http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45018
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, Dec 7 (IPS) - The recent judgment by Thailand’s Constitutional Court confirmed the power it has to sack a politician or party found guilty of election malpractice, even if it smacked of the kangaroo courts of neighbouring, military-ruled Burma.
On Tuesday, the nine judges on the bench found the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and two smaller parties in its coalition guilty of political crimes committed by a handful of party officials at the December 2007 general elections.
The court ruled that the three parties had to be dissolved and scores of party executives banned from politics for five years, triggering a collapse of the government. Such a stiff penalty -- to deprive people of their civic rights through a form of collective punishment -- is enshrined in the 2007 constitution, which was drafted by a committee selected by the military junta that was in power following a September 2006 coup.
While such judicial power is being cheered in some quarters as a welcome development to save Thailand’s flawed democracy, others are asking aloud if proper legal procedure is being followed in arriving at such radical verdicts.
Typical among the critics is Prasit Pivavatnapanich, who has been troubled at the speed at which the judges delivered their unanimous verdict after two of the accused parties finished giving their final statements.
‘’The court started reading out their verdict for this case within 30 minutes to an hour of the final statements,’’ says Prasit, an associate professor at the law faculty at Thammasat University, in Bangkok. ‘’I have never seen this happening anywhere in the world.’’
‘’Many Thai people are wondering why the court rushed to deliver the judgement,’’ he revealed in an interview. ‘’The court should have taken more time and adjudicated with caution, since dissolving a political party and denying its leaders the right to vote is a serious matter.’’
In fact a statement released by Prasit and four other dons from his law faculty after the ruling drew attention to other embarrassing details. ‘’After the complainants finished the closing declaration, the constitutional court read the decisions immediately with mistakes and had to correct (them) during the reading,’’ the statement noted.
Such flaws have consequently helped give rise to a view that sees this powerful court in poorer light. ‘’Some Thai people, including me, are wondering if the court had written the judgement already, before the final statements were given,’’ says Prasit. ‘’People will begin to have doubts about this judicial process.’’
Doubts arose after the judges suddenly announced on Nov. 28 that the court had no more time to listen to the witnesses and evidence of the accused parties and set Dec. 2 as the final day of the case. This abrupt decision came after the accused parties had been guaranteed time to present testimony in their defence.
The banned PPP drew attention to this about-turn in its first formal response after Tuesday’s ruling. ‘’The rush to dissolve the political parties before finishing examining witnesses makes society lose confidence in and have doubts about the courts,’’ it said, before adding a damning indictment: ‘’It can be called a judicial coup.’’
This was the second time, in fact, that the Constitutional Court had come down hard against the PPP this year, after it won the poll to succeed a military regime.
In September, the court ruled against Samak Sundaravej, then prime minister and head of the PPP-led coalition government, for the crime of receiving payment to appear on a popular cooking show as celebrity chef. Samak’s successor as prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, was banned this week by the court, along with 36 other executives of the PPP.
The fate of more parliamentarians from the PPP and its two smaller allies may soon be determined by the court. A petition being submitted by a group of appointed senators from the upper house calling for their dismissal for the way they were elected at the December 2007 poll -- as candidates representing the parties and voted as party-list parliamentarians -- than representing constituencies and being chosen by voters from a particular constituency.
The transformation of this court as a pivotal battleground to determine the future of Thai democracy grew out of a watershed moment in April 2006. That month, the country’s revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, admonished the judges to do their job properly and clean up the political ‘’mess’’ in the country.
The king’s speech to the judges came after months of public protests, drawing tens of thousands to Bangkok’s streets, targeting the powerful government of Thaksin Shinawatra, which had been elected with huge mandates since 2001 but was forced out of power in the 2006 coup. The Thaksin administration was accused of corruption, nepotism and abuse of power.
In early May that year, the then bench of the Constitutional Court delivered an unprecedented verdict, nullifying the results of a controversial election held on Apr. 2. The ruling was welcome by scholars, human rights groups and activists. It was a break from a past where the judiciary shied away from political disputes and was rarely adjudicated major electoral issues.
However the coup that deposed Thaksin’s increasingly one-party state exposed the judiciary’s principles. There were no protests when the junta formed after the country’s 18th coup tore up the existing constitution, where staging a coup was illegal and deemed an act of treason.
The judiciary was as silent when the junta appointed a Constitutional Tribunal to prosecute Thaksin’s party for political crimes based on an order given by the military leaders after grabbing power.
That special tribunal ruled against the Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thai –TRT) party in May 2007, calling for it to be disbanded and 111 of its executives, including Thaksin, to be banned from politics for five years.
This week’s ruling by the Constitutional Court against the PPP, which is a successor to the TRT, drawing from the same, largely poorer vote base, was clearly shaped by that precedent.
And like it happened with the TRT verdict, human rights groups are not amused at the law that the court used to go after a few errant politicians.
‘’The constitution that was referred to by the Constitutional Court as the legal basis for the party’s dissolution and the barring of 109 party executives for five years involvement in politics, is undemocratic,’’ says Pokpong Lawansiri, a Thai activist at the Asian Forum for Human Rights, a regional rights lobby.
‘’The ouster of a constitutionally elected government may be only the beginning of trouble,'' the activist said.
(END/2008)
Sunday, December 7, 2008
POLITICS-THAILAND: Court Gains No Glory by Banning Ruling Party
Fw: [burmainfo] 今週のビルマのニュース（0838号）
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People's Forum on Burma
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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12月5日号【0838号】
========================================
【今週の主なニュース】
112人の元国家元首が国連事務総長に書簡、ほか
・3日付で、112人の元国家元首（50か国以上）から
国連事務総長に宛てた公開書簡が出された。2008年
末までにすべての政治囚を解放するよう、ビルマ軍政に
働きかけることを求める内容。
日本からは小泉元首相が署名した。
ほかには、ブレア元英首相、カーター元米大統領、
ゴルバチョフ元ソ連大統領、金大中元韓国大統領、
アキノ元フィリピン大統領など。
・国連事務総長は3日、ビルマを再び訪問したいが、
政治改革が進む見込みがない限り訪問はできないとし、
12月に同国を訪問する予定を取りやめたことを発表した。
・活動家や僧侶への禁固刑判決言い渡しは今週も続いた。
政治囚支援協会（AAPP）によれば、11月だけで215人の
市民や僧侶が禁固刑判決を宣告された。
【その他】
日・ASEAN包括的経済連携協定が発効、ほか
・1日、「包括的な経済上の連携に関する日本国及び
東南アジア諸国連合構成国の間の協定（日・ASEAN
包括的経済連携協定）」が、日本とビルマのほか、
シンガポール、ラオス、ベトナムとの間で発効した。
・今週初めに来日していたマーシェル米国務次官補代理は
NHKとのインタビューで、ビルマ軍政が多数の活動家ら
を非公開の裁判にかけ、禁固刑判決を宣告している
ことを厳しく批判した。また「日本はミャンマーの人権
状況に対する懸念をより強く表明するとともに、軍事
政権に対する外交的な圧力をかけ続けてほしい」と述べ、
日本が働きかけをいっそう強めることに期待を示した
（2日付NHKニュース）。
【ビルマへの政府開発援助（ODA）約束状況など】
〔草の根・人間の安全保障無償資金協力〕
12月3日
チン州、病院の医療器材整備（約480万円）
マンダレー管区、電線の設置（約710万円）
【イベントなど】
・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～）
・上智大学アジア文化研究所「旅するアジア08」
第4回講演会「エネルギーの本当の値段～
ビルマ（ミャンマー）の天然ガス開発と人権」
講師：秋元由紀
（四谷・上智大学、12月12日18時～）
・ビルマの会 講演会
「ビルマの民主化を求めて～草の根難民支援活動から」
講師：中尾恵子（日本ビルマ救援センター代表）
参加費1000円（全額ビルマ難民支援に寄付）
（京都・法然院、14日15時～）
・テーラワーダ仏教講演会―ミャンマーサイクロン被
災者救援活動の現場から その祈りと行動
講師：ティータグー長老（ニャーニッサラ師）
＊ミャンマーの民芸品や料理の出店、写真展、舞踊、
油絵もあり
（名古屋市熱田区の本遠寺、12月15日、昼の部13時～・夜の部18時～）
・2008年度ワン・ワールド・フェスティバル～
感じる・ふれあう・助け合う 世界につながる国際協力のお祭り
日本ビルマ救援センターによる活動紹介・ビルマ難民支援バザーあり。
映画「ビルマ、パゴダの影で」21日10時より上映・講演会
（大阪国際交流センター、20日・21日、10時～）
★ジェーン・バーキン最新アルバム『冬の子供たち』が
発売中。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12月5日号【0838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
====================================
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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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講演会・第14 回アジア・アフリカ研究会（12/7)山本宗補「ビルマ問題の本質を問う」ほか
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
ビルマ市民フォーラム メールマガジン 2008/12/6
People's Forum on Burma
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ＰＦＢ運営委員・山本宗補も参加いたします、講演会のお知らせをお送り
いたします。山本は「ビルマ問題の本質を問う」と題して、ビルマに
ついてお話いたします。
ぜひご来場ください。
ＰＦＢ事務局
http://www1.jca.apc.org/pfb/
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公開講演のご案内
現代アジア・アフリカセンター
第14 回アジア・アフリカ研究会
■ 日時：2008年12 月7 日（日） 13:00 ～ 18:00
■ 会場：独立行政法人国際協力機構 広尾センター（JICA地球ひろば）
セミナールーム302
東京都渋谷区広尾4-2-24 電話番号：03-3400-7717（代表）
東京メトロ日比谷線 広尾駅下車（A3出口）徒歩1 分
地図：http://www.jica.go.jp/hiroba/about/map.html
■ 参加費：500円
※ 事前の申し込みは必要ありませんが、ＪＩＣＡ地球ひろばに
入館される際に、１階で受付をしていただいてから、 3階の会場に
お越し下さい。
※ なお、終了後、簡単な懇親会を予定していますので、お時間の
ある方はご参加ください。
〔プログラム〕
13：00 ～ 13：05 開会の挨拶：古沢紘造（現代アジア・アフリカセンター）
13：05 ～ 14：05 講演：吉田正紀（日本大学）
テーマ：インドネシアからの花嫁ー「インドネシア人家族の会」と
インドネシア人女性の定住への日常的実践
14：05 ～ 14：35 討論 司会：近藤富士夫（現代アジア・アフリカセンター）
14：35 ～ 14：50 休憩
14：50 ～ 15：50 講演：山本宗補（フォトジャーナリスト）
テーマ：ビルマ問題の本質を問う
15：50 ～ 16：20 討論 司会：小幡 壮（現代アジア・アフリカセンター）
16：20 ～ 閉会の挨拶
▼吉田正紀さんプロフィール
立教大学経済学部・文学研究科大学院地理学専攻終了。
イリノイ大学アーバナ・シャンペーン人類学部大学院
博士課程修了（Ph.D). 現在、日本大学国際関係学部教授・
国際関係研究所所長 著書に『民俗医療の人類学』（古今書院）、
訳書に『異文化結婚』、『ジャパンーズ・ディアスポラ」（新泉社）
などがある。
▼山本宗補さんプロフィール
アジアをおもなフィールドとするフォトジャーナリスト。
1988 年からはビルマの少数民族問題、民主化闘争の取材を行う。
ビルマの民主化運動を支援する日本のＮＧＯ「ビルマ市民フォーラム」の
運営委員を務める。主著『また、あしたー日本列島老いの風景』アートン、
2006年）、『世界の戦場からーフィリピン最底辺を生きる』（岩波書店、2003年）
『ビルマの子供たち』（第三書館、2003年）、『ビルマの大いなる幻影』
（社会評論社、1996年）、共著『フォトジャーナリスト13 人の眼』
（集英社新書、2005 年）、『見えないアジアを歩く』（三一書房、2008年）ほか。
【連絡・問い合わせ先】
女子栄養大学文化人類学研究室( 深堀）
Tel&Fax：049-284-5841 メール：takamura@eiyo.ac.jp
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NLD's Instruction to Division,State& Township level Organizations for Political Prisoners(4.12.2008)
.jpg)
The Year in Review: Lessons from 2008
http://www.realtruth.org/articles/081203-004-international.html
Elsewhere, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma) and Pakistan have recently had governments in which the military held the reigns.
Another year passes and a new one takes its place, bringing us deeper into the 21st century. So what have we learned?
BY BRUCE A. RITTER
2008 was the year of nations assuming greater roles on the international stage of influence and prestige, as America continues its downhill slide.
Take Russia, for instance. On August 8, it sent troops into Georgia, a former Soviet satellite nation, capturing territory and crippling the Georgian military. Meantime, the European Union and the United States could do nothing other than issue strong statements.
Yet Russia’s quick and decisive clash with Georgia was in itself a strong statement. To Europe: We control the oil flowing into the continent; do not oppose our national interests. To other former Soviet satellite nations: We will not tolerate unrest on our borders. To the rest of the world: We will take matters into our own hands, when necessary.
Until the recent global financial crisis, the Russian markets boomed. The nation now has more billionaires than any country other than the U.S. Russia’s state-owned oil monopoly, Gazprom, controls the flow of oil into Europe. Its national leaders, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev, are highly popular among the Russian citizens, despite fears of the democratic Russian Federal returning to totalitarianism. Largely in response to Washington’s determination to station U.S. missiles in NATO nations bordering Russia, Moscow is building strong ties with national leaders in America’s backyard, regional players such as Cuba and Venezuela who openly oppose U.S. interests. In a move analysts and government leaders view as a thumb-to-the-nose gesture to Washington, Moscow deployed its fleet to South America to conduct naval exercises, where it received a more-than-warm reception from outspoken Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Russian troops on the march: A Russian soldier shows a V-sign as his tank leaves a checkpoint on the Gori-Tbilisi road near the village of Khurvaleti, on their way toward Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital (Aug. 22, 2008).
Source: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images
All this begs the question: What will the Russian bear do when—not if—America is no longer the world’s lone superpower?
Elsewhere, another emerging world power is China, which has produced fiscal success in a strange, polar opposite mixture of communism and capitalism. Having labored to change its image and improve relations with neighboring countries, China plays a tremendous role in Asia (including strengthening its ties with Taiwan), Africa and beyond. It is far easier for the typical U.S. shopper to see “Made in China” labels than “Made in the USA.”
Beijing cemented a grand, long-lasting impression before an international audience when the Chinese capital hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The developing nation of just a generation or two ago, where daily traffic was comprised of an endless sea of commuters riding bicycles instead of cars, is gone, replaced with a fast-rising economic counterweight to the United States. China’s success has proven that a nation need not follow America’s lead in embracing democracy—of “one man, one vote”—to achieve national prosperity.
And let’s not forget India. Though it still grapples with illiteracy, a stringent caste tradition, extreme poverty and other problems, India has taken moves to ensure a brighter future: pursuing peaceful ties with Pakistan—benefiting from U.S. businesses outsourcing American jobs—sending spacecraft to the moon and planting the Indian flag on the lunar surface.
We must ask: What leading international roles will China, Russia and India play once global markets no longer “catch a cold” whenever the U.S. economy “sneezes”?…
Governments in Turmoil
It was also the year of failing governments void of lasting solutions: economies on the brink of collapse; empty store shelves; clashes with rebel troops; the poor going without; the wealthy accumulating far more than they need.
Months have passed since Kenya’s presidential elections, yet opposing sides contested the results, and bloodshed ensued among the masses. While both candidates have finally agreed to work together and share power, each side is concerned with how much power the other will gain.
Zimbabwe suffers from runaway inflation and the scarcity of vital goods, foodstuffs and other necessary supplies. Decades ago, Zimbabwe was held as a beacon of hope; with the removal of colonial masters and a new government in place, prosperity and justice for all was in reach. Yet it has been a hope unfulfilled.
Elsewhere, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma) and Pakistan have recently had governments in which the military held the reigns.
Since the Tower of Babel, governments from dictatorships to democracies become crippled with the four basic components of human nature: pride, vanity, greed and lust. Unless man’s nature changes, the problems that plague nations will always exist…
Growing Tide of Lawlessness
Teen murders in London: Girls look at floral tributes for a murdered school boy.
Source: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
A girl carries flowers in tribute of a school girl who was murdered.
Source: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
2008 was the year of disregard for law, morality and the value of life, of the strong preying upon the weak, of wanton violence and thievery both within and among nations.
In a land once known for civility, duty and protocol, of drinking afternoon tea and exhibiting bulldog resolve, Britain’s teenagers murder one another. A 15-year-old boy is stabbed the moment he opens the front door of his home. A 14-year-old girl is pummeled to death by a gang of hooligans who think nothing of ending a life. The world would expect this from the United States, home of drive-by shootings, domestic killings and school massacres—but youth murdering youth in Britain?
Now let’s step back and see an international crime becoming prevalent: piracy. Pirates exist worldwide, striking with speed and ruthlessness, particularly in the waters of Somalia. Small boats have seized tankers, freighters, cruise ships and other large vessels, holding hostages, ships and precious cargo for ransom. It’s a lucrative “business.”
But what do the escalating murder rate of British youth and piracy have in common? The unleashed desire to get, to control, to seize power at all costs.
The Bible points to the heart of all crimes, small and great: “From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not. You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:1-3).
Jesus Christ foretold of a day when “iniquity [lawlessness] shall abound [because] the love of many shall wax cold” (Matt. 24:12). That time is now…
Consequences for Fiscal Recklessness
In search of solutions: World leaders meet during the “Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy” at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. (Nov. 15, 2008).
Source: Tolga Adanali/Abaca Press/MCT
Of course, 2008 was also the year of global financial crisis, leaving many wondering about the future. Housing foreclosures—the collapse of financial institutions—government bailouts—falling world markets—sluggish economies—what’s next? Many wonder, “Are we at the threshold of another Great Depression?”
While experts and analysts strive for answers to repair the physical effects, all ignore the root cause: pride, vanity, lust and greed. Lust led people to buy homes they could not afford, and greed motivated banks to provide them mortgages. Government leaders, swayed by vanity to believe they knew what was best for society, pressured banks into providing mortgages for those who had neither the credit nor the funds to provide a sizeable down payment toward buying property. And, when the financial bubble finally burst, pride kept these same leaders from accepting personal responsibility.
Perhaps our article “The Global Credit Crunch! – How You Can Protect Yourself” stated it best: “There is a cause for every effect. The scales tipped when the first set of interest rate increases (resets) kicked in. Around the same time, house prices fell slightly, resulting from the glut in the market. Suddenly, millions of homeowners were faced with much higher mortgage payments they could not pay. Loan delinquencies soared. Repossessions of homes skyrocketed. Investors backed away from risky bonds. Stuck with loans they could not sell, banks began to fail.
“The financial carnage has been sobering. Great names from the past—Bear Stearns, Countrywide Financial and now Lehman Brothers—no longer exist.
“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that losses by U.S. banks could reach as high as $1 trillion; some industry experts believe this number could even reach as high as $2 trillion. Since the beginning of 2008, over ten U.S. banks have gone bankrupt, and it is believed that number could exceed 100 financial institutions within the next 12 months (Daily Telegraph). Famous investor Wilbur Ross has placed the figure at 1,000 (Reuters)!
“A grim scenario is rapidly unfolding, a financial catastrophe of epic proportions. Millions of people in Europe, the United States and the rest of the world will likely lose their homes, jobs and savings. This could include you!”
No one knows what will be the outcome of the global credit crunch, but one thing is certain: Until man’s nature changes, we can expect worst things to come…
New Leadership, High Expectations
A decisive victory: President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden, along with their wives, Michelle and Jill, wave to supporters after Mr. Obama gave his acceptance speech at his Election Night Rally in Grant Park, Chicago, Ill. (Nov. 4, 2008).
Source: Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT
Throughout his long, grueling, yet ultimately successful, campaign, Barack Obama repeatedly delivered a message of unity, hope and determination, and addressed accusations of being a “hope-monger” full of “blind optimism,” of speaking “eloquent but empty” words.
He told voters, “Change only happens because of you. So this campaign is about you. About your dreams, your hopes, your courage, your readiness for change.”
Mr. Obama freely expressed his desire to change America’s tarnished global image, beginning with pulling U.S. troops from Iraq as soon as possible, and “sitting down with” enemies of the United States.
After 20 years of Bush-Clinton-Bush presidencies, a majority of American citizens voted for something new, different—“change.”
Now that he has decisively won the election, the inspirational messages of “hope” and “change” have brought not just the eyes of the nation, but also Europe and the rest of the world to fall upon President-elect Obama.
Will they expect the new president to heal the problems of America and the world—addressing not just the effects, but also the root causes, which are ultimately spiritual in nature? Will they expect him to turn back the growing tide of lawlessness and bring order, unity and peace to governments in turmoil?
Such towering expectations are unfair of any human being, but they are longed for nonetheless.
Behind Myanmar's Bluster, Gas Deals for Daewoo, China and India, UN's Ban No Comments
http://www.innercitypress.com/ban1daewoo120508.html
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, December 5 -- As Myanmar has stepped up the pace of its imprisonment of political opponents, bloggers and journalists, the UN's Ban Ki-moon met Friday with his "Group of Friends on Myanmar." Afterwards he told the Press that he will only go to Myanmar if there are some positive moves by the Than Shwe government, including release of political prisoners. Inner City Press asked him about the responsibility of private corporations doing business in Myanmar, giving the specific example of South Korea's Daewoo and its deal with Myanmar Oil and Gas. I cannot comment on specifics, Ban said, adding that "whoever has influence" should try to convince Myanmar to improve its record.
Along with India and corporations like Daewoo and Total, a major influence is China, whose foreign minister visited with Than Shwe just this week. The problem is that all of these parties want natural resources from Myanmar. Inner City Press' analysis is that these resources make Myanmar feel impervious to outside pressure; its business partners however prefer having the fig leaf that Ban Ki-moon's involvement and visits provide. This is the small leverage that the UN is trying to use: no photo opportunity with Ban until a few political prisoners are released. "They can just be locked back up later," one cynic said.
After Ban's spokesperson had tried to say that the query -- about the Congo -- before Inner City Press' was the "last question," Inner City Press had asked if Myanmar's oil and gas deals with China and India were helpful, or made Myanmar more intransigent. Ban to his credit waved off his spokesperson and took the question, although ultimately he did not answer it. Standing behind Ban was his Indian chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar. Sources tell Inner City Press that the United Kingdom is putting pressure on this position, previously held under Kofi Annan by the UK's Mark Malloch Brown. While incongruous, as Inner City Press asked the UN's British humanitarian coordinator John Holmes earlier on December 5, the UK's minister for international development Gareth Thomas this week criticized the current UN as unworthy of leading the fight against poverty, click here for that.
Footnote: Ban's "no comment" on whether and how responsible businesses would do deal with Myanmar right now seems incongruous given his attendance, earlier on December 5, at a forum of educators for responsible management. Two of these educators told Inner City Press that, as regards Myanmar, the UN should have disclosed when it was losing up to 25% of value to Than Shwe through government-required currency exchange, as only revealed after an internal UN memo was leaked to Inner City Press.
* * *
These reports are usually also available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund. Video Analysis here
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
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Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com -
Technology and protest in Myanmar
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/thestatewerein/otherstates/tswi-081206-internet-myanmar
By Dheera Sujan
05-12-2008
An ordinary telephone SIM card costs just two US dollars in Bangkok. In Myanmar, less than an hour away by plane, it costs 1800 US dollars. This in a country where a surgeon is lucky to take home 100 US dollars a month.
Yet there are more mobile phones in the towns and cities of this closed country than its army led government would like. And mobile phones were key instruments in the organisation and news dissemination of last September's pro democracy protests led by monks - illustrating exactly why the leading Junta fear the access to the outside world that technology offers.
The September protests were caught by the countless mobile phones of ordinary people or shot at great risk by the hidden video cameras of undercover reporters and sent out of the country within minutes through the internet. Smuggled video tapes found their way to mainstream media around the world.
Mobile video footage of a Japanese journalist shot at close range
Scenes of violence shown on Al-Jazeera
Unprecedented coverage
For a few days Burmese monks led civilian protesters on the streets of Yangon, and the international community watched, electrified by the unprecedented images of a country that had remained behind its own bamboo curtain for years. At first, the Myanmar government was paralysed with indecision. Then it did what most feared it would - it called in the troops.
And still the cameras rolled, still the images were loaded onto YouTube. A Japanese cameraman, shot at point blank range by a soldier, troops shooting into crowds of civilians, police beating monks with iron bars, and dragging off peaceful demonstrators holding banners.
Having their story told
The world was watching Myanmar for the first time in decades and the Burmese people, forcibly isolated for so long, were exultantly aware that they were not forgotten. "It's almost an existential desire for the Burmese to have their story told," says one journalist who has written and reported from the country for more than 20 years. She was there during the protests last year, and she was there when the retribution came.
Just a few weeks ago, the government of Myanmar apprehended leaders of the protests, monks, journalists, and bloggers and sentenced them to up to 65 years in prison. The bloggers were accused of violating the Electronics Act which regulates electronic communications.
The sentences are breathtakingly harsh, and they send a clear message from the government - that it will brook no opposition from within during the run-up to the elections planned for 2010. But there is also a hidden message in the single-minded way people who sent images of human rights violations out of the country have been hunted down: that the government too can use technology to its own benefit. People have been traced through their email and mobile phones and internet servers have been examined for "improper use".
Cat and mouse
The government has even mined the very same images of the violent put-down of the demonstrators to locate the shops, doorways and homes where people may have taken the footage and then made group arrests to find the photographers.
But as the journalist says, "it's a cat and mouse game. The government blocks the technology in one way and people find alternatives to go around it. There are proxy servers springing up all the time...it won't stop. The people will always find a way of making their voice heard. It's always been that way in Burma."
Tags: Burma
UN Role “Not Enough”: Ban -IRRAWADDY
http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=14760
By LALIT K JHA Saturday, December 6, 2008
UNITED NATIONS — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday his direct involvement was "not enough" to resolve the current political stalemate in Burma and all its neighbors must play a more assertive role.
"My good offices should not be seen as an end in itself, or as a justification for inaction,” he told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York. “In order to be able to pursue this role in an effective manner, it is necessary for all concerned parties across the spectrum to step up efforts to help my good offices move forward."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, seen here, has expressed growing frustration at the failure by Myanmar's military regime to restore democracy and said the time was not right for him to pay a return visit to the country. (Photo: AFP)
After attending a meeting of the Secretary General's Group of Friends on Burma, Ban told reporters: "While I will continue my good offices role as mandated by the General Assembly, all the countries of the membership, particularly the Group of Friends countries, should use their influence, they should use whatever available leverage and tools to impress upon the Government of Myanmar [Burma] to implement their commitment."
Ban created the Group of Friends on Burma last year to aid and advise him on the various issues related to Burma, in particular how to proceed on a path of democratization and national reconciliation.
Members are Australia, China, the European Union, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Britain, the US and Vietnam.
The meeting was convened in the aftermath of a letter written to Ban by more than 100 former presidents and prime ministers urging him to work for the release of all political prisoners in Burma by the end of the year.
Ban said since the last meeting: "I sense not only a higher expectation but also a growing frustration that our efforts have yet to yield the results we all hope for. I share this sense of expectation and frustration."
Referring to a statement from the Burmese government that cooperation with the UN is a cornerstone of their foreign policy, he said: "We welcome it, and we look forward to continue, and we expect a concrete action by them to implement their commitment."
Giving a sense of the discussions during the meeting, Ban said: "I have taken note of the group's concern that recent actions by the Government of Myanmar risk undermining the prospects of inclusive national reconciliation, democratic transition, and respect for human rights, and more generally at the lack of sufficient response to the concerns of the United Nations and the international community."
The secretary-general urged the Burmese junta to "respond positively without further delay" to specific UN suggestions, as endorsed by the Group of Friends, in particular the release of all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the initiation of a genuine dialogue with the opposition.
Ban reiterated that he would visit Burma only if there is a real expectation of tangible progress.
"I am ready to visit Myanmar again, to continue our consultations on various issues—humanitarian issues, and also political issues,” he said. “At this time, I do not think that the atmosphere is ripe for me to undertake my own visit there.
"But I am committed, and I am ready to visit any time when I can have reasonable expectations my visit will be productive and meaningful,” he said.
Chevron’s hypocritical ad campaign
http://takizen.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/chevrons-hypocritical-ad-campaign/
Posted by takizen under Burma and oil, Human Rights | Tags: Burma, chevron, Myanmar |
By JOHN P. GAMBOA
The Daily Aztec
San Diego State University newspaper
Issue date: 10/8/07 Section: State of Mind
A new TV commercial includes shots of oceans, blue skies, loving
families, cuddly animals, rising suns, people of all nationalities and
amputees running sprints.
What could it be for?
Greenpeace? No.
Life insurance? No.
It’s an advertisement for the multi-national mega corporation Chevron.
Its new two-and-a-half-minute TV spot, part of its “Power of Human
Energy” campaign and shot and directed by the cinematographer of “Lost
in Translation” and “Being John Malkovich,” boasts that Chevron is not
a “corporate titan” but “human beings doing our share.”
The ad first aired during a break for “60 Minutes” on CBS and gave the
distinct impression that Chevron cares for every living person on Earth
and that it’s committed to helping everyone’s needs.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Chevron is one of the few remaining corporations with ties to the
deadly regime behind Burma (also referred to as Myanmar), thereby
indirectly aiding the killing of Buddhist monks, reporters and
civilians.
In 1997, the Clinton Administration barred all new investments in the
junta-run nation. However, companies already investing inside the
country were exempted because of a grandfather clause. Chevron is one
of the companies that was exempted by the clause and continues business
in the country and pays taxes to the government.
By doing so, they are supporting the human rights violations of the
Texas-sized nation in the last few weeks and its military buildup of
the last few years. Natural gas, an important part of Chevron’s
operations in Burma, brought $2.16 billion to the military regime of
Burma through taxes and operation fees, according to the Human Rights
Watch.
It is imperative that this San Ramon-based corporation get out of Burma
if it wants to continue to call itself an American corporation. The
government is threatening the freedom of millions of people, which is
something that no citizen or user of gas should stand for.
Without the oil pipelines that run from Burma to Thailand, the military
government would not be able to have money to kill civilians.
Chevron should be the first to stop business in Burma because of the
murders of pro-Democracy protesters. Chevron should stand up for the
political ideology that allowed it to become a multi-national
corporation based in the United States.
In order to stop having an American corporation’s oil flow through
pipelines, the U.S. government needs to force Chevron out of Burma,
given its human rights violations. If the United States is willing to
go to war for freedom of itself and others, the least it could do is
prevent a U.S. corporation from financially supporting a freedom-hating
regime.
If it doesn’t want to leave, major restrictions should be imposed on
its ability to sell petroleum inside the United States until its
policies are changed.
Chevron leaving Burma, however, will not stop the violence in the
region. Thai and Chinese petroleum companies will only go in and take
over the void left by the American company, not changing the
socio-political dynamics of the region. It’s more important, though,
that an American company take responsibility to leave an embattled
region if it wants to call itself a corporation, an entity that is made
up of “human beings doing our share” for the rest of humanity.
Even if Chevron chooses to be anti-American and stay in Burma, the
least it could do is stop airing its misleading ad campaign,
championing itself as the “Power of Human Energy.”
Sadly, unless the government steps up - which is unlikely - Chevron
will not change its policies. Chevron will continue to do business how
it wants because one of its former board of directors is now the
Secretary of State of the United States: the corporate-friendly
Condoleezza Rice.
As record-high profits continue to drive the company, there is no
reason to change.
In its ad, Chevron says that humans have an ever increasing demand for
energy, and they plan to be there to help fulfill the need. If
anything, people need to decrease their need for energy, not have the
world’s 14th largest energy corporation tell them that we need to use
more.
Chevron may claim that it cares about the world and its needs, but it
only cares about its own needs: making money. As long as it continues
to spend $63 million in advertising - like it did in 2006, according to
Brandweek - it will be able to convince people that Chevron does care,
which is a very scary thought.
Because it’s unlikely that the U.S. government will step in, Americans
must help in the only way they can: Stop pumping gas at Chevron gas
stations.
-John P. Gamboa is a pre-journalism junior.
Published on Monday, October 8, 2007 by The Daily Camera (Boulder,
Colorado)
Be certain during uncertain times
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20081206/TRAVEL/322417465/-1/NEWS
Last Updated: December 04. 2008 6:43PM UAE / December 4. 2008 2:43PM GMT
I am due to depart on holiday to Thailand next week. I booked my flights and accommodation in June but because of the recent disturbances in Bangkok I no longer feel like going there. The airline I am due to fly with has refused to offer me a refund. What can I do?
The political situation in Thailand is very uncertain at present. Last week large numbers of demonstrators caused the complete closure of both Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Don Muang Domestic Airport in Bangkok. As well as the chaos caused by the cancellation of flights into and out of the capital, which is also a gateway to other countries in the region including Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Burma and Malaysia, the crisis caused considerable overload at the country’s regional airports. I can fully understand your disinclination to travel.
Although the 1929 Warsaw Convention, which governs air travel, excludes airlines from any liability caused by civil insurrection, at the time of the crisis, some airlines, including Emirates, Thai Airways and British Airways, offered passengers who were due to fly the opportunity to receive a full refund or to rebook their flights for a later date, subject to availability. Etihad extended this policy to passengers booked to fly until tomorrow (Dec 7).
However, demonstrations at the airports ended on Tuesday and at the time of going to press the airport was due to re-open on Thursday. Foreign governments are not advising against travel to the country and although there is still a large backlog of flights to sort out, the situation should have eased by the time you are due to depart. The airline that you are travelling with is under no obligation to offer you a refund or allow you to postpone the date of travel but depending on the type of ticket you have purchased, it may allow you to make route or departure changes for a small fee, so you should study the terms and conditions outlined by the airline or travel agent, and contact them directly.
The good news for independent travellers is that most hotels allow you to cancel without a penalty if you give at least 48 hours’ notice. Despite the situation in Bangkok, beach destinations including Phuket and Koh Samui are unaffected and foreign governments’ travel advice units have stopped short of advising that the country is unsafe.
I have been planning a weekend break in Mumbai and would like to help support India after the recent terrorist attacks. However, I have heard that the British and other foreign governments are advising that the threat from terrorism is still high. Should I travel or not?
Because the recent deadly attacks in Mumbai seemingly targeted at westerners, the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office temporarily warned against all but essential travel to Mumbai. This has now been lifted but it still advises that there is a high threat from terrorism throughout the country. However, there are few countries in the world these days where there is no threat from terrorism at all, and flights and other services are now operating normally in Mumbai. It is important bear in mind that wherever you are, in most cases the risk of being caught up in a terrorist attack is extremely small. That said, you should be aware that most travel insurance policies will not cover losses or medical expenses resulting from acts of terrorism or civil unrest. Whether you choose to travel or not boils down to personal choice, but there is a lot to be said for showing solidarity with the people of Mumbai and refusing to have your holiday experience spoiled by extremists.
travel@thenational.ae
ဦးသန္႔ ရာျပည့္တံဆိပ္ေခါင္း ကုလသမဂၢမွ ထုတ္ေဝမည္
္ မိုးမခအေထာက္ေတာ္ ၀၀၅ ဒီဇင္ဘာ ၅၊ ၂၀၀၈
http://moemaka. com/index. php?option= com_content&task=view&id=2918&Itemid=1
လာမည့္ ၂ဝဝ၉ ခုႏွစ္ ဇန္နဝါရီလ ၂၂ ရက္ေန႔တြင္ အသက္ ၁ဝဝ ျပည့္မည့္ ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံသား ကမၻာ့ကုလသမဂၢ အတြင္းေရးမွဴးခ်ဳပ္ေဟာင္း ဦးသန္႔၏ ရာျပည့္အထိမ္းအမွတ္အျဖစ္ တံဆိပ္ေခါင္း ၃ မ်ဳိး ကုလသမဂၢက ထုတ္ေဝမည္ဟု သတင္း ထုတ္ျပန္ထားသည္။ ဦးသန္႔၏ ရုပ္ပံုျဖင့္ ထုတ္ေဝမည့္ အေမရိကန္ ဝ.၉၄ ေဒၚလာ (၉၄ ျပား)တန္၊ ဆြစ္ဇာလန္ေငြေၾကး ၁.၃ဝ ဆြစ္ဖရန္႔စ္တန္၊ ဥေရာပသမဂၢ ေငြေၾကး ၁.၁၅ ယူရို တန္ တံဆိပ္ေခါင္းမ်ားကို ၂ဝဝ၉ ခုႏွစ္ ေဖေဖာ္ဝါရီလ ၆ ရက္ေန႔တြင္ ထုတ္ေဝမည္ဟု ကုလသမဂၢ စာတိုက္ဌာန၏ အဆိုပါ ထုတ္ျပန္ခ်က္တြင္ ေဖာ္ျပထားသည္။
ကမၻာ့ကုလသမဂၢအေနျဖင့္ ကုလသမဂၢ၏ တတိယေျမာက္ အတြင္းေရးမွဴးခ်ဳပ္ျဖစ္သည့္ ဦးသန္႔၏ ရုပ္ပံုျဖင့္ ထုတ္ေဝသည့္ တံဆိပ္ေခါင္း ယခင္က ထုတ္ေဝခဲ့ဖူးျခင္း မရွိဘဲ အတြင္းေရးမွဴးခ်ဳပ္မ်ား၏ ရာျပည့္အထိမ္းအမွတ္အျဖစ္ ထုတ္ေဝျခင္းမွာလည္း ပထမဆံုး ျဖစ္သည္ ဟု နယူးေယာက္ၿမိဳ႔ရွိ တံဆိပ္ေခါင္း စုေဆာင္းသူ ျမန္မာတစ္ဦးက ေျပာျပခဲ့သည္။ ဦးသန္႔ မတိုင္မီ ရာျပည့္ပုဂၢဳိလ္မ်ားျဖစ္သည့္ ကုလသမဂၢ အတြင္းေရးမွဴးခ်ဳပ္ေဟာင္းမ်ားမွာ ပထမဆံုး အတြင္းေရးမွဴးခ်ဳပ္ ေနာ္ေဝႏိုင္ငံသား ထရိဗီလီး (၁၈၉၆-၁၉၆၈) ႏွင့္ ဒုတိယ အတြင္းေရးမွဴးခ်ဳပ္ ဆီြဒင္ႏိုင္ငံသား ဒက္ဟမ္းမားရႈိးလ္ (၁၉ဝ၅-၁၉၆၁) တို႔ျဖစ္သည္။
ဦးသန္႔ကို ဧရာဝတီတိုင္း ပန္းတေနာ္ၿမိဳ႔တြင္ အဖ ဦးဖိုးႏွစ္၊ အမိ ေဒၚနန္းေသာင္ တို႔က ၁၉ဝ၉ ခုႏွစ္၌ ဖြားျမင္ခဲ့သည္။ ပန္းတေနာ္ အမ်ဳိးသားအထက္တန္းေက်ာင္း၊ ရန္ကုန္တကၠသိုလ္တို႔တြင္ ပညာသင္ယူခဲ့ၿပီး အထက္တန္းျပ ေက်ာင္းဆရာ၊ ထိုမွ ေက်ာင္းအုပ္ႀကီးအျဖစ္ တာဝန္ထမ္းေဆာင္ခဲ့သည္။ ေက်ာင္းသံုးစာအုပ္ ပံုႏွိပ္ထုတ္ေဝေရးေကာ္မတီ၊ အမ်ဳိးသားပညာေရးေကာင္စီ၊ ဗမာ့သုေတသနအဖြဲ႔တို႔တြင္ ပါဝင္ေဆာင္ရြက္ခဲ့ၿပီး စာသင္ေက်ာင္းမ်ားဦးစီးအဖြဲ႔ အမႈေဆာင္၊ ဂ်ပန္ေခတ္ ပညာေရးျပန္လည္ထူေထာင္ေရးအဖြဲ႔ အတြင္းေရးမွဴး၊ ဖဆပလအဖြဲ႔၏ လူထုေရးရာတာဝန္ခံ စသျဖင့္ တာဝန္မ်ားထမ္းေဆာင္ခဲ့ၿပီး ၁၉၆၁ ခုႏွစ္ ႏိုဝင္ဘာလ ၃ ရက္ေန႔မွစ၍ ကုလသမဂၢ အတြင္းေရးမွဴးခ်ဳပ္ ျဖစ္လာခဲ့သည္။
ဦးသန္႔၏ ဇနီးမွာ ေဒၚသိန္းတင္ျဖစ္ၿပီး သားသမီး ၃ ဦး ထြန္းကားခဲ့သည္။ ဦးသန္႔သည္ ၁၉၇၄ ခုႏွစ္ ႏိုဝင္ဘာလ ၂၅ ရက္ အသက္ ၆၅ ႏွစ္ တြင္ ကင္ဆာေရာဂါျဖင့္ အေမရိကန္ျပည္ေထာင္စု နယူးေယာက္ၿမိဳ႔၌ ကြယ္လြန္ခဲ့သည္။ ၎၏ ရုပ္ကလာပ္ကို ျမန္မာျပည္သို႔ ျပန္လည္သယ္ယူခဲ့ေသာ္လည္း ထိုစဥ္က မဆလ အစိုးရ၏ ဂရုတစိုက္ မရွိမႈေၾကာင့္ ရန္ကုန္တကၠသိုလ္ေက်ာင္းသားမ်ား အံုၾကြကာ ‘ဦးသန္႔ စ်ာပနအေရးအခင္း’ ေပၚေပါက္ခဲ့သည္။
ဦးသန္႔၏ ရာျပည့္ အထူးအစဥ္ကို မိုးမခ က တင္ဆက္သြားမည္ျဖစ္ပါ၍ ဦးသန္႔ႏွင့္ပတ္သက္ၿပီး တင္ျပလိုေသာ အေၾကာင္းအရာမ်ား ရွိပါက မိုးမခ သို႔ ဆက္သြယ္ေပးပို႔ပါရန္ ဖိတ္ေခၚအပ္ပါသည္။
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