Philippines FM calls Myanmar polls 'a farce'
AP - Friday, May 14
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines' foreign secretary shrugged off Myanmar's rejection of international monitors for the junta-led country's first elections in 20 years, saying Thursday the polls were a farce anyway.
The polls, to be held sometime this year, have been sharply criticized as a means for the military to maintain its grip on power under a civilian guise.
The criticism from Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo was unusually blunt, coming from a fellow member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a grouping which typically avoids commenting on the internal affairs of its counterparts.
During a recent trip to Myanmar, American envoy Kurt Campbell said the run-up to the election so far leads the U.S. to believe the polls will "lack international legitimacy" and urged the regime to take immediate steps to open the process.
He asked junta officials if election monitors, possibly from ASEAN, would be allowed and was rebuffed.
Sending observers may "legitimize a farce" since opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party will not be involved in the election, Romulo told reporters.
"In the first place that election is fraudulent and a farce so why bother (sending monitors)?" said Romulo, adding it was his personal opinion. "It's a game, like children playing games."
The NLD won the last election in 1990 but was never allowed to take power by the military.
The party considers newly enacted election laws unfair and undemocratic since Suu Kyi and other political prisoners would be barred from taking part in the vote. It declined to reregister for the election as required, and it was automatically disbanded last week.
Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years by the ruling generals.
AP - Friday, May 14
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines' foreign secretary shrugged off Myanmar's rejection of international monitors for the junta-led country's first elections in 20 years, saying Thursday the polls were a farce anyway.
The polls, to be held sometime this year, have been sharply criticized as a means for the military to maintain its grip on power under a civilian guise.
The criticism from Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo was unusually blunt, coming from a fellow member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a grouping which typically avoids commenting on the internal affairs of its counterparts.
During a recent trip to Myanmar, American envoy Kurt Campbell said the run-up to the election so far leads the U.S. to believe the polls will "lack international legitimacy" and urged the regime to take immediate steps to open the process.
He asked junta officials if election monitors, possibly from ASEAN, would be allowed and was rebuffed.
Sending observers may "legitimize a farce" since opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party will not be involved in the election, Romulo told reporters.
"In the first place that election is fraudulent and a farce so why bother (sending monitors)?" said Romulo, adding it was his personal opinion. "It's a game, like children playing games."
The NLD won the last election in 1990 but was never allowed to take power by the military.
The party considers newly enacted election laws unfair and undemocratic since Suu Kyi and other political prisoners would be barred from taking part in the vote. It declined to reregister for the election as required, and it was automatically disbanded last week.
Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years by the ruling generals.
***************************************************
Burmese monks who fled to U.S. a vanishing breed
By Christine Kearney – Thu May 13, 8:06 am ET
UTICA, New York (Reuters) – Burmese monks were beaten, jailed and killed while protesting Myanmar's military regime in 2007, and dozens found refuge in America.
But now most have been forced to swap their saffron-colored robes for blue-collar workwear and abandon their monkhood out of a need to scratch out a living in their adopted land.
The few remaining monks are clinging to their vocation in this rundown former textile mill town some 240 miles north of New York City, trying to adapt.
Among them is U Gawsita, who sits quietly in an English class, still wearing his robes, one of many immigrants learning U.S. history in Utica.
At dawn he prays with three fellow monks crammed into one floor of a clapboard house, now his makeshift monastery. But Gawsita, 30, who is seen rousing monks with a bullhorn in the Oscar-nominated film "Burma VJ," showing on U.S. cable channel HBO this month, is part of a dying breed.
Some 38 monks were granted asylum in the United States soon after the Saffron Revolution, the 2007 protests during which barefoot, shaven-headed monks shielded and led civilians to march against rising fuel prices which snowballed into the biggest challenge to military rule since a 1988 uprising.
Today, just eight remain monks.
"The monks couldn't survive here. They were forced to change, to become regular civilians," a soft-spoken Gawsita said in a recent interview surrounded by Buddhist flags and a montage of photos including Nobel Peace Prize winner and Burmese pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
HANGING DEAD CHICKENS
Some monks were sent to Utica to resettle. Others went to more remote places that provide refugee education and seek population growth as well as low-skilled immigrant workers.
Ko Tay Lwin, 40, who lives in Moorefield, West Virginia, earns $10.90 an hour packing ice or hanging dead chickens on a factory assembly line for Pilgrim's Pride Food Company. Sometimes he is unable to move his fingers after his overnight shift.
"I feel very sad to leave (the) monkhood," Lwin, who stopped practicing last year after arriving in the United States in August 2008, said in an e-mail. "It's challenging to maintain a monkhood here in the U.S. since there's nobody or nothing to support in order for me to continue."
Other former and current monks say a lack of financial and food assistance made it impossible to live without a job. In Myanmar the monks are revered and given daily food donations and assistance at morning alms from the local community.
"I didn't even have $1 in my pocket when I came here," said Ashin Janita, 32, who stopped being a monk four months after being sent to Georgia, where without a job he could not live on food stamps and $150 per month assistance.
Now he makes $11.13 an hour in a pig factory in Marshalltown, Iowa, on an assembly line slicing the skin off ham. His work day begins at 5:30 a.m.
"Life as a monk is very peaceful, there's no need to worry too much," he said. "I worry a lot more now."
PLEASURES VS MONKHOOD
U.S. Buddhism experts say the many types of Buddhism and the small number of strong Burmese communities in America make it hard for the Burmese monks, who practice a strict kind of Buddhism called Theravada, to find financial support.
Robert Buswell, professor at the UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies, said U.S. Buddhist groups support their own and "wouldn't understand" giving assistance to another branch.
The Utica-based monks have formed a group called the All Burma Monks' Alliance to raise funds to build a proper temple.
One of the monks, U Pyinya Zawta, 49, who spent more than 10 years in Myanmar prisons where he says he was beaten, said culture also plays its part.
"Some (monks) want to experience the American life," he said. "The young people, they want to enjoy many pleasures and the monkhood has many rules so it is difficult."
All former and current monks said they were grateful to their adopted country, if wistful that one day soon Myanmar would become a democracy and they could return.
"I have a freedom and I have many opportunities in the U.S.," said Gawsita. "But if I think about my partner who was in jail and who was dying in the revolution, I feel bad for them. Even as I live here in freedom, I still cannot feel fully free."
By Christine Kearney – Thu May 13, 8:06 am ET
UTICA, New York (Reuters) – Burmese monks were beaten, jailed and killed while protesting Myanmar's military regime in 2007, and dozens found refuge in America.
But now most have been forced to swap their saffron-colored robes for blue-collar workwear and abandon their monkhood out of a need to scratch out a living in their adopted land.
The few remaining monks are clinging to their vocation in this rundown former textile mill town some 240 miles north of New York City, trying to adapt.
Among them is U Gawsita, who sits quietly in an English class, still wearing his robes, one of many immigrants learning U.S. history in Utica.
At dawn he prays with three fellow monks crammed into one floor of a clapboard house, now his makeshift monastery. But Gawsita, 30, who is seen rousing monks with a bullhorn in the Oscar-nominated film "Burma VJ," showing on U.S. cable channel HBO this month, is part of a dying breed.
Some 38 monks were granted asylum in the United States soon after the Saffron Revolution, the 2007 protests during which barefoot, shaven-headed monks shielded and led civilians to march against rising fuel prices which snowballed into the biggest challenge to military rule since a 1988 uprising.
Today, just eight remain monks.
"The monks couldn't survive here. They were forced to change, to become regular civilians," a soft-spoken Gawsita said in a recent interview surrounded by Buddhist flags and a montage of photos including Nobel Peace Prize winner and Burmese pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
HANGING DEAD CHICKENS
Some monks were sent to Utica to resettle. Others went to more remote places that provide refugee education and seek population growth as well as low-skilled immigrant workers.
Ko Tay Lwin, 40, who lives in Moorefield, West Virginia, earns $10.90 an hour packing ice or hanging dead chickens on a factory assembly line for Pilgrim's Pride Food Company. Sometimes he is unable to move his fingers after his overnight shift.
"I feel very sad to leave (the) monkhood," Lwin, who stopped practicing last year after arriving in the United States in August 2008, said in an e-mail. "It's challenging to maintain a monkhood here in the U.S. since there's nobody or nothing to support in order for me to continue."
Other former and current monks say a lack of financial and food assistance made it impossible to live without a job. In Myanmar the monks are revered and given daily food donations and assistance at morning alms from the local community.
"I didn't even have $1 in my pocket when I came here," said Ashin Janita, 32, who stopped being a monk four months after being sent to Georgia, where without a job he could not live on food stamps and $150 per month assistance.
Now he makes $11.13 an hour in a pig factory in Marshalltown, Iowa, on an assembly line slicing the skin off ham. His work day begins at 5:30 a.m.
"Life as a monk is very peaceful, there's no need to worry too much," he said. "I worry a lot more now."
PLEASURES VS MONKHOOD
U.S. Buddhism experts say the many types of Buddhism and the small number of strong Burmese communities in America make it hard for the Burmese monks, who practice a strict kind of Buddhism called Theravada, to find financial support.
Robert Buswell, professor at the UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies, said U.S. Buddhist groups support their own and "wouldn't understand" giving assistance to another branch.
The Utica-based monks have formed a group called the All Burma Monks' Alliance to raise funds to build a proper temple.
One of the monks, U Pyinya Zawta, 49, who spent more than 10 years in Myanmar prisons where he says he was beaten, said culture also plays its part.
"Some (monks) want to experience the American life," he said. "The young people, they want to enjoy many pleasures and the monkhood has many rules so it is difficult."
All former and current monks said they were grateful to their adopted country, if wistful that one day soon Myanmar would become a democracy and they could return.
"I have a freedom and I have many opportunities in the U.S.," said Gawsita. "But if I think about my partner who was in jail and who was dying in the revolution, I feel bad for them. Even as I live here in freedom, I still cannot feel fully free."
***************************************************
China drug addicts struggle to kick the habit
by Dan Martin – Thu May 13, 6:09 am ET
KUNMING, China (AFP) – The first time Wan Yannan took drugs eight years ago, she was a recent nursing graduate with a coveted job at a hospital -- a life that went up in a puff of heroin smoke.
Now a tired-looking 28, Wan lost her boyfriend, job and was nearly cut off by her family after getting hooked and then suffering repeated relapses despite years of treatment at Chinese rehabilitation centres.
"All I wanted was drugs. The first thing I thought when I woke up each day was getting money for drugs. My life was pitch-dark," said Wan.
Now in her fifth stint in rehab in the southwestern city of Kunming, Wan is one of many Chinese struggling to kick the habit as drug use rises amid allegations of sub-par and even abusive treatment at state facilities.
Wan's current home is the Kunming Municipal Compulsory Rehabilitation Centre in Yunnan province -- on the front lines of China's drug scourge as it borders the heroin-producing "Golden Triangle," where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet.
The 21-year-old centre, which claims to be China's oldest, largest and most modern facility, provided AFP a rare glimpse inside.
Treatment consists of a mixture of Chinese herbal medicines to help addicts detoxify, followed by "purifying" martial arts exercises, and "skills training" for future jobs.
The 52-acre (20-hectare) site consists of a living area for its 2,500 addicts with the pleasant name "Harmonious Home", and vegetable gardens where they grow some of their own food.
Areas where most addicts appeared to be, however, were off-limits, with little explanation. AFP reporters were unable to witness treatment in action at the police-run centre.
One fact is not hidden: the facility's general failure to prevent relapse.
Xia Jianxun, a police official who serves as the centre's spokesman, said the relapse rate of its addicts -- known as "trainees" -- was 75 percent. It took two decades for the centre to bring that down from 86 percent.
"That was a huge effort," admits Xia, while noting that relapse rates are high worldwide.
Drug use was virtually eliminated after the Communist rise to power in 1949, but the scourge has returned since the country began opening up to the world again three decades ago.
The number of criminal drug cases rose to 77,000 last year, up 26 percent from 2008, according to official figures.
China has 1.3 million registered drug addicts -- independent estimates say the actual number is far higher -- with more than 170,000 people in rehab centres.
But state media reports have said relapse rates are as high as 90 percent.
In a January report, Human Rights Watch blamed a rehabilitation system it says is marked by sub-standard and even punitive treatment.
Many former addicts interviewed by the New York-based watchdog group said they suffered human rights violations such as forced labour, confinement, and other abuses.
"I think the key structural problem is this is a medical issue, a medical problem which has been turned over to the police. They are the institution being asked to make medical decisions," Phelim Kine, Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch, told AFP.
The result is "a spiral in which you can repeat the whole situation again."
Xia said he knew nothing of those charges, and none of the "trainees" put forward by the Kunming centre -- all of whom were there "voluntarily" -- claimed any such abuses. Centre officials monitored every interview.
But the pain of relapse is evident and common.
Yang Likun came back to the centre on her own two years after her fourth relapse. Now 34, she looks a decade older after 12 years of heroin abuse.
Trained as a dancer, she hopes to teach dance to children someday, and even marry, but fears leaving the centre's cocoon and risking another backslide.
She said many young Chinese first try drugs out of a fascination with a habit they see as a sign of modern prosperity and decadence, and that not enough is done in China to warn them about the dangers.
"I didn't know it was addictive and by the time I found that out, it was too late," she said.
by Dan Martin – Thu May 13, 6:09 am ET
KUNMING, China (AFP) – The first time Wan Yannan took drugs eight years ago, she was a recent nursing graduate with a coveted job at a hospital -- a life that went up in a puff of heroin smoke.
Now a tired-looking 28, Wan lost her boyfriend, job and was nearly cut off by her family after getting hooked and then suffering repeated relapses despite years of treatment at Chinese rehabilitation centres.
"All I wanted was drugs. The first thing I thought when I woke up each day was getting money for drugs. My life was pitch-dark," said Wan.
Now in her fifth stint in rehab in the southwestern city of Kunming, Wan is one of many Chinese struggling to kick the habit as drug use rises amid allegations of sub-par and even abusive treatment at state facilities.
Wan's current home is the Kunming Municipal Compulsory Rehabilitation Centre in Yunnan province -- on the front lines of China's drug scourge as it borders the heroin-producing "Golden Triangle," where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet.
The 21-year-old centre, which claims to be China's oldest, largest and most modern facility, provided AFP a rare glimpse inside.
Treatment consists of a mixture of Chinese herbal medicines to help addicts detoxify, followed by "purifying" martial arts exercises, and "skills training" for future jobs.
The 52-acre (20-hectare) site consists of a living area for its 2,500 addicts with the pleasant name "Harmonious Home", and vegetable gardens where they grow some of their own food.
Areas where most addicts appeared to be, however, were off-limits, with little explanation. AFP reporters were unable to witness treatment in action at the police-run centre.
One fact is not hidden: the facility's general failure to prevent relapse.
Xia Jianxun, a police official who serves as the centre's spokesman, said the relapse rate of its addicts -- known as "trainees" -- was 75 percent. It took two decades for the centre to bring that down from 86 percent.
"That was a huge effort," admits Xia, while noting that relapse rates are high worldwide.
Drug use was virtually eliminated after the Communist rise to power in 1949, but the scourge has returned since the country began opening up to the world again three decades ago.
The number of criminal drug cases rose to 77,000 last year, up 26 percent from 2008, according to official figures.
China has 1.3 million registered drug addicts -- independent estimates say the actual number is far higher -- with more than 170,000 people in rehab centres.
But state media reports have said relapse rates are as high as 90 percent.
In a January report, Human Rights Watch blamed a rehabilitation system it says is marked by sub-standard and even punitive treatment.
Many former addicts interviewed by the New York-based watchdog group said they suffered human rights violations such as forced labour, confinement, and other abuses.
"I think the key structural problem is this is a medical issue, a medical problem which has been turned over to the police. They are the institution being asked to make medical decisions," Phelim Kine, Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch, told AFP.
The result is "a spiral in which you can repeat the whole situation again."
Xia said he knew nothing of those charges, and none of the "trainees" put forward by the Kunming centre -- all of whom were there "voluntarily" -- claimed any such abuses. Centre officials monitored every interview.
But the pain of relapse is evident and common.
Yang Likun came back to the centre on her own two years after her fourth relapse. Now 34, she looks a decade older after 12 years of heroin abuse.
Trained as a dancer, she hopes to teach dance to children someday, and even marry, but fears leaving the centre's cocoon and risking another backslide.
She said many young Chinese first try drugs out of a fascination with a habit they see as a sign of modern prosperity and decadence, and that not enough is done in China to warn them about the dangers.
"I didn't know it was addictive and by the time I found that out, it was too late," she said.
***************************************************
In Brief: Thailand registers nearly a million labour migrants
BANGKOK, 13 May 2010 (IRIN) - The Thai government has helped legalize nearly one million previously undocumented labour migrants.
Cooperating with neighbouring Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar - where most migrant labourers come from - the government is working to register an estimated two million migrants. As of 12 May, 932,255 had received proper travel and work documents, according to the Department of Employment - including 812,984 from Myanmar, 62,792 from Laos and 56,479 from Cambodia.
“They come to our country and work in the service sector, agriculture, post-production, and they contribute to our economy. We have to treat them as equal to our own people,” Supat Gukun, who oversees labour affairs in the Ministry of Labour, told IRIN.
The migrants fill out forms verifying their identities, which are checked by their governments. They are then issued passports from their home countries, and visas and work permits from Thailand. Gukun said such documents would help migrants seek medical care, open bank accounts and even send money home to their families.
The International Organization for Migration says there are an estimated additional one million unregistered migrant labourers in Thailand.
BANGKOK, 13 May 2010 (IRIN) - The Thai government has helped legalize nearly one million previously undocumented labour migrants.
Cooperating with neighbouring Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar - where most migrant labourers come from - the government is working to register an estimated two million migrants. As of 12 May, 932,255 had received proper travel and work documents, according to the Department of Employment - including 812,984 from Myanmar, 62,792 from Laos and 56,479 from Cambodia.
“They come to our country and work in the service sector, agriculture, post-production, and they contribute to our economy. We have to treat them as equal to our own people,” Supat Gukun, who oversees labour affairs in the Ministry of Labour, told IRIN.
The migrants fill out forms verifying their identities, which are checked by their governments. They are then issued passports from their home countries, and visas and work permits from Thailand. Gukun said such documents would help migrants seek medical care, open bank accounts and even send money home to their families.
The International Organization for Migration says there are an estimated additional one million unregistered migrant labourers in Thailand.
***************************************************
ABS CBN News - ASEAN vents concerns over Thai crisis
by Ian Timberlake, Agence France-Presse
Posted at 05/13/2010 1:17 PM | Updated as of 05/13/2010 1:17 PM
HANOI, Vietnam - Southeast Asian leaders have raised concerns about regional stability in the wake of Thailand's political crisis, in what observers say is the latest sign the ASEAN regional bloc is slowly easing its policy of non-interference in the affairs of member states.
Weeks of mass rallies by "Red Shirt" anti-government protesters have paralysed parts of Bangkok, and erupted into bouts of violence that left 29 people dead and 1,000 injured, the deadliest civil unrest in two decades.
Vietnam, which currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), told Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya last week that stability in the kingdom was also in the "common interest" of its neighbours.
As chair Vietnam had to say something about the crisis, but critics might argue it could have gone further, said Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore (ISEAS).
"Vietnam could have called an urgent meeting to deal with the situation in Thailand," said Pavin, a former Thai diplomat.
But he said the act of speaking out represents a further easing of ASEAN's traditional policy of non-interference in the affairs of its 10 member states.
"This process is gradual, and I think it's opening up a little bit."
Yap Swee Seng, executive director of Forum-Asia, an umbrella for regional rights groups, also said the bloc seems more willing to speak out but that it could do more.
He said ASEAN should be able to play a role when its members are in turmoil but the principle of non-interference limits their options, as there is no mechanism to deal with internal crises.
"So I think the situation in Thailand, and of course much earlier the issue of Burma (Myanmar), already indicates there is a need for such a mechanism," he said.
ASEAN could then "at least play a mediation role in assisting member states to overcome some of these problems."
But Rodolfo Severino, head of the ASEAN Studies Centre at ISEAS, said he did not see a role for the regional bloc in such disputes.
While official statements are important, Severino said, "I don't think ASEAN can go beyond these, and it's up to the Thais to resolve their internal differences."
He noted that in 1986 fellow ASEAN members called for the peaceful resolution of political turmoil in the Philippines.
More recently ASEAN's non-interference principle has been tested over military-ruled Myanmar. Three years ago ASEAN ministers expressed "revulsion" and said they were "appalled" at a deadly government crackdown on protests there.
But despite the sometimes harsh words, ASEAN has never formally censured Myanmar, which is under US and EU sanctions.
Christopher Roberts, from the University of Canberra in Australia, said the principle of non-interference has in practice been weakening for several years, most notably over Myanmar.
ASEAN's comments on Thailand are "significant in that it's no longer just Myanmar" sparking relatively strong language, said Roberts, a lecturer in Asian politics and security.
After 25 people died in a Bangkok clash last month, ASEAN's secretary general Surin Pitsuwan warned that the crisis was rattling confidence in the region as a whole.
Singapore, a key ASEAN member, has also spoken out, saying last month that a peaceful solution was crucial not only for Thailand -- the region's second largest economy -- but for the entire bloc.
Focused on economic issues for most of its four-decade existence, ASEAN in 2008 adopted a charter committing it to tighter links. It aims to form by 2015 a "community" based on free trade, common democratic ideals, and shared social goals including a common identity.
ASEAN's comments on Thailand show that "more countries are seeing a lot of issues are inter-related", Yap said.
"So I think ASEAN member states are slowly moving away from the non-interference perspective but it is still not moving fast enough and it is still confined to a lot of issues that are non-political," he said.
Roberts said ASEAN "might be able to muster some bark sometimes," but without an institutional mechanism to act on those words, "for the foreseeable future they'll lack bite."
by Ian Timberlake, Agence France-Presse
Posted at 05/13/2010 1:17 PM | Updated as of 05/13/2010 1:17 PM
HANOI, Vietnam - Southeast Asian leaders have raised concerns about regional stability in the wake of Thailand's political crisis, in what observers say is the latest sign the ASEAN regional bloc is slowly easing its policy of non-interference in the affairs of member states.
Weeks of mass rallies by "Red Shirt" anti-government protesters have paralysed parts of Bangkok, and erupted into bouts of violence that left 29 people dead and 1,000 injured, the deadliest civil unrest in two decades.
Vietnam, which currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), told Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya last week that stability in the kingdom was also in the "common interest" of its neighbours.
As chair Vietnam had to say something about the crisis, but critics might argue it could have gone further, said Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore (ISEAS).
"Vietnam could have called an urgent meeting to deal with the situation in Thailand," said Pavin, a former Thai diplomat.
But he said the act of speaking out represents a further easing of ASEAN's traditional policy of non-interference in the affairs of its 10 member states.
"This process is gradual, and I think it's opening up a little bit."
Yap Swee Seng, executive director of Forum-Asia, an umbrella for regional rights groups, also said the bloc seems more willing to speak out but that it could do more.
He said ASEAN should be able to play a role when its members are in turmoil but the principle of non-interference limits their options, as there is no mechanism to deal with internal crises.
"So I think the situation in Thailand, and of course much earlier the issue of Burma (Myanmar), already indicates there is a need for such a mechanism," he said.
ASEAN could then "at least play a mediation role in assisting member states to overcome some of these problems."
But Rodolfo Severino, head of the ASEAN Studies Centre at ISEAS, said he did not see a role for the regional bloc in such disputes.
While official statements are important, Severino said, "I don't think ASEAN can go beyond these, and it's up to the Thais to resolve their internal differences."
He noted that in 1986 fellow ASEAN members called for the peaceful resolution of political turmoil in the Philippines.
More recently ASEAN's non-interference principle has been tested over military-ruled Myanmar. Three years ago ASEAN ministers expressed "revulsion" and said they were "appalled" at a deadly government crackdown on protests there.
But despite the sometimes harsh words, ASEAN has never formally censured Myanmar, which is under US and EU sanctions.
Christopher Roberts, from the University of Canberra in Australia, said the principle of non-interference has in practice been weakening for several years, most notably over Myanmar.
ASEAN's comments on Thailand are "significant in that it's no longer just Myanmar" sparking relatively strong language, said Roberts, a lecturer in Asian politics and security.
After 25 people died in a Bangkok clash last month, ASEAN's secretary general Surin Pitsuwan warned that the crisis was rattling confidence in the region as a whole.
Singapore, a key ASEAN member, has also spoken out, saying last month that a peaceful solution was crucial not only for Thailand -- the region's second largest economy -- but for the entire bloc.
Focused on economic issues for most of its four-decade existence, ASEAN in 2008 adopted a charter committing it to tighter links. It aims to form by 2015 a "community" based on free trade, common democratic ideals, and shared social goals including a common identity.
ASEAN's comments on Thailand show that "more countries are seeing a lot of issues are inter-related", Yap said.
"So I think ASEAN member states are slowly moving away from the non-interference perspective but it is still not moving fast enough and it is still confined to a lot of issues that are non-political," he said.
Roberts said ASEAN "might be able to muster some bark sometimes," but without an institutional mechanism to act on those words, "for the foreseeable future they'll lack bite."
***************************************************
Security to be strengthened on Mizoram borders
STAFF WRITER 16:40 HRS IST
Aizawl, May 13 (PTI) The Centre has decided to beef up security along Mizoram's porous international borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar to check movement of terrorists and smugglers, senior officials said today.
Quoting intelligence reports, State Home department officials said here that North East militants hiding in the two countries frequently use Mizoram, the most peaceful state in the region, as corridors.
Sandwiched between the two countries, Mizoram shares 404 km and 318 km long borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh, respectively.
During their recent visits to the state, the chiefs of BSF and the Assam Rifles informed Mizoram Governor Lt General M M Lakhera and Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla that more troops would be deployed along the border areas, the officials added.
STAFF WRITER 16:40 HRS IST
Aizawl, May 13 (PTI) The Centre has decided to beef up security along Mizoram's porous international borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar to check movement of terrorists and smugglers, senior officials said today.
Quoting intelligence reports, State Home department officials said here that North East militants hiding in the two countries frequently use Mizoram, the most peaceful state in the region, as corridors.
Sandwiched between the two countries, Mizoram shares 404 km and 318 km long borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh, respectively.
During their recent visits to the state, the chiefs of BSF and the Assam Rifles informed Mizoram Governor Lt General M M Lakhera and Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla that more troops would be deployed along the border areas, the officials added.
***************************************************
Oneindia - Border villages of Manipur , gateway for trade
Thursday, May 13, 2010, 11:36 [IST]
Chandel (Manipur), May 13 (ANI): The border areas of Manipur's Chandel district, adjacent to Myanmar, function as a gateway to promote international border trade.
A visit to some of the remote villages in the area would indicate the important role played by them in the region.
Manipur, which occupies a stretch of 1,463-kilometres along the border with Myanmar, is considered the gateway for India's trade with South East Asian neighbours.
Moreh town in Manipur, 110 km from capital Imphal, is an upcoming commercial hub under the 'Look East Policy'.
The Central Government has undertaken construction of roads for better connectivity along the Indo-Myanmar border .
Construction of a bridge over the Khujairok River and work on border fencing are also underway.
"Twenty five items have been selected and short-listed under Indo-Myanmar border trade agreement. Another 15 items are bing added. Altogether, 40 items were selected as trade items.......
Both the countries will be benefited. India will get things at cheaper price," says Lunminthang Haokip, Additional Deputy Commissioner, MorehAnother interesting place is Ngamkhai village. Surrounded by lush green mountains, it is predominantly inhabited by the Kuki tribe. ain occupation of the villagers here is making charcoal, collecting timber from the forest and sand stones from riverbanks.
It is located close to Moreh, but still it lags behind in terms of development.imited healthcare facilities, insufficient water supply and erratic power supply are some of the problems faced by the villagers.
"Healthcare is practically nil. We depend on the primary health center, which is not properly set up. It lacks doctors, nurses and instruments," said Ginsei Lhungdim, General Secretary, Hill ribal Council"We usually face water-shortage as we live at higher elevation. The supply that we receive doesn't even last for half and hour and it is not enough for all of us," said Tong Khongam, a local resident of Ngamkhai Veng Village.
Even though insurgency led violence is less in the area as compared to other parts of Manipur, there are frequent economic blockades and shutdowns.
According to Lunminthang Haokip, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Moreh, practical problems are there. The road between Pallen and Moreh is not good. Moreover, other problems like bandhs and economic blockades hamper trade.
Villagers believe that the suspension of operation agreement signed between the Center and the Kuki National Front (KNF) has considerably reduced militancy in the region.
"There is no of violence by Valley or tribal Underground group, following the signing of Suspension of Operations agreement," said Ginsei Lhungdim, General secretary, Hill Tribal Council.
It is hoped that with proper development of infrastructure, the immense business potential of these border villages can be realized that will transform the lives of the villagers. (ANI)
Thursday, May 13, 2010, 11:36 [IST]
Chandel (Manipur), May 13 (ANI): The border areas of Manipur's Chandel district, adjacent to Myanmar, function as a gateway to promote international border trade.
A visit to some of the remote villages in the area would indicate the important role played by them in the region.
Manipur, which occupies a stretch of 1,463-kilometres along the border with Myanmar, is considered the gateway for India's trade with South East Asian neighbours.
Moreh town in Manipur, 110 km from capital Imphal, is an upcoming commercial hub under the 'Look East Policy'.
The Central Government has undertaken construction of roads for better connectivity along the Indo-Myanmar border .
Construction of a bridge over the Khujairok River and work on border fencing are also underway.
"Twenty five items have been selected and short-listed under Indo-Myanmar border trade agreement. Another 15 items are bing added. Altogether, 40 items were selected as trade items.......
Both the countries will be benefited. India will get things at cheaper price," says Lunminthang Haokip, Additional Deputy Commissioner, MorehAnother interesting place is Ngamkhai village. Surrounded by lush green mountains, it is predominantly inhabited by the Kuki tribe. ain occupation of the villagers here is making charcoal, collecting timber from the forest and sand stones from riverbanks.
It is located close to Moreh, but still it lags behind in terms of development.imited healthcare facilities, insufficient water supply and erratic power supply are some of the problems faced by the villagers.
"Healthcare is practically nil. We depend on the primary health center, which is not properly set up. It lacks doctors, nurses and instruments," said Ginsei Lhungdim, General Secretary, Hill ribal Council"We usually face water-shortage as we live at higher elevation. The supply that we receive doesn't even last for half and hour and it is not enough for all of us," said Tong Khongam, a local resident of Ngamkhai Veng Village.
Even though insurgency led violence is less in the area as compared to other parts of Manipur, there are frequent economic blockades and shutdowns.
According to Lunminthang Haokip, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Moreh, practical problems are there. The road between Pallen and Moreh is not good. Moreover, other problems like bandhs and economic blockades hamper trade.
Villagers believe that the suspension of operation agreement signed between the Center and the Kuki National Front (KNF) has considerably reduced militancy in the region.
"There is no of violence by Valley or tribal Underground group, following the signing of Suspension of Operations agreement," said Ginsei Lhungdim, General secretary, Hill Tribal Council.
It is hoped that with proper development of infrastructure, the immense business potential of these border villages can be realized that will transform the lives of the villagers. (ANI)
***************************************************
May 13, 2010 7:44 a.m.
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette - He’s a master of inspiration
Young Burmese see activist get degree
Angela Mapes Turner, The Journal Gazette
Kyaw “Joe” Soe has lived in Indiana long enough to start using basketball analogies.
Soe came to Fort Wayne in 1993 as a political refugee from Burma. Since then, he has earned associate and bachelor degrees from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
Wednesday night, he earned a third – a Master of Science in education – in front of dozens of cheering Burmese children and their parents who planned to wave signs in support.
“Like a basketball game,” Soe said with a broad smile.
The children are part of IPFW’s New Immigrant Literacy Program, which Soe directs, and he hopes showing them a commencement ceremony will inspire them to continue their own educations.
“They’re going to look at me as a role model,” he said.
Soe, 44, is a familiar face in local newspapers and on television, both recently and over the past two decades. He’s an unabashed self-promoter, because he believes in role models and wants to be one for local Burmese.
On the wall beside his dining room table hangs a giant portrait of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s detained opposition leader. In the living room, Martin Luther King Jr.
Those are his role models. On a smaller scale, he hopes his activism and educational pursuits in Fort Wayne will inspire some of his immigrant students.
“I hope they’re going to have a dream,” he said.
On his table are news clippings, letters and mementos from nearly two decades of activism in the U.S. – letters from politicians, including past U.S. presidents, and photos.
Soe had to leave Burma, or Myanmar as the country is called by its ruling military junta, because he was a political leader during the 1988 pro-democracy movement. A third-year literature student in Rangoon, he could not finish his education in Burma.
His wife, whom he met in Thailand, has already earned a master’s degree; the two took turns working and going to school, and they have three children who were born in the U.S.
“She’s very supportive,” Soe said. “That’s the key.”
All that time, he has organized rallies, written countless letters to politicians and newspapers and organized an annual literacy fair that honors Suu Kyi.
He started a literacy program for Burmese in a makeshift classroom in Centlivre Village Apartments. In 2006, Soe began running the program through IPFW’s School of Education and it was expanded to include all immigrants.
It helps children make the transition into American schools and educates parents on American culture. Each semester, Soe coordinates 150 to 200 volunteers.
He has learned, though, that with students just learning English, there’s a big difference between showing and telling. He points to his can of Pepsi. He can try to explain what it is, but there’s no substitute for handing a can of Pepsi to someone.
That’s why Soe invited his students to the IPFW graduation. Their parents need guidance and direction in educating their children, and the children who will reach adulthood in the coming decade need to be shown what an immigrant can accomplish, Soe said.
“I use education as a tool to teach them,” he said. “If you can save more kids in the next 10 to 15 years, (Fort Wayne’s) going to be a better place.”
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette - He’s a master of inspiration
Young Burmese see activist get degree
Angela Mapes Turner, The Journal Gazette
Kyaw “Joe” Soe has lived in Indiana long enough to start using basketball analogies.
Soe came to Fort Wayne in 1993 as a political refugee from Burma. Since then, he has earned associate and bachelor degrees from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
Wednesday night, he earned a third – a Master of Science in education – in front of dozens of cheering Burmese children and their parents who planned to wave signs in support.
“Like a basketball game,” Soe said with a broad smile.
The children are part of IPFW’s New Immigrant Literacy Program, which Soe directs, and he hopes showing them a commencement ceremony will inspire them to continue their own educations.
“They’re going to look at me as a role model,” he said.
Soe, 44, is a familiar face in local newspapers and on television, both recently and over the past two decades. He’s an unabashed self-promoter, because he believes in role models and wants to be one for local Burmese.
On the wall beside his dining room table hangs a giant portrait of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s detained opposition leader. In the living room, Martin Luther King Jr.
Those are his role models. On a smaller scale, he hopes his activism and educational pursuits in Fort Wayne will inspire some of his immigrant students.
“I hope they’re going to have a dream,” he said.
On his table are news clippings, letters and mementos from nearly two decades of activism in the U.S. – letters from politicians, including past U.S. presidents, and photos.
Soe had to leave Burma, or Myanmar as the country is called by its ruling military junta, because he was a political leader during the 1988 pro-democracy movement. A third-year literature student in Rangoon, he could not finish his education in Burma.
His wife, whom he met in Thailand, has already earned a master’s degree; the two took turns working and going to school, and they have three children who were born in the U.S.
“She’s very supportive,” Soe said. “That’s the key.”
All that time, he has organized rallies, written countless letters to politicians and newspapers and organized an annual literacy fair that honors Suu Kyi.
He started a literacy program for Burmese in a makeshift classroom in Centlivre Village Apartments. In 2006, Soe began running the program through IPFW’s School of Education and it was expanded to include all immigrants.
It helps children make the transition into American schools and educates parents on American culture. Each semester, Soe coordinates 150 to 200 volunteers.
He has learned, though, that with students just learning English, there’s a big difference between showing and telling. He points to his can of Pepsi. He can try to explain what it is, but there’s no substitute for handing a can of Pepsi to someone.
That’s why Soe invited his students to the IPFW graduation. Their parents need guidance and direction in educating their children, and the children who will reach adulthood in the coming decade need to be shown what an immigrant can accomplish, Soe said.
“I use education as a tool to teach them,” he said. “If you can save more kids in the next 10 to 15 years, (Fort Wayne’s) going to be a better place.”
***************************************************
Diarrhoea hit Myanmar Waw township amid water scarcity
English.news.cn 2010-05-13 22:05:37
YANGON, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Diarrhoea has hit Waw township in Myanmar's Bago division-East amid water scarcity, the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Thursday.
The outbreak of diarrhoea was apparent over the past seven days infecting 82 people including 42 men and 40 women.
They were being hospitalized in the Waw General Hospital, the report said, adding that none of the patients die of the disease.
Preventive measures are being taken by the local authorities and the health department against the epidemic.
Waw township is among the many townships and wards in the Bago division suffering from drinking water shortage out of serious heat strike during this summer season in Myanmar, especially April through to May.
Local authorities, with the cooperation of social organizations and well-wishers, are donating drinking water to the affected areas using water bowers to ensure water supply daily.
English.news.cn 2010-05-13 22:05:37
YANGON, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Diarrhoea has hit Waw township in Myanmar's Bago division-East amid water scarcity, the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Thursday.
The outbreak of diarrhoea was apparent over the past seven days infecting 82 people including 42 men and 40 women.
They were being hospitalized in the Waw General Hospital, the report said, adding that none of the patients die of the disease.
Preventive measures are being taken by the local authorities and the health department against the epidemic.
Waw township is among the many townships and wards in the Bago division suffering from drinking water shortage out of serious heat strike during this summer season in Myanmar, especially April through to May.
Local authorities, with the cooperation of social organizations and well-wishers, are donating drinking water to the affected areas using water bowers to ensure water supply daily.
***************************************************
China Daily - 2 people killed in mine blast in Myanmar
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-13 11:32
YANGON - Two people have been killed and three others injured in a mine blast in Myanmar's southeastern Kayin state, the official daily New Light of Myanmar reported Thursday.
A passenger bus, which set out from Papun township's Winmaung township, hit the mine on the Kyangin road at a point between Melaikkyauk and Metoh villages on Tuesday.
The driver and a passenger died in the incident, the report said, adding that the three injured were rushed to Bilin township's People's Hospital for treatment.
The authorities charged the anti-government ethnic armed group of Kayin National Union (KNU) with planting the mine.
The mine blast was another incident during this month after a bomb explosion hit a highway terminal in northernmost Kachin state's Myitkyina on May 5 with no casualties reported.
The police authorities had also accused the KNU of masterminding a series of grenade attacks on a water festival pandal in Yangon on April 15, claiming the capture of Wai
Phyo Aung, one of the four suspected bombers linked with a terrorist organization -- the Vigorous Burmese Students Warriors (VBSW) in the connection.
The other three have escaped to a neighboring country, the authorities said.
The water festival bomb blasts killed 10 people and injured 168 others.
In a single month of April, besides the water festival bomb attacks, others respectively occurred at a toll gate in Muse check point in Shan state on April 14 run by the private
Asia World Company, at the compound of a check point in southeastern Kayin state's Kawkareik, injuring three persons, and at four worksites of the Myitsone hydropower dam project in the upper reaches of the Ayeyawaddy River in northernmost Kachin state with 10 bombs on April 17, injuring one person and destroying two temporary buildings and six motor vehicles.
Several unexploded bombs were also found at the hydropower project sites.
Moreover, another series of three grenade attacks on the Thaukyegat hydropower project in Myanmar's Bago division on April 27 injured at least four people as reported.
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-13 11:32
YANGON - Two people have been killed and three others injured in a mine blast in Myanmar's southeastern Kayin state, the official daily New Light of Myanmar reported Thursday.
A passenger bus, which set out from Papun township's Winmaung township, hit the mine on the Kyangin road at a point between Melaikkyauk and Metoh villages on Tuesday.
The driver and a passenger died in the incident, the report said, adding that the three injured were rushed to Bilin township's People's Hospital for treatment.
The authorities charged the anti-government ethnic armed group of Kayin National Union (KNU) with planting the mine.
The mine blast was another incident during this month after a bomb explosion hit a highway terminal in northernmost Kachin state's Myitkyina on May 5 with no casualties reported.
The police authorities had also accused the KNU of masterminding a series of grenade attacks on a water festival pandal in Yangon on April 15, claiming the capture of Wai
Phyo Aung, one of the four suspected bombers linked with a terrorist organization -- the Vigorous Burmese Students Warriors (VBSW) in the connection.
The other three have escaped to a neighboring country, the authorities said.
The water festival bomb blasts killed 10 people and injured 168 others.
In a single month of April, besides the water festival bomb attacks, others respectively occurred at a toll gate in Muse check point in Shan state on April 14 run by the private
Asia World Company, at the compound of a check point in southeastern Kayin state's Kawkareik, injuring three persons, and at four worksites of the Myitsone hydropower dam project in the upper reaches of the Ayeyawaddy River in northernmost Kachin state with 10 bombs on April 17, injuring one person and destroying two temporary buildings and six motor vehicles.
Several unexploded bombs were also found at the hydropower project sites.
Moreover, another series of three grenade attacks on the Thaukyegat hydropower project in Myanmar's Bago division on April 27 injured at least four people as reported.
***************************************************
Letters to the International Herald Tribune
The New York Times - Can Oil Companies Do Good in Burma?
Published: May 10, 2010
Conventional wisdom suggests that oil companies can do no good for the people of Burma and their notoriously misruled country. This view is founded on years of forced labor, killings and other abuses by the Burmese military in connection to gas pipelines in the country, and to the billions of dollars the sector has generated for the unpopular ruling junta.
While energy companies appear unable to deal with the human rights risks to villagers near their projects, a more systemic problem in the troubled sector may be more fixable, and within their corporate reach. That problem is revenue opacity; a solution is revenue transparency.
For nearly 20 years, billions of dollars in undisclosed payments by foreign oil companies have been kept off official state receipts via outright graft and simple exchange-rate sleights of hand. Money had been squandered by the junta on expensive vanity projects or simply siphoned-off into offshore bank accounts.
The senior generals have demonstrated little interest in policies for economic growth, and have actively undermined crucial institutions when at odds with their own erratic whims and proclivities.
Total, Chevron and the Petroleum Authority of Thailand E&P (PTTEP) are now being pressured by a diverse international coalition, including world leaders, to become the first oil companies in the country to practice revenue transparency and to publish the last 18 years of "taxes, fees, royalties, bonuses, and social benefits" paid to the junta.
The good news is disclosure is possible. As a result of human rights litigation brought by Burmese villagers in U.S. courts against Chevron's predecessor, the governing contracts of the companies' project in Burma are now public. Signed into effect in 1992, they reveal the companies would be free to practice complete revenue transparency in Burma.
It would appear the proverbial ball is in their court.
Sean Turnell, Sydney
Associate professor in economics at Macquarie University in Sydney
Matthew F. Smith, Bangkok
Project coordinator of The Burma Project at EarthRights International, which represented Burmese plaintiffs in the Doe v. Unocal Corp. lawsuit.
The New York Times - Can Oil Companies Do Good in Burma?
Published: May 10, 2010
Conventional wisdom suggests that oil companies can do no good for the people of Burma and their notoriously misruled country. This view is founded on years of forced labor, killings and other abuses by the Burmese military in connection to gas pipelines in the country, and to the billions of dollars the sector has generated for the unpopular ruling junta.
While energy companies appear unable to deal with the human rights risks to villagers near their projects, a more systemic problem in the troubled sector may be more fixable, and within their corporate reach. That problem is revenue opacity; a solution is revenue transparency.
For nearly 20 years, billions of dollars in undisclosed payments by foreign oil companies have been kept off official state receipts via outright graft and simple exchange-rate sleights of hand. Money had been squandered by the junta on expensive vanity projects or simply siphoned-off into offshore bank accounts.
The senior generals have demonstrated little interest in policies for economic growth, and have actively undermined crucial institutions when at odds with their own erratic whims and proclivities.
Total, Chevron and the Petroleum Authority of Thailand E&P (PTTEP) are now being pressured by a diverse international coalition, including world leaders, to become the first oil companies in the country to practice revenue transparency and to publish the last 18 years of "taxes, fees, royalties, bonuses, and social benefits" paid to the junta.
The good news is disclosure is possible. As a result of human rights litigation brought by Burmese villagers in U.S. courts against Chevron's predecessor, the governing contracts of the companies' project in Burma are now public. Signed into effect in 1992, they reveal the companies would be free to practice complete revenue transparency in Burma.
It would appear the proverbial ball is in their court.
Sean Turnell, Sydney
Associate professor in economics at Macquarie University in Sydney
Matthew F. Smith, Bangkok
Project coordinator of The Burma Project at EarthRights International, which represented Burmese plaintiffs in the Doe v. Unocal Corp. lawsuit.
***************************************************
Merinews - Now Burmese junta mouthpiece criticises NLD
Quoting the junta officials, the government-run news paper also urged the Aung San Suu Kyi led NLD to adopt a broader view and 'not a narrow-minded view' based on personal and organizational prejudice.
CJ: Nava Thakuria Thu, May 13, 2010 13:15:05 IST
WHILE THE international community and media continue condemning the military rulers of Burma for its farcical electoral laws, the junta has put forward its argument that the National League for Democracy adopted narrow-minded practices. Junta’s mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar has come out the headline news that ‘if NLD wants to amend the Constitution it should run for the election and should act in accord with the law calling for constitutional amendment ---’.
Quoting the junta officials, the government-run news paper also urged the Aung San Suu Kyi led NLD to adopt a broader view and ‘not a narrow-minded view’ based on personal and organizational prejudice. Relating to the US assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell’s visit to Burma, the newspaper tried to clarify the junta’s stand on many serious issues of international concern.
Mentionable that NLD did not register with the Burmese junta controlled election commission and thus faces forced dissolution since May first week. The newspaper of May 12 issue, categorically denied that the present military regime named as State Peace and Development Council has adopted any flawed electoral laws.
“However, NLD criticized the laws unjust and refused to register. We have ensured the all inclusiveness of the elections.
It is up to the NLD to decide not to take part,” said in the newspaper.
It also added, “There are three main points that NLD is claiming unjust. The first is Article 6 (c) of Political Parties Registration Law which states that political parties shall protect the Constitution of the Union of Myanmar. The NLD said that it cannot accept the provision as it has called for the amendment of the Constitution. Actually, that provision merely calls for maintaining the Constitution, but does not call for a pledge that parties will never amend or try to amend the Constitution or that the Constitution is not amendable or cannot be amended at all.”
It also pointed out that ‘If NLD representatives are elected, they can initiate discussions on constitutional amendments at Hluttaw and go on with amendment procedures in accord with the provisions. However, amendments cannot be made outside the Hluttaw. Neither the NLD nor the government has the right to do so’.
The US envoy visited the country recently and met many high level minister and officials at Nay Pyi Taw. The newspaper claimed that meeting of Campbell with the SPDC Spoke Authoritative Team, Burmese foreign minister, science & technology minister, labour minister and the chairman of Union Election Commission of Burma with others.
Quoting the election commission, the newspaper reported, “The nation is going to hold the multiparty democracy general elections this year. Nowadays, we have issued Political Parties Registration Law, the election laws and rules and also formed the Union Election Commission. ---- The Election Law and rules also guarantee a free, fair, credible and all inclusive elections”, adding, “Up to now 36 parties have submitted applications to the Commission in accord with the laws and rules. Of them, 31 have been permitted to set up. More parties are expected to submit applications. There are also many who will take part as independent candidates.”
Among those parties, some are formed with Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Mon, Rakhine, Shan, PaO, Palaung, Wa, Mro (or) Khami, Kayan, Inn, Lahu and Kokang nationals. In this regard, it can be found that political parties from hilly and plain regions of the whole region, including ethnic races, are allowed to participate in 2010 election, the election commission revealed.
It also assured that the polling will be recorded in front of the public, and vote counting will be carried out at the polling station. Ballot counting will be under the supervision of the returning officer or an assigned staff of the polling station and it will be witnessed by the polling station staff, the public and the representatives assigned by the candidates, the election commission claimed.
The junta-owned newspaper also asserted, “The fact is that the Constitution was ratified with overwhelming public support. Therefore, Hluttaw members who are the public representatives will have the right to make amendments at the Hluttaw in accord with the provisions. If NLD wants to amend the Constitution it should run for the election and should act in accord with the law. Otherwise it is like making impracticable demands. So its decision to stay away from the election will only further complicate the situation. It will only lead to confrontation.”
Mentionable that Campbell met the detained pro-democracy Burmese icon Suu Kyi also. The junta allowed him to meet Nobel Peace laureate at a government guest house in Rangoon on May 10. In his departure statement, the US envoy however termed his visit to Burma as disappointed. Campbell said that he proposed for a credible dialogue with all stakeholders, but the junta insisted that it would go ahead with their own guidelines for the general election.
Quoting the junta officials, the government-run news paper also urged the Aung San Suu Kyi led NLD to adopt a broader view and 'not a narrow-minded view' based on personal and organizational prejudice.
CJ: Nava Thakuria Thu, May 13, 2010 13:15:05 IST
WHILE THE international community and media continue condemning the military rulers of Burma for its farcical electoral laws, the junta has put forward its argument that the National League for Democracy adopted narrow-minded practices. Junta’s mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar has come out the headline news that ‘if NLD wants to amend the Constitution it should run for the election and should act in accord with the law calling for constitutional amendment ---’.
Quoting the junta officials, the government-run news paper also urged the Aung San Suu Kyi led NLD to adopt a broader view and ‘not a narrow-minded view’ based on personal and organizational prejudice. Relating to the US assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell’s visit to Burma, the newspaper tried to clarify the junta’s stand on many serious issues of international concern.
Mentionable that NLD did not register with the Burmese junta controlled election commission and thus faces forced dissolution since May first week. The newspaper of May 12 issue, categorically denied that the present military regime named as State Peace and Development Council has adopted any flawed electoral laws.
“However, NLD criticized the laws unjust and refused to register. We have ensured the all inclusiveness of the elections.
It is up to the NLD to decide not to take part,” said in the newspaper.
It also added, “There are three main points that NLD is claiming unjust. The first is Article 6 (c) of Political Parties Registration Law which states that political parties shall protect the Constitution of the Union of Myanmar. The NLD said that it cannot accept the provision as it has called for the amendment of the Constitution. Actually, that provision merely calls for maintaining the Constitution, but does not call for a pledge that parties will never amend or try to amend the Constitution or that the Constitution is not amendable or cannot be amended at all.”
It also pointed out that ‘If NLD representatives are elected, they can initiate discussions on constitutional amendments at Hluttaw and go on with amendment procedures in accord with the provisions. However, amendments cannot be made outside the Hluttaw. Neither the NLD nor the government has the right to do so’.
The US envoy visited the country recently and met many high level minister and officials at Nay Pyi Taw. The newspaper claimed that meeting of Campbell with the SPDC Spoke Authoritative Team, Burmese foreign minister, science & technology minister, labour minister and the chairman of Union Election Commission of Burma with others.
Quoting the election commission, the newspaper reported, “The nation is going to hold the multiparty democracy general elections this year. Nowadays, we have issued Political Parties Registration Law, the election laws and rules and also formed the Union Election Commission. ---- The Election Law and rules also guarantee a free, fair, credible and all inclusive elections”, adding, “Up to now 36 parties have submitted applications to the Commission in accord with the laws and rules. Of them, 31 have been permitted to set up. More parties are expected to submit applications. There are also many who will take part as independent candidates.”
Among those parties, some are formed with Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Mon, Rakhine, Shan, PaO, Palaung, Wa, Mro (or) Khami, Kayan, Inn, Lahu and Kokang nationals. In this regard, it can be found that political parties from hilly and plain regions of the whole region, including ethnic races, are allowed to participate in 2010 election, the election commission revealed.
It also assured that the polling will be recorded in front of the public, and vote counting will be carried out at the polling station. Ballot counting will be under the supervision of the returning officer or an assigned staff of the polling station and it will be witnessed by the polling station staff, the public and the representatives assigned by the candidates, the election commission claimed.
The junta-owned newspaper also asserted, “The fact is that the Constitution was ratified with overwhelming public support. Therefore, Hluttaw members who are the public representatives will have the right to make amendments at the Hluttaw in accord with the provisions. If NLD wants to amend the Constitution it should run for the election and should act in accord with the law. Otherwise it is like making impracticable demands. So its decision to stay away from the election will only further complicate the situation. It will only lead to confrontation.”
Mentionable that Campbell met the detained pro-democracy Burmese icon Suu Kyi also. The junta allowed him to meet Nobel Peace laureate at a government guest house in Rangoon on May 10. In his departure statement, the US envoy however termed his visit to Burma as disappointed. Campbell said that he proposed for a credible dialogue with all stakeholders, but the junta insisted that it would go ahead with their own guidelines for the general election.
***************************************************
Bangkok Post - SCB urges Thai firms to explore Burma, Indochina
Published: 13/05/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Business
Thailand's private sector should explore business opportunities in neighbouring countries so that it can secure its long-term leadership in Indochina and Burma, says Sethaput Suthiwart-narueput, head of Siam Commercial Bank's Economic Intelligence Center.
The bank's research unit is warning Thai operators not to neglect searching for business opportunities in Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam.
Business expansion in neighbouring markets would help Thailand's private sector defend its market share against tough competition from Asian countries.
Since 2000, Thailand has been the leading exporter to Cambodia, Laos and Burma but has lost its pole position in Vietnam due to greater competition. Thai direct investment is rising in Laos but in decline in Cambodia and Vietnam.
Dr Sethaput said progress on the Asean Free Trade Area and Asean Economic Community would facilitate greater investment opportunities within the four less-developed countries, but each one presents both opportunities and risks.
Vietnam offers strong potential in the manufacturing, medical and health-care services, and alcohol sectors. Burma is good for agriculture and mobile phone operators, while Cambodia presents opportunities for internet businesses. The region is also attractive for the tourism sector.
These sectors are likely to draw large Thai firms, while small and medium-size enterprises should focus on trading and exports, he said.
"Domestic political uncertainty would be a key factor motivating local business operators to seek investment opportunities abroad, including [Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Vietnam]," he said.
"Generally, political risk in these countries seems to be lower than in Thailand, but they are at a disadvantage in other areas. As a result, business operators should take time to consider the risks before making a decision on investing."
The IMF World Economic Outlook Database in last October ranked Laos 167th out of 183 countries for ease of doing business, while Cambodia ranked 145th, Vietnam 93rd and Thailand 12th. There was no data for Burma.
Dr Sethaput said foreign direct investment in Thailand fell to about $1.2-1.4 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, the latest figures, from an average US$2.5 billion per quarter.
Published: 13/05/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Business
Thailand's private sector should explore business opportunities in neighbouring countries so that it can secure its long-term leadership in Indochina and Burma, says Sethaput Suthiwart-narueput, head of Siam Commercial Bank's Economic Intelligence Center.
The bank's research unit is warning Thai operators not to neglect searching for business opportunities in Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam.
Business expansion in neighbouring markets would help Thailand's private sector defend its market share against tough competition from Asian countries.
Since 2000, Thailand has been the leading exporter to Cambodia, Laos and Burma but has lost its pole position in Vietnam due to greater competition. Thai direct investment is rising in Laos but in decline in Cambodia and Vietnam.
Dr Sethaput said progress on the Asean Free Trade Area and Asean Economic Community would facilitate greater investment opportunities within the four less-developed countries, but each one presents both opportunities and risks.
Vietnam offers strong potential in the manufacturing, medical and health-care services, and alcohol sectors. Burma is good for agriculture and mobile phone operators, while Cambodia presents opportunities for internet businesses. The region is also attractive for the tourism sector.
These sectors are likely to draw large Thai firms, while small and medium-size enterprises should focus on trading and exports, he said.
"Domestic political uncertainty would be a key factor motivating local business operators to seek investment opportunities abroad, including [Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Vietnam]," he said.
"Generally, political risk in these countries seems to be lower than in Thailand, but they are at a disadvantage in other areas. As a result, business operators should take time to consider the risks before making a decision on investing."
The IMF World Economic Outlook Database in last October ranked Laos 167th out of 183 countries for ease of doing business, while Cambodia ranked 145th, Vietnam 93rd and Thailand 12th. There was no data for Burma.
Dr Sethaput said foreign direct investment in Thailand fell to about $1.2-1.4 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, the latest figures, from an average US$2.5 billion per quarter.
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The Irrawaddy - NLD Focuses On Electoral Rights
By MIN NAING THU - Thursday, May 13, 2010
Members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in parts of central and eastern Burma have been distributing leaflets among the public, conveying the message: “Citizens have the right not to vote in the coming election.”
NLD members told The Irrawaddy that the distribution of leaflets, together with the NLD's letter of appeal to the general public, has taken place in Mandalay, Sagaing and Magwe divisions, as well as in Karen State.
Khin Saw Htay, an organizing committee member of the NLD in Magwe Division, said they distributed the leaflets not because they were directed to by the party's headquarters, but because they were trying to let people in their areas know about the NLD's activities.
“The NLD headquarters didn't give us any instructions related to these leaflets,” he said. “We are engaged in politics so we do what we have to. People in Magwe are wondering about whom they should vote for without the NLD in the election. So, in our leaflet, we also explain about a voter's right—to vote or not to vote.”
An excerpt from Chapter 1 of the Pyithu Hluttaw Electoral Law was inserted in the text of the leaflet, which states that an element of one's electoral rights is the right to vote or the right to choose not to vote.
So far, 5,000 leaflets have reportedly been distributed in Mandalay and Sagaing divisions.
“People are interested in our leaflets,” said Myint Zaw from the NLD's Mandalay office. “They ask who they should vote for in the coming election. We explain to them their electoral rights.”
The NLD on March 29 announced its decision not to re-register as a political party to contest the election scheduled for later this year. On April 6, it sent out a letter of appeal to the general public.
“The letter of appeal comprises three main components: an explanation of the NLD's decision not to register for election; the party's apology for not being able to realize its election victory; and its affirmation to continue the democracy struggle by peaceful means,” said Khin Saw Htay.
Apart from distributing leaflets, NLD members in Karen State are working on rewriting the NLD's appeal to make it more understandable within their communities.
“The original letter is very long, so we are summarizing it to be succinct and to the point, so people can easily understand it,” said Nan Khin Htway Myint, an NLD MP-elect in the 1990 election. 'Then, we will distribute it among our communities.”
By MIN NAING THU - Thursday, May 13, 2010
Members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in parts of central and eastern Burma have been distributing leaflets among the public, conveying the message: “Citizens have the right not to vote in the coming election.”
NLD members told The Irrawaddy that the distribution of leaflets, together with the NLD's letter of appeal to the general public, has taken place in Mandalay, Sagaing and Magwe divisions, as well as in Karen State.
Khin Saw Htay, an organizing committee member of the NLD in Magwe Division, said they distributed the leaflets not because they were directed to by the party's headquarters, but because they were trying to let people in their areas know about the NLD's activities.
“The NLD headquarters didn't give us any instructions related to these leaflets,” he said. “We are engaged in politics so we do what we have to. People in Magwe are wondering about whom they should vote for without the NLD in the election. So, in our leaflet, we also explain about a voter's right—to vote or not to vote.”
An excerpt from Chapter 1 of the Pyithu Hluttaw Electoral Law was inserted in the text of the leaflet, which states that an element of one's electoral rights is the right to vote or the right to choose not to vote.
So far, 5,000 leaflets have reportedly been distributed in Mandalay and Sagaing divisions.
“People are interested in our leaflets,” said Myint Zaw from the NLD's Mandalay office. “They ask who they should vote for in the coming election. We explain to them their electoral rights.”
The NLD on March 29 announced its decision not to re-register as a political party to contest the election scheduled for later this year. On April 6, it sent out a letter of appeal to the general public.
“The letter of appeal comprises three main components: an explanation of the NLD's decision not to register for election; the party's apology for not being able to realize its election victory; and its affirmation to continue the democracy struggle by peaceful means,” said Khin Saw Htay.
Apart from distributing leaflets, NLD members in Karen State are working on rewriting the NLD's appeal to make it more understandable within their communities.
“The original letter is very long, so we are summarizing it to be succinct and to the point, so people can easily understand it,” said Nan Khin Htway Myint, an NLD MP-elect in the 1990 election. 'Then, we will distribute it among our communities.”
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Social workers groups blame authorities for ignoring water shortage
Thursday, 13 May 2010 22:35 Kyaw Kha
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Dysentery has joined the list of ills stemming from the water crisis in the lower and central regions of Burma, with social work groups in the affected states and divisions blaming authorities for failing to assist people facing severe water shortages in at least 180 villages.
Diarrhoeic outbreaks totalling 82 cases in one town in Pegu Division alone were reported as more than 70,000 people from an extra 40 villages in the division faced water shortages in their area, social workers groups said.
Reports early this week said more than 60 villages in the same division were suffering severe water shortages after record high temperatures across Burma had accelerated evaporation of ponds and reservoirs. Villagers in the townships of Pegu, Waw, Thanatpin, Kawa and Daik Oo, lack drinking water and water for hygiene needs as small dams have lain dry since the end of April.
“The number of villages reporting water shortages has now reached more than 100. If the government departments concerned had co-operated with social work groups, the number of such villages would not have reached such number,” a social worker told Mizzima. “Now Waw Township is facing the further problem of rampant diarrhoea.”
Though reports of the crisis have circulated since the end of last month, the news of “water distributed by local authorities and government departments to the people” under the “direction and administration of the government”, only just appeared in daily papers today, citing action claimed to have been taken on Monday.
Reports of health affects are also starting to emerge.
Eight-two cases of people suffering symptoms of dysentery were reported at Waw Township People’s Hospital between May 5 and 11, of which 27 were being treated as inpatients and 55 patients had been discharged, state-run news outlets reported.
National League for Democracy (NLD) Youth members from Pegu Division started a campaign to distribute drinking water on May 2 in affected villages and they were soon joined by local businessmen and social workers. Municipal, police and army officials followed with a separate water-distribution programme yesterday.
The water crisis is also being felt in lower Burma as wells and ponds in Rangoon and Irrawaddy divisions, and in Mon State, are empty or drying up.
More than 50,000 people from 60 villages in the Ahpaung and Balukyun townships of Mon State were facing similar drinking water shortages, a member of a social work group distributing water in Ahpaung reported.
“All villages in the plains area are facing water shortages. Unless Zinkyaik and Kywechan [townships] supply them with water regularly, this problem will be uncontrollable,” a social worker told Mizzima. “Local authorities said they could not yet provide assistance as they were waiting for directives from higher authorities.”
Dams for agricultural use in Mon State also dried up more than a month ago, leading farmers to suffer water shortages since the beginning of this month, reports said.
“The people living in Dala Township have to use Rangoon River water for bathing. Until today we have not yet received any assistance from those who rule our country”, a social worker from Dala in Rangoon Division told Mizzima.
About two thirds of Dala’s population and more than 30,000 people living in more than 20 villages have been in need of water for almost a month.
Social workers groups in Twante Township, and businessmen and villagers with excess water resources, were providing drinking water to the people of Dala through truck-borne deliveries.
Thursday, 13 May 2010 22:35 Kyaw Kha
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Dysentery has joined the list of ills stemming from the water crisis in the lower and central regions of Burma, with social work groups in the affected states and divisions blaming authorities for failing to assist people facing severe water shortages in at least 180 villages.
Diarrhoeic outbreaks totalling 82 cases in one town in Pegu Division alone were reported as more than 70,000 people from an extra 40 villages in the division faced water shortages in their area, social workers groups said.
Reports early this week said more than 60 villages in the same division were suffering severe water shortages after record high temperatures across Burma had accelerated evaporation of ponds and reservoirs. Villagers in the townships of Pegu, Waw, Thanatpin, Kawa and Daik Oo, lack drinking water and water for hygiene needs as small dams have lain dry since the end of April.
“The number of villages reporting water shortages has now reached more than 100. If the government departments concerned had co-operated with social work groups, the number of such villages would not have reached such number,” a social worker told Mizzima. “Now Waw Township is facing the further problem of rampant diarrhoea.”
Though reports of the crisis have circulated since the end of last month, the news of “water distributed by local authorities and government departments to the people” under the “direction and administration of the government”, only just appeared in daily papers today, citing action claimed to have been taken on Monday.
Reports of health affects are also starting to emerge.
Eight-two cases of people suffering symptoms of dysentery were reported at Waw Township People’s Hospital between May 5 and 11, of which 27 were being treated as inpatients and 55 patients had been discharged, state-run news outlets reported.
National League for Democracy (NLD) Youth members from Pegu Division started a campaign to distribute drinking water on May 2 in affected villages and they were soon joined by local businessmen and social workers. Municipal, police and army officials followed with a separate water-distribution programme yesterday.
The water crisis is also being felt in lower Burma as wells and ponds in Rangoon and Irrawaddy divisions, and in Mon State, are empty or drying up.
More than 50,000 people from 60 villages in the Ahpaung and Balukyun townships of Mon State were facing similar drinking water shortages, a member of a social work group distributing water in Ahpaung reported.
“All villages in the plains area are facing water shortages. Unless Zinkyaik and Kywechan [townships] supply them with water regularly, this problem will be uncontrollable,” a social worker told Mizzima. “Local authorities said they could not yet provide assistance as they were waiting for directives from higher authorities.”
Dams for agricultural use in Mon State also dried up more than a month ago, leading farmers to suffer water shortages since the beginning of this month, reports said.
“The people living in Dala Township have to use Rangoon River water for bathing. Until today we have not yet received any assistance from those who rule our country”, a social worker from Dala in Rangoon Division told Mizzima.
About two thirds of Dala’s population and more than 30,000 people living in more than 20 villages have been in need of water for almost a month.
Social workers groups in Twante Township, and businessmen and villagers with excess water resources, were providing drinking water to the people of Dala through truck-borne deliveries.
***************************************************
DVB News - First Rohingya delegate visits US congress
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 13 May 2010
Maung Tun Khin this week became the first Rohingya to brief the US congress on the religious persecution of ethnic minorities at the hands of the Burmese government.
The president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) travelled to the US as part of a delegation, joined by Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s Benedict Rogers.
Maung Tun Khin said the visit was “an extremely valuable opportunity to provide a voice for all the people of Burma, including the Rohingya, and to advocate for a UN commission of inquiry to be established, to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes”.
Rogers told the congress panel, which included congressmen Joseph Pitts and Chris Smith, that the plight of ethnic and religious minorities in Burma was “neglected”.
There has been a concerted effort to attempt to try the Burmese junta for crimes against humanity and war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Maung Tun Khin presented evidence of the widespread, systematic persecution of his people and the growing crisis of refugees fleeing to Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated countries on earth.
The Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim group estimated by the UN to number some 800,000, reside in Burma’s western Arakan state. Their treatment by the Burmese government has long been regarded as amongst the most brutal in the world.
Elaine Pearson, deputy director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch (HRW), recently told DVB that “there are serious concerns for the Rohingya’s safety inside Burma”, whilst calling on more countries to take Rohingya as refugees.
The open racism of the Burmese government, which denies them citizenship, was exemplified in February last year by Burma’s ambassador to Hong Kong, Ye Myint Aung, who described the Rohingya as “ugly as ogres” in a letter to the press.
This comment followed one month after photographs emerged of nearly 1,000 Rohingya who had washed up in boats on Thailand’s southeastern coast being towed back out to sea by Thai authorities, where four of the boats sank. The Thai government was roundly condemned for the treatment.
Bangladesh has also been criticised for blocking attempts by the UN refugee agency to grant refugee status to the estimated 378,000 who remain in the country’s eastern Cox’s Bazaar district illegally.
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 13 May 2010
Maung Tun Khin this week became the first Rohingya to brief the US congress on the religious persecution of ethnic minorities at the hands of the Burmese government.
The president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) travelled to the US as part of a delegation, joined by Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s Benedict Rogers.
Maung Tun Khin said the visit was “an extremely valuable opportunity to provide a voice for all the people of Burma, including the Rohingya, and to advocate for a UN commission of inquiry to be established, to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes”.
Rogers told the congress panel, which included congressmen Joseph Pitts and Chris Smith, that the plight of ethnic and religious minorities in Burma was “neglected”.
There has been a concerted effort to attempt to try the Burmese junta for crimes against humanity and war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Maung Tun Khin presented evidence of the widespread, systematic persecution of his people and the growing crisis of refugees fleeing to Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated countries on earth.
The Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim group estimated by the UN to number some 800,000, reside in Burma’s western Arakan state. Their treatment by the Burmese government has long been regarded as amongst the most brutal in the world.
Elaine Pearson, deputy director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch (HRW), recently told DVB that “there are serious concerns for the Rohingya’s safety inside Burma”, whilst calling on more countries to take Rohingya as refugees.
The open racism of the Burmese government, which denies them citizenship, was exemplified in February last year by Burma’s ambassador to Hong Kong, Ye Myint Aung, who described the Rohingya as “ugly as ogres” in a letter to the press.
This comment followed one month after photographs emerged of nearly 1,000 Rohingya who had washed up in boats on Thailand’s southeastern coast being towed back out to sea by Thai authorities, where four of the boats sank. The Thai government was roundly condemned for the treatment.
Bangladesh has also been criticised for blocking attempts by the UN refugee agency to grant refugee status to the estimated 378,000 who remain in the country’s eastern Cox’s Bazaar district illegally.
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DVB News - Burma rejects child beggar repatriation
By AYE NAI
Published: 13 May 2010
Burma’s embassy in Kuala Lumpur has denied financial assistance that would return home six Burmese child beggars detained in Malaysia’s Tanah Merah immigration camp since July last year.
Officials from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) met with Burmese embassy and Malaysian immigration officials after reports of the plight of the children were broadcast by exiled Burmese media earlier this month.
Thee children, who range from 10 to 14 years old, had been trafficked to Malaysia from Rangoon, Irrawaddy and Mandalay divisions last year via overland and air routes.
Aung Kyaw Satt, secretary of the Burmese exiled National League for Democracy-Liberation Area party in Malaysia, which has urged UNHCR assistance for the children, said the Burmese embassy officials in the meeting agreed to given credentials that they were Burmese nationals, but denied them financial cover for their return to Burma.
He added however that the embassy officials “guarantee that nothing will happen to them when they go back to Burma”.
Reports have also emerged of an alleged broker said to be working with the Burmese embassy who asked for 2000 Malaysian ringgit ($US625) from the children to send them back home.
A Burmese national in Malaysia who has been assisting the children said that “they told him they couldn’t afford the money and never saw him again”.
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.
By AYE NAI
Published: 13 May 2010
Burma’s embassy in Kuala Lumpur has denied financial assistance that would return home six Burmese child beggars detained in Malaysia’s Tanah Merah immigration camp since July last year.
Officials from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) met with Burmese embassy and Malaysian immigration officials after reports of the plight of the children were broadcast by exiled Burmese media earlier this month.
Thee children, who range from 10 to 14 years old, had been trafficked to Malaysia from Rangoon, Irrawaddy and Mandalay divisions last year via overland and air routes.
Aung Kyaw Satt, secretary of the Burmese exiled National League for Democracy-Liberation Area party in Malaysia, which has urged UNHCR assistance for the children, said the Burmese embassy officials in the meeting agreed to given credentials that they were Burmese nationals, but denied them financial cover for their return to Burma.
He added however that the embassy officials “guarantee that nothing will happen to them when they go back to Burma”.
Reports have also emerged of an alleged broker said to be working with the Burmese embassy who asked for 2000 Malaysian ringgit ($US625) from the children to send them back home.
A Burmese national in Malaysia who has been assisting the children said that “they told him they couldn’t afford the money and never saw him again”.
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.
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DVB News - NLD questions Central Court rejection
By KHIN HNIN HTET
Published: 13 May 2010
Lawyers of the disbanded opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party have called on Burma’s central court to provide an answer as to why an appeal over its dissolution was rejected.
The NLD, which marked its final hours as a registered political party on 6 May, had filed a lawsuit on 30 April against controversial election laws that blocked party leader Aung San Suu Kyi from running in the elections and forced her expulsion if the NLD wished to take part. The lawsuit was however rejected on 5 May.
“The court’s rejection of our lawsuit was not in accordance with the High Court Code, in which the court must provide reasons for the rejection so that we can amend the lawsuit,” said lawyer Nyan Win.
“But there was no specific reason given, which left us unclear as to what to do next or what to change. We called the [Burmese capital] Naypyidaw court to immediately give us directions about this.”
Nyan Win said the NLD will hold discussions with its 1990-elected parliament members who filed another lawsuit on the same day against the abolishment of 1990 election results.
The NLD won a landslide victory in the 1990 elections that was ignored by the ruling junta, which has since maintained a tight grip on power. The likely frontrunner in this year’s elections, Burma’s first since 1990, is the incumbent prime minister, Thein Sein, who will head the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
Meanwhile, a lawyers for Suu Kyi have sent a letter to the Rangoon municipal challenging its u-turn on whether a shed in the Nobel laureate’s compound can be demolished as part of wider renovations on the crumbling lakeside property where she is held under house arrest.
“We called for a re-approval on demolishing the shed as it was in a very dangerous and irreparable stage, and asked government officials to come and inspect it. We handed the latter to the municipal’s housing department [yesterday], said Nyan Win.”
By KHIN HNIN HTET
Published: 13 May 2010
Lawyers of the disbanded opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party have called on Burma’s central court to provide an answer as to why an appeal over its dissolution was rejected.
The NLD, which marked its final hours as a registered political party on 6 May, had filed a lawsuit on 30 April against controversial election laws that blocked party leader Aung San Suu Kyi from running in the elections and forced her expulsion if the NLD wished to take part. The lawsuit was however rejected on 5 May.
“The court’s rejection of our lawsuit was not in accordance with the High Court Code, in which the court must provide reasons for the rejection so that we can amend the lawsuit,” said lawyer Nyan Win.
“But there was no specific reason given, which left us unclear as to what to do next or what to change. We called the [Burmese capital] Naypyidaw court to immediately give us directions about this.”
Nyan Win said the NLD will hold discussions with its 1990-elected parliament members who filed another lawsuit on the same day against the abolishment of 1990 election results.
The NLD won a landslide victory in the 1990 elections that was ignored by the ruling junta, which has since maintained a tight grip on power. The likely frontrunner in this year’s elections, Burma’s first since 1990, is the incumbent prime minister, Thein Sein, who will head the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
Meanwhile, a lawyers for Suu Kyi have sent a letter to the Rangoon municipal challenging its u-turn on whether a shed in the Nobel laureate’s compound can be demolished as part of wider renovations on the crumbling lakeside property where she is held under house arrest.
“We called for a re-approval on demolishing the shed as it was in a very dangerous and irreparable stage, and asked government officials to come and inspect it. We handed the latter to the municipal’s housing department [yesterday], said Nyan Win.”
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