Myanmar minister pledges free election: ASEAN
Thu Jan 14, 6:59 am ET
DANANG, Vietnam (AFP) – Myanmar's foreign minister has told Southeast Asian counterparts that promised elections would be held this year and would be fair, the ASEAN secretary general said Thursday.
Surin Pitsuwan said the military-ruled state's Foreign Minister Nyan Win made the comments at a dinner Wednesday in Vietnam with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"That was done last night and it was assured that it will be this year, and it will be free, fair and credible," Surin told reporters on the sidelines of an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting.
"No date has been set, but everything is moving on course. That's what we were told."
Marty Natalegawa, foreign minister of ASEAN's largest member Indonesia, said, "We've also been told that the preparations are well under way."
Surin said the ASEAN ministers "have expressed their high hope that the issue of Myanmar will be resolved this year and that we can move on to the new era of ASEAN relations and cooperation with the international community."
ASEAN, which has a principle of non-interference in members' affairs, has long faced criticism for not taking a firmer stand on Myanmar.
Nyan Win refused to make any comment to AFP on Thursday.
"How the election is conducted, how it is perceived, will help a great deal in shaping (the) international community's perception about our region," Natalegawa told reporters.
But he added that ASEAN will not be "held hostage" by the issue.
The United States and the 10-member ASEAN bloc agreed in November that Myanmar's scheduled 2010 elections must be "free, fair, inclusive and transparent" to be credible.
The call came after US President Barack Obama and Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein took part in the first-ever ASEAN-US summit in, a reversal of a longstanding US policy of shunning the Myanmar regime.
Critics of the junta are demanding that detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, be allowed to take part in the ballot.
Last week the United States voiced doubts whether elections in Myanmar -- formerly known as Burma -- would be credible and urged the junta to engage the opposition and ethnic minorities.
The election would be the first since 1990. Aung San Suu Kyi's party won the last ballot by a landslide but was never permitted to take office.
Reclusive junta leader Than Shwe last week urged citizens to make "correct choices" at the polls. The regime has so far failed to set a date or issue election laws despite promising to hold the polls this year.
Thu Jan 14, 6:59 am ET
DANANG, Vietnam (AFP) – Myanmar's foreign minister has told Southeast Asian counterparts that promised elections would be held this year and would be fair, the ASEAN secretary general said Thursday.
Surin Pitsuwan said the military-ruled state's Foreign Minister Nyan Win made the comments at a dinner Wednesday in Vietnam with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"That was done last night and it was assured that it will be this year, and it will be free, fair and credible," Surin told reporters on the sidelines of an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting.
"No date has been set, but everything is moving on course. That's what we were told."
Marty Natalegawa, foreign minister of ASEAN's largest member Indonesia, said, "We've also been told that the preparations are well under way."
Surin said the ASEAN ministers "have expressed their high hope that the issue of Myanmar will be resolved this year and that we can move on to the new era of ASEAN relations and cooperation with the international community."
ASEAN, which has a principle of non-interference in members' affairs, has long faced criticism for not taking a firmer stand on Myanmar.
Nyan Win refused to make any comment to AFP on Thursday.
"How the election is conducted, how it is perceived, will help a great deal in shaping (the) international community's perception about our region," Natalegawa told reporters.
But he added that ASEAN will not be "held hostage" by the issue.
The United States and the 10-member ASEAN bloc agreed in November that Myanmar's scheduled 2010 elections must be "free, fair, inclusive and transparent" to be credible.
The call came after US President Barack Obama and Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein took part in the first-ever ASEAN-US summit in, a reversal of a longstanding US policy of shunning the Myanmar regime.
Critics of the junta are demanding that detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, be allowed to take part in the ballot.
Last week the United States voiced doubts whether elections in Myanmar -- formerly known as Burma -- would be credible and urged the junta to engage the opposition and ethnic minorities.
The election would be the first since 1990. Aung San Suu Kyi's party won the last ballot by a landslide but was never permitted to take office.
Reclusive junta leader Than Shwe last week urged citizens to make "correct choices" at the polls. The regime has so far failed to set a date or issue election laws despite promising to hold the polls this year.
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Africa-Asia eclipse set to kick off astronomers' year
Wed Jan 13, 12:05 pm ET
PARIS (AFP) – For half the world, the Sun will be briefly reduced to a blazing ring surrounding a sombre disk on Friday, when an annular eclipse races from central Africa to eastern Asia, astronomers say.
The solar coverup, visible in a roughly 300-kilometre (185-mile) band running 12,900 kms (8,062 miles), will at one point set a duration record that will be unbeaten for more than a thousand years.
An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun but does not completely obscure it, thus leaving a ring -- an annulus -- of sunlight flaring around the lunar disk.
According to NASA's eclipse website (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/ASE2010/ASE2010.html), the Moon's shadow will strike the southwestern tip of Chad and western Central African Republic at 0514 GMT and then flit across Uganda, Kenya, and Somalia.
Its path then leads across the Indian Ocean, where the duration of "annularity" at 0706 GMT will be 11 minutes, eight seconds, making it "the longest annular eclipse of the 3rd Millennium," says NASA.
Only on December 23, 3043 will this record be beaten.
The lunar umbra, or shadow, then zips across Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and China before expiring in the Shandong peninsula at 0859 GMT.
People in a broader path of the shadow, which includes eastern Europe, most of Africa, Asia and Indonesia, will see a partial eclipse.
It will be the last annular solar eclipse for 29 months.
Compared to other years, the number of eclipses in 2010 is meagre although they provide an "interesting mix" for watchers, the US magazine Sky & Telescope says in its January issue.
Apart from Friday's event, the only coverup of the Sun this year will take place on July 11, when a total eclipse will cross the Pacific, visible notably from Easter Island, one of the world's remotest inhabited locations.
Total eclipses occur because of an unusual trick of celestial geometry.
The Sun is 400 times wider than the Moon, but it is also 400 times farther away. Because of the symmetry, the umbra, for those on the planetary surface, is exactly wide enough to cover the face of the Sun.
The orbits of the Earth and Moon are not completely circular, though. Tiny differences in distance explain why some eclipses are complete and others leave a thin ring of sunlight.
On December 21, 2010 -- solstice day -- there will be a total lunar eclipse, in which the full Moon will be covered completely by Earth's shadow for the first time in three years, according to Sky & Telescope.
Wed Jan 13, 12:05 pm ET
PARIS (AFP) – For half the world, the Sun will be briefly reduced to a blazing ring surrounding a sombre disk on Friday, when an annular eclipse races from central Africa to eastern Asia, astronomers say.
The solar coverup, visible in a roughly 300-kilometre (185-mile) band running 12,900 kms (8,062 miles), will at one point set a duration record that will be unbeaten for more than a thousand years.
An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun but does not completely obscure it, thus leaving a ring -- an annulus -- of sunlight flaring around the lunar disk.
According to NASA's eclipse website (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/ASE2010/ASE2010.html), the Moon's shadow will strike the southwestern tip of Chad and western Central African Republic at 0514 GMT and then flit across Uganda, Kenya, and Somalia.
Its path then leads across the Indian Ocean, where the duration of "annularity" at 0706 GMT will be 11 minutes, eight seconds, making it "the longest annular eclipse of the 3rd Millennium," says NASA.
Only on December 23, 3043 will this record be beaten.
The lunar umbra, or shadow, then zips across Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and China before expiring in the Shandong peninsula at 0859 GMT.
People in a broader path of the shadow, which includes eastern Europe, most of Africa, Asia and Indonesia, will see a partial eclipse.
It will be the last annular solar eclipse for 29 months.
Compared to other years, the number of eclipses in 2010 is meagre although they provide an "interesting mix" for watchers, the US magazine Sky & Telescope says in its January issue.
Apart from Friday's event, the only coverup of the Sun this year will take place on July 11, when a total eclipse will cross the Pacific, visible notably from Easter Island, one of the world's remotest inhabited locations.
Total eclipses occur because of an unusual trick of celestial geometry.
The Sun is 400 times wider than the Moon, but it is also 400 times farther away. Because of the symmetry, the umbra, for those on the planetary surface, is exactly wide enough to cover the face of the Sun.
The orbits of the Earth and Moon are not completely circular, though. Tiny differences in distance explain why some eclipses are complete and others leave a thin ring of sunlight.
On December 21, 2010 -- solstice day -- there will be a total lunar eclipse, in which the full Moon will be covered completely by Earth's shadow for the first time in three years, according to Sky & Telescope.
***********************************************************
INTERVIEW - Myanmar polls likely in 2nd half of yr - Thai FM
Thu Jan 14, 2010 5:08pm IST
By John Ruwitch
DANANG, Vietnam (Reuters) - Myanmar will likely hold its long-awaited election in the second half of this year because the ruling junta is still crafting the legal framework for the vote, Thailand's foreign minister said on Thursday.
Kasit Piromya made the comments after a meeting with Myanmar counterpart Nyan Win during which he was told that 60-70 percent of the election and political party laws were completed.
"You take another two or three months to make it 100 percent, so it will take you by that time from the mathematical, or the guessing point of view, to the middle of this year," Kasit told Reuters in an interview.
"So, I think the elections would be most probably in the second half."
Myanmar's reclusive junta has been silent on the timing of the election, and Nyan Win's comment to Kasit would be a rare indication of the level of progress towards holding the vote.
Nyan Win declined to answer reporters' questions on multiple occasions during a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in central Vietnam.
Nyan Win briefed the other foreign ministers on the preparations at a dinner on Wednesday night, but he gave no indication of the timing.
"It was assured that it will be this year and it will be free, fair and credible, and the ASEAN ministers have expressed their hope the issue of Myanmar will be resolved this year and that we can move on to the new era of ASEAN relations and cooperation with the international community," Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN secretary general, told reporters.
"No date has been set but everything is moving on course. That's what we were told."
NO RUSH
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who also met Nyan Win on the sidelines of the Vietnam meeting, said there was no rush, as long as the vote takes place this year, and is carried out fairly and democratically, as the junta has promised.
"For us the main criterion, or the main preoccupation, would be that we have that necessary positive, democratic atmosphere for a credible election to take place," he told reporters.
"It's best to allow things for such conditions to be established rather than to rush into it and then we have a situation where the ideal condition is not there."
Little is known about the junta's legal preparations.
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.
Myanmar's last election, in 1990, ended with a landslide win for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, 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.
The election in the former British colony 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 legitimise its monopoly of national politics.
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.
Thu Jan 14, 2010 5:08pm IST
By John Ruwitch
DANANG, Vietnam (Reuters) - Myanmar will likely hold its long-awaited election in the second half of this year because the ruling junta is still crafting the legal framework for the vote, Thailand's foreign minister said on Thursday.
Kasit Piromya made the comments after a meeting with Myanmar counterpart Nyan Win during which he was told that 60-70 percent of the election and political party laws were completed.
"You take another two or three months to make it 100 percent, so it will take you by that time from the mathematical, or the guessing point of view, to the middle of this year," Kasit told Reuters in an interview.
"So, I think the elections would be most probably in the second half."
Myanmar's reclusive junta has been silent on the timing of the election, and Nyan Win's comment to Kasit would be a rare indication of the level of progress towards holding the vote.
Nyan Win declined to answer reporters' questions on multiple occasions during a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in central Vietnam.
Nyan Win briefed the other foreign ministers on the preparations at a dinner on Wednesday night, but he gave no indication of the timing.
"It was assured that it will be this year and it will be free, fair and credible, and the ASEAN ministers have expressed their hope the issue of Myanmar will be resolved this year and that we can move on to the new era of ASEAN relations and cooperation with the international community," Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN secretary general, told reporters.
"No date has been set but everything is moving on course. That's what we were told."
NO RUSH
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who also met Nyan Win on the sidelines of the Vietnam meeting, said there was no rush, as long as the vote takes place this year, and is carried out fairly and democratically, as the junta has promised.
"For us the main criterion, or the main preoccupation, would be that we have that necessary positive, democratic atmosphere for a credible election to take place," he told reporters.
"It's best to allow things for such conditions to be established rather than to rush into it and then we have a situation where the ideal condition is not there."
Little is known about the junta's legal preparations.
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.
Myanmar's last election, in 1990, ended with a landslide win for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, 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.
The election in the former British colony 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 legitimise its monopoly of national politics.
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.
***********************************************************
Barrett at center of military radio storm
Published: Jan. 14, 2010 at 11:00 AM
CANBERRA, Australia, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Barrett Communications has denied reports that its advanced 2050 mobile transceivers have been sold to the Myanmar military and are even capable of frequency hopping.
The Perth-based company has faced a barrage of criticism in Australian media that claim the radios have encryption-style frequency-hopping technology that makes it impossible for other organizations to monitor the military's communications. If they did have that technology, they would need an export license from the Department of Defense, a company statement said.
Philip Bradshaw, managing director of Barrett Communications, has "reacted angrily" to the reports, saying that in 2009 and previously in 2005 and 2006, "we sent around 50 radio sets to Burma."
But Bradshaw denied reports that they were sold to the ruling Myanmar military. He said Barrett has sold only commercial radios to the country, formerly called Burma.
"Our company never sold any military equipment to the Burmese regime and never will," Bradshaw said. He noted that Australian companies cannot sell military equipment to the Myanmar army as there are sanctions imposed on Myanmar.
A frequency-hopping radio is capable of sending its signals out "hopping" many times a second across many frequencies within a bandwidth. Unless receivers have a special code to follow in synchronization the hopping pattern, it is impossible to maintain radio contact. This renders the hopping network virtually impossible to intercept or jam.
Only the network users who have programmed their radios with the same frequency, sideband and hopping code can communicate.
A report in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper noted that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it understood no radios supplied by Barrett to Myanmar had frequency-hopping or encryption options, which would be included in Australia's ban on export of military goods to the army-ruled nation.
But Australian National University intelligence expert Desmond Ball has claimed that Barrett 2050 radios are being used at a high level by Myanmar army commands and they had both encryption and frequency-hopping functions.
''I have been present when communications using Barrett 2050 transmitters have been received and can assure you they are being used in both encrypted and frequency-hopping modes,'' he said. He also said that it was possible the sets had been sold on by an intermediary to the military and modified after being received in Myanmar.
Barrett is set to supply 50 more of the radios, which will have modems for data transmission. However, the company would not disclose the buyer, citing commercial confidence.
Some opposition politicians have rounded on Barrett Communications. Green Party Sens. Scott Ludlam and Rachel Siewert said they had information from monitors inside Myanmar that Barrett sold the radios to the military.
"I find it unconscionable that we should allow Australian companies to aid and abet this regime's repressive crackdown ahead of the sham 2010 election," Ludlam said in a statement. "The tide is turning against the brutality of Burma's regime and Australia should be leading that chorus, not aiding it with the transfer of vital technology."
Various defense news Web sites report that Myanmar is using the radios, whether or not they were sold directly to the regime, often heavily criticized for brutal crackdowns on various ethnic disturbances. A report on Army-technology.com suggests that the radios, weighing around 5 pounds, have a flexible soft-core processor and powerful digital signal processing system that provides very low power consumption, and delivers superior reception and noise reduction.
The 2050 switches messages quickly between about 500 frequencies, making them hard for enemy forces to intercept. The new radio sets are being used by the army headquarters in the new capital city of Naypyidaw and also at the army's central, eastern and northeastern commands involved in long-running campaigns against Shan and other insurgent forces.
Barrett sells its communications products worldwide, including to the U.S. State Department's Export Control and Related Border Security initiative according to a comment piece on Web site Zimbio. Barrett has also been providing HF radios to U.N. peace keepers for the past five years and is reported to be negotiating another five-year sole-source contract with the U.N. organization.
A comment piece on the Zimbio Web site suggested that it remains to be seen "how long the U.N. will continue to buy radios from a company appearing to support just the types of regime it attempts to oppose."
Published: Jan. 14, 2010 at 11:00 AM
CANBERRA, Australia, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Barrett Communications has denied reports that its advanced 2050 mobile transceivers have been sold to the Myanmar military and are even capable of frequency hopping.
The Perth-based company has faced a barrage of criticism in Australian media that claim the radios have encryption-style frequency-hopping technology that makes it impossible for other organizations to monitor the military's communications. If they did have that technology, they would need an export license from the Department of Defense, a company statement said.
Philip Bradshaw, managing director of Barrett Communications, has "reacted angrily" to the reports, saying that in 2009 and previously in 2005 and 2006, "we sent around 50 radio sets to Burma."
But Bradshaw denied reports that they were sold to the ruling Myanmar military. He said Barrett has sold only commercial radios to the country, formerly called Burma.
"Our company never sold any military equipment to the Burmese regime and never will," Bradshaw said. He noted that Australian companies cannot sell military equipment to the Myanmar army as there are sanctions imposed on Myanmar.
A frequency-hopping radio is capable of sending its signals out "hopping" many times a second across many frequencies within a bandwidth. Unless receivers have a special code to follow in synchronization the hopping pattern, it is impossible to maintain radio contact. This renders the hopping network virtually impossible to intercept or jam.
Only the network users who have programmed their radios with the same frequency, sideband and hopping code can communicate.
A report in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper noted that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it understood no radios supplied by Barrett to Myanmar had frequency-hopping or encryption options, which would be included in Australia's ban on export of military goods to the army-ruled nation.
But Australian National University intelligence expert Desmond Ball has claimed that Barrett 2050 radios are being used at a high level by Myanmar army commands and they had both encryption and frequency-hopping functions.
''I have been present when communications using Barrett 2050 transmitters have been received and can assure you they are being used in both encrypted and frequency-hopping modes,'' he said. He also said that it was possible the sets had been sold on by an intermediary to the military and modified after being received in Myanmar.
Barrett is set to supply 50 more of the radios, which will have modems for data transmission. However, the company would not disclose the buyer, citing commercial confidence.
Some opposition politicians have rounded on Barrett Communications. Green Party Sens. Scott Ludlam and Rachel Siewert said they had information from monitors inside Myanmar that Barrett sold the radios to the military.
"I find it unconscionable that we should allow Australian companies to aid and abet this regime's repressive crackdown ahead of the sham 2010 election," Ludlam said in a statement. "The tide is turning against the brutality of Burma's regime and Australia should be leading that chorus, not aiding it with the transfer of vital technology."
Various defense news Web sites report that Myanmar is using the radios, whether or not they were sold directly to the regime, often heavily criticized for brutal crackdowns on various ethnic disturbances. A report on Army-technology.com suggests that the radios, weighing around 5 pounds, have a flexible soft-core processor and powerful digital signal processing system that provides very low power consumption, and delivers superior reception and noise reduction.
The 2050 switches messages quickly between about 500 frequencies, making them hard for enemy forces to intercept. The new radio sets are being used by the army headquarters in the new capital city of Naypyidaw and also at the army's central, eastern and northeastern commands involved in long-running campaigns against Shan and other insurgent forces.
Barrett sells its communications products worldwide, including to the U.S. State Department's Export Control and Related Border Security initiative according to a comment piece on Web site Zimbio. Barrett has also been providing HF radios to U.N. peace keepers for the past five years and is reported to be negotiating another five-year sole-source contract with the U.N. organization.
A comment piece on the Zimbio Web site suggested that it remains to be seen "how long the U.N. will continue to buy radios from a company appearing to support just the types of regime it attempts to oppose."
***********************************************************
EarthTimes - Myanmar opposition party gets new blood on executive committee
Posted : Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:09:55 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party on Thursday announced an expansion of its central executive committee, weeks after Aung San Suu Kyi called for reforms. The NLD has added nine new members to the existing 11-man central executive committee, which has led the party for two decades and includes several octogenarians.
The new party executives are Than Nyein, Ohn Kyaing, Win Myint, Tun Tun Hein, Win Naing, Nyan Win, Han Tha Myint, Thein Nyunt and May Win Myint, a relatively younger lot of elected members of parliament.
Political observers said the move was a transitional step paving the way for the older NLD leaders to resign.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the NLD's imprisoned general secretary, was permitted to meet with three senior NLD executives on December 16 to discuss party reforms.
Authorities escorted her from her Yangon house-cum-prison to a government guesthouse where she was allowed to meet with NLD central executive committee members Lun Tin, 88; U Lwin, 86; and Aung Shwe, 91.
The threesome are known locally as "the world's oldest active political party leaders."
"Daw [Madame] Aung San Suu Kyi asked for permission to reform the NLD central executive committee, and the three top leaders agreed with her," U Lwin said after the meeting.
The leadership of Myanmar's 2-decade-old opposition party has been widely criticized for showing a lack of initiative and unity during the past six years as Suu Kyi was kept under detention in near-isolation from her party.
Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her leadership of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement, remains the only well-known NLD leader outside the country, a reflection of the lacklustre nature of the party's central committee.
It was still unclear whether the NLD would contest a general election planned this year by Myanmar's ruling military junta.
Western governments have said the election would lack credibility if Suu Kyi and the NLD are not permitted to participate.
It was unlikely that Suu Kyi would be freed before the polls. Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest and in August was sentenced to an additional 18 month of home detention.
She was under house arrest when Myanmar held its last election in 1990, but if anything, her detention then helped the NLD romp to a landslide victory.
The success surprised the military, who blocked the NLD from taking power on the pretext that the country was not yet ready for civilian rule and needed a new constitution, which took 19 years to write.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962.
Posted : Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:09:55 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party on Thursday announced an expansion of its central executive committee, weeks after Aung San Suu Kyi called for reforms. The NLD has added nine new members to the existing 11-man central executive committee, which has led the party for two decades and includes several octogenarians.
The new party executives are Than Nyein, Ohn Kyaing, Win Myint, Tun Tun Hein, Win Naing, Nyan Win, Han Tha Myint, Thein Nyunt and May Win Myint, a relatively younger lot of elected members of parliament.
Political observers said the move was a transitional step paving the way for the older NLD leaders to resign.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the NLD's imprisoned general secretary, was permitted to meet with three senior NLD executives on December 16 to discuss party reforms.
Authorities escorted her from her Yangon house-cum-prison to a government guesthouse where she was allowed to meet with NLD central executive committee members Lun Tin, 88; U Lwin, 86; and Aung Shwe, 91.
The threesome are known locally as "the world's oldest active political party leaders."
"Daw [Madame] Aung San Suu Kyi asked for permission to reform the NLD central executive committee, and the three top leaders agreed with her," U Lwin said after the meeting.
The leadership of Myanmar's 2-decade-old opposition party has been widely criticized for showing a lack of initiative and unity during the past six years as Suu Kyi was kept under detention in near-isolation from her party.
Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her leadership of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement, remains the only well-known NLD leader outside the country, a reflection of the lacklustre nature of the party's central committee.
It was still unclear whether the NLD would contest a general election planned this year by Myanmar's ruling military junta.
Western governments have said the election would lack credibility if Suu Kyi and the NLD are not permitted to participate.
It was unlikely that Suu Kyi would be freed before the polls. Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest and in August was sentenced to an additional 18 month of home detention.
She was under house arrest when Myanmar held its last election in 1990, but if anything, her detention then helped the NLD romp to a landslide victory.
The success surprised the military, who blocked the NLD from taking power on the pretext that the country was not yet ready for civilian rule and needed a new constitution, which took 19 years to write.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962.
***********************************************************
The Temasek Review (blog) - Myanmar national with poor command of English working as “accounts executive” in Singapore
January 14, 2010 by admin
Written by Our Correspondent
The Straits Times reported today of a 26 year old Myanmar national Yin Yin Oo signed up for free English classes at a Community Club because she needed “help” in spoken English.
She has been working in Singapore as an “accounts executive” for over a year.
While it is not revealed what she does exactly, it is highly unlikely that she is a professional accountant by training when she admits that “she was at the ‘intermediate’ level in reading and writing”.
In all likelihood, Ms Yin is probably doing some simple book-keeping at a local SME which employed her due to lower wage demands.
With due respect to Ms Yin, her job can be easily taken over by any Singaporean with a ITE or “O” level certificate.
The ruling party has been defending its “foreign talent” policy on the ground that foreigners are needed to fill vacancies in certain sectors shunned by locals such as construction, nursing and IT support services.
However, in the past few years, we have seen an increasing number of foreigners on S-passes (S for semi-skilled) flocking to work in Singapore.
These semi-skilled foreign workers compete directly with Singaporeans for jobs which otherwise belong to them such as nursery school teachers, administrators, clinic assistants, IT engineers and “accounts executives”.
They are in high demand due to their lower wages which help to raise the profit margins of small businesses.
A PRC nursery school teacher commands a monthly salary of only $1,200 to $1,400 compared to Singaporean who fetches more than $2,000.
Given a choice, any employer will hire the cheaper PRC and save $800 – $1,000 in wages monthly.
It is impossible for local workers to compete with these so-called “foreign talents.” A PRC living alone in Singapore can survive with that kind of salary, but what about a Singaporean with a family to feed?
The question is: why are these PRCs allowed to work in Singapore at all when their qualifications are a suspect in the first place? (like the infamous Zhang Yuanyuan who came to Singapore armed with a diploma from an unknown institution in China; she got her PR within 2 months of application)
The Manpower Ministry should release more information on the number of foreign workers in Singapore on S-passes, their occupations as well as the percentage who are granted Singapore PRs to enable Singaporeans to better assess if these foreigners are indeed “talents” or “thrash”.
A recent article by Wall Street Journal suggested that the influx of foreigners into Singapore in the last few years has led directly to the stagnation of wages of blue-collar workers, widening of the income gap between the rich and the poor, overall decrease in labor productivity and standards of living.
Singapore companies must start thinking of ways to boost their productivity and reduce their over-dependence on foreign workers.
Ms Yin will probably not be able to find work in any other first world country with the exception of Singapore.
More stringent criteria should be put in place so that we only recruit foreigners in selected sectors which genuinely face manpower shortage due to difficulties in employing locals.
January 14, 2010 by admin
Written by Our Correspondent
The Straits Times reported today of a 26 year old Myanmar national Yin Yin Oo signed up for free English classes at a Community Club because she needed “help” in spoken English.
She has been working in Singapore as an “accounts executive” for over a year.
While it is not revealed what she does exactly, it is highly unlikely that she is a professional accountant by training when she admits that “she was at the ‘intermediate’ level in reading and writing”.
In all likelihood, Ms Yin is probably doing some simple book-keeping at a local SME which employed her due to lower wage demands.
With due respect to Ms Yin, her job can be easily taken over by any Singaporean with a ITE or “O” level certificate.
The ruling party has been defending its “foreign talent” policy on the ground that foreigners are needed to fill vacancies in certain sectors shunned by locals such as construction, nursing and IT support services.
However, in the past few years, we have seen an increasing number of foreigners on S-passes (S for semi-skilled) flocking to work in Singapore.
These semi-skilled foreign workers compete directly with Singaporeans for jobs which otherwise belong to them such as nursery school teachers, administrators, clinic assistants, IT engineers and “accounts executives”.
They are in high demand due to their lower wages which help to raise the profit margins of small businesses.
A PRC nursery school teacher commands a monthly salary of only $1,200 to $1,400 compared to Singaporean who fetches more than $2,000.
Given a choice, any employer will hire the cheaper PRC and save $800 – $1,000 in wages monthly.
It is impossible for local workers to compete with these so-called “foreign talents.” A PRC living alone in Singapore can survive with that kind of salary, but what about a Singaporean with a family to feed?
The question is: why are these PRCs allowed to work in Singapore at all when their qualifications are a suspect in the first place? (like the infamous Zhang Yuanyuan who came to Singapore armed with a diploma from an unknown institution in China; she got her PR within 2 months of application)
The Manpower Ministry should release more information on the number of foreign workers in Singapore on S-passes, their occupations as well as the percentage who are granted Singapore PRs to enable Singaporeans to better assess if these foreigners are indeed “talents” or “thrash”.
A recent article by Wall Street Journal suggested that the influx of foreigners into Singapore in the last few years has led directly to the stagnation of wages of blue-collar workers, widening of the income gap between the rich and the poor, overall decrease in labor productivity and standards of living.
Singapore companies must start thinking of ways to boost their productivity and reduce their over-dependence on foreign workers.
Ms Yin will probably not be able to find work in any other first world country with the exception of Singapore.
More stringent criteria should be put in place so that we only recruit foreigners in selected sectors which genuinely face manpower shortage due to difficulties in employing locals.
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ASEAN Political Security Community Council holds third meeting in Vietnam
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-14 21:11:42
DANANG, VIETNAM, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The third meeting of the Political Security Community Council of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held here on Thursday.
ASEAN foreign ministers, their representatives and ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan attended the meeting.
Participants agreed on the need to further enhance information sharing and coordination among the bodies of the ASEAN Political Security Community Council, according to a press release here on Thursday.
The meeting asked the ASEAN senior officials to finalize the guidelines for the accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia and the third protocol amending the TAC for the European Union to officially accede to the treaty.
TAC was signed at the first ASEAN summit to promote regional peace, friendship and cooperation.
The meeting assigned the senior officials to develop a plan of action to implement the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Vision Statement, which is to be submitted to the ARF Ministerial Meeting in July 2010.
Vietnam, as the 10-member ASEAN Chair this year, made a proposal to hold the first meeting of defense ministers of ASEAN and its partners, according to the press release.
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-14 21:11:42
DANANG, VIETNAM, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The third meeting of the Political Security Community Council of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held here on Thursday.
ASEAN foreign ministers, their representatives and ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan attended the meeting.
Participants agreed on the need to further enhance information sharing and coordination among the bodies of the ASEAN Political Security Community Council, according to a press release here on Thursday.
The meeting asked the ASEAN senior officials to finalize the guidelines for the accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia and the third protocol amending the TAC for the European Union to officially accede to the treaty.
TAC was signed at the first ASEAN summit to promote regional peace, friendship and cooperation.
The meeting assigned the senior officials to develop a plan of action to implement the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Vision Statement, which is to be submitted to the ARF Ministerial Meeting in July 2010.
Vietnam, as the 10-member ASEAN Chair this year, made a proposal to hold the first meeting of defense ministers of ASEAN and its partners, according to the press release.
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Spero News - Myanmar: Military junta rewards arms traffickers with prize for their “contribution” to football developm
Two powerful businessmen get the “Thiri Pyanch”, a title once awarded on humanitarian grounds. The two men set up Myanmar’s national football league but are better known for arms and gems trafficking in the service of the junta.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
By Asia News
Yangon – Instead of people who made positive contributions to society, cronies associated with Myanmar’s military junta are given prizes. Tay Za and Zaw Zaw, two of the most powerful and richest businessmen in the country, were awarded on 4 January, Independence Day, one of Myanmar’s highest honours, the “Thiri Pyanchi,” a prize dropped in 1978 by then dictator Ne Win but recently reintroduced. State-run media made no mention of the honours conferred on the two men, both of whom are viewed as arms traffickers by the international community, The Irrawaddy reported.
Tay Za chairs the Htoo Group of Companies and Zaw Zaw runs the Max Myanmar Group of Companies. They were honoured with the title for their “outstanding work” in helping Myanmar develop its economy and for their contributions to the development of professional football (soccer) in the country. In fact, their close ties to the junta's top generals have won them lucrative business concessions in a number of key industries, including logging, gems and jewellery, tourism and transportation.
In complete disregard of the law and human rights, the two have been involved in international trade, exporting rice, rubber and other agricultural products and importing machines. Last year, they both entered the field of professional sports promotion, playing a key role in the creation of Myanmar’s new national football league. They are also among the largest investors in the regime’s newly built Yadanabon Cyber City near Mandalay.
Although dominant figures in Myanmar’s business world, they are international pariahs. Both they and their companies are under Western sanctions.
According to the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, Tay Za is “an arms dealer and financial henchman of Burma's repressive junta,” whilst Zaw Zaw’s Max Myanmar has provided important services in support of the regime, particularly in the form of construction projects.
Chan Tun, a veteran politician in Rangoon, said that in the past, the title of Thiri Pyanchi was awarded to hardworking officials and businessmen whose efforts benefited the people. “Now it is for cronies who contribute to the businesses of the generals.”
Two powerful businessmen get the “Thiri Pyanch”, a title once awarded on humanitarian grounds. The two men set up Myanmar’s national football league but are better known for arms and gems trafficking in the service of the junta.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
By Asia News
Yangon – Instead of people who made positive contributions to society, cronies associated with Myanmar’s military junta are given prizes. Tay Za and Zaw Zaw, two of the most powerful and richest businessmen in the country, were awarded on 4 January, Independence Day, one of Myanmar’s highest honours, the “Thiri Pyanchi,” a prize dropped in 1978 by then dictator Ne Win but recently reintroduced. State-run media made no mention of the honours conferred on the two men, both of whom are viewed as arms traffickers by the international community, The Irrawaddy reported.
Tay Za chairs the Htoo Group of Companies and Zaw Zaw runs the Max Myanmar Group of Companies. They were honoured with the title for their “outstanding work” in helping Myanmar develop its economy and for their contributions to the development of professional football (soccer) in the country. In fact, their close ties to the junta's top generals have won them lucrative business concessions in a number of key industries, including logging, gems and jewellery, tourism and transportation.
In complete disregard of the law and human rights, the two have been involved in international trade, exporting rice, rubber and other agricultural products and importing machines. Last year, they both entered the field of professional sports promotion, playing a key role in the creation of Myanmar’s new national football league. They are also among the largest investors in the regime’s newly built Yadanabon Cyber City near Mandalay.
Although dominant figures in Myanmar’s business world, they are international pariahs. Both they and their companies are under Western sanctions.
According to the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, Tay Za is “an arms dealer and financial henchman of Burma's repressive junta,” whilst Zaw Zaw’s Max Myanmar has provided important services in support of the regime, particularly in the form of construction projects.
Chan Tun, a veteran politician in Rangoon, said that in the past, the title of Thiri Pyanchi was awarded to hardworking officials and businessmen whose efforts benefited the people. “Now it is for cronies who contribute to the businesses of the generals.”
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13 Januari, 2010 14:24 PM
Visiting Foreigners In Myanmar Taking Up Position To View Solar Eclipse
YANGON, Jan 13 (Bernama) -- Foreigners visiting Myanmar have arrived at a number of the most ideal locations in the country to take up position to watch the millennium's longest solar eclipse, which will take place on Friday, China's Xinhua news agency reported Wednesday.
These locations are selected as Ngapali, Bagan, Popa, Mandalay Hill, Sagaing Hill and Monywa, and hotels in these areas have been packed with foreign travellers.
The annual solar eclipse with the longest duration of 11 minutes and 8 seconds in the 21st century, will be visible in Sittway in the west, Shwebo, Mandalay and Monywa in the central region, and Pyin Oo Lwin and Lashio in the east and northeast of Myanmar.
The astronomical phenomenon will begin in Myanmar at about 1:00 p.m. (Myanmar Standard Time) which will last for 3:30 hours until 4:30 p.m., said Myanmar's Meteorology and Hydrology Department, adding that the eclipse will reach its maximum between 3:05 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.
The Jan 15 annual solar eclipse will start from central Africa and move across the Indian Ocean, southern India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China.
Astronomers in Myanmar said there will be two solar eclipses in the year 2010 and Myanmar will witness the first event on Jan 15, while the next one in July 1 would not be visible in the country.
Myanmar will only see such solar eclipse again on July 22, 2085, the astronomers added.
Visiting Foreigners In Myanmar Taking Up Position To View Solar Eclipse
YANGON, Jan 13 (Bernama) -- Foreigners visiting Myanmar have arrived at a number of the most ideal locations in the country to take up position to watch the millennium's longest solar eclipse, which will take place on Friday, China's Xinhua news agency reported Wednesday.
These locations are selected as Ngapali, Bagan, Popa, Mandalay Hill, Sagaing Hill and Monywa, and hotels in these areas have been packed with foreign travellers.
The annual solar eclipse with the longest duration of 11 minutes and 8 seconds in the 21st century, will be visible in Sittway in the west, Shwebo, Mandalay and Monywa in the central region, and Pyin Oo Lwin and Lashio in the east and northeast of Myanmar.
The astronomical phenomenon will begin in Myanmar at about 1:00 p.m. (Myanmar Standard Time) which will last for 3:30 hours until 4:30 p.m., said Myanmar's Meteorology and Hydrology Department, adding that the eclipse will reach its maximum between 3:05 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.
The Jan 15 annual solar eclipse will start from central Africa and move across the Indian Ocean, southern India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China.
Astronomers in Myanmar said there will be two solar eclipses in the year 2010 and Myanmar will witness the first event on Jan 15, while the next one in July 1 would not be visible in the country.
Myanmar will only see such solar eclipse again on July 22, 2085, the astronomers added.
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The New Straits Times - Mother and son caught at border
2010/01/14
PADANG BESAR: A two-yearold boy and his mother were among six Myanmar nationals detained by General Operations Force recently for trying to enter the country illegally.
Commanding officer of the first battalion, north brigade, Superintendent Mohamad Mashud Mardzuki said the foreigners tried to cross the border here at 4pm on Tuesday.
Mashud said early investigations revealed that they had paid RM500 each to a "tekong" who was supposed to be waiting for them at the Malaysian side of the border and would then be transported to Penang and guaranteed a job.
The foreigners would be handed over to the state Immigration Department for further investigation.
2010/01/14
PADANG BESAR: A two-yearold boy and his mother were among six Myanmar nationals detained by General Operations Force recently for trying to enter the country illegally.
Commanding officer of the first battalion, north brigade, Superintendent Mohamad Mashud Mardzuki said the foreigners tried to cross the border here at 4pm on Tuesday.
Mashud said early investigations revealed that they had paid RM500 each to a "tekong" who was supposed to be waiting for them at the Malaysian side of the border and would then be transported to Penang and guaranteed a job.
The foreigners would be handed over to the state Immigration Department for further investigation.
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The Asian Age - Ulfa hunt: China refuses help
MANOJ ANAND
Guwahati
Jan. 13: China has refused to cooperate with Indian authorities in tracking down the elusive Ulfa chief Paresh Baruah, who is said to have been taking shelter in its Yunnan province adjoining the Kachin state of northern Burma. Disclosing that China has outright rejected the existence of Ulfa rebels in its territory, an authoritative security sources in the home ministry told this newspaper that they have conclusive evidence of Ulfa chief Paresh Baruah’s presence in Yunnan province of China with a detachment of about 8-10 Ulfa cadres.
"The issue was taken up with Chinese counterpart in a meeting at the official level recently but they refused to accept. They denied to have any information in this regard," he said, adding that it seems to be a deliberate and planned policy of China of harbouring insurgent groups of Northeast. "The fact was also corroborated by frequent visit of Naga insurgent leaders Issac Swu and Anthony Shimray to Beijing," he said.
The Chinese authorities were also given some inputs on Ulfa chief’s movement along Kachin range of Burma, the security sources said pointing out that though, officials of Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic armed rebel group in Burma also denies but there are evidences of KIA helping Ulfa rebels in Kachin state of Burma. The security sources said that KIA was also instrumental in facilitating shelter to Ulfa chief inside Yunnan province of China.
Apart from Ulfa, other separatist groups of northeast such as Manipur’s People’s Liberation Army and the United National Liberation Front also have their bases in Kachin state and access to China.
Revealing that China was also reluctant in intervening in to the trade of illegal arms being run from its territory, the security sources said that most of the separatist outfits, even those holding ceasefire in Assam and Manipur, are procuring arms from China.
MANOJ ANAND
Guwahati
Jan. 13: China has refused to cooperate with Indian authorities in tracking down the elusive Ulfa chief Paresh Baruah, who is said to have been taking shelter in its Yunnan province adjoining the Kachin state of northern Burma. Disclosing that China has outright rejected the existence of Ulfa rebels in its territory, an authoritative security sources in the home ministry told this newspaper that they have conclusive evidence of Ulfa chief Paresh Baruah’s presence in Yunnan province of China with a detachment of about 8-10 Ulfa cadres.
"The issue was taken up with Chinese counterpart in a meeting at the official level recently but they refused to accept. They denied to have any information in this regard," he said, adding that it seems to be a deliberate and planned policy of China of harbouring insurgent groups of Northeast. "The fact was also corroborated by frequent visit of Naga insurgent leaders Issac Swu and Anthony Shimray to Beijing," he said.
The Chinese authorities were also given some inputs on Ulfa chief’s movement along Kachin range of Burma, the security sources said pointing out that though, officials of Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic armed rebel group in Burma also denies but there are evidences of KIA helping Ulfa rebels in Kachin state of Burma. The security sources said that KIA was also instrumental in facilitating shelter to Ulfa chief inside Yunnan province of China.
Apart from Ulfa, other separatist groups of northeast such as Manipur’s People’s Liberation Army and the United National Liberation Front also have their bases in Kachin state and access to China.
Revealing that China was also reluctant in intervening in to the trade of illegal arms being run from its territory, the security sources said that most of the separatist outfits, even those holding ceasefire in Assam and Manipur, are procuring arms from China.
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The Irrawaddy - Ethnic Leaders Reject Election
By BA KAUNG - Thursday, January 14, 2010
Several ethnic leaders elected in Burma's 1990 election reaffirmed this week that they will not participate in the planned election this year without a review of the 2008 Constitutional and the release of all political prisoners—two major demands they have been pressing for since early last year.
“We will not found any political party if the 2008 Constitution cannot guarantee us equality and autonomy,” said 76-year-old Thar Ban, the acting chairman of the Arakan League for Democracy.
Pu Cin Sian Thang, a spokesman for the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), a coalition of 12 ethnic parties which contested and won 67 seats in the 1990 election, said that the alliance's attitude toward the planned election is not much different from the National League for Democracy's (NLD) Shwegondaing Declaration.
The Shwegondaing Declaration, released by the NLD in April last year, calls for a review of the controversial Constitution, political dialogue and the unconditional release of all political prisoners, including its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
“The reason for this stand is that we contributed to the Shwegondaing Declaration even though it was not publicly known,” said Pu Cin Sian Thang, who is also the chairman of the Zomi National Congress, an ethnic Chin political party.
Many of the 12 parties comprising the UNA were abolished after the 1990 election by the military regime, which cited various reasons—one of them for not having enough membership on their central executive committees.
In February last year, the UNA issued a statement condemning the Constitution as a means to make Burma's ethnic nationalities subordinates to the Burman majority, and because it hands “supreme power” to the military's commander in chief.
“Our participation in the election without changing the undemocratic elements of the Constitution would validate this whole Constitution as soon as the first session of parliament is held,” said Pu Cin Sian Thang in a telephone interview with The Irrawaddy.
He said the Zomi National Congress will base its decision on how the NLD responds at that time. However, soon after the regime announces the electoral law, many political groups including the NLD and the UNA will have to announce their final decision on whether to participate or not.
“We will not follow exactly what the NLD does,” he added. “But we have to look at its responses since it represents the majority of the people.
“However,” he added, “if the Constitution remains unchanged, we will in no way join in the election.”
Another ethnic leader, Naing Ngwe Thein, who is the chairman of the Mon National Democratic Front, said his political party's position on the election is the same as the UNA's.
But while a stalemate remains between the regime and several ethnic cease-fire groups, such as the United Wa State Army and the Kachin Independence Army, over the Border Guard Force proposal, other ethnic leaders like Dr. Tuja, the former vice-president of the Kachin Independence Organization, have stated their willingness to participate in the election.
“We have no objection if anyone wants to join in the election,” said Naing Ngwe Thein. “But history will judge who is on the right side and who is on the wrong side.”
By BA KAUNG - Thursday, January 14, 2010
Several ethnic leaders elected in Burma's 1990 election reaffirmed this week that they will not participate in the planned election this year without a review of the 2008 Constitutional and the release of all political prisoners—two major demands they have been pressing for since early last year.
“We will not found any political party if the 2008 Constitution cannot guarantee us equality and autonomy,” said 76-year-old Thar Ban, the acting chairman of the Arakan League for Democracy.
Pu Cin Sian Thang, a spokesman for the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), a coalition of 12 ethnic parties which contested and won 67 seats in the 1990 election, said that the alliance's attitude toward the planned election is not much different from the National League for Democracy's (NLD) Shwegondaing Declaration.
The Shwegondaing Declaration, released by the NLD in April last year, calls for a review of the controversial Constitution, political dialogue and the unconditional release of all political prisoners, including its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
“The reason for this stand is that we contributed to the Shwegondaing Declaration even though it was not publicly known,” said Pu Cin Sian Thang, who is also the chairman of the Zomi National Congress, an ethnic Chin political party.
Many of the 12 parties comprising the UNA were abolished after the 1990 election by the military regime, which cited various reasons—one of them for not having enough membership on their central executive committees.
In February last year, the UNA issued a statement condemning the Constitution as a means to make Burma's ethnic nationalities subordinates to the Burman majority, and because it hands “supreme power” to the military's commander in chief.
“Our participation in the election without changing the undemocratic elements of the Constitution would validate this whole Constitution as soon as the first session of parliament is held,” said Pu Cin Sian Thang in a telephone interview with The Irrawaddy.
He said the Zomi National Congress will base its decision on how the NLD responds at that time. However, soon after the regime announces the electoral law, many political groups including the NLD and the UNA will have to announce their final decision on whether to participate or not.
“We will not follow exactly what the NLD does,” he added. “But we have to look at its responses since it represents the majority of the people.
“However,” he added, “if the Constitution remains unchanged, we will in no way join in the election.”
Another ethnic leader, Naing Ngwe Thein, who is the chairman of the Mon National Democratic Front, said his political party's position on the election is the same as the UNA's.
But while a stalemate remains between the regime and several ethnic cease-fire groups, such as the United Wa State Army and the Kachin Independence Army, over the Border Guard Force proposal, other ethnic leaders like Dr. Tuja, the former vice-president of the Kachin Independence Organization, have stated their willingness to participate in the election.
“We have no objection if anyone wants to join in the election,” said Naing Ngwe Thein. “But history will judge who is on the right side and who is on the wrong side.”
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The Irrawaddy - Eclipse over Burma a Bad Omen, Say Astrologers
By ARKAR MOE - Thursday, January 14, 2010
A solar eclipse visible over most of Burma on January 15 is being interpreted by many Burmese astrologers as a bad omen for the country’s military rulers, who have banned any public speculation about the meaning of the phenomenon.
The eclipse, lasting three and a half hours, is an annular one, meaning the moon will only partially cover the sun, leaving a "ring of fire."
Myat Myat Aye, a registrar of the Myanmar [Burma] Astro Research Bureau, confirmed that Burmese astrologers were looking for omens. "But it's too early to make predictions," she told The Irrawaddy on Thursday.
"If we see a rainbow or a clear sky after the eclipse, then that is a good omen," she said. "But if the sky is gloomy, it is bad omen.”
The eclipse will send a 300km wide shadow over Africa and Asia, beginning in Chad and ending in China. It will last longest—more than 11 minutes—over the Indian Ocean, making it the longest-lasting annular eclipse this century.
The eclipse will be visible in Burma from 1 p.m. On Friday until 4.30 p.m.
Astrology researcher Ashin Eindachaka, who lives in Bangladesh, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that because of its length the eclipse heralded bad times. "All should pray and make merit during the eclipse."
The eclipse is leading to a small boom in tourism, with local people and foreign visitors congregating at locations where it will be most visible—Ngapali, Bagan, Popa, Mandalay Hill, Sagaing Hill and Monywa.
Live coverage of the eclipse will also be carried by state-run MRTV-3.
By ARKAR MOE - Thursday, January 14, 2010
A solar eclipse visible over most of Burma on January 15 is being interpreted by many Burmese astrologers as a bad omen for the country’s military rulers, who have banned any public speculation about the meaning of the phenomenon.
The eclipse, lasting three and a half hours, is an annular one, meaning the moon will only partially cover the sun, leaving a "ring of fire."
Myat Myat Aye, a registrar of the Myanmar [Burma] Astro Research Bureau, confirmed that Burmese astrologers were looking for omens. "But it's too early to make predictions," she told The Irrawaddy on Thursday.
"If we see a rainbow or a clear sky after the eclipse, then that is a good omen," she said. "But if the sky is gloomy, it is bad omen.”
The eclipse will send a 300km wide shadow over Africa and Asia, beginning in Chad and ending in China. It will last longest—more than 11 minutes—over the Indian Ocean, making it the longest-lasting annular eclipse this century.
The eclipse will be visible in Burma from 1 p.m. On Friday until 4.30 p.m.
Astrology researcher Ashin Eindachaka, who lives in Bangladesh, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that because of its length the eclipse heralded bad times. "All should pray and make merit during the eclipse."
The eclipse is leading to a small boom in tourism, with local people and foreign visitors congregating at locations where it will be most visible—Ngapali, Bagan, Popa, Mandalay Hill, Sagaing Hill and Monywa.
Live coverage of the eclipse will also be carried by state-run MRTV-3.
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NLD restructures top decision-making body
Thursday, 14 January 2010 16:38 Salai Han Thar San
New Delhi (Mizzima) – A second woman is set to join the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of Burma’s main opposition party, National League for Democracy (NLD), as the party today formally announced the expansion of its principle policy organ.
In a statement on Thursday, the NLD announced the addition of nine new members to its CEC, including Dr. May Win Myint, an elected Member of Parliament from Mayankone Township, and Dr. Than Nyein, the brother-in-law of the former Military Intelligence (MI) Chief and purged Prime Minister Khin Nyunt.
Dr. May Win Myint will be the second woman to serve on the NLD’s steering committee after the party’s detained General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi. Before her arrest in 1997, she led the NLD’s women’s wing.
Dr. Than Nyein has also served long prison terms, only recently being released in September 2008 along with fellow NLD leaders Win Tin and Khin Maung Swe. Despite being the brother-in-law of purged Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, Dr. Than Nyein is one of the founding members of the NLD.
The NLD said it is choosing to expand that CEC in order to allow younger generations to participate and to ease party activities.
Dr. Win Naing, another of the added CEC members, told Mizzima on Thursday that his appointment as a new member of the CEC means more responsibilities and more tasks to carry out.
“I don’t think there is anything to be delighted about with being appointed as a new CEC member. There is more work and responsibility,” Dr. Win Naing articulated.
Other newly appointed members are Win Myint, a member of the NLD’s Legal Committee, Tun Tun Hein, a Minister of Parliament-elect from Naung Cho in Shan State, Nyan Win, a Minister of Parliament-elect from Ahpaung Township, Han Thar Myint, a Minister of Parliament-elect from Buhthalin Township, Thein Nyunt, a Miniser of Parliament-elect from Thingankyun Township, and Ohn Kyaing, a member of the Central Information Committee.
With the additional nine members added, the NLD’s CEC now numbers 20. However, with party Vice-Chair Tin Oo and General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi still under house arrest, the party is left with only 18 members able to carry out daily work.
The expansion of the CEC comes after detained party General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi in December held a meeting with three of the party’s aging leaders – Chairman Aung Shwe, Secretary U Lwin and Lun Tin – at which they reportedly discussed the expansion issue.
While the NLD’s official statement said the expansion is aimed at increasing the party’s work and efficiency, some observers also say the timing is attributable to the scheduled general election to be held later this year.
Nyo Ohn Myint, an exiled political observer and member of the NLD in exile Foreign Affairs Committee, said expanding the CEC at this time is the right thing to do, as the year 2010 could possibly see a political tug-of-war between the ruling junta and opposition.
He added that it is important for the NLD, as the leading mainstream opposition, to strengthen its steering committee with younger generations, as several party leaders are aging and in poor health.
The Burmese military junta has declared a general election in 2010 as part of its seven-step roadmap to democracy. The election, according to the junta, will pave the way for the installation of a civilian government.
But the NLD, along with several other opposition groups, has demanded the junta first release all political prisoners and revise the 2008 constitution, the foundation of the assumed new government.
The CEC’s 11 incumbent members are: Chairman Aung Shwe (92), Vice-Chairman Tin Oo, General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi, Secretary U Lwin (86), Lun Tin (89), Win Tin (80), Soe Myint (87), Hla Pe, Than Tun, Khin Maung Swe and Nyunt Wai.
The expansion was agreed upon at a meeting on January 11th held at the party’s headquarters on West Shwegondine Street in Rangoon.
Thursday, 14 January 2010 16:38 Salai Han Thar San
New Delhi (Mizzima) – A second woman is set to join the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of Burma’s main opposition party, National League for Democracy (NLD), as the party today formally announced the expansion of its principle policy organ.
In a statement on Thursday, the NLD announced the addition of nine new members to its CEC, including Dr. May Win Myint, an elected Member of Parliament from Mayankone Township, and Dr. Than Nyein, the brother-in-law of the former Military Intelligence (MI) Chief and purged Prime Minister Khin Nyunt.
Dr. May Win Myint will be the second woman to serve on the NLD’s steering committee after the party’s detained General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi. Before her arrest in 1997, she led the NLD’s women’s wing.
Dr. Than Nyein has also served long prison terms, only recently being released in September 2008 along with fellow NLD leaders Win Tin and Khin Maung Swe. Despite being the brother-in-law of purged Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, Dr. Than Nyein is one of the founding members of the NLD.
The NLD said it is choosing to expand that CEC in order to allow younger generations to participate and to ease party activities.
Dr. Win Naing, another of the added CEC members, told Mizzima on Thursday that his appointment as a new member of the CEC means more responsibilities and more tasks to carry out.
“I don’t think there is anything to be delighted about with being appointed as a new CEC member. There is more work and responsibility,” Dr. Win Naing articulated.
Other newly appointed members are Win Myint, a member of the NLD’s Legal Committee, Tun Tun Hein, a Minister of Parliament-elect from Naung Cho in Shan State, Nyan Win, a Minister of Parliament-elect from Ahpaung Township, Han Thar Myint, a Minister of Parliament-elect from Buhthalin Township, Thein Nyunt, a Miniser of Parliament-elect from Thingankyun Township, and Ohn Kyaing, a member of the Central Information Committee.
With the additional nine members added, the NLD’s CEC now numbers 20. However, with party Vice-Chair Tin Oo and General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi still under house arrest, the party is left with only 18 members able to carry out daily work.
The expansion of the CEC comes after detained party General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi in December held a meeting with three of the party’s aging leaders – Chairman Aung Shwe, Secretary U Lwin and Lun Tin – at which they reportedly discussed the expansion issue.
While the NLD’s official statement said the expansion is aimed at increasing the party’s work and efficiency, some observers also say the timing is attributable to the scheduled general election to be held later this year.
Nyo Ohn Myint, an exiled political observer and member of the NLD in exile Foreign Affairs Committee, said expanding the CEC at this time is the right thing to do, as the year 2010 could possibly see a political tug-of-war between the ruling junta and opposition.
He added that it is important for the NLD, as the leading mainstream opposition, to strengthen its steering committee with younger generations, as several party leaders are aging and in poor health.
The Burmese military junta has declared a general election in 2010 as part of its seven-step roadmap to democracy. The election, according to the junta, will pave the way for the installation of a civilian government.
But the NLD, along with several other opposition groups, has demanded the junta first release all political prisoners and revise the 2008 constitution, the foundation of the assumed new government.
The CEC’s 11 incumbent members are: Chairman Aung Shwe (92), Vice-Chairman Tin Oo, General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi, Secretary U Lwin (86), Lun Tin (89), Win Tin (80), Soe Myint (87), Hla Pe, Than Tun, Khin Maung Swe and Nyunt Wai.
The expansion was agreed upon at a meeting on January 11th held at the party’s headquarters on West Shwegondine Street in Rangoon.
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Three activists sentenced to three years each
Wednesday, 13 January 2010 19:47 Myint Maung
New Delhi (Mizzima) - A township court in Burma’s former capital city of Rangoon on Wednesday sentenced three opposition party members to three years imprisonment each.
The defendants, members of the humanitarian committee of Burma’s main opposition party, National League for Democracy (NLD), were charged with unlawful association and handed three year sentences with hard labor by the Insein Township court, according to their lawyer, Kyaw Hoe, who was present at the court session on Wednesday.
Shwe Joe, a resident of Hlaing Township, Sein Hlaing, a resident of San Chaung Township, and Ma Cho of Ahlone Township were accused of communicating with the NLD in exile and accepting cash from an individual named Sein Hlaing in the amount of 15 million kyat (USD 15,000).
Kyaw Hoe said the trial took no civilian testimony and that no evidence was provided in support of the guilty charge, a verdict based solely on the police testimony.
“We [the defense] in our argument demanded acquittal. But the prosecution lawyer stood up and said the accused are found guilty based on prosecution witness testimony and should thus be sentenced,” Kyaw Hoe extrapolated.
The defendants, however, denied having communicated with the NLD in exile, rejecting all charges.
“In our argument, we demanded the prosecution provide us the witness testimonies that found the accused guilty. But the court did not provide any evidence when handing down the verdict today,” he added.
The accused were arrested from their Rangoon residences on March 6, 2009, after which they were detained in Insein prison.
Wednesday, 13 January 2010 19:47 Myint Maung
New Delhi (Mizzima) - A township court in Burma’s former capital city of Rangoon on Wednesday sentenced three opposition party members to three years imprisonment each.
The defendants, members of the humanitarian committee of Burma’s main opposition party, National League for Democracy (NLD), were charged with unlawful association and handed three year sentences with hard labor by the Insein Township court, according to their lawyer, Kyaw Hoe, who was present at the court session on Wednesday.
Shwe Joe, a resident of Hlaing Township, Sein Hlaing, a resident of San Chaung Township, and Ma Cho of Ahlone Township were accused of communicating with the NLD in exile and accepting cash from an individual named Sein Hlaing in the amount of 15 million kyat (USD 15,000).
Kyaw Hoe said the trial took no civilian testimony and that no evidence was provided in support of the guilty charge, a verdict based solely on the police testimony.
“We [the defense] in our argument demanded acquittal. But the prosecution lawyer stood up and said the accused are found guilty based on prosecution witness testimony and should thus be sentenced,” Kyaw Hoe extrapolated.
The defendants, however, denied having communicated with the NLD in exile, rejecting all charges.
“In our argument, we demanded the prosecution provide us the witness testimonies that found the accused guilty. But the court did not provide any evidence when handing down the verdict today,” he added.
The accused were arrested from their Rangoon residences on March 6, 2009, after which they were detained in Insein prison.
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Activists sentenced ‘without evidence’
Jan 14, 2010 (DVB)–Three Burmese opposition activists were sentenced yesterday to three years’ with hard labour, despite the prosecution being unable to provide any palpable evidence for their charges, a lawyer said.
The three National League for Democracy (NLD) party members were charged under the Unlawful Associations Act for allegedly accepting money from a member of the banned NLD-Liberated Areas (NLD-LA) party, Eva.
Lawyer Kyaw Ho said that the trial judge, Tin Swe Lin, had given the three, Shwe Gyo, Ma Cho (also known as Myint Myint San) and Sein Hlaing, harsh sentences despite a lack of solid evidence.
“There were neither eye-witnesses nor paperwork evidence that [the three] had accepted money from Eva,” said Kyaw Ho. “We cannot accept such a ruling on legal grounds and we are preparing to appeal.”
The three were arrested in March last year and have been kept in detention since, although Kyaw Ho said the time already spent in detention will not be subtracted from their sentence.
“There is an official court guideline stating that the amount of time a person has spent in detention during the trial has to be subtracted from the prison term,” he said, adding that this would also be appealed.
There had been prior speculation that the three were being targeted for their work in helping political prisoners, although there was no mention of this from Kyaw Ho.
Several NLD members reported last month that they were being forced by Burmese intelligence officers to divulge details about their families and jobs, reportedly on instruction from senior government.
Others were reportedly being photographed and told to fill out questionnaires, although the NLD sent out a directive to members urging them not to comply.
Analysts believe pressure against the NLD and other opposition groups is likely to increase this year as the ruling junta prepares for its first elections since 1990, when it ignored a landslide victory by the NLD.
Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet
Jan 14, 2010 (DVB)–Three Burmese opposition activists were sentenced yesterday to three years’ with hard labour, despite the prosecution being unable to provide any palpable evidence for their charges, a lawyer said.
The three National League for Democracy (NLD) party members were charged under the Unlawful Associations Act for allegedly accepting money from a member of the banned NLD-Liberated Areas (NLD-LA) party, Eva.
Lawyer Kyaw Ho said that the trial judge, Tin Swe Lin, had given the three, Shwe Gyo, Ma Cho (also known as Myint Myint San) and Sein Hlaing, harsh sentences despite a lack of solid evidence.
“There were neither eye-witnesses nor paperwork evidence that [the three] had accepted money from Eva,” said Kyaw Ho. “We cannot accept such a ruling on legal grounds and we are preparing to appeal.”
The three were arrested in March last year and have been kept in detention since, although Kyaw Ho said the time already spent in detention will not be subtracted from their sentence.
“There is an official court guideline stating that the amount of time a person has spent in detention during the trial has to be subtracted from the prison term,” he said, adding that this would also be appealed.
There had been prior speculation that the three were being targeted for their work in helping political prisoners, although there was no mention of this from Kyaw Ho.
Several NLD members reported last month that they were being forced by Burmese intelligence officers to divulge details about their families and jobs, reportedly on instruction from senior government.
Others were reportedly being photographed and told to fill out questionnaires, although the NLD sent out a directive to members urging them not to comply.
Analysts believe pressure against the NLD and other opposition groups is likely to increase this year as the ruling junta prepares for its first elections since 1990, when it ignored a landslide victory by the NLD.
Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet
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