Myanmar may free Suu Kyi during polls: Thailand
2 hrs 9 mins ago
GENEVA (AFP) – Aung San Suu Kyi may be freed during the national elections in Myanmar, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Tuesday, predicting the polls could be held during the second half of 2010.
"What is the gut feeling? Maybe at the time of the declaration or the holding of the elections," he said, responding to a question on when the opposition leader, whose house arrest sentence had recently been extended until November 2010, could be freed.
"Around that time... maybe a day after or a day before," added Kasit.
A date has still not been announced for the elections, which will be the first since 1990 when the junta refused to recognise the landslide win of the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Suu Kyi.
Kasit believes that "the elections most probably will be in the second half of the year."
He noted that during meetings of a regional bloc known as ASEAN, Myanmar's prime minister had been "giving us the assurance ... that elections will be held this year" and that there will definitely be a "new government."
"He (the prime minister) mentioned about 70 to 80 percent completion of election law and political party law and the completion of the parliamentary site in the new capital and so on, so I predict it will take place in the second half of this year," added Kasit.
The foreign minister also cautioned against sanctions as a way to put pressure on the junta, saying the tactic has "proven to be a failure."
"Why hurt the Myanmar people?" he told journalists in Geneva.
Isolating Myanmar also risks cornering it "into the arms of certain countries," he warned.
"The Indians and the Chinese don't want to have any sanctions vis-a-vis Myanmar. So in that sense you allow a special relationship to happen. Would that be detrimental or not to the whole cooperative effort?" he said.
Rather, Kasit referred to the recent US move to engage in dialogue with the junta, saying that put the ball now in the junta's court.
"The world is waiting for Myanmar at the border, so it's up to Myanmar to respond in a positive manner," he added.
Home Affairs Minister Maung Oo reportedly told a meeting of local officials in central Myanmar last month that the release of 64-year-old Suu Kyi, who has been in detention for 14 of the past 20 years, would come in November.
A decision is expected from Myanmar's top court within few weeks on an appeal against her conviction last August. The conviction related to an incident in which a US man swam to her house and she was sentenced to another 18 months under house arrest.
2 hrs 9 mins ago
GENEVA (AFP) – Aung San Suu Kyi may be freed during the national elections in Myanmar, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Tuesday, predicting the polls could be held during the second half of 2010.
"What is the gut feeling? Maybe at the time of the declaration or the holding of the elections," he said, responding to a question on when the opposition leader, whose house arrest sentence had recently been extended until November 2010, could be freed.
"Around that time... maybe a day after or a day before," added Kasit.
A date has still not been announced for the elections, which will be the first since 1990 when the junta refused to recognise the landslide win of the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Suu Kyi.
Kasit believes that "the elections most probably will be in the second half of the year."
He noted that during meetings of a regional bloc known as ASEAN, Myanmar's prime minister had been "giving us the assurance ... that elections will be held this year" and that there will definitely be a "new government."
"He (the prime minister) mentioned about 70 to 80 percent completion of election law and political party law and the completion of the parliamentary site in the new capital and so on, so I predict it will take place in the second half of this year," added Kasit.
The foreign minister also cautioned against sanctions as a way to put pressure on the junta, saying the tactic has "proven to be a failure."
"Why hurt the Myanmar people?" he told journalists in Geneva.
Isolating Myanmar also risks cornering it "into the arms of certain countries," he warned.
"The Indians and the Chinese don't want to have any sanctions vis-a-vis Myanmar. So in that sense you allow a special relationship to happen. Would that be detrimental or not to the whole cooperative effort?" he said.
Rather, Kasit referred to the recent US move to engage in dialogue with the junta, saying that put the ball now in the junta's court.
"The world is waiting for Myanmar at the border, so it's up to Myanmar to respond in a positive manner," he added.
Home Affairs Minister Maung Oo reportedly told a meeting of local officials in central Myanmar last month that the release of 64-year-old Suu Kyi, who has been in detention for 14 of the past 20 years, would come in November.
A decision is expected from Myanmar's top court within few weeks on an appeal against her conviction last August. The conviction related to an incident in which a US man swam to her house and she was sentenced to another 18 months under house arrest.
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Myanmar Open to return to Asian Tour in April
Tue Feb 2, 3:27 am ET
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Myanmar Open will return to this season's Asian Tour schedule in April following a four-year absence, officials said Tuesday.
The tournament will take place from April 8-11 at the Pun Hlaing Golf Club and offer a total purse of $300,000.
"As a player-led organization the Asian Tour will continue to grow the game across the region," Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han, himself from Myanmar, said.
Myanmar's most recognizable player Zaw Moe said the tournament would help boost the standard of golf in the country.
"It's always special to play in front of your home fans," said the 1997 Singapore Open champion. "I'm looking forward to it and I will be ready to give my best."
Australian Scott Strange won the last Myanmar Open in 2005.
Tue Feb 2, 3:27 am ET
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Myanmar Open will return to this season's Asian Tour schedule in April following a four-year absence, officials said Tuesday.
The tournament will take place from April 8-11 at the Pun Hlaing Golf Club and offer a total purse of $300,000.
"As a player-led organization the Asian Tour will continue to grow the game across the region," Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han, himself from Myanmar, said.
Myanmar's most recognizable player Zaw Moe said the tournament would help boost the standard of golf in the country.
"It's always special to play in front of your home fans," said the 1997 Singapore Open champion. "I'm looking forward to it and I will be ready to give my best."
Australian Scott Strange won the last Myanmar Open in 2005.
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ReliefWeb - Thailand: Japan selecting first Myanmar refugees for resettlement
Source: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Date: 02 Feb 2010
Japanese government officials are visiting Mae La refugee camp in northern Thailand today (Tuesday, 02 Feb.) to begin interviewing refugees from Myanmar who have applied for resettlement to Japan. This is the first concrete step towards making Japan Asia's first resettlement country after it announced in December, 2008, that it would accept 90 Myanmar refugees from Mae La camp over three years in a pilot resettlement project.
The refugees being interviewed this week were identified by UNHCR as being in need of resettlement primarily because they have lived in the refugee camp for long periods - in some cases 10 or 20 years - with no other solution in sight. The final decision as to whether they will be accepted for resettlement rests with Japan.
If all goes smoothly, the first family should depart in September this year, with 30 refugees scheduled to be resettled each year over three years. Some 20,000 Myanmar refugees have already been resettled from Mae La camp, part of the more than 55,000 Myanmar refugees who have been resettled from the nine camps in Thailand since large-scale resettlement began in 2005. Most have gone to the United States, Australia and Canada, with a smaller number departing for eight other countries.
We welcome the addition of Japan to the list of resettlement countries, not only for the important signal it sends to other Asian countries, but also as significant burden-sharing, helping Thailand find solutions for refugees from Myanmar who have been on its territory for more than 25 years.
For further information on this topic, please contact:
In Bangkok, Thailand: Kitty Mckinsey on mobile +66 818 270 280
In Geneva: Andrej Mahecic on mobile +41 79 200 7617
Source: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Date: 02 Feb 2010
Japanese government officials are visiting Mae La refugee camp in northern Thailand today (Tuesday, 02 Feb.) to begin interviewing refugees from Myanmar who have applied for resettlement to Japan. This is the first concrete step towards making Japan Asia's first resettlement country after it announced in December, 2008, that it would accept 90 Myanmar refugees from Mae La camp over three years in a pilot resettlement project.
The refugees being interviewed this week were identified by UNHCR as being in need of resettlement primarily because they have lived in the refugee camp for long periods - in some cases 10 or 20 years - with no other solution in sight. The final decision as to whether they will be accepted for resettlement rests with Japan.
If all goes smoothly, the first family should depart in September this year, with 30 refugees scheduled to be resettled each year over three years. Some 20,000 Myanmar refugees have already been resettled from Mae La camp, part of the more than 55,000 Myanmar refugees who have been resettled from the nine camps in Thailand since large-scale resettlement began in 2005. Most have gone to the United States, Australia and Canada, with a smaller number departing for eight other countries.
We welcome the addition of Japan to the list of resettlement countries, not only for the important signal it sends to other Asian countries, but also as significant burden-sharing, helping Thailand find solutions for refugees from Myanmar who have been on its territory for more than 25 years.
For further information on this topic, please contact:
In Bangkok, Thailand: Kitty Mckinsey on mobile +66 818 270 280
In Geneva: Andrej Mahecic on mobile +41 79 200 7617
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Documentary film on Myanmar clashes nominated as Oscar contender
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 2 KYODO - A documentary film capturing clashes between antigovernment demonstrators and the junta in Myanmar in 2007 was nominated Tuesday as a contender for the 82nd Annual Academy Award for documentary feature, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science said.
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Posted on 11:08 PM, February 02, 2010
Commentary -- By Ben Blanchard
BusinessWorld Online - A reluctant refuge for Myanmar folk
RUILI, China, Jan 28 -- Ask residents of the dusty Chinese border town of Ruili what they think of their neighbor and supposed friend Myanmar (Burma) and one word features prominently -- "luan," or chaotic.
Ask the Myanmar traders, in their sarong-like longyis and cheap plastic sandals, what they think of China and their answer is completely the opposite -- stable, giving them a chance to escape the poverty and mismanagement of their ruling generals.
Yet there is little love lost between the Myanmar businessmen, farmers, and massage girls who flock to booming China and their host nation. Many harbor a burning resentment not necessarily of their own government, but of the Chinese.
"There are so many Chinese in Mandalay, at least half the population now," said Myanmar jade trader Ye Kaw, speaking in the flawless Mandarin he has picked up after many years living in Ruili, China’s main trading post with its southern neighbor.
"We hate them," he added, when asked how residents of his home town look upon the Chinese migrants, looking fearfully around to see if any of his customers had heard him. "But we have to come here. There is no future for me at home."
Ruili -- its name comes from a word in the local Dai language meaning "a jade green place enshrouded in mist" -- is home to a large population from Myanmar, some legal, and others sneaking across a porous border to sell vegetables, trinkets, or sex.
Sitting on the far southwestern tip of Yunnan province, Ruili was once notorious in China for its gambling, prostitution, smuggling, drugs, and general lawlessness during the 1990s when border trade really began taking off.
While those heady days may be behind the city, there is little doubt at the sway Myanmar continues to hold over Ruili.
Ruili’s residents have become rich on trade with Myanmar, mainly in raw materials such as timber and jade, which once sculpted and polished into intricate and immaculate designs of Buddha or Chinese gods can go for thousands of dollars.
This has not, however, engendered much goodwill toward the government of Myanmar.
"We all know how bad the government there is," said Chinese businessman Li Hai. "It’s poor and horribly corrupt. If I were from Myanmar, I’d want to come to China too."
In Myanmar, there has been growing alarm among some people at the illegal mass entry of Chinese into their country.
Myanmar has seen its economy lag far behind China’s, thanks to almost five decades of inept military rule and international isolation.
The United Nations ranked Myanmar 138 out of 166 countries in its 2009 Human Development Report. China, by contrast, is now on track to surpass Japan as the world’s second-largest economy.
The flow of people goes both ways. Zaw Mein, an ethnic Rohingya and Muslim from the southeastern Myanmar coastal state of Arakan, has little time for the politics of his sometimes chaotic homeland. He just wants to earn enough for his family back in Myanmar.
"What choice do we have but to come to China to work?" he said, standing in Ruili’s sprawling jade market. "China gives us visas easily. Not many other countries will."
Ask him about Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained Myanmar democracy leader and Nobel laureate, and his face lights up, as do those of his friends clustering around.
"Everyone wants to vote for her," he said, referring to an election slated for sometime this year, one condemned by rights groups, the United States and the European Union, as a sham.
"We know people won’t be allowed to vote for her, so what’s the point? The military will still stay in charge no matter what, and I’ll stay in China."
Commentary -- By Ben Blanchard
BusinessWorld Online - A reluctant refuge for Myanmar folk
RUILI, China, Jan 28 -- Ask residents of the dusty Chinese border town of Ruili what they think of their neighbor and supposed friend Myanmar (Burma) and one word features prominently -- "luan," or chaotic.
Ask the Myanmar traders, in their sarong-like longyis and cheap plastic sandals, what they think of China and their answer is completely the opposite -- stable, giving them a chance to escape the poverty and mismanagement of their ruling generals.
Yet there is little love lost between the Myanmar businessmen, farmers, and massage girls who flock to booming China and their host nation. Many harbor a burning resentment not necessarily of their own government, but of the Chinese.
"There are so many Chinese in Mandalay, at least half the population now," said Myanmar jade trader Ye Kaw, speaking in the flawless Mandarin he has picked up after many years living in Ruili, China’s main trading post with its southern neighbor.
"We hate them," he added, when asked how residents of his home town look upon the Chinese migrants, looking fearfully around to see if any of his customers had heard him. "But we have to come here. There is no future for me at home."
Ruili -- its name comes from a word in the local Dai language meaning "a jade green place enshrouded in mist" -- is home to a large population from Myanmar, some legal, and others sneaking across a porous border to sell vegetables, trinkets, or sex.
Sitting on the far southwestern tip of Yunnan province, Ruili was once notorious in China for its gambling, prostitution, smuggling, drugs, and general lawlessness during the 1990s when border trade really began taking off.
While those heady days may be behind the city, there is little doubt at the sway Myanmar continues to hold over Ruili.
Ruili’s residents have become rich on trade with Myanmar, mainly in raw materials such as timber and jade, which once sculpted and polished into intricate and immaculate designs of Buddha or Chinese gods can go for thousands of dollars.
This has not, however, engendered much goodwill toward the government of Myanmar.
"We all know how bad the government there is," said Chinese businessman Li Hai. "It’s poor and horribly corrupt. If I were from Myanmar, I’d want to come to China too."
In Myanmar, there has been growing alarm among some people at the illegal mass entry of Chinese into their country.
Myanmar has seen its economy lag far behind China’s, thanks to almost five decades of inept military rule and international isolation.
The United Nations ranked Myanmar 138 out of 166 countries in its 2009 Human Development Report. China, by contrast, is now on track to surpass Japan as the world’s second-largest economy.
The flow of people goes both ways. Zaw Mein, an ethnic Rohingya and Muslim from the southeastern Myanmar coastal state of Arakan, has little time for the politics of his sometimes chaotic homeland. He just wants to earn enough for his family back in Myanmar.
"What choice do we have but to come to China to work?" he said, standing in Ruili’s sprawling jade market. "China gives us visas easily. Not many other countries will."
Ask him about Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained Myanmar democracy leader and Nobel laureate, and his face lights up, as do those of his friends clustering around.
"Everyone wants to vote for her," he said, referring to an election slated for sometime this year, one condemned by rights groups, the United States and the European Union, as a sham.
"We know people won’t be allowed to vote for her, so what’s the point? The military will still stay in charge no matter what, and I’ll stay in China."
***********************************************************
TMCnet - EU to provide aid to Myanmar for environmental conservation projects
YANGON, Feb 02, 2010 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The European Union (EU) will provide 4 million U.S. dollars' aid to Myanmar for environmental conservation and vocational resettlement projects in cyclone-hard- hit region, sources with the Myanmar Forest Resources Environmental Development Association (FREDA) said on Tuesday.
The project include mangrove and cyclone-resist plant cultivation as well as construction of cyclone shelters in the Ayeyawaddy division.
The project, covering Bogalay, Phyapon, Daydaye and Laputta townships in the division, will be jointly implemented by the FREDA and non-governmental organizations from French and Italy, the sources said.
Meanwhile, it was reported that EU and other international donors had earlier provided 100 million dollars' cash aid to Myanmar for carrying out vocational training and food security projects across the country.
The cash aid was for one-year rehabilitation and resettlement project in cyclone-hit regions extended by Myanmar Non- Governmental Organizations Network (MNN) and other international NGOs as the first phase and then be used in development work in Rakhine, Chin, Shan and Kachin states and other dry zones in the country.
EU has been providing aid to Myanmar since cyclone Nargis struck the country which received 54.5 million dollars of aid in 2008 for running humanitarian and food programs in cyclone-hit areas.
YANGON, Feb 02, 2010 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The European Union (EU) will provide 4 million U.S. dollars' aid to Myanmar for environmental conservation and vocational resettlement projects in cyclone-hard- hit region, sources with the Myanmar Forest Resources Environmental Development Association (FREDA) said on Tuesday.
The project include mangrove and cyclone-resist plant cultivation as well as construction of cyclone shelters in the Ayeyawaddy division.
The project, covering Bogalay, Phyapon, Daydaye and Laputta townships in the division, will be jointly implemented by the FREDA and non-governmental organizations from French and Italy, the sources said.
Meanwhile, it was reported that EU and other international donors had earlier provided 100 million dollars' cash aid to Myanmar for carrying out vocational training and food security projects across the country.
The cash aid was for one-year rehabilitation and resettlement project in cyclone-hit regions extended by Myanmar Non- Governmental Organizations Network (MNN) and other international NGOs as the first phase and then be used in development work in Rakhine, Chin, Shan and Kachin states and other dry zones in the country.
EU has been providing aid to Myanmar since cyclone Nargis struck the country which received 54.5 million dollars of aid in 2008 for running humanitarian and food programs in cyclone-hit areas.
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First national expo 2010 to be held in Myanmar's new capital
English.news.cn 2010-02-02 13:22:55
YANGON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The first National Expo 2010 will be held in Myanmar's new capital of Nay Pyi Taw later this month with the aim of boosting domestic trade in the northern region of the country, the organizer said on Tuesday.
The exposition, which is to take place at the Hyper Mart, the biggest super market in Nay Pyi Taw, is organized by the Spring Technologies and Systems and the expo will run from Feb. 27 to March 3, the sources said.
Items to be displayed in the grandest ever exposition in Nay Pyi Taw include food, clothings, medicine and pharmaceuticals, household utensils and decoration, electronic goods, agricultural and fishery, computer, phone, technological devices, cosmetics, kitchen wares, Myanmar-made cars and motorcycles, it said.
The organizer predicts that the expo will attract over 15,000 visitors daily.
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.
English.news.cn 2010-02-02 13:22:55
YANGON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The first National Expo 2010 will be held in Myanmar's new capital of Nay Pyi Taw later this month with the aim of boosting domestic trade in the northern region of the country, the organizer said on Tuesday.
The exposition, which is to take place at the Hyper Mart, the biggest super market in Nay Pyi Taw, is organized by the Spring Technologies and Systems and the expo will run from Feb. 27 to March 3, the sources said.
Items to be displayed in the grandest ever exposition in Nay Pyi Taw include food, clothings, medicine and pharmaceuticals, household utensils and decoration, electronic goods, agricultural and fishery, computer, phone, technological devices, cosmetics, kitchen wares, Myanmar-made cars and motorcycles, it said.
The organizer predicts that the expo will attract over 15,000 visitors daily.
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.
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S. Korea Seeks Investment in Myanmar Fishery Sector
2010-02-02 20:37:31 Xinhua Web Editor: Hu Weiwei
A South Korean company based in Seoul is seeking investment in Myanmar's fishery sector, planning to set up a joint venture company with local fishery entrepreneurs, sources with the Myanmar Fishery Department said on Tuesday.
The International Commercial Corporation of S. Korea, which is a major buyer of Myanmar's agricultural produces and fishery products, has proposed to import fresh-water fish and live long- finned eel (Nga Lin Ban) from Myanmar.
Myanmar's marine export to S. Korea was negligible in the past with prawn only, the sources said.
With a total of 131 fishery industries operating, Myanmar is exporting marine products to 33 countries and regions.
According to the official statistics, Myanmar-S. Korea bilateral trade amounted to 252 million U.S. dollars in the fiscal year of 2008-09, in which Myanmar's export to Korea took 63.7 million dollars and its import from the East Asian country stood 188.48 million dollars.
Myanmar mainly exports agricultural produces, marine and forest products, and garments to Korea, while importing from it steel, garment, electrical and electronic goods.
Meanwhile, Myanmar targets to earn 700 million dollars' marine export in the present fiscal year of 2009-10 ending in March, of which 330 million dollars worth of export have been strived as of December last year.
China topped Myanmar's marine export country line-up, followed by Thailand, Japan and Singapore and other marine products exporting countries also include Middle East countries, South Korea, Japan, Argentina.
The country's fishery sector remained as the fourth largest contributor to the gross domestic product and also the fourth largest source of foreign exchange earning during the past five years.
With a long coastline of over 2,800 km and a total area of 500, 000 hectares of swamps along the coast, the country has an estimated sustainable yield of marine products at over one million tons a year.
2010-02-02 20:37:31 Xinhua Web Editor: Hu Weiwei
A South Korean company based in Seoul is seeking investment in Myanmar's fishery sector, planning to set up a joint venture company with local fishery entrepreneurs, sources with the Myanmar Fishery Department said on Tuesday.
The International Commercial Corporation of S. Korea, which is a major buyer of Myanmar's agricultural produces and fishery products, has proposed to import fresh-water fish and live long- finned eel (Nga Lin Ban) from Myanmar.
Myanmar's marine export to S. Korea was negligible in the past with prawn only, the sources said.
With a total of 131 fishery industries operating, Myanmar is exporting marine products to 33 countries and regions.
According to the official statistics, Myanmar-S. Korea bilateral trade amounted to 252 million U.S. dollars in the fiscal year of 2008-09, in which Myanmar's export to Korea took 63.7 million dollars and its import from the East Asian country stood 188.48 million dollars.
Myanmar mainly exports agricultural produces, marine and forest products, and garments to Korea, while importing from it steel, garment, electrical and electronic goods.
Meanwhile, Myanmar targets to earn 700 million dollars' marine export in the present fiscal year of 2009-10 ending in March, of which 330 million dollars worth of export have been strived as of December last year.
China topped Myanmar's marine export country line-up, followed by Thailand, Japan and Singapore and other marine products exporting countries also include Middle East countries, South Korea, Japan, Argentina.
The country's fishery sector remained as the fourth largest contributor to the gross domestic product and also the fourth largest source of foreign exchange earning during the past five years.
With a long coastline of over 2,800 km and a total area of 500, 000 hectares of swamps along the coast, the country has an estimated sustainable yield of marine products at over one million tons a year.
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The Electric Newspaper - He stabs cop after 'hearing' woman's voice
Cook has mental illness and thought imaginary girlfriend was in trouble
By Amanda Yong
February 02, 2010
A Myanmar national was jailed seven months last week for voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon.
Chan Mye Win, 30, "heard" a woman's voice calling from help from within a cupboard his neighbours were carrying in the corridor on 15 Nov last year.
The cook, who is single, strongly believed that he had a girlfriend and that the voice belonged to her.
He brandished a 30cm-long vegetable knife at them when they ignored his calls to "free my girlfriend", and also at his flat mates.
He stopped threatening his neighbours when the voice stopped, but charged at shield-wielding police officers who arrived about half an hour later.
Chan thrust his weapon at one of the officers, but the policeman used his shield to deflect the knife, which then hit the wall and broke.
During the brief struggle, Chan stabbed one of the officers with the broken blade.
The officer suffered a superficial cut on his left arm and a laceration on his left wrist.
For voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon, Chan could have been jailed seven years and caned.
By Amanda Yong
February 02, 2010
A Myanmar national was jailed seven months last week for voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon.
Chan Mye Win, 30, "heard" a woman's voice calling from help from within a cupboard his neighbours were carrying in the corridor on 15 Nov last year.
The cook, who is single, strongly believed that he had a girlfriend and that the voice belonged to her.
He brandished a 30cm-long vegetable knife at them when they ignored his calls to "free my girlfriend", and also at his flat mates.
He stopped threatening his neighbours when the voice stopped, but charged at shield-wielding police officers who arrived about half an hour later.
Chan thrust his weapon at one of the officers, but the policeman used his shield to deflect the knife, which then hit the wall and broke.
During the brief struggle, Chan stabbed one of the officers with the broken blade.
The officer suffered a superficial cut on his left arm and a laceration on his left wrist.
For voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon, Chan could have been jailed seven years and caned.
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FOX 12 Oregon - Thief Puts Damper On Couple's Ore. Honeymoon
POSTED: 8:09 am PST February 2, 2010
CLACKAMAS, Ore. -- Clackamas County deputies are seeking a thief who ruined a couple's Oregon honeymoon one day after their wedding in Portland.
Wesley and Hnin Tennyson, who live in Oklahoma, stopped their car at the Carver Boat Ramp in Clackamas to take a look at the landscape on New Year's Day.
"We were by the water, taking pictures of the bridge and the foliage on the other side," Tennyson said. "We weren't very far from the car at all."
After being away from their car for 15 minutes, the couple returned to find one of their rear windows smashed and two bags missing.
"Anyone looking at that car would know these people have just been married. And they decided to steal from us," Wesley Tennyson said. "I can't understand that."
The couple had passports and credit cards inside the bags. Before moving to the United States one month ago, Hnin Tennyson lived in Myanmar. Her visa and other important paperwork were stolen in the theft.
"She came here on a fiancée visa and we're waiting for the documents to be proven and everything. She has no ID," Wesley Tennyson said.
In less than 30 minutes, the thief spent $1,800 on the couple's credit cards at a Target store and Starbucks.
The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office released surveillance video of a man wanted in the theft. Tennyson hopes a tip from the public can lead to the return of the couple's belongings.
"This has been very difficult for us," Tennyson said. "Very traumatic. She has reacted as if we've been brutally attacked."
The couple believes an older, dark-paneled van being operated by an older man may be linked to the crime. The van had the words Security System displayed on its side.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.
POSTED: 8:09 am PST February 2, 2010
CLACKAMAS, Ore. -- Clackamas County deputies are seeking a thief who ruined a couple's Oregon honeymoon one day after their wedding in Portland.
Wesley and Hnin Tennyson, who live in Oklahoma, stopped their car at the Carver Boat Ramp in Clackamas to take a look at the landscape on New Year's Day.
"We were by the water, taking pictures of the bridge and the foliage on the other side," Tennyson said. "We weren't very far from the car at all."
After being away from their car for 15 minutes, the couple returned to find one of their rear windows smashed and two bags missing.
"Anyone looking at that car would know these people have just been married. And they decided to steal from us," Wesley Tennyson said. "I can't understand that."
The couple had passports and credit cards inside the bags. Before moving to the United States one month ago, Hnin Tennyson lived in Myanmar. Her visa and other important paperwork were stolen in the theft.
"She came here on a fiancée visa and we're waiting for the documents to be proven and everything. She has no ID," Wesley Tennyson said.
In less than 30 minutes, the thief spent $1,800 on the couple's credit cards at a Target store and Starbucks.
The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office released surveillance video of a man wanted in the theft. Tennyson hopes a tip from the public can lead to the return of the couple's belongings.
"This has been very difficult for us," Tennyson said. "Very traumatic. She has reacted as if we've been brutally attacked."
The couple believes an older, dark-paneled van being operated by an older man may be linked to the crime. The van had the words Security System displayed on its side.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.
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Bangkok Post - Phop Phra police linked to killings
Published: 2/02/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
TAK : Officers from the Phop Phra police station have emerged as suspects in the killing of at least nine Karen workers from Burma whose bodies have been found in the past week.
The bodies were found in two different locations in two districts of northern Tak province.
The first four bodies were found last Wednesday. Two - a male and a female - were discovered in a cane field in Phop Phra district. Two others - a male and a female - were found in Mae Sot district. Two more female bodies were found on Sunday in a roadside grave in Phop Phra, and three more - two female and a male - were found yesterday by the roadside in Phop Phra.
Autopsy results show all nine were shot with a .22-calibre gun.
A source said officers at the Phop Phra district police station were suspected of involvement in the killings.
Police said 13 illegal migrant workers from Burma and their traffickers were arrested in tambon Khiri Rat in Phop Phra some time last month.
They tried to bribe police officers to stay in the country, but the officers killed them, the source said.
Relatives of the slain workers who travelled from Bangkok to identify the bodies in Tak said most of the dead came from Kayin state in Burma, across the border from Tak.
One worker questioned by police said he witnessed the killings and saw police officers leave the workers alone before a group of gunmen in plain clothes emerged and executed the workers.
The witness could not be sure whether the killers were police officers.
Pol Col Panya Suk-aim, head of Phop Phra police station, has reportedly ordered all officers at the station to file reports on their activities from Jan 23 to 28, including whether they fired their weapons. He also ordered a search of officers' vehicles, as authorities continue to look for more bodies.
Published: 2/02/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
TAK : Officers from the Phop Phra police station have emerged as suspects in the killing of at least nine Karen workers from Burma whose bodies have been found in the past week.
The bodies were found in two different locations in two districts of northern Tak province.
The first four bodies were found last Wednesday. Two - a male and a female - were discovered in a cane field in Phop Phra district. Two others - a male and a female - were found in Mae Sot district. Two more female bodies were found on Sunday in a roadside grave in Phop Phra, and three more - two female and a male - were found yesterday by the roadside in Phop Phra.
Autopsy results show all nine were shot with a .22-calibre gun.
A source said officers at the Phop Phra district police station were suspected of involvement in the killings.
Police said 13 illegal migrant workers from Burma and their traffickers were arrested in tambon Khiri Rat in Phop Phra some time last month.
They tried to bribe police officers to stay in the country, but the officers killed them, the source said.
Relatives of the slain workers who travelled from Bangkok to identify the bodies in Tak said most of the dead came from Kayin state in Burma, across the border from Tak.
One worker questioned by police said he witnessed the killings and saw police officers leave the workers alone before a group of gunmen in plain clothes emerged and executed the workers.
The witness could not be sure whether the killers were police officers.
Pol Col Panya Suk-aim, head of Phop Phra police station, has reportedly ordered all officers at the station to file reports on their activities from Jan 23 to 28, including whether they fired their weapons. He also ordered a search of officers' vehicles, as authorities continue to look for more bodies.
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February 3, 2010 : Last updated 06:19 pm
The Nation - Government must halt repatriation of refugees from Burma: relief organisation
The Karen Women Organisation issued a press release Tuesday demanding the government not to forcibly repatriate more than 3,000 Karen refugees, the majority being women and children, who are currently living in Tha Song Yang district, in Tak province.
According to the organisation, The Karen refugees fled from fighting in the Ler Per Her area, located in Burma's Karen State, last june.
The refugees were granted temporary refuge in different locations in Tak province, but the Thai Army has repeatedly pressured the refugees to return home, telling them they needed to return to Burma before February 15th. It was not clear as to why the military pegged the return date to mid-February.
The Nation - Government must halt repatriation of refugees from Burma: relief organisation
The Karen Women Organisation issued a press release Tuesday demanding the government not to forcibly repatriate more than 3,000 Karen refugees, the majority being women and children, who are currently living in Tha Song Yang district, in Tak province.
According to the organisation, The Karen refugees fled from fighting in the Ler Per Her area, located in Burma's Karen State, last june.
The refugees were granted temporary refuge in different locations in Tak province, but the Thai Army has repeatedly pressured the refugees to return home, telling them they needed to return to Burma before February 15th. It was not clear as to why the military pegged the return date to mid-February.
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Narinjara News - Burma Rice Exports to Bangladesh Increase Within Days
2/2/2010
By Takaloo, Teknaf: The export of Burmese rice to Bangladesh has been increasing in the past few days as it garners fair prices and high demand in Bangladesh markets, said a Burmese border trader.
"Rice exports from Burma were halted some months ago, due to falling demand in Bangladeshi border markets. With regaining prices, Burmese rice is coming here again in mass shipments within days," he told Narinjara on condition of anonymity.
One sack of Burmese rice, or 50 kilograms, is currently priced from 1,400 to 1,500 taka in Bangladesh markets.
Since 26 January, nearly 700 metric tons of Burmese rice has been exported to Bangladesh through theTeknaf land port on the border, said the source.
According to border business sources, the rice being exported to Bangladesh is produced Irrawaddy, Taninthari, and Arakan State. Htoo Company and Arakan Border Trading Group, locally known as Na-Ka-Tha, play primary roles in cross-border rice exports.
While the big companies involved with top-brass officers of the Burmese regime are freely enjoying oversea trading of rice on a large scale, the transportation or trading of rice and paddy from one village to another across Arakan State has been banned by the local authorities, according to an Arakanese farmer from Maungdaw, a town on western Burmese border.
The currency exchange rate in the border market today is 1.00 Bangladeshi Taka to 14.30 Burmese Kyat.
2/2/2010
By Takaloo, Teknaf: The export of Burmese rice to Bangladesh has been increasing in the past few days as it garners fair prices and high demand in Bangladesh markets, said a Burmese border trader.
"Rice exports from Burma were halted some months ago, due to falling demand in Bangladeshi border markets. With regaining prices, Burmese rice is coming here again in mass shipments within days," he told Narinjara on condition of anonymity.
One sack of Burmese rice, or 50 kilograms, is currently priced from 1,400 to 1,500 taka in Bangladesh markets.
Since 26 January, nearly 700 metric tons of Burmese rice has been exported to Bangladesh through theTeknaf land port on the border, said the source.
According to border business sources, the rice being exported to Bangladesh is produced Irrawaddy, Taninthari, and Arakan State. Htoo Company and Arakan Border Trading Group, locally known as Na-Ka-Tha, play primary roles in cross-border rice exports.
While the big companies involved with top-brass officers of the Burmese regime are freely enjoying oversea trading of rice on a large scale, the transportation or trading of rice and paddy from one village to another across Arakan State has been banned by the local authorities, according to an Arakanese farmer from Maungdaw, a town on western Burmese border.
The currency exchange rate in the border market today is 1.00 Bangladeshi Taka to 14.30 Burmese Kyat.
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ADB has no new lending plan for Burma
Tuesday, 02 February 2010 22:49 Mungpi
New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Asian Development Bank has no immediate plans to provide fresh assistance to Burma, even as media reports suggest that the World Bank is considering the idea of providing assistance to the military-ruled country.
ADB, in an email message to Mizzima on Tuesday, said it along with the World Bank has joined the annual International Monetary Fund (IMF) Article IV missions to Burma, including the most recent IMF mission in late 2009.
Though ADB had joined the IMF’s missions, which are conducted for analytical reports on development issues in Burma, it said, “ADB has no plans to provide new assistance to Myanmar [Burma],” but will continue to monitor and analyse the economic situation in Burma and encourage the government to undertake reforms needed to reduce poverty and uplift the living standards of the people.
The ADB stopped providing direct assistance to Burma since 1987 but it continues to monitor economic developments and maintain close coordination with other International Financial Institutes (IFIs) such as the World Bank, and the IMF.
While the World Bank had also stopped providing new lending to Burma since 1987, as the country failed to repay arrears, the Financial Times on Thursday reported that it is thinking of providing assistance to Burma.
James Adams, the World Bank’s Vice-President for East Asia and the Pacific, was reported telling the FT that officials from the bank and the ADB had recently travelled to Burma to look at “possible future analytical work that could have a positive development impact for the people”.
But any cooperation with Burma would be limited and the plan would be for World Bank specialists to proceed to Burma to provide technical assistance on projects.
“The World Bank has not provided financing to the government of Myanmar [Burma] since 1987 and we have made it clear to the government, shareholders and development partners that we have no intention of doing so under current circumstances,” Adams was quoted as saying.
But with Burma still owing US $300 million to the international financial institution, Adams said the World Bank would not lend until the arrears are cleared.
Economics Professor Sean Turnell at Sydney’s Macquarie University in Australia, who has been following Burma’s economic situation, earlier told Mizzima that the Burmese economy has been dragged to abysmal depths by the ruling junta’s mismanagement.
Burma, once known as the ‘Rice Bowl’ of Southeast Asia, since 1962, when dictator General Newin assumed power in a military coup, has been facing economic deterioration forcing the United Nations to categorize it among the Least Developed Countries (LDC).
Tuesday, 02 February 2010 22:49 Mungpi
New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Asian Development Bank has no immediate plans to provide fresh assistance to Burma, even as media reports suggest that the World Bank is considering the idea of providing assistance to the military-ruled country.
ADB, in an email message to Mizzima on Tuesday, said it along with the World Bank has joined the annual International Monetary Fund (IMF) Article IV missions to Burma, including the most recent IMF mission in late 2009.
Though ADB had joined the IMF’s missions, which are conducted for analytical reports on development issues in Burma, it said, “ADB has no plans to provide new assistance to Myanmar [Burma],” but will continue to monitor and analyse the economic situation in Burma and encourage the government to undertake reforms needed to reduce poverty and uplift the living standards of the people.
The ADB stopped providing direct assistance to Burma since 1987 but it continues to monitor economic developments and maintain close coordination with other International Financial Institutes (IFIs) such as the World Bank, and the IMF.
While the World Bank had also stopped providing new lending to Burma since 1987, as the country failed to repay arrears, the Financial Times on Thursday reported that it is thinking of providing assistance to Burma.
James Adams, the World Bank’s Vice-President for East Asia and the Pacific, was reported telling the FT that officials from the bank and the ADB had recently travelled to Burma to look at “possible future analytical work that could have a positive development impact for the people”.
But any cooperation with Burma would be limited and the plan would be for World Bank specialists to proceed to Burma to provide technical assistance on projects.
“The World Bank has not provided financing to the government of Myanmar [Burma] since 1987 and we have made it clear to the government, shareholders and development partners that we have no intention of doing so under current circumstances,” Adams was quoted as saying.
But with Burma still owing US $300 million to the international financial institution, Adams said the World Bank would not lend until the arrears are cleared.
Economics Professor Sean Turnell at Sydney’s Macquarie University in Australia, who has been following Burma’s economic situation, earlier told Mizzima that the Burmese economy has been dragged to abysmal depths by the ruling junta’s mismanagement.
Burma, once known as the ‘Rice Bowl’ of Southeast Asia, since 1962, when dictator General Newin assumed power in a military coup, has been facing economic deterioration forcing the United Nations to categorize it among the Least Developed Countries (LDC).
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Four women activists awaits court verdict
Tuesday, 02 February 2010 22:45 Myint Maung
New Delhi (Mizzima) – District Court in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison has set February 15 for pronouncing the verdict of four women activists including popular activist Naw Ohn Hla, who are supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The East District Court on Monday announced that it would pronounce the verdict on February 15, after the court had conducted the proceedings for the past four months against the activists.
“We submitted our final arguments. And the court fixed February 15 for pronouncing the verdict,” a defence counsel Kyaw Hoe told Mizzima.
The activists – Naw Ohn Hla, Myint Myint San, Cho Cho Lwin and Ma Cho – were arrested while returning from offering alms to monks in a local monastery and for regularly praying for the release of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Rangoon Division Police Special Branch (SB) charged the four of instigating public unrest, under section 505(b) of the Penal Code. They were accused of offering 42 leaflets of the ‘Kamwa’ Buddhist scriptures to abbot U Pamaukha from Magwe Priyatti teaching monastery of Rangoon’s suburban Dagon Township.
“We argued that there are no sufficient evidences against the accused. The prosecutor was not able to present the Buddhist scriptures in court. And neither could they produce the abbot, who was said to have received the scripture, as the prosecution witness. So we argued that the case did not have enough evidences as there are no eye witnesses and no sound and valid evidence against them,” lawyer Kyaw Hoe said.
“We pleaded for their acquittal,” he added.
Kyaw Hoe said, the public prosecutor made no arguments in court but said he would present a written argument later.
“The prosecution has to defend the legal points raised by the defence. But he did not give any counter arguments,” lawyer Kyaw Hoe said.
Naw Ohn Hla, a popular activist have been leading prayer services held at Shwedagon pagoda on Tuesdays, for the release of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from her house arrest.
The police arrested her and her three colleagues on October 3 last year, while returning from offering alms at the Magwe priyatti teaching monastery in Dagon Township.
Meanwhile, another five activists were given up to nine years of prison terms by the court last month.
Deputy Abbot U Wayama from Shwezedi monastery in Yenanchaung Town of Magwe Division, U Yeweta from Pali University West Ngwe Taung in Chauk Town, U Withuddha from West monastery of Pakokku Sasana Wipulla Yama, layman Ye Myint and Kyaw Khin from Mandalay and Pegu were given varying prison terms ranging between six to nine years under charges of illegal Associations Acts, Immigration Acts, illegally possessing foreign currency and inciting public unrest.
The five of them were among the eight activists arrested from five townships across the country in August and early September 2009. Reportedly the defendants were sentenced in a trial without a defence counsel to defend them.
The three other activists - Ko Nyo, Thanda Tun and abbot U Gaw Thita – are also charged under Associations Act and Immigration Act and illegally possessing foreign currency. The three are currently facing trial and the court is set to re-examine the recalled witnesses, defence lawyers Kyaw Htay and Kyaw Hoe said.
Tuesday, 02 February 2010 22:45 Myint Maung
New Delhi (Mizzima) – District Court in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison has set February 15 for pronouncing the verdict of four women activists including popular activist Naw Ohn Hla, who are supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The East District Court on Monday announced that it would pronounce the verdict on February 15, after the court had conducted the proceedings for the past four months against the activists.
“We submitted our final arguments. And the court fixed February 15 for pronouncing the verdict,” a defence counsel Kyaw Hoe told Mizzima.
The activists – Naw Ohn Hla, Myint Myint San, Cho Cho Lwin and Ma Cho – were arrested while returning from offering alms to monks in a local monastery and for regularly praying for the release of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Rangoon Division Police Special Branch (SB) charged the four of instigating public unrest, under section 505(b) of the Penal Code. They were accused of offering 42 leaflets of the ‘Kamwa’ Buddhist scriptures to abbot U Pamaukha from Magwe Priyatti teaching monastery of Rangoon’s suburban Dagon Township.
“We argued that there are no sufficient evidences against the accused. The prosecutor was not able to present the Buddhist scriptures in court. And neither could they produce the abbot, who was said to have received the scripture, as the prosecution witness. So we argued that the case did not have enough evidences as there are no eye witnesses and no sound and valid evidence against them,” lawyer Kyaw Hoe said.
“We pleaded for their acquittal,” he added.
Kyaw Hoe said, the public prosecutor made no arguments in court but said he would present a written argument later.
“The prosecution has to defend the legal points raised by the defence. But he did not give any counter arguments,” lawyer Kyaw Hoe said.
Naw Ohn Hla, a popular activist have been leading prayer services held at Shwedagon pagoda on Tuesdays, for the release of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from her house arrest.
The police arrested her and her three colleagues on October 3 last year, while returning from offering alms at the Magwe priyatti teaching monastery in Dagon Township.
Meanwhile, another five activists were given up to nine years of prison terms by the court last month.
Deputy Abbot U Wayama from Shwezedi monastery in Yenanchaung Town of Magwe Division, U Yeweta from Pali University West Ngwe Taung in Chauk Town, U Withuddha from West monastery of Pakokku Sasana Wipulla Yama, layman Ye Myint and Kyaw Khin from Mandalay and Pegu were given varying prison terms ranging between six to nine years under charges of illegal Associations Acts, Immigration Acts, illegally possessing foreign currency and inciting public unrest.
The five of them were among the eight activists arrested from five townships across the country in August and early September 2009. Reportedly the defendants were sentenced in a trial without a defence counsel to defend them.
The three other activists - Ko Nyo, Thanda Tun and abbot U Gaw Thita – are also charged under Associations Act and Immigration Act and illegally possessing foreign currency. The three are currently facing trial and the court is set to re-examine the recalled witnesses, defence lawyers Kyaw Htay and Kyaw Hoe said.
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The Irrawaddy - Election Announcement in February?
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN - Tuesday, February 2, 2010
BANGKOK — According to sources in the Burmese military, junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe will announce the election timetable and law by the end of February.
The sources, who cannot be named due to the sensitivity of the information discussed, say that the army is recruiting candidates from outside its own ranks to compete in military-backed parties during the election, targeting businesspeople and community figures such as teachers in townships and villages across the country.
Prominent candidates are likely to include leaders of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), a “civil society organization” supported by the junta. The USDA has an estimated membership of 20 million people, many of whom have been forcibly recruited.
Recently, Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported that the elections will run in October, but this cannot be confirmed yet. Burma watchers speculate that the junta will hold the polls on Oct. 10—the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10th year—because it is thought to be auspicious for senior regime figures, who are said to be firm believers in numerology.
An announcement by Than Shwe at the end of February would give parties some time to organize in advance of an October election, if that rumored date turns out to be true. However, some analysts have speculated that the election date and electoral law promulgation would be done at short notice prior to the actual polling date, to give the junta party vehicles a head start over the rest of the field.
Giving his Independence Day address on Jan. 4, Than Shwe stated that the election would take place sometime in 2010—and in a “systematic way”—before he went on to tell the Burmese people to make what he termed the right choice.
“Plans are under way to hold elections in a systematic way this year. In that regard, the entire people have to make correct choices,” he said.
The extent of the choice available to the Burmese people has yet to be confirmed, however. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from competing due to her marriage to a British academic.
Her presence on the campaign trail could galvanize her party and Burmese voters. However, she remains under house arrest and it seems unlikely that she will be released prior to the election, despite calls from the US, UN and Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Recently, junta Home Affairs Minister Maj-Gen Maung Oo told local officials in Kyaukpadaung Township that Suu Kyi will be released in November of this year.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) has not said if it will compete in the election. The current NLD position is based on Shwegondaing Declaration, which calls for reviewing and amending the 2008 Constitution, releasing all political prisoners, recognizing the 1990 election results and calls on the junta to talk to the opposition.
The US has called for a national dialogue involving the regime, the NLD and other opposition parties, and ethnic minority groups before the election takes place, but has not urged the junta to review the Constitution, which will facilitate continued military rule.
Others have called for the junta to allow Suu Kyi and senior NLD officials to meet to discuss the election and party policy. However, none of this has happened yet.
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN - Tuesday, February 2, 2010
BANGKOK — According to sources in the Burmese military, junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe will announce the election timetable and law by the end of February.
The sources, who cannot be named due to the sensitivity of the information discussed, say that the army is recruiting candidates from outside its own ranks to compete in military-backed parties during the election, targeting businesspeople and community figures such as teachers in townships and villages across the country.
Prominent candidates are likely to include leaders of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), a “civil society organization” supported by the junta. The USDA has an estimated membership of 20 million people, many of whom have been forcibly recruited.
Recently, Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported that the elections will run in October, but this cannot be confirmed yet. Burma watchers speculate that the junta will hold the polls on Oct. 10—the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10th year—because it is thought to be auspicious for senior regime figures, who are said to be firm believers in numerology.
An announcement by Than Shwe at the end of February would give parties some time to organize in advance of an October election, if that rumored date turns out to be true. However, some analysts have speculated that the election date and electoral law promulgation would be done at short notice prior to the actual polling date, to give the junta party vehicles a head start over the rest of the field.
Giving his Independence Day address on Jan. 4, Than Shwe stated that the election would take place sometime in 2010—and in a “systematic way”—before he went on to tell the Burmese people to make what he termed the right choice.
“Plans are under way to hold elections in a systematic way this year. In that regard, the entire people have to make correct choices,” he said.
The extent of the choice available to the Burmese people has yet to be confirmed, however. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from competing due to her marriage to a British academic.
Her presence on the campaign trail could galvanize her party and Burmese voters. However, she remains under house arrest and it seems unlikely that she will be released prior to the election, despite calls from the US, UN and Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Recently, junta Home Affairs Minister Maj-Gen Maung Oo told local officials in Kyaukpadaung Township that Suu Kyi will be released in November of this year.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) has not said if it will compete in the election. The current NLD position is based on Shwegondaing Declaration, which calls for reviewing and amending the 2008 Constitution, releasing all political prisoners, recognizing the 1990 election results and calls on the junta to talk to the opposition.
The US has called for a national dialogue involving the regime, the NLD and other opposition parties, and ethnic minority groups before the election takes place, but has not urged the junta to review the Constitution, which will facilitate continued military rule.
Others have called for the junta to allow Suu Kyi and senior NLD officials to meet to discuss the election and party policy. However, none of this has happened yet.
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The Irrawaddy - Karens Unhappy About Repatriation
By SAW YAN NAING - Tuesday, February 2, 2010
More than 3,000 Karen refugees staying in Tha Song Yang in Thailand's Tak Province must return to their homes across the border in a conflict zone in Burma by Feb 15, said Karen sources.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, one Karen villager in No Bon camp said, “We must go back even though we don't want to.”
Sources in the camp said the refugees were reportedly told by Thai authorities that repatriation will begin on Feb. 5 and that all must have gone back by Feb.15.
Though most refugees do not want to go back across the border into a heavily-mined conflict zone, a few reportedly said they do want to return.
Karen sources on the border who participated at a meeting on refugee repatriation on Jan. 26 said the villagers were told by Thai authorities to tell anyone who asked that they wanted to return to their homes.
A camp leader said, “They [Thai authorities] said the situation is stable and the refugees will be able to live in their homes safely. But, if the situation deteriorates again, we will find a solution at the time.”
The Thailand Burmese Border Consortium (TBBC) will also provide rice, beans, salt and fish paste to the refugees for one month and further aid will follow later, the source said.
Meanwhile, the Karen Women Organization (KWO) is urgently appealing the Thai government not to forcibly repatriate the refugees to their homes because of the land-mines and the possibility that fresh conflict could break out at any time.
On January 28, local Thai authorities forced 50 of the more than 3000 refugees to cross the border and clean up their homes in the village of Ler Per Her in preparation for the refugees' return. The group included 20 women and girls, some under 16 years of age, according to a statement released by the KWO on Tuesday.
The KWO report clearly stated that the area across the border is not safe at all and refugees groups are not willing to return voluntarily at this point in time.
Mines have injured or killed at least five people including a 13-year-old boy and a woman in her third trimester of pregnancy near Ler Per Her since June 2009, according to the Karen Human Rights Group.
The KWO's Joint Secretary, Blooming Night Zan, said, “This evidence of people stepping on landmines is a sure sign that the place is still very dangerous.”
Although the Thai government is not a signatory of the Refugee Convention, Blooming Night Zan said the KWO is very grateful to His Majesty the King of Thailand and the Royal Thai government for a long history of kindness to refugees.
“We now appeal to the Thai authorities to show your humanitarian kindness again,” she said.
The Karen refugees fled from fighting in Karen State, Burma, in June 2009.
By SAW YAN NAING - Tuesday, February 2, 2010
More than 3,000 Karen refugees staying in Tha Song Yang in Thailand's Tak Province must return to their homes across the border in a conflict zone in Burma by Feb 15, said Karen sources.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, one Karen villager in No Bon camp said, “We must go back even though we don't want to.”
Sources in the camp said the refugees were reportedly told by Thai authorities that repatriation will begin on Feb. 5 and that all must have gone back by Feb.15.
Though most refugees do not want to go back across the border into a heavily-mined conflict zone, a few reportedly said they do want to return.
Karen sources on the border who participated at a meeting on refugee repatriation on Jan. 26 said the villagers were told by Thai authorities to tell anyone who asked that they wanted to return to their homes.
A camp leader said, “They [Thai authorities] said the situation is stable and the refugees will be able to live in their homes safely. But, if the situation deteriorates again, we will find a solution at the time.”
The Thailand Burmese Border Consortium (TBBC) will also provide rice, beans, salt and fish paste to the refugees for one month and further aid will follow later, the source said.
Meanwhile, the Karen Women Organization (KWO) is urgently appealing the Thai government not to forcibly repatriate the refugees to their homes because of the land-mines and the possibility that fresh conflict could break out at any time.
On January 28, local Thai authorities forced 50 of the more than 3000 refugees to cross the border and clean up their homes in the village of Ler Per Her in preparation for the refugees' return. The group included 20 women and girls, some under 16 years of age, according to a statement released by the KWO on Tuesday.
The KWO report clearly stated that the area across the border is not safe at all and refugees groups are not willing to return voluntarily at this point in time.
Mines have injured or killed at least five people including a 13-year-old boy and a woman in her third trimester of pregnancy near Ler Per Her since June 2009, according to the Karen Human Rights Group.
The KWO's Joint Secretary, Blooming Night Zan, said, “This evidence of people stepping on landmines is a sure sign that the place is still very dangerous.”
Although the Thai government is not a signatory of the Refugee Convention, Blooming Night Zan said the KWO is very grateful to His Majesty the King of Thailand and the Royal Thai government for a long history of kindness to refugees.
“We now appeal to the Thai authorities to show your humanitarian kindness again,” she said.
The Karen refugees fled from fighting in Karen State, Burma, in June 2009.
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The Irrawaddy - Obama Proposes $36.5 Million To Support Democracy in Burma
By LALIT K. JHA / WASHINGTON - Tuesday, February 2, 2010
US President Barack Obama has earmarked $36.5 million in his 2011 budget to support democracy and humanitarian programs for Burma and along the Thai-Burma border.
The money, earmarked under the US Administration's “Economic Support Fund,” would be used within Burma but also for programs and activities involving Burmese student groups and other unnamed organizations located outside the country.
The proposed budget, covering the year beginning in Oct. 2010, now goes before the US Congress for its approval.
The Administration proposes that in addition to aid for Burmese refugees provided under the heading "Migration and Refugee Assistance,'' $ 4 million shall be made available for community-based organizations operating in Thailand to provide food, medical and other humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons in eastern Burma.
According to the 2011 budgetary proposals, when implementing activities with funds appropriated for assistance for Burma, the implementing agency shall only support activities that are consistent with the principles and goals of the National League for Democracy in Burma.
The budgetary proposals also reiterate that the Obama administration will continue to oppose at any international forums any loans or financial assistance to Burma.
“[The] Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States executive director to each appropriate international financial institution in which the United States participates, to oppose and vote against the extension by such institution of any loan or financial or technical assistance or any other utilization of funds of the respective bank to and for Burma,” the proposals state.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a radio interview that Washington had “offered the potential” to Burma for developing better relations.
Clinton told the Voice of America: “We want to develop a better bilateral relationship with Burma and we have offered the potential of that. But of course we really hope to see the kind of progress that would demonstrate that Burma is ready to emerge from a period of authoritarian rule and some level of isolation and violation of human rights.
“The United States stands ready to work toward better relations with Burma and assistance but we have to see some evidence first.”
Clinton repeated US calls for “free fair and legitimate elections that give the people of Burma the chance to express their preference for their own leaders. We want to see Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners released as soon as possible.”
By LALIT K. JHA / WASHINGTON - Tuesday, February 2, 2010
US President Barack Obama has earmarked $36.5 million in his 2011 budget to support democracy and humanitarian programs for Burma and along the Thai-Burma border.
The money, earmarked under the US Administration's “Economic Support Fund,” would be used within Burma but also for programs and activities involving Burmese student groups and other unnamed organizations located outside the country.
The proposed budget, covering the year beginning in Oct. 2010, now goes before the US Congress for its approval.
The Administration proposes that in addition to aid for Burmese refugees provided under the heading "Migration and Refugee Assistance,'' $ 4 million shall be made available for community-based organizations operating in Thailand to provide food, medical and other humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons in eastern Burma.
According to the 2011 budgetary proposals, when implementing activities with funds appropriated for assistance for Burma, the implementing agency shall only support activities that are consistent with the principles and goals of the National League for Democracy in Burma.
The budgetary proposals also reiterate that the Obama administration will continue to oppose at any international forums any loans or financial assistance to Burma.
“[The] Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States executive director to each appropriate international financial institution in which the United States participates, to oppose and vote against the extension by such institution of any loan or financial or technical assistance or any other utilization of funds of the respective bank to and for Burma,” the proposals state.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a radio interview that Washington had “offered the potential” to Burma for developing better relations.
Clinton told the Voice of America: “We want to develop a better bilateral relationship with Burma and we have offered the potential of that. But of course we really hope to see the kind of progress that would demonstrate that Burma is ready to emerge from a period of authoritarian rule and some level of isolation and violation of human rights.
“The United States stands ready to work toward better relations with Burma and assistance but we have to see some evidence first.”
Clinton repeated US calls for “free fair and legitimate elections that give the people of Burma the chance to express their preference for their own leaders. We want to see Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners released as soon as possible.”
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Pro-junta group drops charges against USDA
Feb 02, 2010 (DVB)–Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics said it has dropped charges against members of another pro-junta group, the Union Solidarity and Development Association, who attacked them last year.
“We decided to drop the charges," said Ye Htun, vice chairman of UMFNP. "The USDA, the general administration department and the home affairs ministry are involved in the case. We aim to proceed with politics on a nationwide scale and we do not wish to have problem with groups like these.”
Ye Htun also insisted that the group was not pressured by the authorities to drop charges.
“We are postponing a planned news conference on the attack. Apart from that, we are going ahead with [the election campaign] in divisions and states. But there have been difficulties with local authorities in places regarding registry status of our group,” he admitted.
“We will register straight away once we are allowed. If we can’t go ahead because we can’t register, then there will be no politician in the country and the seven-step road map will mean nothing."
The UMFNP, formed by former student leader Aye Lwin, is known to have close ties to Burma’s ruling junta. Although it is not registered as a political party, it is allowed to run offices and campaign in townships outside of Rangoon with assistance from local authorities. It also supports the junta's 'seven-step roadmap' to democracy.
In December last year, UMFNP members were attacked by a 200-strong mob led by a senior USDA member while former were celebrating the opening of their branch office. Five were hospitalized.
Charges were subsequently lodged by the UMFNP against the mob, who then retaliated by pressing charges of their own, including for sedition and disturbing government officials on duty.
Reporting by Maung Too
Feb 02, 2010 (DVB)–Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics said it has dropped charges against members of another pro-junta group, the Union Solidarity and Development Association, who attacked them last year.
“We decided to drop the charges," said Ye Htun, vice chairman of UMFNP. "The USDA, the general administration department and the home affairs ministry are involved in the case. We aim to proceed with politics on a nationwide scale and we do not wish to have problem with groups like these.”
Ye Htun also insisted that the group was not pressured by the authorities to drop charges.
“We are postponing a planned news conference on the attack. Apart from that, we are going ahead with [the election campaign] in divisions and states. But there have been difficulties with local authorities in places regarding registry status of our group,” he admitted.
“We will register straight away once we are allowed. If we can’t go ahead because we can’t register, then there will be no politician in the country and the seven-step road map will mean nothing."
The UMFNP, formed by former student leader Aye Lwin, is known to have close ties to Burma’s ruling junta. Although it is not registered as a political party, it is allowed to run offices and campaign in townships outside of Rangoon with assistance from local authorities. It also supports the junta's 'seven-step roadmap' to democracy.
In December last year, UMFNP members were attacked by a 200-strong mob led by a senior USDA member while former were celebrating the opening of their branch office. Five were hospitalized.
Charges were subsequently lodged by the UMFNP against the mob, who then retaliated by pressing charges of their own, including for sedition and disturbing government officials on duty.
Reporting by Maung Too
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