Landslides kill scores in Bangladesh and Myanmar
59 mins ago
YANGON (AFP) – Rescue workers were scrambling to provide aid to tens of thousands left homeless in western Myanmar and neighbouring Bangladesh Thursday after floods and landslides killed more than 100 people.
At least 57 were killed as bridges and homes were damaged after record rainfall of more than 13 inches (33 centimetres) Wednesday in parts of Rakhine State in military-ruled Myanmar, state television reported.
The dead included one member of the military.
In Bangladesh, 55 people were killed on Wednesday after the worst rains in decades struck a day earlier, officials said, forcing rescuers to battle blocked roads and floods to get aid to remote communities hit by landslides.
More than 12,000 people were receiving emergency relief in makeshift camps after flash floods triggered the landslides, Bangladeshi officials said.
Dry food rations and bottles of water were handed out in the country's southeastern tip after rescue workers cleared debris from roads and accessed the hardest-hit area of Bangladesh, Teknaf, which is home to hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
Across the border, landslides swept away huts on hillsides in Myanmar, while some areas have seen floods as high as two feet (60 centimetres) after several days of torrential rain, the New Light report said.
A Red Cross official in Rakhine State said he feared the death toll would climb. "We are still collecting casualties from areas that we couldn't reach," he said, asking not to be named.
"We are having difficulties reaching some areas as the roads were damaged," said the official, adding that many houses, schools and monasteries were destroyed and electricity supplies were cut off in some areas.
A statement from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the area was at further risk because the rainy season has just begun.
Myanmar's deputy minister of home affairs, Phone Swe, was due to lead a fact-finding mission Thursday to the area to meet the UN and non-governmental groups on the ground and coordinate the emergency response, OCHA said.
"Many agencies have been cut off and logistics are very difficult," Vincent Hubin, deputy head of the Myanmar OCHA office, told AFP.
Landslides caused by heavy rains are a common peril in Myanmar owing to deforestation, and in Bangladesh's southeastern hill districts where thousands of poor people live on denuded hill slopes.
Around 15,000 Rohingya refugees living in camps -- both legal and illegal -- around Teknaf have been affected by the floods, Firoz Salauddin, the Bangladeshi government's spokesman on Rohingya issues, told AFP.
"We have ordered repairs for the houses of the legal refugees," he said, but declined comment on what would happen to the illegal refugees -- whom Bangladesh maintains must "At least 3,000 houses have been totally destroyed and many others damaged -- the area is still very fragile, if there is more rain, we will have to evacuate residents,"
Cox's Bazaar district administrator Giasuddin Ahmed said.
be sent back to Myanmar.
Conditions for the unregistered refugees were dire, Mojibur Rahman, a Rohingya refugee who lives in an official refugee camp, told AFP, saying there was "no sign" of help for the thousands unregistered who had lost their houses.
The Muslim, Bengali-speaking Rohingya are described by the United Nations as one of the world's most persecuted minorities.
Some flood victims said there was a food crisis with government aid not reaching some of the most needy.
"People haven't eaten for days. There's an extremely bad food crisis -- we've not had any help from anyone," said Manzural Islam, an unregistered Rohingya refugee in Teknaf.
"At least 1,000 houses have been destroyed, people are still sleeping without any shelter, they don't have food and can't cook like this, but we are trying to rebuild," he said.
59 mins ago
YANGON (AFP) – Rescue workers were scrambling to provide aid to tens of thousands left homeless in western Myanmar and neighbouring Bangladesh Thursday after floods and landslides killed more than 100 people.
At least 57 were killed as bridges and homes were damaged after record rainfall of more than 13 inches (33 centimetres) Wednesday in parts of Rakhine State in military-ruled Myanmar, state television reported.
The dead included one member of the military.
In Bangladesh, 55 people were killed on Wednesday after the worst rains in decades struck a day earlier, officials said, forcing rescuers to battle blocked roads and floods to get aid to remote communities hit by landslides.
More than 12,000 people were receiving emergency relief in makeshift camps after flash floods triggered the landslides, Bangladeshi officials said.
Dry food rations and bottles of water were handed out in the country's southeastern tip after rescue workers cleared debris from roads and accessed the hardest-hit area of Bangladesh, Teknaf, which is home to hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
Across the border, landslides swept away huts on hillsides in Myanmar, while some areas have seen floods as high as two feet (60 centimetres) after several days of torrential rain, the New Light report said.
A Red Cross official in Rakhine State said he feared the death toll would climb. "We are still collecting casualties from areas that we couldn't reach," he said, asking not to be named.
"We are having difficulties reaching some areas as the roads were damaged," said the official, adding that many houses, schools and monasteries were destroyed and electricity supplies were cut off in some areas.
A statement from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the area was at further risk because the rainy season has just begun.
Myanmar's deputy minister of home affairs, Phone Swe, was due to lead a fact-finding mission Thursday to the area to meet the UN and non-governmental groups on the ground and coordinate the emergency response, OCHA said.
"Many agencies have been cut off and logistics are very difficult," Vincent Hubin, deputy head of the Myanmar OCHA office, told AFP.
Landslides caused by heavy rains are a common peril in Myanmar owing to deforestation, and in Bangladesh's southeastern hill districts where thousands of poor people live on denuded hill slopes.
Around 15,000 Rohingya refugees living in camps -- both legal and illegal -- around Teknaf have been affected by the floods, Firoz Salauddin, the Bangladeshi government's spokesman on Rohingya issues, told AFP.
"We have ordered repairs for the houses of the legal refugees," he said, but declined comment on what would happen to the illegal refugees -- whom Bangladesh maintains must "At least 3,000 houses have been totally destroyed and many others damaged -- the area is still very fragile, if there is more rain, we will have to evacuate residents,"
Cox's Bazaar district administrator Giasuddin Ahmed said.
be sent back to Myanmar.
Conditions for the unregistered refugees were dire, Mojibur Rahman, a Rohingya refugee who lives in an official refugee camp, told AFP, saying there was "no sign" of help for the thousands unregistered who had lost their houses.
The Muslim, Bengali-speaking Rohingya are described by the United Nations as one of the world's most persecuted minorities.
Some flood victims said there was a food crisis with government aid not reaching some of the most needy.
"People haven't eaten for days. There's an extremely bad food crisis -- we've not had any help from anyone," said Manzural Islam, an unregistered Rohingya refugee in Teknaf.
"At least 1,000 houses have been destroyed, people are still sleeping without any shelter, they don't have food and can't cook like this, but we are trying to rebuild," he said.
*****************************************************
Reuters AlertNet - Myanmar and Bangladesh: UNHCR rescues, shelters flood victims
17 Jun 2010 13:01:14 GMT
Source: UNHCR
BUTHIDAUNG, Myanmar, June 17 (UNHCR) – Using speed boats that normally ferry UNHCR staff to remote work sites, the refugee agency has rescued 50 patients from a hospital in western Myanmar from devastating floods, as well as more than 100 children from their inundated homes.
Less than 24 hours after the same torrential monsoon rains hit the Bangladesh side of the border, UNHCR on Wednesday also rushed plastic sheeting to some 4,500 Bangladeshis near Cox's Bazar. Their homes had been destroyed hours earlier by floods and mudslides that killed at least 58.
Eight UNHCR speed boats – routinely used to reach villages on the many rivers flowing into the Bay of Bengal – were used to rescue 104 children and 121 adults trapped by high water in Myanmar's northern Rakhine State.
"The national operators of our boats and their helpers have been enormously brave, especially in rescuing all 50 patients, 20 staff and some important medicine from rapidly rising flood waters in the Buthidaung Hospital," said Dinesh Shrestha, head of UNHCR's field office in Maungdaw. The patients were taken to a school for safety.
In the Maungdaw area, some 270 families were forced to leave their homes and had to seek shelter temporarily in two schools. UNHCR distributed blankets and mosquito nets to 212 of them – emptying its stocks in Maungdaw – and the Myanmar Red Cross Society, private donors and others pitched in with help for the rest.
Even if they could not return to their own homes because of high water, most families went back quickly to stay with relatives in their own hamlets. UNHCR is coordinating the humanitarian response in northern Rakhine State.
Many roads in the state are still under water, and some bridges have been washed away. Three UN refugee agency staff members had to walk nearly four hours to get to work because of mudslides blocking their normal route.
Across the Naf River, which forms the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh, Craig Sanders, UNHCR's representative in Bangladesh, observed that "this is the most devastating natural disaster the people of Cox's Bazar have faced in recent years."
He noted that many of them were already living in poverty, with little or no savings. "This disaster will set them back even further," Sanders said, adding: "We will continue to work with the government and other agencies to ensure that the most vulnerable are able to get back on their feet as soon as possible."
UNHCR helps the Bangladeshi government operate two refugee camps near Cox's Bazar, home to about 28,500 Rohingya refugees from northern Rakhine. According to government estimates, there are also a further 200,000 Rohingya living in the area who are not registered with UNHCR.
"Many of the Bangladeshis who have been affected by this calamity have been generously hosting refugees for the past two decades," Sanders said. "We at UNHCR are glad that we can respond to their needs so quickly and assist them in rebuilding their lives."
17 Jun 2010 13:01:14 GMT
Source: UNHCR
BUTHIDAUNG, Myanmar, June 17 (UNHCR) – Using speed boats that normally ferry UNHCR staff to remote work sites, the refugee agency has rescued 50 patients from a hospital in western Myanmar from devastating floods, as well as more than 100 children from their inundated homes.
Less than 24 hours after the same torrential monsoon rains hit the Bangladesh side of the border, UNHCR on Wednesday also rushed plastic sheeting to some 4,500 Bangladeshis near Cox's Bazar. Their homes had been destroyed hours earlier by floods and mudslides that killed at least 58.
Eight UNHCR speed boats – routinely used to reach villages on the many rivers flowing into the Bay of Bengal – were used to rescue 104 children and 121 adults trapped by high water in Myanmar's northern Rakhine State.
"The national operators of our boats and their helpers have been enormously brave, especially in rescuing all 50 patients, 20 staff and some important medicine from rapidly rising flood waters in the Buthidaung Hospital," said Dinesh Shrestha, head of UNHCR's field office in Maungdaw. The patients were taken to a school for safety.
In the Maungdaw area, some 270 families were forced to leave their homes and had to seek shelter temporarily in two schools. UNHCR distributed blankets and mosquito nets to 212 of them – emptying its stocks in Maungdaw – and the Myanmar Red Cross Society, private donors and others pitched in with help for the rest.
Even if they could not return to their own homes because of high water, most families went back quickly to stay with relatives in their own hamlets. UNHCR is coordinating the humanitarian response in northern Rakhine State.
Many roads in the state are still under water, and some bridges have been washed away. Three UN refugee agency staff members had to walk nearly four hours to get to work because of mudslides blocking their normal route.
Across the Naf River, which forms the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh, Craig Sanders, UNHCR's representative in Bangladesh, observed that "this is the most devastating natural disaster the people of Cox's Bazar have faced in recent years."
He noted that many of them were already living in poverty, with little or no savings. "This disaster will set them back even further," Sanders said, adding: "We will continue to work with the government and other agencies to ensure that the most vulnerable are able to get back on their feet as soon as possible."
UNHCR helps the Bangladeshi government operate two refugee camps near Cox's Bazar, home to about 28,500 Rohingya refugees from northern Rakhine. According to government estimates, there are also a further 200,000 Rohingya living in the area who are not registered with UNHCR.
"Many of the Bangladeshis who have been affected by this calamity have been generously hosting refugees for the past two decades," Sanders said. "We at UNHCR are glad that we can respond to their needs so quickly and assist them in rebuilding their lives."
*****************************************************
BANGLADESH-MYANMAR: Rush to deliver aid to thousands after landslides
YANGON, 17 June 2010 (IRIN) - Governments and aid workers are scrambling to assist thousands of people - many of them stateless Rohingya refugees - stranded after three days of heavy monsoon rains caused severe flooding and landslides in the Myanmar-Bangladesh border region, killing at least 99 people and wiping out homes, roads and bridges, officials say.
In Myanmar, 46 people were killed in the Maungdaw and Buthidaung Townships of northern Rakhine State in the west, the state-owned New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.
Most of the population in these two hardest hit townships are ethnic Rohingya, a stateless people denied citizenship by the Myanmar government.
"Several thousand families have reportedly been displaced and close to 40 villages are submerged," Vincent Hubin, deputy head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Myanmar said by email. He said agencies were assessing the situation in the field, and Deputy Minister of Home Affairs U Phone Swe has arrived in Northern Rakhine State and will stay for several days.
A visitor on a field trip in Northern Rakhine State was among thousands of people trudging through deep mud from Maungdaw to Buthidaung - the two worst affected cities - to safety.
"The road between these two places is completely destroyed," she wrote in an email to her husband in Bangkok, who spoke to IRIN on condition of anonymity. "The road we walked today took five-and-a-half hours. That was the only way to take ourselves from the place we were in to the next town.
"We walked in deep mud for hours, climbed and balanced on 20cm-wide bridges over small ravines... We're completely covered in mud from head to toe and completely soaked. Now we have arrived at our destination, and from here, there are boats to Sittwe [capital of Rakhine State]."
Cut off
Bridges between Maungdaw and Buthidaung were washed away, locals told IRIN.
"Some people in the town worry so much about their relatives and friends in the rural areas, but they can't access their villages as transportation is now cut off," a local resident from Maungdaw said by phone.
Another woman from Maungdaw said entire families were killed after a rain-soaked hill collapsed on to Taungshwe Village in Maungdaw Township.
"The victims have no food to eat, no house to live in," she said, adding that commodity prices in Maungdaw had spiked.
Bishow Parajuli, the UN Development Programme resident representative, said the most urgent needs in the affected areas were drinking water, shelter, food and blankets. "We are providing rapid response to meet immediate needs, but people also need to rebuild roads and houses and recover from these unfortunate events."
Rains have reportedly subsided and water levels are receding but the area is at further risk as the monsoon season has just started, according to OCHA.
Local authorities, the UN Refugee Agency, Médecins Sans Frontières - Holland and Action Against Hunger have supported the relocation of affected people using boats. Many other organizations such as Malteser International, Myanmar Red Cross Society and others are also supporting relief efforts, Hubin said.
UNHCR, the lead agency in northern Rakhine State, has called an emergency meeting of partners in Yangon and is supporting coordination in the field in water, health, shelter, food, infrastructure and protection for families who have lost documents.
"With regards to the convoy [of essential items], UNHCR is leading the process and is trying to organize a boat to depart from Yangon and go to NRS (Northern Rakhine State). Departure is still planned for Saturday," Hubin said.
The OCHA report said emergency supplies would be mobilized from Sittwe. As roads have been damaged, the use of boats and commercial flights will be considered for the deployment of the emergency supplies.
Bangladesh toll
In Bangladesh, at least 53 people, including five members of the army, were killed in landslides in Cox's Bazar and Bandarban districts. Cox's Bazar experienced 132mm of rain in 24 hours, according to a 16 June situation report by the government's Disaster Management Information Centre.
The Ministry of Food and Disaster Management has allocated 1.3 million Bangladeshi taka (about US$19,000) and 150MT of rice for affected people in the two districts.
Meanwhile, people in areas vulnerable to landslides have been evacuated, fishing boats have been advised to remain close to the coast and measures are being taken to save food stores at risk of inundation, the report said.
Gias Uddin Ahmed, deputy commissioner of Cox's Bazar, told IRIN that 15 shelter camps had been established.
There are 12,000 people in the rescue camps. We are also providing foods to them. UNHCR gave us 700 tents and we have handed them over to the affected people," he said, adding that some people had started returning to their homes.
YANGON, 17 June 2010 (IRIN) - Governments and aid workers are scrambling to assist thousands of people - many of them stateless Rohingya refugees - stranded after three days of heavy monsoon rains caused severe flooding and landslides in the Myanmar-Bangladesh border region, killing at least 99 people and wiping out homes, roads and bridges, officials say.
In Myanmar, 46 people were killed in the Maungdaw and Buthidaung Townships of northern Rakhine State in the west, the state-owned New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.
Most of the population in these two hardest hit townships are ethnic Rohingya, a stateless people denied citizenship by the Myanmar government.
"Several thousand families have reportedly been displaced and close to 40 villages are submerged," Vincent Hubin, deputy head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Myanmar said by email. He said agencies were assessing the situation in the field, and Deputy Minister of Home Affairs U Phone Swe has arrived in Northern Rakhine State and will stay for several days.
A visitor on a field trip in Northern Rakhine State was among thousands of people trudging through deep mud from Maungdaw to Buthidaung - the two worst affected cities - to safety.
"The road between these two places is completely destroyed," she wrote in an email to her husband in Bangkok, who spoke to IRIN on condition of anonymity. "The road we walked today took five-and-a-half hours. That was the only way to take ourselves from the place we were in to the next town.
"We walked in deep mud for hours, climbed and balanced on 20cm-wide bridges over small ravines... We're completely covered in mud from head to toe and completely soaked. Now we have arrived at our destination, and from here, there are boats to Sittwe [capital of Rakhine State]."
Cut off
Bridges between Maungdaw and Buthidaung were washed away, locals told IRIN.
"Some people in the town worry so much about their relatives and friends in the rural areas, but they can't access their villages as transportation is now cut off," a local resident from Maungdaw said by phone.
Another woman from Maungdaw said entire families were killed after a rain-soaked hill collapsed on to Taungshwe Village in Maungdaw Township.
"The victims have no food to eat, no house to live in," she said, adding that commodity prices in Maungdaw had spiked.
Bishow Parajuli, the UN Development Programme resident representative, said the most urgent needs in the affected areas were drinking water, shelter, food and blankets. "We are providing rapid response to meet immediate needs, but people also need to rebuild roads and houses and recover from these unfortunate events."
Rains have reportedly subsided and water levels are receding but the area is at further risk as the monsoon season has just started, according to OCHA.
Local authorities, the UN Refugee Agency, Médecins Sans Frontières - Holland and Action Against Hunger have supported the relocation of affected people using boats. Many other organizations such as Malteser International, Myanmar Red Cross Society and others are also supporting relief efforts, Hubin said.
UNHCR, the lead agency in northern Rakhine State, has called an emergency meeting of partners in Yangon and is supporting coordination in the field in water, health, shelter, food, infrastructure and protection for families who have lost documents.
"With regards to the convoy [of essential items], UNHCR is leading the process and is trying to organize a boat to depart from Yangon and go to NRS (Northern Rakhine State). Departure is still planned for Saturday," Hubin said.
The OCHA report said emergency supplies would be mobilized from Sittwe. As roads have been damaged, the use of boats and commercial flights will be considered for the deployment of the emergency supplies.
Bangladesh toll
In Bangladesh, at least 53 people, including five members of the army, were killed in landslides in Cox's Bazar and Bandarban districts. Cox's Bazar experienced 132mm of rain in 24 hours, according to a 16 June situation report by the government's Disaster Management Information Centre.
The Ministry of Food and Disaster Management has allocated 1.3 million Bangladeshi taka (about US$19,000) and 150MT of rice for affected people in the two districts.
Meanwhile, people in areas vulnerable to landslides have been evacuated, fishing boats have been advised to remain close to the coast and measures are being taken to save food stores at risk of inundation, the report said.
Gias Uddin Ahmed, deputy commissioner of Cox's Bazar, told IRIN that 15 shelter camps had been established.
There are 12,000 people in the rescue camps. We are also providing foods to them. UNHCR gave us 700 tents and we have handed them over to the affected people," he said, adding that some people had started returning to their homes.
*****************************************************
The Independent - Caught on camera: Burma's political prisoners
By Matilda Battersby
Thursday, 17 June 2010
A ground breaking photography project by award-winning documentary journalist James Mackay calls for the unconditional release of all Burmese political prisoners, of whom human rights groups estimate there are over 2,000 currently languishing in jail.
Many of those incarcerated took part in the democracy demonstrations in 1988, were members of dissident groups or otherwise fell foul of the junta. Over 40 former Burmese prisoners have been photographed and their stories recorded by Mackay for Even Though I’m Free I Am Not, which is due to be exhibited at Amnesty International’s UK headquarters next week.
Central St Martin’s photography graduate Mackay has been working closely with human rights organizations the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and the Democratic Voice of Burma for the last 18 months to locate and talk to former prisoners, many of whom agreed to be photographed with the name of a current political prisoner emblazoned on their palm.
See the pictures and read the stories of Burma's ex-political prisoners by clicking here or on the image above
“I came up with the idea initially then I approached the AAPP to discuss it with them. I wanted to see if they thought people would be happy to get involved. I was keen to do it only if the former prisoners were completely happy about it,” Mackay told The Independent Online.
“But it just took off. This is perhaps because, as you can imagine, former prisoners form quite a tight knit group. Amnesty is taking the project forwards as part if its main campaign for political prisoners.” Most of those included in the project have fled Burma since their release. Mackay says there's little risk to those who have taken part because they're living outside the country, but there is still an element of danger involved which makes their participation all the more commendable.
Mackay has photographed over 160 former political prisoners from other countries as well as Burma, including Japan, the UK, Norway and Thailand. The project took second place in the political photojournalism category at the prestigious Prix de la Photographie Paris 2010 awards last month.
The exhibition at Amnesty opens on Monday at an event during which several former Burmese prisoners of conscience will be speaking, including Daw Nita Yin Yin May and Khun Saing, both of whom are featured in the project.
Even Though I’m Free I Am Not opens at Amnesty International's UK headquarters in Shoreditch, London on Monday 21 June and runs until Thursday 24 June. www.amnesty.org.uk
By Matilda Battersby
Thursday, 17 June 2010
A ground breaking photography project by award-winning documentary journalist James Mackay calls for the unconditional release of all Burmese political prisoners, of whom human rights groups estimate there are over 2,000 currently languishing in jail.
Many of those incarcerated took part in the democracy demonstrations in 1988, were members of dissident groups or otherwise fell foul of the junta. Over 40 former Burmese prisoners have been photographed and their stories recorded by Mackay for Even Though I’m Free I Am Not, which is due to be exhibited at Amnesty International’s UK headquarters next week.
Central St Martin’s photography graduate Mackay has been working closely with human rights organizations the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and the Democratic Voice of Burma for the last 18 months to locate and talk to former prisoners, many of whom agreed to be photographed with the name of a current political prisoner emblazoned on their palm.
See the pictures and read the stories of Burma's ex-political prisoners by clicking here or on the image above
“I came up with the idea initially then I approached the AAPP to discuss it with them. I wanted to see if they thought people would be happy to get involved. I was keen to do it only if the former prisoners were completely happy about it,” Mackay told The Independent Online.
“But it just took off. This is perhaps because, as you can imagine, former prisoners form quite a tight knit group. Amnesty is taking the project forwards as part if its main campaign for political prisoners.” Most of those included in the project have fled Burma since their release. Mackay says there's little risk to those who have taken part because they're living outside the country, but there is still an element of danger involved which makes their participation all the more commendable.
Mackay has photographed over 160 former political prisoners from other countries as well as Burma, including Japan, the UK, Norway and Thailand. The project took second place in the political photojournalism category at the prestigious Prix de la Photographie Paris 2010 awards last month.
The exhibition at Amnesty opens on Monday at an event during which several former Burmese prisoners of conscience will be speaking, including Daw Nita Yin Yin May and Khun Saing, both of whom are featured in the project.
Even Though I’m Free I Am Not opens at Amnesty International's UK headquarters in Shoreditch, London on Monday 21 June and runs until Thursday 24 June. www.amnesty.org.uk
*****************************************************
ABC Radio Australia - Human rights fears for Burma's election
Updated June 17, 2010 15:40:06
Burma's Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi turns sixty-five this weekend, but she'll be spending her birthday at home, as she has for the last 14 years - under house arrest. It's a situation human rights groups are hoping will change after Burma goes to the polls later this year. The election, which is thought to be scheduled for October the tenth, will be the first in 20 years. Groups like Amnesty International say the election risks entrenching human rights abuses.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speakers: Benjamin Zawacki, Burma and Thailand specialist, Amnesty International
LAM: Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest and Burma's planned election has been credited months before it is due, even though the regime is going ahead with it anyway. First of all, can you tell us about this three freedoms that you speak of?
ZAWACKI: Well Amnesty is concerned that the three human rights, three freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association are essentially under attack in the run up to these elections and will continue to be under attack as the elections come closer and we see this primarily through the promulgation of electoral laws that were promulgated in early March of this year. Those laws certainly collectively and in many cases individually attack those three freedoms and don't allow for the full freedom of expression, peaceful assembly or association. And of course these three freedoms are fundamental to elections worthy of the name and that is of grave concern to us.
LAM: And from where we sit, things are unlikely to change before the general election. So can the process possibly improve the lives of the Burmese people? Can anything good come out of it?
ZAWACKI: Well, that largely depends on what other countries in the Asian region do between now and the elections. We're calling in particular on countries of ASEAN, the Association of South East Asian Nations, as well as China, India and Japan to exert some regional influence on the Burmese authorities to ensure that these freedoms are promoted and protected. If elections are carried out with these three freedoms promoted and protected, there is indeed a possibility that some sort of change could take place. But certainly as you say, all signs to the present indicate that nothing is going to change.
LAM: And even with these regional countries, ASEAN, for instance, it's influence is fairly limited, isn't it? I mean in the past, the Burmese junta have turned up its nose to the ASEAN special emissary and indeed the military leader, Tan Shwe refused to meet him?
ZAWACKI: That's true, except what we're finding within ASEAN is that as individual member states are finding themselves increasingly limited in what they can say within ASEAN are choosing to step outside of ASEAN and to say things unilaterally or bilaterally to the government of Burma. We've seen this recently with the foreign minister of Indonesia and the Philippines and to a lesser extent the Thais and the Malaysians and the Singaporeans as well and so whether it is within ASEAN or outside of ASEAN, it is critical that countries within the region speak up on behalf of these human rights.
LAM: And from your point of view, what is the biggest problem Amnesty International has with the upcoming elections in Burma?
ZAWACKI: Well, it would be primarily with the fact that over 2,200 political prisoners remain behind bars. It becomes almost cliche to have to note this year after year and event after event, but it never changes. As you mentioned, Aung San Suu Kyi, she is only one of over 2,200 political prisoners and it is simply impossible to have elections that can be described as free and fair when the known political Opposition is locked up behind bars. And so until and unless these people are released immediately and unconditionally, elections worthy of the name simply cannot take place.
LAM: And, of course, Burma's Opposition goes beyond Aung San Suu Kyi. There are many ethnic groups as well. What's the situation there?
ZAWACKI: Well, it's true. Amnesty produced a report earlier this year that showed quite clearly that the political Opposition in Burma is much more geographically widespread and ethnically diverse than is often acknowledged and some of those ethnic minorities have formed parties that are choosing to contest the elections and others have joined the NLD, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi and are deciding to boycott the elections. What's important to keep in mind is the right, the freedom of speech, freedom of expression should include the right not to speak and therefore parties that choose to boycott the elections should be permitted to do so, but it is not clear that the regime will allow them to do so.
LAM: And finally Ben, if I may move to neighbouring Thailand. There are ongoing reports of Red Shirt protesters still missing. What can you tell us about the situation after the protests?
ZAWACKI: We're concerned that the emergency decree which has been in effect since the 7th April continues to be in effect, even as the emergency by all appearances seems to be over and that decree does allow for pre-charged detention of detainees for a period of up to 30 days. Now that 30 day period has not lapsed yet, but it will very soon and so our concern is that these people be charged or be released, otherwise their detention is purely arbitrary.
LAM: And the Thai Government I understand is using emergency powers to also crackdown on media that it says supported the Red Shirt protests, such as newspapers, web sites and community radio stations. What's Amnesty's position on this?
ZAWACKI: The use of censorship pursuant to the emergency decree has been extremely blunt. It is not simply radio stations and print media and tv stations that have been supportive of the Red Shirts, but it is others as well. More than 1500 web sites alone were taken off the air if you will or off the internet during the period of the protests and this sort of censorship, while certainly runs counter to the government's obligations to uphold freedom of expression and does not go towards its stated political goals of reconciliation.
Updated June 17, 2010 15:40:06
Burma's Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi turns sixty-five this weekend, but she'll be spending her birthday at home, as she has for the last 14 years - under house arrest. It's a situation human rights groups are hoping will change after Burma goes to the polls later this year. The election, which is thought to be scheduled for October the tenth, will be the first in 20 years. Groups like Amnesty International say the election risks entrenching human rights abuses.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speakers: Benjamin Zawacki, Burma and Thailand specialist, Amnesty International
LAM: Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest and Burma's planned election has been credited months before it is due, even though the regime is going ahead with it anyway. First of all, can you tell us about this three freedoms that you speak of?
ZAWACKI: Well Amnesty is concerned that the three human rights, three freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association are essentially under attack in the run up to these elections and will continue to be under attack as the elections come closer and we see this primarily through the promulgation of electoral laws that were promulgated in early March of this year. Those laws certainly collectively and in many cases individually attack those three freedoms and don't allow for the full freedom of expression, peaceful assembly or association. And of course these three freedoms are fundamental to elections worthy of the name and that is of grave concern to us.
LAM: And from where we sit, things are unlikely to change before the general election. So can the process possibly improve the lives of the Burmese people? Can anything good come out of it?
ZAWACKI: Well, that largely depends on what other countries in the Asian region do between now and the elections. We're calling in particular on countries of ASEAN, the Association of South East Asian Nations, as well as China, India and Japan to exert some regional influence on the Burmese authorities to ensure that these freedoms are promoted and protected. If elections are carried out with these three freedoms promoted and protected, there is indeed a possibility that some sort of change could take place. But certainly as you say, all signs to the present indicate that nothing is going to change.
LAM: And even with these regional countries, ASEAN, for instance, it's influence is fairly limited, isn't it? I mean in the past, the Burmese junta have turned up its nose to the ASEAN special emissary and indeed the military leader, Tan Shwe refused to meet him?
ZAWACKI: That's true, except what we're finding within ASEAN is that as individual member states are finding themselves increasingly limited in what they can say within ASEAN are choosing to step outside of ASEAN and to say things unilaterally or bilaterally to the government of Burma. We've seen this recently with the foreign minister of Indonesia and the Philippines and to a lesser extent the Thais and the Malaysians and the Singaporeans as well and so whether it is within ASEAN or outside of ASEAN, it is critical that countries within the region speak up on behalf of these human rights.
LAM: And from your point of view, what is the biggest problem Amnesty International has with the upcoming elections in Burma?
ZAWACKI: Well, it would be primarily with the fact that over 2,200 political prisoners remain behind bars. It becomes almost cliche to have to note this year after year and event after event, but it never changes. As you mentioned, Aung San Suu Kyi, she is only one of over 2,200 political prisoners and it is simply impossible to have elections that can be described as free and fair when the known political Opposition is locked up behind bars. And so until and unless these people are released immediately and unconditionally, elections worthy of the name simply cannot take place.
LAM: And, of course, Burma's Opposition goes beyond Aung San Suu Kyi. There are many ethnic groups as well. What's the situation there?
ZAWACKI: Well, it's true. Amnesty produced a report earlier this year that showed quite clearly that the political Opposition in Burma is much more geographically widespread and ethnically diverse than is often acknowledged and some of those ethnic minorities have formed parties that are choosing to contest the elections and others have joined the NLD, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi and are deciding to boycott the elections. What's important to keep in mind is the right, the freedom of speech, freedom of expression should include the right not to speak and therefore parties that choose to boycott the elections should be permitted to do so, but it is not clear that the regime will allow them to do so.
LAM: And finally Ben, if I may move to neighbouring Thailand. There are ongoing reports of Red Shirt protesters still missing. What can you tell us about the situation after the protests?
ZAWACKI: We're concerned that the emergency decree which has been in effect since the 7th April continues to be in effect, even as the emergency by all appearances seems to be over and that decree does allow for pre-charged detention of detainees for a period of up to 30 days. Now that 30 day period has not lapsed yet, but it will very soon and so our concern is that these people be charged or be released, otherwise their detention is purely arbitrary.
LAM: And the Thai Government I understand is using emergency powers to also crackdown on media that it says supported the Red Shirt protests, such as newspapers, web sites and community radio stations. What's Amnesty's position on this?
ZAWACKI: The use of censorship pursuant to the emergency decree has been extremely blunt. It is not simply radio stations and print media and tv stations that have been supportive of the Red Shirts, but it is others as well. More than 1500 web sites alone were taken off the air if you will or off the internet during the period of the protests and this sort of censorship, while certainly runs counter to the government's obligations to uphold freedom of expression and does not go towards its stated political goals of reconciliation.
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People's Daily Online - Introduction of visa-on-arrival raises tourist arrivals in Myanmar
20:42, June 17, 2010
The introduction of visa-on-arrival system in Myanmar has raised the number of tourist arrivals in the country, sources with the Union of Myanmar Travel Association said on Thursday.
The tourist arrivals at the Yangon International Airport in May reached 17,230, up nearly 27 percent correspondingly, the sources said, adding that visitors from Asian countries especially from China and South Korea increased during the month.
Myanmar has so far received a total of 121,522 foreign visitors in the first five months of 2010, it added.
Visa-on-arrival has been granted since last month at two main international airports of Yangon and Mandalay to facilitate world tourists who were previously required to apply for the entry by transiting through Singapore and Thailand where Myanmar embassies are based.
Normally, international travelers applying entry visas into Myanmar through Myanmar embassies abroad have to take four days in Beijing, 24 hours in Jakarta, five days in Paris and Tokyo, three days in London and two days in Bangkok and Singapore, according to the Myanmar Foreign Ministry.
Meanwhile, The Myanmar Marketing Committee (MMC) has not only planned domestic familiarization (FAM) package trips for international media persons and travel agencies but also will take part in the international travel fairs to be held in various countries this year to promote the country's tourism market.
According to the official statistics, tourists arrivals in Myanmar hit 227,400 in the calendar year of 2009, up 25 percent compared with 2008.
20:42, June 17, 2010
The introduction of visa-on-arrival system in Myanmar has raised the number of tourist arrivals in the country, sources with the Union of Myanmar Travel Association said on Thursday.
The tourist arrivals at the Yangon International Airport in May reached 17,230, up nearly 27 percent correspondingly, the sources said, adding that visitors from Asian countries especially from China and South Korea increased during the month.
Myanmar has so far received a total of 121,522 foreign visitors in the first five months of 2010, it added.
Visa-on-arrival has been granted since last month at two main international airports of Yangon and Mandalay to facilitate world tourists who were previously required to apply for the entry by transiting through Singapore and Thailand where Myanmar embassies are based.
Normally, international travelers applying entry visas into Myanmar through Myanmar embassies abroad have to take four days in Beijing, 24 hours in Jakarta, five days in Paris and Tokyo, three days in London and two days in Bangkok and Singapore, according to the Myanmar Foreign Ministry.
Meanwhile, The Myanmar Marketing Committee (MMC) has not only planned domestic familiarization (FAM) package trips for international media persons and travel agencies but also will take part in the international travel fairs to be held in various countries this year to promote the country's tourism market.
According to the official statistics, tourists arrivals in Myanmar hit 227,400 in the calendar year of 2009, up 25 percent compared with 2008.
*****************************************************
Zanesville Times Recorder - Time to stop the Myanmar junta's nuclear ambitions
BY XIAOXIONG YI • June 17, 2010
Myanmar, formerly Burma, is a poor country with an economy in terrible shape and a population in poverty. Its junta, in collaboration with North Korea's Kim Jong-il regime, is trying to develop nuclear weapons and long-range missiles that, if successful, will alter dramatically Asia's strategic dynamic.
In the footsteps of North Korea, Myanmar regime is pushing ahead with ambitions to become a nuclear power. The ruling generals in Naypyidaw, Myanmar's new capital, are working on a secret program to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, according to confidential documents smuggled out of Myanmar by high-ranking military defectors. "They really want a bomb, that is their main objective," said former Myanmar army major Sai Thein Win, who also served as the deputy commander of the Myanmar army's nuclear battalion.
North Korea is assisting Myanmar generals with their nuclear weapon programs.
Brian McCartan of Asia Times said, "Two nuclear reactors are believed to be under construction in Myanmar. One, at Naung Laing in central Mandalay Division, is being constructed with North Korean help. Several hundred Myanmar military personnel have undergone nuclear training in North Korea in recent years." Desmond Ball, a defense analyst at Australia National University, thinks the reactor could be online in 2012 and a deliverable weapon could be developed before 2020.
"In many ways, Myanmar is a parallel to North Korea," Aung Zaw, exiled Myanmar journalist and editor of the Thailand-based Irrawaddy, told Al Jazeera, "They live in fear of an invasion by the West, and they want the ultimate insurance against regime change."
To make things worse, while Myanmar might be shunned by the West, the country's giant neighbor, China, is working closely with Myanmar generals. Since 1988, Myanmar has become China's closest ally in Southeast Asia and a major recipient of Chinese military hardware.
Beijing sees Myanmar as its "tribute state" to project China's military power into the region and safeguard its new trade routes through Southeast and South Asia. What is perhaps even more important for rulers in Beijing, however, is the "region's bounty-Southeast Asia's biggest proven gas reserve in Myanmar's Shwe Field. Since 2008, massive works have begun on a pipeline to carry these riches to China," the economist said.
Unfortunately, most governments in the region are taking a laissez-faire attitude toward Myanmar generals' nuclear ambitions. Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the two most important regional organizations, are doing nothing to stop the military regime's nuclear program, in accordance with their principle of "non-interference." Japan's Myanmar policy, said Benedict Rogers, author of A Land without Evil and Yuki Akimoto, director of Burma-Info in Tokyo, is based on a "misguided view that appeasement will bear fruit. Tokyo is extending political and financial support to Burma's military regime to protect its own short-term economic interests."
Washington's policy toward the Myanmar military regime is, at best, ambiguous. "The Obama administration," writes Bertil Lintner of Far Eastern Economic Review, "has adopted a more conciliatory approach, sending emissaries to Myanmar to 'engage' the generals. But Washington also believes that concern over Myanmar's WMD programs-and increasingly close ties with North Korea-should be equally important considerations in any new U.S. policy towards Myanmar."
The Myanmar junta's nuclear ambitions have been known for years, but no one had done anything. It is time for the world to act and send a strong message of "no tolerance" to the paranoid ruling generals in Naypyidaw. An "engagement" strategy with Myanmar junta risks allowing another rogue state to go nuclear, a risk that the world cannot afford to take.
Naypyidaw junta's nuclear scheme may amount to little more than a monumental waste of state resources, but its probable failure should not be a reason for world leaders to regard such a development as negligible. Not only is the total outlay of Myanmar's weapon programs astronomical, running into billions of dollars, but also the world is starting to witness a "bunker mentality" nuclear arms race that represents a clear and present danger, with the rise of terrorist groups that are willing to pay any price for a device.
Yi is the director of Marietta College's China Program.
BY XIAOXIONG YI • June 17, 2010
Myanmar, formerly Burma, is a poor country with an economy in terrible shape and a population in poverty. Its junta, in collaboration with North Korea's Kim Jong-il regime, is trying to develop nuclear weapons and long-range missiles that, if successful, will alter dramatically Asia's strategic dynamic.
In the footsteps of North Korea, Myanmar regime is pushing ahead with ambitions to become a nuclear power. The ruling generals in Naypyidaw, Myanmar's new capital, are working on a secret program to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, according to confidential documents smuggled out of Myanmar by high-ranking military defectors. "They really want a bomb, that is their main objective," said former Myanmar army major Sai Thein Win, who also served as the deputy commander of the Myanmar army's nuclear battalion.
North Korea is assisting Myanmar generals with their nuclear weapon programs.
Brian McCartan of Asia Times said, "Two nuclear reactors are believed to be under construction in Myanmar. One, at Naung Laing in central Mandalay Division, is being constructed with North Korean help. Several hundred Myanmar military personnel have undergone nuclear training in North Korea in recent years." Desmond Ball, a defense analyst at Australia National University, thinks the reactor could be online in 2012 and a deliverable weapon could be developed before 2020.
"In many ways, Myanmar is a parallel to North Korea," Aung Zaw, exiled Myanmar journalist and editor of the Thailand-based Irrawaddy, told Al Jazeera, "They live in fear of an invasion by the West, and they want the ultimate insurance against regime change."
To make things worse, while Myanmar might be shunned by the West, the country's giant neighbor, China, is working closely with Myanmar generals. Since 1988, Myanmar has become China's closest ally in Southeast Asia and a major recipient of Chinese military hardware.
Beijing sees Myanmar as its "tribute state" to project China's military power into the region and safeguard its new trade routes through Southeast and South Asia. What is perhaps even more important for rulers in Beijing, however, is the "region's bounty-Southeast Asia's biggest proven gas reserve in Myanmar's Shwe Field. Since 2008, massive works have begun on a pipeline to carry these riches to China," the economist said.
Unfortunately, most governments in the region are taking a laissez-faire attitude toward Myanmar generals' nuclear ambitions. Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the two most important regional organizations, are doing nothing to stop the military regime's nuclear program, in accordance with their principle of "non-interference." Japan's Myanmar policy, said Benedict Rogers, author of A Land without Evil and Yuki Akimoto, director of Burma-Info in Tokyo, is based on a "misguided view that appeasement will bear fruit. Tokyo is extending political and financial support to Burma's military regime to protect its own short-term economic interests."
Washington's policy toward the Myanmar military regime is, at best, ambiguous. "The Obama administration," writes Bertil Lintner of Far Eastern Economic Review, "has adopted a more conciliatory approach, sending emissaries to Myanmar to 'engage' the generals. But Washington also believes that concern over Myanmar's WMD programs-and increasingly close ties with North Korea-should be equally important considerations in any new U.S. policy towards Myanmar."
The Myanmar junta's nuclear ambitions have been known for years, but no one had done anything. It is time for the world to act and send a strong message of "no tolerance" to the paranoid ruling generals in Naypyidaw. An "engagement" strategy with Myanmar junta risks allowing another rogue state to go nuclear, a risk that the world cannot afford to take.
Naypyidaw junta's nuclear scheme may amount to little more than a monumental waste of state resources, but its probable failure should not be a reason for world leaders to regard such a development as negligible. Not only is the total outlay of Myanmar's weapon programs astronomical, running into billions of dollars, but also the world is starting to witness a "bunker mentality" nuclear arms race that represents a clear and present danger, with the rise of terrorist groups that are willing to pay any price for a device.
Yi is the director of Marietta College's China Program.
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Expatica Switzerland - UN rights expert urges Myanmar to free Aung San Suu Kyi
17/06/2010
A UN envoy on Myanmar on Thursday urged the country's military regime to release detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, made his renewed appeal after a UN working group ruled for the sixth time since 1992 that her detention was arbitrary.
"I urge the government of Myanmar to heed the call of an independent United Nations human rights body to immediately release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," he said in a statement.
Quintana called on the military government "to release all prisoners of conscience in order to create the conditions for an inclusive election process and to demonstrate that it intends to take a more serious and sincere approach to its international obligations to uphold human rights."
Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate, has been in detention for 14 of the past 20 years. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) has been forcibly dissolved.
17/06/2010
A UN envoy on Myanmar on Thursday urged the country's military regime to release detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, made his renewed appeal after a UN working group ruled for the sixth time since 1992 that her detention was arbitrary.
"I urge the government of Myanmar to heed the call of an independent United Nations human rights body to immediately release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," he said in a statement.
Quintana called on the military government "to release all prisoners of conscience in order to create the conditions for an inclusive election process and to demonstrate that it intends to take a more serious and sincere approach to its international obligations to uphold human rights."
Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate, has been in detention for 14 of the past 20 years. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) has been forcibly dissolved.
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JUNE 18, 2010
The Wall Street Journal - Myanmar's Golden Pond
By WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTERS
KAY LAR, Myanmar—In the evenings, as the sun disappears behind the hills south of Mandalay and water laps against the hulls of wooden fishing boats here, it's possible to imagine the outside world is slipping away.
In fact, it's Myanmar's famous Inle Lake that's disappearing.
Inle, best known for the fishermen who glide across its glassy waters in flat-bottomed skiffs like misplaced Venetian boatmen, counts among Asia's most magical places. But it's shrinking at an alarming rate, the causes believed to stem from rising population density and rapid growth in the area's two main industries: tourism and agriculture.
Myanmar's Inle Lake is one of Southeast Asia's best-known tourist destinations but it is disappearing -- rapidly. Given the country's messy political situation, there may be no way to save it.
Trip Planner
Visitors from most countries need a visa in advance; for the latest information, check with the nearest Myanmar embassy. Travelers should carry cash—clean, crisp U.S. dollars because old bills might be rejected; ATMs aren't available and credit cards are generally accepted only by a few top hotels.
Most flights to Yangon connect via Southeast Asian hubs, including Singapore and Bangkok. Carriers include Thai Airways, Air Asia and Silk Air. Within Myanmar, Yangon Airways, Air Bagan and Air Mandalay fly to Heho, which is near Inle.
Higher-end resorts typically feature stylish cottages with hardwood floors and large picture windows facing the lake; some also include satellite TV, spas and Internet services.
Rates range from roughly $55 to $220 a night. Top choices include Inle Princess, Inle Lake View Resort & Spa (www.inlelakeview.com), Inle Resort (www.inleresort.com) and Myanmar Treasure Resort (www.myanmartreasureresorts.com ). Visitors typically eat at their resort, though there is also a good Italian restaurant, Golden Kite, on the lake.
Tourists typically hire boats with outboard motors to explore the lake's stilt villages, floating gardens and surrounding canals. Boats can be arranged at major resorts or in the nearby town of Nyaungshwe, where prices are often lower—about $50 a day with guide. Tourist sites include the Phaung Daw Oo Paya, a holy pagoda with gold-covered Buddha statues, and Nga Hpe Kyaung, a historic monastery with a large wooden meditation hall—and cats trained to jump through hoops.
Floating gardens, manmade islands used to grow crops such as tomatoes and flowers, have expanded to cover much of the area near the shoreline; though photogenic, they are choking the lake's fragile ecosystem. Shifting agricultural patterns in the surrounding mountains compound the lake's problems, scientists and residents say, as forest-clearing for timber and slash-and-burn agriculture allow more silt to wash into rivers that feed the lake.
Used for growing crops such as tomatoes and flowers, floating gardens now cover much of the area near the Inle's shoreline.
Inle Lake shrank by roughly a third, from 69 square kilometers to about 47, between 1935 and 2000, according to a study published in 2007 by the Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science, a Japanese consortium that includes several universities. Another report, prepared by the Myanmar government in conjunction with the United Nations Environment Program and others, measured the lake—a rough oval in shape—at 11 kilometers long and five kilometers wide in 1996, down from 23 kilometers long and 11 kilometers wide in 1967.
Hoteliers and other residents say they believe the rate of decline has accelerated in recent years, and this year the problem has been exacerbated by a severe drought. During a recent visit, some areas traditionally open to tourists were difficult to reach because water levels were so low. One village was cut off entirely from boat traffic, leaving boatmen to wade through mud for the final hundred meters from a canal.
If recent trends continue, says Tin Aung Moe, a senior program officer at UNEP's Regional Resource Center for Asia and the Pacific in Thailand, "the lake might be gone in one or two decades."
As Inle becomes smaller and more shallow, the prospects for the lake's fishermen shrink with it.
The problems at Inle are emblematic of a country that's filled with extraordinary natural wonders and has more green space and unmolested wildlife than most other parts of Asia, but lacks the institutional capacity and political will to preserve them. The military junta that has ruled since 1962 launched a national environmental policy in the 1990s, and has won some qualified praise for overseeing preservation of the country's 12th-century-era Bagan ruins, another major tourist draw. But it has failed to protect Inle and other treasures from the likes of logging, mining and development.
Environmental policy is largely in the hands of the National Commission for Environmental Affairs, which analysts say has limited powers and is understaffed and
underfunded. Only rarely are officials willing to work with international organizations that have more expertise.
Scientists say Inle's problems may be reversible, and for now the lake retains the ethereal natural beauty that has made it such an attractive destination. In the mornings, when a blanket of mist rises and the sound of oars striking water floats to the shores, it still feels very much alive.
Set in a tranquil mountain valley a short flight from Yangon, Inle seems more like Switzerland than Asia, the temperatures cool and the hills framed in blue hues as light fades
into evening. Resident and migratory birds, including wild ducks, cormorants and herons, appear in single file or formation over the shallow waters. And though tens of
thousands of people visit Inle each year, for now it's still large enough that in remoter areas visitors can feel they have it all to themselves.
Tourists typically hire wooden boats with outboard motors to navigate the lake and the narrow canals. They stop off at stilt-house villages, a 19th-century monastery and a sprawling lakeside open-air market that moves from site to site during the week.
They also check out the beautiful but problematic floating gardens and visit handicraft workshops and temples, including the region's holiest site, Phaung Daw Oo Paya, a multitiered pagoda with Buddha images covered in gold.
It's worth asking the boat operator to cut the engine in the middle of Inle and just drift for a bit. From there one can take in the whole scene—in the distance white pagodas and along the horizon fishermen, using the curious local technique to move about the lake: They wrap one leg around a wooden paddle and whip it back and forth in the water to propel the boat. The atmosphere seems little changed from centuries ago.
But Inle is changing quickly as more people migrate in. The area's population grew by more than 35% between 1983 and 2005, to 144,000 people. One reason is the floating gardens, which provide a livelihood beyond fishing. Villagers build them by assembling a mat of aquatic plant material (like the fast-growing but invasive water hyacinth) combined with silt, though not so much as to submerge it. After inserting bamboo poles at intervals to keep their islands from floating away, they plant their crops. In hopes of boosting yields, many apply agricultural chemicals, which leach into the lake and add to its troubles.
The floating gardens choke the lake's fragile ecosystem.
"Farming is a good business here," said one grower of tomatoes and flowers as he worked along a weed-clogged canal. He has expanded his farm in recent years, he added, but now "there is no more space," as nearby farms have also spread.
As the lake shrinks, the fish population drops—which in turn drives more villagers to take up farming. One fisherman in his early 20s says he makes perhaps $3 or $4 a day, catching only a handful of fish, considerably fewer than his father caught a decade ago. The lake's shallowness—it's mostly no more than a few meters deep, even a couple of kilometers from the shore—is one of the features that makes it slightly surreal, but the young fisherman says the water was deeper back when he used to go out with his father.
"Now all you see is weeds," he says. Tangles of olive-colored plants were visible beneath his boat.
The other big change at Inle is the rise of mass tourism. Before Myanmar opened the sector to more investment in the 1990s, tourist arrivals in the country came to only a few thousand people a year; today the number is about 300,000. There are now more than 10 major hotels along Inle Lake and more than two dozen lodges in a nearby town, compared with just two in the area in the mid-1990s.
Most of the lakeside properties are big resorts, some quite luxurious. At the Myanmar Treasure Resort Inle Lake, for instance, rows of hardwood-floored cottages fan out along the shoreline, with rustic wooden paths and gardens between them. Amenities include satellite television, a spa offering aromatherapy massages and facials and a boutique selling local handicrafts and clothing.
Along with floating gardens, Inle is being changed by the emergence of mass tourism, including the construction of 10 or so major lakeshore resorts.
The newer hotels have made Inle more inviting to higher-end tourists. Some hope visitors can help the situation by being mindful of their impact and encouraging hoteliers to invest in programs to remove silt and other waste. But scientists tracking the lake's decline say there may be more cost than benefit.
The development "just increases the amount of garbage that has to be dealt with, the electricity that has to be generated, the sewage that is probably dumped into the lake, in a part of the world where infrastructure is often lacking," says Alan Ziegler, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore and one of the authors of the Japanese consortium's study.
Development at Inle "is probably at the doorstep of being at a situation where it's unsustainable," he says.
Hoteliers say they are working to limit their impact. Some have donated money to local groups that promote conservation, though environmental organizations are typically given limited space to operate in Myanmar's tightly controlled political climate.
At the Myanmar Treasure Resort, general manager U Win Oo Tan says his hotel has installed wastewater-treatment systems and introduced proper garbage collection. The resort also requires boatmen to cut their engines as they approach its dock and pole their way in to preserve peace and quiet—the hotel marshlands are a gathering place for scores of wild birds.
"The authorities and the people here are very much aware" of the problems, says U Win Oo Tan.
Myanmar authorities have established an Inle Wetland Bird Sanctuary and instituted a number of programs and laws that in theory restrict the expansion of floating gardens. It has employed dredges to clear out silted areas, and boat drivers have been required to haul out hyacinth—a species that has choked lakes around the world—whenever they travel to Nyaungshwe, the main service center for the Inle. But residents say commitment to such policies is sporadic at best.
Across from the Phaung Daw Oo pagoda, a sign admonishes residents to "get rid of water weeds and hyacinths" and "limit the extension of residences and plantations." Those goals "must be carried out with cooperation" between the people and the military, it says. Yet all around the area, farmers continue to expand their gardens.
Attempts to reach the Myanmar government, which rarely speaks with foreign journalists, were unsuccessful. An official at the National Commission for Environmental Affairs didn't respond to a list of questions.
One of Myanmar's leading environmental groups, the Forest Resource Environment Development and Conservation Association, says it has launched discussions with forestry officials and an army commander in the region to boost conservation programs there, according to U Ohn, the group's vice chairman. He says he's developing a five-year Inle Lake restoration program that will encourage more-sustainable agriculture and forestry practices and further increase awareness of the lake's troubles.
"It is late but not too late" to reverse the lake's decline, he says. But he estimates it will cost at least $1 million to put the plan into action, and says it's unlikely the government will provide more than a small contribution.
Kyi Thein Ko, general secretary of the Myanmar Hotelier Association and managing director of the Shwe Inn Tha Floating Resort at Inle, said it's understandable that officials have other priorities—like dealing with the environmental toll of Cyclone Nargis, which killed more than 130,000 people in 2008. But given its enormous economic value, hoteliers say, Inle must be protected.
"One day Inle Lake may be fading away and we'll be using motor vehicles instead of outboard motors," said Kyi Thein Ko. "Which tourist will enjoy our hotel without water?"
The Wall Street Journal - Myanmar's Golden Pond
By WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTERS
KAY LAR, Myanmar—In the evenings, as the sun disappears behind the hills south of Mandalay and water laps against the hulls of wooden fishing boats here, it's possible to imagine the outside world is slipping away.
In fact, it's Myanmar's famous Inle Lake that's disappearing.
Inle, best known for the fishermen who glide across its glassy waters in flat-bottomed skiffs like misplaced Venetian boatmen, counts among Asia's most magical places. But it's shrinking at an alarming rate, the causes believed to stem from rising population density and rapid growth in the area's two main industries: tourism and agriculture.
Myanmar's Inle Lake is one of Southeast Asia's best-known tourist destinations but it is disappearing -- rapidly. Given the country's messy political situation, there may be no way to save it.
Trip Planner
Visitors from most countries need a visa in advance; for the latest information, check with the nearest Myanmar embassy. Travelers should carry cash—clean, crisp U.S. dollars because old bills might be rejected; ATMs aren't available and credit cards are generally accepted only by a few top hotels.
Most flights to Yangon connect via Southeast Asian hubs, including Singapore and Bangkok. Carriers include Thai Airways, Air Asia and Silk Air. Within Myanmar, Yangon Airways, Air Bagan and Air Mandalay fly to Heho, which is near Inle.
Higher-end resorts typically feature stylish cottages with hardwood floors and large picture windows facing the lake; some also include satellite TV, spas and Internet services.
Rates range from roughly $55 to $220 a night. Top choices include Inle Princess, Inle Lake View Resort & Spa (www.inlelakeview.com), Inle Resort (www.inleresort.com) and Myanmar Treasure Resort (www.myanmartreasureresorts.com ). Visitors typically eat at their resort, though there is also a good Italian restaurant, Golden Kite, on the lake.
Tourists typically hire boats with outboard motors to explore the lake's stilt villages, floating gardens and surrounding canals. Boats can be arranged at major resorts or in the nearby town of Nyaungshwe, where prices are often lower—about $50 a day with guide. Tourist sites include the Phaung Daw Oo Paya, a holy pagoda with gold-covered Buddha statues, and Nga Hpe Kyaung, a historic monastery with a large wooden meditation hall—and cats trained to jump through hoops.
Floating gardens, manmade islands used to grow crops such as tomatoes and flowers, have expanded to cover much of the area near the shoreline; though photogenic, they are choking the lake's fragile ecosystem. Shifting agricultural patterns in the surrounding mountains compound the lake's problems, scientists and residents say, as forest-clearing for timber and slash-and-burn agriculture allow more silt to wash into rivers that feed the lake.
Used for growing crops such as tomatoes and flowers, floating gardens now cover much of the area near the Inle's shoreline.
Inle Lake shrank by roughly a third, from 69 square kilometers to about 47, between 1935 and 2000, according to a study published in 2007 by the Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science, a Japanese consortium that includes several universities. Another report, prepared by the Myanmar government in conjunction with the United Nations Environment Program and others, measured the lake—a rough oval in shape—at 11 kilometers long and five kilometers wide in 1996, down from 23 kilometers long and 11 kilometers wide in 1967.
Hoteliers and other residents say they believe the rate of decline has accelerated in recent years, and this year the problem has been exacerbated by a severe drought. During a recent visit, some areas traditionally open to tourists were difficult to reach because water levels were so low. One village was cut off entirely from boat traffic, leaving boatmen to wade through mud for the final hundred meters from a canal.
If recent trends continue, says Tin Aung Moe, a senior program officer at UNEP's Regional Resource Center for Asia and the Pacific in Thailand, "the lake might be gone in one or two decades."
As Inle becomes smaller and more shallow, the prospects for the lake's fishermen shrink with it.
The problems at Inle are emblematic of a country that's filled with extraordinary natural wonders and has more green space and unmolested wildlife than most other parts of Asia, but lacks the institutional capacity and political will to preserve them. The military junta that has ruled since 1962 launched a national environmental policy in the 1990s, and has won some qualified praise for overseeing preservation of the country's 12th-century-era Bagan ruins, another major tourist draw. But it has failed to protect Inle and other treasures from the likes of logging, mining and development.
Environmental policy is largely in the hands of the National Commission for Environmental Affairs, which analysts say has limited powers and is understaffed and
underfunded. Only rarely are officials willing to work with international organizations that have more expertise.
Scientists say Inle's problems may be reversible, and for now the lake retains the ethereal natural beauty that has made it such an attractive destination. In the mornings, when a blanket of mist rises and the sound of oars striking water floats to the shores, it still feels very much alive.
Set in a tranquil mountain valley a short flight from Yangon, Inle seems more like Switzerland than Asia, the temperatures cool and the hills framed in blue hues as light fades
into evening. Resident and migratory birds, including wild ducks, cormorants and herons, appear in single file or formation over the shallow waters. And though tens of
thousands of people visit Inle each year, for now it's still large enough that in remoter areas visitors can feel they have it all to themselves.
Tourists typically hire wooden boats with outboard motors to navigate the lake and the narrow canals. They stop off at stilt-house villages, a 19th-century monastery and a sprawling lakeside open-air market that moves from site to site during the week.
They also check out the beautiful but problematic floating gardens and visit handicraft workshops and temples, including the region's holiest site, Phaung Daw Oo Paya, a multitiered pagoda with Buddha images covered in gold.
It's worth asking the boat operator to cut the engine in the middle of Inle and just drift for a bit. From there one can take in the whole scene—in the distance white pagodas and along the horizon fishermen, using the curious local technique to move about the lake: They wrap one leg around a wooden paddle and whip it back and forth in the water to propel the boat. The atmosphere seems little changed from centuries ago.
But Inle is changing quickly as more people migrate in. The area's population grew by more than 35% between 1983 and 2005, to 144,000 people. One reason is the floating gardens, which provide a livelihood beyond fishing. Villagers build them by assembling a mat of aquatic plant material (like the fast-growing but invasive water hyacinth) combined with silt, though not so much as to submerge it. After inserting bamboo poles at intervals to keep their islands from floating away, they plant their crops. In hopes of boosting yields, many apply agricultural chemicals, which leach into the lake and add to its troubles.
The floating gardens choke the lake's fragile ecosystem.
"Farming is a good business here," said one grower of tomatoes and flowers as he worked along a weed-clogged canal. He has expanded his farm in recent years, he added, but now "there is no more space," as nearby farms have also spread.
As the lake shrinks, the fish population drops—which in turn drives more villagers to take up farming. One fisherman in his early 20s says he makes perhaps $3 or $4 a day, catching only a handful of fish, considerably fewer than his father caught a decade ago. The lake's shallowness—it's mostly no more than a few meters deep, even a couple of kilometers from the shore—is one of the features that makes it slightly surreal, but the young fisherman says the water was deeper back when he used to go out with his father.
"Now all you see is weeds," he says. Tangles of olive-colored plants were visible beneath his boat.
The other big change at Inle is the rise of mass tourism. Before Myanmar opened the sector to more investment in the 1990s, tourist arrivals in the country came to only a few thousand people a year; today the number is about 300,000. There are now more than 10 major hotels along Inle Lake and more than two dozen lodges in a nearby town, compared with just two in the area in the mid-1990s.
Most of the lakeside properties are big resorts, some quite luxurious. At the Myanmar Treasure Resort Inle Lake, for instance, rows of hardwood-floored cottages fan out along the shoreline, with rustic wooden paths and gardens between them. Amenities include satellite television, a spa offering aromatherapy massages and facials and a boutique selling local handicrafts and clothing.
Along with floating gardens, Inle is being changed by the emergence of mass tourism, including the construction of 10 or so major lakeshore resorts.
The newer hotels have made Inle more inviting to higher-end tourists. Some hope visitors can help the situation by being mindful of their impact and encouraging hoteliers to invest in programs to remove silt and other waste. But scientists tracking the lake's decline say there may be more cost than benefit.
The development "just increases the amount of garbage that has to be dealt with, the electricity that has to be generated, the sewage that is probably dumped into the lake, in a part of the world where infrastructure is often lacking," says Alan Ziegler, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore and one of the authors of the Japanese consortium's study.
Development at Inle "is probably at the doorstep of being at a situation where it's unsustainable," he says.
Hoteliers say they are working to limit their impact. Some have donated money to local groups that promote conservation, though environmental organizations are typically given limited space to operate in Myanmar's tightly controlled political climate.
At the Myanmar Treasure Resort, general manager U Win Oo Tan says his hotel has installed wastewater-treatment systems and introduced proper garbage collection. The resort also requires boatmen to cut their engines as they approach its dock and pole their way in to preserve peace and quiet—the hotel marshlands are a gathering place for scores of wild birds.
"The authorities and the people here are very much aware" of the problems, says U Win Oo Tan.
Myanmar authorities have established an Inle Wetland Bird Sanctuary and instituted a number of programs and laws that in theory restrict the expansion of floating gardens. It has employed dredges to clear out silted areas, and boat drivers have been required to haul out hyacinth—a species that has choked lakes around the world—whenever they travel to Nyaungshwe, the main service center for the Inle. But residents say commitment to such policies is sporadic at best.
Across from the Phaung Daw Oo pagoda, a sign admonishes residents to "get rid of water weeds and hyacinths" and "limit the extension of residences and plantations." Those goals "must be carried out with cooperation" between the people and the military, it says. Yet all around the area, farmers continue to expand their gardens.
Attempts to reach the Myanmar government, which rarely speaks with foreign journalists, were unsuccessful. An official at the National Commission for Environmental Affairs didn't respond to a list of questions.
One of Myanmar's leading environmental groups, the Forest Resource Environment Development and Conservation Association, says it has launched discussions with forestry officials and an army commander in the region to boost conservation programs there, according to U Ohn, the group's vice chairman. He says he's developing a five-year Inle Lake restoration program that will encourage more-sustainable agriculture and forestry practices and further increase awareness of the lake's troubles.
"It is late but not too late" to reverse the lake's decline, he says. But he estimates it will cost at least $1 million to put the plan into action, and says it's unlikely the government will provide more than a small contribution.
Kyi Thein Ko, general secretary of the Myanmar Hotelier Association and managing director of the Shwe Inn Tha Floating Resort at Inle, said it's understandable that officials have other priorities—like dealing with the environmental toll of Cyclone Nargis, which killed more than 130,000 people in 2008. But given its enormous economic value, hoteliers say, Inle must be protected.
"One day Inle Lake may be fading away and we'll be using motor vehicles instead of outboard motors," said Kyi Thein Ko. "Which tourist will enjoy our hotel without water?"
*****************************************************
Jun 17, 2010
Straits Times - Floods leave 12,000 homeless
COX'S BAZAAR (Bangladesh) - MORE than 12,000 people are homeless and receiving emergency relief in makeshift camps after flash floods and landslides hit Bangladesh's south-east, officials said on Thursday.
Dry food rations and bottles of water were given to thousands of people left homeless in the country's south-eastern tip, which borders Myanmar, after the worst rains in decades struck on Tuesday, killing 55 people.
'We've set up 15 camps where 12,000 victims of the floods and landslides are staying - they have lost their homes. We are providing them with shelter and food rations,' Cox's Bazaar district administrator Giasuddin Ahmed told AFP.
Mr Ahmed said 50 people had died in his district, and police said another five people were killed in the neighbouring Bandarban district.
'It was the worst rain in three decades and was particularly devastating as 12 centimetres of rain fell in just three hours,' Mr Ahmed said, adding that hundreds of houses had been destroyed.
The country's flood warning centre said on Thursday that heavy rain had stopped in the south-east, with no expectation of further rain in the next 24 hours. Landslides triggered by heavy rains are common in Bangladesh's south-eastern hill districts where thousands of poor people live on deforested hill slopes.
Straits Times - Floods leave 12,000 homeless
COX'S BAZAAR (Bangladesh) - MORE than 12,000 people are homeless and receiving emergency relief in makeshift camps after flash floods and landslides hit Bangladesh's south-east, officials said on Thursday.
Dry food rations and bottles of water were given to thousands of people left homeless in the country's south-eastern tip, which borders Myanmar, after the worst rains in decades struck on Tuesday, killing 55 people.
'We've set up 15 camps where 12,000 victims of the floods and landslides are staying - they have lost their homes. We are providing them with shelter and food rations,' Cox's Bazaar district administrator Giasuddin Ahmed told AFP.
Mr Ahmed said 50 people had died in his district, and police said another five people were killed in the neighbouring Bandarban district.
'It was the worst rain in three decades and was particularly devastating as 12 centimetres of rain fell in just three hours,' Mr Ahmed said, adding that hundreds of houses had been destroyed.
The country's flood warning centre said on Thursday that heavy rain had stopped in the south-east, with no expectation of further rain in the next 24 hours. Landslides triggered by heavy rains are common in Bangladesh's south-eastern hill districts where thousands of poor people live on deforested hill slopes.
*****************************************************
Noynoy, ASEAN envoys meet; Suu Kyi not tackled
JAM L. SISANTE, GMANews.TV
06/17/2010 | 04:37 PM
Share (Updated 9:18 p.m.) Nine representatives from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member-countries on Thursday visited President-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III in his Quezon City home, but the detention of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was not discussed.
Aquino, at a press briefing, said this was to prevent tension in his house and also a way of extending courtesy to the foreign visitors.
"I think I made a lot of pronouncements regarding that aspect especially as a member of the legislature. But I think we should be courteous to our visitors at this time and not go into a confrontation with them, especially if they are guests in our house," said Aquino son of democracy icons Corazon “Cory" Aquino and Benigno “Ninoy" Aquino Jr.
The nine envoys joined Aquino at the press briefing.
The Philippine government has repeatedly appealed to Myanmar’s military junta to free Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years.
Suu Kyi was also barred from participating in Myanmar’s upcoming elections, the first in two decades.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s party, the National League for Democracy, is boycotting the elections.
In their summit last April, the ASEAN leaders’ 13-page formal statement called for credible elections in Myanmar.
"We underscored the importance of national reconciliation in Myanmar and the holding of the general election in a free, fair and inclusive manner, thus contributing to Myanmar's stability and development," the statement read.
In Manila, Aquino asked for “a little time" before he could issue an official statement regarding Suu Kyi, pointing out that he has yet to assume office.
His inauguration as president is set on June 30.
Myanmar Ambassador U Aung Khin Soe was present at the meeting.
Among those in attendance were Brunei Darussalam Ambassador Malai Hajah Halimah Malai Yussof, Cambodia charges d'affaires Tith Sarunreth, Indonesia Ambassador Yohanes Kristiarto Soeryo Legowo, Laos Ambassador Leuane Sombounkhan, Malaysia charges d'affairs Dato Seri Dr. Ibrahim Saad, Singapore Ambassador A. Selverajah, Thailand Ambassador Kulkumut Singhara Na Ayudhya, and Vietnam Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tu.
Aquino said there was no deliberate attempt to exclude any topic from the discussion.
"This was the first meeting, there are so many things that are happening in the world in general, but more specifically the growth of the ASEAN bloc. And the initial step has to be make sure that is the priority," he said.
He said issues like changing policies in terms of investor inducements was discussed, although details were not threshed out in the hour-long meeting.
Aquino said he would "most probably" attend the next ASEAN summit given its importance, as well as future official meetings with officials of the United States and the European Union, among others.
Aquino meets with Latin American ambassadors
After his meeting with the ASEAN envoys, Aquino met with more ambassadors from Latin America.
"We do share a lot in terms even of history. We were all colonized by Spain or Portugal. We’ve had problems during the height of the Cold War…Perhaps we can share from each other’s experience to really advance and not reinvent the wheel, not to make the same mistakes," Aquino said.
The president-elect said they also exchanged suggestions on how to improve the economy like being more friendly to the foreign community and clarifying procedures.
They also discussed the ethanol program in Brazil, which Aquino described as "a very mature industry."
"We understand we’ll be sending a delegation for geothermal. I think we are the second after Italy that has exploited geothermal as a resource," he said, adding that they also talked about jatropha as a potential source for renewable energy development.
Among those present were Brazil Ambassador Alcides Gastao Rostand Prates, Chile Ambassador Ovid Haraisch, Mexican States Ambassador Tomas Javier Calvillo Unna, Panama Ambassador Ivan Javier Crespo, Argentina Ambassador Daniel Joaquin Otero, Colombia charge d’affaires Stella Marquez de Araneta, Venezuela charge d’affaires Manuel Perez Iturbe, and Cuba charge d’affaires Enna Viant Valdes.
JAM L. SISANTE, GMANews.TV
06/17/2010 | 04:37 PM
Share (Updated 9:18 p.m.) Nine representatives from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member-countries on Thursday visited President-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III in his Quezon City home, but the detention of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was not discussed.
Aquino, at a press briefing, said this was to prevent tension in his house and also a way of extending courtesy to the foreign visitors.
"I think I made a lot of pronouncements regarding that aspect especially as a member of the legislature. But I think we should be courteous to our visitors at this time and not go into a confrontation with them, especially if they are guests in our house," said Aquino son of democracy icons Corazon “Cory" Aquino and Benigno “Ninoy" Aquino Jr.
The nine envoys joined Aquino at the press briefing.
The Philippine government has repeatedly appealed to Myanmar’s military junta to free Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years.
Suu Kyi was also barred from participating in Myanmar’s upcoming elections, the first in two decades.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s party, the National League for Democracy, is boycotting the elections.
In their summit last April, the ASEAN leaders’ 13-page formal statement called for credible elections in Myanmar.
"We underscored the importance of national reconciliation in Myanmar and the holding of the general election in a free, fair and inclusive manner, thus contributing to Myanmar's stability and development," the statement read.
In Manila, Aquino asked for “a little time" before he could issue an official statement regarding Suu Kyi, pointing out that he has yet to assume office.
His inauguration as president is set on June 30.
Myanmar Ambassador U Aung Khin Soe was present at the meeting.
Among those in attendance were Brunei Darussalam Ambassador Malai Hajah Halimah Malai Yussof, Cambodia charges d'affaires Tith Sarunreth, Indonesia Ambassador Yohanes Kristiarto Soeryo Legowo, Laos Ambassador Leuane Sombounkhan, Malaysia charges d'affairs Dato Seri Dr. Ibrahim Saad, Singapore Ambassador A. Selverajah, Thailand Ambassador Kulkumut Singhara Na Ayudhya, and Vietnam Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tu.
Aquino said there was no deliberate attempt to exclude any topic from the discussion.
"This was the first meeting, there are so many things that are happening in the world in general, but more specifically the growth of the ASEAN bloc. And the initial step has to be make sure that is the priority," he said.
He said issues like changing policies in terms of investor inducements was discussed, although details were not threshed out in the hour-long meeting.
Aquino said he would "most probably" attend the next ASEAN summit given its importance, as well as future official meetings with officials of the United States and the European Union, among others.
Aquino meets with Latin American ambassadors
After his meeting with the ASEAN envoys, Aquino met with more ambassadors from Latin America.
"We do share a lot in terms even of history. We were all colonized by Spain or Portugal. We’ve had problems during the height of the Cold War…Perhaps we can share from each other’s experience to really advance and not reinvent the wheel, not to make the same mistakes," Aquino said.
The president-elect said they also exchanged suggestions on how to improve the economy like being more friendly to the foreign community and clarifying procedures.
They also discussed the ethanol program in Brazil, which Aquino described as "a very mature industry."
"We understand we’ll be sending a delegation for geothermal. I think we are the second after Italy that has exploited geothermal as a resource," he said, adding that they also talked about jatropha as a potential source for renewable energy development.
Among those present were Brazil Ambassador Alcides Gastao Rostand Prates, Chile Ambassador Ovid Haraisch, Mexican States Ambassador Tomas Javier Calvillo Unna, Panama Ambassador Ivan Javier Crespo, Argentina Ambassador Daniel Joaquin Otero, Colombia charge d’affaires Stella Marquez de Araneta, Venezuela charge d’affaires Manuel Perez Iturbe, and Cuba charge d’affaires Enna Viant Valdes.
*****************************************************
Economic Times - China endorses Bangladesh-Myanmar road project
17 Jun 2010, 1340 hrs IST,IANS
DHAKA: Beijing has agreed to implement a Bangladeshi proposal for a road link via Myanmar, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced after the visit of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping.
She told parliament on Wednesday that a project financed by Bangladesh government called "Study and Design for Bangladesh-Myanmar link road" was underway. The road project will be implemented in two phases, she added.
Under the first phase two km of road will be constructed from Ramu to Gundum inside Bangladesh and 23 km will be constructed between Taungbro and Bolibazar inside Myanmar.
She said her government has actively been trying to link Bangladesh with members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China "in the interest of the people of this country".
"Effective roads and rail communications will be set up among the ASEAN countries once the proposed project is implemented," she said.
Political, economic, commercial and cultural relations with China and other south-eastern countries of Asia will be interrelated, she added.
Hasina has on her returning to power in January last year sought to reach out to India and other South Asian neighbours like Nepal and Bhutan seeking road and rail links and greater trade.
Her deal with India that allows the latter partial, project-based access to the isolated northeastern region has been criticised by Bangladesh's opposition party.
In the second phase, the Myanmar authorities will construct 110 km of road link between Bolibazar and Kyanktow in Myanmar. There is a road link between Kyanktow and Kunming, Hasina said.
17 Jun 2010, 1340 hrs IST,IANS
DHAKA: Beijing has agreed to implement a Bangladeshi proposal for a road link via Myanmar, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced after the visit of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping.
She told parliament on Wednesday that a project financed by Bangladesh government called "Study and Design for Bangladesh-Myanmar link road" was underway. The road project will be implemented in two phases, she added.
Under the first phase two km of road will be constructed from Ramu to Gundum inside Bangladesh and 23 km will be constructed between Taungbro and Bolibazar inside Myanmar.
She said her government has actively been trying to link Bangladesh with members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China "in the interest of the people of this country".
"Effective roads and rail communications will be set up among the ASEAN countries once the proposed project is implemented," she said.
Political, economic, commercial and cultural relations with China and other south-eastern countries of Asia will be interrelated, she added.
Hasina has on her returning to power in January last year sought to reach out to India and other South Asian neighbours like Nepal and Bhutan seeking road and rail links and greater trade.
Her deal with India that allows the latter partial, project-based access to the isolated northeastern region has been criticised by Bangladesh's opposition party.
In the second phase, the Myanmar authorities will construct 110 km of road link between Bolibazar and Kyanktow in Myanmar. There is a road link between Kyanktow and Kunming, Hasina said.
*****************************************************
Updated June, 17 2010 09:24:58
Viet Nam News - VN, Myanmar promote tourism
HA NOI — A tourism promotion seminar was recently held in the former Myanmar capital of Yangon, according to the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism.
Participants in the seminar introduced some of the strengths in tourism of each country, including eco-tourism and religious tourism in Myanmar, and beach resorts in Viet Nam. They also discussed ways to diversify tours, lower prices, increase service quality and lure more visitors.
The delegates also discussed ways of overcome difficulties relating to visas, language, electronic payments and credit cards, and the establishment of tourism entities in Myanmar.
Myanmar's Minister of Hotels and Tourism, Soe Naing, said that country was willing to co-operate with Viet Nam to remove barriers for mutual benefit and support tourism enterprises.
Vietnam Airlines launched its first direct flight from Ha Noi to Yangon in March. The new service, using a Fokker 70 aircraft, includes four flights a week, expected to increase to five per week later this year, when a HCM City-Yangon route would also begin service.
U Phyoe Wai Yar Zar, vice chairman of the Myanmar Marketing Committee, predicted the new routes would boost Myanmar's tourist arrivals.
"It will also increase connectivity with the member states of ASEAN and potentially boost arrivals from third countries," he said.
Tony Pham Ha, the owner and chief executive of Ha Noi-based Luxury Travel, said his company had already received a number of bookings for package tours to Myanmar.
"Luxury Travel is one of the first companies in Viet Nam to promote tours to Myanmar and develop niche tourism products for both Vietnamese and Western travelers who want to discover this mystical land from Ha Noi," Ha said.
"We are also working with tour operators and travel agents from Myanmar to promote Viet Nam," he added. "We would like them to do a familiarisation trip to see the highlights of our country – the cities, beaches and world heritage sites, such as Ha Long Bay."
According to the Myanmar tourism authority, the country attracted nearly 1,900 Vietnamese travellers in 2009, up from more than 1,000 in 2008.
Viet Nam News - VN, Myanmar promote tourism
HA NOI — A tourism promotion seminar was recently held in the former Myanmar capital of Yangon, according to the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism.
Participants in the seminar introduced some of the strengths in tourism of each country, including eco-tourism and religious tourism in Myanmar, and beach resorts in Viet Nam. They also discussed ways to diversify tours, lower prices, increase service quality and lure more visitors.
The delegates also discussed ways of overcome difficulties relating to visas, language, electronic payments and credit cards, and the establishment of tourism entities in Myanmar.
Myanmar's Minister of Hotels and Tourism, Soe Naing, said that country was willing to co-operate with Viet Nam to remove barriers for mutual benefit and support tourism enterprises.
Vietnam Airlines launched its first direct flight from Ha Noi to Yangon in March. The new service, using a Fokker 70 aircraft, includes four flights a week, expected to increase to five per week later this year, when a HCM City-Yangon route would also begin service.
U Phyoe Wai Yar Zar, vice chairman of the Myanmar Marketing Committee, predicted the new routes would boost Myanmar's tourist arrivals.
"It will also increase connectivity with the member states of ASEAN and potentially boost arrivals from third countries," he said.
Tony Pham Ha, the owner and chief executive of Ha Noi-based Luxury Travel, said his company had already received a number of bookings for package tours to Myanmar.
"Luxury Travel is one of the first companies in Viet Nam to promote tours to Myanmar and develop niche tourism products for both Vietnamese and Western travelers who want to discover this mystical land from Ha Noi," Ha said.
"We are also working with tour operators and travel agents from Myanmar to promote Viet Nam," he added. "We would like them to do a familiarisation trip to see the highlights of our country – the cities, beaches and world heritage sites, such as Ha Long Bay."
According to the Myanmar tourism authority, the country attracted nearly 1,900 Vietnamese travellers in 2009, up from more than 1,000 in 2008.
*****************************************************
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The Daily Star - Govt trying hard for road, rail links to Asean nations
PM tells JS of a proposal for tri-nation body to implement it
Staff Correspondent
Dhaka has proposed a tri-nation committee involving China and Myanmar for implementation of the proposed road and rail links between Bangladesh and China, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday in parliament.
While replying to lawmakers' queries, the premier said she already raised the matter before the Chinese authorities so that Bangladesh, Myanmar and China could work together in a coordinated way for implementation of the road and rail links.
She said her government has actively been trying to link Bangladesh with members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) and China in the interest of the people of this country.
"Effective roads and rail communications will be set up among the Asean countries once the proposed project is implemented," she said. Therefore, political, economic, commercial and cultural relations with China and other south-eastern countries of Asia will be interrelated, she added.
The premier said China has agreed to help implement the project.
She said a project financed by Bangladesh government styled "Study and Design for Bangladesh-Myanmar link road" was underway. The road project will be implemented in two phases, she added.
Under the first phase two kilometres of road will be constructed from Ramu to Gundum inside Bangladesh and 23 kilometres will be constructed between Taungbro and Bolibazar inside Myanmar, Hasina said. This project will be financed by Bangladesh government.
In the second phase, the Myanmar authorities will construct 110 kilometres of road link between Bolibazar and Kyanktow in Myanmar. There is a road link between Kyanktow and Kunming, Hasina said.
She hoped that she would take up the road link project again with the top Myanmar leaders in the near future.
The Daily Star - Govt trying hard for road, rail links to Asean nations
PM tells JS of a proposal for tri-nation body to implement it
Staff Correspondent
Dhaka has proposed a tri-nation committee involving China and Myanmar for implementation of the proposed road and rail links between Bangladesh and China, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday in parliament.
While replying to lawmakers' queries, the premier said she already raised the matter before the Chinese authorities so that Bangladesh, Myanmar and China could work together in a coordinated way for implementation of the road and rail links.
She said her government has actively been trying to link Bangladesh with members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) and China in the interest of the people of this country.
"Effective roads and rail communications will be set up among the Asean countries once the proposed project is implemented," she said. Therefore, political, economic, commercial and cultural relations with China and other south-eastern countries of Asia will be interrelated, she added.
The premier said China has agreed to help implement the project.
She said a project financed by Bangladesh government styled "Study and Design for Bangladesh-Myanmar link road" was underway. The road project will be implemented in two phases, she added.
Under the first phase two kilometres of road will be constructed from Ramu to Gundum inside Bangladesh and 23 kilometres will be constructed between Taungbro and Bolibazar inside Myanmar, Hasina said. This project will be financed by Bangladesh government.
In the second phase, the Myanmar authorities will construct 110 kilometres of road link between Bolibazar and Kyanktow in Myanmar. There is a road link between Kyanktow and Kunming, Hasina said.
She hoped that she would take up the road link project again with the top Myanmar leaders in the near future.
*****************************************************
Amnesty.co.uk - Burma: Amnesty turns to the power of radio
Posted: 17 June 2010
New financial appeal launched to supply radios to people in Burma
There is no doubting the power of radio – those are the words of Amnesty International – who are today launching a major new financial appeal to supply thousands of radio sets to the people of Burma.
The south-east Asian state has one of the world’s worst human rights record and the aim of the appeal is to increase the Burmese people’s access to information from independent media.
Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, explained the reason behind the appeal, called Break the Silence. She said:
“We have spoken to many Burmese groups and they have all said the same thing: ‘Independent information is vital and radios are the key’.
“This is a country where torture is endemic, forced labour is common and the censorship of the media is almost total.
“Outside of the main cities there are few radios – and the ones that exist act as magnets for a population eager to hear the real news.
“Amnesty International want to make it easier for people to tune in. To help we are asking the public to donate via www.amnesty.org.uk/radios so that we can buy as many radios as possible, and make sure they will reach people who will benefit from this most simple yet useful of communication tools.”
Kate Allen added:
“Freedom of speech and expression are both fundamental human rights. Yet, in Burma, the country’s most famous comedian Zarganar is currently serving 35 years in prison for speaking out against the regime. While Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the country’s last elections in 1990 and celebrates her 65th birthday on Saturday, has spent a total of 15 years under house arrest since 1989.”
The Burmese government uses draconian censorship laws to tightly control the flow of information in the country. Journalists who report news and views independently of the government risk harassment, arbitrary arrest, detention and even torture. At least 40 journalists are currently imprisoned in Burma.
Despite the severe restrictions placed on access to information in Burma, media organisations in exile are able to broadcast directly into the country. These broadcasts are a vital source of independent information for people in Burma, especially in a year when the government prepares to hold elections for the first time in two decades.
Amnesty International today acts in solidarity with the many brave independent journalists who work at great personal risk to provide uncensored news to the people of Burma.
At Amnesty International’s recent Media Awards, the prestigious Special Award for Journalism Under Threat was given to independent media workers in Burma. This was an unprecedented move as the award is normally dedicated to only one individual.
Tomorrow (18 June) – the day before Aung San Suu Kyi’s 65th birthday – BBC World Service will be broadcasting a special programme about the Nobel Peace Prize Winner into Burma at 4am. The programme will be aired in the UK on BBC Radio 4 at 11am.
Posted: 17 June 2010
New financial appeal launched to supply radios to people in Burma
There is no doubting the power of radio – those are the words of Amnesty International – who are today launching a major new financial appeal to supply thousands of radio sets to the people of Burma.
The south-east Asian state has one of the world’s worst human rights record and the aim of the appeal is to increase the Burmese people’s access to information from independent media.
Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, explained the reason behind the appeal, called Break the Silence. She said:
“We have spoken to many Burmese groups and they have all said the same thing: ‘Independent information is vital and radios are the key’.
“This is a country where torture is endemic, forced labour is common and the censorship of the media is almost total.
“Outside of the main cities there are few radios – and the ones that exist act as magnets for a population eager to hear the real news.
“Amnesty International want to make it easier for people to tune in. To help we are asking the public to donate via www.amnesty.org.uk/radios so that we can buy as many radios as possible, and make sure they will reach people who will benefit from this most simple yet useful of communication tools.”
Kate Allen added:
“Freedom of speech and expression are both fundamental human rights. Yet, in Burma, the country’s most famous comedian Zarganar is currently serving 35 years in prison for speaking out against the regime. While Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the country’s last elections in 1990 and celebrates her 65th birthday on Saturday, has spent a total of 15 years under house arrest since 1989.”
The Burmese government uses draconian censorship laws to tightly control the flow of information in the country. Journalists who report news and views independently of the government risk harassment, arbitrary arrest, detention and even torture. At least 40 journalists are currently imprisoned in Burma.
Despite the severe restrictions placed on access to information in Burma, media organisations in exile are able to broadcast directly into the country. These broadcasts are a vital source of independent information for people in Burma, especially in a year when the government prepares to hold elections for the first time in two decades.
Amnesty International today acts in solidarity with the many brave independent journalists who work at great personal risk to provide uncensored news to the people of Burma.
At Amnesty International’s recent Media Awards, the prestigious Special Award for Journalism Under Threat was given to independent media workers in Burma. This was an unprecedented move as the award is normally dedicated to only one individual.
Tomorrow (18 June) – the day before Aung San Suu Kyi’s 65th birthday – BBC World Service will be broadcasting a special programme about the Nobel Peace Prize Winner into Burma at 4am. The programme will be aired in the UK on BBC Radio 4 at 11am.
*****************************************************
Thursday June 17, 2010
The Star Online - Myanmar detainees’ charge rejected
By SARBAN SINGH - newsdesk@thestar.com.my
SEREMBAN: The Immigration Department has denied claims that some 500 Myanmar illegals at its Lenggeng detention centre have been on hunger strike due to a lack of drinking water there.
Camp commandant Naser Awang said such claims were ridiculous as his own officers lived in the camp.
“A main pipe burst on Saturday but it was rectified on Sunday,” he said.
“United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) officers were at our camp on Monday for their weekly session with the detainees and everything was in order.”
Naser was commenting on a statement by Suaram that the detainees began a hunger strike on Saturday evening after camp officers denied them drinking water.
“Denying access to drinking water is an outrageous violation of a basic human right,” Suaram coordinator Temme Lee said.
When contacted, Syarikat Air Negri Sembilan corporate communications and public affairs manager Azlan Abdul Aziz said the area had never experienced water shortages despite the recent drought.
“There had been occasions when the camp asked us for additional water and we have always obliged. However, we could not immediately despatch any on Saturday although they had a burst pipe, as we had to provide water to areas which had no supply in Seremban,” Azlan said.
State police chief SAC I Datuk Osman Salleh said police had not received any report on the hunger strike.
“My question is, why is it only the Myanmar nationals are on a hunger strike? If there is a problem with the supply of drinking water, how come detainees from other countries have not joined them?” he asked.
Naser said Myanmar nationals who were not refugees were the ones who often caused problems. The camp, which could accommodate up to 1,500 people, had an average of 500 Myanmar nationals at any one time. It now has 1,400 detainees.
In Petaling Jaya, UNHCR spokesperson Yante Ismail said a staff member had gone to the centre to counsel the demonstrators and they had agreed to end their protest on Tuesday.
The Star Online - Myanmar detainees’ charge rejected
By SARBAN SINGH - newsdesk@thestar.com.my
SEREMBAN: The Immigration Department has denied claims that some 500 Myanmar illegals at its Lenggeng detention centre have been on hunger strike due to a lack of drinking water there.
Camp commandant Naser Awang said such claims were ridiculous as his own officers lived in the camp.
“A main pipe burst on Saturday but it was rectified on Sunday,” he said.
“United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) officers were at our camp on Monday for their weekly session with the detainees and everything was in order.”
Naser was commenting on a statement by Suaram that the detainees began a hunger strike on Saturday evening after camp officers denied them drinking water.
“Denying access to drinking water is an outrageous violation of a basic human right,” Suaram coordinator Temme Lee said.
When contacted, Syarikat Air Negri Sembilan corporate communications and public affairs manager Azlan Abdul Aziz said the area had never experienced water shortages despite the recent drought.
“There had been occasions when the camp asked us for additional water and we have always obliged. However, we could not immediately despatch any on Saturday although they had a burst pipe, as we had to provide water to areas which had no supply in Seremban,” Azlan said.
State police chief SAC I Datuk Osman Salleh said police had not received any report on the hunger strike.
“My question is, why is it only the Myanmar nationals are on a hunger strike? If there is a problem with the supply of drinking water, how come detainees from other countries have not joined them?” he asked.
Naser said Myanmar nationals who were not refugees were the ones who often caused problems. The camp, which could accommodate up to 1,500 people, had an average of 500 Myanmar nationals at any one time. It now has 1,400 detainees.
In Petaling Jaya, UNHCR spokesperson Yante Ismail said a staff member had gone to the centre to counsel the demonstrators and they had agreed to end their protest on Tuesday.
*****************************************************
The News International - The Mekong Delta nations
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Ikram Sehgal
The Mekong River transverses a far larger region than the Indus, with its Delta serving many more nations than those in the northwest portion of South Asia. Other than China, the main beneficiaries of the 7th- largest river of Asia are Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. One-third of a population of about 350 million live below the poverty line in the "Greater Mekong Sub-region" (GMS).
The countries joining ASEAN later are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam. The most advanced economy, Singapore, is almost 80 times richer than that of the least-developed, Myanmar. Its population of 4.7 million is 50 times smaller than that of Indonesia’s 230 million. Singapore annually draws $5,000 per capita in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). In contrast, Myanmar manages only $6. Cambodia is listed at 110 in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index, which places Singapore at number three. ASEAN countries, and many of their Asian neighbours, started to liberalise trade in the 1980s and 1990s and become more integrated into world trade.
The bulk of trade growth volumes in the region depends on "processing trade," that of intermediary products, parts and components. The production chain relies on these being manufactured in different countries before being imported into third countries for labour-intensive assembly and then being shipped to destination markets including the US, Europe and Japan. Many such operations take place in China and supply chains reach back into some of the ASEAN countries. This cross-country supply chain emphasises the importance of trade facilitation by member countries as it reduces trade costs, which accumulate as goods travel across borders.
There is need for governments to enhance border procedures and documentation for international trade, and commensurately to monitor and control the movements across borders. Their inadequacy is presently the major impediments of trade. The leaders present in the WEF’s East Asia Summit from June 4 to 6 in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) seem to recognise regional integration.
A lively panel discussion saw the Prime Ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam agreeing that to derive prosperity from the Mekong River they must balance common goals of economic growth and protect their natural resources. Any development of the GMS would have to be environmentally responsible and sustainable, with key priority given to poverty reduction.
Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung articulated the key challenges of the GMS countries as being: (1) at the national level, what adjustments to existing development models are required in order to maintain high and sustainable economic growth rates? (2) at the regional level, how can inter-regional relationship be promoted to provide strong support to economic development, and to serve as the basis for the increasingly important role of East Asia? and (3) at the global level, what role(s) and responsibilities should East Asia take with regard to world issues?
The Vietnamese prime minister claimed that Vietnam has moved out of the group of least-developed countries. People’s lives had certainly improved, and political stability was evident in the country, and much more needed to be done. Vietnam’s second largest city (after Hanoi) is a surprise. Swarms of motorcycles overwhelm four-wheel vehicles and for pedestrian zebra crossings do not count for anything. Metered taxis are cheap compared to those in other countries, $8 from the Airport for a 50-minute ride downtown.
There are no signs (except in carefully kept museums) of the ravages of the war that held Vietnam (and the adjacent countries of Laos and Cambodia) hostage in its grip for more than 40 years in the mid-20th century. FDI is playing an important role in the nation’s economic success. With average minimum wages around $70-100 per month (compared to $150-200 in China), labour-intensive industries are shifting to countries like Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
GMS countries must maintain a right balance between providing social welfare and stimulating investment and consumption for future growth, with the young working population having high expectations. Households must be protected from sickness and unemployment. Asia’s consumers are spending more because they have become rapidly wealthier, but Asia lags behind in terms of social protection despite socialist economies in many countries.
Nothing symbolises investor enterprise in GMS more than Ocean Garments Limited (OGL), a garment manufacturing venture of the Bangladeshi Sunman Group owned by Maj (r) Mannan. It is and evidence of his business sagacity and foresight that he employed 3,000 factory workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. My good friend of nearly half-a-century (our relations reaching back to May 14, 1964 Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul), has taken advantage of factors like low wages, no quotas and incentives.
A significant fact contributing to the success story is an experienced and dedicated team led by OGL country manager Mamunar Rashid, averaging almost eight years service in Cambodia. It was a learning curve to see good management in action to save costs. For example, the cost of electricity was saved by producing their own at 20 per cent of the government’s tariff. The designer clothes being manufactured were a treat to watch, It was especially gratifying that 100 per cent of the textiles used were of Pakistan origin.
Maj Mannan had the vision to invest in Cambodia as far back as a decade ago when that was not considered a good idea. He also has garment factories in Mauritius and Madagascar, and is now setting up a motorcycle plant in Bangladesh with technicians from Pakistan! A significant historical fact for this enterprising former parliamentarian is that 12 centuries ago a Bengali Hindu kingdom was established in Angkor Wat. Expelled by Asoka from Orissa and Bengal, the Bengalis ruled Cambodia and adjacent areas for almost 600 years before they were ousted by the Khmers, who in turn were defeated by the Thais. The Thais were ultimately defeated by the Khmers in the 16th century. The city that once housed almost a million people came to be known as Siem Reap (Thai Defeat).
I was privileged to be received in Cambodia by Chantol Sun, the senior minister in Prime Minister Hun Sen’s cabinet. Chantol has been a WEF Global Leader of Tomorrow (GLT) in the mid-90s, the forerunner of the WEF’s Young Global Leaders (YGLs). Understandably, he brushed aside the threat of constant labour action by the many disparate unions in Cambodia. Conceding that the management faced stress and strain, he maintained that there was always a solution. OGL is clearly profitable, but labour problems remain to keep away potential investors.
There was no major delegation from China at the WEF’s East Asia Summit. However, its maturity as a responsible upper-riparian state in dealing with the nations on its periphery was very much evident. India can draw a lesson from how China treats its neighbours, and refrain from using water as a weapon. Giving respect and leaning backwards in being considerate to its neighbours, China gets loads of it in return from the GMS countries.
That is the essence of the Mekong Delta, the regional countries have chosen cooperation over conflict.
The writer is a defence and political analyst. Email: isehgal@pathfinder9.com
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Ikram Sehgal
The Mekong River transverses a far larger region than the Indus, with its Delta serving many more nations than those in the northwest portion of South Asia. Other than China, the main beneficiaries of the 7th- largest river of Asia are Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. One-third of a population of about 350 million live below the poverty line in the "Greater Mekong Sub-region" (GMS).
The countries joining ASEAN later are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam. The most advanced economy, Singapore, is almost 80 times richer than that of the least-developed, Myanmar. Its population of 4.7 million is 50 times smaller than that of Indonesia’s 230 million. Singapore annually draws $5,000 per capita in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). In contrast, Myanmar manages only $6. Cambodia is listed at 110 in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index, which places Singapore at number three. ASEAN countries, and many of their Asian neighbours, started to liberalise trade in the 1980s and 1990s and become more integrated into world trade.
The bulk of trade growth volumes in the region depends on "processing trade," that of intermediary products, parts and components. The production chain relies on these being manufactured in different countries before being imported into third countries for labour-intensive assembly and then being shipped to destination markets including the US, Europe and Japan. Many such operations take place in China and supply chains reach back into some of the ASEAN countries. This cross-country supply chain emphasises the importance of trade facilitation by member countries as it reduces trade costs, which accumulate as goods travel across borders.
There is need for governments to enhance border procedures and documentation for international trade, and commensurately to monitor and control the movements across borders. Their inadequacy is presently the major impediments of trade. The leaders present in the WEF’s East Asia Summit from June 4 to 6 in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) seem to recognise regional integration.
A lively panel discussion saw the Prime Ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam agreeing that to derive prosperity from the Mekong River they must balance common goals of economic growth and protect their natural resources. Any development of the GMS would have to be environmentally responsible and sustainable, with key priority given to poverty reduction.
Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung articulated the key challenges of the GMS countries as being: (1) at the national level, what adjustments to existing development models are required in order to maintain high and sustainable economic growth rates? (2) at the regional level, how can inter-regional relationship be promoted to provide strong support to economic development, and to serve as the basis for the increasingly important role of East Asia? and (3) at the global level, what role(s) and responsibilities should East Asia take with regard to world issues?
The Vietnamese prime minister claimed that Vietnam has moved out of the group of least-developed countries. People’s lives had certainly improved, and political stability was evident in the country, and much more needed to be done. Vietnam’s second largest city (after Hanoi) is a surprise. Swarms of motorcycles overwhelm four-wheel vehicles and for pedestrian zebra crossings do not count for anything. Metered taxis are cheap compared to those in other countries, $8 from the Airport for a 50-minute ride downtown.
There are no signs (except in carefully kept museums) of the ravages of the war that held Vietnam (and the adjacent countries of Laos and Cambodia) hostage in its grip for more than 40 years in the mid-20th century. FDI is playing an important role in the nation’s economic success. With average minimum wages around $70-100 per month (compared to $150-200 in China), labour-intensive industries are shifting to countries like Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
GMS countries must maintain a right balance between providing social welfare and stimulating investment and consumption for future growth, with the young working population having high expectations. Households must be protected from sickness and unemployment. Asia’s consumers are spending more because they have become rapidly wealthier, but Asia lags behind in terms of social protection despite socialist economies in many countries.
Nothing symbolises investor enterprise in GMS more than Ocean Garments Limited (OGL), a garment manufacturing venture of the Bangladeshi Sunman Group owned by Maj (r) Mannan. It is and evidence of his business sagacity and foresight that he employed 3,000 factory workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. My good friend of nearly half-a-century (our relations reaching back to May 14, 1964 Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul), has taken advantage of factors like low wages, no quotas and incentives.
A significant fact contributing to the success story is an experienced and dedicated team led by OGL country manager Mamunar Rashid, averaging almost eight years service in Cambodia. It was a learning curve to see good management in action to save costs. For example, the cost of electricity was saved by producing their own at 20 per cent of the government’s tariff. The designer clothes being manufactured were a treat to watch, It was especially gratifying that 100 per cent of the textiles used were of Pakistan origin.
Maj Mannan had the vision to invest in Cambodia as far back as a decade ago when that was not considered a good idea. He also has garment factories in Mauritius and Madagascar, and is now setting up a motorcycle plant in Bangladesh with technicians from Pakistan! A significant historical fact for this enterprising former parliamentarian is that 12 centuries ago a Bengali Hindu kingdom was established in Angkor Wat. Expelled by Asoka from Orissa and Bengal, the Bengalis ruled Cambodia and adjacent areas for almost 600 years before they were ousted by the Khmers, who in turn were defeated by the Thais. The Thais were ultimately defeated by the Khmers in the 16th century. The city that once housed almost a million people came to be known as Siem Reap (Thai Defeat).
I was privileged to be received in Cambodia by Chantol Sun, the senior minister in Prime Minister Hun Sen’s cabinet. Chantol has been a WEF Global Leader of Tomorrow (GLT) in the mid-90s, the forerunner of the WEF’s Young Global Leaders (YGLs). Understandably, he brushed aside the threat of constant labour action by the many disparate unions in Cambodia. Conceding that the management faced stress and strain, he maintained that there was always a solution. OGL is clearly profitable, but labour problems remain to keep away potential investors.
There was no major delegation from China at the WEF’s East Asia Summit. However, its maturity as a responsible upper-riparian state in dealing with the nations on its periphery was very much evident. India can draw a lesson from how China treats its neighbours, and refrain from using water as a weapon. Giving respect and leaning backwards in being considerate to its neighbours, China gets loads of it in return from the GMS countries.
That is the essence of the Mekong Delta, the regional countries have chosen cooperation over conflict.
The writer is a defence and political analyst. Email: isehgal@pathfinder9.com
*****************************************************
Galway Advertiser - Letters: Treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi diminishes us all
Galway Advertiser, June 17, 2010.
Dear Editor,
The Burmese junta’s pitiless bullying of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi diminishes us all. The shameful response of the global community has been to merely groan a little louder, each time this hero of democracy is kicked.
With each new injustice Ms Suu Kyi, a peace activist, towers over the self-appointed generals, showing them up to be the political pygmies that they are. On June 19 she will spend her 65th birthday under house arrest.
The more indignities they heap upon her the more they shrink and her reputation grows. Her only “crime” to date was that she earned the right to be the democratically elected leader of Burma.
Her belief in democracy has never wavered despite being separated from her late husband and children. In spite of spending 14 of the last 20 years under house arrest, she has never allowed her faith in human rights to be snuffed out.
The world does not want for agencies and organisations that champion such rights, nor leaders who see themselves as custodians of equality and the right to be free.
But what will it take to make one of them step from the ranks to champion hers, and demand her release?
Yours etc,
John O’Shea
GOAL
PO BOX 19
Dun Laoghaire
Co Dublin.
Galway Advertiser, June 17, 2010.
Dear Editor,
The Burmese junta’s pitiless bullying of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi diminishes us all. The shameful response of the global community has been to merely groan a little louder, each time this hero of democracy is kicked.
With each new injustice Ms Suu Kyi, a peace activist, towers over the self-appointed generals, showing them up to be the political pygmies that they are. On June 19 she will spend her 65th birthday under house arrest.
The more indignities they heap upon her the more they shrink and her reputation grows. Her only “crime” to date was that she earned the right to be the democratically elected leader of Burma.
Her belief in democracy has never wavered despite being separated from her late husband and children. In spite of spending 14 of the last 20 years under house arrest, she has never allowed her faith in human rights to be snuffed out.
The world does not want for agencies and organisations that champion such rights, nor leaders who see themselves as custodians of equality and the right to be free.
But what will it take to make one of them step from the ranks to champion hers, and demand her release?
Yours etc,
John O’Shea
GOAL
PO BOX 19
Dun Laoghaire
Co Dublin.
*****************************************************
Friday, June 18, 2010
The Seoul Times - Condemning Military Election in Burma
By Nava Thakuria - Special Correspondent
The Burmese communities living in different parts of the world have started coordinated demonstrations against the military controlled election in their country. After observing the Global Day of Action on May 27 in different parts of the world, the exile Burmese activists are celebrating the birthday of pro-democracy icon, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi spreading the message that the great lady continues to be a symbol of freedom and democracy for people in Burma.
The Ten Alliances of Burma’s movement for democracy and ethnic rights has prepared to observe the 65th birthday on June 17 with various programmes including the screening of films about the people of Burma’s opposition to the junta promoted election in the Bangkok based Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand.
Earlier the exiled Burmese and their supporters participated in the Global Day of Action organized in more than 20 countries around the globe. They termed the proposed general election (probably on October 10 next) by the military regime of Burma as military’s election and continued their call for a genuine people’s election there.
The last election in Burma on May 27, 1990 resulted in an overwhelming victory for the pro-democracy opposition parties, but the military junta did not hand over power to the elected representatives. The Burmese exile groups demonstrated their resentment against the imposed military election in Burma organizing rallies primarily in front of Burmese Embassy, United Nations building and other public places on the day to draw the attention of the international community.
The pro-democracy Burmese activists based in India also staged a demonstration and a symbolic people’s election at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on the same day. A memorandum was also sent to the Union government by the demonstrators with various demands and appeals.
The Global Day of Action under the Global Campaign Against Burma’s 2010 military election was initiated by Ten Alliances of Burma’s democracy and ethnic rights movement representing broad-based and multi-ethnic cooperation of political and civil society organizations from inside and outside Burma. The initiative, which has been endorsed by over 150 organizations in the world, is aimed to raise voices against the plight of Burmese people including the monks.
The ten alliances including National Council of the Union of Burma, Democratic Alliance of Burma, National Democratic Front, National League for Democracy-Liberated Area, Members of Parliamentary Union, National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, Forum for Democracy in Burma, Women’s League of Burma, Students and Youth Congress of Burma and Nationalities Youth Forum inspired demonstrations against the Burmese junta in various cities of the world.
The protest rallies held during the last week of May in Tokyo (Japan), Taipei (Taiwan), Seoul (South Korea), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Melbourne (Australia), Paris (France), Geneva (Switzerland), Stockholm (Sweden), San Francisco (USA) etc., specifically targeted the ruling junta named State Peace and Development Council for its anti-people policy and practices.
Meanwhile, thousands of the Burmese community living in exile had signed postcards and that way voted in favour of Suu Kyi and a democratic federal union of Burma. The signed postcards even call on the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to denounce the forthcoming 2010 elections in Burma and reject the results unless the Burmese regime changes its repressive actions.
“It is already clear that the military’s elections this year will not be a step forward that Burma needs. The National League for Democracy and many ethnic groups have already decided that they cannot participate in such a sham election. The Indian government should stand with them and the people of Burma in demanding genuine democratic elections, rather than supporting the military’s sham elections,” said Dr Tint Swe, MP elect in 1990 election.
The NLD and other democratic parties of Burma recorded a landslide victory in the 1990 general election, but the junta did not recognize the outcome of the polls. And shockingly, the group of Generals imprisoned many opposition political leaders and many elected representatives left the country to take refuge in foreign countries.
The military junta has once again declared a general election sometime later this year. But the electoral laws released prior to the exercise indicated that the junta was still uncomfortable with Suu Kyi. Over 2000 political activists are still behind bars in Burma and they will never be allowed to take part in the election.
The Nobel laureate Suu Kyi and her party NLD with many other opposition parties have already expressed their strong resentment against the election and also the 2008 Constitution. These parties would not join the polls as a mark of protest against the flawed electoral laws.
Speaking to this writer from New Delhi, Tint Swe of NLD (now de-registered) also added, “The people of Burma put their choices bravely twenty years ago, but their mandates were bulldozed by the junta. We reaffirm our conviction that the people of Burma deserve the freedom to choose their future for themselves.”
Condemning the military dictatorship of Burma as well as flawed its election laws, the senior Burmese political leader demanded the immediate release of all political prisoners. He also asked for a genuine political dialogue with opposition and ethnic groups of Burma before the election.
“We, the exile Burmese in India or anywhere in the globe are actually calling on international governments to denounce the proposed Burmese election and reject the results under this situation. The Chinese and Indian governments with the member-countries under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are being urged primarily, as those nations have maximum influences on the junta,” said Pu Kim, a Burmese political activist based in New Delhi.
Earlier the European Union and Association of Southeast Asian Nations urged the Burmese government to ensure a credible and transparent election. In a joint statement on May 26, both the organizations insisted that the junta should go for ‘a credible, transparent and inclusive process’ for the proposed election.
But their statement invited critical comments from the Burma Campaign UK. Reacting sharply, the pressure group termed the joint statement on Burma by the EU and ASEAN which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, as ‘pathetic’ and ‘irresponsible.’
“The statement bizarrely calls on the dictatorship to ‘continue to engage in meaningful manner with the international community, including ASEAN and the UN’. Both the EU and ASEAN are fully aware that the dictatorship has not been engaging in a meaningful manner with the international community, yet they use the word ‘continue.’
Why are they issuing factually incorrect statements which present the dictatorship in more positive light?” asked Mark Farmaner of Burma Campaign UK.
He also added, “The statement also calls on the elections to be made free and fair, even though the EU and ASEAN are aware that this is impossible and that the dictatorship has no intention of making them so. Both the EU and ASEAN are also fully aware that the new constitution introduced after the election is designed to maintain dictatorship, making the question of whether elections are free and fair completely irrelevant.”
“After almost five decades of military rule, the people of Burma want real, democratic, people’s elections. It is now clear, however, that the military regime’s first election in 20 years will be nothing but a thinly veiled attempt to legitimize military rule,” stated a Press release from Burma Partnership, the campaign secretariat of Global Campaign Against Burma’s 2010 military election.
“We expect a unified worldwide action against the military rulers of Burma would finally help in denouncing the proposed sham election. We also want the election result not be recognized by the international community,” said Thin Thin Aung, a lady Burmese exile in India. She also added, “We demand for release of all political prisoners including Suu Kyi, cessation of hostilities against ethnic & democracy groups and review of the 2008 constitution.”
Even the ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan admitted in an interview that the Burma election might not be perfect. But the soft spoken gentleman and former Thai foreign minister argued that it would be the beginning of an initiative emphasizing on a genuine national reconciliation and finally would lead for a real democracy in Burma.
Nava Thakuria, who serves as a special correspondent for The Seoul Times, is based in Guwahati of Northeast India. He also contributes articles for many media outlets based in different parts of the glove, and can be contacted at navathakuria@gmail.com
The Seoul Times - Condemning Military Election in Burma
By Nava Thakuria - Special Correspondent
The Burmese communities living in different parts of the world have started coordinated demonstrations against the military controlled election in their country. After observing the Global Day of Action on May 27 in different parts of the world, the exile Burmese activists are celebrating the birthday of pro-democracy icon, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi spreading the message that the great lady continues to be a symbol of freedom and democracy for people in Burma.
The Ten Alliances of Burma’s movement for democracy and ethnic rights has prepared to observe the 65th birthday on June 17 with various programmes including the screening of films about the people of Burma’s opposition to the junta promoted election in the Bangkok based Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand.
Earlier the exiled Burmese and their supporters participated in the Global Day of Action organized in more than 20 countries around the globe. They termed the proposed general election (probably on October 10 next) by the military regime of Burma as military’s election and continued their call for a genuine people’s election there.
The last election in Burma on May 27, 1990 resulted in an overwhelming victory for the pro-democracy opposition parties, but the military junta did not hand over power to the elected representatives. The Burmese exile groups demonstrated their resentment against the imposed military election in Burma organizing rallies primarily in front of Burmese Embassy, United Nations building and other public places on the day to draw the attention of the international community.
The pro-democracy Burmese activists based in India also staged a demonstration and a symbolic people’s election at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on the same day. A memorandum was also sent to the Union government by the demonstrators with various demands and appeals.
The Global Day of Action under the Global Campaign Against Burma’s 2010 military election was initiated by Ten Alliances of Burma’s democracy and ethnic rights movement representing broad-based and multi-ethnic cooperation of political and civil society organizations from inside and outside Burma. The initiative, which has been endorsed by over 150 organizations in the world, is aimed to raise voices against the plight of Burmese people including the monks.
The ten alliances including National Council of the Union of Burma, Democratic Alliance of Burma, National Democratic Front, National League for Democracy-Liberated Area, Members of Parliamentary Union, National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, Forum for Democracy in Burma, Women’s League of Burma, Students and Youth Congress of Burma and Nationalities Youth Forum inspired demonstrations against the Burmese junta in various cities of the world.
The protest rallies held during the last week of May in Tokyo (Japan), Taipei (Taiwan), Seoul (South Korea), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Melbourne (Australia), Paris (France), Geneva (Switzerland), Stockholm (Sweden), San Francisco (USA) etc., specifically targeted the ruling junta named State Peace and Development Council for its anti-people policy and practices.
Meanwhile, thousands of the Burmese community living in exile had signed postcards and that way voted in favour of Suu Kyi and a democratic federal union of Burma. The signed postcards even call on the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to denounce the forthcoming 2010 elections in Burma and reject the results unless the Burmese regime changes its repressive actions.
“It is already clear that the military’s elections this year will not be a step forward that Burma needs. The National League for Democracy and many ethnic groups have already decided that they cannot participate in such a sham election. The Indian government should stand with them and the people of Burma in demanding genuine democratic elections, rather than supporting the military’s sham elections,” said Dr Tint Swe, MP elect in 1990 election.
The NLD and other democratic parties of Burma recorded a landslide victory in the 1990 general election, but the junta did not recognize the outcome of the polls. And shockingly, the group of Generals imprisoned many opposition political leaders and many elected representatives left the country to take refuge in foreign countries.
The military junta has once again declared a general election sometime later this year. But the electoral laws released prior to the exercise indicated that the junta was still uncomfortable with Suu Kyi. Over 2000 political activists are still behind bars in Burma and they will never be allowed to take part in the election.
The Nobel laureate Suu Kyi and her party NLD with many other opposition parties have already expressed their strong resentment against the election and also the 2008 Constitution. These parties would not join the polls as a mark of protest against the flawed electoral laws.
Speaking to this writer from New Delhi, Tint Swe of NLD (now de-registered) also added, “The people of Burma put their choices bravely twenty years ago, but their mandates were bulldozed by the junta. We reaffirm our conviction that the people of Burma deserve the freedom to choose their future for themselves.”
Condemning the military dictatorship of Burma as well as flawed its election laws, the senior Burmese political leader demanded the immediate release of all political prisoners. He also asked for a genuine political dialogue with opposition and ethnic groups of Burma before the election.
“We, the exile Burmese in India or anywhere in the globe are actually calling on international governments to denounce the proposed Burmese election and reject the results under this situation. The Chinese and Indian governments with the member-countries under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are being urged primarily, as those nations have maximum influences on the junta,” said Pu Kim, a Burmese political activist based in New Delhi.
Earlier the European Union and Association of Southeast Asian Nations urged the Burmese government to ensure a credible and transparent election. In a joint statement on May 26, both the organizations insisted that the junta should go for ‘a credible, transparent and inclusive process’ for the proposed election.
But their statement invited critical comments from the Burma Campaign UK. Reacting sharply, the pressure group termed the joint statement on Burma by the EU and ASEAN which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, as ‘pathetic’ and ‘irresponsible.’
“The statement bizarrely calls on the dictatorship to ‘continue to engage in meaningful manner with the international community, including ASEAN and the UN’. Both the EU and ASEAN are fully aware that the dictatorship has not been engaging in a meaningful manner with the international community, yet they use the word ‘continue.’
Why are they issuing factually incorrect statements which present the dictatorship in more positive light?” asked Mark Farmaner of Burma Campaign UK.
He also added, “The statement also calls on the elections to be made free and fair, even though the EU and ASEAN are aware that this is impossible and that the dictatorship has no intention of making them so. Both the EU and ASEAN are also fully aware that the new constitution introduced after the election is designed to maintain dictatorship, making the question of whether elections are free and fair completely irrelevant.”
“After almost five decades of military rule, the people of Burma want real, democratic, people’s elections. It is now clear, however, that the military regime’s first election in 20 years will be nothing but a thinly veiled attempt to legitimize military rule,” stated a Press release from Burma Partnership, the campaign secretariat of Global Campaign Against Burma’s 2010 military election.
“We expect a unified worldwide action against the military rulers of Burma would finally help in denouncing the proposed sham election. We also want the election result not be recognized by the international community,” said Thin Thin Aung, a lady Burmese exile in India. She also added, “We demand for release of all political prisoners including Suu Kyi, cessation of hostilities against ethnic & democracy groups and review of the 2008 constitution.”
Even the ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan admitted in an interview that the Burma election might not be perfect. But the soft spoken gentleman and former Thai foreign minister argued that it would be the beginning of an initiative emphasizing on a genuine national reconciliation and finally would lead for a real democracy in Burma.
Nava Thakuria, who serves as a special correspondent for The Seoul Times, is based in Guwahati of Northeast India. He also contributes articles for many media outlets based in different parts of the glove, and can be contacted at navathakuria@gmail.com
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Asian Tribune - Aung San Suu Kyi: 5349 days under house arrest, world celebrates her 65th birthday
Thu, 2010-06-17 04:37 — editor; Article
By - Zin Linn
June 19, 2010 is an important day as far as Burma/Myanmar is concerned. Although it will be observed in silence in repressive Burma, it underlines the status of The Lady and raises again the reality that she is central to the development of democracy in Burma. The day marks the 65th birthday of Nobel Peace Laureate and Burma’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
The birthday celebration may be a silent affair in Burma, but people around the world are launching the 65th Grand Birthday Party of the Nobel laureate of Burma to show that they all are standing together with her for free Burma.
The Steel Lady, her resolve nobody can steal, would have spent 5349 days under house arrest on her 65th birthday that day. This is the third term of her house arrest.
For the vast majority of Burmese, The Lady possesses the true spirit of her father, Burma’s national hero General Aung San. From him, she inherited the backbone she has become famous for and the traditional obligations of conciliation and mutual respect. She has toiled relentlessly on the task of building democratic Burma and has given up her own liberty in the interests of her fellow Burmese.
For Burma, there can be no proper consideration of a democratic system while she, and some 2,200 fellow political leaders remain isolated from the political culture and languish in prisons of the junta. Her service is the epitome not only of a leader of a nation, but of the very basic tenets of freedom and democracy itself. It is the richest irony that she, as arguably one of the freedom icons of our generation, is subjected to such treatment while the dictatorial military talks of democracy to the world and to its people.
All in Burma are aware that Aung San Suu Kyi’s historic exemplars eventually achieved their goals. Both Mahatma Gandhi and her father General Aung San took their nations from colonialism to independence, forging a foundation of an open society along the way.
From Gandhi she takes her commitment to non-violence, from her father she draws the power of integrity that takes shape in what she calls “profound simplicity”. Although these spiritual and political figureheads are significant, Aung San Suu Kyi has her own political ideology that orbits a central commitment to defending human rights and human dignity at all times.
In her famous book, “Freedom from Fear,” she argues fearlessness is the core of her political thinking. She says it is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who exercise it. Fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it. Fearlessness is the best reaction to state violence.
In conclusion she writes, “Truth, justice and compassion are often the only bulwarks against ruthless power”.
With such qualities, it is clear that Burma needs Aung San Suu Kyi. Moreover, the region and the world need her. Burma, a strategically and economically important state, is already facing failed state status and peers over the edge of complete oblivion and chaos under the incompetence of the generals.
For the regime, Aung San Suu Kyi is seen as a force that can stop their dictatorial power. Yet, some even in the military must be thinking she is their only chance at a sustainable exit strategy for they know she will not engage in recrimination or revenge. The key issue between the Lady and the generals is how to rebuild the country - a genuine federal union or a namesake union. The Lady grantees the ethnic nationalities' political aspirations of a true federal union that will allow self determination with liberty, justice and equality. The generals totally oppose it. That's why the ethnic groups and parties including ceasefire and non-ceasefire forces strongly support Aung San Suu Kyi except Burmese military dictators.
She is also the only real leader who can gain the immediate support of the international community and be the catalyst for rebuilding Burma. It may be that it is not just those in the democracy movement who recognize her as the sole savior of the state of Burma.
If generals analyze the situation with intelligence and foresight – not qualities they have displayed in the past it has to be admitted, they might arrive at the conclusion that her release is vital for their own future.
If, on the other hand, the junta fails to accept a ‘tripartite dialogue’ between itself, ethnic groups and the National League for Democracy, it will surely bring down the regime together with its farcical seven-step roadmap.
Burma’s generals must, therefore, order the immediate release of the Lady and all political prisoners in favor of national reconciliation. It is a rare confluence of views that have seen the international community from the United Nations Security Council, the United States, the European Union, and the ASEAN taking the same view on the question of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The UN, the EU and the ASEAN must urge China to cooperate in finding a solution to release The Lady. Regional players should urge the military regime to abandon its recalcitrant and counter-intuitive anti-dialogue policies in the interests of dialogue and reconciliation.
To succeed in establishing a win-win equation, the military must recognize Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as the ideal, indeed, the only relevant, dialogue-partner for national reconciliation in Burma.
Without releasing 2,200 political prisoner, there may not be a meaningful dialogue. Without a meaningful dialogue, there may not be a true national reconciliation. Without a true national reconciliation, the junta's ongoing elections cannot be fulfilled the people's political aspirations. Instead, the 2010 elections will be a new cause for a new civil war.
Now, people around the world are launching the 65th Grand Birthday Party of the Nobel laureate of Burma to show that they all are standing together with her for free Burma.
Zin Linn is an exile freelance journalist from Burma.
Thu, 2010-06-17 04:37 — editor; Article
By - Zin Linn
June 19, 2010 is an important day as far as Burma/Myanmar is concerned. Although it will be observed in silence in repressive Burma, it underlines the status of The Lady and raises again the reality that she is central to the development of democracy in Burma. The day marks the 65th birthday of Nobel Peace Laureate and Burma’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
The birthday celebration may be a silent affair in Burma, but people around the world are launching the 65th Grand Birthday Party of the Nobel laureate of Burma to show that they all are standing together with her for free Burma.
The Steel Lady, her resolve nobody can steal, would have spent 5349 days under house arrest on her 65th birthday that day. This is the third term of her house arrest.
For the vast majority of Burmese, The Lady possesses the true spirit of her father, Burma’s national hero General Aung San. From him, she inherited the backbone she has become famous for and the traditional obligations of conciliation and mutual respect. She has toiled relentlessly on the task of building democratic Burma and has given up her own liberty in the interests of her fellow Burmese.
For Burma, there can be no proper consideration of a democratic system while she, and some 2,200 fellow political leaders remain isolated from the political culture and languish in prisons of the junta. Her service is the epitome not only of a leader of a nation, but of the very basic tenets of freedom and democracy itself. It is the richest irony that she, as arguably one of the freedom icons of our generation, is subjected to such treatment while the dictatorial military talks of democracy to the world and to its people.
All in Burma are aware that Aung San Suu Kyi’s historic exemplars eventually achieved their goals. Both Mahatma Gandhi and her father General Aung San took their nations from colonialism to independence, forging a foundation of an open society along the way.
From Gandhi she takes her commitment to non-violence, from her father she draws the power of integrity that takes shape in what she calls “profound simplicity”. Although these spiritual and political figureheads are significant, Aung San Suu Kyi has her own political ideology that orbits a central commitment to defending human rights and human dignity at all times.
In her famous book, “Freedom from Fear,” she argues fearlessness is the core of her political thinking. She says it is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who exercise it. Fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it. Fearlessness is the best reaction to state violence.
In conclusion she writes, “Truth, justice and compassion are often the only bulwarks against ruthless power”.
With such qualities, it is clear that Burma needs Aung San Suu Kyi. Moreover, the region and the world need her. Burma, a strategically and economically important state, is already facing failed state status and peers over the edge of complete oblivion and chaos under the incompetence of the generals.
For the regime, Aung San Suu Kyi is seen as a force that can stop their dictatorial power. Yet, some even in the military must be thinking she is their only chance at a sustainable exit strategy for they know she will not engage in recrimination or revenge. The key issue between the Lady and the generals is how to rebuild the country - a genuine federal union or a namesake union. The Lady grantees the ethnic nationalities' political aspirations of a true federal union that will allow self determination with liberty, justice and equality. The generals totally oppose it. That's why the ethnic groups and parties including ceasefire and non-ceasefire forces strongly support Aung San Suu Kyi except Burmese military dictators.
She is also the only real leader who can gain the immediate support of the international community and be the catalyst for rebuilding Burma. It may be that it is not just those in the democracy movement who recognize her as the sole savior of the state of Burma.
If generals analyze the situation with intelligence and foresight – not qualities they have displayed in the past it has to be admitted, they might arrive at the conclusion that her release is vital for their own future.
If, on the other hand, the junta fails to accept a ‘tripartite dialogue’ between itself, ethnic groups and the National League for Democracy, it will surely bring down the regime together with its farcical seven-step roadmap.
Burma’s generals must, therefore, order the immediate release of the Lady and all political prisoners in favor of national reconciliation. It is a rare confluence of views that have seen the international community from the United Nations Security Council, the United States, the European Union, and the ASEAN taking the same view on the question of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The UN, the EU and the ASEAN must urge China to cooperate in finding a solution to release The Lady. Regional players should urge the military regime to abandon its recalcitrant and counter-intuitive anti-dialogue policies in the interests of dialogue and reconciliation.
To succeed in establishing a win-win equation, the military must recognize Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as the ideal, indeed, the only relevant, dialogue-partner for national reconciliation in Burma.
Without releasing 2,200 political prisoner, there may not be a meaningful dialogue. Without a meaningful dialogue, there may not be a true national reconciliation. Without a true national reconciliation, the junta's ongoing elections cannot be fulfilled the people's political aspirations. Instead, the 2010 elections will be a new cause for a new civil war.
Now, people around the world are launching the 65th Grand Birthday Party of the Nobel laureate of Burma to show that they all are standing together with her for free Burma.
Zin Linn is an exile freelance journalist from Burma.
*****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Burmese Foreign Minister Receives Iranian Delegation
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win met with an Iranian goodwill delegation at the Foreign Ministry in Naypyidaw on Wednesday afternoon, according to the state-run newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar.
The delegation, led by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali Fathollahi, also met with Hauk Do Swam, the deputy director-general of the Foreign Ministry's political department, and the ministry's head of office, Tha Aung Nyunt. Iranian Ambassador to Burma Majid Bizmark was also present at the meeting, according to the report.
The report provided no further details about the visit, the first by an Iranian delegation since 2006.
Although Iran is not closely allied with Burma's ruling regime, the two countries share a similar pariah status in the international community due to their repression of internal dissent and worries about their military ambitions.
In recent years, the junta has reached out to several other nations that have been singled out for censure, including North Korea, Sudan and Sri Lanka.
China, the regime's most important ally, has also moved aggressively in recent years to strengthen its ties with resource-rich countries ostracized by the West.
In early June, the junta's reclusive leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, had a rare meeting with a foreign dignitary when he held talks with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in Naypyidaw.
During the trip, Wen signed 15 cooperation agreements with the regime, covering areas such as natural gas imports, a trans-Burma gas pipeline, hydro-power dams and foreign aid.
Burma has also recently purchased 50 K-8 jet trainer aircraft from China, according to Burmese air force sources in Meikhtila. Air force chief Lt-Gen Myat Hein traveled to
China last November to negotiate an upgrade to the fleet of Chinese-made military aircraft already owned by Burma.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win met with an Iranian goodwill delegation at the Foreign Ministry in Naypyidaw on Wednesday afternoon, according to the state-run newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar.
The delegation, led by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali Fathollahi, also met with Hauk Do Swam, the deputy director-general of the Foreign Ministry's political department, and the ministry's head of office, Tha Aung Nyunt. Iranian Ambassador to Burma Majid Bizmark was also present at the meeting, according to the report.
The report provided no further details about the visit, the first by an Iranian delegation since 2006.
Although Iran is not closely allied with Burma's ruling regime, the two countries share a similar pariah status in the international community due to their repression of internal dissent and worries about their military ambitions.
In recent years, the junta has reached out to several other nations that have been singled out for censure, including North Korea, Sudan and Sri Lanka.
China, the regime's most important ally, has also moved aggressively in recent years to strengthen its ties with resource-rich countries ostracized by the West.
In early June, the junta's reclusive leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, had a rare meeting with a foreign dignitary when he held talks with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in Naypyidaw.
During the trip, Wen signed 15 cooperation agreements with the regime, covering areas such as natural gas imports, a trans-Burma gas pipeline, hydro-power dams and foreign aid.
Burma has also recently purchased 50 K-8 jet trainer aircraft from China, according to Burmese air force sources in Meikhtila. Air force chief Lt-Gen Myat Hein traveled to
China last November to negotiate an upgrade to the fleet of Chinese-made military aircraft already owned by Burma.
*****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - The World Prepares to Mark Suu Kyi Birthday
By BA KAUNG - Thursday, June 17, 2010
Events to mark detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's 65th birthday will take place both inside and outside Burma on Saturday. While foreign diplomats in Bangkok read out messages of support for Suu Kyi's freedom to Burma's opposition in exile, her supporters in Rangoon have said they will plant tens of thousands of trees in honor of their leader.
“We will plant 20,000 trees in 386 townships for our leader's birthday,” said Phyu Phyu Thin, a female leader with Suu Kyi's disbanded National League For Democracy (NLD).
Other party members said they will mark their leader's birthday by making donations to Buddhist monks and providing financial support to the children of political prisoners.
On Thursday in Bangkok, a coalition of 10 Burmese opposition groups held a ceremony to mark Suu Kyi's birthday at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT). The event included diplomats from Canada, the United States, the Czech Republic and Thailand.
Canadian Ambassador to Thailand Ron Hoffmann said that Canada will continue to support Suu Kyi and Burma's democratic struggle, adding that his country has imposed the toughest economic sanctions against the Burmese regime.
Kraisak Choonhavan, a leading member of the Thai parliament, expressed his hope that—although his country is essentially supporting the Burmese regime by importing natural gas— Thailand might be in a position to pressure the regime at some time in the future. He added that he wished to be the first person to shake hands with Suu Kyi if she is released and is able to visit Thailand.
The FCCT event also marked the end of an international campaign denouncing the Burmese general election that received more than 40,000 signatures from 35 countries in two weeks.
On Saturday, supporters of the US Campaign for Burma will hold a solidarity rally in Washington, as will members of Burma Campaign for UK, who say they are calling for the release of Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 other political prisoners in Burma.
“We will form a line of 18 people, wearing T-shirts spelling out the messages: 'Aung San Suu Kyi' and 'Now set her free.' We will hand out flyers with information about Suu Kyi and human rights in Burma,” said a statement from the London-based group.
This week, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention condemned Suu Kyi's detention in a statement, saying, “[the] continuation of the deprivation of liberty of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi is arbitrary [and] in contravention of articles 9,10, 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
Suu Kyi has spent nearly 15 of the last 21 years in detention. She is currently serving an 18-month extension of house arrest for briefly sheltering an American citizen last year who swam uninvited to her lakeside home in Rangoon.
The NLD was officially dissolved on May 7 after rejecting the regime's election laws which would have required it to oust its leader, Suu Kyi, from the party.
The regime is widely expected to hold a general election before Suu Kyi's sentence expires in November.
By BA KAUNG - Thursday, June 17, 2010
Events to mark detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's 65th birthday will take place both inside and outside Burma on Saturday. While foreign diplomats in Bangkok read out messages of support for Suu Kyi's freedom to Burma's opposition in exile, her supporters in Rangoon have said they will plant tens of thousands of trees in honor of their leader.
“We will plant 20,000 trees in 386 townships for our leader's birthday,” said Phyu Phyu Thin, a female leader with Suu Kyi's disbanded National League For Democracy (NLD).
Other party members said they will mark their leader's birthday by making donations to Buddhist monks and providing financial support to the children of political prisoners.
On Thursday in Bangkok, a coalition of 10 Burmese opposition groups held a ceremony to mark Suu Kyi's birthday at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT). The event included diplomats from Canada, the United States, the Czech Republic and Thailand.
Canadian Ambassador to Thailand Ron Hoffmann said that Canada will continue to support Suu Kyi and Burma's democratic struggle, adding that his country has imposed the toughest economic sanctions against the Burmese regime.
Kraisak Choonhavan, a leading member of the Thai parliament, expressed his hope that—although his country is essentially supporting the Burmese regime by importing natural gas— Thailand might be in a position to pressure the regime at some time in the future. He added that he wished to be the first person to shake hands with Suu Kyi if she is released and is able to visit Thailand.
The FCCT event also marked the end of an international campaign denouncing the Burmese general election that received more than 40,000 signatures from 35 countries in two weeks.
On Saturday, supporters of the US Campaign for Burma will hold a solidarity rally in Washington, as will members of Burma Campaign for UK, who say they are calling for the release of Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 other political prisoners in Burma.
“We will form a line of 18 people, wearing T-shirts spelling out the messages: 'Aung San Suu Kyi' and 'Now set her free.' We will hand out flyers with information about Suu Kyi and human rights in Burma,” said a statement from the London-based group.
This week, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention condemned Suu Kyi's detention in a statement, saying, “[the] continuation of the deprivation of liberty of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi is arbitrary [and] in contravention of articles 9,10, 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
Suu Kyi has spent nearly 15 of the last 21 years in detention. She is currently serving an 18-month extension of house arrest for briefly sheltering an American citizen last year who swam uninvited to her lakeside home in Rangoon.
The NLD was officially dissolved on May 7 after rejecting the regime's election laws which would have required it to oust its leader, Suu Kyi, from the party.
The regime is widely expected to hold a general election before Suu Kyi's sentence expires in November.
*****************************************************
Rationing felt at private petrol stations
Thursday, 17 June 2010 21:19 Kyaw Kha
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Burma’s ruling military junta has imposed rationing of fuel sold at the country’s new private petrol stations, two days after it privatised its retail oil sector, according to a sales manager at one of the stations yesterday.
The Ministry of Energy ordered the stations to limit sales to no more than 12 gallons (45 litres) of fuel per car per day from June 12 onwards.
A sales manager from a Dagon International private petrol station in Kyaukmyaung, Rangoon, said the Burma Petroleum Products Enterprise (MPPE), a department of the ministry, was failing to meet private petrol station fuel demand.
The junta had said it planned to allow private companies to distribute and import fuel, but the private petrol stations must still depend on supplies from the Energy Ministry during their 60-day trial period. Distribution of natural gas is still controlled by the government; the stations can distribute only petrol and diesel to end users.
The ministry sells petrol to the private stations for 2,350 Kyats (about US$2.35) per gallon and all private stations are required to resell to end users at the fixed price of 2,500 Kyats (about US$2.5) per gallon and 20900 Kyats (about US$2.9) per gallon of diesel. The limitation, however, will last two months after which the price will be deregulated, allowing the private stations to sell fuel at variable prices.
“They [stations] record all transactions in their databases. If a customer tries to buy [fuel] two times within a day, they will not sell”, a private petrol station customer in Rangoon said.
According to the CIA’s World Factbook in January 2008, Burma uses 43,140 barrels of oil per day and produces 21,900 barrels per day. It estimated that Burma stored more than 50 million barrels of petrol for emergency use.
Some 261 of the 271 petrol stations across the country have been privatised, and most are in the hands of junta crony businessmen.
On January 23, a fuel businessmen’s association was formed with 138 members. Its chairman is junta crony Tay Za, and vice-chairman is Aung Thet Mann, a son of Burmese military chief, General Thura Shwe Mann, the third-highest-ranking member of the State Peace and Development Council, the junta’s name for itself.
Since the dictatorship of Ne Win 48 years ago, the government has controlled fuel import and distribution and people can only buy fuel within limited quotas.
Burma watchers have said also that the junta may be imposing further controls on the fuel market to avoid, when the fuel prices are floated, the kind of inflation seen as the main cause of widespread protests in 2007.
In August that year, the ruling junta failed to announce its decision to remove fuel subsidies, which caused the price of diesel and petrol to rise suddenly as much as 66 per cent and the price of compressed natural gas for buses to increase fivefold in less than a week, leaving many people out of pocket or stranded, as they refused to pay consequent raised bus ticket prices. The monks’ “Saffron Revolution” started the following month.
Thursday, 17 June 2010 21:19 Kyaw Kha
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Burma’s ruling military junta has imposed rationing of fuel sold at the country’s new private petrol stations, two days after it privatised its retail oil sector, according to a sales manager at one of the stations yesterday.
The Ministry of Energy ordered the stations to limit sales to no more than 12 gallons (45 litres) of fuel per car per day from June 12 onwards.
A sales manager from a Dagon International private petrol station in Kyaukmyaung, Rangoon, said the Burma Petroleum Products Enterprise (MPPE), a department of the ministry, was failing to meet private petrol station fuel demand.
The junta had said it planned to allow private companies to distribute and import fuel, but the private petrol stations must still depend on supplies from the Energy Ministry during their 60-day trial period. Distribution of natural gas is still controlled by the government; the stations can distribute only petrol and diesel to end users.
The ministry sells petrol to the private stations for 2,350 Kyats (about US$2.35) per gallon and all private stations are required to resell to end users at the fixed price of 2,500 Kyats (about US$2.5) per gallon and 20900 Kyats (about US$2.9) per gallon of diesel. The limitation, however, will last two months after which the price will be deregulated, allowing the private stations to sell fuel at variable prices.
“They [stations] record all transactions in their databases. If a customer tries to buy [fuel] two times within a day, they will not sell”, a private petrol station customer in Rangoon said.
According to the CIA’s World Factbook in January 2008, Burma uses 43,140 barrels of oil per day and produces 21,900 barrels per day. It estimated that Burma stored more than 50 million barrels of petrol for emergency use.
Some 261 of the 271 petrol stations across the country have been privatised, and most are in the hands of junta crony businessmen.
On January 23, a fuel businessmen’s association was formed with 138 members. Its chairman is junta crony Tay Za, and vice-chairman is Aung Thet Mann, a son of Burmese military chief, General Thura Shwe Mann, the third-highest-ranking member of the State Peace and Development Council, the junta’s name for itself.
Since the dictatorship of Ne Win 48 years ago, the government has controlled fuel import and distribution and people can only buy fuel within limited quotas.
Burma watchers have said also that the junta may be imposing further controls on the fuel market to avoid, when the fuel prices are floated, the kind of inflation seen as the main cause of widespread protests in 2007.
In August that year, the ruling junta failed to announce its decision to remove fuel subsidies, which caused the price of diesel and petrol to rise suddenly as much as 66 per cent and the price of compressed natural gas for buses to increase fivefold in less than a week, leaving many people out of pocket or stranded, as they refused to pay consequent raised bus ticket prices. The monks’ “Saffron Revolution” started the following month.
*****************************************************
DVB News - Rangoon photographer sent to Insein jail
By YEE MAY AUNG
Published: 17 June 2010
A man who was arrested in April along with his son after photographing the aftermath of the Rangoon bombings has been sent to Burma’s notorious Insein prison.
Maung Maung Zeya, 55, and his son Sithu Zeya are yet to be convicted of any offense, but have been held in detention since their arrest on 15 April following the grenade attacks which left nine dead and hundreds injured.
The two are being kept in different cells in Rangoon’s Insein prison, which was built by the British and has housed hundreds of Burma’s pro-democracy luminaries. Maung Maung Zeya was transferred there from Bahan township police station on 14 June, while Sithu Zeya was moved there in May.
“I [visited] the two on Monday [14 June],” said wife and mother, Yee Yee Tint. “Maung Maung Zeya was detained in [Insein prison's] Ward 1 and Sithu Zeya in Ward 5.
“I was only allowed to meet them one by one. They are OK apart from Sithu complaining that he had to appear in court along with everyone and he couldn’t bear the cigarette smoke. [Maung Maung] will be brought to the court on 22 June and Sithu [tomorrow],” she said.
Biology student Sithu appeared in court earlier this month on two charges of breaching the Electronics Act and holding links to so-called ‘unlawful associations’, a label often used by the Burmese junta to tarnish exiled media and pro-democracy groups. Maung Maung has also been charged under the Unlawful Association Act, as well as the Immigration Act, and will begin his trial on 22 June.
Neither party is said to have had anything to do with the bombings; the charges stem from the Burmese government’s draconian press laws, which target media workers suspected to be providing material to exiled news outlets. Rangoon police chief Khin Yi told a press conference that the two were arrested for videoing the aftermath of the incident.
Yee Yee Tint said in May that her son had told her he had been beaten and denied food during the early stages of interrogation in April.
“Their initial [Immigration Act] charges are handed down by the immigration department,” Yee Yee Tint told DVB yesterday. “Sithu had previously been abroad with the
passport, but [authorities] allege that he left Burma [illegally] from Myawaddy [on the border with Thailand].
“U Zeya [father] was faces the same allegations but his case is more serious as it was filed at the [Western Rangoon] Provincial Court,” having previously been filed at a lower township court.
Nine people died in the incident, which was the worst attack in Rangoon since 2005. It preceded a number of other bombings around Burma, focused mainly on controversial hydropower projects.
By YEE MAY AUNG
Published: 17 June 2010
A man who was arrested in April along with his son after photographing the aftermath of the Rangoon bombings has been sent to Burma’s notorious Insein prison.
Maung Maung Zeya, 55, and his son Sithu Zeya are yet to be convicted of any offense, but have been held in detention since their arrest on 15 April following the grenade attacks which left nine dead and hundreds injured.
The two are being kept in different cells in Rangoon’s Insein prison, which was built by the British and has housed hundreds of Burma’s pro-democracy luminaries. Maung Maung Zeya was transferred there from Bahan township police station on 14 June, while Sithu Zeya was moved there in May.
“I [visited] the two on Monday [14 June],” said wife and mother, Yee Yee Tint. “Maung Maung Zeya was detained in [Insein prison's] Ward 1 and Sithu Zeya in Ward 5.
“I was only allowed to meet them one by one. They are OK apart from Sithu complaining that he had to appear in court along with everyone and he couldn’t bear the cigarette smoke. [Maung Maung] will be brought to the court on 22 June and Sithu [tomorrow],” she said.
Biology student Sithu appeared in court earlier this month on two charges of breaching the Electronics Act and holding links to so-called ‘unlawful associations’, a label often used by the Burmese junta to tarnish exiled media and pro-democracy groups. Maung Maung has also been charged under the Unlawful Association Act, as well as the Immigration Act, and will begin his trial on 22 June.
Neither party is said to have had anything to do with the bombings; the charges stem from the Burmese government’s draconian press laws, which target media workers suspected to be providing material to exiled news outlets. Rangoon police chief Khin Yi told a press conference that the two were arrested for videoing the aftermath of the incident.
Yee Yee Tint said in May that her son had told her he had been beaten and denied food during the early stages of interrogation in April.
“Their initial [Immigration Act] charges are handed down by the immigration department,” Yee Yee Tint told DVB yesterday. “Sithu had previously been abroad with the
passport, but [authorities] allege that he left Burma [illegally] from Myawaddy [on the border with Thailand].
“U Zeya [father] was faces the same allegations but his case is more serious as it was filed at the [Western Rangoon] Provincial Court,” having previously been filed at a lower township court.
Nine people died in the incident, which was the worst attack in Rangoon since 2005. It preceded a number of other bombings around Burma, focused mainly on controversial hydropower projects.
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DVB News - UN slams Suu Kyi’s ‘unlawful’ detention
By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 17 June 2010
The continued detention of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is in violation of international law, said an independent body of the UN’s Human Rights Council in a letter sent to the Burmese government.
Suu Kyi, who will turn 65 on Saturday, has been held under house arrest for 14 of the last 20, and continuously since 2003. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has ruled that her detention is “in contravention of articles 9, 10, 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, which forbid arbitrary arrest, closed-court hearings and suppression of free speech and assembly.
The Nobel laureate “was not informed of the reasons for her arrest [and] had no effective remedy to challenge her detention,” it said. “No records were given to her; she was never informed of her rights; she has been denied communication with the [o]utside world; and is being detained because of her political views.”
Calls from world leaders urging her release have consistently fallen on deaf ears, with her current period of house arrest handed down in August last year on charges of ‘sheltering’ US citizen John Yettaw, who swam across Rangoon’s Inya lake and took refuge at her house. Yettaw was released days after Suu Kyi’s sentencing.
The opposition icon’s first period under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 provided a pretext for the Burmese junta to deny her office after her National League for Democracy (NLD) party won 82 percent of seats in the 1990 elections. She was again sentenced in 2000 for two years before being released in 2002. But following a 2003 attack by junta-backed thugs on a convoy carrying her supporters, which came to be known as the Depayin massacre, she was put back under house arrest.
When her husband Michael Aris was diagnosed with cancer in 1997, the Burmese government denied him a visa to the country, instead urging Suu Kyi to leave Burma and visit him. This she refused, knowing that she would never be allowed to return, and Aris died in 1999, having only seen her five times over the course of a decade.
A recent statement released by state media in Burma claimed that the country “always respects UN declarations and decisions as it is a UN member country.”
Jared Genser, international counsel for Suu Kyi and head of the Washington-based Freedom Now group, said however that the Burmese junta “continues to flagrantly violate international law”.
“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be sixty-five years old this Saturday, June 19th – another birthday spent unjustly confined,” he said.
By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 17 June 2010
The continued detention of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is in violation of international law, said an independent body of the UN’s Human Rights Council in a letter sent to the Burmese government.
Suu Kyi, who will turn 65 on Saturday, has been held under house arrest for 14 of the last 20, and continuously since 2003. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has ruled that her detention is “in contravention of articles 9, 10, 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, which forbid arbitrary arrest, closed-court hearings and suppression of free speech and assembly.
The Nobel laureate “was not informed of the reasons for her arrest [and] had no effective remedy to challenge her detention,” it said. “No records were given to her; she was never informed of her rights; she has been denied communication with the [o]utside world; and is being detained because of her political views.”
Calls from world leaders urging her release have consistently fallen on deaf ears, with her current period of house arrest handed down in August last year on charges of ‘sheltering’ US citizen John Yettaw, who swam across Rangoon’s Inya lake and took refuge at her house. Yettaw was released days after Suu Kyi’s sentencing.
The opposition icon’s first period under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 provided a pretext for the Burmese junta to deny her office after her National League for Democracy (NLD) party won 82 percent of seats in the 1990 elections. She was again sentenced in 2000 for two years before being released in 2002. But following a 2003 attack by junta-backed thugs on a convoy carrying her supporters, which came to be known as the Depayin massacre, she was put back under house arrest.
When her husband Michael Aris was diagnosed with cancer in 1997, the Burmese government denied him a visa to the country, instead urging Suu Kyi to leave Burma and visit him. This she refused, knowing that she would never be allowed to return, and Aris died in 1999, having only seen her five times over the course of a decade.
A recent statement released by state media in Burma claimed that the country “always respects UN declarations and decisions as it is a UN member country.”
Jared Genser, international counsel for Suu Kyi and head of the Washington-based Freedom Now group, said however that the Burmese junta “continues to flagrantly violate international law”.
“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be sixty-five years old this Saturday, June 19th – another birthday spent unjustly confined,” he said.
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