Myanmar chief confirms elections to be held 2010
Mon Jan 4, 5:56 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's ruling junta chief confirmed Monday that the country's first general elections in two decades will be held this year but gave no date for the balloting, which is expected to exclude pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
In a message marking the anniversary of Myanmar's 1948 independence from Britain, Senior Gen. Than Shwe said that the regime's "seven-step" roadmap is the only way for the country to move toward democracy.
The roadmap is the junta's program for shifting from nearly 50 years of military rule. A key step in that process was a constitution adopted in a 2008 referendum widely criticized as authoritarian. The constitution guarantees a quarter of parliamentary seats for the military. The final step in the roadmap is the elections.
"Plans are under way to hold the elections in a systematic way this year and the entire people have to make correct choices," Than Shwe said in a message printed in state-run newspapers. The message did not clarify what was meant by "correct choices" but was widely assumed to urge voters to support military-backed political parties.
Critics say the process will merely perpetuate military rule under a civilian guise. Suu Kyi, who recently had her house arrest extended by 18 months, will be unable to participate in the balloting.
The junta has yet to pass necessary elections laws for the 2010 vote or set a date.
Myanmar gained independence from Britain on Jan. 4, 1948, after more than 120 years of colonial rule. It has been under harsh military rule since 1962. The current junta emerged in 1988 after violently suppressing mass pro-democracy protests. It held a general election in 1990, but refused to recognize the results after a landslide victory by Suu Kyi's party.
Her National League for Democracy marked Independence Day at party headquarters in Yangon Monday with a gathering of some 400 party members, diplomats and supporters. More than 50 plainclothes policemen observed and videotaped the meeting from across the street.
The party reiterated its call for the release from detention of its party leaders and all other political prisoners and for the reopening of branch offices which were shut down in 2003.
The United States congratulated the people of Myanmar, also known as Burma, on the 62nd anniversary of its independence, and said it looked forward to the day when they could "exercise freely their universal human rights."
State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said the United States "stands ready to take steps to improve bilateral relations based on reciprocal and meaningful efforts by the Burmese government to fulfill the Burmese people's democratic aspirations."
Than Shwe on Monday warned people to "remain vigilant at all times against dangers posed by neocolonialists." "Neocolonialists" normally refers to Western nations that have been sharply critical of the regime's human rights record and brutal crackdowns on any protests.
Mon Jan 4, 5:56 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's ruling junta chief confirmed Monday that the country's first general elections in two decades will be held this year but gave no date for the balloting, which is expected to exclude pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
In a message marking the anniversary of Myanmar's 1948 independence from Britain, Senior Gen. Than Shwe said that the regime's "seven-step" roadmap is the only way for the country to move toward democracy.
The roadmap is the junta's program for shifting from nearly 50 years of military rule. A key step in that process was a constitution adopted in a 2008 referendum widely criticized as authoritarian. The constitution guarantees a quarter of parliamentary seats for the military. The final step in the roadmap is the elections.
"Plans are under way to hold the elections in a systematic way this year and the entire people have to make correct choices," Than Shwe said in a message printed in state-run newspapers. The message did not clarify what was meant by "correct choices" but was widely assumed to urge voters to support military-backed political parties.
Critics say the process will merely perpetuate military rule under a civilian guise. Suu Kyi, who recently had her house arrest extended by 18 months, will be unable to participate in the balloting.
The junta has yet to pass necessary elections laws for the 2010 vote or set a date.
Myanmar gained independence from Britain on Jan. 4, 1948, after more than 120 years of colonial rule. It has been under harsh military rule since 1962. The current junta emerged in 1988 after violently suppressing mass pro-democracy protests. It held a general election in 1990, but refused to recognize the results after a landslide victory by Suu Kyi's party.
Her National League for Democracy marked Independence Day at party headquarters in Yangon Monday with a gathering of some 400 party members, diplomats and supporters. More than 50 plainclothes policemen observed and videotaped the meeting from across the street.
The party reiterated its call for the release from detention of its party leaders and all other political prisoners and for the reopening of branch offices which were shut down in 2003.
The United States congratulated the people of Myanmar, also known as Burma, on the 62nd anniversary of its independence, and said it looked forward to the day when they could "exercise freely their universal human rights."
State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said the United States "stands ready to take steps to improve bilateral relations based on reciprocal and meaningful efforts by the Burmese government to fulfill the Burmese people's democratic aspirations."
Than Shwe on Monday warned people to "remain vigilant at all times against dangers posed by neocolonialists." "Neocolonialists" normally refers to Western nations that have been sharply critical of the regime's human rights record and brutal crackdowns on any protests.
***************************************************************
Myanmar court charges US citizen
Fri Jan 1, 9:29 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A special court Friday formally charged a Myanmar-born American, initially accused of attempting to foment rebellion against the country's military rulers, for forgery and violation of the foreign currency act, his lawyer said.
In another court case, the Supreme Court announced that it will hear final arguments to decide whether to review the most recent extension of the house arrest of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Kyaw Zaw Lwin, a U.S. citizen, was charged with forgery for allegedly making up a national identity card, which carries maximum 7-year prison term. He was also charged with violating the currency act, that could put him in prison for another three years, said his lawyer Nyan Win.
Kyaw Zaw Lwin, who is also known as Nyi Nyi Aung, was arrested Sept. 3 when he arrived at Yangon airport and accused of trying to stir up anti-government protests.
The lawyer said his client ended a 12-day hunger strike on Dec. 15 and "looked well and was in good spirits."
Kyaw Zaw Lwin's mother is serving a five-year prison term for political activities and his sister was sentenced to 65 years in prison for her role in pro-democracy protests in 2007.
The lawyer for Suu Kyi, also Nyan Win, said the Supreme Court posted an announcement on its notice board setting Jan. 18 as the date to hear final argumentd in her latest case.
Suu Kyi's lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court in November after a lower court upheld a decision to sentence her to 18 months of house arrest. She had been convicted in August last year of violating her previous term by briefly sheltering an American intruder who swam uninvited to her lakeside home.
The legal team argued that her house arrest extension was unlawful as it was based on provisions from the 1974 Constitution that was no longer in existence, said Nyan Win.
"We are optimistic that the Supreme Court will review the Divisional Court decision as we have presented strong legal points," he said.
The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate was initially sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor, but that sentence was commuted to 18 months of house arrest by junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe.
Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years.
Suu Kyi's sentence ensures she cannot participate in Myanmar's first elections in two decades that are scheduled for next year. Her party swept the last elections in 1990, but the results were never honored by the military, which has ruled the country since 1962.
Fri Jan 1, 9:29 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A special court Friday formally charged a Myanmar-born American, initially accused of attempting to foment rebellion against the country's military rulers, for forgery and violation of the foreign currency act, his lawyer said.
In another court case, the Supreme Court announced that it will hear final arguments to decide whether to review the most recent extension of the house arrest of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Kyaw Zaw Lwin, a U.S. citizen, was charged with forgery for allegedly making up a national identity card, which carries maximum 7-year prison term. He was also charged with violating the currency act, that could put him in prison for another three years, said his lawyer Nyan Win.
Kyaw Zaw Lwin, who is also known as Nyi Nyi Aung, was arrested Sept. 3 when he arrived at Yangon airport and accused of trying to stir up anti-government protests.
The lawyer said his client ended a 12-day hunger strike on Dec. 15 and "looked well and was in good spirits."
Kyaw Zaw Lwin's mother is serving a five-year prison term for political activities and his sister was sentenced to 65 years in prison for her role in pro-democracy protests in 2007.
The lawyer for Suu Kyi, also Nyan Win, said the Supreme Court posted an announcement on its notice board setting Jan. 18 as the date to hear final argumentd in her latest case.
Suu Kyi's lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court in November after a lower court upheld a decision to sentence her to 18 months of house arrest. She had been convicted in August last year of violating her previous term by briefly sheltering an American intruder who swam uninvited to her lakeside home.
The legal team argued that her house arrest extension was unlawful as it was based on provisions from the 1974 Constitution that was no longer in existence, said Nyan Win.
"We are optimistic that the Supreme Court will review the Divisional Court decision as we have presented strong legal points," he said.
The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate was initially sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor, but that sentence was commuted to 18 months of house arrest by junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe.
Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years.
Suu Kyi's sentence ensures she cannot participate in Myanmar's first elections in two decades that are scheduled for next year. Her party swept the last elections in 1990, but the results were never honored by the military, which has ruled the country since 1962.
***************************************************************
Myanmar to give big boost to gov't worker salaries
AP - Sunday, January 3
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's military regime, apparently hoping to placate civil servants facing spiraling prices, will raise the salaries of low-paid government employees starting Jan. 31, a regime official said Saturday.
Under the new scale, civil servants with the lowest pay of 15,000 kyat ($15) per month to mid-level pay of 80,000 kyat ($80) will receive a fixed increase of 20,000 kyat ($20) per month, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
The government has not officially announced the salary hike, but employees have seen official circulars about the increase.
Employees receiving salaries above 100,000 kyat ($100) per month are excluded from the hike.
The raises appear to be an effort to douse discontent among civil servants, and come as the government tries to garner support among the population for this year's general elections.
Myanmar, one of the world's poorest nations, has been hit hard by the spiraling price of commodities and consumer items, including rice and cooking oil.
Massive fuel price hikes in August 2007 sparked violent protests in the country.
AP - Sunday, January 3
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar's military regime, apparently hoping to placate civil servants facing spiraling prices, will raise the salaries of low-paid government employees starting Jan. 31, a regime official said Saturday.
Under the new scale, civil servants with the lowest pay of 15,000 kyat ($15) per month to mid-level pay of 80,000 kyat ($80) will receive a fixed increase of 20,000 kyat ($20) per month, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
The government has not officially announced the salary hike, but employees have seen official circulars about the increase.
Employees receiving salaries above 100,000 kyat ($100) per month are excluded from the hike.
The raises appear to be an effort to douse discontent among civil servants, and come as the government tries to garner support among the population for this year's general elections.
Myanmar, one of the world's poorest nations, has been hit hard by the spiraling price of commodities and consumer items, including rice and cooking oil.
Massive fuel price hikes in August 2007 sparked violent protests in the country.
***************************************************************
Myanmar pushes poll 20 years after ignoring NLD win
By Aung Hla Tun – Mon Jan 4, 5:15 am ET
YANGON (Reuters) – Reclusive Myanmar ruling General Than Shwe urged the country on Monday to make "correct choices" in this year's general election, but gave no hint about exactly when the long-awaited polls will take place.
Myanmar's last election, in 1990, ended with a landslide win for Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy but the junta ignored the result and has since jailed more than 2,000 activists and political opponents, many for minor offences.
Suu Kyi herself has been under house arrest or other sort of detention for 14 of the last 20 years.
In a message to mark the 62nd anniversary of Myanmar's independence, Than Shwe championed the junta's much-criticized "road map" as the only route to democratic change, but gave no timeframe for the vote.
"Plans are under way to hold elections in a systematic way this year," he said in the address, read out on television by a senior junta official and carried in state-run newspapers.
The 76-year-old gave no new details about the election in the former British colony, and described the junta's seven-stage reform plan as "the sole process of transition to democracy."
The election has already been widely dismissed as a means to entrench nearly five decades of unbroken military rule, with the junta hoping a public vote would legitimize its monopoly of national politics.
Critics of the army-drafted constitution say Myanmar's legislature will be dominated by the military and their civilian stooges, with limited powers and representation for dozens of ethnic groups or established opposition parties.
The notoriously secretive regime has yet to say who can take part in the polls.
Several major ethnic groups are resisting calls to join the political process, saying they have nothing to gain.
Many analysts believe the delay in naming an election date is to give the government more time to bring the ethnic groups on board, either voluntarily or through military force.
The National League for Democracy has not said whether it will run in the polls and has rejected the constitution promulgated in 2008 because of the power it grants to the military.
On Monday it urged the regime to release all political prisoners and engage with all the parties involved.
"All the stakeholders need to hold a dialogue with a sincere intention toward national reconciliation and for the benefit of the country and the people," said Khin Muang Swe, the head of the NLD's central executive committee.
By Aung Hla Tun – Mon Jan 4, 5:15 am ET
YANGON (Reuters) – Reclusive Myanmar ruling General Than Shwe urged the country on Monday to make "correct choices" in this year's general election, but gave no hint about exactly when the long-awaited polls will take place.
Myanmar's last election, in 1990, ended with a landslide win for Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy but the junta ignored the result and has since jailed more than 2,000 activists and political opponents, many for minor offences.
Suu Kyi herself has been under house arrest or other sort of detention for 14 of the last 20 years.
In a message to mark the 62nd anniversary of Myanmar's independence, Than Shwe championed the junta's much-criticized "road map" as the only route to democratic change, but gave no timeframe for the vote.
"Plans are under way to hold elections in a systematic way this year," he said in the address, read out on television by a senior junta official and carried in state-run newspapers.
The 76-year-old gave no new details about the election in the former British colony, and described the junta's seven-stage reform plan as "the sole process of transition to democracy."
The election has already been widely dismissed as a means to entrench nearly five decades of unbroken military rule, with the junta hoping a public vote would legitimize its monopoly of national politics.
Critics of the army-drafted constitution say Myanmar's legislature will be dominated by the military and their civilian stooges, with limited powers and representation for dozens of ethnic groups or established opposition parties.
The notoriously secretive regime has yet to say who can take part in the polls.
Several major ethnic groups are resisting calls to join the political process, saying they have nothing to gain.
Many analysts believe the delay in naming an election date is to give the government more time to bring the ethnic groups on board, either voluntarily or through military force.
The National League for Democracy has not said whether it will run in the polls and has rejected the constitution promulgated in 2008 because of the power it grants to the military.
On Monday it urged the regime to release all political prisoners and engage with all the parties involved.
"All the stakeholders need to hold a dialogue with a sincere intention toward national reconciliation and for the benefit of the country and the people," said Khin Muang Swe, the head of the NLD's central executive committee.
***************************************************************
The Sydney Morning Herald
Burmese Army tunes in to Australian technology
HAMISH MCDONALD ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR
January 5, 2010
ADVANCED radio sets supplied to Burma by an Australian company have been diverted to military use, linking the Burmese Army's headquarters with key regional commands running its brutal wars against ethnic minorities, according to monitors of the sanction-shrouded country.
The radio sets, made and supplied by Barrett Communications of Perth, have been deployed in recent months at the Burmese Army's headquarters in the capital, Naypyidaw, and at the army's central, eastern and north-eastern commands involved in long-running campaigns against Shan and other insurgent forces.
The Burmese Government is tendering for 50 more of the Barrett 2050 high-frequency radio sets and associated data modems, which can carry voice, data, email and fax traffic with a high degree of reliability and security.
The radios use frequency-hopping software that switches messages rapidly between about 500 frequencies, making them hard to intercept and unscramble except by the most sophisticated intelligence agencies such as the US National Security Agency or Australia's Defence Signals Directorate.
Desmond Ball of the Australian National University said he was told of the military's induction of the Barrett 2050 during recent research as part of a long-running project into Burma's military communication for the ANU's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre.
''Radio stations that monitor Burmese HF communications began detecting extensive use of these through the course of 2009 by the military at the highest command level, from the capital, Naypyidaw, to at least three of the regional commands,'' Professor Ball said.
''They are still using other systems for the divisions down to the brigades and battalions, but for the high-level military communications there is no doubt.''
The managing director of Barrett, Phil Bradshaw, said yesterday that his company had been supplying the civilian-model 2050 radios to Burma for some time through a local agent, with the approval of the Customs authorities vetting exports for conformity with sanctions against the military regime.
''They're not actually used by the military as such,'' he said. ''They're used for just internal communications within Burma.''
''I can't say the army haven't used them, but I don't think they have. The export people know that we are sending these out. Our radios aren't for military use anyway. The ones that are going to Burma, they're straight Barrett 2050s with data systems which are used to send data from point A to point B. They're not tactical radios by any means.''
Mr Bradshaw confirmed that a Burmese Government ministry was presently tendering for 50 more of the 2050 radios and modems, and numerous small trading firms were trying to get involved in the deal.
Professor Ball said it was common for the Burmese military to get advanced dual-use technology through civilian fronts.
''That's how it gets a lot of their fibre-optic gear and all the rest. They pretend they are civilian. There's no other way they can get it for the military. These are high-quality things that the military badly wants: that frequency-hopping system basically defies monitoring.''
Burmese Army tunes in to Australian technology
HAMISH MCDONALD ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR
January 5, 2010
ADVANCED radio sets supplied to Burma by an Australian company have been diverted to military use, linking the Burmese Army's headquarters with key regional commands running its brutal wars against ethnic minorities, according to monitors of the sanction-shrouded country.
The radio sets, made and supplied by Barrett Communications of Perth, have been deployed in recent months at the Burmese Army's headquarters in the capital, Naypyidaw, and at the army's central, eastern and north-eastern commands involved in long-running campaigns against Shan and other insurgent forces.
The Burmese Government is tendering for 50 more of the Barrett 2050 high-frequency radio sets and associated data modems, which can carry voice, data, email and fax traffic with a high degree of reliability and security.
The radios use frequency-hopping software that switches messages rapidly between about 500 frequencies, making them hard to intercept and unscramble except by the most sophisticated intelligence agencies such as the US National Security Agency or Australia's Defence Signals Directorate.
Desmond Ball of the Australian National University said he was told of the military's induction of the Barrett 2050 during recent research as part of a long-running project into Burma's military communication for the ANU's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre.
''Radio stations that monitor Burmese HF communications began detecting extensive use of these through the course of 2009 by the military at the highest command level, from the capital, Naypyidaw, to at least three of the regional commands,'' Professor Ball said.
''They are still using other systems for the divisions down to the brigades and battalions, but for the high-level military communications there is no doubt.''
The managing director of Barrett, Phil Bradshaw, said yesterday that his company had been supplying the civilian-model 2050 radios to Burma for some time through a local agent, with the approval of the Customs authorities vetting exports for conformity with sanctions against the military regime.
''They're not actually used by the military as such,'' he said. ''They're used for just internal communications within Burma.''
''I can't say the army haven't used them, but I don't think they have. The export people know that we are sending these out. Our radios aren't for military use anyway. The ones that are going to Burma, they're straight Barrett 2050s with data systems which are used to send data from point A to point B. They're not tactical radios by any means.''
Mr Bradshaw confirmed that a Burmese Government ministry was presently tendering for 50 more of the 2050 radios and modems, and numerous small trading firms were trying to get involved in the deal.
Professor Ball said it was common for the Burmese military to get advanced dual-use technology through civilian fronts.
''That's how it gets a lot of their fibre-optic gear and all the rest. They pretend they are civilian. There's no other way they can get it for the military. These are high-quality things that the military badly wants: that frequency-hopping system basically defies monitoring.''
***************************************************************
EarthTimes - Myanmar junta hikes salaries ahead of election
Posted : Sun, 03 Jan 2010 03:43:04 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar's junta raised the salaries of civil servants and military staff on January 1, ahead of a general election planned this year, official sources confirmed Sunday.
"We have obtained information for the raise of our salaries from Nay Pyi Taw (the military's capital) and I think we can draw the new salary at the end of January," a senior official who requested anonymity told the German Press Agency dpa.
For most civil servants, special increments of 20,000 kyats (about 20 dollars) will be added to their monthly salaries.
"The increment is not included for the ranks of deputy director general or above who get salary about 160,000 kyats (about 160 dollars) per month," the source said.
The average monthly salary for low-ranking civil servants was previously 35,000 kyats (35 dollars), but under the new salary scale will be increased to 55,000 kyats, a 57 per cent jump.
Salaries of military staff have been increased at an increment slightly higher than that of civil servants, but details were not available.
The salary rises are expected to lead to inflation, observers said.
For instance, Myanmar Post and Telecommunication Enterprise has already doubled the call charge of mobile phones from 25 kyats to 50 kyats per minute, effective January 1.
Myanmar has been under military dictatorship since 1962. The ruling junta, widely condemned for its poor human rights record and refusal to release more than 2,000 political prisoners including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has announced plans to hold a general election some time in 2010.
Posted : Sun, 03 Jan 2010 03:43:04 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar's junta raised the salaries of civil servants and military staff on January 1, ahead of a general election planned this year, official sources confirmed Sunday.
"We have obtained information for the raise of our salaries from Nay Pyi Taw (the military's capital) and I think we can draw the new salary at the end of January," a senior official who requested anonymity told the German Press Agency dpa.
For most civil servants, special increments of 20,000 kyats (about 20 dollars) will be added to their monthly salaries.
"The increment is not included for the ranks of deputy director general or above who get salary about 160,000 kyats (about 160 dollars) per month," the source said.
The average monthly salary for low-ranking civil servants was previously 35,000 kyats (35 dollars), but under the new salary scale will be increased to 55,000 kyats, a 57 per cent jump.
Salaries of military staff have been increased at an increment slightly higher than that of civil servants, but details were not available.
The salary rises are expected to lead to inflation, observers said.
For instance, Myanmar Post and Telecommunication Enterprise has already doubled the call charge of mobile phones from 25 kyats to 50 kyats per minute, effective January 1.
Myanmar has been under military dictatorship since 1962. The ruling junta, widely condemned for its poor human rights record and refusal to release more than 2,000 political prisoners including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has announced plans to hold a general election some time in 2010.
***************************************************************
Myanmar to hold major Yangon trade exhibition next week
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-02 19:51:43
YANGON, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar will hold the Yangon Expo' 2010, a major trade exhibition here next week to boost external and domestic trade, exhibition sources said on Saturday.
The four-day exhibition will take place at the Tatmadaw Hall form January 8 to 11, the sources said, adding that local and foreign producers and distributors will join in the exhibition.
Comprising 170 booths, computer and its accessories, electrical goods, medicine, cosmetic, agricultural and fishery, machinery, industrial products and consumer goods as well as services relating to education and health, will be introduced at the exhibition.
According to official statistics, Myanmar's foreign trade volume hit 11.2 billion dollars in the fiscal year of 2008-09.
Of the total, the export amounted to over 6.7 billion dollars, while its import was valued at over 4.5 billion dollars, enjoying a trade surplus of 2.2 billion dollars.
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-02 19:51:43
YANGON, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar will hold the Yangon Expo' 2010, a major trade exhibition here next week to boost external and domestic trade, exhibition sources said on Saturday.
The four-day exhibition will take place at the Tatmadaw Hall form January 8 to 11, the sources said, adding that local and foreign producers and distributors will join in the exhibition.
Comprising 170 booths, computer and its accessories, electrical goods, medicine, cosmetic, agricultural and fishery, machinery, industrial products and consumer goods as well as services relating to education and health, will be introduced at the exhibition.
According to official statistics, Myanmar's foreign trade volume hit 11.2 billion dollars in the fiscal year of 2008-09.
Of the total, the export amounted to over 6.7 billion dollars, while its import was valued at over 4.5 billion dollars, enjoying a trade surplus of 2.2 billion dollars.
***************************************************************
Monday, Jan. 04, 2010
Tricityherald.com - Ex-political prisoner starting new life in Tri-Cities
By Pratik Joshi, Herald staff writer
KENNEWICK -- Her will and positive attitude helped her survive five torturous years in a small prison cell as a political prisoner in Burma.
Even years of forced separation from her husband, who's been imprisoned in Burma since 1997 for demanding justice and human and labor rights for the people of Burma, and her inability to speak English didn't dim Khin Mar's resolve to fight on and start a new life in the Tri-Cities.
"I never give up," said the 47-year-old Mar, who this week starts a full-time job with benefits to do maintenance work at an apartment complex in Kennewick.
"I have an open mind, keep my eyes open and observe," said Mar, who arrived in the United States in 2006.
She soon moved to the Tri-Cities, attracted by its small size and low cost of living.
She credits the staff at Goodwill Industries of the Columbia for guiding and helping get her valuable work experience while she dealt with personal and family issues.
They always had a smile and a patient ear for her, Mar explained.
"I didn't know where to start," she said.
She said she's had to overcome barriers in her adopted country besides having to learn English. Her degree also wasn't recognized in the United States.
She took over the responsibility of caring for her grandchildren after her daughter became sick. That made her job search difficult, she said. Her case workers at Goodwill help her feel relaxed and encouraged her to learn.
Amy Payson, case manager at Goodwill, said she was amazed knowing what Mar had to endure. Mar always managed to do what she was asked to do as part of the program at Goodwill. She always worked hard and stayed positive, Payson said.
Mar said one day she wants to own a business, like she once did in Burma, also called Myanmar. She was involved in construction, real estate and a tailoring business at various times.
She wants to improve her English language and computer skills, and remain active in her struggle to promote democracy in her native country.
While her husband Myo Aung Thant, 53, remains incarcerated in solitary confinement, she spends her spare time e-mailing and teleconferencing with other supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi, who's leading a movement for democratic change in Burma.
Tricityherald.com - Ex-political prisoner starting new life in Tri-Cities
By Pratik Joshi, Herald staff writer
KENNEWICK -- Her will and positive attitude helped her survive five torturous years in a small prison cell as a political prisoner in Burma.
Even years of forced separation from her husband, who's been imprisoned in Burma since 1997 for demanding justice and human and labor rights for the people of Burma, and her inability to speak English didn't dim Khin Mar's resolve to fight on and start a new life in the Tri-Cities.
"I never give up," said the 47-year-old Mar, who this week starts a full-time job with benefits to do maintenance work at an apartment complex in Kennewick.
"I have an open mind, keep my eyes open and observe," said Mar, who arrived in the United States in 2006.
She soon moved to the Tri-Cities, attracted by its small size and low cost of living.
She credits the staff at Goodwill Industries of the Columbia for guiding and helping get her valuable work experience while she dealt with personal and family issues.
They always had a smile and a patient ear for her, Mar explained.
"I didn't know where to start," she said.
She said she's had to overcome barriers in her adopted country besides having to learn English. Her degree also wasn't recognized in the United States.
She took over the responsibility of caring for her grandchildren after her daughter became sick. That made her job search difficult, she said. Her case workers at Goodwill help her feel relaxed and encouraged her to learn.
Amy Payson, case manager at Goodwill, said she was amazed knowing what Mar had to endure. Mar always managed to do what she was asked to do as part of the program at Goodwill. She always worked hard and stayed positive, Payson said.
Mar said one day she wants to own a business, like she once did in Burma, also called Myanmar. She was involved in construction, real estate and a tailoring business at various times.
She wants to improve her English language and computer skills, and remain active in her struggle to promote democracy in her native country.
While her husband Myo Aung Thant, 53, remains incarcerated in solitary confinement, she spends her spare time e-mailing and teleconferencing with other supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi, who's leading a movement for democratic change in Burma.
***************************************************************
Inter Press Service News Agency
POLITICS: Backlash against Rogue Chinese Investors Alarms Beijing
By Antoaneta Bezlova
BEIJING, Jan 4 (IPS) - As China moves up in the world and the need for investment in its own infrastructure declines, Chinese investors and financiers are eyeing lucrative contracts in less developed countries, winning bids to build dams, power plants and highways from Burma to Uzbekistan and Angola.
However welcome by local governments this influx of fresh Chinese financing may be, the wave of cheap Chinese labour and investors’ lack of concern for local communities are creating ripples of resentment in recipient countries, and gradually becoming a PR problem for image-conscious Beijing.
When economic historian Qin Hui recently gave a talk on China’s involvement in infrastructure projects in South-east Asia, he described Chinese investors as the new "Westerners" in Laos and Cambodia.
Speaking in Kunming – the centre of much Chinese investment flowing into the Mekong region – Qin said Chinese companies have a tendency to apply the lowest standards they possibly can. "Some companies look to see whether local standards are lower than Chinese standards – if so, they apply local standards," Qin said.
This has created a lot of complaints about Chinese companies’ wrongdoings, agrees Zhang Xizhen of the School for International Studies at Beijing University. "There are multiple reasons for this: some Chinese companies only focus on profits and have little concern about local peoples’ benefits. On the other hand, the Chinese government has not taken strict measures to check companies’ behaviour but has only encouraged them to ‘go out.’"
While some of the companies that operate in Asia are small and obscure private enterprises, the most important players come from the state-owned sector – they are big, powerful and enjoy strong support from the government and the state banks.
In the first ten months of 2009, Chinese companies completed overseas projects worth 58 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 33 percent over the same period in 2008, according to data from the commerce ministry.
Flush with cash and backed by an economic "going-out" government strategy, Chinese companies are more daring than ever when contemplating projects in risk places like Burma or Sudan. But the backlash against Chinese investors in some countries like Zambia and even ideological allies such as Vietnam are now sounding alarm bells in Beijing and making policymakers question the behaviour of its state champions abroad.
In Zambia, where China is mining cobalt, the deaths of several local workers in an accident in a Chinese factory in 2006 led to riots and more fatalities. After Chinese investment became an issue in Zambia’s presidential elections, Chinese president Hu Jintao was advised against visiting the country’s copper mines during his state visit to the country in 2007.
In Vietnam, where the communist party rules unrivalled in much the same way as in China, the state leaders have come under fire for undermining the country’s sovereignty by giving Chinese companies too many contracts to mine valuable natural resources.
In a stunning outcome for Hanoi, the environmental lobby and dissidents were joined by the venerated statesman and general Vo Nguyen Giap. The general, who once took his lessons in Marxism and guerilla warfare from Chinese communist leaders, has written several open letters calling on party leaders to scale down Chinese companies’ infiltration of Vietnam.
All these developments have been a matter of concern for Beijing for some time, and observers say Chinese leaders have responded to mend the country’s image and prevent another rise of "China threat" propaganda – particularly in South-east Asia, which Beijing regards as its backyard.
The development of the Mekong water resources in the region has emerged as one of the most sensitive issues between China and its downstream neighbours. China has built three hydroelectric dams on the Mekong (known as the Lancang in China) and is halfway through a fourth at Xiaowan, in the southern Yunnan province. What is more, Chinese investors are involved in scores of hydropower projects in Laos, Cambodia and Burma.
According to Qin Hui, of the 34 planned hydropower projects in Laos, roughly 40 percent are being developed with Chinese investment, while all of the 20 plants planned to be constructed in Burma are being built by Chinese companies.
Both the environmental protection and commerce ministry are reported to be working on guidelines requiring Chinese investors to apply Chinese domestic standards to overseas projects if the host country’s environmental and labour standards are too weak. During their diplomatic tours of Africa and Asia Chinese leaders from party chief Hu Jintao to vice-president Xi Jinping have been calling on Chinese business abroad to comply with local laws and respect local communities.
But, "although owned by the state, Chinese enterprises often operate at arm’s length from the government and do not necessarily follow official policies when they contradict corporate interests," notes Peter Bosshard, policy director of International Rivers in the winter issue of the ‘World Policy Institute’ journal.
Bosshard, who has been observing the expansion of China’s dam industry overseas, believes that without Chinese funding and technology, many controversial projects in countries such as Burma, Laos and Sudan would not go forward.
But Chinese experts defend Beijing’s record, arguing that China cannot be expected to enforce its own other standards and that only those of the host country apply to infrastructure projects. Shi Guoqing, a resettlement expert who had been studying the Ilisu Dam project in Turkey – one of the most controversial large dam projects nowadays – says resettlement programmes are the responsibility of the host country and not of the developer or the funding agencies.
The Ilisu project, which had been rejected by European export credit agencies and private banks twice, is now reportedly lobbying for support from Sinosure – China’s official export credit insurance agency. Shi, who had been studying the proposed dam for three years, confirms that the project would displace up to 60,000 Turkish and Kurdish people from their land but argues that social resettlement programmes need to be guaranteed by the Turkish government.
"It is hard to expect foreign sponsors to go in and impose their own standards on the host country," Shi says. As for Chinese funding, he believes that now even commercial Chinese banks like Huaxia bank are developing their own code principles and this would lead to a more unified approach in deciding where Chinese money goes.
Other experts say it is too simplistic to lay the whole blame for Chinese companies’ behavior abroad with the companies themselves. Ding Xueliang, a social scientist with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, says big Chinese state-owned companies go abroad only with the blessing of both Beijing and the governments of the host countries.
"If Chinese state companies do something bad abroad, they are indeed regarded as ‘big bullies’, but one needs to remember that the initiative had come first and foremost from the government of the host country. It is more of a government-to-government affair whenever big state companies are concerned," Ding, who has researched Chinese company’s behavior in Southeast Asia, says.
He adds that Western nations’ reluctance to do business with some rogue countries in Asia has left a huge investment vacuum that Chinese companies are only too eager to fill. "Without competition from Western companies in the region, there is no pressure for Chinese companies whatsoever to improve their corporate behavior," Ding says.
POLITICS: Backlash against Rogue Chinese Investors Alarms Beijing
By Antoaneta Bezlova
BEIJING, Jan 4 (IPS) - As China moves up in the world and the need for investment in its own infrastructure declines, Chinese investors and financiers are eyeing lucrative contracts in less developed countries, winning bids to build dams, power plants and highways from Burma to Uzbekistan and Angola.
However welcome by local governments this influx of fresh Chinese financing may be, the wave of cheap Chinese labour and investors’ lack of concern for local communities are creating ripples of resentment in recipient countries, and gradually becoming a PR problem for image-conscious Beijing.
When economic historian Qin Hui recently gave a talk on China’s involvement in infrastructure projects in South-east Asia, he described Chinese investors as the new "Westerners" in Laos and Cambodia.
Speaking in Kunming – the centre of much Chinese investment flowing into the Mekong region – Qin said Chinese companies have a tendency to apply the lowest standards they possibly can. "Some companies look to see whether local standards are lower than Chinese standards – if so, they apply local standards," Qin said.
This has created a lot of complaints about Chinese companies’ wrongdoings, agrees Zhang Xizhen of the School for International Studies at Beijing University. "There are multiple reasons for this: some Chinese companies only focus on profits and have little concern about local peoples’ benefits. On the other hand, the Chinese government has not taken strict measures to check companies’ behaviour but has only encouraged them to ‘go out.’"
While some of the companies that operate in Asia are small and obscure private enterprises, the most important players come from the state-owned sector – they are big, powerful and enjoy strong support from the government and the state banks.
In the first ten months of 2009, Chinese companies completed overseas projects worth 58 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 33 percent over the same period in 2008, according to data from the commerce ministry.
Flush with cash and backed by an economic "going-out" government strategy, Chinese companies are more daring than ever when contemplating projects in risk places like Burma or Sudan. But the backlash against Chinese investors in some countries like Zambia and even ideological allies such as Vietnam are now sounding alarm bells in Beijing and making policymakers question the behaviour of its state champions abroad.
In Zambia, where China is mining cobalt, the deaths of several local workers in an accident in a Chinese factory in 2006 led to riots and more fatalities. After Chinese investment became an issue in Zambia’s presidential elections, Chinese president Hu Jintao was advised against visiting the country’s copper mines during his state visit to the country in 2007.
In Vietnam, where the communist party rules unrivalled in much the same way as in China, the state leaders have come under fire for undermining the country’s sovereignty by giving Chinese companies too many contracts to mine valuable natural resources.
In a stunning outcome for Hanoi, the environmental lobby and dissidents were joined by the venerated statesman and general Vo Nguyen Giap. The general, who once took his lessons in Marxism and guerilla warfare from Chinese communist leaders, has written several open letters calling on party leaders to scale down Chinese companies’ infiltration of Vietnam.
All these developments have been a matter of concern for Beijing for some time, and observers say Chinese leaders have responded to mend the country’s image and prevent another rise of "China threat" propaganda – particularly in South-east Asia, which Beijing regards as its backyard.
The development of the Mekong water resources in the region has emerged as one of the most sensitive issues between China and its downstream neighbours. China has built three hydroelectric dams on the Mekong (known as the Lancang in China) and is halfway through a fourth at Xiaowan, in the southern Yunnan province. What is more, Chinese investors are involved in scores of hydropower projects in Laos, Cambodia and Burma.
According to Qin Hui, of the 34 planned hydropower projects in Laos, roughly 40 percent are being developed with Chinese investment, while all of the 20 plants planned to be constructed in Burma are being built by Chinese companies.
Both the environmental protection and commerce ministry are reported to be working on guidelines requiring Chinese investors to apply Chinese domestic standards to overseas projects if the host country’s environmental and labour standards are too weak. During their diplomatic tours of Africa and Asia Chinese leaders from party chief Hu Jintao to vice-president Xi Jinping have been calling on Chinese business abroad to comply with local laws and respect local communities.
But, "although owned by the state, Chinese enterprises often operate at arm’s length from the government and do not necessarily follow official policies when they contradict corporate interests," notes Peter Bosshard, policy director of International Rivers in the winter issue of the ‘World Policy Institute’ journal.
Bosshard, who has been observing the expansion of China’s dam industry overseas, believes that without Chinese funding and technology, many controversial projects in countries such as Burma, Laos and Sudan would not go forward.
But Chinese experts defend Beijing’s record, arguing that China cannot be expected to enforce its own other standards and that only those of the host country apply to infrastructure projects. Shi Guoqing, a resettlement expert who had been studying the Ilisu Dam project in Turkey – one of the most controversial large dam projects nowadays – says resettlement programmes are the responsibility of the host country and not of the developer or the funding agencies.
The Ilisu project, which had been rejected by European export credit agencies and private banks twice, is now reportedly lobbying for support from Sinosure – China’s official export credit insurance agency. Shi, who had been studying the proposed dam for three years, confirms that the project would displace up to 60,000 Turkish and Kurdish people from their land but argues that social resettlement programmes need to be guaranteed by the Turkish government.
"It is hard to expect foreign sponsors to go in and impose their own standards on the host country," Shi says. As for Chinese funding, he believes that now even commercial Chinese banks like Huaxia bank are developing their own code principles and this would lead to a more unified approach in deciding where Chinese money goes.
Other experts say it is too simplistic to lay the whole blame for Chinese companies’ behavior abroad with the companies themselves. Ding Xueliang, a social scientist with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, says big Chinese state-owned companies go abroad only with the blessing of both Beijing and the governments of the host countries.
"If Chinese state companies do something bad abroad, they are indeed regarded as ‘big bullies’, but one needs to remember that the initiative had come first and foremost from the government of the host country. It is more of a government-to-government affair whenever big state companies are concerned," Ding, who has researched Chinese company’s behavior in Southeast Asia, says.
He adds that Western nations’ reluctance to do business with some rogue countries in Asia has left a huge investment vacuum that Chinese companies are only too eager to fill. "Without competition from Western companies in the region, there is no pressure for Chinese companies whatsoever to improve their corporate behavior," Ding says.
***************************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Constitutional Impunity for Generals in Burma
By KAY LATT - Monday, January 4, 2010
"In the military everybody is liable for their failure to abide by the law. No one is above the law," said Gen Thura Shwe Mann shortly after Gen Khin Nyunt had been taken into custody on corruption charges.
But, Burma's 2008 Constitution states things somewhat differently: it is not about equality under the law and justice. It's about special exemptions granted to the generals and those working for the state institutions that control Burma.
In paragraph 445 in the chapter “Transitory Provisions” of the Constitution, it states: “No proceeding shall be instituted against the said Councils (the State Law and Order Restoration Council and the State Peace and Development Council) or any member thereof or any member of the Government, in respect of any act done in the execution of their respective duties.”
According to the above provision, no legal action can be taken for any act done by the members of SLORC or the SPDC in contrast to Gen Shwe Mann's statement. The generals are constitutionally above the law.
The need for constitutional impunity, is illustrated in some haunting stories that have followed generals for years.
In early July 1990, about a month after the election, U Kyi Maung, then de facto leader of the National League for Democracy, said in an interview with the now defunct Hong Kong-based Asiaweek magazine that Burma did not need a Nuremberg type tribunal.
However, he said some individuals such as Major-Gen Khin Nyunt might reasonably feel themselves insecure. In a SLORC press conference, Major-Gen Khin Nyunt made a personal challenge to U Kyi Maung, saying he could be tested in comparison with U Kyi Maung in terms of intellect, patriotism or moral character.
The general's remark psychologically reflected his personal sensitivity and insecurity about legal proceedings against him. Fourteen years after his challenge against U Kyi Maung, he was arrested and sentenced to 44 years in prison on corruption charges. But the real reason for his arrest was his tacit challenge against Sen-Gen Than Shwe.
Gen Khin Nyunt is not the only general who has been victim of their own hypocrisy. In 1997, several generals who were members of SLORC, the first military clique who led the coup d'état in 1988, were expelled and arrested mostly due to their excessive corruption.
In fact, Sen-Gen Saw Maung, Than Shwe's predecessor and the coup leader in 1988, was also dethroned and died in oblivion not long after.
Gen Ne Win who was the pioneer of Burma's military coups and who ruled Burma for almost three decades died without a proper funeral ceremony under undeclared house arrest. His family, once the most powerful and influential in Burma, vanished and some were arrested and imprisoned.
In Gen Ne Win's era of 1962-88, a long list of military leaders from Major-Gen Aung Gyi, Major-Gen Maung Maung, Brig-Gen Kyaw Zaw, Brig-Gen Aung Shwe (now chairman of NLD) to Gen Tin Oo (now vice chairman of the NLD), Major-Gen Tin Oo (chief military intelligent), Col Kyi Maung, Col Maung Lwin, Col Chit Khaing and many others, were expelled or arrested for their potential threat to his power.
The current generals are aware of the history of generals in neighboring countries who try to rule by force.
In South Korea, former generals and presidents such as Chun Doo Hwan and Roh Tae Woo were jailed on charges of corruption in 1996 after they stepped down. Chun's family was accused of embezzling US $4 billion during his rule. He received a death sentence, which was later reduced to life.
In Indonesia, Suharto, the former president and coup leader, was put under house arrest and investigated for corruption, accused of embezzling US $571 millions. Suharto was not properly prosecuted due to deteriorating health, but many of his relatives, including his son, were sentenced to prison on corruption charges.
In the Philippines, after the “People Power Movement” in 1986, Marcos, then president, fled the country into exile. In the United States, he and his family were indicted for embezzlement. He died in the United States in 1989.
According to Transparency International, Marcos was the second most corrupt head of government ever, after Suharto.
There are many more stories of generals or self-proclaimed leaders who meet ignoble ends: Gen Noriega of Panama, Gen Pinoche of Chile, Gen Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Slobodan Milošević of Serbia and countless others in Africa continent.
Another reason the Burmese generals are trying to protect themselves is the fear of being indicted for “crimes against humanity” or “war crimes” committed during their rule.
In a report by the International Human Rights Clinic of the Harvard Law School titled “Crimes in Burma,” five of the world's leading international jurists analyzed scores of UN documents and reports from several different UN special rapporteurs, and suggested that abuses in Burma are potential crimes against humanity and war crimes and called for the UN Security Council to establish a Commission of Inquiry.
In August, 2009, a Paris-based INGO called the International Federation for Human Rights together with ALTSEAN Burma and the Burma Lawyer Council issued a report titled “Burma/Myanmar International Crimes Committed in Burma: The urgent need for a Commission of Inquiry,” which presented an overview of existing documentation on human rights violations perpetrated by the military regime.
In the report, the organizations called for the establishment of an international Commission of Inquiry mandated by the United Nations Security Council to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity, war crimes and other widespread systematic human rights violations.
In another report released in September by the International Center for Transitional Justice titled “Impunity Prolonged: Burma and its 2008 Constitution” called for the international community to work with the Burmese government to establish an independent Commission of Inquiry into serious human rights violations, including sexual violence, the recruitment and use of child soldiers and forced labor.
The reason for calling for a Commission of Inquiry is because the only way to get the case to the ICC is through a UN Security Council referral, since Burma is not a signatory to the ICC statute.
To date, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic which are member State Parties have referred cases occurring on their territories to the court. In addition, the Security Council has referred cases in Sudan, which is a non-State Party.
However, the Burmese generals may have an alternative to such trials should they attempt national reconciliation in the manner of South Africa, which established a truth and reconciliation commission.
After the abolition of apartheid, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up and witnesses, victims and perpetrators of human rights violations were invited to give statements about their experiences. Most of the people who committed abuses during the apartheid era were granted amnesty.
However, the Burmese generals are hedging their bets through the Constitution, which also grants them the right, during a State of Emergency, to abolish and take over the elected government.
In paragraph 432 of the Provisions on State of Emergency, it states that no legal action can be taken against the generals or any administrative body or any of its members when sovereign power are exercised by the National Defense and Security Council.
The generals are doing everything possible through the Constitution to prolong their hold on power and to protect them from the consequences of human rights violations and war crimes.
But clearly, if history is the judge, such efforts offer no real protection for those who abuse the rights of their fellow countrymen. The generals would be wise to pursue a course of national reconciliation as quickly as possible, including the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission.
By KAY LATT - Monday, January 4, 2010
"In the military everybody is liable for their failure to abide by the law. No one is above the law," said Gen Thura Shwe Mann shortly after Gen Khin Nyunt had been taken into custody on corruption charges.
But, Burma's 2008 Constitution states things somewhat differently: it is not about equality under the law and justice. It's about special exemptions granted to the generals and those working for the state institutions that control Burma.
In paragraph 445 in the chapter “Transitory Provisions” of the Constitution, it states: “No proceeding shall be instituted against the said Councils (the State Law and Order Restoration Council and the State Peace and Development Council) or any member thereof or any member of the Government, in respect of any act done in the execution of their respective duties.”
According to the above provision, no legal action can be taken for any act done by the members of SLORC or the SPDC in contrast to Gen Shwe Mann's statement. The generals are constitutionally above the law.
The need for constitutional impunity, is illustrated in some haunting stories that have followed generals for years.
In early July 1990, about a month after the election, U Kyi Maung, then de facto leader of the National League for Democracy, said in an interview with the now defunct Hong Kong-based Asiaweek magazine that Burma did not need a Nuremberg type tribunal.
However, he said some individuals such as Major-Gen Khin Nyunt might reasonably feel themselves insecure. In a SLORC press conference, Major-Gen Khin Nyunt made a personal challenge to U Kyi Maung, saying he could be tested in comparison with U Kyi Maung in terms of intellect, patriotism or moral character.
The general's remark psychologically reflected his personal sensitivity and insecurity about legal proceedings against him. Fourteen years after his challenge against U Kyi Maung, he was arrested and sentenced to 44 years in prison on corruption charges. But the real reason for his arrest was his tacit challenge against Sen-Gen Than Shwe.
Gen Khin Nyunt is not the only general who has been victim of their own hypocrisy. In 1997, several generals who were members of SLORC, the first military clique who led the coup d'état in 1988, were expelled and arrested mostly due to their excessive corruption.
In fact, Sen-Gen Saw Maung, Than Shwe's predecessor and the coup leader in 1988, was also dethroned and died in oblivion not long after.
Gen Ne Win who was the pioneer of Burma's military coups and who ruled Burma for almost three decades died without a proper funeral ceremony under undeclared house arrest. His family, once the most powerful and influential in Burma, vanished and some were arrested and imprisoned.
In Gen Ne Win's era of 1962-88, a long list of military leaders from Major-Gen Aung Gyi, Major-Gen Maung Maung, Brig-Gen Kyaw Zaw, Brig-Gen Aung Shwe (now chairman of NLD) to Gen Tin Oo (now vice chairman of the NLD), Major-Gen Tin Oo (chief military intelligent), Col Kyi Maung, Col Maung Lwin, Col Chit Khaing and many others, were expelled or arrested for their potential threat to his power.
The current generals are aware of the history of generals in neighboring countries who try to rule by force.
In South Korea, former generals and presidents such as Chun Doo Hwan and Roh Tae Woo were jailed on charges of corruption in 1996 after they stepped down. Chun's family was accused of embezzling US $4 billion during his rule. He received a death sentence, which was later reduced to life.
In Indonesia, Suharto, the former president and coup leader, was put under house arrest and investigated for corruption, accused of embezzling US $571 millions. Suharto was not properly prosecuted due to deteriorating health, but many of his relatives, including his son, were sentenced to prison on corruption charges.
In the Philippines, after the “People Power Movement” in 1986, Marcos, then president, fled the country into exile. In the United States, he and his family were indicted for embezzlement. He died in the United States in 1989.
According to Transparency International, Marcos was the second most corrupt head of government ever, after Suharto.
There are many more stories of generals or self-proclaimed leaders who meet ignoble ends: Gen Noriega of Panama, Gen Pinoche of Chile, Gen Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Slobodan Milošević of Serbia and countless others in Africa continent.
Another reason the Burmese generals are trying to protect themselves is the fear of being indicted for “crimes against humanity” or “war crimes” committed during their rule.
In a report by the International Human Rights Clinic of the Harvard Law School titled “Crimes in Burma,” five of the world's leading international jurists analyzed scores of UN documents and reports from several different UN special rapporteurs, and suggested that abuses in Burma are potential crimes against humanity and war crimes and called for the UN Security Council to establish a Commission of Inquiry.
In August, 2009, a Paris-based INGO called the International Federation for Human Rights together with ALTSEAN Burma and the Burma Lawyer Council issued a report titled “Burma/Myanmar International Crimes Committed in Burma: The urgent need for a Commission of Inquiry,” which presented an overview of existing documentation on human rights violations perpetrated by the military regime.
In the report, the organizations called for the establishment of an international Commission of Inquiry mandated by the United Nations Security Council to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity, war crimes and other widespread systematic human rights violations.
In another report released in September by the International Center for Transitional Justice titled “Impunity Prolonged: Burma and its 2008 Constitution” called for the international community to work with the Burmese government to establish an independent Commission of Inquiry into serious human rights violations, including sexual violence, the recruitment and use of child soldiers and forced labor.
The reason for calling for a Commission of Inquiry is because the only way to get the case to the ICC is through a UN Security Council referral, since Burma is not a signatory to the ICC statute.
To date, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic which are member State Parties have referred cases occurring on their territories to the court. In addition, the Security Council has referred cases in Sudan, which is a non-State Party.
However, the Burmese generals may have an alternative to such trials should they attempt national reconciliation in the manner of South Africa, which established a truth and reconciliation commission.
After the abolition of apartheid, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up and witnesses, victims and perpetrators of human rights violations were invited to give statements about their experiences. Most of the people who committed abuses during the apartheid era were granted amnesty.
However, the Burmese generals are hedging their bets through the Constitution, which also grants them the right, during a State of Emergency, to abolish and take over the elected government.
In paragraph 432 of the Provisions on State of Emergency, it states that no legal action can be taken against the generals or any administrative body or any of its members when sovereign power are exercised by the National Defense and Security Council.
The generals are doing everything possible through the Constitution to prolong their hold on power and to protect them from the consequences of human rights violations and war crimes.
But clearly, if history is the judge, such efforts offer no real protection for those who abuse the rights of their fellow countrymen. The generals would be wise to pursue a course of national reconciliation as quickly as possible, including the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission.
***************************************************************
Economist urges reforms and transparency
Monday, 04 January 2010 13:57 Moe Thu
Rangoon (Mizzima) — A leading Burmese scholar has urged institutional reforms after the advent of a new government following the elections this year, to improve people’s living standards across the country.
Dr. Aung Tun Thet, an economist and former senior UN official said health care, education and welfare sectors should be accorded priority in terms of reforms after the general elections. He urged more transparency in the country’s development process.
At a seminar on ‘Ethical leadership and ethical business’ held at the UMFCCI headquarters in Rangoon on January 2, the economist said leadership and business circles need to be ethical and held accountable to the public.
“If the ethics are poor at the top, it percolates to the grassroots in society,” he said.
The professor also urged establishing of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to make the business community more ethical in the country. “CSR is essential in Myanmar,” he said.
Many Burmese businesses have a nexus with the corrupt government.
The Burmese business sector does not usually have CSR, nor do they realize its need. There are some CSRs in foreign energy companies like TOTAL and Daewoo operating in the country.
Dr. Aung Tun Thet said the role of the media is very important in society as it can make business and leaders accountable. He said media today operates faster and can reach a wider audience in a short time.
He gave the instance of ShweGoneDine Special Clinic (SSC), which sparked a wide debate on medical ethics for the doctors in the country.
A patient, suffering from dengue fever was wrongly operated upon resulting in his death in SSC two months ago. The government had to intervene as the local media questioned medical ethics and the role of the private clinic in the country.
“Being ethical should not be confined to the medical profession but also be present in business and leadership,” he said.
Dr. Aung Tun Thet also expressed concern with the method of surveys that is based on answers from village heads and officials in villages or townships in the country.
It is better for the country to represent the voices of ordinary citizens to get the correct information, he said.
He also encouraged the young generation to be ethical in their work place and learning as it will give the best results and raise the value and moral standards which are critical for the people and society.
The January 2 seminar was attend about 500 people including academics, officials of the UMFCCI, young professionals and students.
Monday, 04 January 2010 13:57 Moe Thu
Rangoon (Mizzima) — A leading Burmese scholar has urged institutional reforms after the advent of a new government following the elections this year, to improve people’s living standards across the country.
Dr. Aung Tun Thet, an economist and former senior UN official said health care, education and welfare sectors should be accorded priority in terms of reforms after the general elections. He urged more transparency in the country’s development process.
At a seminar on ‘Ethical leadership and ethical business’ held at the UMFCCI headquarters in Rangoon on January 2, the economist said leadership and business circles need to be ethical and held accountable to the public.
“If the ethics are poor at the top, it percolates to the grassroots in society,” he said.
The professor also urged establishing of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to make the business community more ethical in the country. “CSR is essential in Myanmar,” he said.
Many Burmese businesses have a nexus with the corrupt government.
The Burmese business sector does not usually have CSR, nor do they realize its need. There are some CSRs in foreign energy companies like TOTAL and Daewoo operating in the country.
Dr. Aung Tun Thet said the role of the media is very important in society as it can make business and leaders accountable. He said media today operates faster and can reach a wider audience in a short time.
He gave the instance of ShweGoneDine Special Clinic (SSC), which sparked a wide debate on medical ethics for the doctors in the country.
A patient, suffering from dengue fever was wrongly operated upon resulting in his death in SSC two months ago. The government had to intervene as the local media questioned medical ethics and the role of the private clinic in the country.
“Being ethical should not be confined to the medical profession but also be present in business and leadership,” he said.
Dr. Aung Tun Thet also expressed concern with the method of surveys that is based on answers from village heads and officials in villages or townships in the country.
It is better for the country to represent the voices of ordinary citizens to get the correct information, he said.
He also encouraged the young generation to be ethical in their work place and learning as it will give the best results and raise the value and moral standards which are critical for the people and society.
The January 2 seminar was attend about 500 people including academics, officials of the UMFCCI, young professionals and students.
***************************************************************
Locals tortured following Karen defection
Jan 4, 2010 (DVB)–A pro-junta Karen army in eastern Burma have kidnapped a village chief and tortured locals after several of its members defected to an opposition group, locals say.
The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) have accused villagers in Kyar Inn Seik Gyi township in Karen state of assisting the six defectors, who last week joined the Karen National Union (KNU).
Several of the locals who fled Asoon village reported that around 40 DKBA troops and 60 Burmese army troops arrived at the village on 2 January and started torturing residents.
The village chief, Daw Kalal, has also been taken captive and the DKBA are demanding compensation from villagers for the weapons taken by the defectors.
One villager said the DKBA and the government troops also opened fire on villagers in their farms outside of the village on the morning of 1 January, injuring one man.
“[The troops] found him plucking some beetle nuts outside the village and interrogated him,” he said. “He was shot…in his arm.”
He added that the troops also opened fire on the house of a local government school headmistress, Ohn Cin, forcing her to flee.
The DKBA split from the KNU in 1995 and allied itself with the Burmese government, whose conflict with the KNU has stretched over 60 years.
Reporting by Min Lwin
Jan 4, 2010 (DVB)–A pro-junta Karen army in eastern Burma have kidnapped a village chief and tortured locals after several of its members defected to an opposition group, locals say.
The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) have accused villagers in Kyar Inn Seik Gyi township in Karen state of assisting the six defectors, who last week joined the Karen National Union (KNU).
Several of the locals who fled Asoon village reported that around 40 DKBA troops and 60 Burmese army troops arrived at the village on 2 January and started torturing residents.
The village chief, Daw Kalal, has also been taken captive and the DKBA are demanding compensation from villagers for the weapons taken by the defectors.
One villager said the DKBA and the government troops also opened fire on villagers in their farms outside of the village on the morning of 1 January, injuring one man.
“[The troops] found him plucking some beetle nuts outside the village and interrogated him,” he said. “He was shot…in his arm.”
He added that the troops also opened fire on the house of a local government school headmistress, Ohn Cin, forcing her to flee.
The DKBA split from the KNU in 1995 and allied itself with the Burmese government, whose conflict with the KNU has stretched over 60 years.
Reporting by Min Lwin
No comments:
Post a Comment