Text of report in English by Japan's largest news agency Kyodo
Singapore, 22 July: Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura met Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win bilaterally on Tuesday [22 July] to press for thorough investigations into the September shooting of a Japanese journalist in Yangon and urge the junta to move forward with democratization.
The talks in Singapore came on the heels of a joint communique by ASEAN foreign ministers on Monday [21 July] that urged Myanmar [Burma] to free all political detainees and explicitly named detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for the first time since 2003.
Meeting on the sidelines of a series of ASEAN-hosted ministerial talks, Komura is also likely to repeat calls for the junta to open access for foreign aid personnel to assist reconstruction efforts after the May cyclone devastation and improve transparency for aid received.
Japan and Myanmar remain far apart over the circumstances in which Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai was shot when he was filming the junta's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Yangon in September. Myanmar insists he was shot by a stray bullet and not from close range, as Japan claims.
Myanmar has repeatedly said that while the death was regrettable, the incident was "accidental." Japan has continued to press for the return of Nagai's video camera and other belongings but to no avail.
On Monday, Nyan Win said Suu Kyi's detention will expire towards the end of next year and that his fellow ASEAN ministers had earlier misunderstood that she could actually be released in six months, according to Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo.
Yeo had told reporters Sunday that Nyan Win indicated to other ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations over a working dinner that his government could release Suu Kyi in about six months' time.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the 1990 general election by a landslide but the junta refused to honour the results. Suu Kyi has been detained for more than 12 of the past 18 years.
Komura is also scheduled to meet bilaterally with Yeo and hold a separate meeting with his counterparts from the Mekong nations of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam later on Tuesday.
Originally published by Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 0158 22 Jul 08.
(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Newsfile. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Story Source: BBC Monitoring Newsfile
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Japan Presses Burma on Democratization, Shooting of Journalist
Burma Opposes Asean Investigative Powers ,ビルマはASEAN調査力に反対する
By JIM GOMEZ / AP WRITER Tuesday, July 22, 2008
SINGAPORE — Burma's junta has indicated it will oppose any effort to give a Southeast Asian human rights body the power to monitor or investigate rights violations in the region, diplomats said Tuesday.
シンガポール- Burma' 会議は示した東南アジアの人権ボディに監察する力を与えるための努力に反対するかまたは地域の権利の違反、外交官を調査するために火曜日を言ったことを。
A high-level panel of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations started work Monday to set up the rights body. The panel will lay down the body's future makeup, role and powers, which will be presented to a summit of Asean leaders in December.
東南アジアの国家の連合の高レベルパネルは権利ボディをセットアップし仕事月曜日を始めた。 パネルはbody'を置く; 12月以内にASEANリーダーの頂上に示される未来の構造、役割および力。
But in a closed-door session with the panel Monday, Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win said the human rights body should uphold Asean's bedrock policy of noninterference in each other's affairs, a diplomat present at the meeting told The Associated Press.
しかしパネル月曜日との傍聴禁止の会議で、ビルマ人の外相のNyanの勝利は人権ボディがAsean'を支えるべきであることを言った; 互いの不干渉の基岩の方針' 出来事は、会合で現在の外交官AP通信を告げた。
The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media.
外交官は彼女が媒体に話すために承認されなかったので匿名で話した。
Burma's military government, which has been strongly criticized by Western governments and even fellow Asean members for its dismal human rights record, has used the bloc's policy to parry any attempt by outsiders to intervene on behalf of human rights victims in the military-ruled nation.
Burma' 陰気な人権記録のための欧米政府そしてASEANメンバーによって強く批判された軍事政権はbloc'を使用した; 軍支配された国家に人権の犠牲者に代わって介入する局外者によって試みを受け流す方針。
It has already been decided that the rights body will not have the power to impose sanctions or seek prosecution of violators. But Burma's objections, if honored, will make the body even less effective.
権利ボディに認可を課すか、または妨害者の実行を追求する力がないことが既に決定されてしまった。 しかしBurma' 異議は、名誉を与えられたら、ボディをより少なく有効にさせる。
Burmese officials were not immediately available for comment but in the past they have said the human rights body should only serve as a "consultative mechanism" and that it should not "shame and blame" any Asean nation.
ビルマの役人はコメントにすぐに利用できなかったが、以前人権ボディが"としてだけ役立つべきであることを言った; 諮問のmechanism" そしてそれそれは"べきではない; 恥およびblame" ASEAN国家。
The rights body is being set up as part of Asean's proposed new charter, which seeks to make the organization rule-based.
権利ボディはAsean'の一部としてセットアップされている; 構成を規則に基づいているようにするように努める提案された新しいチャーター。
Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said the charter will serve as a guide to the panel drafting the terms of reference for the rights body.
Surin Pitsuwan ASEAN事務総長はチャーターが権利ボディのための委託権限を起草するパネルへのガイドとして役立つことを言った。
"They're going to follow the charter very, very closely—its principle of promoting, upholding and protecting human rights," Surin said.
" それらは人権、"を促進し、支え、そして保護することの近その原則チャーターに非常、非常に続こうとしている; Surinは言った。
The international community has condemned Burma's junta for its refusal to restore democracy and release pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other political detainees. Asean has also been criticized for not doing enough to pressure Burma's military leaders.
国際地域社会はBurma'を非難した; 民主主義を元通りにし、民主化のリーダーおよびノーベル賞受賞者Aung San Suu Kyiおよび他の政治犯解放する拒否のための会議。 ASEANはまたBurma'に圧力をかけるには十分をしないために批判された; 軍事指導者。
China Syndrome
July 21st, 2008 by Judie Brown
Just last evening, while on a family vacation, my husband and I saw a television special regarding the selling of little children in various provinces of China. Entitled China’s Stolen Children, the program deals with the epidemic of child kidnapping (70,000 annually) that appears to be occurring because couples with children are desperate for money. Moreover, many parents fear that if a little girl is born, China’s one-child policy will prevent the couple from having a son. As tragic as this program is and as appalled as we were after watching it, everyone should realize that, for decades, China has had policies and a corresponding enforcement agency that are perhaps the most heartless in the entire world.
As a matter of fact, just days ago we also learned that in China a “snake oil” con is being played upon unsuspecting families. A report in Medical News Today tells us,
Recent newspaper stories - including several from Missouri - have reported parents flying their children to main land China for umbilical cord stem cell (CSC) infusions. The cost of these treatments, paid for entirely out-of-pocket by the parents, can be $50,000 or more. CSCs are extracted from the umbilical cords of Chinese mothers and their newborns and injected into the fluid around the spinal cord of the American children. The parents are led to believe by Chinese doctors that these CSCs are an effective treatment for optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH), a disease causing partial blindness at birth.
However, as pediatric ophthalmologists are quick to point out, there are various ways of treating those children suffering from optic nerve hypoplasia that do not raise the questions that surround the questionable ethics employed by those who claim these are miraculous cures. Not only that, but they say the injections administered in China “could be dangerous, introducing infection or toxic matter into the brain fluids.”
Then there are other biotech companies like Shenzhen Beike Biotechnology Co., Ltd., which, according to Medical News Today, is “a worldwide leader in providing safe and effective stem cell applications for medical treatment,” and “has commenced outfitting its 21,500-square-foot comprehensive medical stem cell storage and processing facility in eastern China.”
But as a recent Philadelphia Inquirer article pointed out, “stem-cell tourism,” a new phenomenon of patients and their families going to great lengths to search for miracle cures, makes those searching for such cures ripe for the picking by companies, like Beike, that make promises such as Beike’s slogan, “Tomorrow’s cures today.”
While the Inquirer reports that Beike claims “it has treated 3,000 Chinese and foreign patients at its 24 hospital clinics in China,” the questions raised continue to be not only serious, but in the end, challenging. It is only natural, after all, for people who have an ailing family member to want to seek out any treatment which they believe will be helpful.
And, as I mentioned, far too many industrious people in China are leading the way these days in attempting to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of those seeking a quick fix by doing whatever it takes, including selling children to couples desperate for a child and promising cures to those who are suffering. Oh yes, and lest I forget to mention it, the bottom line in such endeavors, whether criminal or legal, is always the money.
And while it would not be in fair to point the finger at a specific country as being the source of unethical practices, I have to point out that, in China, there are no regulations regarding the collection or use of umbilical cord blood stem cells. Nor are there specific laws actually enforced that would punish those who sell children into slavery or to couples who have the money required to buy a child. Of course, Chinese officials claim that they are cracking down and that they are striving to stop such grotesque practices, but human trafficking is far from being a footnote in the history of China’s past.
It is a sad commentary on the times in which we live that a country anywhere in the world could be conducting business as usual by exploiting the young and the vulnerable for cash. It forces me wonder, where is the outrage from governments of more “civilized” nations like our own?
Though clearly, when millions of preborn children can be killed under cover of law in America, there really is no room to point the finger elsewhere, is there?
China Syndrome
July 21st, 2008 by Judie Brown
Just last evening, while on a family vacation, my husband and I saw a television special regarding the selling of little children in various provinces of China. Entitled China’s Stolen Children, the program deals with the epidemic of child kidnapping (70,000 annually) that appears to be occurring because couples with children are desperate for money. Moreover, many parents fear that if a little girl is born, China’s one-child policy will prevent the couple from having a son. As tragic as this program is and as appalled as we were after watching it, everyone should realize that, for decades, China has had policies and a corresponding enforcement agency that are perhaps the most heartless in the entire world.
As a matter of fact, just days ago we also learned that in China a “snake oil” con is being played upon unsuspecting families. A report in Medical News Today tells us,
Recent newspaper stories - including several from Missouri - have reported parents flying their children to main land China for umbilical cord stem cell (CSC) infusions. The cost of these treatments, paid for entirely out-of-pocket by the parents, can be $50,000 or more. CSCs are extracted from the umbilical cords of Chinese mothers and their newborns and injected into the fluid around the spinal cord of the American children. The parents are led to believe by Chinese doctors that these CSCs are an effective treatment for optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH), a disease causing partial blindness at birth.
However, as pediatric ophthalmologists are quick to point out, there are various ways of treating those children suffering from optic nerve hypoplasia that do not raise the questions that surround the questionable ethics employed by those who claim these are miraculous cures. Not only that, but they say the injections administered in China “could be dangerous, introducing infection or toxic matter into the brain fluids.”
Then there are other biotech companies like Shenzhen Beike Biotechnology Co., Ltd., which, according to Medical News Today, is “a worldwide leader in providing safe and effective stem cell applications for medical treatment,” and “has commenced outfitting its 21,500-square-foot comprehensive medical stem cell storage and processing facility in eastern China.”
But as a recent Philadelphia Inquirer article pointed out, “stem-cell tourism,” a new phenomenon of patients and their families going to great lengths to search for miracle cures, makes those searching for such cures ripe for the picking by companies, like Beike, that make promises such as Beike’s slogan, “Tomorrow’s cures today.”
While the Inquirer reports that Beike claims “it has treated 3,000 Chinese and foreign patients at its 24 hospital clinics in China,” the questions raised continue to be not only serious, but in the end, challenging. It is only natural, after all, for people who have an ailing family member to want to seek out any treatment which they believe will be helpful.
And, as I mentioned, far too many industrious people in China are leading the way these days in attempting to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of those seeking a quick fix by doing whatever it takes, including selling children to couples desperate for a child and promising cures to those who are suffering. Oh yes, and lest I forget to mention it, the bottom line in such endeavors, whether criminal or legal, is always the money.
And while it would not be in fair to point the finger at a specific country as being the source of unethical practices, I have to point out that, in China, there are no regulations regarding the collection or use of umbilical cord blood stem cells. Nor are there specific laws actually enforced that would punish those who sell children into slavery or to couples who have the money required to buy a child. Of course, Chinese officials claim that they are cracking down and that they are striving to stop such grotesque practices, but human trafficking is far from being a footnote in the history of China’s past.
It is a sad commentary on the times in which we live that a country anywhere in the world could be conducting business as usual by exploiting the young and the vulnerable for cash. It forces me wonder, where is the outrage from governments of more “civilized” nations like our own?
Though clearly, when millions of preborn children can be killed under cover of law in America, there really is no room to point the finger elsewhere, is there?
Another Burma promise,ビルマの別の約束
Asean and Burmese Junta are playing the political game by risking the Burmese people .Do you believe Asean is realling pressuring Burmese Junta to change , I believe that Asean and Burmese Junta arrange behind the sene to declare their face saving move because almost all the Asean countries are not true democratic countries. I really believe in ourselves we Burmese who really love our country, we have to rely on our own effort to promote democracy and freedom.We must be united and we must belive in our united strength and act as a one.
ASEANおよびビルマの会議はビルマの人々を危険にさらすことによって政治ゲームをしている。ASEANをrealling信じ変わるためにビルマの会議に圧力をかけるほとんどすべてのASEAN諸国が本当の民主国家ではないので表面セービング移動を宣言することをASEANおよびビルマの会議がseneの後ろで整理することを私は信じる。 私は私達自身を実際に私達を実際に私達の国を愛するビルマ語、私達自分自身で頼らなければならない努力民主主義および自由を促進するための信じる。私達は結合しなければなり、私達の結合された強さでbelive 1として機能するためになり。
PHONE HLAING(FWUBC-JAPAN)
Singapore - Burma ratified the charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Monday and vowed to uphold its democratic ideals, but dashed hopes of releasing opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi within the next six months.
シンガポール-ビルマは東南アジアの国家月曜日の連合のチャーターを批准した、が民主的な理想を支えることを誓ったり次の6か月中に反対派勢力の指導者Aung San Suu Kyiを解放する希望を紛砕した。
"Myanmar's ratification of the charter demonstrates our strong commitment to embrace the common values and aspirations of the peoples of Asean," Foreign Minister Nyan Win said, using the military dictators' new name for Burma.
" Myanmar' チャーターの批准はASEANの"の人々の共通の価値観そして抱負を包含するために私達の強い傾倒を示す; 外相のNyanの勝利は軍dictators'を使用して、言った; ビルマの新しい名前。
"It is my honest hope that with the growing momentum of ratification, our common goal and commitment to complete ratification of the charter by all member states will be realized at the time of our leaders' summit in Bangkok" in December, he added.
" 私達のleaders'の時に批准の成長する運動量と、すべての加盟州によるチャーターの完全な批准への私達の共通のゴールそして責任実現されるのは私の正直な希望である; Bangkok"の頂上; 12月では、彼は加えた。
While foreign ministers attending the 41st Asean Ministers Meeting watched, Nyan Win handed over the document to Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan, to the applause of observers.
見られた第41 ASEAN閣僚会議Nyanの勝利に出席している外相がASEAN事務総長にSurin Pitsuwan文書を引き渡す間、観測者の拍手に。
Burma was also among the Asean countries which unanimously set up a high-level panel on an Asean human rights body, and endorse its terms of reference.
ビルマは満場一致でASEAN人権ボディの高レベルパネルをセットアップしたまたあり、委託権限に裏書きするASEAN諸国間に。
"We urged Myanmar to take bolder steps towards a peaceful transition to democracy in the near future," and work towards the holding of free and fair general elections in 2010," said the minister's communique at the end of the meeting.
" 私達は民主主義への平和な転移の方の大胆な手段を近い将来に踏むようにミャンマーを"せき立てた; そして2010年に自由で、公平な総選挙、"の保有物の方の仕事; minister'を言った; 会合の終わりにコミュニケ
"We reiterated our calls for the release of all political detainees, including Suu Kyi, to pave the way for meaningful dialogue involving all parties concerned."
" 私達はすべての党concerned."を含む意味を持ったダイアログのための道を開くためにすべての政治犯の解放のための私達の呼出しを、Suu Kyiを含む、繰り返した;
In a separate statement, Singapore Minister for Foreign Af`fairs George Yeo said Ngan Win had clarified that Suu Kyi would not be released in the next six months, but six months from May 2009, the expiry date of the existing one-year detention order.
別の声明では、外交ジョージYeoのためのシンガポールの大臣はSuu Kyiが次の6か月に解放されない、満期日5月からの2009年の既存の1年の延滞の順序の6か月明白になったことをことNganが勝利言った。
Yeo, who is also Asean chairman, and other foreign ministers "misunderstood the point made by the Burmese foreign minister on the limit of the detention period," a statement said.
またASEAN議長である、および他の外相の" Yeo; 延滞の期間、"の限界でビルマの外相がなしたポイントを誤解した; 声明は言った。
The "clarification" was made at the ministers' meeting Monday afternoon.
説明はministers'でなされた; 会合の月曜日の午後
Suu Kyi has spent 13 years in detention since 1989. Her house arrest was recently extended.
Suu Kyiは1989年以来の延滞の13年を過ごした。 彼女の自宅軟禁は最近延長だった
Surin said he was sure the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia would soon ratify the charter and that he expected the ratification process to be completed by December.
Surinはフィリピン、タイおよびインドネシアがすぐにチャーターを批准しことを、それを彼が批准プロセスが12月までに完了すると期待したことを彼が確かめたことを言った。
"The charter will help us building an Asean community we can all be proud of," he said.
" チャーターは私達がすべて自慢していてのいいASEANコミュニティ"を造っている私達を助ける; 彼は言った。
The document, which will turn the 41-year-old regional grouping into a legal entity, was initially opposed by the ruling junta because of its inclusion of human rights.
法的主体に41歳に地方に分かれることを回す文書は人権の包含のために支配する会議によって最初に反対された。
Several Philippine senators said they would oppose the ratification of the charter until the military junta that has ruled Burma since 1962 institutes democratic reforms.
何人かのフィリピンの上院議員は言った1962の協会の民主的な改良以来のビルマを支配した軍の会議までのチャーターの批准に反対することを。
何人かのフィリピンの上院議員は言った1962の協会の民主的な改良以来のビルマを支配した軍の会議までのチャーターの批准に反対することを。 .
"The internal processes of member countries are different and some will be more difficult than others, Lee said.
リーが言った加盟国の内部プロセスは異なって、他より困難一部はである。
The Burmese ratification occurred a day after Asean ministers expressed their "deep disappointment" over the continued detention of Suu Kyi and undetermined numbers of political prisoners.
ビルマの批准は日ASEAN大臣が彼らの"を表現した後起こった; 深いdisappointment" Suu Kyiおよび政治犯の未定数の継続的だった延滞に
Asean comprises Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
ASEANはブルネイ、ビルマ、カンボジア、ラオス、インドネシア、マレーシア、フィリピン、シンガポール、タイおよびベトナムから成り立つ。
Stop Burma aid, government urged
Monday, 21 Jul 2008 15:46
Government told to freeze humanitarian aid to Burma if it continues to be abused by country's military rulers
The government has been told it should freeze humanitarian aid to Burma if it continues to be abused by the country's military rulers.
The UK has sent £45 million-worth of aid to Burma since the May 2nd storm, more than any other single international donor.
Monday, 21 Jul 2008 15:46
Government told to freeze humanitarian aid to Burma if it continues to be abused by country's military rulers
The government has been told it should freeze humanitarian aid to Burma if it continues to be abused by the country's military rulers.
An influential committee of MPs claims further use of funds for anything other than relief by the Burmese junta should lead ministers to consider invoking their "responsibility to protect" to the south-east Asian country's population.
The warning comes almost three months after Cyclone Nargis struck Burma, killing 138,000 people and leaving a further 2.5 million displaced.
Its military rulers came under intense pressure to permit international aid, but the flow of supplies and experienced personnel into the country was painfully slow.
There have also been accusations aid was being diverted towards the army and away from the hundreds of thousands of people in dire need of relief in the devastated Irrawaddy Delta region.
The UK has sent £45 million-worth of aid to Burma since the May 2nd storm, more than any other single international donor.
But in their response to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's annual human rights report, the foreign affairs committee urges the government to consider its policies.
Noting the "reprehensible" abuse of human rights and civil liberties in Burma, its members write: "We recommend that the government should put in place very strict measures to ensure that its aid cannot be misused by the regime, and inform us of these measures in its response to this report.
"We further recommend that, in principle, the government should not rule out invoking the 'responsibility to protect' in situations such as Burma, but that this should be guided by a practical assessment of the situation on the ground, and the likely wider consequences of such intervention."
Aid workers have warned however of the devastating effect of cutting off aid to Burma, one of the world's poorest countries.
Save the Children told inthenews.co.uk Burma was "one of the most under-funded, not-on-the-radar emergencies in the world" even prior to Cyclone Nargis.
A spokesperson said the charity had managed to reach 650,000 people in Burma through its 1,000 strong group of mostly-Burmese workers.
"We've been working in Burma for 30 years; we've proven that aid can be effective," the representative explained.
"We base our decisions purely on need on who needs it and the people of Burma need help."
Save the Children is calling on world leaders "not to turn their backs" on the children of Burma, comparing the impact of Cyclone Nargis to the devastation wrought by the Boxing Day tsunami.
Cyclone Nargis was not the first time the notoriously secret Burmese junta had been thrust on to the global news agenda in the past 12 months.
Last autumn a wave of popular protests were witnessed in the country's largest cities in the greatest challenge to military rule since the crushing of pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988.
The protests, which were led by Buddhist monks, were sparked by a 500 per cent increase in the price of natural gas, announced by the government in August last year.
Support for the junta, which assumed power in 1962, is now at an all-time low following its limited response to the cyclone.
But regional experts have told inthenews.co.uk it could take decades for any challenge to the senior generals to materialise.
In its annual human rights report, the FCO noted the junta's persistent violations were at the heart of the country's political, economic and social problems.
"The Burmese regime may continue to be indifferent to the suffering of the Burmese people, but the UK, and the world, remain concerned," the report states.
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