Myanmar boosts civil service salaries
Tue Jan 12, 3:32 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Military-ruled Myanmar has increased basic salaries for low-paid civil servants, a government order said Tuesday, in an apparent attempt to stave off the effect of rising prices.
Government workers earning between the lowest monthly wage of 15,000 kyats (15 dollars) and 200,000 kyats will receive a fixed increase of 20,000 kyats, said the order from the ministry of finance and revenue.
The new rate will apply to the first month's salary of 2010, which will be paid at the end of January, said the order, which was dated December 31 but has only just emerged.
"The government has decided to increase the salaries of government staff for the sake of their living standards," the order said.
Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries, has seen prices of commodities and consumer items rise sharply in recent months.
A massive and unannounced hike in fuel prices in August 2007 unleashed protests led by Buddhist monks that snowballed into the biggest threat to the ruling junta in nearly 20 years.
A subsequent crackdown by the military left at least 31 people dead.
Under the new government order, the day-rate for casual labourers for government departments would also be increased from 500 kyats per eight-hour day to 1,100 kyats.
Civil servants paid in foreign currency abroad, such as foreign ministry staff, would not have their salary increased, the order said.
"We have to be happy about the increased salaries," a government worker said on condition of anonymity.
"But the cost of living and daily expenses are also increasing now and that's why there is so much corruption. Still, it (the pay rise) is a relief for the lowest paid staff," the official said.
Myanmar has an estimated 20,000 government staff working at 30 ministries.
Tue Jan 12, 3:32 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Military-ruled Myanmar has increased basic salaries for low-paid civil servants, a government order said Tuesday, in an apparent attempt to stave off the effect of rising prices.
Government workers earning between the lowest monthly wage of 15,000 kyats (15 dollars) and 200,000 kyats will receive a fixed increase of 20,000 kyats, said the order from the ministry of finance and revenue.
The new rate will apply to the first month's salary of 2010, which will be paid at the end of January, said the order, which was dated December 31 but has only just emerged.
"The government has decided to increase the salaries of government staff for the sake of their living standards," the order said.
Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries, has seen prices of commodities and consumer items rise sharply in recent months.
A massive and unannounced hike in fuel prices in August 2007 unleashed protests led by Buddhist monks that snowballed into the biggest threat to the ruling junta in nearly 20 years.
A subsequent crackdown by the military left at least 31 people dead.
Under the new government order, the day-rate for casual labourers for government departments would also be increased from 500 kyats per eight-hour day to 1,100 kyats.
Civil servants paid in foreign currency abroad, such as foreign ministry staff, would not have their salary increased, the order said.
"We have to be happy about the increased salaries," a government worker said on condition of anonymity.
"But the cost of living and daily expenses are also increasing now and that's why there is so much corruption. Still, it (the pay rise) is a relief for the lowest paid staff," the official said.
Myanmar has an estimated 20,000 government staff working at 30 ministries.
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Clinton seeks to defuse tension over Japan air base
by Lachlan Carmichael – Mon Jan 11, 11:01 pm ET
HONOLULU, HAWAII (AFP) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to defuse tension over the relocation of a US air base in Japan as she arrived in Hawaii for talks with her Japanese counterpart.
"The significance of our meeting is to reaffirm the centrality of our 50-year-old alliance," Clinton told reporters on the plane taking her to Honolulu, the first leg of a new tour of Asia.
"It provides stability for the region... It is much bigger than any one particular issue."
Yomiuri newspaper and other Japanese reports said Sunday that Clinton and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada will make final arrangements Tuesday for a statement stressing the crucial contribution of their alliance to global peace.
"The governments are preparing for the statement, with which Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and President (Barack) Obama will celebrate the 50th anniversary and commit to further deepen the alliance," Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said in comments reported by Jiji Press.
The security treaty, signed on January 19, 1960, has formed the bedrock of the post-war Japan-US alliance, under which pacifist Japan relies on a massive US military presence to guarantee its security.
Tokyo's relations with its most important ally have hit turbulence over the controversial Futenma Air Base, which Hatoyama has suggested should be moved off the southern island of Okinawa or even outside Japan altogether.
The center-left Hatoyama, who took power in September, has pledged to review past agreements on the US military presence, including plans to shift Futenma within Okinawa, and to deal with Washington on a more "equal" basis.
Joseph Nye, a former assistant secretary of defense, urged the Obama administration to be patient with the Hatoyama government and not allow "a second-order issue to threaten our long-term strategy for East Asia."
In a commentary in the New York Times last week, Nye said: "The two countries will miss a major opportunity if they let the base controversy lead to bitter feelings or the further reduction of American forces in Japan.
"The best guarantee of security in a region where China remains a long-term challenge and a nuclear North Korea poses a clear threat remains the presence of American troops, which Japan helps to maintain with generous host nation support," Nye wrote.
Kurt Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state for Asia and Pacific affairs, said Clinton and Okada would discuss security concerns over the nuclear ambitions of both North Korea and Iran.
They will also talk about China's rising power, as well as the military junta in Myanmar.
Clinton will visit the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, which commemorates the Americans who died in the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 that brought the United States into World War II.
Clinton will then tour the South Pacific.
She will arrive in Port Moresby on Thursday to discuss economic development and efforts to combat climate change. It will be the first visit to Papua New Guinea by a US secretary of state since Madeleine Albright visited in 1998.
On Friday, Clinton will travel to Auckland, New Zealand to discuss a range of diplomatic, economic and security-related issues, Campbell said.
She will then head to Melbourne and Canberra, Australia, on Sunday.
In Canberra, Clinton and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will hold the 25th Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations with their counterparts, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Defense Minister John Faulkner.
In both New Zealand and Australia, Clinton will likely discuss the countries' troop contributions to Afghanistan.
Making her fourth tour of Asia since becoming the chief US diplomat a year ago, Clinton said the United States intends to "exercise influence" in Asia for another century and serve as a stabilizing force against China's rising power.
On her first trip since taking office in February last year, Clinton visited Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China. She later traveled to India and Thailand in July, then Singapore and the Philippines in November.
"One of my goals was to signal that the United States is back" in Asia, Clinton said, recalling her first trip abroad.
"There was a general sense on the part of our allies and partners in the region that we were withdrawing," she added.
"But people want to see that the United States is fully engaged in Asia so that, as China rises, there is a presence of the United States as a force for peace and stability, as a guarantor of security."
by Lachlan Carmichael – Mon Jan 11, 11:01 pm ET
HONOLULU, HAWAII (AFP) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to defuse tension over the relocation of a US air base in Japan as she arrived in Hawaii for talks with her Japanese counterpart.
"The significance of our meeting is to reaffirm the centrality of our 50-year-old alliance," Clinton told reporters on the plane taking her to Honolulu, the first leg of a new tour of Asia.
"It provides stability for the region... It is much bigger than any one particular issue."
Yomiuri newspaper and other Japanese reports said Sunday that Clinton and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada will make final arrangements Tuesday for a statement stressing the crucial contribution of their alliance to global peace.
"The governments are preparing for the statement, with which Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and President (Barack) Obama will celebrate the 50th anniversary and commit to further deepen the alliance," Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said in comments reported by Jiji Press.
The security treaty, signed on January 19, 1960, has formed the bedrock of the post-war Japan-US alliance, under which pacifist Japan relies on a massive US military presence to guarantee its security.
Tokyo's relations with its most important ally have hit turbulence over the controversial Futenma Air Base, which Hatoyama has suggested should be moved off the southern island of Okinawa or even outside Japan altogether.
The center-left Hatoyama, who took power in September, has pledged to review past agreements on the US military presence, including plans to shift Futenma within Okinawa, and to deal with Washington on a more "equal" basis.
Joseph Nye, a former assistant secretary of defense, urged the Obama administration to be patient with the Hatoyama government and not allow "a second-order issue to threaten our long-term strategy for East Asia."
In a commentary in the New York Times last week, Nye said: "The two countries will miss a major opportunity if they let the base controversy lead to bitter feelings or the further reduction of American forces in Japan.
"The best guarantee of security in a region where China remains a long-term challenge and a nuclear North Korea poses a clear threat remains the presence of American troops, which Japan helps to maintain with generous host nation support," Nye wrote.
Kurt Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state for Asia and Pacific affairs, said Clinton and Okada would discuss security concerns over the nuclear ambitions of both North Korea and Iran.
They will also talk about China's rising power, as well as the military junta in Myanmar.
Clinton will visit the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, which commemorates the Americans who died in the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 that brought the United States into World War II.
Clinton will then tour the South Pacific.
She will arrive in Port Moresby on Thursday to discuss economic development and efforts to combat climate change. It will be the first visit to Papua New Guinea by a US secretary of state since Madeleine Albright visited in 1998.
On Friday, Clinton will travel to Auckland, New Zealand to discuss a range of diplomatic, economic and security-related issues, Campbell said.
She will then head to Melbourne and Canberra, Australia, on Sunday.
In Canberra, Clinton and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will hold the 25th Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations with their counterparts, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Defense Minister John Faulkner.
In both New Zealand and Australia, Clinton will likely discuss the countries' troop contributions to Afghanistan.
Making her fourth tour of Asia since becoming the chief US diplomat a year ago, Clinton said the United States intends to "exercise influence" in Asia for another century and serve as a stabilizing force against China's rising power.
On her first trip since taking office in February last year, Clinton visited Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China. She later traveled to India and Thailand in July, then Singapore and the Philippines in November.
"One of my goals was to signal that the United States is back" in Asia, Clinton said, recalling her first trip abroad.
"There was a general sense on the part of our allies and partners in the region that we were withdrawing," she added.
"But people want to see that the United States is fully engaged in Asia so that, as China rises, there is a presence of the United States as a force for peace and stability, as a guarantor of security."
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Myanmar, Japan cooperate in resettlement project for disabled
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-11 13:41:01
YANGON, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar Health Ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have been cooperating in implementing a resettlement project for the disabled in the country, aimed at helping them in their recovery efforts, sources with the ministry said on Monday.
The five-year project (2009-2013), being implemented at the National Disabled Recovery Hospital in Yangon, includes education and human resource development and upgrading of medical equipment for the hospital, the sources said. adding that information network between the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, non-governmental organizations and the health ministry will be established.
Under the technical cooperation project, the JICA is to provide technical know how to Myanmar and train Myanmar government employees in Japan, it said.
During last year, the Myanmar Disabled People Association (MDPA)drew two long-term resettlement projects for the disable people in the country as an encouraging measures by providing them with vocational opportunities.
The first three-year project have started implementation by the European Union organization and the Leprosy Mission International (TLMI) in five townships in the Yangon municipal area.
Another five-year project with TLMI in five regions of Mawlamyaing, Pathein, Taungoo, Pakkoku and Kyaingtong to be followed includes disseminating educational talks, teaching programs and vocational training programs.
In Myanmar, there are over 50 million populations, of which the disabled take up 1.3 million.
Among them, handicaps stood the highest with 72.3 percent, followed by visual impairment with 10.9 percent, hearing impairment with 9.5 percent and mentally impairment with 9 percent.
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-11 13:41:01
YANGON, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar Health Ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have been cooperating in implementing a resettlement project for the disabled in the country, aimed at helping them in their recovery efforts, sources with the ministry said on Monday.
The five-year project (2009-2013), being implemented at the National Disabled Recovery Hospital in Yangon, includes education and human resource development and upgrading of medical equipment for the hospital, the sources said. adding that information network between the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, non-governmental organizations and the health ministry will be established.
Under the technical cooperation project, the JICA is to provide technical know how to Myanmar and train Myanmar government employees in Japan, it said.
During last year, the Myanmar Disabled People Association (MDPA)drew two long-term resettlement projects for the disable people in the country as an encouraging measures by providing them with vocational opportunities.
The first three-year project have started implementation by the European Union organization and the Leprosy Mission International (TLMI) in five townships in the Yangon municipal area.
Another five-year project with TLMI in five regions of Mawlamyaing, Pathein, Taungoo, Pakkoku and Kyaingtong to be followed includes disseminating educational talks, teaching programs and vocational training programs.
In Myanmar, there are over 50 million populations, of which the disabled take up 1.3 million.
Among them, handicaps stood the highest with 72.3 percent, followed by visual impairment with 10.9 percent, hearing impairment with 9.5 percent and mentally impairment with 9 percent.
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Myanmar claims prompt sale of gov't treasury bonds in start of this year
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-10 22:03:43
YANGON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Myanmar has claimed prompt and good sale of government treasury bonds in the beginning of this year, getting a total sale value of over 1.03 billion Kyats (1.03 million U.S. dollars) in merely a couple of days, the local weekly Voice reported Sunday.
The prompt and increased sale of the government treasury bonds was attributed to the introduction of one more kind of two-year government treasury bonds on Jan. 1 this year apart from the two previously existing three-year and five-year ones, drawing public interest.
The treasury bonds, issued by state economic banks in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay, can be freely bought in groups or individuals and are transferable or sold, the bank authorities said, adding that the interest rate for the new two-year government treasury bonds is 10.5 percent, while the three-year ones 11 percent and the five-year one 11.5 percent.
According to the central bank, total sale of three-year government treasury bonds amounted to 87.78 billion Kyats (87.78 million U.S. dollars) in the 2008-09 fiscal year, while that of five-year bonds 430.94 billion Kyats.
The latest figures revealed that increased amount of the treasury bonds were sold in the first half of 2009-10 with 550.4 billion Kyats for three-year bonds and 51.183 billion Kyats for the five years'.
Financial experts see good prospects for future emergence of stock and share market based on the development of people's interest in investing in the government treasury bonds.
The buying of the bonds represents a firm and trustable investment as they are issued by banks of the government, experts added.
The value of the government treasury bonds range from 10,000 Kyats to 10 million Kyats.
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-10 22:03:43
YANGON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Myanmar has claimed prompt and good sale of government treasury bonds in the beginning of this year, getting a total sale value of over 1.03 billion Kyats (1.03 million U.S. dollars) in merely a couple of days, the local weekly Voice reported Sunday.
The prompt and increased sale of the government treasury bonds was attributed to the introduction of one more kind of two-year government treasury bonds on Jan. 1 this year apart from the two previously existing three-year and five-year ones, drawing public interest.
The treasury bonds, issued by state economic banks in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay, can be freely bought in groups or individuals and are transferable or sold, the bank authorities said, adding that the interest rate for the new two-year government treasury bonds is 10.5 percent, while the three-year ones 11 percent and the five-year one 11.5 percent.
According to the central bank, total sale of three-year government treasury bonds amounted to 87.78 billion Kyats (87.78 million U.S. dollars) in the 2008-09 fiscal year, while that of five-year bonds 430.94 billion Kyats.
The latest figures revealed that increased amount of the treasury bonds were sold in the first half of 2009-10 with 550.4 billion Kyats for three-year bonds and 51.183 billion Kyats for the five years'.
Financial experts see good prospects for future emergence of stock and share market based on the development of people's interest in investing in the government treasury bonds.
The buying of the bonds represents a firm and trustable investment as they are issued by banks of the government, experts added.
The value of the government treasury bonds range from 10,000 Kyats to 10 million Kyats.
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Myanmar private airline plans three more destinations this year
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-10 14:25:57
YANGON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A Myanmar private airline of Air Bagan has planned to add flight services to three more destinations of Cambodia, Thailand and China this year, sources with the airline said on Sunday.
These new destinations include Cambodia's Siem Reap, Thailand's Phuket and Chaing Mai and China's Kunming and Guangzhou. Of them, the flight service between Yangon and Chaing Mai had started last Thursday.
The Air Bagan once launched its first international scheduled flight service to Bangkok on May 15, 2007 and the second's to Singapore on Sept. 7 the same year but both of the flight services were suspended in 2008.
The Air Bagan is flying domestically to 20 destinations -- Yangon, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw, Nyaung Oo, Taunggyi, Kalay, Myitkyina, Putao, Kyaington, Tachileik, Lashio, Thandwe, Sittwe, Dawei, Kawthoung, Myeik, Heho, Monywa, Honmalin and Pathein. Its two international destinations are Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur and Thailand's Chaing Mai.
Inaugurated in November 2004, Air Bagan, the first full private-invested airline in Myanmar set up by the Htoo Company, stands the third largest domestic private airline in the country after Air Mandalay and Yangon Airways.
Using two Fokker F-100 aircrafts, two ATR -72 aircrafts and twoATR-42 aircrafts, the Air Bagan has been flying the above destinations.
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-10 14:25:57
YANGON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A Myanmar private airline of Air Bagan has planned to add flight services to three more destinations of Cambodia, Thailand and China this year, sources with the airline said on Sunday.
These new destinations include Cambodia's Siem Reap, Thailand's Phuket and Chaing Mai and China's Kunming and Guangzhou. Of them, the flight service between Yangon and Chaing Mai had started last Thursday.
The Air Bagan once launched its first international scheduled flight service to Bangkok on May 15, 2007 and the second's to Singapore on Sept. 7 the same year but both of the flight services were suspended in 2008.
The Air Bagan is flying domestically to 20 destinations -- Yangon, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw, Nyaung Oo, Taunggyi, Kalay, Myitkyina, Putao, Kyaington, Tachileik, Lashio, Thandwe, Sittwe, Dawei, Kawthoung, Myeik, Heho, Monywa, Honmalin and Pathein. Its two international destinations are Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur and Thailand's Chaing Mai.
Inaugurated in November 2004, Air Bagan, the first full private-invested airline in Myanmar set up by the Htoo Company, stands the third largest domestic private airline in the country after Air Mandalay and Yangon Airways.
Using two Fokker F-100 aircrafts, two ATR -72 aircrafts and twoATR-42 aircrafts, the Air Bagan has been flying the above destinations.
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Press Trust of India
India-Myanmar Home Secy talks begins on Jan 19
STAFF WRITER 19:11 HRS IST
New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI) Cross-border movement of militants and cooperation in other security matters will figure in the three-day home secretary level talks beginning January 19 between India and Myanmar in Nay Pay Taw.
The Indian delegation, headed by Union Home Secretary G K Pillai, will hold extensive discussions with the Myanmar contingent led by Brigadier General Phone Swe on issues ranging from border security to cross-border movement of Northeast militants and their training camps in Myanmar.
The two countries will have dialogue on security related matters, smuggling of arms and narcotic drugs, effective border management, border trade and cross-border projects, Home Ministry sources said.
Several insurgent groups like NSCN, ULFA have set up bases along the Indo-Myanmar border and India is likely to press for their eviction.
The elusive self-styled 'commander-in-chief' of ULFA Paresh Baruah is also believed to have been taking shelter in this area.
India-Myanmar Home Secy talks begins on Jan 19
STAFF WRITER 19:11 HRS IST
New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI) Cross-border movement of militants and cooperation in other security matters will figure in the three-day home secretary level talks beginning January 19 between India and Myanmar in Nay Pay Taw.
The Indian delegation, headed by Union Home Secretary G K Pillai, will hold extensive discussions with the Myanmar contingent led by Brigadier General Phone Swe on issues ranging from border security to cross-border movement of Northeast militants and their training camps in Myanmar.
The two countries will have dialogue on security related matters, smuggling of arms and narcotic drugs, effective border management, border trade and cross-border projects, Home Ministry sources said.
Several insurgent groups like NSCN, ULFA have set up bases along the Indo-Myanmar border and India is likely to press for their eviction.
The elusive self-styled 'commander-in-chief' of ULFA Paresh Baruah is also believed to have been taking shelter in this area.
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EarthTimes - French crew films Myanmar's working elephants
Posted : Sun, 10 Jan 2010 11:09:57 GMT
Yangon - A French film company is making a documentary on Myanmar's elephants employed in the logging industry which will compare their lifestyles with those employed in tourism in Thailand, Sri Lanka and India, media reports said Sunday. Compass Films finished three weeks in the Bago Mountains filming the Myanmar segment of the program, which is to be shown on the National Geographic Channel, the Myanmar Times reported.
Shooting will also take place in Thailand, India and Sri Lanka, before the documentary is completed by the end of this year and aired in the first half of 2011, Compass Film director Klaus Reisinger said.
The 90-minute documentary, to be entitled Life Size Memories, will compare the life of elephants to those of humans and also compare their different working conditions in the four selected Asian countries.
"Elephants are individuals, just like people are. We try to show how different they are from one another. They have different personalities, faces, histories and styles," Raisinger told The Myanmar Times, an English-language weekly.
The film company decided to document working pachyderms in Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India because elephants are treated differently in each country.
"In Thailand , elephants don't work in the timber industry - they work in the tourist industry. And they are not in very good shape because the conditions aren't good," Raisinger said.
"Even though logging is very hard work for the elephants, they have fixed working hours. When they aren't working, they are free to roam the forest naturally. But in Thailand and Sri Lanka elephants are kept confined," he said.
Reisinger and his fellow filmmaker Frederique Lengaigne have already shot two films in Myanmar, both of which were shown on National Geographic Channel.
The first, aired in 2000, was called Elephant Power. The second was afilm on Myanmar's Sea Gypsies who live in the Myeik Archipelago, filmed in 2002.
The pair obtained permission to film elephants working with the Myanmar Timber Enterprise, under the Ministry of Forestry, with the help of the Htoo Foundation, the charitable arm of Htoo Trading, a leading business enterprise in Myanmar with close connections with the military.
Posted : Sun, 10 Jan 2010 11:09:57 GMT
Yangon - A French film company is making a documentary on Myanmar's elephants employed in the logging industry which will compare their lifestyles with those employed in tourism in Thailand, Sri Lanka and India, media reports said Sunday. Compass Films finished three weeks in the Bago Mountains filming the Myanmar segment of the program, which is to be shown on the National Geographic Channel, the Myanmar Times reported.
Shooting will also take place in Thailand, India and Sri Lanka, before the documentary is completed by the end of this year and aired in the first half of 2011, Compass Film director Klaus Reisinger said.
The 90-minute documentary, to be entitled Life Size Memories, will compare the life of elephants to those of humans and also compare their different working conditions in the four selected Asian countries.
"Elephants are individuals, just like people are. We try to show how different they are from one another. They have different personalities, faces, histories and styles," Raisinger told The Myanmar Times, an English-language weekly.
The film company decided to document working pachyderms in Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India because elephants are treated differently in each country.
"In Thailand , elephants don't work in the timber industry - they work in the tourist industry. And they are not in very good shape because the conditions aren't good," Raisinger said.
"Even though logging is very hard work for the elephants, they have fixed working hours. When they aren't working, they are free to roam the forest naturally. But in Thailand and Sri Lanka elephants are kept confined," he said.
Reisinger and his fellow filmmaker Frederique Lengaigne have already shot two films in Myanmar, both of which were shown on National Geographic Channel.
The first, aired in 2000, was called Elephant Power. The second was afilm on Myanmar's Sea Gypsies who live in the Myeik Archipelago, filmed in 2002.
The pair obtained permission to film elephants working with the Myanmar Timber Enterprise, under the Ministry of Forestry, with the help of the Htoo Foundation, the charitable arm of Htoo Trading, a leading business enterprise in Myanmar with close connections with the military.
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Japan's foreign minister reaffirms close ties with U.S.
By John Pomfret
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 12, 2010; 5:45 AM
HONOLULU -- Saying he hoped that Japan's alliance with the United States lasted "30 years or 50 years or longer," Japan's foreign minister on Monday sought to fend off speculation in Washington that the new government in Tokyo wants to move away from its close relationship with the United States.
In a late-night interview hours before he was scheduled to meet Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada declared that Americans should not fear that Japan was interested in moving closer to China, nor should they worry that Japan wanted U.S. troops to leave Japanese territory.
Okada's statements marked the clearest declaration so far from a senior official in the Democratic Party of Japan about the importance of the alliance since the DPJ swept to power in August, ending more than five decades of almost uninterrupted rule by the Liberal Democratic Party.
The victory sparked concern in Washington that Japan's new government led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama was less committed to the alliance, which has been the foundation of U.S. policy in Asia for 50 years since the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty was signed on Jan. 19, 1960.
Okada also added that his purpose in requesting the meeting with Clinton as she heads out on her fourth trip to the Asia-Pacific region was not simply damage control. It involved an effort to figure out how Tokyo and Washington can deepen their relationship. To do that, Okada said, he wanted to discuss a broad range of global issues such as "nuclear issues in Iran, the issues about Burma's freedom and also global issues involving Afghanistan, climate change, nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament."
"I am here to start the dialogue," he said.
Since Hatoyama's victory, a string of disputes have rocked the relationship, all centering on a proposed $26 billion military realignment formulated to deal with a rising China.
At its center is a plan under which the Futenma Marine air station would be relocated from the center of a city in Okinawa to a less populated region. The Hatoyama government opposes that move and late last month informed the Obama administration that it would take up until May to decide an alternative.
That decision prompted fears in Washington -- and throughout the Asia Pacific -- that Hatoyama was using the Futenma issue as an excuse to put Japan's relations with Washington on a chillier footing. The prime minister, for example, proposed the formation of an East Asian Community that would group Japan with China and South Korea and that seemed to exclude the United States.
But Monday night Okada said that neither was the case and that the United States would be welcomed in the East Asian Community. He said members of Hatoyama's coalition -- which also includes the Social Democratic Party, opposed to a U.S. military presence in Japan -- "were working together to come up with the best idea by May."
At the same time, Okada added, the parliament has allocated funds and is going ahead with an environmental impact statement on the originally planned Futenma move.
"Futenma is a very important issue," Okada said, "but we can't let it affect the broader alliance."
Asked whether Japan was more interested in China than the United States, as some in Washington fear, and the 56-year-old scion of a supermarket mogul smiled and pointed out that "actually in the United States that same idea is being discussed which is that Japan's time is over and from now on the U.S. needs to focus on its relationship with China."
"That type of opinion ignores the closeness of the Japanese-U.S. relationship," Okada said.
Clinton today also seemed to step back from the somewhat alarmed quality of recent U.S. statements on Japan and to adopt a more conciliatory tone.
"You can imagine what it would be like in our own country if after 50 years, a party that had never held power actually held it," she said, explaining the confusion caused by the Hatoyama government's flip-flops over Futenma.
"We see our relationship with Japan as very broad and deep, and security is obviously a critical part of that, but it is by no means the only part," Clinton said.
By John Pomfret
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 12, 2010; 5:45 AM
HONOLULU -- Saying he hoped that Japan's alliance with the United States lasted "30 years or 50 years or longer," Japan's foreign minister on Monday sought to fend off speculation in Washington that the new government in Tokyo wants to move away from its close relationship with the United States.
In a late-night interview hours before he was scheduled to meet Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada declared that Americans should not fear that Japan was interested in moving closer to China, nor should they worry that Japan wanted U.S. troops to leave Japanese territory.
Okada's statements marked the clearest declaration so far from a senior official in the Democratic Party of Japan about the importance of the alliance since the DPJ swept to power in August, ending more than five decades of almost uninterrupted rule by the Liberal Democratic Party.
The victory sparked concern in Washington that Japan's new government led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama was less committed to the alliance, which has been the foundation of U.S. policy in Asia for 50 years since the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty was signed on Jan. 19, 1960.
Okada also added that his purpose in requesting the meeting with Clinton as she heads out on her fourth trip to the Asia-Pacific region was not simply damage control. It involved an effort to figure out how Tokyo and Washington can deepen their relationship. To do that, Okada said, he wanted to discuss a broad range of global issues such as "nuclear issues in Iran, the issues about Burma's freedom and also global issues involving Afghanistan, climate change, nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament."
"I am here to start the dialogue," he said.
Since Hatoyama's victory, a string of disputes have rocked the relationship, all centering on a proposed $26 billion military realignment formulated to deal with a rising China.
At its center is a plan under which the Futenma Marine air station would be relocated from the center of a city in Okinawa to a less populated region. The Hatoyama government opposes that move and late last month informed the Obama administration that it would take up until May to decide an alternative.
That decision prompted fears in Washington -- and throughout the Asia Pacific -- that Hatoyama was using the Futenma issue as an excuse to put Japan's relations with Washington on a chillier footing. The prime minister, for example, proposed the formation of an East Asian Community that would group Japan with China and South Korea and that seemed to exclude the United States.
But Monday night Okada said that neither was the case and that the United States would be welcomed in the East Asian Community. He said members of Hatoyama's coalition -- which also includes the Social Democratic Party, opposed to a U.S. military presence in Japan -- "were working together to come up with the best idea by May."
At the same time, Okada added, the parliament has allocated funds and is going ahead with an environmental impact statement on the originally planned Futenma move.
"Futenma is a very important issue," Okada said, "but we can't let it affect the broader alliance."
Asked whether Japan was more interested in China than the United States, as some in Washington fear, and the 56-year-old scion of a supermarket mogul smiled and pointed out that "actually in the United States that same idea is being discussed which is that Japan's time is over and from now on the U.S. needs to focus on its relationship with China."
"That type of opinion ignores the closeness of the Japanese-U.S. relationship," Okada said.
Clinton today also seemed to step back from the somewhat alarmed quality of recent U.S. statements on Japan and to adopt a more conciliatory tone.
"You can imagine what it would be like in our own country if after 50 years, a party that had never held power actually held it," she said, explaining the confusion caused by the Hatoyama government's flip-flops over Futenma.
"We see our relationship with Japan as very broad and deep, and security is obviously a critical part of that, but it is by no means the only part," Clinton said.
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BusinessGhana - Myanmar, Vietnam to enhance trade, investment to boost economic ties
News Date: 11th January 2010
A strong Vietnamese entrepreneurs delegation, made up of 60 members,will visit Myanmar starting Thursday to meet its Myanmar counterparts for discussions on enhancing trade and investment to boost economic cooperation.
During the three-day visit until Saturday, some agreements on bilateral trade between private entrepreneurs of the two countries will be signed, said the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) Monday. Proposals for joint venture projects between the two sides will also top the agenda in their discussions, the sources said, adding that bankers of the two countries will involve in the move.
The Vietnamese entrepreneurs' upcoming visit is a follow-up of that to Yangon of a Vietnamese ministerial delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien, in November last year, during which discussions were made with the UMFCCI, led by its chairman U Win Myint, on matters relating to economic and trade opportunities and cooperation between the two countries, exchanging of delegations, study of agricultural technology, trade and investment.
Some Vietnamese entrepreneurs hold that they want to put a first hand into the Myanmar market in the light of Myanmar's foreseen political and economic evolution ahead although its current investment in Myanmar reached merely 0.15 percent of the total.
According to official statistics, Vietnam's investment in Myanmar hit 23.4 million U.S. dollars as of the end of September last year since the country opened to such investment in late 1988.
The Vietnamese businessmen said they wants to expand investment in the fishery and hotel industry.
Vietnam stands the 16th among Myanmar's exporting countries. Myanmar mainly exported its forestry products to Vietnam, followed by agricultural produces, seafood and electrical spare parts, while it imported from Vietnam
steel, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals, medicines, industrial products, chemical products, computer and accessories, plastic, cosmetics and engine oil.
According to the Vietnamese figures, Myanmar-Vietnam bilateral trade reached 60 million U.S. dollars in the first nine months of 2009.
Of the total bilateral trade volume during the period, Vietnam' s export to Myanmar amounted to 18 million dollars, while its import from Myanmar stood 42 million dollars, suffering a trade deficit of 24 million dollars.
In 2008, Myanmar-Vietnam bilateral trade totaled 108.2 million dollars, up 11.27 percent compared with 2007,Of them, Myanmar's export to Vietnam took 75.6 million dollars while its import from Vietnam represented 32.6 million dollars.
Meanwhile, under a memorandum of understanding reached between the Myanmar Fishery Department and its Vietnamese counterpart in December last year, Vietnamese fish species will be bred in such cold regions as Myitkyina, Kanpaikthi, Kutkai, Loilem and Linkay in northern and northeastern parts of Myanmar.
Moreover, Myanmar and Vietnam are also seeking direct air link as part of their efforts to boost the two countries' economic and trade cooperation.
In this regard, Vice-President of Vietnam Airlines Duong Tri Thanh visited Nay Pyi Taw in December last year also for the bid and Myanmar tourism circle expects that the probable Yangon-Hanoi direct air link would bring in more tourists and boost Myanmar's tourism industry.
News Date: 11th January 2010
A strong Vietnamese entrepreneurs delegation, made up of 60 members,will visit Myanmar starting Thursday to meet its Myanmar counterparts for discussions on enhancing trade and investment to boost economic cooperation.
During the three-day visit until Saturday, some agreements on bilateral trade between private entrepreneurs of the two countries will be signed, said the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) Monday. Proposals for joint venture projects between the two sides will also top the agenda in their discussions, the sources said, adding that bankers of the two countries will involve in the move.
The Vietnamese entrepreneurs' upcoming visit is a follow-up of that to Yangon of a Vietnamese ministerial delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien, in November last year, during which discussions were made with the UMFCCI, led by its chairman U Win Myint, on matters relating to economic and trade opportunities and cooperation between the two countries, exchanging of delegations, study of agricultural technology, trade and investment.
Some Vietnamese entrepreneurs hold that they want to put a first hand into the Myanmar market in the light of Myanmar's foreseen political and economic evolution ahead although its current investment in Myanmar reached merely 0.15 percent of the total.
According to official statistics, Vietnam's investment in Myanmar hit 23.4 million U.S. dollars as of the end of September last year since the country opened to such investment in late 1988.
The Vietnamese businessmen said they wants to expand investment in the fishery and hotel industry.
Vietnam stands the 16th among Myanmar's exporting countries. Myanmar mainly exported its forestry products to Vietnam, followed by agricultural produces, seafood and electrical spare parts, while it imported from Vietnam
steel, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals, medicines, industrial products, chemical products, computer and accessories, plastic, cosmetics and engine oil.
According to the Vietnamese figures, Myanmar-Vietnam bilateral trade reached 60 million U.S. dollars in the first nine months of 2009.
Of the total bilateral trade volume during the period, Vietnam' s export to Myanmar amounted to 18 million dollars, while its import from Myanmar stood 42 million dollars, suffering a trade deficit of 24 million dollars.
In 2008, Myanmar-Vietnam bilateral trade totaled 108.2 million dollars, up 11.27 percent compared with 2007,Of them, Myanmar's export to Vietnam took 75.6 million dollars while its import from Vietnam represented 32.6 million dollars.
Meanwhile, under a memorandum of understanding reached between the Myanmar Fishery Department and its Vietnamese counterpart in December last year, Vietnamese fish species will be bred in such cold regions as Myitkyina, Kanpaikthi, Kutkai, Loilem and Linkay in northern and northeastern parts of Myanmar.
Moreover, Myanmar and Vietnam are also seeking direct air link as part of their efforts to boost the two countries' economic and trade cooperation.
In this regard, Vice-President of Vietnam Airlines Duong Tri Thanh visited Nay Pyi Taw in December last year also for the bid and Myanmar tourism circle expects that the probable Yangon-Hanoi direct air link would bring in more tourists and boost Myanmar's tourism industry.
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People's Daily Online - Some parts of Myanmar to see solar eclipse on Jan. 15
19:45, January 12, 2010
An annular solar eclipse with the longest duration in the 21st century will occur on Friday (Jan. 15) and will be visible in some parts of Myanmar, according to the Meteorology and Hydrology Department Tuesday.
Starting from central Africa and moving across the Indian Ocean, southern India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China, the partial eclipse will be obviously visible in Sittway in the west, Shwebo, Mandalay and Monywa in the central part, and Pyin Oo Lwin and Lashio in the east and northeast as far as Myanmar is concerned, the sources said.
People will start seeing the eclipse in Myanmar at about 01:00 p.m. (Myanmar Standard Time) which will last for 3:30 hours until 4:30 p.m., the sources said, adding that the eclipse will reach its maximum between 3:05 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.
The wonderful event is expected to draw great interest of large number of foreign tourists visiting Myanmar.
Interesting people living in Yangon are traveling to the central part of Myanmar to take up position to witness the coming annular solar eclipse.
According to local report, the All Myanmar Astronomers Association and the state-run MRTV-3 will cooperate in shooting the event for the first time for public presentation.
19:45, January 12, 2010
An annular solar eclipse with the longest duration in the 21st century will occur on Friday (Jan. 15) and will be visible in some parts of Myanmar, according to the Meteorology and Hydrology Department Tuesday.
Starting from central Africa and moving across the Indian Ocean, southern India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China, the partial eclipse will be obviously visible in Sittway in the west, Shwebo, Mandalay and Monywa in the central part, and Pyin Oo Lwin and Lashio in the east and northeast as far as Myanmar is concerned, the sources said.
People will start seeing the eclipse in Myanmar at about 01:00 p.m. (Myanmar Standard Time) which will last for 3:30 hours until 4:30 p.m., the sources said, adding that the eclipse will reach its maximum between 3:05 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.
The wonderful event is expected to draw great interest of large number of foreign tourists visiting Myanmar.
Interesting people living in Yangon are traveling to the central part of Myanmar to take up position to witness the coming annular solar eclipse.
According to local report, the All Myanmar Astronomers Association and the state-run MRTV-3 will cooperate in shooting the event for the first time for public presentation.
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Assam Times - New hopes rising in Indo-Myanmar relations
12 January, 2010 Dayanath Singh
Although delayed, a ray of hope has been seen in better Indo-Myanmar relations with accepting the Indian proposal by Junta government of that country to open Stilwell Road, which will encourage and boost India’s trade with the South-eastern Asian countries, especially with China. The Foreign minister of Myanmar, Nyan Win, has agreed to the request of Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), at a recent meeting in Kolkata to this effect. With the opening of Stilwell Road, distance between India and China via Tenai in Myanmar will be cut to the minimum. The minister informed that China has already constructed road up to Tenai and he has offered to construct the balance part of the road with support of the Indian Government up to the Indian borders. With this gesture the Myanmar seems to have extended hands of friendship with India which is likely to open the doors of better relations between the two countries and resolve the critical issues of gas supply to India.
It may be mentioned in this context that failure to reach a timely understanding between India and Bangladesh led Myanmar to find out a market for gas in China. According to available reports Myanmar and China have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for supply of gas from Myanmar to China. But an official source in Yangon has informed that some new gas fields have been found in Myanmar’s Arakan region near the Bay of Bengal. These fields are spread over the areas of Suu, Suufu and Miya. These fields are discovered by Korea’s oil company, Deud International. Some Indian companies also have some share in it. Deud has 51 percent share and India’s ONGC 18.5 percent, GAIL 8.5 percent.
Soon after the discovery of the gas India had shown interest to import gas from Myanmar. A private company of Bangladesh, namely, Mohna Holding Ltd; sent a proposal to construct pipeline from Myanmar to India via Bangladesh. But Bangladesh did not respond for a long time. Anyhow keeping in mind the crisis of gas in future Bangladesh took interest in the gas pipeline lately.
On the other hand India started search for a new route for pipeline from Myanmar via Mizoram, Tripura, Assam and West Bengal to Kolkata. This route was much expensive. Whereas the pipeline via Bangladesh covers 900 kms and cost Rs.4, 500 crore, this route take 500 kms and Rs.2, 500 crore more. Besides, the risk of safety and security of pipelines from militant activities in Assam and Tripura was great. Due to all these factors, India could not take any decision in this matter.
In due course Myanmar decided to sell its gas to China. In August 2008, Deud International getting permission from Myanmar government signed an agreement with Chinese government’s company, China Petroleum Corporation. Deud and its consortium would spend 5.3 billion dollars on this project. As per agreement china would get gas from this project for 30 years. Gas supply would begin in 2013 and 600 million cubic feet gas would be supplied daily. However, it is expected that in future Myanmar would be ready to supply gas to India also with the increasing production of gas from new fields...
12 January, 2010 Dayanath Singh
Although delayed, a ray of hope has been seen in better Indo-Myanmar relations with accepting the Indian proposal by Junta government of that country to open Stilwell Road, which will encourage and boost India’s trade with the South-eastern Asian countries, especially with China. The Foreign minister of Myanmar, Nyan Win, has agreed to the request of Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), at a recent meeting in Kolkata to this effect. With the opening of Stilwell Road, distance between India and China via Tenai in Myanmar will be cut to the minimum. The minister informed that China has already constructed road up to Tenai and he has offered to construct the balance part of the road with support of the Indian Government up to the Indian borders. With this gesture the Myanmar seems to have extended hands of friendship with India which is likely to open the doors of better relations between the two countries and resolve the critical issues of gas supply to India.
It may be mentioned in this context that failure to reach a timely understanding between India and Bangladesh led Myanmar to find out a market for gas in China. According to available reports Myanmar and China have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for supply of gas from Myanmar to China. But an official source in Yangon has informed that some new gas fields have been found in Myanmar’s Arakan region near the Bay of Bengal. These fields are spread over the areas of Suu, Suufu and Miya. These fields are discovered by Korea’s oil company, Deud International. Some Indian companies also have some share in it. Deud has 51 percent share and India’s ONGC 18.5 percent, GAIL 8.5 percent.
Soon after the discovery of the gas India had shown interest to import gas from Myanmar. A private company of Bangladesh, namely, Mohna Holding Ltd; sent a proposal to construct pipeline from Myanmar to India via Bangladesh. But Bangladesh did not respond for a long time. Anyhow keeping in mind the crisis of gas in future Bangladesh took interest in the gas pipeline lately.
On the other hand India started search for a new route for pipeline from Myanmar via Mizoram, Tripura, Assam and West Bengal to Kolkata. This route was much expensive. Whereas the pipeline via Bangladesh covers 900 kms and cost Rs.4, 500 crore, this route take 500 kms and Rs.2, 500 crore more. Besides, the risk of safety and security of pipelines from militant activities in Assam and Tripura was great. Due to all these factors, India could not take any decision in this matter.
In due course Myanmar decided to sell its gas to China. In August 2008, Deud International getting permission from Myanmar government signed an agreement with Chinese government’s company, China Petroleum Corporation. Deud and its consortium would spend 5.3 billion dollars on this project. As per agreement china would get gas from this project for 30 years. Gas supply would begin in 2013 and 600 million cubic feet gas would be supplied daily. However, it is expected that in future Myanmar would be ready to supply gas to India also with the increasing production of gas from new fields...
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Assam Tribune - Myanmar okays reopening of Stilwell Road
Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Jan 10 – Myanmar has agreed to the Indian proposal of reopening the Stilwell Road which is expected to boost business activities in the North East, a press release stated. Nyan Win, the Foreign Minister of Myanmar responding to the request of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) at the 5th North East Business Summit at Kolkata gave the assurance of reopening the Stilwell Road.
Agreeing that the distance between India and China would be minimum through the Stilwell Road, Nyan Win asked the Govt of India to take up the road making exercise between Tanai of Myanmar to India. He said that China has already constructed the road upto Tanai.
“There is a balance portion from Tanai to the Indian border which can now be completed with the support of the Govt of India,” said Nyan Win.
Promising to make operational the Ledo Road with the balance portion to be built up with Indian help, Nyan Win expressed that the shortest road to China crossing Kachin State will considerably reduce transportation time between India and China and will make transportation faster and economical.
Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Jan 10 – Myanmar has agreed to the Indian proposal of reopening the Stilwell Road which is expected to boost business activities in the North East, a press release stated. Nyan Win, the Foreign Minister of Myanmar responding to the request of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) at the 5th North East Business Summit at Kolkata gave the assurance of reopening the Stilwell Road.
Agreeing that the distance between India and China would be minimum through the Stilwell Road, Nyan Win asked the Govt of India to take up the road making exercise between Tanai of Myanmar to India. He said that China has already constructed the road upto Tanai.
“There is a balance portion from Tanai to the Indian border which can now be completed with the support of the Govt of India,” said Nyan Win.
Promising to make operational the Ledo Road with the balance portion to be built up with Indian help, Nyan Win expressed that the shortest road to China crossing Kachin State will considerably reduce transportation time between India and China and will make transportation faster and economical.
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11-01-2010 Feature
ICRC - Myanmar: story of a mine victim
Sixty-year-old U Hpa Da is recovering at Nakornping Hospital in Chiang Mai in Myanmar, following surgery. In a conversation with the ICRC’s Siripan Wandee, he recounts the events that landed him in hospital.
I introduced myself, the ICRC and its programme of assistance to the war-wounded as I handed U Hpa Da an ICRC leaflet. He had never heard of the organization or the programme before, but said he was glad to know about them.
He looked tired; his face was thin and pale. During the conversation, he turned away many times and fell silent. His eyes spoke volumes.
The incident
The incident that put U Hpa Da’s in hospital occurred on the evening of 4 October 2009, while he and his eldest daughter were on their farm herding buffalo. As they returned home, it was getting dark. Father and daughter were in a hurry to bring their buffalo home as it was starting to rain.
His daughter walked ahead of him. While following with the herd, he stepped on a landmine, which shattered his right leg. His daughter ran back to help him. Amidst the pouring rain, she tried to stop his bleeding with her blouse. Then, she carried him on her back, hurrying toward their village. It was difficult for her in the rain with his heavy body on her back. But she carried him without complaining or slowing down. "Be patient, Papa, and don't fall asleep,'' he recalls her saying repeatedly.
As if the situation was not tragic enough, she too stepped on a landmine. The blast tossed her and her father apart. She lost her right leg. From the distance, she tried to shout to him, saying she was sorry she could no longer help him and that she knew she was dying.
He shouted back to her, trying to comfort and reassure her as much as he could under the circumstances. He called out to her, but heard no reply. Everything fell silent. The rain was still pouring.
Up until this point in his story, he had been brave. But now, his eyes filled with tears. He was sobbing, heartbroken, and it made my eyes well up. He tried to stop crying and wiped away the tears. All I could do was hold his hand gently. I hoped he felt my empathy, even though I could not find the words with which to console him. He continued his story, trying to control his emotions.
An hour after the mine incidents, two people from his village who had heard the explosions came and rescued him. They carried him on foot back to the village where he received an injection and treatment from a traditional healer.
The villagers buried his daughter that same night.
On the morning of 5 October, the villagers took him on foot to Mae La Oon camp, in Thailand. They spent two nights in the jungle before reaching the camp. He received further treatment from a clinic run by Malteser International (MI), an NGO that works in the camp, and stayed there overnight.
On 7 October, MI drove him to Mae Sariang District hospital in Mae Hong Son Province, a three-hour journey. However, owing to lack of appropriate surgical facilities at the Mae Sariang hospital, he made another three-hour journey to Nakornping hospital, in Chiang Mai province, where I visited him.
His right leg was amputated below the knee. He received good care from a doctor and nurses here despite the language barrier.
The future after the rain
He was eventually sent back to Mae Sariang Hospital. It will be difficult for his family to earn a living, because his wife has to do all the work with no one to help her but their little daughter. He said he would try to continue his treatment in Mae La Oon refugee camp until he has fully recovered.
Although he has suffered great loss as a result of the mine incident, he remains optimistic. The ICRC and its programme of assistance to the war-wounded covers the high cost of his medical treatment. He is grateful to the organization and its staff.
U Hpa Da has spent most of his life fleeing life-threatening incidents and coping with difficult circumstances, including forcible relocation and forced labour. And he feels as if he has being going around blindfolded because he has not been able to anticipate danger and keep his family safe.
One positive thing that has come out of his ordeal is that he has discovered a safe haven to flee to. And that place is the Mae La Oon refugee camp. He has considered moving his family to live there.
If only he could also guarantee his little daughter a good education and future.
There had been a small school in his village but it was burnt down. This saddens him when he thinks about his daughter's future and her determination to become a doctor and help others.
U Hpa Da wonders how his daughter will fulfil her dream if they have to spend their lives fleeing.
ICRC - Myanmar: story of a mine victim
Sixty-year-old U Hpa Da is recovering at Nakornping Hospital in Chiang Mai in Myanmar, following surgery. In a conversation with the ICRC’s Siripan Wandee, he recounts the events that landed him in hospital.
I introduced myself, the ICRC and its programme of assistance to the war-wounded as I handed U Hpa Da an ICRC leaflet. He had never heard of the organization or the programme before, but said he was glad to know about them.
He looked tired; his face was thin and pale. During the conversation, he turned away many times and fell silent. His eyes spoke volumes.
The incident
The incident that put U Hpa Da’s in hospital occurred on the evening of 4 October 2009, while he and his eldest daughter were on their farm herding buffalo. As they returned home, it was getting dark. Father and daughter were in a hurry to bring their buffalo home as it was starting to rain.
His daughter walked ahead of him. While following with the herd, he stepped on a landmine, which shattered his right leg. His daughter ran back to help him. Amidst the pouring rain, she tried to stop his bleeding with her blouse. Then, she carried him on her back, hurrying toward their village. It was difficult for her in the rain with his heavy body on her back. But she carried him without complaining or slowing down. "Be patient, Papa, and don't fall asleep,'' he recalls her saying repeatedly.
As if the situation was not tragic enough, she too stepped on a landmine. The blast tossed her and her father apart. She lost her right leg. From the distance, she tried to shout to him, saying she was sorry she could no longer help him and that she knew she was dying.
He shouted back to her, trying to comfort and reassure her as much as he could under the circumstances. He called out to her, but heard no reply. Everything fell silent. The rain was still pouring.
Up until this point in his story, he had been brave. But now, his eyes filled with tears. He was sobbing, heartbroken, and it made my eyes well up. He tried to stop crying and wiped away the tears. All I could do was hold his hand gently. I hoped he felt my empathy, even though I could not find the words with which to console him. He continued his story, trying to control his emotions.
An hour after the mine incidents, two people from his village who had heard the explosions came and rescued him. They carried him on foot back to the village where he received an injection and treatment from a traditional healer.
The villagers buried his daughter that same night.
On the morning of 5 October, the villagers took him on foot to Mae La Oon camp, in Thailand. They spent two nights in the jungle before reaching the camp. He received further treatment from a clinic run by Malteser International (MI), an NGO that works in the camp, and stayed there overnight.
On 7 October, MI drove him to Mae Sariang District hospital in Mae Hong Son Province, a three-hour journey. However, owing to lack of appropriate surgical facilities at the Mae Sariang hospital, he made another three-hour journey to Nakornping hospital, in Chiang Mai province, where I visited him.
His right leg was amputated below the knee. He received good care from a doctor and nurses here despite the language barrier.
The future after the rain
He was eventually sent back to Mae Sariang Hospital. It will be difficult for his family to earn a living, because his wife has to do all the work with no one to help her but their little daughter. He said he would try to continue his treatment in Mae La Oon refugee camp until he has fully recovered.
Although he has suffered great loss as a result of the mine incident, he remains optimistic. The ICRC and its programme of assistance to the war-wounded covers the high cost of his medical treatment. He is grateful to the organization and its staff.
U Hpa Da has spent most of his life fleeing life-threatening incidents and coping with difficult circumstances, including forcible relocation and forced labour. And he feels as if he has being going around blindfolded because he has not been able to anticipate danger and keep his family safe.
One positive thing that has come out of his ordeal is that he has discovered a safe haven to flee to. And that place is the Mae La Oon refugee camp. He has considered moving his family to live there.
If only he could also guarantee his little daughter a good education and future.
There had been a small school in his village but it was burnt down. This saddens him when he thinks about his daughter's future and her determination to become a doctor and help others.
U Hpa Da wonders how his daughter will fulfil her dream if they have to spend their lives fleeing.
***************************************************************
New York Times - India's Opening With Bangladesh
By PHILIP BOWRING
Published: January 11, 2010
HONG KONG — India has for so long been obsessed with the security of its north-western frontier and relations with Pakistan that issues on its eastern borders have been neglected. But various events are forcing New Delhi to focus on some interrelated security challenges in the east and northeast. So the four-day state visit to India by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed of Bangladesh that began Sunday has an importance far beyond the ceremonial.
While geography alone makes Bangladesh highly dependent on its giant neighbor, India is beginning to appreciate that bullying Bangladesh makes other problems worse. In reality, both nations have security and economic issues that require cooperation.
Three particular issues have brought home India’s eastern vulnerability. The first is China’s newly confrontational stance over its claims to much of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. China regards these areas as part of Tibet. That in turn links to the second issue: separatism in some of India’s seven northeast states. The insurgency in the largest state in the region, Assam, may now be at least as troublesome as that in Kashmir. China does not at present appear to be helping the insurgents but clearly has the potential to do so.
One cause of these tensions is the third issue: the relative lack of development in the region, including nearby eastern Indian states such as Bihar and Jharkhand, which has spawned the growing insurgency. The Naxalites, radical communists who have informal links to the Maoists recently in government in Nepal, have become a major threat to the state, killing officials and disrupting rail traffic. Bangladesh may be a poster state of poverty but it has been outshining neighboring Indian states in social development.
The election of Sheikh Hasina last year has opened an opportunity for cooperation with India to which Delhi needs to respond generously. Her Awami League has long been seen as less suspicious of India than the rival Bangladesh National Party of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. She has bought some Indian good will by arresting and handing over to India the chairman of the separatist United Liberation Front of Assam. Her government is also seen as less likely to turn a blind eye to Islamic militants. But for her own credibility she must get something meaningful in return if good relations with India are to be a vote winner at home.
Top of the Bangladesh wish list is a reduction in trade barriers that contribute to a 10-to-1 trade advantage in India’s favor. But Bangladesh in turn needs to be more open to Indian investment generally and development of its gas industry in particular, which have long been stymied by nationalism and corruption. Likewise both countries have long hurt each other by impeding transit rights and thwarting the full use of rail and river links that date back to British rule. India also has been frustrated by Dhaka’s unwillingness to be a conduit for piping Myanmar gas to energy-short eastern India.
Indeed, oil and gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal is frustrated by lack of agreed boundaries between Bangladesh, India and Myanmar.
Even more fundamental issues need to be addressed. Bangladesh’s biggest security issue is water. It has legitimate worries about Indian plans for dam building on shared water resources that are the lifeblood of all of Bangladesh and much of northern India. Can the two cooperate for mutual benefit — and to oppose any plans China, the source of many of these rivers, has to divert them for its own use?
Indeed, given the depth of Chinese influence in Myanmar and its fostering of relations with Bangladesh, it is surprising that India has not made more effort to treat its neighbor with respect, not condescension. But a new chapter in relations between two nations that share so much culture, language and history could be opening if Delhi responds to Sheikh Hasina’s visit with the generosity and leadership that should be expected of the regional power.
By PHILIP BOWRING
Published: January 11, 2010
HONG KONG — India has for so long been obsessed with the security of its north-western frontier and relations with Pakistan that issues on its eastern borders have been neglected. But various events are forcing New Delhi to focus on some interrelated security challenges in the east and northeast. So the four-day state visit to India by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed of Bangladesh that began Sunday has an importance far beyond the ceremonial.
While geography alone makes Bangladesh highly dependent on its giant neighbor, India is beginning to appreciate that bullying Bangladesh makes other problems worse. In reality, both nations have security and economic issues that require cooperation.
Three particular issues have brought home India’s eastern vulnerability. The first is China’s newly confrontational stance over its claims to much of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. China regards these areas as part of Tibet. That in turn links to the second issue: separatism in some of India’s seven northeast states. The insurgency in the largest state in the region, Assam, may now be at least as troublesome as that in Kashmir. China does not at present appear to be helping the insurgents but clearly has the potential to do so.
One cause of these tensions is the third issue: the relative lack of development in the region, including nearby eastern Indian states such as Bihar and Jharkhand, which has spawned the growing insurgency. The Naxalites, radical communists who have informal links to the Maoists recently in government in Nepal, have become a major threat to the state, killing officials and disrupting rail traffic. Bangladesh may be a poster state of poverty but it has been outshining neighboring Indian states in social development.
The election of Sheikh Hasina last year has opened an opportunity for cooperation with India to which Delhi needs to respond generously. Her Awami League has long been seen as less suspicious of India than the rival Bangladesh National Party of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. She has bought some Indian good will by arresting and handing over to India the chairman of the separatist United Liberation Front of Assam. Her government is also seen as less likely to turn a blind eye to Islamic militants. But for her own credibility she must get something meaningful in return if good relations with India are to be a vote winner at home.
Top of the Bangladesh wish list is a reduction in trade barriers that contribute to a 10-to-1 trade advantage in India’s favor. But Bangladesh in turn needs to be more open to Indian investment generally and development of its gas industry in particular, which have long been stymied by nationalism and corruption. Likewise both countries have long hurt each other by impeding transit rights and thwarting the full use of rail and river links that date back to British rule. India also has been frustrated by Dhaka’s unwillingness to be a conduit for piping Myanmar gas to energy-short eastern India.
Indeed, oil and gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal is frustrated by lack of agreed boundaries between Bangladesh, India and Myanmar.
Even more fundamental issues need to be addressed. Bangladesh’s biggest security issue is water. It has legitimate worries about Indian plans for dam building on shared water resources that are the lifeblood of all of Bangladesh and much of northern India. Can the two cooperate for mutual benefit — and to oppose any plans China, the source of many of these rivers, has to divert them for its own use?
Indeed, given the depth of Chinese influence in Myanmar and its fostering of relations with Bangladesh, it is surprising that India has not made more effort to treat its neighbor with respect, not condescension. But a new chapter in relations between two nations that share so much culture, language and history could be opening if Delhi responds to Sheikh Hasina’s visit with the generosity and leadership that should be expected of the regional power.
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Bangladesh, Myanmar Agree To Resolve Maritime Dispute
1/11/2010 2:07 AM ET
(RTTNews) - South-east Aisan neighbors Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed to resolve their maritime dispute over the natural gas and mineral-rich zone in the Bay of Bengal in accordance with the principles of "equi-distance and equity of resources," officials said Sunday in Bangladesh capital Dhaka.
This follows an agreement reached Saturday at a two-day meeting in the Bangladesh port city Chittagong, 242 km southeast of Dhaka.
Describing the meeting 'fruitful,' Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Khurshid Alam, who led his country's delegation, said: "Both sides decided to demarcate the maritime boundary..."
The two sides also decided to meet again in April in Myanmar to explore ways to implement the formula, he said, after his meeting with Maung Myint, the deputy foreign minister of Myanmar, who led his country's delegation.
"We are very happy with the fruitful discussion. It was a very good discussion [and] it will continue," Phae Thann Oo, Myanmar's ambassador to Bangladesh and who was present at the meeting, told reporters later.
The dispute over the maritime boundary emerged when Myanmar began exploring deep-sea mineral resources in the Bay of Bengal last year. India has also claimed resources in the Bay of Bengal claimed by Bangladesh, leading to a second border dispute.
Last October, Bangladesh formally sought U.N. arbitration of its maritime disputes with Myanmar and India, saying negotiations with the neighbors were unlikely to resolve the issue soon.
1/11/2010 2:07 AM ET
(RTTNews) - South-east Aisan neighbors Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed to resolve their maritime dispute over the natural gas and mineral-rich zone in the Bay of Bengal in accordance with the principles of "equi-distance and equity of resources," officials said Sunday in Bangladesh capital Dhaka.
This follows an agreement reached Saturday at a two-day meeting in the Bangladesh port city Chittagong, 242 km southeast of Dhaka.
Describing the meeting 'fruitful,' Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Khurshid Alam, who led his country's delegation, said: "Both sides decided to demarcate the maritime boundary..."
The two sides also decided to meet again in April in Myanmar to explore ways to implement the formula, he said, after his meeting with Maung Myint, the deputy foreign minister of Myanmar, who led his country's delegation.
"We are very happy with the fruitful discussion. It was a very good discussion [and] it will continue," Phae Thann Oo, Myanmar's ambassador to Bangladesh and who was present at the meeting, told reporters later.
The dispute over the maritime boundary emerged when Myanmar began exploring deep-sea mineral resources in the Bay of Bengal last year. India has also claimed resources in the Bay of Bengal claimed by Bangladesh, leading to a second border dispute.
Last October, Bangladesh formally sought U.N. arbitration of its maritime disputes with Myanmar and India, saying negotiations with the neighbors were unlikely to resolve the issue soon.
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MCOT - Soldiers nab job brokers, 30 illegal Myanmar workers
CHUMPHON, Jan 10 (TNA) – Thai soldiers arrested several Myanmar job brokers and 30 illegal Myanmar workers at a house in the southern province of Chumphon on Sunday.
A unit of 15 troops led by Maj Thanaphan Sukprasert raided a house in Tha Sae district in Chumphon on a tip that it accommodated illegal migrant workers en route to work in other areas.
They detained 16 male and 14 female workers. Two Myanmar nationals, identified only as Mr So and Ms. Sor, working as job brokers in a illegal labour gang were also arrested.
According to the initial investigation, some Thai officials, including a community leader and a local businessman were involved in the trafficking of illegal labourers.
The illegal workers entered Thailand at Ranong and moved to the safe house in Chumphom to await being sent to work in factories in Samut Sakhon, Chonburi, Surat Thani and Songkhla.
Each of them paid Bt5,000-7,000 to job brokers, depending on the distance of their trips and paid 500 baht at a police checkpoint. The military detained them questioning and making records before deporting the workers. Further investigation will be conducted to identify and arrest more Thais involved in the gang.
CHUMPHON, Jan 10 (TNA) – Thai soldiers arrested several Myanmar job brokers and 30 illegal Myanmar workers at a house in the southern province of Chumphon on Sunday.
A unit of 15 troops led by Maj Thanaphan Sukprasert raided a house in Tha Sae district in Chumphon on a tip that it accommodated illegal migrant workers en route to work in other areas.
They detained 16 male and 14 female workers. Two Myanmar nationals, identified only as Mr So and Ms. Sor, working as job brokers in a illegal labour gang were also arrested.
According to the initial investigation, some Thai officials, including a community leader and a local businessman were involved in the trafficking of illegal labourers.
The illegal workers entered Thailand at Ranong and moved to the safe house in Chumphom to await being sent to work in factories in Samut Sakhon, Chonburi, Surat Thani and Songkhla.
Each of them paid Bt5,000-7,000 to job brokers, depending on the distance of their trips and paid 500 baht at a police checkpoint. The military detained them questioning and making records before deporting the workers. Further investigation will be conducted to identify and arrest more Thais involved in the gang.
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BURMA: Junta Turns to Draconian Electronics Law to Silence Critics
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, Jan 11, 2010 (IPS) - A court ruling in military-ruled Burma has brought into sharp focus a law the junta widely uses to go after civilians it wants to silence.
On Jan. 7 a court found Win Naing Kyaw, a former military officer, guilty of violating the Electronics Act, a law controlling Internet usage, and condemned him to a 20-year sentence. He was linked to photos of a ranking junta official’s visit to North Korea that had appeared on a news website run by Burmese journalists living in exile.
This came just a week after a 25-year-old teacher, Hla Hla Win, was given a 20-year prison sentence on Dec. 31 for violating the same law. Her "crime" was the work she did as a member of the South-east Asian country’s growing network of "undercover journalists" for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), an Oslo-based news organisation of exiled Burmese journalists.
The Electronics Law bans Burmese citizens from using the Internet to send information, photos or videos critical of the junta to foreign audiences.
The sentence for the freelance video reporter comes on top of another six- year prison term that was handed down last October for having a motorcycle that had been "illegally imported." Myint Naing, who helped the freelance reporter, was condemned to 26 years in prison.
"Hla Hla Win has been working with us for a few years. And she did so knowing the danger of getting caught with video clips or being seen on the street with a video camera," said Toe Zaw Latt, DVB’s bureau chief in Thailand. "She was driven to get images of what was happening inside Burma and get them out to the world."
"Most ‘undercover journalists’ like her do not work for the sake of money," he added during a telephone interview from Chiang Mai, a northern Thai city. "They are committed to tell the stories and are willing to take great risks to do so."
DVB has over 100 such freelance journalists armed with video cameras to document the abuse and oppression unfolding in Burma. It shot to international prominence in September 2007, when the junta mounted a harsh crackdown on thousands of anti-government protesters, led by Buddhist monks.
Its video clips supplied by its network of citizen journalists – including Hla Hla Win – offered graphic details of the soldiers attacking the unarmed monks. An estimated 30 to 40 monks and between 50 and 70 civilians were killed during the crushing of the ‘Saffron Revolution’ three years ago. Close to 6,000 monks and civilians were also arrested at the height of this clash in Rangoon, Mandalay and other Burmese cities.
The period since the Saffron Revolution has seen Burma’s notorious network of prisons and labour camps swell with jailed political activists. Some of these critics of the junta have been given harsh prison terms, including a 65-year- sentence for Min Ko Naing, a former student leader and highly regarded pro- democracy activist. There are currently over 2,200 political prisoners, up from the 1,200 imprisoned political activists in mid-2007. That number, until Hla Hla Win’s sentencing, included 13 journalists and bloggers.
"The number of reporters and journalists imprisoned has gone up because the junta is using the Electronics Act to target them," said Bo Kyi, a ranking member of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a group of former Burmese political prisoners championing the rights of prisoners. "The jail term is longer than the law used before, in the 1990s, to silence reporters, which was seven-year maximum sentence."
Most of the pro-democracy activists that have been jailed since the Saffron Revolution were also accused of violating the Electronics Act, added Bo Kyi during an interview from Mae Sot, a town on the Thai-Burma border, where AAPP is based. "Activists like Min Ko Naing were arrested and then sentenced under this act."
So was Zarganar, one of Burma’s best-known comedians. He was given a 45- year prison sentence in November 2008, which included 15 years for violating the Electronics Act. He was accused of sharing information with foreign media that had included criticism of the regime’s handling of the humanitarian crisis following the powerful Cyclone Nargis, which flattened the Irrawaddy Delta in May 2008, killing over 150,000 people.
The Electronics Act is one of a litany of repressive laws that are enforced to crush freedom of expression. The 2000 Internet law bans any information posted on the Internet that in the junta’s view may undermine the interests and security of the country. The 1996 Television and Video Act has penalties of up to three years jail term for "copying, distributing, hiring or exhibiting video tape that has no video censor certificate."
Internet café owners in Rangoon, the former capital, are expected to follow strict guidelines to monitor users. It extends to keeping tabs on the identity of the user, the duration of Internet usage and the list of websites visited. Access to such websites like YouTube and e-mail services like Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail has been blocked.
No wonder the Electronics Act has been singled out by the exiled Burmese media as a major threat ahead of – and during – the general elections the junta has pledged to conduct this year. "It will be hard for the citizen journalists and other reporters inside Burma to work ahead of the polls," said Aung Zaw, editor of ‘The Irrawaddy’, a current affairs magazine published by Burmese journalists exiled in Thailand. "The bloggers and citizen journalists will have a big role to play as they did during the Saffron Revolution."
But the junta, it appears, is steeling itself to avoid a repeat of the video clips and blogs that flowed out of Burma when the September 2007 pro- democracy protest was crushed. "The sentencing of Hla Hla Win is all part of the regime’s preparations to impose more media controls ahead of the elections," Aung Zaw told IPS.
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, Jan 11, 2010 (IPS) - A court ruling in military-ruled Burma has brought into sharp focus a law the junta widely uses to go after civilians it wants to silence.
On Jan. 7 a court found Win Naing Kyaw, a former military officer, guilty of violating the Electronics Act, a law controlling Internet usage, and condemned him to a 20-year sentence. He was linked to photos of a ranking junta official’s visit to North Korea that had appeared on a news website run by Burmese journalists living in exile.
This came just a week after a 25-year-old teacher, Hla Hla Win, was given a 20-year prison sentence on Dec. 31 for violating the same law. Her "crime" was the work she did as a member of the South-east Asian country’s growing network of "undercover journalists" for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), an Oslo-based news organisation of exiled Burmese journalists.
The Electronics Law bans Burmese citizens from using the Internet to send information, photos or videos critical of the junta to foreign audiences.
The sentence for the freelance video reporter comes on top of another six- year prison term that was handed down last October for having a motorcycle that had been "illegally imported." Myint Naing, who helped the freelance reporter, was condemned to 26 years in prison.
"Hla Hla Win has been working with us for a few years. And she did so knowing the danger of getting caught with video clips or being seen on the street with a video camera," said Toe Zaw Latt, DVB’s bureau chief in Thailand. "She was driven to get images of what was happening inside Burma and get them out to the world."
"Most ‘undercover journalists’ like her do not work for the sake of money," he added during a telephone interview from Chiang Mai, a northern Thai city. "They are committed to tell the stories and are willing to take great risks to do so."
DVB has over 100 such freelance journalists armed with video cameras to document the abuse and oppression unfolding in Burma. It shot to international prominence in September 2007, when the junta mounted a harsh crackdown on thousands of anti-government protesters, led by Buddhist monks.
Its video clips supplied by its network of citizen journalists – including Hla Hla Win – offered graphic details of the soldiers attacking the unarmed monks. An estimated 30 to 40 monks and between 50 and 70 civilians were killed during the crushing of the ‘Saffron Revolution’ three years ago. Close to 6,000 monks and civilians were also arrested at the height of this clash in Rangoon, Mandalay and other Burmese cities.
The period since the Saffron Revolution has seen Burma’s notorious network of prisons and labour camps swell with jailed political activists. Some of these critics of the junta have been given harsh prison terms, including a 65-year- sentence for Min Ko Naing, a former student leader and highly regarded pro- democracy activist. There are currently over 2,200 political prisoners, up from the 1,200 imprisoned political activists in mid-2007. That number, until Hla Hla Win’s sentencing, included 13 journalists and bloggers.
"The number of reporters and journalists imprisoned has gone up because the junta is using the Electronics Act to target them," said Bo Kyi, a ranking member of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a group of former Burmese political prisoners championing the rights of prisoners. "The jail term is longer than the law used before, in the 1990s, to silence reporters, which was seven-year maximum sentence."
Most of the pro-democracy activists that have been jailed since the Saffron Revolution were also accused of violating the Electronics Act, added Bo Kyi during an interview from Mae Sot, a town on the Thai-Burma border, where AAPP is based. "Activists like Min Ko Naing were arrested and then sentenced under this act."
So was Zarganar, one of Burma’s best-known comedians. He was given a 45- year prison sentence in November 2008, which included 15 years for violating the Electronics Act. He was accused of sharing information with foreign media that had included criticism of the regime’s handling of the humanitarian crisis following the powerful Cyclone Nargis, which flattened the Irrawaddy Delta in May 2008, killing over 150,000 people.
The Electronics Act is one of a litany of repressive laws that are enforced to crush freedom of expression. The 2000 Internet law bans any information posted on the Internet that in the junta’s view may undermine the interests and security of the country. The 1996 Television and Video Act has penalties of up to three years jail term for "copying, distributing, hiring or exhibiting video tape that has no video censor certificate."
Internet café owners in Rangoon, the former capital, are expected to follow strict guidelines to monitor users. It extends to keeping tabs on the identity of the user, the duration of Internet usage and the list of websites visited. Access to such websites like YouTube and e-mail services like Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail has been blocked.
No wonder the Electronics Act has been singled out by the exiled Burmese media as a major threat ahead of – and during – the general elections the junta has pledged to conduct this year. "It will be hard for the citizen journalists and other reporters inside Burma to work ahead of the polls," said Aung Zaw, editor of ‘The Irrawaddy’, a current affairs magazine published by Burmese journalists exiled in Thailand. "The bloggers and citizen journalists will have a big role to play as they did during the Saffron Revolution."
But the junta, it appears, is steeling itself to avoid a repeat of the video clips and blogs that flowed out of Burma when the September 2007 pro- democracy protest was crushed. "The sentencing of Hla Hla Win is all part of the regime’s preparations to impose more media controls ahead of the elections," Aung Zaw told IPS.
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Burma Silencing Critics with Internet Law
Marwaan Macan-Markar, Inter Press Service – Mon Jan 11, 12:45 pm ET
BANGKOK, Jan 11 (IPS) - A court ruling in military-ruled Burma has brought into sharp focus a law the junta widely uses to go after civilians it wants to silence.
On Jan. 7 a court found Win Naing Kyaw, a former military officer, guilty of violating the Electronics Act, a law controlling Internet usage, and condemned him to a 20-year sentence. He was linked to photos of a ranking junta official's visit to North Korea that had appeared on a news website run by Burmese journalists living in exile.
This came just a week after a 25-year-old teacher, Hla Hla Win, was given a 20-year prison sentence on Dec. 31 for violating the same law. Her "crime" was the work she did as a member of the South-east Asian country's growing network of "undercover journalists" for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), an Oslo-based news organisation of exiled Burmese journalists.
The Electronics Law bans Burmese citizens from using the Internet to send information, photos or videos critical of the junta to foreign audiences.
The sentence for the freelance video reporter comes on top of another six- year prison term that was handed down last October for having a motorcycle that had been "illegally imported." Myint Naing, who helped the freelance reporter, was condemned to 26 years in prison.
"Hla Hla Win has been working with us for a few years. And she did so knowing the danger of getting caught with video clips or being seen on the street with a video camera," said Toe Zaw Latt, DVB's bureau chief in Thailand. "She was driven to get images of what was happening inside Burma and get them out to the world."
"Most 'undercover journalists' like her do not work for the sake of money," he added during a telephone interview from Chiang Mai, a northern Thai city. "They are committed to tell the stories and are willing to take great risks to do so."
DVB has over 100 such freelance journalists armed with video cameras to document the abuse and oppression unfolding in Burma. It shot to international prominence in September 2007, when the junta mounted a harsh crackdown on thousands of anti-government protesters, led by Buddhist monks.
Its video clips supplied by its network of citizen journalists -- including Hla Hla Win -- offered graphic details of the soldiers attacking the unarmed monks. An estimated 30 to 40 monks and between 50 and 70 civilians were killed during the crushing of the 'Saffron Revolution' three years ago. Close to 6,000 monks and civilians were also arrested at the height of this clash in Rangoon, Mandalay and other Burmese cities.
The period since the Saffron Revolution has seen Burma's notorious network of prisons and labour camps swell with jailed political activists. Some of these critics of the junta have been given harsh prison terms, including a 65-year- sentence for Min Ko Naing, a former student leader and highly regarded pro- democracy activist. There are currently over 2,200 political prisoners, up from the 1,200 imprisoned political activists in mid-2007. That number, until Hla Hla Win's sentencing, included 13 journalists and bloggers.
"The number of reporters and journalists imprisoned has gone up because the junta is using the Electronics Act to target them," said Bo Kyi, a ranking member of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a group of former Burmese political prisoners championing the rights of prisoners. "The jail term is longer than the law used before, in the 1990s, to silence reporters, which was seven-year maximum sentence."
Most of the pro-democracy activists that have been jailed since the Saffron Revolution were also accused of violating the Electronics Act, added Bo Kyi during an interview from Mae Sot, a town on the Thai-Burma border, where AAPP is based. "Activists like Min Ko Naing were arrested and then sentenced under this act."
So was Zarganar, one of Burma's best-known comedians. He was given a 45- year prison sentence in November 2008, which included 15 years for violating the Electronics Act. He was accused of sharing information with foreign media that had included criticism of the regime's handling of the humanitarian crisis following the powerful Cyclone Nargis, which flattened the Irrawaddy Delta in May 2008, killing over 150,000 people.
The Electronics Act is one of a litany of repressive laws that are enforced to crush freedom of expression. The 2000 Internet law bans any information posted on the Internet that in the junta's view may undermine the interests and security of the country. The 1996 Television and Video Act has penalties of up to three years jail term for "copying, distributing, hiring or exhibiting video tape that has no video censor certificate."
Internet café owners in Rangoon, the former capital, are expected to follow strict guidelines to monitor users. It extends to keeping tabs on the identity of the user, the duration of Internet usage and the list of websites visited. Access to such websites like YouTube and e-mail services like Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail has been blocked.
No wonder the Electronics Act has been singled out by the exiled Burmese media as a major threat ahead of -- and during -- the general elections the junta has pledged to conduct this year. "It will be hard for the citizen journalists and other reporters inside Burma to work ahead of the polls," said Aung Zaw, editor of 'The Irrawaddy', a current affairs magazine published by Burmese journalists exiled in Thailand. "The bloggers and citizen journalists will have a big role to play as they did during the Saffron Revolution."
But the junta, it appears, is steeling itself to avoid a repeat of the video clips and blogs that flowed out of Burma when the September 2007 pro-democracy protest was crushed. "The sentencing of Hla Hla Win is all part of the regime's preparations to impose more media controls ahead of the elections," Aung Zaw told IPS.
Marwaan Macan-Markar, Inter Press Service – Mon Jan 11, 12:45 pm ET
BANGKOK, Jan 11 (IPS) - A court ruling in military-ruled Burma has brought into sharp focus a law the junta widely uses to go after civilians it wants to silence.
On Jan. 7 a court found Win Naing Kyaw, a former military officer, guilty of violating the Electronics Act, a law controlling Internet usage, and condemned him to a 20-year sentence. He was linked to photos of a ranking junta official's visit to North Korea that had appeared on a news website run by Burmese journalists living in exile.
This came just a week after a 25-year-old teacher, Hla Hla Win, was given a 20-year prison sentence on Dec. 31 for violating the same law. Her "crime" was the work she did as a member of the South-east Asian country's growing network of "undercover journalists" for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), an Oslo-based news organisation of exiled Burmese journalists.
The Electronics Law bans Burmese citizens from using the Internet to send information, photos or videos critical of the junta to foreign audiences.
The sentence for the freelance video reporter comes on top of another six- year prison term that was handed down last October for having a motorcycle that had been "illegally imported." Myint Naing, who helped the freelance reporter, was condemned to 26 years in prison.
"Hla Hla Win has been working with us for a few years. And she did so knowing the danger of getting caught with video clips or being seen on the street with a video camera," said Toe Zaw Latt, DVB's bureau chief in Thailand. "She was driven to get images of what was happening inside Burma and get them out to the world."
"Most 'undercover journalists' like her do not work for the sake of money," he added during a telephone interview from Chiang Mai, a northern Thai city. "They are committed to tell the stories and are willing to take great risks to do so."
DVB has over 100 such freelance journalists armed with video cameras to document the abuse and oppression unfolding in Burma. It shot to international prominence in September 2007, when the junta mounted a harsh crackdown on thousands of anti-government protesters, led by Buddhist monks.
Its video clips supplied by its network of citizen journalists -- including Hla Hla Win -- offered graphic details of the soldiers attacking the unarmed monks. An estimated 30 to 40 monks and between 50 and 70 civilians were killed during the crushing of the 'Saffron Revolution' three years ago. Close to 6,000 monks and civilians were also arrested at the height of this clash in Rangoon, Mandalay and other Burmese cities.
The period since the Saffron Revolution has seen Burma's notorious network of prisons and labour camps swell with jailed political activists. Some of these critics of the junta have been given harsh prison terms, including a 65-year- sentence for Min Ko Naing, a former student leader and highly regarded pro- democracy activist. There are currently over 2,200 political prisoners, up from the 1,200 imprisoned political activists in mid-2007. That number, until Hla Hla Win's sentencing, included 13 journalists and bloggers.
"The number of reporters and journalists imprisoned has gone up because the junta is using the Electronics Act to target them," said Bo Kyi, a ranking member of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a group of former Burmese political prisoners championing the rights of prisoners. "The jail term is longer than the law used before, in the 1990s, to silence reporters, which was seven-year maximum sentence."
Most of the pro-democracy activists that have been jailed since the Saffron Revolution were also accused of violating the Electronics Act, added Bo Kyi during an interview from Mae Sot, a town on the Thai-Burma border, where AAPP is based. "Activists like Min Ko Naing were arrested and then sentenced under this act."
So was Zarganar, one of Burma's best-known comedians. He was given a 45- year prison sentence in November 2008, which included 15 years for violating the Electronics Act. He was accused of sharing information with foreign media that had included criticism of the regime's handling of the humanitarian crisis following the powerful Cyclone Nargis, which flattened the Irrawaddy Delta in May 2008, killing over 150,000 people.
The Electronics Act is one of a litany of repressive laws that are enforced to crush freedom of expression. The 2000 Internet law bans any information posted on the Internet that in the junta's view may undermine the interests and security of the country. The 1996 Television and Video Act has penalties of up to three years jail term for "copying, distributing, hiring or exhibiting video tape that has no video censor certificate."
Internet café owners in Rangoon, the former capital, are expected to follow strict guidelines to monitor users. It extends to keeping tabs on the identity of the user, the duration of Internet usage and the list of websites visited. Access to such websites like YouTube and e-mail services like Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail has been blocked.
No wonder the Electronics Act has been singled out by the exiled Burmese media as a major threat ahead of -- and during -- the general elections the junta has pledged to conduct this year. "It will be hard for the citizen journalists and other reporters inside Burma to work ahead of the polls," said Aung Zaw, editor of 'The Irrawaddy', a current affairs magazine published by Burmese journalists exiled in Thailand. "The bloggers and citizen journalists will have a big role to play as they did during the Saffron Revolution."
But the junta, it appears, is steeling itself to avoid a repeat of the video clips and blogs that flowed out of Burma when the September 2007 pro-democracy protest was crushed. "The sentencing of Hla Hla Win is all part of the regime's preparations to impose more media controls ahead of the elections," Aung Zaw told IPS.
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The Irrawaddy - Burma's Sordid History of Unfair Elections
By KAY LATT - Monday, January 11, 2010
People are increasingly concerned about the credibility of the Burmese elections scheduled to be held sometime in 2010.
Ian Kelly, a spokesman for the US State Department, said recently that the military regime has taken no meaningful steps to put in place measures that would lead to a credible election.
What are the steps required for a credible election?
Most Burmese citizens, based on their experience, see the election as just another puppet show.
A quick review of the history of Burmese elections shows that their cynicism is to be expected.
They have experienced many elections under different military regimes, following a referendum in 1973 that approved a constitution. Then in the 1990 national elections, a vast majority of citizens cast their votes in favor of democratic reform candidates, only to see the results of that landslide victory ignored by the military government.
Instead, after the 1990 election, the military regime convened a National Convention to draft a new constitution, which took 14 years and 9 months to complete. A Constitution Drafting Commission was finally assembled on Oct. 27, 2007, which took a mere three months to draft the constitution that was voted on in the referendum.
Many delegates complained that the drafting process was undemocratic and deeply biased in favor of the junta.
On Feb. 9, 2008, the regime announced that the constitutional referendum would be held in May. Copies of the proposed constitution were finally published on April 9, one month ahead of the referendum, leaving citizens little time to debate and understand the fine points of the draft constitution. The referendum was held on May 10. Clearly, it was a rush to judgment designed to put into place an anti-democratic constitution that ensures the military government's hold on power.
The disdain for the electorate was similar to that of 1973, when the military regime led by Gen Ne Win took just seven months to draft a constitution before the first referendum held in December. During that period, three draft versions were made public before agreement on a final draft.
Under the rule of Gen Saw Maung following the 1988 coup d'état, a “Multi-party Democracy Election Commission Law” was issued three days after he took power. A political party registration law was enacted on Sept. 27. 1989. The Election Law was issued on May 31, 1989, one year in advance of the May 27, 1990, election. Political parties and ordinary citizens were able to make suggestions and comment on the proposed election law.
The current regime has yet to enact an election law for the 2010 election.
Standards for holding a credible election have been detailed by the United Nations. A UN handbook on the legal, technical and human rights aspects of elections states: "Each time elections are scheduled, the dates set out in the electoral calendar for each phase of the process must allow adequate time for effective campaigning and public information efforts, for voters to inform themselves, and for the necessary administrative, legal, training and logistic arrangements to be made."
A typical election calendar has many phases and procedures according to international standards such as formation of an election administration, constituency delimitation, registration of electors, nominations of parties and candidates, polling tabulation and reporting, complaints and appeals mechanism, media access and regulation, public information and voter education and legal authority for electoral processes. Sufficient time should be given for each of the procedures.
An independent electoral administration body is one of the key factors for a credible election. However, in Burma's 2007 constitutional referendum, Chief Justice U Aung Toe served as the chair of the National Convention Convening Work Committee, as well as the chair of the State Constitution Drafting Commission. He also served as the chair of the National Referendum Commission, which compromised his effectiveness as an independent agent for a free and fair referendum.
Further complicating the election is the fact that essential basic freedoms—such as freedom of association, freedom of expression and opinion and press freedom—do not exist in Burma.
For example, almost all National League for Democracy (NLD) offices outside of Rangoon have been ordered closed since 2003. No political parties, with the exception of pro-SPDC organizations, have been allowed to do routine political organization work. New political parties are still waiting to register under the election law and are not allowed to actively organize.
Furthermore, many political leaders, especially those associated with the NLD, and many high profile private citizens and monks, have been imprisoned since the latest regime crackdown, starting in 2007.
In January, the regime sent another clear message to the media by imposing a 20-year jail sentence on a freelance video reporter, Hla Hla Win, for providing information and video to exiled media.
As a result of regular intimidation of the media, Reporters without Borders and the Burma Media Association have requested Asean and the rest of the international community to make freedom of the press one of the conditions for recognizing the legitimacy of the 2010 elections.
The credibility of an election also lies in a secret ballot system, non-discriminatory voting and other legal assurances to protect the process from bias, fraud or manipulation. In the most recent referendum, there were widespread reports of manipulating voter lists and denying qualified voters from casting their ballots.
Authorities threatened or coerced, misinformed, deceived, cheated and used violence to win the support of many voters in the latest referendum. Many observers expect the same kinds of manipulation to be repeated in the coming elections.
Shamefully, the regime denied international and regional monitoring groups the right to observe the latest referendum, and there have yet to be assurances that such groups will be able to observe the 2010 election.
With such a sordid history of election manipulation and disregard for fundamental freedoms, the 2010 election will probably follow the pattern of other recent elections.
Denied the basic freedoms and procedures necessary to conduct a credible election, most Burmese have little hope that it will represent a new day in Burma's long road to democracy. Most likely, the election will be a repeat of the military government's disregard of democratic processes.
By KAY LATT - Monday, January 11, 2010
People are increasingly concerned about the credibility of the Burmese elections scheduled to be held sometime in 2010.
Ian Kelly, a spokesman for the US State Department, said recently that the military regime has taken no meaningful steps to put in place measures that would lead to a credible election.
What are the steps required for a credible election?
Most Burmese citizens, based on their experience, see the election as just another puppet show.
A quick review of the history of Burmese elections shows that their cynicism is to be expected.
They have experienced many elections under different military regimes, following a referendum in 1973 that approved a constitution. Then in the 1990 national elections, a vast majority of citizens cast their votes in favor of democratic reform candidates, only to see the results of that landslide victory ignored by the military government.
Instead, after the 1990 election, the military regime convened a National Convention to draft a new constitution, which took 14 years and 9 months to complete. A Constitution Drafting Commission was finally assembled on Oct. 27, 2007, which took a mere three months to draft the constitution that was voted on in the referendum.
Many delegates complained that the drafting process was undemocratic and deeply biased in favor of the junta.
On Feb. 9, 2008, the regime announced that the constitutional referendum would be held in May. Copies of the proposed constitution were finally published on April 9, one month ahead of the referendum, leaving citizens little time to debate and understand the fine points of the draft constitution. The referendum was held on May 10. Clearly, it was a rush to judgment designed to put into place an anti-democratic constitution that ensures the military government's hold on power.
The disdain for the electorate was similar to that of 1973, when the military regime led by Gen Ne Win took just seven months to draft a constitution before the first referendum held in December. During that period, three draft versions were made public before agreement on a final draft.
Under the rule of Gen Saw Maung following the 1988 coup d'état, a “Multi-party Democracy Election Commission Law” was issued three days after he took power. A political party registration law was enacted on Sept. 27. 1989. The Election Law was issued on May 31, 1989, one year in advance of the May 27, 1990, election. Political parties and ordinary citizens were able to make suggestions and comment on the proposed election law.
The current regime has yet to enact an election law for the 2010 election.
Standards for holding a credible election have been detailed by the United Nations. A UN handbook on the legal, technical and human rights aspects of elections states: "Each time elections are scheduled, the dates set out in the electoral calendar for each phase of the process must allow adequate time for effective campaigning and public information efforts, for voters to inform themselves, and for the necessary administrative, legal, training and logistic arrangements to be made."
A typical election calendar has many phases and procedures according to international standards such as formation of an election administration, constituency delimitation, registration of electors, nominations of parties and candidates, polling tabulation and reporting, complaints and appeals mechanism, media access and regulation, public information and voter education and legal authority for electoral processes. Sufficient time should be given for each of the procedures.
An independent electoral administration body is one of the key factors for a credible election. However, in Burma's 2007 constitutional referendum, Chief Justice U Aung Toe served as the chair of the National Convention Convening Work Committee, as well as the chair of the State Constitution Drafting Commission. He also served as the chair of the National Referendum Commission, which compromised his effectiveness as an independent agent for a free and fair referendum.
Further complicating the election is the fact that essential basic freedoms—such as freedom of association, freedom of expression and opinion and press freedom—do not exist in Burma.
For example, almost all National League for Democracy (NLD) offices outside of Rangoon have been ordered closed since 2003. No political parties, with the exception of pro-SPDC organizations, have been allowed to do routine political organization work. New political parties are still waiting to register under the election law and are not allowed to actively organize.
Furthermore, many political leaders, especially those associated with the NLD, and many high profile private citizens and monks, have been imprisoned since the latest regime crackdown, starting in 2007.
In January, the regime sent another clear message to the media by imposing a 20-year jail sentence on a freelance video reporter, Hla Hla Win, for providing information and video to exiled media.
As a result of regular intimidation of the media, Reporters without Borders and the Burma Media Association have requested Asean and the rest of the international community to make freedom of the press one of the conditions for recognizing the legitimacy of the 2010 elections.
The credibility of an election also lies in a secret ballot system, non-discriminatory voting and other legal assurances to protect the process from bias, fraud or manipulation. In the most recent referendum, there were widespread reports of manipulating voter lists and denying qualified voters from casting their ballots.
Authorities threatened or coerced, misinformed, deceived, cheated and used violence to win the support of many voters in the latest referendum. Many observers expect the same kinds of manipulation to be repeated in the coming elections.
Shamefully, the regime denied international and regional monitoring groups the right to observe the latest referendum, and there have yet to be assurances that such groups will be able to observe the 2010 election.
With such a sordid history of election manipulation and disregard for fundamental freedoms, the 2010 election will probably follow the pattern of other recent elections.
Denied the basic freedoms and procedures necessary to conduct a credible election, most Burmese have little hope that it will represent a new day in Burma's long road to democracy. Most likely, the election will be a repeat of the military government's disregard of democratic processes.
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The Irrawaddy - Suu Kyi Meets with Lawyers to Discuss Appeal
By THE IRRAWADDY - Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was on Tuesday allowed to meet with her lawyers to discuss her upcoming appeal against the 18-month extension of her house arrest, as well as to address an objection by her brother to repairs to her lakeside home, according to Nyan Win, one of her lawyers.
Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that he and another lawyer, Kyi Win, met with Suu Kyi from 2 p.m to 4 p.m.
“First, we discussed the legal details regarding the three cases of appeal which the Supreme Court is to review on Jan. 18,” said Nyan Win.
“We have also submitted a letter to Rangoon municipality about an objection over house repairs, asking for a photocopy of that objection letter from the municipal office,” he added.
Suu Kyi's lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court on Dec. 21 after the Rangoon Division Court upheld the conviction in August for briefly sheltering an uninvited American in her home last year. The Supreme Court agreed to review her most recent house arrest extension.
The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate was initially sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor, but that sentence was commuted by junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
The legal team argued that her house arrest extension was unlawful as it was based on provisions from the 1974 Constitution which was no longer in existence.
Another problem Suu Kyi faces regards permission to repair her house in Rangoon. In December, authorities halted renovation of her house due to an objection by her brother Aung San Oo who is currently a US citizen.
In 2001, lawyers representing Aung San Oo filed a lawsuit involving the title of Suu Kyi's residence. Aung San Oo claimed he should share in the title.
In 1960, the residence was given to Suu Kyi's mother, Khin Kyi, while she served as the Burmese ambassador to India, by U Nu, a former Burmese prime minister. Suu Kyi has lived at the lakeside home since 1988, following her return to Burma from Britain.
By THE IRRAWADDY - Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was on Tuesday allowed to meet with her lawyers to discuss her upcoming appeal against the 18-month extension of her house arrest, as well as to address an objection by her brother to repairs to her lakeside home, according to Nyan Win, one of her lawyers.
Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that he and another lawyer, Kyi Win, met with Suu Kyi from 2 p.m to 4 p.m.
“First, we discussed the legal details regarding the three cases of appeal which the Supreme Court is to review on Jan. 18,” said Nyan Win.
“We have also submitted a letter to Rangoon municipality about an objection over house repairs, asking for a photocopy of that objection letter from the municipal office,” he added.
Suu Kyi's lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court on Dec. 21 after the Rangoon Division Court upheld the conviction in August for briefly sheltering an uninvited American in her home last year. The Supreme Court agreed to review her most recent house arrest extension.
The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate was initially sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor, but that sentence was commuted by junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
The legal team argued that her house arrest extension was unlawful as it was based on provisions from the 1974 Constitution which was no longer in existence.
Another problem Suu Kyi faces regards permission to repair her house in Rangoon. In December, authorities halted renovation of her house due to an objection by her brother Aung San Oo who is currently a US citizen.
In 2001, lawyers representing Aung San Oo filed a lawsuit involving the title of Suu Kyi's residence. Aung San Oo claimed he should share in the title.
In 1960, the residence was given to Suu Kyi's mother, Khin Kyi, while she served as the Burmese ambassador to India, by U Nu, a former Burmese prime minister. Suu Kyi has lived at the lakeside home since 1988, following her return to Burma from Britain.
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NLD expands central executive committee
Monday, 11 January 2010 22:26 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Burma’s main opposition party the National League for Democracy (NLD) on Monday decided to enlarge its central executive committee (CEC) inducting nine more members to the existing 11.
Win Tin, a CEC member said the decision was taken on Monday during the committee meeting, attended by seven of nine CEC members.
While detained party General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi, Vice-Chairman Tin Oo, ailing Chairman Aung Shwe and Secretary U Lwin, could not attend the meeting, the decision was in keeping with their discussions in December.
Detained party leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in December was granted rare permission to meet three of her party’s aging leaders – Aung Shwe, U Lwin, Lun Tin – where they discussed reforming the party.
“We agreed to expand the party central executive committee today. But we are yet to issue a statement on it as there is some official work still to be done. We also need to notify the authorities of our decision,” Khin Maung Swe, a CEC member and Chairman of the Information and Publicity Department of the NLD, said.
The party, which swept the 1990 elections, said it would officially make an announcement on the nine newly inducted CEC members in a statement on January 18.
Rangoon’s political circles said, the newly appointed CEC members include Thein Nyunt from Thngankyun township, Dr. Win Naing, Secretary of Rangoon branch NLD, Han Thar Myint, Member of the Education committee, Dr. Than Nyein, Vice-Chairman of the Rangoon NLD branch and advocate Nyan Win, Member of Parliament from Apaung township.
The NLD CEC, many of whose members had served long prison terms, have in recent months come under pressure in the party as members across the country wanted the CEC to convene a general assembly.
But Khin Maung Shwe said, as the party is currently not yet formatted properly, the CEC was forced to appoint new members instead of using the democratic way of electing them.
With Burma’s ruling junta gearing up for a general election in 2010, as part of their roadmap to democracy, observers are speculating over NLD’s activities. The NLD has said it is willing to contest the junta’s elections on condition that the 2008 constitution is revised and all political prisoners released.
The NLD has time and again called on the junta to start a political dialogue as the first step to negotiate a process of reconciliation. The junta, however, had constantly rejected the NLD’s proposals and continued with their planned roadmap.
In November, Aung San Suu Kyi, in a letter to junta supremo Than Shwe offered to cooperate with him in easing western sanctions, and requested a face to face meeting with him to discuss the issue.
While Than Shwe granted her other request to allow meeting her party leaders, he made no official response to her request for a meeting with him.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s second request to allow her to convene a meeting with all her party’s CEC members has also so far not fetched a response from the junta.
Monday, 11 January 2010 22:26 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Burma’s main opposition party the National League for Democracy (NLD) on Monday decided to enlarge its central executive committee (CEC) inducting nine more members to the existing 11.
Win Tin, a CEC member said the decision was taken on Monday during the committee meeting, attended by seven of nine CEC members.
While detained party General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi, Vice-Chairman Tin Oo, ailing Chairman Aung Shwe and Secretary U Lwin, could not attend the meeting, the decision was in keeping with their discussions in December.
Detained party leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in December was granted rare permission to meet three of her party’s aging leaders – Aung Shwe, U Lwin, Lun Tin – where they discussed reforming the party.
“We agreed to expand the party central executive committee today. But we are yet to issue a statement on it as there is some official work still to be done. We also need to notify the authorities of our decision,” Khin Maung Swe, a CEC member and Chairman of the Information and Publicity Department of the NLD, said.
The party, which swept the 1990 elections, said it would officially make an announcement on the nine newly inducted CEC members in a statement on January 18.
Rangoon’s political circles said, the newly appointed CEC members include Thein Nyunt from Thngankyun township, Dr. Win Naing, Secretary of Rangoon branch NLD, Han Thar Myint, Member of the Education committee, Dr. Than Nyein, Vice-Chairman of the Rangoon NLD branch and advocate Nyan Win, Member of Parliament from Apaung township.
The NLD CEC, many of whose members had served long prison terms, have in recent months come under pressure in the party as members across the country wanted the CEC to convene a general assembly.
But Khin Maung Shwe said, as the party is currently not yet formatted properly, the CEC was forced to appoint new members instead of using the democratic way of electing them.
With Burma’s ruling junta gearing up for a general election in 2010, as part of their roadmap to democracy, observers are speculating over NLD’s activities. The NLD has said it is willing to contest the junta’s elections on condition that the 2008 constitution is revised and all political prisoners released.
The NLD has time and again called on the junta to start a political dialogue as the first step to negotiate a process of reconciliation. The junta, however, had constantly rejected the NLD’s proposals and continued with their planned roadmap.
In November, Aung San Suu Kyi, in a letter to junta supremo Than Shwe offered to cooperate with him in easing western sanctions, and requested a face to face meeting with him to discuss the issue.
While Than Shwe granted her other request to allow meeting her party leaders, he made no official response to her request for a meeting with him.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s second request to allow her to convene a meeting with all her party’s CEC members has also so far not fetched a response from the junta.
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Detained American’s hearing nears conclusion
Tuesday, 12 January 2010 20:10 Mungpi
New Delhi (Mizzima) - With the testimony of a defense witness on Tuesday, Rangoon’s Southern District court concluded witness hearings in the trial against Burmese-born American Kyaw Zaw Lwin, (alias) Nyi Nyi Aung.
“Both lawyers will present final arguments on January 22nd, and following that the court will hand down the verdict,” Kyi Win, one of the US citizen’s lawyers, told Mizzima.
The naturalized American has been standing trial on charges of fraud, forgery and illegal entry into the country.
“I don’t want to speculate on what the court will decide but our position is that the accused is innocent,” Kyi Win said.
The international lawyer of Nyi Nyi Aung, Beth Swanke, expanded on the legal position of the defense, claiming the charges are a ‘sham’ and an attempt to frame and imprison the accused, as he is a known pro-democracy activist advocating for democracy and human rights in Burma.
Nyi Nyi Aung, a student activist at the time of the nationwide protests in 1988, was forced to flee Burma to Thailand along with fellow students as the military began cracking down on protestors. He later moved to the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen.
Nyi Nyi Aung is the second American to stand trial in Burma in 2009, following fellow citizen John William Yettaw who was charged and tried for illegally entering the house of detained Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in May 2009.
Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, was eventually sent back along with visiting US senator Jim Web.
In December, over 50 US congressmen urged the Burmese government to grant Nyi Nyi Aung the same treatment as Yettaw and allow him to return to the US.
The US Embassy in Rangoon, in an email message, told Mizzima that it is closely monitoring the case and “have pursued consular access vigorously from the time of Mr. Lwin's arrest. The United States continues to press the Burmese government to handle his case in accordance with international standards of due process.”
“The United States continues to work through diplomatic channels to achieve an overall positive outcome to the case,” Drake Weisert, Assistant Public Affairs Officer at the Embassy, subsequently told Mizzima on Tuesday.
“An Embassy consular officer met with Mr. Lwin at Insein Prison on December 28th for one hour. We continue to press for regular consular access,” elaborated Weisert.
Tuesday, 12 January 2010 20:10 Mungpi
New Delhi (Mizzima) - With the testimony of a defense witness on Tuesday, Rangoon’s Southern District court concluded witness hearings in the trial against Burmese-born American Kyaw Zaw Lwin, (alias) Nyi Nyi Aung.
“Both lawyers will present final arguments on January 22nd, and following that the court will hand down the verdict,” Kyi Win, one of the US citizen’s lawyers, told Mizzima.
The naturalized American has been standing trial on charges of fraud, forgery and illegal entry into the country.
“I don’t want to speculate on what the court will decide but our position is that the accused is innocent,” Kyi Win said.
The international lawyer of Nyi Nyi Aung, Beth Swanke, expanded on the legal position of the defense, claiming the charges are a ‘sham’ and an attempt to frame and imprison the accused, as he is a known pro-democracy activist advocating for democracy and human rights in Burma.
Nyi Nyi Aung, a student activist at the time of the nationwide protests in 1988, was forced to flee Burma to Thailand along with fellow students as the military began cracking down on protestors. He later moved to the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen.
Nyi Nyi Aung is the second American to stand trial in Burma in 2009, following fellow citizen John William Yettaw who was charged and tried for illegally entering the house of detained Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in May 2009.
Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, was eventually sent back along with visiting US senator Jim Web.
In December, over 50 US congressmen urged the Burmese government to grant Nyi Nyi Aung the same treatment as Yettaw and allow him to return to the US.
The US Embassy in Rangoon, in an email message, told Mizzima that it is closely monitoring the case and “have pursued consular access vigorously from the time of Mr. Lwin's arrest. The United States continues to press the Burmese government to handle his case in accordance with international standards of due process.”
“The United States continues to work through diplomatic channels to achieve an overall positive outcome to the case,” Drake Weisert, Assistant Public Affairs Officer at the Embassy, subsequently told Mizzima on Tuesday.
“An Embassy consular officer met with Mr. Lwin at Insein Prison on December 28th for one hour. We continue to press for regular consular access,” elaborated Weisert.
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