Russia to deliver 20 MiG fighters to Myanmar: report
Wed Dec 23, 1:31 am ET
MOSCOW (AFP) – Russia has signed a contract to deliver 20 MiG-29 fighter planes to military-run Myanmar, the daily Kommersant reported Wednesday.
The contract was signed a few weeks ago and came to nearly 400 million euros (570 million dollars), according to a source close to Russian arms sales company Rosoboronexport quoted by the paper.
The Southeast Asian country is under Western sanctions but human-rights campaigners complain that its ruling junta has received a steady supply of arms from neighbours China and India, as well as from Russia.
A source close to Rosoboronexport said the Russian offer beat one by China which offered Myanmar "ultra-modern" J-10 and FC-1 fighters "on very advantageous conditions".
The daily said Russia had already delivered 12 MiG-29s to Myanmar in 2001.
"It is the largest contract to deliver fighters of this type after the breaking of a similar transaction with Algeria in 2007," Kommersant said.
Algeria cancelled its order for 34 MiG-29s worth 987 million euros as their quality was lower than expected and returned several planes to Russia in 2008, the paper said.
Wed Dec 23, 1:31 am ET
MOSCOW (AFP) – Russia has signed a contract to deliver 20 MiG-29 fighter planes to military-run Myanmar, the daily Kommersant reported Wednesday.
The contract was signed a few weeks ago and came to nearly 400 million euros (570 million dollars), according to a source close to Russian arms sales company Rosoboronexport quoted by the paper.
The Southeast Asian country is under Western sanctions but human-rights campaigners complain that its ruling junta has received a steady supply of arms from neighbours China and India, as well as from Russia.
A source close to Rosoboronexport said the Russian offer beat one by China which offered Myanmar "ultra-modern" J-10 and FC-1 fighters "on very advantageous conditions".
The daily said Russia had already delivered 12 MiG-29s to Myanmar in 2001.
"It is the largest contract to deliver fighters of this type after the breaking of a similar transaction with Algeria in 2007," Kommersant said.
Algeria cancelled its order for 34 MiG-29s worth 987 million euros as their quality was lower than expected and returned several planes to Russia in 2008, the paper said.
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Russian Information Agency Novosti - Myanmar to buy 20 MiG-29 fighters for $570 mln - paper
MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti)
A 400 million-euro ($570 mln) contract has been signed for the delivery of Russian MiG-29 fighters for the Myanmar Air Force, a source close to Russia's arms export monopoly told a business daily on Wednesday.
Vedomosti quoted the source at Rosoboronexport as saying the Russian bid to supply MiG-29 Fulcrum-D carrier-based fighter jets beat China's offer to sell its latest J-10 and FC-1 fighters.
Myanmar was rearmed with Chinese military aircraft worth some $2 billion in the 1990s, the paper said.
The country bought 12 MiG-29 fighters in 2001, but this contract is the largest since the 2007 unfulfilled contract to supply Algeria with 34 MiG-29 fighters.
In 2008, a contract for the supply of six MiG fighters was signed with Sri Lanka.
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov announced last year that Russia would give Lebanon 10 MiG-29 fighter jets for free, Vedomosti said.
MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti)
A 400 million-euro ($570 mln) contract has been signed for the delivery of Russian MiG-29 fighters for the Myanmar Air Force, a source close to Russia's arms export monopoly told a business daily on Wednesday.
Vedomosti quoted the source at Rosoboronexport as saying the Russian bid to supply MiG-29 Fulcrum-D carrier-based fighter jets beat China's offer to sell its latest J-10 and FC-1 fighters.
Myanmar was rearmed with Chinese military aircraft worth some $2 billion in the 1990s, the paper said.
The country bought 12 MiG-29 fighters in 2001, but this contract is the largest since the 2007 unfulfilled contract to supply Algeria with 34 MiG-29 fighters.
In 2008, a contract for the supply of six MiG fighters was signed with Sri Lanka.
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov announced last year that Russia would give Lebanon 10 MiG-29 fighter jets for free, Vedomosti said.
*************************************************************
North Korea turns to air smuggling
By DENIS D. GRAY, Associated Press Writer – 47 mins ago
BANGKOK (AP) – North Korea, banned from selling arms by U.N. sanctions, may have gambled and lost when it dispatched 35 tons of weapons by air rather than by sea as it has done in the past. Authorities seized the plane, which may have been bound for Iran, during a refueling stop in Thailand.
The 11-day saga, spanning the globe from Pyongyang to Azerbaijan to the Thai capital, remains shrouded in mystery and missing pieces, including the final destination of the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane now under Thai custody along with its five-man crew.
Among difficulties facing investigators is a fly-by-night infrastructure seemingly rigged up for the flight, including a Hong Kong-based company reportedly involved which was only incorporated Nov. 2 and whose director could not be traced there or at his address in Spain.
But experts in South Korea say one thing appears clear: North Korea is seeking new ways to bust through a U.S.-led interdiction program of its arms sales.
"They must have experienced difficulties finding ships to transport cargo because of U.N. sanctions," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies. "I believe this surely made North Korea realize that it is under great surveillance from all directions regardless of whether it's a sea or air route, and that it won't be easy to sell weapons."
Another analyst, Cha Du-hyeon at the Korea Institute of Defense Analyses, said that North Korea's attempt at the air shipment suggested that the regime was taking chances to meet a delivery deadline, as transport by sea was heavily scrutinized.
The seizure was the first known of arms sent by air. There have been several of sea borne weaponry. Analysts said the Bangkok seizure would likely deter some potential buyers of North Korean weapons.
In Bangkok, Police Col. Supisarn Police said investigators have so far found no evidence that the aircraft was bound for Iran, contradicting a report from arms trafficking experts.
Separately, the five crew members insisted their final destination was Sri Lanka and not Iran, their lawyer said after visiting the jailed men, who also say they had no idea they were carrying weapons.
Defense attorney Somsak Saithong told The Associated Press the crew also denied any knowledge of accused international weapons trafficker Victor Bout, who is in the same prison battling extradition to the United States on terrorism charges.
"They told me they don't know Victor Bout," Somsak said. He quoted the five men — four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus — as saying their flight plan called for a refueling stop in Bangkok before flying on to Sri Lanka. They have been charged with illegal arms possession.
But according to a flight plan seen by arms trafficking researchers, the aircraft was chartered by Hong Kong-based Union Top Management Ltd. to fly oil industry spare parts from Pyongyang to Tehran, Iran, with several other stops, including Bangkok, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
Union Top was set up by a company called R & G Management Consultancy, according to a woman who answered the door at Union Top's registered office. She said she didn't know a man called Dario Cabreros Garmendia — who signed Union Top's incorporation in Hong Kong on Nov. 2 — and did not know how to reach anyone at the company.
After answering several questions she asked the AP reporter to leave the office.
Garmendia listed Barcelona, Spain, as his address on another document related to the set up of the company. But AP reporters asked four people living next to the location and none had heard of him or the company.
Thai authorities, acting on a U.S. tip, impounded the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane after uncovering 35 tons of weapons, which officials say included explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and components for surface-to-air missiles.
The U.N. imposed sanctions in June banning North Korea from exporting any arms after the communist regime conducted a nuclear test and test-fired missiles. Impoverished North Korea is believed to earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year by selling missiles, missile parts and other weapons to countries such as Iran, Syria and Myanmar.
The report on the flight plan, which cited Iran as the final destination, came from the nonprofit groups TransArms in the United States and IPIS of Belgium. It was funded by the Belgian government and Amnesty International. It could not be independently verified.
Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, denied Tehran was importing weapons from North Korea. "We are not at all after such weapons, let alone bringing in or importing from other countries," told a press conference in Tokyo Monday.
South Korean analysts said that while the aircraft may have been heading for Iran, the weapons could actually have been earmarked for radical Middle Eastern groups like Hamas and Hezbollah which Iran has bankrolled and supplied with weapons in the past.
Kim Tae-woon, a security expert at the Korea Institute of Defense Analyses, said the weapons known to be aboard the plane — rocket-propeled grenades, explosives and components for surface-to-air missiles — were those used by insurgents, not regular armies.
"There are no insurgents in Iran, and in that sense, Iran may not be the destination," Kim said.
Another puzzle is why the aircraft chose to risk landing in relatively well-policed Bangkok rather than taking a "safer" route. Given the aircraft's maximum range of more than 4,000 miles (6,440 kilometers), it had a number of landing options.
The complex web of companies set up to facilitate shipments adds further stumbling blocks for investigators.
Brian Johnson-Thomas of IPIS said that "this is normal it tends to be a pattern. It is normal (for traffickers) to put in as much obfuscation as possible so that they can't be traced backward."
But he said that it was "somewhat strange" that the company contracted for only just one flight rather than a series of flights after going through all the trouble.
The report says the plane was registered to Air West, a cargo transport company in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Asked to comment on whether the plane was bound for Tehran, company owner Levan Kakabadze told AP he was unaware of the plane's final destination.
Researchers say the plane's previous registration documents link it to Air Cess and Centrafrican Airlines, which are allegedly connected to Bout, who has been in prison in Thailand since he was arrested March 6, 2008.
But the report, which was released Monday, said there was not enough evidence to link the plan definitively to Bout.
The plane, according to the researchers, was owned by Overseas Cargo FZE, based in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates where the plane also made a landing. Officials at the company did not respond to repeated requests for comment and the extent of its physical operations in Sharjah was also unclear.
In recent years, Sharjah's international airport has become a hub of many small charter and cargo carriers serving Asia, Africa and the former Soviet republics.
By DENIS D. GRAY, Associated Press Writer – 47 mins ago
BANGKOK (AP) – North Korea, banned from selling arms by U.N. sanctions, may have gambled and lost when it dispatched 35 tons of weapons by air rather than by sea as it has done in the past. Authorities seized the plane, which may have been bound for Iran, during a refueling stop in Thailand.
The 11-day saga, spanning the globe from Pyongyang to Azerbaijan to the Thai capital, remains shrouded in mystery and missing pieces, including the final destination of the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane now under Thai custody along with its five-man crew.
Among difficulties facing investigators is a fly-by-night infrastructure seemingly rigged up for the flight, including a Hong Kong-based company reportedly involved which was only incorporated Nov. 2 and whose director could not be traced there or at his address in Spain.
But experts in South Korea say one thing appears clear: North Korea is seeking new ways to bust through a U.S.-led interdiction program of its arms sales.
"They must have experienced difficulties finding ships to transport cargo because of U.N. sanctions," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies. "I believe this surely made North Korea realize that it is under great surveillance from all directions regardless of whether it's a sea or air route, and that it won't be easy to sell weapons."
Another analyst, Cha Du-hyeon at the Korea Institute of Defense Analyses, said that North Korea's attempt at the air shipment suggested that the regime was taking chances to meet a delivery deadline, as transport by sea was heavily scrutinized.
The seizure was the first known of arms sent by air. There have been several of sea borne weaponry. Analysts said the Bangkok seizure would likely deter some potential buyers of North Korean weapons.
In Bangkok, Police Col. Supisarn Police said investigators have so far found no evidence that the aircraft was bound for Iran, contradicting a report from arms trafficking experts.
Separately, the five crew members insisted their final destination was Sri Lanka and not Iran, their lawyer said after visiting the jailed men, who also say they had no idea they were carrying weapons.
Defense attorney Somsak Saithong told The Associated Press the crew also denied any knowledge of accused international weapons trafficker Victor Bout, who is in the same prison battling extradition to the United States on terrorism charges.
"They told me they don't know Victor Bout," Somsak said. He quoted the five men — four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus — as saying their flight plan called for a refueling stop in Bangkok before flying on to Sri Lanka. They have been charged with illegal arms possession.
But according to a flight plan seen by arms trafficking researchers, the aircraft was chartered by Hong Kong-based Union Top Management Ltd. to fly oil industry spare parts from Pyongyang to Tehran, Iran, with several other stops, including Bangkok, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
Union Top was set up by a company called R & G Management Consultancy, according to a woman who answered the door at Union Top's registered office. She said she didn't know a man called Dario Cabreros Garmendia — who signed Union Top's incorporation in Hong Kong on Nov. 2 — and did not know how to reach anyone at the company.
After answering several questions she asked the AP reporter to leave the office.
Garmendia listed Barcelona, Spain, as his address on another document related to the set up of the company. But AP reporters asked four people living next to the location and none had heard of him or the company.
Thai authorities, acting on a U.S. tip, impounded the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane after uncovering 35 tons of weapons, which officials say included explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and components for surface-to-air missiles.
The U.N. imposed sanctions in June banning North Korea from exporting any arms after the communist regime conducted a nuclear test and test-fired missiles. Impoverished North Korea is believed to earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year by selling missiles, missile parts and other weapons to countries such as Iran, Syria and Myanmar.
The report on the flight plan, which cited Iran as the final destination, came from the nonprofit groups TransArms in the United States and IPIS of Belgium. It was funded by the Belgian government and Amnesty International. It could not be independently verified.
Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, denied Tehran was importing weapons from North Korea. "We are not at all after such weapons, let alone bringing in or importing from other countries," told a press conference in Tokyo Monday.
South Korean analysts said that while the aircraft may have been heading for Iran, the weapons could actually have been earmarked for radical Middle Eastern groups like Hamas and Hezbollah which Iran has bankrolled and supplied with weapons in the past.
Kim Tae-woon, a security expert at the Korea Institute of Defense Analyses, said the weapons known to be aboard the plane — rocket-propeled grenades, explosives and components for surface-to-air missiles — were those used by insurgents, not regular armies.
"There are no insurgents in Iran, and in that sense, Iran may not be the destination," Kim said.
Another puzzle is why the aircraft chose to risk landing in relatively well-policed Bangkok rather than taking a "safer" route. Given the aircraft's maximum range of more than 4,000 miles (6,440 kilometers), it had a number of landing options.
The complex web of companies set up to facilitate shipments adds further stumbling blocks for investigators.
Brian Johnson-Thomas of IPIS said that "this is normal it tends to be a pattern. It is normal (for traffickers) to put in as much obfuscation as possible so that they can't be traced backward."
But he said that it was "somewhat strange" that the company contracted for only just one flight rather than a series of flights after going through all the trouble.
The report says the plane was registered to Air West, a cargo transport company in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Asked to comment on whether the plane was bound for Tehran, company owner Levan Kakabadze told AP he was unaware of the plane's final destination.
Researchers say the plane's previous registration documents link it to Air Cess and Centrafrican Airlines, which are allegedly connected to Bout, who has been in prison in Thailand since he was arrested March 6, 2008.
But the report, which was released Monday, said there was not enough evidence to link the plan definitively to Bout.
The plane, according to the researchers, was owned by Overseas Cargo FZE, based in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates where the plane also made a landing. Officials at the company did not respond to repeated requests for comment and the extent of its physical operations in Sharjah was also unclear.
In recent years, Sharjah's international airport has become a hub of many small charter and cargo carriers serving Asia, Africa and the former Soviet republics.
*************************************************************
Weapons-carrying cargo plane headed for Sri Lanka
By DENIS D. GRAY, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 51 mins ago
BANGKOK (AP) – A plane seized in Bangkok with a cache of North Korean weapons wasn't headed to Iran, a senior Thai police official said Wednesday, contradicting a report from arms trafficking experts.
Separately, the five-man crew insisted their final destination was Sri Lanka and not Iran, their lawyer said after visiting the jailed men.
Defense attorney Somsak Saithong told The Associated Press the crew also denied any knowledge of accused international weapons trafficker Victor Bout, who is in the same prison battling extradition to the United States on terrorism charges.
There has been much speculation since the plane was impounded Dec. 12 about where it was headed and whether it was linked to Bout.
"They told me they don't know Victor Bout," Somsak said. He quoted the five men — four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus — as saying their flight plan called for a refueling stop in Bangkok before flying on to Sri Lanka. They have been charged with illegal arms possession.
Police Col. Supisarn Bhaddinarinath said investigators have so far found no evidence that the aircraft was bound for Iran, or any link between Bout and the arms seizure.
But according to a flight plan seen by arms trafficking researchers, the aircraft was chartered by Hong Kong-based Union Top Management Ltd. to fly oil industry spare parts from Pyongyang to Tehran, Iran, with several other stops, including Bangkok, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
Union Top was set up by a company called R & G Management Consultancy, according to a woman who answered the door at Union Top's registered office. She said she didn't know a man called Dario Cabreros Garmendia, who signed Union Top's incorporation in Hong Kong on Nov. 2, and did not know how to reach anyone at the company.
After answering several questions she asked The Associated Press reporter to leave the office.
Garmendia listed Barcelona, Spain, as his address on another document related to the set up of the company.
Thai authorities, acting on a U.S. tip, impounded the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane after uncovering 35 tons of weapons, reportedly including explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and components for surface-to-air missiles.
"They always deny any involvement with the weapons or any charges they are accused of. They told me that their job was just to fly the cargo plane to its destination. They don't know about or had anything to do with the cargo itself," said Somsak.
The U.N. imposed sanctions in June banning North Korea from exporting any arms after the communist regime conducted a nuclear test and test-fired missiles. Impoverished North Korea is believed to earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year by selling missiles, missile parts and other weapons to countries such as Iran, Syria and Myanmar.
Daniel Pinkston, a Seoul-based North Korea watcher for the International Crisis Group think tank, said while the incident remains murky, it was clear that U.N. sanctions have not stopped North Korea from trying to engage in arms sales.
"It's a major source of foreign exchange and earnings for the Korean People's Army," Pinkston said. "I don't think anyone believed they were going to desist or just say, 'OK, well, you guys wrote up a tough resolution so we're gonna get out of this business now.'"
But he said cases such as the Bangkok seizure will likely have an impact on those willing to purchase North Korean weapons.
"It's very clear that if you are a buyer you run a risk of losing your cargo or getting intercepted," he said.
The Thai government has been investigating the arms cache and says it will send the results to the United Nations.
Somsak said the five men complained that they had been forced by police investigators into signing documents written in Thai. They asked to be provided with a translator.
The report on the flight plan from the nonprofit groups TransArms in the United States and IPIS of Belgium was funded by the Belgian government and Amnesty International. It could not be independently verified.
The report says the plane was registered to Air West, a cargo transport company in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Asked to comment on whether the plane was bound for Tehran, company owner Levan Kakabadze told The Associated Press he was unaware of the plane's final destination.
Speaking by telephone from Batumi, Georgia, Kakabadze said he leased the plane to the SP Trading company and could bear no responsibility for what happened next.
Researchers say the plane's previous registration documents link it to Air Cess and Centrafrican Airlines, which are allegedly connected to Bout, who has been in prison in Thailand since he was arrested March 6, 2008.
But the report, which was released Monday, said there was not enough evidence to link the plan definitively to Bout.
By DENIS D. GRAY, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 51 mins ago
BANGKOK (AP) – A plane seized in Bangkok with a cache of North Korean weapons wasn't headed to Iran, a senior Thai police official said Wednesday, contradicting a report from arms trafficking experts.
Separately, the five-man crew insisted their final destination was Sri Lanka and not Iran, their lawyer said after visiting the jailed men.
Defense attorney Somsak Saithong told The Associated Press the crew also denied any knowledge of accused international weapons trafficker Victor Bout, who is in the same prison battling extradition to the United States on terrorism charges.
There has been much speculation since the plane was impounded Dec. 12 about where it was headed and whether it was linked to Bout.
"They told me they don't know Victor Bout," Somsak said. He quoted the five men — four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus — as saying their flight plan called for a refueling stop in Bangkok before flying on to Sri Lanka. They have been charged with illegal arms possession.
Police Col. Supisarn Bhaddinarinath said investigators have so far found no evidence that the aircraft was bound for Iran, or any link between Bout and the arms seizure.
But according to a flight plan seen by arms trafficking researchers, the aircraft was chartered by Hong Kong-based Union Top Management Ltd. to fly oil industry spare parts from Pyongyang to Tehran, Iran, with several other stops, including Bangkok, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
Union Top was set up by a company called R & G Management Consultancy, according to a woman who answered the door at Union Top's registered office. She said she didn't know a man called Dario Cabreros Garmendia, who signed Union Top's incorporation in Hong Kong on Nov. 2, and did not know how to reach anyone at the company.
After answering several questions she asked The Associated Press reporter to leave the office.
Garmendia listed Barcelona, Spain, as his address on another document related to the set up of the company.
Thai authorities, acting on a U.S. tip, impounded the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane after uncovering 35 tons of weapons, reportedly including explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and components for surface-to-air missiles.
"They always deny any involvement with the weapons or any charges they are accused of. They told me that their job was just to fly the cargo plane to its destination. They don't know about or had anything to do with the cargo itself," said Somsak.
The U.N. imposed sanctions in June banning North Korea from exporting any arms after the communist regime conducted a nuclear test and test-fired missiles. Impoverished North Korea is believed to earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year by selling missiles, missile parts and other weapons to countries such as Iran, Syria and Myanmar.
Daniel Pinkston, a Seoul-based North Korea watcher for the International Crisis Group think tank, said while the incident remains murky, it was clear that U.N. sanctions have not stopped North Korea from trying to engage in arms sales.
"It's a major source of foreign exchange and earnings for the Korean People's Army," Pinkston said. "I don't think anyone believed they were going to desist or just say, 'OK, well, you guys wrote up a tough resolution so we're gonna get out of this business now.'"
But he said cases such as the Bangkok seizure will likely have an impact on those willing to purchase North Korean weapons.
"It's very clear that if you are a buyer you run a risk of losing your cargo or getting intercepted," he said.
The Thai government has been investigating the arms cache and says it will send the results to the United Nations.
Somsak said the five men complained that they had been forced by police investigators into signing documents written in Thai. They asked to be provided with a translator.
The report on the flight plan from the nonprofit groups TransArms in the United States and IPIS of Belgium was funded by the Belgian government and Amnesty International. It could not be independently verified.
The report says the plane was registered to Air West, a cargo transport company in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Asked to comment on whether the plane was bound for Tehran, company owner Levan Kakabadze told The Associated Press he was unaware of the plane's final destination.
Speaking by telephone from Batumi, Georgia, Kakabadze said he leased the plane to the SP Trading company and could bear no responsibility for what happened next.
Researchers say the plane's previous registration documents link it to Air Cess and Centrafrican Airlines, which are allegedly connected to Bout, who has been in prison in Thailand since he was arrested March 6, 2008.
But the report, which was released Monday, said there was not enough evidence to link the plan definitively to Bout.
*************************************************************
Report: Weapons flight heading to Iran
By AOIFE WHITE and DEBORAH SEWARD, Associated Press Writers – Tue Dec 22, 7:12 pm ET
BRUSSELS (AP) – The flight plan for an aircraft seized in Thailand with a load of illicit North Korean arms and ammunition shows that the mysterious plane was headed to Iran, a new report from arms trafficking researchers says.
According to the flight plan seen by researchers, the aircraft was chartered by Hong Kong-based Union Top Management Ltd., or UTM, to fly oil industry spare parts from Pyongyang to Tehran, with several other stops, including in Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
Thai authorities, acting on a U.S. tip, impounded the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane when it made a scheduled refueling stop in Bangkok on Dec. 12, uncovering 35 tons of weapons, reportedly including explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and components for surface-to-air missiles. The plane's papers described its cargo as oil-drilling machinery for delivery to Sri Lanka.
The U.N. imposed sanctions in June banning North Korea from exporting any arms after the communist regime conducted a nuclear test and test-fired missiles. Impoverished North Korea is believed to earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year by selling missiles, missile parts and other weapons to countries such as Iran, Syria and Myanmar.
The report on the flight plan from the nonprofit groups TransArms in the United States and IPIS of Belgium was funded by the Belgian government and Amnesty International.
It could not be independently verified.
The report says the plane was registered to Air West, a cargo transport company in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Asked to comment on whether the plane was bound for Tehran, company owner Levan Kakabadze told The Associated Press that he was unaware of the plane's final destination.
Speaking by telephone from Batumi, Georgia, Kakabadze said that he had leased the plane to the SP Trading company and could bear no responsibility for what happened next.
"I know that the flight documents listed the cargo as oil drilling equipment. It turned out that they were carrying weapons," Kakabadze said. "After leasing the plane, I can't be held responsible for what happened. It's a problem for people who leased the plane. I have nothing else to say."
The authors cite confidential e-mails saying that UTM had ruled out a direct flight from Pyongyang to Tehran.
The report also raises multiple questions, including why the plane would stop in Thailand, since arms traffickers would be wiser to fly over China toward the former Soviet republics and on to Iran, rather than the well-policed southeastern Asian country.
It says that the final flight plan shows that the aircraft stopped at an Azerbaijani air force base a few miles (kilometers) north of the capital, Baku, on its way to North Korea, and was expected to make a stop there on its way back from Pyongyang to Tehran.
An Azerbaijani aviation spokesman Tuesday denied the plane stopped in his country, which shares a border with neighboring Iran.
"The claims that the plane made a refueling stop in Azerbaijan have nothing to do with reality," said Maharram Safarli, a spokesman for the national flag carrier AZAL. "This plane has never landed in Azerbaijan."
The report, which was released Monday, also says that the aircraft's lease owner, SP Trading, which is located in New Zealand, was told that the equipment on board should be brought to Ukraine first for handling before its delivery to Pyongyang.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Petr Poroshenko has been quoted as saying that the plane was not Ukrainian. He said the plane landed in Ukraine on Nov. 13 empty and left empty on Dec. 8.
The researchers say that the plane's previous registration documents link it to Air Cess and Centrafrican Airlines, which are allegedly connected to accused weapons trafficker Victor Bout, who has been in prison in Thailand since he was arrested March 6 and is battling attempts to be extradited to the United States on terrorism charges.
But, the report said there was not enough evidence to link the plan definitively to Bout.
"In the arcane and esoteric world of former Soviet aircraft registration it is only possible to say that it is 'highly probable' that this aircraft is the same plane which, up to a decade or so ago, was part of a fleet of aircraft which 'quite likely' were under the control of Mr. Bout," it said.
"But this is rather like saying that possession of one's vintage Jaguar, which a decade ago was used as the getaway car in a bank job, makes one a bank robber."
The aircraft itself was formerly a Soviet air force plane that was later converted to civilian use in Ukraine before it was reportedly exported to Malaysia in 1997. It resurfaced in Swaziland in 1998 and was spotted again in the United Arab Emirates in 2003.
By AOIFE WHITE and DEBORAH SEWARD, Associated Press Writers – Tue Dec 22, 7:12 pm ET
BRUSSELS (AP) – The flight plan for an aircraft seized in Thailand with a load of illicit North Korean arms and ammunition shows that the mysterious plane was headed to Iran, a new report from arms trafficking researchers says.
According to the flight plan seen by researchers, the aircraft was chartered by Hong Kong-based Union Top Management Ltd., or UTM, to fly oil industry spare parts from Pyongyang to Tehran, with several other stops, including in Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
Thai authorities, acting on a U.S. tip, impounded the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane when it made a scheduled refueling stop in Bangkok on Dec. 12, uncovering 35 tons of weapons, reportedly including explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and components for surface-to-air missiles. The plane's papers described its cargo as oil-drilling machinery for delivery to Sri Lanka.
The U.N. imposed sanctions in June banning North Korea from exporting any arms after the communist regime conducted a nuclear test and test-fired missiles. Impoverished North Korea is believed to earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year by selling missiles, missile parts and other weapons to countries such as Iran, Syria and Myanmar.
The report on the flight plan from the nonprofit groups TransArms in the United States and IPIS of Belgium was funded by the Belgian government and Amnesty International.
It could not be independently verified.
The report says the plane was registered to Air West, a cargo transport company in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Asked to comment on whether the plane was bound for Tehran, company owner Levan Kakabadze told The Associated Press that he was unaware of the plane's final destination.
Speaking by telephone from Batumi, Georgia, Kakabadze said that he had leased the plane to the SP Trading company and could bear no responsibility for what happened next.
"I know that the flight documents listed the cargo as oil drilling equipment. It turned out that they were carrying weapons," Kakabadze said. "After leasing the plane, I can't be held responsible for what happened. It's a problem for people who leased the plane. I have nothing else to say."
The authors cite confidential e-mails saying that UTM had ruled out a direct flight from Pyongyang to Tehran.
The report also raises multiple questions, including why the plane would stop in Thailand, since arms traffickers would be wiser to fly over China toward the former Soviet republics and on to Iran, rather than the well-policed southeastern Asian country.
It says that the final flight plan shows that the aircraft stopped at an Azerbaijani air force base a few miles (kilometers) north of the capital, Baku, on its way to North Korea, and was expected to make a stop there on its way back from Pyongyang to Tehran.
An Azerbaijani aviation spokesman Tuesday denied the plane stopped in his country, which shares a border with neighboring Iran.
"The claims that the plane made a refueling stop in Azerbaijan have nothing to do with reality," said Maharram Safarli, a spokesman for the national flag carrier AZAL. "This plane has never landed in Azerbaijan."
The report, which was released Monday, also says that the aircraft's lease owner, SP Trading, which is located in New Zealand, was told that the equipment on board should be brought to Ukraine first for handling before its delivery to Pyongyang.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Petr Poroshenko has been quoted as saying that the plane was not Ukrainian. He said the plane landed in Ukraine on Nov. 13 empty and left empty on Dec. 8.
The researchers say that the plane's previous registration documents link it to Air Cess and Centrafrican Airlines, which are allegedly connected to accused weapons trafficker Victor Bout, who has been in prison in Thailand since he was arrested March 6 and is battling attempts to be extradited to the United States on terrorism charges.
But, the report said there was not enough evidence to link the plan definitively to Bout.
"In the arcane and esoteric world of former Soviet aircraft registration it is only possible to say that it is 'highly probable' that this aircraft is the same plane which, up to a decade or so ago, was part of a fleet of aircraft which 'quite likely' were under the control of Mr. Bout," it said.
"But this is rather like saying that possession of one's vintage Jaguar, which a decade ago was used as the getaway car in a bank job, makes one a bank robber."
The aircraft itself was formerly a Soviet air force plane that was later converted to civilian use in Ukraine before it was reportedly exported to Malaysia in 1997. It resurfaced in Swaziland in 1998 and was spotted again in the United Arab Emirates in 2003.
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Special Reports
Suu Kyi appeal to go ahead
Published: Dec. 23, 2009 at 12:31 PM
YANGON, Myanmar, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court will hear pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal against her latest house detention handed down in August, Myanmar news sources report.
The decision comes as the county appears to be preparing for next year's promised general election.
The court had turned down several requests since the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was given 18 months for violating her previous house detention after a U.S. man entered her lakeside home and stayed uninvited for two days.
Suu kyi, 64, was harboring John William Yettaw who swam across the lake and entered her house in early May. Her defense lawyers argued that she had repeatedly asked him to leave and so was not guilty.
She has been a high-profile and often an embarrassing prisoner for the military junta over the years since the leadership refused to recognize her landslide win in a 1990 national election widely seen as free and fair.
The trial in August was given much media coverage worldwide and many heads of government -- including the United States, Russia and China -- were vocal in their condemnation, urging the military to release her and other political prisoners.
Analysts said at the time that the coverage had an effect and the head of the military, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, halved the sentence and allowed her to continue serving her time at her lakeside home.
The court's decision to hear an appeal, announced in the city of Yangon, formerly called Rangoon and also the former capital city, was announced amid rumors that Suu Kyi might be released, reported the Indian-based expatriate-staffed news Web site Mizzima.
Suu Kyi had written a letter to Shwe requesting a meeting with him to further discuss what she could do to help lift Western sanctions against Myanmar, many imposed because of their treatment of her. Shwe allowed her to meet some party leaders last week, Mizzima said.
However, the military has not allowed her to meet with people of her own political party, National League for Democracy.
Easing up on the tighter aspects of her detention is one thing, but allowing her more political room is another. The government has scheduled national elections next year, and keeping her detained is likely a barrier to her running again for office.
Although the military promised the elections, there is as yet no fixed date. But there are reports of some political organizing and clashes in villages as well as some infrastructure preparations in cities.
A street fight was reported between a pro-democracy group and the pro-government Union Solidarity and Development Association, which has begun campaigning in villages near Yangon, another report in Mizzima noted.
Around 20 USDA members and 200 villagers attacked the group with sticks and stones, according to members of the group. Their flags and placards were set on fire, but no one was seriously injured.
There are some indications that the government is starting to spruce up the capital, the newly built city of Naypyidaw. The Parliament building looks like it will be completed in time for the 2010 elections, said Michael Lwin, a research fellow at Georgetown University. Lwin recently traveled to Myanmar to research Burmese law, culture and religion.
"Last month I saw workers scrambling to lay down asphalt from the public street to the Parliament, on long roads that are now only adumbrated dirt paths," he wrote on the World Focus news Web site.
He also noted that the State Department's 2008 Human Rights Report on Myanmar listed multiple violations by the government, including indefinite detention without charges, attacks on ethnic minorities and infringements on civil liberties.
Suu Kyi appeal to go ahead
Published: Dec. 23, 2009 at 12:31 PM
YANGON, Myanmar, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court will hear pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal against her latest house detention handed down in August, Myanmar news sources report.
The decision comes as the county appears to be preparing for next year's promised general election.
The court had turned down several requests since the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was given 18 months for violating her previous house detention after a U.S. man entered her lakeside home and stayed uninvited for two days.
Suu kyi, 64, was harboring John William Yettaw who swam across the lake and entered her house in early May. Her defense lawyers argued that she had repeatedly asked him to leave and so was not guilty.
She has been a high-profile and often an embarrassing prisoner for the military junta over the years since the leadership refused to recognize her landslide win in a 1990 national election widely seen as free and fair.
The trial in August was given much media coverage worldwide and many heads of government -- including the United States, Russia and China -- were vocal in their condemnation, urging the military to release her and other political prisoners.
Analysts said at the time that the coverage had an effect and the head of the military, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, halved the sentence and allowed her to continue serving her time at her lakeside home.
The court's decision to hear an appeal, announced in the city of Yangon, formerly called Rangoon and also the former capital city, was announced amid rumors that Suu Kyi might be released, reported the Indian-based expatriate-staffed news Web site Mizzima.
Suu Kyi had written a letter to Shwe requesting a meeting with him to further discuss what she could do to help lift Western sanctions against Myanmar, many imposed because of their treatment of her. Shwe allowed her to meet some party leaders last week, Mizzima said.
However, the military has not allowed her to meet with people of her own political party, National League for Democracy.
Easing up on the tighter aspects of her detention is one thing, but allowing her more political room is another. The government has scheduled national elections next year, and keeping her detained is likely a barrier to her running again for office.
Although the military promised the elections, there is as yet no fixed date. But there are reports of some political organizing and clashes in villages as well as some infrastructure preparations in cities.
A street fight was reported between a pro-democracy group and the pro-government Union Solidarity and Development Association, which has begun campaigning in villages near Yangon, another report in Mizzima noted.
Around 20 USDA members and 200 villagers attacked the group with sticks and stones, according to members of the group. Their flags and placards were set on fire, but no one was seriously injured.
There are some indications that the government is starting to spruce up the capital, the newly built city of Naypyidaw. The Parliament building looks like it will be completed in time for the 2010 elections, said Michael Lwin, a research fellow at Georgetown University. Lwin recently traveled to Myanmar to research Burmese law, culture and religion.
"Last month I saw workers scrambling to lay down asphalt from the public street to the Parliament, on long roads that are now only adumbrated dirt paths," he wrote on the World Focus news Web site.
He also noted that the State Department's 2008 Human Rights Report on Myanmar listed multiple violations by the government, including indefinite detention without charges, attacks on ethnic minorities and infringements on civil liberties.
*************************************************************
The Buffalo News - Burmese refugees spread holiday spirit with song
By Tom Buckham - NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: December 22, 2009, 10:54 AM
Putting aside any thought of the grim circumstances they left behind, a dozen new Burmese refugees lifted their voices Monday in the crowded vestibule of the International Institute on Delaware Avenue.
The performers were Chins, a predominantly Christian ethnic group from the Burma region bordering India, and the songs were native Christmas carols.
The ensemble didn’t simply harmonize, they energetically belted out the lyrics backed by two acoustic guitars and one electric guitar hooked to a portable amplifier. Fellow Burmese stood facing them in a semicircle, smiling, singing and clapping along.
“In Burma, they would be singing these songs in church this week,” said Nanda Sara, a Buddhist monk who fled his homeland, also known as Myanmar, in 2004 and was in the vanguard of refugees who started resettling in Western New York.
Now a caseworker at the institute, Sara does not speak the Chin dialect but understood perfectly the tidings of joy expressed by the exuberant choir. After all, music — in every language— has long been a powerful antidote to political strife the world over.
The choir members are part of a tide of Burmese refugees that is expected to total about 350 in the next year, said Denise Phillips Beehag, International Institute director of refugee and employment services.
They are part of a trend that has seen Erie County and Buffalo become the state’s leading refugee destination — a distinction long and famously owned by New York City. The county has resettled about 5,300 refugees from 45 troubled countries during the past decade, with many more on the way.
Among the nations of origin, few are as problematic for the international community as Burma, which has been ruled by an insular, iron-fisted military regime since 1990.
The number of people living in abject poverty in camps along Burma’s borders has grown to about 1.5 million, and the United Nations is spearheading a global effort to resettle as many as possible. Ethnic Burmese, many of whom were born in those camps, now make up the largest refugee group served by the International Institute, Beehag said.
“We literally meet them at the airport, buy them their first food and then help them find housing, services and jobs,” said Executive Director Eva Hassett. The institute is one of three local agencies expected to welcome a total of about 1,600 refugees this year, she said.
Burmese make up a majority of the 150 people who go to the institute daily and two nights a week for English language classes or other help, Hassett said.
As they have established their own community on Buffalo’s West Side, where three houses have been converted to Buddhist monasteries, Burmese who settled elsewhere in the United States have moved here to join them, she said.
If his countrymen share a goal, it is the determination to succeed in their new surroundings, in a climate that couldn’t be more different than that of tropical Southeast Asia, Sara said.
“The weather is a little hard, but they adapt,” he said. “They can’t go back to Burma anyway, so they say, ‘This is my home.’ ”
By Tom Buckham - NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: December 22, 2009, 10:54 AM
Putting aside any thought of the grim circumstances they left behind, a dozen new Burmese refugees lifted their voices Monday in the crowded vestibule of the International Institute on Delaware Avenue.
The performers were Chins, a predominantly Christian ethnic group from the Burma region bordering India, and the songs were native Christmas carols.
The ensemble didn’t simply harmonize, they energetically belted out the lyrics backed by two acoustic guitars and one electric guitar hooked to a portable amplifier. Fellow Burmese stood facing them in a semicircle, smiling, singing and clapping along.
“In Burma, they would be singing these songs in church this week,” said Nanda Sara, a Buddhist monk who fled his homeland, also known as Myanmar, in 2004 and was in the vanguard of refugees who started resettling in Western New York.
Now a caseworker at the institute, Sara does not speak the Chin dialect but understood perfectly the tidings of joy expressed by the exuberant choir. After all, music — in every language— has long been a powerful antidote to political strife the world over.
The choir members are part of a tide of Burmese refugees that is expected to total about 350 in the next year, said Denise Phillips Beehag, International Institute director of refugee and employment services.
They are part of a trend that has seen Erie County and Buffalo become the state’s leading refugee destination — a distinction long and famously owned by New York City. The county has resettled about 5,300 refugees from 45 troubled countries during the past decade, with many more on the way.
Among the nations of origin, few are as problematic for the international community as Burma, which has been ruled by an insular, iron-fisted military regime since 1990.
The number of people living in abject poverty in camps along Burma’s borders has grown to about 1.5 million, and the United Nations is spearheading a global effort to resettle as many as possible. Ethnic Burmese, many of whom were born in those camps, now make up the largest refugee group served by the International Institute, Beehag said.
“We literally meet them at the airport, buy them their first food and then help them find housing, services and jobs,” said Executive Director Eva Hassett. The institute is one of three local agencies expected to welcome a total of about 1,600 refugees this year, she said.
Burmese make up a majority of the 150 people who go to the institute daily and two nights a week for English language classes or other help, Hassett said.
As they have established their own community on Buffalo’s West Side, where three houses have been converted to Buddhist monasteries, Burmese who settled elsewhere in the United States have moved here to join them, she said.
If his countrymen share a goal, it is the determination to succeed in their new surroundings, in a climate that couldn’t be more different than that of tropical Southeast Asia, Sara said.
“The weather is a little hard, but they adapt,” he said. “They can’t go back to Burma anyway, so they say, ‘This is my home.’ ”
*************************************************************
UN News Centre - Credit vital to boosting development in Myanmar, economist says
23 December 2009 – With 70 per cent of Myanmar’s population dependent on agriculture, credit reform could help the Asian nation reach its full productivity potential and enhance development, Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Joseph Stiglitz said after a United Nations-backed visit to the country.
“If you’re going to reduce poverty and meet the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs], a focus on agriculture is absolutely essential,” Mr. Stiglitz told reporters after his trip.
Surveys, he pointed out, have shown that the cost of credit is very high in Myanmar, with many farmers and casual labourers having to borrow money at interest rates of 10 per cent or more per month.
The loans are reminiscent of “pay day” loans in the United States, he said, except that the interest rates charged in Myanmar are even more “usurious.”
While in the country, the economist met with Government officials and academics, as well as visiting projects in rural areas.
Farmers, he said, told him that while irrigation had increased their productivity, “because they could not get the credit to buy fertilizer and high quality seeds, the full potential was not being realized.”
While productivity is high, “what is clear is that it’s not as high as it could be,” Mr. Stiglitz underlined. “They have made some impressive successes, but [they are] not living up to their full potential.”
He and other experts travelled to Myanmar at the invitation of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), as part of a development partnership requested by the Government.
The foundations of the four-day visit, according to ESCAP Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer, were laid shortly after the devastating Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar last year when the UN body and the Government launched their first development partnership seminar.
Mr. Stiglitz, who chairs the UN Commission of Experts on Reforms of International Finance and Economic Structures, noted that the effects of the devastating cyclone – including the devastation of the already-fragile credit system and fertilizer supply – can be felt long after the disaster itself.
Nargis showed how “even a country that is not integrated into the global economy is being affected by the same global recession that every country in the world has been,” he said.
Acknowledging his role as an “outsider” in the talks in Myanmar, he said that “while [an outsider] can’t bring the knowledge of the details that the people within a country have… he can share the experiences” of enormous success and failures in development and the management of natural resources.
Mr. Stiglitz also underlined how the economic and political processes of countries are intertwined.
“If one wants to achieve security stability, economic security, economic stability [and] sustainable development, then one has to engage in participative processes in trying to absorb some of the lessons of those countries that have been successful and absorb the lessons also of countries that have been failures so you can try to avoid those mistakes.”
23 December 2009 – With 70 per cent of Myanmar’s population dependent on agriculture, credit reform could help the Asian nation reach its full productivity potential and enhance development, Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Joseph Stiglitz said after a United Nations-backed visit to the country.
“If you’re going to reduce poverty and meet the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs], a focus on agriculture is absolutely essential,” Mr. Stiglitz told reporters after his trip.
Surveys, he pointed out, have shown that the cost of credit is very high in Myanmar, with many farmers and casual labourers having to borrow money at interest rates of 10 per cent or more per month.
The loans are reminiscent of “pay day” loans in the United States, he said, except that the interest rates charged in Myanmar are even more “usurious.”
While in the country, the economist met with Government officials and academics, as well as visiting projects in rural areas.
Farmers, he said, told him that while irrigation had increased their productivity, “because they could not get the credit to buy fertilizer and high quality seeds, the full potential was not being realized.”
While productivity is high, “what is clear is that it’s not as high as it could be,” Mr. Stiglitz underlined. “They have made some impressive successes, but [they are] not living up to their full potential.”
He and other experts travelled to Myanmar at the invitation of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), as part of a development partnership requested by the Government.
The foundations of the four-day visit, according to ESCAP Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer, were laid shortly after the devastating Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar last year when the UN body and the Government launched their first development partnership seminar.
Mr. Stiglitz, who chairs the UN Commission of Experts on Reforms of International Finance and Economic Structures, noted that the effects of the devastating cyclone – including the devastation of the already-fragile credit system and fertilizer supply – can be felt long after the disaster itself.
Nargis showed how “even a country that is not integrated into the global economy is being affected by the same global recession that every country in the world has been,” he said.
Acknowledging his role as an “outsider” in the talks in Myanmar, he said that “while [an outsider] can’t bring the knowledge of the details that the people within a country have… he can share the experiences” of enormous success and failures in development and the management of natural resources.
Mr. Stiglitz also underlined how the economic and political processes of countries are intertwined.
“If one wants to achieve security stability, economic security, economic stability [and] sustainable development, then one has to engage in participative processes in trying to absorb some of the lessons of those countries that have been successful and absorb the lessons also of countries that have been failures so you can try to avoid those mistakes.”
*************************************************************
Press Trust of India
ULFA cadres fleeing to Myanmar: BSF
STAFF WRITER 17:7 HRS IST
Shillong, Dec 23 (PTI) ULFA rebels are infiltrating into Myanmar following mounting pressure on them and other groups in Bangladesh, BSF said today.
"Pressure is building on Indian insurgents in Bangladesh, where they do not have a free run anymore. Those who don't want to surrender are finding new pastures and one such place in Myanmar," BSF Inspector General (Assam and Meghalaya Frontier) Prithvi Raj said.
Militants are infiltrating into Myanmar of late, he told reporters to specific questions on the presence of ULFA in that country.
He was speaking to the media at the surrender of a Myanmar-based ULFA militant -- 'corporal' Jatin Shaw alias Alput Thapa, the body guard of ULFA 'commander' Sujeet Mohan who is also holed up in Myanmar.
Raj said Jatin's surrender was another step in the process of reconciliation of the ULFA.
"The atmosphere of confrontation is giving way to the process of reconciliation.
ULFA cadres fleeing to Myanmar: BSF
STAFF WRITER 17:7 HRS IST
Shillong, Dec 23 (PTI) ULFA rebels are infiltrating into Myanmar following mounting pressure on them and other groups in Bangladesh, BSF said today.
"Pressure is building on Indian insurgents in Bangladesh, where they do not have a free run anymore. Those who don't want to surrender are finding new pastures and one such place in Myanmar," BSF Inspector General (Assam and Meghalaya Frontier) Prithvi Raj said.
Militants are infiltrating into Myanmar of late, he told reporters to specific questions on the presence of ULFA in that country.
He was speaking to the media at the surrender of a Myanmar-based ULFA militant -- 'corporal' Jatin Shaw alias Alput Thapa, the body guard of ULFA 'commander' Sujeet Mohan who is also holed up in Myanmar.
Raj said Jatin's surrender was another step in the process of reconciliation of the ULFA.
"The atmosphere of confrontation is giving way to the process of reconciliation.
*************************************************************
Myanmar, Japan economic cooperation reaches new height
www.chinaview.cn 2009-12-23 13:04:51
YANGON, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The current visit to Myanmar of Japanese Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroyuki Ishige has marked a new height of economic and trade cooperation between Myanmar and Japan.
The visit of Ishige, who was received by Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein Tuesday, represented another high-level one to Nay Pyi Taw of Japan during this year after that of Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Kenichiro Sasae in June.
Ishige's visit also came more than a month after the Economic Cooperation Committees of the Union of Myanmar Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and the Japan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) met in Yangon in November to seek ways of boosting trade and investment between the two countries.
The 7th joint meeting of the economic cooperation committees of the UMFCCI and JCCI discussed economies of Myanmar and Japan and further cooperation between the two major business organizations.
Meanwhile, the Myanmar industrial authorities are also working together with Japanese entrepreneurs in quality garment production to boost the export to Japan as well as to expand its foreign market.
The Japanese entrepreneurs include those of JETRO, Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship (AOTS) and Juki Corporation.
These organizations have been providing for Myanmar staff at all-level training related to management, production and human resources since February this year.
Myanmar's garment export to Japan has been increasing annually and during last year, the export hit 135 million U.S. dollars, up 38 million dollars compared with 2007.
Japan takes up one third of Myanmar's garment export standing as Myanmar's largest garment exporting country, followed by England, Germany and Spain, according to statistics.
In the latest development, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) has planned to inject investment in Myanmar's industrial sector as the first Japan-Mekong investment business mission and their first business meeting was held in Yangon last week.
JETRO's investment in Myanmar covers motor car spare parts manufacturing, food, garment and agricultural production.
According to compiled statistics, Japan's total investment in Myanmar so far amounted to 216.76 million U.S. dollars in 23 projects since 1988, accounting for 1.37 percent of Myanmar's total foreign investment and taking the 12th position.
The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at 341.8 million U.S. dollars in the 2008-09 fiscal year, of which Myanmar's export to Japan amounted to 179.6 million dollars with Japan ranking the 6th in Myanmar's exporting countries line-up. Myanmar's import from Japan took in 162.2 million dollars.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-12-23 13:04:51
YANGON, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The current visit to Myanmar of Japanese Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroyuki Ishige has marked a new height of economic and trade cooperation between Myanmar and Japan.
The visit of Ishige, who was received by Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein Tuesday, represented another high-level one to Nay Pyi Taw of Japan during this year after that of Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Kenichiro Sasae in June.
Ishige's visit also came more than a month after the Economic Cooperation Committees of the Union of Myanmar Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and the Japan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) met in Yangon in November to seek ways of boosting trade and investment between the two countries.
The 7th joint meeting of the economic cooperation committees of the UMFCCI and JCCI discussed economies of Myanmar and Japan and further cooperation between the two major business organizations.
Meanwhile, the Myanmar industrial authorities are also working together with Japanese entrepreneurs in quality garment production to boost the export to Japan as well as to expand its foreign market.
The Japanese entrepreneurs include those of JETRO, Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship (AOTS) and Juki Corporation.
These organizations have been providing for Myanmar staff at all-level training related to management, production and human resources since February this year.
Myanmar's garment export to Japan has been increasing annually and during last year, the export hit 135 million U.S. dollars, up 38 million dollars compared with 2007.
Japan takes up one third of Myanmar's garment export standing as Myanmar's largest garment exporting country, followed by England, Germany and Spain, according to statistics.
In the latest development, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) has planned to inject investment in Myanmar's industrial sector as the first Japan-Mekong investment business mission and their first business meeting was held in Yangon last week.
JETRO's investment in Myanmar covers motor car spare parts manufacturing, food, garment and agricultural production.
According to compiled statistics, Japan's total investment in Myanmar so far amounted to 216.76 million U.S. dollars in 23 projects since 1988, accounting for 1.37 percent of Myanmar's total foreign investment and taking the 12th position.
The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at 341.8 million U.S. dollars in the 2008-09 fiscal year, of which Myanmar's export to Japan amounted to 179.6 million dollars with Japan ranking the 6th in Myanmar's exporting countries line-up. Myanmar's import from Japan took in 162.2 million dollars.
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December 23, 2009 09:16 AM
Myanmar To Increase Rice Export To More Countries
YANGON, Dec 23 (Bernama) -- Myanmar has been endeavouring to expand its international rice market in a bid to increase rice export to more other countries especially those of the European Union (EU), reported China's Xinhua news agency.
The export of Myanmar's high-grade Ziya rice to Europe came after coordinations were made between Myanmar and EU rice producers at the World Rice Conference held in the Philippines in October this year.
As its market expansion, Myanmar has also planned export of good-quality rice to Kuwait, Middle East and African countries.
The country also attended the Middle East-Africa-Asia Rice/ Grain Global Summit in Dubai earlier in June.
The summit was held during which rice and grain producers, traders and experts discussed investment opportunities and challenges facing the rice and grain sectors and strengthen information exchange and partnership to harness the potential of agricultural food investments and production.
Myanmar enjoyed yearly rice surplus of 5 million tonnes, Xinhua said.
According to official statistics, the country generated about 30 million tonnes of rice out of 8.26 million hectares of paddy cultivated in the last fiscal year 2008 to 2009 which ended in March.
The growing paddy output had raised the export of rice of Myanmar, setting a new record high of the export in 2008 to 2009 with over 700,000 tonnes compared with 100,000 tonnes six years ago.
The 2008-09 rice export earned about US$200 million.
There are so far 35 private companies in the country undertaking the export of rice to South Africa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirate, South Korea and Egypt.
Meanwhile, the export of rice stopped for five months due to cyclone Nargis which occurred in May last year but such export resumed since October last year with up to 100,000 tonnes monthly.
The cyclone destroyed about 900,000 hectares of farmland which accounted for 24 percent of the country's total cultivated area from where 1.35 million tonnes of paddy could be produced, Xinhua cited the statistics as saying.
Myanmar has set a new target for producing 40 million tonnes of paddy annually over the next few years, saying that the move is not only for self sufficiency but also for surplus in food, according to the government's Special Projects Implementation Committee.
Agriculture represents the mainstay of Myanmar's economy with over 70 percent of the country's 57.37-million population being engaged in the sector and contributing 40 percent to its gross domestic product.
Myanmar targeted to generate 32 million tonnes of rice in 2009-10 ending March, of which 1.5 million tonnes of rice are to be exported.
The country's per capita rice consumption stands 510 kg per year which are for rural people, while 408 kg for urban people. The annual consumption of rice by the entire country people reached over 17 million tonnes, statistics revealed.
Meanwhile, Myanmar is endeavoring to extend its contract farming system to three more divisions with cultivation area in extra -- Sagaing, Ayeyawaddy and Bago in addition to Yangon's where such project is underway.
Standing as the second main crop after rice, Myanmar's beans and pulses also fetched large amount of foreign exchange for the country.
According to the statistics, it exported over 1.5 million tonnes of beans and pulses in 2008-09, up 15.3 percent from 2007-08 when it registered 1.3 million tons, earning US$806 million from the export out of 4.25 million hectares cultivated.
Myanmar stands the second largest beans exporter in the world after Canada with 70 percent of the crop being shipped to India.
Myanmar To Increase Rice Export To More Countries
YANGON, Dec 23 (Bernama) -- Myanmar has been endeavouring to expand its international rice market in a bid to increase rice export to more other countries especially those of the European Union (EU), reported China's Xinhua news agency.
The export of Myanmar's high-grade Ziya rice to Europe came after coordinations were made between Myanmar and EU rice producers at the World Rice Conference held in the Philippines in October this year.
As its market expansion, Myanmar has also planned export of good-quality rice to Kuwait, Middle East and African countries.
The country also attended the Middle East-Africa-Asia Rice/ Grain Global Summit in Dubai earlier in June.
The summit was held during which rice and grain producers, traders and experts discussed investment opportunities and challenges facing the rice and grain sectors and strengthen information exchange and partnership to harness the potential of agricultural food investments and production.
Myanmar enjoyed yearly rice surplus of 5 million tonnes, Xinhua said.
According to official statistics, the country generated about 30 million tonnes of rice out of 8.26 million hectares of paddy cultivated in the last fiscal year 2008 to 2009 which ended in March.
The growing paddy output had raised the export of rice of Myanmar, setting a new record high of the export in 2008 to 2009 with over 700,000 tonnes compared with 100,000 tonnes six years ago.
The 2008-09 rice export earned about US$200 million.
There are so far 35 private companies in the country undertaking the export of rice to South Africa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirate, South Korea and Egypt.
Meanwhile, the export of rice stopped for five months due to cyclone Nargis which occurred in May last year but such export resumed since October last year with up to 100,000 tonnes monthly.
The cyclone destroyed about 900,000 hectares of farmland which accounted for 24 percent of the country's total cultivated area from where 1.35 million tonnes of paddy could be produced, Xinhua cited the statistics as saying.
Myanmar has set a new target for producing 40 million tonnes of paddy annually over the next few years, saying that the move is not only for self sufficiency but also for surplus in food, according to the government's Special Projects Implementation Committee.
Agriculture represents the mainstay of Myanmar's economy with over 70 percent of the country's 57.37-million population being engaged in the sector and contributing 40 percent to its gross domestic product.
Myanmar targeted to generate 32 million tonnes of rice in 2009-10 ending March, of which 1.5 million tonnes of rice are to be exported.
The country's per capita rice consumption stands 510 kg per year which are for rural people, while 408 kg for urban people. The annual consumption of rice by the entire country people reached over 17 million tonnes, statistics revealed.
Meanwhile, Myanmar is endeavoring to extend its contract farming system to three more divisions with cultivation area in extra -- Sagaing, Ayeyawaddy and Bago in addition to Yangon's where such project is underway.
Standing as the second main crop after rice, Myanmar's beans and pulses also fetched large amount of foreign exchange for the country.
According to the statistics, it exported over 1.5 million tonnes of beans and pulses in 2008-09, up 15.3 percent from 2007-08 when it registered 1.3 million tons, earning US$806 million from the export out of 4.25 million hectares cultivated.
Myanmar stands the second largest beans exporter in the world after Canada with 70 percent of the crop being shipped to India.
*************************************************************
The Nation - 'I warned, he didn't listen'
Published on December 23, 2009
Surakiart tells court Thaksin failed to heed his strong objection about loan to Burma
Ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra ordered the Foreign Ministry to help Burma get an additional Bt1-billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of Thailand (Exim Bank) despite the ministry's strong objection, Bt300 million of which might have been used to buy equipment from his telecom empire, former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai testified yesterday.
Surakiart, who was foreign minister in the Thaksin government from 2001-04, told the Supreme Court that Thaksin personally intervened in the total Bt4-billion loan deal with Burma back in 2003-04.
Surakiart and graft-buster Klanarong Chantik yesterday testified before the court to wrap up the prosecution's case to seize Bt76 billion from Thaksin and his former wife, Pojaman.
In cross-examining Surakiart, the defence surprisingly asked if he had knowledge of Burma using Bt300 million of the loan to buy equipment from ShinSat.
It was unclear why the defence raised the issue when it could reflect poorly on Thaksin.
Surakiart replied that he was only aware of such a purchase during the investigation by the Assets Examination Committee.
The former premier has been accused of hiding his assets illegally and abusing his office by implementing at least five government measures to benefit his family's vast shareholdings in Shin Corp, which was eventually sold to Temasek Holdings of Singapore in 2006.
The court yesterday asked for more documentary evidence and witnesses for two more hearings, scheduled for January 12 and January 14.
In his testimony Surakiart said he recalled that Burma's foreign minister, in October 2003, had officially asked for a low-interest Exim Bank loan of Bt3 billion to buy machinery, building materials and other products from Thailand.
Later on, Surakiart said, Burma sought an additional US$24-million (Bt798 million) credit line to develop its telecom infrastructure.
"As the foreign minister, I raised my objection because the government could face criticism due to the fact that the Shinawatra family was a major shareholder of Thailand's telecom giant [Shin Corp].
"At the time, several countries had also imposed trade sanctions on Myanmar [Burma]. Initially, there was no reaction from PM Thaksin until Myanmar's officials asked Thai counterparts at a regional meeting in Phuket if it's possible to increase the loan from Bt3 billion to Bt5 billion."
"In writing, Myanmar said it would also want to buy asphalt and building materials from Thailand. Afterwards, PM Thaksin asked the Foreign Ministry about its position. I said I'm against it.
"Then, PM Thaksin suggested that we should meet half-way. Myanmar had asked for Bt5 billion so we should give them Bt4 billion. That's the deal," recalled Surakiart, who was also deputy premier in the final year of the Thaksin government.
Meanwhile, Klanarong, a former member of the Asset Examination Committee, told the court there were at least five policy measures executed during Thaksin's tenure which caused public damage of Bt70 billion.
First, state-owned TOT lost a big chunk of revenue when the Thaksin government issued an executive decree to convert the telecom concession fees into an excise tax.
Second, TOT lost an estimated Bt60 billion in revenue after a concession contract with Advanced Info Service (AIS), a unit of Shin Corp, was amended to reduce the concession fee from a progressive rate of 20-30 per cent of revenue to a flat rate of only 20 per cent.
Third, the telecom concession contract was amended to help AIS reduce its investment requirement by Bt10 billion, thus boosting its profits.
Fourth, the satellite concession contract was amended to help ShinSat, another unit of Shin Corp, make money from the iPSTAR satellite rather than investing in a back-up satellite.
Fifth, state-owned Exim Bank was ordered to provide the Bt4-billion loan to Burma to buy services from ShinSat.
Altogether, the government's measures helped boost the share price of Shin Corp and benefited its major shareholders, he said.
Thaksin insisted last night that he was unfairly charged of being "unusually wealthy" by the post-coup Assets Examination Committee and said he had some Bt60 billion in assets before entering politics many years ago.
In his weekly Internet-based radio broadcast, he said the value of Shin Corp shares held by his family rose and fell naturally, without his political influence.
Meanwhile Thaksin insisted last night that he was unfairly charged of being "unusually wealthy" by the postcoup Assets Examination Committee and said he had some Bt60 billion in assets before entering politics many years ago.
In his weekly Internetbased radio broadcast, he said the value of Shin Corp shares held by his family rose and fell naturally, without his political influence.
Published on December 23, 2009
Surakiart tells court Thaksin failed to heed his strong objection about loan to Burma
Ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra ordered the Foreign Ministry to help Burma get an additional Bt1-billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of Thailand (Exim Bank) despite the ministry's strong objection, Bt300 million of which might have been used to buy equipment from his telecom empire, former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai testified yesterday.
Surakiart, who was foreign minister in the Thaksin government from 2001-04, told the Supreme Court that Thaksin personally intervened in the total Bt4-billion loan deal with Burma back in 2003-04.
Surakiart and graft-buster Klanarong Chantik yesterday testified before the court to wrap up the prosecution's case to seize Bt76 billion from Thaksin and his former wife, Pojaman.
In cross-examining Surakiart, the defence surprisingly asked if he had knowledge of Burma using Bt300 million of the loan to buy equipment from ShinSat.
It was unclear why the defence raised the issue when it could reflect poorly on Thaksin.
Surakiart replied that he was only aware of such a purchase during the investigation by the Assets Examination Committee.
The former premier has been accused of hiding his assets illegally and abusing his office by implementing at least five government measures to benefit his family's vast shareholdings in Shin Corp, which was eventually sold to Temasek Holdings of Singapore in 2006.
The court yesterday asked for more documentary evidence and witnesses for two more hearings, scheduled for January 12 and January 14.
In his testimony Surakiart said he recalled that Burma's foreign minister, in October 2003, had officially asked for a low-interest Exim Bank loan of Bt3 billion to buy machinery, building materials and other products from Thailand.
Later on, Surakiart said, Burma sought an additional US$24-million (Bt798 million) credit line to develop its telecom infrastructure.
"As the foreign minister, I raised my objection because the government could face criticism due to the fact that the Shinawatra family was a major shareholder of Thailand's telecom giant [Shin Corp].
"At the time, several countries had also imposed trade sanctions on Myanmar [Burma]. Initially, there was no reaction from PM Thaksin until Myanmar's officials asked Thai counterparts at a regional meeting in Phuket if it's possible to increase the loan from Bt3 billion to Bt5 billion."
"In writing, Myanmar said it would also want to buy asphalt and building materials from Thailand. Afterwards, PM Thaksin asked the Foreign Ministry about its position. I said I'm against it.
"Then, PM Thaksin suggested that we should meet half-way. Myanmar had asked for Bt5 billion so we should give them Bt4 billion. That's the deal," recalled Surakiart, who was also deputy premier in the final year of the Thaksin government.
Meanwhile, Klanarong, a former member of the Asset Examination Committee, told the court there were at least five policy measures executed during Thaksin's tenure which caused public damage of Bt70 billion.
First, state-owned TOT lost a big chunk of revenue when the Thaksin government issued an executive decree to convert the telecom concession fees into an excise tax.
Second, TOT lost an estimated Bt60 billion in revenue after a concession contract with Advanced Info Service (AIS), a unit of Shin Corp, was amended to reduce the concession fee from a progressive rate of 20-30 per cent of revenue to a flat rate of only 20 per cent.
Third, the telecom concession contract was amended to help AIS reduce its investment requirement by Bt10 billion, thus boosting its profits.
Fourth, the satellite concession contract was amended to help ShinSat, another unit of Shin Corp, make money from the iPSTAR satellite rather than investing in a back-up satellite.
Fifth, state-owned Exim Bank was ordered to provide the Bt4-billion loan to Burma to buy services from ShinSat.
Altogether, the government's measures helped boost the share price of Shin Corp and benefited its major shareholders, he said.
Thaksin insisted last night that he was unfairly charged of being "unusually wealthy" by the post-coup Assets Examination Committee and said he had some Bt60 billion in assets before entering politics many years ago.
In his weekly Internet-based radio broadcast, he said the value of Shin Corp shares held by his family rose and fell naturally, without his political influence.
Meanwhile Thaksin insisted last night that he was unfairly charged of being "unusually wealthy" by the postcoup Assets Examination Committee and said he had some Bt60 billion in assets before entering politics many years ago.
In his weekly Internetbased radio broadcast, he said the value of Shin Corp shares held by his family rose and fell naturally, without his political influence.
*************************************************************
Elder brother objects to renovation of Suu Kyi’s home
Wednesday, 23 December 2009 19:43 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Aung San Oo, elder brother of Aung San Suu Kyi, has objected to the renovation of her house at the Rangoon City Development Committee (RCDC).
Aung San Oo’s representative Soe Win Naing communicated his objection against the renovation verbally to the city municipal office on December 15, the National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesperson Nyan Win said.
The municipal committee has already granted permission for renovation on the upper floor verandah of the house, where a brick wall partition is to be made. Work started since the middle of this month, he added.
Among the three children of Burma’s independence architect General Aung San and former ambassador Khin Kyi -- Aung San Suu Kyi, is the youngest. Middle son Aung San Linn died at a young age.
Former Prime Minister U Nu gave the house situated on the bank of Inya Lake to Khin Kyi, while she was serving as the Burmese Ambassador to India in 1960. Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi has lived in this house since she came back to Burma in 1988.
US citizen John William Yettaw intruded into her house by swimming across the Inya Lake in May last year. The house is being renovated from the security point of view.
Soe Win Naing also submitted an objection letter on behalf of US citizen Aung San Ooo to the Supreme Court in Rangoon on December 21 against the renovation.
Earlier, Aung San Oo filed an inheritance suit. Advocate Kyin Win said that the court dismissed his application on the grounds that foreigners are not entitled to land ownership.
But Aung San Oo’s lawyers again filed a ‘letter of administration’ on the estate in 2001. The case is still pending in court.
Since 2007, the case has been pending as Suu Kyi could not meet her witnesses.
Wednesday, 23 December 2009 19:43 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Aung San Oo, elder brother of Aung San Suu Kyi, has objected to the renovation of her house at the Rangoon City Development Committee (RCDC).
Aung San Oo’s representative Soe Win Naing communicated his objection against the renovation verbally to the city municipal office on December 15, the National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesperson Nyan Win said.
The municipal committee has already granted permission for renovation on the upper floor verandah of the house, where a brick wall partition is to be made. Work started since the middle of this month, he added.
Among the three children of Burma’s independence architect General Aung San and former ambassador Khin Kyi -- Aung San Suu Kyi, is the youngest. Middle son Aung San Linn died at a young age.
Former Prime Minister U Nu gave the house situated on the bank of Inya Lake to Khin Kyi, while she was serving as the Burmese Ambassador to India in 1960. Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi has lived in this house since she came back to Burma in 1988.
US citizen John William Yettaw intruded into her house by swimming across the Inya Lake in May last year. The house is being renovated from the security point of view.
Soe Win Naing also submitted an objection letter on behalf of US citizen Aung San Ooo to the Supreme Court in Rangoon on December 21 against the renovation.
Earlier, Aung San Oo filed an inheritance suit. Advocate Kyin Win said that the court dismissed his application on the grounds that foreigners are not entitled to land ownership.
But Aung San Oo’s lawyers again filed a ‘letter of administration’ on the estate in 2001. The case is still pending in court.
Since 2007, the case has been pending as Suu Kyi could not meet her witnesses.
*************************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Nyi Nyi Aung Tortured: Feedom Now
By LALIT K JHA - Wednesday, December 23, 2009
WASHINGTON—in a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture on Tuesday, legislative counsel Beth Schwanke and Jared Genser, president of Washington-based Freedom Now, accuse Burmese authorities of torturing Kyaw Zaw Lwin, a.k.a Nyi Nyi Aung.
Hired by Nyi Nyi Aung's fiancee, Wa Wa Kyaw, Schwanke said in a separate statement that Nyi Nyi Aung has been unjustly imprisoned in Burma since Sept. 3, 2009. He is being subjected to torture by prison officials in Burma’s notorious Insein Prison as punishment for his hunger strike earlier this month protesting the conditions of Burma’s political prisoners, she said.
In the joint letter to Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, Schwanke and Genser said: “We write to request urgent action in the case of Kyaw Zaw Lwin (Nyi Nyi Aung) detained in Burma's Insein Prison. In addition to prior incidents of torture, Mr. Aung is currently subjected to what is known in Burma as 'military dog cell' confinement.
“It is Freedom Now's understanding that this means that Mr. Aung is being held in solitary confinement in an 8 x 10 cell. Prison officials keep military dogs directly across the hall, subjecting Mr. Aung to almost constant barking. Mr. Aung has reportedly been enduring this treatment since at least December 7, 2009; fifteen days.
“Freedom Now believes that this treatment rises to the level of torture or, at a minimum, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, given its duration and interference with his ability to sleep, and requests your urgent assistance,” they said.
After Nyi Nyi Aung's arrest, “he was moved from interrogation center to interrogation center throughout Burma where he was tortured, including: food and sleep deprivation for seven days, beatings, and denial of medical treatment,” they said.
Freedom Now assumes the initial torture was carried out by the Burmese Special Branch, who first arrested him. They believe recent incidents have been carried out by Insein Prison officials.
Describing the methods of torture used, Freedom Now believes that he is “only allowed to go to the bathroom on a tray kept in his cell,” and is “allowed out of his cell once a day to wash his face.” The barking dogs lead to “extreme sleep deprivation.”
“Freedom Now believes this treatment began December 7, 2009, if not before.
“The initial torture led to physical injuries, from which they believe he has now mostly healed.
“However, these most recent incidents of torture will certainly lead to more lasting injuries if not immediately stopped. Fifteen days of sleep deprivation can lead to extremely serious health consequences. Given that Mr. Aung is in a weakened condition from the initial torture, poor conditions at Insein Prison, and his hunger strike; Freedom Now is gravely concerned for his well-being,” they said, adding that they do not believe Nyi Nyi Aung is receiving appropriate medical treatment.
A well-known democracy activist, Kyaw Zaw Lwin was arrested by the Burmese authorities on September 3, when he was attempting to visit his mother, an imprisoned democracy activist who has cancer. He was accused of using a forged Burmese identity card and illegally importing currencies into the country, they said.
On Dec. 18, 53 US Congressmen wrote a letter to the Snr-Gen Than Shwe urging Nyi Nyi Aung's release.
Among signatories to the letter were Congressmen by Howard Berman, chairman of the powerful House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Frank Wolf, co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Right Commission; House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer; Assistant to the Speaker Chris Van Hollen; and Dan Rohrabacher, ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight.
“Based on information relayed by the US embassy in Rangoon, it appears that Mr. Aung's detention and trial is inconsistent with both Burmese and international law,” the congressmen said.
Sen Jim Webb, who traveled to Burma earlier this year to secure the release of US citizen John Yettaw, also urged the regime to grant Kyaw Zaw Lwin all rights guaranteed under international law.
In a statement on Dec. 11, Webb expressed concern about news reports that Kyaw Zaw Lwin had been mistreated during his detainment and that he is being denied regular access to US consular visits.
By LALIT K JHA - Wednesday, December 23, 2009
WASHINGTON—in a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture on Tuesday, legislative counsel Beth Schwanke and Jared Genser, president of Washington-based Freedom Now, accuse Burmese authorities of torturing Kyaw Zaw Lwin, a.k.a Nyi Nyi Aung.
Hired by Nyi Nyi Aung's fiancee, Wa Wa Kyaw, Schwanke said in a separate statement that Nyi Nyi Aung has been unjustly imprisoned in Burma since Sept. 3, 2009. He is being subjected to torture by prison officials in Burma’s notorious Insein Prison as punishment for his hunger strike earlier this month protesting the conditions of Burma’s political prisoners, she said.
In the joint letter to Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, Schwanke and Genser said: “We write to request urgent action in the case of Kyaw Zaw Lwin (Nyi Nyi Aung) detained in Burma's Insein Prison. In addition to prior incidents of torture, Mr. Aung is currently subjected to what is known in Burma as 'military dog cell' confinement.
“It is Freedom Now's understanding that this means that Mr. Aung is being held in solitary confinement in an 8 x 10 cell. Prison officials keep military dogs directly across the hall, subjecting Mr. Aung to almost constant barking. Mr. Aung has reportedly been enduring this treatment since at least December 7, 2009; fifteen days.
“Freedom Now believes that this treatment rises to the level of torture or, at a minimum, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, given its duration and interference with his ability to sleep, and requests your urgent assistance,” they said.
After Nyi Nyi Aung's arrest, “he was moved from interrogation center to interrogation center throughout Burma where he was tortured, including: food and sleep deprivation for seven days, beatings, and denial of medical treatment,” they said.
Freedom Now assumes the initial torture was carried out by the Burmese Special Branch, who first arrested him. They believe recent incidents have been carried out by Insein Prison officials.
Describing the methods of torture used, Freedom Now believes that he is “only allowed to go to the bathroom on a tray kept in his cell,” and is “allowed out of his cell once a day to wash his face.” The barking dogs lead to “extreme sleep deprivation.”
“Freedom Now believes this treatment began December 7, 2009, if not before.
“The initial torture led to physical injuries, from which they believe he has now mostly healed.
“However, these most recent incidents of torture will certainly lead to more lasting injuries if not immediately stopped. Fifteen days of sleep deprivation can lead to extremely serious health consequences. Given that Mr. Aung is in a weakened condition from the initial torture, poor conditions at Insein Prison, and his hunger strike; Freedom Now is gravely concerned for his well-being,” they said, adding that they do not believe Nyi Nyi Aung is receiving appropriate medical treatment.
A well-known democracy activist, Kyaw Zaw Lwin was arrested by the Burmese authorities on September 3, when he was attempting to visit his mother, an imprisoned democracy activist who has cancer. He was accused of using a forged Burmese identity card and illegally importing currencies into the country, they said.
On Dec. 18, 53 US Congressmen wrote a letter to the Snr-Gen Than Shwe urging Nyi Nyi Aung's release.
Among signatories to the letter were Congressmen by Howard Berman, chairman of the powerful House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Frank Wolf, co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Right Commission; House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer; Assistant to the Speaker Chris Van Hollen; and Dan Rohrabacher, ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight.
“Based on information relayed by the US embassy in Rangoon, it appears that Mr. Aung's detention and trial is inconsistent with both Burmese and international law,” the congressmen said.
Sen Jim Webb, who traveled to Burma earlier this year to secure the release of US citizen John Yettaw, also urged the regime to grant Kyaw Zaw Lwin all rights guaranteed under international law.
In a statement on Dec. 11, Webb expressed concern about news reports that Kyaw Zaw Lwin had been mistreated during his detainment and that he is being denied regular access to US consular visits.
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Revival of delta mangroves begins
Dec 23, 2009 (DVB)–In a bid to rejuvenate Burma’s cyclone-stricken Irrawaddy delta, a Burmese environmental group is replanting swathes of mangrove forests and boosting the breeding of salt water fish.
The programme is being undertaken by the Forest Resource Environment Development and Conservation Association of Myanmar (FREDA).
According to the vice-chairperson, U Ohn, the forest environment in the delta region was destroyed by cyclone Nargis, which struck in May last year flooded some 800,000 hectares of farmland.
“When mangrove forests are destroyed, it lowers the population of water creatures living in the mangroves,” he said. “While replanting mangrove forests, locals can survive on fish, shrimps and crabs for food and income.”
In a report delivered to a Southeast Asian ministers’ conference in July, U Ohn had warned of the possible contribution that heavy deforestation in Burma is making towards climate change.
Following the cyclone last year, the head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Surin Pitsuwan, said that destruction of Burma's mangrove forests may have contributed to the devastating impact it had.
Population increases had led to an "encroachment into the mangrove forests which used to serve as a buffer between the rising tide, between big waves and storms and the residential area," he said in a speech in Singapore.
The World Rainforest Movement highlighted the problems caused by deforestation in Burma in a 2002 report in which it described the mangroves of the Irrawaddy delta as "some of the most degraded or destroyed mangrove systems in the Indo-Pacific".
Around 140,000 people were killed in Burma’s worst recorded natural disaster, which also ranks as the second deadliest North Indian cyclone in recorded history.
“Planting mangrove trees is not a difficult job. We did it successfully with about 14 to 17 different kind of mangrove trees 12 years ago,” said U Ohn. “Although they are not difficult to grow, they are very difficult to maintain.”
The programme will start in Irrawaddy division’s Phyarpon district in early 2010. If successful over the next one to two years, the programme will be extended to other parts of the Irrawaddy division, he said.
“We have groups providing funding for next year so we will grow more kinds of plants and will get a chance to research which plants are best.”
Reporting by Thurein Soe
Dec 23, 2009 (DVB)–In a bid to rejuvenate Burma’s cyclone-stricken Irrawaddy delta, a Burmese environmental group is replanting swathes of mangrove forests and boosting the breeding of salt water fish.
The programme is being undertaken by the Forest Resource Environment Development and Conservation Association of Myanmar (FREDA).
According to the vice-chairperson, U Ohn, the forest environment in the delta region was destroyed by cyclone Nargis, which struck in May last year flooded some 800,000 hectares of farmland.
“When mangrove forests are destroyed, it lowers the population of water creatures living in the mangroves,” he said. “While replanting mangrove forests, locals can survive on fish, shrimps and crabs for food and income.”
In a report delivered to a Southeast Asian ministers’ conference in July, U Ohn had warned of the possible contribution that heavy deforestation in Burma is making towards climate change.
Following the cyclone last year, the head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Surin Pitsuwan, said that destruction of Burma's mangrove forests may have contributed to the devastating impact it had.
Population increases had led to an "encroachment into the mangrove forests which used to serve as a buffer between the rising tide, between big waves and storms and the residential area," he said in a speech in Singapore.
The World Rainforest Movement highlighted the problems caused by deforestation in Burma in a 2002 report in which it described the mangroves of the Irrawaddy delta as "some of the most degraded or destroyed mangrove systems in the Indo-Pacific".
Around 140,000 people were killed in Burma’s worst recorded natural disaster, which also ranks as the second deadliest North Indian cyclone in recorded history.
“Planting mangrove trees is not a difficult job. We did it successfully with about 14 to 17 different kind of mangrove trees 12 years ago,” said U Ohn. “Although they are not difficult to grow, they are very difficult to maintain.”
The programme will start in Irrawaddy division’s Phyarpon district in early 2010. If successful over the next one to two years, the programme will be extended to other parts of the Irrawaddy division, he said.
“We have groups providing funding for next year so we will grow more kinds of plants and will get a chance to research which plants are best.”
Reporting by Thurein Soe
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