the elections are dominating everything in Burma at the moment – even though the polling date is yet to be announced – according to diplomats and sources within the business community in Rangoon.
The mass release of prisoners may also be in preparation for a possible crackdown on the opposition during the elections. "The junta cannot afford to allow the campaign to be free and fair," said Lintner.
"They are emptying the jails now to fill them up later – that's what also happened in 1988, ahead of the mass pro-democracy protests, when thousands and thousands of activists were later locked up," he said. "The SPDC is still playing games — cracking down and easing pressure when it suits them, and then re-asserting their power when they need to," said Zin Linn.
It is all part of the military rulers strategy to keep control and prevent social unrest, according to activists and human rights groups.
"Even if a handful of political activists have been free, others are still being arrested," said Mathieson. "The message is clear: any threat to the 2010 elections will be dealt with harshly."
Larry Jagan, Inter Press Service – Wed Sep 23, 9:33 pm ET
BANGKOK, Sep 23 (IPS) - Having released more than 7,000 prisoners in the last few days as part of the preparations for next year's planned polls, Burma's military rulers are up to their old tricks, according to Burmese activists and human rights groups.
Most of those released are petty criminals, although around 200 political prisoners are among the freed.
Many analysts believe these releases are intended to increase the credibility of next year's multi-party elections – the first in 20 years. But activists accuse the junta of releasing political prisoners to deflect international pressure, especially at the United Nations, where the annual General Assembly got underway this week. Burma usually comes under intense scrutiny during this meeting.
"Every one of these prisoners is a person, and it is unacceptable that the junta uses them as chips to bargain with and play the international community," said Thailand-based David Scott Mathieson, the Burma researcher for Human Rights Watch, a U.S.-based independent organisation.
At least 127 political prisoners have been freed, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners - Burma (AAPPB) in Thailand, which closely monitors the situation inside the junta-ruled Southeast Asian state.
So far more than 40 members of Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, have been freed, three of whom were elected as members of parliament in 1990.
Six members of the 88 Generation Students group, who were sentenced to more than 60 years in jail for their alleged part in organising the Buddhist monk-led mass protests two years ago against rising food prices, were also among those released from jail. Four monks arrested after the Saffron Revolt in 2007, four journalists, 13 students and a lawyer were also freed, according to the AAPPB.
"These releases are a showcase to ease international pressure," Bo Kyi, the head of the AAPPB, told Inter Press Service. "We expect more than 200 to be released within the next few days."
The government's announcement last week that exactly 7,114 prisoners were to be released on compassionate grounds came on the eve of the anniversary of the current military rulers seizing power in a bloody coup on Sep. 18, 1988, and the start of the U.N. annual meeting, to be attended by the Burmese prime minister, General Thein Sein – the highest junta leader to attend the U.N. session in more than 15 years. It is usually the foreign minister and a large team of diplomats who defend the regime during these U.N. proceedings.
"The choice of 7,114 prisoners clearly smacks of the influence of astrologers," said Bertil Lintner, a writer and Burma specialist based in Thailand. The regime's leaders are known to consult astrologers to establish the most auspicious dates and times for key events, and number like this.
Many analysts and activists believe this amnesty is intended to deflect criticism of Burma's human rights' record at the U.N. meeting and to show the international community that the military regime is cooperating with the U.N.
Some of the political prisoners that have been freed were on the U.N.'s priority list submitted to the junta's leaders by the U.N. secretary-general's special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, earlier this year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also raised this issue with the top general Than Shwe during his failed mission to Burma in July, when the U.N. official was refused permission to meet detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
At the time, Ban was promised that a substantial number of political prisoners would be released before the elections in 2010.
"Clearly, this is a gesture in response to Ban Ki-moon's request, made on behalf of the international community during his visit to Myanmar earlier this year," the Burma researcher for the Britain-based human rights group Amnesty International, Benjamin Zawacki, told IPS. "And as such it is disingenuous and insultingly insufficient."
"These prisoner releases are simply too little, too late" he added. "Too little, because releasing around 120 political prisoners represents less than 5 percent of the more than 2,200 political prisoners who are still languishing in Myanmar's jails."
"And too late, because at the current rate of release -- every 6 to 12 months -- it will be literally decades before the last of the political prisoners are released. By then, of course, the 2010 elections will have long since passed and many of the prisoners will have served their terms."
Diplomats in Rangoon – Burma's former capital – believe more political prisoners will be released in the coming months, but that these will be freed in drips and drabs. The junta's seven-stage roadmap to democracy includes a mass amnesty for political prisoners. This was agreed more than five years ago between the former prime minister, General Khin Nyunt – now under house arrest -- and the U.N. envoy at the time, Dato Razali Ismail, according to the former U.N. human rights rapporteur for Burma, Paulo Pinheiro.
Few believe that the regime will honour this promise, though a few more political prisoners may see the light of day. "Technically, there is still time before the elections for this (recent) mass release to be only the first step -- with many more to follow in quick succession – but all the signs and signals suggest this will not be the case," said Zawacki.
"If the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council, as the military regime is officially called) was serious about making the elections free and fair, they would release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi," said Zin Linn, a spokesman for the National Coalition Government for the Union of Burma, the democratically elected Burmese government currently in exile in Thailand. "They may free other activists, but the key opposition leaders will certainly be kept behind bars until after the election."
There is no doubt that the elections are dominating everything in Burma at the moment – even though the polling date is yet to be announced – according to diplomats and sources within the business community in Rangoon.
The mass release of prisoners may also be in preparation for a possible crackdown on the opposition during the elections. "The junta cannot afford to allow the campaign to be free and fair," said Lintner.
"They are emptying the jails now to fill them up later – that's what also happened in 1988, ahead of the mass pro-democracy protests, when thousands and thousands of activists were later locked up," he said. "The SPDC is still playing games — cracking down and easing pressure when it suits them, and then re-asserting their power when they need to," said Zin Linn.
It is all part of the military rulers strategy to keep control and prevent social unrest, according to activists and human rights groups.
"Even if a handful of political activists have been free, others are still being arrested," said Mathieson. "The message is clear: any threat to the 2010 elections will be dealt with harshly."
***************************************************************
Singapore welcomes change in position on Myanmar by U.S., Europe
www.chinaview.cn 2009-09-24 14:47:37
SINGAPORE, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo has welcomed the shift in position by the United States and Europe, the decision to engage Myanmar while keeping sanctions in place for the time being.
According to a statement by Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, Yeo said that this would enable the United States and Europe to have more influence in the political evolution of the country.
Speaking after a meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar at the UN Headquarters in New York, Yeo said that many recognize that the engagement with Myanmar must take a longer term view beyond 2010.
"Singapore sees the army as being part of the problem but also as a necessary part of the solution," Yeo said, adding that "what is required is a process of national reconciliation."
www.chinaview.cn 2009-09-24 14:47:37
SINGAPORE, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo has welcomed the shift in position by the United States and Europe, the decision to engage Myanmar while keeping sanctions in place for the time being.
According to a statement by Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, Yeo said that this would enable the United States and Europe to have more influence in the political evolution of the country.
Speaking after a meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar at the UN Headquarters in New York, Yeo said that many recognize that the engagement with Myanmar must take a longer term view beyond 2010.
"Singapore sees the army as being part of the problem but also as a necessary part of the solution," Yeo said, adding that "what is required is a process of national reconciliation."
***************************************************************
S Korean film festival to be held in Yangon next month
www.chinaview.cn 2009-09-24 20:44:29
YANGON, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean film festival will be held in Myanmar's biggest city of Yangon next month to boost cultural exchange and cooperation between the two countries, sources with the South Korean embassy said Thursday.
The four-day film festival, which is the fifth of its kind, will run from Oct. 16 to 19 at the Thamada cinema, the sources said.
Four South Korean movies namely Summer Whispers (romance), Mom's Way (Drama), Marathon (Drama) and Oseam (Animation) will be screened on the occasion, they said, adding that a famous South Korean actress, Lee Young Eun, who played the main role in the "Summer Whispers" and two South Korean film directors will attend the show.
South Korean film festival has been held in Myanmar since 1998 with the last being held in November 2008, in which five South Korean movies - Le Grand Chief, Hello, Goodbye, Little Brother and My Love were screened.
Meanwhile, Myanmar and South Korea are also cooperating in shooting documentary film on Myanmar's Buddhism and natural scenery, and an agreement on the move was initiated in February this year between the Myanmar Ministry of Information and the Korea Broadcasting Institute (KBI).
The documentary film on production will be broadcast in South Korean TV channels such as KBS-1, KBS-2, MBC, and SBS, the South Korean embassy sources said.
Moreover, another South Korean TV, the KBS, has been shooting a similar documentary -- Insight in Asia 2009 -- since the end of last year.
The KBS group had come to Myanmar earlier in the year and video Myanmar's ancient city of Bagan, where over 2,000 pagodas and monasteries lie.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-09-24 20:44:29
YANGON, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean film festival will be held in Myanmar's biggest city of Yangon next month to boost cultural exchange and cooperation between the two countries, sources with the South Korean embassy said Thursday.
The four-day film festival, which is the fifth of its kind, will run from Oct. 16 to 19 at the Thamada cinema, the sources said.
Four South Korean movies namely Summer Whispers (romance), Mom's Way (Drama), Marathon (Drama) and Oseam (Animation) will be screened on the occasion, they said, adding that a famous South Korean actress, Lee Young Eun, who played the main role in the "Summer Whispers" and two South Korean film directors will attend the show.
South Korean film festival has been held in Myanmar since 1998 with the last being held in November 2008, in which five South Korean movies - Le Grand Chief, Hello, Goodbye, Little Brother and My Love were screened.
Meanwhile, Myanmar and South Korea are also cooperating in shooting documentary film on Myanmar's Buddhism and natural scenery, and an agreement on the move was initiated in February this year between the Myanmar Ministry of Information and the Korea Broadcasting Institute (KBI).
The documentary film on production will be broadcast in South Korean TV channels such as KBS-1, KBS-2, MBC, and SBS, the South Korean embassy sources said.
Moreover, another South Korean TV, the KBS, has been shooting a similar documentary -- Insight in Asia 2009 -- since the end of last year.
The KBS group had come to Myanmar earlier in the year and video Myanmar's ancient city of Bagan, where over 2,000 pagodas and monasteries lie.
***************************************************************
ReliefWeb - Burma: Released prisoners tell stories of torture; ICRC role needed
Source: Asian Human Rights Commission
Date: 24 Sep 2009
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcomes the release of prisoners from jails around Burma during the last week, especially human rights defenders and persons who were detained during and after the protests of August and September 2007, including numbers of persons on whose cases the AHRC has issued urgent appeals.
However, it notes with grave concern the reports of torture that some detainees experienced during interrogation. The physical and mental injuries caused in this period were either not adequately treated or not treated at all during the detainees' incarceration, causing some of them lifelong damage. Among those cases that have been reported in the media:
Ko Myo Yan Naung Thein, a former technical institute student, was assaulted by unknown assailants and taken from a march during September 2007; he suffered injuries to his nerves during torture under interrogation and did not get adequate treatment in Sittwe Prison; he is now reportedly unable to walk.
Ko Bo Bo, a former student leader also known as Ko Moe Kyaw Thu, had been imprisoned on a range of charges since 1992. He told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that after his arrest he was taken to a military intelligence unit in Rangoon where he was hooded and repeatedly assaulted, denied water and refused access to a toilet. During his term at Ohboe Jail he was twice seriously assaulted, in 2000 and 2005, causing him to suffer constant headaches.
U Aung Myint, who was also detained after September 2007 and jailed on a two-year sentence at Myaungmya, of which he served nearly the full time, also told RFA that he and other prisoners had been tortured and had not received timely medical attention during imprisonment.
The AHRC believes that there will have been many other instances of torture and assault during interrogation and imprisonment followed by a subsequent lack of appropriate treatment--constituting an additional form of cruel and inhuman treatment and punishment--among the persons released last week. It is also aware that such treatment is by no means confined to cases of political detainees. Torture and abuse of persons in custody is endemic across all types of cases in Burma, and had ordinary criminal detainees also been interviewed many, perhaps most, would have had similar stories to tell.
Accordingly, the Asian Human Rights Commission takes this opportunity to again call for the maximum amount of global effort to have the mandate of the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit detention facilities in Burma renewed without further delay. Although renewal of the mandate--which the group suspended in 2005 because of the government's failure to respect its internationally-recognized conditions--cannot fully prevent torture or protect detainees from abuse, it would be a practical and quickly-implementable step to reduce the incidence of abuse and ameliorate some of its worst consequences.
Renewal of the ICRC prison visits mandate is long overdue. There is absolutely no reason for the government of Burma to object to the visits, given that the agency is bound by confidentiality, and the visits cost the government nothing. If then this much cannot be done, what good can be said of the release of a few thousand shattered bodies, while tens of thousands more continue to have the same types of abuses heaped upon them daily?
# # #
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984. About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984
Source: Asian Human Rights Commission
Date: 24 Sep 2009
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcomes the release of prisoners from jails around Burma during the last week, especially human rights defenders and persons who were detained during and after the protests of August and September 2007, including numbers of persons on whose cases the AHRC has issued urgent appeals.
However, it notes with grave concern the reports of torture that some detainees experienced during interrogation. The physical and mental injuries caused in this period were either not adequately treated or not treated at all during the detainees' incarceration, causing some of them lifelong damage. Among those cases that have been reported in the media:
Ko Myo Yan Naung Thein, a former technical institute student, was assaulted by unknown assailants and taken from a march during September 2007; he suffered injuries to his nerves during torture under interrogation and did not get adequate treatment in Sittwe Prison; he is now reportedly unable to walk.
Ko Bo Bo, a former student leader also known as Ko Moe Kyaw Thu, had been imprisoned on a range of charges since 1992. He told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that after his arrest he was taken to a military intelligence unit in Rangoon where he was hooded and repeatedly assaulted, denied water and refused access to a toilet. During his term at Ohboe Jail he was twice seriously assaulted, in 2000 and 2005, causing him to suffer constant headaches.
U Aung Myint, who was also detained after September 2007 and jailed on a two-year sentence at Myaungmya, of which he served nearly the full time, also told RFA that he and other prisoners had been tortured and had not received timely medical attention during imprisonment.
The AHRC believes that there will have been many other instances of torture and assault during interrogation and imprisonment followed by a subsequent lack of appropriate treatment--constituting an additional form of cruel and inhuman treatment and punishment--among the persons released last week. It is also aware that such treatment is by no means confined to cases of political detainees. Torture and abuse of persons in custody is endemic across all types of cases in Burma, and had ordinary criminal detainees also been interviewed many, perhaps most, would have had similar stories to tell.
Accordingly, the Asian Human Rights Commission takes this opportunity to again call for the maximum amount of global effort to have the mandate of the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit detention facilities in Burma renewed without further delay. Although renewal of the mandate--which the group suspended in 2005 because of the government's failure to respect its internationally-recognized conditions--cannot fully prevent torture or protect detainees from abuse, it would be a practical and quickly-implementable step to reduce the incidence of abuse and ameliorate some of its worst consequences.
Renewal of the ICRC prison visits mandate is long overdue. There is absolutely no reason for the government of Burma to object to the visits, given that the agency is bound by confidentiality, and the visits cost the government nothing. If then this much cannot be done, what good can be said of the release of a few thousand shattered bodies, while tens of thousands more continue to have the same types of abuses heaped upon them daily?
# # #
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984. About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984
***************************************************************
ReliefWeb - Secretary-General, in statement to media following meeting on Myanmar, calls for prisoners’ release, reconciliation, human rights
Source: United Nations Secretary-General
Date: 23 Sep 2009, SG/SM/12483
Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's statement to the media on the high-level meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar, read by Ibrahim Gambari, Special
Adviser to the Secretary-General, in New York today, 23 September:
Today I convened the second meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar at the level of Foreign Ministers. The high turnout demonstrates the strong collective interest of all the Friends in the future of Myanmar, and reaffirms the broad support for my good offices.
The year 2010 will be a critical year for Myanmar. The first planned election in 20 years must be held in an inclusive and credible manner to advance prospects for stability, democracy and national development.
As I said today in my address to the General Assembly, we will work hard for democracy, national reconciliation and human rights in Myanmar. The release of some political prisoners last week is a step in the right direction, but it falls short of our expectations. All political prisoners must be released -- including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Our meeting today has given the Group of Friends an opportunity to consolidate unity of purpose and action in three important respects, and I call on the Friends, especially Myanmar's friends and neighbours, to do more in the best interests of Myanmar and its people.
First, to urge Myanmar to work with the United Nations to ensure an inclusive process of dialogue and create the necessary conditions for credible elections consistent with the five-point agenda that the Group of Friends has endorsed, and with the proposals that I left with Myanmar's senior leadership during my recent visit.
Second, to uphold the role of the United Nations with regard to Myanmar's immediate and long-term challenges. The United Nations has invaluable experience in fostering national reconciliation, promoting respect for human rights, supporting sustainable development and helping countries make the transition to democracy.
Third, to signal the international community's willingness to help the people of Myanmar address the political, humanitarian and development challenges they face, in parallel and with equal attention, and in particular to advance the Millennium Development Goals. But, Myanmar needs to help us to help them.
I am encouraged by the constructive spirit of the discussions so far. I welcome the willingness of the Friends to make joint efforts towards national reconciliation, a democratic transition and genuine respect for human rights in Myanmar.
Source: United Nations Secretary-General
Date: 23 Sep 2009, SG/SM/12483
Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's statement to the media on the high-level meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar, read by Ibrahim Gambari, Special
Adviser to the Secretary-General, in New York today, 23 September:
Today I convened the second meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar at the level of Foreign Ministers. The high turnout demonstrates the strong collective interest of all the Friends in the future of Myanmar, and reaffirms the broad support for my good offices.
The year 2010 will be a critical year for Myanmar. The first planned election in 20 years must be held in an inclusive and credible manner to advance prospects for stability, democracy and national development.
As I said today in my address to the General Assembly, we will work hard for democracy, national reconciliation and human rights in Myanmar. The release of some political prisoners last week is a step in the right direction, but it falls short of our expectations. All political prisoners must be released -- including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Our meeting today has given the Group of Friends an opportunity to consolidate unity of purpose and action in three important respects, and I call on the Friends, especially Myanmar's friends and neighbours, to do more in the best interests of Myanmar and its people.
First, to urge Myanmar to work with the United Nations to ensure an inclusive process of dialogue and create the necessary conditions for credible elections consistent with the five-point agenda that the Group of Friends has endorsed, and with the proposals that I left with Myanmar's senior leadership during my recent visit.
Second, to uphold the role of the United Nations with regard to Myanmar's immediate and long-term challenges. The United Nations has invaluable experience in fostering national reconciliation, promoting respect for human rights, supporting sustainable development and helping countries make the transition to democracy.
Third, to signal the international community's willingness to help the people of Myanmar address the political, humanitarian and development challenges they face, in parallel and with equal attention, and in particular to advance the Millennium Development Goals. But, Myanmar needs to help us to help them.
I am encouraged by the constructive spirit of the discussions so far. I welcome the willingness of the Friends to make joint efforts towards national reconciliation, a democratic transition and genuine respect for human rights in Myanmar.
***************************************************************
VOA News - Exile Government, Rights Group Cautiously Welcome US Engagement with Burma
By Daniel Schearf, Bangkok
24 September 2009
Burma's government in exile has welcomed Washington's plans to engage with the country's military rulers. But exiles and activists say dialogue will only be effective if Washington stays firm on demands for democratic change.
Burma's government in exile, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, says it welcomes the United States' plans to talk directly with Burma's government.
Zin Linn, a spokesman for the group, said Thursday it has always encouraged dialogue with Burma's military rulers. But he says whether it is Washington, the European Union or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, others must also engage with Burma's opposition parties.
"We are welcome anyone from the international community -the U.N., the EU, the U.S., and even the ASEAN - we are welcome to act as a facilitator between the opposition and the military junta," he said. "It may, we think, it may make more result."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday at the United Nations that Washington would end its policy of limited engagement with Burma.
Clinton said U.S. officials will begin meeting directly with Burma's military leaders to push for democracy because sanctions alone had not worked.
Debbie Stothard is with the rights group Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma in Thailand. She says U.S. engagement with Burma's military government, known as the State Peace and Development Council, could be positive, but only if Washington remains firm in pushing for change.
"We hope that the U.S. does not go down the same path as ASEAN did, which was to go down the path of unconditional engagement, which in the end dragged down ASEAN's credibility and actually led to a worsening of the situation in Burma," she said. "There has to be a very clear and consistent and regular reinforcement of the message that this type of engagement does not mean a tacit endorsement of the SPDC's crimes against humanity or its ongoing violations of human rights."
Burma's military has ruled the country since the 1960s and has little tolerance for dissent.
It allowed elections in 1990 but, when the National League for Democracy came out the winner, the military ignored the results. It has kept the NLD leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, locked up for most of the time since.
The U.S. and EU have economic sanctions against Burma for suppressing democracy and locking up Aung San Suu Kyi along with more than 2,000 other political prisoners.
Clinton said while the U.S. would talk with Burma's military rulers, sanctions would remain in place until Burma shows concrete progress towards reform.
By Daniel Schearf, Bangkok
24 September 2009
Burma's government in exile has welcomed Washington's plans to engage with the country's military rulers. But exiles and activists say dialogue will only be effective if Washington stays firm on demands for democratic change.
Burma's government in exile, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, says it welcomes the United States' plans to talk directly with Burma's government.
Zin Linn, a spokesman for the group, said Thursday it has always encouraged dialogue with Burma's military rulers. But he says whether it is Washington, the European Union or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, others must also engage with Burma's opposition parties.
"We are welcome anyone from the international community -the U.N., the EU, the U.S., and even the ASEAN - we are welcome to act as a facilitator between the opposition and the military junta," he said. "It may, we think, it may make more result."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday at the United Nations that Washington would end its policy of limited engagement with Burma.
Clinton said U.S. officials will begin meeting directly with Burma's military leaders to push for democracy because sanctions alone had not worked.
Debbie Stothard is with the rights group Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma in Thailand. She says U.S. engagement with Burma's military government, known as the State Peace and Development Council, could be positive, but only if Washington remains firm in pushing for change.
"We hope that the U.S. does not go down the same path as ASEAN did, which was to go down the path of unconditional engagement, which in the end dragged down ASEAN's credibility and actually led to a worsening of the situation in Burma," she said. "There has to be a very clear and consistent and regular reinforcement of the message that this type of engagement does not mean a tacit endorsement of the SPDC's crimes against humanity or its ongoing violations of human rights."
Burma's military has ruled the country since the 1960s and has little tolerance for dissent.
It allowed elections in 1990 but, when the National League for Democracy came out the winner, the military ignored the results. It has kept the NLD leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, locked up for most of the time since.
The U.S. and EU have economic sanctions against Burma for suppressing democracy and locking up Aung San Suu Kyi along with more than 2,000 other political prisoners.
Clinton said while the U.S. would talk with Burma's military rulers, sanctions would remain in place until Burma shows concrete progress towards reform.
***************************************************************
Upstream Online - Duo eye Shwe operator
Thursday, 24 September, 2009, 03:08 GMT
Wire service
South Korea’s top steel producer Posco and trading group Hanwha are considering bids for Daewoo International, which operates the $3.3 billion Shwe gas project off Burma.
"We are now doing feasibility studies unofficially on Daewoo International, although we had no official guidelines yet from our top management," said a senior official at Hanwha told Reuters.
A Posco spokesperson also confirmed with Reuters the steel maker is interested in Daewoo International.
The two South Korean outfits had attempted unsuccessfully to gain a controlling stake in ship and rig builder, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) will pick a lead manager next month for the sale of a combined 68.8% stake it owns with South Korean banks, according to the Reuters report.
The stake is valued at about 3 trillion Korean won ($2.5 billion), including a management premium.
Thursday, 24 September, 2009, 03:08 GMT
Wire service
South Korea’s top steel producer Posco and trading group Hanwha are considering bids for Daewoo International, which operates the $3.3 billion Shwe gas project off Burma.
"We are now doing feasibility studies unofficially on Daewoo International, although we had no official guidelines yet from our top management," said a senior official at Hanwha told Reuters.
A Posco spokesperson also confirmed with Reuters the steel maker is interested in Daewoo International.
The two South Korean outfits had attempted unsuccessfully to gain a controlling stake in ship and rig builder, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) will pick a lead manager next month for the sale of a combined 68.8% stake it owns with South Korean banks, according to the Reuters report.
The stake is valued at about 3 trillion Korean won ($2.5 billion), including a management premium.
***************************************************************
Mizzima News - Arrested Nargis donors not allowed to meet families
by Pho Zaw
Thursday, 24 September 2009 22:58
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Five social activists including Dr. Wint Thu from Myingyan, Mandalay Division were arrested and detained at the Special Branch (SB) of the Police office at the foot of the Mandalay hill, a source who is close to Dr. Wint Thu's family said.
Pol. Col. Thet Wei from Mandalay Division SB along with 20 police personnel arrested five activists including Dr. Wint Thu without giving any reason, from their homes on September 16. When their family members learnt that they were being detained at the Divisional SB office, they went there and tried to meet them on September 22 but they were not allowed to do so.
"They are being held at the SB office. Their family members went there but were not allowed to meet them. No official came out and met them. Only a young policeman came out and told them that they could leave the parcels if they wished but they were not sure if these parcels would reach their family members. So they decided not to leave anything," a source close to Dr. Wint Thu's family told Mizzima.
The authorities arrested Dr. Wint Thu, Myo Han, Aung Myo Latt, Hla Myo Kyaw a.k.a. ET, Yargyi a.k.a. Soe Yarzar Phyu from their homes on September 16 at 3 a.m.
"About 20 police personnel in three police vehicles surrounded our house and asked about my brother. My elder brother was not at home. Only my mother was at home. When she asked them if they wanted to arrest my brother they said no. They just wanted to question him. My mother asked them to come in the afternoon. They said that the matter had come up a moment before. My brother visited the SB office next morning when he heard about his colleagues arrest," Dr. Wint Thu’s younger sister told Mizzima.
When Dr. Wint Thu heard about his brother-in-law Kyi Win being arrested by SB, he visited the SB office next morning. He was arrested. After that Kyi Win was released.
Dr. Wint Thu collected donation along with likeminded friends for Cyclone Nargis victims and donated tens of millions of Kyats.
Moreover they took an active part in the ‘White Campaign’ movement organized by the National League for Democracy (NLD), praying for the release of political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the pagoda by wearing white clothes. He and his colleagues were once mobbed at the pagoda by junta backed USDA members. And then about 200 people encircled the USDA members from outside. This incident was much talked about in Myingyan.
"He could donate tens of millions of Kyats to Nargis victims along with his friends. They constructed buildings for eight primary schools and paid salaries to about 30 teachers in these schools. I think he was arrested for these activities," Meiktila Township NLD Secretary Myint Myint Aye said.
Two days after Dr. Wint Thu and four other activists were arrested, another five persons including Than Htike Aung from No. 6 Ward, Myingyan were also picked up.
by Pho Zaw
Thursday, 24 September 2009 22:58
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Five social activists including Dr. Wint Thu from Myingyan, Mandalay Division were arrested and detained at the Special Branch (SB) of the Police office at the foot of the Mandalay hill, a source who is close to Dr. Wint Thu's family said.
Pol. Col. Thet Wei from Mandalay Division SB along with 20 police personnel arrested five activists including Dr. Wint Thu without giving any reason, from their homes on September 16. When their family members learnt that they were being detained at the Divisional SB office, they went there and tried to meet them on September 22 but they were not allowed to do so.
"They are being held at the SB office. Their family members went there but were not allowed to meet them. No official came out and met them. Only a young policeman came out and told them that they could leave the parcels if they wished but they were not sure if these parcels would reach their family members. So they decided not to leave anything," a source close to Dr. Wint Thu's family told Mizzima.
The authorities arrested Dr. Wint Thu, Myo Han, Aung Myo Latt, Hla Myo Kyaw a.k.a. ET, Yargyi a.k.a. Soe Yarzar Phyu from their homes on September 16 at 3 a.m.
"About 20 police personnel in three police vehicles surrounded our house and asked about my brother. My elder brother was not at home. Only my mother was at home. When she asked them if they wanted to arrest my brother they said no. They just wanted to question him. My mother asked them to come in the afternoon. They said that the matter had come up a moment before. My brother visited the SB office next morning when he heard about his colleagues arrest," Dr. Wint Thu’s younger sister told Mizzima.
When Dr. Wint Thu heard about his brother-in-law Kyi Win being arrested by SB, he visited the SB office next morning. He was arrested. After that Kyi Win was released.
Dr. Wint Thu collected donation along with likeminded friends for Cyclone Nargis victims and donated tens of millions of Kyats.
Moreover they took an active part in the ‘White Campaign’ movement organized by the National League for Democracy (NLD), praying for the release of political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the pagoda by wearing white clothes. He and his colleagues were once mobbed at the pagoda by junta backed USDA members. And then about 200 people encircled the USDA members from outside. This incident was much talked about in Myingyan.
"He could donate tens of millions of Kyats to Nargis victims along with his friends. They constructed buildings for eight primary schools and paid salaries to about 30 teachers in these schools. I think he was arrested for these activities," Meiktila Township NLD Secretary Myint Myint Aye said.
Two days after Dr. Wint Thu and four other activists were arrested, another five persons including Than Htike Aung from No. 6 Ward, Myingyan were also picked up.
***************************************************************
Mizzima News - US embassy protests maltreatment of detained citizen
by Mungpi
Thursday, 24 September 2009 15:13
New Delhi (Mizzima) – The US embassy in Rangoon has officially protested against the alleged maltreatment of detained American citizen, Kyaw Zaw Lwin (alias) Nyi Nyi Aung, as the Burmese junta on Thursday publicly announced his arrest.
Drake Weisert, Assistant Public Affairs Officer, at the US embassy in Rangoon told Mizzima that Kyaw Zaw Lwin made claims that he had been mistreated when the US consular officer visited him in Insein prison in Rangoon on Sunday.
“The U.S. Embassy has submitted an official message to the Government of Burma protesting the alleged mistreatment of an imprisoned American citizen,” Weisert said.
Sources said Kyaw Zaw Lwin was moved to several different interrogation centres since his arrest on September 3, until finally he was taken to the notorious Insein prison.
He was interrogated all through the night and tortured, where he had to tolerate punches on the face, kicks, and twisting of his arms and deprived of food for several days. Authorities also denied request for medical treatment.
Meanwhile, the Burmese junta in its mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar newspaper said Nyi Nyi Aung was arrested on September 3, on a tip-off by a ‘dutiful citizen’, at Rangoon International Airport as he entered the country from Thailand.
The newspaper said, Nyi Nyi Aung was arrested as he was known to be visiting Burma with the intention of creating unrest, in collaboration with activists inside the country.
The newspaper said, he had visited Burma eight times since November 2005 to September 2009. And he had also linked up with exiled Burmese activists and provided financial assistance to underground activists inside Burma to carry out sabotage and to trigger explosions at strategic locations.
According to the newspaper, Nyi Nyi Aung is a member of the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), an armed student group based along the Thai-Burma border, and linked with groups including the Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB), All Arakan Students and Youths Congress (AASYC) and other exiled Burmese groups.
“Steps are being taken to take action against Nyi Nyi Aung, a citizen of a foreign country who, out of disloyalty to his mother land and people, planned to instigate unrest and launch terrorist attacks, and his internal contacts,” the paper said.
“Further investigations are also being made to be able to expose and arrest his accomplices,” added the newspaper.
While the newspaper did not mention when the charge-sheet will be framed against Nyi Nyi Aung, sources said, authorities are set to charge him on October 1.
by Mungpi
Thursday, 24 September 2009 15:13
New Delhi (Mizzima) – The US embassy in Rangoon has officially protested against the alleged maltreatment of detained American citizen, Kyaw Zaw Lwin (alias) Nyi Nyi Aung, as the Burmese junta on Thursday publicly announced his arrest.
Drake Weisert, Assistant Public Affairs Officer, at the US embassy in Rangoon told Mizzima that Kyaw Zaw Lwin made claims that he had been mistreated when the US consular officer visited him in Insein prison in Rangoon on Sunday.
“The U.S. Embassy has submitted an official message to the Government of Burma protesting the alleged mistreatment of an imprisoned American citizen,” Weisert said.
Sources said Kyaw Zaw Lwin was moved to several different interrogation centres since his arrest on September 3, until finally he was taken to the notorious Insein prison.
He was interrogated all through the night and tortured, where he had to tolerate punches on the face, kicks, and twisting of his arms and deprived of food for several days. Authorities also denied request for medical treatment.
Meanwhile, the Burmese junta in its mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar newspaper said Nyi Nyi Aung was arrested on September 3, on a tip-off by a ‘dutiful citizen’, at Rangoon International Airport as he entered the country from Thailand.
The newspaper said, Nyi Nyi Aung was arrested as he was known to be visiting Burma with the intention of creating unrest, in collaboration with activists inside the country.
The newspaper said, he had visited Burma eight times since November 2005 to September 2009. And he had also linked up with exiled Burmese activists and provided financial assistance to underground activists inside Burma to carry out sabotage and to trigger explosions at strategic locations.
According to the newspaper, Nyi Nyi Aung is a member of the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), an armed student group based along the Thai-Burma border, and linked with groups including the Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB), All Arakan Students and Youths Congress (AASYC) and other exiled Burmese groups.
“Steps are being taken to take action against Nyi Nyi Aung, a citizen of a foreign country who, out of disloyalty to his mother land and people, planned to instigate unrest and launch terrorist attacks, and his internal contacts,” the paper said.
“Further investigations are also being made to be able to expose and arrest his accomplices,” added the newspaper.
While the newspaper did not mention when the charge-sheet will be framed against Nyi Nyi Aung, sources said, authorities are set to charge him on October 1.
***************************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Junta’s 2010 Elections: Loading the Dice
By WAI MOE, Thursday, September 24, 2009
Veteran politicians and daughters of former cabinet members, such as Thu Wai, Mya Than Than Nu, Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein and Nay Chi Ba Swe, announced at a press conference in Rangoon on Sept. 14 that they would found a party named the Democratic Party.
The press conference surprised Burmese political observers because it was the first public announcement of the formation of a political party for the 2010 elections while the election law has yet to be officially announced.
“It is quite strange that U Thu Wai announced the formation of political party to run in elections which have not yet been officially declared,” said a political observer in Rangoon who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Only Snr-Gen Than Shwe knows when the 2010 election law will be announced,” the observer said. “The junta is busy for the moment dealing with the tension arising with the armed ethnic cease-fire groups over the border guard forces issue.”
Under the military-backed 2008 constitution, the junta made it clear that Burma will only have a single armed force known as the Tatmadaw. The junta is attempting to disarm the militias of its former enemies that became cease-fire groups 20 years ago.
Burmese state-run newspapers are repeatedly reaffirming the junta’s policy of having a single armed force in Burma.
“According to the constitution, there shall be a single Tatmadaw in the county,” noted the junta’s mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar in a commentary on Friday. “All armed forces are to stand in accordance with the constitution.”
Another urgent item on the junta’s agenda is to ensure the participation of ethnic groups in the forthcoming election, which would give stronger legitimacy to the poll. Observers say the election law and the date for the election could be delayed until the ethnic issue is resolved.
Meanwhile, the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has called for a review of the constitution rather than participate in the elections.
“The junta is using a divide-and-rule strategy on the NLD and other dissidents with the election plan,” said a journalist in Rangoon. “The NLD leaders have been divided on the issue of whether to join the elections in 2010.”
The Burmese military have successfully used divide-and-rule tactics against its enemies during its 47 years of rule.
Apart from the NLD, other Burmese politicians are divided over the election plan. While people who want to participate argue the election is a good opportunity to promote change in Burma, others are saying the election is a trap since the 2008 constitution grants the prolongation of military rule in Burma.
Pro-military groups such as the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and the National Unity Party are preparing to take part in the election directly or through proxy parties.
Since late 2008, the USDA has selected respected figures and business people in local communities across the country as potential candidates for its proxy party. Some candidates say they are being watched by military intelligence and special branch police.
When interviewed on the election issue, Burmese political observers in Rangoon, such as veteran politician Chan Tun and Arakan leader Aye Thar Aung, said the junta will only give a limited time for opposition parties to prepare for the elections, and it is likely the election law would be announced close to the election date.
Junta officials, meanwhile, started their election campaign last year. Burma’s Industry 1 Minister Aung Thaung is in charge of the USDA in Mandalay Division. He often travels in the division, meeting local people and organizing heath care and education programs to win over rural people ahead of the election.
Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan has been doing similar things in Sagaing Division, as has Transportation Minister Thein Zaw in Magawe Division and other key officials.
The censorship board has allowed pro-government stories to be printed in some private journals, and pro-junta journalists are permitted to write political pieces related to the forthcoming elections.
For example, Snap Shot, a weekly journal run by a journalist with good connections to Information Minister Kyaw Hsan, published an advertisement announcing the launch of a sister journal called the Yangon Monitor that will report on the election.
In recent months, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division of the Ministry of Information has allowed the Voice Weekly journal to publish election-related articles, some of which are quite similar to articles appearing in state-run newspapers.
On September 13, state-run media announced that the former vice-chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization, Dr Tuja, planned to form a political party for the election, saying “Dr Tuja will build a brighter future for Kachin State by forming the Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) representing Kachin nationals.”
About a week later, the censorship board permitted the Voice Weekly Journal to run an interview with Dr Tuja about the elections. Journals that regularly publish pro-junta stories never publish dissident views on the elections or government policies.
“This journal is given special privileges, but dissident opinions are not allowed. I wrote four articles arguing against their stance—all were banned,” said veteran journalist Ludu Sein Win during an interview with the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma.
Even politicians who argue the elections are providing an opportunity for a way out of Burma’s crisis are being given little space by the junta. Although authorities gave politician U Thu Wai a green light to hold a press conference announcing the launch of his party last week, the censorship board banned all news about the press conference in Burmese private journals.
“The censorship board ordered us to remove news about U Thu Wai’s press conference and his new party when we sent them the first draft of this week’s issue,” said an editor with a Rangoon weekly who requested anonymity.
By WAI MOE, Thursday, September 24, 2009
Veteran politicians and daughters of former cabinet members, such as Thu Wai, Mya Than Than Nu, Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein and Nay Chi Ba Swe, announced at a press conference in Rangoon on Sept. 14 that they would found a party named the Democratic Party.
The press conference surprised Burmese political observers because it was the first public announcement of the formation of a political party for the 2010 elections while the election law has yet to be officially announced.
“It is quite strange that U Thu Wai announced the formation of political party to run in elections which have not yet been officially declared,” said a political observer in Rangoon who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Only Snr-Gen Than Shwe knows when the 2010 election law will be announced,” the observer said. “The junta is busy for the moment dealing with the tension arising with the armed ethnic cease-fire groups over the border guard forces issue.”
Under the military-backed 2008 constitution, the junta made it clear that Burma will only have a single armed force known as the Tatmadaw. The junta is attempting to disarm the militias of its former enemies that became cease-fire groups 20 years ago.
Burmese state-run newspapers are repeatedly reaffirming the junta’s policy of having a single armed force in Burma.
“According to the constitution, there shall be a single Tatmadaw in the county,” noted the junta’s mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar in a commentary on Friday. “All armed forces are to stand in accordance with the constitution.”
Another urgent item on the junta’s agenda is to ensure the participation of ethnic groups in the forthcoming election, which would give stronger legitimacy to the poll. Observers say the election law and the date for the election could be delayed until the ethnic issue is resolved.
Meanwhile, the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has called for a review of the constitution rather than participate in the elections.
“The junta is using a divide-and-rule strategy on the NLD and other dissidents with the election plan,” said a journalist in Rangoon. “The NLD leaders have been divided on the issue of whether to join the elections in 2010.”
The Burmese military have successfully used divide-and-rule tactics against its enemies during its 47 years of rule.
Apart from the NLD, other Burmese politicians are divided over the election plan. While people who want to participate argue the election is a good opportunity to promote change in Burma, others are saying the election is a trap since the 2008 constitution grants the prolongation of military rule in Burma.
Pro-military groups such as the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and the National Unity Party are preparing to take part in the election directly or through proxy parties.
Since late 2008, the USDA has selected respected figures and business people in local communities across the country as potential candidates for its proxy party. Some candidates say they are being watched by military intelligence and special branch police.
When interviewed on the election issue, Burmese political observers in Rangoon, such as veteran politician Chan Tun and Arakan leader Aye Thar Aung, said the junta will only give a limited time for opposition parties to prepare for the elections, and it is likely the election law would be announced close to the election date.
Junta officials, meanwhile, started their election campaign last year. Burma’s Industry 1 Minister Aung Thaung is in charge of the USDA in Mandalay Division. He often travels in the division, meeting local people and organizing heath care and education programs to win over rural people ahead of the election.
Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan has been doing similar things in Sagaing Division, as has Transportation Minister Thein Zaw in Magawe Division and other key officials.
The censorship board has allowed pro-government stories to be printed in some private journals, and pro-junta journalists are permitted to write political pieces related to the forthcoming elections.
For example, Snap Shot, a weekly journal run by a journalist with good connections to Information Minister Kyaw Hsan, published an advertisement announcing the launch of a sister journal called the Yangon Monitor that will report on the election.
In recent months, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division of the Ministry of Information has allowed the Voice Weekly journal to publish election-related articles, some of which are quite similar to articles appearing in state-run newspapers.
On September 13, state-run media announced that the former vice-chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization, Dr Tuja, planned to form a political party for the election, saying “Dr Tuja will build a brighter future for Kachin State by forming the Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) representing Kachin nationals.”
About a week later, the censorship board permitted the Voice Weekly Journal to run an interview with Dr Tuja about the elections. Journals that regularly publish pro-junta stories never publish dissident views on the elections or government policies.
“This journal is given special privileges, but dissident opinions are not allowed. I wrote four articles arguing against their stance—all were banned,” said veteran journalist Ludu Sein Win during an interview with the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma.
Even politicians who argue the elections are providing an opportunity for a way out of Burma’s crisis are being given little space by the junta. Although authorities gave politician U Thu Wai a green light to hold a press conference announcing the launch of his party last week, the censorship board banned all news about the press conference in Burmese private journals.
“The censorship board ordered us to remove news about U Thu Wai’s press conference and his new party when we sent them the first draft of this week’s issue,” said an editor with a Rangoon weekly who requested anonymity.
***************************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Arrested Dissident Accused of Terrorist Intentions
By SAW YAN NAING, Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Burmese regime’s official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar accused arrested dissident Nyi Nyi Aung on Thursday of being a terrorist and planning to create unrest.
Nyi Nyi Aung (aka Kyaw Zaw Lwin) was arrested in early September after returning from exile in Thailand. A second Thailand-based dissident, Ko Htut, was also arrested after crossing separately into Burma.
The New Light of Myanmar reported in detail on Thursday on Nyi Nyi Aung’s arrest. The report included photos of Nyi Nyi Aung, explosives and a satellite phone he was alleged to have used.
The report described underground activities allegedly undertaken by Nyi Nyi Aung and connections the paper said existed between dissidents inside and outside Burma.
The arrests of Nyi Nyi Aung and Ko Htut were followed by crackdowns on Burmese dissidents in Burma and Thailand.
Shortly after the two were taken into custody, 16 ethnic Arakan youths were arrested—seven in Rangoon and the others in Sittwe, capital of Arakan State. They were accused of maintaining links to the Thailand-based All Arakan Students’ and Youths’ Congress (AASYC).
Activists belonging to Generation Wave and Best Manure, members of the opposition National League for Democracy and several Buddhist monks were arrested in the crackdown.
In neighboring Thailand, the offices of several Burmese exile groups were raided by Thai police— including the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma, where Ko Htut used to work.
In Chiang Mai, 10 Burmese women activists were arrested and held in custody for several days. Other dissident groups closed their offices, and several remain shut in the Thai-Burmese border towns of Mae Sot and Sangkhlaburi according to dissident sources.
Sources reported that staff of Burma’s Bangkok Embassy are photographing activists attending demonstrations and other functions in Thailand.
Win Min, a Chiang Mai-based Burmese analyst, said a Burmese military attaché in Bangkok is active in requesting Thai security officials to harass Burmese opposition groups in exile.
Burmese opposition groups last faced close Thai scrutiny during the administration of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Many offices closed for several weeks, fearing official crackdowns.
By SAW YAN NAING, Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Burmese regime’s official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar accused arrested dissident Nyi Nyi Aung on Thursday of being a terrorist and planning to create unrest.
Nyi Nyi Aung (aka Kyaw Zaw Lwin) was arrested in early September after returning from exile in Thailand. A second Thailand-based dissident, Ko Htut, was also arrested after crossing separately into Burma.
The New Light of Myanmar reported in detail on Thursday on Nyi Nyi Aung’s arrest. The report included photos of Nyi Nyi Aung, explosives and a satellite phone he was alleged to have used.
The report described underground activities allegedly undertaken by Nyi Nyi Aung and connections the paper said existed between dissidents inside and outside Burma.
The arrests of Nyi Nyi Aung and Ko Htut were followed by crackdowns on Burmese dissidents in Burma and Thailand.
Shortly after the two were taken into custody, 16 ethnic Arakan youths were arrested—seven in Rangoon and the others in Sittwe, capital of Arakan State. They were accused of maintaining links to the Thailand-based All Arakan Students’ and Youths’ Congress (AASYC).
Activists belonging to Generation Wave and Best Manure, members of the opposition National League for Democracy and several Buddhist monks were arrested in the crackdown.
In neighboring Thailand, the offices of several Burmese exile groups were raided by Thai police— including the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma, where Ko Htut used to work.
In Chiang Mai, 10 Burmese women activists were arrested and held in custody for several days. Other dissident groups closed their offices, and several remain shut in the Thai-Burmese border towns of Mae Sot and Sangkhlaburi according to dissident sources.
Sources reported that staff of Burma’s Bangkok Embassy are photographing activists attending demonstrations and other functions in Thailand.
Win Min, a Chiang Mai-based Burmese analyst, said a Burmese military attaché in Bangkok is active in requesting Thai security officials to harass Burmese opposition groups in exile.
Burmese opposition groups last faced close Thai scrutiny during the administration of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Many offices closed for several weeks, fearing official crackdowns.
***************************************************************
Mystery illness hits 2,000 in eastern Burma
Sept 24, 2009 (DVB)–Nearly 2,000 people, mostly children, have been infected with an unknown illness in two states in eastern Burma, with fears that it may be either the H1N1 virus or a mass dengue fever outbreak.
Five villages in Kachin state have so far been hit after children at a local primary school came down with the illness on 13 September.
According to Burma Campaign UK (BCUK), 1,600 people in total have been infected in Kachin state, with around 900 described as being in a serious condition. The majority of these are aged between two and 15 years old.
Around 300 villagers in Karen state have also been affected, the majority in Pa-an town, the capital of Karen state. The area is under control of the Karen National Union, Burma principal ethnic armed opposition group.
No deaths have yet been reported in Karen state, according to Naw Thaw Thee Phaw of the Backpack Medics, an international medical group that operates in the region.
“There are clinics in the area and medical workers are now conducting workshops to educated people [about the disease],” she said.
Symptoms were similar to that of dengue fever, she said, adding that outbreaks of dengue fever and malaria at this time year are common, although only one person was tested positive for malaria.
A statement released by Burma Campaign UK said that locals had reported symptoms such as bleeding noses and sore throats, and voiced concern that it could be the H1N1 swine flu virus.
“Dealing with a serious outbreak of swine flu or similar illness will be very difficult because of the restrictions on aid delivery and lack of money spent on health by the dictatorship,” said Nang Seng, campaigns officer at BCUK.
In 2000, the World Health Organisation ranked Burma’s healthcare system the second worst in the world, one above Sierra Leone.
Many civilians in eastern Burma frequently cross into Thailand to seek medical help, given the lack of adequate facilities in Burma.
Reporting by Naw Noreen
Sept 24, 2009 (DVB)–Nearly 2,000 people, mostly children, have been infected with an unknown illness in two states in eastern Burma, with fears that it may be either the H1N1 virus or a mass dengue fever outbreak.
Five villages in Kachin state have so far been hit after children at a local primary school came down with the illness on 13 September.
According to Burma Campaign UK (BCUK), 1,600 people in total have been infected in Kachin state, with around 900 described as being in a serious condition. The majority of these are aged between two and 15 years old.
Around 300 villagers in Karen state have also been affected, the majority in Pa-an town, the capital of Karen state. The area is under control of the Karen National Union, Burma principal ethnic armed opposition group.
No deaths have yet been reported in Karen state, according to Naw Thaw Thee Phaw of the Backpack Medics, an international medical group that operates in the region.
“There are clinics in the area and medical workers are now conducting workshops to educated people [about the disease],” she said.
Symptoms were similar to that of dengue fever, she said, adding that outbreaks of dengue fever and malaria at this time year are common, although only one person was tested positive for malaria.
A statement released by Burma Campaign UK said that locals had reported symptoms such as bleeding noses and sore throats, and voiced concern that it could be the H1N1 swine flu virus.
“Dealing with a serious outbreak of swine flu or similar illness will be very difficult because of the restrictions on aid delivery and lack of money spent on health by the dictatorship,” said Nang Seng, campaigns officer at BCUK.
In 2000, the World Health Organisation ranked Burma’s healthcare system the second worst in the world, one above Sierra Leone.
Many civilians in eastern Burma frequently cross into Thailand to seek medical help, given the lack of adequate facilities in Burma.
Reporting by Naw Noreen
***************************************************************
No comments:
Post a Comment