Peaceful Burma (ျငိမ္းခ်မ္းျမန္မာ)平和なビルマ

Peaceful Burma (ျငိမ္းခ်မ္းျမန္မာ)平和なビルマ

TO PEOPLE OF JAPAN



JAPAN YOU ARE NOT ALONE



GANBARE JAPAN



WE ARE WITH YOU



ဗိုလ္ခ်ဳပ္ေျပာတဲ့ညီညြတ္ေရး


“ညီၫြတ္ေရးဆုိတာ ဘာလဲ နားလည္ဖုိ႔လုိတယ္။ ဒီေတာ့ကာ ဒီအပုိဒ္ ဒီ၀ါက်မွာ ညီၫြတ္ေရးဆုိတဲ့အေၾကာင္းကုိ သ႐ုပ္ေဖာ္ျပ ထားတယ္။ တူညီေသာအက်ဳိး၊ တူညီေသာအလုပ္၊ တူညီေသာ ရည္ရြယ္ခ်က္ရွိရမယ္။ က်ေနာ္တုိ႔ ညီၫြတ္ေရးဆုိတာ ဘာအတြက္ ညီၫြတ္ရမွာလဲ။ ဘယ္လုိရည္ရြယ္ခ်က္နဲ႔ ညီၫြတ္ရမွာလဲ။ ရည္ရြယ္ခ်က္ဆုိတာ ရွိရမယ္။

“မတရားမႈတခုမွာ သင္ဟာ ၾကားေနတယ္ဆုိရင္… သင္ဟာ ဖိႏွိပ္သူဘက္က လုိက္ဖုိ႔ ေရြးခ်ယ္လုိက္တာနဲ႔ အတူတူဘဲ”

“If you are neutral in a situation of injustice, you have chosen to side with the oppressor.”
ေတာင္အာဖရိကက ႏိုဘယ္လ္ဆုရွင္ ဘုန္းေတာ္ၾကီး ဒက္စ္မြန္တူးတူး

THANK YOU MR. SECRETARY GENERAL

Ban’s visit may not have achieved any visible outcome, but the people of Burma will remember what he promised: "I have come to show the unequivocal shared commitment of the United Nations to the people of Myanmar. I am here today to say: Myanmar – you are not alone."

QUOTES BY UN SECRETARY GENERAL

Without participation of Aung San Suu Kyi, without her being able to campaign freely, and without her NLD party [being able] to establish party offices all throughout the provinces, this [2010] election may not be regarded as credible and legitimate. ­
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

Where there's political will, there is a way

政治的な意思がある一方、方法がある
စစ္မွန္တဲ့ခိုင္မာတဲ့နိုင္ငံေရးခံယူခ်က္ရိွရင္ႀကိဳးစားမႈရိွရင္ နိုင္ငံေရးအေျဖ
ထြက္ရပ္လမ္းဟာေသခ်ာေပါက္ရိွတယ္
Burmese Translation-Phone Hlaing-fwubc

Saturday, November 22, 2008

တရားမ်ွတမႈ-ဆရာေတာ္ဦးေဇာတိက

တရားမ်ွတမႈဆိုတာ လူတိုင္းရထိုက္တဲ့အရာ ျဖစ္တယ္။ ငါ ေတာင္းဆိုတာ တရားမ်ွတမႈပါပဲ။


လူမ်ားစုဟာ အတုအေရာင္ ဂုဏ္သိကၡာနဲ ့ ေနႀကတယ္။ ပစၥည္းဥစၥာ ခ်မ္းသာတာကို ဂုဏ္သိကၡာလို ့ေျပာႀကတယ္။
ရာထူးႀကီးတာကို ဂုဏ္သိကၡာလို ့ ေျပာႀကတယ္။ အဲဒါေတြဟာ အတုအေရာင္ ဂုဏ္သိကၡာေတြပါ။ လြတ္လပ္မႈ ရိုးသားမႈ
တရားမ်ွတမႈ မရိွပဲ စစ္မွန္တဲ့ဂုဏ္သိကၡာ ဆိုတာ မရိွပါဘူး။


မတရားတာ မမွ်တတာေတြကို လုပ္တဲ့သူေတြ မ်ားေနရင္ တရားမ်ွတမႈ မရိွတဲ့ အသိုင္းအဝိုင္းျဖစ္ေနမယ္။ တရား
မ်ွတမႈ မရိွတဲ့ အသိုင္းအဝိုင္းဟာ လြတ္လပ္မႈရိွတဲ့ အသိုင္းအဝိုင္း ျဖစ္တယ္လို ့ ဘယ္လို ေျပာနိုင္မလဲ။
မတရားတာ လုပ္တဲ့သူရိွရင္ ခံရတဲ့သူ ရိွတယ္။ ခံရတဲ့သူဟာ လုပ္တဲ့သူကို ေလးစားမွာ မဟုတ္ဘူး။ တစ္ဦးကို
တစ္ဦး မေလးစားနိုင္တဲ့ အသိုင္းအဝိုင္းဟာ ဂုဏ္သိကၡာရိွတဲ့ အသိုင္းအဝိုင္းမျဖစ္နိုင္ေတာ့ဘူး။ တရားမ်ွတမႈ မရိွ ဂုဏ္
သိကၡာလည္းမရိွတဲ့ အသိုင္းအဝိုင္းမွာေနရတဲ့သူဟာ စိတ္ေအးခ်မ္းမႈ ဘယ္လိုလုပ္ ရနိုင္ေတာ့မလဲ။
လူတခ်ိဳ ့ မတရားတာကို လြတ္လြတ္လပ္လပ္ လုပ္ခြင့္ရိွတဲ့ အသိုင္းအဝိုင္းဟာ လြတ္လပ္တဲ့ အသိုင္းအဝိုင္း မျဖစ္
နိုင္ဘူး။ မလြတ္လပ္တဲ့ အသိုင္းအဝိုင္းဟာ ဂုဏ္သိကၡာရိွတဲ့ အသိုင္းအဝိုင္း မျဖစ္နိုင္ဘူး။ တရားမ်ွတမႈ၊ လြတ္လပ္မႈ နဲ ့
လူ ့ဂုဏ္သိကၡာ....... ဒီသုံးပါးဟာ ဆက္စပ္ေနပါတယ္။ တန္ဖိုးထားစရာေကာင္းတဲ့ ဒီ(human values) သုံးပါးမရိွရင္
အဆင့္ျမင့္တဲ့လူ ့အသိုင္းအဝိုင္း မျဖစ္ေသးဘူး။


မတရားတာ မမ်ွတတာကို လက္မခံသင့္ဘူး။ မတရားတာ မမ်ွတတာကို လက္ခံရင္ အားေပးရာ ေရာက္ပါတယ္။
မတရားတာကို ျမင္ရ ႀကားရရင္ “မတရားဘူး” လို ့ ကိုယ့္ကုိယ္ကိုကိုယ္ အရင္ ျပတ္ျပတ္သားသား ေျပာပါ။ ေနာက္
ကုိယ့္မိတ္ေဆြ တစ္ေယာက္ေယာက္ကို ေျပာပါ။
မတရားတာကို ေတြ ့ရ ႀကားရပါလ်က္ ဘာမွ မေျပာပဲေနရင္ ကိုယ့္ကိုယ္ကို ကိုယ္ ေလးစားမႈေလ်ာ့သြားမယ္။
ကိုယ့္ကိုယ္ကို ကိုယ္ အလိုတူအလိုပါလို ့ ခံစားရမယ္။ ဒါေႀကာင့္ မတရားတာကို ျမင္ရ ႀကားရတဲ့အခါ မသိဟန္ ေဆာင္
မေနပါနဲ ့။


တရားမ်ွတတယ္ဆိုတာ လူတိုင္းရဲ့ဝတၱရား ျဖစ္ပါတယ္။ မတရားတာကို လုပ္ေနတဲ့သူဟာ လူ ့က်င့္ဝတ္၊ လူ ့ဝတၱရား
ပ်က္ကြက္ေနတဲ့သူ ျဖစ္တယ္။ သူဟာ ဂုဏ္သိကၡာမရိွတဲ့သူ ျဖစ္ေနတယ္။


လြတ္လပ္ျပီး တရားမ်ွတတဲ့ လူ ့အသိုင္းအဝိုင္းမွာေနခ်င္ရင္၊ စိတ္ခ်မ္းသာခ်င္ရင္၊ ဂုဏ္သိကၡာရိွရိွေနခ်င္ရင္
လြတ္လပ္မႈနဲ ့တရားမ်ွတမႈကို ကာကြယ္ရမယ္။


ဘာသာေရး အယူအဆပဲျဖစ္ျဖစ္၊ နိုင္ငံေရး အယူအဆပဲျဖစ္ျဖစ္၊ အယူုအဆတစ္ခုကိုမွီျပီး အာဏာ သို ့မဟုတ္
ပစၥည္း ေငြ ရေနတဲ့သူဟာ အဲဒီ အယူအဆကို လက္မလႊတ္နုိင္ဘူး။ ဒီအယူအဆကို မွီျပီး ကိုယ္က်ိဳးရိွေအာင္ လုပ္နိုင္ရင္
ဒီအယူအဆကို လက္မလႊတ္နိုင္ဘူး။ တကယ္ေတာ့ ကိုယ္က်ိဳးကို အဓိကထားတာပါ။ အမွန္တရားကို အဓိကထားတာ
မဟုတ္လို ့ပဲ။
အမွန္တရားကိုသာ အဓိကထားရင္ ကိုယ့္အယူအဆနဲ ့ မတူတာကို ႀကားရရင္ သူမွန္သလား ကိုယ္မွန္သလား ဆိုတာကို
ဘက္မလိုက္ပဲ အခ်ိန္ယူျပီး စုံစမ္းရမယ္။ တစ္ဘက္သတ္ ဆုံးျဖတ္ခ်က္ မခ်ဘူး။ အမွန္တရားနဲ ့ တရားမ်ွတမႈကို တကယ္လိုလား
တဲ့သူဟာ တစ္ဘက္သတ္ သေဘာထားကို လက္မခံဘူး။ လက္ကိုင္မထားဘူး။ သေဘာထားမတူတာ အျမင္မတူတာကို
ပြင့္ပြင့္လင္းလင္း ေဆြးေႏြးျပီး အမၽွတဆုံးအေျဖ အေကာင္းဆုံး အေျဖကို မရမခ်င္း ရွာေနမယ္။


ကိုယ့္ကိုယ္ကိုကိုယ္ တကယ္ေလးစားတဲ့သူ တန္ဖိုးထားတဲ့သူ ယုံႀကည္တဲ့သူဟာ အလကား မလိုခ်င္ဘူး။ တန္ရာ
တန္ေႀကး ေပးျပီးမွ လိုခ်င္တယ္။
ခိုင္းျပီး တန္ေအာင္ မေပးတဲ့သူနဲ ့ တန္ေအာင္ မလုပ္ပဲ မ်ားမ်ား လိုခ်င္တဲ့သူေတြဟာ လူ ့အသိုင္းအဝိုင္းကို ဖ်က္ဆီး
တဲ့သူေတြပဲ။ နည္းနည္းေပးျပီး မ်ားမ်ားလိုခ်င္တဲ့ စိတ္ဟာ တရားမ်ွတမႈကို တန္ဖိုး မထားတဲ့စိတ္ ျဖစ္တယ္။
တရားမ်ွတမႈကို တန္ဖိုးမထားတဲ့သူဟာ လြတ္လပ္တဲ့သူ မျဖစ္နိုင္ဘူး။
အဲဒီေတာ့ တန္ေအာင္မလုပ္ပဲနဲ ့ မ်ားမ်ား လိုခ်င္တဲ့သူဟာ ေအာင္ျမင္တဲ့သူ လြတ္လပ္တဲ့သူ မျဖစ္နိုင္ဘူး။
တန္ေအာင္ မလုပ္ပဲ မ်ားမ်ား လိုခ်င္တာ ကိုယ့္ကိုယ္ကိုကိုယ္ မယုံႀကည္တဲ့လူရဲ့ သေဘာထားျဖစ္တယ္။ ကုိယ့္ကိုယ္ကိုကိုယ္
မယုံႀကည္တဲ့သူဟာ ေအာင္ျမင္ႀကီးပါြးတဲ့သူ မျဖစ္နိုင္ဘူး။


အေႀကာင္းအက်ိဳး သဘာဝက်ေအာင္ စဥ္းစားတတ္တဲ့ သူမွာ အနစ္နာခံရတဲ့သူ၊ အနိုင္ယူတာ ခံရတဲ့သူ မရိွဘူး။
ငါအက်ိဳးရိွရင္ သူ ့အက်ိဳးထိခိုက္တယ္ ဆိုတာလည္း မရိွဘူး။ အေႀကာင္းအက်ိဳး သဘာဝက်ေအာင္ စဥ္းစားတတ္၊ လုပ္တတ္
တဲ့သူဟာ ထိုက္တန္ေအာင္မလုပ္ရပဲ ရတာကို မလိုခ်င္ဘူး။


ငါလိုခ်င္တာရဖို ့ တန္ရာ တန္ေႀကးကို ေပးမယ္ ဆိုတဲ့စိတ္ကို ပီပီျပင္ျပင္ ျပတ္ျပတ္သားသား ဆုံးျဖတ္လိုက္ပါ။
အဲဒီလို ဆုံးျဖတ္လိုက္တာနဲ ့ စိတ္မွာ သတိၱတစ္မ်ိဳး ျဖစ္လာမယ္။ စြမ္းအားတစ္မ်ိဳး ျဖစ္လာမယ္။
“တန္ရာတန္ေႀကး မေပးပဲ ဘယ္ေသာအခါမွာမွ ရေအာင္ မလုပ္ပါဘူး။ ဂုဏ္သိကၡာရိွရိွ ရတာက လဲြလို ့ တျခား
နည္းနဲ ့ရတာကို ဘယ္ေတာ့မွ မလိုခ်င္ပါဘူး။ ကိုယ့္ဂုဏ္သိကၡာကို ဘယ္ေတာ့မွ ေရာင္းမစားပါဘူး” လို ့ ဆုံးျဖတ္လိုက္ပါ။
အဲဒီလိုဆုံးျဖတ္လိုက္ရင္ အဲဒီစိတ္ဓာတ္က ကုိယ္ လိုခ်င္တာရေအာင္ ေကာင္းတဲ့လုပ္နည္းကို ေပးပါလိမ့္မယ္။
ကိုယ္လိုခ်င္တာရေအာင္ ကိုယ့္ကို လုပ္ေပးနိုင္တာ ကိုယ့္စိတ္ဓာတ္နဲ ့ ကိုယ့္အရည္အခ်င္းပါပဲ။ ဒီစိတ္ဓာတ္ဟာ
လြတ္လပ္တဲ့သူရဲ့ စိတ္ဓာတ္ပဲ။


စီးပြားေရး၊ လူမႈေရး၊ ဘာသာေရး၊ ပညာေရး၊ နိုင္ငံေရး၊ အိမ္ေထာင္ေရး၊ ေနာက္ တျခားအေရးေတြပါ ထည့္လိုက္အုံး၊
ဒါေတြကို တစ္ကဣစီ ထားျပီးေတာ့ လုပ္လို ့ မျဖစ္နိုင္ဘူး။ ဒါေတြအားလုံးဟာ တစ္ခုတည္းေသာ ခိုင္မာတဲ့၊ ေလးနက္တဲ့၊
ရင့္က်က္တဲ့ ရိုးသားမႈ ၊ မ်ွတမႈ ဆိုတဲ့ သေဘာထားေပၚမွာ အေျခခံရမယ္။ ေအာက္ေျခ foundation အုပ္ျမစ္ဟာ
တစ္ခုတည္းပဲ။ ရိုးသားမႈ မ်ွတမႈ foundation ပဲ။ ဘဝတစ္ခုလုံးရဲ့ foundation ဟာ spiritual foundation ပဲ ျဖစ္ရမယ္။
“ငါတန္ဖိုးထားတာ မေရရာရင္ ငါဟာ မေရရာတဲ့သူ ျဖစ္ေနျပီ။ ငါ့ဘဝဟာလည္း မေရရာဘူး။ ငါ့ဆက္ဆံေရး
ဟာလည္း မေရရာဘူး။ ငါ့ဘာသာေရးဟာလည္း မေရရာဘူး။” ဒါကို ေလးေလးနက္နက္ သေဘာေပါက္ဖို ့ လိုတယ္။
ဒါ အေရးႀကီးတယ္။ ငါ ဘာကို တန္ဖိုးထားေနသလဲဆိုတာ ေသေသခ်ာခ်ာ ႀကည့္ပါ။ “ေဟာဒီ သေဘာထားကိုေတာ့
ငါ ဘယ္ေတာ့မွ အပ်က္မခံဘူး၊ ေသခ်င္ရင္ ေသသြား ပါေစေတာ့” ဆိုတဲ့ ခံယူခ်က္ ရိွရမယ္။


လူ ့သဘာဝမွာ ဟိရိ ႀသတၱပၸ ဆိုတဲ့ ရွက္တတ္ ေႀကာက္တတ္တဲ့စိတ္ဟာ ရိွပါတယ္။ ေမြးရာပါစိတ္ ျဖစ္ပါတယ္။
တရားကို သေဘာေပါက္တဲ့သူမွာ အဲဒီစိတ္က သိပ္အားႀကီးတယ္။ ဘယ္ေတာ့မွ မေကာင္းတာ မွန္တာ မရိုးသားတာကို
မလုပ္ဘူး။ မသိလို ့ လုပ္မိရင္ အျမန္ဆုံး ဝန္ခံတယ္။ အဲဒီအခ်က္ကို ႀကည့္ရင္ စိတ္ဓာတ္ အဆင့္အတန္း ျမင့္တဲ့သူ
အသိဥာဏ္ အဆင့္အတန္း ျမင့္တဲ့သူေတြဟာ အရွက္အေႀကာက္ ပိုျပီး ႀကီးတယ္လို ့ ဆိုနိုင္တယ္။ အသိဥာဏ္ အဆင့္
အတန္း နိမ့္ေသးတဲ့သူ စိတ္ဓာတ္အဆင့္အတန္း နိမ့္ေသးတဲ့သူဟာ အရွက္အေႀကာက္ နည္းတယ္လို ့ ဆိုနိုင္တယ္။

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Key UN committee targets rights abusers

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081122/ap_on_re_ca/un_un_human_rights_2/print;_ylt=Auv.jsUImGO2CjceFkmuHOI5bg8F

By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press Writer
Fri Nov 21, 9:21 pm ET

UNITED NATIONS – A key U.N. committee criticized Myanmar and North Korea on their human rights records Friday, and also targeted Iran despite its efforts to block the vote.

Separate resolutions approved by the General Assembly's human rights committee expressed serious concern at accusations of abuse including attacks on peaceful demonstrators in Myanmar, public executions in North Korea, and torture, flogging and amputations in Iran.

Iran tried to stop the committee from taking up the draft resolution assailing its record, but lost by 10 votes — a margin the United States called a major victory.

The committee approved the resolution expressing "deep concern at serious human rights violations" in Iran by a vote of 70 to 51, with 60 abstentions.

The resolutions now go to the 192-member General Assembly for final votes, expected next month. Though resolutions approved by the full assembly are not legally binding, they carry moral weight and reflect the majority view of world opinion.

"These resolutions put the spotlight on the three countries where there is very widespread abuse of human rights," Britain's U.N. Ambassador John Sawers charged. "The growing support for these resolutions shows increasing levels of concern in the world about human rights as we move towards the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights."

A resolution strongly condemning "the ongoing systematic violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights" in Myanmar was approved by a vote of 89 to 29 with 63 abstentions.

It expressed "grave concern" at the continuing practice of enforced disappearances, sexual violence including rape, the extension of the house arrest of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, "as well as the high and increasing number of political prisoners."

The resolution expressing "very serious concern" at rights violations in North Korea got the highest vote, winning approval by 95 to 24 with 62 abstentions. It criticized the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, the "all-pervasive and severe restrictions" on freedom of thought and religion, and violations of workers' rights.


Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.


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DEVELOPMENT-VIETNAM: Rare Criticism of Dams Surface

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44797

By Tran Dinh Thanh Lam

CAN THO, Nov 21 (IPS) - While arguments against the development of hydropower dams on the Mekong River and its tributaries have from time to time emerged in Vietnam’s state-controlled press, rarely have government officials been as open with their criticism as they have in recent months.

In late September, the ‘Thanh Nien’ newspaper reported the deputy secretary general of the Vietnam National Mekong Committee (VNMC), Dao Trong Tu, telling an international meeting that "the development of dams for hydroelectricity generation (on the Mekong and its tributaries) could have unforeseen negative consequences for a country like Vietnam".

At the meeting, a regional hydropower consultation organised by the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in Vientiane, Laos, Nguyen Van Trong, deputy director of the state-run Research Institute for Agriculture said "20 million Vietnamese people in the Mekong Delta, who rely on fish for export and water for irrigation, would be negatively impacted" by dam building.

Such statements come as Vietnam itself emerges as a key player in the construction of dams in the lower Mekong River and its tributaries. Vietnamese firms are involved in the construction of several dams and are eyeing plans for several more.

"I am so happy to hear for the first time Vietnamese officials claim far and loud that hydropower dams are ruining our fisheries," Nguyen Tu Be, a 45 year-old fisherman from Can Tho, in southern Vietnam, said when asked by IPS for a response.


Be, who has been making a living fishing on the Hau River, a tributary of the Mekong, since he was a young man, reported that his catch has fallen significantly in the last few years. "People say that the dams built upstream have prevented the fish migrating to Vietnam’s section of the Mekong," he said.

Years ago, Vietnamese fishermen could easily catch tonnes of migrating Shutchi and pagasius catfish that take refuge in Vietnam’s stretch of the Mekong during the dry season.

Fishermen used to sell the best mother fish to aquaculture farmers to spawn and grow catfish in cages for export. Now that healthy mother fish are harder to find in Vietnam’s section of the Mekong River, many fishers have been forced to travel upstream as far as Cambodia’s Tonle Sap to fetch them.

But in the Tonle Sap, the situation is no better.

Cambodian fishers do not only report that household catch is declining. They say that the composition of the catch is also changing, so that they are netting less large, high value fish each year.

"Some people also believe that the severe floods that submerged vast regions in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam in the past few years may be the result of Chinese dams in Mekong upstream," said Nguyen Tan, an agriculture expert at Can Tho’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. "My big concern is more for the Mekong sediment."

"The dams’ reservoirs retain a lot of nutrient-rich sediment that would otherwise be spread by annual floods to the lower Mekong," Tan said.

Because the soil becomes less fertile with a reduction of sediment from the Mekong, farmers must rely more and more on pollutive chemical fertiliser, he added.

Some 60 million people along the 4,800-kilometre path of the Mekong, which flows from Tibet, through Burma, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia before flowing out to the South China Sea through Vietnam, depend on the river for transportation, food and water for their crops.

Particularly controversial has been the construction of several dams on the Mekong mainstream, including the Chinese stretch of the river called Lancang, and several plans to develop dams on the Mekong mainstream in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.

To foster the "environmentally sustainable development" of the Mekong, lower riparian countries Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam formed the MRC in 1995, signing an agreement that stated dam construction on the mainstream must be subject to prior notification between countries.

Any development involving the diversion of water out of the Mekong in the dry season must proceed on the basis of the agreement of all members.

China and Burma, the other two countries sharing the river, are mere observers in the commission. China maintains that its dams help prevent flooding in the Mekong Delta during the wet season.

In the meantime, the four MRC member countries, facing high oil prices and the need for more electricity to sustain economic growth, are revealing plans to construct their own hydropower plants on the Mekong mainstream.

There are different estimates of hydropower projects at various stages of planning, ideas and design, but some put at 80 the projects identified in the lower Mekong basin.

Of these, eight are planned for the lower Mekong mainstream, five in Laos, two in Thailand and one in Cambodia, activists say.

The most controversial of these is the Don Sahong dam, which will be built on the Mekong mainstream in Laos’ Khone Falls, where the river forms a complex network of narrow channels before flowing into Cambodia.

The dam will block the deepest channel on that section of the river and only one migratory fish can easily pass through at the peak of the dry season, April to May, when the water level of the Mekong is at its lowest.

This will effectively stop the dry season migration of fish between the feeding habitats of the Tonle Sap and upstream breeding zones in Laos and Thailand, critics say.

Phnom Penh is also mulling plans to build a dam on the mainstream in Kratie province, central Cambodia. A Chinese company is undertaking a feasibility study of the dam.

Environment groups have criticised the MRC for what they claim is the organisation’s strong pro-hydropower orientation.

In 2007, a coalition of 175 environmental and civic groups has sent an open letter saying it remains "notably silent despite the serious ecological and economic implications of damming the lower Mekong".

In March this year, 51 citizens’ groups and individuals from all six Mekong countries challenged the MRC to deal with what they called the organisation’s "crisis of legitimacy and relevancy, recently exemplified by its failure to respond to civil society concerns over plans to dam the lower Mekong mainstream".

Vietnam’s steady economic growth has fed a massive increase in demand for power. In addition to importing power from China and Laos, Vietnam has built several hydroelectric dams on its own rivers and is involved in projects across the border in Laos and Cambodia.

In Laos, Vietnamese companies are building the Xekamen 1 and Xekamen 3 dams on the Xekamen River, a tributary of the Mekong.

Vietnamese firms are also involved in projects that include a 1,410-megawatt dam scheme being overseen by PetroVietnam Power Co near Luang Prabang. A memorandum of understanding was signed mid-October 2007.

"So far, we have not succeeded in fighting Chinese hydropower dams because China is not a MRC member," said Tan. "But now that huge projects are being planned on the Mekong mainstream, the VNMC is right to ring the alarm on the damages brought by big hydropower dams."

"Too many big dams built on upstream as well as on downstream Mekong will wreak havoc to our fishing and agriculture," he added.

In a speech marking VNMC’s 30th anniversary in September, Pham Khoi Nguyen, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment and committee chair, stressed that VNMC’s role was to "help protect Vietnam’s rights and benefits and reduce the negative impacts of development around the upper reaches of the river".

(END/2008)





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Japan in the future to be caught between U.S., China: think tank

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20081122a1.html

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) Japan will probably find itself caught between the United States and China over the next 17 years, with its foreign policy at the mercy of the policies of Washington and Beijing, a U.S. intelligence community think tank reported Thursday.

In an unclassified report, titled "Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World," the National Intelligence Council also said U.S. power will decline by 2025, with the world becoming unstable as the post-World War II international system vanishes.

On Japan, the 120-page report said the country will face a "major reorientation" of its domestic and foreign policies yet maintain its status as an "upper middle rank power."


It forecast Tokyo's foreign policies "will be influenced most by the policies of China and the United States," with a broad spectrum of options possible.

If China continues its current economic growth pattern, Japan will attach importance to maintaining healthy political ties and increase market access, possibly through forging a bilateral free-trade agreement, the NIC report said.

But if China's growth stumbles or its policies become openly hostile toward neighbors, Tokyo would likely "move to shape political and economic forums in the region to isolate or limit Chinese influence" with support from Washington, it said.

Should the U.S. security commitment to Japan weaken, it said, Japan "may decide to move closer to Beijing on regional issues and ultimately consider security arrangements that give China a de facto role in maintaining stability in ocean areas near Japan."

A substantially closer U.S.-China political and security partnership could lead to U.S. accommodation of a Chinese military presence in the region and a corresponding realignment or drawdown of U.S. forces there, the report said.

In such a scenario, it said, Japan would have no choice but to "follow the prevailing trend and move closer to Beijing to be included in regional security and political arrangements."

The report also dwelt on the challenges Japan will face from the aging of its population, saying, "The shrinking workforce — and Japan's cultural aversion to substantial immigrant labor — will put a major strain on Japan's social services and tax revenues."

It predicted "policy paralysis" will haunt Japan as a result of a "continual splitting and merging of competing political parties." It also said, "Japan's one-party political system probably will fully disintegrate by 2025."

The NIC reports directly to the director of the CIA. Its mostly classified reports aim to support U.S. policymakers — this time for those in the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama.

As for the U.S. and the world, the new report said U.S. political and economic influence will ebb and the world will grow more unstable due to energy, food and water scarcity, as well as conflicts, terrorism and global warming.

"The international system — as constructed following the Second World War — will be almost unrecognizable by 2025 owing to the rise of emerging powers, a globalizing economy, an historic transfer of relative wealth and economic power from West to East, and the growing influence of nonstate actors," it said.

"Although the United States is likely to remain the single most powerful actor, the United States' relative strength — even in the military realm — will decline and U.S. leverage will become more constrained," it said.

The report said China and India are expected to vie with the U.S. to lead a multipolar world. While noting Russia's potential is less certain, it said the political and economic power of Indonesia, Iran and Turkey is likely to increase.

"China and India must decide the extent to which they are willing and capable of playing increasing global roles and how each will relate to the other," it said.

"Russia has the potential to be richer, more powerful, and more self-assured in 2025 if it invests in human capital, expands and diversifies its economy, and integrates with global markets," the report said.

"On the other hand, Russia could experience a significant decline if it fails to take these steps and oil and gas prices remain in the $50.00-$70.00 per barrel range," it said.

Concerning the future of the Korean Peninsula, the NIC report said a "unified Korea" is likely by 2025, but it will not be a unitary state but more like a looser "North-South confederation." Despite continuing diplomatic efforts, whether North Korea will be stripped of its nuclear capabilities at the time of reunification remains "uncertain," it said.

"A loosely confederated Korea might complicate denuclearization efforts," it said. "Other strategic consequences are likely to flow from Korean unification."

As for Europe, the report said, "Europe by 2025 will have made slow progress toward achieving the vision of current leaders and elites: a cohesive, integrated, and influential global actor able to employ independently a full spectrum of political, economic, and military tools in support of European and Western interests and universal ideals."

Continued failure to convince skeptical publics of the benefits of deeper regional integration and to enact painful reforms to curb a falling population could leave Europe a "hobbled giant" distracted by internal bickering and "less able to translate its economic clout into global influence," it said.

The Japan Times: Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008
(C) All rights reserved
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The U.S. Should Move Beyond Sanctions

http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/14324

Sat, 2008-11-22 02:10
By Nehginpao Kipgen for Asian Tribune

In an apparent shift from the policy of traditional sanctions, the U.S. Congress created a post for policy chief for Burma to increase pressure on the military junta.

In response to this unprecedented action, the White House announced the nomination of Michael Green for the post on November 10. Whether this maneuver brings vigor to the Burmese democratic movement is a question remains to be seen.

Green, who has served as a senior director for Asian Affairs under the Bush administration, should have noticed the quandary over the Burmese political imbroglio, especially the futility of conflicting approaches by the international community.


According to this legislation, the policy chief will consult with the governments of China, India, Thailand and Japan, members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the European Union to coordinate international strategy.

Years of sanctions after sanctions, this is a new birth in the American policy toward Burma. Sanctions, however, still remain the popular way of punishing the rogue regimes and governments around the world.

When it comes to Burma, sanctions have little impact on the military regime due to engagements by neighboring countries, notably China, India and members of ASEAN.

A solution to Burma’s problems greatly lies in two possible ways: Popular Uprising and Intervention. Popular uprising have been tasted twice in 1988 and in 2007. Both events were brutally crushed by the military with force.

The word intervention can be engagement or sanction. There is no doubt about the U.S. sanctions hurting the military generals and also the general public. Had there been a coordinated international approach, Burma could have been different today.

It must be difficult for the U.S. government to abandon its traditional policy of isolating the Burmese generals and start engaging with them. But they have to realize that sanction alone is not effective in resolving Burma’s crisis when there is engagement on the other end.

While sanctions are in place, the new envoy can start initiating a ‘carrot and stick’ policy by working together with key international players. The one similar to the North Korean six-party talk model should be given emphasis on Burma.

The six-party talks involving the United States, European Union, ASEAN, China, India, and Burma should be initiated. In the beginning, the military generals and some other countries might resist the proposal, but we need to remember that the North Korean talk was also initially not supported by all parties.

The hard work of the U.S. in North Korea is now paid off with North Korea being removed from the State Department’s list of terrorists, and in return, North Korea promised to shut down and dismantle its nuclear facilities.

It was not only the sticks that worked but also the carrots. The U.S. offered energy and food assistances to the North Korean leadership. A similar initiative could convince Burma’s military generals to come to the negotiating table.

Now that the U.N. Secretary General is heavily involved in the process, the U.S. can garner stronger support from the international community. Without such move from the U.S., Ban Ki-moon’s 'Group of Friends of the Secretary General on Myanmar' will yield little.

The most effective U.N. intervention would happen when the Security Council decides to take action. This scenario is bleak with China and Russia vetoing the move, and likely to do again if Burma issue comes up in the Council’s agenda.

The creation of U.S. special envoy and policy chief for Burma is a widely welcome move. With this new position coming into place, the U.S. should start moving beyond imposing sanctions.

Nehginpao Kipgen is the General Secretary of US-based Kuki International Forum (www.kukiforum.com) and a researcher on the rise of political conflicts in modern Burma (1947-2004).

- Asian Tribune -


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Time to Unite-Sit Ko Naing

Time to Unite
(ေပါင္းစည္းညီညြတ္ၾကဖို႔ အခ်ိန္တန္ၿပီ)
Sit Ko Naing

(An Article From - http://saveburma. sosblog.com/ Burma-political- blog-b1/Time- to-Unite- b1-p50370. htm)

It has been a long time that i did not write a post on my blog as i was really busy with my studies. However, there were a lots of changes in Burma during these days like sentencing 65 years to 88 students leaders. Moreover, they put lawyers who do cases for NLD and opposition leaders into jails

Where is the justice ? Absolutely there is no such thing in our country at the moment as they do whatever they want. Unfortunately, exiles people are not united at this stage. We heard a lots of disagreement between NCGUB and MPU. Here, i would like to advise to those people that we look forward to get democracy so we should focus on what we can do to make changes in our country rather than chasing for position in an organization like NCGUB. History will decide everything. You do not need to worry about what others did but you should concentrate on what you can do for our country.

Sadly, some people (i don't mean all) i saw on exile are earning money for themselves from fund raising activities for our country. How bad it is ? I am sure that some of the people do their best.

What is the plan next for our country?

2010 election is coming soon ?

Will we do together or separately ?

There are thousands of political prisoners there in our country and millions of people are suffering and waiting the period of change.

What can we do ?

There is only one solution to these questions ?

" We have to unite and make a respectable organization exile which links to all other countries and people in our country, Burma"

Therefore, It is the time to pay respect each other and forgot about personal problems and looking forward about future of our country. And then we can make an important decision at least for our country.

Sit Ko Naing


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ေပါင္းစည္းညီညြတ္ၾကဖို႔ အခ်ိန္တန္ၿပီ
စစ္ကိုႏိုင္
(ျမန္မာဘာသာျပန္ဆိုသူ - ညိဳႀကီး)

ကၽြန္ေတာ္လည္း သင္ယူမႈဆိုင္ရာကိစၥေတြနဲ႔ အေတာ္ႀကီး နပန္းလံုးေနရလို႔ ဘေလာ့ဂ္မွာေတာင္ စာမေရးျဖစ္တာ ေတာ္ေတာ္ၾကာသြားပါၿပီ။
ဒါေပမဲ့ ဒီရက္ပိုင္း ဗမာျပည္တြင္းမွာ တရစပ္ျဖစ္ပ်က္ေနတဲ့ အေၾကာင္းအရာေတြေၾကာင့္ ဒီစာကို ကၽြန္ေတာ္ ေရးျဖစ္သြားတယ္။

ခင္ဗ်ားတို႔ သိၿပီးျဖစ္တဲ့အတိုင္း ဒီရက္ပိုင္းအတြင္းမွာ စစ္အဆိုးရက ၈၈မ်ိဳးဆက္ ေက်ာင္းသားေခါင္းေဆာင္ေတြကို ေထာင္ဒဏ္ (၆၅)ႏွစ္စီခ်မွတ္လိုက္တယ္။ ဒါ့အျပင္ တရားရံုးမွာ အမႈရင္ဆိုင္ေနရတဲ့ NLD ပါတီ၀င္ေတြနဲ႔ အစြပ္စြဲခံ ႏိုင္ငံေရးေခါင္းေဆာင္ေတြဘက္ကေန ေရွ႕ေနအျဖစ္ လိုက္ပါေဆာင္ရြက္ေပးေနတဲ့ ေရွ႕ေနႀကီးေတြကိုပါမခ်န္ စစ္အဆိုးရက ေထာင္သြင္း အက်ဥ္းခ်ပစ္လိုက္ျပန္တယ္။

ကဲ...ဘယ္မွာလဲ တရားမွ်တမႈ။
စစ္အဆိုးရက သူတို႔ စိတ္ထဲ ထင္ရာျမင္ရာ၊ လုပ္ခ်င္ရာ စြတ္လုပ္ေနတဲ့ အခုလိုအခ်ိန္အခါမ်ိဳးမွာ တရားမွ်တမႈဆိုတာ ကၽြန္ေတာ္တို႔ ဗမာျပည္တြင္းမွာ လံုး၀ ေပ်ာက္ဆံုး၊ ပ်က္သုဥ္းသြားပါၿပီ။

ဒီအခါမွာ လူမိုက္(စစ္အဆိုးရ) ကံေကာင္းဖို႔ျဖစ္ေနေစတဲ့ အခ်က္တစ္ခ်က္ကို ဘြားကနဲ သြားေတြ႕လိုက္ရတယ္။ အဲဒါကေတာ့ ျပည္ပေရာက္ေနတဲ့ အတိုက္အခံႏိုင္ငံေရးသမားေတြဟာ အခုအခ်ိန္ထိ အခ်င္းခ်င္း စည္းလံုးညီညြတ္မႈမရွိ၊ ေပါင္းစည္းလို႔ မရႏိုင္ေသးတာပါပဲ။ ဥပမာ- NCGUB နဲ႔ MPU အဖြဲ႕ေတြၾကားမွာျဖစ္ေနတဲ့ ျငင္းခုန္၊ ကြဲလြဲ၊ ရန္ေစာင္မႈသတင္းေတြကို အမ်ားႀကီး ကၽြန္ေတာ္တို႔ ၾကားေနရတယ္။ ဒီေနရာမွာ ကၽြန္ေတာ္တစ္ခု အႀကံေပးလိုတာကေတာ့ ဒီလိုေတြ ျငင္းခုန္ကြဲလြဲရန္ေစာင္ေနမယ့္အစား၊ NCGUB အစရွိေသာ ျပည္ပေရာက္ အဖြဲ႔အစည္းေတြမွာ ေနရာတစ္ေနရာရဖို႔ လုပ္ေနၾကမယ့္အစား (ရွင္းရွင္းေျပာရရင္) ေနရာလု၊ ခြက္ေစာင္းခုတ္ေနၾကမယ့္အစား ကၽြန္ေတာ္တို႔ဟာ ကိုယ့္ဗမာျပည္ ဒီမိုကေရစီရရွိဖို႔အေရး၊ ကိုယ့္တိုင္းျပည္အတြင္း ျပဳျပင္ေျပာင္းလဲမႈေတြ ေပၚေပါက္ဖို႔အေရးအတြက္ ကုိယ္လုပ္ႏိုင္တဲ့ အပိုင္းကေန ေရွးရႈလုပ္ၾကဖို႔ အထူးအာရံုစိုက္ရမယ့္ အခ်ိန္ ေရာက္ေနပါၿပီ။

သမိုင္းကပဲ အရာရာကို ဆံုးျဖတ္သြားပါလိမ့္မယ္။
တကယ္ေတာ့လည္း အျခားသူေတြ ဘယ္ေျခလွမ္းလွမ္းေနမွာပဲဆိုၿပီး စိုးရိမ္ေတြးေတာပူပန္ေနတာထက္ ကိုယ့္တိုင္းျပည္အတြက္ ခင္ဗ်ားဘာလုပ္ေပးႏိုင္မလဲဆိုတာကို ပိုၿပီးအာရံုစိုက္သင့္ပါၿပီ။

၀မ္းနည္းဖို႔ေကာင္းတဲ့၊ ကၽြန္ေတာ္ျမင္ေနရတဲ့အခ်က္တစ္ခ်က္ကို ေျပာရရင္ ျပည္ပေရာက္ အခ်ိဳ႕ေသာ အတိုက္အခံႏိုင္ငံေရးသမားေတြ (အားလံုးကို မဆိုလိုပါ) ဟာ ဗမာျပည္အတြက္၊ ဗမာျပည္အတြက္ ဟစ္ေၾကြးၿပီးသကာလ ျပည္ပမွာ ေကာင္းေကာင္းစား၊ ေကာင္းေကာင္းေနႏိုင္ဖို႔အတြက္ ၀င္ေငြေတြထပ္ထပ္တိုးေအာင္သာလုပ္ၿပီး ကိုယ္က်ိဳးရွာေနၾကတာပါ။ ကဲ...ဘယ္ေလာက္ဆိုးတဲ့ အျဖစ္လဲ။ ဘယ္ေလာက္စိတ္ပ်က္စရာ ေကာင္းသလဲ။
ဒါေပမဲ့ တိုင္းျပည္အတြက္ အေကာင္းဆံုး ေဆာင္ရြက္၊ လုပ္ကိုင္ေနတဲ့ ျပည္ပေရာက္ အတိုက္အခံႏိုင္ငံေရးသမားေတြလည္း မရွိမဟုတ္ပါဘူး။ ရွိပါတယ္။

ကဲ...အခု ကၽြန္ေတာ္တို႔ ဗမာျပည္အတြက္ ေနာက္ထပ္ ဘာေတြ ႀကိဳတင္ျပင္ဆင္ထားၿပီးၿပီလဲ။

၂၀၁၀ ေရြးေကာက္ပြဲဆိုတာႀကီးကလည္း မၾကာခင္ တကယ္ ေရာက္လာေတာ့မွာလား။

စစ္အဆိုးရကို ကၽြန္ေတာ္တို႔အခ်င္းခ်င္း စုေပါင္း၊ စုစည္းၿပီး တိုက္မလား၊
အခုလိုပဲ အယူအဆအမ်ိဳးမ်ိဳး၊ အဖြဲ႕အမ်ိဳးမ်ိဳးခြဲၿပီး ကြဲၿပီး တကြဲတျပား တိုက္မလား။

ျပည္တြင္းမွာေတာ့ မ်ားစြာေသာ အတိုက္အခံ ႏိုင္ငံေရးသမားေတြဟာ ေထာင္ထဲကို ၀င္ၿပီးရင္း ၀င္ေနၾကရတယ္။ က်န္တဲ့ သန္းေပါင္းမ်ားစြာေသာ ဗမာျပည္သူျပည္သားေတြခမ်ာမွာေတာ့ ေျပာင္းလဲမႈကို ေမွ်ာ္လင့္ေစာင့္စားရင္းနဲ႔သာ ရင္ေမာၿပီးရင္း ေမာေနၾကရတယ္။

“ျပည္ပေရာက္ေနတဲ့ ခင္ဗ်ားတို႔၊ ကၽြန္ေတာ္တို႔ေတြ သူတို႔ေတြအတြက္ ဘာလုပ္ေပးႏိုင္သလဲ။”

ဒီေနာက္ဆံုးေမးခြန္းအတြက္ အေျဖဟာ တစ္ခုပဲ ရွိတယ္။

"ကၽြန္ေတာ္တို႔အခ်င္းခ်င္း ညီညီညြတ္ညြတ္နဲ႔ ေပါင္းတိုက္မွ ရေတာ့မယ္။ ဗမာျပည္ျပင္ပ တိုင္းျပည္အသီးသီးမွာေရာက္ေနတဲ့ အတိုက္အခံေတြေရာ၊ ျပည္တြင္းမွာရွိတဲ့ အတိုက္အခံေတြေရာနဲ႔ပါ အားလံုးခ်ိတ္ဆက္စုေပါင္းထားတဲ့ တစ္ခုတည္းေသာ အဖြဲ႕အစည္းႀကီးတစ္ခုကို ကၽြန္ေတာ္တို႔ ညီညြတ္စြာ ေပါင္းဖြဲ႕မွရေတာ့မယ္" ဆိုတာပါပဲ။

ဒါေၾကာင့္မို႔လို႔ ဒီအခ်ိန္ဟာ အတိုက္အခံေတြအခ်င္းခ်င္း တစ္ဦးကို တစ္ဦး ရိုေသေလးစားၿပီး၊ ကိုယ္ေရးကိုယ္တာ ပုဂၢလိက ခံစားခ်က္ျပႆနာေတြကို ေမ့ေဖ်ာက္ထားၿပီး ဗမာျပည္ရဲ႕ အနာဂတ္အတြက္ ေရွ႕ခရီးဆက္ရမယ့္ အခ်ိန္ကို ေရာက္ေနပါၿပီ။
အဲဒါမွသာ ကၽြန္ေတာ္တို႔ဟာ တိုင္းျပည္အတြက္ အေရးပါအရာေရာက္တဲ့ ဆံုးျဖတ္ခ်က္တစ္ခုကို ပိုင္ပိုင္ႏိုင္ႏိုင္နဲ႔ ေအာင္ျမင္ေပါက္ေျမာက္ေအာင္ ဆံုးျဖတ္ခ်မွတ္ႏိုင္ပါလိမ့္မယ္။ ။

စစ္ကိုႏိုင္
(ျမန္မာဘာသာျပန္ဆိုသူ - ညိဳႀကီး)

Ref: http://saveburma. sosblog.com/ Burma-political- blog-b1/Time- to-Unite- b1-p50370. htm

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Myanmar on US agenda

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/SE%2BAsia/Story/STIStory_305453.html

WASHINGTON - A SENIOR US diplomat will discuss human rights concerns in Myanmar during visits to Japan and Singapore in early December, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Friday.
Mr Scot Marciel, the deputy assistant secretary for the East Asia and Pacific Bureau, will 'travel to Tokyo to consult with Japanese officials regarding human rights, democracy and other concerns in Burma', Mr McCormack told reporters.

The United States refers to Myanmar as Burma, the name used before it was changed by the military junta. Mr Marciel's visit to Japan will take place on Dec 1-2, Mr McCormack said.


Mr Marciel, who is also US ambassador for the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) Affairs, will also visit Singapore from Dec 3-6 to discuss Myanmar and US-Asean cooperation with Asean member countries, he said.

The 10-member bloc includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. -- AFP


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Sole Myanmar protester demands activists' release

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jL1-mtCQg__CCNCeYsEUpPICvm5AD94JVRM00

YANGON, Myanmar – A lone demonstrator staged a silent protest in front of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party headquarters Saturday demanding the military government free all student activists as the country celebrated its National Day.
The holiday commemorates a boycott by Yangon University students 88 years ago in defiance of British colonial rule, a protest that inspired Myanmar's independence movement.
Although the government does not hold any public events to mark the day, Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy regularly celebrates with a party.


Before the celebration, party member Min Thein walked into the middle of the street in front of the party headquarters and stood silently with a placard reading, "Release Min Ko Naing and other political prisoners."
Min Ko Naing is a member of the 88 Generation Students group, which participated in a brutally suppressed 1988 democratic uprising. Along with many of his fellow former students he was sentenced to 65 years in prison this month for taking part in an Aug. 21, 2007, street protest against a massive fuel price hike by the government.
Plainclothes police took videos and photos of Min Thein's lone protest but did not arrest him during the minutes he stood silently.
"I am expressing my feelings and I am ready to face all consequences," Min Thein told reporters after the protest.
The party marked the anniversary by calling for the release of all political prisoners, including student activists and Buddhist monks who were arrested during anti-government demonstrations in September last year.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi has spent more than 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest.

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China denies 'cyber spying'

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200811/s2427105.htm?tab=asia

Updated November 22, 2008 16:22:48

China has reacted angrily to a US congressional report which accuses Beijing of misusing its huge foreign currency reserves and engaging in cyber spying.

The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission says China is developing a sophisticated cyber warfare programme, aimed at extracting sensitive information.

It also claims Beijing is using its nearly two-trillion U-S dollars in foreign exchange reserves to seek political and economic influence over other nations.

The panel criticised Beijing for exercising "heavy-handed government control" over its economy and "continuing arms sales and military support to rogue regimes" such as Sudan, Burma and Iran.

However, China's foreign ministry says the report is aimed at misleading the public and impeding bilateral cooperation.

Tags:china

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Myanmar leader calls on country to back 'road map' to democracy

YANGON (AFP) – The head of Myanmar's military junta made a rare call Saturday for all citizens to back a controversial "road map" to democracy.
Writing in an article on the front page of the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper Senior General Than Shwe said it was every citizen's national duty to support the political process.
"The state's seven-step road map is being implemented to build a peaceful, modern and developed new democratic nation with flourishing discipline," he wrote on the eve of the country's national day.
"The entire population are duty-bound to actively participate with united spirit and national fervour in the drive to see the seven-step road map," the paper quoted him as saying.


YANGON (AFP) – The head of Myanmar's military junta made a rare call Saturday for all citizens to back a controversial "road map" to democracy.
Writing in an article on the front page of the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper Senior General Than Shwe said it was every citizen's national duty to support the political process.
"The state's seven-step road map is being implemented to build a peaceful, modern and developed new democratic nation with flourishing discipline," he wrote on the eve of the country's national day.
"The entire population are duty-bound to actively participate with united spirit and national fervour in the drive to see the seven-step road map," the paper quoted him as saying.
Under the government's "road map" to democracy, Myanmar has adopted a new constitution after a widely-criticized referendum held days after a cyclone ravaged large swathes of the country in early May and left 138,000 people dead or missing.
Authorities said the referendum, carried out without independent monitoring, had received support from 92.48 percent of voters.
The road map paves the way for elections in 2010 in a country that has been ruled by the military since 1962.
But the US, the EU and the United Nations have dismissed the lengthy proceedings as a sham due to the absence of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
The NLD won a landslide victory in 1990 elections but the junta did not allow them to take office.
Than Shwe's announcement comes a day after Myanmar's most famous comedian Zarganar was sentenced to 45 years in prison, and in a month when more than 150 activists have been given long jail terms by the military regime, according to opposition sources.
The NLD said Friday the jailings decimated its next generation of leaders.
Rights groups have accused the junta of trying to curb dissent ahead of the 2010 elections.
New York-based group Human Rights Watch (HRW) Saturday joined UN experts and the United States in condemning Myanmar for the sentences.
Brad Adams, the group's Asia director, using the former name of the country, said the jailing of the comedian was "a cruel joke on the Burmese people".
2
"But it's a bigger joke on those abroad who still think ignoring repression in Burma will bring positive change," he said.

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Human rights calls (ASEAN TO BURMA)

http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=132196

Asean governments will be urged next month to call for a Commission of Inquiry on Burma by the UN Human Rights Council. But the new Asean Human Rights Body will face a wide range of problems and requests. COMMENTARY



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By Achara Ashayagachat


As soon as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) completes setting up a workable human rights mechanism in light of its aspiring new status as a rules-based entity next year, the 10-member organisation will have to grapple with the old debate about the merits of non-interference.


The long-time issue of Burma would be even more critical now that the military junta has opted for a ruthless approach against its political dissidents.



After five meetings, the High Level Panel (HLP) on the Asean Human Rights Body (AHRB) has agreed in principle that the AHRB's mandate is to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedom of the peoples of Asean.



In doing so, the AHRB will have to cover a range of activities. The Panel, comprising mostly technocrats and retired officials - one from each member state - are consulting with stakeholders in their own countries, at least on the surface, over what and how the new body will function with regard to each member's sovereignty.



The tenser situation in Burma (and some believe in Thailand as well) does not seem to warrant a wait for the bureaucratic process of setting up this nice body to be completed by the end of next year. The Burmese government-in-exile and dissidents along the Thai-Burmese border are calling for regional and international intervention as the military government in Burma intensifies its campaign of imprisoning democracy fighters to clear the ground prior to an election set for 2010.


"Regional powers cannot sit idly by and reap the rewards of immorality," says the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma's (NCGUB) representative to the UN, Dr Thaung Htun.



"We condemn the arbitrary sentencing of Burmese citizens to long periods in jail. We believe Burma's regional partners cannot fail to do so, too, and to act accordingly by taking on this issue on at next month's Asean summit in Thailand."



The NCGUB has urged Asean governments which will meet in Chiang Mai next month to call for a Commission of Inquiry by the UN Human Rights Council. This inquiry should be carried out in a format similar to the one established to investigate human rights violations in the Sudan.



The Commission can be coordinated by UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur for Burma, Tomas Ojea Quitana. It should encompass input from other UN Thematic Rappoteurs on such matters as independent judiciary, violence against women and children, armed conflict, freedom of expression and information and arbitrary detention.



"Asean should fully commit to this process, facilitate its evolution and fully cooperate in its investigations. Such an initiative will give weight to the body's call for a human rights office within Asean and would enhance its reputation as a body concerned about the abuses of its members," said the Burmese leader-in-exile.



Sriprapha Petcharamesree, chair of the Thai working group for Asean Human Rights Mechanism, encourages the AHRB to focus more on the protection aspect of its mandate.



"A promotion of human rights norms is important but the more urgent task is protection. I wonder how the AHRB would address such issues as the deaths of 54 Burmese trafficked into Thailand recently, if the Asean states still emphasise the non-interference principle," said Ms Sriprapha from Mahidol University.


She also called for a clearer and more specific mandate for the AHRB and the power to press for implementation of, and compliance with, its decisions.



More importantly, members of the AHRB, though appointed by the member state government, must be accountable to Asean's citizens.



Lawyer Somchai Homla-or, secretary-general of the Foundation for Human Rights and Development, agreed that AHRB members must be responsible for the interests of Asean people, and not the national interest of the individual countries.



He suggested that a channel for public participation be opened in the process of nominating members to the AHRB.



"It is important to change Asean's culture and style. No matter which Asean committee, they usually tend to avoid addressing problems in other countries for fear that other members might raise issues in their own countries as well. But the AHRB must be independent and accountable to the interests of the people whose rights are abused by anyone, including the states," said the human rights activist.



He shared Ms Sriprapha's view that the new body should be able to accept cases and propose remedies although it may not make any binding rulings.Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Thai representative in the HLP, conceded that the new mechanism will not be able to address or solve all human rights abuses. It is more likely to function as a reminder to the Asean member states to adhere to and respect human rights values.



"The new body will be a reminder to the member states what problems are hovering over us. Even the UN Human Rights Council cannot solve all the problems. What is important is that we need to create a culture and norm on human rights promotion and protection. Of course, the body has to be credible but we have to be realistic to the cultural differences and sensitivities among the Asean members," said Mr Sihasak, also ambassador to the UN in Geneva.


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အမ်ိဳးသားေအာင္ပဲြေန ့ဖိတ္ႀကားစာ-NLD-LA-JAPAN

NATIONAL DAY

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Singapore skids into first recesssion since 2001

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ixM7Q-rota6NUElM_rCNT0jwuJ7wD94J5IU00

By ALEX KENNEDY –

SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore's economy has skidded into a recession for the first time since 2001, the government said Friday, warning that it could contract by up to 1 percent next year as a global slowdown saps export demand.

The city-state's economy shrank 6.8 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter, more than the 6.3 percent contraction estimated last month, the Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement.

"Singapore's economy is expected to face a broad-based slowdown in 2009," the ministry said. "Considerable uncertainty remains as to how deep and long this downturn will last."


In the second quarter, gross domestic product declined 5.3 percent. Two straight quarters of economic contraction is the traditional definition of a recession.

Compared to a year ago, the economy shrank 0.6 percent in the third quarter, the ministry said.

The government expects economic activity of between negative 1 percent and growth of 2 percent in 2009, and it cut the city-state's 2008 growth forecast to 2.5 percent from 3 percent.

The global economic downturn has dried up demand for Singapore's exports and hurt the financial sector. Manufacturing slid 10 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter, while construction fell 11 percent and financial services plunged 22 percent, the ministry said.

"The slowdown in international and regional trade will significantly impact our wholesale trade and the transport and storage sectors," the ministry said.

The government cut its inflation forecast for next year to between 1 percent and 2 percent from between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent, the ministry said.
Hosted by Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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ASEAN members to join Army shoot meet in Tarlac

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/11/20/08/asean-members-join-army-shoot-meet-tarlac

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 11/20/2008 9:50 PM

CAMP O'DONNEL, TARLAC - Eleven-member countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will show their finest forms during exhibition and competition games using various kinds of rifles in the Army Rifle Meet slated on Dec. 10, military officials here announced.

The six-day friendly competition’s primary objective is to promote good relations among Army soldiers in ASEAN member countries, said Army Capt. Vicky Agoncillo, Public Information Office (PIO) chief of Light Armor Division (LAD), stationed here.

"This is a great undertaking by the Philippine Army (PA) not only because the activities will hone the marksmanship skills of each soldier but it would also foster brotherhood with all the Army units of ASEAN-member countries," said Agoncillo, adding the event would be an interesting one.


ASEAN-member countries include Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Taiwan, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Army units in the Southeast Asian countries, Agoncillo said, have signified its interest to join in the competition, the Army official said.

Agoncillo said the Army Rifle Meet will be the second to be held in Central Luzon. She said the first was more than a decade ago and was held in Fort Ramon Magsaysay, home of 7th Infantry Division, in Palayan City in Nueva Ecija.

Security preparations are in full swing as construction of additional firing ranges are in near completion, said the woman Army officer adding the shooting range would not be so sophisticated as the Olympic games shooting range, but the scoring system would be computerized.

Army Rifle Meet hosting, Agoncillo said, rotates or passes from one country to another, and "for this year the Philippine Army was chosen to sponsor the activities which is considered as one of the biggest event in the history of the Armed forces.

Agoncillo had extended her invitations to various media organizations from Pampanga and Tarlac to cover the event.-Jess Malabanan

as of 11/20/2008 9:50 PM

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Unfriendly neighbors in Southeast Asia

http://www.upiasia.com/Politics/2008/11/20/unfriendly_neighbors_in_southeast_asia/6056/

By Mong Palatino
Column: PeripheriesPublished: November 20, 2008TOOLBAR

Daly City, CA, United States, — There are numerous border disputes in Southeast Asia. The most well-known case today involves the historic Preah Vihear temple and the four square kilometers of territory around it, which are claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia. Last month, Thai and Cambodian soldiers violently clashed near the controversial temple.
Fortunately the clash produced few deaths and injuries. But unfortunately, it generated ultranationalist and racist sentiments in both countries. Many Thais, including politicians, accused Cambodians of betraying Thailand in the past.

On the other hand, some Cambodians criticized their neighbor for being arrogant. Thailand and Cambodia do not only share borders, they also have a common political and economic history.

The border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is just one of the many quiet conflicts in Southeast Asia, especially in the Indochina region. There are still unsettled border feuds between Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia today. Recently, a maritime dispute in the Bay of Bengal was reported between Myanmar and Bangladesh.


In other parts of the region, the Philippines has not renounced its claim over Sabah, which is part of Malaysia today. Some Filipino scholars believe Malaysia has been secretly supporting the Muslim insurgents in the southern Philippines to protect its interests in Sabah.

This year Singapore was recognized by the World Court as the owner of a tiny but important island in the Singapore Strait, which is also claimed by Malaysia.

These border disputes are partly colonial legacies. Western powers created artificial boundaries in the past which inflamed ethnic rivalries.

It is also understandable why governments today are asserting their geopolitical interests. Each country has to protect its sovereignty and more importantly, it has to secure the territories with abundant resources. But the aggressive behavior of many leaders in the region may also be a tactic to gather domestic support for their unpopular administrations. Nationalism is being invoked for the wrong reasons.

The border disputes in the region signify the lack of camaraderie among Southeast Asians. Every country believes its people are superior over their neighbors. This form of racism seems to be endorsed by social and cultural institutions of many countries in the region. An editor of the Bangkok Post raised this point when he exposed what Thai schools are teaching his daughter:

“Like most Thais, she feels Burma is fierce and heartless, Cambodia cannot be trusted and Laos is inferior to Thailand – because the history textbooks teach her so.”

Many people in Thailand believe they once owned parts of their neighboring countries, making them feel they are the greatest in the region. In a similar way, almost all Filipinos think that other Southeast Asians have learned agriculture by studying in the Philippines.

Last month, homeowners in a village in Singapore protested the construction of a dormitory for migrant workers, citing security concerns, the migrants’ poor hygiene and the negative impact of the building on real estate prices in the area. They have forgotten that many of their ancestors were also migrants and that most of the migrant workers today in Singapore have come from neighboring countries in the region.

The unfriendliness of Southeast Asians to each other is really disappointing. But this condescending behavior toward fellow Southeast Asians is almost no different to what the people in the region are showing to their fellow citizens in their home countries.

The dominant Buddhist Thais are not on good terms with many ethnic Malay Muslims who are living in southern Thailand. The Catholic majority in the Philippines is denying Muslim Filipinos in the southern Philippines their right to self-determination. Many residents of West Papua are asserting their independence from Indonesia. Racism is again a very serious, if not the most important, political issue in multi-ethnic Malaysia.

The unspoken hostility between Southeast Asians makes it difficult and almost impossible to implement region-wide initiatives. For example, there have been proposals for sending a unified team to the Olympics, the use of a single currency like the euro for Europe, and the issuance of a single visa for the whole region.

A divided Southeast Asia does not benefit the interests of each country in the region. It makes it easy for big countries like China, Japan and the United States to obtain advantageous deals from Southeast Asian countries.

The United States has clinched military basing agreements with several Southeast Asian countries; Japan has been successful in acquiring one-sided bilateral economic agreements in the region; and China is acting like the big brother of Southeast Asian nations.

Things could be different if Southeast Asia were united. Powerful countries would rethink their negotiating tactics if they were dealing with a united Southeast Asia, instead of a small country with little economic and political bargaining power.

But many Southeast Asians do not realize this need for unity. They have overlooked the advantages of creating a united regional bloc since they are distracted by trivial conflicts. It seems they prefer to convince themselves that their neighbors are inferior instead of reaching out to their fellow Southeast Asians.

China, Japan and India are among the big powers in Asia. A united Southeast Asia could alter the balance of power in this part of the world.

--

(Mong Palatino is an activist and regional editor for Southeast Asia of Global Voices Online. He can be reached at mongpalatino@gmail.com and his website is www.mongpalatino.motime.com. ©Copyright Mong Palatino.)

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Monk, comedian handed lengthy Myanmar prison terms

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i4JZ40iX6CTZZ8suKU3jnsICaI0QD94JCV180

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Courts in military-ruled Myanmar handed long prison sentences Friday to a prominent Buddhist monk and a popular comedian who are active in the country's pro-democracy movement, rounding out two weeks of an intensive judicial crackdown on activists.

At least 100 people have received prison sentences of two to 65 years since early November, with many being held for more than a year before being tried. Many of the trials were held in closed sessions, sometimes without defense lawyers or family present.


Comedian and activist Maung Thura — who is better known by his stage name, Zarganar — was sentenced to 45 years imprisonment for violations of the Electronics Act, which regulates all forms of electronic communication, said his lawyer, Khin Htay Kywe.

The comedian still faces other charges, she said.

Another lawyer said Buddhist monk Ashin Gambira was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment on various charges, including insulting religion, having links with illegal organizations and violating the Immigration Act. The lawyer spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of antagonizing the government.

The monk helped organize last year's mass pro-democracy demonstrations. He was previously sentenced to 56 years imprisonment on other charges, bringing his total sentence to 68 years.

Monks inspired and led pro-democracy demonstrations that were violently suppressed by the army in September last year. The authorities began their crackdown by raiding several monasteries in Yangon in the middle of the night and hauling away monks.

The wave of harsh sentences has been condemned worldwide by Western governments and human rights organizations, who charge that it makes a mockery of the ruling junta's professed plan to restore democracy with a 2010 election.

On Tuesday, five United Nations experts issued a statement in Geneva strongly condemning the "severe convictions and the unfair trials of prisoners of conscience in Myanmar."

Their statement from the U.N. human rights experts said they "demand that all detainees be retried in open hearings respecting fair trial standards and the immediate release of their defense counsels."

Those sentenced recently included some 70 members of the opposition National League for Democracy party of detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Some of the most severe sentences were handed to 23 members of the 88 Generation Students group, veteran activists who have been spearheading nonviolent protests for the past several years.

Bloggers, musicians and poets have also been among the victims.

On Thursday, well-known hip-hop singer Zeyar Thaw, a member of the band "Acid," was jailed for six years, and 14 members of Suu Kyi's party got 2 1/2 years each for calling for her release on her birthday in June, party spokesman Nyan Win said.

Zeyar Thaw is thought to be a leader of Generation Wave, an illegal student group formed in the wake of last year's protests to carry on the struggle for democracy.

Zarganar was arrested in June after he gave interviews to foreign media in which he criticized the junta's slow response to the May cyclone that killed more than 84,000 people.

Three associates were tried with him. Sportswriter Zaw Thet Htwe and video journalist Thant Zin Aung were given 15 years each and face further charges, while Tin Maung Aye got 29 years, Zarganar's lawyer said.

Zaw Thet Htwe was arrested in 2003 for allegedly plotting to "overthrow the government through bombings and assassinations." He was convicted of high treason and sentenced to death but was later given a reduced sentence and released in 2005 after serving 18 months.

Zarganar has been imprisoned several times, and was held for three weeks for providing food and other necessities to Buddhist monks during last year's demonstrations.

The 47-year-old comedian is also a successful producer, director, writer and actor. He frequently upsets officials with his popular satirical jokes about his country's political, economic and social situation, and the junta banned him from making public performances in 2006 after he made remarks to foreign media that upset them.

Amnesty International and other international human rights groups say the junta holds more than 2,100 political prisoners, up sharply from nearly 1,200 in June 2007 — before last year's pro-democracy demonstrations.

The prisoners include Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, as she has been for more than 13 of the past 19 years.

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Throwing Away the Key in Burma

http://www.spectator.org/archives/2008/11/20/throwing-away-the-key-in-burma/

By Anonymous on 11.20.08 @ 2:00PM

Editor's Note: The identity of the author, an American, is anonymous (as are the identities of those he interviewed) because disclosing their names could compromise their safety in Burma.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- The time of reckoning for those who protested Burma's high fuel prices in September 2007 came long ago, but only now are most of them beginning to learn their long-term futures. It is bleak.

This land of rich resources, renamed Myanmar in 1989 by its military dictatorship, delivered last week the verdicts of several prisoners -- many of them Buddhist monks -- it has held since the government (again) expunged political dissent last year. The decisions were announced after alleged trials were held at the frightening Insein Prison. Reports vary, but last week on Tuesday as many as 23 dissidents received sentences of 65 years each for their roles in the protests, and two days the same punishment was revealed for another 13.


The defendants' hearings are more appropriately characterized as show trials without the show. Any prosecution and defense activity, if there was any, was conducted behind the walls of Insein. The protesters' defense lawyers were themselves jailed for contempt of court, which further illustrates the futility of pursuing justice in Burma. And nearly three-quarters of those detained in the last 15 months still await almost certain similar fates, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

As for most of the rest of Burma -- especially in the former capital of Yangon, where this reporter recently visited -- there is little hope for even a minimal standard of living. Oppression and corruption dominate. General Than Shwe leads the ruling military junta, and discussion about his regime's destructive policies is spoken in careful words where no one can overhear.

The torture and squalor of places like Insein only speak to the fate of those who have crossed the government. Those who remain "free" live a frustrating and meager existence. A layer of mildew coats nearly all buildings. Regular (that is, most without a family or friendly connection with the Shwe regime) citizens live in shacks, or in the aforementioned concrete apartments. Thousands try to live by peddling goods or food on sidewalks. Roads are in gross disrepair and workers overload old, sputtering modes of transport (at least those that are motorized: taxis, truck beds, buses, trains and boats) that they depend upon each day. Very few people own cars.

As for the things we take for granted in the West, operators in the Shwe regime demand their cut of the slim earnings of others. Territorial officials (those who oversee individual neighborhoods) must be bribed for "protection." Guests from outside -- especially foreigners -- have to be reported to those officials (who get extra bribes for the added "trouble"), and none are allowed to lodge overnight in homes -- they must stay in hotels.

"They are like an employee waiting for a salary," a local friend, who sometimes entertains visitors from outside the country, said of these neighborhood officials. He added that towards the end of each month his local authority often complains about an artificial problem with his business to remind him it's time to pay up again.

Simple occupations like driving a taxi -- despite their ubiquity -- are burdensome. To own a '70s- or early '80s-era jalopy (usually a Toyota model) costs in the neighborhood of $12,000 to $15,000, according to locals -- vehicles you can no longer get parts for in the U.S. Cab drivers (not the owners) pay more than $400 annually just for the privilege of carrying passengers. Above that they pay $15 daily to the owner for the use of the vehicle -- if their fare revenue falls short of that amount, then they must pay out of their own pockets. With no meters running up the tab, cross-town fares a pittance, and the great amount of competition for customers, earning $15 in a day is not a given.

As for the struggles of other citizens, they can muster little resistance to the Shwe regime. Internet communications are extremely limited, cell phones are cost prohibitive and even fax machines must be registered with the government. Burmese can consider little more complexity in life other than simple survival.

(Page 2 of 2)

"People don't have a chance to think about the country," said one community religious leader, "because they struggle for food."

He said Cyclone Nargis, which in early May severely damaged Yangon and devastated the Irrawaddy Delta region south of the city, came without warning to most Burmese. Alerts went out over state-run broadcast media but few heard it, since most people don't bother to watch or listen to the government propaganda.

"They warned people on TV," he said, "but we didn't watch TV at the time.

"That's the only way they can keep control. Their very intention is to keep people away from knowledge and education."

Today's scarcity of Buddhist monks on the streets of Yangon illustrates the suffocating power of Myanmar's government. Before the September 2007 crackdown they were everywhere, but now they are scattered in exile or await their prison sentences.

Nothing under earthly power can be done about it, barring an outside overthrow. Democracy activist Aung San Syu Kyi has lived under house arrest, off and mostly on, since the military junta overturned the country's last democratic elections in 1990. And there are no signs of change, given last year's flattening of the peaceful monk marches.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wrote in his book Courage: Eight Portraits, "So Suu Kyi's courage is the courage to sacrifice her own happiness and a comfortable life so that, through her struggle, she might win the right of an entire nation to seek happy and comfortable lives."

Sadly, this long struggle she has shared with her nation has not broken the stranglehold that evil has upon Burma.


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International Action Committee for Burma (IACB)

Call for global collective actions against the Military Junta for the severe convictions and unfair trials in Burma



1. 88 Generation Students who are trying for democratic transition in Burma and seeking for national reconciliation unlawfully received harsh long jail terms of 65 years.

2. 88 Generation Students are separated from their groups and are sent to far away prisons where it is very difficult to contact family and loved ones.

3. Lawyers who support and defend for the activists were captured and received jail terms without appropriate law. The cruel intention of this act is to threaten lawyers not to defend the activists.

4. The above actions prove that State Peace and Development Council has no intention to provide freedom and democracy to the people who are longing for it.

5. Therefore, any citizens from any country who is pro-democracy, pro-human rights, or pro-justice should be against:



· the lawlessness cruel act of the SPDC regime

· the one sided constitution of 2007 which has no democratic value

· the coming election in 2010 which will legalize the brutal acts of the regime



We call all of you to stand together as unified forces with Burmese people who have been severely oppressed by the Burmese military regime.

Starting from November 22nd 2008, activists around the world who are willing to help for democratic change in Burma will demand the urgent and unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, ethnic minority leaders, student leaders, and all political prisoners.




Contact Persons

North America: Moe Thee Zun Tel: 347-475-2542 , Thet Htun Tel: 206-403-0161 ,

Ko Myo Tel 347-668-5046

Europe : Sonny Aung Than Oo Tel: 491735347534, Moe Maung Maung Tel: 4721382098

Asia: Yan Naing Htun Tel: 821197234773, Ko Ko Aung Tel:09015062893

International Action Committee for Burma (IACB) is comprised with

1. 88 Generation Students’ Exile Thet Htun

2. 88 Generation activists ( Thailand ) Aung Myo Tint

3. 88 Generation activists ( Norway ) Moe Maung Maung

4. 88 Generation activists ( UK )

5. 88 Generation Activists ( Australia )

6. 88 Generation activists ( Netherlands ) Aung Phyo

7. National Campaign for Food and Freedom (NCFF) Ko Yin Aye

8. International Campaign for Burma ( New York ) Ko Myo

9. Burmese Student Net work ( Canada ) San Aung

10. Burma Bureau ( Germany ) Sonny Aung Than Oo

11. All Burma Student League ( India ) Ko Kyaw Than

12. DFB ( Japan ) Joint Action Committee ( Tokyo ) Ko Ko Aung

13. NLD (LA) ( Malaysia ) Aung Kyaw Satt

14. Overseas Burmese Patriots ( Singapore ) Ko Soe Tun .

15.NLD (LA) Korea Branch Yan Naing Htun

16. Activists from Belgium Brian

17. Activists from France Thi Ha Zaw

18. Anti Dictatorship, People's Freedom Movement Shwe Zin Htun

19. Civil Society for Burma Tin Win Thein



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[federalistfriends] The big problem inside the Federal Union of Burma

by admin — last modified 2008-11-21 05:35

The perspectives of Col. Yawd Serk

A few days ago, I had the chance to speak to the chairman of the Restoration Council of the Shan State (RCSS), Col. Yawd Serk, and he states that there are three reasons for the big problem inside the Union of Burma:


1 – The clique of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) is the world's worst dictatorship. This SPDC calls itself the legal government of the Federal Union of Burma. But the world community can not consider the SPDC as the legitimate government of Burma, because on 02 March 1962, the military leader Gen. Ne Win couped the power of the government. After that, the Federal Government has been disbanded. Up to this day, the Burmese army is using brutal methods to control the people of the country. They never handed the power back to the people that they are ruling. During the elections of 1990, the political party, National League for Democracy (NLD) received the strongest voice of support from the people and won the elections with a landslide victory. But the SPDC never gave the power to the democratically elected parties to allow them to establish a new government. Then the SPDC announced to organize further elections for 2010, and learning from the past experiences, these elections will have no positive result for the people of Burma. They are just showing another nice facade to the international community to please their doubts, and in reality they only have the aim to get elected to be the legitimate rulers of the country to continue their power, that is soaked with blood.




2 – The SPDC has killed thousands of people, who protested peacefully on three separate occasions in the past by shooting into the crowds of demonstrators, who were unable to defend themselves. This already shows clearly that the SPDC is abusing basic human-rights. Besides that, thousands of ethnic people have also been killed by the SPDC's military forces. We, the ethnic people did not have any other chance to defend and protect ourselves, but by picking up arms. At present, the SPDC regime is only one group of military rulers, who control the whole country. The international community and all the governmental representatives in the UN, as well as democracy-loving people should blame the SPDC rather than doing economical trades with them. The international companies should better withdraw their investments from Burma.


3 – In concern to the drug problem in the Golden Triangle: if the world community really wants to eradicate drugs, the policy towards Burma should be reformed. The DEA has tried to eradicate drugs inside Burma for some 50/60 years now, but instead of improvements, the narcotic problem is getting more and more serious. This indicates clearly, that the SPDC is involved in the drugs-business. The information and the black list of drug-dealers, which is run by the DEA, are fake. They only listen to the one side, which is presented by the SPDC. If the DEA would evaluate Col. Yawd Serk, they should look at his background. He himself joined the revolution at the age of 17 with Sao Gawnzerng as a radio communicator. After being a radio communicator, he worked for the intelligence service of the revolutionary Shan forces and was stationed at the front-line for most of the time until the Shan United Revolutionay Army (SURA) was united with the Shan United Army (SUA) of Khun Sa, forming the Muang Tai Army (MTA). "I have never been a business-man and I don't even know how to run a trading business," Yawd Serk states. If the DEA would be able to reconstruct their policy to include Yawd Serk on the eradication of drugs, he would propose them his narcotic eradication plan. Yawd Serk is very aware of the reason why the DEA is not supporting him and the RCSS, because the DEA cares more about what the SPDC is telling them.


Col. Yawd Serk wants to suggest at the ASEAN meeting, which is going to be held in Thailand in December 2008, to discuss the big problem in Burma and to push the SPDC to hand over the power to their people. By this, the ASEAN can improve their image, which has been badly damaged by the SPDC. "If the SPDC will stubbornly rule the country without listening to anyone, this will keep damaging the image of the ASEAN. This should not be forgotten by the ASEAN governments, " he says. "The ASEAN should not only deal with the people in power but they should see the suffering of the people inside Burma and the murdering of innocent people." Only because of this continuing suffering and killing, the people flee their homeland. ASEAN should not only care about their businesses with Burma but should also see the suffering of the Burmese people trying to live peacefully in one world. It is the humanitarian need to help and support each other for a peaceful world and this should be considered as the most important issue rather than playing political games and doing business for their own benefit.


Burma has been in a political and economical deadlock for more than 45 years now and the UN should be clearly aware of the games, which the SPDC is playing with the international community. Even the relief donations for the victims of cyclone Nargis never got to the people who needed it and ended up in the pockets of the military regime. For more than 45 years, the international community has never made a serious step to help the decades-long suffering people of Burma, and keeps on going to believe the games of the SPDC. But the past decades show a clear different picture, that there will never be a genuine transition towards democracy from the regime itself. The evidence of how the SPDC is involved in the drugs-trade and how it is heavily abusing its people are clear facts since many years. During these days, in the preparation for the upcoming elections in 2010, the SPDC again is silencing all oppositions by giving them life-long prison terms. Another crackdown against the democratic forces inside Burma is taking place right now.


The opposition groups and ethnic liberation forces, who have the genuine aim for a democratic transition, are receiving little or no support from the international community, even though the SPDC are claimed to be involved in the drugs-business and abusing human-rights. Since these opposition forces have the support of the people, they can be considered as the only legitimate representatives of the people of Burma. The NLD won the elections in 1990, the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD) won the second largest vote and the RCSS has the support of their civilians for fighting for freedom and democracy.


For a real democratic change in Burma, the international community should rethink their political approach towards Burma and support the real democratic forces of Burma. Only this can lead to an end of these decades' long civil-war and human-rights abuse.


19 November 2008
Sai Lern Kham
SHAN Embassy Germany / Liaison Office of the RCSS in Germany



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http://www.shanland .org/Mailbox/ 2008/the- big-problem- inside-the- federal-union- of-burma

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ဂုရုေရ

[Ye Yint Thet Zwe]

ဂုရုေရ
လက္မျပ ႏႈတ္မဆက္ပဲ
ရုတ္တရက္ႀကီးကို
ခင္ဗ်ား တိတ္တဆိတ္ထြက္ခြြါသြားခဲ့ေပါ့ ။

ဂုရုေရ
မယံုႏိုင္စရာ
ေၾကကြဲစိတ္ဟာ
ကိုယ္ စိတ္ ႏွလံုး
သံုးပါးလံုးကို ဆြံ ့အ ေစခဲ့ၿပီ။

ခင္ဗ်ားနဲ ့က်ေနာ္
ခရီးတခုကို အတူသြားဘူးခဲ့
မယ္လအူး စခန္းမွာ
ရက္တခ်ိဳ ့အတူေနဘူးခဲ့
မဲေဆာက္က ကိုလြမ္းဏီအိမ္မွာ
ညေနခင္းတခ်ဳိ ့ကို
အေရေဖ်ာ္ေသာက္ဘူးခဲ့။

ဂုရုေရ
အခုေတာ့ဗ်ာ
ေတာ္လွန္စစ္ကို ခ်စ္တဲ့
ကဗ်ာေတြကို တပ္မက္တဲ့
ရန္ ငါ စည္းျပတ္တဲ့ ခင္ဗ်ား
အိမ္အျပန္ ေစာလြန္းလွခ်ည္ရဲ ့။

ေၾကကြဲမႈရဲ ့ေကာင္းကင္မွာ
ေဒါင္းသံနဲ ့ေဒါင္းအလံေတြ
လေရာင္ကိုထိုးေဖာက္
ခင္ဗ်ားကို ေစာင့္ေနေလရဲ ့။

(ကမၻာေျမေရ ဂုဏ္ျပဳအပ္တဲ့ ဧည့္သည္တေယာက္ကို ဆီးႀကိဳေပေတာ့။
ေရာက္ရာဘ၀မွာ အာဏာရွင္စနစ္ကို အဆံုးသတ္ႏိုင္သူ ျဖစ္ပါေစ။)

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Fw: [burmainfo] 今週のビルマのニュース（0836号）

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
　　　　ビルマ市民フォーラム　メールマガジン　　　　　2008/11/21
People's Forum on Burma　　　
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
ビルマ情報ネットワーク（BurmaInfo）からのメールを転送させていただき
ます。

（重複の際は何卒ご容赦ください。）



ＰＦＢ事務局
http://www1.jca.apc.org/pfb/

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

ビルマ情報ネットワークの「今週のビルマのニュース」をお送りします。

「今週のビルマのニュース」バックナンバー
http://www.burmainfo.org/weekly.html

きょうのビルマのニュース（平日毎日更新）もご利用ください。
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/burmainfo/


ビルマ情報ネットワーク （www.burmainfo.org）
秋元由紀


========================================
今週のビルマのニュース　Eメール版
2008年11月21日号【0836号】
========================================

【今週の主なニュース】
民主化活動家らへの判決続く

・先週始まった民主化活動家や僧侶への長期の禁固刑
判決言い渡しは今週も続き、これまでに70人以上が刑を
宣告された。判決を受けた活動家の多くは遠隔地の刑務所に
移送され、家族などが食糧や薬を差し入れるのが困難になった。
軍政が2010年に予定している総選挙を前に、反対意見を
徹底的に抑え込む姿勢を打ち出したとみられる（20日付APほか）。

・一連の長期禁固判決の言い渡しについて欧米政府が
非難の声明を発表。日本政府・外務省も17日の外務報道
官談話で「深く憂慮して」いるとした。


【その他】
参議院ODA調査派遣報告書、ほか

・8月に行われた参議院ODA調査派遣の報告書が20日、
発表された。ラオス、タイ、カンボジアを訪れた派遣団第一班
（中村哲治団長）は、タイでタムヒン難民キャンプ（ビルマから
の難民約7000人を収容）内の学校を視察し、難民支援などを
行うNGO代表者らと会談した。所見の部分で報告書は「ミャンマー
情勢の悪化に伴いタイ国境にミャンマー難民が押し寄せてきて
おり、このような難民に対する国際的な援助が問題となっている」
とした上で、「（難民支援活動）に対する我が国の援助は、
草の根無償資金という１年限りの援助にとどまっており、
さらに継続的な取組を行うことができないか検討する必要が
あると考えられる」とした。

＜背景＞参議院では、参議院改革協議会報告書（平成15年）
の提言「ODA経費の効率的運用に資するため、新たにODAに
関する専門の調査団を派遣すること」等に基づき、平成16年度
から毎年度ODA調査のための議員派遣を行っている。

・ベンガル湾からビルマを横断して中国雲南省の昆明まで
石油と天然ガスを運ぶパイプラインを建設する計画で、
ビルマ軍政が中国に経営権を付与した。
チャイナデイリーによれば、来年前半にも雲南省で
工事が始まる（19日付AFP、18日付日経ほか）。

・ビルマ民主化を支援し、サイクロン被災者支援も行う
国際ビルマ仏教僧協会（別名サーサナモリ、2007年10月に
設立）のアシン・ナヤカ師が来日。軍政の僧侶に対する弾圧
の実態を訴え、国際社会の中で日本政府が率先して軍政
に民主化改革を行うよう働きかけるべきだ、などと語った
（15日付朝日新聞ほか）。


【ビルマへの政府開発援助（ODA）約束状況など】

新たな発表はなし　


【イベントなど】

・宇田有三写真展「アウンサンスーチーとビルマ」
（岐阜県　瑞浪芸術館、10月25日～11月24日）

・ミャンマーでのボランティア活動紹介・
ミャンマー雑貨販売　国際協力サークルELAN
（東京外国語大学研究講義棟332教室、20～24日10時～18時）

・連続セミナー「外国籍の家族と子どもの今」第5回
日本の難民・移民の現在と未来　トークショー第2部
『難民の家族』にビルマ難民Mさん家族
（日本キリスト教会館4F、23日14時～）

・神戸松蔭女子学院大学　2008年秋季特別講座シリーズ
「ミャンマー（ビルマ）の現状」
講師：日本ビルマ救援センター代表　中尾恵子氏
（神戸松蔭女子学院大学、26日14時40分～）

・アジアと日本のつながりを考える国際セミナー
「100人の村　あなたもここに生きています」
ヒューライツ大阪ほか主催
秋元由紀がパネリストとして参加
（大阪市阿倍野区民ホール・小ホール、12月5日14時～）

・ビルマ市民フォーラム例会
「初めての方のための『ビルマ入門講座』
-ビデオ上映と講演-根本敬」
（文京シビックセンター、12月6日18時半～）

・世界人権宣言60周年記念・世界人権デー　マーチング
呼びかけ団体　在日ビルマ人共同行動実行委員会ほか
（宮下公園集合、12月10日14時半～）

★ジェーン・バーキン最新アルバム『冬の子供たち』が
11月26日に発売予定。アウンサンスーチー氏に捧げる
楽曲「アウンサンスーチー」を収録。

☆インターネット放送局「アワープラネットTV」がビルマ
でのダム開発問題を取り上げた。
ビルマ情報ネットワークの秋元由紀が解説（映像、16分）。
http://www.ourplanet-tv.org/video/contact/2008/20081008_10.html

★特定非営利活動法人メコン・ウォッチの
季刊誌「フォーラムMekong」、最新号はビルマ特集。
－ビルマ～サイクロン後の人々、軍政－
http://www.mekongwatch.org/resource/forum/FM_vol9_2_01.html


【もっと詳しい情報は】

きょうのビルマのニュース（平日毎日更新）
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/burmainfo/

ビルマ情報ネットワーク
http://www.burmainfo.org/


【お問い合わせ】
ビルマ情報ネットワーク　秋元由紀

====================================
今週のビルマのニュース　Eメール版
2008年11月21日号【0836号】

作成：　ビルマ情報ネットワーク
協力：　ビルマ市民フォーラム
====================================

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
配布元: BurmaInfo（ビルマ情報ネットワーク）
　　　 http://www.burmainfo.org
連絡先: listmaster@burmainfo.org

バックナンバー: http://groups.yahoo.co.jp/group/burmainfo/

※BurmaInfoでは、ビルマ（ミャンマー）に関する最新ニュースやイベント情報、
　参考資料を週に数本配信しています。
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

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US Congress warned of Chinese cyber, space threats

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hldzmsW1nog87bKj041dypZ3AtKg

WASHINGTON (AFP) — China has developed a sophisticated cyber warfare program and stepped up its capacity to penetrate US computer networks to extract sensitive information, a US congressional panel has warned.

"China has an active cyber espionage program," the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in its annual report to the US Congress. "China is targeting US government and commercial computers."

In its 393-page report, the panel also criticized Beijing for exercising "heavy-handed government control" over its economy and "continuing arms sales and military support to rogue regimes" such as Sudan, Myanmar and Iran.


The commission also issued a warning about China's space program. "China continues to make significant progress in developing space capabilities, many of which easily translate to enhanced military capacity," it said.

"Although some Chinese space programs have no explicit military intent, many space systems -- such as communications, navigation, meteorological, and imagery systems -- are dual use in nature," the commission said.

The commission, which was established by Congress in 2000 to analyze the economic and national security relationship between the two nations, said China was investing heavily in cyber warfare.

"Since China's current cyber operations capability is so advanced, it can engage in forms of cyber warfare so sophisticated that the United States may be unable to counteract or even detect the efforts," the commission said.

It said Chinese hacker groups may be operating with government support.

"By some estimates, there are 250 hacker groups in China that are tolerated and may even be encouraged by the government to enter and disrupt computer networks," the commission said.

It quoted Colonel Gary McAlum, chief of staff for the US Strategic Command's Joint Task Force for Global Network Operations, as saying China has recognized the importance of cyber operations as a tool of warfare and "has the intent and capability to conduct cyber operations anywhere in the world at any time."

"China is aggressively pursuing cyber warfare capabilities that may provide it with an asymmetric advantage against the United States," the commission said. "In a conflict situation, this advantage would reduce current US conventional military dominance."

The commission recalled that unclassified US military, government and government contractor websites and computer systems were the victims of cyber intrusions in 2002 codenamed "Titan Rain" and attributed to China.

The commission made 45 recommendations to Congress including possible "additional funding for military, intelligence and homeland security programs that monitor and protect critical American computer networks."

On the economic front, the commission said "China relies on heavy-handed government control over its economy to maintain an export advantage over other countries."

"The result: China has amassed nearly two trillion dollars in foreign exchange and has increasingly used its hoard to manipulate currency trading and diplomatic relations with other nations," it said.

"Rather than use this money for the benefit of its citizens -- by funding pensions and erecting hospitals and schools, for example -- China has been using the funds to seek political and economic influence over other nations," said Larry Wortzel, chairman of the commission.

Beijing's "continuing arms sales and military support to rogue regimes, namely Sudan, Burma, and Iran, threaten the stability of fragile regions and hinder US and international efforts to address international crises, such as the genocide in Darfur," the commission added.

The commission acknowledged some progress by China, specifically its adherence to non-proliferation agreements and involvement in the six-party talks to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons production capacity.

But it criticized China's use of prison labor to produce goods for export and an "information control regime" that it said regulates the print and broadcast media, Internet, entertainment and education.

The Commission also warned that fish imported into the United States from Chinese fish farms "pose a health risk because of the unsanitary conditions" and recommended greater powers for the US Food and Drug Administration.

The report is available on the commission's website at www.uscc.gov.

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Burma and Russia Promote Friendly Relations, Cooperation

http://www.voanews.com/burmese/archive/2007-06/2007-06-18-voa3.cfm

VOA News
Washington
18 June 2007

Burmese media are reporting that Burma and Russia have agreed to promote friendship, bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries.

The New Light of Myanmar newspaper says Deputy Foreign Minister U Kyaw Thu and his Russian counterpart Alexander Losyukov reached the agreement Friday during their regular consultation meeting in Rangoon.



In May of this year, Burma's military government signed a deal with Russia to jointly design and build a nuclear research center. The United States expressed concern about the deal, saying Burma does not have the regulatory or safety provisions to successfully handle that type of nuclear program.

Russia and China have become major suppliers of arms to Burma since the West imposed sanctions in 1988 over Burma's poor human rights record.


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Obama plans to nominate Clinton for top diplomat


photo Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., takes the stage with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, …

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer Nedra Pickler, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 4 mins ago

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving, a new milestone for the former first lady and a convergence of two political forces who fought hard for the presidency.

One week after the former primary rivals met secretly to discuss the idea of Clinton becoming the nation's top diplomat, an Obama adviser said Thursday that the two sides were moving quickly toward making it a reality, barring any unforeseen problems.

The senior adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity because the president-elect is not prepared to officially announce the nomination, said Obama believes Clinton would bring instant stature and credibility to U.S. diplomatic relations.


Obama is convinced the advantages of Clinton serving far outweighed potential downsides, the adviser said.

Transition aides said the two camps have worked out financial disclosure issues involving Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, and the complicated international funding of his foundation that operates in more than 40 countries. The aides said Obama and Hillary Clinton have had substantive conversations about the secretary of state job.

Clinton has been mulling the post for several days, but the comments from the transition aides suggested that Obama's team does not feel she is inclined to turn it down. Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines would not comment, except to say that anything about Cabinet appointments is for Obama's transition team to address.

Clinton would have to surrender her New York Senate seat, which she has held for eight years, to take the job.

The nomination would be a remarkable union between the former first lady who was an early favorite to win the presidency and the first-term senator who upset her in the primary and cruised to a general election victory. Such a high-profile seat in the Cabinet for Clinton also would be another achievement for the most accomplished former first lady in U.S. history, who has been the first presidential spouse to serve in the Senate and run for the White House herself.

Obama was picking other Cabinet posts as well. Obama has informally selected Washington lawyer Eric Holder as attorney general and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as health secretary and is likely to choose Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be secretary of homeland security, Democrats said.

Any of the plans could be sidetracked by unexpected glitches in the final vetting process, officials note.

___

On the Net:

Obama transition: http://www.change.gov



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