Global press freedom eroded in 2009: survey
By Paul Eckert – Thu Apr 29, 4:26 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Global press freedom deteriorated last year as political turmoil or drug violence engulfed emerging democracies like Thailand and Mexico and authoritarian China and Russia tightened controls, a U.S. annual survey said on Thursday.
Freedom House, which has been conducting such polls since 1980, said 2009 marked the eighth-straight year of deterioration of media freedom, with setbacks in nearly every region creating a situation in which only one of six people in the world live in countries with a free press.
"While there were some positive developments, particularly in South Asia, significant declines were recorded in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East," said Freedom House, a watchdog group funded by private and Western government donations.
Behind the declines, the worst since 1996, was strife in a number of countries that threatened independent reporting, including drug wars in Mexico; political coups in Honduras, Guinea and Niger; and political strife in Thailand, it said.
With China, Russia and Venezuela boosting already strong controls on media, Freedom House said "the year was notable for intensified efforts by authoritarian regimes to place restrictions on all conduits for news and information."
"The Chinese regime has become a world leader in the development of new and more sophisticated methods of information control," said the report, compiled before the U.S. search engine Google Corp quit the China market in a dispute over censorship.
BLEAKEST IN AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST
Russia's situation faltered, the report said, "as legal protections are routinely ignored, the judicial system grows more subservient to the executive branch, reporters face severe repercussions for reporting on sensitive issues, most attacks on journalists go unpunished, and media ownership is brought firmly under the control of the state."
Freedom House also warned of "globalization of censorship" because some methods of control have crossed borders.
Beijing pressed overseas film festivals and book fairs to ban appearances or works by China's critics and Islamic nations have united to try to restrict speech by including antiblasphemy codes in international human rights law, it said.
In a practice it called "libel tourism," foreign business and political figures used Britain's expansive libel laws to quash critical research or commentary by journalists and scholars, the report said.
Of the 196 countries and territories assessed in 2009, 69 were rated Free, 64 were rated Partly Free, and 63 were rated Not Free.
By country, the "worst of the worst" in 2009, with minimal or nonexistent media freedom were Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, the survey said.
The bleakest region for media freedom was North Africa and the Middle East, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa and the non-Baltic nations of the former Soviet Union, it said.
Although North America and Western Europe contained the greatest concentration of countries with free media, Freedom House rapped Britain for expansive libel laws used to stifle criticism and said the United States lacked federal protection-of-sources legislation, while media diversity was threatened by the news industry's economic troubles.
Italy was rated only "partly free" as a result of government interference with state broadcasters' editorial policies and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's clash with media outlets over coverage of his personal life, the watchdog group said.
By Paul Eckert – Thu Apr 29, 4:26 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Global press freedom deteriorated last year as political turmoil or drug violence engulfed emerging democracies like Thailand and Mexico and authoritarian China and Russia tightened controls, a U.S. annual survey said on Thursday.
Freedom House, which has been conducting such polls since 1980, said 2009 marked the eighth-straight year of deterioration of media freedom, with setbacks in nearly every region creating a situation in which only one of six people in the world live in countries with a free press.
"While there were some positive developments, particularly in South Asia, significant declines were recorded in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East," said Freedom House, a watchdog group funded by private and Western government donations.
Behind the declines, the worst since 1996, was strife in a number of countries that threatened independent reporting, including drug wars in Mexico; political coups in Honduras, Guinea and Niger; and political strife in Thailand, it said.
With China, Russia and Venezuela boosting already strong controls on media, Freedom House said "the year was notable for intensified efforts by authoritarian regimes to place restrictions on all conduits for news and information."
"The Chinese regime has become a world leader in the development of new and more sophisticated methods of information control," said the report, compiled before the U.S. search engine Google Corp quit the China market in a dispute over censorship.
BLEAKEST IN AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST
Russia's situation faltered, the report said, "as legal protections are routinely ignored, the judicial system grows more subservient to the executive branch, reporters face severe repercussions for reporting on sensitive issues, most attacks on journalists go unpunished, and media ownership is brought firmly under the control of the state."
Freedom House also warned of "globalization of censorship" because some methods of control have crossed borders.
Beijing pressed overseas film festivals and book fairs to ban appearances or works by China's critics and Islamic nations have united to try to restrict speech by including antiblasphemy codes in international human rights law, it said.
In a practice it called "libel tourism," foreign business and political figures used Britain's expansive libel laws to quash critical research or commentary by journalists and scholars, the report said.
Of the 196 countries and territories assessed in 2009, 69 were rated Free, 64 were rated Partly Free, and 63 were rated Not Free.
By country, the "worst of the worst" in 2009, with minimal or nonexistent media freedom were Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, the survey said.
The bleakest region for media freedom was North Africa and the Middle East, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa and the non-Baltic nations of the former Soviet Union, it said.
Although North America and Western Europe contained the greatest concentration of countries with free media, Freedom House rapped Britain for expansive libel laws used to stifle criticism and said the United States lacked federal protection-of-sources legislation, while media diversity was threatened by the news industry's economic troubles.
Italy was rated only "partly free" as a result of government interference with state broadcasters' editorial policies and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's clash with media outlets over coverage of his personal life, the watchdog group said.
******************************************************
Reuters AlertNet - Funding shortfalls hurt Cyclone Nargis recovery efforts in Myanmar
30 Apr 2010 13:27:00 GMT
Written by: AlertNet correspondent
Severe shortfalls in funding are curtailing recovery efforts in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta, which was worst hit when Cyclone Nargis battered the country in 2008 leaving 140,000 dead, aid agencies said on the eve of the disaster's second anniversary.
The cyclone, which was the worst natural disaster to hit Asia since the 2004 tsunami, left 2.4 million people destitute in the army-ruled former Burma. It flooded paddy fields with salt water, damaged irrigation systems and destroyed seeds.
Despite the widespread damage done to the delta which is considered Myanmar's rice bowl, the latest U.N. figures show that a three-year $690 million recovery plan launched at the start of 2009 is only 25 percent funded.
"The consequence of insufficient funding is that there are serious unmet needs for more sustainable shelter and agricultural support," Bishow Parajuli, the United Nations' resident coordinator in Myanmar, told AlertNet.
"Programmes have been scaled back, cut or cancelled and staff numbers have been reduced. And the recovery process has slowed down," he added.
The funding crunch is also being felt by established aid agencies such as Save the Children and the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration (IOM). And insiders say the lack of funds has prompted many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to leave the delta and means that the recovery period will take much longer than the three years originally anticipated.
Save the Children's country director in Myanmar, Andrew Kirkwood, told AlertNet the agency has shut six of its 14 offices in the delta and halved the number of staff in the area from 1,200 to 600.
Yet recovery is already uneven.
Kirkwood said although there had been some improvements in the former capital Yangon, commercial centres and small towns of the delta, a large number of survivors, especially landless labourers, are facing a grim time.
"They have not been able to replace assets needed to make a living. Farmers are not making enough money farming paddy so they're reducing their input including labour," Kirkwood said.
"We have lots of evidence to say people are sharing jobs that used to be their own. And many people have taken on a lot of extra debt to get them through the past two years."
SHELTER TROUBLES
IOM is appealing for $12.5 million to provide shelters for an additional 50,000 households who are living in poor housing conditions, according to Dr. William Sabandar, the secretary general of regional bloc ASEAN's special envoy for post-Nargis recovery in Myanmar.
"If the appeal is not met, IOM will be forced to close down their operations in the delta," he told AlertNet.
Only 12 percent or less than $22 million of the $176 million needed for shelter over a three-year period, has been received, Srinivasa Popuri, head of the U.N. housing agency UN-Habitat in Myanmar, told AlertNet.
This has left around 800,000 survivors or 160,000 families in 11 townships facing a third monsoon without a proper roof over their heads.
Shelter has consistently been one of the least funded areas, mainly due to perception that housing is the government's responsibility and many donors do not want to be seen as supporting the junta. Aid agencies said they are frustrated with aid being politicised this way.
Popuri said in the aftermath of Nargis, the shelter sector had about 45 NGOs working in it. However, only six of these NGOs continue to operate in the delta, and by May, only three will remain active, he added.
"The reason for many agencies to close their shelter operations is purely due to lack of resources and not any restrictions on them by the government," Popuri said.
Alasdair Gordon-Gibson, head of operations in Myanmar for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies said there might be a lack of understanding of the shelter needs in Myanmar, which are different to those in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami.
Rather than huge municipal infrastructure reconstruction projects, the focus in Myanmar is on family households and simple, basic, sustainable shelter for them, he said.
The Red Cross said it is currently the biggest shelter provider with its plans to build 16,000 shelters by the end of 2010 fully funded.
Another pressing problem is access to clean water.
Around 180,000 people face severe water shortages. Access to drinking water in the delta during the dry season is a chronic problem, according to World Vision.
Cyclone Nargis left ponds and wells contaminated with salt water, human and animal corpses and all sorts of debris.
The water sources have to be pumped, treated, the foundations rebuilt and it could take up to five years before they meet World Health Organisation standards on safe
drinking water, WV's Jenny Macintyre said.
"There is a need to fund rehabilitation," she said. "Good practice in donor-ship is to give people back the livelihoods they had before the disaster, and if you do that, then you have a community that can reclaim their dignity."
30 Apr 2010 13:27:00 GMT
Written by: AlertNet correspondent
Severe shortfalls in funding are curtailing recovery efforts in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta, which was worst hit when Cyclone Nargis battered the country in 2008 leaving 140,000 dead, aid agencies said on the eve of the disaster's second anniversary.
The cyclone, which was the worst natural disaster to hit Asia since the 2004 tsunami, left 2.4 million people destitute in the army-ruled former Burma. It flooded paddy fields with salt water, damaged irrigation systems and destroyed seeds.
Despite the widespread damage done to the delta which is considered Myanmar's rice bowl, the latest U.N. figures show that a three-year $690 million recovery plan launched at the start of 2009 is only 25 percent funded.
"The consequence of insufficient funding is that there are serious unmet needs for more sustainable shelter and agricultural support," Bishow Parajuli, the United Nations' resident coordinator in Myanmar, told AlertNet.
"Programmes have been scaled back, cut or cancelled and staff numbers have been reduced. And the recovery process has slowed down," he added.
The funding crunch is also being felt by established aid agencies such as Save the Children and the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration (IOM). And insiders say the lack of funds has prompted many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to leave the delta and means that the recovery period will take much longer than the three years originally anticipated.
Save the Children's country director in Myanmar, Andrew Kirkwood, told AlertNet the agency has shut six of its 14 offices in the delta and halved the number of staff in the area from 1,200 to 600.
Yet recovery is already uneven.
Kirkwood said although there had been some improvements in the former capital Yangon, commercial centres and small towns of the delta, a large number of survivors, especially landless labourers, are facing a grim time.
"They have not been able to replace assets needed to make a living. Farmers are not making enough money farming paddy so they're reducing their input including labour," Kirkwood said.
"We have lots of evidence to say people are sharing jobs that used to be their own. And many people have taken on a lot of extra debt to get them through the past two years."
SHELTER TROUBLES
IOM is appealing for $12.5 million to provide shelters for an additional 50,000 households who are living in poor housing conditions, according to Dr. William Sabandar, the secretary general of regional bloc ASEAN's special envoy for post-Nargis recovery in Myanmar.
"If the appeal is not met, IOM will be forced to close down their operations in the delta," he told AlertNet.
Only 12 percent or less than $22 million of the $176 million needed for shelter over a three-year period, has been received, Srinivasa Popuri, head of the U.N. housing agency UN-Habitat in Myanmar, told AlertNet.
This has left around 800,000 survivors or 160,000 families in 11 townships facing a third monsoon without a proper roof over their heads.
Shelter has consistently been one of the least funded areas, mainly due to perception that housing is the government's responsibility and many donors do not want to be seen as supporting the junta. Aid agencies said they are frustrated with aid being politicised this way.
Popuri said in the aftermath of Nargis, the shelter sector had about 45 NGOs working in it. However, only six of these NGOs continue to operate in the delta, and by May, only three will remain active, he added.
"The reason for many agencies to close their shelter operations is purely due to lack of resources and not any restrictions on them by the government," Popuri said.
Alasdair Gordon-Gibson, head of operations in Myanmar for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies said there might be a lack of understanding of the shelter needs in Myanmar, which are different to those in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami.
Rather than huge municipal infrastructure reconstruction projects, the focus in Myanmar is on family households and simple, basic, sustainable shelter for them, he said.
The Red Cross said it is currently the biggest shelter provider with its plans to build 16,000 shelters by the end of 2010 fully funded.
Another pressing problem is access to clean water.
Around 180,000 people face severe water shortages. Access to drinking water in the delta during the dry season is a chronic problem, according to World Vision.
Cyclone Nargis left ponds and wells contaminated with salt water, human and animal corpses and all sorts of debris.
The water sources have to be pumped, treated, the foundations rebuilt and it could take up to five years before they meet World Health Organisation standards on safe
drinking water, WV's Jenny Macintyre said.
"There is a need to fund rehabilitation," she said. "Good practice in donor-ship is to give people back the livelihoods they had before the disaster, and if you do that, then you have a community that can reclaim their dignity."
******************************************************
Reuters AlertNet - A chance to earn an income in Myanmar
30 Apr 2010 09:18:50 GMT
Source: Oxfam GB - UK
Ben Noikorn learns how Oxfam’s training is helping people affected by Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar to develop new skills and improve their income.
“Incredible” was the word that 40-year-old Min Zaw uttered when asked about his current life after joining Oxfam’s occupational skill training in January last year.
“It is quite incredible - the two-month program has really guaranteed a steady income for the rest of my life,” Min Zaw said, referring to the Machine Repair and Maintenance Training provided by Oxfam as part of its programmes for those whose livelihoods were destroyed or affected by Cyclone Nargis in 2008.
Min Zaw was one of ten participants in a training programme which he confirmed has changed his life. Before Cyclone Nargis, Min Zaw sold maize, but when the cyclone devastated the agricultural sector, small traders such as Min Zaw were particularly hard hit. By increasing his skills, more work opportunities have opened up, allowing him to continue to earn an income, and to work from home so that he can now take care of his disabled daughter - a very important step for him.
In the past, Min Zaw would go to his client’s house and check and repair only small machines. Now he can work at home because he has more customers and they are confident in his competence, so they approach him to repair larger machines as well. “This way, I can look after our daughter. Otherwise, my wife will be occupied with her while also taking care of our grocery shop, cooking, and other household works. Our life is getting better now.”
Min Zaw already had basic knowledge about mechanical devices and repairs, but he believes the training has improved his skills and built up his confidence, which in turn has gained him trust from his customers.
“I think the rate of work has increased after that. My customers are not only from our village, but also from other villages nearby. We earn at least 2,000 kyat (approx $2 US dollars) a day and at most 10,000 kyat ($10 US dollars).” Together with his wife’s income from the shop, they are doing quite well and can also afford medicines for his daughter, who has been mute since birth.
Another participant, Thuya, 19, from Kyone Dar Chaung Village, also said he is more confident about his job since the training.
“Before the training, I sold maize. I learned how to repair machines by watching other mechanics do their work, and became their assistant for minor repairs,” Thuya told Oxfam. “Now I have confidence to be a professional mechanic. Because of the training, I was able to really understand about machine repairs and how they work.”
Nine months after the training, Thuya has found that the number of people asking him to work has significantly improved. He has started dreaming about the future: having his own business.
For big repairs, Thuya makes at least 10,000 kyat (approx $10 US dollars), and 3,000 or 4,000 kyat ($3 or $4 US dollars) for smaller pieces. He usually repairs agricultural and fishery machinery. Thuya used to earn about 500 kyat ($5 US dollars) from selling maize.
“I’ve earned about 150,000 kyat ($150 US dollars) already. I want to set up a welding business. For that, I think I need to invest about four or five lakhs (approx $400-$500 US dollars). I expect my dream will come true in two or three years,” he said with a smile.
Source: Oxfam GB - UK
Ben Noikorn learns how Oxfam’s training is helping people affected by Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar to develop new skills and improve their income.
“Incredible” was the word that 40-year-old Min Zaw uttered when asked about his current life after joining Oxfam’s occupational skill training in January last year.
“It is quite incredible - the two-month program has really guaranteed a steady income for the rest of my life,” Min Zaw said, referring to the Machine Repair and Maintenance Training provided by Oxfam as part of its programmes for those whose livelihoods were destroyed or affected by Cyclone Nargis in 2008.
Min Zaw was one of ten participants in a training programme which he confirmed has changed his life. Before Cyclone Nargis, Min Zaw sold maize, but when the cyclone devastated the agricultural sector, small traders such as Min Zaw were particularly hard hit. By increasing his skills, more work opportunities have opened up, allowing him to continue to earn an income, and to work from home so that he can now take care of his disabled daughter - a very important step for him.
In the past, Min Zaw would go to his client’s house and check and repair only small machines. Now he can work at home because he has more customers and they are confident in his competence, so they approach him to repair larger machines as well. “This way, I can look after our daughter. Otherwise, my wife will be occupied with her while also taking care of our grocery shop, cooking, and other household works. Our life is getting better now.”
Min Zaw already had basic knowledge about mechanical devices and repairs, but he believes the training has improved his skills and built up his confidence, which in turn has gained him trust from his customers.
“I think the rate of work has increased after that. My customers are not only from our village, but also from other villages nearby. We earn at least 2,000 kyat (approx $2 US dollars) a day and at most 10,000 kyat ($10 US dollars).” Together with his wife’s income from the shop, they are doing quite well and can also afford medicines for his daughter, who has been mute since birth.
Another participant, Thuya, 19, from Kyone Dar Chaung Village, also said he is more confident about his job since the training.
“Before the training, I sold maize. I learned how to repair machines by watching other mechanics do their work, and became their assistant for minor repairs,” Thuya told Oxfam. “Now I have confidence to be a professional mechanic. Because of the training, I was able to really understand about machine repairs and how they work.”
Nine months after the training, Thuya has found that the number of people asking him to work has significantly improved. He has started dreaming about the future: having his own business.
For big repairs, Thuya makes at least 10,000 kyat (approx $10 US dollars), and 3,000 or 4,000 kyat ($3 or $4 US dollars) for smaller pieces. He usually repairs agricultural and fishery machinery. Thuya used to earn about 500 kyat ($5 US dollars) from selling maize.
“I’ve earned about 150,000 kyat ($150 US dollars) already. I want to set up a welding business. For that, I think I need to invest about four or five lakhs (approx $400-$500 US dollars). I expect my dream will come true in two or three years,” he said with a smile.
******************************************************
MYANMAR: Nargis recovery needs more funds
BANGKOK, 30 April 2010 (IRIN) - Two years after Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady Delta, funding remains key in sustaining ongoing recovery efforts, the UN says.
“The single biggest challenge for humanitarian workers and agencies to continue their activities is resources – funds,” Bishow Parajuli, the UN resident humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar, told IRIN from Yangon.
Assistance from some sources – including Australia, the UK, US and European Union – had increased, but a number of other donors scaled back their commitment after the initial relief period, Parajuli said.
“Though there was good support during the relief period, the recovery support did not come at the same level as we hoped for,” he said.
He also urged the Myanmar authorities to support humanitarian agencies’ efforts, particularly with respect to providing visas and access to the delta for all aid workers.
“We will keep advocating for unhindered access to people in need of humanitarian assistance,” he said.
Since the category four storm struck, extensive relief efforts helped people get back on their feet, but residents still need help in several areas, including drinking water, shelter and livelihoods.
Over the past two years, humanitarian agencies have provided nearly 1,600 water storage tanks and distributed 90,000 ceramic water filters, but a prolonged dry spell this year may result in a shortage of drinking water, Parajuli said.
According to UN Habitat, about 180,000 homes received cash or materials to repair and rebuild, but another 150,000 families still require shelter support.
Hazard prone
“Given that coastal communities are prone to hazards and the fact that the maximum number of deaths resulted from a lack of safe shelters during Cyclone Nargis, it is paramount to keep in mind the possible consequences should another cyclone make landfall in the region,” said Srinivasa Popuri, head of UN Habitat in Myanmar.
The latest post-Nargis Monthly Recovery Update from the Myanmar government, ASEAN and the UN said only 6 percent of household heads considered their homes safe against extreme weather conditions.
Popuri warned that the temporary shelters provided during the relief efforts had lasted through two monsoon seasons, and with the upcoming monsoons in May, he warned, “these deteriorated materials cannot be considered of much practical value at this time”.
Parajuli said many residents still suffered economic hardship after the cyclone wiped out their livelihoods. Agencies have provided seeds, farming equipment and fishing boats, but residents need more opportunities in the agriculture and fishing sectors.
The Monthly Recovery Update said the funding needed for livelihoods and shelter in 2009 was US$158 million, but only $63.5 million – or 40 percent – was raised. It reported that 227,000 buffaloes and cows were lost in the 11 most affected townships, but only 5,423 have been replaced.
Cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar’s southern delta on 2 and 3 May 2008, claimed more than 138,000 lives. It affected 2.4 million people, leaving nearly half of them needing assistance.
BANGKOK, 30 April 2010 (IRIN) - Two years after Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady Delta, funding remains key in sustaining ongoing recovery efforts, the UN says.
“The single biggest challenge for humanitarian workers and agencies to continue their activities is resources – funds,” Bishow Parajuli, the UN resident humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar, told IRIN from Yangon.
Assistance from some sources – including Australia, the UK, US and European Union – had increased, but a number of other donors scaled back their commitment after the initial relief period, Parajuli said.
“Though there was good support during the relief period, the recovery support did not come at the same level as we hoped for,” he said.
He also urged the Myanmar authorities to support humanitarian agencies’ efforts, particularly with respect to providing visas and access to the delta for all aid workers.
“We will keep advocating for unhindered access to people in need of humanitarian assistance,” he said.
Since the category four storm struck, extensive relief efforts helped people get back on their feet, but residents still need help in several areas, including drinking water, shelter and livelihoods.
Over the past two years, humanitarian agencies have provided nearly 1,600 water storage tanks and distributed 90,000 ceramic water filters, but a prolonged dry spell this year may result in a shortage of drinking water, Parajuli said.
According to UN Habitat, about 180,000 homes received cash or materials to repair and rebuild, but another 150,000 families still require shelter support.
Hazard prone
“Given that coastal communities are prone to hazards and the fact that the maximum number of deaths resulted from a lack of safe shelters during Cyclone Nargis, it is paramount to keep in mind the possible consequences should another cyclone make landfall in the region,” said Srinivasa Popuri, head of UN Habitat in Myanmar.
The latest post-Nargis Monthly Recovery Update from the Myanmar government, ASEAN and the UN said only 6 percent of household heads considered their homes safe against extreme weather conditions.
Popuri warned that the temporary shelters provided during the relief efforts had lasted through two monsoon seasons, and with the upcoming monsoons in May, he warned, “these deteriorated materials cannot be considered of much practical value at this time”.
Parajuli said many residents still suffered economic hardship after the cyclone wiped out their livelihoods. Agencies have provided seeds, farming equipment and fishing boats, but residents need more opportunities in the agriculture and fishing sectors.
The Monthly Recovery Update said the funding needed for livelihoods and shelter in 2009 was US$158 million, but only $63.5 million – or 40 percent – was raised. It reported that 227,000 buffaloes and cows were lost in the 11 most affected townships, but only 5,423 have been replaced.
Cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar’s southern delta on 2 and 3 May 2008, claimed more than 138,000 lives. It affected 2.4 million people, leaving nearly half of them needing assistance.
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Aung San Suu Kyi Sues to Keep Political Party Alive
VOA News 30 April 2010
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has filed a lawsuit to prevent the dissolution of her political party under the country's new election laws.
The lawyer for the detained Nobel Peace laureate filed the suit on her behalf Thursday in Burma's Supreme Court. The attorney also filed a similar suit on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
The NLD announced last month it would not participate in the upcoming elections because the new laws ban anyone convicted of a crime from becoming a member of a political party.
The party must re-register by May 6, or face dissolution.
The lawsuits also call on the Supreme Court to establish a parliament comprised of members who won the last democratic elections in 1990. Those elections were won by the NLD, but the ruling military refused to recognize the results.
Aung San Suu Kyi was convicted last year of violating the terms of her house arrest when she gave shelter to an American man who swam to her lakeside Rangoon house uninvited. She was sentenced to an additional 18 months under house detention.
VOA News 30 April 2010
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has filed a lawsuit to prevent the dissolution of her political party under the country's new election laws.
The lawyer for the detained Nobel Peace laureate filed the suit on her behalf Thursday in Burma's Supreme Court. The attorney also filed a similar suit on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
The NLD announced last month it would not participate in the upcoming elections because the new laws ban anyone convicted of a crime from becoming a member of a political party.
The party must re-register by May 6, or face dissolution.
The lawsuits also call on the Supreme Court to establish a parliament comprised of members who won the last democratic elections in 1990. Those elections were won by the NLD, but the ruling military refused to recognize the results.
Aung San Suu Kyi was convicted last year of violating the terms of her house arrest when she gave shelter to an American man who swam to her lakeside Rangoon house uninvited. She was sentenced to an additional 18 months under house detention.
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APRIL 30, 2010, 7:17 A.M. ET
Wall Street Journal - Myanmar Officials Maneuver Ahead of Vote
By A WALL STREET JOURNAL STAFF REPORTER
Top Myanmar officials resigned from their military posts this week and created their own political party in a likely bid to contest upcoming elections later this year, raising new skepticism about the prospects for a valid vote.
Analysts said the move by Prime Minister Thein Sein and 22 other officials to resign their military titles appears designed to circumvent a 25% quota on the number of parliamentary seats members of the military will hold, enabling them to maintain their grip on power in this resource-rich but secretive nation of 48 million people. If more senior military leaders shed their uniforms to run as civilians, they could lock up far more seats.
The demilitarization of Myanmar's top leadership merely represents "a more sophisticated form of oppression," says David Mathieson, a researcher at Human Rights Watch in Thailand. The Myanmar regime in recent years has been accused of a wide range of human rights abuses, including the imprisonment of more than 2,000 political opponents.
Attempts to reach the Myanmar government, which rarely speaks to foreign journalists, were unsuccessful. The country's senior-most military leader, Than Shwe, has in the past said the vote will be fair.
The Myanmar government has yet to announce a date for the elections.
Mr. Thein Sein and the other officers resigned from the military on Monday, according to state media reports, though they are expected to keep their cabinet posts. On Thursday, he and 26 other officials applied to register a political group called the Union Solidarity and Development Party.
When Myanmar last held a national election, in 1990, opposition groups led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi easily won. But the military regime, which has ruled since 1962, ignored the result and has kept Ms. Suu Kyi under house arrest much of the time since then. Her party, the National League for Democracy, recently vowed to boycott the newest vote.
Some analysts have argued the new election—which they say was designed at least in part to boost the legitimacy of the current regime—could at least open the door for opposition groups to gain a bit more say in the way Myanmar is run. More than 20 new political parties have applied to participate, including some led by opposition figures, and it is widely hoped that at least some of them could win seats in the new government. Myanmar would have 440 parliamentary seats in the new parliament.
Analysts speculate that the regime's efforts to promote the creation of civilian parties could lead to more accountability among top military leaders, some of whom will theoretically have to compete for public favor in order to remain in office. But it's unclear if the government will allow international observers to ensure the voting is free and fair, and the latest moves suggest some current leaders may not intend to retire and hand over the reins to younger leaders as some residents had hoped.
Tensions are clearly rising in the country. At least seven bomb blasts have been reported in recent weeks, including an attack at a public park in Yangon on April 15 that killed eight or more people. It is unknown who orchestrated the latest attacks—which have also included smaller blasts at a hydropower project site—or whether they are related.
Anxieties are also running high in border areas with Thailand and China, where ethnic minority groups control vast swathes of territory and continue to grapple with the government over a controversial plan to reduce their autonomy before the elections.
Military leaders are demanding that the ethnic groups convert their soldiers into "border guards" under the leadership of the Myanmar army before participating in the vote. A deadline for acceptance of the deal passed on Wednesday, with many still refusing to participate. That has left many Myanmar residents to conclude violent conflicts are imminent as the government positions more troops in border areas.
Wall Street Journal - Myanmar Officials Maneuver Ahead of Vote
By A WALL STREET JOURNAL STAFF REPORTER
Top Myanmar officials resigned from their military posts this week and created their own political party in a likely bid to contest upcoming elections later this year, raising new skepticism about the prospects for a valid vote.
Analysts said the move by Prime Minister Thein Sein and 22 other officials to resign their military titles appears designed to circumvent a 25% quota on the number of parliamentary seats members of the military will hold, enabling them to maintain their grip on power in this resource-rich but secretive nation of 48 million people. If more senior military leaders shed their uniforms to run as civilians, they could lock up far more seats.
The demilitarization of Myanmar's top leadership merely represents "a more sophisticated form of oppression," says David Mathieson, a researcher at Human Rights Watch in Thailand. The Myanmar regime in recent years has been accused of a wide range of human rights abuses, including the imprisonment of more than 2,000 political opponents.
Attempts to reach the Myanmar government, which rarely speaks to foreign journalists, were unsuccessful. The country's senior-most military leader, Than Shwe, has in the past said the vote will be fair.
The Myanmar government has yet to announce a date for the elections.
Mr. Thein Sein and the other officers resigned from the military on Monday, according to state media reports, though they are expected to keep their cabinet posts. On Thursday, he and 26 other officials applied to register a political group called the Union Solidarity and Development Party.
When Myanmar last held a national election, in 1990, opposition groups led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi easily won. But the military regime, which has ruled since 1962, ignored the result and has kept Ms. Suu Kyi under house arrest much of the time since then. Her party, the National League for Democracy, recently vowed to boycott the newest vote.
Some analysts have argued the new election—which they say was designed at least in part to boost the legitimacy of the current regime—could at least open the door for opposition groups to gain a bit more say in the way Myanmar is run. More than 20 new political parties have applied to participate, including some led by opposition figures, and it is widely hoped that at least some of them could win seats in the new government. Myanmar would have 440 parliamentary seats in the new parliament.
Analysts speculate that the regime's efforts to promote the creation of civilian parties could lead to more accountability among top military leaders, some of whom will theoretically have to compete for public favor in order to remain in office. But it's unclear if the government will allow international observers to ensure the voting is free and fair, and the latest moves suggest some current leaders may not intend to retire and hand over the reins to younger leaders as some residents had hoped.
Tensions are clearly rising in the country. At least seven bomb blasts have been reported in recent weeks, including an attack at a public park in Yangon on April 15 that killed eight or more people. It is unknown who orchestrated the latest attacks—which have also included smaller blasts at a hydropower project site—or whether they are related.
Anxieties are also running high in border areas with Thailand and China, where ethnic minority groups control vast swathes of territory and continue to grapple with the government over a controversial plan to reduce their autonomy before the elections.
Military leaders are demanding that the ethnic groups convert their soldiers into "border guards" under the leadership of the Myanmar army before participating in the vote. A deadline for acceptance of the deal passed on Wednesday, with many still refusing to participate. That has left many Myanmar residents to conclude violent conflicts are imminent as the government positions more troops in border areas.
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DRUG SMUGGLING
Bangkok Post - Troops kill 3 suspected Wa rebels
Published: 30/04/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Soldiers from the Pha Muang Task Force have killed three suspected Wa insurgents believed to be trying to smuggle illicit drugs in a pre-dawn clash near the border with Burma.
Col Peeranet Kadetem, the Pha Muang Task Force's chief-of-staff, said authorities had received report a drug gang planned to smuggle methamphetamine pills into Chiang Mai on Wednesday night.
The clash yesterday erupted 500 metres from the border line after rangers waited overnight to intercept the smugglers. Three suspected members of the United Wa State Army were killed in the 20-minute gunfight.
Soldiers cleared the area and found two bags that were packed with 200,000 speed pills, an AK-47 rifle and a sub-machine gun.
Drugs and security agencies are cracking down on the influx of illegal drugs into Thailand from Burma, especially speed pills.
Minority rebel groups in Burma need cash from the sale of drugs to buy weapons to resist Burmese government forces.
Bangkok Post - Troops kill 3 suspected Wa rebels
Published: 30/04/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Soldiers from the Pha Muang Task Force have killed three suspected Wa insurgents believed to be trying to smuggle illicit drugs in a pre-dawn clash near the border with Burma.
Col Peeranet Kadetem, the Pha Muang Task Force's chief-of-staff, said authorities had received report a drug gang planned to smuggle methamphetamine pills into Chiang Mai on Wednesday night.
The clash yesterday erupted 500 metres from the border line after rangers waited overnight to intercept the smugglers. Three suspected members of the United Wa State Army were killed in the 20-minute gunfight.
Soldiers cleared the area and found two bags that were packed with 200,000 speed pills, an AK-47 rifle and a sub-machine gun.
Drugs and security agencies are cracking down on the influx of illegal drugs into Thailand from Burma, especially speed pills.
Minority rebel groups in Burma need cash from the sale of drugs to buy weapons to resist Burmese government forces.
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The Irrawaddy - PM's Party Registration May Violate Law
By KYAW THEIN KHA - Friday, April 30, 2010
Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein and his government colleagues who formed the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) on Thursday may be in violation of junta election laws stating that persons forming a political party may not hold government positions.
Article 4 of the Political Party Registration Law says that a person who forms a political party must not hold a government position.
State-run radio and television reported on Thursday that the USDP had been organized by 27 government officials, including Prime Minister Thein Sein and Rangoon mayor Aung Thein Lin, and had registered with the Union Election Commission (UEC).
On Monday, Burma's military establishment ordered Thein Sein, Aung Thein Lin and 20 other senior officials to retire from their military positions.
On Friday, however, state-run newspapers still described Thein Sein and the others forming the USDP as government officials, and their were no reports of resignations from government positions by any USDP official.
Aye Lwin, the chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics, one of 25 political parties currently registered and one of 12 currently approved by the UEC, spoke about the apparent violation of the junta's election laws by the junta-backed USDP.
“When we first registered at the election commission, we had to sign a document saying we were not holding a position in government. I think Thein Shein and the other government officials who formed the USDP also had to sign this document,” said Aye Lwin.
“The State Peace and Development Council published the election laws, so the USDP officials would know the laws well at the time they registered. And they would certainly know that the position of prime minister is a government position,” he said.
The junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), founded in 1993 as a social organization, claims to have a membership of about 24 million, including students, civil servants and military personnel. Although it claims to be apolitical, the USDA has long been actively involved in implementing the ruling regime’s policies.
Thu Wai, the chairman of the Democratic Party (Myanmar), criticized the decision of government officials to form a political party closely linked with the USDA.
“It is not right to use the USDA name. The minister of home affairs once said that the USDA will be a social organization. If it transforms into a political party, all its members have to quit the organization. I intend to discuss this with the election commission.”
Minister of Home Affairs Maj-Gen Maung Oo did, however, signal the regime’s plans for the USDA when he said in 2002 that the organization must be able to play a role in politics alongside other political parties.
Win Tin, one of the leaders of the National League for Democracy, which has announced it will not register for the election, says the decision of Thein Sein and the other generals to form the USDP has altered the political landscape.
He told the Irrawaddy on Friday, “I expected that the army would only take a 25 percent position in parliament, in accordance with the 2008 constitution. But the situation is now different from what I expected. The military-led USDP is going to contest the election, which means they intend to transform the army into a political party.”
By KYAW THEIN KHA - Friday, April 30, 2010
Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein and his government colleagues who formed the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) on Thursday may be in violation of junta election laws stating that persons forming a political party may not hold government positions.
Article 4 of the Political Party Registration Law says that a person who forms a political party must not hold a government position.
State-run radio and television reported on Thursday that the USDP had been organized by 27 government officials, including Prime Minister Thein Sein and Rangoon mayor Aung Thein Lin, and had registered with the Union Election Commission (UEC).
On Monday, Burma's military establishment ordered Thein Sein, Aung Thein Lin and 20 other senior officials to retire from their military positions.
On Friday, however, state-run newspapers still described Thein Sein and the others forming the USDP as government officials, and their were no reports of resignations from government positions by any USDP official.
Aye Lwin, the chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics, one of 25 political parties currently registered and one of 12 currently approved by the UEC, spoke about the apparent violation of the junta's election laws by the junta-backed USDP.
“When we first registered at the election commission, we had to sign a document saying we were not holding a position in government. I think Thein Shein and the other government officials who formed the USDP also had to sign this document,” said Aye Lwin.
“The State Peace and Development Council published the election laws, so the USDP officials would know the laws well at the time they registered. And they would certainly know that the position of prime minister is a government position,” he said.
The junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), founded in 1993 as a social organization, claims to have a membership of about 24 million, including students, civil servants and military personnel. Although it claims to be apolitical, the USDA has long been actively involved in implementing the ruling regime’s policies.
Thu Wai, the chairman of the Democratic Party (Myanmar), criticized the decision of government officials to form a political party closely linked with the USDA.
“It is not right to use the USDA name. The minister of home affairs once said that the USDA will be a social organization. If it transforms into a political party, all its members have to quit the organization. I intend to discuss this with the election commission.”
Minister of Home Affairs Maj-Gen Maung Oo did, however, signal the regime’s plans for the USDA when he said in 2002 that the organization must be able to play a role in politics alongside other political parties.
Win Tin, one of the leaders of the National League for Democracy, which has announced it will not register for the election, says the decision of Thein Sein and the other generals to form the USDP has altered the political landscape.
He told the Irrawaddy on Friday, “I expected that the army would only take a 25 percent position in parliament, in accordance with the 2008 constitution. But the situation is now different from what I expected. The military-led USDP is going to contest the election, which means they intend to transform the army into a political party.”
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The Irrawaddy - PLA Deploys More Troops at Burma Border
By WAI MOE - Friday, April 30, 2010
China's People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has recently deployed more troops along its southwestern border with Burma, where tension remains high between Burmese government forces and the ethnic Wa army over the ethnic group's refusal to join the military junta's border guard force (BGF).
Sources close to the Wa said more PLA troops had been deployed in areas bordering Wa strongholds controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), which has at least 20,000 soldiers. China has also deployed air defense units, according to the sources.
“We estimate that five PLA brigades [some 5,000 troops] have been deployed,” said one border source.
In February, the PLA deployed an unknown number of soldiers in border towns close to the Wa areas where armed conflict is anticipated. Local people said they saw Chinese troops exercising every morning.
The deployment along the border comes after 37,000 ethnic Kokang and Chinese people took refuge on Chinese soil in August after Burmese government troops overran the Kokang capital of Laogai.
As former guerrillas of the Communist Party of Burma, the ethnic minority armies of the Wa, the Kokang and the Mongla-based National Democratic Alliance Army were trained by and have had long alliances with the PLA. Military analysts said that during the communist insurgency, ethnic fighters are believed to have fought alongside Chinese troops against the Burmese army.
As Naypyidaw pushes for acceptance of the BGF plan ahead of the general election later this year, leaders of the junta's civic organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), including Minister of Industry 1 Aung Thaung and Minister of Telecommunications, Post and Telegraphs Thein Zaw, met Christian Kachin leaders in the state capital of Myitkyina on Thursday afternoon.
During the meeting, USDA leaders expressed their wish that the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) accept the BGF terms, according to KIO sources in Laiza.
The last meeting between government negotiators and the KIO leadership was on April 22-23 when no agreement was concluded. However, the Burmese officials reportedly told the KIO to consider an alternative proposal—joining a “Union Defense Force.”
Amid the tension at the Sino-Burmese border, Burmese government troops have forcefully recruited local people in towns in northern Shan State and Kachin State for porter service. “A few days ago, men were arrested by troops to work as porters. Now people are scared to go out,” said a resident in Bhamo.
Meanwhile, a government army convey was ambushed by an unknown armed group in an area controlled by the Shan State Army- North in northern Shan State, according to the Shan Herald Agency for News.
By WAI MOE - Friday, April 30, 2010
China's People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has recently deployed more troops along its southwestern border with Burma, where tension remains high between Burmese government forces and the ethnic Wa army over the ethnic group's refusal to join the military junta's border guard force (BGF).
Sources close to the Wa said more PLA troops had been deployed in areas bordering Wa strongholds controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), which has at least 20,000 soldiers. China has also deployed air defense units, according to the sources.
“We estimate that five PLA brigades [some 5,000 troops] have been deployed,” said one border source.
In February, the PLA deployed an unknown number of soldiers in border towns close to the Wa areas where armed conflict is anticipated. Local people said they saw Chinese troops exercising every morning.
The deployment along the border comes after 37,000 ethnic Kokang and Chinese people took refuge on Chinese soil in August after Burmese government troops overran the Kokang capital of Laogai.
As former guerrillas of the Communist Party of Burma, the ethnic minority armies of the Wa, the Kokang and the Mongla-based National Democratic Alliance Army were trained by and have had long alliances with the PLA. Military analysts said that during the communist insurgency, ethnic fighters are believed to have fought alongside Chinese troops against the Burmese army.
As Naypyidaw pushes for acceptance of the BGF plan ahead of the general election later this year, leaders of the junta's civic organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), including Minister of Industry 1 Aung Thaung and Minister of Telecommunications, Post and Telegraphs Thein Zaw, met Christian Kachin leaders in the state capital of Myitkyina on Thursday afternoon.
During the meeting, USDA leaders expressed their wish that the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) accept the BGF terms, according to KIO sources in Laiza.
The last meeting between government negotiators and the KIO leadership was on April 22-23 when no agreement was concluded. However, the Burmese officials reportedly told the KIO to consider an alternative proposal—joining a “Union Defense Force.”
Amid the tension at the Sino-Burmese border, Burmese government troops have forcefully recruited local people in towns in northern Shan State and Kachin State for porter service. “A few days ago, men were arrested by troops to work as porters. Now people are scared to go out,” said a resident in Bhamo.
Meanwhile, a government army convey was ambushed by an unknown armed group in an area controlled by the Shan State Army- North in northern Shan State, according to the Shan Herald Agency for News.
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MPs fight for right to exist in top court
Friday, 30 April 2010 18:57 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – National League for Democracy members of Parliament on Thursday filed a lawsuit with Burma’s Supreme Court seeking a writ against dissolution of the party and to declare that the members of Parliament can still legally maintain their positions, party leaders said.
The NLD move was designed to head off its dissolution under the junta’s new political party registration law, which required parties to re-register within 60 days of May 6 or be dissolved as legal entities, a party spokesman said.
The law also rendered invalid the positions of Members of Parliament elected in the 1990 election. That injustice had forced the NLD to seek a court order to declare the MPs’ right to exist and call the original 1990 elected Parliament, he said.
Lawyers Kyin Win, Khin Htay Kywe and Kyaw Ho, visited the court to file the suit at 11 a.m. on Thursday and Su Nge, the deputy director of the Supreme Court, accepted their documents at 1 p.m.
The leaders were responding to party general secretary Aung San Suu Kyi’s urging for members to continue pursuing legal actions against the junta. Twenty-six members of Parliament elected in the 1990 election, including party chairman Aung Shwe, were listed as plaintiffs in the filing, the spokesman said. Sanchaung Township MP Khin Maung Swe and Kyauktan Township MP, Dr. Than Nyein, who had pushed for the party to re-register with the Election Commission, joined them.
The court would release its decision on whether it will hear the case on April 30 at 1 p.m. If the court accepts the lawsuit, the two cases will be handled individually, the spokesman said.
Although NLD won 392 of 485 seats in the election 20 years ago, the junta has refused to transfer power to the party.
Observers said the action would almost certainly be ineffective as Burmese court decisions were always in step with the junta’s wishes.
Nyan Win said, “All I want to say is that we will take every legal action against injustice.”
NLD had decided against re-registering with the Election Commission because of the junta’s exclusionary electoral laws. Just four of 10 parties that remain remaining from the 1990 election have applied to re-register with the regime’s electoral watchdog.
According to the party registration law for the 2010 election, existing parties and new parties must register before May 6. If they fail to do so, they will be dissolved.
Friday, 30 April 2010 18:57 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – National League for Democracy members of Parliament on Thursday filed a lawsuit with Burma’s Supreme Court seeking a writ against dissolution of the party and to declare that the members of Parliament can still legally maintain their positions, party leaders said.
The NLD move was designed to head off its dissolution under the junta’s new political party registration law, which required parties to re-register within 60 days of May 6 or be dissolved as legal entities, a party spokesman said.
The law also rendered invalid the positions of Members of Parliament elected in the 1990 election. That injustice had forced the NLD to seek a court order to declare the MPs’ right to exist and call the original 1990 elected Parliament, he said.
Lawyers Kyin Win, Khin Htay Kywe and Kyaw Ho, visited the court to file the suit at 11 a.m. on Thursday and Su Nge, the deputy director of the Supreme Court, accepted their documents at 1 p.m.
The leaders were responding to party general secretary Aung San Suu Kyi’s urging for members to continue pursuing legal actions against the junta. Twenty-six members of Parliament elected in the 1990 election, including party chairman Aung Shwe, were listed as plaintiffs in the filing, the spokesman said. Sanchaung Township MP Khin Maung Swe and Kyauktan Township MP, Dr. Than Nyein, who had pushed for the party to re-register with the Election Commission, joined them.
The court would release its decision on whether it will hear the case on April 30 at 1 p.m. If the court accepts the lawsuit, the two cases will be handled individually, the spokesman said.
Although NLD won 392 of 485 seats in the election 20 years ago, the junta has refused to transfer power to the party.
Observers said the action would almost certainly be ineffective as Burmese court decisions were always in step with the junta’s wishes.
Nyan Win said, “All I want to say is that we will take every legal action against injustice.”
NLD had decided against re-registering with the Election Commission because of the junta’s exclusionary electoral laws. Just four of 10 parties that remain remaining from the 1990 election have applied to re-register with the regime’s electoral watchdog.
According to the party registration law for the 2010 election, existing parties and new parties must register before May 6. If they fail to do so, they will be dissolved.
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DVB News - Suu Kyi’s house plan approved
By NAN KHAM KAEW
Published: 30 April 2010
Rangoon municipal authorities have given the go-ahead for renovations on the house-cum-prison of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Her lawyer, Nyan Win, said that Suu Kyi’s representative, Htin Kyaw, was informed by the municipal department yesterday morning that the renovation had been approved.
He said that lawyers had requested a meeting with authorities to discuss the renovation. Suu Kyi’s estranged brother, Aung San Oo, had claimed part-ownership of the house, which was handed down from their mother, Daw Khin Gyi, and tried to block the work, but courts threw out his case.
Judges argued that his status as a US citizen made it illegal for him to own property in Burma.
“We sent a letter to the police’s Special Intelligence Department calling for a meeting between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyers and the architects regarding the house renovation,” said Nyan Win.
Work had already begun on the house last year after US citizen John Yettaw managed to enter her property after swimming across Inya lake. The work, aimed at boosting the security of the house, was temporarily delayed in December however after the intervention by Suu Kyi’s brother.
Her estranged cousin, Khin Maung Aye, had earlier last year also lodged a claim to ownership of the property. There had been speculation that the retired army officer would sell the plot of land to government cronies, although nothing came of it.
Suu Kyi has been kept under house arrest in the property along Rangoon’s University Avenue for 14 of the past 20 years. Her house arrest conditions mean that visits from anyone other than her lawyers and doctor are prohibited.
By NAN KHAM KAEW
Published: 30 April 2010
Rangoon municipal authorities have given the go-ahead for renovations on the house-cum-prison of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Her lawyer, Nyan Win, said that Suu Kyi’s representative, Htin Kyaw, was informed by the municipal department yesterday morning that the renovation had been approved.
He said that lawyers had requested a meeting with authorities to discuss the renovation. Suu Kyi’s estranged brother, Aung San Oo, had claimed part-ownership of the house, which was handed down from their mother, Daw Khin Gyi, and tried to block the work, but courts threw out his case.
Judges argued that his status as a US citizen made it illegal for him to own property in Burma.
“We sent a letter to the police’s Special Intelligence Department calling for a meeting between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyers and the architects regarding the house renovation,” said Nyan Win.
Work had already begun on the house last year after US citizen John Yettaw managed to enter her property after swimming across Inya lake. The work, aimed at boosting the security of the house, was temporarily delayed in December however after the intervention by Suu Kyi’s brother.
Her estranged cousin, Khin Maung Aye, had earlier last year also lodged a claim to ownership of the property. There had been speculation that the retired army officer would sell the plot of land to government cronies, although nothing came of it.
Suu Kyi has been kept under house arrest in the property along Rangoon’s University Avenue for 14 of the past 20 years. Her house arrest conditions mean that visits from anyone other than her lawyers and doctor are prohibited.
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DVB News - Beggar children held in Malaysian camp
By AYE NAI
Published: 30 April 2010
Six Burmese child beggars in Malaysia have been kept in an immigration detention camp for more than nine months as the Burmese embassy continues to deny them assistance.
The children, who range from 10 to 14 years old, were trafficked into Malaysia from Rangoon, Irrawaddy and Mandalay divisions last year. Kyaw Thaung, of the Burmese Nationals Association in Thailand, said financial assistance is needed for the children to travel back to Burma.
“We are having a headache over raising money for the kids – for travel expenses, food and clothing,” he said. He added that both the Burmese embassy in Malaysia and the UN’s refugee agency were playing “volleyball” with the children.
“That’s why they’ve been here for so long. Otherwise, the children would’ve been home long ago.” He said the group is now preparing to seek assistance from Save the Children UK.
The Burmese embassy in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur was unavailable for comment.
The families of two of the children, 10-year-old Kyaw Thu Linn and 12-year-old Aye Mya Htwe, were reportedly duped by traffickers into handing over their kids who were promised work in Rangoon, a source close to their family said. As money began to be sent by them, via traffickers, to the family, the mother handed over her eight-year-old son; unbeknown to her, he was also taken to Malaysia.
The boy is now believed to be missing in Malaysia and the family has not been able to contact him.
“[Kyaw Thu Linn and Aye Mya Htwe] were in Malaysia for about a year and four months. About six month ago, Kyaw Thu Linn’s brother was taken there by the same traffickers,” said the source. “Now some human traffickers are in detention.”
A police officer in Madaya, in Mandalay division, said that Burmese authorities were aware that the children were in Malaysia.
“[Burmese police] have a department called the ‘Transnational Organised Crime’ department and they will make necessary contacts with the foreign government,” he said. “As for us, we are a lower-ranking police station and we can’t bring people back. I think [the government] will make a ceremonial process to bring them back.”
He said that two couples in Madaya have confessed to the police that they sold the children. Kyaw Thaung told DVB that children were smuggled into Malaysia via overland and air routes.
“They said they were made to beg for money, with no breakfast provided for them in the mornings. They were instructed to earn around 70 to 80 Malaysian ringgit ($US22 to $US25) and were beaten when they failed.”
Two of the six children, Aung Ko Win and Nay Linn Oo, were residents in Rangoon’s Hlaing Tharyar township. Local police said they knew nothing about them. The other two children were identified as Tin Myo Htet from Irrawaddy division’s Kyaukgon town, and Min Yu San from Dala in Rangoon.
By AYE NAI
Published: 30 April 2010
Six Burmese child beggars in Malaysia have been kept in an immigration detention camp for more than nine months as the Burmese embassy continues to deny them assistance.
The children, who range from 10 to 14 years old, were trafficked into Malaysia from Rangoon, Irrawaddy and Mandalay divisions last year. Kyaw Thaung, of the Burmese Nationals Association in Thailand, said financial assistance is needed for the children to travel back to Burma.
“We are having a headache over raising money for the kids – for travel expenses, food and clothing,” he said. He added that both the Burmese embassy in Malaysia and the UN’s refugee agency were playing “volleyball” with the children.
“That’s why they’ve been here for so long. Otherwise, the children would’ve been home long ago.” He said the group is now preparing to seek assistance from Save the Children UK.
The Burmese embassy in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur was unavailable for comment.
The families of two of the children, 10-year-old Kyaw Thu Linn and 12-year-old Aye Mya Htwe, were reportedly duped by traffickers into handing over their kids who were promised work in Rangoon, a source close to their family said. As money began to be sent by them, via traffickers, to the family, the mother handed over her eight-year-old son; unbeknown to her, he was also taken to Malaysia.
The boy is now believed to be missing in Malaysia and the family has not been able to contact him.
“[Kyaw Thu Linn and Aye Mya Htwe] were in Malaysia for about a year and four months. About six month ago, Kyaw Thu Linn’s brother was taken there by the same traffickers,” said the source. “Now some human traffickers are in detention.”
A police officer in Madaya, in Mandalay division, said that Burmese authorities were aware that the children were in Malaysia.
“[Burmese police] have a department called the ‘Transnational Organised Crime’ department and they will make necessary contacts with the foreign government,” he said. “As for us, we are a lower-ranking police station and we can’t bring people back. I think [the government] will make a ceremonial process to bring them back.”
He said that two couples in Madaya have confessed to the police that they sold the children. Kyaw Thaung told DVB that children were smuggled into Malaysia via overland and air routes.
“They said they were made to beg for money, with no breakfast provided for them in the mornings. They were instructed to earn around 70 to 80 Malaysian ringgit ($US22 to $US25) and were beaten when they failed.”
Two of the six children, Aung Ko Win and Nay Linn Oo, were residents in Rangoon’s Hlaing Tharyar township. Local police said they knew nothing about them. The other two children were identified as Tin Myo Htet from Irrawaddy division’s Kyaukgon town, and Min Yu San from Dala in Rangoon.
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