News & Articles on Burma-Thursday, 06 May, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Thursday, 06 May, 2011
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Asean expected to reject Burma's chairmanship request
ASEAN must cautiously deal with Burma’s bid for chair
Asean to decide on Burma chairmanship
Rights group blasts Myanmar offer to host next ASEAN summit
Rights group says Myanmar not ready to chair ASEAN
Asean not easily swayed by Burma's bid for chair
NGOs call for observers, and end to hostilities
ASEAN: Reject Burma as Regional Group’s Chair
Leaked Cables Preempt EU-Asean Summit
Burma’s Commander-in-Chief to Visit China
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Karen Refugees Sent Back to Burma
By THE IRRAWADDY Friday, May 6, 2011

MAE SOT, Thailand—More than 1,000 refugees who fled to Thailand earlier this week due to armed conflict in Karen State, Burma were reportedly forced back to the conflict areas, refugees said.

“Since Thursday afternoon, Thai authorities told us to go back, saying the fighting is over. But actually fighting continues around our village. Therefore, we choose to hide in the jungle instead of going back home,” said a villager from Kyar Inn Seik Gyi Township, Karen State.

He added that forcing refugees back to the conflict area puts them at risk.

Following fresh armed conflict in Kyar Inn Seik Gyi township between government troops and an alliance between the Karen National Union and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, hundreds of refugees crossed the border into Thailand.

The refugees sought safety in Umphang Township, Thailand, which is about 210 km from Mae Sot, which sits opposite Burma’s border town of Myawaddy.

The number of refugees exceeded 1,000 on Thursday, according to aid workers in Mae Sot.

An officer in the Thai border patrol force, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “Skirmishes are far from the border. The situation is not very concerning for the refugees. That why they have to go back.”

Since the beginning of the conflict, the Thai authorities have tightened border security and increased troops. NGO workers in Mae Sot said that except for UNHCR and the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, NGOs have been barred from assisting the refugees. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21247
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The Nation: May 06, 2011
Asean expected to reject Burma's chairmanship request

Jakarta -- Asean has gotten tough with Burma's appeal to chair Asean in2014 citing the need to preserve the grouping's creditability.
According to a source closed to the meeting, it is likely that the Asean leaders would defer the decision further.
Singapore strongly opposed to granting the 2014 chairmanship to Burma.

The source said that without any consensus, it is likely that Burma will chair the Asean in 2016 followed the annual rotation.
Cambodia, Brunei, Laos and Malaysia will take turn of the Asean chairmanship in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Asean-expected-to-reject-Burmas-chairmanship-reque-30154748.html
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ASEAN must cautiously deal with Burma’s bid for chair
By Zin Linn May 06, 2011 7:25PM UTC

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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been measured granting military-led Myanmar (Burma) the chair of the grouping in 2014, regardless of grave concerns about human rights violence and shamming democratic system.

Senior ASEAN officials meeting in Jakarta ahead of a leadership summit at the weekend said Myanmar (Burma) had sought the chair of the 10-nation bloc in 2014, when communist Laos was due to take the job. At the meeting, the Laotian officials said that they would not mind switching with Burma with its chair in 2014. Cambodia and Brunei will the Asean chair in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

The new ex-general Thein Sein-led namesake civilian government of Burma is upset to acquire ASEAN ‘s endorsement. If it accepted as chairman of the organization would definitely provide them crucial recognition. Burma under the former military junta missed out its turn as chair of Asean in 2006 because of strong international objections led by Western countries.

In 2004 August, activists in ASEAN area launched an international campaign calling for Burma to be disqualified from chairing the regional bloc in 2006, saying it would menace the grouping’s credibility and reputation.

At that time, a delegation led by Dr Gothom Ariya, the then secretary-general of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia), presented Thai Foreign Ministry officials an open letter with signatures by organizations from the region, East Asia, Europe and North America. Copies of the letter addressed to respective ASEAN governments were delivered by a group of activists to member nations’ embassies in Bangkok.

Burma abandoned the opportunity to preside over ASEAN in 2006 due to international objections for its lack of political improvement. Burma has often pledged to perform economic and political reforms but all of those promises to ASEAN have been broken.

Human Rights Watch pointed out in its 6 May Statement that Burma has failed to address concerns repeatedly raised by ASEAN leaders in past summits.

“Rewarding Burma with ASEAN’s chairmanship after it staged sham elections and still holds 2,000 political prisoners would be an embarrassment for the region,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“ASEAN leaders need to decide if they will let Burma demote ASEAN to the laughingstock of intergovernmental forums.”

Burma‘s President Thein Sein has already arrived in Indonesia, the current chair of ASEAN, to be present at the two-day summit opening Saturday. He met Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday on what is his first journey overseas as president since he was sworn in on March 30.

On the other hand, The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) also calls on ASEAN leaders attending the 18th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia on 7-8 May 2011 to reject the application by Myanmar (Burma) to chair ASEAN in 2014 unless real democratic and human rights reforms are made by the Myanmar government.

The AIPMC says in its statement that oppression in Myanmar make up a black stain on the credibility of ASEAN. It will be an obstacle to efforts by ASEAN to build an ASEAN Community by 2015. ASEAN should rather consider suspending Myanmar from the organization over its flagrant violations of the ASEAN Charter.

The AIPMC underlines: “We urge Thailand in particular to refrain from any considerations to repatriate refugees from Myanmar currently on Thai soil. Most importantly, we call on ASEAN to support the call for a UN-led Commission of Inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Myanmar as a step towards ensuring that this region will no longer tolerate impunity and violations of human rights and to press upon Myanmar the need for tangible steps towards inclusive democracy in the country.”

AIPMC gives a clear message to Burma that genuine political reform was expected before Burma could become the chairman of ASEAN.

However, the chairmanship remains ASEAN’s only influence with the Burmese government and the group should take advantage of it more efficiently. ASEAN ought to take part to start a meaningful dialogue between Thein Sein government and the political dissident groups including key opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

ASEAN should make use of Burma’s bid for chair in three years’ time as a useful bargaining chip. This opportunity may be a delicate diplomatic attempt for ASEAN to play as a facilitator between President Thein Sein and the democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. All at once, the grouping can take part in addressing relationship between Burma and the Western democracy countries as well.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/53899/asean-must-cautiously-deal-with-burmas-bid-for-chair/
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Bangkok Post
Asean to decide on Burma chairmanship
Achara Ashayagachat
Published: 6/05/2011 at 05:59 PM
Online news:

Burma's request to resume its chairmanship in 2014 would be ascertained before the decision be agreed upon by the Asean leaders, said the Asean chairman, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, amidst dissident and international calls for Asean to press harder to the new-faced Burmese administration.

The Asean chair said on Friday Burma has formally submitted the letter to resume its chairmanship in 2014 and its new president Thein Sein has also raised the matter with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono yesterday.

Mr Yudhoyono has already told his Burmese counterparts that the he would forward the request for discussion among other Asean peers, said Mr Natalegawa.

"I have a feeling that this will not be decided here and now as we will ascertain the readiness of Burma," he said.

The Burmese junta has agreed to defer its annually-rotating chairmanship in 2005 as they were preparing for the "road map to democracy" and later the 2010 'sham' election. Burma believed its request could be processed automatically as they already had a civilian government, however, Asean has proposed that a fact-finding team should be sent to evaluate situation on the ground. Naypidaw has yet to respond to the Indonesian chair proposal.

Indonesia has switched its 2013 chairmanship with Brunei for the rotation this year, next year Cambodia will be the Asean chair and Laos in 2013.

The Asean Civil Society Conference and the Asean People's Forum held earlier this week here has already recommended the Asean summit review the Burmese request and support the UN Commission of Inquiry on the grave human rights abuses in the country.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch has also called on Asean members to reject Burma's request to chair the regional grouping in 2014 until the Burmese government has taken genuine steps towards improving human rights, including the release of more than 2,000 political prisoners.

Burma, Human Rights Watch said, has failed to address concerns repeatedly raised by ASEAN leaders in past summits.
"Rewarding Burma with ASEAN's chairmanship after it staged sham elections and still holds 2,000 political prisoners would be an embarrassment for the region," said Elaine Pearson, HRW deputy Asia director. "ASEAN leaders need to decide if they will let Burma demote ASEAN to the laughingstock of intergovernmental forums."

Ms Pearson also said an international inquiry in Burma would help protect the victims of serious abuses, advance accountability for international crimes, and generate broader respect for human rights.

"If ASEAN leaders really care about long-term stability and democratic rule in Burma, then supporting a commission of inquiry is the place to start," she said. http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/235674/asean-to-decide-on-burma-chairmanship
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Rights group blasts Myanmar offer to host next ASEAN summit
May 6, 2011, 8:57 GMT

Jakarta - Myanmar's offer Friday to host the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in 2014 has drawn flak from human rights groups, which said the country's new elected government needs to improve its act first.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene confirmed that 'Myanmar and Laos have requested an exchange of chairmanships,' which would make Myanmar take the 2014 slot in ASEAN's usually alphabetical rotation of chair and host nation.

There is precedent for such swaps. Indonesia is chairing the summits this year instead of Brunei. Cambodia is to host the summits in 2012 and Brunei in 2013.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa hinted that it was unlikely that a decision on Myanmar's proposal would be reached at the 18th ASEAN summit, held on Saturday and Sunday.

'I have a feeling, personally, that this is not a matter to be decided on here and now there will be a process to ascertain the readiness of Myanmar to accept the chairmanship in 2014,' he said.

Military-run Myanmar, also called Burma, was originally scheduled to chair an ASEAN summit in 2005, but it bowed out due to widespread condemnation of its poor human rights record and refusal to implement political reforms.

The country held a general election in November that has brought to power a government led by the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party, headed by former general Thein Sein.

The election, which excluded opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest at the time, and her National League for Democracy party, was condemned as a sham by most Western democracies.

'Rewarding Burma with ASEAN's chairmanship after it staged sham elections and still holds 2,000 political prisoners would be an embarrassment for the region,' said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director for activist group Human Rights Watch.

'ASEAN leaders need to decide if they will let Burma demote ASEAN to the laughing stock of intergovernmental forums,' she added.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1637457.php/Rights-group-blasts-Myanmar-offer-to-host-next-ASEAN-summit
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May 6, 2:19 AM EDT
Rights group says Myanmar not ready to chair ASEAN
By NINIEK KARMINI
Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Southeast Asian nations should reject Myanmar's request to chair their regional grouping in 2014 unless the government releases political prisoners and takes other concrete steps to improve human rights, a U.S.-based rights group said Friday.

Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, will gather in the Indonesian capital over the weekend to discuss regional security, economic developments and strategies to boost transportation links in the region.

Among those attending will be Myanmar's president, Thein Sein, who heads the military-backed party that overwhelmingly won general elections late last year.

After arriving in Jakarta on Thursday, Thein Sein asked Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, ASEAN's current chair, to back Myanmar's bid to take over the position in 2014.

Yudhoyono agreed to raise the issue at the leaders' summit, and some countries have already indicated they would not oppose.

"Rewarding Burma with ASEAN's chairmanship after it staged sham elections and still holds 2,000 political prisoners would be an embarrassment for the region," Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. Myanmar was formerly known as Burma.

Pearson said such a decision would turn ASEAN into a "laughingstock."

The regional grouping is supposed to rotate its chair between member countries - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - every year.

Myanmar was forced to skip its turn in 2005, however, after coming under heavy pressure from the international community over slow progress on national reconciliation and human rights.

Human Rights Watch said Friday that - despite Myanmar's recent release of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi - much more needs to be done.

In addition to the release of political prisoners, member states should set clear benchmarks for Myanmar, including dialogue with all political and ethnic parties, the group said.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters he had been asked by Yudhoyono to visit Myanmar to find out whether it is prepared to take over the chairmanship.

"However, (Myanmar's) proposal needs to be discussed jointly by the other ASEAN leaders," Natalegawa said. "We need more detailed information on Myanmar's readiness."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_ASEAN_SUMMIT?SECTION=HOME&SITE=AP&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
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Bangkok Post
Asean not easily swayed by Burma's bid for chair
Larry Jagan
Published: 6/05/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

Asean's decision on whether Burma will be allowed to chair the organisation in 2014 has been deferred until later in the year. Asean is in no rush to approve the Burmese bid to become head of Asean, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told the Bangkok Post yesterday, just days ahead of the May 7-8 Asean summit in Jakarta.

Burmese President Thein Sein (left) is escorted by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at a welcoming ceremony at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta yesterday. Mr Thein Sein is in Indonesia on a state visit and will attend the 18th Asean Summit from May 7-8.

As the current chair of Asean, Indonesia expects to first make a fact-finding mission to the country. Asean will only consider Burma's application to chair the organisation after that.

Mr Marty said he intended to meet Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during that visit, which is likely to occur in the coming weeks.

The new quasi-civilian government in Naypyidaw is desperate to get Asean's approval, and being accepted as chairman of the organisation would certainly give them much-needed credibility.

Burma under the old military regime skipped its turn as chair of Asean in 2006, in the face of strong international pressure led by Western countries, especially the United States, to have the oganisation disown its difficult ally because of human rights abuses and the lack of progress towards democracy.

Asean has no intention of being rushed into anything that might give the new government any form of legitimacy, the Indonesian foreign minister said. "We will not be pressured into bestowing credibility on the new regime without assessing first-hand the changes," Mr Marty said.

The new government and civilian administration are definitely developments, he said. "But we first have to digest these developments before considering Burma's bid to be the Asean chair. There is a process to go through involving procedures and technicalities."

The Burmese government has understood all along that a fact-finding mission would have to be conducted before Burma's candidacy for the chairmanship could be considered. This was made clear to Burma's foreign minister when he attended the special Asean foreign ministers meeting in Bangkok last month.

The new Thein Sein regime is anxious to have Asean give it legitimacy, by agreeing to its bid for the Asean chair in 2014. The government recently asked the Indonesian foreign minister to visit Burma. "Clearly I could not go at such short notice _ and there is too much to be done here in the lead-up to the summit," Mr Marty said. "Also I was concerned to avoid being used by the Myanmar government for its own purposes."

His planned trip to Burma last January was postponed by the regime because they were too busy forming the new government.

He smiled and said, "I know, I know. They are always busy."

At their retreat in Bogor in late January, the foreign ministers told Burma that an Asean delegation led by Indonesia was essential. This was reinforced last month when the new Burmese foreign minister formerly asked his Asean counterparts to agree to Burma taking the chair in 2014.

It will be a fact-finding mission, he said. "We need to see what changes have been introduced by the new civilian government and assess whether they are in a position to host the summit in three years' time."

It remains to be seen what concessions Asean, and the Indonesian foreign minister in particular, will try to extract from the Burmese government, using the latter's desire to be chairman of the organisation as a bargaining chip.

"We must avoid lecturing, bullying and threatening, as that will only be counter-productive. Instead we have to encourage and coax them," he said. This is an attitude shared by all the other Asean foreign ministers, though some countries like Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are much more supportive than the organisation's original five members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,Thailand and the Philippines.

"We are all concerned about Burma," the Malaysian foreign minister told the Bangkok Post on the sidelines of an Asean foreign ministers' meeting in Hanoi last year.

"We understand that Burma is an embarrassment for us all. But the more we push, the more they resist. We've tried lots of carrots in a quiet way," he said, including offering training, technical advice and expert visits. But Burma has not been interested in these offers.

But with a new civilian government, and some civilians at least now in leading advisory roles, the Burmese leaders may be more accommodating, according to Asian diplomats. The hope is that Thein Sein will be more approachable and accommodating. "We have no option but to continue to engage Burma's leaders," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said recently. "The situation for the Burmese people would be a lot worse if we hadn't." But privately he confided: "Change in Burma is going to take a very, very long time."

The Indonesian foreign minister would be an excellent envoy to visit Burma. All last year before the elections, he worked tirelessly to get the military regime to accept election monitors, or visitors, to "experience the election", as he liked to put it. He failed of course, but always remained optimistic to the very last minute.

"We understand how hard the transition to democracy is; we have valuable lessons to share with the Burmese government," he said.

Mr Marty told the Bangkok Post that he intends to try to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi during any future agreed trip to Burma. "That is certainly my intention," he said, but stopped short of saying it would be a prerequisite for the visit. http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/235555/asean-not-easily-swayed-by-burma-bid-for-chair
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Bangkok Post: BORDER CONFLICT
NGOs call for observers, and end to hostilities

Published: 6/05/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Achara Ashayagachat

JAKARTA : Thai and Cambodian non-government organisations have jointly called for a ceasefire between the two countries and urged Asean to quickly deploy observers in the disputed border area.

Suntaree Saeng-ging, secretary general of the Thai NGO Coordinating Committee, and Thun Saray, president of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, announced the joint statement, which was signed by some 40 organisations from both countries. They also called on Asean to pay more attention to the plight of displaced people from both countries and to settle the conflict through negotiations.

The current border conflict has forced villagers, especially women and children, to abandon their homes and threatened to prolong the sporadic episodes of violence that started in February. Because soldiers from both sides continue exchanging artillery and small arms fire, it was crucial for Asean leaders to play a leading role in ending the conflict, the two activists said.

Thai and Cambodian NGO representatives attending the Asean Civil Society Conference and Asean People Forum, which are running parallel to the Asean summit here, met with the press to air ideas on how to end the border conflict and on ways the two countries might cooperate.

Participants at the events, organised by the People's Empowerment Foundation, noted that the media should go beyond simply regurgitating the official line of their governments and pay more attention to the suffering of the displaced border villagers.

Pa Nguon Teang, executive director of Radio Voice of Democracy, said it was important to have an independent mechanism for disseminating objective information about the conflict.

Like Thai politicians, Cambodian politicians are exploiting the border conflict for their own political gains, Mr Pa Nguon said.

It will take time for the two countries to keep their politicians from using the border conflict to stir up nationalistic sentiment and to reduce the animosity between the people of the two countries, he said.

Visit Duangkaew, a villager from Phum Srol village in Si Sa Ket's Kantaralak district who participated in a workshop on the sidelines of the Asean People Forum, said border communities did not know who was benefitting from the war.

The fighting has damaged property and made villagers fear for their lives, he said.

The villagers understand that Preah Vihear temple belonged to Cambodia and that the Thai government was insisting that Thailand owned the 4.6-square-km of land around it.

This conflict should be settled through political means and not by force, he said.

Mr Visit said most of the villagers believed the border problem would end once Thailand has a new government.

Meanwhile, the Southeast Asia Women's Caucus on Asean has appealed to regional leaders to urgently provide humanitarian assistance to the displaced villagers along the Thai-Cambodian border.

The letter signed by female NGO representatives from Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia will be delivered to Indonesia, the Asean chair, this weekend. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/235548/ngos-call-for-observers-and-end-to-hostilities
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ASEAN: Reject Burma as Regional Group’s Chair
Southeast Asian Leaders Should Endorse International Commission of Inquiry
May 5, 2011

Rewarding Burma with ASEAN's chairmanship after it staged sham elections and still holds 2,000 political prisoners would be an embarrassment for the region. ASEAN leaders need to decide if they will let Burma demote ASEAN to the laughingstock of intergovernmental forums.
Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch

(New York) - Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should reject Burma's request to chair the regional grouping in 2014 until the Burmese government takes genuine steps towards improving human rights, including the release of more than 2,000 political prisoners, Human Rights Watch said today.

Burmese President Thein Sein will be attending the May 7-8 ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Indonesia on his first trip abroad as president since he was appointed in March 2011.

Human Rights Watch pointed out that Burma has failed to address concerns repeatedly raised by ASEAN leaders in past summits. Burma held sham elections in November 2010, with widespread restrictions on opposition parties, continued detention of political activists, and severe limits on basic freedoms of expression, association, and assembly. International election monitoring was not allowed. The main military-backed party swept the large majority of seats and now dominates the government.

"Rewarding Burma with ASEAN's chairmanship after it staged sham elections and still holds 2,000 political prisoners would be an embarrassment for the region," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "ASEAN leaders need to decide if they will let Burma demote ASEAN to the laughingstock of intergovernmental forums."

Since the election, Burma freed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi when her house detention order expired. But more than 2,000 activists, journalists, artists, aid workers, and members of political parties remain in Burma's squalid prisons, locked up for peaceful acts of expression.

ASEAN countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia have long called for the release of political prisoners in Burma.

Human Rights Watch said ASEAN member states should set clear benchmarks for Burma to earn the right to be chair, starting with the immediate release of all political prisoners in Burma, an inclusive dialogue with all political and ethnic parties, and cooperation with international efforts to promote accountability for human rights abuses.

"ASEAN leaders should not be fooled into thinking Aung San Suu Kyi's release means any progress on reform in Burma," said Pearson. "They should join Indonesia and the Philippines in calling for Burma to release all political prisoners."

Human Rights Watch also pressed ASEAN leaders to support growing calls for an international commission of inquiry into violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Burma. To date, 16 countries have publicly supported this call, though none from Asia. Burma's long-running internal armed conflict has led to numerous abuses against the civilian population. Since November 2010, Burmese army operations in eastern Burma's Karen State have caused tens of thousands of civilians to be displaced on both sides of the Burma-Thailand border. Civilians have been forced to serve as porters in areas containing anti-personnel landmines and improvised explosive devices. Large numbers of convicts from several prisons in Burma have also been forced to be porters for the army during military operations, including walking ahead of troops to trigger landmines in a practice known as "atrocity de-mining."

Human Rights Watch said an international inquiry in Burma would help protect the victims of serious abuses, advance accountability for international crimes, and generate broader respect for human rights.

"Establishing an international commission of inquiry would be a significant step to ending ongoing abuses and impunity in Burma," said Pearson. "If ASEAN leaders really care about long-term stability and democratic rule in Burma, then supporting a commission of inquiry is the place to start." http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/05/asean-reject-burma-regional-group-s-chair
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Leaked Cables Preempt EU-Asean Summit
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN Friday, May 6, 2011

BANGKOK—Following the May 5 business summit in Jakarta between the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)—combined with reports from recently leaked US diplomatic cables shedding light on several European countries' policies on Burma—suggestions are that the EU's post-election shift on Burma should not come as a major surprise.

The EU modified its sanctions against the Burmese authorities, relaxing visa restrictions against a number of officials, including the new foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lin, who is now deemed “an essential interlocutor� by the Council of the EU. The Council statement said that the amendments were intended “to encourage and respond to improvements in governance and progress, in the hope that a greater civilian character of the government will help in developing much needed new policies.�

Prior to the statement, there was speculation among Burma activists and analysts that the EU was engaged in a collective softening of its “common position� on Burma, after the November 2010 elections and the formation of a new government in Burma earlier in 2011.

However, recently leaked US diplomatic cables from various European embassies reminded observers that overlooking the EU travel ban for Burmese ministers is nothing new.

Prior to the September 2006 Asia-Europe (ASEM) meeting, the then-Finnish Presidency of the EU invited Nyan Win, who at the time was Burmese foreign minister, to attend the summit. This drew US attention, and the matter was raised in meetings between US diplomatic officials and counterparts in various European Union member-states in the weeks leading up to the ASEM gathering.

On Aug. 1, 2006, US officials in Dublin discussed the issue with Ireland's department of foreign affairs Asia section first secretary James McIntyre, who said that the Irish government “would not ask the EU Presidency to withdraw or downgrade their invitation for Burma� to attend the following month's meeting “because the decision is in line with the EU Common Position,� which allows Burmese officials to be exempted from the visa ban for multilateral meetings if the situation in Burma is addressed at the meeting.

On the same day, US officials in Vienna met with deputy director for Asia and Oceania in the Austrian ministry of foreign affairs Peter Storer who responded to US concerns about the invitation by saying that the ban imposed on the Burmese at the previous year's ASEM meeting by the Dutch EU Presidency resulted in Asean member-states boycotting the meeting.

Meanwhile, in Prague, the US embassy to the Czech Republic met with Czech foreign ministry official Ivan Grollova who said, according to the leaked cable, that the Czechs “supported the decision on the condition that the EU use the Burmese foreign minister's attendance at ASEM as an opportunity to have substantive discussions on human rights violations in Burma.�

On Aug. 1, US officials in The Netherlands spoke with the Dutch ministry for foreign affairs Southeast Asia officer Christian Pourchez, who said that his country would not challenge the Finnish invitation to Burma, despite refusing to issue a similar invite the previous year.

Pourchez said that the meeting would be an opportunity for the EU to press Burma on human rights issues and that—irrespective of the stance taken by other EU member-states—the Dutch government would take an aggressive approach with the Burmese foreign minister. The US responded that “according to Pourchez's own office, the Burmese foreign minister has relatively little influence within the regime and his presence at an EU forum can do little to further human rights in Burma.�

At that September 2006 ASEM summit, the Burmese foreign minister “assured us they were seriously striving for democratic reforms,� said a Finnish official who attended the meeting, which came a year before the Burmese crackdown on monks and protestors during the “Saffron Revolution.�

One of the listed speakers at the May 5 business meeting in Jakarta was Aung Khin Myint, the chairman of Myanmar International Freight Forwarders Association (AFFA). After the summit, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met with Burmese counterpart Thein Sein, who arrived in Jakarta for his first state visit since becoming president, before the Asean summit which takes place over the weekend.

Burma's president is expected to push for his country's candidacy as Asean Chair in 2014, and despite the EU's recent renewal of most of the current sanctions, there is no indication that the Europeans will oppose Burma's accession, irrespective of whether further reforms—such as release of political prisoners—takes place.

The EU describes itself as Asean's second largest trading partner and the biggest foreign investor in Asean, though these are cumulative figures based on investment by companies from EU member states and on trade between the 37 countries making up the two regional blocs.

The EU is seeking free trade agreements with Asean member states, such as Singapore and Malaysia, though Indonesia, the current chair, is pushing for a bloc-to-bloc deal, rather than individual countries cutting bilateral deals.

Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21245&page=2
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Burma’s Commander-in-Chief to Visit China
By WAI MOE Thursday, May 5, 2011

A high-level military delegation led by the commander-in-chief of Burma’s armed forces, Gen Min Aung Hlaing, is scheduled to visit the country's closest ally, China, in the middle of this month, on what will be the first top military visit to China since Burma's new government was sworn in in March.

While Min Aung Hlaing will take the opportunity to introduce his deputies to their Chinese counterparts, the Burmese delegation’s top priorities involve easing the ethnic tensions on the Sino-Burmese border, creating border stability and increasing military cooperation between the two countries, intelligence sources said.

Min Aung Hlaing took over on March 30 as commander-in-chief, succeeding Burmese junta supremo Snr-Gen Than Shwe. His last China visit was in September when he accompanied Than Shwe who introduced him to several leading Chinese officials.

Both Min Aung Hlaing and deputy commander-in-chief Lt-Gen Soe Win are reputed among Burma's military generals as being savvy on Sino-Burmese border issues as they served as regional commanders in the area.

Since Naypyidaw’s military offensive against the Kokang army—officially called the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army—in August 2009, when some 37,000 refugees fled onto Chinese soil, Beijing has raised concerns about “peace and stability” along its Burmese border.

In his first policy comment on ethnic issues, Thein Sein signaled at a meeting of the Central Committee for Progress of Border Areas and National Races on April 23 in Naypyidaw that the regime would maintain centralized power over ethnic issues.

“It is important that administration machinery of the Union Government to reach out to whole nation, [sic] including far-flung border areas,” Thein Sein was quoted as saying in state-run-newspaper The New Light of Myanmar.

“Peace and stability is essential in building a developing nation,” he reportedly said, adding that the country cannot enjoy peace and stability without national unity among its more than 100 national races.

Thein Sein also reportedly spoke about the three “main national causes”—non-disintegration of the Union, non-disintegration of national solidarity, and perpetuation of sovereignty— imposed by the previous military regime, which he served as prime minister from 2007 to 2011.

The new president referred to them collectively as “a national policy” of unity. He also vowed development in ethnic areas as a solution to ensure unity with ethnic minorities.

However, Thein Sein did not make any mention anything about a genuine dialogue with ethnic armed groups nor did he suggest greater autonomy and civil rights for Burma's ethnic people—issues that are demanded as a prerequisite to any agreement by the ethnic armies that have rejected Naypyidaw's Border Guard Force plan.

Meanwhile, Gen Xu Caihou, a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of China, is scheduled to visit Burma after Min Aung Hlaing’s China trip, sources said.

Xu Caihou is one of three vice chairman of the Central Military Commission—alongside Gen Guo Boxiong and Vice-President Xi Jinping—under Hu Jintao’s chairmanship. He became vice chairman of the Central Military Commission in September 2004. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21239

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