News & Articles on Burma Tuesday, 19 June 2012 ----------------------------------------- Burma's tale of two presidents Freedom comes with law, Aung San Suu Kyi tells world during LSE visit Aung San Suu Kyi pays tribute to BBC on tour of UK Burma To Free All Political Prisoners Thousands pay tribute to Burma's 'last great hope' Myanmar's Suu Kyi visits London, Oxford on UK tour Myanmar Journalists Win Battles, but War Not Over Aung San Suu Kyi: I never hated the Burmese army Myanmar to target economy in next wave of reforms Thein Sein Aims to Triple GDP by 2016 Myanmar president vows fresh wave of reform Aung San Suu Kyi returns to Britain after 24 years Aung San Suu Kyi Returns to Britain ------------------------------------------ The Guardian News Burma's tale of two presidents A tussle is looming between Thein Sein's courtship of foreign investors and Aung San Suu Kyi's more cautious approach Simon Tisdall guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 19 June 2012 15.52 BST After decades of authoritarian rule by a shadowy clique of army generals, Burma is unexpectedly luxuriating in the leadership of not one but two high-profile "presidents", one selected, one honorary. This incongruous arrangement is sustained, for now, by a shared belief that Burma cannot go on as before. But the sense of common purpose does not necessarily extend to considerations of how the new Burma may best be built. In one corner stands Thein Sein, installed in office after a heavily managed poll in 2010 and chief executor of Burma's democratic opening. By freeing political prisoners, easing media curbs and allowing relatively free and fair elections, Thein Sein surprised the world. Despite ongoing ethnic violence, he has stuck to his reformist guns so far and won a suspension of EU and US trade sanctions. In the opposite corner stands Aung San Suu Kyi, inspirational icon and Nobel peace prize winner. Though now an elected MP and thus a practising politician, Aung San Suu Kyi's role remains primarily that of moral exemplar and one-woman national conscience. Her outlook may not sit easily with the nitty-gritty business of nation-building that lies ahead. Burma's tale of two presidents took a potentially decisive turn this week when Thein Sein announced a "second wave of reforms". The new focus must be on economic growth, attracting foreign investment and developing national infrastructure, he said. The role of the state should be reduced not only in key sectors such as energy, telecoms and extraction but also in health and education. By these means general prosperity would be achieved, he said. Such sentiments are, in theory, music to western ears. Any move to embrace the free-market system is welcome in the US and Japan. They and others have long fretted over the free rein in Burma given to China, which has exploited the country's rich natural resources and dominated its external trade while the west's hands were effectively tied. A desire to break Beijing's exploitative grip on Burma's impoverished economy is thought to have been a key factor behind Thein Sein's rise. It was symbolised by last year's suspension of a giant Chinese-backed hydroelectric dam project costing $3.6bn (2.3bn). With the government aiming to triple GDP by 2015-16, western businesses such as Coca-Cola have announced a return to Burma after many decades. Energy multinationals such as Chevron and Total are expected to up their stake as the government prepares to issue more onshore and offshore exploration licences. Industry minister Soe Thane said this month that Burma was seeking investment in tourism and natural resources. Natural gas exports increased to about $3bn last year and are set to rise sharply in 2013, according to the Asian Development Bank. "We want to intensively court foreign investments," Soe Thane said. "Necessary steps have been taken to create an investment friendly climate for foreign investors." The message from Burma's other "president" is decidedly more cautious. During her European tour Aung San Suu Kyi has appeared to throw cold water on Thein Sein's plans, warning repeatedly that western investment may be highly risky for all concerned while issues of transparency, accountability, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary remain unresolved. Speaking to the International Labour Organisation in Geneva, she said she favoured investment that raised the living standards of ordinary people and safeguarded labour rights. She questioned past government oil deals with China and urged foreign companies not to do business with the government-controlled Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (Moge). The agency "lacks both transparency and accountability," she said. Aung San Suu Kyi went on to call for reforms that attract investment that is "sustainable and truly beneficial to our people". She said: "Investors should adhere to best codes of practices. Track records in regard to internationally accepted labour standards and environmental responsibility should be examined We understand that investors do not come purely for altruistic reasons. We accept that investments must pay off, investments must lead to profits. But we would like these profits shared between the investors and our people." Aung San Suu Kyi's candid statements led commentators to predict a coming clash with Thein Sein, a claim both camps reject. "Her comments on the state of [Burma's] reforms ... have caused a rift between Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein and exposed their different priorities," the Irrawaddy newspaper reported. "This comes as a reminder that the reform process continues thanks to a fragile balance of power, which has the potential to implode at any time. The reform process remains heavily dependent on two individuals - Suu Kyi and Thein Sein - and on successful cooperation between their support bases," Asia analyst Giulia Zino told the newspaper. Aung San Suu Kyi's stand is admirable on many counts. As Russians and the peoples of former Soviet bloc countries in eastern Europe learned to their cost in the 1990s, democratic reform means little if not swiftly underpinned by advancing, shared prosperity. The bottom-line question now is: can Aung San Suu Kyi help Burma achieve substantive, tangible results while upholding her long-nourished principles? This tale of two presidents has a long way to go. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/19/burma-two-presidents -------------------------------------------- Freedom comes with law, Aung San Suu Kyi tells world during LSE visit Aung San Suu KyiBurmese democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi told an LSE audience that fairness and freedom can only be restored to her country under the rule of law. Speaking on her first visit to the UK for 24 years, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said that unity in Burma and a new constitution could only be achieved within a legal framework. This is what we all need - unless we see that justice is to be done, we cannot proceed to genuine democracy, she told an audience of students, staff and visitors. She said that she condemned violence wherever it occurred, but that a full understanding of its causes was key: Resolving conflict is not about condemnation, its about finding the roots, the causes of that conflict and how they can be resolved in the best way possible. The leader of the National League of Democracy in Burma, who has spent much of her life under house arrest on the orders of the countrys military rulers, was speaking as part of a round-table discussion at LSE featuring academic and legal experts. LSE Director Judith Rees reminded listeners that the event was taking place on Aung San Suu Kyis 67th birthday and that everyone wanted to celebrate that she was able to enjoy the day in freedom. Professor Rees said: Your trip to the UK will go down in history and Im sure that its an emotional trip for you. She also invited the crowd to sing Happy Birthday, adding: Its a tribute not just to you but to all those who have campaigned for freedom in Burma. Alex Peters-Day, General Secretary of LSEs Students Union, presented the guest with a surprise present - a photograph of her late father taken in London in 1947 - and with an LSE baseball cap, a traditional gift for visiting leaders. Aung San Suu Kyi event panelThe panel discussion also involved LSE professors Mary Kaldor and Christine Chinkin, Burmese activist and visiting fellow Dr Maung Zarni, Oxford professor Nicola Lacey and barrister Sir Geoffrey Nice QC. Professor Kaldor ended the event by passing on a question from a student whod asked Aung San Suu Kyi how she had found her strength to continue her campaigning. She answered: Its all of you, and people like you, who give me the strength to continue. And I suppose I have a stubborn streak in me. 19 June 2012 http://www2.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/news/archives/2012/06/ASSK.aspx ------------------------------------------------- 19 June 2012 Last updated at 14:08 GMT Aung San Suu Kyi pays tribute to BBC on tour of UK Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has thanked the BBC World Service for keeping her "in touch", during her years of house arrest in Burma. On the first day of a UK tour, she met the BBC's director general and staff at the BBC Burmese Service in London. Earlier she stressed the "importance of the rule of law" in democracy, at a London School of Economics debate. During the four-day tour, Ms Suu Kyi is due to meet members of the Royal Family and address Parliament. The pro-democracy leader was freed from more than two decades of house arrest in late 2010. On her visit to BBC Broadcasting House in central London, she paid tribute to BBC staff. "Because of the BBC I never lost touch with my people, with the movement for democracy in Burma and with the rest of the world. For that I would like to thank all of you very sincerely," she said. 'Resolving conflict' It was a real honour to receive Aung San Suu Kyi at the World Service. What was really striking was that she was genuinely pleased to see us here. She spoke about how she listened to the World Service during her years of detention. It was her link to the outside world, it kept her informed and she relied on the knowledge it provided. She even had some suggestions about programming. She told us that this visit to the World Service felt a like coming back to a family. Her schedule is very tight, but for everyone in the Burmese service this was an unforgettable experience. During a brief conversation, Ms Suu Kyi recalled how she was "thrilled" to hear a young Burmese boy speaking on his programme for the first time. "Well that's the World Service," Mr Lee Travis replied. "It does what it says on the tin, and I am just glad to have been a part of the things that you listened to that helped you." Afterwards, Mr Lee Travis added: "It is so delightful to shake the hand of a person that is doing such a lot for freedom around the world." Taking part in a round-table debate at LSE on Tuesday morning - her 67th birthday - Ms Suu Kyi said reform and democracy were only possible when "justice was done and seen to be done". Asked why she did not condemn the military junta in Burma, she explained that "resolving conflict is not about condemnation", but about discovering and solving the roots of conflict. She also said she had been "touched by the warmth" that people had welcomed her with during the visit. Her two-week-long tour - her first to Europe since 1988 - is seen as another milestone for Burma's political progress and includes visits to the UK, Switzerland, France and Norway. Her decision to travel has been seen as a sign of confidence in the government of President Thein Sein, who has pursued a course of reform since coming to power last year, in Burma's first elections in 20 years. Royal meeting On Wednesday, the opposition leader will address Oxford University where she is expected to receive an honorary degree. Aung San Suu Kyi: "I never knew how much people cared for us" She lived in the city for a number of years with her British husband, Michael Aris, before returning to Burma. Ms Suu Kyi will meet the Prince of Wales Duchess of Cornwall on Thursday, as well as addressing both Houses of Parliament. Ms Suu Kyi is the daughter of Burmese independence leader Aung San, who was assassinated in 1947. She became the leader of Burma's pro-democracy movement when, after living abroad for many years, she returned to Burma in 1988, initially to look after her sick mother. She never left the country, fearing its military rulers would not allow her to return and was unable to receive her Nobel Peace Prize in person, or be with her husband when he died in 1999.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18493008 ------------------------------------------- Worldcrunch Burma To Free All Political Prisoners THE IRRAWADDY (Burma) NAYPYIDAW The Burmese government is planning to free all political prisoners by July, reports The Irrawaddy. As opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was in Oslo receiving the Nobel Prize she was awarded in 1991, Industry Minister Soe Thane, not to be outshined, announced that President Thein Sein had decided to release all political prisoners by the end of July. Thein Sein is committed to democracy like Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi," said Soe Thane. The Minister stated that no violent criminals would be freed, something that Mye Aye, leader of the pro-democracy movement 88 Students Generation considers to be controversial. The activist, a former political prisoner, told The Irrawady that There is a gray area between political prisoners and violent criminals. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), there are currently 471 political prisoners and 465 more whose whereabouts have not yet been verified. The unconditional release of all political prisoners was one of the benchmarks set by the E.U. for the lifting on economic sanctions on Burma. All rights reserved Worldcrunch http://www.worldcrunch.com/burma-free-all-political-prisoners/5680 ------------------------------------------ The Irish Times - Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Thousands pay tribute to Burma's 'last great hope' RӉS͎ INGLE THE SMALL, elegant woman with fresh flowers in her hair beamed as she took her seat in a Dublin auditorium late yesterday afternoon. At first sight of the Burmese pro- democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, the 2,000-strong crowd gathered for the Electric Burma concert in the Bord Gᩳ Energy Theatre rose to their feet, cheering and applauding. This was a celebration of her freedom, a heartfelt tribute to a woman who had been under house arrest or in prison in Burma for 15 of 24 years until her release last November. Last night people in Dublin came to pay homage to a hero, and in return she smiled. Featuring an eclectic mix of dance, music, song and the spoken word, not to mention a trapeze and hip-hop acts, the Amnesty International-backed concert had the feel of the ultimate variety show, albeit one shot through with the poetic majesty of Seamus Heaney, who sat to Suu Kyis right. Bob Geldof read from Heaneys Cure of Troy but not before commiserating with Suu Kyi for having to spend the day with Bono, who was sitting on the other side of the Nobel laureate. After a day with the U2 singer, he suggested, she might have felt she wanted to be put back under house arrest. Against the backdrop of a stage set made from dozens of birdcages, homegrown talent was showcased along with stirring speeches from human right activists such as Wuer Kaixi, the exiled leader of the Tiananmen Square protest, who reminded the audience of all the political prisoners across the world still behind bars. Actors Saoirse Ronan and Vanessa Redgrave read more Heaney and Damien Rice reprised Unplayed Piano, a song he wrote for the Burmese dissidents 60th birthday seven years ago. Suu Kyi turns 67 today and she was serenaded with the birthday song by the thousands who gathered at a free open-air concert at Grand Canal Dock later in the evening. On her short visit to Dublin she was received by President Michael D Higgins at ras an Uachtarᩮ and received an honorary degree from Trinity College Dublin. She also received the Freedom of the City of Dublin, which she was awarded in 2000 when still under house arrest. When Bono took to the stage last night to present Suu Kyi with the Ambassador of Conscience Award he said it was one of the great ironies that because of her confinement the world has become your home . . . so fᩬte abhaile, welcome home. Rising to accept her award, Suu Kyi said the reception she had been given on this short European tour, which takes in Norway, Ireland and Britain, was totally unexpected. I have discovered how much more people care, she said. This has come as a surprise to me and a very moving one. She said that the British often referred to the Burmese as the Irish of the east and said she felt very proud tonight to be your eastern counterpart. Later Bono and Damien Rice sang Walk On, the song the U2 singer wrote for Suu Kyi; One; and the most apt song of the night for a finale featuring all the participants, I Shall Be Released. The whole cast also did a stirring rendition of Bob Marleys Get Up Stand Up, one of Suu Kyis favourite songs. It was an emotion-filled evening, but for the 400-strong Burmese community in Ireland last night had even greater resonance. Three Burmese colleagues at the Ballynahinch Castle Hotel in Connemara had made the pilgrimage to the theatre, saying it was an event they could not have missed. In Burma we call her Mother Suu. She is our last great hope, said Taikwin, known to his Irish friends as Sammy. He wore a T-shirt bearing the image of a woman he called the greatest lady in the world. She believes in freedom and in justice; she does things that no other people want to do. Every night I pray for Mother Suu. It was all about her last night. The small woman with a big smile on her face and fresh flowers in her hair. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2012/0619/1224318197023.html ------------------------------------------- Myanmar's Suu Kyi visits London, Oxford on UK tour The Associated Press Published: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 at 3:30 a.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 at 3:24 a.m. Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has started her four day visit to the UK, visiting places that she once lived but has not seen for 24 years. Enlarge Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrives to attend a conference at the Oslo Forum at the Losby Gods mansion about 13 kilometers (8 miles) east of Oslo, Monday, June 18, 2012. The Oslo Forum is a n international network of armed conflict mediation practitioners. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) On Tuesday - her 67th birthday - Suu Kyi will discuss Myanmar at the London School of Economics. She will then spend time in Oxford, the university town where she lived in the early 1980s with her late husband and sons. Oxford University will award her an honorary degree Wednesday and she and will address the Oxford Union debating group. Suu Kyi was kept under house arrest by Myanmar's rulers for 15 years, and was freed in 2010. She decided to visit Europe after the Myanmar government assured her she will not be blocked from returning home. http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20120619/API/1206190615 --------------------------------------- Myanmar Journalists Win Battles, but War Not Over By DENIS D. GRAY Associated Press YANGON, Myanmar June 19, 2012 (AP) These are heady days in Myanmar's newsrooms, many of them staffed by young women like those at Kumudra newspaper nicknamed after "Charlie's Angels" for their tenacity in holding the military-dominated government to account. Reporters and editors are suddenly enjoying remarkable press freedom, as the country's new, nominally civilian government launches a rapid succession of reforms, but they also fear they may be inadequately prepared as they enter uncharted, potentially hazardous territory. The country's mushrooming media is poised at the crossroads. Media censorship is due to end this month. But journalists fret that the censorship may be replaced by new kinds of repression, including crackdowns after the fact over stories that previously would simply never have been published. "With censorship, we knew our limits. In a way it protected us. Now we will be exposed," said Nyein Nyein Naing of the 7Day Journal. "We will need to be more careful, accurate and responsible." Surveying her newsroom, the 29-year-old co-chief editor said she was concerned that the end of censorship could prove a minefield, with officials and others ready to slap lawsuits on independent media prone to error. Some have already been lodged. Journalists also are concerned about the government's plans to introduce a wide-ranging media law details of which have been kept secret so far as well as the expected influence of powerful Myanmar tycoons with ties to the country's former military leaders, known locally as the "cronies," who are buying up newspapers and other media. Myanmar's abysmal education system has produced many eager but untrained journalists. Editors complain that some can't even write a decent sentence in Burmese. "They are trying very hard and are often good reporters but their writing is a disaster," says Ye Naing Moe, a reporter and one of the country's few qualified trainers. "It's like buying good meat at the market but not knowing how to cook it." From a handful of weekly newspapers a decade ago, there are now more than 150. Having upgraded from hole-in-the wall, rat-infested operations, some have gleaming newsrooms with the latest-model computers, but lag far behind in training the influx of new reporters and editors. And many will be hiring even more once the government starts allowing daily newspapers later this year. But optimism runs high. Although pay is still low cub reporters earn about $80 a month the profession is increasingly respected and attracts some of the best and brightest when earlier aspiring journalists viewed as government mouthpieces risked being kicked out of their family homes and told to get a real job. William Chen, publisher of the Kumudra and Modern newspapers, says many of the recruits are women. His own reporting staff locally known as "William's Angels" is 90 percent female, with most in their 20s. More than half the reporters at 7Day, at 145,000 the country's largest-circulation paper, are women. "They're more loyal, hardworking and responsible than most males," Chen says, also noting that men have more job options. Despite the shortcomings, Jeff Hodson, an American who has trained Southeast Asian journalists for more than a decade, says those in Myanmar are among the region's most passionate and hardest-working despite the country's half-century of isolation, iron-fisted military rule and economic stagnation. "Their biggest achievement has been their refusal to give up hope in the face of overwhelming press restrictions. They've steadily carved out a space for freedom of expression, step by step," he said. This month, Ye Naing Moe and four colleagues slipped into Kachin territory to tell the rebel side of the story in a brutal civil war against the Myanmar government. Not long ago, they would almost certainly have served a harsh prison sentence for violating an act forbidding "contact with illegal organizations." They received only a mild rebuke. "These days we don't care about censorship at all. We just go ahead and publish stories," said Nyein Nyein Naing, proudly displaying Ye Naing Moe's front page story along with another once forbidden item the photograph of an anti-government demonstration. Once highly taboo images of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, released from house arrest 19 months ago and currently on a tour of Europe where she belatedly accepted her Nobel Peace Prize, are now routinely displayed in all but state-controlled media. Recent coverage of other previously taboo topics includes labor unrest at a Taiwanese garments factory and sectarian violence between Buddhists and minority Rohingya Muslims. The censorship board used to strike out words, and even entire stories, with red ink and shut down newspapers temporarily for violations. But censors have relaxed their grip in recent months. "When I started working in the media, we could not even mention the word 'democracy.' The progress we have made is huge," Ye Naing Moe said, noting that the government now blocks fewer Web sites than neighboring Thailand, a democracy. Less than two years ago, journalists were tortured, imprisoned and subjected to constant surveillance. The last known imprisoned journalist was released in January. However, journalists are concerned that a new government press council will become a watchdog on "those who cross the line" rather than an instrument to protect journalists, resolve conflicts and improve media standards. They're also deeply suspicious that entrenched hard-liners will roll back recent gains through the new media law. UNESCO official Sardar Umar Alam says Myanmar's government has been surprisingly receptive to input from the U.N. cultural agency on the upcoming media law, and has sent teams to both Asian and Western nations to study similar legislation. But that has done little to allay concerns of Myanmar's journalism community. "Ideally no media law is the best media law. One way or another it will be a measure for control," said Nyan Lynn, a reporter and publisher. The legislation is to be presented next month to Parliament, where amendments will be difficult because lawmakers allied with the military command a great majority. Already controlling more than half the weeklies, businessmen connected to generals and other powerbrokers are expected to increase their dominance when daily papers are permitted and the higher operating costs push the poorer independents into bankruptcy. "We will soon have to fight the cronies. We have to know how to compete. We have to be fit and ready to protect ourselves," says Nyan Lynn. The tycoon-owned papers, editors say, are drawing in talent by offering double or more the salaries of the independents. But typical of a new bravado among journalists, Nyan Lynn will next month open a newspaper to focus on "issues the government needs to address urgently." "We revealed the realities of Myanmar to the outside world," he said, describing how local journalists sent images of a 2007 Buddhist monk-led uprising to the outside world and how they have exposed irregularities ahead of the country's 2010 election. "It's difficult to exactly measure the changes we brought about, but we did our job," Nyan Lynn said. "We made a difference." http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/myanmar-journalists-win-battles-war-16600601#.T-CKaJHALbw ------------------------------------------- Play CBS News Video June 18, 2012 7:22 PM Aung San Suu Kyi: I never hated the Burmese army (CBS News) Aung San Suu Kyi, 67, has been imprisoned by the military dictatorship in her homeland of Burma -- one of the most repressive countries on Earth. Her struggle for democracy and human rights there has led to reform. This weekend, she was allowed to go to Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize she won two decades ago. Suu Kyi gave a rare interview to CBS News anchor Pelley. The democracy activist said there was never a time she thought of leaving or giving up. Maybe she was bound by her family name. Her father Aung Sun liberated the country from the British and the Japanese, but was assassinated when his daughter was two years old. Watch: Suu Kyi receives Nobel Peace Prize in person Exhausted Suu Kyi falls ill during news conference Suu Kyi welcomes world reaching out to Myanmar Suu Kyi spent nearly half her life in Britain, where she married and raised two sons. But in 1988 she went to Burma to care for her sick mother, and that same week the dictatorship gunned down hundreds of protesters in the streets. Suu Kyi stayed to lead a non-violent democracy movement. For 25 years, she was in prison or under house arrest. Always free to leave Burma, as long as she never returned. She chose imprisonment -- even as her husband was dying of cancer in England. Like Nelson Mandela, her confinement kept the movement alive, and democracy is taking root. Pelley: Why did you become involved in the struggle back in 1988? Suu Kyi: Because I thought that this is a time when we should all join in the struggle. It was the right time for everybody to unite, to call for a chance in our country. Pelley: You chose to stay in Burma during a very difficult time when your husband was dying of cancer. And I wonder why you made that choice. Suu Kyi: I made the choice in 1988 when I decided to take part in the struggle for democracy. When you decide to follow a certain path, you should follow it to the end and not be diverted from it for personal reasons. Pelley: You felt the country was more important than your personal feelings? Suu Kyi: I think-- the country should be more important to every one of us than our own personal and private feelings. Pelley: What was the hardest part of the last 25 years? Suu Kyi: The hardest part was not being able to do anything to help my party and the supporters of my party when I was under house arrest. And I knew that they were going through very difficult times. And not being able to do anything to help them was hard. Pelley: Nelson Mandela once said that, when he was leaving prison, he hated the people who had imprisoned him. But he realized in that moment that if he continued to hate them, he would still be in prison. Suu Kyi: I never hated the people who had kept me under house arrest. I think perhaps I was in a rather different situation from Nelson Mandela because I've always had a deep affection for the Burmese Army because my father was a founder of the army. And I was brought up to think of myself as part of the military family. Later, when the military did things that were unacceptable to our people, I did not like what they were doing. But I never hated them. Pelley: I understand that you heard about the release of Nelson Mandela on the radio while you were imprisoned in your own home. Suu Kyi: That's right. Pelley: Was that inspirational to you? Suu Kyi: It was encouraging that struggle, if it's the right kind of struggle, it does pay off in the end. Pelley: Were you ever afraid? Suu Kyi: No, I was never afraid. There was nothing to be afraid of. They kept me confined, but they kept me well. Pelley: And so you felt that you were not in jeopardy. Suu Kyi: I never thought that I was. Pelley: When will you know that Burma is free? Suu Kyi: Now, that is a difficult question. It's not for me to know. I think when the people in Burma stop thinking about whether or not they're free, it'll mean that they're free. Pelley: What is it about you that's unbreakable? Suu Kyi: I don't think of myself as unbreakable. Perhaps I'm just rather flexible and adaptable. 2012 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57455627/aung-san-suu-kyi-i-never-hated-the-burmese-army/ ------------------------------------ Bangkok Post Myanmar to target economy in next wave of reforms Published: 19/06/2012 at 04:48 PM Online news: Asia Myanmar's leader vowed Tuesday to put the economy at the centre of his next wave of reforms, aiming to boost development in the impoverished country following a series of dramatic political changes. Myanmar President Thein Sein, pictured in April, vowed Tuesday to put the economy at the centre of his next wave of reforms, aiming to boost development in the impoverished country following a series of dramatic political changes. Sein said his government was targeting economic growth of 7.7 percent a year on average over the next five years by attracting investment from overseas. In a televised speech to the nation, President Thein Sein said his government was targeting economic growth of 7.7 percent a year on average over the next five years by attracting investment from overseas. "The government worked for political reforms and national reconciliation during its first year," the former general said. "The second phase of the reform process starting from this year will focus on the development of the country and the people." Since taking power in March 2011, the government has surprised even its critics with moves such as releasing hundreds of political prisoners and welcoming the opposition back into mainstream politics. Companies are hungrily eyeing the oil and gas rich country after Western nations rewarded the government by easing some international sanctions. Thein Sein's administration has reached out to foreign investors as it seeks to invigorate an economy ravaged by decades of military rule and mismanagement. The president said a new "privatisation commission" would be set up in an attempt to increase the role of the private sector in industries such as telecommunication, energy, forestry, education and health. Much of Myanmar's industry is currently controlled by companies owned by the government or their cronies. Energy is one area where foreign firms such as Total and Chevron have a presence in partnership with the state. In recent years Myanmar has also increasingly opened up areas to foreign oil and gas companies for exploration. Parliament is also set to pass a new foreign investment law "soon" to attract money from overseas, Thein Sein said, without giving details of the planned legislation. "Laws, rules and regulations are important and need to be flexible for investors as they will come and invest only when they are protected by laws," he said. "Trade and investment are the main driving forces for the country's economic development," he added. In the new government's most radical economic reform yet, the country in April began a managed flotation of its currency, in a move apparently aimed at facilitating trade and investment. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/298755/myanmar-to-target-economy-in-next-wave-of-reforms ---------------------------------------- Thein Sein Aims to Triple GDP by 2016 By HPYO WAI THA / THE IRRAWADDY| June 19, 2012 | RANGOON President Thein Sein said on Tuesday that his administration wants to triple Burmas economy by 2016 in a televised address which focused on continuing the reform process to boost development. Our government would like to try to raise up the per capita Gross Domestic Product by three times. In another sense, that means we have to try to make sure that our people are going to have better lives, and higher incomes, he said during his address to Union-level members, chief ministers and other high-ranking officials. Contrary to his last speech earlier this month, Thein Sein did not mention the recent conflict in Arakan State and Naypyidaws response. Sectarian riots between Buddhist Arakanese and Rohingya Muslims have left 50 people dead with the UN claiming on Tuesday that 80,000 have been forced to flee their homes. In his four-part speech broadcasted on state television, the reformist president said his administration must relax its monopolization on certain industries to alleviate the budget deficit by making way for partial privatization in some sectors where the government currently has total control. The ex-general said that developing nations do not possess a sufficient government budget to meet development goals alone. So, our Union ministers have to take international loans without any hesitation if the sector they are working in has profitable economic potential, he said. On the other hand, they also need to be careful when choosing investments that are environmentally and socio-economically friendly. In his 41-minute speech, Thein Sein revealed that the new foreign investment law has been drafted according to international guidelines and will be passed by the legislature very soon. Burmas Special Economic Zone law has been drafted. After taking suggestions from departments concerned and business organizations, the draft will be submitted to Parliament, he said. Thein Sein said Burma needs to reform land management systems so that they are accepted internationally as there are currently different regulations that have little effectiveness on the ground. He added that reform could bring in regional development to encourage migrant workers to resettle back home. Thein Sein also said that the government will generate more electricity annually and undertake joint ventures with private companies to cure Burmas chronic power shortages by making various forms of private investments into long-term plans like in other countries. I think its a good idea for a president to let his people know openly what he is doing, how he is doing it and what is next, said Maung Wuntha, the consultant editor of The Peoples Age journal in Rangoon. But we also want to hear more from him about the raging civil war and how our country is now engaging with the international community. http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/7268 ------------------------------------------ June 19, 2012 12:54 pm Myanmar president vows fresh wave of reform By Gwen Robinson in Bangkok Thein Sein, Myanmars president, has vowed to triple the size of the economy within three years and promised to roll out a privatisation programme, establish a minimum wage and draft a fresh foreign investment law in a new reform push. We are working on a second wave of reforms, which will focus especially on the development of the country and the publics welfare, he said in a nationally televised address on Tuesday. Diplomats and analysts in Yangon said the timing of the speech was unexpected but unsurprising in light of the international focus on the current tour of Europe by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The way Europe is treating her [Ms Suu Kyi] almost as Myanmars leader has clearly put pressure on the president to remind the world there is a government that means business in Naypyidaw, said one western diplomat. Earlier this month, Mr Thein Sein abruptly cancelled his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Thailand after learning that Ms Suu Kyi was attending, sparking concerns of friction between the two. On Tuesday, the president promised to triple per capita gross domestic product to $2,400 by fiscal 2015 which would bring the country in line with nations such as Vietnam and said an eagerly awaited new foreign investment law would be enacted in the next parliamentary session in July. He called for foreign aid, loans and expertise to help reduce poverty and drive economic growth but, in a refrain also used by Ms Suu Kyi, warned that Myanmar would choose the type of investment that does not hurt the environment and social economy. While he pledged to reduce the states presence in key industries including electricity, energy and financial matters, he emphasised it would not lead to a sell-off. Privatisation does not mean we are going to break them up and sell them, said Mr Thein Sein. Some Yangon-based business executives took the vague wording to mean privatisation would be a step by step process. The speech was well received by local business, according to Serge Pun, chairman of the Yangon-based FMI group of companies and one of Myanmars most prominent businessmen. It was a well considered speech, very well prepared to lay out some very concrete plans in his vision, he said, noting that the president was signalling he was very much in charge and on track with reforms. The speech came ahead of a foreign investment forum to be held in Yangon from Wednesday, and follows public anger over crippling power cuts that have hit Myanmar in recent months. In response to the protests, the president announced the formation of a national energy committee to examine alternative energy sources, such as natural gas, much of which Myanmar sells to neighbouring Thailand. In a veiled reference to recent sectarian violence in north-west Myanmars Rakhine state that has killed 50 people and displaced 30,000 to 40,000, Mr Thein Sein warned against incitement and vowed to work towards national reconciliation, rule of law and public safety. In the past week, Ms Suu Kyi on her second trip outside Myanmar in 24 years has been feted by national leaders, politicians and celebrities in Switzerland, Norway, Ireland and from Tuesday, the UK. She will address British parliament on Thursday. During her trip, the opposition leader, whose party holds less than 5 per cent of parliamentary seats, has warned about the potential for political backsliding in Myanmar. She has also called for further reform and for the international community to help the country get back on its feet. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a0c9a974-b9fd-11e1-937b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1y9cEFPdR -------------------------------------------- Aung San Suu Kyi returns to Britain after 24 years Agence France-Presse | Updated: June 19, 2012 15:10 IST London: Aung San Suu Kyi begins a bittersweet return to Britain Tuesday, during which she will be showered with honours and have an emotional family reunion after nearly a quarter of a century in Myanmar. During her four-day visit the democracy icon will also meet members of Britain's royal family and give a rare address to both Houses of Parliament. Suu Kyi arrived in Britain overnight from Ireland, where she took to the stage at a gala concert with U2 singer Bono to receive a prize from rights group Amnesty International. She was later given the freedom of the city of Dublin and crowds sang "Happy Birthday" as she was presented with a cake to mark her 67th birthday, which is on Tuesday. In Britain for the latest leg of a 17-day tour of Europe -- only her second visit abroad since she was released from 22 years of house arrest -- Suu Kyi will begin with a panel debate at the London School of Economics on Tuesday. Later in the day she will attend a family reunion in Oxford, where she studied at the prestigious university and lived for several years with the late Michael Aris, her English husband and father of her two sons. The Chancellor of Oxford University, former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten, will formally welcome her on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Oxford University -- where she studied politics, philosophy and economics -- will award her an honorary doctorate in civil law and she will also deliver a speech in the grand surroundings of the 17th century Sheldonian Theatre. On Thursday, Suu Kyi is to address both houses of parliament in London, an honour only granted to high-profile foreign dignitaries such as US President Barack Obama. She will also meet Prime Minister David Cameron and heir to the throne Prince Charles and his wife Camilla. Suu Kyi said at the weekend that she hoped the trip to Oxford in particular would not be "tinged with sadness." She spent nearly 20 years in the city as a housewife and mother, and when she left for Myanmar to care for her dying mother in 1988 she had no idea that it would be 24 years before she would return. Suu Kyi became the leader of the country's democracy movement against its military rulers, spending most of the following decades under house arrest. She refused to leave the country, fearing that the junta would prevent her from returning and keep her in exile. The painful result was that she only saw her husband and children a handful of times in the intervening years. Her husband died of cancer in 1999, having told her not to come back but to continue her struggle. Her younger son Kim, now 35, still lives in Oxford and is expected to attend the reunion, but it was not clear if her older son Alexander, 39, who reportedly lives in a Buddhist retreat in Portland, Oregon, would be there. An emotional Suu Kyi delivered her Nobel lecture at Oslo City Hall on Saturday, more than two decades after receiving the peace prize awarded to her in 1991. In Ireland, Suu Kyi received Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience Award at a concert. "To receive this award is to remind me that 24 years ago I took on duties from which I shall never be relieved but you have given me the strength to carry out," Suu Kyi said. After receiving a standing ovation at a Dublin theatre, she said she had been overwhelmed by the response of people to her cause on her journey around Europe. "I have discovered how much more people care," she said. "This has come as a surprise to me, and a very moving one." After being serenaded with "Happy Birthday", she said the visit had been "one of the most unforgettable days of my life". Suu Kyi's tour began in Switzerland and will take her on to France. It has been clouded by continued violence in western Myanmar where dozens of people have been killed and more than 30,000 people displaced by clashes between Buddhist Rakhines and stateless Muslim Rohingya. http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/aung-san-suu-kyi-visits-london-oxford-on-uk-tour-233420 -------------------------------------- Aung San Suu Kyi Returns to Britain VOA News June 19, 2012 Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi continues her whirlwind European tour Tuesday in Britain, where she will reunite with family after leaving the country nearly a quarter century ago. The Nobel laureate, who turns 67 on Tuesday, will participate in a panel discussion at the London School of Economics before attending a family reunion in Oxford. Later in the week, Aung San Suu Kyi will address both houses of parliament in London - a rare honor usually given only to high-profile foreign dignitaries. She lived and studied for years in Britain before returning to her homeland in 1988 to care for her ailing mother. She became the leader of Burma's pro-democracy movement and spent much of the next two decades in detention under the country's military rulers. London is the latest stop on Aung San Suu Kyi's 17-day European tour, where she has been warmly greeted by thousands of adoring fans who view her as a human rights icon. Monique Skidmore, a Burma analyst at the University of Canberra, says that the tour underscores the rare achievement of becoming a global historical figure. "She's become so much more than simply an icon of democratic reform in Burma. The principles she espouses about democracy and about the rights of people to live in freedom from fear, and the comments that she makes about a common humanity and conflict resolution, these are some very deep human principles and we haven't seen them espoused for example since the time Martin Luther King or Gandhi," said Skidmore. "She's become one of these very few people in human history who can become a moral compass, and it transcends any particular country now." The newly elected lawmaker was arriving Tuesday in Britain from Ireland, where she received a rock star welcome from U2 singer Bono at a concert in her honor. She also received Amnesty International's highest human rights award - the Ambassador of Conscience Award. The group awarded her the prize in 2009, but she could not collect it at the time because of her detention. On Saturday, Aung San Suu Kyi received a thunderous welcome in Oslo, where she formally accepted the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize denied her in 1991 by her jailers. Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in late 2010, as a period of political change began in Burma following half a century of military rule. A new, nominally civilian government was elected in November 2010 and took office four months later. After her release, Aung San Suu Kyi resumed active leadership of the National League for Democracy, which she co-founded, and won election to an open seat in parliament in April. http://www.voanews.com/content/aung-san-suu-kyi-returns-to-britain/1212737.html
Thursday, June 21, 2012
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