UN chief shares US concern about Aung San Suu Kyi
1 hr 4 mins ago
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday he shared the concern expressed by 10 US senators about the continued detention of Myanmar's democracy icon and Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
In a letter released Tuesday, 10 women US senators urged the UN secretary general to step up pressure on Myanmar's ruling junta to scrap elections plans and free Aung San Suu Kyi.
A UN statement Wednesday said Ban and his special adviser Ibrahim Gambari "share their (US senators') concern about the continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi" and "have repeatedly called for her release and that of other political prisoners and will continue to do so."
In their letter, the US lawmakers also appealed to Ban to publicly urge the military regime to end human rights abuses, "eliminate rape as an instrument of war" and bring violators to justice.
They also pressed him to ask the military to "abandon plans" to hold elections in 2010 under a much-criticized new constitution approved in May 2008, after Cyclone Nargis devastated southern parts of the country and left 138,000 people dead or missing.
The letter was signed by Senators Dianne Feinstein, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Patty Murray, Olympia Snowe, Blanche Lincoln, Maria Cantwell, Susan Collins, Barbara Boxer, Amy Klobuchar, Barbara Mikulski, and Lisa Murkowski.
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most of the last 19 years under detention by the military junta that has ruled the southeast Asian country since 1962. Her National League of Democracy won a landslide election victory in 1990 that the junta refused to recognize.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Chicago Tribune - Justice department memos: Experts dispute claim that harsh interrogation tactics had no lasting effect
Chicago Tribune - Justice department memos: Experts dispute claim that harsh interrogation tactics had no lasting effect
Memo claimed that harsh interrogations were largely benign
By Sarah Gantz and Ben Meyerson | Washington Bureau
April 19, 2009
WASHINGTON — The conclusion in recently released Justice Department memos that CIA interrogation techniques would not cause prolonged mental harm is disputed by some doctors and psychologists who say that the mental damage incurred from these practices is significant and undeniable.
An August 2002 memo from the Justice Department released last week outlined 10 interrogation techniques that could be used on top Al Qaeda prisoners, including waterboarding, stress positions, and for one prisoner with a known fear of insects, cramped confinement with a bug.
"I disagree wholeheartedly with their contention that there are no long-term psychological effects of these treatments," said Nina Thomas, an adjunct clinical associate professor of New York University's postdoctoral program in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. She said her stance on the detrimental effects of the CIA's practices is based on her experience working with torture victims from Bosnia, Myanmar and Africa.
Interrogation techniques like those used by the CIA undoubtedly have lasting effects, she said, such as paranoia, anxiety, hypervigilance, and "the destruction of people's personalities."
Brad Olson, a research professor of psychology at Northwestern University, agreed that the Justice Department's approved methods could be extremely damaging.
"Even given individual differences in a person's resilience, over time, using any of those techniques in combination, there's absolutely no question they are going to lead to permanent mental harm ... even individually." said Olson. "The insects—that's what woke me up in the middle of the night."
When interrogators learned of a prisoner's fear of insects, they planned to put him and a bug in a box, although the CIA said it never did so.
"Some of these [techniques] clearly have a very real physical component," said Dr. Allen Keller, director of the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture. He cited waterboarding—the interrogation technique that makes a prisoner believe he is in imminent danger of drowning—as an example. Interrogators kept a doctor on hand in case a prisoner subjected to the technique did not recover immediately, according to one of the memos released.
However, he said, "All these things have a clear physical and psychological component." A prisoner deprived of sleep may be overwhelmed with memories of torture when they become fatigued years later, Keller said. The same is true, he said, for the stomach growls of persons once tortured by starvation.
But David Rivkin, who served in the Justice Department under Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, defended the practices. The military has long subjected its own to these same techniques during training, he said.
"If this is torture, we've been torturing our own soldiers for years," Rivkin said. "Why is it that we are all of a sudden revolted and aghast?" In Rivkin's view, these techniques are better than other methods of coercion.
"These techniques of course are tough, they're not easy, but they're enormously restrained, they're not relying on brute force, they're not relying on infliction of pain," he said.
Regardless of its lasting damage, torture is not a particularly effective way of extracting information, according to Fathali Moghaddam, professor of psychology at Georgetown University.
"We know from very good evidence that torture does not get us good information," Moghaddam said. "Depending on the individual being tortured, all of these can have the effect of leading the individual being tortured to give completely incorrect information—as a way of stopping the pain."
The real question, Thomas said, is not whether these methods are damaging, but how something as qualitative as mental health can be measured in the black and white terms of "safe" and "unsafe."
"How you choose to measure distress or pain is somewhat abstruse," she said. "How do you measure shame and humiliation?"
Memo claimed that harsh interrogations were largely benign
By Sarah Gantz and Ben Meyerson | Washington Bureau
April 19, 2009
WASHINGTON — The conclusion in recently released Justice Department memos that CIA interrogation techniques would not cause prolonged mental harm is disputed by some doctors and psychologists who say that the mental damage incurred from these practices is significant and undeniable.
An August 2002 memo from the Justice Department released last week outlined 10 interrogation techniques that could be used on top Al Qaeda prisoners, including waterboarding, stress positions, and for one prisoner with a known fear of insects, cramped confinement with a bug.
"I disagree wholeheartedly with their contention that there are no long-term psychological effects of these treatments," said Nina Thomas, an adjunct clinical associate professor of New York University's postdoctoral program in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. She said her stance on the detrimental effects of the CIA's practices is based on her experience working with torture victims from Bosnia, Myanmar and Africa.
Interrogation techniques like those used by the CIA undoubtedly have lasting effects, she said, such as paranoia, anxiety, hypervigilance, and "the destruction of people's personalities."
Brad Olson, a research professor of psychology at Northwestern University, agreed that the Justice Department's approved methods could be extremely damaging.
"Even given individual differences in a person's resilience, over time, using any of those techniques in combination, there's absolutely no question they are going to lead to permanent mental harm ... even individually." said Olson. "The insects—that's what woke me up in the middle of the night."
When interrogators learned of a prisoner's fear of insects, they planned to put him and a bug in a box, although the CIA said it never did so.
"Some of these [techniques] clearly have a very real physical component," said Dr. Allen Keller, director of the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture. He cited waterboarding—the interrogation technique that makes a prisoner believe he is in imminent danger of drowning—as an example. Interrogators kept a doctor on hand in case a prisoner subjected to the technique did not recover immediately, according to one of the memos released.
However, he said, "All these things have a clear physical and psychological component." A prisoner deprived of sleep may be overwhelmed with memories of torture when they become fatigued years later, Keller said. The same is true, he said, for the stomach growls of persons once tortured by starvation.
But David Rivkin, who served in the Justice Department under Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, defended the practices. The military has long subjected its own to these same techniques during training, he said.
"If this is torture, we've been torturing our own soldiers for years," Rivkin said. "Why is it that we are all of a sudden revolted and aghast?" In Rivkin's view, these techniques are better than other methods of coercion.
"These techniques of course are tough, they're not easy, but they're enormously restrained, they're not relying on brute force, they're not relying on infliction of pain," he said.
Regardless of its lasting damage, torture is not a particularly effective way of extracting information, according to Fathali Moghaddam, professor of psychology at Georgetown University.
"We know from very good evidence that torture does not get us good information," Moghaddam said. "Depending on the individual being tortured, all of these can have the effect of leading the individual being tortured to give completely incorrect information—as a way of stopping the pain."
The real question, Thomas said, is not whether these methods are damaging, but how something as qualitative as mental health can be measured in the black and white terms of "safe" and "unsafe."
"How you choose to measure distress or pain is somewhat abstruse," she said. "How do you measure shame and humiliation?"
Cyclone Bijli spares Myanmar, Bangladesh
Cyclone Bijli spares Myanmar, Bangladesh
Sat Apr 18, 6:48 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar lifted an alert Saturday after Cyclone Bijli veered away from the western coast of the country, which was battered almost a year ago by deadly Cyclone Nargis.
Remnants of Bijli brought heavy rain to parts of Myanmar's western coast after making landfall briefly in Bangladesh without causing any serious damage.
"We have called off the cyclone warning. It's a great relief," Tun Lwin, director-general of Myanmar's Meteorological Department, told The Associated Press. Earlier warnings of tidal surges from the storm were also lifted.
The warnings came two weeks before the anniversary of Cyclone Nargis, which slammed into Myanmar's coast on May 2 and cut a swath of destruction through the main rice-growing area on the southwestern tip of the country, leaving nearly 140,000 people dead or missing.
Myanmar's government issued warnings Friday for its western coastal region and told boats to seek shelter. But by Saturday state media reported that the cyclone had been downgraded and would not directly hit the coast.
The outer edge of the cyclone lashed southern Bangladesh early Saturday, prompting its government to evacuate tens of thousands of residents from the country's low-lying coast. The storm weakened shortly after making landfall.
No major damage was reported, but local television channel ETV and Desh TV said a 9-year-old boy died in Cox's Bazar district in a stampede as residents rushed toward a cyclone shelter. Cox's Bazar is 185 miles (295 kilometers) south of the capital, Dhaka.
Ayesha Khatun of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said fishing boats would be allowed to return to sea soon. The country's main sea port in Chittagong would also reopen soon, said Farhad Uddin Ahmed, a senior port official.
Cyclones and tropical storms are common in the region. In 2007, Cyclone Sidr killed at least 3,500 people in Bangladesh.
Sat Apr 18, 6:48 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar lifted an alert Saturday after Cyclone Bijli veered away from the western coast of the country, which was battered almost a year ago by deadly Cyclone Nargis.
Remnants of Bijli brought heavy rain to parts of Myanmar's western coast after making landfall briefly in Bangladesh without causing any serious damage.
"We have called off the cyclone warning. It's a great relief," Tun Lwin, director-general of Myanmar's Meteorological Department, told The Associated Press. Earlier warnings of tidal surges from the storm were also lifted.
The warnings came two weeks before the anniversary of Cyclone Nargis, which slammed into Myanmar's coast on May 2 and cut a swath of destruction through the main rice-growing area on the southwestern tip of the country, leaving nearly 140,000 people dead or missing.
Myanmar's government issued warnings Friday for its western coastal region and told boats to seek shelter. But by Saturday state media reported that the cyclone had been downgraded and would not directly hit the coast.
The outer edge of the cyclone lashed southern Bangladesh early Saturday, prompting its government to evacuate tens of thousands of residents from the country's low-lying coast. The storm weakened shortly after making landfall.
No major damage was reported, but local television channel ETV and Desh TV said a 9-year-old boy died in Cox's Bazar district in a stampede as residents rushed toward a cyclone shelter. Cox's Bazar is 185 miles (295 kilometers) south of the capital, Dhaka.
Ayesha Khatun of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said fishing boats would be allowed to return to sea soon. The country's main sea port in Chittagong would also reopen soon, said Farhad Uddin Ahmed, a senior port official.
Cyclones and tropical storms are common in the region. In 2007, Cyclone Sidr killed at least 3,500 people in Bangladesh.
Asia Times Online - China wary of US-Myanmar 'detente'
Apr 17, 2009
Asia Times Online - China wary of US-Myanmar 'detente'
By Jian Junbo
SHANGHAI - In early April, the United States sent an envoy - director of the Office for Mainland Southeast Asia Stephen Blake - to Myanmar, the first such visit in seven years. In the same month, US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said Washington hoped to develop a common strategy with other Asian countries to help bring Myanmar out of isolation.
Such steps would have been unheard of during the George W Bush administration, which during its two terms took a hostile policy towards Myanmar and pressurized it to start a process of democratization.
It seems the administration of President Barack Obama is quietly changing his predecessor's policy, both towards Myanmar and other nations in what Bush called the "axis of evil" - Iran, Iraq and North Korea. For example, the White House recently expressed intent to start dialogue with Tehran and strengthen links with Pyongyang through the six-party framework. It has also dispatched congressmen to visit Cuba.
At first glance, it seems strange Obama would change his predecessor's foreign polices so radically and so quickly, but this is all part of the new administration's strategy. Under Obama, foreign policy will aim at proactively strengthening international legitimacy and soft power - or "smart power" as characterized by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - that was depleted under the Bush administration.
Obama is pushing the pendulum of US foreign relations in another direction, to consolidate a global leadership role severely weakened under Bush, particularly by the 2003 invasion of Iraq. All signs are that Washington wants to resume its status of benign hegemony in the post-Bush era. Against such a background, it's easy to understand Obama's new policy toward Myanmar, which is also an attempt to regain US influence in Myanmar lost since the end of the Vietnam War in the mid-1970s.
In a geopolitical sense, the Obama administration's plans will pose a challenge to the existing balance of power in Southeast Asia, and its policy will attract attention from some countries, especially Myanmar's neighboring powers like China and India. In other words, the US's new Myanmar policy will not only boost the US's image in the world but also alter the current geopolitical pattern in the region, provided Washington can carry out this new policy consistently and successfully.
In recent years, the US has been engaged in a war against terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and elsewhere. It took a hostile policy towards Myanmar, pressing it on human-rights issues, democratization and the release of dissidents. But the US achieved virtually nothing with these policies of containment, which are generally ineffective at bringing isolated countries to their knees. Washington sneered at economic cooperation with Myanmar and refused economic aid to the country, as the Bush administration viewed Myanmar as a dictatorial regime.
China took advantage of the situation to cultivate closer economic ties with Myanmar, which inevitably underpinned improved political relations. Interdependent relations now are the reality both for China and for Myanmar. With the development of these relations, China's influence in Myanmar has increased remarkably.
At first glance, the US's attempt to resume its influence in this country could pose a challenge to China, that could reduce or even end the Middle Kingdom's influence there. Geopolitical competition by big powers seems a very possible future for Southeast Asia, which is not good news for the countries in the region. Whatever happens, China is unlikely to withdraw from Myanmar because it has already developed very deep economic relations with it. China needs Myanmar's raw materials, and more importantly needs its ports to transport goods to other countries in Africa and Middle East.
On the surface, Washington's new policy to engage Myanmar could create a geopolitical rivalry that could easily lead to regional conflict. But this is not the whole or true picture of international politics in this region. Before analyzing the consequence of new US policy for Myanmar, a question should be asked: How will the US engage Myanmar?
Firstly, the US could seek direct dialogue with Myanmar's leaders and ask it to start democratization in exchange for economic or even political support among the international community. But this approach will not be easy to put into practice, as it is similar to policies of containment. Myanmar will not reform its political system according to a timetable set by Washington or discuss its domestic political affairs with the US.
Secondly, the US could engage Myanmar's major opposition party, the National League for Democracy, and dissidents who want to see the current military regime overthrown. Frankly, such "engagement" is nothing new, as all previous US administrations including the Bush administration tried that - sometimes even through the Central Intelligence Agency. This approach is no better than the first and has proved ineffective.
The third alternative for the US is to engage with Myanmar through economic cooperation or financial aid. However, the US imposes preconditions on aid or economic ties when dealing with developing nations. Myanmar has other sources of economic support, for example from China, so it will never accept conditional US aid. Economic cooperation without political conditions are not possible for the US and do not fit with the primitive aims of the US's new Myanmar policy. Steinberg has clearly stated that the core target of US policy toward Myanmar will not change. The US hopes Myanmar becomes "more open", can respect human rights and incorporate itself into global economy.
The US will quickly find it is difficult to engage Myanmar. So at this moment China is not worried about the US's seemingly rapid penetration of the Southeast Asian region. Although possible, geopolitical competition is not imminent. Out of its own strategic concerns, China would not welcome US engagement in Myanmar as a hegemonic power trying to dictate to Myanmar on political affairs, as this could result in domestic unrest in Myanmar that could threaten regional stability.
However, China would welcome economic or trade engagements by the US in Myanmar. A prosperous Myanmar with social stability fits Chinese interests and those of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Economic achievements in Myanmar helped by US support could benefit ASEAN unity. A united and efficient ASEAN can keep regional stability, which China would welcome.
In consideration of this, China can hardly oppose any positive US engagement in Myanmar, what China is against is any US tactics that would interfere in Myanmar's internal affairs and lead to regional instability. Additionally, the US should recognize the fact that China is an important actor in Southeast Asia when it plans its engagement policy in Myanmar, and the US would face great difficulty if it tried to exclude China from its new Myanmar policy.
The US should not attempt to try a six-party mechanism in its engagement with Myanmar. China, Myanmar and perhaps ASEAN will refuse this suggestion, although Steinberg voiced this idea several days ago. Myanmar is not North Korea, and is not threatening any country. Myanmar is not an issue for the international community, so it's not necessary to discuss Myanmar in a multilateral framework.
It will not be easy for the US to successfully engage in Myanmar if it tries the obsolete approaches used by Bush. China will never welcome that. But Beijing will be happy if the US can engage in Myanmar as a pure business partner. Essentially, the success or failure of US engagement in Myanmar does not depend on other countries' attitudes but on its own approach.
Dr Jian Junbo is assistant professor of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Asia Times Online - China wary of US-Myanmar 'detente'
By Jian Junbo
SHANGHAI - In early April, the United States sent an envoy - director of the Office for Mainland Southeast Asia Stephen Blake - to Myanmar, the first such visit in seven years. In the same month, US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said Washington hoped to develop a common strategy with other Asian countries to help bring Myanmar out of isolation.
Such steps would have been unheard of during the George W Bush administration, which during its two terms took a hostile policy towards Myanmar and pressurized it to start a process of democratization.
It seems the administration of President Barack Obama is quietly changing his predecessor's policy, both towards Myanmar and other nations in what Bush called the "axis of evil" - Iran, Iraq and North Korea. For example, the White House recently expressed intent to start dialogue with Tehran and strengthen links with Pyongyang through the six-party framework. It has also dispatched congressmen to visit Cuba.
At first glance, it seems strange Obama would change his predecessor's foreign polices so radically and so quickly, but this is all part of the new administration's strategy. Under Obama, foreign policy will aim at proactively strengthening international legitimacy and soft power - or "smart power" as characterized by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - that was depleted under the Bush administration.
Obama is pushing the pendulum of US foreign relations in another direction, to consolidate a global leadership role severely weakened under Bush, particularly by the 2003 invasion of Iraq. All signs are that Washington wants to resume its status of benign hegemony in the post-Bush era. Against such a background, it's easy to understand Obama's new policy toward Myanmar, which is also an attempt to regain US influence in Myanmar lost since the end of the Vietnam War in the mid-1970s.
In a geopolitical sense, the Obama administration's plans will pose a challenge to the existing balance of power in Southeast Asia, and its policy will attract attention from some countries, especially Myanmar's neighboring powers like China and India. In other words, the US's new Myanmar policy will not only boost the US's image in the world but also alter the current geopolitical pattern in the region, provided Washington can carry out this new policy consistently and successfully.
In recent years, the US has been engaged in a war against terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and elsewhere. It took a hostile policy towards Myanmar, pressing it on human-rights issues, democratization and the release of dissidents. But the US achieved virtually nothing with these policies of containment, which are generally ineffective at bringing isolated countries to their knees. Washington sneered at economic cooperation with Myanmar and refused economic aid to the country, as the Bush administration viewed Myanmar as a dictatorial regime.
China took advantage of the situation to cultivate closer economic ties with Myanmar, which inevitably underpinned improved political relations. Interdependent relations now are the reality both for China and for Myanmar. With the development of these relations, China's influence in Myanmar has increased remarkably.
At first glance, the US's attempt to resume its influence in this country could pose a challenge to China, that could reduce or even end the Middle Kingdom's influence there. Geopolitical competition by big powers seems a very possible future for Southeast Asia, which is not good news for the countries in the region. Whatever happens, China is unlikely to withdraw from Myanmar because it has already developed very deep economic relations with it. China needs Myanmar's raw materials, and more importantly needs its ports to transport goods to other countries in Africa and Middle East.
On the surface, Washington's new policy to engage Myanmar could create a geopolitical rivalry that could easily lead to regional conflict. But this is not the whole or true picture of international politics in this region. Before analyzing the consequence of new US policy for Myanmar, a question should be asked: How will the US engage Myanmar?
Firstly, the US could seek direct dialogue with Myanmar's leaders and ask it to start democratization in exchange for economic or even political support among the international community. But this approach will not be easy to put into practice, as it is similar to policies of containment. Myanmar will not reform its political system according to a timetable set by Washington or discuss its domestic political affairs with the US.
Secondly, the US could engage Myanmar's major opposition party, the National League for Democracy, and dissidents who want to see the current military regime overthrown. Frankly, such "engagement" is nothing new, as all previous US administrations including the Bush administration tried that - sometimes even through the Central Intelligence Agency. This approach is no better than the first and has proved ineffective.
The third alternative for the US is to engage with Myanmar through economic cooperation or financial aid. However, the US imposes preconditions on aid or economic ties when dealing with developing nations. Myanmar has other sources of economic support, for example from China, so it will never accept conditional US aid. Economic cooperation without political conditions are not possible for the US and do not fit with the primitive aims of the US's new Myanmar policy. Steinberg has clearly stated that the core target of US policy toward Myanmar will not change. The US hopes Myanmar becomes "more open", can respect human rights and incorporate itself into global economy.
The US will quickly find it is difficult to engage Myanmar. So at this moment China is not worried about the US's seemingly rapid penetration of the Southeast Asian region. Although possible, geopolitical competition is not imminent. Out of its own strategic concerns, China would not welcome US engagement in Myanmar as a hegemonic power trying to dictate to Myanmar on political affairs, as this could result in domestic unrest in Myanmar that could threaten regional stability.
However, China would welcome economic or trade engagements by the US in Myanmar. A prosperous Myanmar with social stability fits Chinese interests and those of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Economic achievements in Myanmar helped by US support could benefit ASEAN unity. A united and efficient ASEAN can keep regional stability, which China would welcome.
In consideration of this, China can hardly oppose any positive US engagement in Myanmar, what China is against is any US tactics that would interfere in Myanmar's internal affairs and lead to regional instability. Additionally, the US should recognize the fact that China is an important actor in Southeast Asia when it plans its engagement policy in Myanmar, and the US would face great difficulty if it tried to exclude China from its new Myanmar policy.
The US should not attempt to try a six-party mechanism in its engagement with Myanmar. China, Myanmar and perhaps ASEAN will refuse this suggestion, although Steinberg voiced this idea several days ago. Myanmar is not North Korea, and is not threatening any country. Myanmar is not an issue for the international community, so it's not necessary to discuss Myanmar in a multilateral framework.
It will not be easy for the US to successfully engage in Myanmar if it tries the obsolete approaches used by Bush. China will never welcome that. But Beijing will be happy if the US can engage in Myanmar as a pure business partner. Essentially, the success or failure of US engagement in Myanmar does not depend on other countries' attitudes but on its own approach.
Dr Jian Junbo is assistant professor of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Myanmar PM leaves for Boao Forum for Asia in China
Myanmar PM leaves for Boao Forum for Asia in China
www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-16 16:07:51
YANGON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein left Nay Pyi Taw Thursday for China to attend the "BoaoForum for Asia" in Boao, southern China's Hainan province.
With the theme "Asia: Managing Beyond Crisis", the three-day Boao Forum for Asia runs from Friday to Sunday and participants will discuss how Asia will deal with the global financial crisis.
Myanmar has called on all developed and developing countries to make collective efforts to ensure progress of savings and investment for the development the nation concerned, emphasizing that all the countries, developed and developing, to remain harmonious during the crisis.
Meanwhile, the prime minister has also urged his country's citizens working abroad to come back home for jobs when they are unemployed there out of the global financial crisis, saying that workers are still in demand in some sectors in the country and jobs are ready for them.
"The impact of global financial crisis on Myanmar is insignificant. More jobs will emerge if the entire national peoplemake concerted efforts in all seriousness, and this will undeniably fulfill the food, cloth, shelter needs of the people," he told a government ministry coordination meeting, holding that the global financial crisis does not affect the demand and products that can be exported as much as it can produce and maintaining that the main export markets of the country are neighboring ones in Asia.
Noting that Myanmar has no contact with West bloc banks and monetary organizations, he held that there will be no loss in the monetary sector as the foreign loans are few compared with other countries.
He also denied economic effect on the country as the government is building infrastructure on self-reliant basis with its own technology and money.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-16 16:07:51
YANGON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein left Nay Pyi Taw Thursday for China to attend the "BoaoForum for Asia" in Boao, southern China's Hainan province.
With the theme "Asia: Managing Beyond Crisis", the three-day Boao Forum for Asia runs from Friday to Sunday and participants will discuss how Asia will deal with the global financial crisis.
Myanmar has called on all developed and developing countries to make collective efforts to ensure progress of savings and investment for the development the nation concerned, emphasizing that all the countries, developed and developing, to remain harmonious during the crisis.
Meanwhile, the prime minister has also urged his country's citizens working abroad to come back home for jobs when they are unemployed there out of the global financial crisis, saying that workers are still in demand in some sectors in the country and jobs are ready for them.
"The impact of global financial crisis on Myanmar is insignificant. More jobs will emerge if the entire national peoplemake concerted efforts in all seriousness, and this will undeniably fulfill the food, cloth, shelter needs of the people," he told a government ministry coordination meeting, holding that the global financial crisis does not affect the demand and products that can be exported as much as it can produce and maintaining that the main export markets of the country are neighboring ones in Asia.
Noting that Myanmar has no contact with West bloc banks and monetary organizations, he held that there will be no loss in the monetary sector as the foreign loans are few compared with other countries.
He also denied economic effect on the country as the government is building infrastructure on self-reliant basis with its own technology and money.
Cyclone warning for Myanmar's west coast
Cyclone warning for Myanmar's west coast
Fri Apr 17, 6:18 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar weather officials issued a cyclone warning Friday, urging residents in the western coastal region to stay away from the sea for two days until the storm passed.
The military-run government's meteorological department issued the advice on its website following updates from the United Nations' weather monitoring centre.
"All vessels... in Myanmar waters along the Rakhine coast are advised to take precautionary measures by navigating away from the area exposed to the threat from rough seas and strong winds until 18 April 2009," it said.
The UN World Meteorological Organisation said that Cyclone Bijli was currently located over the Bay of Bengal "and is likely to intensify further."
"The current forecast indicates that the tropical depression will seriously affect the coasts of India, Bangladesh and northern Myanmar," it warned.
A Myanmar radio report said tidal surges six to eight feet (about two metres) high were expected and put the threat from the cyclone at "orange," which is medium-level.
"When the cyclone crosses, the surface wind speed could reach 60 to 75 miles per hour and the sea will be rough," the radio announcer said.
Myanmar was hit by a severe cyclone one year ago that left an estimated 138,000 people dead or missing and affected some 2.4 million people, mostly in the southwest delta region.
But despite a huge international relief push, the secretive ruling junta stalled on issuing visas to foreign aid workers and blocked some humanitarian supplies from entering the country, drawing worldwide condemnation.
Fri Apr 17, 6:18 am ET
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar weather officials issued a cyclone warning Friday, urging residents in the western coastal region to stay away from the sea for two days until the storm passed.
The military-run government's meteorological department issued the advice on its website following updates from the United Nations' weather monitoring centre.
"All vessels... in Myanmar waters along the Rakhine coast are advised to take precautionary measures by navigating away from the area exposed to the threat from rough seas and strong winds until 18 April 2009," it said.
The UN World Meteorological Organisation said that Cyclone Bijli was currently located over the Bay of Bengal "and is likely to intensify further."
"The current forecast indicates that the tropical depression will seriously affect the coasts of India, Bangladesh and northern Myanmar," it warned.
A Myanmar radio report said tidal surges six to eight feet (about two metres) high were expected and put the threat from the cyclone at "orange," which is medium-level.
"When the cyclone crosses, the surface wind speed could reach 60 to 75 miles per hour and the sea will be rough," the radio announcer said.
Myanmar was hit by a severe cyclone one year ago that left an estimated 138,000 people dead or missing and affected some 2.4 million people, mostly in the southwest delta region.
But despite a huge international relief push, the secretive ruling junta stalled on issuing visas to foreign aid workers and blocked some humanitarian supplies from entering the country, drawing worldwide condemnation.
Philippines urges Myanmar to free Suu Kyi
Philippines urges Myanmar to free Suu Kyi
AP - Friday, April 17
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine president has urged Myanmar's military junta to free pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest next month as a gesture of national reconciliation.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made the appeal in a meeting last week with Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein on the sidelines of an aborted Asian summit in Thailand, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday.
Arroyo urged Myanmar to release Suu Kyi in May, when the extension of her house arrest expires, saying it would create "tremendous goodwill for Myanmar from the international community," the department said in a statement.
Arroyo, who has survived four coup attempts and three impeachment bids, suggested that the junta consider following her approach of reaching out to the opposition "in the spirit of reconciliation and national unity," it said.
"As a neighbor of Myanmar, the Philippines has a deep sense of friendship with the people of Myanmar. We only have your country and your people's welfare at heart. This is the single, most concrete piece of advice and experience I can share with you," the statement quoted Arroyo as saying.
It said Thein Sein expressed appreciation for Arroyo's suggestions and said his government would take them into account.
He said his government is committed to its program of democratization and reconciliation, citing the adoption of a new constitution last year as a "critical first step." The government also is preparing for general elections next year, he added.
The constitution, drafted under the junta's influence without input from the pro-democracy movement, was passed by a national referendum last May, but the opposition charges that the vote was unfair.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing pro-democracy demonstrations and killing as many as 3,000 people.
It called elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results when Suu Kyi's party won overwhelmingly. Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years under house arrest.
Last week's Asian summit in Thailand was canceled when anti-government demonstrators stormed the seaside venue.
AP - Friday, April 17
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine president has urged Myanmar's military junta to free pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest next month as a gesture of national reconciliation.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made the appeal in a meeting last week with Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein on the sidelines of an aborted Asian summit in Thailand, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday.
Arroyo urged Myanmar to release Suu Kyi in May, when the extension of her house arrest expires, saying it would create "tremendous goodwill for Myanmar from the international community," the department said in a statement.
Arroyo, who has survived four coup attempts and three impeachment bids, suggested that the junta consider following her approach of reaching out to the opposition "in the spirit of reconciliation and national unity," it said.
"As a neighbor of Myanmar, the Philippines has a deep sense of friendship with the people of Myanmar. We only have your country and your people's welfare at heart. This is the single, most concrete piece of advice and experience I can share with you," the statement quoted Arroyo as saying.
It said Thein Sein expressed appreciation for Arroyo's suggestions and said his government would take them into account.
He said his government is committed to its program of democratization and reconciliation, citing the adoption of a new constitution last year as a "critical first step." The government also is preparing for general elections next year, he added.
The constitution, drafted under the junta's influence without input from the pro-democracy movement, was passed by a national referendum last May, but the opposition charges that the vote was unfair.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing pro-democracy demonstrations and killing as many as 3,000 people.
It called elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results when Suu Kyi's party won overwhelmingly. Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years under house arrest.
Last week's Asian summit in Thailand was canceled when anti-government demonstrators stormed the seaside venue.
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