Myanmar vote will 'lack international legitimacy': US
Tue Jun 22, 11:11 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States said that elections planned in military-run Myanmar this year will "lack international legitimacy."
"US believes elections planned for this year in Burma will not be free or fair and will lack international legitimacy," the State Department said on the micro-blogging site Twitter, using Myanmar's former name of Burma.
US Senator Jim Webb said earlier this month he expected Myanmar to hold elections on October 10 and urged support for the vote despite the military regime's exclusion of the democratic opposition.
Webb is a leading US advocate for engagement with the junta, although he called off a trip to Myanmar this month due to allegations the country was developing nuclear weapons with support from North Korea.
Myanmar plans to hold its first elections in two decades later this year, although the regime has not set an exact date.
The Obama administration last year initiated dialogue with North Korea but has voiced concern about the elections, ahead of which Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy was forcibly dissolved.
Webb acknowledged that the election was designed to preserve the military regime, but said it was a step forward that the country would allow at least some opposition figures to stand for seats.
Tue Jun 22, 11:11 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States said that elections planned in military-run Myanmar this year will "lack international legitimacy."
"US believes elections planned for this year in Burma will not be free or fair and will lack international legitimacy," the State Department said on the micro-blogging site Twitter, using Myanmar's former name of Burma.
US Senator Jim Webb said earlier this month he expected Myanmar to hold elections on October 10 and urged support for the vote despite the military regime's exclusion of the democratic opposition.
Webb is a leading US advocate for engagement with the junta, although he called off a trip to Myanmar this month due to allegations the country was developing nuclear weapons with support from North Korea.
Myanmar plans to hold its first elections in two decades later this year, although the regime has not set an exact date.
The Obama administration last year initiated dialogue with North Korea but has voiced concern about the elections, ahead of which Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy was forcibly dissolved.
Webb acknowledged that the election was designed to preserve the military regime, but said it was a step forward that the country would allow at least some opposition figures to stand for seats.
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Myanmar restricts political activity ahead of polls
Wed Jun 23, 8:31 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Members of political parties contesting Myanmar's first elections in two decades will be banned from marching, waving flags and chanting to garner support, under rules announced Wednesday.
The directive, which did not reveal a date for the polls, requires party members who want to gather and deliver speeches at places other than their offices to apply for a permit one week in advance, according to state media.
The rules prohibit "the act of marching to the designated gathering point and the venue holding flags, or marching and chanting slogans in procession" in a bid to enlist members, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
Parties must have at least 1,000 members to contest the nationwide election.
Holding knives, weapons and ammunition are also banned, along with acts that harm security and the rule of law or tarnish the image of the military. Misuse of religion for political gains is also not allowed, state media said.
Critics have dismissed the election -- which is scheduled for some time later this year -- as a sham due to laws that have effectively barred opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating.
The United States said Tuesday that the polls will "not be free or fair and will lack international legitimacy".
Suu Kyi's party won the last polls in 1990 but was never allowed to take office. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) was forcibly dissolved last month under widely criticised laws governing the polls.
The NLD refused to meet a May 6 deadline to re-register as a party -- a move that would have forced it to expel Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest -- and is boycotting the vote.
Under election legislation unveiled in March, anyone serving a prison term is banned from being a member of a political party and parties that fail to obey the rule will be abolished.
The latest directive for drumming up support among voters has upset some parties who fear they will make it harder to connect with people.
"The political parties will be in a tight corner because of these rules," said Ye Tun, chairman of the 88th Generation Student Youths (Union of Myanmar), which despite its name is pro-government.
"We are in difficult position to work in some places. They restricted our movements such as holding flags."
But other parties welcomed the rules, saying they could have been even more restrictive.
"We can transform from party politics to people politics if we can get in touch with the people through party meetings," said Phyo Min Thein, chairman of the Union Democratic Party.
A faction from within the disbanded NLD has applied to form a new political party, to be called the National Democratic Force, in a bid to advance the movement's two-decade campaign to end military rule.
According to official figures, 36 out of 42 groups which have applied to form political parties have been registered.
Wed Jun 23, 8:31 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Members of political parties contesting Myanmar's first elections in two decades will be banned from marching, waving flags and chanting to garner support, under rules announced Wednesday.
The directive, which did not reveal a date for the polls, requires party members who want to gather and deliver speeches at places other than their offices to apply for a permit one week in advance, according to state media.
The rules prohibit "the act of marching to the designated gathering point and the venue holding flags, or marching and chanting slogans in procession" in a bid to enlist members, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
Parties must have at least 1,000 members to contest the nationwide election.
Holding knives, weapons and ammunition are also banned, along with acts that harm security and the rule of law or tarnish the image of the military. Misuse of religion for political gains is also not allowed, state media said.
Critics have dismissed the election -- which is scheduled for some time later this year -- as a sham due to laws that have effectively barred opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating.
The United States said Tuesday that the polls will "not be free or fair and will lack international legitimacy".
Suu Kyi's party won the last polls in 1990 but was never allowed to take office. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) was forcibly dissolved last month under widely criticised laws governing the polls.
The NLD refused to meet a May 6 deadline to re-register as a party -- a move that would have forced it to expel Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest -- and is boycotting the vote.
Under election legislation unveiled in March, anyone serving a prison term is banned from being a member of a political party and parties that fail to obey the rule will be abolished.
The latest directive for drumming up support among voters has upset some parties who fear they will make it harder to connect with people.
"The political parties will be in a tight corner because of these rules," said Ye Tun, chairman of the 88th Generation Student Youths (Union of Myanmar), which despite its name is pro-government.
"We are in difficult position to work in some places. They restricted our movements such as holding flags."
But other parties welcomed the rules, saying they could have been even more restrictive.
"We can transform from party politics to people politics if we can get in touch with the people through party meetings," said Phyo Min Thein, chairman of the Union Democratic Party.
A faction from within the disbanded NLD has applied to form a new political party, to be called the National Democratic Force, in a bid to advance the movement's two-decade campaign to end military rule.
According to official figures, 36 out of 42 groups which have applied to form political parties have been registered.
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JUNE 23, 2010, 10:19 A.M. ET
The Wall Street Journal - Chinese Weapons Maker Signs Myanmar Deal
By CHUIN-WEI YAP
BEIJING—China North Industries Corp., a leading Chinese weapons manufacturer, signed a cooperation pact with the government of Myanmar to develop a copper mining project, the latest sign of growing commercial ties between the reclusive Southeast Asian nation and its giant neighbor.
The Monywa Copper Mine Project Cooperation Contract was signed during Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Myanmar in early June, China North Industries, or Norinco, said in a statement on its website. The statement was posted on the company's website Wednesday, but dated June 10. It didn't disclose financial terms.
The deal underlines how the isolated military rulers of Myanmar are increasingly turning to the country's most important political and economic ally for support—and how China continues to seek natural resources from its southwestern neighbor to feed its industrialization.
The Norinco statement said Monywa is "abundant in copper mine resources with excellent mineral quality, which is of great significance to strengthening the strategic reserves of copper resources in our country, and to enhancing the influence of our country in Myanmar."
China is Myanmar's third-largest investor after Thailand and Singapore. The importance of Chinese companies has been growing as Western counterparts have walked away from Myanmar because of the ruling military government's human-rights abuses. The junta has been widely condemned for crackdowns on political expression by Buddhist monks and its refusal to allow a popularly elected, pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to form a government.
Monywa was previously owned by Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., but a statement on Ivanhoe's website said it completely divested itself of interests in the project on Mar. 30, 2007. Ivanhoe didn't identify the new owners, but said in the Oct. 3, 2007, statement that it no longer has interests, activities or personnel in Myanmar.
"We share the revulsion of right-thinking people everywhere against unwarranted assaults on Buddhist monks and civilians," Ivanhoe said in the statement. "We deplore the fact that so many years of discussions within Myanmar about constitutional change now appear to be jeopardized by the reactions of the state that threaten to set back, rather than advance, human rights and democratic ideals."
The statement said the Monywa project produced 19,544 metric tons of refined copper in 2006 and 34,478 tons in 2005. It said the Canadian company had invested $100 million in the project, and didn't make a profit.
Ivanhoe chairman Robert M. Friedland didn't respond to a call for comment Wednesday.
Norinco sells small arms, anti-aircraft and antimissile systems, and amphibious assault weapons, according to the website. It also sells non-military goods and services such as engineering contracting.
The Norinco statement Wednesday said Zhang Guoqing, whom it identified as chairman of Norinco, signed the Monywa deal with Myanmar's Maj. Gen. Win Than in the presence of the two countries' premiers.
A person who answered the phone at Norinco said no one named Zhang Guoqing currently works at the company. She declined to provide the name of the company's chairman, or to comment on the statement.
The statement said that Mr. Zhang and other Myanmar government officials also signed a framework package of cooperation arrangements for the chemical industry, production-chain improvements, as well as a port, a railroad and a hydroelectric power station.
The Wall Street Journal - Chinese Weapons Maker Signs Myanmar Deal
By CHUIN-WEI YAP
BEIJING—China North Industries Corp., a leading Chinese weapons manufacturer, signed a cooperation pact with the government of Myanmar to develop a copper mining project, the latest sign of growing commercial ties between the reclusive Southeast Asian nation and its giant neighbor.
The Monywa Copper Mine Project Cooperation Contract was signed during Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Myanmar in early June, China North Industries, or Norinco, said in a statement on its website. The statement was posted on the company's website Wednesday, but dated June 10. It didn't disclose financial terms.
The deal underlines how the isolated military rulers of Myanmar are increasingly turning to the country's most important political and economic ally for support—and how China continues to seek natural resources from its southwestern neighbor to feed its industrialization.
The Norinco statement said Monywa is "abundant in copper mine resources with excellent mineral quality, which is of great significance to strengthening the strategic reserves of copper resources in our country, and to enhancing the influence of our country in Myanmar."
China is Myanmar's third-largest investor after Thailand and Singapore. The importance of Chinese companies has been growing as Western counterparts have walked away from Myanmar because of the ruling military government's human-rights abuses. The junta has been widely condemned for crackdowns on political expression by Buddhist monks and its refusal to allow a popularly elected, pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to form a government.
Monywa was previously owned by Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., but a statement on Ivanhoe's website said it completely divested itself of interests in the project on Mar. 30, 2007. Ivanhoe didn't identify the new owners, but said in the Oct. 3, 2007, statement that it no longer has interests, activities or personnel in Myanmar.
"We share the revulsion of right-thinking people everywhere against unwarranted assaults on Buddhist monks and civilians," Ivanhoe said in the statement. "We deplore the fact that so many years of discussions within Myanmar about constitutional change now appear to be jeopardized by the reactions of the state that threaten to set back, rather than advance, human rights and democratic ideals."
The statement said the Monywa project produced 19,544 metric tons of refined copper in 2006 and 34,478 tons in 2005. It said the Canadian company had invested $100 million in the project, and didn't make a profit.
Ivanhoe chairman Robert M. Friedland didn't respond to a call for comment Wednesday.
Norinco sells small arms, anti-aircraft and antimissile systems, and amphibious assault weapons, according to the website. It also sells non-military goods and services such as engineering contracting.
The Norinco statement Wednesday said Zhang Guoqing, whom it identified as chairman of Norinco, signed the Monywa deal with Myanmar's Maj. Gen. Win Than in the presence of the two countries' premiers.
A person who answered the phone at Norinco said no one named Zhang Guoqing currently works at the company. She declined to provide the name of the company's chairman, or to comment on the statement.
The statement said that Mr. Zhang and other Myanmar government officials also signed a framework package of cooperation arrangements for the chemical industry, production-chain improvements, as well as a port, a railroad and a hydroelectric power station.
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Prague Daily Monitor - Czech envoy backs US event supporting Burma political prisoners
23 June 2010
New York, June 22 (CTK) - Czechs have dealt with the situation of political prisoners and human rights in Burma for many years, also in view of their own experience with human rights violation before 1989, Martin Palous told CTK during Tuesday's event in New York aimed to highlight the situation in Burma.
Palous, Czech ambassador to the U.N., said before 1989, international solidarity turned out to be one of the key moments of the struggle for human rights and for a change [in the then Czechoslovak communist regime].
Tuesday's event at New York's Grand Central Terminal has been organised by Human Rights Watch.
It includes a day-long programme accompanying an artistic installation shaped as a wall consisting of 200 small prison cells, with pens in the place of bars. People can take the pens to sign a petition in support of the release of Burmese political prisoners.
The Czech humanitarian organisation People in Need says the Burmese regime is one of the world's most repressive. The military regime violates people's human rights, uses forced labour, recruits child soldiers and has been systematically suppressing ethnic minorities in the border regions, People in Need writes on its website.
The Burmese junta, faced with international isolation, depends on military and financial support from China.
Palous said a change in China's approach can be only speculated about, but not completely ruled out.
"China has to consider to what extent its unconditional support to the [Burmese] regime is correct from the point of view of the big goal it should pursue, i.e. the world order of the 21st century," Palous said.
Burma must also be spoken about with other countries in the region, such as India, he added.
Now that elections in Burma have drawn nearer, after 20 years, Human Rights Watch wants to point to the country's 2100 political prisoners who are often not spoken about as the world mainly focuses on the leading dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi.
The number of political prisoners in Burma has tripled in the past three years, since the brutal suppression of local peace protests.
23 June 2010
New York, June 22 (CTK) - Czechs have dealt with the situation of political prisoners and human rights in Burma for many years, also in view of their own experience with human rights violation before 1989, Martin Palous told CTK during Tuesday's event in New York aimed to highlight the situation in Burma.
Palous, Czech ambassador to the U.N., said before 1989, international solidarity turned out to be one of the key moments of the struggle for human rights and for a change [in the then Czechoslovak communist regime].
Tuesday's event at New York's Grand Central Terminal has been organised by Human Rights Watch.
It includes a day-long programme accompanying an artistic installation shaped as a wall consisting of 200 small prison cells, with pens in the place of bars. People can take the pens to sign a petition in support of the release of Burmese political prisoners.
The Czech humanitarian organisation People in Need says the Burmese regime is one of the world's most repressive. The military regime violates people's human rights, uses forced labour, recruits child soldiers and has been systematically suppressing ethnic minorities in the border regions, People in Need writes on its website.
The Burmese junta, faced with international isolation, depends on military and financial support from China.
Palous said a change in China's approach can be only speculated about, but not completely ruled out.
"China has to consider to what extent its unconditional support to the [Burmese] regime is correct from the point of view of the big goal it should pursue, i.e. the world order of the 21st century," Palous said.
Burma must also be spoken about with other countries in the region, such as India, he added.
Now that elections in Burma have drawn nearer, after 20 years, Human Rights Watch wants to point to the country's 2100 political prisoners who are often not spoken about as the world mainly focuses on the leading dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi.
The number of political prisoners in Burma has tripled in the past three years, since the brutal suppression of local peace protests.
*****************************************************
06/23/2010 16:57
INDIA - MYANMAR
AsiaNews.it - Elections in Burma: the roadmap of the junta to avoid defeat of 1990
The military dictatorship issues a fictitious Constitution and bans the main opposition movements, to ensure victory. U.S. State Department: the vote does not have "international legitimacy". In 1990, 235 parties in contention, only 42 today. Minister in exile, "the government is the only competitor in the race," but "not all generals win all battles."
New Delhi (AsiaNews) - The slogan for the 2010 elections in Myanmar is "not a repeat of another 1990." For this reason, the ruling military junta has implemented a so-called "roadmap" "outrageously" ratifying the 2008 Constitution when the country was on its knees because of the cyclone, with a 94% approval which no one-believes neither Burmese nor foreigner". So says Tint Swe, a member of the Council of Ministers of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) in an interview with AsiaNews.
The group consists of refugees from Myanmar after the 1990 elections won by the National League for Democracy (NLD) and never recognized by the junta. After fleeing to India in 1990, since December 1991 Tint Swe lives in New Delhi and is fighting for freedom and human rights in his country of origin. He explains that the military has operated to "prolong the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi”, Nobel Peace Laureate and icon of the democratic opposition, and thanks to an" American swimmer found an absurd reason to continue to keep her imprisoned”. Not only this, he stresses, they have added an electoral law that "provides a clause under which those convicted or imprisoned not participate in the vote, including Aung San Suu Kyi and other 2 thousand people."
The U.S. State Department has also intervened on the issue of the Burmese elections, declaring that, the vote "has no legitimacy at an international level." Referring to the country with the formerly known as Burma, now Myanmar, the U.S. organism believes that "the elections scheduled this year will be neither free nor fair". Tint Swe said that in 1990 the parties "were encouraged to register and received incentives" so that "nobody could win by a wide margin of votes." Mindful of the triumph of the NLD, now the military has excluded political prisoners and demanded "significant sums of money to join" the race. "In 1990 there were 235 parties - he comments - and now only 42 can be present during the 2010 election."
The minister in exile adds that in 1990 the government acted as arbitrator, but today it is the only competitor in the race and military police, civil and social organizations must vote for the Union Solidarity and Development Party led by the current Prime Minister and directly under the military junta. "There will be no free elections - states Tint Swe - and representatives of democratic movements have been ruled out".
The Burmese political activist does not spare the international community either "it is bad – he comments - terrible, unacceptable and deplorable that foreign nations will continue to talk about internal affairs of Myanmar." The world's governments seek potential new parties in the future Parliament, but there is nothing credible point of reference is the NLD, although it is officially dissolved. However, Tint Swe is not pessimistic, because the "seed of democracy has been planted." In 1990, he concluded, the internal intelligence department’s predictions about the vote were wrong and "not all generals win all battles".
INDIA - MYANMAR
AsiaNews.it - Elections in Burma: the roadmap of the junta to avoid defeat of 1990
The military dictatorship issues a fictitious Constitution and bans the main opposition movements, to ensure victory. U.S. State Department: the vote does not have "international legitimacy". In 1990, 235 parties in contention, only 42 today. Minister in exile, "the government is the only competitor in the race," but "not all generals win all battles."
New Delhi (AsiaNews) - The slogan for the 2010 elections in Myanmar is "not a repeat of another 1990." For this reason, the ruling military junta has implemented a so-called "roadmap" "outrageously" ratifying the 2008 Constitution when the country was on its knees because of the cyclone, with a 94% approval which no one-believes neither Burmese nor foreigner". So says Tint Swe, a member of the Council of Ministers of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) in an interview with AsiaNews.
The group consists of refugees from Myanmar after the 1990 elections won by the National League for Democracy (NLD) and never recognized by the junta. After fleeing to India in 1990, since December 1991 Tint Swe lives in New Delhi and is fighting for freedom and human rights in his country of origin. He explains that the military has operated to "prolong the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi”, Nobel Peace Laureate and icon of the democratic opposition, and thanks to an" American swimmer found an absurd reason to continue to keep her imprisoned”. Not only this, he stresses, they have added an electoral law that "provides a clause under which those convicted or imprisoned not participate in the vote, including Aung San Suu Kyi and other 2 thousand people."
The U.S. State Department has also intervened on the issue of the Burmese elections, declaring that, the vote "has no legitimacy at an international level." Referring to the country with the formerly known as Burma, now Myanmar, the U.S. organism believes that "the elections scheduled this year will be neither free nor fair". Tint Swe said that in 1990 the parties "were encouraged to register and received incentives" so that "nobody could win by a wide margin of votes." Mindful of the triumph of the NLD, now the military has excluded political prisoners and demanded "significant sums of money to join" the race. "In 1990 there were 235 parties - he comments - and now only 42 can be present during the 2010 election."
The minister in exile adds that in 1990 the government acted as arbitrator, but today it is the only competitor in the race and military police, civil and social organizations must vote for the Union Solidarity and Development Party led by the current Prime Minister and directly under the military junta. "There will be no free elections - states Tint Swe - and representatives of democratic movements have been ruled out".
The Burmese political activist does not spare the international community either "it is bad – he comments - terrible, unacceptable and deplorable that foreign nations will continue to talk about internal affairs of Myanmar." The world's governments seek potential new parties in the future Parliament, but there is nothing credible point of reference is the NLD, although it is officially dissolved. However, Tint Swe is not pessimistic, because the "seed of democracy has been planted." In 1990, he concluded, the internal intelligence department’s predictions about the vote were wrong and "not all generals win all battles".
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Published: June 23, 2010 3:00 a.m.
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette - Weekly TV show to target Burmese
Journal Gazette
A weekly TV show for Burmese people will be televised on the city’s public access channels as part of a local project.
Golden Moon TV Network has been organized locally, and its first program will air from 7 to 7:30 p.m. today.
The program, established for Burmese, will be televised on public access channels weekly on Wednesdays at that time.
The program will air stories on topics pertinent to the Burmese community, including news, culture and entertainment information, talk shows and debates and interviews with local Burmese people.
Network organizers plan to air the Burmese program in other cities with large Burmese populations, including Buffalo, Utica, Albany and Queens in New York; Columbia, S.C; Chapel Hill, N.C; and Baltimore.
Anyone who would like to advertise or air a story on the program should contact the Golden Moon TV Network at goldenmoontv@gmail.com.
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette - Weekly TV show to target Burmese
Journal Gazette
A weekly TV show for Burmese people will be televised on the city’s public access channels as part of a local project.
Golden Moon TV Network has been organized locally, and its first program will air from 7 to 7:30 p.m. today.
The program, established for Burmese, will be televised on public access channels weekly on Wednesdays at that time.
The program will air stories on topics pertinent to the Burmese community, including news, culture and entertainment information, talk shows and debates and interviews with local Burmese people.
Network organizers plan to air the Burmese program in other cities with large Burmese populations, including Buffalo, Utica, Albany and Queens in New York; Columbia, S.C; Chapel Hill, N.C; and Baltimore.
Anyone who would like to advertise or air a story on the program should contact the Golden Moon TV Network at goldenmoontv@gmail.com.
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VOA News - UN: Hundreds Of Thousands Of Burmese in Dire Need of International Aid
Lisa Schlein | Geneva 22 June 2010
United Nations aid officials are in Geneva trying to drum up support from international donors for the desperate needs of hundreds of thousands of people in Burma, also known as Myanmar. The officials say donors still have not fulfilled their pledges of some $500 million to help the recovery of victims of Cyclone Nargis, which struck the country two years ago.
Cyclone Nargis killed more than 140,000 people and left about three million homeless. The cyclone tore trees apart, flattened schools and homes, and deprived millions of jobs and income. Many positive things have been achieved since that disaster, but much recovery works remains.
U.N. Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator Bishow Parajuli says too many people continue to suffer from food shortages, malnutrition is rampant, unemployment is high and poverty widespread. He says about 100,000 households - or one-half million people - still need proper shelter. Parajuli says they continue to live in temporary shelters two years after the Cyclone ripped apart their homes.
"These people have just collected what was broken out of their houses - and have used some of their tarpaulins and other support provided by the international community - and have rebuilt their accommodations," says Parajuli. "So, they are sort of temporary in nature. It is not tent, but it is a combination of tarpaulin, wood, bamboos, thatch and that type of thing."
Parajuli says the critical shelter needs of the Burmese people have received the least support from the international community.
In February 2009, the United Nations launched an appeal for $691 million to support a three-year recovery program. The U.N.'s humanitarian operations remain under-funded by about $500 million.
People in the Ayeyawardi Delta are not the only ones struggling to survive. The country overall suffers from problems of food security. The World Food Program notes that Burma is a country with a food surplus and significant agricultural potential. The organization says the biggest problem, though, is being able to effectively distribute that food, especially in the more remote areas.
WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization carried out an assessment at the end of last year. Country Director and Representative, Chris Kaye, says the survey finds 10 percent of the population falls below the food poverty line. He says that means five million people are food insecure.
"We have got national stunting rates of 32 percent," says Kaye. "The prevalence of underweight children is 34 percent and global acute malnutrition is estimated at an average of nine percent … nine percent is high when you talk about it as an average. What is of real concern to us is the fact that in a number of locations - and as I mentioned in the peripheral areas - those global acute malnutrition rates are much, much higher."
Kaye says the situation is particularly bad in the predominantly Muslim State of Northern Rakhine. He says an assessment shows global acute malnutrition rates are more than 18 percent. He says that rate surpasses even that found in Somalia.
Lisa Schlein | Geneva 22 June 2010
United Nations aid officials are in Geneva trying to drum up support from international donors for the desperate needs of hundreds of thousands of people in Burma, also known as Myanmar. The officials say donors still have not fulfilled their pledges of some $500 million to help the recovery of victims of Cyclone Nargis, which struck the country two years ago.
Cyclone Nargis killed more than 140,000 people and left about three million homeless. The cyclone tore trees apart, flattened schools and homes, and deprived millions of jobs and income. Many positive things have been achieved since that disaster, but much recovery works remains.
U.N. Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator Bishow Parajuli says too many people continue to suffer from food shortages, malnutrition is rampant, unemployment is high and poverty widespread. He says about 100,000 households - or one-half million people - still need proper shelter. Parajuli says they continue to live in temporary shelters two years after the Cyclone ripped apart their homes.
"These people have just collected what was broken out of their houses - and have used some of their tarpaulins and other support provided by the international community - and have rebuilt their accommodations," says Parajuli. "So, they are sort of temporary in nature. It is not tent, but it is a combination of tarpaulin, wood, bamboos, thatch and that type of thing."
Parajuli says the critical shelter needs of the Burmese people have received the least support from the international community.
In February 2009, the United Nations launched an appeal for $691 million to support a three-year recovery program. The U.N.'s humanitarian operations remain under-funded by about $500 million.
People in the Ayeyawardi Delta are not the only ones struggling to survive. The country overall suffers from problems of food security. The World Food Program notes that Burma is a country with a food surplus and significant agricultural potential. The organization says the biggest problem, though, is being able to effectively distribute that food, especially in the more remote areas.
WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization carried out an assessment at the end of last year. Country Director and Representative, Chris Kaye, says the survey finds 10 percent of the population falls below the food poverty line. He says that means five million people are food insecure.
"We have got national stunting rates of 32 percent," says Kaye. "The prevalence of underweight children is 34 percent and global acute malnutrition is estimated at an average of nine percent … nine percent is high when you talk about it as an average. What is of real concern to us is the fact that in a number of locations - and as I mentioned in the peripheral areas - those global acute malnutrition rates are much, much higher."
Kaye says the situation is particularly bad in the predominantly Muslim State of Northern Rakhine. He says an assessment shows global acute malnutrition rates are more than 18 percent. He says that rate surpasses even that found in Somalia.
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The Los Angeles Times - Federal review aims to improve refugee system
Obama administration officials say the U.S. program is outdated and lacks resources to help refugees get on their feet. The recession hasn't helped. Some changes have already been made.
By Anna Gorman and Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times
June 23, 2010
Recognizing that the United States is failing thousands of refugees fleeing war-torn countries, the Obama administration is conducting the first thorough review of the refugee resettlement system in 30 years and plans to announce major reforms this summer.
Officials say the system is outdated and lacks adequate resources to help refugees find jobs and support themselves before exhausting their benefits. That task has been made more difficult by the recession and high unemployment.
"The basic set-up of the program hasn't been altered in many years," said National Security Council spokesman Ben Chang. "It was time to take a fresh look."
Several changes have already been made to ease the transition for newcomers, most of whom have no U.S. work experience, little savings and limited English skills. The largest numbers of refugees last year — admitted based on persecution or fear of persecution — came from Iraq, Bhutan and Burma.
In January, the State Department doubled the amount of money, from $900 to $1,800, that resettlement agencies receive to cover housing and other needs for each refugee in the first month. And the Department of Health and Human Services has requested an additional $25 million from Congress for case management and emergency housing in 2011.
One of the most significant proposals being considered would extend federal cash aid for eligible refugees past the eight-month maximum. Officials are also discussing ways to improve coordination among the various government agencies that share responsibility for resettlement and to expand medical screening and cultural orientation.
Resettlement agencies said reforms are long overdue.
"The system is broken," said Robert Carey, chairman of Refugee Council USA, an umbrella group of resettlement and advocacy groups. "There are women who can't feed their children adequately and people who are really being brought into poverty. … There is a federal obligation in this to ensure that people brought in here are given the basic tools to rebuild their lives."
Larh Larh Sin, from Myanmar, spent more than a decade in a Thai refugee camp without electricity or running water before being resettled in Bakersfield in 2008 with her husband and two sons, now 4 and 7. About 10 months after her arrival, Sin, 30, got a factory job but was laid off because she didn't speak enough English to understand the safety instructions. A few months later, she found work at a Chinese restaurant but lost it when the restaurant closed last month. Her husband is also out of work.
They received an eviction notice this month because they couldn't pay the $665 rent. Sin said she planned to apply for cash assistance but knew it wouldn't cover the bills, and she worried about becoming homeless.
"If I had known the situation I wouldn't have come," she said through an interpreter. "For me, a refugee camp is a little better situation than here because I don't have to worry about rent."
When the system was established by Congress in 1980, the U.S. was responding to an influx of refugees fleeing Southeast Asia, said Eskinder Negash, director of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. Today, the caseload is more diverse and a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer effective, he said. In fiscal year 2009, the U.S. accepted nearly 75,000 refugees from more than 70 countries, including many with special needs, such as single mothers and torture victims.
The system assumes that all new arrivals will be supporting themselves within a short period. But with the economic downturn, refugees often take months to find work.
In a speech this spring, Eric Schwartz, the assistant secretary of State for population, refugees and migration, said refugees were dealing with severe problems "that go well beyond the challenges that any new arrival should have to confront."
Some refugees qualify for a federal job-seeking program that includes up to six months of cash assistance. But the Department of Health and Human Services, which supports the program with matching grants from private aid agencies, only has funding to cover about a third of the eligible refugees, Carey said.
The amount of public assistance refugees are offered varies among states and often doesn't cover basic needs. In San Diego, a family of four typically receives about $828 a month compared with $335 a month in Phoenix, according to resettlement workers. Families with children are covered by the same welfare programs as American citizens, while those with no children receive federal cash and medical assistance specific to refugees. All refugees are eligible for food stamps.
In some states, numerous refugees have fallen behind on rent and received eviction notices. Without family to turn to for help, they rely on overburdened resettlement agencies. During the recession, those agencies have struggled to raise funds.
The arrival of more than 32,000 Iraqis in 2008 and 2009 helped bring attention to the difficulties faced by refugees.
"They came at a time of economic decline, which really exacerbated a system that was already teetering on disaster," said Elizabeth Campbell, senior advocate with Refugees International, an independent advocacy organization.
In hard-hit Detroit, thousands of Iraqi refugees quickly overwhelmed nonprofits and local institutions. "The community was not prepared," said Jeralda Hattar, program manager with the local Catholic services. "The school district was not prepared. The health system was not prepared."
Responding to requests from resettlement agencies, the State Department no longer places refugees in Detroit — or in Fort Wayne, Ind. — if they do not have immediate family members already living there.
The National Security Council, which is heading the review, began meeting last summer with several government agencies, including the departments of State and Health and Human Services, and has consulted with refugee advocates.
In addition, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced a bill this spring that would adjust the initial refugee grant each year based on the cost of living. And Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) is trying to raise support for a bill that would extend cash and medical assistance for 18 months, help refugee professionals recertify in the U.S. and establish an emergency fund to meet unanticipated resettlement needs.
In Phoenix, refugees who arrived during a strong economy quickly found work in the state's many resorts and retail outlets. But when Saba Abdullah arrived in April last year, work had dried up. Abdullah, 31, fled Iraq after two close relatives were injured and her husband was kidnapped. She does not know if he is alive.
Alone, with three children to support, the college-educated woman applied for jobs as a cleaner and nanny but wasn't offered anything. The $335 a month she receives in cash assistance covers less than half her rent. When she received an eviction notice in April, she thought she would end up on the streets.
But with the additional federal and local funding that has become available, resettlement workers with the International Rescue Committee have been able to keep refugees like Abdullah in their homes. This month, she moves into subsidized housing that will cost her a fraction of what she previously paid.
"I was saved at the last minute," she said. "But for the rest of the refugees it's still a problem."
Obama administration officials say the U.S. program is outdated and lacks resources to help refugees get on their feet. The recession hasn't helped. Some changes have already been made.
By Anna Gorman and Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times
June 23, 2010
Recognizing that the United States is failing thousands of refugees fleeing war-torn countries, the Obama administration is conducting the first thorough review of the refugee resettlement system in 30 years and plans to announce major reforms this summer.
Officials say the system is outdated and lacks adequate resources to help refugees find jobs and support themselves before exhausting their benefits. That task has been made more difficult by the recession and high unemployment.
"The basic set-up of the program hasn't been altered in many years," said National Security Council spokesman Ben Chang. "It was time to take a fresh look."
Several changes have already been made to ease the transition for newcomers, most of whom have no U.S. work experience, little savings and limited English skills. The largest numbers of refugees last year — admitted based on persecution or fear of persecution — came from Iraq, Bhutan and Burma.
In January, the State Department doubled the amount of money, from $900 to $1,800, that resettlement agencies receive to cover housing and other needs for each refugee in the first month. And the Department of Health and Human Services has requested an additional $25 million from Congress for case management and emergency housing in 2011.
One of the most significant proposals being considered would extend federal cash aid for eligible refugees past the eight-month maximum. Officials are also discussing ways to improve coordination among the various government agencies that share responsibility for resettlement and to expand medical screening and cultural orientation.
Resettlement agencies said reforms are long overdue.
"The system is broken," said Robert Carey, chairman of Refugee Council USA, an umbrella group of resettlement and advocacy groups. "There are women who can't feed their children adequately and people who are really being brought into poverty. … There is a federal obligation in this to ensure that people brought in here are given the basic tools to rebuild their lives."
Larh Larh Sin, from Myanmar, spent more than a decade in a Thai refugee camp without electricity or running water before being resettled in Bakersfield in 2008 with her husband and two sons, now 4 and 7. About 10 months after her arrival, Sin, 30, got a factory job but was laid off because she didn't speak enough English to understand the safety instructions. A few months later, she found work at a Chinese restaurant but lost it when the restaurant closed last month. Her husband is also out of work.
They received an eviction notice this month because they couldn't pay the $665 rent. Sin said she planned to apply for cash assistance but knew it wouldn't cover the bills, and she worried about becoming homeless.
"If I had known the situation I wouldn't have come," she said through an interpreter. "For me, a refugee camp is a little better situation than here because I don't have to worry about rent."
When the system was established by Congress in 1980, the U.S. was responding to an influx of refugees fleeing Southeast Asia, said Eskinder Negash, director of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. Today, the caseload is more diverse and a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer effective, he said. In fiscal year 2009, the U.S. accepted nearly 75,000 refugees from more than 70 countries, including many with special needs, such as single mothers and torture victims.
The system assumes that all new arrivals will be supporting themselves within a short period. But with the economic downturn, refugees often take months to find work.
In a speech this spring, Eric Schwartz, the assistant secretary of State for population, refugees and migration, said refugees were dealing with severe problems "that go well beyond the challenges that any new arrival should have to confront."
Some refugees qualify for a federal job-seeking program that includes up to six months of cash assistance. But the Department of Health and Human Services, which supports the program with matching grants from private aid agencies, only has funding to cover about a third of the eligible refugees, Carey said.
The amount of public assistance refugees are offered varies among states and often doesn't cover basic needs. In San Diego, a family of four typically receives about $828 a month compared with $335 a month in Phoenix, according to resettlement workers. Families with children are covered by the same welfare programs as American citizens, while those with no children receive federal cash and medical assistance specific to refugees. All refugees are eligible for food stamps.
In some states, numerous refugees have fallen behind on rent and received eviction notices. Without family to turn to for help, they rely on overburdened resettlement agencies. During the recession, those agencies have struggled to raise funds.
The arrival of more than 32,000 Iraqis in 2008 and 2009 helped bring attention to the difficulties faced by refugees.
"They came at a time of economic decline, which really exacerbated a system that was already teetering on disaster," said Elizabeth Campbell, senior advocate with Refugees International, an independent advocacy organization.
In hard-hit Detroit, thousands of Iraqi refugees quickly overwhelmed nonprofits and local institutions. "The community was not prepared," said Jeralda Hattar, program manager with the local Catholic services. "The school district was not prepared. The health system was not prepared."
Responding to requests from resettlement agencies, the State Department no longer places refugees in Detroit — or in Fort Wayne, Ind. — if they do not have immediate family members already living there.
The National Security Council, which is heading the review, began meeting last summer with several government agencies, including the departments of State and Health and Human Services, and has consulted with refugee advocates.
In addition, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced a bill this spring that would adjust the initial refugee grant each year based on the cost of living. And Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) is trying to raise support for a bill that would extend cash and medical assistance for 18 months, help refugee professionals recertify in the U.S. and establish an emergency fund to meet unanticipated resettlement needs.
In Phoenix, refugees who arrived during a strong economy quickly found work in the state's many resorts and retail outlets. But when Saba Abdullah arrived in April last year, work had dried up. Abdullah, 31, fled Iraq after two close relatives were injured and her husband was kidnapped. She does not know if he is alive.
Alone, with three children to support, the college-educated woman applied for jobs as a cleaner and nanny but wasn't offered anything. The $335 a month she receives in cash assistance covers less than half her rent. When she received an eviction notice in April, she thought she would end up on the streets.
But with the additional federal and local funding that has become available, resettlement workers with the International Rescue Committee have been able to keep refugees like Abdullah in their homes. This month, she moves into subsidized housing that will cost her a fraction of what she previously paid.
"I was saved at the last minute," she said. "But for the rest of the refugees it's still a problem."
*****************************************************
June 22, 2010, 2:55 pm
New York Times (blog) - Agency Works to Free Political Prisoners
By STUART ELLIOTT
The advertising agency JWT has teamed up with Human Rights Watch for an unusual display in Grand Central Terminal on Tuesday that seeks to generate support for freeing political prisoners in Myanmar (formerly Burma).
The display, created by JWT, consists of a lightbox that is an art and photography installation, which is designed to look like a prison complex. The “bars” of the cells, however, are actually pens, which people can use to sign a petition calling on the leader of the Myanmar military government to release the country’s political prisoners, whom Human Rights Watch says number 2,100.
The display went up at 8 a.m. on Tuesday and is to remain until 7 p.m. Monks from the International Burma Monks Association were on hand for the opening.
“The goal of the project is public outreach and education directed at the United Nations ahead of the coming General Assembly,” Minky Worden, a spokeswoman for Human Rights Watch, wrote in an e-mail message.
Consideration is being given to putting up the display in other cities as well.
New York Times (blog) - Agency Works to Free Political Prisoners
By STUART ELLIOTT
The advertising agency JWT has teamed up with Human Rights Watch for an unusual display in Grand Central Terminal on Tuesday that seeks to generate support for freeing political prisoners in Myanmar (formerly Burma).
The display, created by JWT, consists of a lightbox that is an art and photography installation, which is designed to look like a prison complex. The “bars” of the cells, however, are actually pens, which people can use to sign a petition calling on the leader of the Myanmar military government to release the country’s political prisoners, whom Human Rights Watch says number 2,100.
The display went up at 8 a.m. on Tuesday and is to remain until 7 p.m. Monks from the International Burma Monks Association were on hand for the opening.
“The goal of the project is public outreach and education directed at the United Nations ahead of the coming General Assembly,” Minky Worden, a spokeswoman for Human Rights Watch, wrote in an e-mail message.
Consideration is being given to putting up the display in other cities as well.
*****************************************************
Tivyside Advertiser, Wales - News - River event to support Burmese prisoners
12:11pm Wednesday 23rd June 2010
Local Amnesty International supporters are staging an event on the river in Cardigan to support three young prisoners in Burma.
On Saturday, July 3, members of Cardigan and North Pembrokeshire Amnesty International Group are asking local people to join them between 1pm and 3pm to set a fleet of handmade origami boats to sail on the River Teifi at Prince Charles Quay.
The aim is to raise awareness and show support for three young prisoners in Burma, and to sign a postcard to the Burmese Government to ask for their release.
Making the little boats and setting them on the water mimics the peaceful protest conducted in Burma by the young activists who are currently in jail.
They were arrested in 2008 for peacefully campaigning about a referendum in their country. They organised a launch of paper boats and released balloons carrying their peaceful political messages.
The authorities responded harshly to this peaceful act of defiance, and the three youth activists were imprisoned without trial for between 35 and 37 years each.
Members of Cardigan and North Pembrokeshire Amnesty International Group will write messages of support and solidarity for them on the boats before they set the origami crafts afloat.
Local Amnesty activist Audrey Swann said "In the UK it is inconceivable that such a harmless act of peaceful protest could result in being thrown in jail for nearly four decades without a trial. These are young men who simply wanted to make their views heard in their country. It is important that we show our support for them so they know they have not been forgotten and so that we draw attention to the injustices happening in Burma.
“Everyone should have the right to free expression, without the threat of imprisonment for angering the authorities. We are very lucky that we have that right, and we need to remember that not everyone enjoys such basic freedom."
12:11pm Wednesday 23rd June 2010
Local Amnesty International supporters are staging an event on the river in Cardigan to support three young prisoners in Burma.
On Saturday, July 3, members of Cardigan and North Pembrokeshire Amnesty International Group are asking local people to join them between 1pm and 3pm to set a fleet of handmade origami boats to sail on the River Teifi at Prince Charles Quay.
The aim is to raise awareness and show support for three young prisoners in Burma, and to sign a postcard to the Burmese Government to ask for their release.
Making the little boats and setting them on the water mimics the peaceful protest conducted in Burma by the young activists who are currently in jail.
They were arrested in 2008 for peacefully campaigning about a referendum in their country. They organised a launch of paper boats and released balloons carrying their peaceful political messages.
The authorities responded harshly to this peaceful act of defiance, and the three youth activists were imprisoned without trial for between 35 and 37 years each.
Members of Cardigan and North Pembrokeshire Amnesty International Group will write messages of support and solidarity for them on the boats before they set the origami crafts afloat.
Local Amnesty activist Audrey Swann said "In the UK it is inconceivable that such a harmless act of peaceful protest could result in being thrown in jail for nearly four decades without a trial. These are young men who simply wanted to make their views heard in their country. It is important that we show our support for them so they know they have not been forgotten and so that we draw attention to the injustices happening in Burma.
“Everyone should have the right to free expression, without the threat of imprisonment for angering the authorities. We are very lucky that we have that right, and we need to remember that not everyone enjoys such basic freedom."
*****************************************************
ReliefWeb - Emergency Supplies Dispatched to Myanmar in Wake of Heavy Rains in the Region
Source: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Date: 22 Jun 2010
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is sending emergency supplies to Myanmar after some of the heaviest rains in 40 years devastated parts of the country including the capital, Yangon.
At least 56 persons were killed, more than 6,000 were injured or missing and 500,000 households and buildings damaged or destroyed.
Parts of the capital received 13 inches of rain in 24 hours during the weekend. Roads and bridges were swept away, farmland extensively flooded and animals killed.
JICA said it was sending tents, water purifiers, water tanks and electric generators from its main regional supply depot at Singapore.
JICA is part of the Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) system incorporating government agencies, non governmental organizations and other groups which have the ability to send rescue teams, doctors, nurses and emergency equipment to help in the aftermath of natural disasters anywhere in the world.
Source: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Date: 22 Jun 2010
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is sending emergency supplies to Myanmar after some of the heaviest rains in 40 years devastated parts of the country including the capital, Yangon.
At least 56 persons were killed, more than 6,000 were injured or missing and 500,000 households and buildings damaged or destroyed.
Parts of the capital received 13 inches of rain in 24 hours during the weekend. Roads and bridges were swept away, farmland extensively flooded and animals killed.
JICA said it was sending tents, water purifiers, water tanks and electric generators from its main regional supply depot at Singapore.
JICA is part of the Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) system incorporating government agencies, non governmental organizations and other groups which have the ability to send rescue teams, doctors, nurses and emergency equipment to help in the aftermath of natural disasters anywhere in the world.
*****************************************************
The Nation - Burma's nuclear ambition is apparently real and alarming
By Robert Kelley, Special to The Nation
Published on June 22, 2010
Less than two months after the conclusion of President Obama's Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC, a recently released documentary exposed the nuclear ambitions of deeply troubled and highly repressive Burma.
The evidence presented in the Democratic Voice of Burma's documentary, "Burma's Nuclear Ambitions", is thorough, compelling and alarming. Although Burma's pursuit of nuclear weapons has long been rumoured, the documentary contains new information from a recent defector who provided DVB with photographs, documents and a view from inside the secretive military that should finally put to rest any doubt about Burma's nuclear ambition. The evidence includes chemical processing equipment for converting uranium compounds into forms for enrichment, reactors and bombs. Taken altogether in Burma's covert programme, they have but one use - nuclear weapons.
Prior to the airing of the documentary, the DVB invited a team of international experts, including individuals with experience in military tunneling, missiles, nuclear proliferation, and weapons inspections protocol to review its information and assess its conclusions. The evidence was so consistent - from satellite images to blueprints, colour photographs, insider accounts and detailed budgets - and so copious that I agreed to appear in the documentary to offer my advice concerning Burma's nuclear ambitions.
As a former Los Alamos analyst and a director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), I have spent 30 years investigating allegations of this nature. After a careful review of the information, I became convinced that Burma's pursuit of nuclear technology violates the limits imposed on it by its agreements with the IAEA.
I authored a report on the findings, "Nuclear Activities in Burma", which explains the evidence and concludes that Burma is probably in violation of several international agreements concerning nuclear proliferation.
However, the IAEA is limited in its leverage over Burma, which has failed to upgrade its two obsolete IAEA agreements and failed to execute a new IAEA agreement called the "Additional Protocol", which would give the IAEA greater powers to question Burma and demand inspections in the country.
The Additional Protocol was a priority of former IAEA director-general and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed El Baradei. In May, Chad became the 100th country to sign the Additional Protocol, while only a few remain outside its reach, including Iran and Syria. Burma also shields itself from questions and inspections using another out-of-date agreement called a "Small Quantities Protocol". This exempts states that only have small amounts of nuclear materials and no nuclear facilities from IAEA inspections and close oversight. The new evidence presented in the DVB documentary makes a compelling case that Burma's pursuit of nuclear weapons now places it in the category of countries where the Small Quantities Protocol would no longer apply.
With outdated protocols governing its IAEA participation, Burma may believe it can resist IAEA demands. However, given the serious and troubling nature of the allegations of Burma's nuclear ambitions, the IAEA and the international community must vigorously pursue all tools at their disposal to compel Burma's cooperation. For starters, the IAEA can unilaterally cut off all aid to Burma in improving its nuclear infrastructure through expert visits, grants and equipment purchases, and to any other state that has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty or agreed to the Additional Protocol.
While these new agreements are voluntary, the provision of so-called technical cooperation funds is a voluntary act on the part of the IAEA as well. It would send a clear message to Burma that the IAEA takes this issue seriously and will no longer tolerate anything less than Burma's full cooperation with the international community on the monitoring of Burma's nascent nuclear programme. Although some of the aid (US$1.3 million in 2008-2009) goes for medical and humanitarian assistance, other programmes support training nuclear experts and professionals in Burma, which is clearly inconsistent with the IAEA's interest in trying to nip a covert nuclear programme in the bud.
The new information on Burma's nuclear ambitions is now available to experts and governments around the world. Yet, even before the IAEA has even officially enquired about it, the Burmese government has denied it. Given Burma's track record in working with the international community, there is little doubt what Burma's answer will be when it is formally asked.
DVB's reportage brought to light Burma's nuclear ambition; it is also a call to anyone in Burma who knows more about covert programmes in nuclear, missile technology, and other weapons of mass destruction to come forward. Other defectors, such as Major Sai Thein Win, are likely to come forward. Many people know the truth, and it will take only a few more brave souls to expose the programme for the world to see.
Too many states have proliferated while the world stood back and watched. The A Q Khan network sold nuclear weapons technology from Pakistan and operated observed but untouched for possibly twenty years. The possibility that Burma is trying to build nuclear weapons has been a suspicion for the last decade, but now the evidence is much clearer. The world needs to get serious about choking off Burma's covert programme through export controls via the Nuclear Suppliers Group and strengthening the hand of the IAEA.
Burma is one of the world's most repressive and secretive regimes. Its ample natural wealth, including gas and oil reserves that will bring in billions of dollars annually in hard currency, make it a natural buyer for North Korea and other countries with nuclear know-how to sell. Last month, the UN Security Council received a 47-page report issued by a seven-member panel of experts on North Korea's export of nuclear technology. The UN experts noted "suspicious activity in Burma".
Burma's pursuit of nuclear weapons requires immediate international attention. Allowing yet another dictatorship to acquire the world's most powerful weapons is not an option.
Robert Kelley is a recently retired director of the IAEA with over 30 years experience in nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
By Robert Kelley, Special to The Nation
Published on June 22, 2010
Less than two months after the conclusion of President Obama's Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC, a recently released documentary exposed the nuclear ambitions of deeply troubled and highly repressive Burma.
The evidence presented in the Democratic Voice of Burma's documentary, "Burma's Nuclear Ambitions", is thorough, compelling and alarming. Although Burma's pursuit of nuclear weapons has long been rumoured, the documentary contains new information from a recent defector who provided DVB with photographs, documents and a view from inside the secretive military that should finally put to rest any doubt about Burma's nuclear ambition. The evidence includes chemical processing equipment for converting uranium compounds into forms for enrichment, reactors and bombs. Taken altogether in Burma's covert programme, they have but one use - nuclear weapons.
Prior to the airing of the documentary, the DVB invited a team of international experts, including individuals with experience in military tunneling, missiles, nuclear proliferation, and weapons inspections protocol to review its information and assess its conclusions. The evidence was so consistent - from satellite images to blueprints, colour photographs, insider accounts and detailed budgets - and so copious that I agreed to appear in the documentary to offer my advice concerning Burma's nuclear ambitions.
As a former Los Alamos analyst and a director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), I have spent 30 years investigating allegations of this nature. After a careful review of the information, I became convinced that Burma's pursuit of nuclear technology violates the limits imposed on it by its agreements with the IAEA.
I authored a report on the findings, "Nuclear Activities in Burma", which explains the evidence and concludes that Burma is probably in violation of several international agreements concerning nuclear proliferation.
However, the IAEA is limited in its leverage over Burma, which has failed to upgrade its two obsolete IAEA agreements and failed to execute a new IAEA agreement called the "Additional Protocol", which would give the IAEA greater powers to question Burma and demand inspections in the country.
The Additional Protocol was a priority of former IAEA director-general and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed El Baradei. In May, Chad became the 100th country to sign the Additional Protocol, while only a few remain outside its reach, including Iran and Syria. Burma also shields itself from questions and inspections using another out-of-date agreement called a "Small Quantities Protocol". This exempts states that only have small amounts of nuclear materials and no nuclear facilities from IAEA inspections and close oversight. The new evidence presented in the DVB documentary makes a compelling case that Burma's pursuit of nuclear weapons now places it in the category of countries where the Small Quantities Protocol would no longer apply.
With outdated protocols governing its IAEA participation, Burma may believe it can resist IAEA demands. However, given the serious and troubling nature of the allegations of Burma's nuclear ambitions, the IAEA and the international community must vigorously pursue all tools at their disposal to compel Burma's cooperation. For starters, the IAEA can unilaterally cut off all aid to Burma in improving its nuclear infrastructure through expert visits, grants and equipment purchases, and to any other state that has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty or agreed to the Additional Protocol.
While these new agreements are voluntary, the provision of so-called technical cooperation funds is a voluntary act on the part of the IAEA as well. It would send a clear message to Burma that the IAEA takes this issue seriously and will no longer tolerate anything less than Burma's full cooperation with the international community on the monitoring of Burma's nascent nuclear programme. Although some of the aid (US$1.3 million in 2008-2009) goes for medical and humanitarian assistance, other programmes support training nuclear experts and professionals in Burma, which is clearly inconsistent with the IAEA's interest in trying to nip a covert nuclear programme in the bud.
The new information on Burma's nuclear ambitions is now available to experts and governments around the world. Yet, even before the IAEA has even officially enquired about it, the Burmese government has denied it. Given Burma's track record in working with the international community, there is little doubt what Burma's answer will be when it is formally asked.
DVB's reportage brought to light Burma's nuclear ambition; it is also a call to anyone in Burma who knows more about covert programmes in nuclear, missile technology, and other weapons of mass destruction to come forward. Other defectors, such as Major Sai Thein Win, are likely to come forward. Many people know the truth, and it will take only a few more brave souls to expose the programme for the world to see.
Too many states have proliferated while the world stood back and watched. The A Q Khan network sold nuclear weapons technology from Pakistan and operated observed but untouched for possibly twenty years. The possibility that Burma is trying to build nuclear weapons has been a suspicion for the last decade, but now the evidence is much clearer. The world needs to get serious about choking off Burma's covert programme through export controls via the Nuclear Suppliers Group and strengthening the hand of the IAEA.
Burma is one of the world's most repressive and secretive regimes. Its ample natural wealth, including gas and oil reserves that will bring in billions of dollars annually in hard currency, make it a natural buyer for North Korea and other countries with nuclear know-how to sell. Last month, the UN Security Council received a 47-page report issued by a seven-member panel of experts on North Korea's export of nuclear technology. The UN experts noted "suspicious activity in Burma".
Burma's pursuit of nuclear weapons requires immediate international attention. Allowing yet another dictatorship to acquire the world's most powerful weapons is not an option.
Robert Kelley is a recently retired director of the IAEA with over 30 years experience in nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
*****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Than Shwe, Laotian PM Discuss Military Ties
By WAI MOE - Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Burma’s junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe and his top four generals met with Laotian Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh on Monday to discuss intelligence issues along with strengthening military and bilateral ties, according to military sources.
Bouphavanh’s trip followed a visit by Brig-Gen Bouasieng Champaphanh, the deputy chief of staff of the Laos Armed Forces, who visited Burma on June 9-12.
Champaphanh met with Lt-Gen Ye Myint, chief of military affairs secruity, who heads the junta’s plan to transform ethnic groups into a border guard force under Naypyidaw’s command.
Senior Burmese and Laotian military officials were expected to discuss tension between the junta and ethnic militias, including National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) bases located near China and Laos in eastern Burma.
Burmese military observers have said that if the junta launches an offensive against ethnic armed groups over the border guard force issue, it might choose a small group, such as the NDAA, as its first target. The NDAA is an ally of the largest ethnic armed group, the United Wa State Army.
Another key issue between the two countries is drug trafficking. In February, 15 Burmese anti-narcotic agents were ambushed by suspected drug dealers while they traveled along the Mekong River in the Golden Triangle area, where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet.
At the time, Burmese police blamed Shan drug lord Naw Kham for the ambush. Naw Kham is wanted by authorities in Thailand, Burma, China and Laos for drug trafficking.
According to a state-run-newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, Than Shwe met the Laotian delegation accompanied by: No 2 Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, vice commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw [armed forces]; No 3 Gen Shwe Mann, joint chief of staff of the Tatmadaw; No 4 Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo, quartermaster general; and No 5 Lt-Gen Tin Aye, chief of military ordnance.
Other officials at the meeting were Prime Minister Thein Sein; Foreign Minister Nyan Win and Soe Tha, minister of National Planning and Economic Development.
During a bilateral meeting between the Burmese delegation led by Thein Sein, Burma’s deputy defense minister Aye Myint attended.
By WAI MOE - Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Burma’s junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe and his top four generals met with Laotian Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh on Monday to discuss intelligence issues along with strengthening military and bilateral ties, according to military sources.
Bouphavanh’s trip followed a visit by Brig-Gen Bouasieng Champaphanh, the deputy chief of staff of the Laos Armed Forces, who visited Burma on June 9-12.
Champaphanh met with Lt-Gen Ye Myint, chief of military affairs secruity, who heads the junta’s plan to transform ethnic groups into a border guard force under Naypyidaw’s command.
Senior Burmese and Laotian military officials were expected to discuss tension between the junta and ethnic militias, including National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) bases located near China and Laos in eastern Burma.
Burmese military observers have said that if the junta launches an offensive against ethnic armed groups over the border guard force issue, it might choose a small group, such as the NDAA, as its first target. The NDAA is an ally of the largest ethnic armed group, the United Wa State Army.
Another key issue between the two countries is drug trafficking. In February, 15 Burmese anti-narcotic agents were ambushed by suspected drug dealers while they traveled along the Mekong River in the Golden Triangle area, where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet.
At the time, Burmese police blamed Shan drug lord Naw Kham for the ambush. Naw Kham is wanted by authorities in Thailand, Burma, China and Laos for drug trafficking.
According to a state-run-newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, Than Shwe met the Laotian delegation accompanied by: No 2 Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, vice commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw [armed forces]; No 3 Gen Shwe Mann, joint chief of staff of the Tatmadaw; No 4 Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo, quartermaster general; and No 5 Lt-Gen Tin Aye, chief of military ordnance.
Other officials at the meeting were Prime Minister Thein Sein; Foreign Minister Nyan Win and Soe Tha, minister of National Planning and Economic Development.
During a bilateral meeting between the Burmese delegation led by Thein Sein, Burma’s deputy defense minister Aye Myint attended.
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The Irrawaddy - Than Shwe the Third 'Worst of the Worst'
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
In an article titled “The Worst of the Worst,” Foreign Policy magazine named junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe the world's third worst dictator, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ranked No 1 and Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe No 2.
Than Shwe, Kim Jong Il and Mugabe were pictured on the magazine cover with the caption, “The committee to destroy the world.”
Than Shwe, who has been ruling Burma by force for almost 20 years, was described by Foreign Policy as a “heartless military coconut head whose sole consuming preoccupation is power.”
The article said the Burmese dictator has decimated the opposition with arrests and detentions, denied humanitarian assistance to his people in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, which devastated Burma in May 2008, and thrived off a black market economy and natural gas exports.
“This vainglorious general bubbling with swagger sports a uniform festooned with self-awarded medals, but he is too cowardly to face an honest ballot box,” the article said.
Kim Jong Il, in power for 16 years, was described as a personality-cult-cultivating isolationist. Foreign Policy said Kim has pauperized his people, allowed famine to run rampant, thrown hundreds of thousands in prison camps and spent his country's resources on a nuclear program.
Robert Mugabe, in power for 30 years, was described as a liberation “hero” in the struggle for independence who has since transformed himself into a murderous despot. He was condemned by Foreign Policy for arresting and torturing the opposition, squeezing his economy into astounding negative growth and billion-percent inflation and funneling off a juicy cut for himself using currency manipulation and offshore accounts.
The article named 23 world dictators in total, including the leaders of Uganda, Rwanda, Cuba, China, Iran, Venezuela, Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
In an article titled “The Worst of the Worst,” Foreign Policy magazine named junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe the world's third worst dictator, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ranked No 1 and Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe No 2.
Than Shwe, Kim Jong Il and Mugabe were pictured on the magazine cover with the caption, “The committee to destroy the world.”
Than Shwe, who has been ruling Burma by force for almost 20 years, was described by Foreign Policy as a “heartless military coconut head whose sole consuming preoccupation is power.”
The article said the Burmese dictator has decimated the opposition with arrests and detentions, denied humanitarian assistance to his people in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, which devastated Burma in May 2008, and thrived off a black market economy and natural gas exports.
“This vainglorious general bubbling with swagger sports a uniform festooned with self-awarded medals, but he is too cowardly to face an honest ballot box,” the article said.
Kim Jong Il, in power for 16 years, was described as a personality-cult-cultivating isolationist. Foreign Policy said Kim has pauperized his people, allowed famine to run rampant, thrown hundreds of thousands in prison camps and spent his country's resources on a nuclear program.
Robert Mugabe, in power for 30 years, was described as a liberation “hero” in the struggle for independence who has since transformed himself into a murderous despot. He was condemned by Foreign Policy for arresting and torturing the opposition, squeezing his economy into astounding negative growth and billion-percent inflation and funneling off a juicy cut for himself using currency manipulation and offshore accounts.
The article named 23 world dictators in total, including the leaders of Uganda, Rwanda, Cuba, China, Iran, Venezuela, Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt.
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The Irrawaddy - Hundreds of Buildings Slated for Destruction in Rangoon
By NAYEE LIN LATT - Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Over 800 government office buildings and three housing compounds will be demolished to clear the way for a new road running parallel to Rangoon's Strand Road, according to the Myanmar Port Authority (MPA).
“The new road will be constructed alongside the existing one, so all the buildings along the way are to be cleared out. There is as yet no plan in place for public servants who are living in that area. We still haven't received any further instructions,” said an official from the MPA.
“There are three housing compounds currently located on the old Strand Road. It is not clear yet if those compounds will also be destroyed, as the new road will be constructed just behind them. The road demarcation has just started,” the official continued.
The new road will be 9 km (5.7 miles) long and will pass through Botahtaung, Seik Kan, Ahlone and Kyeemyindaing townships. The road will be 14.6 meters (48 feet) wide and paved with cement.
“According to the proposed plan, a lot of houses are to be destroyed. But they [the authorities] wouldn't dare take such a risk, so they modified the map and have now started doing a field survey,” said an engineer from the Rangoon Municipal Committee.
Asia World, a company close to the military regime, has been awarded permission to build the road. Only trucks that carry containers and logs will reportedly be allowed to use the road.
“The residents of the housing compounds are getting quite nervous. In Burma, if your property is located in an area that will come under government construction, you will lose it and never get any compensation,” the engineer explained.
So far, however, no building has been demolished, a source confirmed.
“Some offices are empty because the staff have already moved to Naypyidaw, but some are still there working. No one has been told where to move yet,” said a worker at the Botahtaung navy compound.
Over 800 buildings, including 55 buildings under the Myanmar Port Authority, that belong to the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Energy, Department of Progress of Border Areas & National Races & Development Affairs, Rangoon Municipal Committee, Ministry of Defense, Navy, Ministry of Forestry and Ministry of Electric Power are believed to be slated for destruction.
By NAYEE LIN LATT - Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Over 800 government office buildings and three housing compounds will be demolished to clear the way for a new road running parallel to Rangoon's Strand Road, according to the Myanmar Port Authority (MPA).
“The new road will be constructed alongside the existing one, so all the buildings along the way are to be cleared out. There is as yet no plan in place for public servants who are living in that area. We still haven't received any further instructions,” said an official from the MPA.
“There are three housing compounds currently located on the old Strand Road. It is not clear yet if those compounds will also be destroyed, as the new road will be constructed just behind them. The road demarcation has just started,” the official continued.
The new road will be 9 km (5.7 miles) long and will pass through Botahtaung, Seik Kan, Ahlone and Kyeemyindaing townships. The road will be 14.6 meters (48 feet) wide and paved with cement.
“According to the proposed plan, a lot of houses are to be destroyed. But they [the authorities] wouldn't dare take such a risk, so they modified the map and have now started doing a field survey,” said an engineer from the Rangoon Municipal Committee.
Asia World, a company close to the military regime, has been awarded permission to build the road. Only trucks that carry containers and logs will reportedly be allowed to use the road.
“The residents of the housing compounds are getting quite nervous. In Burma, if your property is located in an area that will come under government construction, you will lose it and never get any compensation,” the engineer explained.
So far, however, no building has been demolished, a source confirmed.
“Some offices are empty because the staff have already moved to Naypyidaw, but some are still there working. No one has been told where to move yet,” said a worker at the Botahtaung navy compound.
Over 800 buildings, including 55 buildings under the Myanmar Port Authority, that belong to the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Energy, Department of Progress of Border Areas & National Races & Development Affairs, Rangoon Municipal Committee, Ministry of Defense, Navy, Ministry of Forestry and Ministry of Electric Power are believed to be slated for destruction.
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NLD top leaders take roadshow to grass roots
Tuesday, 22 June 2010 16:56 Myint Maung
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Leaders of the National League for Democracy are conducting a roadshow of states and divisions to meet grass-roots members, explain policies and listen to the challenges they are facing since the party was declared illegal and disbanded by the ruling military junta early last month after deciding against registering under “unjust” electoral laws, a senior leader said.
The tour comes at the request of NLD general secretary Aung San Suu Kyi, central executive committee member Ohn Kyaing said.
From June 12, NLD central executive committee members Ohn Kyaing and Kyi Win have been on a tour set to take in Moegyoke, Thapatekyin, Mattaya, Patheingyi, Meiktila, Myinchan, Kyaukpadaung, Nyaung Oo in Mandalay Division and Pakokku in Magway Division. Similarly, central executive committee members Dr Win Tin and Han Tha Myint, and Bahan Township NLD chairman Aung Myint, have been touring Karen State since Saturday, Suu Kyi’s 65th birthday.
“We will not hold political meetings, issue political statements or direct the grass roots of the party. But we do need to find out about conditions on the ground,” Ohn Kyaing told Mizzima. “Aung San Suu Kyi told us to meet our political colleagues and listen to their difficulties.”
Suu Kyi issued the directive to listen to grass-roots voices when she met her lawyer Nyan Win. At the meeting, she asked the leaders to carry the message to township leaders that although the NLD had been barred from political activities, the group should continue working for national reconciliation, human rights and democracy as a leading political opposition group.
In the states and divisions visited so far during the NLD tours, the senior party executives explained to grass-roots party members the nature of the junta’s one-sided and unjust electoral laws and the party’s decision against re-registering with the junta’s Union Election Commission (UEC). Township members said they supported the party’s decisions and that they would follow unanimously the leadership of Suu Kyi and party policy, the party sources said.
Ohn Kyaing said: “Aung San Suu Kyi, party’s vice-chairman Tin Oo and CEC member Win Tin told us to carry out non-profit social services under a political agenda.”
CEC members met grass-roots party leaders Thein Tan and Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, NLD leaders in Mandalay Division. NLD members Myo Naing and Maung Maung Than also attended. Ohn Kyaing said the team would visit townships in Magway including Pakkoku after Mandalay.
A group led by Win Tin has since Saturday visited Hlaingbwe and Phaan in Karen State. He called in on the party grass roots in Mandalay, Pegu (Bago) and Rangoon Divisions early this year.
Tuesday, 22 June 2010 16:56 Myint Maung
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Leaders of the National League for Democracy are conducting a roadshow of states and divisions to meet grass-roots members, explain policies and listen to the challenges they are facing since the party was declared illegal and disbanded by the ruling military junta early last month after deciding against registering under “unjust” electoral laws, a senior leader said.
The tour comes at the request of NLD general secretary Aung San Suu Kyi, central executive committee member Ohn Kyaing said.
From June 12, NLD central executive committee members Ohn Kyaing and Kyi Win have been on a tour set to take in Moegyoke, Thapatekyin, Mattaya, Patheingyi, Meiktila, Myinchan, Kyaukpadaung, Nyaung Oo in Mandalay Division and Pakokku in Magway Division. Similarly, central executive committee members Dr Win Tin and Han Tha Myint, and Bahan Township NLD chairman Aung Myint, have been touring Karen State since Saturday, Suu Kyi’s 65th birthday.
“We will not hold political meetings, issue political statements or direct the grass roots of the party. But we do need to find out about conditions on the ground,” Ohn Kyaing told Mizzima. “Aung San Suu Kyi told us to meet our political colleagues and listen to their difficulties.”
Suu Kyi issued the directive to listen to grass-roots voices when she met her lawyer Nyan Win. At the meeting, she asked the leaders to carry the message to township leaders that although the NLD had been barred from political activities, the group should continue working for national reconciliation, human rights and democracy as a leading political opposition group.
In the states and divisions visited so far during the NLD tours, the senior party executives explained to grass-roots party members the nature of the junta’s one-sided and unjust electoral laws and the party’s decision against re-registering with the junta’s Union Election Commission (UEC). Township members said they supported the party’s decisions and that they would follow unanimously the leadership of Suu Kyi and party policy, the party sources said.
Ohn Kyaing said: “Aung San Suu Kyi, party’s vice-chairman Tin Oo and CEC member Win Tin told us to carry out non-profit social services under a political agenda.”
CEC members met grass-roots party leaders Thein Tan and Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, NLD leaders in Mandalay Division. NLD members Myo Naing and Maung Maung Than also attended. Ohn Kyaing said the team would visit townships in Magway including Pakkoku after Mandalay.
A group led by Win Tin has since Saturday visited Hlaingbwe and Phaan in Karen State. He called in on the party grass roots in Mandalay, Pegu (Bago) and Rangoon Divisions early this year.
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DVB News - Burma cyclone film wins top UK award
Published: 23 June 2010
The documentary Orphans of Burma’s Cyclone was last night honoured with a prestigious One World Media Award at a ceremony in London.
The film, shown on Channel 4’s Dispatches documentary strand, charts the life of a group of children orphaned by cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma’s southern Irrawaddy coast in May 2008 and killed 140,000. It was one of the worst recorded natural disasters to have hit Southeast Asia.
A team of undercover DVB cameramen arrived in the delta region two months after the cyclone and began filming the nine children, some as young as two. One of the cameramen, Ngwe Soe Linn, was eventually tracked down by Burmese intelligence and sentenced to 13 years in prison.
His fellow cameraman, ‘Z’, has since managed to flee Burma. He told DVB that the award was a “big victory” for Ngwe Soe Linn. “He does not know what’s happening; he doesn’t know what the results of his documentary are. I believe that if he knows he will be very happy. I hope I will send this information to him very soon.”
It is the second major award for the documentary, directed by Evan Williams, and wins the One World ‘child rights’ category. In 2009, the film won the Rory Peck Award, one of the world’s leading honours for cameramen working in dangerous environments.
“The main concern during filming is security – even in the villages there are many informers who give information to authorities,” said Z. “We were far from town, so if we hear an engine from a boat or see a stranger we have to run, because we don’t know who is who. This fear arose every day.”
He added that developing a relationship with the children being filmed was crucial to the documentary’s success. “We have to build a familiarity with them; we know that they are likely to have been mentally affected by the cyclone so we need to know them well.”
The Burmese government was roundly condemned for its lax response to the cyclone: foreign aid was initially refused and journalists were barred from entering the region, while a number of cyclone relief workers have since been imprisoned, some for as long as 35 years.
Published: 23 June 2010
The documentary Orphans of Burma’s Cyclone was last night honoured with a prestigious One World Media Award at a ceremony in London.
The film, shown on Channel 4’s Dispatches documentary strand, charts the life of a group of children orphaned by cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma’s southern Irrawaddy coast in May 2008 and killed 140,000. It was one of the worst recorded natural disasters to have hit Southeast Asia.
A team of undercover DVB cameramen arrived in the delta region two months after the cyclone and began filming the nine children, some as young as two. One of the cameramen, Ngwe Soe Linn, was eventually tracked down by Burmese intelligence and sentenced to 13 years in prison.
His fellow cameraman, ‘Z’, has since managed to flee Burma. He told DVB that the award was a “big victory” for Ngwe Soe Linn. “He does not know what’s happening; he doesn’t know what the results of his documentary are. I believe that if he knows he will be very happy. I hope I will send this information to him very soon.”
It is the second major award for the documentary, directed by Evan Williams, and wins the One World ‘child rights’ category. In 2009, the film won the Rory Peck Award, one of the world’s leading honours for cameramen working in dangerous environments.
“The main concern during filming is security – even in the villages there are many informers who give information to authorities,” said Z. “We were far from town, so if we hear an engine from a boat or see a stranger we have to run, because we don’t know who is who. This fear arose every day.”
He added that developing a relationship with the children being filmed was crucial to the documentary’s success. “We have to build a familiarity with them; we know that they are likely to have been mentally affected by the cyclone so we need to know them well.”
The Burmese government was roundly condemned for its lax response to the cyclone: foreign aid was initially refused and journalists were barred from entering the region, while a number of cyclone relief workers have since been imprisoned, some for as long as 35 years.
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