MARCH 15, 2010, 9:57 P.M. ET
Wall Street Journal - New Movement Eyes Myanmar Race
The Third Force, a Loosely Connected Field of Candidates, Wants to Forge a New Path to Change—From the Inside
By A WSJ Staff Reporter
YANGON—A number of dissidents opposed to Myanmar's harsh military regime plan to challenge the government in elections expected this year, even as new rules force many of the country's best-known activists to sit on the sidelines.
These dissidents, informally called the Third Force, are seeking to bridge the gap between Myanmar's two main political factions: the military, which has turned Myanmar into a police state since taking over in 1962, and the National League for Democracy, the severely weakened opposition movement led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest.
The movement is made up of younger activists who believe it is possible to reform Myanmar from within its existing political system, and some veteran dissidents, including some whose families held government posts before the takeover.
The opposition NLD won Myanmar's last elections in 1990, but the junta ignored the result and imprisoned many senior leaders, including Ms. Suu Kyi. NLD officials now are debating whether to boycott the next election—whose date hasn't been announced—because they doubt the vote will be fair.
Many residents are hoping more viable candidates will jump into the race. It is too early to know how many candidates are set to participate. The regime only just last week approved eligibility rules so parties could begin registering. But at least a half-dozen non-NLD dissidents, who might be considered Third Force candidates, have signaled intentions to run so far, according to the candidates and exile news outlets in India and Thailand, including Irrawaddy magazine and Mizzima news agency.
They include the daughter of a former prime minister and several other longtime Yangon activists, including Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, a 62-year-old dissident who ran unsuccessfully in the 1990 elections. Although Ms. Kyaw Nyein's organization is known as the Democratic Party, she says she and her supporters are one of the groups given the Third Force label.
"Some people call us that," says Ms. Kyaw Nyein, whose father was once deputy prime minister, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "We are not with the NLD, we are not with the government. We are in the middle."
Speaking publicly about politics is unusual in Myanmar, where activists are often subject to prison sentences and torture, according to international human-rights groups. Ms. Kyaw Nyein says that while she has "scars" from years of harassment, including a three-year prison term in the 1990s, she is speaking out now because she believes the country can make some headway if people embrace the election.
"A lot of people have come to understand that there is no point fighting with the present regime," she said. "If there is an election and we declare we don't want to take part, [the military] will continue with their plans" and rule uncontested.
Diplomatic staff from the U.K. and other European countries met recently with several of the new candidates, and say they could represent "an important part of the transition to democracy" in Myanmar, one Western diplomat said.
Still, the impact of the Third Force is yet to be determined, and it is unclear how popular those candidates ultimately will prove to be.
"It isn't obvious to me that these Third Force politicians have constituencies," another diplomat added.
The "Third Force" label is used by locals to describe a variety of activists and organizations, including some with potentially competing ideologies and civil society groups. It is difficult to pin down precise political agendas. What's more, many Third Force activists are unwilling to speak publicly out of fear of persecution. Gatherings of more than five people in Myanmar are technically illegal.
But backers of the movement appear to share one common belief. Unlike Ms. Suu Kyi, who is widely perceived as taking a hard line against compromising with Myanmar's military, they generally believe there is significant room to negotiate with the regime in pursuit of gradual change, according to interviews with activists and others familiar with the country's political landscape.
Among the ideas some are pursuing: Liberalization of the rice trade in Myanmar, once the world's largest rice exporters before hit with years of stagnation due to weak investment and government restrictions. Some of the activists think they can convince Myanmar's next government to allow a bigger role for private traders and investors, which could energize the sector and boost rural incomes.
Third Force adherents also point to other Asian countries, such as South Korea and Indonesia, that endured military or one-party dominance for years, but evolved into multiparty democracies. They note that as many as 75% of the seats in Myanmar's new parliament will be filled by civilians, and that it is worth trying to grab some of them.
Ms. Kyaw Nyein has been allowed to discuss her candidacy openly—it remains unclear as to why—but says she has had to confine political meetings to small groups, or informal gatherings. Many dissidents hope the government will allow larger meetings once the election gears up.
As for the vote itself, she says, "I can only hope it will be fair."
The government is planning the election as part of a "road map to democracy" to bolster its standing internally and internationally. But critics, including many NLD members, say the regime has no intention of loosening its grip. These dissidents see the entire election process as invalid, and fear that participation is playing into the hands of the regime. To them, the very emergence of these new candidates is deeply upsetting. A boycott, they say, would force the regime—regarded as one of the most oppressive in the world—to come to the negotiating table if it wants its election to be recognized by the outside world.
Efforts to reach the government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, were unsuccessful.
It may be hard, if not impossible, for any opposition group to be effective amid Myanmar's restrictions on speech and other liberties. Still, the movement has captured the attention of many Myanmar experts around the world, including some who believe the only way forward is for a new opposition—with less baggage from years of fighting with the regime—to emerge.
The election "is a fraud, but at the same time I think it is likely to lead to something," says Donald Seekins, a Myanmar scholar at Meio University in Okinawa, Japan. "It's not the intention of the generals necessarily to make it more pluralistic, but I think that is going to be the effect."
Skepticism, however, deepened last week when the regime released new election rules that bar the participation of political prisoners, including Ms. Suu Kyi and other NLD members. The rules also require parties to register within 60 days and be approved by an election commission—something NLD has yet to do.
"Yes, there are some non-NLD people who are preparing to register their parties, but I hope they change their mind," says Aung Din, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, a Washington group. "They will have no chance to survive in this sham election. This election should be boycotted."
Ms. Kyaw Nyein would disagree. She says she and several family members, including her parents, her husband and two brothers, have served time in prison.
"I have been bullied and harassed" for years, she says in her interview. "Why do we continue this fight? We've got to negotiate with the army for the sake of the people and the country."
Wall Street Journal - New Movement Eyes Myanmar Race
The Third Force, a Loosely Connected Field of Candidates, Wants to Forge a New Path to Change—From the Inside
By A WSJ Staff Reporter
YANGON—A number of dissidents opposed to Myanmar's harsh military regime plan to challenge the government in elections expected this year, even as new rules force many of the country's best-known activists to sit on the sidelines.
These dissidents, informally called the Third Force, are seeking to bridge the gap between Myanmar's two main political factions: the military, which has turned Myanmar into a police state since taking over in 1962, and the National League for Democracy, the severely weakened opposition movement led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest.
The movement is made up of younger activists who believe it is possible to reform Myanmar from within its existing political system, and some veteran dissidents, including some whose families held government posts before the takeover.
The opposition NLD won Myanmar's last elections in 1990, but the junta ignored the result and imprisoned many senior leaders, including Ms. Suu Kyi. NLD officials now are debating whether to boycott the next election—whose date hasn't been announced—because they doubt the vote will be fair.
Many residents are hoping more viable candidates will jump into the race. It is too early to know how many candidates are set to participate. The regime only just last week approved eligibility rules so parties could begin registering. But at least a half-dozen non-NLD dissidents, who might be considered Third Force candidates, have signaled intentions to run so far, according to the candidates and exile news outlets in India and Thailand, including Irrawaddy magazine and Mizzima news agency.
They include the daughter of a former prime minister and several other longtime Yangon activists, including Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, a 62-year-old dissident who ran unsuccessfully in the 1990 elections. Although Ms. Kyaw Nyein's organization is known as the Democratic Party, she says she and her supporters are one of the groups given the Third Force label.
"Some people call us that," says Ms. Kyaw Nyein, whose father was once deputy prime minister, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "We are not with the NLD, we are not with the government. We are in the middle."
Speaking publicly about politics is unusual in Myanmar, where activists are often subject to prison sentences and torture, according to international human-rights groups. Ms. Kyaw Nyein says that while she has "scars" from years of harassment, including a three-year prison term in the 1990s, she is speaking out now because she believes the country can make some headway if people embrace the election.
"A lot of people have come to understand that there is no point fighting with the present regime," she said. "If there is an election and we declare we don't want to take part, [the military] will continue with their plans" and rule uncontested.
Diplomatic staff from the U.K. and other European countries met recently with several of the new candidates, and say they could represent "an important part of the transition to democracy" in Myanmar, one Western diplomat said.
Still, the impact of the Third Force is yet to be determined, and it is unclear how popular those candidates ultimately will prove to be.
"It isn't obvious to me that these Third Force politicians have constituencies," another diplomat added.
The "Third Force" label is used by locals to describe a variety of activists and organizations, including some with potentially competing ideologies and civil society groups. It is difficult to pin down precise political agendas. What's more, many Third Force activists are unwilling to speak publicly out of fear of persecution. Gatherings of more than five people in Myanmar are technically illegal.
But backers of the movement appear to share one common belief. Unlike Ms. Suu Kyi, who is widely perceived as taking a hard line against compromising with Myanmar's military, they generally believe there is significant room to negotiate with the regime in pursuit of gradual change, according to interviews with activists and others familiar with the country's political landscape.
Among the ideas some are pursuing: Liberalization of the rice trade in Myanmar, once the world's largest rice exporters before hit with years of stagnation due to weak investment and government restrictions. Some of the activists think they can convince Myanmar's next government to allow a bigger role for private traders and investors, which could energize the sector and boost rural incomes.
Third Force adherents also point to other Asian countries, such as South Korea and Indonesia, that endured military or one-party dominance for years, but evolved into multiparty democracies. They note that as many as 75% of the seats in Myanmar's new parliament will be filled by civilians, and that it is worth trying to grab some of them.
Ms. Kyaw Nyein has been allowed to discuss her candidacy openly—it remains unclear as to why—but says she has had to confine political meetings to small groups, or informal gatherings. Many dissidents hope the government will allow larger meetings once the election gears up.
As for the vote itself, she says, "I can only hope it will be fair."
The government is planning the election as part of a "road map to democracy" to bolster its standing internally and internationally. But critics, including many NLD members, say the regime has no intention of loosening its grip. These dissidents see the entire election process as invalid, and fear that participation is playing into the hands of the regime. To them, the very emergence of these new candidates is deeply upsetting. A boycott, they say, would force the regime—regarded as one of the most oppressive in the world—to come to the negotiating table if it wants its election to be recognized by the outside world.
Efforts to reach the government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, were unsuccessful.
It may be hard, if not impossible, for any opposition group to be effective amid Myanmar's restrictions on speech and other liberties. Still, the movement has captured the attention of many Myanmar experts around the world, including some who believe the only way forward is for a new opposition—with less baggage from years of fighting with the regime—to emerge.
The election "is a fraud, but at the same time I think it is likely to lead to something," says Donald Seekins, a Myanmar scholar at Meio University in Okinawa, Japan. "It's not the intention of the generals necessarily to make it more pluralistic, but I think that is going to be the effect."
Skepticism, however, deepened last week when the regime released new election rules that bar the participation of political prisoners, including Ms. Suu Kyi and other NLD members. The rules also require parties to register within 60 days and be approved by an election commission—something NLD has yet to do.
"Yes, there are some non-NLD people who are preparing to register their parties, but I hope they change their mind," says Aung Din, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, a Washington group. "They will have no chance to survive in this sham election. This election should be boycotted."
Ms. Kyaw Nyein would disagree. She says she and several family members, including her parents, her husband and two brothers, have served time in prison.
"I have been bullied and harassed" for years, she says in her interview. "Why do we continue this fight? We've got to negotiate with the army for the sake of the people and the country."
********************************************************
The Daily Tribune - RP to deter Myanmar from pursuing anti-Suu Kyi law
By Michaela P. del Callar
03/16/2010
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo will meet Myanmar’s Foreign Minister in Manila this week in a bid to dissuade the country’s ruling junta from imposing a law that will ban democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating in the country’s national polls planned this year.
Romulo will have a bilateral meeting with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win at the sidelines of the special Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) meeting on interfaith cooperation that the Philippines will host from March 16 to 18.
“I look forward to meeting him. The issue will definitely come up in my bilateral meeting with Minister Nyan Win. You know my stand on this so I will also raise this issue in NAM discussions,” Romulo told reporters at a briefing.
Nyan Win is among 120 senior officials and foreign ministers
expected to join the NAM meeting this week that is focused on inter-faith dialog.
The forum is expected to culminate in the adoption of a Manila declaration aimed at strengthening government and civil society cooperation, including faith-based organizations, officials said.
According to Romulo, he will urge other Southeast Asian Foreign Ministers to press Myanmar to recall the law when they meet at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam on April 8.
“I’m expressing a feeling that I think articulates the belief of those who believe in democracy and as I said it’s Myanmar itself that promised to us the road map to democracy. It’s their own pledge and promise,” Romulo stressed.
Under the Myanmar junta’s laws unveiled last week, Suu Kyi faces exclusion from her National League for Democracy (NLD) and is prevented from contesting elections expected late this year on grounds that she is a serving prisoner.
The new laws also officially annul the result of Myanmar’s last elections in 1990, which the NLD won by a landslide. The junta never allowed the party to take power.
Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi, 63, who has spent more than 14 of the last 20 years in detention, was convicted last year for violating the terms of her house arrest after an American man illegally swam across a lake to her waterfront villa and snuck into her compound for two nights. She was sentenced to three years of hard labor but the court “mitigated” the sentence to 18 months of house arrest.
According to Romulo, the junta can allow Suu Kyi to participate in the elections if it wants to since it has the power to rescind the law.
“They (junta) can remove the law anytime because it’s state or junta-directed,” he said.
The Asean’s standing policy of non-interference in members’ domestic affairs has constrained efforts to enforce protection of human rights in Myanmar. It has also been criticized for not exerting pressure on Myanmar’s junta to enforce democracy and institute reforms.
Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Amid opposition from the West, Asean supported the entry of Myanmar into the grouping as its 10th member in 1997.
By Michaela P. del Callar
03/16/2010
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo will meet Myanmar’s Foreign Minister in Manila this week in a bid to dissuade the country’s ruling junta from imposing a law that will ban democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating in the country’s national polls planned this year.
Romulo will have a bilateral meeting with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win at the sidelines of the special Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) meeting on interfaith cooperation that the Philippines will host from March 16 to 18.
“I look forward to meeting him. The issue will definitely come up in my bilateral meeting with Minister Nyan Win. You know my stand on this so I will also raise this issue in NAM discussions,” Romulo told reporters at a briefing.
Nyan Win is among 120 senior officials and foreign ministers
expected to join the NAM meeting this week that is focused on inter-faith dialog.
The forum is expected to culminate in the adoption of a Manila declaration aimed at strengthening government and civil society cooperation, including faith-based organizations, officials said.
According to Romulo, he will urge other Southeast Asian Foreign Ministers to press Myanmar to recall the law when they meet at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam on April 8.
“I’m expressing a feeling that I think articulates the belief of those who believe in democracy and as I said it’s Myanmar itself that promised to us the road map to democracy. It’s their own pledge and promise,” Romulo stressed.
Under the Myanmar junta’s laws unveiled last week, Suu Kyi faces exclusion from her National League for Democracy (NLD) and is prevented from contesting elections expected late this year on grounds that she is a serving prisoner.
The new laws also officially annul the result of Myanmar’s last elections in 1990, which the NLD won by a landslide. The junta never allowed the party to take power.
Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi, 63, who has spent more than 14 of the last 20 years in detention, was convicted last year for violating the terms of her house arrest after an American man illegally swam across a lake to her waterfront villa and snuck into her compound for two nights. She was sentenced to three years of hard labor but the court “mitigated” the sentence to 18 months of house arrest.
According to Romulo, the junta can allow Suu Kyi to participate in the elections if it wants to since it has the power to rescind the law.
“They (junta) can remove the law anytime because it’s state or junta-directed,” he said.
The Asean’s standing policy of non-interference in members’ domestic affairs has constrained efforts to enforce protection of human rights in Myanmar. It has also been criticized for not exerting pressure on Myanmar’s junta to enforce democracy and institute reforms.
Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Amid opposition from the West, Asean supported the entry of Myanmar into the grouping as its 10th member in 1997.
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Christian Broadcasting Network
CBNNews.com - Global Leaders Cry Foul on Myanmar Election Law
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The international community is condemning Myanmar's leaders for an oppressive new election law.
The new law bars pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winning activist, from running in the 2010 elections. It also forces her political party to expel her or be outlawed itself.
The military regime has kept Kyi imprisoned in her home for 14 years.
"Aung San Suu Kyi said she never expected such repressive laws would come out but said she's not disappointed," her party spokesman Nyan Win told reporters last Thursday.
"She said such challenges call for resolute responses and calls on the people and democratic forces to take unanimous action against such unfair laws," he said.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, is an Asian nation that suffers under the oppressive military regime. So far, the government has had more than 2,000 people jailed and labeled as political prisoners.
Patrick Klein of the ministry Vision Beyond Borders told CBN News that Christians are also targeted.
"It's almost like this Burmese military is out to get rid of anybody and everybody that's opposed to them and especially those that are Christians," Klein said. "And so, I see more of an opposition by the government to the Gospel. But I also see more receptivity to the Gospel among the people.
Christians have few places to worship because the regime has not allowed any new church buildings since 1965. Many believers have been forced to worship secretly in homes.
CBNNews.com - Global Leaders Cry Foul on Myanmar Election Law
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The international community is condemning Myanmar's leaders for an oppressive new election law.
The new law bars pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winning activist, from running in the 2010 elections. It also forces her political party to expel her or be outlawed itself.
The military regime has kept Kyi imprisoned in her home for 14 years.
"Aung San Suu Kyi said she never expected such repressive laws would come out but said she's not disappointed," her party spokesman Nyan Win told reporters last Thursday.
"She said such challenges call for resolute responses and calls on the people and democratic forces to take unanimous action against such unfair laws," he said.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, is an Asian nation that suffers under the oppressive military regime. So far, the government has had more than 2,000 people jailed and labeled as political prisoners.
Patrick Klein of the ministry Vision Beyond Borders told CBN News that Christians are also targeted.
"It's almost like this Burmese military is out to get rid of anybody and everybody that's opposed to them and especially those that are Christians," Klein said. "And so, I see more of an opposition by the government to the Gospel. But I also see more receptivity to the Gospel among the people.
Christians have few places to worship because the regime has not allowed any new church buildings since 1965. Many believers have been forced to worship secretly in homes.
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updated at 18:06 GMT, Monday, 15 March 2010
BBC News - Burma and N Korea slam UN reports
Burma and North Korea have rejected UN condemnation of human rights abuses at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Recommendations by the UN special envoy to Burma "violated the right of a sovereign state", Burma's UN envoy told the UN Human Rights Council.
He said that the report from Tomas Quintana contained allegations based on "unverifiable sources".
North Korea's UN envoy "categorically" rejected the UN report describing the country as "one big prison".
Political prisoners
UN special envoy Tomas Quintana, who visited Burma last month has recommended a UN inquiry into whether war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed there.
Mr Quintana told the UN Human Rights Council that elections due this year could not be credible, because the military rulers had failed to remedy human rights abuses.
These included the recruitment of child soldiers and the jailing of more than 2,000 prisoners of conscience.
Burma vociferously rejected the report, saying it referred to issues that fell outside Mr Quintana's mandate and contained "unfounded allegations", Burma's UN envoy Wunna Maung Lwin was quoted as saying by AFP.
Meanwhile, the UN special envoy to North Korea Vitit Muntarbhorn has told the BBC that North Korea's human rights' record is in a category of its own.
"The type of surveillance system imposed on people, food deprivation, all these give rise to an array of violations and violence which puts it in its own category," he told the BBC's PM programme.
The UN report was inspired by a Western conspiracy to "eliminate the state and social system" in North Korea, the country's UN envoy Choe Myong Nam was quoted as saying by AFP.
BBC News - Burma and N Korea slam UN reports
Burma and North Korea have rejected UN condemnation of human rights abuses at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Recommendations by the UN special envoy to Burma "violated the right of a sovereign state", Burma's UN envoy told the UN Human Rights Council.
He said that the report from Tomas Quintana contained allegations based on "unverifiable sources".
North Korea's UN envoy "categorically" rejected the UN report describing the country as "one big prison".
Political prisoners
UN special envoy Tomas Quintana, who visited Burma last month has recommended a UN inquiry into whether war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed there.
Mr Quintana told the UN Human Rights Council that elections due this year could not be credible, because the military rulers had failed to remedy human rights abuses.
These included the recruitment of child soldiers and the jailing of more than 2,000 prisoners of conscience.
Burma vociferously rejected the report, saying it referred to issues that fell outside Mr Quintana's mandate and contained "unfounded allegations", Burma's UN envoy Wunna Maung Lwin was quoted as saying by AFP.
Meanwhile, the UN special envoy to North Korea Vitit Muntarbhorn has told the BBC that North Korea's human rights' record is in a category of its own.
"The type of surveillance system imposed on people, food deprivation, all these give rise to an array of violations and violence which puts it in its own category," he told the BBC's PM programme.
The UN report was inspired by a Western conspiracy to "eliminate the state and social system" in North Korea, the country's UN envoy Choe Myong Nam was quoted as saying by AFP.
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World Wildlife Fund - Porous China-Myanmar border allowing illegal wildlife trade
Posted on 16 March 2010
Contact: Sarah Janicke
sjanicke@wwfint.org
41-795-288-641
Doha, Qatar — Porous borders are allowing vendors in Myanmar to offer a door-to-door delivery service for illegal wildlife products such as tiger bone wine to buyers in China, according to TRAFFIC's latest snapshot into wildlife trade in China.
The State of Wildlife Trade in China 2008, released this week, is the third in an annual series on emerging trends in China's wildlife trade.
The report found that over-exploitation of wildlife for trade has affected many species and is stimulating illegal trade across China's borders.
"China's border areas have long been considered a hotbed for illegal trade, with remote locations often making surveillance a difficult problem in sparsely populated areas," said Professor Xu Hongfa, Director of TRAFFIC's programme in China
The illegal trade in Asian big cat products is a key issue at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting, which began on 13 March and runs until 26 March.
The meeting is taking place in Doha, Qatar, where 175 countries will vote on measures that, if properly enforced, can end illegal tiger trade for good. Tigers are especially in the spotlight during this Year of the Tiger in the Chinese lunar calendar.
"Both TRAFFIC and WWF will be encouraging CITES Parties to enforce the law effectively in their own countries in order to end all illegal trade," said Colman O'Criodain, Wildlife Trade Analyst, WWF International.
Tiger and leopard parts were also found openly for sale in western China, although market surveys in 18 cities found just two places where such items were encountered. One of them—Bei Da Jie Market in Linxia city—has a history of trading in tiger products. There, a total of five surveys between late 2007 and 2008 found one tiger, 15 leopard and seven snow leopard skins for sale.
"There is clearly ongoing demand for leopard and tiger products, but the trade appears to be becoming less visible year-on-year," said Professor Xu, adding that it is unclear if it is because there is less trade in such products or it has become more covert and organized.
The report also examines the trade of other wildlife species in China. In southern China, TRAFFIC identified 26 species of freshwater turtles for sale. The majority of animals were claimed by vendors to be supplied from freshwater turtle farms—many of which do not practice closed-cycle captive breeding and therefore rely on wild-sourced breeding stock.
"If no action is taken, sourcing from the wild coupled with increased captive production to meet an expanding market demand will pose a serious threat to wild species through unsustainable harvesting from wild populations in China and beyond," said Professor Xu.
The report also highlights research into the legality of timber imported into China from source countries in Africa and South-East Asia, noting up to 30% discrepancies between reported import and export timber volumes.
Other topics covered include sustainable utilization of traditional medicinal plants, analysis of wildlife trade information, the Corallium trade in East Asia, tackling cross-border illegal wildlife trade on the China-Nepal border, and stopping illegal wildlife trade online.
Posted on 16 March 2010
Contact: Sarah Janicke
sjanicke@wwfint.org
41-795-288-641
Doha, Qatar — Porous borders are allowing vendors in Myanmar to offer a door-to-door delivery service for illegal wildlife products such as tiger bone wine to buyers in China, according to TRAFFIC's latest snapshot into wildlife trade in China.
The State of Wildlife Trade in China 2008, released this week, is the third in an annual series on emerging trends in China's wildlife trade.
The report found that over-exploitation of wildlife for trade has affected many species and is stimulating illegal trade across China's borders.
"China's border areas have long been considered a hotbed for illegal trade, with remote locations often making surveillance a difficult problem in sparsely populated areas," said Professor Xu Hongfa, Director of TRAFFIC's programme in China
The illegal trade in Asian big cat products is a key issue at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting, which began on 13 March and runs until 26 March.
The meeting is taking place in Doha, Qatar, where 175 countries will vote on measures that, if properly enforced, can end illegal tiger trade for good. Tigers are especially in the spotlight during this Year of the Tiger in the Chinese lunar calendar.
"Both TRAFFIC and WWF will be encouraging CITES Parties to enforce the law effectively in their own countries in order to end all illegal trade," said Colman O'Criodain, Wildlife Trade Analyst, WWF International.
Tiger and leopard parts were also found openly for sale in western China, although market surveys in 18 cities found just two places where such items were encountered. One of them—Bei Da Jie Market in Linxia city—has a history of trading in tiger products. There, a total of five surveys between late 2007 and 2008 found one tiger, 15 leopard and seven snow leopard skins for sale.
"There is clearly ongoing demand for leopard and tiger products, but the trade appears to be becoming less visible year-on-year," said Professor Xu, adding that it is unclear if it is because there is less trade in such products or it has become more covert and organized.
The report also examines the trade of other wildlife species in China. In southern China, TRAFFIC identified 26 species of freshwater turtles for sale. The majority of animals were claimed by vendors to be supplied from freshwater turtle farms—many of which do not practice closed-cycle captive breeding and therefore rely on wild-sourced breeding stock.
"If no action is taken, sourcing from the wild coupled with increased captive production to meet an expanding market demand will pose a serious threat to wild species through unsustainable harvesting from wild populations in China and beyond," said Professor Xu.
The report also highlights research into the legality of timber imported into China from source countries in Africa and South-East Asia, noting up to 30% discrepancies between reported import and export timber volumes.
Other topics covered include sustainable utilization of traditional medicinal plants, analysis of wildlife trade information, the Corallium trade in East Asia, tackling cross-border illegal wildlife trade on the China-Nepal border, and stopping illegal wildlife trade online.
********************************************************
Malay Mail Online - Myanmar workers: Passports returned minus February pay
Yap Aik Meng
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 11:06:00
KUALA LUMPUR: It was a bittersweet day for the 26 Myanmar workers who lost their jobs as waiters and waitresses at a Japanese restaurant and subsequently had their passports withheld by their former employers. They received their passports yesterday.
However, it came at a cost.
Their previous employer, Jogoya Restaurant based in Starhill shopping centre, is now refusing to pay the February wages owed to them, and is instead deducting the wages from their service points.
A meeting between the Jogoya management, the Myanmar workers as well as Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) officials, took place at the Federal Territory Labour Department office in Wisma Perkeso yesterday.
However, MTUC senior industrial relations officer Peter Kandiah told The Malay Mail it was not entirely a happy ending for the workers.
"At the meeting, the restaurant management stated they were willing to give back the passports. However, they are not willing to pay the workers their February salary," said Kandiah.
"They claim this is because the workers failed to show up for work during the period when they had protested against the restaurant's treatment of them."
Kandiah also argued with the restaurant management's stand that they were only willing to pay the return airfares for 10 of the Myanmar workers, instead of all 26.
The restaurant, he claimed, stated that the other workers have to fulfill the contract requirements, hence they didn't qualify for the tickets.
"However, as the restaurant had already acted illegally by deducting the workers' levy, they should not be talking about breach of contract. They should pay for all their airfares," he said.
Kandiah wants the Labour Department director-general to prosecute the restaurant management as he claimed they illegally and unlawfully deducted levy for the workers.
Kandiah is seeking a meeting with the department today.
Meanwhile, one of the Myanmar workers, Zar Ni Swe, said that despite the mess, she and her colleagues were grateful to get their passports back.
"At least I'm not afraid of being caught by the authorities without any identification documents on me. However, I still hope that the case can be resolved soon," she said.
The Malay Mail yesterday front-paged the plight of the 26 workers, who claimed that on March 2, they were given a week's notice that their services were no longer required.
Some were made to pay a RM450 levy to the restaurant, also a month's salary of RM150 as compensation for "previous mistakes" and immigration costs of RM150.
Those with no savings were told to work for another company until they paid their dues to get their passports back.
After receiving no help from the various authorities, the workers finally found support from the MTUC which referred them to the FT Labour Department.
The Paper That Cares was alerted to the development and last Thursday, the department sent five officers to the restaurant to get back the workers' passports but were unable to meet the management as well.
The Labour Department officers then instructed the restaurant to instead send its representatives to the department to return the passports, refund the deducted levies, to pay wages to the workers until March 15, and also provide their return air tickets.
The restaurant management met the department officers on March 12 to negotiate the department's demands.
Yap Aik Meng
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 11:06:00
KUALA LUMPUR: It was a bittersweet day for the 26 Myanmar workers who lost their jobs as waiters and waitresses at a Japanese restaurant and subsequently had their passports withheld by their former employers. They received their passports yesterday.
However, it came at a cost.
Their previous employer, Jogoya Restaurant based in Starhill shopping centre, is now refusing to pay the February wages owed to them, and is instead deducting the wages from their service points.
A meeting between the Jogoya management, the Myanmar workers as well as Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) officials, took place at the Federal Territory Labour Department office in Wisma Perkeso yesterday.
However, MTUC senior industrial relations officer Peter Kandiah told The Malay Mail it was not entirely a happy ending for the workers.
"At the meeting, the restaurant management stated they were willing to give back the passports. However, they are not willing to pay the workers their February salary," said Kandiah.
"They claim this is because the workers failed to show up for work during the period when they had protested against the restaurant's treatment of them."
Kandiah also argued with the restaurant management's stand that they were only willing to pay the return airfares for 10 of the Myanmar workers, instead of all 26.
The restaurant, he claimed, stated that the other workers have to fulfill the contract requirements, hence they didn't qualify for the tickets.
"However, as the restaurant had already acted illegally by deducting the workers' levy, they should not be talking about breach of contract. They should pay for all their airfares," he said.
Kandiah wants the Labour Department director-general to prosecute the restaurant management as he claimed they illegally and unlawfully deducted levy for the workers.
Kandiah is seeking a meeting with the department today.
Meanwhile, one of the Myanmar workers, Zar Ni Swe, said that despite the mess, she and her colleagues were grateful to get their passports back.
"At least I'm not afraid of being caught by the authorities without any identification documents on me. However, I still hope that the case can be resolved soon," she said.
The Malay Mail yesterday front-paged the plight of the 26 workers, who claimed that on March 2, they were given a week's notice that their services were no longer required.
Some were made to pay a RM450 levy to the restaurant, also a month's salary of RM150 as compensation for "previous mistakes" and immigration costs of RM150.
Those with no savings were told to work for another company until they paid their dues to get their passports back.
After receiving no help from the various authorities, the workers finally found support from the MTUC which referred them to the FT Labour Department.
The Paper That Cares was alerted to the development and last Thursday, the department sent five officers to the restaurant to get back the workers' passports but were unable to meet the management as well.
The Labour Department officers then instructed the restaurant to instead send its representatives to the department to return the passports, refund the deducted levies, to pay wages to the workers until March 15, and also provide their return air tickets.
The restaurant management met the department officers on March 12 to negotiate the department's demands.
********************************************************
Inner City Press - As London Asks for Myanmar Elections Meeting, UN Denies Nambiar Trip, His Replacement Vetoed?
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, March 16 -- Responding to the election laws proclaimed by Myanmar's military government, excluding Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisons from running for office, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he has requested an emergency meeting at the UN in New York. But what kind of meeting?
As the UK's Permanent Representative to the UN Mark Lyall Grant walked into the Security Council on Tuesday morning, he was asked about his prime minister's statement: would the UK be asking for a Security Council meeting? He paused, then replied, "Uh, no comment on that, I'll get back to you."
While one might expect the UK Mission to the UN to be able to, and to be eager to, explain a letter to the UN from Prime Minister Gordon Brown, further inquiry by Inner City Press indicates that Brown's request is for a meeting of the Group of Friends of the Secretary General on Myanmar, which includes among others former Council member Indonesia.
A former UN correspondent now in Washington reports that "the Burmese military junta is understood to have 'vetoed' the name of Noer Hassan Wirajuda, the former Indonesian foreign minister, as the new UN Envoy for Burma." The UN has denied another portion of this report.
Some said that Brown had only requested a meeting with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, whose chief of staff Vijay Nambiar has replaced previous UN envoy on Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari, at least on an interim basis. On March 15, Inner City Press asked Mr. Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky:
Inner City Press: did Vijay Nambiar travel to Myanmar? There are some reports that the letter described by the Secretary-General some time ago at his stakeout was in fact delivered by Mr. Nambiar. Can you confirm or deny that?
Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, I have seen one report, not some reports. I’ve seen one report, and I have been in touch with Mr. Nambiar, and he says it’s not true.
At a reception for the press corp in Nesirky's office Monday evening, Mr. Ban and his deputy chief of staff Kim Won-soo appeared, but not Mr. Nambiar.
Footnotes: Talk at the reception turned to the Non Aligned Movement's letter to Ban chastising him for announcing he will appoint a panel to advise himself about accountability for possible war crimes in Sri Lanka, a topic on which we hope to have more later today.
And perhaps on the UK request, too. Just after 11 a.m., with the Security Council still meeting about the stage leaks Somalia Sanctions report, the UK's Lyall Grant left the Council, deep in conversation with an aide about "the letter." Did the UK Mission to the UN not get the memo?
Finally, some note long standing reports that the UK is either dissatisfied with Mr. Nambiar's performance or wants the chief of staff post it previously occupied via Mark Malloch Brown, or both. But, the reasoning goes, to move Nambiar out of the chef de cabinet post but keep him as (India's) Under Secretary General, he would need the Myanmar envoy post. If it is being filled by another, how might this game of musical chairs end? Watch this site.
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, March 16 -- Responding to the election laws proclaimed by Myanmar's military government, excluding Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisons from running for office, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he has requested an emergency meeting at the UN in New York. But what kind of meeting?
As the UK's Permanent Representative to the UN Mark Lyall Grant walked into the Security Council on Tuesday morning, he was asked about his prime minister's statement: would the UK be asking for a Security Council meeting? He paused, then replied, "Uh, no comment on that, I'll get back to you."
While one might expect the UK Mission to the UN to be able to, and to be eager to, explain a letter to the UN from Prime Minister Gordon Brown, further inquiry by Inner City Press indicates that Brown's request is for a meeting of the Group of Friends of the Secretary General on Myanmar, which includes among others former Council member Indonesia.
A former UN correspondent now in Washington reports that "the Burmese military junta is understood to have 'vetoed' the name of Noer Hassan Wirajuda, the former Indonesian foreign minister, as the new UN Envoy for Burma." The UN has denied another portion of this report.
Some said that Brown had only requested a meeting with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, whose chief of staff Vijay Nambiar has replaced previous UN envoy on Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari, at least on an interim basis. On March 15, Inner City Press asked Mr. Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky:
Inner City Press: did Vijay Nambiar travel to Myanmar? There are some reports that the letter described by the Secretary-General some time ago at his stakeout was in fact delivered by Mr. Nambiar. Can you confirm or deny that?
Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, I have seen one report, not some reports. I’ve seen one report, and I have been in touch with Mr. Nambiar, and he says it’s not true.
At a reception for the press corp in Nesirky's office Monday evening, Mr. Ban and his deputy chief of staff Kim Won-soo appeared, but not Mr. Nambiar.
Footnotes: Talk at the reception turned to the Non Aligned Movement's letter to Ban chastising him for announcing he will appoint a panel to advise himself about accountability for possible war crimes in Sri Lanka, a topic on which we hope to have more later today.
And perhaps on the UK request, too. Just after 11 a.m., with the Security Council still meeting about the stage leaks Somalia Sanctions report, the UK's Lyall Grant left the Council, deep in conversation with an aide about "the letter." Did the UK Mission to the UN not get the memo?
Finally, some note long standing reports that the UK is either dissatisfied with Mr. Nambiar's performance or wants the chief of staff post it previously occupied via Mark Malloch Brown, or both. But, the reasoning goes, to move Nambiar out of the chef de cabinet post but keep him as (India's) Under Secretary General, he would need the Myanmar envoy post. If it is being filled by another, how might this game of musical chairs end? Watch this site.
********************************************************
Asian Tribune - Burma: It's time for the NLD to flex its muscles
Tue, 2010-03-16 01:38 — editor
By Zin Linn
Is Senior General Than Shwe gone mad? This question comes forward after the junta headed by Than Shwe announces election laws. Many would agree in the affirmative, “yes.” Than Shwe has gone out his mind. What is wrong with him is the power. Power crazy. He seems exceedingly frightened to loose power, some analysts say.
The junta’s election law and political party registration law released on March 8 are nothing but aimed particularly at Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It is squeezing her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), to eject her as she is serving a sentence under house arrest.
Burma's new election rules forbid anyone convicted by a court from participating in the elections. And it is required of all political parties to depose all imprisoned members to be legalized parties. Since Suu Kyi is the most prominent Opposition figure, without her participation, the vote cannot have much credibility.
Although Than Shwe seeks kicking her out of politics, she remains a symbol of oppositions. Neither can elections be seen as all-inclusive if the 2,200 political prisoners are incapable to participate in this secret ballot. Without her and them in the election, constituency members’ choice will be strictly incomplete.
With the date of the elections yet to be announced, Suu Kyi's party has not decided as yet to take part. The latest law to be published officially calls off the result of the country's last 1990 elections in which the NLD won a landslide victory but the junta never let the party to come to power.
The law also gives the existing parties including the NLD 60 days from March 8 to register, which is again nothing but pressuring the NLD to decide promptly whether it will expel Suu Kyi and contest the elections or pull out of the process. The registration rules also require loyalty to the controversial 2008 constitution, which withholds a quarter of all parliamentary seats for the military a mockery of the democratic process.
‘A mockery of the democratic process’
The UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon renewed his call for Burma/Myanmar to "ensure an inclusive political process leading to fair, transparent and credible elections in which all citizens of the country, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, can freely take part," his office said in a statement while the US condemned the Myanmar’s new legislation as a "mockery".
"The political party registration law makes a mockery of the democratic process and ensures the upcoming election will be devoid of credibility," US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said on March 10.
Human Rights Watch said in a statement that the law showed the junta's "contempt for the democratic process."
“Aung San Suu Kyi said she never expected such repressive laws would come out but said she's not disappointed,” her party spokesman Nyan Win told reporters after meeting the 64-year-old democracy leader at her home on March 12.
“She said such challenges call for unyielding responses and calls on the people and democratic forces to take common action against such unfair laws,” he said. Nevertheless, the detained pro-democracy symbol Aung San Suu Kyi advised members of the NLD to discuss the party's Shwegondaing declaration and why the 2008 Constitution is intolerable via her lawyer Nyan Win.
Despite UN, US, EU and Japan persistently call on to free Suu Kyi, the junta’s Senior General showed that he still regarded her as his arch enemy. He blew out proportion a weird incident that happened in May when an American trespasser swam to her lakeside villa. Keeping her under arrest this long years proves the junta still feels demoralized by her presence in political horizon. She is the idol who provides encouragement to the people of Burma.
However, Than Shwe has his confidence in getting the support of ASEAN, China and India for his political hoodwink of the 2010 elections. At the same time, he makes use of bullying tactics upon the National League for Democracy, which is the only challenger to its supremacy at home. That is why Than Shwe decided to wipe out Suu Kyi from the elections scheduled for 2010. He has made that clear now.
As a dictator, Than Shwe used to blame the failures of his regime on others. He blames Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD for country’s underdevelopment instead of military’s mismanagements. He trusts no one and is a cold-blooded political plotter who will commit any felony to achieve his goal. The Dapeyin Massacre or assassination plot of the Lady on 30 May 2003 is a visible example. Some of his peers in military remarked that he is a double-dealing and cunning Machiavellian, always masking his true nature behind a mask of superiority and courtesy.
In his study of dictators, political psychologist Jerrold M. Post takes up the concept of “malignant narcissism” to describe the psychological chaos raging in dictators’ minds. Post argues that malignant narcissism in dictators is a manifestation of the “absence of conscience [moral vacuum], insatiable psychological need for power, unconstrained aggression, paranoid outlook and [inflated] sense of self-importance and grandiosity”.
‘Without conciliation process, no election can solve’
Now, Than Shwe is attempting to legalize his military autocracy with a sham Constitution and multiparty elections. Most people see the junta's 2008 Constitution and the 2010 elections as a challenge against the will of the people of Burma. The recent political party registration law makes obvious that the junta’s 2010 elections do not guarantee even an article of basic human rights.
Burmese people are disappointed with Mr. Surin Pitsuwan, the head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), who hails the military-monopolized elections taking shape to elongate the military's grip on power. His stance seems encouraging toward high-handed manners of the generals in Burma.
The Burmese population feels it is time for Mr. Ban to raise this half-century-long political conflict in the U.N. Security Council. They look forward to a global arms embargo against Burma's military junta, and an investigation into crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the military regime. By using such effectual pressure, the U.N. Security Council ought to pressure the Burmese Generals up to the dialogue table in pursuit of national reconciliation. Without having a conciliation process, no election can solve the question of Burma.
Apart from the sympathy of the international community, the question now is how the opposition parties, especially the National League for Democracy (NLD), will go ahead in the course of the barbed wire blockage or the insincere registration law.
To some NLD youths in Burma, the party depends on the people's support. Although the junta gets in the way, it should flex its muscles in defiance of the military autocracy. It's time to show its political power by defying the undemocratic political weather conditions.
Zin Linn: The author, a freelance Burmese journalist, lives in exile. He is vice-president of Burma Media Association, which is affiliated with the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers.
Tue, 2010-03-16 01:38 — editor
By Zin Linn
Is Senior General Than Shwe gone mad? This question comes forward after the junta headed by Than Shwe announces election laws. Many would agree in the affirmative, “yes.” Than Shwe has gone out his mind. What is wrong with him is the power. Power crazy. He seems exceedingly frightened to loose power, some analysts say.
The junta’s election law and political party registration law released on March 8 are nothing but aimed particularly at Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It is squeezing her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), to eject her as she is serving a sentence under house arrest.
Burma's new election rules forbid anyone convicted by a court from participating in the elections. And it is required of all political parties to depose all imprisoned members to be legalized parties. Since Suu Kyi is the most prominent Opposition figure, without her participation, the vote cannot have much credibility.
Although Than Shwe seeks kicking her out of politics, she remains a symbol of oppositions. Neither can elections be seen as all-inclusive if the 2,200 political prisoners are incapable to participate in this secret ballot. Without her and them in the election, constituency members’ choice will be strictly incomplete.
With the date of the elections yet to be announced, Suu Kyi's party has not decided as yet to take part. The latest law to be published officially calls off the result of the country's last 1990 elections in which the NLD won a landslide victory but the junta never let the party to come to power.
The law also gives the existing parties including the NLD 60 days from March 8 to register, which is again nothing but pressuring the NLD to decide promptly whether it will expel Suu Kyi and contest the elections or pull out of the process. The registration rules also require loyalty to the controversial 2008 constitution, which withholds a quarter of all parliamentary seats for the military a mockery of the democratic process.
‘A mockery of the democratic process’
The UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon renewed his call for Burma/Myanmar to "ensure an inclusive political process leading to fair, transparent and credible elections in which all citizens of the country, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, can freely take part," his office said in a statement while the US condemned the Myanmar’s new legislation as a "mockery".
"The political party registration law makes a mockery of the democratic process and ensures the upcoming election will be devoid of credibility," US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said on March 10.
Human Rights Watch said in a statement that the law showed the junta's "contempt for the democratic process."
“Aung San Suu Kyi said she never expected such repressive laws would come out but said she's not disappointed,” her party spokesman Nyan Win told reporters after meeting the 64-year-old democracy leader at her home on March 12.
“She said such challenges call for unyielding responses and calls on the people and democratic forces to take common action against such unfair laws,” he said. Nevertheless, the detained pro-democracy symbol Aung San Suu Kyi advised members of the NLD to discuss the party's Shwegondaing declaration and why the 2008 Constitution is intolerable via her lawyer Nyan Win.
Despite UN, US, EU and Japan persistently call on to free Suu Kyi, the junta’s Senior General showed that he still regarded her as his arch enemy. He blew out proportion a weird incident that happened in May when an American trespasser swam to her lakeside villa. Keeping her under arrest this long years proves the junta still feels demoralized by her presence in political horizon. She is the idol who provides encouragement to the people of Burma.
However, Than Shwe has his confidence in getting the support of ASEAN, China and India for his political hoodwink of the 2010 elections. At the same time, he makes use of bullying tactics upon the National League for Democracy, which is the only challenger to its supremacy at home. That is why Than Shwe decided to wipe out Suu Kyi from the elections scheduled for 2010. He has made that clear now.
As a dictator, Than Shwe used to blame the failures of his regime on others. He blames Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD for country’s underdevelopment instead of military’s mismanagements. He trusts no one and is a cold-blooded political plotter who will commit any felony to achieve his goal. The Dapeyin Massacre or assassination plot of the Lady on 30 May 2003 is a visible example. Some of his peers in military remarked that he is a double-dealing and cunning Machiavellian, always masking his true nature behind a mask of superiority and courtesy.
In his study of dictators, political psychologist Jerrold M. Post takes up the concept of “malignant narcissism” to describe the psychological chaos raging in dictators’ minds. Post argues that malignant narcissism in dictators is a manifestation of the “absence of conscience [moral vacuum], insatiable psychological need for power, unconstrained aggression, paranoid outlook and [inflated] sense of self-importance and grandiosity”.
‘Without conciliation process, no election can solve’
Now, Than Shwe is attempting to legalize his military autocracy with a sham Constitution and multiparty elections. Most people see the junta's 2008 Constitution and the 2010 elections as a challenge against the will of the people of Burma. The recent political party registration law makes obvious that the junta’s 2010 elections do not guarantee even an article of basic human rights.
Burmese people are disappointed with Mr. Surin Pitsuwan, the head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), who hails the military-monopolized elections taking shape to elongate the military's grip on power. His stance seems encouraging toward high-handed manners of the generals in Burma.
The Burmese population feels it is time for Mr. Ban to raise this half-century-long political conflict in the U.N. Security Council. They look forward to a global arms embargo against Burma's military junta, and an investigation into crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the military regime. By using such effectual pressure, the U.N. Security Council ought to pressure the Burmese Generals up to the dialogue table in pursuit of national reconciliation. Without having a conciliation process, no election can solve the question of Burma.
Apart from the sympathy of the international community, the question now is how the opposition parties, especially the National League for Democracy (NLD), will go ahead in the course of the barbed wire blockage or the insincere registration law.
To some NLD youths in Burma, the party depends on the people's support. Although the junta gets in the way, it should flex its muscles in defiance of the military autocracy. It's time to show its political power by defying the undemocratic political weather conditions.
Zin Linn: The author, a freelance Burmese journalist, lives in exile. He is vice-president of Burma Media Association, which is affiliated with the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers.
********************************************************
EUOBSERVER - China exploring rail routes to Europe
ANDREW WILLIS
15.03.2010 @ 17:33 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - China is exploring the possibility of extending its high-speed train network as far as Europe, potentially cutting rail travel time between London and Beijing to as little as two days.
Officials hope to see the project completed over the next ten years, enabling passengers to travel the roughly 8,000 kilometre journey at speeds of up to 320 kilometres per hour.
Two lines to Europe are reportedly being considered under the proposals, one passing through India, Pakistan, and the Middle East, while a second would head to Germany
via Russia. Exact routes are currently undecided however. A third line would extend south from China to connect Vietnam, Thailand, Burma and Malaysia.
Wang Mengshu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a senior consultant on China's domestic high-speed railways said this month that work on the Southeast Asia line had already begun.
"We have also already carried out the prospecting and survey work for the European network, and central and eastern European countries are keen for us to start," Mr Wang said.
Chinese officials in Brussels were more cautious however. "I understand we want to improve our rail networks, potentially as far as Europe, but whether they will be high speed or not is yet to be determined," said one source.
Financing the project appears to be the main question, with China offering to bankroll the Burmese line in exchange for the country's rich reserves of lithium, a metal used in batteries.
"We will use government money and bank loans, but the railways may also raise financing from the private sector and also from the host countries," said Mr Wang, indicating the new lines would also be used to carry freight.
European experts say the current low maritime transport costs make it harder to justify an EU-China rail line on commercial grounds however. With global trade seemingly unstoppable in early 2007, ship builders were receiving record orders. But the subsequent financial crisis and global economic slump led to a 12 percent fall in world trade flows last year, according to WTO figures
"The availability of good infrastructure is pivotal to the growth of trade between nations," said Michael Clausecker, director-general of the Association of the European Rail Industry (UNIFE).
"However, whether this is the case for the EU and China is questionable as there is a huge amount of maritime capacity, with more expected in the coming years," he told EUobserver.
China is currently in the middle of a vast railway expansion project that aims to build nearly 30,500 kilometres of new railways in the next five years, connecting all its major cities with high-speed lines.
The world's fastest train, the Harmony Express, was unveiled in the country last year. Wholly Chinese-built, but using technology from Siemens and Kawasaki, the train is capable of a top speeds approaching 400 km/h.
ANDREW WILLIS
15.03.2010 @ 17:33 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - China is exploring the possibility of extending its high-speed train network as far as Europe, potentially cutting rail travel time between London and Beijing to as little as two days.
Officials hope to see the project completed over the next ten years, enabling passengers to travel the roughly 8,000 kilometre journey at speeds of up to 320 kilometres per hour.
Two lines to Europe are reportedly being considered under the proposals, one passing through India, Pakistan, and the Middle East, while a second would head to Germany
via Russia. Exact routes are currently undecided however. A third line would extend south from China to connect Vietnam, Thailand, Burma and Malaysia.
Wang Mengshu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a senior consultant on China's domestic high-speed railways said this month that work on the Southeast Asia line had already begun.
"We have also already carried out the prospecting and survey work for the European network, and central and eastern European countries are keen for us to start," Mr Wang said.
Chinese officials in Brussels were more cautious however. "I understand we want to improve our rail networks, potentially as far as Europe, but whether they will be high speed or not is yet to be determined," said one source.
Financing the project appears to be the main question, with China offering to bankroll the Burmese line in exchange for the country's rich reserves of lithium, a metal used in batteries.
"We will use government money and bank loans, but the railways may also raise financing from the private sector and also from the host countries," said Mr Wang, indicating the new lines would also be used to carry freight.
European experts say the current low maritime transport costs make it harder to justify an EU-China rail line on commercial grounds however. With global trade seemingly unstoppable in early 2007, ship builders were receiving record orders. But the subsequent financial crisis and global economic slump led to a 12 percent fall in world trade flows last year, according to WTO figures
"The availability of good infrastructure is pivotal to the growth of trade between nations," said Michael Clausecker, director-general of the Association of the European Rail Industry (UNIFE).
"However, whether this is the case for the EU and China is questionable as there is a huge amount of maritime capacity, with more expected in the coming years," he told EUobserver.
China is currently in the middle of a vast railway expansion project that aims to build nearly 30,500 kilometres of new railways in the next five years, connecting all its major cities with high-speed lines.
The world's fastest train, the Harmony Express, was unveiled in the country last year. Wholly Chinese-built, but using technology from Siemens and Kawasaki, the train is capable of a top speeds approaching 400 km/h.
********************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Thai Princess Visits Naypyidaw
By KO HTWE Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Burma's military chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe met with Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, daughter of the Thai king, on Monday in Naypyidaw, the capital of Burma.
Princess Sirindhorn was on a private goodwill visit. During her three-day visit, she will visit various sites in Irrawaddy Division and Rangoon, which was hit by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008.
The princess paid homage at Upapatasanti Pagoda, which was built by the Burmese regime, visited National Landmarks Garden, observed the construction of the Pyithu Hluttaw [Parliament] Building and the Burma Gems Museum, according to the state-run newspaper.
This is her fourth visit to Burma, but the first time she visited Naypyidaw, which the ruling generals created as the country's new capital in 2005.
During her first visit in March 1986, she was a guest of Gen Ne Win, the chairman of the Burma Socialist Programme Party.
During her second trip in March 1994, she entered Burma by crossing the Thai-Burmese border at Chiang Rai, Thailand, to visit Kengtung in eastern Shan State, about 165 km from the border, to study art and culture.
During her third visit in March 2003, she visited Bago; Mandalay; Muse, a border town with China; Putao in Kachin State and Mrauk U in Rakhine State.
Princess Sirindhorn was born on April 2, 1955, and is the third child of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit.
By KO HTWE Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Burma's military chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe met with Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, daughter of the Thai king, on Monday in Naypyidaw, the capital of Burma.
Princess Sirindhorn was on a private goodwill visit. During her three-day visit, she will visit various sites in Irrawaddy Division and Rangoon, which was hit by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008.
The princess paid homage at Upapatasanti Pagoda, which was built by the Burmese regime, visited National Landmarks Garden, observed the construction of the Pyithu Hluttaw [Parliament] Building and the Burma Gems Museum, according to the state-run newspaper.
This is her fourth visit to Burma, but the first time she visited Naypyidaw, which the ruling generals created as the country's new capital in 2005.
During her first visit in March 1986, she was a guest of Gen Ne Win, the chairman of the Burma Socialist Programme Party.
During her second trip in March 1994, she entered Burma by crossing the Thai-Burmese border at Chiang Rai, Thailand, to visit Kengtung in eastern Shan State, about 165 km from the border, to study art and culture.
During her third visit in March 2003, she visited Bago; Mandalay; Muse, a border town with China; Putao in Kachin State and Mrauk U in Rakhine State.
Princess Sirindhorn was born on April 2, 1955, and is the third child of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit.
********************************************************
Philipino activists set three conditions for polls in Burma
Tuesday, 16 March 2010 19:07 Mizzima News
(Mizzima) - Pro-democracy activists in the Philippines, keen to see democracy being ushered into military ruled Burma, have set three conditions for the 2010 elections to be free and fair.
Egoy Bans, spokesperson of Free Burma Coalition-Philippines, a network of Philippino activists for Burma told Mizzima that ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the United Nations and the international community must work together to ensure three minimum conditions for Burma. They are - release of the NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and other political prisoners, cessation of hostilities against ethnic nationalities and political dissenters and to review the 2008 constitution, which is not of international standard.
Burma's harsh and undemocratic new election rules ban anyone convicted by a court from contesting the 2010 election and makes it mandatory for political parties to expel all imprisoned members. This excludes more than 2100 political prisoners and rights activists including the country's popular democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She has been held under house arrest for most of the last two decades.
“The Burmese electoral laws have banned the opposition NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from contesting polls along with 2100 political prisoners. This signals that the 2010 election is unfair and undemocratic,” said Egoy Bans.
“There is no iota of a chance for the democracy movement in the country to get ahead and the opposition to advance its agenda for the process of democratisation. The junta is not introducing a fair track to democracy,” added Bans.
“The Philippine government is outraged. Our Foreign Minister has called for credible elections. The Philippine government along with some other ASEAN governments have consistently urged the junta to ensure credible elections, but the election laws are pushing the NLD to expel Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” said Bans.
Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has written to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to call a meeting on Burma in New York to discuss last week’s announcements of Burma's electoral laws.
"Burma has ignored the demands of the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary General, the US, EU and its neighbours by imposing restrictive and unfair terms for the elections. The targeting of Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD is particularly vindictive and allous...”
"We will also seek international support to impose an arms embargo against Burma. Burma's people are demanding political and economic freedom and the international community must stand by them," Brown said in a statement today.
Tuesday, 16 March 2010 19:07 Mizzima News
(Mizzima) - Pro-democracy activists in the Philippines, keen to see democracy being ushered into military ruled Burma, have set three conditions for the 2010 elections to be free and fair.
Egoy Bans, spokesperson of Free Burma Coalition-Philippines, a network of Philippino activists for Burma told Mizzima that ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the United Nations and the international community must work together to ensure three minimum conditions for Burma. They are - release of the NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and other political prisoners, cessation of hostilities against ethnic nationalities and political dissenters and to review the 2008 constitution, which is not of international standard.
Burma's harsh and undemocratic new election rules ban anyone convicted by a court from contesting the 2010 election and makes it mandatory for political parties to expel all imprisoned members. This excludes more than 2100 political prisoners and rights activists including the country's popular democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She has been held under house arrest for most of the last two decades.
“The Burmese electoral laws have banned the opposition NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from contesting polls along with 2100 political prisoners. This signals that the 2010 election is unfair and undemocratic,” said Egoy Bans.
“There is no iota of a chance for the democracy movement in the country to get ahead and the opposition to advance its agenda for the process of democratisation. The junta is not introducing a fair track to democracy,” added Bans.
“The Philippine government is outraged. Our Foreign Minister has called for credible elections. The Philippine government along with some other ASEAN governments have consistently urged the junta to ensure credible elections, but the election laws are pushing the NLD to expel Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” said Bans.
Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has written to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to call a meeting on Burma in New York to discuss last week’s announcements of Burma's electoral laws.
"Burma has ignored the demands of the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary General, the US, EU and its neighbours by imposing restrictive and unfair terms for the elections. The targeting of Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD is particularly vindictive and allous...”
"We will also seek international support to impose an arms embargo against Burma. Burma's people are demanding political and economic freedom and the international community must stand by them," Brown said in a statement today.
********************************************************
A one-sided and repressive law
Tuesday, 16 March 2010 13:23 Myint Maung
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Election-related laws recently announced by Burma’s military junta cannot be construed as anything other than one-sided and extremely restrictive, claim two notable Shan leaders.
Spokesperson for the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD), U Sai Leik, said the laws are one-sided and he hopes that two detained party leaders will be freed before the party reaches a decision on contesting the upcoming elections.
Meanwhile, veteran Shan politician U Shwe Ohn assesses that the election laws are exceptionally restrictive, but if his party decides to contest the elections it will do so as the Union Democracy Party.
Myint Maung, a Mizzima reporter, interviewed these two Shan leaders on their opinions regarding the junta’s proposed elections and the prospect for ethnic nationalities under these circumstances.
Twenty-three SNLD members were elected as Members of Parliament in the 1990 general elections. But the party was later banned and its chairman, U Khun Htun Oo, Secretary Sai Nyunt Lwin and many central executive members sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
U Sai Leik
Q. How do you see the 2010 election laws?
A. The elections will be held this year based on the 2008 constitution. We didn't participate in the national convention and we don't believe the referendum for this constitution earned the true consent of the people, so we haven’t made any decision yet to participate in the 2010 elections. Another reason is our party Chairman and Secretary are still in prison. We wish our leaders, U Khun Htun Oo and Secretary Sai Nyunt Lwin, to be released and demand the onset of dialogue. If these conditions are met, we will consider whether or not to join the elections and re-register our party.
Q. What is your party’s opinion on paragraphs 6 and 10 of the 2010 Political Parties Registration Law?
A. I would like to say these laws are one-sided and are simply unjust and unfree. In regards to founding a political party, it must be based upon the aspiration of the party founder and he or she deserves freedom to make their own decision. The issues of who will be party members and who will be elected as president must be based upon the free decision of the party founders. The decision must not be interfered with or ordered by any authorities or individual. For that reason, we can't accept such restrictive laws.
U Shwe Ohn
Q. What rights can ethnic nationalities enjoy and what rights will they lose under the 2010 Election Law?
A. In the view of ethnic nationalities, they can enjoy so few rights. I don't like it that the Union is divided into States and Divisions; rights honoring the State-level parliament are insignificant and very limited, with important policies retained by the Union Hluttaw (parliament). There are some representatives in the Union parliament, but when the military manipulates it with its representatives and sets the process there are few who can represent and actually lead the States. According to this constitution, the representatives from the States enjoy almost no authority.
Q. What is your opinion on the paragraphs 6 and 10 of the 2010 Political Parties Registration Law?
A. The Political Parties Registration Law allows only very small openings. The law is so restrictive, as it mentions that people under detention are not allowed to join a political party. Many prisoners are detained for criminal offenses, but many others were arrested for political reasons. If someone was arrested for a political reason he or she must have the right to compete in the election.
Elections in the past were free and fair, the election process democratic and we could assume the elections were fair since people enjoyed freedom of speech and expression. We can say the 1990 general election was a free and fair election since it was held freely and fairly in the country and the international community recognized it similarly. But nothing came from the elections. While there were some defects in past elections, we could proceed after the elections (with their results). But it was different in the 1990 general elections, the result showed something and the outcome turned out a different thing. We don't know what will happen after this election.
During colonial rule the process was different. If someone was a convicted criminal he or she couldn't join the election, since he or she did not deserve respect and his or her political integrity was questioned. But it didn't say politicians couldn't join the elections. Persons detained for political reasons were not arrested for immoral reason. People who were disliked by the government for their political activities could still join in the elections. But under the 2010 laws, such people can forget to join the elections, not even being allowed to be members of a political party.
Q. Anything else you want to add?
A. After the election laws came out many people who were positive to join in the elections became reluctant to do so. The laws are extremely restrictive. Many say they can't proceed with party functions under these laws. We can say the 2008 constitution is very unusual. It cannot be that the following laws adhere to international norms and principles.
Since the 2008 constitution is not a good one, it cannot become good in the future. If we don't like it, since it is bad, we can sit idly by and do nothing. My opinion, however, is whether it is good or not, whether we like it or not, we should pursue it in the little space available. What would happen if we don't do anything? We don’t want to go to neighboring countries. With however much space is available I will give all my effort. If I join the elections, I am considering forming the Union Democracy Party.
Tuesday, 16 March 2010 13:23 Myint Maung
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Election-related laws recently announced by Burma’s military junta cannot be construed as anything other than one-sided and extremely restrictive, claim two notable Shan leaders.
Spokesperson for the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD), U Sai Leik, said the laws are one-sided and he hopes that two detained party leaders will be freed before the party reaches a decision on contesting the upcoming elections.
Meanwhile, veteran Shan politician U Shwe Ohn assesses that the election laws are exceptionally restrictive, but if his party decides to contest the elections it will do so as the Union Democracy Party.
Myint Maung, a Mizzima reporter, interviewed these two Shan leaders on their opinions regarding the junta’s proposed elections and the prospect for ethnic nationalities under these circumstances.
Twenty-three SNLD members were elected as Members of Parliament in the 1990 general elections. But the party was later banned and its chairman, U Khun Htun Oo, Secretary Sai Nyunt Lwin and many central executive members sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
U Sai Leik
Q. How do you see the 2010 election laws?
A. The elections will be held this year based on the 2008 constitution. We didn't participate in the national convention and we don't believe the referendum for this constitution earned the true consent of the people, so we haven’t made any decision yet to participate in the 2010 elections. Another reason is our party Chairman and Secretary are still in prison. We wish our leaders, U Khun Htun Oo and Secretary Sai Nyunt Lwin, to be released and demand the onset of dialogue. If these conditions are met, we will consider whether or not to join the elections and re-register our party.
Q. What is your party’s opinion on paragraphs 6 and 10 of the 2010 Political Parties Registration Law?
A. I would like to say these laws are one-sided and are simply unjust and unfree. In regards to founding a political party, it must be based upon the aspiration of the party founder and he or she deserves freedom to make their own decision. The issues of who will be party members and who will be elected as president must be based upon the free decision of the party founders. The decision must not be interfered with or ordered by any authorities or individual. For that reason, we can't accept such restrictive laws.
U Shwe Ohn
Q. What rights can ethnic nationalities enjoy and what rights will they lose under the 2010 Election Law?
A. In the view of ethnic nationalities, they can enjoy so few rights. I don't like it that the Union is divided into States and Divisions; rights honoring the State-level parliament are insignificant and very limited, with important policies retained by the Union Hluttaw (parliament). There are some representatives in the Union parliament, but when the military manipulates it with its representatives and sets the process there are few who can represent and actually lead the States. According to this constitution, the representatives from the States enjoy almost no authority.
Q. What is your opinion on the paragraphs 6 and 10 of the 2010 Political Parties Registration Law?
A. The Political Parties Registration Law allows only very small openings. The law is so restrictive, as it mentions that people under detention are not allowed to join a political party. Many prisoners are detained for criminal offenses, but many others were arrested for political reasons. If someone was arrested for a political reason he or she must have the right to compete in the election.
Elections in the past were free and fair, the election process democratic and we could assume the elections were fair since people enjoyed freedom of speech and expression. We can say the 1990 general election was a free and fair election since it was held freely and fairly in the country and the international community recognized it similarly. But nothing came from the elections. While there were some defects in past elections, we could proceed after the elections (with their results). But it was different in the 1990 general elections, the result showed something and the outcome turned out a different thing. We don't know what will happen after this election.
During colonial rule the process was different. If someone was a convicted criminal he or she couldn't join the election, since he or she did not deserve respect and his or her political integrity was questioned. But it didn't say politicians couldn't join the elections. Persons detained for political reasons were not arrested for immoral reason. People who were disliked by the government for their political activities could still join in the elections. But under the 2010 laws, such people can forget to join the elections, not even being allowed to be members of a political party.
Q. Anything else you want to add?
A. After the election laws came out many people who were positive to join in the elections became reluctant to do so. The laws are extremely restrictive. Many say they can't proceed with party functions under these laws. We can say the 2008 constitution is very unusual. It cannot be that the following laws adhere to international norms and principles.
Since the 2008 constitution is not a good one, it cannot become good in the future. If we don't like it, since it is bad, we can sit idly by and do nothing. My opinion, however, is whether it is good or not, whether we like it or not, we should pursue it in the little space available. What would happen if we don't do anything? We don’t want to go to neighboring countries. With however much space is available I will give all my effort. If I join the elections, I am considering forming the Union Democracy Party.
********************************************************
DVB News - Dhaka to tackle Burma gas dispute
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 16 March 2010
An 11-member team of “high level experts and technical persons” from the Bangladeshi government has left Dhaka to meet with their Burmese counterparts to discuss the controversial shared maritime boundary.
The controversy erupted back in November 2008 when the Burmese government effectively sold ‘blocks’ of sea, claimed by Bangladesh, for gas exploration to a South Korean company. The South Korean exploration vessel was escorted by two Burmese navy vessels.
The then military government in Bangladesh reacted strongly to what they saw as a threat to their share of the estimated 14 trillion cubic feet of gas that lies beneath the Bay of Bengal, saying they would do whatever they could to “protect the nation’s assets”.
It warned the Burmese junta to immediately suspend all activities within the declared maritime zones of Bangladesh in accordance with the Territorial Waters and Maritime Zones Act 1974 of Bangladesh and sent a high-level delegation to Burma.
Then in October last year, the tension escalated with Bangladeshi and Burmese warships lining up against one another in the Bay of Bengal.
The Bangladeshi team now in Burma is headed by ‘additional foreign secretary’ Khorshed Alam, and will hold talks with Burmese government officials on 17 March, according to Bangladesh News 24.
This meeting follows technical talks that took place back in January. The government of current prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has sought to use diplomacy with the Burmese but did report the junta to the UN in May 2009.
The controversy has instilled caution in Bangladeshi policy towards companies such as US-based ConocoPhillips, who had agreed to explore in Bangladeshi waters. The Bangladeshi oil and gas authority, PetroBangla, has forbidden exploration in blocks adjacent to Burmese or Indian waters until the dispute is resolved.
This visit also comes as Hasina prepares for a visit to China on 18 March. The Bangladeshi’s are thought to have in the past appealed to Beijing on the maritime dispute.
Bangladesh’s foreign minister, Dipu Moni, told Bangladeshi reporters that “we may also seek Chinese good office in resolving our dispute on maritime boundary with Myanmar [Burma] because of its good relations with our country”.
Also on the China agenda will be a proposed rail link between the port city of Chittagong and China’s southern capital of Yunnan province, Kunming. The rail link is planned to pass through Burma.
India meanwhile will be keeping a keen eye on the potential that China will help to upgrade the port facilities in Chittagong, which may be done in exchange for Chinese naval use of the facilities.
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 16 March 2010
An 11-member team of “high level experts and technical persons” from the Bangladeshi government has left Dhaka to meet with their Burmese counterparts to discuss the controversial shared maritime boundary.
The controversy erupted back in November 2008 when the Burmese government effectively sold ‘blocks’ of sea, claimed by Bangladesh, for gas exploration to a South Korean company. The South Korean exploration vessel was escorted by two Burmese navy vessels.
The then military government in Bangladesh reacted strongly to what they saw as a threat to their share of the estimated 14 trillion cubic feet of gas that lies beneath the Bay of Bengal, saying they would do whatever they could to “protect the nation’s assets”.
It warned the Burmese junta to immediately suspend all activities within the declared maritime zones of Bangladesh in accordance with the Territorial Waters and Maritime Zones Act 1974 of Bangladesh and sent a high-level delegation to Burma.
Then in October last year, the tension escalated with Bangladeshi and Burmese warships lining up against one another in the Bay of Bengal.
The Bangladeshi team now in Burma is headed by ‘additional foreign secretary’ Khorshed Alam, and will hold talks with Burmese government officials on 17 March, according to Bangladesh News 24.
This meeting follows technical talks that took place back in January. The government of current prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has sought to use diplomacy with the Burmese but did report the junta to the UN in May 2009.
The controversy has instilled caution in Bangladeshi policy towards companies such as US-based ConocoPhillips, who had agreed to explore in Bangladeshi waters. The Bangladeshi oil and gas authority, PetroBangla, has forbidden exploration in blocks adjacent to Burmese or Indian waters until the dispute is resolved.
This visit also comes as Hasina prepares for a visit to China on 18 March. The Bangladeshi’s are thought to have in the past appealed to Beijing on the maritime dispute.
Bangladesh’s foreign minister, Dipu Moni, told Bangladeshi reporters that “we may also seek Chinese good office in resolving our dispute on maritime boundary with Myanmar [Burma] because of its good relations with our country”.
Also on the China agenda will be a proposed rail link between the port city of Chittagong and China’s southern capital of Yunnan province, Kunming. The rail link is planned to pass through Burma.
India meanwhile will be keeping a keen eye on the potential that China will help to upgrade the port facilities in Chittagong, which may be done in exchange for Chinese naval use of the facilities.
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