http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82312
More than 2 million people were affected by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008
YANGON, 12 January 2009 (IRIN) - More than eight months after Cyclone Nargis hit southern Myanmar, coordination in addressing the needs of cyclone survivors continues to improve, but huge challenges remain, particularly in capacity and resources.
"It's definitely improved over time," Thierry Delbreuve, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told IRIN in Yangon, the former Burmese capital.
More than two million people were affected when Nargis struck Myanmar's low-lying Ayeyarwady Delta on 2 and 3 May, leaving close to 140,000 people dead or missing.
Despite initial difficulties in terms of access, OCHA maintains six humanitarian hubs to support UN and NGO partners on the ground, as well as local authorities, in humanitarian and early-recovery activities.
The hubs are in the badly affected townships of Dedaye, Bogale, Labutta, Mawlamyinegyun, Patein and Pyapon.
"The challenge is more on early recovery now that the relief overall is phasing down," Delbreuve said.
Unless support keeps coming, we are likely to see quite a few organisations or groups leaving because they don't have the resources to continue their activities.
However, pockets of humanitarian needs in remote areas still existed, he said, a fact underlined by the first of three Post-Nargis Periodic Reviews - an analysis of more than 2,000 households in 108 communities across the Ayeyarwady and Yangon divisions released in December.
According to the report, although significant progress in relief and recovery assistance had been made, the relief stage was still not over and more aid was needed. Of particular concern were issues of nutrition, food and shelter.
Large numbers of households are still inadequately housed, often in overcrowded conditions with little protection from the heat and rain.
Of particular concern were a high proportion of households using plastic or canvas for their roofs or walls in affected communities.
In only about 10 percent of communities surveyed did every household report adequate living conditions, the same or better than before Nargis struck, the report revealed.
"Although assistance is having an impact, more assistance is required, both for the immediate relief items and for recovery assistance," Anish Roy, special representative of the ASEAN Secretary-General, a key partner of the Tripartite Core Group (TCG), which released the report, told IRIN.
Photo: cm/IRIN
A high proportion of households are using plastic or canvas for their roofs or walls in affected communities
Funds and capacity needed
On 10 July, the UN re-launched a flash appeal on behalf of 13 UN organisations and 23 NGOs for emergency relief and early recovery efforts through April 2009 for a total of US$477 million, up from a previous $201 million.
As of 12 January, the appeal remained 64 percent funded at $306 million. In addition, agriculture and early recovery continue to be the least-funded sectors with only 25 and 39 percent respectively.
"Unless support keeps coming, we are likely to see quite a few organisations or groups leaving because they don't have the resources to continue their activities," Delbreuve warned.
"It's important that we keep the focus on Myanmar. Not just in terms of Nargis, but for other areas of the country as well," he said.
"Organisational capacity is critical. We need to maintain the operational capacity to respond," he said, noting that before Nargis there were few organisations in the country.
Window of opportunity
"Now we have a chance to do more because we have additional partners present and keen on continuing to work in Myanmar - not just in those areas affected by Nargis, but other areas of the country," he said.
"Donors still have a high interest in whether we can do business in Myanmar. There is also interest beyond Nargis and the possible entry point for longer-term programmes to support local communities and addressing some of the acute humanitarian needs, bearing in mind the challenges of access in other parts of Myanmar."
OCHA hopes to maintain its coordination structure in the delta at least until the end of the flash appeal in April.
"We have already undertaken discussions with UNDP [UN Development Programme] and other partners to ensure there will be a smooth transition and handover to more development-oriented agencies to manage the capacity on the ground," he said.
contributor/ds/mw
Theme(s): (IRIN) Aid Policy, (IRIN) Natural Disasters
[ENDS]
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
MYANMAR: Capacity challenges remain
Two Singaporeans defending Burmese workers arrested
http://www.burmabloggers.net/?p=2073
By Khun Tun • January 12, 2009
Two Singaporean activists were arrested after staging a protest on Monday against the government’s rejection of the extension of work permits to Burmese nationals. Seelan Palay and Chong Kai Xiong, who were demonstrating outside the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) office in Singapore, to highlight the plight of Burmese workers, were arrested around 1:00 pm by the Singapore Police.
“Both (activists) held placards of, ‘Stop new treatment of Burmese activists’,” Ho Choon Hiong, an independent documentary filmmaker, who witnessed the event, told Mizzima over the telephone.
The duo, wearing red T-shirts, distributed leaflets and flyers during the demonstration.
He said, the two demonstrators marched to the MOM office in order to talk to the officials on the plight of the Burmese workers.
“What I understand from these activists is, Singapore turned down the renewal of work permits to those who took part in the Burmese opposition movements,” he added.
The Burmese in Singapore, occasionally held demonstrations against the Burmese Embassy in the country, to show their solidarity with the people of Burma. Several activities including demonstrations were held in May, over the junta’s referendum polling and in the aftermath of the killer Cyclone Nargis.
Recently, sources said, two Burmese persons - Moe Kyaw Thu and Win Kyaw - who had actively participated in demonstrations, were turned down when their work permits came up for renewal, on the basis of a police record.
Both have reportedly stayed in Singapore for over 10 years and their permits are due to expire in the end of January, 2009.
“My stay permit will expire on Jan 27 and I have to leave Singapore before it expires,” Moe Kyaw Thu, who has appealed four times to the Singaporean authorities to renew his work permit, told Mizzima.
“I sent my last appeal letter this morning to both the Singapore Prime Minister and President and requested them to consider renewing my permit on humanitarian grounds,” Moe Kyaw Thu added.
According to Burmese workers in Singapore, the city-state hosts more than 60,000 Burmese, who fill up as general workers, technical skilled labourers and some as students.
The Singapore government in 2008, has rejected at least five people, who have police records of being involved in demonstrations against the Burmese military junta, from renewing their permits.
Categories: Daily News, Human Rights, Politics
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Global freedom on the slide: report
http://news.theage.com.au/world/global-freedom-on-the-slide-report-20090112-7f03.html
January 12, 2009 - 3:12PM
Freedom was on the march downward in 2008, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and the former Soviet Union, a private democracy watchdog organisation says.
It was the third year in a row that Freedom House had judged a drop in global freedom, though the pace of the decline slowed, thanks in part to significant improvements in South Asia, including Pakistan.
The group analysed 193 countries and found 89 were free, representing 46 per cent of the global population. That total was one fewer than in 2007; Senegal no longer was a member of the free club.
By comparison, 42 countries earned the "not free" designation.
They account for 34 per cent of the population - with just one "not free" nation, China, accounting for nearly three-fifths of that total.
The report on global freedom has been published annually since 1972.
"The decline in freedom has coincided with the onset of a forceful reaction against democratic reformers, international assistance to the reformers and the very idea of democracy," said Arch Puddington, director of research for Freedom House.
The non-governmental organisation has promoted the expansion of freedom around the world since 1941.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, New Zealand, some Pacific island nations, Indonesia, India, Japan, Bhutan and Mongolia were rated as full members of the free club.
Burma and Fiji were among nations which got thumbs down.
With the biggest setbacks in sub-Saharan Africa, declines in freedom were noted in Senegal, Mauritania, Congo, Guinea, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. There were gains in Zambia, Comoros, Angola and Ivory Coast.
Puddington said there was no single, identifiable reason for the decline in Africa.
"We did, however, see a trend whereby countries in which democratic performance was already poor getting even poorer," he said, citing Zimbabwe, Guinea and Equatorial Guinea.
The former Soviet Union was the only region to show consistent decline during the past decade.
Among the factors, he said, were the presence of a number of "petro-authoritarian" states in the region, such as Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, and the continued authoritarian legacy of the Soviet Union and the strong influence of Russia on its neighbours.
The report said democracy declined significantly in Russia and US-backed Georgia, as well as in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova.
South Asia showed the most progress, the report said, with big improvements in Pakistan, Maldives and Bhutan.
"South Asia was the bright spot in 2008," Puddington said.
"This is especially important because South Asia has experienced so many years of chaos and upheaval."
The organisation says the survey ratings and narrative reports are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide.
Key findings:
*Free: The number of countries judged by the report as free in 2008 stands at 89, representing 46 per cent of the world's countries and 46 per cent of the global population. The number of free countries declined by one from 2007.
*Partly Free: The number of partly free countries is 62, or 32 per cent of all countries assessed by the survey and 20 per cent of the world's total population. The number of partly free countries increased by two.
*Not Free: The report designates 42 countries as not free, representing 22 per cent of the total number of countries and 34 per cent of the world population. Nearly 60 per cent of this number lives in China. The number of not free countries declined by one.
*Electoral Democracies: The number of electoral democracies dropped by two and stands at 119. Developments in Mauritania, Georgia, Venezuela and Central African Republic disqualified them from the electoral democracy list, while Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bangladesh became electoral democracies.
Worst of the worst:
Worst of the Worst: Of the 42 countries designated not free, eight received the survey's lowest possible ranking for both political rights and civil liberties: North Korea, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Libya, Sudan, Burma, Equatorial Guinea and Somalia. Two territories are in the same category: Tibet and Chechnya. Eleven other countries and territories received scores that were slightly better: Belarus, Chad, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Laos, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Zimbabwe, South Ossetia and Western Sahara.
*Sub-Saharan Africa: Twelve countries and one territory - about one-fourth of the regional total - experienced setbacks in 2008. In addition to Senegal and Mauritania, declines were also registered in Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Namibia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Somaliland. The region's downturn comes after several years of modest improvement. Positive developments include gains in Zambia, Comoros, Angola and Cote d'Ivoire.
*Asia: The most significant progress occurred in South Asia, where several countries saw improvements linked to elections. In addition to significant improvements in Pakistan, Maldives and Bhutan, some progress was also seen in Nepal, Kashmir, Malaysia and Thailand. Declines were registered in Afghanistan, Burma, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Tibet. China increased repression instead of delivering human rights reforms pledged in connection to hosting the Summer Olympics.
*Middle East/North Africa: After several years of modest gains earlier in the decade, the Middle East/North Africa is now experiencing stagnation. Iraq is the only country to show improvement because of reductions in violence, political terror and government-sponsored Shia militias, although it retains its Not Free status. Jordan, Bahrain, Iran, the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli-Occupied Territories also declined.
*Western Europe and North America: The region continues to earn the highest scores in Freedom in the World. The election of Barack Obama as US president could lead to reforms of problematic counterterrorism policies. Two European countries experienced declines in 2008: Italy and Greece. The survey also voices concern about potential threats to freedom of expression in Canada and Great Britain.
© 2009 AP
Myanmar: Burma's blogger monk in running to win "Best Asian Blog"
http://www.opednews.com/populum/diarypage.php?did=11626
January 11, 2009 at 09:10:31 Permalink
Diary Entry by Ashin Mettacara
::::::::
New Delhi (Mizzima) - The Weblog of a veteran Burmese Buddhist monk, Ashin Mattacara, which contains writings on Burma, has been selected among the finalists for the 'Best Asian Bolg' Award for 2008.
The Weblog, (www.ashinmettacara.org), has garnered 870 votes in an online poll conducted since November of last year, currently ranking it second among votes received by finalists.
Ashin Mattacara, age 27, went to Sri Lanka to study Buddhist religious studies and created his Weblog in 2004, focusing on religious writings. But the Weblog took a decisive turn in September 2007, when Buddhist monks led mass demonstrations in Burma, with the site increasingly filled with political writings on Burma.
"The September event made me angry, sorry and disappointed, so I decided to write and publish political issues on my blog," Ashin Mettacara told Mizzima, adding that his blog also contains other information on Burma.
In the wake of the public protests in September 2007, several Internet savvy Burmese youth, both inside Burma and around the world, created websites and blogs and filled them with information on the protests and the subsequent crackdown by the military.
Ashin Mettaraca's blog was among the outstanding blogs that provided much needed information on the protests to Burmese as well as to the international community.
"I wanted to tell the whole world about the situation of Burma. That is the main reason for creating this blog," Ashin Mettacara said.
Like Ashin Mettacara, several young Burmese bloggers played an important role in bringing out information on the September 2007 protests as well as the humanitarian crisis in the aftermath of deadly Cyclone Nargis in early May 2008.
For this reason, Burma's military rulers have hunted down bloggers and others involved in the dissemination of information and sentenced them to long prison terms. Popular comedian and film director Zargarnar was last year arrested and sentenced to 59 years of imprisonment for providing information and giving interviews to media groups.
Similarly, a young blogger, Nay Phone Latt, who is also a youth member of detained Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Nyi's National League for Democracy party, was also arrested and sentenced to more than 20 years of imprisonment for posting writings of Burmese youth on his Weblog.
Ashin Mettacara, who has completed his B.A and M.A studies in Sri Lanka's Buddhist and Pali University, said he would face a similar threat from Burma's military rulers if he should return to his homeland.
However, he said it does not intimidate him from doing what he always does – posting political writings and information on Burma - on his blog. He believes that that his work is serving people around world, and he is confident of winning the award.
On his blog, he has chosen to post a popular line that states, "Burma, Myanmar: Yes, We can win this Award".
The world's largest blog competition, Weblog Awards has 48 categories for this year and nearly two million votes have already been cast.
With the polls set to close on January 13, readers can post their votes at http://2008.weblogawards.org/polls/best-asian-blog/.
Take action -- click here to contact your local newspaper or congress people:
Save Burma
Click here to see the most recent messages sent to congressional reps and local newspapers
Ashin Mettacara is a 27-year-old Buddhist monk from Burma who is blogging and contributing with the aim of spreading news to the whole world about the crisis in Burma.
He is not part of any political group, association or organization. He is helping all the groups who are working for freedom of belief and expression. His motto is,
"Working for equality is human values".
Do visit his weblog: http://www.ashinmettacara.org/
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Changes in Myanmar wanted
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/SE%2BAsia/Story/STIStory_325161.html
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that Thailand's proximity to Myanmar meant that any push for reform had to be handled differently. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
BANGKOK - THAILAND'S new premier said on Monday he wanted to see change in neighbouring military-ruled Myanmar but said his country would take a different tack from Western nations, which slap sanctions on the regime.
In his first public comments on Myanmar since taking office last month, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that Thailand's proximity to Myanmar meant that any push for reform had to be handled differently.
Mr Abhisit was speaking after his foreign minister Kasit Piromya met in Bangkok with Myanmar's deputy foreign minister Kyaw Thu to discuss their ongoing relations, a foreign ministry official said.
'The goals of Western countries and the countries in this region for Myanmar are not different - we all want to see some changes,' Mr Abhisit told reporters.
'But our measures may be different because of two main reasons: cultural differences and the distance of the countries. Those who are far away may use some measures while those who are neighbours have to use other measures.'
Mr Abhisit did not comment on what steps Thailand might take to try and push for change in Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since 1962 and keeps democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
The United States and Europe have imposed economic sanctions on the regime, but the impact has been weakened as nations such as Thailand and China spend billions of dollars for a share of Myanmar's rich energy resources.
Asian countries have advocated a more diplomatic approach with their awkward neighbour, championing a process of 'constructive engagement' with the junta. -- AFP
Thai FM reviews cyclone victims aid with Myanmar official
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=8113
BANGKOK, Jan 12 (TNA) - Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya met Monday with a senior Myanmar official to review progress in distributing, delivering and assessing relief assistance to victims of Cyclone Nargis since it hit last year.
The issue was raised during a bilateral meeting between Mr. Kasit and Myanmar Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister U Kyaw Thu, in his capacity as chair of the ASEAN- and UN-related Tripartite Core Group (TCG) on Monday.
They discussed rehabilitation operations for victims of Cyclone Nargis, the devastating storm which hit Myanmar on May 2-3, 2008.
The visiting Myanmar representative is on his trip to observe Thailand's work on handling and responding to disaster.
The Tripartite Core Group (TCG), consisting of the Association Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Myanmar and the United Nations was formed on May 31, 2008.
It is intended to facilitate trust, confidence and cooperation between Myanmar and the international community in relation to humanitarian aid and Cyclone Nargis-recovery work.
At the meeting, Mr. Kasit said that Thailand's Foreign Affairs Ministry is ready to cooperate and coordinate with anyone wishing to to donate funds for restoring the Nargis-damaged temples in Myanmar.
Apart from the issue of the cyclone victims, the two officials also discussed Myanmar labour in Thailand, including migrant workers, in order to solve problems related to human rights violations, human trafficking and labour smuggling. (TNA)
General News : Last Update : 17:51:32 12 January 2009 (GMT+7:00)
Junta struggling to keep state budget afloat -MIZZIMA
http://www.mizzima.com/news/global-financial-crisis-a-burma/1528-junta-struggling-to-keep-state-budget-afloat.html
by Moe Thu
Sunday, 11 January 2009 12:44
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Experiencing increased pains related to the global financial crisis, Burma's military government is struggling to maintain a solvent state budget, seemingly exploiting every option available to them, such as the introduction of a pre-paid phone system and further state-run auctions.
"Given the measures of the military government, they are apparently absorbing cash from the general public, which is adding to the woes of poor cash flow among public trading activities," said a retired professor from the Rangoon Institute of Economics.
Only last month, a pre-paid cellular phone system was introduced, attracting many customers.
"Theses days, public voices over stagnant business, from street vendors to large-scale exporters, are getting louder," added the professor, who declined to be identified.
He said many items normally intended for export – like seafood and agricultural produce – have instead flocked into the already suffering local market.
He also said revenue from natural gas, primarily exported to Thailand, is declining – as prices of crude oil have fallen under US $50 a barrel in the world market.
"Decreased energy prices are symbolic of reduced economic activities," he said.
Additionally, the military government is facing a limited supply of raw gems, reduced extraction possibilities the result of aggressive extraction over the past few years in previous attempts to service the country's cash-strapped budget.
The supply of Burmese rubies dropped to 1.5 million carats in fiscal year 2007-2008 from 2.3 million carats in 2004-2005, according to government statistics; while sapphire decreased to 308,642 carats in 2007-2008 from 1.088 million carats in 2003-2004.
"These [the gems] are not just decreasing in quantity, but in quality also," the professor said, adding that the real situation signals the sector's decreasing reliability as a means of revenue.
Yet, to counter pains from the ongoing financial crisis, Burma's military government has limited options. However, one such proposed course is the plan to maintain the construction sector by contracting for new projects in the country's nascent capital of Naypyitaw.
For example, the government has recently revealed that the development of a prototype of a countrywide geographical profile map is beginning around Naypyitaw, utilizing a model scaled at 1: 60 kilometers.
"The government hopes that the multi-million dollar project will provide job opportunities for general workers who are in dire straits, increasingly suffering from economic hardship," the professor said.
However, he iterated that most infrastructure projects are politicized on purpose, not really for the sake of the general populace, but more in a move to make an impression on the public.
Not standing up and being counted on Burma
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/jan/12/yehey/opinion/20090112opi3.html
OPEN NOTEBOOK
By Random Jottings
THE Philippines missed out on a gilt-edged chance to make a principled stand on the burning question of Myanmar—or Burma as the civilized world remembers this beautiful country and its gentle people before both were brutalized by the pariah generals, led by Senior Pariah Than Shwe, who have turned the country into their personal fiefdom.
When the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on the discredited military junta to free all political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner—and the country’s legitimate leader as overwhelmingly decreed by the people in the last free and democratic election ever held in that country—Aung San Suu Kyi, the Philippines joined Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore in abstaining.
Fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations members Brunei, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam voted against the resolution, while Cambodia absented itself.
We guess the Asean members did what they did on the customary—but badly flawed in relation to Myanmar—principle of not interfering in the internal affairs of a fellow member.
But the undeniable point is that Myanmar under the despicable junta is a huge embarrassment to Asean, and contributes nothing but grief to the organization—as the record will disgracefully show.
Time and again the junta has practically given a dirty finger to Asean (and the UN, for that matter) whenever it has attempted to bring it into line, or talk the generals into being part of the civilized world.
What is most surprising about the Philippine vote at the UN on this particular issue is the proven fact that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been outspoken in her calls for Aung San Suu Kyi to be released and the country set on the road to freedom and democracy.
But whispers in the diplomatic circuit is that a senior government official has an uncomfortably cozy relationship with the uniformed clique in Yangon, and this might have had something to do with the Philippines not breaking ranks and standing up and being counted (to the cheers of a good part of the world, we can guarantee) on the sad and sorry state of Myanmar.
___
Meeting up with Danny Almeda, the highly respected Chief of the Alien Registration Division (and three-decade career officer) at the Bureau of Immigration, he requested that through this newspaper we send out a reminder to all aliens that they have to report in person within the first 60 days (and that’s between now and the end of February) to the BI’s main office or any of its satellite offices in Metro Manila or regional/sub-port offices to pay the annual fee for 2009 amounting to P300 and a legal research fee of P10.
The requirement and fees are pursuant to Section 10 of the Alien Registration Act, and is outlined in a memorandum sent out by BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan on December 10.
Incidentally, Commissioner Libanan has strived hard to make the bureau more people friendly, and this mission is even extending to the BI’s Intramuros office that is currently getting a bright and cheery make-over.
Almeda explained that the annual report of aliens is a two way thing since it gives the BI and chance to update its records on aliens living in the Philippines, and it also gives the aliens the opportunity to further safeguard their status in the country.
Aliens who are 14 years of age and below or 65 years of age and above can be represented by their parents, legal guardians or legal representatives in complying with the requirements.
If ever the subject aliens intend to be represented by a travel agent, broker or liaison officer, the amount of P500 will be charged as Express Lane Fee, and that’s in addition to the annual report fees and legal research charges. The representatives must present the original ACR I-card of the subject alien and a duly notarized Special Power of Attorney (SPA) executed for the purpose.
In all other cases such as change of address or updating information in the ACR I-Card database the same will be subject to payment of immigration fees (or fines) if applicable.
rjottings@yahoo.com
Myanmar to grant more blocks for gem mining
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/11/content_10639339.htm
www.chinaview.cn 2009-01-11 13:27:11 Print
YANGON, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar will grant four more blocks in three states and division for local investors to carry out gem mining, according to the Ministry of Mines Sunday.
The four blocks are located in Shan state's Mongshu and Namhyar, Kachin state's Moenyin and Sagaing division's Mawhan Mawlu.
Myanmar occasionally introduced gem mining blocks for engagement by domestic entrepreneurs to promote gem production in the country.
In 2006, 77 blocks in Shan state and 39 in Mandalay division were allotted for gem mining, while 99 near Lonekin in Kachin state for jade mining,
In 2007, Myanmar permitted again 319 jade mining blocks for such engagement. Among those unexplored jade blocks allotted, 139 were in northern Kachin state's Moenyin and 180 in Sagaing division's Khamhti.
Each block measured one acre (4,000 square meters) and the blocks were leased on a three-year term.
There are six mining areas in Myanmar under gem and jade exploration, namely, Mogok, Mongshu, Lonkin/Phakant, Khamhti, Moenyin and Namyar.
For the development of gem industry, Myanmar has been holding gem shows annually starting 1964 and introducing the mid-year one since 1992 and the special one since 2004. On each occasion, the country's quality gems, jade, pearl and jewelry worth of millions of dollars were put on sale mainly through competitive bidding.
Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, boasts ruby, diamond, cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnet tinged with yellow.
Editor: Wang Hongjiang
United Nations Worried Over Nigeria's Donation To Myanmar
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article01/indexn2_html?pdate=110109&ptitle=United%20Nations%20Worried%20Over%20Nigeria's%20Donation%20To%20Myanmar
From Laolu Akande New York
NIGERIA'S donation of a whopping $500,000 to the military junta in Myanmar few weeks ago is raising questions at the United Nations Secretariat in New York. An official of the Presidency arrived New York two days to Christmas to deliver the check at a hurriedly put together bilateral meeting between the Nigerian Ambassador, Prof. Joy Ugwu, and her Myanmar counterpart at the UN building.
But for the invitation to few members of the UN press, the event would have passed unnoticed and branded a secret deal. Even Nigeria's former Foreign Affairs Minister who is a UN's top official on Myanmar was not aware of the donation. A source at the Nigerian mission disclosed that even top Nigerian diplomats at the UN could could not explain the transaction any better than, that the whole affair was an "order from the headquarters (Abuja)."
Professor Ogwu only said that the money was Nigeria's own contribution to the "ongoing relief efforts in the country, following the devastation caused by cyclone Nargis in May 2008," in Myanmar.
But observers are however wondering why Nigeria's own contribution came some six months after the tragedy and why a presidency official had to be specifically detailed to deliver the cheque instead of any of the senior Nigerian diplomats in New York. The other question is why the Federal Government chose to make the money directly available to the Myanmar government when the UN had set up a special fund to warehouse international donations to help victims of the Myanmar cyclone.
Media reports quoted Ambassador Joy Ogwu as saying UN Special Envoy on Myanmar, Nigeria's Professor Ibrahim Gambari had no role to play in the donation. Gambari's office at the UN also confirmed this saying he "had no prior knowledge of this transaction or the motive, if any, on the part of the Nigerian Government," adding however that Professor Gambari does not object to the donation
A reporter with Inner City Press in New York, Lee reported that, "Nigeria gave its money directly, in US dollars, and apparently with no requirement to report back on how the funds are used. This is the type of hard currency for which Senior General Than Shwe is desperate." He wrote that Nigeria would be seen to be supporting a military dictator by making such a donation "with no strings attached."
On ther hand, some transparency and accountability on how the money would be spent would have been possible had the money been donated through the United Nations. When contacted for comments, a top Nigerian diplomat simply said the Foreign Affairs Ministry wanted the money to be handed over to Myanmar directly.
Why Nigeria would seek to please one of the few remaining military tyranny in the world is an issue that baffles many at the UN. A retired top Nigerian diplomat who had represented the country at the UN said it is simply shocking that Nigeria would do such a thing without passing through the normal diplomatic channels of the United Nations, since it was the UN that had called for international support to Myanmar.
The Abuja dole is coming at when the the UN and the global community are telling the Myanmar military dictator to move faster with democratic reforms. For instance, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has postponed plans to visit the place and there are no scheduled visits in the foreseeable future by the UN Special Envoy Gambari, who has been working round the clock to advance democratic reforms in Myanmar.
Ki-Moon said last month at the UN that he was "disappointed by the unwillingness of the government of Myanmar (Burma) to deliver on its promises for democratic dialogue and the release of political prisoners."
By donating half a million bucks to Myanmar and doing it without the knowledge of the UN, Nigeria may be indirectly courting the enmity of those in the international community who are insisting that an iron hand be applied on the Myanmar dictatorship. The timing of the donation according to a source is also an indication, of "bad planning" by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in view of mounting international against the military junta in Myanmar.
One report said that there are as many as 112 former heads of state and government from more than 50 countries urging the UN scribe to help to secure the release of all Burmese political prisoners by the end of the year 2008.
Led by Kjell Magne Bondevik, the former prime minister of Norway, the group told Ki-Moon that, "If the Burmese junta continues to defy the United Nations by refusing to make these releases by the end of the year (2008 ), we urge you to encourage the Security Council to take further concrete action to implement its call for the release of all political prisoners."
The Federal Government of Nigeria made its donation of half a million dollars to Myanmar less than two weeks after these world leaders called for Security Council action against the Myanmar dictatorship.
What is more, the White House, last month, issued a statement urging the international community and the United Nations not to remain silent to oppressive, anti-democratic measures of the Burmese junta. The statement by Press Secretary Dana Perino, said "Brave Burmese patriots such as Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, and Htay Kywe were among those who have been sentenced to 65 years imprisonment for their peaceful participation in the August 2007 protests, in which Burmese citizens, including monks and activists, called on the regime to address the basic needs of the Burmese people."
At the donation on December 23, Prof Ugwu said Nigeria took the "opportunity to express our unflinching solidarity with the government and people of Myanmar for the concrete actions being taken to address the sitution"- referring to the cyclone tragedy. There are also those who see the gesture as part of Nigeria's support of the South to South Integration at the UN, which seek to encourage stronger ties among the less developed countries of the world.
Karen rebels under the gun along Thai-Burma border -MIZZIMA
http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/1529-karen-rebels-under-the-gun-along-thai-burma-border.html
by Daniel Pedersen
Sunday, 11 January 2009 12:49
Mae Sot (Mizzima) – Burma's ethnic Karen rebels are facing another daunting challenge, as a Burmese military campaign designed to hunt out opposition forces and put an end to the world's longest running civil war is intensifying along a sliver of land opposite northwest Thailand.
The Sixth Brigade of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed-wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), is presently engaged in a desperate battle for survival near Thailand's mountainous Umphang region, south of the border town of Mae Sot.
Their base camp, which was a relatively new settlement once equipped with solar power, a medical clinic, potable water and fish holding tanks, has been razed to the ground by Burmese soldiers.
From a secret location on the Thai-Burma border, KNU Vice-Chairman David Thackerbaw said government soldiers were maintaining a "scorched earth policy" against not only the KNLA, but also Karen civilians.
The KNLA, waging the world's longest running civil war, has been battling successive Burmese regimes over six decades in a bid to win self-determination.
While the KNLA steadfastly maintains it has avoided casualties during the Burmese Army's latest offensive, its soldiers are now sleeping rough in dense jungle that provides a modicum of security under the cover of darkness. In the daytime they move.
Working alongside Burmese Army troops in the hunt for KNLA troops are soldiers from a splinter Karen faction, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). The Burmese Army and the DKBA, working in tandem, are reportedly using Thailand as a launching pad for attacks because the terrain is more navigable and void of the danger of landmines.
The DKBA was established in 1994 following the bloody fallout between rival KNU and KNLA leaders; Buddhist commanders said to have upset over the perceived dominance of leadership roles doled out to Christians within the organization.
On the evening of Saturday January 3, 2009, the latest offensive by the Burmese Army and DKBA – reportedly consisting of more than 200 men – wrested control of the rebel base camp from the KNLA, who found themselves hopelessly outnumbered and forced to withdraw.
The camp had provided the only medical facility for more than 800 villagers clustered in two nearby settlements.
Also as a result of the latest offensive, more than 300 people, their homes reduced to ashes, are now purportedly huddled under makeshift shelters, protected from marauding Burmese Army and DKBA troops by Thai soldiers.
On Sunday and Monday of the previous week, low-flying Thai military helicopters plied the skies between Mae Sot and the Umphang region, delivering reinforcements and materials to both border forces and the latest batch of refugees to flee the contested region.
In a nervy interview in Mae Sot last Tuesday night, the KNLA's Colonel Nerdah Mya said his base camp was in cinders and that he was heading back into this war's newest theatre on Wednesday in a bid to "put everything back together again."
"We have to find a new location. We have no location at the moment and are always on the move," expounded the Colonel.
Nerdah Mya, the son of recently deceased Karen leader Bo Mya, said about 20 DKBA and government soldiers had been wounded by landmines and that while some were being treated in the field, others had been sent to Umphang and Mae Sot hospitals for amputations.
However, he insisted the situation was not critical for his men.
"We have been coping with this type of situation for many years now, sometimes they send many soldiers to occupy the entire area, but if we keep moving we can get around them," Nerdah Mya added.
The KNLA's hold on the area has for years been tenuous at best.
The region in question, which surrounds a stretch of land between Thailand and Burma known as Phop Phra, is rich in minerals, including antimony and gold mines as well as zinc and tin deposits.
Taiwanese and Thai businessmen are constantly seeking to exploit the resources but are generally defeated by the fact that no matter which side they deal with, adequate security cannot be guaranteed.
The battle for control of this region began in earnest last year in late June, when torrential rains were still pounding the area almost daily. Since then Thailand's sovereignty has reportedly been repeatedly compromised by both DKBA and Burmese government troops.
At times the Thais have resorted to lobbing mortars at Burmese battalions whose stray shells have forced the evacuation of Thai villages.
Phop Phra was once home to one of Thailand's finest teak stands. It was logged by the KNU in decades past, when the organization was on good terms with Thai authorities and viewed as a convenient buffer force between Thai and Burmese troops. Now the region's red clay soil, utterly deforested, is home to fields of corn.
But the farmers who grow the corn to sell to Thai businessmen are now forced to pay taxes to both the DKBA and the KNLA for safe passage through their respective territories.
December and early January, regarded as the cold season along the Thai-Burmese border, is the best time to reap corn seed, which fetches a higher price than fresh cobs. However, much of the current crop figures to go to waste as the latest round of hostilities enters into its seventh month.
Sergio Carmada, a co-founder of the Italian non-governmental organization Popoli, which provided seed, ploughshares and motorcycles toward the KNLA's current crop and also helped fund Colonel Nerdah's destroyed base camp, previously offered his view of this war that began in 1948.
"In my opinion war for identity is not very popular around the world," stated Carmada.
"War for democracy is very popular. You can destroy towns and kill hundreds of thousands of people for that. For democracy you can kill everyone. For identity - it's not allowed anymore," he said.
A founder of the Free Burma Rangers, U Wa A Pa – a nom de plume of a former foreign soldier, disregards the DKBA as uneducated oafs who don't know what they are fighting for, or why.
He further agrees with the KNU's David Thackerbaw that the Burmese Army is employing a scorched-earth policy. He says the situation is even worse for inhabitants of western Karen state as compared with those nearer to Thailand, with villages and crops being constantly torched.
Free Burma Rangers provides medical support for villagers on the run from Burmese Army troops in remote areas.
"I think given a realistic option they [the DKBA] would change sides in a day", he said. "But they need to see that the KNLA can win. They want to be on the winning side."
But alas, today, a KNLA victory seems the most unlikely of scenarios.
FSA Investigation Finds Aon Payments To Burma
http://www.ajcconsultants.ltd.uk/insurance/2009-01/fsa-110109.htm
11 January 2009
In its report into Aon's £5.25m fine over "failing to take reasonable care to organise and control its affairs responsibly and effectively, with adequate risk management systems", some payments pay have been made to third party in Burma, the regulator said.
"As a result of this weak control environment, a number of payments were made by Aon Ltd to Overseas Third Parties in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Burma, Indonesia and Vietnam," said the FSA, noting that time was between mid-January 2005 and end-September 2007.
For dealing in business in Burma (also known as Myanmar), which is under US sanctions, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control guidelines say: "Generally speaking, the exportation of financial services to Burma is prohibited. The term exportation or re-exportation of financial services to Burma is defined broadly to mean (1) the transfer of funds, directly or indirectly, from the US or by a US person, wherever located, to Burma, and (2) the provision, directly or indirectly, to persons in Burma of Insurance Services, investment or brokerage services, banking services, money remittance services; loans, guarantees, letters of credit or other extensions of credit; or the service of selling or redeeming traveller's checks, money orders and stored value. This defined term is unique to the Burma sanctions program.
Managing the message
http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=209195&sc=86
Last updated at 8:56 AM on 10/01/09
Managing the message
PAM FRAMPTON
The Telegram
There’s an old children’s parlour game called Gossip that demonstrates how information can be distorted when it is passed from person to person by word of mouth.
In the game, a sentence is whispered to the first child in a group and it gets passed on from child to child. The end version rarely matches the original sentence, as a result of words being dropped or the sentence being embellished along the way.
In politics, there’s a reverse kind of game being played, where the information provided can be distorted to begin with, especially if it has been carefully crafted so as to give the illusion of being the whole truth without actually being so.
But unlike the harmless kids’ version, this game is insidious and it can shape public perception.
Let’s call it “Message management.”
It works like this: a government decides its handling of a matter will cast it in an unflattering light, and so it only releases some of the pertinent information.
If the public or the media doesn’t know that the information made available has been filtered or truncated or censored in any way, then it’s pretty hard to call the government’s bluff.
The popularity of this game is disturbing.
Many kinds of muzzles
In a summer 2006 article (headlined “Muzzling the Media”) in the World Policy Journal, Joel Simon writes: “A new breed of sophisticated autocrats is threatening press freedoms around the world.”
Simon, the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, writes that there are countries like Cuba and Burma where journalists are routinely jailed for reportage that is seen as being contrary to the message the government wishes to convey.
And then there are regimes that employ slightly subtler methods.
Simon uses the example of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, where the government has “succeeded in bringing Russia’s once feisty broadcast media under Kremlin control without putting journalists in jail or using violence.”
He describes how there was plenty of television coverage when Russian security forces stormed a school in Beslan in 2004, where Chechen separatists were holed up with hundreds of student hostages, but no coverage of the aftermath, which left more than 300 people dead.
“There were no survivors’ accounts, no stories of desperate people who lost loved ones, no independent experts’ analysis, and no public discussion whatsoever,” Simon quotes Russia analyst Masha Lipman as saying.
In that situation, an autocratic government decided what the story was and when it was time to end it, despite the public’s many lingering questions and concerns.
Reporters shut out
Closer to home, Stephen Harper’s government raised the ire of many people — and not just those working in the media — when, in 2006, he barred journalists from covering repatriation ceremonies for Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
While the PM told CBC News at the time that “it’s about what’s in the best interests of the families,” many members of the opposition, the public and the media suspected Harper’s decision had more to do with damage control and optics, as if somehow by banning coverage of the ceremonies, Canadians would be blissfully unaware that soldiers were losing their lives in Afghanistan.
In a 2007 article on Harper’s media policy published by the Centre for Constitutional Studies, University of Alberta law student Graham Darling writes: “Freedom of the press is granted constitutional protection, ensuring that journalists can report government activities to the Canadian public without interference. Mr. Harper has not placed any legal restrictions on what can be published, but he has limited what information is given to the press and has restricted the opportunities the press has to gather information. Without access to government officials and staff, the media is unable to ask important questions. And without access to military ceremonies or government events, the public is excluded from happenings that may be of great public interest.”
Of course, there are many ways to suppress the press or to control the official message track.
Simon writes: “(The new autocrats) intimidate the media with punitive tax prosecutions and defamation suits, or influence coverage through personal relationships with media owners or allocation of government advertising funds.”
Sorry, we can’t release that
Here in Newfoundland and Labrador, members of the provincial government are old hands at message management.
For example, the executive level of the Danny Williams administration has a penchant for micro-managing the data released to the media through other government departments in response to access to information requests.
And, just before Christmas, it amended its Management of Information Act to tighten up any pesky little loopholes through which useful information might slip through.
As The Telegram’s Rob Antle reported on Dec. 10, Bill 63 — which passed in the House late last year — broadens “the definition of cabinet records, and (gives) Executive Council the authority to manage those records as it wishes.”
That bill has the opposition worried, and for good reason. As provincial NDP Leader Lorraine Michael told The Telegram, such legislation could prevent important documents, including cabinet briefing notes — such as those tabled during the Cameron inquiry into the breast testing scandal — from ever seeing the light of day.
Any move by a government to withhold, censor or over-zealously filter information that reveals to the public how the province is being run should concern us all.
And any government that forgets it was elected to serve the people’s interests — and not solely its own partisan aims — at the very least runs the risk of developing a bad reputation.
Pam Frampton is The Telegram’s story editor. She can be reached by e-mail at pframpton@thetelegram.com. Read her columns online at www.thetelegram.com.
10/01/09
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Private companies in Myanmar propose to cultivate more timber
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90778/90858/90863/6571780.html
13:49, January 11, 2009
Local private companies in Myanmar have proposed to the government to cultivate 81,000 hectares more of timber in two division and state for the development of the sector, the Voice weekly reported Sunday, quoting the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Presented by the ATSO Green, Yeedagon, NRTC and Honda companies, a total of 48,600 hectares and 7,493 hectares will be respectively grown in Bago division and Kachin state, the report said.
Permitted by the government, private companies had cultivated 810 hectares of timber since 2005.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has been holding international wood log tender sale of thousands of tons monthly since decades ago, tendered by dozens of local and foreign timber companies.
Occasionally, the state enterprise cut the sale quota to enhance the export of value-added finished products which are recommended as more profitable than the log export.
Export of wood log is traditionally restricted in Myanmar and export of teak log by the private sector was banned since 1992 when the government enacted the Forest Law.
According to official statistics, Myanmar exported 399,596 cubic-meters of teak and 1.12 million cubic-meters of hardwood in the fiscal year of 2007-08, gaining a total of 538 million U.S. dollars of foreign exchange.
During the year, timber stood as the country's fourth largest export goods after natural gas, agricultural produces and mineral products.
Myanmar is rich in forest resources with forest covering about 50 percent of its total land area.
Source: Xinhua
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