US warns Myanmar junta over pace of reforms
by P. Parameswaran – Wed Apr 14, 11:31 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States has warned Myanmar's generals that it could review a dialogue with them in the absence of democratic reforms.
Washington has also conveyed concerns directly to the military junta over its decision to hold elections that effectively barred key opposition leaders, an official said.
"I think it will be fair to say in terms of the election law and our desire to see an internal dialogue between the various stakeholders about the upcoming election that we are disappointed in the steps that had been taken," said US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs Kurt Campbell.
"We have conveyed (this) directly to the regime and also to the countries that encouraged us to begin a dialogue with the country," he said in reply to a question at a forum on US-Malaysia relations held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"We do think we have been able to pass some consequential messages but overall, I would say that we are going to need to see some steps on the part of the leadership in (Myanmar) to sustain this process going forward."
Campbell's remarks came ahead of the visit to Myanmar by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao as part of an April 22-25 swing through Southeast Asia.
China is the isolated state's sole major ally and trade partner and the energy-hungry Asian giant is an eager buyer of Myanmar's sizeable natural gas reserves. Beijing has in the past tried to shield the junta from international sanctions imposed over its poor human rights record.
In announcing Wen's visit, Beijing said this week it hoped Myanmar's elections would lead to national reconciliation of the various parties in the country "to ensure national stability and development."
The elections have been criticized as lacking credibility because of laws that effectively bar opposition leader and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from taking part.
They will be the country's first polls in two decades, but Suu Kyi's political party has called a boycott over rules that would have forced it to expel her as leader if it wanted to participate.
The Barack Obama administration, which has made a signature policy of engaging US adversaries, last year initiated a dialogue with the junta, judging that a previous approach of isolating the regime had not borne fruit.
Following the junta's election decision, US lawmakers pushed the Obama administration to review its policy of dialogue and tighten sanctions.
Nine US senators across the political spectrum in a recent letter to Obama urged the Treasury Department to act on a law that would crack down on US bank accounts linked to Myanmar's leaders and target foreign banks that do business with the junta.
Asked to comment on the possibility of tightening sanctions, Campbell said, "I would say we have obviously not eased sanctions."
The United States "always retain the right and the ability" to make any decision on the sanctions issue, he said.
by P. Parameswaran – Wed Apr 14, 11:31 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States has warned Myanmar's generals that it could review a dialogue with them in the absence of democratic reforms.
Washington has also conveyed concerns directly to the military junta over its decision to hold elections that effectively barred key opposition leaders, an official said.
"I think it will be fair to say in terms of the election law and our desire to see an internal dialogue between the various stakeholders about the upcoming election that we are disappointed in the steps that had been taken," said US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs Kurt Campbell.
"We have conveyed (this) directly to the regime and also to the countries that encouraged us to begin a dialogue with the country," he said in reply to a question at a forum on US-Malaysia relations held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"We do think we have been able to pass some consequential messages but overall, I would say that we are going to need to see some steps on the part of the leadership in (Myanmar) to sustain this process going forward."
Campbell's remarks came ahead of the visit to Myanmar by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao as part of an April 22-25 swing through Southeast Asia.
China is the isolated state's sole major ally and trade partner and the energy-hungry Asian giant is an eager buyer of Myanmar's sizeable natural gas reserves. Beijing has in the past tried to shield the junta from international sanctions imposed over its poor human rights record.
In announcing Wen's visit, Beijing said this week it hoped Myanmar's elections would lead to national reconciliation of the various parties in the country "to ensure national stability and development."
The elections have been criticized as lacking credibility because of laws that effectively bar opposition leader and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from taking part.
They will be the country's first polls in two decades, but Suu Kyi's political party has called a boycott over rules that would have forced it to expel her as leader if it wanted to participate.
The Barack Obama administration, which has made a signature policy of engaging US adversaries, last year initiated a dialogue with the junta, judging that a previous approach of isolating the regime had not borne fruit.
Following the junta's election decision, US lawmakers pushed the Obama administration to review its policy of dialogue and tighten sanctions.
Nine US senators across the political spectrum in a recent letter to Obama urged the Treasury Department to act on a law that would crack down on US bank accounts linked to Myanmar's leaders and target foreign banks that do business with the junta.
Asked to comment on the possibility of tightening sanctions, Campbell said, "I would say we have obviously not eased sanctions."
The United States "always retain the right and the ability" to make any decision on the sanctions issue, he said.
******************************************************
Bombs kill 9 at Myanmar New Year water festival
By AYE AYE WIN, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 25 mins ago
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Three bombs ripped through traditional New Year festivities in Myanmar's biggest city Thursday, killing nine people and injuring 94 others, officials and state television said, the deadliest such attack in Yangon for five years.
There was no indication who was behind the blasts, which occurred at about 3 p.m. near some 20 pavilions erected for the celebrations at the sprawling Kandawgyi Lake.
Myanmar is celebrating the annual four-day water festival, when people drench each other with water to usher in the Myanmar New Year on Saturday.
State television and radio put the death toll at eight — five men and three women. It said 94 people including 30 women were injured. However, a hospital official said nine people were killed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.
The conflicting figures could not be immediately reconciled.
Television pictures from the site showed pools of blood and scattered sandals, left behind by fleeing revelers. The television broadcast described the blasts as the handiwork of "terrorists" but did not blame any group or organization. No one has claimed responsibility.
State TV also warned other revelers in the capital Naypyitaw, Yangon, Mandalay and other cities to be alert and to contact authorities if they have any information about the "terrorists."
Bombings are rare but not unknown in the cities of Myanmar, whose military rulers are fighting several insurgencies in remote provinces. The pro-democracy movement led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been based on the principle of nonviolence.
Witnesses said the emergency ward of Yangon General Hospital was sealed off to outsiders after at least 30 injured people were rushed there. One said the hospital was a scene of chaos and commotion, with injured arriving drenched in blood and people crying and moaning.
"Truckloads of police have circled the area and police had arrived with sniffer dogs," said 24-year old Thant Zaw, a witness contacted by phone.
A hospital official said the casualties so far did not include any foreigners, though the festival is a tourist attraction.
It was the worst such attack since May 2005 when a series of bombs exploded at two upscale supermarkets and at a convention center, killing 19 people and injuring more than 160 others.
In the past, the government has blamed bomb blasts on exiled anti-government groups and insurgents including ethnic Karen rebels fighting for greater autonomy in eastern Myanmar.
By AYE AYE WIN, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 25 mins ago
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Three bombs ripped through traditional New Year festivities in Myanmar's biggest city Thursday, killing nine people and injuring 94 others, officials and state television said, the deadliest such attack in Yangon for five years.
There was no indication who was behind the blasts, which occurred at about 3 p.m. near some 20 pavilions erected for the celebrations at the sprawling Kandawgyi Lake.
Myanmar is celebrating the annual four-day water festival, when people drench each other with water to usher in the Myanmar New Year on Saturday.
State television and radio put the death toll at eight — five men and three women. It said 94 people including 30 women were injured. However, a hospital official said nine people were killed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.
The conflicting figures could not be immediately reconciled.
Television pictures from the site showed pools of blood and scattered sandals, left behind by fleeing revelers. The television broadcast described the blasts as the handiwork of "terrorists" but did not blame any group or organization. No one has claimed responsibility.
State TV also warned other revelers in the capital Naypyitaw, Yangon, Mandalay and other cities to be alert and to contact authorities if they have any information about the "terrorists."
Bombings are rare but not unknown in the cities of Myanmar, whose military rulers are fighting several insurgencies in remote provinces. The pro-democracy movement led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been based on the principle of nonviolence.
Witnesses said the emergency ward of Yangon General Hospital was sealed off to outsiders after at least 30 injured people were rushed there. One said the hospital was a scene of chaos and commotion, with injured arriving drenched in blood and people crying and moaning.
"Truckloads of police have circled the area and police had arrived with sniffer dogs," said 24-year old Thant Zaw, a witness contacted by phone.
A hospital official said the casualties so far did not include any foreigners, though the festival is a tourist attraction.
It was the worst such attack since May 2005 when a series of bombs exploded at two upscale supermarkets and at a convention center, killing 19 people and injuring more than 160 others.
In the past, the government has blamed bomb blasts on exiled anti-government groups and insurgents including ethnic Karen rebels fighting for greater autonomy in eastern Myanmar.
******************************************************
Myanmar ethnic minorities style of celebrating water festival attracts revellers
English.news.cn 2010-04-15 16:59:06
By Feng Yingqiu
YANGON, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Water throwing pandal girls were sitting facing a water-filled boat with the backs to the open side of the pandal, while boys, either in group or individually roaming around and reveling songs and rhymes, came into the pandal to play watering with pandal girls.
This was one of the scenes of water festival in Yangon specially featuring Rakhine ethnic minority's style of celebrating the water festival.
Rakhine state, where the ethnic nationality reside, lies in the coastal area in the country's western part.
According to the Rakhine ethnic culture and custom, on request to the pandal supervisor ladies, the boys will choose the girl with whom they would like to play watering with.
The chosen girl then offers a bucket of water to the boy and he will start to play water, then the girl responses watering with her own bowl.
Other boys, while waiting their turn outside the pandal, will play music, songs or rhymes.
Such traditional style of water throwing of Rakhine nationality is unique among other nationalities of Myanmar, a pandal lady supervisor of the Rakhine Literature and Culture Committee, which organized the festival, told Xinhua Thursday in a festive trip interview.
The opportunity of watering each other in the pandals during the festive days is the affectionate and efficacious trust for boys and girls, she said.
It was seen that pandal, built of wood and bamboo and decorated with palm leaves and "padauk" flower, is placed with a long boat filled with water therein.
In fact, Rakhine national water festival is usually celebrated in three categories, namely, nantha grinding ceremony, nantha pouring to Buddha statues and water festival.
On the eve of the water festival, Rakhine people cleans the monasteries and its ordination building with water in every ward and village.
In that evening, Rakhine girls assemble at a pagoda platform or a hall bringing sandle woods of white and red. They grind the Nantha pieces or blocks on the face of Kyauk-pyin (round flot rock) to obtain the creamy sweet smelling Nantha.
At the same time, the young Rakhine men cheer and sing songs with the musical instruments to make the nantha grinding event into a competition.
The next morning, which is the first day of the water festival, the Rakhine people go to the pagodas and monasteries and do the cleaning and offering of the Nantha to Buddha statues, that is the gesture of welcoming to the Rakhine ethnic water festival.
Although the style of holding the Thingyan water festival is slightly different among Myanmar's nationalities due to geographical conditions, its basically same tradition has existed for hundreds of years.
Offering wax smelly Thingyan rice is the tradition of Mon ethnic minority and the tradition of paying respects to the elderly and providing free meal by seeking fund with the performance of Thaman Kyar dances in Dawei and Myeik regions in the southern part is also among the happy occasion of Myanmar nationalities in the water festival.
Myanmar's Thingyan water festival started from Tuesday (April 13) and is running for four days until Friday (April 16) and the new year will ushers in on Saturday (April 17) according to the traditional customs. But the public holidays have started from April 10 through to April 21 lasting a total of 12 days.
English.news.cn 2010-04-15 16:59:06
By Feng Yingqiu
YANGON, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Water throwing pandal girls were sitting facing a water-filled boat with the backs to the open side of the pandal, while boys, either in group or individually roaming around and reveling songs and rhymes, came into the pandal to play watering with pandal girls.
This was one of the scenes of water festival in Yangon specially featuring Rakhine ethnic minority's style of celebrating the water festival.
Rakhine state, where the ethnic nationality reside, lies in the coastal area in the country's western part.
According to the Rakhine ethnic culture and custom, on request to the pandal supervisor ladies, the boys will choose the girl with whom they would like to play watering with.
The chosen girl then offers a bucket of water to the boy and he will start to play water, then the girl responses watering with her own bowl.
Other boys, while waiting their turn outside the pandal, will play music, songs or rhymes.
Such traditional style of water throwing of Rakhine nationality is unique among other nationalities of Myanmar, a pandal lady supervisor of the Rakhine Literature and Culture Committee, which organized the festival, told Xinhua Thursday in a festive trip interview.
The opportunity of watering each other in the pandals during the festive days is the affectionate and efficacious trust for boys and girls, she said.
It was seen that pandal, built of wood and bamboo and decorated with palm leaves and "padauk" flower, is placed with a long boat filled with water therein.
In fact, Rakhine national water festival is usually celebrated in three categories, namely, nantha grinding ceremony, nantha pouring to Buddha statues and water festival.
On the eve of the water festival, Rakhine people cleans the monasteries and its ordination building with water in every ward and village.
In that evening, Rakhine girls assemble at a pagoda platform or a hall bringing sandle woods of white and red. They grind the Nantha pieces or blocks on the face of Kyauk-pyin (round flot rock) to obtain the creamy sweet smelling Nantha.
At the same time, the young Rakhine men cheer and sing songs with the musical instruments to make the nantha grinding event into a competition.
The next morning, which is the first day of the water festival, the Rakhine people go to the pagodas and monasteries and do the cleaning and offering of the Nantha to Buddha statues, that is the gesture of welcoming to the Rakhine ethnic water festival.
Although the style of holding the Thingyan water festival is slightly different among Myanmar's nationalities due to geographical conditions, its basically same tradition has existed for hundreds of years.
Offering wax smelly Thingyan rice is the tradition of Mon ethnic minority and the tradition of paying respects to the elderly and providing free meal by seeking fund with the performance of Thaman Kyar dances in Dawei and Myeik regions in the southern part is also among the happy occasion of Myanmar nationalities in the water festival.
Myanmar's Thingyan water festival started from Tuesday (April 13) and is running for four days until Friday (April 16) and the new year will ushers in on Saturday (April 17) according to the traditional customs. But the public holidays have started from April 10 through to April 21 lasting a total of 12 days.
******************************************************
April 15, 2010 15:54 PM
Myanmar Forest Reduces By 14 Per Cent In 35 Years
YANGON, April 15 (Bernama) -- Myanmar's forest-covered area has reduced by 14 percent in 35 years, registering 40 percent of the country's total land area now, according to figures of the Food and Agriculture Organisation available here Thursday.
The percentage dropped from 60 percent in 1975 to 41 percent in 2010, the statistics show, reports China's Xinhua news agency.
Forestry experts attributed the depletion of forest mainly to the excessive extraction of timber.
Meanwhile, Myanmar's forestry authorities have planned to reduce timber production and export during this fiscal year of 2010-11, which began this month, as part of its bid to prevent forest depletion, according to the forestry circle.
Myanmar possesses many kinds of natural forests such as fresh- water forest, salt-water forest, pine forest, deciduous forest, evergreen forest and so on.
As its other efforts to prevent forest depletion, the Myanmar authorities have also been implementing some reforestation projects by granting local private companies to grow teak and hardwood with land allotted for them for the purpose since 2005.
Moreover, the Myanmar authorities have been drawing a 30-year plan involving the participation of private companies.
According to the National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA), the rate of forest depletion in Myanmar in 2000-05 was as high as 466,000 hectares, standing as the fourth most forest depleting country in the world after Brazil, Indonesia and Sudan.
There are 155,340 square-kilometers of reserve forests and protected public forests in Myanmar with 52,650 hectares of forest plantations, statistics show.
Myanmar Forest Reduces By 14 Per Cent In 35 Years
YANGON, April 15 (Bernama) -- Myanmar's forest-covered area has reduced by 14 percent in 35 years, registering 40 percent of the country's total land area now, according to figures of the Food and Agriculture Organisation available here Thursday.
The percentage dropped from 60 percent in 1975 to 41 percent in 2010, the statistics show, reports China's Xinhua news agency.
Forestry experts attributed the depletion of forest mainly to the excessive extraction of timber.
Meanwhile, Myanmar's forestry authorities have planned to reduce timber production and export during this fiscal year of 2010-11, which began this month, as part of its bid to prevent forest depletion, according to the forestry circle.
Myanmar possesses many kinds of natural forests such as fresh- water forest, salt-water forest, pine forest, deciduous forest, evergreen forest and so on.
As its other efforts to prevent forest depletion, the Myanmar authorities have also been implementing some reforestation projects by granting local private companies to grow teak and hardwood with land allotted for them for the purpose since 2005.
Moreover, the Myanmar authorities have been drawing a 30-year plan involving the participation of private companies.
According to the National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA), the rate of forest depletion in Myanmar in 2000-05 was as high as 466,000 hectares, standing as the fourth most forest depleting country in the world after Brazil, Indonesia and Sudan.
There are 155,340 square-kilometers of reserve forests and protected public forests in Myanmar with 52,650 hectares of forest plantations, statistics show.
******************************************************
Chinese president, premier postpone trips because of earthquake
GOV.cn - Thursday, April 15, 2010
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have postponed planned overseas visits because of a strong earthquake in northwestern China that killed more than 600 people.
Hu postponed visits to Venezuela and Peru after a scheduled summit of Brazil, Russia, India and China slated for Thursday and Friday and a state visit to Brazil.
Before arriving in Brazil, Hu took part in the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington from April 13 to 14.
Wen Jiabao has postponed a scheduled visit to Brunei, Indonesia and Myanmar on April 22 to 25.
The 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit China's northwestern Qinghai Province on Wednesday has left more than 600 people dead, another 313 missing and 9,110 injured.
About 100,000 people were left homeless.
GOV.cn - Thursday, April 15, 2010
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have postponed planned overseas visits because of a strong earthquake in northwestern China that killed more than 600 people.
Hu postponed visits to Venezuela and Peru after a scheduled summit of Brazil, Russia, India and China slated for Thursday and Friday and a state visit to Brazil.
Before arriving in Brazil, Hu took part in the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington from April 13 to 14.
Wen Jiabao has postponed a scheduled visit to Brunei, Indonesia and Myanmar on April 22 to 25.
The 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit China's northwestern Qinghai Province on Wednesday has left more than 600 people dead, another 313 missing and 9,110 injured.
About 100,000 people were left homeless.
******************************************************
Updated : 6:53 PM, 04/15/2010
VOV News - Myanmar, Vietnam promote cultural exchanges
Vietnam and Myanmar, who share a number of cultural features, have agreed to more cultural exchanges in performing arts and archaeology.
The agreement was reached at a meeting on April 15 between Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh and Myanmar Minister of Culture Khin Aung Myint.
Mr Tuan Anh said he hoped the two countries will also cooperate in the fields of aviation, banking, and post and telecommunications.
Cultural cooperation will focus on cultural exchanges between the two countries, student exchanges, and activities in the fields of museum, heritage, and performing arts.
Mr Aung Myint said he hopes the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will soon set up archaeological teams to work with Myanmar archaeologists.
VOV News - Myanmar, Vietnam promote cultural exchanges
Vietnam and Myanmar, who share a number of cultural features, have agreed to more cultural exchanges in performing arts and archaeology.
The agreement was reached at a meeting on April 15 between Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh and Myanmar Minister of Culture Khin Aung Myint.
Mr Tuan Anh said he hoped the two countries will also cooperate in the fields of aviation, banking, and post and telecommunications.
Cultural cooperation will focus on cultural exchanges between the two countries, student exchanges, and activities in the fields of museum, heritage, and performing arts.
Mr Aung Myint said he hopes the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will soon set up archaeological teams to work with Myanmar archaeologists.
******************************************************
Yahoo News - Up to 1,000 Amnesty International Students and Activists Converge on NYC to Demand Human Rights
25 mins ago
Amnesty International Local Group 133's 15th Annual Event Targets Burmese, Sri Lankan, Congolese and Chinese Governments
NEW YORK, April 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Up to 1,000 human rights activists will travel from Massachusetts to New York City on Friday, April 16th, for a full day of activism on human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Sri Lanka, Tibet and other countries. Amnesty International Group 133 (of Somerville, MA) comes to New York for the 15th Annual "Get On The Bus for Human Rights (GOTB)." Since its inception, GOTB has grown from 30 participants to more than 1,000 dedicated volunteers who arrive by train, bus and car to protest human rights abuses around the world at locations in New York City including consulates, missions, the United Nations and corporate headquarters.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081014/AILOGO)
This year's demonstrators will write letters and take to the streets to demand that Myanmar's military regime release Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and other imprisoned pro-democracy advocates; they will call for the release of journalist J.S. Tissainayagam in Sri Lanka and Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen in China, both arrested for publishing material critical of their governments' abuses against minority communities; and they will call upon the Democratic Republic of Congo to support women's rights defenders who have come under severe threat.
The day begins with a panel of international journalists and Burmese and Tibetan monks. The speakers panel is hosted at The Great Hall of The Cooper Union and is co-sponsored by the Cooper Union Department of Continuing Education & Public Programs. It's a fitting start of the day, considering Cooper Union's exceptional legacy of supporting social justice causes. Following the panel, participants will travel to select locations in New York City for the afternoon's demonstrations.
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries who campaign for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.
WHO: Up to 1000 Amnesty International student and local group
members and other grassroots activists
WHAT: 15 th Annual "Get On The Bus for Human Rights" from Boston to
New York City
WHERE: Program begins with an 11:00 a.m. speakers panel at The Great
Hall at The Cooper Union (7 East 7th St), proceeds to Sri
Lankan Mission to the U.N. (630 3rd Avenue at 41 st St.), then
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (E 47th St (between 1st and 2nd
Aves), the UN Building (1st Ave and 46th St), and the Chinese
Mission to the U.N. (350 E. 35th Street). Complete schedule is
attached.
WHEN: Friday, April 16, 2010 from 11 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Please visit www.amnestyusa.org or www.gotb.org for more information.
Get On the Bus 2010 Schedule of Events
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - Event Registration
Location: Great Hall at Cooper Union at 7 East 7th St.
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Speakers Panel, Great Hall at Cooper Union
Featuring: Tala Dowlatshahi, U.S. Representative, Reporters without Borders; U Pyinya Zawta, Buddhist monk and co-founder, All Burma Monks' Alliance; U Gawsita, Buddhist monk and human rights activist; Gouri Sadhwani, Deputy Executive Director
Organizing, Membership & Campaigns, AIUSA; Thenjiwe McHarris, Amnesty organizer speaking on behalf of AI's efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Geshe Lobsang Tenpa, executive member of the Tibetan community of New Jersey and contributor to the Human Rights Watch report "Trials of a Tibetan Monk: the Case of Tenzin Deleg."
1:50 - 2:35 p.m. - Sri Lanka Action
Location: Sri Lankan Mission to the UN at 630 3rd Avenue (41st Street and 3rd Ave)
2:55 - 3:40 p.m. - Burma Action
Location: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, (2nd Avenue and East 47th Street)
3:40 - 4:15 p.m. - Democratic Republic of Congo Side Action
Location: UN Building, front side
4:15 - 5:00 p.m. - Tibet Action
Location: Chinese Mission to the UN: 350 E 35th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenue)
SOURCE Amnesty International
25 mins ago
Amnesty International Local Group 133's 15th Annual Event Targets Burmese, Sri Lankan, Congolese and Chinese Governments
NEW YORK, April 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Up to 1,000 human rights activists will travel from Massachusetts to New York City on Friday, April 16th, for a full day of activism on human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Sri Lanka, Tibet and other countries. Amnesty International Group 133 (of Somerville, MA) comes to New York for the 15th Annual "Get On The Bus for Human Rights (GOTB)." Since its inception, GOTB has grown from 30 participants to more than 1,000 dedicated volunteers who arrive by train, bus and car to protest human rights abuses around the world at locations in New York City including consulates, missions, the United Nations and corporate headquarters.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081014/AILOGO)
This year's demonstrators will write letters and take to the streets to demand that Myanmar's military regime release Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and other imprisoned pro-democracy advocates; they will call for the release of journalist J.S. Tissainayagam in Sri Lanka and Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen in China, both arrested for publishing material critical of their governments' abuses against minority communities; and they will call upon the Democratic Republic of Congo to support women's rights defenders who have come under severe threat.
The day begins with a panel of international journalists and Burmese and Tibetan monks. The speakers panel is hosted at The Great Hall of The Cooper Union and is co-sponsored by the Cooper Union Department of Continuing Education & Public Programs. It's a fitting start of the day, considering Cooper Union's exceptional legacy of supporting social justice causes. Following the panel, participants will travel to select locations in New York City for the afternoon's demonstrations.
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries who campaign for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.
WHO: Up to 1000 Amnesty International student and local group
members and other grassroots activists
WHAT: 15 th Annual "Get On The Bus for Human Rights" from Boston to
New York City
WHERE: Program begins with an 11:00 a.m. speakers panel at The Great
Hall at The Cooper Union (7 East 7th St), proceeds to Sri
Lankan Mission to the U.N. (630 3rd Avenue at 41 st St.), then
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (E 47th St (between 1st and 2nd
Aves), the UN Building (1st Ave and 46th St), and the Chinese
Mission to the U.N. (350 E. 35th Street). Complete schedule is
attached.
WHEN: Friday, April 16, 2010 from 11 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Please visit www.amnestyusa.org or www.gotb.org for more information.
Get On the Bus 2010 Schedule of Events
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - Event Registration
Location: Great Hall at Cooper Union at 7 East 7th St.
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Speakers Panel, Great Hall at Cooper Union
Featuring: Tala Dowlatshahi, U.S. Representative, Reporters without Borders; U Pyinya Zawta, Buddhist monk and co-founder, All Burma Monks' Alliance; U Gawsita, Buddhist monk and human rights activist; Gouri Sadhwani, Deputy Executive Director
Organizing, Membership & Campaigns, AIUSA; Thenjiwe McHarris, Amnesty organizer speaking on behalf of AI's efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Geshe Lobsang Tenpa, executive member of the Tibetan community of New Jersey and contributor to the Human Rights Watch report "Trials of a Tibetan Monk: the Case of Tenzin Deleg."
1:50 - 2:35 p.m. - Sri Lanka Action
Location: Sri Lankan Mission to the UN at 630 3rd Avenue (41st Street and 3rd Ave)
2:55 - 3:40 p.m. - Burma Action
Location: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, (2nd Avenue and East 47th Street)
3:40 - 4:15 p.m. - Democratic Republic of Congo Side Action
Location: UN Building, front side
4:15 - 5:00 p.m. - Tibet Action
Location: Chinese Mission to the UN: 350 E 35th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenue)
SOURCE Amnesty International
******************************************************
The First Post - Americans ask: is Burma building a nuclear bomb?
With rubies galore to pay for a processing facility, there are fears Burma could be the next North Korea
By Tim Edwards
LAST UPDATED 7:55 AM, APRIL 15, 2010
Barack Obama's Nuclear Security Summit this week was ostensibly aimed at preventing terrorists from building a nuclear weapon, but the US president also had an eye on Iran, North Korea – and maybe even Burma.
None of these pariah states was invited to the talks, and while there was much debate over sanctions against Iran, which is suspected of having military ambitions for its nuclear research, there is mounting evidence that Burma's military junta has its own nuclear weapons programme.
The Daily Beast yesterday quoted a "senior American diplomat" who says the Burmese could follow the example of North Korea, which according to the International Atomic Energy Agency became a nuclear power in 2009. "Burma can become the second hermit kingdom in Asia with nuclear weapons, able to deflect any outside threat.
Unfortunately for us, Burma has the hard currency to buy what Pyongyang is selling - it may be rubies for atoms," the source said.
Burma is of course famous for its rubies, but it also has uranium mines. To make that uranium usable for either a nuclear reactor or weapons, Burma would need some kind of processing facility.
Burma has in the past made no secret of its civilian nuclear ambitions. The junta signed a deal with Russia in 2007 to build a 10-megawatt research reactor and train technicians to run it. However, Russia's nuclear energy agency Rosatom told Associated Press last year "there has been no movement whatsoever on this agreement with Burma ever since".
As a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Russia would only be willing to provide technical know-how for civilian applications, which could explain both the delay in building the research reactor and Burma's alleged dealings with North Korea.
Evidence for a uranium enrichment plant is circumstantial, but plentiful. In June last year, Japanese police arrested a North Korean and two Japanese businessmen on suspicion of exporting a magnetometer to Burma. Such devices have many civilian applications such as in archaeology – small versions are even present in iPhones - but they are a critical component in gas centrifuges used to enrich uranium.
The following month, the Kang Nam I, a North Korean ship bound for Burma, returned home after it attracted the attention of the US Navy. Associated Press quoted a South Korean intelligence expert as claiming satellite imagery showed the ship was carrying nuclear equipment and "Scud-type missiles". Senior members of the Burmese junta are also believed to have visited North Korea in 2008 – apparently to conclude a military cooperation pact.
Evidence from inside the Burmese regime comes from a two-year investigation by Desmond Ball, a professor of strategic studies at the Australia National University, and journalist Phil Thornton. Last August they published an article in the Sydney Morning Herald based on interviews with defectors crossing the Burmese border into Thailand.
They suggest the junta has established a ‘nuclear battalion' in its army and has plans to produce one nuclear warhead per year from 2014. They say Burma is trading refined uranium in return for technological knowhow from Pyongyang.
One defector from Burma who was sent to Moscow as part of efforts to create a 'nuclear battalion' to run a reactor said that, in addition to the planned Russian reactor, there was a second secret reactor at a complex called Naung Laing. The defector claimed that Russians were on hand to help build a plutonium reprocessing capability.
Another defector, a book-keeper to a tycoon with links to the Burmese junta, said: "They're aware they cannot compete with Thailand with conventional weapons. They want to play power like North Korea. They hope to combine the nuclear and air defence missiles."
Hillary Clinton admitted US concerns when she said last year: "We worry about the transfer of nuclear technology and other dangerous weapons [from North Korea to Burma]."
North Korea has form: it is believed to have helped Syria build a nuclear reactor which was destroyed by an Israeli air strike in 2007. But there are dissenting voices who do not credit the idea of a nuclear-armed Burma.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies says Burma "has no known capabilities that would lend themselves to a nuclear weapons program, apart from limited uranium deposits and some personnel who have received nuclear training overseas".
As for the 10-megawatt research reactor, if it is built, "few of the skills required for such a program are readily transferable to nuclear weapons development… and any attempt to divert plutonium from the reactor is likely to be detected by IAEA inspectors".
There may be a prosaic explanation for American talk of a Burmese bomb. The military junta is holding elections this year – elections that, thanks to recently enacted laws, will not involve the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Just as the Nuclear Security Summit seemed like an elaborate ploy to isolate Iran, talking up Rangoon's nuclear ambitions may be the Americans' way of getting a nervous India – and maybe even China - onside to help it tackle its neighbour's human rights record.
With rubies galore to pay for a processing facility, there are fears Burma could be the next North Korea
By Tim Edwards
LAST UPDATED 7:55 AM, APRIL 15, 2010
Barack Obama's Nuclear Security Summit this week was ostensibly aimed at preventing terrorists from building a nuclear weapon, but the US president also had an eye on Iran, North Korea – and maybe even Burma.
None of these pariah states was invited to the talks, and while there was much debate over sanctions against Iran, which is suspected of having military ambitions for its nuclear research, there is mounting evidence that Burma's military junta has its own nuclear weapons programme.
The Daily Beast yesterday quoted a "senior American diplomat" who says the Burmese could follow the example of North Korea, which according to the International Atomic Energy Agency became a nuclear power in 2009. "Burma can become the second hermit kingdom in Asia with nuclear weapons, able to deflect any outside threat.
Unfortunately for us, Burma has the hard currency to buy what Pyongyang is selling - it may be rubies for atoms," the source said.
Burma is of course famous for its rubies, but it also has uranium mines. To make that uranium usable for either a nuclear reactor or weapons, Burma would need some kind of processing facility.
Burma has in the past made no secret of its civilian nuclear ambitions. The junta signed a deal with Russia in 2007 to build a 10-megawatt research reactor and train technicians to run it. However, Russia's nuclear energy agency Rosatom told Associated Press last year "there has been no movement whatsoever on this agreement with Burma ever since".
As a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Russia would only be willing to provide technical know-how for civilian applications, which could explain both the delay in building the research reactor and Burma's alleged dealings with North Korea.
Evidence for a uranium enrichment plant is circumstantial, but plentiful. In June last year, Japanese police arrested a North Korean and two Japanese businessmen on suspicion of exporting a magnetometer to Burma. Such devices have many civilian applications such as in archaeology – small versions are even present in iPhones - but they are a critical component in gas centrifuges used to enrich uranium.
The following month, the Kang Nam I, a North Korean ship bound for Burma, returned home after it attracted the attention of the US Navy. Associated Press quoted a South Korean intelligence expert as claiming satellite imagery showed the ship was carrying nuclear equipment and "Scud-type missiles". Senior members of the Burmese junta are also believed to have visited North Korea in 2008 – apparently to conclude a military cooperation pact.
Evidence from inside the Burmese regime comes from a two-year investigation by Desmond Ball, a professor of strategic studies at the Australia National University, and journalist Phil Thornton. Last August they published an article in the Sydney Morning Herald based on interviews with defectors crossing the Burmese border into Thailand.
They suggest the junta has established a ‘nuclear battalion' in its army and has plans to produce one nuclear warhead per year from 2014. They say Burma is trading refined uranium in return for technological knowhow from Pyongyang.
One defector from Burma who was sent to Moscow as part of efforts to create a 'nuclear battalion' to run a reactor said that, in addition to the planned Russian reactor, there was a second secret reactor at a complex called Naung Laing. The defector claimed that Russians were on hand to help build a plutonium reprocessing capability.
Another defector, a book-keeper to a tycoon with links to the Burmese junta, said: "They're aware they cannot compete with Thailand with conventional weapons. They want to play power like North Korea. They hope to combine the nuclear and air defence missiles."
Hillary Clinton admitted US concerns when she said last year: "We worry about the transfer of nuclear technology and other dangerous weapons [from North Korea to Burma]."
North Korea has form: it is believed to have helped Syria build a nuclear reactor which was destroyed by an Israeli air strike in 2007. But there are dissenting voices who do not credit the idea of a nuclear-armed Burma.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies says Burma "has no known capabilities that would lend themselves to a nuclear weapons program, apart from limited uranium deposits and some personnel who have received nuclear training overseas".
As for the 10-megawatt research reactor, if it is built, "few of the skills required for such a program are readily transferable to nuclear weapons development… and any attempt to divert plutonium from the reactor is likely to be detected by IAEA inspectors".
There may be a prosaic explanation for American talk of a Burmese bomb. The military junta is holding elections this year – elections that, thanks to recently enacted laws, will not involve the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Just as the Nuclear Security Summit seemed like an elaborate ploy to isolate Iran, talking up Rangoon's nuclear ambitions may be the Americans' way of getting a nervous India – and maybe even China - onside to help it tackle its neighbour's human rights record.
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Township Chairman among injured in bomb blasts
Thursday, 15 April 2010 20:20 Min Thet
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Three bombs exploded in quick succession at the X2O water festival pavilion in Rangoon at about 3 p.m. today near the Theinbyu driving track, Kandawgyi Lake, Mingala Taungnyunt Township.
The blasts killed five men and three women, including Township Municipal Officer of Mingala Taungnyunt, an official of the Yangon (Rangoon) City Development Committee (YCDC) said.
However, some unconfirmed sources said nine people had died.
The number of injured may touch 90 but according to the Rangoon Division Police Force Chief’s office, 63 people had been admitted to the Rangoon General Hospital (RGH) as in-patients, it is learnt.
“A lot of people were injured in the blasts including Sub-Inspector of Police Maung Maung Han and Mingala Taugnyung Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) Chairman Kyaw Nyein. Around 63 persons were admitted to RGH,” a duty officer at the Rangoon Police Force Chief’s office said.
“When I heard three loud explosions at about 3 p.m., I was near Yuzana Plaza. First I thought it was car tyres, which had burst, but later realized that it was something else. I called my friends at the water festival at the Theinbyu ground and they said bombs had exploded. When I reached there, the area was cordoned off by the police. There was chaos everywhere with people running and wailing. Parents of revellers at the pavilion were crying,” a person who reached the bomb blast site within 15 minutes said.
The state-run media reported at 6 p.m. local time that three men and three women were killed in the blasts which left 75 injured. But it later reported that total eight died and 84 injured.
“It is strange and unprecedented. The government has never before announced such news so fast,” a local resident from Tamwe Township said.
The perpetrators of the bomb blasts have not yet been identified but the police said time bombs were planted at the pavilion.
The police started making arbitrary arrests of people near the blast site. A 20-year old youth from Mingala Taungnyunt Township, who fled from the spot to evade arrest said.
“We ran from the spot. They seized my camera,” he said.
Thursday, 15 April 2010 20:20 Min Thet
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Three bombs exploded in quick succession at the X2O water festival pavilion in Rangoon at about 3 p.m. today near the Theinbyu driving track, Kandawgyi Lake, Mingala Taungnyunt Township.
The blasts killed five men and three women, including Township Municipal Officer of Mingala Taungnyunt, an official of the Yangon (Rangoon) City Development Committee (YCDC) said.
However, some unconfirmed sources said nine people had died.
The number of injured may touch 90 but according to the Rangoon Division Police Force Chief’s office, 63 people had been admitted to the Rangoon General Hospital (RGH) as in-patients, it is learnt.
“A lot of people were injured in the blasts including Sub-Inspector of Police Maung Maung Han and Mingala Taugnyung Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) Chairman Kyaw Nyein. Around 63 persons were admitted to RGH,” a duty officer at the Rangoon Police Force Chief’s office said.
“When I heard three loud explosions at about 3 p.m., I was near Yuzana Plaza. First I thought it was car tyres, which had burst, but later realized that it was something else. I called my friends at the water festival at the Theinbyu ground and they said bombs had exploded. When I reached there, the area was cordoned off by the police. There was chaos everywhere with people running and wailing. Parents of revellers at the pavilion were crying,” a person who reached the bomb blast site within 15 minutes said.
The state-run media reported at 6 p.m. local time that three men and three women were killed in the blasts which left 75 injured. But it later reported that total eight died and 84 injured.
“It is strange and unprecedented. The government has never before announced such news so fast,” a local resident from Tamwe Township said.
The perpetrators of the bomb blasts have not yet been identified but the police said time bombs were planted at the pavilion.
The police started making arbitrary arrests of people near the blast site. A 20-year old youth from Mingala Taungnyunt Township, who fled from the spot to evade arrest said.
“We ran from the spot. They seized my camera,” he said.
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