US officials meet Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi
Wed Nov 4, 6:33 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – The U.S. wants better relations with military-ruled Myanmar if it makes concrete steps toward democracy, a senior American diplomat said Wednesday after holding the highest-level talks with the junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 14 years.
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said he explained Washington's new policy, which reverses the Bush administration's isolation of Myanmar, also known as Burma, in favor of dialogue with a country that has been ruled by the military since 1962.
The goals of the new policy are "strong support for human rights, the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners and the promotion of democratic reform," Campbell said in a statement at the end of his two-day visit.
Campbell and his deputy, Scot Marciel, are the highest-level Americans to visit Myanmar since 1995.
Earlier Wednesday, Campbell, the top State Department official for East Asia, greeted Suu Kyi with a handshake after she was driven to his lakeside hotel in Yangon where they met privately for two hours, U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Mei said. The content of the talks was not immediately known.
Suu Kyi, 64, has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years. Dressed in a pink traditional Burmese jacket, she was upbeat as she emerged from the hotel.
"Hello to you all," she said to photographers before getting into the car that whisked her back to her tightly guarded home.
Myanmar's junta has praised the new U.S. policy, but shown no sign it intends to release Suu Kyi or initiate democratic and electoral reforms demanded by Suu Kyi's party ahead of elections planned for next year.
But the military government has made some gestures, such as loosening the terms of Suu Kyi's house arrest and allowing her more meeting with visitors such as Campbell, in hopes that the U.S. will ease political and economic sanctions.
Campbell said he told junta officials that the U.S. "is prepared to take steps to improve the relationship but that process must be based on reciprocal and concrete efforts by the Burmese government."
Campbell was continuing talks he began in September in New York with senior Myanmar officials, which were the first such high-level contact in nearly a decade. He met Wednesday morning with Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein, Mei said.
Campbell said he emphasized that Myanmar "should abide by U.N. resolutions with regards to proliferation." He did not elaborate, but was apparently referring to arms purchases from North Korea. There is also some speculation, though no evidence has been made public, that Myanmar is seeking to develop nuclear weapons with North Korea's help.
State television, which on Tuesday ignored the Americans' visit, broadcast footage of Campbell's meetings with both Suu Kyi and the prime minister.
Suu Kyi was recently sentenced to an additional 18 months of house arrest for briefly sheltering an uninvited American, in a trial that drew global condemnation. The sentence means she will not be able to participate in next year's elections, which will be the first in two decades.
U.S. sanctions, first imposed more than a decade ago, failed to force the generals to respect human rights, release jailed political activists and make democratic reforms. The Obama administration decided recently to step up engagement as a way of promoting reforms.
Washington has said it will maintain the sanctions until talks with Myanmar's generals result in change.
Campbell is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Myanmar since a September 1995 trip by then-U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright.
Wed Nov 4, 6:33 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – The U.S. wants better relations with military-ruled Myanmar if it makes concrete steps toward democracy, a senior American diplomat said Wednesday after holding the highest-level talks with the junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 14 years.
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said he explained Washington's new policy, which reverses the Bush administration's isolation of Myanmar, also known as Burma, in favor of dialogue with a country that has been ruled by the military since 1962.
The goals of the new policy are "strong support for human rights, the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners and the promotion of democratic reform," Campbell said in a statement at the end of his two-day visit.
Campbell and his deputy, Scot Marciel, are the highest-level Americans to visit Myanmar since 1995.
Earlier Wednesday, Campbell, the top State Department official for East Asia, greeted Suu Kyi with a handshake after she was driven to his lakeside hotel in Yangon where they met privately for two hours, U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Mei said. The content of the talks was not immediately known.
Suu Kyi, 64, has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years. Dressed in a pink traditional Burmese jacket, she was upbeat as she emerged from the hotel.
"Hello to you all," she said to photographers before getting into the car that whisked her back to her tightly guarded home.
Myanmar's junta has praised the new U.S. policy, but shown no sign it intends to release Suu Kyi or initiate democratic and electoral reforms demanded by Suu Kyi's party ahead of elections planned for next year.
But the military government has made some gestures, such as loosening the terms of Suu Kyi's house arrest and allowing her more meeting with visitors such as Campbell, in hopes that the U.S. will ease political and economic sanctions.
Campbell said he told junta officials that the U.S. "is prepared to take steps to improve the relationship but that process must be based on reciprocal and concrete efforts by the Burmese government."
Campbell was continuing talks he began in September in New York with senior Myanmar officials, which were the first such high-level contact in nearly a decade. He met Wednesday morning with Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein, Mei said.
Campbell said he emphasized that Myanmar "should abide by U.N. resolutions with regards to proliferation." He did not elaborate, but was apparently referring to arms purchases from North Korea. There is also some speculation, though no evidence has been made public, that Myanmar is seeking to develop nuclear weapons with North Korea's help.
State television, which on Tuesday ignored the Americans' visit, broadcast footage of Campbell's meetings with both Suu Kyi and the prime minister.
Suu Kyi was recently sentenced to an additional 18 months of house arrest for briefly sheltering an uninvited American, in a trial that drew global condemnation. The sentence means she will not be able to participate in next year's elections, which will be the first in two decades.
U.S. sanctions, first imposed more than a decade ago, failed to force the generals to respect human rights, release jailed political activists and make democratic reforms. The Obama administration decided recently to step up engagement as a way of promoting reforms.
Washington has said it will maintain the sanctions until talks with Myanmar's generals result in change.
Campbell is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Myanmar since a September 1995 trip by then-U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright.
*************************************************************
US envoy in rare talks with Suu Kyi, Myanmar PM
by Hla Hla Htay – Wed Nov 4, 8:24 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – The most senior US official to visit Myanmar for 14 years held talks with pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday after the ruling junta granted the Nobel laureate a rare break from detention.
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell also met Myanmar's prime minister as the administration of President Barack Obama seeks a new era of engagement with the military regime.
Suu Kyi met Campbell at a luxury hotel in Yangon, the first time she had appeared in front of the media other than at her home or in prison since the current period of her house arrest began in 2003.
Dressed in a pink and maroon traditional outfit, the 64-year-old opposition leader smiled but did not speak as she headed into the talks with the US diplomat and his deputy Scot Marciel.
"Am I beautiful when I smile?" Suu Kyi joked later with the media when the talks ended after two hours. Related article: Suu Kyi meets US envoy
Earlier this year journalists saw her in prison at her trial for harbouring an American man who swam to her house, but they were not allowed to take pictures and the only images were released on state television.
The junta extended her house arrest by another 18 months in August after she was found guilty, effectively ruling her out of elections due in 2010 that critics say are a sham.
Suu Kyi has spent most of the last two decades in detention. The most recent period of her house arrest began in 2003 after pro-junta forces launched a deadly attack on her convoy during a political campaign.
Campbell and Marciel earlier Wednesday held talks with Prime Minister Thein Sein in the remote administrative capital Naypyidaw, Myanmar officials said on condition of anonymity, without giving details.
Myanmar officials said the US delegation was not expected to meet reclusive junta leader Than Shwe. State media said that when the US envoys arrived he was in southern Myanmar inspecting aid efforts after last year's Cyclone Nargis.
Campbell is the highest ranking US official to travel to Myanmar -- formerly known as Burma -- since Madeleine Albright went as US ambassador to the United Nations in 1995 during Bill Clinton's presidency.
He was due to meet leaders of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy and give a press conference before leaving Yangon on Wednesday evening for Bangkok.
The two-day trip is a follow-up to discussions in New York in September between US and Myanmar officials, the highest-level US contact with the regime in nearly a decade.
The Obama administration in September announced a dramatic change in US policy because isolating Myanmar had failed, but said it would not ease sanctions without progress on democracy and human rights.
US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said overnight that the current visit was the "the second step in the beginning of a dialogue with Burma."
Asked what Campbell discussed on Tuesday in talks with the information minister and local organisations, Kelly said: "They laid out the way we see this relationship going forward, how we should structure this dialogue, but they were mainly in a listening mode."
September's talks had called for free and fair elections and the release of Suu Kyi, but also dealt with US concerns about Myanmar's possible military links with nuclear-armed North Korea.
NLD spokesman Nyan Win has said the visit is the "start of direct engagement between the US and Myanmar government" but added that the party was not expecting any "big change".
The junta refused to acknowledge the NLD's landslide win in Myanmar's last elections, in 1990. The United States toughened sanctions after the regime cracked down on protests led by Buddhist monks in 2007.
But in the first major sign of a thaw, Than Shwe in August held an unprecedented meeting with visiting US senator Jim Webb, which yielded the release of John Yettaw, the American detained for swimming to Suu Kyi's house.
by Hla Hla Htay – Wed Nov 4, 8:24 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – The most senior US official to visit Myanmar for 14 years held talks with pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday after the ruling junta granted the Nobel laureate a rare break from detention.
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell also met Myanmar's prime minister as the administration of President Barack Obama seeks a new era of engagement with the military regime.
Suu Kyi met Campbell at a luxury hotel in Yangon, the first time she had appeared in front of the media other than at her home or in prison since the current period of her house arrest began in 2003.
Dressed in a pink and maroon traditional outfit, the 64-year-old opposition leader smiled but did not speak as she headed into the talks with the US diplomat and his deputy Scot Marciel.
"Am I beautiful when I smile?" Suu Kyi joked later with the media when the talks ended after two hours. Related article: Suu Kyi meets US envoy
Earlier this year journalists saw her in prison at her trial for harbouring an American man who swam to her house, but they were not allowed to take pictures and the only images were released on state television.
The junta extended her house arrest by another 18 months in August after she was found guilty, effectively ruling her out of elections due in 2010 that critics say are a sham.
Suu Kyi has spent most of the last two decades in detention. The most recent period of her house arrest began in 2003 after pro-junta forces launched a deadly attack on her convoy during a political campaign.
Campbell and Marciel earlier Wednesday held talks with Prime Minister Thein Sein in the remote administrative capital Naypyidaw, Myanmar officials said on condition of anonymity, without giving details.
Myanmar officials said the US delegation was not expected to meet reclusive junta leader Than Shwe. State media said that when the US envoys arrived he was in southern Myanmar inspecting aid efforts after last year's Cyclone Nargis.
Campbell is the highest ranking US official to travel to Myanmar -- formerly known as Burma -- since Madeleine Albright went as US ambassador to the United Nations in 1995 during Bill Clinton's presidency.
He was due to meet leaders of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy and give a press conference before leaving Yangon on Wednesday evening for Bangkok.
The two-day trip is a follow-up to discussions in New York in September between US and Myanmar officials, the highest-level US contact with the regime in nearly a decade.
The Obama administration in September announced a dramatic change in US policy because isolating Myanmar had failed, but said it would not ease sanctions without progress on democracy and human rights.
US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said overnight that the current visit was the "the second step in the beginning of a dialogue with Burma."
Asked what Campbell discussed on Tuesday in talks with the information minister and local organisations, Kelly said: "They laid out the way we see this relationship going forward, how we should structure this dialogue, but they were mainly in a listening mode."
September's talks had called for free and fair elections and the release of Suu Kyi, but also dealt with US concerns about Myanmar's possible military links with nuclear-armed North Korea.
NLD spokesman Nyan Win has said the visit is the "start of direct engagement between the US and Myanmar government" but added that the party was not expecting any "big change".
The junta refused to acknowledge the NLD's landslide win in Myanmar's last elections, in 1990. The United States toughened sanctions after the regime cracked down on protests led by Buddhist monks in 2007.
But in the first major sign of a thaw, Than Shwe in August held an unprecedented meeting with visiting US senator Jim Webb, which yielded the release of John Yettaw, the American detained for swimming to Suu Kyi's house.
*************************************************************
Radio Netherlands - Myanmar: from one hiding place to the next
Published on : 4 November 2009 - 3:27pm | By RNW News Desk
Violence and abuse are on the increase in eastern Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). A report published by the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, an alliance of 12 organisations providing aid to Burmese refugees, shows that in the past year alone about 75,000 civilians have had to flee their homes because of the fighting and the oppression in that part of the country.
For five years the consortium has conducted research on daily life in the war zone. The report, which was published last week, shows the presence of more than half a million internally displaced people in eastern Myanmar. Most of the refugees are members of the Karen, Karenni and Shan ethnic minorities, which have been at war with the central government for decades.
The majority of the refugees flee to temporary shelters in areas close to the Thai border and under the control of these ethnic minorities. Tens of thousands of others are forced to move to locations controlled by Myanmar’s military junta. Tens of thousands of others are roaming the jungle, moving from one hiding-place to the next.
Hiding place
A Karen man told one of the researchers: “We live in fear, always at the ready to flee. If we hear about the presence of troops near our hideout, we run to another place". Those interviewed spoke about torture, rape, extortion and forced labour for the army.
Human rights organisations point out that all parties to the conflict are guilty of human rights violations. However, the report puts the blame for the worsening security situation squarely on the increasing militarisation of eastern Myanmar. At least 235 army battalions have been deployed in the region, double the number compared to 15 years ago.
During this period, minorities in the region have lost most of their homeland and an increasing number of civilians have found themselves in a region where the violence simply drags on as a low-intensity conflict. Ever since then Burma gained independence in 1948, the minorities in the east of the country have been at war with the central authorities, seeking greater local autonomy and equal rights in the context of a federal state.
Pipeline
Violence against civilians is a fixture of the army’s counter-insurgence strategy known as Pya Ley Pya, (Four Cuts), intended to cut rebels off from recruits, information, supplies and money. The strategy is not only intended to force ethnic rebels to surrender. Pacification of the region is also important because it’s the location of a pipeline supplying natural gas to neighbouring Thailand, an export that is one of the Myanmar regime’s financial lifelines. The junta is also engaged in drawing up plans for the construction of dams for the generation of hydroelectric energy.
The extensive humanitarian crisis in Myanmar’s remote jungles is for the most part taking place out of sight of the international community. The region cannot be reached from Yangon, as the junta has declared the region off limits, From the Thai border, it takes several days of hiking through the hills to reach the displaced people in their temporary shelters and hideouts.
Elderly people
Every once in a while, a story comes out about elderly people who have lost count of the number of times in their lives they have had to flee, and about children bearing names such as Running Shell because they were born during an offensive.
In their reporting, international media focus primarily on the power struggle between the democratic opposition in Myanmar, led by Aung Sang Suu Kyi, and the generals of the junta, formally known as the State Peace and Development Council, in Naipyidaw. Experts repeatedly warn that these reports do not do justice to the complex situation and that a political solution for the position of ethnic minorities is crucial to peace and democracy in Myanmar.
It is not yet clear whether elections scheduled to be held next year will be a first step in this direction, or whether they will only serve to give the army more political power. Whatever the case in that regard, Jack Dunford, director of the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, says Mynamar’s ethnic minorities issue needs to be addressed urgently if a solution for the problem of the country’s displaced people is to be found.
Published on : 4 November 2009 - 3:27pm | By RNW News Desk
Violence and abuse are on the increase in eastern Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). A report published by the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, an alliance of 12 organisations providing aid to Burmese refugees, shows that in the past year alone about 75,000 civilians have had to flee their homes because of the fighting and the oppression in that part of the country.
For five years the consortium has conducted research on daily life in the war zone. The report, which was published last week, shows the presence of more than half a million internally displaced people in eastern Myanmar. Most of the refugees are members of the Karen, Karenni and Shan ethnic minorities, which have been at war with the central government for decades.
The majority of the refugees flee to temporary shelters in areas close to the Thai border and under the control of these ethnic minorities. Tens of thousands of others are forced to move to locations controlled by Myanmar’s military junta. Tens of thousands of others are roaming the jungle, moving from one hiding-place to the next.
Hiding place
A Karen man told one of the researchers: “We live in fear, always at the ready to flee. If we hear about the presence of troops near our hideout, we run to another place". Those interviewed spoke about torture, rape, extortion and forced labour for the army.
Human rights organisations point out that all parties to the conflict are guilty of human rights violations. However, the report puts the blame for the worsening security situation squarely on the increasing militarisation of eastern Myanmar. At least 235 army battalions have been deployed in the region, double the number compared to 15 years ago.
During this period, minorities in the region have lost most of their homeland and an increasing number of civilians have found themselves in a region where the violence simply drags on as a low-intensity conflict. Ever since then Burma gained independence in 1948, the minorities in the east of the country have been at war with the central authorities, seeking greater local autonomy and equal rights in the context of a federal state.
Pipeline
Violence against civilians is a fixture of the army’s counter-insurgence strategy known as Pya Ley Pya, (Four Cuts), intended to cut rebels off from recruits, information, supplies and money. The strategy is not only intended to force ethnic rebels to surrender. Pacification of the region is also important because it’s the location of a pipeline supplying natural gas to neighbouring Thailand, an export that is one of the Myanmar regime’s financial lifelines. The junta is also engaged in drawing up plans for the construction of dams for the generation of hydroelectric energy.
The extensive humanitarian crisis in Myanmar’s remote jungles is for the most part taking place out of sight of the international community. The region cannot be reached from Yangon, as the junta has declared the region off limits, From the Thai border, it takes several days of hiking through the hills to reach the displaced people in their temporary shelters and hideouts.
Elderly people
Every once in a while, a story comes out about elderly people who have lost count of the number of times in their lives they have had to flee, and about children bearing names such as Running Shell because they were born during an offensive.
In their reporting, international media focus primarily on the power struggle between the democratic opposition in Myanmar, led by Aung Sang Suu Kyi, and the generals of the junta, formally known as the State Peace and Development Council, in Naipyidaw. Experts repeatedly warn that these reports do not do justice to the complex situation and that a political solution for the position of ethnic minorities is crucial to peace and democracy in Myanmar.
It is not yet clear whether elections scheduled to be held next year will be a first step in this direction, or whether they will only serve to give the army more political power. Whatever the case in that regard, Jack Dunford, director of the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, says Mynamar’s ethnic minorities issue needs to be addressed urgently if a solution for the problem of the country’s displaced people is to be found.
*************************************************************
Myanmar traders sign million dollars export MoU in China-ASEAN expo
www.chinaview.cn 2009-11-04 13:19:54
YANGON, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar businessmen have signed some memorandums of understanding (MoU) for exporting over 80 million U.S. dollars' goods to China during the recent China-ASEAN expo heldin Nanning, capital of Southwest China' Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the Union of Myanmar Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) disclosed Wednesday.
Under the MoU, Myanmar is to export to China 51 million dollars' forestry products, 30 million dollars' marine products and 1.6 million dollars' beans and sesame, the sources said.
During the expo late last month, Chinese businessmen also bought 2.5 million-dollar car spare parts and agricultural machinery produced from Myanmar's Hlaing Tharya industrial zone, it said.
Meanwhile, Myanmar won the best exhibitor award and best trade visitor organizer award in the expo from Oct. 20 to 24 attended by over 200 businessmen of 83 companies from the country.
According to the UMFCCI, Myanmar also won some investment MoU from Chinese companies during the China-ASEAN expo. These prospective investments include those in the sectors of mining, hydropower, agriculture, value-added wood processing and gem production.
Myanmar entrepreneurs, who attended the expo, were from such sectors as agriculture, fishery, industry, manufacturing, gems, traditional handicrafts, forestry and hotel and tourism.
According to Chinese official statistics, China-Myanmar bilateral trade amounted to 2.626 billion dollars in 2008, up 26.4 percent. Of the total, China's export to Myanmar took 1.978 billion dollars.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-11-04 13:19:54
YANGON, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar businessmen have signed some memorandums of understanding (MoU) for exporting over 80 million U.S. dollars' goods to China during the recent China-ASEAN expo heldin Nanning, capital of Southwest China' Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the Union of Myanmar Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) disclosed Wednesday.
Under the MoU, Myanmar is to export to China 51 million dollars' forestry products, 30 million dollars' marine products and 1.6 million dollars' beans and sesame, the sources said.
During the expo late last month, Chinese businessmen also bought 2.5 million-dollar car spare parts and agricultural machinery produced from Myanmar's Hlaing Tharya industrial zone, it said.
Meanwhile, Myanmar won the best exhibitor award and best trade visitor organizer award in the expo from Oct. 20 to 24 attended by over 200 businessmen of 83 companies from the country.
According to the UMFCCI, Myanmar also won some investment MoU from Chinese companies during the China-ASEAN expo. These prospective investments include those in the sectors of mining, hydropower, agriculture, value-added wood processing and gem production.
Myanmar entrepreneurs, who attended the expo, were from such sectors as agriculture, fishery, industry, manufacturing, gems, traditional handicrafts, forestry and hotel and tourism.
According to Chinese official statistics, China-Myanmar bilateral trade amounted to 2.626 billion dollars in 2008, up 26.4 percent. Of the total, China's export to Myanmar took 1.978 billion dollars.
*************************************************************
November 3, 2009
Times Online - Visit of high-ranking US officials to Burma signals relations thaw
Richard Lloyd Parry
The US Government began a new policy of engagement with the Burmese dictatorship today with the arrival of the most senior Americans to visit the country for more than ten years.
Kurt Campbell, the Assistant Secretary of State responsible for Asia, will meet Burma’s Prime Minister, Thein Sein, and the detained democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in a two day visit that brings to an end an official policy of isolating the junta.
Mr Campbell, who is accompanied by his deputy, Scott Marciel, has emphasised that the new policy does not mean the immediate lifting of the array of sanctions against Burma, which has been under continuous military rule since 1962. But it is an acknowledgement of the failure of past efforts to persuade the junta to improve human rights, allow democratic elections and release the country’s 2,100 political prisoners, including Ms Suu Kyi.
“Mr Campbell's visit is the beginning of a new US engagement policy toward Myanmar,” said Nyan Win, spokesman for Ms Suu Kyi’s political party, the National League for Democracy, which has cautiously welcomed the change of direction. “This is the first step of the engagement but we have to see what comes out of the new policy.”
The first contacts between the two Governments are likely to be tentative and no significant breakthrough is expected from this week’s visit. Mr Campbell arrived in the administrative capital, Naypyidaw, and will travel today to the largest city, Rangoon, where he will meet senior NLD leaders as well as Ms Suu Kyi who has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention. In August her house arrest was extended for 18 months because of a visit to her Rangoon home by an eccentric American who swam across a lake to visit her uninvited.
Mr Campbell is not expected to meet the “Senior General” Than Shwe, head of the State Peace and Development Council, without whose authority no major policy change is likely.
Apart from the release of political prisoners, Mr Campbell will press the junta on its plans to hold an election next year which have been denounced by Burmese opposition figures and Western governments as a means of perpetuating ongoing military rule behind a faced of democracy.
Among the people he met last night were representatives of the Union Solidarity and Development Association, a grass roots organisation of pro-junta enforcers who frequently harass and attack those suspected of anti-government sentiments. It is expected that the USDA will form itself in to a political party for next year’s election.
Times Online - Visit of high-ranking US officials to Burma signals relations thaw
Richard Lloyd Parry
The US Government began a new policy of engagement with the Burmese dictatorship today with the arrival of the most senior Americans to visit the country for more than ten years.
Kurt Campbell, the Assistant Secretary of State responsible for Asia, will meet Burma’s Prime Minister, Thein Sein, and the detained democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in a two day visit that brings to an end an official policy of isolating the junta.
Mr Campbell, who is accompanied by his deputy, Scott Marciel, has emphasised that the new policy does not mean the immediate lifting of the array of sanctions against Burma, which has been under continuous military rule since 1962. But it is an acknowledgement of the failure of past efforts to persuade the junta to improve human rights, allow democratic elections and release the country’s 2,100 political prisoners, including Ms Suu Kyi.
“Mr Campbell's visit is the beginning of a new US engagement policy toward Myanmar,” said Nyan Win, spokesman for Ms Suu Kyi’s political party, the National League for Democracy, which has cautiously welcomed the change of direction. “This is the first step of the engagement but we have to see what comes out of the new policy.”
The first contacts between the two Governments are likely to be tentative and no significant breakthrough is expected from this week’s visit. Mr Campbell arrived in the administrative capital, Naypyidaw, and will travel today to the largest city, Rangoon, where he will meet senior NLD leaders as well as Ms Suu Kyi who has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention. In August her house arrest was extended for 18 months because of a visit to her Rangoon home by an eccentric American who swam across a lake to visit her uninvited.
Mr Campbell is not expected to meet the “Senior General” Than Shwe, head of the State Peace and Development Council, without whose authority no major policy change is likely.
Apart from the release of political prisoners, Mr Campbell will press the junta on its plans to hold an election next year which have been denounced by Burmese opposition figures and Western governments as a means of perpetuating ongoing military rule behind a faced of democracy.
Among the people he met last night were representatives of the Union Solidarity and Development Association, a grass roots organisation of pro-junta enforcers who frequently harass and attack those suspected of anti-government sentiments. It is expected that the USDA will form itself in to a political party for next year’s election.
*************************************************************
INO News - US Ready To Improve Ties With Myanmar If Junta Reciprocates
November 4, 2009
(RTTNews) - The visiting high-level U.S. State Department delegation said the United States is ready to improve its relations with Myanmar if the ruling military administration makes significant moves towards political reconciliation.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell was briefing the media Wednesday after holding separate talks with Myanmarese Prime Minister Thein Sein and detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Scot Marciel also accompanied Campbell on the two-day visit to the South East Asian country.
Campbell's meeting with Thein Sein was held in the capital, Naypyitaw, Wednesday morning. Later, he was allowed to meet the Nobel Peace laureate in Yangon.
Campbell is the highest ranking American official to visit Myanmar in 14 years. Senator Jim Webb, during his visit to Myanmar in August, had made possible the release of its citizen jailed in that country for swimming secretly to the home of Suu Kyi.
Reading a statement at Yangon Airport before leaving the country, Campbell said the U.S. team stressed clearly that Washington was prepared to take steps to improve the relationship, but the initiative must be reciprocated with "complete efforts" by the junta.
The U.S. officials also met with other military leaders and Opposition party members.
November 4, 2009
(RTTNews) - The visiting high-level U.S. State Department delegation said the United States is ready to improve its relations with Myanmar if the ruling military administration makes significant moves towards political reconciliation.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell was briefing the media Wednesday after holding separate talks with Myanmarese Prime Minister Thein Sein and detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Scot Marciel also accompanied Campbell on the two-day visit to the South East Asian country.
Campbell's meeting with Thein Sein was held in the capital, Naypyitaw, Wednesday morning. Later, he was allowed to meet the Nobel Peace laureate in Yangon.
Campbell is the highest ranking American official to visit Myanmar in 14 years. Senator Jim Webb, during his visit to Myanmar in August, had made possible the release of its citizen jailed in that country for swimming secretly to the home of Suu Kyi.
Reading a statement at Yangon Airport before leaving the country, Campbell said the U.S. team stressed clearly that Washington was prepared to take steps to improve the relationship, but the initiative must be reciprocated with "complete efforts" by the junta.
The U.S. officials also met with other military leaders and Opposition party members.
*************************************************************
November 04, 2009 21:04 PM
Seven Men Detained To Assist Probe On Murder Case
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- Police have detained seven men, including a local, in connection with the death of two men who were assaulted by about 50 Myanmar nationals at the Selayang wholesale market Tuesday.
Sentul police deputy chief Supt Zainuddin Ahmad said the men, who were in their 20s and 30s, were detained in areas near the market early today.
They were detained to assist police investigation in the case, he added.
In yesterday's incident at 7.45pm, two out of eight men who attempted to rob a trader was killed when assaulted by about 50 Myanmar nationals armed with machetes, wood and knives at the market.
Seven Men Detained To Assist Probe On Murder Case
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- Police have detained seven men, including a local, in connection with the death of two men who were assaulted by about 50 Myanmar nationals at the Selayang wholesale market Tuesday.
Sentul police deputy chief Supt Zainuddin Ahmad said the men, who were in their 20s and 30s, were detained in areas near the market early today.
They were detained to assist police investigation in the case, he added.
In yesterday's incident at 7.45pm, two out of eight men who attempted to rob a trader was killed when assaulted by about 50 Myanmar nationals armed with machetes, wood and knives at the market.
*************************************************************
Asian Tribune - Can Campbell-Marciel Mission Make a Breakthrough in Burma?
Tue, 2009-11-03 02:54
By * Zin Linn
Compelled by crushing sanctions and crumbling economy, the Burmese (Myanmar if you want the present day official word for Burma) the unprofessional military junta is left with no option but to turn to the west for deliverance. No surprise therefore that Senior-General Than Shwe is looking for opportunities to mend fences with the US in particular and in the process gain a little bit of legitimacy to his rule.
October 9 provided the first window. On that day, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest, was driven to a government guesthouse to meet acting U.S. Charge d'affaire Thomas Vajda, British Ambassador Andrew Heyn, who represented the European Union, and Australian Deputy Head of Mission Simon Christopher Starr for an hour to discuss the possible lifting of sanctions on Burma. The surprise meeting with diplomats followed two consultation sessions in early October between Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta's liaison and Labor Minister Aung Kyi, to discuss her proposal of Sept. 25 to help end sanctions against the regime.
In the meantime, the United States is planning to send a remarkable mission to Burma so as to engage the military junta after decades of unfriendliness. Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, and Scot Marciel, a deputy assistant secretary, are visiting Yangon on Nov. 3 and 4.
Kurt Campbell said the mission would follow up on talks in September in New York, which marked the highest-level US contact with the regime in nearly a decade. It began in last September when Campbell met with Myanmar’s Science, Technology and Labor Minister U Thaung in New York.
The US Mission is meeting Prime Minister Thein Sein in the new administrative capital of Naypyidaw on Nov 3; its meets Suu Kyi and executive committee members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) on Nov 4, a source in Rangoon said on condition of anonymity. But, the US officials are unlikely to ‘get an audience’ with the Big Boss, Than Shwe, who appears keen still to play the game from the curtain as usual.
Campbell doesn’t appear to over optimistic of the outcome of the visit. In fact, during testimony on 21 October before a House of Representatives Committee, he had sounded a word of caution. ‘We expect engagement with Burma (Myanmar) to be a long, slow, painful and step-by-step process’.
The National League for Democracy, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, sees the US Mission visit as a "good thing."
"We welcome their visit and hope Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be allowed to meet Mr Campbell,” party spokesman Nyan Win told the media on the eve of the visit.
On the very day (Oct 9) Aung San Suu Kyi met western diplomats, Than Shwe spoke in the capital, of plans to hold a general election as scheduled in 2010. He also indicated that he would not yield to the demand of domestic and international critics that the military-sponsored constitution should be revised ahead of the election..
The 2008 Constitution, the junta said, was “approved” by more than 90 per cent of eligible voters during a referendum in May 2008. The outcome of the referendum was widely dismissed as a sham. But, the regime has constantly disregarded calls from the international community and Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), to review the constitution.
Although there are 10 registered political parties in Burma, most of them are stock-still. The most important thing to be done is to proclaim an electoral law allowing new parties to form and register to contest in the elections. The international community, led by the UN, has constantly stated that the election be all-inclusive, free and fair.
In its ‘Shwe-gon-dine declaration’ dated 29th April 2009, the NLD had set two conditions for its participation in the 2010 election. One amend provisions in the statute which are not in harmony with democratic principles. Two hold an all-inclusive free and fair poll under international supervision.
The majority of Western nations have demanded release Suu Kyi and over 2,100 other political prisoners as a first step toward democratization of the country, which has been under military rule since 1962.
In fact, both the West and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have warned Than Shwe that the world community would not recognize the poll verdict unless the NLD participates in the election and polls and Aung San Suu Kyi is freed from house incarceration.
Burma came under international sanctions in 1988 when the military mercilessly cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrations, leaving an estimated 3,000 people dead. The US and the EU increased their sanctions after the junta refused to acknowledge the NLD's victory in 1990 elections and then arrested opponents and suppressed every type of opposition. Most of the sanctions target the top generals in particular.
Apart from sanctions by the US and the European Union, the regime is suffering assorted sanctions from Australia, Canada and Japan. The regime has been left without development assistance from International financial institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asia Development Bank. If the regime ignored calls from the international community to promote a favourable setting for a free and fair election prior to 2010, international sanctions may become harsher than now.
Than Shwe has hinted his willingness to open a political dialogue with Suu Kyi if she agreed working together on the sanctions issue. However, in his speech to the War Veterans Organization, Than Shwe said that some powerful nations are playing to force and influence Burma under various pretexts. Undoubtedly, NLD leader was allowed to meet with western diplomats with an eye to influence the west and make them ease sanctions. Also to persuade the world opinion into supporting the so-called discipline-flourishing democracy and the 2010 election.
According to some analysts, there is no improvement at all in the ground situation – there are more restrictions on media and civil societies, more control on Internet users, more arrests, more political prisoners, and more military attacks in the ethnic minority areas. So, not only civilian people but also military personnel do not believe the so-called discipline-flourishing democracy or Than Shwe’s model democracy.
Sources in military say that Senior General and his top operators face difficulty in promoting the seven-step road map. His top brass is divided on the election strategy; even some higher-ranking officers want to negotiate for genuine peace with opposition, including Aung San Suu Kyi. But the military chief by no means takes notice of establishing table-talk.
Than Shwe as an ex-psychological warfare officer who used to crackdown on his opponents at any cost doesn't take risk to free his archrival Aung San Suu Kyi because of fears of his own defeat and eventual ouster. On the contrary, Aung San Suu Kyi has shown no disinclination to talk about any subject matter on the dialogue table. She has willingly called for talk with the junta since she has founded the NLD.
So, Mr. Kurt Campbell’s mission should seek to convince Than Shwe to cooperate in finding a solution to break the political deadlock. The military regime must be converted into optimistic component. It must stop finding fault with the Lady, the NLD and the ethnic parties which is prolonging the misery and hopelessness of the people of Burma.
The military junta has unilaterally declared plans to hold the country's first election in two decades next year as part of its seven-step road map, which is actually designed as a sham exercise to entrench the military's hold on power.
People around the world are keenly watching whether the United States’ ongoing special diplomatic mission to the military-ruled country can make a significant breakthrough.
* Zin Linn, a freelance Burmese journalist, lives in exile. He is also vice-president of Burma Media Association, which is affiliated with the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers.
Tue, 2009-11-03 02:54
By * Zin Linn
Compelled by crushing sanctions and crumbling economy, the Burmese (Myanmar if you want the present day official word for Burma) the unprofessional military junta is left with no option but to turn to the west for deliverance. No surprise therefore that Senior-General Than Shwe is looking for opportunities to mend fences with the US in particular and in the process gain a little bit of legitimacy to his rule.
October 9 provided the first window. On that day, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest, was driven to a government guesthouse to meet acting U.S. Charge d'affaire Thomas Vajda, British Ambassador Andrew Heyn, who represented the European Union, and Australian Deputy Head of Mission Simon Christopher Starr for an hour to discuss the possible lifting of sanctions on Burma. The surprise meeting with diplomats followed two consultation sessions in early October between Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta's liaison and Labor Minister Aung Kyi, to discuss her proposal of Sept. 25 to help end sanctions against the regime.
In the meantime, the United States is planning to send a remarkable mission to Burma so as to engage the military junta after decades of unfriendliness. Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, and Scot Marciel, a deputy assistant secretary, are visiting Yangon on Nov. 3 and 4.
Kurt Campbell said the mission would follow up on talks in September in New York, which marked the highest-level US contact with the regime in nearly a decade. It began in last September when Campbell met with Myanmar’s Science, Technology and Labor Minister U Thaung in New York.
The US Mission is meeting Prime Minister Thein Sein in the new administrative capital of Naypyidaw on Nov 3; its meets Suu Kyi and executive committee members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) on Nov 4, a source in Rangoon said on condition of anonymity. But, the US officials are unlikely to ‘get an audience’ with the Big Boss, Than Shwe, who appears keen still to play the game from the curtain as usual.
Campbell doesn’t appear to over optimistic of the outcome of the visit. In fact, during testimony on 21 October before a House of Representatives Committee, he had sounded a word of caution. ‘We expect engagement with Burma (Myanmar) to be a long, slow, painful and step-by-step process’.
The National League for Democracy, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, sees the US Mission visit as a "good thing."
"We welcome their visit and hope Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be allowed to meet Mr Campbell,” party spokesman Nyan Win told the media on the eve of the visit.
On the very day (Oct 9) Aung San Suu Kyi met western diplomats, Than Shwe spoke in the capital, of plans to hold a general election as scheduled in 2010. He also indicated that he would not yield to the demand of domestic and international critics that the military-sponsored constitution should be revised ahead of the election..
The 2008 Constitution, the junta said, was “approved” by more than 90 per cent of eligible voters during a referendum in May 2008. The outcome of the referendum was widely dismissed as a sham. But, the regime has constantly disregarded calls from the international community and Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), to review the constitution.
Although there are 10 registered political parties in Burma, most of them are stock-still. The most important thing to be done is to proclaim an electoral law allowing new parties to form and register to contest in the elections. The international community, led by the UN, has constantly stated that the election be all-inclusive, free and fair.
In its ‘Shwe-gon-dine declaration’ dated 29th April 2009, the NLD had set two conditions for its participation in the 2010 election. One amend provisions in the statute which are not in harmony with democratic principles. Two hold an all-inclusive free and fair poll under international supervision.
The majority of Western nations have demanded release Suu Kyi and over 2,100 other political prisoners as a first step toward democratization of the country, which has been under military rule since 1962.
In fact, both the West and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have warned Than Shwe that the world community would not recognize the poll verdict unless the NLD participates in the election and polls and Aung San Suu Kyi is freed from house incarceration.
Burma came under international sanctions in 1988 when the military mercilessly cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrations, leaving an estimated 3,000 people dead. The US and the EU increased their sanctions after the junta refused to acknowledge the NLD's victory in 1990 elections and then arrested opponents and suppressed every type of opposition. Most of the sanctions target the top generals in particular.
Apart from sanctions by the US and the European Union, the regime is suffering assorted sanctions from Australia, Canada and Japan. The regime has been left without development assistance from International financial institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asia Development Bank. If the regime ignored calls from the international community to promote a favourable setting for a free and fair election prior to 2010, international sanctions may become harsher than now.
Than Shwe has hinted his willingness to open a political dialogue with Suu Kyi if she agreed working together on the sanctions issue. However, in his speech to the War Veterans Organization, Than Shwe said that some powerful nations are playing to force and influence Burma under various pretexts. Undoubtedly, NLD leader was allowed to meet with western diplomats with an eye to influence the west and make them ease sanctions. Also to persuade the world opinion into supporting the so-called discipline-flourishing democracy and the 2010 election.
According to some analysts, there is no improvement at all in the ground situation – there are more restrictions on media and civil societies, more control on Internet users, more arrests, more political prisoners, and more military attacks in the ethnic minority areas. So, not only civilian people but also military personnel do not believe the so-called discipline-flourishing democracy or Than Shwe’s model democracy.
Sources in military say that Senior General and his top operators face difficulty in promoting the seven-step road map. His top brass is divided on the election strategy; even some higher-ranking officers want to negotiate for genuine peace with opposition, including Aung San Suu Kyi. But the military chief by no means takes notice of establishing table-talk.
Than Shwe as an ex-psychological warfare officer who used to crackdown on his opponents at any cost doesn't take risk to free his archrival Aung San Suu Kyi because of fears of his own defeat and eventual ouster. On the contrary, Aung San Suu Kyi has shown no disinclination to talk about any subject matter on the dialogue table. She has willingly called for talk with the junta since she has founded the NLD.
So, Mr. Kurt Campbell’s mission should seek to convince Than Shwe to cooperate in finding a solution to break the political deadlock. The military regime must be converted into optimistic component. It must stop finding fault with the Lady, the NLD and the ethnic parties which is prolonging the misery and hopelessness of the people of Burma.
The military junta has unilaterally declared plans to hold the country's first election in two decades next year as part of its seven-step road map, which is actually designed as a sham exercise to entrench the military's hold on power.
People around the world are keenly watching whether the United States’ ongoing special diplomatic mission to the military-ruled country can make a significant breakthrough.
* Zin Linn, a freelance Burmese journalist, lives in exile. He is also vice-president of Burma Media Association, which is affiliated with the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers.
*************************************************************
Asian Tribune - U.S. Policy and Burma Protracted Conflicts
Tue, 2009-11-03 13:08
By Nehginpao Kipgen
In just over a month from the announcement of the Obama administration's 9-month long policy review on Burma, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and his deputy will pay a two-day visit to the military-ruled country from November 3 to 4.
Kurt Campbell and Scott Marciel are expected to meet with senior military junta officials and members of the opposition, including detained Aung San Suu Kyi as well as representatives of ethnic minority groups. The administration announced on September 23 that it will pursue a direct and high-level engagement with Burma, while retaining sanctions. Though the visit is a short one, it will be a test of the engagement-sanction policy.
There are critics who argue that the U.S. high-level attention validates the brutality of the junta which has waged war against its own people and imprisoned more than 2,200 political prisoners. Proponents of engagement, however, argue that the policy is a way forward to democratization for the country that has been under military rule since 1962.
The good news is that Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, welcomes engagement for the fact that it is designed to be inclusive of the State Peace and Development Council, the National League for Democracy, and the ethnic minorities.
As the first high-level talks is set to begin, the U.S. government and other international players need to understand the historical nature of conflicts in this ethnically diverse nation where there are “135 races” as per the government statistics, which is primarily based on dialectical variations.
Before the British colonization in 1886, the territories of ethnic minorities (Frontier Areas) were not part of the Burma proper. For example, the Shans were ruled by their own sawbwas (princes), and the Chins and Kachins were ruled by their own chiefs. The 1947 Panglong agreement served as the basis for the formation of the ‘Union of Burma’, and the country’s independence from the British in 1948.
Many have often failed to understand the complexity of the conflicts in this Southeast Asian nation. Until recently, many thought the conflicts are entirely between the Burmese military junta and the opposition on the question of democracy.
The conflicts are largely the consequences of mistrust and misunderstanding between the majority ethnic Burman-led central government and other ethnic minorities because of the failure to implement the 1947 Panglong agreement. One significant agreement was granting “full autonomy” to the Frontier Areas, which has not materialized until today.
The failure to implement this historic agreement has increased mistrust and misunderstanding between the successive ethnic Burman-led military governments and other ethnic nationalities. Autonomy has been the core demand of minorities for over 50 years since 1947, and continues to remain the fundamental issue.
Successful conflict resolution depends on the facilitation of open dialogue on the basis of equality between all the interested parties. Such open dialogue will yield result if the rights of all ethnic groups are respected, irrespective of political and religious affiliations. Equality of rights is one fundamental democratic principle which is missing in the Burmese society today.
Burma’s ethnic minorities are neither secessionists nor separatists, but are striving for autonomy in their respective territories within the Union of Burma. The minorities believe that self-determination would give them an opportunity to preserve their culture, language, and tradition.
There needs to be an environment where everyone receives equal treatment in the eyes of the law, regardless of the size of population. Under the military dictatorship, ethnic minorities are alienated and less privileged. This does not, however, advocate that ethnic Burmans do not suffer under the military regime.
In the run up to the proposed 2010 general election, the junta has stepped up military campaigns against ethnic minorities. The dismantling of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, an ethnic Kokang armed group, in late September was an example. With its sizeable army of over 400,000, and without foreign enemy, the junta has the power to cripple minorities militarily, but not necessarily the spirit of their core demand, which is autonomy.
To bring a long lasting solution to the decades-old conflicts, it needs the sincerity, honesty and the participation of all ethnic groups. Different ethnic groups should be brought into confidence, and their legitimate demands should be looked into. The country needs reformation in various sectors – both private and public. Political problems need to be resolved by political means.
Because of the protracted nature of the conflicts, there will be no quick fix or a magical solution to the conflicts. It will require in-depth analysis, a systematic approach, and comprehensive remedial measures, including mediation and negotiation.
Because of its economic, political, military power, and the wide reception by the Burmese military junta and the opposition alike, the United States has the best leverage to help restore democracy in Burma. Any solution should somehow address the concerns of ethnic minorities, including a fundamental question on autonomy.
Nehginpao Kipgen is a researcher on the rise of political conflicts in modern Burma (1947-2004) and general secretary of the U.S.-based Kuki International Forum (www.kukiforum.com). He has written numerous analytical articles on the politics of Burma and Asia for many leading international newspapers in Asia, Africa, and the United States of America.
Tue, 2009-11-03 13:08
By Nehginpao Kipgen
In just over a month from the announcement of the Obama administration's 9-month long policy review on Burma, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and his deputy will pay a two-day visit to the military-ruled country from November 3 to 4.
Kurt Campbell and Scott Marciel are expected to meet with senior military junta officials and members of the opposition, including detained Aung San Suu Kyi as well as representatives of ethnic minority groups. The administration announced on September 23 that it will pursue a direct and high-level engagement with Burma, while retaining sanctions. Though the visit is a short one, it will be a test of the engagement-sanction policy.
There are critics who argue that the U.S. high-level attention validates the brutality of the junta which has waged war against its own people and imprisoned more than 2,200 political prisoners. Proponents of engagement, however, argue that the policy is a way forward to democratization for the country that has been under military rule since 1962.
The good news is that Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, welcomes engagement for the fact that it is designed to be inclusive of the State Peace and Development Council, the National League for Democracy, and the ethnic minorities.
As the first high-level talks is set to begin, the U.S. government and other international players need to understand the historical nature of conflicts in this ethnically diverse nation where there are “135 races” as per the government statistics, which is primarily based on dialectical variations.
Before the British colonization in 1886, the territories of ethnic minorities (Frontier Areas) were not part of the Burma proper. For example, the Shans were ruled by their own sawbwas (princes), and the Chins and Kachins were ruled by their own chiefs. The 1947 Panglong agreement served as the basis for the formation of the ‘Union of Burma’, and the country’s independence from the British in 1948.
Many have often failed to understand the complexity of the conflicts in this Southeast Asian nation. Until recently, many thought the conflicts are entirely between the Burmese military junta and the opposition on the question of democracy.
The conflicts are largely the consequences of mistrust and misunderstanding between the majority ethnic Burman-led central government and other ethnic minorities because of the failure to implement the 1947 Panglong agreement. One significant agreement was granting “full autonomy” to the Frontier Areas, which has not materialized until today.
The failure to implement this historic agreement has increased mistrust and misunderstanding between the successive ethnic Burman-led military governments and other ethnic nationalities. Autonomy has been the core demand of minorities for over 50 years since 1947, and continues to remain the fundamental issue.
Successful conflict resolution depends on the facilitation of open dialogue on the basis of equality between all the interested parties. Such open dialogue will yield result if the rights of all ethnic groups are respected, irrespective of political and religious affiliations. Equality of rights is one fundamental democratic principle which is missing in the Burmese society today.
Burma’s ethnic minorities are neither secessionists nor separatists, but are striving for autonomy in their respective territories within the Union of Burma. The minorities believe that self-determination would give them an opportunity to preserve their culture, language, and tradition.
There needs to be an environment where everyone receives equal treatment in the eyes of the law, regardless of the size of population. Under the military dictatorship, ethnic minorities are alienated and less privileged. This does not, however, advocate that ethnic Burmans do not suffer under the military regime.
In the run up to the proposed 2010 general election, the junta has stepped up military campaigns against ethnic minorities. The dismantling of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, an ethnic Kokang armed group, in late September was an example. With its sizeable army of over 400,000, and without foreign enemy, the junta has the power to cripple minorities militarily, but not necessarily the spirit of their core demand, which is autonomy.
To bring a long lasting solution to the decades-old conflicts, it needs the sincerity, honesty and the participation of all ethnic groups. Different ethnic groups should be brought into confidence, and their legitimate demands should be looked into. The country needs reformation in various sectors – both private and public. Political problems need to be resolved by political means.
Because of the protracted nature of the conflicts, there will be no quick fix or a magical solution to the conflicts. It will require in-depth analysis, a systematic approach, and comprehensive remedial measures, including mediation and negotiation.
Because of its economic, political, military power, and the wide reception by the Burmese military junta and the opposition alike, the United States has the best leverage to help restore democracy in Burma. Any solution should somehow address the concerns of ethnic minorities, including a fundamental question on autonomy.
Nehginpao Kipgen is a researcher on the rise of political conflicts in modern Burma (1947-2004) and general secretary of the U.S.-based Kuki International Forum (www.kukiforum.com). He has written numerous analytical articles on the politics of Burma and Asia for many leading international newspapers in Asia, Africa, and the United States of America.
*************************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Burma: Catching Two Fishes at Once?
By SAW YAN NAING - Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The visiting US delegation’s talks with the Burmese regime, ethnic minority groups and the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has coincided this week with the news that the China gas pipeline project is finally under way in Arakan State.
Few things are coincidental in Burma, and several analysts questioned whether the timing of the two initiatives was planned by Burma’s generals or whether, in fact, the US and China were competing to win influence among the generals ahead of each other.
Could it be that the pariah state was effectively catching two fish at once? It would surely be a sunny day for the military elite’s bank accounts if they could consolidate their pipeline deal with the Chinese while simultaneously convincing the Americans to lift sanctions.
China's state-owned National Petroleum Corporation announced on Tuesday that construction has finally started on a pipeline that will transfer Middle Eastern and African oil from the Indian Ocean through Burma to Yunnan Province in China’s southwest.
The multimillion dollar pipeline project will also pipe natural gas from Burmese waters in the Bay of Bengal to China.
If Beijing is to revert to talks with Naypyidaw concerning its energy needs, the savings it will make bypassing the Malacca Strait, and a timeline for constructing the pipeline, then it will likely have to curb its criticisms of the junta’s policy to wage war on Chinese-blooded ethnic groups such as the Kokang and the Wa, and reassess its claims for damages caused by Burma’s government forces during their campaigns against the ethnic armies and condone the resulting flood of refugees onto Chinese soil.
The US has moved hastily to overturn the Bush doctrine of sanctions on Burma’s military rulers since the Obama administration came to power earlier this year. After an initial hint by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at engagement with the generals, the US moved quickly into the spotlight in August by sending Senator Jim Webb to Naypyidaw—where he went a full step further than UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon by physically meeting with junta strongman Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
In September, Burmese Premier Thein Sein attended the UN General Assembly in New York, the first time a Burmese leader had done so in 14 years. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Nyan Win took advantage of the cooling climate to meet Webb at the Burmese embassy in Washington.
Most Burma analysts say the regime is trying to find a balance—it wants to maintain a strong relationship with Beijing (without being entirely dependent on China) while aiming to establish better connections with the new US administration.
To that end, the Burmese authorities on Wednesday allowed a US delegation, led by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, to meet with Suu Kyi, leaders of her National League for Democracy, and some ethnic representatives.
But most analysts warned that it was too early to be optimistic about results from the US delegation’s visit.
“We can’t expect much from the current visit as the US delegation is just a fact-finding mission,” said Win Min, a Burmese analyst in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
By allowing the US delegation to meet with opposition groups, the regime is relaxing some of its restrictions on dissidents with the aim of having the US lift sanctions on Burma, he said.
Larry Jagan, a Britain journalist who regularly covers Burma issues, said, “I think this is a part of Than Shwe’s usual approach to international relationships. He is trying to balance China’s influence in Naypyidaw. But, he will keep Burma’s relationship with China strong.”
Sean Turnell, an economist at Australia's Macquarie University who produces the Burma Economic Watch report, said, “I think the regime are attempting to assert that they are not wholly dependent on China, and see the opening of a dialogue with the US as a way of presenting this.”
However, he said that sanctions on Burma won't be lifted in the absence of genuine reform in Burma, and he doesn't see any change on this front for the time being.
“For the moment, it's hard to be anything but skeptical. We have been down this road before,” he said.
Another Burma watcher, Jeff Kingston, the director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan Campus, said that the Burmese generals are looking to balance their dependence on China by pursuing better ties with the US—but only on their own terms.
“It is a strategy for remaining entrenched in power,” Kingston said.
He said the eruption of fighting against the Kokang army in August is a reminder of just how fragile the peace is in Burma and how the Burmese military represents the greatest threat to that peace.
“After 20 years of relative peace, this offensive is the latest sign that the cease-fires may be unraveling, he said.
Chan Htun, a former Burmese ambassador to China, said Burma’s generals are xenophobic and care for no one.
“They act first and solve later,” he said, and illustrated his point by pointing to the way the Burmese government cracked down on Chinese in Burma during the riots of 1967.
Benedict Rogers, the co-author of a forthcoming book called “Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma's Tyrant,” said, “Their [the Burmese generals’] policy is simply to look out for their own interests – and if by engaging with the US they believe they can promote their own interests, they will do so.”
By SAW YAN NAING - Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The visiting US delegation’s talks with the Burmese regime, ethnic minority groups and the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has coincided this week with the news that the China gas pipeline project is finally under way in Arakan State.
Few things are coincidental in Burma, and several analysts questioned whether the timing of the two initiatives was planned by Burma’s generals or whether, in fact, the US and China were competing to win influence among the generals ahead of each other.
Could it be that the pariah state was effectively catching two fish at once? It would surely be a sunny day for the military elite’s bank accounts if they could consolidate their pipeline deal with the Chinese while simultaneously convincing the Americans to lift sanctions.
China's state-owned National Petroleum Corporation announced on Tuesday that construction has finally started on a pipeline that will transfer Middle Eastern and African oil from the Indian Ocean through Burma to Yunnan Province in China’s southwest.
The multimillion dollar pipeline project will also pipe natural gas from Burmese waters in the Bay of Bengal to China.
If Beijing is to revert to talks with Naypyidaw concerning its energy needs, the savings it will make bypassing the Malacca Strait, and a timeline for constructing the pipeline, then it will likely have to curb its criticisms of the junta’s policy to wage war on Chinese-blooded ethnic groups such as the Kokang and the Wa, and reassess its claims for damages caused by Burma’s government forces during their campaigns against the ethnic armies and condone the resulting flood of refugees onto Chinese soil.
The US has moved hastily to overturn the Bush doctrine of sanctions on Burma’s military rulers since the Obama administration came to power earlier this year. After an initial hint by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at engagement with the generals, the US moved quickly into the spotlight in August by sending Senator Jim Webb to Naypyidaw—where he went a full step further than UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon by physically meeting with junta strongman Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
In September, Burmese Premier Thein Sein attended the UN General Assembly in New York, the first time a Burmese leader had done so in 14 years. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Nyan Win took advantage of the cooling climate to meet Webb at the Burmese embassy in Washington.
Most Burma analysts say the regime is trying to find a balance—it wants to maintain a strong relationship with Beijing (without being entirely dependent on China) while aiming to establish better connections with the new US administration.
To that end, the Burmese authorities on Wednesday allowed a US delegation, led by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, to meet with Suu Kyi, leaders of her National League for Democracy, and some ethnic representatives.
But most analysts warned that it was too early to be optimistic about results from the US delegation’s visit.
“We can’t expect much from the current visit as the US delegation is just a fact-finding mission,” said Win Min, a Burmese analyst in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
By allowing the US delegation to meet with opposition groups, the regime is relaxing some of its restrictions on dissidents with the aim of having the US lift sanctions on Burma, he said.
Larry Jagan, a Britain journalist who regularly covers Burma issues, said, “I think this is a part of Than Shwe’s usual approach to international relationships. He is trying to balance China’s influence in Naypyidaw. But, he will keep Burma’s relationship with China strong.”
Sean Turnell, an economist at Australia's Macquarie University who produces the Burma Economic Watch report, said, “I think the regime are attempting to assert that they are not wholly dependent on China, and see the opening of a dialogue with the US as a way of presenting this.”
However, he said that sanctions on Burma won't be lifted in the absence of genuine reform in Burma, and he doesn't see any change on this front for the time being.
“For the moment, it's hard to be anything but skeptical. We have been down this road before,” he said.
Another Burma watcher, Jeff Kingston, the director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan Campus, said that the Burmese generals are looking to balance their dependence on China by pursuing better ties with the US—but only on their own terms.
“It is a strategy for remaining entrenched in power,” Kingston said.
He said the eruption of fighting against the Kokang army in August is a reminder of just how fragile the peace is in Burma and how the Burmese military represents the greatest threat to that peace.
“After 20 years of relative peace, this offensive is the latest sign that the cease-fires may be unraveling, he said.
Chan Htun, a former Burmese ambassador to China, said Burma’s generals are xenophobic and care for no one.
“They act first and solve later,” he said, and illustrated his point by pointing to the way the Burmese government cracked down on Chinese in Burma during the riots of 1967.
Benedict Rogers, the co-author of a forthcoming book called “Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma's Tyrant,” said, “Their [the Burmese generals’] policy is simply to look out for their own interests – and if by engaging with the US they believe they can promote their own interests, they will do so.”
*************************************************************
Mizzima News - Former Foreign Minister Win Aung dead
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 17:19
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Former Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung (65), died early on Wednesday morning in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison, while under detention, family sources said.
A family member told Mizzima that he died of illness related to age but did not specify the disease, saying they are in no mood to give details as they are now in mourning.
The family member said the body is being kept in a funeral parlour and the obituary would be announced on Thursday.
Sources close to the family said Win Aung died at about 1:55 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday in the prison.
Eyewitnesses said, the body was brought out of the Insein prison and was transported in a hearse owned by the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) escorted by the police.
Win Aung was one of those trusted by the purged Prime Minister, General Khin Nyunt. He served as the Foreign Minister of the Burmese military regime from 1998 to 2004, until he was purged along with his boss.
While several other officials loyal to Khin Nyunt were also purged along with Win Aung, he was the only one to be imprisoned.
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 17:19
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Former Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung (65), died early on Wednesday morning in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison, while under detention, family sources said.
A family member told Mizzima that he died of illness related to age but did not specify the disease, saying they are in no mood to give details as they are now in mourning.
The family member said the body is being kept in a funeral parlour and the obituary would be announced on Thursday.
Sources close to the family said Win Aung died at about 1:55 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday in the prison.
Eyewitnesses said, the body was brought out of the Insein prison and was transported in a hearse owned by the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) escorted by the police.
Win Aung was one of those trusted by the purged Prime Minister, General Khin Nyunt. He served as the Foreign Minister of the Burmese military regime from 1998 to 2004, until he was purged along with his boss.
While several other officials loyal to Khin Nyunt were also purged along with Win Aung, he was the only one to be imprisoned.
*************************************************************
Mizzima News - US urged to call for revision of constitution
by Mungpi
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 20:02
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Burma’s main opposition party – the National League for Democracy – on Wednesday told the visiting United States diplomats to include the revision of the 2008 constitution as one of the main agendas in its engagement with the ruling junta.
1990 election winning party told the US Assistant Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell led US delegation that without revising the 2008 constitution there could be no free and fair elections, no improvement in the situation of Human Rights, and the process of national reconciliation cannot be kick-started.
Campbell along with US ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Scot Marciel, accompanied by Charge d’Affairs of US embassy in Rangoon Larry M Dinger, on Wednesday visited the NLD office as part of their fact-finding mission.
“The main discussion from our side is urging them to call for a revision of the 2008 constitution, without which, none of the other concerns including violation of human rights can be achieved,” Win Tin, a Central Executive Committee (CEC) member of the NLD told Mizzima.
The US diplomats are in Burma for a two-day fact-finding mission as part of the US’s new policy of engaging the military regime while maintaining the existing sanctions.
They arrived on Tuesday, also had a two hour meeting with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday afternoon prior to their meeting with the NLD CEC.
“We did not have enough time to discuss or ask the diplomats about their meeting with Daw Suu,” Win Tin said, adding that their meeting with the two US officials began at about 3:30 p.m. and concluded at 4:30 p.m. (local time).
In their discussions, Win Tin said, the NLD made it clear that they will not participate in the 2010 elections unless the junta revises the 2008 constitution, on the basis of which the elections will be held.
“It is good to demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, but if the constitution is not revised, there would be no improvement in Burma’s politics,” Win Tin said.
He argued that the 2008 constitution, which was drafted following a 14-year long convention, where delegates were handpicked, is designed to safeguard the military’s interest and not to guarantee the peoples’ rights.
“If we take out the gist of the constitution, we can say that the Tatmadaw [military] is the principle guardian of the constitution, Tatmadaw is the principle operator of the constitution and Tatmadaw is the principle interpreter of the constitution,” Win Tin remarked.
He said he is a little disappointed with the US for remaining silent over the junta’s 2008 constitution and making no particular mention in their calls for reform.
The United States has urged Burmese military rulers to release political prisoners including Suu Kyi and to make the 2010 elections an all inclusive process but has not particularly called for a revision of the 2008 constitution, Win Tin said.
“For me, this is most surprising because without getting the foundation right, nothing will be right. There can be no free and fair election and no inclusiveness in the political process,” he added.
But he said the NLD welcomes the visit of Campbell led delegation and urged them to take stronger initiatives in order to facilitate a political dialogue in Burma.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, the US delegates met Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein at the new jungle capital city of Naypyitaw. The delegation also met several other political parties including ethnic nationalities political parties.
Campbell is the senior most US official to visit Burma in the past 14 years. But he is unlikely to meet junta supremo Snr General Than Shwe, as he is away on a tour to the Cyclone Nargis devastated region of the Irrawaddy delta.
The delegation’s visit is the second step in the new US’s policy of engagement with the junta, announced in September. In September, Campbell met U Thaung, the Burmese Minister for Science and Technology in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
by Mungpi
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 20:02
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Burma’s main opposition party – the National League for Democracy – on Wednesday told the visiting United States diplomats to include the revision of the 2008 constitution as one of the main agendas in its engagement with the ruling junta.
1990 election winning party told the US Assistant Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell led US delegation that without revising the 2008 constitution there could be no free and fair elections, no improvement in the situation of Human Rights, and the process of national reconciliation cannot be kick-started.
Campbell along with US ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Scot Marciel, accompanied by Charge d’Affairs of US embassy in Rangoon Larry M Dinger, on Wednesday visited the NLD office as part of their fact-finding mission.
“The main discussion from our side is urging them to call for a revision of the 2008 constitution, without which, none of the other concerns including violation of human rights can be achieved,” Win Tin, a Central Executive Committee (CEC) member of the NLD told Mizzima.
The US diplomats are in Burma for a two-day fact-finding mission as part of the US’s new policy of engaging the military regime while maintaining the existing sanctions.
They arrived on Tuesday, also had a two hour meeting with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday afternoon prior to their meeting with the NLD CEC.
“We did not have enough time to discuss or ask the diplomats about their meeting with Daw Suu,” Win Tin said, adding that their meeting with the two US officials began at about 3:30 p.m. and concluded at 4:30 p.m. (local time).
In their discussions, Win Tin said, the NLD made it clear that they will not participate in the 2010 elections unless the junta revises the 2008 constitution, on the basis of which the elections will be held.
“It is good to demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, but if the constitution is not revised, there would be no improvement in Burma’s politics,” Win Tin said.
He argued that the 2008 constitution, which was drafted following a 14-year long convention, where delegates were handpicked, is designed to safeguard the military’s interest and not to guarantee the peoples’ rights.
“If we take out the gist of the constitution, we can say that the Tatmadaw [military] is the principle guardian of the constitution, Tatmadaw is the principle operator of the constitution and Tatmadaw is the principle interpreter of the constitution,” Win Tin remarked.
He said he is a little disappointed with the US for remaining silent over the junta’s 2008 constitution and making no particular mention in their calls for reform.
The United States has urged Burmese military rulers to release political prisoners including Suu Kyi and to make the 2010 elections an all inclusive process but has not particularly called for a revision of the 2008 constitution, Win Tin said.
“For me, this is most surprising because without getting the foundation right, nothing will be right. There can be no free and fair election and no inclusiveness in the political process,” he added.
But he said the NLD welcomes the visit of Campbell led delegation and urged them to take stronger initiatives in order to facilitate a political dialogue in Burma.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, the US delegates met Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein at the new jungle capital city of Naypyitaw. The delegation also met several other political parties including ethnic nationalities political parties.
Campbell is the senior most US official to visit Burma in the past 14 years. But he is unlikely to meet junta supremo Snr General Than Shwe, as he is away on a tour to the Cyclone Nargis devastated region of the Irrawaddy delta.
The delegation’s visit is the second step in the new US’s policy of engagement with the junta, announced in September. In September, Campbell met U Thaung, the Burmese Minister for Science and Technology in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
*************************************************************
Thailand grants driver licenses to Burmese
Nov 4, 2009 (DVB)–Numbers of Burmese migrant workers in Thailand will soon be able to drive vehicles following the Thai government’s decision to allow them to possess cars and motorcycles.
Migrants arriving in Thailand who hold temporary resident cards are targeted in the government scheme, Thailand’s Matichon newspaper reported, while migrant workers without the cards will need recommendations from their employers.
According to Thailand’s Department of Road Transport, it is now in the preparation stage to accept vehicle registration for those who have proper documents.
A Burmese migrant living in Thailand welcomed the decision. “Our bicycles used to be confiscated because we didn’t have a sale receipt from shop so we are now happy that we will be able to show licenses,” he said.
Those who obtain the documents will have the same rights as Thai drivers, with access to maintenance facilities.
“In the past, Burmese migrant workers didn’t have the right to either posses or drive vehicles. We often had to pay fine whenever we got caught by Thai authorities,” said Moe Gyo, chairperson of Joint Action Committee for Burmese Affairs.
Burmese migrant workers in Thailand number around two million, who work mainly in the construction, fishery and agriculture industries.
Htoo Chit, director of Thailand-based Grassroots Human Rights Education and Development organisaiton, told DVB that he also welcomed the registration plan but voiced concerns over safety.
“Burmese migrants sustain injuries from road accidents almost every day because they don’t know Thai traffic regulations,” he said.
“We think it’s important for them to know the regulations…so we are now planning training for them. We will officially deal with Thai traffic police department to organize the training.”
Reporting by Aye Nai
Nov 4, 2009 (DVB)–Numbers of Burmese migrant workers in Thailand will soon be able to drive vehicles following the Thai government’s decision to allow them to possess cars and motorcycles.
Migrants arriving in Thailand who hold temporary resident cards are targeted in the government scheme, Thailand’s Matichon newspaper reported, while migrant workers without the cards will need recommendations from their employers.
According to Thailand’s Department of Road Transport, it is now in the preparation stage to accept vehicle registration for those who have proper documents.
A Burmese migrant living in Thailand welcomed the decision. “Our bicycles used to be confiscated because we didn’t have a sale receipt from shop so we are now happy that we will be able to show licenses,” he said.
Those who obtain the documents will have the same rights as Thai drivers, with access to maintenance facilities.
“In the past, Burmese migrant workers didn’t have the right to either posses or drive vehicles. We often had to pay fine whenever we got caught by Thai authorities,” said Moe Gyo, chairperson of Joint Action Committee for Burmese Affairs.
Burmese migrant workers in Thailand number around two million, who work mainly in the construction, fishery and agriculture industries.
Htoo Chit, director of Thailand-based Grassroots Human Rights Education and Development organisaiton, told DVB that he also welcomed the registration plan but voiced concerns over safety.
“Burmese migrants sustain injuries from road accidents almost every day because they don’t know Thai traffic regulations,” he said.
“We think it’s important for them to know the regulations…so we are now planning training for them. We will officially deal with Thai traffic police department to organize the training.”
Reporting by Aye Nai
*************************************************************
Burma abstains from UN nuclear resolution
Nov 4, 2009 (DVB)–The Burmese government has abstained from a draft United Nations resolution on nuclear disarmament billed as a “leading proactive measure” towards non-proliferation.
The draft resolution was however adopted by the UN general assembly last week by an “overwhelming majority of 170 in favor to two against”, according to the Japanese foreign ministry. It was Japan who submitted it.
A foreign ministry statement said that the resolution “incorporates a high evaluation of the constructive role of civil society in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation”.
Fears over Burma’s nuclear ambitions have strengthened in the past six months in tandem with what appears to be a cosying relationship with North Korea, who along with India rejected the resolution.
An investigation published in August by Australian academic Desmond Ball and journalist Phil Thornton that quoted evidence from two Burmese army defectors interviewed about apparent nuclear programmes in Burma further fuelled concerns.
A senior-level United States delegation is now in Burma to kick-start a new policy of engagement with the country’s military rulers.
Senior US officials have stated that Washington is looking to draw Burma away from North Korea, which has been the subject of UN sanctions since it carried out a successful nuclear test in May.
While no solid evidence that the Burmese government is developing nuclear weaponry has come to light, observers believe the intention could be there.
“A lot of countries dream of nuclear power, either for weapons or peaceful research,” said Burmese political analyst Aung Naing Oo, adding that “I’m not in the least bit surprised that Burma abstained”.
“Especially a country like Burma which has been isolated for so long, they look around and see countries that can stand shoulder to shoulder with superpowers that own, or are in the process of owning, nuclear weapons.”
China, France, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Cuba and Bhutan also abstained from the resolution. Both China and Israel are leading weapons suppliers to the Burmese junta.
Aung Naing Oo added that the abstention may have held a more symbolic meaning beyond just the ambitions of a country looking to bolster its defence.
“A lot of countries with problems want to handle their own affairs using the question of sovereignty, and they don’t want interference from any other countries,” he said.
“Burma has used this non-interference to prevent international meddling.”
Nov 4, 2009 (DVB)–The Burmese government has abstained from a draft United Nations resolution on nuclear disarmament billed as a “leading proactive measure” towards non-proliferation.
The draft resolution was however adopted by the UN general assembly last week by an “overwhelming majority of 170 in favor to two against”, according to the Japanese foreign ministry. It was Japan who submitted it.
A foreign ministry statement said that the resolution “incorporates a high evaluation of the constructive role of civil society in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation”.
Fears over Burma’s nuclear ambitions have strengthened in the past six months in tandem with what appears to be a cosying relationship with North Korea, who along with India rejected the resolution.
An investigation published in August by Australian academic Desmond Ball and journalist Phil Thornton that quoted evidence from two Burmese army defectors interviewed about apparent nuclear programmes in Burma further fuelled concerns.
A senior-level United States delegation is now in Burma to kick-start a new policy of engagement with the country’s military rulers.
Senior US officials have stated that Washington is looking to draw Burma away from North Korea, which has been the subject of UN sanctions since it carried out a successful nuclear test in May.
While no solid evidence that the Burmese government is developing nuclear weaponry has come to light, observers believe the intention could be there.
“A lot of countries dream of nuclear power, either for weapons or peaceful research,” said Burmese political analyst Aung Naing Oo, adding that “I’m not in the least bit surprised that Burma abstained”.
“Especially a country like Burma which has been isolated for so long, they look around and see countries that can stand shoulder to shoulder with superpowers that own, or are in the process of owning, nuclear weapons.”
China, France, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Cuba and Bhutan also abstained from the resolution. Both China and Israel are leading weapons suppliers to the Burmese junta.
Aung Naing Oo added that the abstention may have held a more symbolic meaning beyond just the ambitions of a country looking to bolster its defence.
“A lot of countries with problems want to handle their own affairs using the question of sovereignty, and they don’t want interference from any other countries,” he said.
“Burma has used this non-interference to prevent international meddling.”
No comments:
Post a Comment