ASEAN refrains from criticising Myanmar on elections
AFP - Friday, April 9
HANOI, April 8, 2010 (AFP) – Southeast Asian ministers meeting at a regional summit said Thursday they quizzed Myanmar over its controversial election plans, but stopped short of criticising the ruling junta.
Myanmar plans to hold its first elections in two decades later this year, but new laws that effectively ban detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from taking part have led her party to boycott the vote.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers met late Wednesday ahead of the bloc's summit, and said the issue of holding free and fair polls was raised with their Myanmar counterpart Nyan Win.
"We were not criticising him or lecturing him or telling him what to do. We were just making observations and suggestions and he took them in a good spirit," said Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo.
"The coming months will be critical months for Myanmar," Yeo said, but added: "In the end, what happens in Myanmar is for the Myanmar people to decide. We are outsiders... we hope that they would make progress quickly."
Under the electoral laws, Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy would have to expel her in order to participate in the vote because she is serving a prison term.
The Nobel peace laureate has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years.
Amnesty International said Wednesday that Myanmar's flawed election plans and "appalling" human rights record should dominate the ASEAN summit, but Yeo defended the group's policy of non-interference in members' affairs.
"We are not in a position to punish Myanmar," Yeo said, adding that tough United States and European Union sanctions had failed to yield any change.
ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan said the body was "giving the full expression of support to what Myanmar wants to do", but said the ruling generals were aware that its rights record continues to haunt ASEAN.
"Myanmar appreciates that... ASEAN has been seized with this issue for a long, long time and would like to see an end to this issue so that Myanmar itself and ASEAN can move on to a closer cooperation," Surin said.
Indonesia has been one of ASEAN's most outspoken members on Myanmar's failure to shift to democracy and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa called on its rulers to live up to their promises over the long-awaited polls.
"We would have been keen to ensure that the planned election is carried out in a manner that is free, democratic, transparent, inclusive along the lines precisely as the Myanmar authorities themselves have said," he said.
AFP - Friday, April 9
HANOI, April 8, 2010 (AFP) – Southeast Asian ministers meeting at a regional summit said Thursday they quizzed Myanmar over its controversial election plans, but stopped short of criticising the ruling junta.
Myanmar plans to hold its first elections in two decades later this year, but new laws that effectively ban detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from taking part have led her party to boycott the vote.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers met late Wednesday ahead of the bloc's summit, and said the issue of holding free and fair polls was raised with their Myanmar counterpart Nyan Win.
"We were not criticising him or lecturing him or telling him what to do. We were just making observations and suggestions and he took them in a good spirit," said Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo.
"The coming months will be critical months for Myanmar," Yeo said, but added: "In the end, what happens in Myanmar is for the Myanmar people to decide. We are outsiders... we hope that they would make progress quickly."
Under the electoral laws, Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy would have to expel her in order to participate in the vote because she is serving a prison term.
The Nobel peace laureate has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years.
Amnesty International said Wednesday that Myanmar's flawed election plans and "appalling" human rights record should dominate the ASEAN summit, but Yeo defended the group's policy of non-interference in members' affairs.
"We are not in a position to punish Myanmar," Yeo said, adding that tough United States and European Union sanctions had failed to yield any change.
ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan said the body was "giving the full expression of support to what Myanmar wants to do", but said the ruling generals were aware that its rights record continues to haunt ASEAN.
"Myanmar appreciates that... ASEAN has been seized with this issue for a long, long time and would like to see an end to this issue so that Myanmar itself and ASEAN can move on to a closer cooperation," Surin said.
Indonesia has been one of ASEAN's most outspoken members on Myanmar's failure to shift to democracy and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa called on its rulers to live up to their promises over the long-awaited polls.
"We would have been keen to ensure that the planned election is carried out in a manner that is free, democratic, transparent, inclusive along the lines precisely as the Myanmar authorities themselves have said," he said.
******************************************************
Thai unrest, Myanmar overshadow ASEAN summit
by Ian Timberlake – Thu Apr 8, 1:57 am ET
HANOI (AFP) – Southeast Asian leaders open talks Thursday with their vision of building a regional community of nations overshadowed by major unrest in Thailand and Myanmar's widely criticised election plans.
On the eve of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Vietnam's capital Hanoi, Thailand's premier Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency after a dramatic escalation of anti-government protests.
Thailand's political drama, which will force Abhisit to shuttle back and forth to Hanoi, is among the domestic issues within the 10-member ASEAN bloc which are distracting it from moving forward collectively, observers say.
Focused on economic issues for most of its existence, ASEAN in 2008 adopted a charter committing it to tighter links. The group aims to form by 2015 a free-market entity of 600 million people, committed to democratic ideals.
"The building of the economic community will be one of the focal points during the summit," said Vietnam's assistant foreign minister Pham Quang Vinh.
Although the two-day meeting's slogan is "from vision to action", analysts say ASEAN is weighed down by wide development gaps within the region, entrenched domestic interests and the perennial distraction of Myanmar's failure to embrace democracy.
"I don't see any potential for their vision of an ASEAN community coming through by 2015," said Christopher Roberts, from the University of Canberra.
ASEAN's diverse membership ranges from Laos, one of Asia's poorest nations, to the Westernised city-state of Singapore, the absolute monarchy of Brunei and the vibrant democracy of Indonesia.
Other members are Cambodia, the Philippines and Malaysia.
But it is military-ruled Myanmar, accused of widespread rights abuses and preparing to hold its first elections in two decades later this year, which has been the bloc's most troublesome issue.
ASEAN members are divided on how to respond to Myanmar -- which is under European Union and United States sanctions -- but has always escaped formal censure from ASEAN, which adheres to a principle of non-interference in internal affairs of its members.
Analysts expect this time to be no different, despite a call by 105 Southeast Asian lawmakers to impose sanctions on Myanmar and consider its expulsion over election laws that effectively barred opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating.
Individual nations have taken a stronger stand. Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Wednesday that Myanmar should live up to its commitments that the polls would be free and democratic.
"We see this as a potentially extremely important election," he told reporters after a dinner with his counterparts.
"We've made references to the commitment by Myanmar that this will be an open, free, democratic and credible elections and we would like to see those kind of commitments realised."
Ahead of the summit, ASEAN on Wednesday took another step towards addressing long-neglected human rights concerns with the inauguration of a commission to address the rights of women and children.
But economic issues will remain a focus of the leaders' talks.
In a draft statement seen by AFP, they call on regional governments to prepare to wind down economic stimulus measures brought in during the global financial crisis.
The leaders also say they want vital road, sea and air links completed more quickly to complement efforts to integrate regional economies, according to the draft of the statement, to be issued on Friday.
In a separate draft document, the leaders also call for a legally binding global pact on climate change.
by Ian Timberlake – Thu Apr 8, 1:57 am ET
HANOI (AFP) – Southeast Asian leaders open talks Thursday with their vision of building a regional community of nations overshadowed by major unrest in Thailand and Myanmar's widely criticised election plans.
On the eve of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Vietnam's capital Hanoi, Thailand's premier Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency after a dramatic escalation of anti-government protests.
Thailand's political drama, which will force Abhisit to shuttle back and forth to Hanoi, is among the domestic issues within the 10-member ASEAN bloc which are distracting it from moving forward collectively, observers say.
Focused on economic issues for most of its existence, ASEAN in 2008 adopted a charter committing it to tighter links. The group aims to form by 2015 a free-market entity of 600 million people, committed to democratic ideals.
"The building of the economic community will be one of the focal points during the summit," said Vietnam's assistant foreign minister Pham Quang Vinh.
Although the two-day meeting's slogan is "from vision to action", analysts say ASEAN is weighed down by wide development gaps within the region, entrenched domestic interests and the perennial distraction of Myanmar's failure to embrace democracy.
"I don't see any potential for their vision of an ASEAN community coming through by 2015," said Christopher Roberts, from the University of Canberra.
ASEAN's diverse membership ranges from Laos, one of Asia's poorest nations, to the Westernised city-state of Singapore, the absolute monarchy of Brunei and the vibrant democracy of Indonesia.
Other members are Cambodia, the Philippines and Malaysia.
But it is military-ruled Myanmar, accused of widespread rights abuses and preparing to hold its first elections in two decades later this year, which has been the bloc's most troublesome issue.
ASEAN members are divided on how to respond to Myanmar -- which is under European Union and United States sanctions -- but has always escaped formal censure from ASEAN, which adheres to a principle of non-interference in internal affairs of its members.
Analysts expect this time to be no different, despite a call by 105 Southeast Asian lawmakers to impose sanctions on Myanmar and consider its expulsion over election laws that effectively barred opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating.
Individual nations have taken a stronger stand. Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Wednesday that Myanmar should live up to its commitments that the polls would be free and democratic.
"We see this as a potentially extremely important election," he told reporters after a dinner with his counterparts.
"We've made references to the commitment by Myanmar that this will be an open, free, democratic and credible elections and we would like to see those kind of commitments realised."
Ahead of the summit, ASEAN on Wednesday took another step towards addressing long-neglected human rights concerns with the inauguration of a commission to address the rights of women and children.
But economic issues will remain a focus of the leaders' talks.
In a draft statement seen by AFP, they call on regional governments to prepare to wind down economic stimulus measures brought in during the global financial crisis.
The leaders also say they want vital road, sea and air links completed more quickly to complement efforts to integrate regional economies, according to the draft of the statement, to be issued on Friday.
In a separate draft document, the leaders also call for a legally binding global pact on climate change.
******************************************************
ASEAN summit aims for "community" amid Thai unrest
By Bill Tarrant – Thu Apr 8, 6:30 am ET
HANOI (Reuters) – Southeast Asian leaders began talks on Thursday about building a strong economic and political community at an annual summit clouded by unrest in Thailand and Myanmar's widely derided election plans.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva canceled his trip to Hanoi for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' summit after declaring a state of emergency on Wednesday to control a month-long anti-government protest aimed at forcing an election.
"The situation in Bangkok is worrying," Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said. "It is a somber backdrop to our discussions.
It was the second straight year anti-government protests have disrupted an ASEAN summit. Last year ASEAN leaders meeting in a Thai Beach resort had to be evacuated by helicopters when protesters stormed into the venue.
The 10-member ASEAN has been largely focused on economic and diplomatic issues since it was founded in 1967 at the height of the Vietnam War.
But in 2008, it adopted a charter that turned the region of 580 million people with a combined GDP of $2.7 trillion into a rules-based bloc that aims to become a political, economic and security community over the next five years.
Myanmar and its election plans were not on the formal agenda, but as so often happens at ASEAN meetings, the country was occupying the attention of the other nations' leaders, concerned their most truculent member hurts the group's credibility.
Around 100 regional lawmakers urged them in a petition to pressure Myanmar to hold fair and credible polls.
Indonesia and the Philippines have publicly criticized Myanmar's election laws, which ban political prisoners, such as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, from running.
Her National League for Democracy, which won the last election in 1990 by a landslide but was kept from governing, is boycotting this one. That move could make it difficult for the junta to portray the polls as free, fair, inclusive and credible.
Myanmar has so far kept the polling date a secret.
DISPUTE SETTLEMENT MECHANISM
Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told the leaders at the summit's opening that they would adopt a statement on climate change, "sending out ASEAN's strong message on the international negotiating process for an effective climate change regime."
A draft summit declaration states the leaders will also consider when and how to cut back on emergency stimulus measures adopted last year, strengthen the legal framework of their charter, and speed up infrastructure construction.
Foreign ministers on Thursday signed a protocol establishing a dispute settlement mechanism within the Charter to resolve arguments between ASEAN member states, such as over territory.
The terms of reference and procedures are being worked out, and will be finalized at an ASEAN ministerial meeting in July.
"The Charter doesn't limit or stipulate the kind of disputes that would be brought before the dispute resolution mechanism," Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters.
But he said it would not be used in any country's internal disputes or human rights issues -- in Myanmar, for instance.
"Normally, the dispute settlement mechanism would be interstate, not intrastate, between ASEAN member states. It would be a huge stretch to apply it to a situation within a country," he said when asked if it could be used to pressure Myanmar.
ASEAN has never censured Myanmar over its rights record and is unlikely to do so this time. But summit leaders may indicate to the junta's representative, Prime Minister Thein Sein, that Myanmar is hurting the group's credibility.
"The Myanmar issue still presents a problem when we want to take ASEAN forward to negotiate and deal with other groupings and countries," Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said. "It presents a major limitation for us."
ASEAN has always taken a gentle approach to the resource-rich country wedged between India and China -- and a half-century ago, one of Asia's most developed nations.
"We are not in a position to punish Myanmar," Yeo said. "ASEAN takes a very realpolitik position, which is that if China and India remain engaged in Myanmar, we have to. It is better that Myanmar remain in the ASEAN sphere than being a buffer state in between the two biggest countries on earth."
ASEAN includes an absolute monarchy in Brunei, the junta in Myanmar, one-party communist states in Laos and Vietnam and robust democracies such the Philippines and Indonesia. Finding common ground is not always easy in this group, which also includes Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
By Bill Tarrant – Thu Apr 8, 6:30 am ET
HANOI (Reuters) – Southeast Asian leaders began talks on Thursday about building a strong economic and political community at an annual summit clouded by unrest in Thailand and Myanmar's widely derided election plans.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva canceled his trip to Hanoi for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' summit after declaring a state of emergency on Wednesday to control a month-long anti-government protest aimed at forcing an election.
"The situation in Bangkok is worrying," Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said. "It is a somber backdrop to our discussions.
It was the second straight year anti-government protests have disrupted an ASEAN summit. Last year ASEAN leaders meeting in a Thai Beach resort had to be evacuated by helicopters when protesters stormed into the venue.
The 10-member ASEAN has been largely focused on economic and diplomatic issues since it was founded in 1967 at the height of the Vietnam War.
But in 2008, it adopted a charter that turned the region of 580 million people with a combined GDP of $2.7 trillion into a rules-based bloc that aims to become a political, economic and security community over the next five years.
Myanmar and its election plans were not on the formal agenda, but as so often happens at ASEAN meetings, the country was occupying the attention of the other nations' leaders, concerned their most truculent member hurts the group's credibility.
Around 100 regional lawmakers urged them in a petition to pressure Myanmar to hold fair and credible polls.
Indonesia and the Philippines have publicly criticized Myanmar's election laws, which ban political prisoners, such as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, from running.
Her National League for Democracy, which won the last election in 1990 by a landslide but was kept from governing, is boycotting this one. That move could make it difficult for the junta to portray the polls as free, fair, inclusive and credible.
Myanmar has so far kept the polling date a secret.
DISPUTE SETTLEMENT MECHANISM
Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told the leaders at the summit's opening that they would adopt a statement on climate change, "sending out ASEAN's strong message on the international negotiating process for an effective climate change regime."
A draft summit declaration states the leaders will also consider when and how to cut back on emergency stimulus measures adopted last year, strengthen the legal framework of their charter, and speed up infrastructure construction.
Foreign ministers on Thursday signed a protocol establishing a dispute settlement mechanism within the Charter to resolve arguments between ASEAN member states, such as over territory.
The terms of reference and procedures are being worked out, and will be finalized at an ASEAN ministerial meeting in July.
"The Charter doesn't limit or stipulate the kind of disputes that would be brought before the dispute resolution mechanism," Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters.
But he said it would not be used in any country's internal disputes or human rights issues -- in Myanmar, for instance.
"Normally, the dispute settlement mechanism would be interstate, not intrastate, between ASEAN member states. It would be a huge stretch to apply it to a situation within a country," he said when asked if it could be used to pressure Myanmar.
ASEAN has never censured Myanmar over its rights record and is unlikely to do so this time. But summit leaders may indicate to the junta's representative, Prime Minister Thein Sein, that Myanmar is hurting the group's credibility.
"The Myanmar issue still presents a problem when we want to take ASEAN forward to negotiate and deal with other groupings and countries," Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said. "It presents a major limitation for us."
ASEAN has always taken a gentle approach to the resource-rich country wedged between India and China -- and a half-century ago, one of Asia's most developed nations.
"We are not in a position to punish Myanmar," Yeo said. "ASEAN takes a very realpolitik position, which is that if China and India remain engaged in Myanmar, we have to. It is better that Myanmar remain in the ASEAN sphere than being a buffer state in between the two biggest countries on earth."
ASEAN includes an absolute monarchy in Brunei, the junta in Myanmar, one-party communist states in Laos and Vietnam and robust democracies such the Philippines and Indonesia. Finding common ground is not always easy in this group, which also includes Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
******************************************************
The Christian Science Monitor - ASEAN holds tongue on Burma election. What options remain for Suu Kyi?
During this week's ASEAN summit, Asian leaders fell short of criticizing the rules that ban Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from participating in the upcoming Burma election. But hope remains for moderate voices.
By Simon Montlake, Correspondent / April 8, 2010
Bangkok, Thailand
Military-ruled Burma (Myanmar) is preparing to hold elections this year, its first since 1990. But the party that won the majority of seats then, a result later annulled, has refused to participate in protest at the regime's election rules.
Since announcing its decision in March, the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, now faces dissolution after May 7, the deadline to register for the Burma election.
At a summit Wednesday and Thursday in Hanoi, foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) fell short of urging Burma to to modify election laws to allow Ms. Suu Kyi to participate. More than 100 regional legislators had called for ASEAN to help ensure a free and fair election. Singapore's foreign minister said foreign ministers met with their Burmese counterpart and made "observations and suggestions," though the bloc held to its policy of noninterference.
The NLD's boycott puts Western powers in a bind as well. Last year the Obama administration switched to a policy of engaging the regime, which has proved impervious to economic and political pressure. But the United States and other powers remain critical of any political process that doesn't involve the NLD and its charismatic leader, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention.
Why did the NLD decide to boycott the election?
The party said the rules governing the election were unfair and that it would be wrong to participate. A sticking point was a ban on prisoners joining or founding political parties. This applies to Suu Kyi, who is serving an 18-month sentence that lasts until November. To register for the vote, the NLD would have had to expel Suu Kyi. More than 2,100 other political prisoners are also excluded.
Party members were also reluctant to lend legitimacy to an election that they believe won't be free or fair.
Some members wanted to contest, believing that a flawed vote is better than nothing and may pave the way to semidemocratic rule, says a Western diplomat who covers Burma. On a recent visit, a senior NLD official told him that "he had the numbers." But the party's committee fell in line after Suu Kyi spoke out against participation.
How has the party's decision been received?
Many analysts are critical of the NLD's opt-out, given the long wait for elections and the frustration of ordinary Burmese with the current standoff. The party's popularity stems from its victory in 1990 and its resistance to the regime's unpopular policies. By not running in the elections, the party robs Burma's 27 million voters of a credible choice, argue observers.
The prospect of a legal breakup of the party is alarming, says Aung Naing Oo, an exiled Burmese analyst in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Despite decades of repression, the NLD has remained intact. "It's better to participate. The NLD isn't an underground organization," he says.
The Irrawaddy, a publication edited by Burmese exiles in Thailand, said in a critical online editorial that the boycott may rob the election of its legitimacy in Western eyes. "But even if this does turn out to be the case, it may prove to be a Pyrrhic victory at best."
What happens now to the election, and is it expected to bring change?
The elections will go ahead, probably in October or November. As many as 15 parties have registered, with more expected. Some parties are seen as military fronts, while others are vehicles for influential businesspeople close to the junta.
Pro-democracy parties have also formed and may gain quiet support from NLD activists unhappy with the boycott. That runs the risk of upsetting a military-appointed election commission, which has the power to vet candidates.
In the 1990 election, the NLD won 82 percent of the seats. Analysts expect a more fragmented distribution this time.
Whatever the lineup, nobody expects an easy transition to civilian rule after nearly five decades of military regimes. "It's going to be a predictable result. The question is, are you going to get some good people into a position where they have some influence," says the Western diplomat.
How has the regime responded to the boycott?
The junta has made no official reaction to the NLD's decision. But it has reason to feel pleased, says Thant Myint-U, a Burmese historian and former United Nations official. (He is the grandson of former UN Secretary-General U Thant.)
He says the regime probably anticipated the boycott and will now feel more confident. "A decision by the NLD to participate in the elections would have placed the regime in a far more difficult position," he says.
Western countries have called repeatedly for inclusive elections and for all political prisoners to be released. Britain said that by excluding Suu Kyi, the regime had "squandered the opportunity for national reconciliation." The US also criticized the regime over its election laws.
What options does the NLD have?
Some NLD activists may throw their weight behind other parties. A breakaway group could register a new party, but this would inflame hard-liners.
A low turnout would be embarrassing for the regime. But the military can compel people to vote, as they did in a 2008 constitutional referendum where the official turnout was 98 percent, says Benjamin Zawacki, a researcher for Amnesty International in Bangkok. By opting out, he says, the NLD "has taken a huge gamble. It's the most high-profile opposition group in the country." Should voters ignore its stance and go to the polls, its clout would have shrunk, despite the abiding popularity of Suu Kyi, among the world's most famous political prisoners.
During this week's ASEAN summit, Asian leaders fell short of criticizing the rules that ban Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from participating in the upcoming Burma election. But hope remains for moderate voices.
By Simon Montlake, Correspondent / April 8, 2010
Bangkok, Thailand
Military-ruled Burma (Myanmar) is preparing to hold elections this year, its first since 1990. But the party that won the majority of seats then, a result later annulled, has refused to participate in protest at the regime's election rules.
Since announcing its decision in March, the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, now faces dissolution after May 7, the deadline to register for the Burma election.
At a summit Wednesday and Thursday in Hanoi, foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) fell short of urging Burma to to modify election laws to allow Ms. Suu Kyi to participate. More than 100 regional legislators had called for ASEAN to help ensure a free and fair election. Singapore's foreign minister said foreign ministers met with their Burmese counterpart and made "observations and suggestions," though the bloc held to its policy of noninterference.
The NLD's boycott puts Western powers in a bind as well. Last year the Obama administration switched to a policy of engaging the regime, which has proved impervious to economic and political pressure. But the United States and other powers remain critical of any political process that doesn't involve the NLD and its charismatic leader, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention.
Why did the NLD decide to boycott the election?
The party said the rules governing the election were unfair and that it would be wrong to participate. A sticking point was a ban on prisoners joining or founding political parties. This applies to Suu Kyi, who is serving an 18-month sentence that lasts until November. To register for the vote, the NLD would have had to expel Suu Kyi. More than 2,100 other political prisoners are also excluded.
Party members were also reluctant to lend legitimacy to an election that they believe won't be free or fair.
Some members wanted to contest, believing that a flawed vote is better than nothing and may pave the way to semidemocratic rule, says a Western diplomat who covers Burma. On a recent visit, a senior NLD official told him that "he had the numbers." But the party's committee fell in line after Suu Kyi spoke out against participation.
How has the party's decision been received?
Many analysts are critical of the NLD's opt-out, given the long wait for elections and the frustration of ordinary Burmese with the current standoff. The party's popularity stems from its victory in 1990 and its resistance to the regime's unpopular policies. By not running in the elections, the party robs Burma's 27 million voters of a credible choice, argue observers.
The prospect of a legal breakup of the party is alarming, says Aung Naing Oo, an exiled Burmese analyst in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Despite decades of repression, the NLD has remained intact. "It's better to participate. The NLD isn't an underground organization," he says.
The Irrawaddy, a publication edited by Burmese exiles in Thailand, said in a critical online editorial that the boycott may rob the election of its legitimacy in Western eyes. "But even if this does turn out to be the case, it may prove to be a Pyrrhic victory at best."
What happens now to the election, and is it expected to bring change?
The elections will go ahead, probably in October or November. As many as 15 parties have registered, with more expected. Some parties are seen as military fronts, while others are vehicles for influential businesspeople close to the junta.
Pro-democracy parties have also formed and may gain quiet support from NLD activists unhappy with the boycott. That runs the risk of upsetting a military-appointed election commission, which has the power to vet candidates.
In the 1990 election, the NLD won 82 percent of the seats. Analysts expect a more fragmented distribution this time.
Whatever the lineup, nobody expects an easy transition to civilian rule after nearly five decades of military regimes. "It's going to be a predictable result. The question is, are you going to get some good people into a position where they have some influence," says the Western diplomat.
How has the regime responded to the boycott?
The junta has made no official reaction to the NLD's decision. But it has reason to feel pleased, says Thant Myint-U, a Burmese historian and former United Nations official. (He is the grandson of former UN Secretary-General U Thant.)
He says the regime probably anticipated the boycott and will now feel more confident. "A decision by the NLD to participate in the elections would have placed the regime in a far more difficult position," he says.
Western countries have called repeatedly for inclusive elections and for all political prisoners to be released. Britain said that by excluding Suu Kyi, the regime had "squandered the opportunity for national reconciliation." The US also criticized the regime over its election laws.
What options does the NLD have?
Some NLD activists may throw their weight behind other parties. A breakaway group could register a new party, but this would inflame hard-liners.
A low turnout would be embarrassing for the regime. But the military can compel people to vote, as they did in a 2008 constitutional referendum where the official turnout was 98 percent, says Benjamin Zawacki, a researcher for Amnesty International in Bangkok. By opting out, he says, the NLD "has taken a huge gamble. It's the most high-profile opposition group in the country." Should voters ignore its stance and go to the polls, its clout would have shrunk, despite the abiding popularity of Suu Kyi, among the world's most famous political prisoners.
******************************************************
VOA News - Rights Groups Want Indonesia to Press Burma on Democratic Reform
Brian Padden | Jakarta 08 April 2010
Human rights groups are calling on Indonesia to urge Burma to ensure its coming election is free and fair at a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said that Indonesia will promote democracy. And human rights groups in Asia want him to make good on that pledge by pressing Burma's military government to hold free and fair elections.
Mr. Yudhoyono meets Thursday and Friday in Vietnam the leaders of Burma and the other members of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations.
Elaine Pearson, with Human Rights Watch, wrote an open letter to the Indonesian foreign minister calling on him to press for reform in Burma. She says Indonesia has both the experience and credibility to influence the Burmese leadership.
"Because Indonesia is the leading member of ASEAN and it has been a strong and principled voice on the human rights situation in Burma, and because of its own history and transition from a military-led government to a democracy. Really this puts Indonesia in a very strong position to be listened to by the Burmese generals," she said.
Burma has been ruled by the military for most of the past six decades. The government plans to hold elections this year but has yet to set a date.
The last time the country's leaders agreed to hold elections was in 1990. The opposition National League for Democracy won, but the military refused to recognize the results of the race.
The NLD is boycotting the coming elections over election laws they say are restrictive and undemocratic. The laws prohibit registered parties from having political prisoners in their ranks.
The NLD's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been detained for most of the past 20 years, as have several other party officials.
ASEAN members are divided on how to respond to Burma, which is under European Union and United States sanctions because of its poor human rights record. ASEAN has a policy of not interfering in the internal affairs of its members.
Yuyun Wahyuningrum, with the aid group Oxfam says, at this week's summit, the political security community will for the first time discuss possible sanctions for members that violate the ASEAN human rights charter.
But she says since ASEAN operates by consensus, it is unlikely they will take any punitive actions.
"In one way or another they will talk about sanctions, but I am not sure about the result because being a family and being living in harmony is one of the principles in ASEAN," she said.
Still, she is hopeful that over time diplomatic engagement and increasing pressure from democratic neighbors like Indonesia can help Burma make a peaceful transition to democracy.
Brian Padden | Jakarta 08 April 2010
Human rights groups are calling on Indonesia to urge Burma to ensure its coming election is free and fair at a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said that Indonesia will promote democracy. And human rights groups in Asia want him to make good on that pledge by pressing Burma's military government to hold free and fair elections.
Mr. Yudhoyono meets Thursday and Friday in Vietnam the leaders of Burma and the other members of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations.
Elaine Pearson, with Human Rights Watch, wrote an open letter to the Indonesian foreign minister calling on him to press for reform in Burma. She says Indonesia has both the experience and credibility to influence the Burmese leadership.
"Because Indonesia is the leading member of ASEAN and it has been a strong and principled voice on the human rights situation in Burma, and because of its own history and transition from a military-led government to a democracy. Really this puts Indonesia in a very strong position to be listened to by the Burmese generals," she said.
Burma has been ruled by the military for most of the past six decades. The government plans to hold elections this year but has yet to set a date.
The last time the country's leaders agreed to hold elections was in 1990. The opposition National League for Democracy won, but the military refused to recognize the results of the race.
The NLD is boycotting the coming elections over election laws they say are restrictive and undemocratic. The laws prohibit registered parties from having political prisoners in their ranks.
The NLD's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been detained for most of the past 20 years, as have several other party officials.
ASEAN members are divided on how to respond to Burma, which is under European Union and United States sanctions because of its poor human rights record. ASEAN has a policy of not interfering in the internal affairs of its members.
Yuyun Wahyuningrum, with the aid group Oxfam says, at this week's summit, the political security community will for the first time discuss possible sanctions for members that violate the ASEAN human rights charter.
But she says since ASEAN operates by consensus, it is unlikely they will take any punitive actions.
"In one way or another they will talk about sanctions, but I am not sure about the result because being a family and being living in harmony is one of the principles in ASEAN," she said.
Still, she is hopeful that over time diplomatic engagement and increasing pressure from democratic neighbors like Indonesia can help Burma make a peaceful transition to democracy.
******************************************************
In Brief: Plight of displaced Burmese children "forgotten"
BANGKOK, 8 April 2010 (IRIN) - The situation of more than 300,000 internally displaced children in Myanmar is being forgotten, states a report by Partners Relief and Development and the Free Burma Rangers.
“People need to know how bad the lives of children in conflict-affected Burma really is,” David Eubank, director of the Free Burma Rangers, told IRIN in Bangkok.
From 2002 to the end of 2009, more than 580,000 civilians, including some 190,000 children, were forcibly displaced from their homes in eastern Myanmar alone. An estimated one to three million live as internally displaced persons throughout the country, a third of them children, the report released on 7 April states.
“NGOs need to have a stronger presence on the ground and they need support in reaching these people,” Amanda Carroll of Partners said, citing access as a primary issue.
BANGKOK, 8 April 2010 (IRIN) - The situation of more than 300,000 internally displaced children in Myanmar is being forgotten, states a report by Partners Relief and Development and the Free Burma Rangers.
“People need to know how bad the lives of children in conflict-affected Burma really is,” David Eubank, director of the Free Burma Rangers, told IRIN in Bangkok.
From 2002 to the end of 2009, more than 580,000 civilians, including some 190,000 children, were forcibly displaced from their homes in eastern Myanmar alone. An estimated one to three million live as internally displaced persons throughout the country, a third of them children, the report released on 7 April states.
“NGOs need to have a stronger presence on the ground and they need support in reaching these people,” Amanda Carroll of Partners said, citing access as a primary issue.
******************************************************
EarthTimes - ASEAN summit divided on approach to Myanmar
Posted : Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:01:58 GMT
Hanoi - The 16th summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is to open Thursday with the Myanmar elections scheduled for this year causing disagreements between the 10 member countries.
Before a working dinner of ASEAN foreign ministers Wednesday, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told the media he would raise Myanmar's elections at the summit.
"Questions about elections and how it would affect ASEAN will be raised," Kasit said. "There are still points we want to make. We want to see a free, fair and inclusive election, and the big question is whether that can be achieved and how."
Myanmar's ruling military junta has promised to hold an as-yet-unscheduled general election some time this year as part of its seven-step so-called road map to democracy, but in March, it introduced election laws that would bar many top opposition figures from running, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
As a result, Suu Kyi's party - the National League for Democracy, which won Myanmar's last election in 1990 but has been denied power by the military ever since - has decided not to contest the election.
In Hanoi, Vietnamese officials hosting the ASEAN summit have said the topic of democracy and human rights in Myanmar is not on the scheduled agenda.
Asked earlier this week whether Vietnam would address Myanmar's elections at the summit, a Foreign Ministry official who asked to remain anonymous would only say his country would "share Vietnam's election experience with Myanmar."
In the run-up to the summit, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines have been relatively open in their criticism of Myanmar. Member countries with non-democratic systems, such as Vietnam and Cambodia, have been largely unwilling to criticize their fellow ASEAN member, which has been under military rule since 1962.
On Wednesday, more than 100 lawmakers from the ASEAN Interparliamentary Assembly, a liaison group between legislatures, called on ASEAN leaders to sanction Myanmar if it failed to hold free and fair elections.
A petition signed by 105 members of parliament from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore said the leaders should "urgently discuss" Myanmar's elections and should consider expelling the country if it ignores calls for democracy.
Myanmar, which joined ASEAN in 1997, has been the association's albatross ever since.
Its junta's human rights abuses, failure to implement democratic reforms and refusal to free Suu Kyi, who has spent 15 of the past 21 years under detention, have been a constant embarrassment to ASEAN.
But ASEAN's long-held commitment to consensus decision-making and non-interference in one another's internal affairs have undermined past efforts to tackle Myanmar issues.
The assembly's petition was not reported in Vietnam's state-controlled media. The official Vietnam News reported only that the assembly members "had shown their support for Vietnam."
In recent months, Vietnam has strengthened its economic and diplomatic contacts with Myanmar.
Posted : Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:01:58 GMT
Hanoi - The 16th summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is to open Thursday with the Myanmar elections scheduled for this year causing disagreements between the 10 member countries.
Before a working dinner of ASEAN foreign ministers Wednesday, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told the media he would raise Myanmar's elections at the summit.
"Questions about elections and how it would affect ASEAN will be raised," Kasit said. "There are still points we want to make. We want to see a free, fair and inclusive election, and the big question is whether that can be achieved and how."
Myanmar's ruling military junta has promised to hold an as-yet-unscheduled general election some time this year as part of its seven-step so-called road map to democracy, but in March, it introduced election laws that would bar many top opposition figures from running, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
As a result, Suu Kyi's party - the National League for Democracy, which won Myanmar's last election in 1990 but has been denied power by the military ever since - has decided not to contest the election.
In Hanoi, Vietnamese officials hosting the ASEAN summit have said the topic of democracy and human rights in Myanmar is not on the scheduled agenda.
Asked earlier this week whether Vietnam would address Myanmar's elections at the summit, a Foreign Ministry official who asked to remain anonymous would only say his country would "share Vietnam's election experience with Myanmar."
In the run-up to the summit, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines have been relatively open in their criticism of Myanmar. Member countries with non-democratic systems, such as Vietnam and Cambodia, have been largely unwilling to criticize their fellow ASEAN member, which has been under military rule since 1962.
On Wednesday, more than 100 lawmakers from the ASEAN Interparliamentary Assembly, a liaison group between legislatures, called on ASEAN leaders to sanction Myanmar if it failed to hold free and fair elections.
A petition signed by 105 members of parliament from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore said the leaders should "urgently discuss" Myanmar's elections and should consider expelling the country if it ignores calls for democracy.
Myanmar, which joined ASEAN in 1997, has been the association's albatross ever since.
Its junta's human rights abuses, failure to implement democratic reforms and refusal to free Suu Kyi, who has spent 15 of the past 21 years under detention, have been a constant embarrassment to ASEAN.
But ASEAN's long-held commitment to consensus decision-making and non-interference in one another's internal affairs have undermined past efforts to tackle Myanmar issues.
The assembly's petition was not reported in Vietnam's state-controlled media. The official Vietnam News reported only that the assembly members "had shown their support for Vietnam."
In recent months, Vietnam has strengthened its economic and diplomatic contacts with Myanmar.
******************************************************
Daily Contributor - ASEAN Leaders Met; Raised Concerns Over Myanmar
8 April 2010 View Comments
Posted by Nel
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in its 16th summit in Hanoi, Vietnam Thursday, April 8 with the upcoming elections in Myanmar as one of the top concerns.
Legislators from the ten member nations urged their leaders to put Myanmar on the limelight to ensure that fair and inclusive elections will be held. The military junta currently ruling the nation has put some laws for the coming elections where some opposition leaders and political prisoners were barred from running for elective positions.
Meanwhile, Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will no longer be attending the summit due to the continued unrest in the country.
Other concerns to be raised in the summit, which will end April 9, are economic integration and climate change.
The ASEAN is consisted of Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. It was formed in 1967. East Timor, which gained independence in 2002, is in an “observer” status.
8 April 2010 View Comments
Posted by Nel
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in its 16th summit in Hanoi, Vietnam Thursday, April 8 with the upcoming elections in Myanmar as one of the top concerns.
Legislators from the ten member nations urged their leaders to put Myanmar on the limelight to ensure that fair and inclusive elections will be held. The military junta currently ruling the nation has put some laws for the coming elections where some opposition leaders and political prisoners were barred from running for elective positions.
Meanwhile, Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will no longer be attending the summit due to the continued unrest in the country.
Other concerns to be raised in the summit, which will end April 9, are economic integration and climate change.
The ASEAN is consisted of Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. It was formed in 1967. East Timor, which gained independence in 2002, is in an “observer” status.
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April 08, 2010 14:59 PM
Malaysia Calls For More Pragmatic Approach Towards Myanmar
By Manik Mehta
NEW YORK, April 8 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has suggested that Western countries, particularly the United States and the European Union, be "more pragmatic" in pursuing the goal of establishing a democratic system in Myanmar.
According to a report by Malaysia's Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Western countries and the international community must come to an accommodation with Myanmar's military regime, which will likely remain in power even after the planned 2010 elections.
The ISIS report was incorporated in the New York-based Asia Society's compilation, called "Current Realities and Future Possibilities in Burma/Myanmar: Perspective From Asia.
The report, entitled "Pragmatic Diplomacy: Reviewing International and Malaysian Policy Toward Myanmar", was prepared following a roundtable discussion on Myanmar last Sept 9, with the participation of high-profile Malaysian personalities, including Tan Sri Razali Ismail, former president of the United Nations General Assembly and special envoy of the secretary-general on Myanmar.
An overview of Malaysia's policy toward Myanmar was provided by ambassador Nazirah Hussin, Director-General of the Department of Policy Planning and Strategy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Isis organised the discussion to provide Malaysia's input for a review of international policy towards Myanmar as part of the Asia Society's Burma/Myanmar Initiative, an Asia Society spokesperson told Bernama.
"Radical political change imposed from the outside is too difficult to achieve. The consensus was that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) should take a leading role in addressing the situation in Myanmar.
"Malaysia was instrumental in bringing Myanmar into Asean, believing that the chances of inducing change in Myanmar would be greater if the country was a member of Asean," the Isis report said.
Isis recommended a "dual approach" with Western and international actors such as the USA, the EU and the UN to continue to pressure Myanmar on the issues of human rights and democracy.
On the other hand, Asian and regional players such as China, India and Asean would focus on "oft diplomacy", technical aid, and capacity building, while firmly pressing Myanmar on democratic change.
The Asia Society's task force was co-chaired by Wesley R. Clark, a four-star retired US army general who was Nato's supreme allied commander (Europe), and Henrietta H. Fore, former administrator of the US Agency for International Development.
Asean-based members of the task force advisory group included Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, the chairman/CEO of Malaysia's Isis; Carolina Hernandez, founding president of the Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, Philippines; Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies, Thailand; Rizal Sukma, executive director, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Indonesia; and Simon Tay, chairman, Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
The task force discussed its report Wednesday before a packed house comprising Asia-interested experts and others at the Asia Society.
The Asia Society set up a task force on US policy toward Myanmar after President Barack Obama's administration announced in September 2009 a new policy direction for relations with Myanmar, moving away from previous efforts to isolate Myanmar's military regime, see king to balance economic sanctions with "pragmatic engagement".
It also tried to expand channels of communication with the military leadership at higher levels of authority, taking gradual confidence-building steps to foster cooperation and better understanding.
Though economic sanctions will remain in place until the military leaders release political prisoners, including Auung San Suu Kyi, the US would seek greater cooperation with key regional and international players, including the Asean members, to advance its Myanmar strategy.
Clark emphasised at Wednesday's event that the US should "work with the Asean countries to bring about change in Myanmar, and also work together with China, India and Japan".
Only if progress was satisfactory would cooperation be increased. If genuine changes were made toward democracy, then Myanmar could look forward to greater benefits, said Clark who acknowledged that the U.S. on its own, had only limited influence on Myanmar and should not overestimate its ability.
Priscilla Clapp, a former chief of mission at the US embassy in Myanmar and a veteran US career diplomat, described 2010 as a "significant year" in Myanmar's history.
She predicted that the election in Myanmar would produce some change, from which a younger generation of politicians -- at least 20 years younger than the present ruling elite -- would come to power.
Malaysia Calls For More Pragmatic Approach Towards Myanmar
By Manik Mehta
NEW YORK, April 8 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has suggested that Western countries, particularly the United States and the European Union, be "more pragmatic" in pursuing the goal of establishing a democratic system in Myanmar.
According to a report by Malaysia's Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Western countries and the international community must come to an accommodation with Myanmar's military regime, which will likely remain in power even after the planned 2010 elections.
The ISIS report was incorporated in the New York-based Asia Society's compilation, called "Current Realities and Future Possibilities in Burma/Myanmar: Perspective From Asia.
The report, entitled "Pragmatic Diplomacy: Reviewing International and Malaysian Policy Toward Myanmar", was prepared following a roundtable discussion on Myanmar last Sept 9, with the participation of high-profile Malaysian personalities, including Tan Sri Razali Ismail, former president of the United Nations General Assembly and special envoy of the secretary-general on Myanmar.
An overview of Malaysia's policy toward Myanmar was provided by ambassador Nazirah Hussin, Director-General of the Department of Policy Planning and Strategy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Isis organised the discussion to provide Malaysia's input for a review of international policy towards Myanmar as part of the Asia Society's Burma/Myanmar Initiative, an Asia Society spokesperson told Bernama.
"Radical political change imposed from the outside is too difficult to achieve. The consensus was that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) should take a leading role in addressing the situation in Myanmar.
"Malaysia was instrumental in bringing Myanmar into Asean, believing that the chances of inducing change in Myanmar would be greater if the country was a member of Asean," the Isis report said.
Isis recommended a "dual approach" with Western and international actors such as the USA, the EU and the UN to continue to pressure Myanmar on the issues of human rights and democracy.
On the other hand, Asian and regional players such as China, India and Asean would focus on "oft diplomacy", technical aid, and capacity building, while firmly pressing Myanmar on democratic change.
The Asia Society's task force was co-chaired by Wesley R. Clark, a four-star retired US army general who was Nato's supreme allied commander (Europe), and Henrietta H. Fore, former administrator of the US Agency for International Development.
Asean-based members of the task force advisory group included Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, the chairman/CEO of Malaysia's Isis; Carolina Hernandez, founding president of the Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, Philippines; Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies, Thailand; Rizal Sukma, executive director, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Indonesia; and Simon Tay, chairman, Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
The task force discussed its report Wednesday before a packed house comprising Asia-interested experts and others at the Asia Society.
The Asia Society set up a task force on US policy toward Myanmar after President Barack Obama's administration announced in September 2009 a new policy direction for relations with Myanmar, moving away from previous efforts to isolate Myanmar's military regime, see king to balance economic sanctions with "pragmatic engagement".
It also tried to expand channels of communication with the military leadership at higher levels of authority, taking gradual confidence-building steps to foster cooperation and better understanding.
Though economic sanctions will remain in place until the military leaders release political prisoners, including Auung San Suu Kyi, the US would seek greater cooperation with key regional and international players, including the Asean members, to advance its Myanmar strategy.
Clark emphasised at Wednesday's event that the US should "work with the Asean countries to bring about change in Myanmar, and also work together with China, India and Japan".
Only if progress was satisfactory would cooperation be increased. If genuine changes were made toward democracy, then Myanmar could look forward to greater benefits, said Clark who acknowledged that the U.S. on its own, had only limited influence on Myanmar and should not overestimate its ability.
Priscilla Clapp, a former chief of mission at the US embassy in Myanmar and a veteran US career diplomat, described 2010 as a "significant year" in Myanmar's history.
She predicted that the election in Myanmar would produce some change, from which a younger generation of politicians -- at least 20 years younger than the present ruling elite -- would come to power.
******************************************************
Banyan
The Economist - New Silk Roads
Roads, railways and pipelines are redefining what we mean by Asia
Apr 8th 2010 | From The Economist print edition
SINCE the Silk Road fell into disuse six centuries ago, Asian commerce has been carried not by land but by sea along coasts and island chains, first on monsoon winds and now in the holds of diesel ships. The story of Asia’s post-war miracle is above all a maritime one. First Japan, then South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, and then all of South-East and East Asia bar North Korea and Myanmar, adopted economic models based on exporting manufactures. The rise of China has been nothing if not the embrace of the maritime world. The miracle is inconceivable without the ship-borne container.
The broad lines of Asian security mirror this watery theme. Since the Pacific War of 1941-45, the United States has enforced a Pax Americana through naval strength and a perimeter of island allies, from Australia to Japan. If American dominance is challenged, it will be at sea. The rise of China and India as military powers has been marked by a large increase in their navies.
But Anthony Bubalo and Malcolm Cook of the Lowy Institute in Sydney argue in TheAmerican Interest* that such a perspective is bumping up against the limits of usefulness. It masks a powerful impulse that is starting to reshape continental Asia’s territorial expanses. For much of the 20th century the three powers of the Asian land mass, China, India and the former Soviet Union, bothered little with international exchange, and transcontinental development was derisory. That is now changing.
New roads, railways and pipelines are criss-crossing continental Asia. In December a pipeline 7,000 km (4,400 miles) long opened, bringing gas from Turkmenistan to China, via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Russia and China have a $25 billion project to pipe oil from the Russian Far East into China. An Iran-Pakistan pipeline is being built, and could eventually run into India or China. In Myanmar, South Korean and Indian firms have a big project to bring gas to south-western China.
Road networks are also expanding, led by India (in Afghanistan, for example) and, especially, China. Dusty Myanmar is now plugged into China’s spanking new highway complex. New roads bind neighbours along the Mekong River. Central Asia is also seeing a flurry of road-building.
Railways reflect the boldest ambitions. China has already pushed a railway up the Himalayas to Lhasa in Tibet, on which 5m people have travelled since 2006. Now it wants to push lines down them into Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. As for high-speed railways, from a standing start China’s are the world’s fastest and longest. The government has plans to roll out a high-speed network across Asia and even Europe. It proposes three main routes to connect two dozen countries, from Singapore in the south to Germany in the west (with a tunnel from mainland China to Taiwan to boot). By 2025, if the railway ministry is to be believed, it will take two days to travel from Shanghai to London.
Immense financial, not to mention political, obstacles stand in the way of such ambitions. But these projects are starting to redefine what people mean by Asia. It is no longer mainly a coastline with strong trade links to the rest of the world. Now, links across Asia matter just as much. Trade within the region is growing at roughly twice the pace of trade with the outside world. From almost nothing 20 years ago, China is now India’s biggest partner, with bilateral trade that may top $60 billion this year. Central Asia’s trade with China jumped from $160m in 1990 to $7 billion in 2006. And China is the biggest merchandise exporter to the Middle East. The crowds of worshippers at the mosque in Yiwu, a town in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang with a vast wholesale market, hint at the scale of the links. On the continent’s western edge it is getting hard to know where Asia ends.
For all its promise, the new continental perspective does not negate the maritime one, and sometimes reinforces it. C. Raja Mohan, an Indian academic, points out that continental development is helping tie isolated populations into international markets, by giving them a route to the sea (for example, south-west China to the Bay of Bengal). Meanwhile, the continental infrastructure boom increases maritime business: four-fifths of the crude oil bound for China still passes through the Malacca strait. Resource competition among rising powers and the need to protect sea lanes will keep naval strategists in work for years.
America all at sea
Whether competition by land will lead to co-operation or conflict remains an open question. Instabilities abound, including thuggish regimes in Central Asia and fractious populations deep inside China and India. Much depends on how smaller countries respond to the blandishments of their giant neighbours. Not all Central Asians like the energy deals their governments are striking with China. Plenty of South Asians resent India’s swagger. And now Russia wants to regain influence in its backyard.
In continental Asia, there is no enforcer of the peace, as America has been for maritime Asia. None of the new clubs, such as the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation of China, Russia and Central Asian countries, includes America. American pressure on Iran over nuclear programmes has been undermined by the energy interests of China and Russia. Though the United States has a huge military presence in Afghanistan, it vows to get out. And whereas America has tried both containment and engagement to influence the rogue regime of Myanmar, China and India have used their better contacts mainly to advance their commercial interests. With an overemphasis on maritime Asia, say Messrs Bubalo and Cook, the West risks a kind of sea-blindness when it comes to the implications of the new continental trends.
The Economist - New Silk Roads
Roads, railways and pipelines are redefining what we mean by Asia
Apr 8th 2010 | From The Economist print edition
SINCE the Silk Road fell into disuse six centuries ago, Asian commerce has been carried not by land but by sea along coasts and island chains, first on monsoon winds and now in the holds of diesel ships. The story of Asia’s post-war miracle is above all a maritime one. First Japan, then South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, and then all of South-East and East Asia bar North Korea and Myanmar, adopted economic models based on exporting manufactures. The rise of China has been nothing if not the embrace of the maritime world. The miracle is inconceivable without the ship-borne container.
The broad lines of Asian security mirror this watery theme. Since the Pacific War of 1941-45, the United States has enforced a Pax Americana through naval strength and a perimeter of island allies, from Australia to Japan. If American dominance is challenged, it will be at sea. The rise of China and India as military powers has been marked by a large increase in their navies.
But Anthony Bubalo and Malcolm Cook of the Lowy Institute in Sydney argue in TheAmerican Interest* that such a perspective is bumping up against the limits of usefulness. It masks a powerful impulse that is starting to reshape continental Asia’s territorial expanses. For much of the 20th century the three powers of the Asian land mass, China, India and the former Soviet Union, bothered little with international exchange, and transcontinental development was derisory. That is now changing.
New roads, railways and pipelines are criss-crossing continental Asia. In December a pipeline 7,000 km (4,400 miles) long opened, bringing gas from Turkmenistan to China, via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Russia and China have a $25 billion project to pipe oil from the Russian Far East into China. An Iran-Pakistan pipeline is being built, and could eventually run into India or China. In Myanmar, South Korean and Indian firms have a big project to bring gas to south-western China.
Road networks are also expanding, led by India (in Afghanistan, for example) and, especially, China. Dusty Myanmar is now plugged into China’s spanking new highway complex. New roads bind neighbours along the Mekong River. Central Asia is also seeing a flurry of road-building.
Railways reflect the boldest ambitions. China has already pushed a railway up the Himalayas to Lhasa in Tibet, on which 5m people have travelled since 2006. Now it wants to push lines down them into Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. As for high-speed railways, from a standing start China’s are the world’s fastest and longest. The government has plans to roll out a high-speed network across Asia and even Europe. It proposes three main routes to connect two dozen countries, from Singapore in the south to Germany in the west (with a tunnel from mainland China to Taiwan to boot). By 2025, if the railway ministry is to be believed, it will take two days to travel from Shanghai to London.
Immense financial, not to mention political, obstacles stand in the way of such ambitions. But these projects are starting to redefine what people mean by Asia. It is no longer mainly a coastline with strong trade links to the rest of the world. Now, links across Asia matter just as much. Trade within the region is growing at roughly twice the pace of trade with the outside world. From almost nothing 20 years ago, China is now India’s biggest partner, with bilateral trade that may top $60 billion this year. Central Asia’s trade with China jumped from $160m in 1990 to $7 billion in 2006. And China is the biggest merchandise exporter to the Middle East. The crowds of worshippers at the mosque in Yiwu, a town in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang with a vast wholesale market, hint at the scale of the links. On the continent’s western edge it is getting hard to know where Asia ends.
For all its promise, the new continental perspective does not negate the maritime one, and sometimes reinforces it. C. Raja Mohan, an Indian academic, points out that continental development is helping tie isolated populations into international markets, by giving them a route to the sea (for example, south-west China to the Bay of Bengal). Meanwhile, the continental infrastructure boom increases maritime business: four-fifths of the crude oil bound for China still passes through the Malacca strait. Resource competition among rising powers and the need to protect sea lanes will keep naval strategists in work for years.
America all at sea
Whether competition by land will lead to co-operation or conflict remains an open question. Instabilities abound, including thuggish regimes in Central Asia and fractious populations deep inside China and India. Much depends on how smaller countries respond to the blandishments of their giant neighbours. Not all Central Asians like the energy deals their governments are striking with China. Plenty of South Asians resent India’s swagger. And now Russia wants to regain influence in its backyard.
In continental Asia, there is no enforcer of the peace, as America has been for maritime Asia. None of the new clubs, such as the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation of China, Russia and Central Asian countries, includes America. American pressure on Iran over nuclear programmes has been undermined by the energy interests of China and Russia. Though the United States has a huge military presence in Afghanistan, it vows to get out. And whereas America has tried both containment and engagement to influence the rogue regime of Myanmar, China and India have used their better contacts mainly to advance their commercial interests. With an overemphasis on maritime Asia, say Messrs Bubalo and Cook, the West risks a kind of sea-blindness when it comes to the implications of the new continental trends.
******************************************************
By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 4/8/2010
MSN Malaysia News - Observers mooted for Myanmar election
Indonesia on Thursday mooted the idea of foreigners observing Myanmar's first elections in two decades, scheduled for later this year in the military-ruled state.
"Obviously an election, as we had in Indonesia in 1999, is more ideal if it can be experienced by foreign friends," Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit.
Indonesia in 1999 allowed monitors to observe its first free election after the downfall of strongman Suharto.
Natalegawa said he thought "the idea of having someone experience the election is rather useful".
But he said he was not sure whether the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) could be the vehicle to witness the ballot.
He said the idea would be "to experience" the vote, "because we are all learning about democracies. We are all developing our political system and it's always good to compare notes."
ASEAN members have become divided on how to respond to Myanmar -- which is under European Union and United States sanctions -- but it has always escaped formal censure by the bloc which adheres to a principle of non-interference in internal affairs of its members.
Analysts expect do not expect this time to be any different, but individual nations including Indonesia have taken a stronger stand on new election laws that effectively bar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating.
On Wednesday, Natalegawa called on Myanmar to live up to its commitments that the election be free and democratic.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy said last week it would boycott the ballot.
Japan, Australia and Britain have said that without her, the vote cannot be free and fair. The United States blamed the ruling junta for the opposition boycott, saying the regime had missed an opportunity to move forward.
MSN Malaysia News - Observers mooted for Myanmar election
Indonesia on Thursday mooted the idea of foreigners observing Myanmar's first elections in two decades, scheduled for later this year in the military-ruled state.
"Obviously an election, as we had in Indonesia in 1999, is more ideal if it can be experienced by foreign friends," Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit.
Indonesia in 1999 allowed monitors to observe its first free election after the downfall of strongman Suharto.
Natalegawa said he thought "the idea of having someone experience the election is rather useful".
But he said he was not sure whether the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) could be the vehicle to witness the ballot.
He said the idea would be "to experience" the vote, "because we are all learning about democracies. We are all developing our political system and it's always good to compare notes."
ASEAN members have become divided on how to respond to Myanmar -- which is under European Union and United States sanctions -- but it has always escaped formal censure by the bloc which adheres to a principle of non-interference in internal affairs of its members.
Analysts expect do not expect this time to be any different, but individual nations including Indonesia have taken a stronger stand on new election laws that effectively bar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating.
On Wednesday, Natalegawa called on Myanmar to live up to its commitments that the election be free and democratic.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy said last week it would boycott the ballot.
Japan, Australia and Britain have said that without her, the vote cannot be free and fair. The United States blamed the ruling junta for the opposition boycott, saying the regime had missed an opportunity to move forward.
******************************************************
Myanmar IT experts to launch game website
English.news.cn 2010-04-08 19:46:10
YANGON, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar information and technology (IT) experts are planning to launch a game website to promote the country's game industry, the local weekly 7-Day reported in this week's issue.
The game website, named as "mmgame", will provide information of a collection of Myanmar games, community of gamers and game shop running businessmen, the report said, adding that the webpage will include forum, game information, online games, game downloads, business corner as well as other free entertainment programs.
Meanwhile, Myanmar's first largest web portal was introduced by the country's ICT company of the Yadanarpon teleport last month.
With the website address of http://www.yadanarpon.net, the web portal, like other search engines of Google, Yahoo and MSN, provides the users with e-mail, education, entertainment, health, economic and communication services.
In addition, it also provide search engine, e-mail, social network website, instant messaging system, songs and video stores, free advertisements, job vacancy announcements, online education system, television guide in both English and Myanmar.
In cooperation with local and foreign news media, the company's website also carries local and international news.
English.news.cn 2010-04-08 19:46:10
YANGON, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar information and technology (IT) experts are planning to launch a game website to promote the country's game industry, the local weekly 7-Day reported in this week's issue.
The game website, named as "mmgame", will provide information of a collection of Myanmar games, community of gamers and game shop running businessmen, the report said, adding that the webpage will include forum, game information, online games, game downloads, business corner as well as other free entertainment programs.
Meanwhile, Myanmar's first largest web portal was introduced by the country's ICT company of the Yadanarpon teleport last month.
With the website address of http://www.yadanarpon.net, the web portal, like other search engines of Google, Yahoo and MSN, provides the users with e-mail, education, entertainment, health, economic and communication services.
In addition, it also provide search engine, e-mail, social network website, instant messaging system, songs and video stores, free advertisements, job vacancy announcements, online education system, television guide in both English and Myanmar.
In cooperation with local and foreign news media, the company's website also carries local and international news.
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China's Guangdong, Myanmar hold business conference in Yangon
English.news.cn 2010-04-08 18:55:36
YANGON, April 8 (Xinhua) -- A business conference of China's Guangdong province and Myanmar opened at the Traders Hotel here Thursday to seek business cooperation between the Chinese province and Myanmar.
The business conference, sponsored by the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (DFTEC) of Guangdong Province and co-organized by the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), was attended by 68 businessmen of 34 enterprises from the Chinese province and 150 of 80 enterprises from the Myanmar side.
Introducing about Guangdong's trade and economic situation, Zhu Zenan, Deputy Director-General of the DFTEC of Guangdong, said the business conference is aimed at further exploring how to grasp the opportunity of the establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to expand opening up of bilateral cooperation sectors.
Noting that Guangdong attaches extreme importance to expanding the economic and trade cooperation with Myanmar, Zhu said that in recent years bilateral trade was on a trend of growing at a relatively fast rate and cooperation in the sectors of investment, contract project and services is also heading forward.
He disclosed that the total bilateral trade between Guangdong and Myanmar amounted to 250 million U.S dollars in 2009, up by 56. 9 percent.
Up to the end of 2009, Guangdong had two investment projects in Myanmar with a contracted investment of 60,000 dollars, he said, adding that in the same year, Guangdong won contract project and service cooperation project worth a total of 47.99 million dollars with accomplished business sharing 12.17 million dollars.
He believed that cooperation project contracts to be reached in the conference would strongly enhance the development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
On the occasion, U Win Myint, President of the UMFCCI , said bilateral trade between Myanmar and China is very encouraging and steadfastly growing. The normal trade between China and Myanmar increased to 1.827 billion dollars in 2008-09 from 1.69 billion in 2007-08, while the bilateral border trade volume also grew to 988. 22 million dollars in 2008-09 from 977.429 million dollars in 2007- 08, he disclosed.
Noting that China is one of Myanmar's major trading partners, he said Myanmar imports machinery, textile, electrical and electronic goods, chemicals and other personal goods from China, while exporting to China agricultural products such as beans and pulses, sesamum, fruits, fishery products, wood-based products, minerals and others.
Recalling that the UMFCCI has signed eight memorandums of understanding with various organizations from China, U Win Myint said there are still immense opportunities for trade and investment, citing Myanmar's vast natural resources such as forest, oil and gas, mine and minerals, gems, fertile plains, favorable climate, human resources and cultural heritage.
Noting that China ranks Myanmar's 4th largest foreign investor with 29 projects amounting to 1.333 billion dollars, he pointed out that there is wide scope for further investment in Myanmar for mutual benefits.
Introducing Myanmar's 18 special industrial zones, he welcomes China's scientific, technological and industrial expertise to contribute toward the development of bilateral cooperation.
A business matching between businessmen of the two countries followed then.
English.news.cn 2010-04-08 18:55:36
YANGON, April 8 (Xinhua) -- A business conference of China's Guangdong province and Myanmar opened at the Traders Hotel here Thursday to seek business cooperation between the Chinese province and Myanmar.
The business conference, sponsored by the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (DFTEC) of Guangdong Province and co-organized by the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), was attended by 68 businessmen of 34 enterprises from the Chinese province and 150 of 80 enterprises from the Myanmar side.
Introducing about Guangdong's trade and economic situation, Zhu Zenan, Deputy Director-General of the DFTEC of Guangdong, said the business conference is aimed at further exploring how to grasp the opportunity of the establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to expand opening up of bilateral cooperation sectors.
Noting that Guangdong attaches extreme importance to expanding the economic and trade cooperation with Myanmar, Zhu said that in recent years bilateral trade was on a trend of growing at a relatively fast rate and cooperation in the sectors of investment, contract project and services is also heading forward.
He disclosed that the total bilateral trade between Guangdong and Myanmar amounted to 250 million U.S dollars in 2009, up by 56. 9 percent.
Up to the end of 2009, Guangdong had two investment projects in Myanmar with a contracted investment of 60,000 dollars, he said, adding that in the same year, Guangdong won contract project and service cooperation project worth a total of 47.99 million dollars with accomplished business sharing 12.17 million dollars.
He believed that cooperation project contracts to be reached in the conference would strongly enhance the development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
On the occasion, U Win Myint, President of the UMFCCI , said bilateral trade between Myanmar and China is very encouraging and steadfastly growing. The normal trade between China and Myanmar increased to 1.827 billion dollars in 2008-09 from 1.69 billion in 2007-08, while the bilateral border trade volume also grew to 988. 22 million dollars in 2008-09 from 977.429 million dollars in 2007- 08, he disclosed.
Noting that China is one of Myanmar's major trading partners, he said Myanmar imports machinery, textile, electrical and electronic goods, chemicals and other personal goods from China, while exporting to China agricultural products such as beans and pulses, sesamum, fruits, fishery products, wood-based products, minerals and others.
Recalling that the UMFCCI has signed eight memorandums of understanding with various organizations from China, U Win Myint said there are still immense opportunities for trade and investment, citing Myanmar's vast natural resources such as forest, oil and gas, mine and minerals, gems, fertile plains, favorable climate, human resources and cultural heritage.
Noting that China ranks Myanmar's 4th largest foreign investor with 29 projects amounting to 1.333 billion dollars, he pointed out that there is wide scope for further investment in Myanmar for mutual benefits.
Introducing Myanmar's 18 special industrial zones, he welcomes China's scientific, technological and industrial expertise to contribute toward the development of bilateral cooperation.
A business matching between businessmen of the two countries followed then.
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Apr 9, 2010
Asia Times Online - Junta tries to score political points
By Larry Jagan
BANGKOK - As election fever grips Myanmar, the ruling junta is busy preparing a series of steps, including an amnesty of political prisoners, to try to make the vote more credible in the international community.
This has become a priority after the opposition party National League for Democracy (NLD), led by pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, decided to boycott the vote, whose date has yet to be announced.
The junta plans a mass amnesty of political prisoners, including high-profile activists, according to a senior military source. "Everything is set to take off after Thingyan [Buddhist new year in mid-April]," said a senior Myanmar government official.
A military caretaker government will be announced in early May to run the country until the poll and hand over power to the newly elected civilian government, he said. Then, the pro-junta political party will be formed after the new year. This will be followed by the release of hundreds of political activists, he added.
But many in Myanmar's commercial center Yangon remain skeptical. "Why should we care, nothing will change," said an elderly taxi driver, Min Thu. "Burma [Myanmar] is unique," said 28-year-old teacher Maung Maung Thein. "We'll have a president, but a president with no power," he laughed.
There will only be 17 ministers in the caretaker military government, said Myanmar military sources. Some incumbent ministers may stay in place, but most will retire or enter politics.
The current prime minister, who is expected to retire, recently told confidantes that he has to move out of his government residence in the capital Naypyidaw, by the start of Thingyan festivities.
At least a dozen ministers, including Information Minister General Kyaw Hsan, Interior Minister General Maung Oo and Agriculture Minister General Htay Oo, are expected to resign to take up a political career. The fifth top general and head of military intelligence, General Myint Swe, is said to be destined to become prime minister in the interim administration.
"Many major generals and colonels have been brought to the capital for training in the past month," Burmese academic Win Min, based in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, told Inter Press Service (IPS). "Some will take over the ministries in the interim cabinet and others will become politicians."
Twenty-five percent of the seats in the new bicameral parliament are reserved for serving soldiers, so some 200 officers will become national parliamentarians. There are also 14 regional parliaments, all with military men turned politicians.
More than 1,000 soldiers are enrolled in a school run by army chief General Thura Shwe Man. "They are being taught parliamentary procedures and civilian matters in readiness for their new role as politicians," said Win Min.
But most are unhappy to be seconded from the army, said a researcher who has interviewed several retired officers. After five years - the duration of the parliamentary term - these soldiers would expect to return to the ranks, but fear they will have missed out on several promotions as a result.
"I did not do my officer training to enter politics," said one colonel confidentially. "I studied so I could become a general some day."
Several parties, including the Democrat Party and the National Union Party, have submitted registration papers to the Electoral Commission.
Though the main pro-junta party is yet to be formed, the pro-government Union Solidarity and Development Organization is expected to be the military's main vehicle in the election.
Its leader, the agriculture minister and confidante of senior general Than Shwe, has repeatedly told visiting diplomats that he would become a politician soon. He is tipped to become the new prime minister in the "civilianized" government after the poll.
While the NLD's absence makes the election process neither credible nor inclusive to many critics, it is what Than Shwe wanted all along.
In late March, the NLD - which won the 1990 poll but was never allowed to form a government - decided against registering because doing so under the election law would mean ditching Suu Kyi. The law bars anyone serving a prison sentence - Suu Kyi is serving a sentence under house arrest - from being a member of a political party.
She has spent more than 14 of the past 21 years in detention, and was also prevented from contesting the 1990 vote because she was under house arrest.
"The main aim of the junta's election laws is clearly to emasculate the NLD and prevent their leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from taking any part in the forthcoming electoral process," said Justin Wintle, the British biographer of the pro-democracy icon.
"The laws put the opposition in a very difficult position," said Scot Marciel, the United States ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Than Shwe hopes to maintain the advantage by releasing political prisoners in May. A list of names has been submitted to him, say sources in the capital, Naypyidaw.
While some NLD activists are in the list, the vast majority are ethnic rebels, those active in the 1988 democracy movement and former military intelligence officers. The renowned comedian Zarganar is almost certain to be among them. There will be key ethnic leaders too, possibly even the Shan leader Khun Htun Oo.
Than Shwe hopes that some of them will run in the election so that it looks more inclusive. But as a Burmese political analyst told IPS, the Burmese are not that gullible. "The people will punish the government," he said on condition of anonymity. "The payback will come at the election."
Asia Times Online - Junta tries to score political points
By Larry Jagan
BANGKOK - As election fever grips Myanmar, the ruling junta is busy preparing a series of steps, including an amnesty of political prisoners, to try to make the vote more credible in the international community.
This has become a priority after the opposition party National League for Democracy (NLD), led by pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, decided to boycott the vote, whose date has yet to be announced.
The junta plans a mass amnesty of political prisoners, including high-profile activists, according to a senior military source. "Everything is set to take off after Thingyan [Buddhist new year in mid-April]," said a senior Myanmar government official.
A military caretaker government will be announced in early May to run the country until the poll and hand over power to the newly elected civilian government, he said. Then, the pro-junta political party will be formed after the new year. This will be followed by the release of hundreds of political activists, he added.
But many in Myanmar's commercial center Yangon remain skeptical. "Why should we care, nothing will change," said an elderly taxi driver, Min Thu. "Burma [Myanmar] is unique," said 28-year-old teacher Maung Maung Thein. "We'll have a president, but a president with no power," he laughed.
There will only be 17 ministers in the caretaker military government, said Myanmar military sources. Some incumbent ministers may stay in place, but most will retire or enter politics.
The current prime minister, who is expected to retire, recently told confidantes that he has to move out of his government residence in the capital Naypyidaw, by the start of Thingyan festivities.
At least a dozen ministers, including Information Minister General Kyaw Hsan, Interior Minister General Maung Oo and Agriculture Minister General Htay Oo, are expected to resign to take up a political career. The fifth top general and head of military intelligence, General Myint Swe, is said to be destined to become prime minister in the interim administration.
"Many major generals and colonels have been brought to the capital for training in the past month," Burmese academic Win Min, based in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, told Inter Press Service (IPS). "Some will take over the ministries in the interim cabinet and others will become politicians."
Twenty-five percent of the seats in the new bicameral parliament are reserved for serving soldiers, so some 200 officers will become national parliamentarians. There are also 14 regional parliaments, all with military men turned politicians.
More than 1,000 soldiers are enrolled in a school run by army chief General Thura Shwe Man. "They are being taught parliamentary procedures and civilian matters in readiness for their new role as politicians," said Win Min.
But most are unhappy to be seconded from the army, said a researcher who has interviewed several retired officers. After five years - the duration of the parliamentary term - these soldiers would expect to return to the ranks, but fear they will have missed out on several promotions as a result.
"I did not do my officer training to enter politics," said one colonel confidentially. "I studied so I could become a general some day."
Several parties, including the Democrat Party and the National Union Party, have submitted registration papers to the Electoral Commission.
Though the main pro-junta party is yet to be formed, the pro-government Union Solidarity and Development Organization is expected to be the military's main vehicle in the election.
Its leader, the agriculture minister and confidante of senior general Than Shwe, has repeatedly told visiting diplomats that he would become a politician soon. He is tipped to become the new prime minister in the "civilianized" government after the poll.
While the NLD's absence makes the election process neither credible nor inclusive to many critics, it is what Than Shwe wanted all along.
In late March, the NLD - which won the 1990 poll but was never allowed to form a government - decided against registering because doing so under the election law would mean ditching Suu Kyi. The law bars anyone serving a prison sentence - Suu Kyi is serving a sentence under house arrest - from being a member of a political party.
She has spent more than 14 of the past 21 years in detention, and was also prevented from contesting the 1990 vote because she was under house arrest.
"The main aim of the junta's election laws is clearly to emasculate the NLD and prevent their leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from taking any part in the forthcoming electoral process," said Justin Wintle, the British biographer of the pro-democracy icon.
"The laws put the opposition in a very difficult position," said Scot Marciel, the United States ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Than Shwe hopes to maintain the advantage by releasing political prisoners in May. A list of names has been submitted to him, say sources in the capital, Naypyidaw.
While some NLD activists are in the list, the vast majority are ethnic rebels, those active in the 1988 democracy movement and former military intelligence officers. The renowned comedian Zarganar is almost certain to be among them. There will be key ethnic leaders too, possibly even the Shan leader Khun Htun Oo.
Than Shwe hopes that some of them will run in the election so that it looks more inclusive. But as a Burmese political analyst told IPS, the Burmese are not that gullible. "The people will punish the government," he said on condition of anonymity. "The payback will come at the election."
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Brunei News - Pressure piles up on Asean to sanction Myanmar
Sally Piri Apr 8th, 2010
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
SOUTHEAST Asian leaders face increasing demand to censure Myanmar over its human rights record, as legislators and scholars raise their voices in criticising the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) so-called principle of non-interference.
As leaders in the bloc convene in Hanoi, Vietnam for their 16th Asean Summit, scholars have called on them to show political will in addressing human rights abuses. This, they said, will help pave the way for the roadmap of an Asean Community envisioned in 2015. About a hundred lawmakers from a number of Asean member countries also want the leaders to impose sanctions on Myanmar and consider its expulsion for ignoring calls for free and fair elections.
Bantarto Bandoro, lecturer in international relations at President University in Indonesia, said that Asean would demonstrate no significant changes if it held on to its norm of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states.
“I think to build the roadmap of Asean Community the leaders should start to review the principle of non-interference,” he said in an interview with The Brunei Times. “But I’m not saying that it must be completely removed.”
The Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, for example, cannot work effectively to resolve human rights issues by any member states if the body is “without enough power to access the matter”, he explained.
The policy of non-interference, which is stipulated in the Asean Charter, has been widely criticised as Asean remains silent on human rights abuses by the Myanmar’s military junta.
Naruemon Thabchumpon from the International Development Studies faculty at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand said that the leaders have to be be clear on the definition of the non-interference.
An additional clause is needed for the principle to remain relevant, she said.
“For instance, I think at least it should give power to the Asean human rights body to access the leader of an Asean member state that faces allegations of the human rights abuse and provide recommendation to solve the matter,” Naruemon said.
“Otherwise, there’s no point to have an Asean human rights body if it cannot do anything to curb human rights violations,” she added.
Asean leaders should also address the issue on equal protection for migrant workers in all Asean countries, she said.
Asean should play its role not only to support economic and political development but also in social aspect so that there is people connectivity among its total of 577 million population.
“For example, Brunei can support in the area of exchanging technology and information within the Asean community,” she said.
Both experts stressed the need to take political commitment among the Asean countries to address regional issues such as combating terrorism, human trafficking and money laundering. The 10-member grouping wants to form the Asean Community based on its own mould and strives to create a caring society. (The Brunei Times)
Sally Piri Apr 8th, 2010
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
SOUTHEAST Asian leaders face increasing demand to censure Myanmar over its human rights record, as legislators and scholars raise their voices in criticising the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) so-called principle of non-interference.
As leaders in the bloc convene in Hanoi, Vietnam for their 16th Asean Summit, scholars have called on them to show political will in addressing human rights abuses. This, they said, will help pave the way for the roadmap of an Asean Community envisioned in 2015. About a hundred lawmakers from a number of Asean member countries also want the leaders to impose sanctions on Myanmar and consider its expulsion for ignoring calls for free and fair elections.
Bantarto Bandoro, lecturer in international relations at President University in Indonesia, said that Asean would demonstrate no significant changes if it held on to its norm of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states.
“I think to build the roadmap of Asean Community the leaders should start to review the principle of non-interference,” he said in an interview with The Brunei Times. “But I’m not saying that it must be completely removed.”
The Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, for example, cannot work effectively to resolve human rights issues by any member states if the body is “without enough power to access the matter”, he explained.
The policy of non-interference, which is stipulated in the Asean Charter, has been widely criticised as Asean remains silent on human rights abuses by the Myanmar’s military junta.
Naruemon Thabchumpon from the International Development Studies faculty at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand said that the leaders have to be be clear on the definition of the non-interference.
An additional clause is needed for the principle to remain relevant, she said.
“For instance, I think at least it should give power to the Asean human rights body to access the leader of an Asean member state that faces allegations of the human rights abuse and provide recommendation to solve the matter,” Naruemon said.
“Otherwise, there’s no point to have an Asean human rights body if it cannot do anything to curb human rights violations,” she added.
Asean leaders should also address the issue on equal protection for migrant workers in all Asean countries, she said.
Asean should play its role not only to support economic and political development but also in social aspect so that there is people connectivity among its total of 577 million population.
“For example, Brunei can support in the area of exchanging technology and information within the Asean community,” she said.
Both experts stressed the need to take political commitment among the Asean countries to address regional issues such as combating terrorism, human trafficking and money laundering. The 10-member grouping wants to form the Asean Community based on its own mould and strives to create a caring society. (The Brunei Times)
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India-Myanmar talks conclude
STAFF WRITER 21:8 HRS IST
Itanagar, Apr 8 (PTI) Law and order, drug trafficking and other bilateral issues were discussed in a three-day official-level talks between India and Myanmar, which concluded at Tawang today, officials said here.
They, however, declined to disclose the outcome of the meeting, held at Tawang from April 5-8.
The Myanmarese delegation was led by U Myat Ko, DG, General Administration Department, Ministry of Home Affairs while Naveen Verma, Joint Secretary (Northeast), MHA led the Indian delegation.
India had earlier requested Myanmar to undertake an operation against northeast-based militants holed up in their bases in Myanmar on the lines of ones undertaken by Bhutan and Bangladesh earlier.
Union Home Secretary G K Pillai had visited Naypyidaw, the new Myanmarese capital in January to convey the request.
STAFF WRITER 21:8 HRS IST
Itanagar, Apr 8 (PTI) Law and order, drug trafficking and other bilateral issues were discussed in a three-day official-level talks between India and Myanmar, which concluded at Tawang today, officials said here.
They, however, declined to disclose the outcome of the meeting, held at Tawang from April 5-8.
The Myanmarese delegation was led by U Myat Ko, DG, General Administration Department, Ministry of Home Affairs while Naveen Verma, Joint Secretary (Northeast), MHA led the Indian delegation.
India had earlier requested Myanmar to undertake an operation against northeast-based militants holed up in their bases in Myanmar on the lines of ones undertaken by Bhutan and Bangladesh earlier.
Union Home Secretary G K Pillai had visited Naypyidaw, the new Myanmarese capital in January to convey the request.
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Bangkok Post - Asean awaits junta explanation
Published: 8/04/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
HANOI : Southeast Asian leaders are keen to hear Burma explain its plans for a "free and fair" election when they meet for a two-day summit starting today.
"We will listen to how the Burmese junta will clarify the election after they issued five electoral laws which may lead to problems among Asean leaders and the international community," Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.
Foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including Mr Kasit, have been meeting in the Vietnamese capital to prepare agendas for their leaders.
Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein should clarify how the five laws would lead to free elections, Mr Kasit said.
The five laws enacted by the junta were the political parties registration law and four separate laws for the national election commission, the election commissions of the two houses of parliament and all regional parliaments.
Perhaps the most objectionable for the international community is the registration law, which requires parties to re-register within 60 days with a new junta-appointed commission.
It prohibits anyone convicted by a court from joining a party, which has ruled out opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, of the National League for Democracy, from running.
The Nobel peace prize winner, who has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention, was convicted last August of violating the terms of her house arrest.
Her party has declared it will boycott the polls in protest at the new laws, which it says are draconian.
The Burmese government has not announced the date of the election but it is widely expected to be held in October or November.
Mr Kasit said Thailand wanted to see stability and national reconciliation in Burma as its own interests were at stake.
Thailand was affected by political infighting between the Burmese junta and ethnic minority groups inside Burma. Refugees crossed the border from Burma, seeking refuge in Thailand.
Kyaw Zwa Moe, managing editor of the Chiang Mai-based Irrawaddy magazine, said Burma's election laws were unjust, unfair and repressive.
"I do not believe that the junta's election will be free and fair.
"The junta has written those laws to oppress the participants, be they voters, candidates or opposition parties," he said.
The election would not be as inclusive as the international community had demanded, he said.
Kyaw Zwa Moe also doubted Burma would be criticised by other Asean members.
"I am sure that only the Burmese government will benefit from the Asean summit, not the people of Burma," he said.
Published: 8/04/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
HANOI : Southeast Asian leaders are keen to hear Burma explain its plans for a "free and fair" election when they meet for a two-day summit starting today.
"We will listen to how the Burmese junta will clarify the election after they issued five electoral laws which may lead to problems among Asean leaders and the international community," Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.
Foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including Mr Kasit, have been meeting in the Vietnamese capital to prepare agendas for their leaders.
Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein should clarify how the five laws would lead to free elections, Mr Kasit said.
The five laws enacted by the junta were the political parties registration law and four separate laws for the national election commission, the election commissions of the two houses of parliament and all regional parliaments.
Perhaps the most objectionable for the international community is the registration law, which requires parties to re-register within 60 days with a new junta-appointed commission.
It prohibits anyone convicted by a court from joining a party, which has ruled out opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, of the National League for Democracy, from running.
The Nobel peace prize winner, who has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention, was convicted last August of violating the terms of her house arrest.
Her party has declared it will boycott the polls in protest at the new laws, which it says are draconian.
The Burmese government has not announced the date of the election but it is widely expected to be held in October or November.
Mr Kasit said Thailand wanted to see stability and national reconciliation in Burma as its own interests were at stake.
Thailand was affected by political infighting between the Burmese junta and ethnic minority groups inside Burma. Refugees crossed the border from Burma, seeking refuge in Thailand.
Kyaw Zwa Moe, managing editor of the Chiang Mai-based Irrawaddy magazine, said Burma's election laws were unjust, unfair and repressive.
"I do not believe that the junta's election will be free and fair.
"The junta has written those laws to oppress the participants, be they voters, candidates or opposition parties," he said.
The election would not be as inclusive as the international community had demanded, he said.
Kyaw Zwa Moe also doubted Burma would be criticised by other Asean members.
"I am sure that only the Burmese government will benefit from the Asean summit, not the people of Burma," he said.
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The Nation - Indonesia to serve as next Asean chair
Hanoi - Published on April 8, 2010
Asean foreign ministers agreed last night to permit Indonesia to serve as the next Asean chair followed Jakarta's request due to future schedule conflicts.
An informed source told the Nation that Indonesia will replace Brunei as the next Asean chair after Vietnam instead of Brunei. Brunei has also agreed to the request.
Indonesia has a long list of summit meetings in coming years include possibility of hosting G-20 and APEC. According to the Asean rotation, Indonesia will have to chair Asean in 2014, which will also be the same year of the country's presidential election.
The source said that Indonesia wants to be a good chair and next year would be the best time.
At the informal Asean ministerial meeting, Cambodia has reconfirmed that it would be the Asean chair in 2012 as scheduled after Indonesia. The source said that the following year Cambodia will hold a general election.
With Indonesia and Cambodia as assigned Asean chair in 2011, 2012, it would be difficult for Burma to resume the chair in the next two years. Burma skipped its chair in 2005 citing domestic problems.
Hanoi - Published on April 8, 2010
Asean foreign ministers agreed last night to permit Indonesia to serve as the next Asean chair followed Jakarta's request due to future schedule conflicts.
An informed source told the Nation that Indonesia will replace Brunei as the next Asean chair after Vietnam instead of Brunei. Brunei has also agreed to the request.
Indonesia has a long list of summit meetings in coming years include possibility of hosting G-20 and APEC. According to the Asean rotation, Indonesia will have to chair Asean in 2014, which will also be the same year of the country's presidential election.
The source said that Indonesia wants to be a good chair and next year would be the best time.
At the informal Asean ministerial meeting, Cambodia has reconfirmed that it would be the Asean chair in 2012 as scheduled after Indonesia. The source said that the following year Cambodia will hold a general election.
With Indonesia and Cambodia as assigned Asean chair in 2011, 2012, it would be difficult for Burma to resume the chair in the next two years. Burma skipped its chair in 2005 citing domestic problems.
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April 08, 2010
Jakarta Globe - Opinion: A New Role for Aung San Suu Kyi?
Pavin Chachavalpongpun
Looking across the mighty Hlaing River, one does not need to know much of Burmese history to realize that Rangoon was once a culturally rich city. But in 2005, the Burmese regime led by the State Peace and Development Council famously decided to abandon the beautifully crafted capital city to the greenfield site in Naypyidaw as the country’s new government center.
Today the old power center is fast declining into a state of decay. Historical monuments urgently need restoration. Some of the damaged buildings caused by Cyclone Nargis in 2007 are still left unattended. Rangoon’s physical degeneration has partly been exacerbated by the long years of authoritarianism that Burma has endured since the military took over and pushed out civilian rule in 1962. The dilapidated old capital has emerged as a symbol of political turmoil: falling, frustrating and hopeless.
When the SPDC, under the leadership of the military strongman Senior General Than Shwe, declared that it would hold general elections in 2010 for the first time in 20 years, some of the Rangoon residents were delighted, albeit skeptical. Observers believe it will be held on Oct. 10, considered an auspicious date by the Burmese generals.
Not everyone really understood how the upcoming election would reinstall the lost concept of democracy. But all were dreaming that some changes would take place under a new democratic rule. However, these dreams have been demolished following the recent announcement that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy, would not be allowed to participate in the election.
At a gathering of leading scholars of Burma at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore on April 5, nobody seemed to be able to predict Suu Ky’s future role now that both she and her party will not be contesting in the election. But what is predictable is that the election will go on, that Western governments will reject the legitimacy of whoever will come to power and that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will go along with the new administration without asking too many questions.
I just returned from Rangoon last week. While there, I had extensive discussions with Burma’s leading political activists. Their view of politics was refreshing. Most of them agreed that it is now time for Suu Kyi to tone down her political demands and focus more on the economic issues. In this way, she could retain the title of champion of the Burmese people without having to directly participate in politics. There would be no obstacle for her to do so, the activists believe, saying she would be perceived less as a threat to the future regime.
Indeed, economic issues are important. The government’s patent inability to deal with the wellbeing of the people was no more clearly demonstrated than by Nargis, the worst natural disaster in Burma’s recorded history, which left at least 150,000 people dead and probably more, since the government stopped counting the dead to minimize the political fallout. After first refusing to allow international aid efforts, the suspicious military government only allowed a trickle of aid to enter the country and left the impoverished Burmese to fend for themselves while they sat in Naypyidaw.
Thus, the economic issues are so important that the Burmese would be willing to vote for anyone who could guarantee them a job opportunity, access to clean water, the non-interruption of electricity, and other basic necessities in life. They do not care much about who will become the next prime minister. What they care most is where the next meal can be found.
In Rangoon, still the country’s financial hub, the economic disparity among the people is stark. Starbucks-like coffee shops are mushrooming in which a cup of cappuccino is worth a month salary for a road-side construction worker. In the meantime, public buses are ancient and the service is irregular. They run side-by-side with limousines owned by children of the military supremos.
Suu Kyi and the NLD could work on these bread-and-butter issues to remain in the political limelight, the Burmese activists say, rather than to engage in a war of words with the SPDC. The other obvious benefit for her is that this will open up a channel of communication between her party and the many ethnic minorities who, like the Rangoon residents, are suffering from the widening economic gap. These minorities groups, also like other Rangoon residents, have only come to know Suu Kyi as a political figure, who, after all these years, has been incapable of changing the military’s mindset.
Economic prosperity is normally a prerequisite to building a politically conscious society. If Suu Kyi would seriously campaign for making a better life for every Burmese, she would undoubtedly become a clear winner in Burma’s political deadlock despite being banned from the election.
Pavin Chachavalpongpun, the author of “A Plastic Nation: The Curse of Thainess in Thai-Burmese Relations,” is a Fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Jakarta Globe - Opinion: A New Role for Aung San Suu Kyi?
Pavin Chachavalpongpun
Looking across the mighty Hlaing River, one does not need to know much of Burmese history to realize that Rangoon was once a culturally rich city. But in 2005, the Burmese regime led by the State Peace and Development Council famously decided to abandon the beautifully crafted capital city to the greenfield site in Naypyidaw as the country’s new government center.
Today the old power center is fast declining into a state of decay. Historical monuments urgently need restoration. Some of the damaged buildings caused by Cyclone Nargis in 2007 are still left unattended. Rangoon’s physical degeneration has partly been exacerbated by the long years of authoritarianism that Burma has endured since the military took over and pushed out civilian rule in 1962. The dilapidated old capital has emerged as a symbol of political turmoil: falling, frustrating and hopeless.
When the SPDC, under the leadership of the military strongman Senior General Than Shwe, declared that it would hold general elections in 2010 for the first time in 20 years, some of the Rangoon residents were delighted, albeit skeptical. Observers believe it will be held on Oct. 10, considered an auspicious date by the Burmese generals.
Not everyone really understood how the upcoming election would reinstall the lost concept of democracy. But all were dreaming that some changes would take place under a new democratic rule. However, these dreams have been demolished following the recent announcement that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy, would not be allowed to participate in the election.
At a gathering of leading scholars of Burma at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore on April 5, nobody seemed to be able to predict Suu Ky’s future role now that both she and her party will not be contesting in the election. But what is predictable is that the election will go on, that Western governments will reject the legitimacy of whoever will come to power and that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will go along with the new administration without asking too many questions.
I just returned from Rangoon last week. While there, I had extensive discussions with Burma’s leading political activists. Their view of politics was refreshing. Most of them agreed that it is now time for Suu Kyi to tone down her political demands and focus more on the economic issues. In this way, she could retain the title of champion of the Burmese people without having to directly participate in politics. There would be no obstacle for her to do so, the activists believe, saying she would be perceived less as a threat to the future regime.
Indeed, economic issues are important. The government’s patent inability to deal with the wellbeing of the people was no more clearly demonstrated than by Nargis, the worst natural disaster in Burma’s recorded history, which left at least 150,000 people dead and probably more, since the government stopped counting the dead to minimize the political fallout. After first refusing to allow international aid efforts, the suspicious military government only allowed a trickle of aid to enter the country and left the impoverished Burmese to fend for themselves while they sat in Naypyidaw.
Thus, the economic issues are so important that the Burmese would be willing to vote for anyone who could guarantee them a job opportunity, access to clean water, the non-interruption of electricity, and other basic necessities in life. They do not care much about who will become the next prime minister. What they care most is where the next meal can be found.
In Rangoon, still the country’s financial hub, the economic disparity among the people is stark. Starbucks-like coffee shops are mushrooming in which a cup of cappuccino is worth a month salary for a road-side construction worker. In the meantime, public buses are ancient and the service is irregular. They run side-by-side with limousines owned by children of the military supremos.
Suu Kyi and the NLD could work on these bread-and-butter issues to remain in the political limelight, the Burmese activists say, rather than to engage in a war of words with the SPDC. The other obvious benefit for her is that this will open up a channel of communication between her party and the many ethnic minorities who, like the Rangoon residents, are suffering from the widening economic gap. These minorities groups, also like other Rangoon residents, have only come to know Suu Kyi as a political figure, who, after all these years, has been incapable of changing the military’s mindset.
Economic prosperity is normally a prerequisite to building a politically conscious society. If Suu Kyi would seriously campaign for making a better life for every Burmese, she would undoubtedly become a clear winner in Burma’s political deadlock despite being banned from the election.
Pavin Chachavalpongpun, the author of “A Plastic Nation: The Curse of Thainess in Thai-Burmese Relations,” is a Fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
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ASEAN leaders meet in Hanoi over Myanmar polls
Fri, 2010-04-09 00:19 — editor
From R. Vasudevan—Reporting from New Delhi
New Delhi, 09 April (Asiantribune.com) : Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in its 16th summit in Hanoi, Vietnam Thursday, April 8, with the upcoming elections in Myanmar as one of the top concerns.
Legislators from the ten member nations urged their leaders to put Myanmar on the limelight to ensure that fair and inclusive elections will be held. The military junta currently ruling the nation has put some laws for the coming elections where some opposition leaders and political prisoners were barred from running for elective positions.
Meanwhile, Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will no longer be attending the summit due to the continued unrest in the country.
Other concerns to be raised in the summit, which will end April 9, are economic integration and climate change.
The ASEAN is consists of Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. It was formed in 1967. East Timor, which gained independence in 2002, is in an “observer” status.
Meanwhile, reports from Yangon said Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had praised her party's decision to not contest a general election planned this year. On March 29, the National League for Democracy (NLD) announced that it will not register for the elections, which will be held at an unspecified date this year.
"Daw (Madam) Aung San Suu Kyi told me that she was happy with our decision on 29 March," Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win told reporters after a brief meeting on Tuesday with the Nobel laureate, who is under house detention.
The decision, which will effectively nullify the NLD as a legal entity, was greatly influenced by Suu Kyi, who has come to personify Myanmar's blighted struggle for democracy in a country that has been under military rule since 1962.
Fri, 2010-04-09 00:19 — editor
From R. Vasudevan—Reporting from New Delhi
New Delhi, 09 April (Asiantribune.com) : Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in its 16th summit in Hanoi, Vietnam Thursday, April 8, with the upcoming elections in Myanmar as one of the top concerns.
Legislators from the ten member nations urged their leaders to put Myanmar on the limelight to ensure that fair and inclusive elections will be held. The military junta currently ruling the nation has put some laws for the coming elections where some opposition leaders and political prisoners were barred from running for elective positions.
Meanwhile, Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will no longer be attending the summit due to the continued unrest in the country.
Other concerns to be raised in the summit, which will end April 9, are economic integration and climate change.
The ASEAN is consists of Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. It was formed in 1967. East Timor, which gained independence in 2002, is in an “observer” status.
Meanwhile, reports from Yangon said Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had praised her party's decision to not contest a general election planned this year. On March 29, the National League for Democracy (NLD) announced that it will not register for the elections, which will be held at an unspecified date this year.
"Daw (Madam) Aung San Suu Kyi told me that she was happy with our decision on 29 March," Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win told reporters after a brief meeting on Tuesday with the Nobel laureate, who is under house detention.
The decision, which will effectively nullify the NLD as a legal entity, was greatly influenced by Suu Kyi, who has come to personify Myanmar's blighted struggle for democracy in a country that has been under military rule since 1962.
******************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Czech Supports UN War Crimes Inquiry on Burma
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN - Thursday, April 8, 2010
BANGKOK—The Czech Republic has become the third country to back the recommendation made by UN human rights Special Rapporteur on Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, that the UN Security Council examine setting up a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma.
In a statement to The Irrawaddy, the Czech foreign ministry said, “We believe that the possibility of establishing a Commission of Inquiry should be seriously examined.”
“Political repression and military attacks against civilians of ethnic nationalities continue in scale and gravity that may entail international crimes under the terms of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” the statement said.
The statement added that it “remains concerned at continuous grave human rights violations in Burma/Myanmar” and questioned the efficacy of the regime's “road map to democracy.”
Meanwhile former Czech President Vaclav Havel, an outspoken and prominent supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi, released a statement that referred to a report titled “Displaced Childhoods,” by the Thai-Burmese border-based Free Burma Rangers (FBR) and its partners on Wednesday that reported that children's lives are scarred by death, destruction, loss and neglect at the hands of Burmese junta troops in eastern Burma.
“I am appalled by the brutality with which Burmese authorities treat their own citizens with impunity, and I am truly afraid that the situation might get even worse and these attacks escalate later this year when the junta prepares for the elections, the results of which are to be determined by them, not by the people.”
In his message, Havel said, “The people of Burma still suffer today, and it is our duty to stand by the oppressed. I hope that democracy in Burma will be restored, that the ethnic people will have a stake in the political future of Burma, and that children can lead free, full lives.”
Welcoming the news, Mark Farmaner, the director of the Burma UK Campaign, said “real momentum” is gathering behind the call for a commission of inquiry.
The Czech declaration makes it the third country to support Mr Ojea Quintana's recommendation, after Australia and the United Kingdom. The US said that it is “looking closely” at Quintana's recommendations, according to a statement by political counselor George Kent in Bangkok.
The Czech statement came just days after the National League for Democracy, Burma's most influential political party, refused to register for the elections scheduled in Burma sometime in 2010.
Rather than have “fake elections legalize his dictatorship,” said Farmaner, referringto junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe, this year is “turning into the year when the international community woke up to the fact that he is criminal and should be behind bars.”
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN - Thursday, April 8, 2010
BANGKOK—The Czech Republic has become the third country to back the recommendation made by UN human rights Special Rapporteur on Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, that the UN Security Council examine setting up a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma.
In a statement to The Irrawaddy, the Czech foreign ministry said, “We believe that the possibility of establishing a Commission of Inquiry should be seriously examined.”
“Political repression and military attacks against civilians of ethnic nationalities continue in scale and gravity that may entail international crimes under the terms of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” the statement said.
The statement added that it “remains concerned at continuous grave human rights violations in Burma/Myanmar” and questioned the efficacy of the regime's “road map to democracy.”
Meanwhile former Czech President Vaclav Havel, an outspoken and prominent supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi, released a statement that referred to a report titled “Displaced Childhoods,” by the Thai-Burmese border-based Free Burma Rangers (FBR) and its partners on Wednesday that reported that children's lives are scarred by death, destruction, loss and neglect at the hands of Burmese junta troops in eastern Burma.
“I am appalled by the brutality with which Burmese authorities treat their own citizens with impunity, and I am truly afraid that the situation might get even worse and these attacks escalate later this year when the junta prepares for the elections, the results of which are to be determined by them, not by the people.”
In his message, Havel said, “The people of Burma still suffer today, and it is our duty to stand by the oppressed. I hope that democracy in Burma will be restored, that the ethnic people will have a stake in the political future of Burma, and that children can lead free, full lives.”
Welcoming the news, Mark Farmaner, the director of the Burma UK Campaign, said “real momentum” is gathering behind the call for a commission of inquiry.
The Czech declaration makes it the third country to support Mr Ojea Quintana's recommendation, after Australia and the United Kingdom. The US said that it is “looking closely” at Quintana's recommendations, according to a statement by political counselor George Kent in Bangkok.
The Czech statement came just days after the National League for Democracy, Burma's most influential political party, refused to register for the elections scheduled in Burma sometime in 2010.
Rather than have “fake elections legalize his dictatorship,” said Farmaner, referringto junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe, this year is “turning into the year when the international community woke up to the fact that he is criminal and should be behind bars.”
******************************************************
The Irrawaddy - NLD: 'Flag Will Keep Flying'
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Leaders of Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), have decided not to remove the party signs and insignia from outside the party's headquarters in Rangoon after the deadline for party registration, according to party sources.
One source said the decision is in line with Suu Kyi's view that the NLD will not cease to exist even if it is officially dissolved by the military junta for refusing to register as a political party, the deadline for which is May 7.
“However, the party leaders would not try to prevent the authorities from removing the party signs,” the source said.
After the May 7 deadline for party registration, the NLD headquarters and hundreds of its branch offices across the country, which were only allowed to be reopened last month, are expected to be closed down.
"Why should we remove the party sign? We don't assume that our party is finished just because we didn't register it,” said outspoken party official Win Tin.
The party leadership is currently faced with the dilemma of what the party will do after May 7. Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win, who met with the detained NLD leader on Wednesday, said, “All we can say for now is we will continue in politics. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has many ideas on what to do next. But it is unfortunate that she is still under house arrest.”
At Wednesday's meeting, Suu Kyi expressed her satisfaction at the party's decision on March 29 not to register and contest the polls this year, Nyan Win said.
“The party will be no more, but Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Vice-chairman Tin Oo and party leader Win Tin will continue the democratic movement,” Nyan Win said, adding that the party does not wish to give false hope to the Burmese people by contesting the election.
As part of its preparations for the party's future after May 7, the party's central executive committee formed a 17-member committee this week to oversee the party's property and finances.
While some observers view the party decision as “suicide” or a self-defeating response, recent surveys conducted by The Irrawaddy suggest that many people in Burma welcomed the party decision, saying the party would no longer be a respectable organization if it decided to register under the regime's “unjust” election laws. The election laws effectively bar Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 political prisoners from this year's polls or from being members of a party.
On Wednesday, the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), a coalition of 12 ethnic parties which contested and won 67 seats in the 1990 election, issued a statement in support of the NLD decision. Prior to the NLD decision, ethnic leaders representing the UNA made it clear that they will not contest the polls without a review of the regime's 2008 Constitution.
Neither the NLD party or its leader Suu Kyi, currently serving an 18-month house arrest sentence, have ever succeeded in any legal procedure against the regime.
But Suu Kyi's lawyers said that she asked them on Wednesday to continue pursuing legal proceedings on three cases: her continued detention; the lawsuit against regime leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe for setting unjust election laws; and for repairs at her Inya Lake house, which were halted by the Rangoon municipality after Suu Kyi's estranged brother and a distant relative launched objections.
Burma's supreme court in February rejected Suu Kyi's appeal against her current detention, and refused last month to accept a lawsuit against Than Shwe, saying it has no power to consider the case.
The Burmese regime has not set a date for the polls this year. Than Shwe described the election as “the very beginning of the process of fostering democracy,” in his speech on Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw last month.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Leaders of Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), have decided not to remove the party signs and insignia from outside the party's headquarters in Rangoon after the deadline for party registration, according to party sources.
One source said the decision is in line with Suu Kyi's view that the NLD will not cease to exist even if it is officially dissolved by the military junta for refusing to register as a political party, the deadline for which is May 7.
“However, the party leaders would not try to prevent the authorities from removing the party signs,” the source said.
After the May 7 deadline for party registration, the NLD headquarters and hundreds of its branch offices across the country, which were only allowed to be reopened last month, are expected to be closed down.
"Why should we remove the party sign? We don't assume that our party is finished just because we didn't register it,” said outspoken party official Win Tin.
The party leadership is currently faced with the dilemma of what the party will do after May 7. Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win, who met with the detained NLD leader on Wednesday, said, “All we can say for now is we will continue in politics. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has many ideas on what to do next. But it is unfortunate that she is still under house arrest.”
At Wednesday's meeting, Suu Kyi expressed her satisfaction at the party's decision on March 29 not to register and contest the polls this year, Nyan Win said.
“The party will be no more, but Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Vice-chairman Tin Oo and party leader Win Tin will continue the democratic movement,” Nyan Win said, adding that the party does not wish to give false hope to the Burmese people by contesting the election.
As part of its preparations for the party's future after May 7, the party's central executive committee formed a 17-member committee this week to oversee the party's property and finances.
While some observers view the party decision as “suicide” or a self-defeating response, recent surveys conducted by The Irrawaddy suggest that many people in Burma welcomed the party decision, saying the party would no longer be a respectable organization if it decided to register under the regime's “unjust” election laws. The election laws effectively bar Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 political prisoners from this year's polls or from being members of a party.
On Wednesday, the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), a coalition of 12 ethnic parties which contested and won 67 seats in the 1990 election, issued a statement in support of the NLD decision. Prior to the NLD decision, ethnic leaders representing the UNA made it clear that they will not contest the polls without a review of the regime's 2008 Constitution.
Neither the NLD party or its leader Suu Kyi, currently serving an 18-month house arrest sentence, have ever succeeded in any legal procedure against the regime.
But Suu Kyi's lawyers said that she asked them on Wednesday to continue pursuing legal proceedings on three cases: her continued detention; the lawsuit against regime leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe for setting unjust election laws; and for repairs at her Inya Lake house, which were halted by the Rangoon municipality after Suu Kyi's estranged brother and a distant relative launched objections.
Burma's supreme court in February rejected Suu Kyi's appeal against her current detention, and refused last month to accept a lawsuit against Than Shwe, saying it has no power to consider the case.
The Burmese regime has not set a date for the polls this year. Than Shwe described the election as “the very beginning of the process of fostering democracy,” in his speech on Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw last month.
******************************************************
NLD protests rejection of lawsuit against Than Shwe
Thursday, 08 April 2010 22:02 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The National League for Democracy (NLD) has despatched a protest note to the Chief Judge in the Central Court, which states rejection of the lawsuit against Senior General Than Shwe is unlawful, Nyan Win, one of the lawyers of Aung San Suu Kyi, said today.
In keeping with the decision of the Central Executive Committee’s meeting on March 22, signed by Chairman Aung Shwe, NLD filed the lawsuit against Senior General Than Shwe on March 23. However, an authorized person in the Rangoon Division Court rejected the lawsuit. He said that the court does not have the power to accept the case, and returned the documents to the party.
NLD sent the letter because rejection of the lawsuit according to sections 5(a) (h), (j) of 2000 Burma Judiciary Law and sections 45 and 54 of 1887 Specific Relief Act is not in accordance with the law.
“The court rejected the lawsuit which is against the law, so we sent the letter to the Chief Judge by post,” NLD Central Executive Committee’s member, lawyer Nyan Win said.
“The court does not have the right to reject the lawsuit. They should have formally recorded the reason for rejection. Rejecting the lawsuit without a formal record was unlawful,” he added.
According to Nyan Win, when he met Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday, she pointed out that rejecting the lawsuit was unlawful and directed them to continue to take legal action.
Thursday, 08 April 2010 22:02 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The National League for Democracy (NLD) has despatched a protest note to the Chief Judge in the Central Court, which states rejection of the lawsuit against Senior General Than Shwe is unlawful, Nyan Win, one of the lawyers of Aung San Suu Kyi, said today.
In keeping with the decision of the Central Executive Committee’s meeting on March 22, signed by Chairman Aung Shwe, NLD filed the lawsuit against Senior General Than Shwe on March 23. However, an authorized person in the Rangoon Division Court rejected the lawsuit. He said that the court does not have the power to accept the case, and returned the documents to the party.
NLD sent the letter because rejection of the lawsuit according to sections 5(a) (h), (j) of 2000 Burma Judiciary Law and sections 45 and 54 of 1887 Specific Relief Act is not in accordance with the law.
“The court rejected the lawsuit which is against the law, so we sent the letter to the Chief Judge by post,” NLD Central Executive Committee’s member, lawyer Nyan Win said.
“The court does not have the right to reject the lawsuit. They should have formally recorded the reason for rejection. Rejecting the lawsuit without a formal record was unlawful,” he added.
According to Nyan Win, when he met Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday, she pointed out that rejecting the lawsuit was unlawful and directed them to continue to take legal action.
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A boycott can unite the opposition
Thursday, 08 April 2010 11:27 B.K. Sen
(Mizzima) – Burma has been plunged into a deep crisis, casting a cloud of uncertainty over the country’s first multiparty vote in more than 20 years. Squarely the military leaders have to be blamed. They have brutally seized power and it is their responsibility to return power to where it belongs – namely to the people. In 1990 they tried to show their commitment by holding elections, but refused to honor the results.
Nonetheless, under pressure from peoples’ movements and the international community, the regime entered into a facade of dialogue for peaceful transition to civilian rule. But after a lot of drama and gimmicks their true colors have been revealed. The junta still refuses to pay heed to the complaints that the opposition has been venting for years. Never have they entered into talks on the issue of elections. On the contrary, they have kept hundreds in jail as political prisoners, including the democratic icon Suu Kyi.
Arrogantly and contemptuously, the junta is proceeding with plans to hold its election under the widely condemned 2008 constitution. And now, to add insult to injury, the regime has passed electoral laws banning all activists who have served prison sentences from contesting the election. Deliberately, the junta has provoked the National League for Democracy to tighten the noose around its own neck by provoking an intra-party vote to keep the NLD out of the election.
To understand the lack of validity in the present constitution, we have to trace the country’s constitutional history. Previously, the electoral process and electoral laws were quite different and the stakeholders were political parties, not the military. Presently, the military is the lawgiver and king and can do no wrong.
History has shown that a number of authoritarian regimes collapsed while negotiating democratic reforms and through electoral competition. Some who were clever, however, redrew their political institutions along “formally” democratic lines ultimately against democratization. This is the case in Burma. When an authoritarian regime is in crisis it attempts “protracted” transition, managing the pace and trajectory of change by conducting limited electoral exercises. This happened in both Kenya and Mexico.
There are strong arguments in favor of Burma’s opposition boycotting the election. A critical prerequisite for a democratic election is a free environment; the keeping of over 2,000 political prisoners is in direct contradiction to this. Their release and ensuing declaration of amnesty is essential. Secondly, in order to create a level playing ground, the military cannot be a political party contesting the election. There must also be freedom of assembly, an independent media, independent election commission, independent election observers, equitable allocation of resources and an impartial judiciary.
None of the above criteria currently exist, thereby justifying a boycott. A boycott is a last option. It is a form of political protest in which voters feel the election system is biased; it is a peaceful political tool.
Declarations of various political parties and groups indicate that opposition to the electoral laws is widespread. The main opposition party, NLD, which won a landside victory in the 1990 election, declared that it is not taking part in the country’s 2010 election because of the unjust electoral laws. Leaders of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy have also declared their support for the NLD’s position. Meanwhile, the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), a coalition of 12 ethnic parties that won 67 seats in 1990, has also declared they will not participate in the election.
Further, several armed ceasefire groups continue to defy the junta’s call for them to transform their forces into a Border Guard Force. And internationally, leaders from the UN, USA, EU and ASEAN have criticized the electoral laws and expressed the view that the election cannot be free and fair. The overall picture is that the scheduled election has lost its credibility, and that a broad boycott deals a major blow to the legitimacy of the election while unifying opposition forces.
The question now arises, what is next after the boycott? The military has a stomach for a high level of bloodshed in confronting protests. Yet initiating social movements that hinder the regime’s ability to govern or minimize voter participation are the only alternatives. The deciding factor is the ingenuity of the opposition in spreading their arguments to voters who are the ultimate authority. The democratic potential of the people has thus far been unrealized. Faced with a national and global boycott, the junta will become more frustrated and desperate and stoop to all foul means available to prevent any renewed unrest. Repression is the only tool left in its hand. If repression is successful then authoritarian rule continues. But if it fails, concessions are given and democracy asserts itself.
Boycotts do carry an impact, but the final result depends on the interaction of different factors. The challenges are before both the junta and the opposition.
Thursday, 08 April 2010 11:27 B.K. Sen
(Mizzima) – Burma has been plunged into a deep crisis, casting a cloud of uncertainty over the country’s first multiparty vote in more than 20 years. Squarely the military leaders have to be blamed. They have brutally seized power and it is their responsibility to return power to where it belongs – namely to the people. In 1990 they tried to show their commitment by holding elections, but refused to honor the results.
Nonetheless, under pressure from peoples’ movements and the international community, the regime entered into a facade of dialogue for peaceful transition to civilian rule. But after a lot of drama and gimmicks their true colors have been revealed. The junta still refuses to pay heed to the complaints that the opposition has been venting for years. Never have they entered into talks on the issue of elections. On the contrary, they have kept hundreds in jail as political prisoners, including the democratic icon Suu Kyi.
Arrogantly and contemptuously, the junta is proceeding with plans to hold its election under the widely condemned 2008 constitution. And now, to add insult to injury, the regime has passed electoral laws banning all activists who have served prison sentences from contesting the election. Deliberately, the junta has provoked the National League for Democracy to tighten the noose around its own neck by provoking an intra-party vote to keep the NLD out of the election.
To understand the lack of validity in the present constitution, we have to trace the country’s constitutional history. Previously, the electoral process and electoral laws were quite different and the stakeholders were political parties, not the military. Presently, the military is the lawgiver and king and can do no wrong.
History has shown that a number of authoritarian regimes collapsed while negotiating democratic reforms and through electoral competition. Some who were clever, however, redrew their political institutions along “formally” democratic lines ultimately against democratization. This is the case in Burma. When an authoritarian regime is in crisis it attempts “protracted” transition, managing the pace and trajectory of change by conducting limited electoral exercises. This happened in both Kenya and Mexico.
There are strong arguments in favor of Burma’s opposition boycotting the election. A critical prerequisite for a democratic election is a free environment; the keeping of over 2,000 political prisoners is in direct contradiction to this. Their release and ensuing declaration of amnesty is essential. Secondly, in order to create a level playing ground, the military cannot be a political party contesting the election. There must also be freedom of assembly, an independent media, independent election commission, independent election observers, equitable allocation of resources and an impartial judiciary.
None of the above criteria currently exist, thereby justifying a boycott. A boycott is a last option. It is a form of political protest in which voters feel the election system is biased; it is a peaceful political tool.
Declarations of various political parties and groups indicate that opposition to the electoral laws is widespread. The main opposition party, NLD, which won a landside victory in the 1990 election, declared that it is not taking part in the country’s 2010 election because of the unjust electoral laws. Leaders of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy have also declared their support for the NLD’s position. Meanwhile, the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), a coalition of 12 ethnic parties that won 67 seats in 1990, has also declared they will not participate in the election.
Further, several armed ceasefire groups continue to defy the junta’s call for them to transform their forces into a Border Guard Force. And internationally, leaders from the UN, USA, EU and ASEAN have criticized the electoral laws and expressed the view that the election cannot be free and fair. The overall picture is that the scheduled election has lost its credibility, and that a broad boycott deals a major blow to the legitimacy of the election while unifying opposition forces.
The question now arises, what is next after the boycott? The military has a stomach for a high level of bloodshed in confronting protests. Yet initiating social movements that hinder the regime’s ability to govern or minimize voter participation are the only alternatives. The deciding factor is the ingenuity of the opposition in spreading their arguments to voters who are the ultimate authority. The democratic potential of the people has thus far been unrealized. Faced with a national and global boycott, the junta will become more frustrated and desperate and stoop to all foul means available to prevent any renewed unrest. Repression is the only tool left in its hand. If repression is successful then authoritarian rule continues. But if it fails, concessions are given and democracy asserts itself.
Boycotts do carry an impact, but the final result depends on the interaction of different factors. The challenges are before both the junta and the opposition.
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DVB News - ‘My children have never had a home’
By JJ KIM
Published: 8 April 2010
Across Burma, it is estimated that between one to three million men, women and children remain internally displaced as a result of conflict, human rights abuse and a long series of other coercive measures that make it impossible for them to live a stable life in their homelands. ‘Displaced Childhoods’, a report released today by Partners Relief & Development and Free Burma Rangers, says that children in these families are suffering significantly, leaving the Burmese authorities in direct violation of international law.
Without inalienable rights to life’s necessities, hundreds of thousands of minors are living without stable access to food, shelter, education and healthcare. The report claims that not only is the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) making no effort to alleviate these problems, but in many areas is actively exacerbating them as part of military offensives against ethnic minority insurgents.
For decades, the SPDC has fought with ethnic armies which demanding greater autonomy and political participation. Largely facing opponents that use guerrilla hit-and-run tactics, the Burma army has adopted what has been dubbed a ‘Four Cuts’ strategy in an effort to wipe them out. By subjugating ethnic minorities and devastating entire communities, the SPDC aims to systematically cut off the insurgents’ supplies of food, shelter, intelligence and recruits. The brutal measures taken to this end include burning entire villages, laying landmines throughout farmlands and frequented paths, extrajudicial killings in areas out of tight control, persistent torture of civilians and the much documented use of “rape as a weapon.”
Already this year thousands of people have had their homes destroyed by the army and its proxy armed forces. January and February saw at least 114 houses destroyed and over 4000 families flee to the jungle in Burma’s eastern Karen state alone.
Such practices and forced relocation for development projects are considered the main causes of displacement in Burma, along with the inability to sustain livelihoods due to economic repression and human rights violations, such as forced labour, forced conscription and violent abuse.
The exact numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) living in Burma are impossible to obtain, but numerous studies from recent years have shown them to be critically high. Surveys carried out by the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) in 2009 conservatively estimated that there are 470,000 IDPs now living in eastern Burma, while more speculative figures reach up to three million nationwide.
Thousands of these families have remained in hiding for decades, on the run from the army, generation after generation. Naw Paw Leh, a Karen refugee now living in Thailand, is a grandmother of three and has been moving from settlement to settlement since her teens.
“My home village was destroyed when I was a girl because of local support for the Karen National Union (KNU),” she explained. “My four children and all their children were born in the jungle and have never had a home. We just moved around making new settlements in the jungle [up to] four times per year.”
When asked what problems the children in her family still in the jungle face, the list was long. “The main thing is food,” she began, lifting a skinny arm up to her mouth. “They have no education and can’t even farm. People always get sick and we have no medicine. We sometimes use herbs and chicken bones but many children die.”
‘Displaced Childhoods’ claims that one in every five IDP children in Burma dies before the age of five, while “mortality rates of displaced children in conflict areas are estimated to be three times higher than Burma’s national average”.
As the report details, the SPDC’s total refusal to acknowledge these people and take the necessary steps to provide them with humanitarian support are out of line with the United Nation’s 10 Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and in direct violation of numerous international human rights laws and UN conventions. Despite this, documentation by the UN continues to understate the seriousness of the situation compared with that conducted by groups focusing on these issues.
‘Displaced Childhoods’ is the latest of many human rights reports to put on record severe abuse of children in Burma by the SPDC. But in both 2007 and 2009, a UN report on children and armed conflict in Burma gave very few cases of abuse on children and little indication that such incidents were frequent.
In particular the 2009 report gave no mention of attacks on hospitals or schools, an act considered by the UN as one of the “Six Grave Violations” of the rights of children in armed conflicts. ‘Displaced Childhoods’ documents 12 incidences of displacement nationwide in the 12 months prior to June 2009, many of which involved multiple villages.
Despite dire poverty throughout these areas, many of these villages had schools and clinics, mostly administered by organisations based in Thailand.
In one recent case, not included in the report, between the 17 and 19 February this year, two villages in northern Karen state were torched by the Burmese army. During the attacks, one clinic was burnt to the ground while at least two schools were destroyed and nine more abandoned.
Speaking from a jungle hiding weeks after the incident, one teacher said: “We left before they got there so the children were not attacked. Some people have been back to the village and said that the blackboard has gone and everything is broken. We are continuing class in the forest now. It is difficult but it’s important they continue to study.”
The discrepancy between UN reports and those of organisations working along the Thai-Burma border is of great significance. While the SPDC refuses to allow the International Criminal Court jurisdiction to hear a case, these crimes will almost certainly go unpunished by the international community without UN security council intervention.
Furthermore, the politically centrist policies of most international NGOs working in Burma make it difficult for them to rely on studies carried out by organisations linked to armed or political opposition groups when allocating funds or setting up aid programmes. While documentation by international agencies such as the UN fails to portray the severity of violations of children’s rights in Burma, the issues will remain untouchable and largely unaddressed by such groups.
The report concludes with calls for the Burmese government “to end violations against children and comply with its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law. The SPDC must prevent further displacements from taking place and make efforts to protect and assist internally displaced communities in Burma. Partners and FBR further call on the United Nations to investigate the serious and well-documented allegations of large-scale displacements in Burma that likely amount to crimes against humanity and/or war crimes. All children should be able to enjoy free and full lives.”
JJ Kim works for Burma Matters Now
By JJ KIM
Published: 8 April 2010
Across Burma, it is estimated that between one to three million men, women and children remain internally displaced as a result of conflict, human rights abuse and a long series of other coercive measures that make it impossible for them to live a stable life in their homelands. ‘Displaced Childhoods’, a report released today by Partners Relief & Development and Free Burma Rangers, says that children in these families are suffering significantly, leaving the Burmese authorities in direct violation of international law.
Without inalienable rights to life’s necessities, hundreds of thousands of minors are living without stable access to food, shelter, education and healthcare. The report claims that not only is the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) making no effort to alleviate these problems, but in many areas is actively exacerbating them as part of military offensives against ethnic minority insurgents.
For decades, the SPDC has fought with ethnic armies which demanding greater autonomy and political participation. Largely facing opponents that use guerrilla hit-and-run tactics, the Burma army has adopted what has been dubbed a ‘Four Cuts’ strategy in an effort to wipe them out. By subjugating ethnic minorities and devastating entire communities, the SPDC aims to systematically cut off the insurgents’ supplies of food, shelter, intelligence and recruits. The brutal measures taken to this end include burning entire villages, laying landmines throughout farmlands and frequented paths, extrajudicial killings in areas out of tight control, persistent torture of civilians and the much documented use of “rape as a weapon.”
Already this year thousands of people have had their homes destroyed by the army and its proxy armed forces. January and February saw at least 114 houses destroyed and over 4000 families flee to the jungle in Burma’s eastern Karen state alone.
Such practices and forced relocation for development projects are considered the main causes of displacement in Burma, along with the inability to sustain livelihoods due to economic repression and human rights violations, such as forced labour, forced conscription and violent abuse.
The exact numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) living in Burma are impossible to obtain, but numerous studies from recent years have shown them to be critically high. Surveys carried out by the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) in 2009 conservatively estimated that there are 470,000 IDPs now living in eastern Burma, while more speculative figures reach up to three million nationwide.
Thousands of these families have remained in hiding for decades, on the run from the army, generation after generation. Naw Paw Leh, a Karen refugee now living in Thailand, is a grandmother of three and has been moving from settlement to settlement since her teens.
“My home village was destroyed when I was a girl because of local support for the Karen National Union (KNU),” she explained. “My four children and all their children were born in the jungle and have never had a home. We just moved around making new settlements in the jungle [up to] four times per year.”
When asked what problems the children in her family still in the jungle face, the list was long. “The main thing is food,” she began, lifting a skinny arm up to her mouth. “They have no education and can’t even farm. People always get sick and we have no medicine. We sometimes use herbs and chicken bones but many children die.”
‘Displaced Childhoods’ claims that one in every five IDP children in Burma dies before the age of five, while “mortality rates of displaced children in conflict areas are estimated to be three times higher than Burma’s national average”.
As the report details, the SPDC’s total refusal to acknowledge these people and take the necessary steps to provide them with humanitarian support are out of line with the United Nation’s 10 Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and in direct violation of numerous international human rights laws and UN conventions. Despite this, documentation by the UN continues to understate the seriousness of the situation compared with that conducted by groups focusing on these issues.
‘Displaced Childhoods’ is the latest of many human rights reports to put on record severe abuse of children in Burma by the SPDC. But in both 2007 and 2009, a UN report on children and armed conflict in Burma gave very few cases of abuse on children and little indication that such incidents were frequent.
In particular the 2009 report gave no mention of attacks on hospitals or schools, an act considered by the UN as one of the “Six Grave Violations” of the rights of children in armed conflicts. ‘Displaced Childhoods’ documents 12 incidences of displacement nationwide in the 12 months prior to June 2009, many of which involved multiple villages.
Despite dire poverty throughout these areas, many of these villages had schools and clinics, mostly administered by organisations based in Thailand.
In one recent case, not included in the report, between the 17 and 19 February this year, two villages in northern Karen state were torched by the Burmese army. During the attacks, one clinic was burnt to the ground while at least two schools were destroyed and nine more abandoned.
Speaking from a jungle hiding weeks after the incident, one teacher said: “We left before they got there so the children were not attacked. Some people have been back to the village and said that the blackboard has gone and everything is broken. We are continuing class in the forest now. It is difficult but it’s important they continue to study.”
The discrepancy between UN reports and those of organisations working along the Thai-Burma border is of great significance. While the SPDC refuses to allow the International Criminal Court jurisdiction to hear a case, these crimes will almost certainly go unpunished by the international community without UN security council intervention.
Furthermore, the politically centrist policies of most international NGOs working in Burma make it difficult for them to rely on studies carried out by organisations linked to armed or political opposition groups when allocating funds or setting up aid programmes. While documentation by international agencies such as the UN fails to portray the severity of violations of children’s rights in Burma, the issues will remain untouchable and largely unaddressed by such groups.
The report concludes with calls for the Burmese government “to end violations against children and comply with its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law. The SPDC must prevent further displacements from taking place and make efforts to protect and assist internally displaced communities in Burma. Partners and FBR further call on the United Nations to investigate the serious and well-documented allegations of large-scale displacements in Burma that likely amount to crimes against humanity and/or war crimes. All children should be able to enjoy free and full lives.”
JJ Kim works for Burma Matters Now
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