Southeast Asia presses Myanmar over election
Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:24am EDT
By Jason Szep
HUA HIN, Thailand, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian governments raised pressure on military-ruled Myanmar on Thursday to hold "free and fair" elections next year, and urged the junta to free pro-democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The sentencing of Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner detained for 14 of the last 20 years, to a further 18 months of detention this year has led the West to question whether the election next year in the former Burma will be a sham.
"They have said many times the elections next year will be inclusive, free and fair. That remains to be seen," Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said after a meeting of foreign ministers from the 10-nation Association of South East Asian Nations.
Speaking at a news conference in the seaside resort town of Hua Hin, he said Myanmar had a commitment to promote human rights under an agreement ratified by its rulers last year to create a so-called ASEAN integrated community by 2015.
"That's Myanmar's obligation as a member of ASEAN," he said, describing talks with Myanmar's foreign minister, Nyan Win, as "very cordial".
He said ASEAN's request for the release of Suu Kyi still stood. Earlier in the year, some Southeast Asian countries had urged ASEAN to take a tougher stand on Myanmar with a public appeal calling on the junta to grant an amnesty to Suu Kyi.
That went nowhere. Several ASEAN nations rebuffed it, saying it contravened the grouping's long-standing non-interference policy in each others' internal politics.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHDOG
Suu Kyi was found guilty in August of breaking a law protecting the state from "subversive elements" when, while under house arrest, she allowed an American intruder to stay at her lakeside home for two nights.
The ruling sparked international outrage and was widely dismissed as a ploy to keep Suu Kyi out of next year's election, the first since 1990, when her National League for Democracy party scored a landslide victory the junta refused to recognise.
Kasit made his comments a day before the launch by ASEAN leaders of a human rights watchdog critics say is already discredited by having Myanmar, seen as a serial rights abuser, as part of the mechanism.
The new body, called the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, has no power to punish members and aims to promote rather than protect human rights.
It is unlikely to have much influence, for instance, in efforts to free Suu Kyi or the estimated 2,000 political prisoners in the reclusive country.
Myanmar's generals allowed Suu Kyi recently to meet with Western diplomats after Washington said late last month it was embarking on a new policy of engagement with the junta.
Yangon is touting the election next year as a final destination on its "roadmap to democracy".
ASEAN's members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:24am EDT
By Jason Szep
HUA HIN, Thailand, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian governments raised pressure on military-ruled Myanmar on Thursday to hold "free and fair" elections next year, and urged the junta to free pro-democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The sentencing of Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner detained for 14 of the last 20 years, to a further 18 months of detention this year has led the West to question whether the election next year in the former Burma will be a sham.
"They have said many times the elections next year will be inclusive, free and fair. That remains to be seen," Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said after a meeting of foreign ministers from the 10-nation Association of South East Asian Nations.
Speaking at a news conference in the seaside resort town of Hua Hin, he said Myanmar had a commitment to promote human rights under an agreement ratified by its rulers last year to create a so-called ASEAN integrated community by 2015.
"That's Myanmar's obligation as a member of ASEAN," he said, describing talks with Myanmar's foreign minister, Nyan Win, as "very cordial".
He said ASEAN's request for the release of Suu Kyi still stood. Earlier in the year, some Southeast Asian countries had urged ASEAN to take a tougher stand on Myanmar with a public appeal calling on the junta to grant an amnesty to Suu Kyi.
That went nowhere. Several ASEAN nations rebuffed it, saying it contravened the grouping's long-standing non-interference policy in each others' internal politics.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHDOG
Suu Kyi was found guilty in August of breaking a law protecting the state from "subversive elements" when, while under house arrest, she allowed an American intruder to stay at her lakeside home for two nights.
The ruling sparked international outrage and was widely dismissed as a ploy to keep Suu Kyi out of next year's election, the first since 1990, when her National League for Democracy party scored a landslide victory the junta refused to recognise.
Kasit made his comments a day before the launch by ASEAN leaders of a human rights watchdog critics say is already discredited by having Myanmar, seen as a serial rights abuser, as part of the mechanism.
The new body, called the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, has no power to punish members and aims to promote rather than protect human rights.
It is unlikely to have much influence, for instance, in efforts to free Suu Kyi or the estimated 2,000 political prisoners in the reclusive country.
Myanmar's generals allowed Suu Kyi recently to meet with Western diplomats after Washington said late last month it was embarking on a new policy of engagement with the junta.
Yangon is touting the election next year as a final destination on its "roadmap to democracy".
ASEAN's members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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Myanmar says senior US official to visit next week
1 hr 42 mins ago
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A senior U.S. official will visit Myanmar next week in line with Washington's new policy of engaging the military-ruled Southeast Asian nation, a Foreign Ministry official said Thursday.
The Obama administration said Wednesday that U.S. officials plan to travel to Myanmar, also known as Burma, in the next few weeks to talk with government representatives, ethnic minority groups and the democratic opposition.
The Myanmar Foreign Ministry official, who asked not to be identified by name because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said a high-ranking U.S. official would visit next week as part of the new approach by Washington, which has shunned Myanmar in the past.
He declined to give the name of the U.S. official.
Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy party of detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi said the U.S. Embassy had informed it of an upcoming visit by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt M. Campbell and that he would meet with party officials.
"We welcome the visit by a senior-level official from the U.S. and hope that he would be allowed to meet Aung San Suu Kyi," party spokesman Nyan Win said.
The Obama administration is turning away from the Bush administration's policy of shunning Myanmar in favor of direct, high-level talks. It has said isolating the military government has failed to move it toward democratic reforms.
During testimony Wednesday to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Campbell said the government would maintain existing political and economic sanctions toward the junta.
"The conclusions of our policy review, announced last month, reaffirmed our fundamental interests in Burma: We support a unified, peaceful, prosperous, and democratic Burma," he said. "Our dialogue with Burma will supplement rather than replace the sanctions regime that has been at the center of our Burma policy for many years."
Campbell said he would travel to Myanmar to continue talks he began in September in New York with senior Myanmar officials, the first such high-level contact in nearly a decade. He cautioned that "it will take more than a single conversation to resolve our differences."
He said tough U.S. sanctions will remain until talks with Myanmar's generals result in change, explaining that if Myanmar doesn't address U.S. worries, "we will reserve the option of tightening sanctions on the regime and its supporters as appropriate."
1 hr 42 mins ago
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A senior U.S. official will visit Myanmar next week in line with Washington's new policy of engaging the military-ruled Southeast Asian nation, a Foreign Ministry official said Thursday.
The Obama administration said Wednesday that U.S. officials plan to travel to Myanmar, also known as Burma, in the next few weeks to talk with government representatives, ethnic minority groups and the democratic opposition.
The Myanmar Foreign Ministry official, who asked not to be identified by name because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said a high-ranking U.S. official would visit next week as part of the new approach by Washington, which has shunned Myanmar in the past.
He declined to give the name of the U.S. official.
Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy party of detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi said the U.S. Embassy had informed it of an upcoming visit by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt M. Campbell and that he would meet with party officials.
"We welcome the visit by a senior-level official from the U.S. and hope that he would be allowed to meet Aung San Suu Kyi," party spokesman Nyan Win said.
The Obama administration is turning away from the Bush administration's policy of shunning Myanmar in favor of direct, high-level talks. It has said isolating the military government has failed to move it toward democratic reforms.
During testimony Wednesday to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Campbell said the government would maintain existing political and economic sanctions toward the junta.
"The conclusions of our policy review, announced last month, reaffirmed our fundamental interests in Burma: We support a unified, peaceful, prosperous, and democratic Burma," he said. "Our dialogue with Burma will supplement rather than replace the sanctions regime that has been at the center of our Burma policy for many years."
Campbell said he would travel to Myanmar to continue talks he began in September in New York with senior Myanmar officials, the first such high-level contact in nearly a decade. He cautioned that "it will take more than a single conversation to resolve our differences."
He said tough U.S. sanctions will remain until talks with Myanmar's generals result in change, explaining that if Myanmar doesn't address U.S. worries, "we will reserve the option of tightening sanctions on the regime and its supporters as appropriate."
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Somali pirates seize ship off East African coast
59 mins ago
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Somali pirates with automatic weapons seized a cargo ship off Africa's east coast and are holding its 26 crew members from India and Myanmar hostage, anti-piracy officials said Thursday.
The pirates captured the Panamanian-flagged MV Al Khaliq some 200 miles (320 kilometers) west of the Seychelles islands early Thursday, a statement from the European Union's anti-piracy task force said.
In response, Seychelles said Thursday it would deploy troops to its outer islands as a deterrent force to approaching pirate vessels.
Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said Thursday's hijacking demonstrated a new trend: pirates actively targeting vessels very far off the coast during clear weather.
He said it was the third such hijacking in a week. Pirates hijacked a Singapore-flagged bulk container last Thursday and a Chinese cargo ship on Monday.
Choong said the pirates attacked the Indian-managed ship on Thursday with automatic weapons. Seychelles officials said 24 Indians and two men from Myanmar, the country also known as Burma, were on board.
The violence brought the number of attacks off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden to 178 this year, with 36 ships hijacked. Pirates are holding seven ships and 165 crew members, Choong said.
The EU task force, Operation Atalanta, said pirates also unsuccessfully attempted to hijack the Italian-flagged MV Jolly Rosso off the Kenyan coast on Thursday.
The Gulf of Aden is one of the busiest and most dangerous waterways in the world. Somalia has been ravaged by violence and anarchy since 1991 and piracy has flourished off its coast.
Somali pirates seized more than 40 vessels in 2008, pocketing an estimated $30 million in ransom.
59 mins ago
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Somali pirates with automatic weapons seized a cargo ship off Africa's east coast and are holding its 26 crew members from India and Myanmar hostage, anti-piracy officials said Thursday.
The pirates captured the Panamanian-flagged MV Al Khaliq some 200 miles (320 kilometers) west of the Seychelles islands early Thursday, a statement from the European Union's anti-piracy task force said.
In response, Seychelles said Thursday it would deploy troops to its outer islands as a deterrent force to approaching pirate vessels.
Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said Thursday's hijacking demonstrated a new trend: pirates actively targeting vessels very far off the coast during clear weather.
He said it was the third such hijacking in a week. Pirates hijacked a Singapore-flagged bulk container last Thursday and a Chinese cargo ship on Monday.
Choong said the pirates attacked the Indian-managed ship on Thursday with automatic weapons. Seychelles officials said 24 Indians and two men from Myanmar, the country also known as Burma, were on board.
The violence brought the number of attacks off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden to 178 this year, with 36 ships hijacked. Pirates are holding seven ships and 165 crew members, Choong said.
The EU task force, Operation Atalanta, said pirates also unsuccessfully attempted to hijack the Italian-flagged MV Jolly Rosso off the Kenyan coast on Thursday.
The Gulf of Aden is one of the busiest and most dangerous waterways in the world. Somalia has been ravaged by violence and anarchy since 1991 and piracy has flourished off its coast.
Somali pirates seized more than 40 vessels in 2008, pocketing an estimated $30 million in ransom.
***********************************************************
Massive security at Asian summit in Thailand
By DENIS D. GRAY, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 52 mins ago
CHA-AM, Thailand (AP) – Thailand has mounted one of its biggest security operations in recent history with more than 36,000 military and police to prevent anti-government demonstrators from overrunning a summit of Asian leaders, an official spokesman said Thursday.
The government is still smarting from the storming of the East Asian Summit in April in the seaside city of Pattaya where protesters charged through thin police ranks and forced the evacuation of several leaders by helicopter and boat.
A main protest organizer said no new demonstrations are planned this week.
Leaders of 16 Asian and Pacific nations, including Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, will gather Friday for an annual conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cha-am, a beach resort 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Bangkok.
About half of the security forces mobilized have thrown a security cordon around this summit venue, and the others will be on alert in the Thai capital, said government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn. He said 20 newly bought bulletproof SUV's will chauffeur leaders to their meetings.
"Security forces have also set up emergency escape routes by land, air and sea," he said. "We don't expect it to be necessary but we want to be ready and to assure leaders that they will be able to meet without distraction."
Security forces have also been empowered to impose curfews and restrict freedom of movement around Cha-am and Bangkok.
Roadblocks were thrown up around the summit venue Thursday. Sniffer dogs patrolled hotels and even local fishermen were stopped from going out to sea.
Thailand has been rocked by years of protests and counterprotests by supporters and opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup on accusations of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect to the country's monarch.
Nearly 10,000 demonstrators took to Bangkok's streets last Saturday, demanding a pardon for Thaksin and that he be allowed to return from exile.
However, Nattawut Sai-kua, one of the protest leaders, said no demonstrations will be staged during the conference.
"There is no plan to protest or disrupt the summit," he said. He added that a protest letter will be handed to ASEAN representatives outside the security zone.
The three-day conference includes the annual gathering of the 10-member ASEAN leaders and those of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
ASEAN is due to unveil a human rights body for Southeast Asia, sign a declaration on climate change and discuss food security, disaster management, bio-energy and economic integration. The group aims to set up an economic community by 2015.
China wants to expand regional trade and investment and plans a $10 billion infrastructure building fund to deepen ties with its Southeast Asian neighbors. A free trade zone between China and ASEAN is slated to be completed by January 2010.
As at previous ASEAN conferences, violation of human rights in military-ruled Myanmar, which joined the group in 1997, could cast a shadow over the proceedings. The international community is urging ASEAN to pressure the junta to reform.
The group prefers to steer clear of the internal affairs of its members, and with Myanmar recently allowing detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi contact with Western diplomats and the United States unveiling a new policy of trying to engage rather than shun the country's leaders, the tone at the conference may be more positive.
The leaders of Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia were not expected to arrive in time for Friday morning's opening ceremony, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is hosting an official visit by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Indonesia is swearing in a new government and Malaysia's government was presenting its budget to Parliament, he said.
By DENIS D. GRAY, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 52 mins ago
CHA-AM, Thailand (AP) – Thailand has mounted one of its biggest security operations in recent history with more than 36,000 military and police to prevent anti-government demonstrators from overrunning a summit of Asian leaders, an official spokesman said Thursday.
The government is still smarting from the storming of the East Asian Summit in April in the seaside city of Pattaya where protesters charged through thin police ranks and forced the evacuation of several leaders by helicopter and boat.
A main protest organizer said no new demonstrations are planned this week.
Leaders of 16 Asian and Pacific nations, including Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, will gather Friday for an annual conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cha-am, a beach resort 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Bangkok.
About half of the security forces mobilized have thrown a security cordon around this summit venue, and the others will be on alert in the Thai capital, said government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn. He said 20 newly bought bulletproof SUV's will chauffeur leaders to their meetings.
"Security forces have also set up emergency escape routes by land, air and sea," he said. "We don't expect it to be necessary but we want to be ready and to assure leaders that they will be able to meet without distraction."
Security forces have also been empowered to impose curfews and restrict freedom of movement around Cha-am and Bangkok.
Roadblocks were thrown up around the summit venue Thursday. Sniffer dogs patrolled hotels and even local fishermen were stopped from going out to sea.
Thailand has been rocked by years of protests and counterprotests by supporters and opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup on accusations of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect to the country's monarch.
Nearly 10,000 demonstrators took to Bangkok's streets last Saturday, demanding a pardon for Thaksin and that he be allowed to return from exile.
However, Nattawut Sai-kua, one of the protest leaders, said no demonstrations will be staged during the conference.
"There is no plan to protest or disrupt the summit," he said. He added that a protest letter will be handed to ASEAN representatives outside the security zone.
The three-day conference includes the annual gathering of the 10-member ASEAN leaders and those of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
ASEAN is due to unveil a human rights body for Southeast Asia, sign a declaration on climate change and discuss food security, disaster management, bio-energy and economic integration. The group aims to set up an economic community by 2015.
China wants to expand regional trade and investment and plans a $10 billion infrastructure building fund to deepen ties with its Southeast Asian neighbors. A free trade zone between China and ASEAN is slated to be completed by January 2010.
As at previous ASEAN conferences, violation of human rights in military-ruled Myanmar, which joined the group in 1997, could cast a shadow over the proceedings. The international community is urging ASEAN to pressure the junta to reform.
The group prefers to steer clear of the internal affairs of its members, and with Myanmar recently allowing detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi contact with Western diplomats and the United States unveiling a new policy of trying to engage rather than shun the country's leaders, the tone at the conference may be more positive.
The leaders of Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia were not expected to arrive in time for Friday morning's opening ceremony, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is hosting an official visit by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Indonesia is swearing in a new government and Malaysia's government was presenting its budget to Parliament, he said.
***********************************************************
US warns of 'slow' talks with Myanmar ahead of visit
by Shaun Tandon – Thu Oct 22, 5:41 am ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States is preparing to send a rare mission to Myanmar but warns that its bid to engage the military junta after decades of hostility will be "slow and painful."
Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said a team would head to Myanmar to follow up on talks last month in New York, which marked the highest-level US contact with the regime in nearly a decade. Related article: Myanmar confirms rare US visit.
But in testimony Wednesday before a House of Representatives committee, Campbell cautioned: "We expect engagement with Burma (Myanmar) to be a long, slow, painful and step-by-step process."
A Myanmar official Thursday confirmed the "fact-finding" trip would take place next week. But the official gave no further details, saying the visit was still in the planning stages.
Campbell did not specify who would take part in the trip. Another senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Campbell hoped to go himself but it would depend on whether the junta gives him access to the opposition.
The National League for Democracy, the party of detained opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi, welcomed the planned visit as a "good thing."
"They will also meet the NLD when they come," party spokesman Nyan Win told AFP. "We welcome their visit. We are also hoping that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be allowed to meet Mr Campbell."
President Barack Obama's administration last month concluded that the longstanding US approach of isolating Myanmar had failed to bear fruit but said it would not ease sanctions without progress on democracy and human rights.
In August, Myanmar's military leader Than Shwe held an unprecedented meeting with a visiting US senator, Jim Webb, a leading advocate of engaging the junta. Webb also met with Suu Kyi.
A State Department official, Stephen Blake, quietly visited Myanmar in March to hold talks with both the junta and the opposition. It was the first trip by a US envoy to the country in more than seven years.
Campbell told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the dialogue would "supplement rather than replace" the sanctions regime.
"We will not judge the success of our effort at pragmatic engagement by the results of a handful of meetings. Engagement for its own sake is obviously not a goal for US policy," he said.
Campbell said that one goal was simply to gain a better understanding of the junta, which he described as "a group of men that have self-isolated themselves."
"In my particular area, the country that we know the least about at a fundamental level, even less than North Korea, is Burma," said the top US diplomat for Asia.
Democratic Representative Joseph Crowley, one of Suu Kyi's top champions in Congress, said he backed the new strategy in part because the Nobel laureate has indicated her support.
But Crowley warned: "It is a real possibility that the military regime will try and use ongoing talks to buy time, in order to proceed with a sham election they have scheduled for next year."
The NLD plans to shun the elections, the first since a 1990 vote that the party won in a landslide. The junta ignored that result, and has kept Suu Kyi under house arrest for much of the past 20 years.
Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a conservative Republican, was one of the few to reject the US outreach altogether, questioning whether the Obama administration needs to learn more about the junta.
"With all due respect, we know all about Burma. It's not an unknown quantity. It has a vicious gangster regime, one of the most despicable regimes in this planet," he said.
"We are saying that they are a legitimate government to sit down with. They are not."
by Shaun Tandon – Thu Oct 22, 5:41 am ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States is preparing to send a rare mission to Myanmar but warns that its bid to engage the military junta after decades of hostility will be "slow and painful."
Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said a team would head to Myanmar to follow up on talks last month in New York, which marked the highest-level US contact with the regime in nearly a decade. Related article: Myanmar confirms rare US visit.
But in testimony Wednesday before a House of Representatives committee, Campbell cautioned: "We expect engagement with Burma (Myanmar) to be a long, slow, painful and step-by-step process."
A Myanmar official Thursday confirmed the "fact-finding" trip would take place next week. But the official gave no further details, saying the visit was still in the planning stages.
Campbell did not specify who would take part in the trip. Another senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Campbell hoped to go himself but it would depend on whether the junta gives him access to the opposition.
The National League for Democracy, the party of detained opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi, welcomed the planned visit as a "good thing."
"They will also meet the NLD when they come," party spokesman Nyan Win told AFP. "We welcome their visit. We are also hoping that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be allowed to meet Mr Campbell."
President Barack Obama's administration last month concluded that the longstanding US approach of isolating Myanmar had failed to bear fruit but said it would not ease sanctions without progress on democracy and human rights.
In August, Myanmar's military leader Than Shwe held an unprecedented meeting with a visiting US senator, Jim Webb, a leading advocate of engaging the junta. Webb also met with Suu Kyi.
A State Department official, Stephen Blake, quietly visited Myanmar in March to hold talks with both the junta and the opposition. It was the first trip by a US envoy to the country in more than seven years.
Campbell told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the dialogue would "supplement rather than replace" the sanctions regime.
"We will not judge the success of our effort at pragmatic engagement by the results of a handful of meetings. Engagement for its own sake is obviously not a goal for US policy," he said.
Campbell said that one goal was simply to gain a better understanding of the junta, which he described as "a group of men that have self-isolated themselves."
"In my particular area, the country that we know the least about at a fundamental level, even less than North Korea, is Burma," said the top US diplomat for Asia.
Democratic Representative Joseph Crowley, one of Suu Kyi's top champions in Congress, said he backed the new strategy in part because the Nobel laureate has indicated her support.
But Crowley warned: "It is a real possibility that the military regime will try and use ongoing talks to buy time, in order to proceed with a sham election they have scheduled for next year."
The NLD plans to shun the elections, the first since a 1990 vote that the party won in a landslide. The junta ignored that result, and has kept Suu Kyi under house arrest for much of the past 20 years.
Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a conservative Republican, was one of the few to reject the US outreach altogether, questioning whether the Obama administration needs to learn more about the junta.
"With all due respect, we know all about Burma. It's not an unknown quantity. It has a vicious gangster regime, one of the most despicable regimes in this planet," he said.
"We are saying that they are a legitimate government to sit down with. They are not."
***********************************************************
Asian summit to tackle economic crisis, rights
by Martin Abbugao – 1 hr 42 mins ago
HUA HIN, Thailand (AFP) – Asian leaders meet in Thailand amid tight security this weekend to discuss ways to deepen economic ties and sustain the region's rebound from the recent global downturn, officials said.
A long-awaited but controversial rights body is also set for its official launch, while leaders from the region of nearly 600 million people are expected to grapple with climate change and disaster management.
Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and key regional partners began to gather on Thursday at the elite beach resort of Hua Hin, with the leaders due to arrive on Friday.
Dozens of armoured vehicles were on Thursday backing up around 18,000 security personnel deployed in the town under harsh laws invoked by the government.
The meeting was originally to be held in the holiday playground of Pattaya in April but was called off after anti-government protesters stormed the venue and forced foreign leaders to flee.
This weekend's summit involving Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will be followed by talks with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
Asia's quick recovery from the global recession compared with the United States and other Western economies is expected to set the mood for talks on further freeing up the flow of trade, investment and people across the region.
"Asia is poised to take on a bigger role on the global stage after the dust from the economic crisis has settled," a senior Southeast Asian trade official told AFP.
ASEAN's goal to establish an EU-style community by 2015 and expand trade and economic links to include regional giants such as China and India is the "key to unlocking Asia's full potential", the official said.
A statement by the leaders will reaffirm their "commitment to support the establishment of an ASEAN community comprising three pillars, namely political and security cooperation, economic cooperation and socio-cultural cooperation", according to a draft obtained by AFP.
Separately, the bloc will on Friday launch a long-awaited human rights body, which is designed to answer criticism that the region is soft on member countries such as military-ruled Myanmar.
The United Nations on Thursday urged leaders to make the new ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights "credible".
The body has been criticised for focusing on the promotion of rights rather than protection and for having no power to punish member nations.
A draft declaration to be released at the launch of the commission said that the body was a "historic milestone".
Myanmar's continued detention of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is likely to come under the spotlight, as the United States embarks on a major policy shift to re-engage the junta.
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said that Myanmar had endorsed the human rights body and would be appointing a representative to it, but ducked questions about pressing Myanmar to free Suu Kyi.
The environment will also be a major topic, with ASEAN leaders expected to issue a statement urging developed nations to make deeper cuts in carbon emissions, underscoring the rift between rich and poor countries.
A draft statement pledges support for a December meeting in Copenhagen at which 192 countries will attempt to hammer out a new global climate treaty but says developed nations bear a "historical responsibility" to act first.
ASEAN and its partner nations are also expected to issue statements on food security cooperation and disaster management.
But long-running regional disagreements simmered on the sidelines of the summit.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rebuked neighbouring Cambodia's premier Hun Sen Thursday for his invitation to fugitive former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra to visit "anytime".
by Martin Abbugao – 1 hr 42 mins ago
HUA HIN, Thailand (AFP) – Asian leaders meet in Thailand amid tight security this weekend to discuss ways to deepen economic ties and sustain the region's rebound from the recent global downturn, officials said.
A long-awaited but controversial rights body is also set for its official launch, while leaders from the region of nearly 600 million people are expected to grapple with climate change and disaster management.
Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and key regional partners began to gather on Thursday at the elite beach resort of Hua Hin, with the leaders due to arrive on Friday.
Dozens of armoured vehicles were on Thursday backing up around 18,000 security personnel deployed in the town under harsh laws invoked by the government.
The meeting was originally to be held in the holiday playground of Pattaya in April but was called off after anti-government protesters stormed the venue and forced foreign leaders to flee.
This weekend's summit involving Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will be followed by talks with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
Asia's quick recovery from the global recession compared with the United States and other Western economies is expected to set the mood for talks on further freeing up the flow of trade, investment and people across the region.
"Asia is poised to take on a bigger role on the global stage after the dust from the economic crisis has settled," a senior Southeast Asian trade official told AFP.
ASEAN's goal to establish an EU-style community by 2015 and expand trade and economic links to include regional giants such as China and India is the "key to unlocking Asia's full potential", the official said.
A statement by the leaders will reaffirm their "commitment to support the establishment of an ASEAN community comprising three pillars, namely political and security cooperation, economic cooperation and socio-cultural cooperation", according to a draft obtained by AFP.
Separately, the bloc will on Friday launch a long-awaited human rights body, which is designed to answer criticism that the region is soft on member countries such as military-ruled Myanmar.
The United Nations on Thursday urged leaders to make the new ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights "credible".
The body has been criticised for focusing on the promotion of rights rather than protection and for having no power to punish member nations.
A draft declaration to be released at the launch of the commission said that the body was a "historic milestone".
Myanmar's continued detention of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is likely to come under the spotlight, as the United States embarks on a major policy shift to re-engage the junta.
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said that Myanmar had endorsed the human rights body and would be appointing a representative to it, but ducked questions about pressing Myanmar to free Suu Kyi.
The environment will also be a major topic, with ASEAN leaders expected to issue a statement urging developed nations to make deeper cuts in carbon emissions, underscoring the rift between rich and poor countries.
A draft statement pledges support for a December meeting in Copenhagen at which 192 countries will attempt to hammer out a new global climate treaty but says developed nations bear a "historical responsibility" to act first.
ASEAN and its partner nations are also expected to issue statements on food security cooperation and disaster management.
But long-running regional disagreements simmered on the sidelines of the summit.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rebuked neighbouring Cambodia's premier Hun Sen Thursday for his invitation to fugitive former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra to visit "anytime".
***********************************************************
Myanmar allows first mobile phones in remote capital
12 hours ago
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar's authorities have allowed the first mobile phones to be used in its remote capital Naypyidaw after previously banning them for security reasons, residents there said Thursday.
"Mobile phones have been allowed since October 9 around Naypyidaw. We have better communication now," a hotel staff member in Naypyidaw told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"It's the first time the authorities have allowed a mobile service in Naypyidaw," she said, adding that many hotels had already applied for permission to use the network.
But few people are likely to be able to afford the new service in this impoverished country as she said it cost 1.55 million kyats (nearly 1,500 dollars) to obtain permission from the government's telecommunications department.
Myanmar's ruling generals moved their entire government from the economic hub Yangon to Naypyidaw four years ago, after building the new administrative capital in secret over the previous three years.
Since then military officials have used only walkie-talkies to communicate. When they moved up in November 2005, the city had few phone lines and no grocery stores, schools or clinics.
"We want these basic facilities in the capital. That's why CDMA mobile phones have been allowed, to improve communication," a senior official in Naypyidaw told AFP.
Another official said authorities were planning to open up to a second mobile phone network in the next few months.
The military regime's official explanation for its move to Naypyidaw was to place the capital in a more central location but analysts said the real reason lies in the generals' paranoia about their own security.
The junta's main headquarters is completely hidden inside a hilly compound, open only to military officials.
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962.
12 hours ago
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar's authorities have allowed the first mobile phones to be used in its remote capital Naypyidaw after previously banning them for security reasons, residents there said Thursday.
"Mobile phones have been allowed since October 9 around Naypyidaw. We have better communication now," a hotel staff member in Naypyidaw told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"It's the first time the authorities have allowed a mobile service in Naypyidaw," she said, adding that many hotels had already applied for permission to use the network.
But few people are likely to be able to afford the new service in this impoverished country as she said it cost 1.55 million kyats (nearly 1,500 dollars) to obtain permission from the government's telecommunications department.
Myanmar's ruling generals moved their entire government from the economic hub Yangon to Naypyidaw four years ago, after building the new administrative capital in secret over the previous three years.
Since then military officials have used only walkie-talkies to communicate. When they moved up in November 2005, the city had few phone lines and no grocery stores, schools or clinics.
"We want these basic facilities in the capital. That's why CDMA mobile phones have been allowed, to improve communication," a senior official in Naypyidaw told AFP.
Another official said authorities were planning to open up to a second mobile phone network in the next few months.
The military regime's official explanation for its move to Naypyidaw was to place the capital in a more central location but analysts said the real reason lies in the generals' paranoia about their own security.
The junta's main headquarters is completely hidden inside a hilly compound, open only to military officials.
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962.
***********************************************************
World failing to dent heroin trade, U.N. warns
updated 7:26 p.m. EDT, Wed October 21, 2009
(CNN) -- Afghan opium kills 100,000 people every year worldwide -- more than any other drug -- and the opiate heroin kills five times as many people in NATO countries each year than the eight-year total of NATO troops killed in Afghan combat, the United Nations said Wednesday.
About 15 million people around the world use heroin, opium or morphine, fueling a $65 billion market for the drug and also fueling terrorism and insurgencies: The Taliban raised $450 million to $600 million over the past four years by "taxing" opium farmers and traffickers, Antonio Maria Costa, head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, said in a report.
Not all the money is going into the pockets of rebels or drug dealers; some Afghan officials are making money off the trade as well, he said.
"The Afghan drug economy generates several hundred million dollars per year into evil hands: some with black turbans, some with white collars," Costa said.
The latter reference is "to officials in the Afghan administration, federal government of Kabul or the provinces or the army or the police," Costa told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
And the problem is spreading, he added.
Drug money is funding insurgencies in Central Asia, which has huge energy reserves, Costa said.
"The Silk Route, turned into a heroin route, is carving out a path of death and violence through one of the world's most strategic yet volatile regions," he said.
Authorities are seizing too little heroin, intercepting only about 20 percent of opiate traffic around the world, according to the U.N. report, "Addiction, Crime and Insurgency: the Transnational Threat of Afghan Opium."
It comes on the heels of a U.N. warning last month that two years' worth of opium is effectively "missing," probably stockpiled by the Taliban and criminal gangs.
More than 12,000 tons of opium, which can be consumed as a narcotic itself or turned into heroin, is unaccounted for, the United Nations estimated in September.
It is not clear who has it or why, but the United Nations speculates that criminals could be holding it as a hedge against falling prices or that insurgents or terrorists could be stockpiling it to fund attacks.
The latest report claims to be the first systematic attempt to track where Afghan opium ends up.
Europe and Russia together consume just under half of the heroin coming out of Afghanistan, the United Nations concluded, and Iran is by far the single largest consumer of Afghan opium.
Afghanistan is also probably supplying an increasing share of the heroin in China -- perhaps as much as a quarter, the report said.
Afghanistan is by far the world's largest producer of opium, although Laos, Myanmar and Latin America produce small quantities, it said.
The United Nations found that Afghanistan may be supplying more heroin to the United States and Canada than had been suspected.
The two North American countries consume more than twice as much heroin as Latin America produces. That means either that more Afghan heroin is making its way to North America than had been known or that Mexico and Columbia are producing more than was realized, the United Nations said.
The report confirmed an estimate that $400 million in drug profits goes to the Taliban, Costa said.
The Taliban "are deeply involved" in processing, in protecting farmers and in exporting, he said.
The solution "is very clear," he said. "We need a much greater effort and commitment by governments to prevent drug addiction, to take care of drug addicts ... to reduce demand."
But the popular will for change needs to increase, he said, noting that the Security Council in 2006 and 2007 passed resolutions inviting member states to give the names of drug traffickers to authorities so that their ability to travel can be curtailed and their assets seized.
"So far, much to my dismay, not a single name was provided to the Security Council," he said.
The report offered little new in the way of possible solutions, said Ethan Nadelmann, founding executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which promotes alternatives to the war on drugs.
"It's very good at describing a problem," he said. "But it truly is devoid of any kind of pragmatic solution, and it essentially suggests that the answer is to keep doing more of what's failed us in the past."
So long as there is a global demand for opium, there will be a supply, he said.
"If Afghanistan were suddenly wiped out as a producer of opium -- by bad weather or a blight or eradication efforts -- other parts of the world would simply emerge as new producers, "creating all sorts of new problems," he said.
And Afghanistan itself would not be helped either, he said.
"You would see in Afghanistan millions of people probably flocking to the cities unable to make a living and probably turning more to the Taliban than they are now," he said.
He listed three possible options. The first, global legalization and control, "is not happening, not any time soon," he said.
The second option is to increase drug treatment for addicts who want it and to provide legal access to the drug, as Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, England, Spain and Canada have done, he said.
"In all of these places, there are small, growing programs of heroin maintenance that allow addicts to obtain pharmaceutical-grade heroin from legal sources rather than from the black market," he said.
But Nadelmann added that more people died of opiate overdose last year involving pharmaceutical opiates than died from illegal heroin.
A third possibility, he said, would be to view Afghanistan as essentially a red-light zone of global opium production and to think about the solution as a vice-control challenge, "which means acknowledge that Afghanistan is going to continue to be the world's supplier of illegal opium for the foreseeable future and then focus on manipulating and regulating the market participants, even though it is still illegal."
He added, "That, I think, is in some respects the de facto strategy, even though it cannot be stated openly, for political reasons."
updated 7:26 p.m. EDT, Wed October 21, 2009
(CNN) -- Afghan opium kills 100,000 people every year worldwide -- more than any other drug -- and the opiate heroin kills five times as many people in NATO countries each year than the eight-year total of NATO troops killed in Afghan combat, the United Nations said Wednesday.
About 15 million people around the world use heroin, opium or morphine, fueling a $65 billion market for the drug and also fueling terrorism and insurgencies: The Taliban raised $450 million to $600 million over the past four years by "taxing" opium farmers and traffickers, Antonio Maria Costa, head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, said in a report.
Not all the money is going into the pockets of rebels or drug dealers; some Afghan officials are making money off the trade as well, he said.
"The Afghan drug economy generates several hundred million dollars per year into evil hands: some with black turbans, some with white collars," Costa said.
The latter reference is "to officials in the Afghan administration, federal government of Kabul or the provinces or the army or the police," Costa told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
And the problem is spreading, he added.
Drug money is funding insurgencies in Central Asia, which has huge energy reserves, Costa said.
"The Silk Route, turned into a heroin route, is carving out a path of death and violence through one of the world's most strategic yet volatile regions," he said.
Authorities are seizing too little heroin, intercepting only about 20 percent of opiate traffic around the world, according to the U.N. report, "Addiction, Crime and Insurgency: the Transnational Threat of Afghan Opium."
It comes on the heels of a U.N. warning last month that two years' worth of opium is effectively "missing," probably stockpiled by the Taliban and criminal gangs.
More than 12,000 tons of opium, which can be consumed as a narcotic itself or turned into heroin, is unaccounted for, the United Nations estimated in September.
It is not clear who has it or why, but the United Nations speculates that criminals could be holding it as a hedge against falling prices or that insurgents or terrorists could be stockpiling it to fund attacks.
The latest report claims to be the first systematic attempt to track where Afghan opium ends up.
Europe and Russia together consume just under half of the heroin coming out of Afghanistan, the United Nations concluded, and Iran is by far the single largest consumer of Afghan opium.
Afghanistan is also probably supplying an increasing share of the heroin in China -- perhaps as much as a quarter, the report said.
Afghanistan is by far the world's largest producer of opium, although Laos, Myanmar and Latin America produce small quantities, it said.
The United Nations found that Afghanistan may be supplying more heroin to the United States and Canada than had been suspected.
The two North American countries consume more than twice as much heroin as Latin America produces. That means either that more Afghan heroin is making its way to North America than had been known or that Mexico and Columbia are producing more than was realized, the United Nations said.
The report confirmed an estimate that $400 million in drug profits goes to the Taliban, Costa said.
The Taliban "are deeply involved" in processing, in protecting farmers and in exporting, he said.
The solution "is very clear," he said. "We need a much greater effort and commitment by governments to prevent drug addiction, to take care of drug addicts ... to reduce demand."
But the popular will for change needs to increase, he said, noting that the Security Council in 2006 and 2007 passed resolutions inviting member states to give the names of drug traffickers to authorities so that their ability to travel can be curtailed and their assets seized.
"So far, much to my dismay, not a single name was provided to the Security Council," he said.
The report offered little new in the way of possible solutions, said Ethan Nadelmann, founding executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which promotes alternatives to the war on drugs.
"It's very good at describing a problem," he said. "But it truly is devoid of any kind of pragmatic solution, and it essentially suggests that the answer is to keep doing more of what's failed us in the past."
So long as there is a global demand for opium, there will be a supply, he said.
"If Afghanistan were suddenly wiped out as a producer of opium -- by bad weather or a blight or eradication efforts -- other parts of the world would simply emerge as new producers, "creating all sorts of new problems," he said.
And Afghanistan itself would not be helped either, he said.
"You would see in Afghanistan millions of people probably flocking to the cities unable to make a living and probably turning more to the Taliban than they are now," he said.
He listed three possible options. The first, global legalization and control, "is not happening, not any time soon," he said.
The second option is to increase drug treatment for addicts who want it and to provide legal access to the drug, as Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, England, Spain and Canada have done, he said.
"In all of these places, there are small, growing programs of heroin maintenance that allow addicts to obtain pharmaceutical-grade heroin from legal sources rather than from the black market," he said.
But Nadelmann added that more people died of opiate overdose last year involving pharmaceutical opiates than died from illegal heroin.
A third possibility, he said, would be to view Afghanistan as essentially a red-light zone of global opium production and to think about the solution as a vice-control challenge, "which means acknowledge that Afghanistan is going to continue to be the world's supplier of illegal opium for the foreseeable future and then focus on manipulating and regulating the market participants, even though it is still illegal."
He added, "That, I think, is in some respects the de facto strategy, even though it cannot be stated openly, for political reasons."
***********************************************************
Myanmar to open first car racing field in Yangon
www.chinaview.cn 2009-10-22 19:10:49
YANGON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has planned to open its first car racing field of international standard in Yangon's suburban township of Thingyangyun later this month.
The programming set to attract participation from diplomats and international school students, according to the Galaxy Racing Kart Group Thursday.
Racing cars of 120 HP are to be imported from Japan and racers are set to drive at a speed of about 70 to 80 miles per hour.
The sponsoring group has offered life insurance for the racers.
Myanmar has never launched car racing in its sports history.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-10-22 19:10:49
YANGON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has planned to open its first car racing field of international standard in Yangon's suburban township of Thingyangyun later this month.
The programming set to attract participation from diplomats and international school students, according to the Galaxy Racing Kart Group Thursday.
Racing cars of 120 HP are to be imported from Japan and racers are set to drive at a speed of about 70 to 80 miles per hour.
The sponsoring group has offered life insurance for the racers.
Myanmar has never launched car racing in its sports history.
***********************************************************
Myanmar booth highlights Muse border town in China-ASEAN trade fair
www.chinaview.cn 2009-10-22 18:22:42
YANGON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar booth on display at the 6thChina-ASEAN trade fair being held in Nanning, capital of Southwest China' Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, highlights the Muse border town as a town of facilitating trade and cooperation in levying tariff, companies attending the trade fair said on Thursday.
There are 242 entrepreneurs of 83 companies taking part in the five-day trade fair which began on Tuesday and will last until Saturday.
These entrepreneurs are from such sectors as agriculture, fishery, industry, manufacturing, gems, traditional handicrafts, forestry and hotel and tourism, the sources said.
Since joining the China-ASEAN trade fair in 2004, Myanmar booth featured the commercial hub of Mandalay in the second trade fair, tourism site of ancient city of Bagan in the third fair, port city of the former capital Yangon in 4th fair and cyber city of Yadanarpon in the 5th fair, the sources said, adding the country won the best booth, best design and best creativity awards in the 4th China-ASEAN trade fair in 2007.
In the 5th China-ASEAN trade fair, Myanmar won the best booth award again.
In December last year, a three-day Myanmar-China border trade fair was held in the Muse 105th Mile Border Trade Zone on the Myanmar side.
The 8th Myanmar-China border trade fair, participated by companies and enterprises from both countries, displayed products from respective countries at over 200 booths.
Muse border trade point stands the biggest out of 11 with neighboring countries, where 70 percent of Myanmar's border trade are carried out.
According to Chinese official statistics, China-Myanmar bilateral trade amounted to 2.626 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, up26.4 percent.
Up to the end of 2008, China's contracted investments in Myanmar reached 1.331 billion dollars, of which mining, electric power and oil and gas respectively took 866 million dollars, 281 million dollars and 124 million dollars.
China now stands the 4th in Myanmar's foreign investment line-up.
China's Nanning and Myanmar's Yangon established friendship city relationship in July this year.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-10-22 18:22:42
YANGON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar booth on display at the 6thChina-ASEAN trade fair being held in Nanning, capital of Southwest China' Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, highlights the Muse border town as a town of facilitating trade and cooperation in levying tariff, companies attending the trade fair said on Thursday.
There are 242 entrepreneurs of 83 companies taking part in the five-day trade fair which began on Tuesday and will last until Saturday.
These entrepreneurs are from such sectors as agriculture, fishery, industry, manufacturing, gems, traditional handicrafts, forestry and hotel and tourism, the sources said.
Since joining the China-ASEAN trade fair in 2004, Myanmar booth featured the commercial hub of Mandalay in the second trade fair, tourism site of ancient city of Bagan in the third fair, port city of the former capital Yangon in 4th fair and cyber city of Yadanarpon in the 5th fair, the sources said, adding the country won the best booth, best design and best creativity awards in the 4th China-ASEAN trade fair in 2007.
In the 5th China-ASEAN trade fair, Myanmar won the best booth award again.
In December last year, a three-day Myanmar-China border trade fair was held in the Muse 105th Mile Border Trade Zone on the Myanmar side.
The 8th Myanmar-China border trade fair, participated by companies and enterprises from both countries, displayed products from respective countries at over 200 booths.
Muse border trade point stands the biggest out of 11 with neighboring countries, where 70 percent of Myanmar's border trade are carried out.
According to Chinese official statistics, China-Myanmar bilateral trade amounted to 2.626 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, up26.4 percent.
Up to the end of 2008, China's contracted investments in Myanmar reached 1.331 billion dollars, of which mining, electric power and oil and gas respectively took 866 million dollars, 281 million dollars and 124 million dollars.
China now stands the 4th in Myanmar's foreign investment line-up.
China's Nanning and Myanmar's Yangon established friendship city relationship in July this year.
***********************************************************
Thaindian.com - Dhaka, Yangon play down troop build-up at border
October 22nd, 2009 - 1:58 pm ICT by IANS
Dhaka, Oct 22 (IANS) Bangladesh and Myanmar have sought to play down the tensions along the border in the past three weeks and have calling their troop movements “routine”.
Myanmar’s border guard Nasaka Wednesday trashed reports of troop build-up along the Bangladesh border at a battalion commander-level flag meeting with Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) at Maungdaw in Myanmar, The Daily Star newspaper said Thursday.
Quoting intelligence and official sources, the newspapers have been carrying reports of heavy build-up by the army personnel, movement of naval ships and air force fighter jets on both sides.
At the diplomatic level, however, Dhaka has played down the developments.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni Wednesday called the movement “routine”.
“A vested quarter is out to damage the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar to serve their own interests,” she said.
She also blamed a section of the media for carrying unsubstantiated reports.
The Myanmar frontier force denied mobilising soldiers along the border but said it was supervising development activities there, said Lt. Colonel Mozammel Hossain, commanding officer of 42 Rifles Battalion, who led a 10-member Bangladesh team.
The Myanmar side, led by Lt. Col Me U, Maungdaw unit commander of Nasaka, said the current deployment of forces was made as part of a routine exercise.
The meeting was held in the wake of heightened tension following Myanmar’s military build-up along the border with Bangladesh.
The official told told media that the meeting was “fruitful”.
Nine Bangladeshi nationals, captured by Nasaka, were turned over to the BDR delegation.
A friendly volleyball match was organised between the two border forces after the flag meeting.
October 22nd, 2009 - 1:58 pm ICT by IANS
Dhaka, Oct 22 (IANS) Bangladesh and Myanmar have sought to play down the tensions along the border in the past three weeks and have calling their troop movements “routine”.
Myanmar’s border guard Nasaka Wednesday trashed reports of troop build-up along the Bangladesh border at a battalion commander-level flag meeting with Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) at Maungdaw in Myanmar, The Daily Star newspaper said Thursday.
Quoting intelligence and official sources, the newspapers have been carrying reports of heavy build-up by the army personnel, movement of naval ships and air force fighter jets on both sides.
At the diplomatic level, however, Dhaka has played down the developments.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni Wednesday called the movement “routine”.
“A vested quarter is out to damage the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar to serve their own interests,” she said.
She also blamed a section of the media for carrying unsubstantiated reports.
The Myanmar frontier force denied mobilising soldiers along the border but said it was supervising development activities there, said Lt. Colonel Mozammel Hossain, commanding officer of 42 Rifles Battalion, who led a 10-member Bangladesh team.
The Myanmar side, led by Lt. Col Me U, Maungdaw unit commander of Nasaka, said the current deployment of forces was made as part of a routine exercise.
The meeting was held in the wake of heightened tension following Myanmar’s military build-up along the border with Bangladesh.
The official told told media that the meeting was “fruitful”.
Nine Bangladeshi nationals, captured by Nasaka, were turned over to the BDR delegation.
A friendly volleyball match was organised between the two border forces after the flag meeting.
***********************************************************
Vietnam News Agency - President meets Russia and Myanmar officials
(22-10-2009)
HA NOI — Russia viewed Viet Nam as an important gate for its products entering other countries in Southeast Asia, said Russian Industry and Trade Minister Victor Khristenko.
Khristenko, who was talking to President Nguyen Minh Triet, said Russia was also keen to establish joint-venture production companies in Viet Nam.
The Russian minister was visiting Viet Nam for the 13th meeting of the Viet Nam-Russia Inter-governmental Committee for Economic, Commercial, Scientific and Technological Cooperation.
Besides joint success in oil and gas exploration, the two countries are considering the possibility of carrying out cooperation projects in mechanical engineering and auto assembly industries in a third country.
President Triet told the Russian minister that Viet Nam hoped for an increase in Russian investment in such fields as aviation, nuclear-power generation, and the development of a metro system.
Triet appreciated the Intergovernmental Committee’s roadmap towards a mid-term Russia-Viet Nam plan for trade and investment sectors until the year 2012.
Triet meets General
On the same day, President Nguyen Minh Triet received Chief of the General Staff of the Myanmar Armed Forces, General Thura Shwe Mann, who was paying a visit to Viet Nam at an invitation of Minister of National Defence Phung Quang Thanh.
Triet said he believed that the visit would open up a new development period in the co-operation between the armies of Viet Nam and Myanmar and contribute to improving the friendly relations between the two peoples.
He applauded the two ministries’ efforts on signing an agreement on national defence co-operation toward a practical and effective relationship on the issue.
The President said Viet Nam understood the difficulties Myanmar faced and was willing to share experience for the development of both countries.
He hoped Myanmar would successfully organise the 2010 election, overcome difficulties and challenges to build a peaceful and prosperous state.
General Thura Shwe Mann expressed his impressions on the achievements Viet Nam had gained during its Doi moi (Renewal) process and said Myanmar wished to successfully apply Viet Nam’s experience in its national construction and development.
He took the occasion to convey Myanmar Head of State Senior General Than Shwe’s invitation to President Nguyen Minh Triet to pay an official visit to Myanmar, which Triet accepted with thanks.
Previously, the General met with Minister of National Defence Phung Quang Thanh, who expressed thanks to the support of the Myanmar Government and people to Viet Nam’s previous resistance wars as well as its current national construction and defence.
He said he wished the co-operative relationship between the two armies to step up to the new height.
(22-10-2009)
HA NOI — Russia viewed Viet Nam as an important gate for its products entering other countries in Southeast Asia, said Russian Industry and Trade Minister Victor Khristenko.
Khristenko, who was talking to President Nguyen Minh Triet, said Russia was also keen to establish joint-venture production companies in Viet Nam.
The Russian minister was visiting Viet Nam for the 13th meeting of the Viet Nam-Russia Inter-governmental Committee for Economic, Commercial, Scientific and Technological Cooperation.
Besides joint success in oil and gas exploration, the two countries are considering the possibility of carrying out cooperation projects in mechanical engineering and auto assembly industries in a third country.
President Triet told the Russian minister that Viet Nam hoped for an increase in Russian investment in such fields as aviation, nuclear-power generation, and the development of a metro system.
Triet appreciated the Intergovernmental Committee’s roadmap towards a mid-term Russia-Viet Nam plan for trade and investment sectors until the year 2012.
Triet meets General
On the same day, President Nguyen Minh Triet received Chief of the General Staff of the Myanmar Armed Forces, General Thura Shwe Mann, who was paying a visit to Viet Nam at an invitation of Minister of National Defence Phung Quang Thanh.
Triet said he believed that the visit would open up a new development period in the co-operation between the armies of Viet Nam and Myanmar and contribute to improving the friendly relations between the two peoples.
He applauded the two ministries’ efforts on signing an agreement on national defence co-operation toward a practical and effective relationship on the issue.
The President said Viet Nam understood the difficulties Myanmar faced and was willing to share experience for the development of both countries.
He hoped Myanmar would successfully organise the 2010 election, overcome difficulties and challenges to build a peaceful and prosperous state.
General Thura Shwe Mann expressed his impressions on the achievements Viet Nam had gained during its Doi moi (Renewal) process and said Myanmar wished to successfully apply Viet Nam’s experience in its national construction and development.
He took the occasion to convey Myanmar Head of State Senior General Than Shwe’s invitation to President Nguyen Minh Triet to pay an official visit to Myanmar, which Triet accepted with thanks.
Previously, the General met with Minister of National Defence Phung Quang Thanh, who expressed thanks to the support of the Myanmar Government and people to Viet Nam’s previous resistance wars as well as its current national construction and defence.
He said he wished the co-operative relationship between the two armies to step up to the new height.
***********************************************************
Birmingham Star - Bangladesh orders seismic survey on maritime boundaries
Thursday 22nd October, 2009
Bangladesh is likely to change its maritime boundaries in the near future.
A seismic survey is being done to check whether its current boundaries with India and Myanmar are accurate.
Dhaka has recently had disputes with its neighbours about the boundaries, and is paying a Dutch firm to conduct the survey at a cost of nearly $12 million.
Sandwiched between India and Myanmar, Bangladesh has been troubled by the lack of interest in its global tenders for oil and gas exploration.
Foreign firms have made the excuse they do not want to be involved in disputes about territorial waters.
Thursday 22nd October, 2009
Bangladesh is likely to change its maritime boundaries in the near future.
A seismic survey is being done to check whether its current boundaries with India and Myanmar are accurate.
Dhaka has recently had disputes with its neighbours about the boundaries, and is paying a Dutch firm to conduct the survey at a cost of nearly $12 million.
Sandwiched between India and Myanmar, Bangladesh has been troubled by the lack of interest in its global tenders for oil and gas exploration.
Foreign firms have made the excuse they do not want to be involved in disputes about territorial waters.
***********************************************************
FM sees attempts to strain ties with Myanmar
Wed, Oct 21st, 2009 8:01 pm BdST
Dhaka, Oct 21 (bdnews24.com)—Foreign minister Dipu Moni has said a vested quarter was trying to blight relations with Myanmar and called on them to stop such instigation.
"There may be provocation by some quarters to strain relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Their motive is to capitalise on the sour relations," Dipu Moni told reporters at the foreign ministry Wednesday.
She pointed a finger at the media too.
Local newspapers as well as foreign news agencies have reported escalating tensions in recent days, with Myanmar deploying troops on their side of the border and Bangladesh replying with similar action.
The reports also suggested that Myanmar was trying to push thousands of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh as they did in 1991-92.
"Some sections of the media are publishing alarmist stories about tensions on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border," said Dipu Moni.
"This type of report may exert influence on both sides of the border," cautioned the foreign minister, who recently met her Myanmar counterpart in Colombo.
She said the Bangladesh ambassador in Yangon, his defence attaché, and the Myanmar envoy in Dhaka had all rejected the reports of Myanmar troops mobilising along the border.
"They assured me that there was regular movements of troops going on across the border," said the minister.
"The Myanmar foreign minister also told me the same," she said.
Dipu Moni last week told reporters that the government had "no information" on unusual troops movement at the border.
The Myanmar military junta has, however, recently moved to erect more fencing along the border.
Dipu Moni has said that Myanmar was erecting the barbed-wire fencing on their side, after consulting Dhaka, in order to curb border crimes.
On TIFA
The foreign minister said there is no pressure from the US government to sign a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).
"We have some concerns for some sections of the TIFA. They understand our concerns," said Dipu Moni.
She said the two countries were trying to bridge the gap.
The minister said, "We are also looking into whether we can expand trade and investment through other agreements other than TIFA".
PM's China visit
Dipu Moni said prime minister Sheikh Hasina was keen to visit China which Bangladesh considers a good friend
"There is an invitation from the Chinese government. Our Prime Minister is sure to visit China at a mutually convenient time," she said.
Wed, Oct 21st, 2009 8:01 pm BdST
Dhaka, Oct 21 (bdnews24.com)—Foreign minister Dipu Moni has said a vested quarter was trying to blight relations with Myanmar and called on them to stop such instigation.
"There may be provocation by some quarters to strain relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Their motive is to capitalise on the sour relations," Dipu Moni told reporters at the foreign ministry Wednesday.
She pointed a finger at the media too.
Local newspapers as well as foreign news agencies have reported escalating tensions in recent days, with Myanmar deploying troops on their side of the border and Bangladesh replying with similar action.
The reports also suggested that Myanmar was trying to push thousands of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh as they did in 1991-92.
"Some sections of the media are publishing alarmist stories about tensions on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border," said Dipu Moni.
"This type of report may exert influence on both sides of the border," cautioned the foreign minister, who recently met her Myanmar counterpart in Colombo.
She said the Bangladesh ambassador in Yangon, his defence attaché, and the Myanmar envoy in Dhaka had all rejected the reports of Myanmar troops mobilising along the border.
"They assured me that there was regular movements of troops going on across the border," said the minister.
"The Myanmar foreign minister also told me the same," she said.
Dipu Moni last week told reporters that the government had "no information" on unusual troops movement at the border.
The Myanmar military junta has, however, recently moved to erect more fencing along the border.
Dipu Moni has said that Myanmar was erecting the barbed-wire fencing on their side, after consulting Dhaka, in order to curb border crimes.
On TIFA
The foreign minister said there is no pressure from the US government to sign a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).
"We have some concerns for some sections of the TIFA. They understand our concerns," said Dipu Moni.
She said the two countries were trying to bridge the gap.
The minister said, "We are also looking into whether we can expand trade and investment through other agreements other than TIFA".
PM's China visit
Dipu Moni said prime minister Sheikh Hasina was keen to visit China which Bangladesh considers a good friend
"There is an invitation from the Chinese government. Our Prime Minister is sure to visit China at a mutually convenient time," she said.
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Scoop - Senior Buddhist Monk Arrested in Rangoon
Monday, 8 September 2008, 1:01 pm
Press Release: Terry Evans
A senior Buddhist monk was arrested in Rangoon on Friday after security forces raided his monastery, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma (AAPP). Military intelligence officers raided the monastery in the early hours of Friday morning and arrested the 58-year-old monk named U Thilawontha.
There is increased vigilance over Buddhist monasteries in Rangoon and several other cities across the country. Sources in central Burma said the authorities have tried to force abbots of monasteries to sign a pledge not to allow its monks from leading any kind of anti-government protests.
Buddhist monks led mass protests in September last year after the government suddenly hiked fuel prices. As the protests gained momentum the military conducted midnight raids in several key monasteries across the country, beating, killing and arresting thousands of monks.
Monday, 8 September 2008, 1:01 pm
Press Release: Terry Evans
A senior Buddhist monk was arrested in Rangoon on Friday after security forces raided his monastery, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma (AAPP). Military intelligence officers raided the monastery in the early hours of Friday morning and arrested the 58-year-old monk named U Thilawontha.
There is increased vigilance over Buddhist monasteries in Rangoon and several other cities across the country. Sources in central Burma said the authorities have tried to force abbots of monasteries to sign a pledge not to allow its monks from leading any kind of anti-government protests.
Buddhist monks led mass protests in September last year after the government suddenly hiked fuel prices. As the protests gained momentum the military conducted midnight raids in several key monasteries across the country, beating, killing and arresting thousands of monks.
***********************************************************
Bangkok Post - EU launches Burma aid fund
Published: 22/10/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
The EU is launching a fund to improve job and food security in Burma in response to developments in the country's political landscape.
European Commission to Thailand head David Lipman said the European Union was broadening its policy of sanctions and assistance to Burma by approving 35 million euros (1.75 billion baht) for the five-year Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund programme to be launched later this month. The fund will be administered by the United Nations Office for Partnerships.
The EU has already contributed 60% of Burma's post-cyclone Nargis relief and there has been a 100 million euro development project to assist health, education and jobs, Mr Lipman said.
The fund will call for proposals involving five areas of Rakkhine, Chin, Shan, central Burma and Kachin.
But Mr Lipman said the fund board and the Burmese government should ascertain as to whether it was too dangerous for non-governmental workers to enter certain areas.
The recent political developments in Burma, particularly the US announcement of direct engagement with the Burmese government, and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's proposal to the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Than Shwe for a political dialogue with the junta, had accelerated the EU review of their approach, diplomatic sources said.
Published: 22/10/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
The EU is launching a fund to improve job and food security in Burma in response to developments in the country's political landscape.
European Commission to Thailand head David Lipman said the European Union was broadening its policy of sanctions and assistance to Burma by approving 35 million euros (1.75 billion baht) for the five-year Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund programme to be launched later this month. The fund will be administered by the United Nations Office for Partnerships.
The EU has already contributed 60% of Burma's post-cyclone Nargis relief and there has been a 100 million euro development project to assist health, education and jobs, Mr Lipman said.
The fund will call for proposals involving five areas of Rakkhine, Chin, Shan, central Burma and Kachin.
But Mr Lipman said the fund board and the Burmese government should ascertain as to whether it was too dangerous for non-governmental workers to enter certain areas.
The recent political developments in Burma, particularly the US announcement of direct engagement with the Burmese government, and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's proposal to the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Than Shwe for a political dialogue with the junta, had accelerated the EU review of their approach, diplomatic sources said.
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The Nation - Precious national leaders not prepared to meet their critics
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
Published on October 22, 2009
Hopes for a people-centred Asean have been hurt by officials giving the cold shoulder to the people's forum and news that representatives of civic groups won't be allowed to meet leaders at the 15th summit in Cha-am/Hua Hin on Friday.
Members of civil society groups across Southeast Asia gathered for three days in Cha-am, till Tuesday, to discuss issues for input at the summit. They invited Asean officials to meet with them during the forum. Sadly, no officials - only an adviser - attended.
Last time, the Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan met the group at Chulalongkorn University to listen to their concerns on development and human rights issue in the region. Although Kasit and Surin spent just a short time with them, it was a sign of sincerity by key senior leaders.
This time only Asda Jayanama, a former diplomat who is now an adviser to Kasit, attended the people's forum but it's hard to say that he represents Asean.
Activists who organised the people's forum expressed deep disappointment over the absence of Asean officials.
Asean's lack of cooperation severely undermined ongoing dialogue processes between civil society organisations and officials at the regional body, Suntaree Saeng-ging from the Coordinating Committee on Development, a Thai NGO.
Asean has a new charter and a goal to be a "people oriented" body, which encourages folk from all sectors of the society to participate in, and benefit from, processes of integration and community building.
Thailand as the chair and host of the summit encouraged civic groups across the region to organise a forum to exchange views on issues from the environment to human rights concerns.
They discussed the matters in the three-day forum and prepared statements, which will be presented to the Asean heads of state at the 15th Summit, when they met them tomorrow.
The 10 Asean leaders are due to meet representatives from the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, Asean youth and regional civil society groups tomorrow to show they care about participation by the public.
The Asean people's forum prepared their representatives to meet state leaders but the leaders of some countries sent messages that they may not be comfortable meeting some civic groups.
Asean officials had already prepared a selected list of reps who will meet with leaders on tomorrow, according to Chalida Tajaroensuk, executive director of Peoples' Empowerment Foundation.
"We are negotiating to have people from real civil society to meet the leaders, rather than officially picked people," she said.
So far, people's forum reps from Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Laos have been welcomed by Asean leaders. But others from Burma, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore had not been approved by their national leaders, she said.
A possible compromise option was to have half from the people's forum and half from the officially approved list to meet with leaders, she said.
The leaders agreed to meet two representatives from each country. It was possible that one from each country could come from the people's forum and other one would be a person the leaders wanted to see, she said.
The push for a people-centred Asean did not get off to a good start - with premiers from both Burma and Cambodia refusing to meet two representatives of civil society groups at the previous summit in February.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and foreign minister Kasit then had to meet with these people separately outside the meeting venue to try to limit any damage.
"The problem is that many leaders of the Asean have very narrow minds and never listen to the voice of the people," Chalida said.
Officials at the Thai Foreign Ministry are now trying to work out a solution, but it is hard to reach a compromise when leaders from Burma and Cambodia strongly insist they aren't comfortable meeting activists who regularly criticise their governments.
If the two sides fail to reach a compromise and make the meeting happen - to meet with people whom they may have differences with, whether the leaders like them or not, the spirit of a "people oriented Asean" is doomed.
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
Published on October 22, 2009
Hopes for a people-centred Asean have been hurt by officials giving the cold shoulder to the people's forum and news that representatives of civic groups won't be allowed to meet leaders at the 15th summit in Cha-am/Hua Hin on Friday.
Members of civil society groups across Southeast Asia gathered for three days in Cha-am, till Tuesday, to discuss issues for input at the summit. They invited Asean officials to meet with them during the forum. Sadly, no officials - only an adviser - attended.
Last time, the Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan met the group at Chulalongkorn University to listen to their concerns on development and human rights issue in the region. Although Kasit and Surin spent just a short time with them, it was a sign of sincerity by key senior leaders.
This time only Asda Jayanama, a former diplomat who is now an adviser to Kasit, attended the people's forum but it's hard to say that he represents Asean.
Activists who organised the people's forum expressed deep disappointment over the absence of Asean officials.
Asean's lack of cooperation severely undermined ongoing dialogue processes between civil society organisations and officials at the regional body, Suntaree Saeng-ging from the Coordinating Committee on Development, a Thai NGO.
Asean has a new charter and a goal to be a "people oriented" body, which encourages folk from all sectors of the society to participate in, and benefit from, processes of integration and community building.
Thailand as the chair and host of the summit encouraged civic groups across the region to organise a forum to exchange views on issues from the environment to human rights concerns.
They discussed the matters in the three-day forum and prepared statements, which will be presented to the Asean heads of state at the 15th Summit, when they met them tomorrow.
The 10 Asean leaders are due to meet representatives from the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, Asean youth and regional civil society groups tomorrow to show they care about participation by the public.
The Asean people's forum prepared their representatives to meet state leaders but the leaders of some countries sent messages that they may not be comfortable meeting some civic groups.
Asean officials had already prepared a selected list of reps who will meet with leaders on tomorrow, according to Chalida Tajaroensuk, executive director of Peoples' Empowerment Foundation.
"We are negotiating to have people from real civil society to meet the leaders, rather than officially picked people," she said.
So far, people's forum reps from Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Laos have been welcomed by Asean leaders. But others from Burma, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore had not been approved by their national leaders, she said.
A possible compromise option was to have half from the people's forum and half from the officially approved list to meet with leaders, she said.
The leaders agreed to meet two representatives from each country. It was possible that one from each country could come from the people's forum and other one would be a person the leaders wanted to see, she said.
The push for a people-centred Asean did not get off to a good start - with premiers from both Burma and Cambodia refusing to meet two representatives of civil society groups at the previous summit in February.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and foreign minister Kasit then had to meet with these people separately outside the meeting venue to try to limit any damage.
"The problem is that many leaders of the Asean have very narrow minds and never listen to the voice of the people," Chalida said.
Officials at the Thai Foreign Ministry are now trying to work out a solution, but it is hard to reach a compromise when leaders from Burma and Cambodia strongly insist they aren't comfortable meeting activists who regularly criticise their governments.
If the two sides fail to reach a compromise and make the meeting happen - to meet with people whom they may have differences with, whether the leaders like them or not, the spirit of a "people oriented Asean" is doomed.
***********************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Burma Ranks Next to Last on Most Corrupt Country List
By LAWI WENG, Thursday, October 22, 2009
Burma’s military government is still one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to the Global Corruption Report 2009 released by Transparency International (TI) on Thursday.
The Berlin-based group said Burma ranks just ahead of Somalia and tied with Iraq for the second-lowest score.
The report ranked countries on a scale of 1 to 10. The highest 9.3 ranking went to Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden as the world’s least corrupt and most transparent countries, followed by Singapore, at 9.2.
Somalia ranked lowest at 1.0. Burma ranked 1.3, the same position as in 2008.
The TI report said Burma routinely violated human rights and had rampant corruption among government officials. The country’s score placed it just behind Haiti at 1.4 and Afghanistan at 1.5.
“These governments should embrace thorough and transparent reviews, which are the only way to ensure that each country’s anti-corruption efforts are judged equally and fairly,” said Huguette Labelle, the chair of TI’s board of directors, in a press release.
Abuse of power and corruption among Burmese officials is common, according to civil servants and businessmen in the country.
A recent example was the detention of three police officials by military authorities in Myawaddy Township on the Thai-Burmese border. Sources said the three officials accepted bribes of about 70,000 (US $2,100) baht from amphetamine trafficking gangs in Myawaddy.
Police are one of the most corrupt institutions in Burma, and they receive little respect from the people.
In early October, the Burmese’s junta dismissed the Rangoon Division police chief following misuse of power and corruption allegations, according to sources in Rangoon.
Sources said he accepted bribes from massage parlors and karaoke shops, and that he also ran illegal businesses. His dismissal has not been reported in the state-run media.
“Corruption has become a custom here. They say it is paying respect instead of paying a bribe,” said a businessman familiar with Burmese culture.
A civil servant in Naypyidaw said, “If I want to get a higher position, or I want to move somewhere that I like in my job, I have no choice but to bribe them in order to get that chance.”
By LAWI WENG, Thursday, October 22, 2009
Burma’s military government is still one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to the Global Corruption Report 2009 released by Transparency International (TI) on Thursday.
The Berlin-based group said Burma ranks just ahead of Somalia and tied with Iraq for the second-lowest score.
The report ranked countries on a scale of 1 to 10. The highest 9.3 ranking went to Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden as the world’s least corrupt and most transparent countries, followed by Singapore, at 9.2.
Somalia ranked lowest at 1.0. Burma ranked 1.3, the same position as in 2008.
The TI report said Burma routinely violated human rights and had rampant corruption among government officials. The country’s score placed it just behind Haiti at 1.4 and Afghanistan at 1.5.
“These governments should embrace thorough and transparent reviews, which are the only way to ensure that each country’s anti-corruption efforts are judged equally and fairly,” said Huguette Labelle, the chair of TI’s board of directors, in a press release.
Abuse of power and corruption among Burmese officials is common, according to civil servants and businessmen in the country.
A recent example was the detention of three police officials by military authorities in Myawaddy Township on the Thai-Burmese border. Sources said the three officials accepted bribes of about 70,000 (US $2,100) baht from amphetamine trafficking gangs in Myawaddy.
Police are one of the most corrupt institutions in Burma, and they receive little respect from the people.
In early October, the Burmese’s junta dismissed the Rangoon Division police chief following misuse of power and corruption allegations, according to sources in Rangoon.
Sources said he accepted bribes from massage parlors and karaoke shops, and that he also ran illegal businesses. His dismissal has not been reported in the state-run media.
“Corruption has become a custom here. They say it is paying respect instead of paying a bribe,” said a businessman familiar with Burmese culture.
A civil servant in Naypyidaw said, “If I want to get a higher position, or I want to move somewhere that I like in my job, I have no choice but to bribe them in order to get that chance.”
***********************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Key Republicans Oppose Engagement with Burma
By LALIT K JHA - Thursday, October 22, 2009
WASHINGTON — Key US congressional leaders of the opposition Republican Party have expressed open opposition to the Obama administration’s policy of engaging the authoritarian Burmese regime.
The Republican legislators were testifying at a Congressional hearing on Burma on Wednesday.
"I wish to underscore that I oppose dialogue with the Burmese military junta and oppose the offer of further carrots in the form of expanded economic assistance," said Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, ranking Member of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.
"Not surprisingly, engagement has been tried, and it has failed,” she said. “The Bush administration engaged with the Burmese junta twice. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary Eric John, now our ambassador to Thailand, flew to Beijing in June of 2007, a mere two years ago, to engage with representatives of the Burmese regime.
"And what was the junta's response to Mr John's request for a more open and humane political system? Following street protests a few months later in which Buddhist monks joined students, political activists and ordinary citizens, the regime responded with batons and bullets," Ros-Lehtinen said.
The Bush administration's second attempt at engagement followed Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. The US Agency for International Development Administrator at that time, Henrietta Fore, and Admiral Timothy Keating of the US Pacific Command, flew to Burma in the storm's aftermath with initial relief supplies, but the regime-controlled media described the humanitarian effort as a US preparation for invasion, the congresswoman said.
Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, who recently led the first talks ever held between US officials and Burmese military leaders, told the hearing that a team would head to Burma to follow up on his talks last month in New York.
Campbell told the committee that the US mission hoped to meet with the junta as well as detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives of ethnic groups.
Stating that there has been no change in the situation in Burma, as hundreds of political prisoners including Suu Kyi remain imprisoned, and there has been a deterioration in the human rights situation in the country, Ros-Lehtinen asked: "In light of this, how can anyone credibly argue that engaging the Burmese regime with new carrots, however fresh, particularly as its behavior is getting markedly worse, advance US security interests and our foreign policy priorities?"
Republican Dana Rohrabacher said the new Burma policy of the Obama administration was alarming.
"I think that there's reason for alarm, among people who believe in liberty and freedom, as to what the policies of this administration will be," he said.
"We see the president overseas apologizing to tyrants and people who oppress their own people. And we're going to watch very closely what's going on in Burma, because for us to be expanding our relationships, opening up ties with the Burmese junta, is the worst possible course of action," Rohrabacher said.
"It is immoral. It's going to send the wrong message to the Burmese dictatorship. It's going to send the wrong message to the Burmese people. We're watching very carefully. What we do in Burma will reflect—not only in our own country but it will really reflect what this administration stands for," he said.
California congressman Ed Royce told the hearing: "In addition to the systemic rapes used as a weapon of terror there [in Burma], we have a situation where after the Cyclone Nargis hit, there were 150,000 human beings that perished. And the military junta of course refused aid, refused aid from the United States, for those victims.
“Those are the same people who are still in power there. And one of the reasons some of us have a rather jaundiced view of what's likely, in terms of any empowerment of that leadership, is for five reasons having to do with national security,” he said.
"One is that North Korea uses Burma, uses the ports there and the airstrips, to transfer arms and to transfer contraband. And that is why we were so concerned about the North Korean freighter that was headed towards Burma last summer. The second point was that Burma purchases technologies that could be used in a nuclear program. And that's gotten a fair amount of publicity," Royce said.
"The third is, one of North Korea's principal arms companies has become very active inside of Burma in recent months. The fourth was that last year when the US worked with India to deny a North Korean missile shipment to Iran, that plane was transiting through where? Through Burma, right? And fifth, there are other reports of North Korea assisting in building a vast underground tunnel network near the capital in a place where some who have left that premises indicate it has nuclear—they have nuclear intentions there," Royce said.
By LALIT K JHA - Thursday, October 22, 2009
WASHINGTON — Key US congressional leaders of the opposition Republican Party have expressed open opposition to the Obama administration’s policy of engaging the authoritarian Burmese regime.
The Republican legislators were testifying at a Congressional hearing on Burma on Wednesday.
"I wish to underscore that I oppose dialogue with the Burmese military junta and oppose the offer of further carrots in the form of expanded economic assistance," said Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, ranking Member of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.
"Not surprisingly, engagement has been tried, and it has failed,” she said. “The Bush administration engaged with the Burmese junta twice. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary Eric John, now our ambassador to Thailand, flew to Beijing in June of 2007, a mere two years ago, to engage with representatives of the Burmese regime.
"And what was the junta's response to Mr John's request for a more open and humane political system? Following street protests a few months later in which Buddhist monks joined students, political activists and ordinary citizens, the regime responded with batons and bullets," Ros-Lehtinen said.
The Bush administration's second attempt at engagement followed Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. The US Agency for International Development Administrator at that time, Henrietta Fore, and Admiral Timothy Keating of the US Pacific Command, flew to Burma in the storm's aftermath with initial relief supplies, but the regime-controlled media described the humanitarian effort as a US preparation for invasion, the congresswoman said.
Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, who recently led the first talks ever held between US officials and Burmese military leaders, told the hearing that a team would head to Burma to follow up on his talks last month in New York.
Campbell told the committee that the US mission hoped to meet with the junta as well as detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives of ethnic groups.
Stating that there has been no change in the situation in Burma, as hundreds of political prisoners including Suu Kyi remain imprisoned, and there has been a deterioration in the human rights situation in the country, Ros-Lehtinen asked: "In light of this, how can anyone credibly argue that engaging the Burmese regime with new carrots, however fresh, particularly as its behavior is getting markedly worse, advance US security interests and our foreign policy priorities?"
Republican Dana Rohrabacher said the new Burma policy of the Obama administration was alarming.
"I think that there's reason for alarm, among people who believe in liberty and freedom, as to what the policies of this administration will be," he said.
"We see the president overseas apologizing to tyrants and people who oppress their own people. And we're going to watch very closely what's going on in Burma, because for us to be expanding our relationships, opening up ties with the Burmese junta, is the worst possible course of action," Rohrabacher said.
"It is immoral. It's going to send the wrong message to the Burmese dictatorship. It's going to send the wrong message to the Burmese people. We're watching very carefully. What we do in Burma will reflect—not only in our own country but it will really reflect what this administration stands for," he said.
California congressman Ed Royce told the hearing: "In addition to the systemic rapes used as a weapon of terror there [in Burma], we have a situation where after the Cyclone Nargis hit, there were 150,000 human beings that perished. And the military junta of course refused aid, refused aid from the United States, for those victims.
“Those are the same people who are still in power there. And one of the reasons some of us have a rather jaundiced view of what's likely, in terms of any empowerment of that leadership, is for five reasons having to do with national security,” he said.
"One is that North Korea uses Burma, uses the ports there and the airstrips, to transfer arms and to transfer contraband. And that is why we were so concerned about the North Korean freighter that was headed towards Burma last summer. The second point was that Burma purchases technologies that could be used in a nuclear program. And that's gotten a fair amount of publicity," Royce said.
"The third is, one of North Korea's principal arms companies has become very active inside of Burma in recent months. The fourth was that last year when the US worked with India to deny a North Korean missile shipment to Iran, that plane was transiting through where? Through Burma, right? And fifth, there are other reports of North Korea assisting in building a vast underground tunnel network near the capital in a place where some who have left that premises indicate it has nuclear—they have nuclear intentions there," Royce said.
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Restrictions on NLD obstacle to General Assembly
by Mizzima News
Thursday, 22 October 2009 18:33
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Leaders of Burma’s National League for Democracy responding to requests on Thursday by party members to call a General Assembly said they are not in a position to call a nation-wide meeting due to the current political restrictions imposed on the party.
The NLD, in a statement, said while it understands the need for a General Assembly in order to reform and strengthen the Central Committee and Central Executive Committee of the party, since party General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi and Vice-Chairman Tin Oo are detained and no other branch offices across the country are allowed to function, it is not possible now to convene the assembly.
In September, several members of branch NLD offices in various states and divisions made renewed demands to the Central Executive Committee to convene a General Assembly and urged it to reform the party leadership by reconstituting the Central Committee, most of whose members are under detention or had died.
NLD members of at least 25 townships in Mandalay, Pegu, Magwe and Rangoon division have demanded that the CEC convene the Assembly and implement party reformation by filling in places in the CC and CEC, whose members are unable to perform their functions due to various reasons including incarceration and deaths.
But the party’s statement on Thursday said, “The Central Executive Committee will discuss the issue when the CEC meets Aung San Suu Kyi or will decide when necessary, when the government announces the party registration laws.”
Khin Maung Swe, a CEC member of the NLD told Mizzima that technically it is not viable for the NLD to convene a General Assembly as the party’s branch offices have been closed down, members restricted from organizing party activities and several key leaders being in detention.
Over the last two decades, the 1990 election winning party is the only political party remaining in Burma, as the ruling junta banned all other parties. But the NLD also suffered several set-backs including the closure of branch offices across the country and the arrest and detention of key leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi.
However, some members in various states and divisions have time and again demanded that the party leaders reform and strengthen the CEC and CC. Some have even demanded a few aging leaders including party chairman Aung Shwe step down and make way for the younger generation, to help find a way out of the political impasse.
In April, the NLD held the second nation-wide party meeting, attended by representatives of all branches across the country. The first nation-wide meeting was held in 1997, when party leader Aung San Suu Kyi was briefly released from house arrest.
But Khin Maung Swe said the party had never convened a General Assembly, since its formation in September 1988, as it requires step by step Assemblies to be conducted from the grass root level.
by Mizzima News
Thursday, 22 October 2009 18:33
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Leaders of Burma’s National League for Democracy responding to requests on Thursday by party members to call a General Assembly said they are not in a position to call a nation-wide meeting due to the current political restrictions imposed on the party.
The NLD, in a statement, said while it understands the need for a General Assembly in order to reform and strengthen the Central Committee and Central Executive Committee of the party, since party General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi and Vice-Chairman Tin Oo are detained and no other branch offices across the country are allowed to function, it is not possible now to convene the assembly.
In September, several members of branch NLD offices in various states and divisions made renewed demands to the Central Executive Committee to convene a General Assembly and urged it to reform the party leadership by reconstituting the Central Committee, most of whose members are under detention or had died.
NLD members of at least 25 townships in Mandalay, Pegu, Magwe and Rangoon division have demanded that the CEC convene the Assembly and implement party reformation by filling in places in the CC and CEC, whose members are unable to perform their functions due to various reasons including incarceration and deaths.
But the party’s statement on Thursday said, “The Central Executive Committee will discuss the issue when the CEC meets Aung San Suu Kyi or will decide when necessary, when the government announces the party registration laws.”
Khin Maung Swe, a CEC member of the NLD told Mizzima that technically it is not viable for the NLD to convene a General Assembly as the party’s branch offices have been closed down, members restricted from organizing party activities and several key leaders being in detention.
Over the last two decades, the 1990 election winning party is the only political party remaining in Burma, as the ruling junta banned all other parties. But the NLD also suffered several set-backs including the closure of branch offices across the country and the arrest and detention of key leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi.
However, some members in various states and divisions have time and again demanded that the party leaders reform and strengthen the CEC and CC. Some have even demanded a few aging leaders including party chairman Aung Shwe step down and make way for the younger generation, to help find a way out of the political impasse.
In April, the NLD held the second nation-wide party meeting, attended by representatives of all branches across the country. The first nation-wide meeting was held in 1997, when party leader Aung San Suu Kyi was briefly released from house arrest.
But Khin Maung Swe said the party had never convened a General Assembly, since its formation in September 1988, as it requires step by step Assemblies to be conducted from the grass root level.
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Money for rights at the ASEAN summit
Joseph Allchin
Oct 22, 2009 (DVB)–In recent days civil society groups have convened in Thailand to thrash out their own version of the official regional summit, starting tomorrow, and plain to see was the frustration at the gulf between the two.
Yesterday, the exiled Burmese activist Khin Ohmar was chosen by civil society groups to attend the 15th ASEAN summit as representative of Burmese Civil Society Organisations (CSO). Yet, according to Khin Ohmar, domestic Burmese organisations riled against her exiled status as being not representative of Burma. “There were a number of [Burmese] junta-backed agencies who were present at the ASEAN Peoples’ Forum, and they wanted to have somebody that they can influence,” she told DVB. This ‘somebody’ would be from a local group inside Burma “who is not able to have an independent voice to speak on the key problems that the Burmese people are facing.”
Whilst several of the more ‘modern’ ASEAN leaders play lip-service to Western discourse on human rights, it seems to have about as much currency as oil companies who talk about the environment: it’s a co-option of a ‘nice idea’. This ‘nice idea’ was recently honoured with a fresh ASEAN human rights monitor who would be answerable too, amongst other notable human rights abusers, the Burmese junta. It will have no punitive powers but would instead ‘promote’ human rights. “It’s a human rights commission for the government; it’s already so weak in so many ways,” Ohmar said.
What will no doubt be more on the minds of every well-funded leader, the military ones included, will be the future of trade both within ASEAN and between other international blocs and nations. In the pipeline is the intriguing potential of a free trade agreement (FTA) with China, India and the European Union, whilst human rights will likely form a pretty part of the packaging. The diversity of ASEAN will mean that trade agreements will mean different things to different nations; Burma will be affected in a very different manner to somewhere like Malaysia or Thailand, for instance. Many in India are concerned that the industrial might of nations like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia will have a negative impact on India’s own industrial development, with those economies being able to out-do their Indian rivals.
This alone could have an effect on Burma, whose cheap labour and absence of industry regulations on the surface provide a tantalizing prospect for multinationals. It’s an issue that Burma economics expert Sean Turnell has termed a ‘race to the bottom’ with standards. In a turbulent future economy, without the debt-led spending of Western nations, Asian nations may have to compete for bargain basement industry. Labour and environmental standards could be the first casualty in such a race. Indian economist Asseem Srinavastava had suggested that a venture into Burma earlier this year by Tata motors of India provided an example of this, with the probability that it was done to bypass strict laws in India. In similar fashion it could induce other ASEAN nations to cut standards.
Burma is already believed to have some of the cheapest extraction costs for gas and oil, and is a Mecca for other controversial extractive industries like rare animal parts, traded openly in Burmese markets and logging. As Jon Buckrell from Global Witness told DVB yesterday, illegal logging has drastically eaten away at Burma’s forests, with a ton of Burmese teak now being sold for as little as $US300.
However, according to Turnell, “political instability tends to trump these sorts of concerns [over industry competition]”, with companies now “desperate not to locate in Burma”; the lack of infrastructure, rule of law, a credible banking system and trustworthy exchange rate are destroying Burma’s chances.
Burma has been a sort of bit part on the side of the more dynamic economies of ASEAN. Whilst its resources are eagerly tapped by companies in Singapore and elsewhere, its governance and development has remained more in league with tiger despots than tiger economies. A way round Burma’s domestic quagmire has been to bring its cheap labour to Thailand or Malaysia, which has now created special economic zones to accommodate the influx of industry. Yet Ohmar speaks of “major concern” over agreements which “have not consulted the people or civil society and do not have people integrated into the processes [of formulating trade regulations]”.
At the ASEAN people’s forum this week, Joy Chavez, an economics and agricultural expert from the Philippines, warned that the current crop of FTA agreements are “exclusionary…they do not link with the people of ASEAN [and] without people’s input there is a big danger”. Turnell further expressed angst about binding trade agreements with powerful blocs like the EU: “For me the worry would be the extent that the EU and other countries could lever away to express their unhappiness about human rights issues” if they signed an FTA.
The ASEAN policy of ‘non-interference’ is also key: like most bilateral agreements and bodies, all parties will seek to get the most out of it, whilst giving the least. So whilst ASEAN intends to become an EU-style free trade zone by 2020, the member states “will be desperate to protect their own industry”, according to Turnell, with ‘non-interference’ used to prevent other nations from upholding regulations. It’s the great legal expression of conservatism at the heart of the region, and will keep the economic powerhouses from spreading the potential wealth that exists in the region.
The cohesion of the group, whether horizontally, between national governments, or vertically, between its leaders and their subjects, is a major cause for concern. Essentially ASEAN will never achieve its targets of being a free trade bloc or of having progressive human dignity for all if leaders are not prepared to have the humility to submit to principles, rules and standards that that require interference or accountability. Its efficacy will be at the mercy of ‘big men’ who, for Khin Ohmar, have failed to show commitment. “Now we always make a joke; with ASEAN its one step forward, two steps backward. It’s like the same old story again”.
Joseph Allchin
Oct 22, 2009 (DVB)–In recent days civil society groups have convened in Thailand to thrash out their own version of the official regional summit, starting tomorrow, and plain to see was the frustration at the gulf between the two.
Yesterday, the exiled Burmese activist Khin Ohmar was chosen by civil society groups to attend the 15th ASEAN summit as representative of Burmese Civil Society Organisations (CSO). Yet, according to Khin Ohmar, domestic Burmese organisations riled against her exiled status as being not representative of Burma. “There were a number of [Burmese] junta-backed agencies who were present at the ASEAN Peoples’ Forum, and they wanted to have somebody that they can influence,” she told DVB. This ‘somebody’ would be from a local group inside Burma “who is not able to have an independent voice to speak on the key problems that the Burmese people are facing.”
Whilst several of the more ‘modern’ ASEAN leaders play lip-service to Western discourse on human rights, it seems to have about as much currency as oil companies who talk about the environment: it’s a co-option of a ‘nice idea’. This ‘nice idea’ was recently honoured with a fresh ASEAN human rights monitor who would be answerable too, amongst other notable human rights abusers, the Burmese junta. It will have no punitive powers but would instead ‘promote’ human rights. “It’s a human rights commission for the government; it’s already so weak in so many ways,” Ohmar said.
What will no doubt be more on the minds of every well-funded leader, the military ones included, will be the future of trade both within ASEAN and between other international blocs and nations. In the pipeline is the intriguing potential of a free trade agreement (FTA) with China, India and the European Union, whilst human rights will likely form a pretty part of the packaging. The diversity of ASEAN will mean that trade agreements will mean different things to different nations; Burma will be affected in a very different manner to somewhere like Malaysia or Thailand, for instance. Many in India are concerned that the industrial might of nations like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia will have a negative impact on India’s own industrial development, with those economies being able to out-do their Indian rivals.
This alone could have an effect on Burma, whose cheap labour and absence of industry regulations on the surface provide a tantalizing prospect for multinationals. It’s an issue that Burma economics expert Sean Turnell has termed a ‘race to the bottom’ with standards. In a turbulent future economy, without the debt-led spending of Western nations, Asian nations may have to compete for bargain basement industry. Labour and environmental standards could be the first casualty in such a race. Indian economist Asseem Srinavastava had suggested that a venture into Burma earlier this year by Tata motors of India provided an example of this, with the probability that it was done to bypass strict laws in India. In similar fashion it could induce other ASEAN nations to cut standards.
Burma is already believed to have some of the cheapest extraction costs for gas and oil, and is a Mecca for other controversial extractive industries like rare animal parts, traded openly in Burmese markets and logging. As Jon Buckrell from Global Witness told DVB yesterday, illegal logging has drastically eaten away at Burma’s forests, with a ton of Burmese teak now being sold for as little as $US300.
However, according to Turnell, “political instability tends to trump these sorts of concerns [over industry competition]”, with companies now “desperate not to locate in Burma”; the lack of infrastructure, rule of law, a credible banking system and trustworthy exchange rate are destroying Burma’s chances.
Burma has been a sort of bit part on the side of the more dynamic economies of ASEAN. Whilst its resources are eagerly tapped by companies in Singapore and elsewhere, its governance and development has remained more in league with tiger despots than tiger economies. A way round Burma’s domestic quagmire has been to bring its cheap labour to Thailand or Malaysia, which has now created special economic zones to accommodate the influx of industry. Yet Ohmar speaks of “major concern” over agreements which “have not consulted the people or civil society and do not have people integrated into the processes [of formulating trade regulations]”.
At the ASEAN people’s forum this week, Joy Chavez, an economics and agricultural expert from the Philippines, warned that the current crop of FTA agreements are “exclusionary…they do not link with the people of ASEAN [and] without people’s input there is a big danger”. Turnell further expressed angst about binding trade agreements with powerful blocs like the EU: “For me the worry would be the extent that the EU and other countries could lever away to express their unhappiness about human rights issues” if they signed an FTA.
The ASEAN policy of ‘non-interference’ is also key: like most bilateral agreements and bodies, all parties will seek to get the most out of it, whilst giving the least. So whilst ASEAN intends to become an EU-style free trade zone by 2020, the member states “will be desperate to protect their own industry”, according to Turnell, with ‘non-interference’ used to prevent other nations from upholding regulations. It’s the great legal expression of conservatism at the heart of the region, and will keep the economic powerhouses from spreading the potential wealth that exists in the region.
The cohesion of the group, whether horizontally, between national governments, or vertically, between its leaders and their subjects, is a major cause for concern. Essentially ASEAN will never achieve its targets of being a free trade bloc or of having progressive human dignity for all if leaders are not prepared to have the humility to submit to principles, rules and standards that that require interference or accountability. Its efficacy will be at the mercy of ‘big men’ who, for Khin Ohmar, have failed to show commitment. “Now we always make a joke; with ASEAN its one step forward, two steps backward. It’s like the same old story again”.
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