http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/afp/20090301/tap-asean-summit-rights-e1c7ca7.html
AFP - Monday, March 2HUA HIN, Thailand, March 1, 2009 (AFP) - An attempt by Southeast Asian leaders to prove their commitment to human rights backfired at their weekend summit, mainly due to Myanmar's military junta, analysts and activists said.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) had been hoping to use its annual gathering in Thailand to hold rare face-to-face talks with campaigners as part of its preparations for a planned human rights body.
But the threat by the prime ministers of Cambodia and Myanmar to boycott the talks if two campaigners were allowed to take part instead exposed the bloc's limitations, analysts said.
"It is truly sad that an organisation known for 'talk' won't even talk to those working to expand freedom in the region," said Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asian specialist at the Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
In the end, the two activists were barred from the dialogue.
"The pandering of ASEAN to its authoritarian members' demands over a simple dialogue with civil society groups shows how disingenuous the support of human rights is within the organisation," she told AFP.
Human rights have been a perennial challenge for ASEAN in the 42 years since it was founded as a bulwark against the spread of communism. Its members now include a monarchy, a dictatorship and two communist states.
The bloc has repeatedly been pressed to use its influence to improve the rights situation in Myanmar but to little avail. Its soft approach contrasts with the sanctions imposed by Western nations, but neither have worked.
A push by ASEAN to get the rights issue onto its agenda would likely face continued opposition from Cambodia and Myanmar, due to the bloc's long-held principle in non-interference in each other's affairs, activists said.
"It is very clear in this case that the governments of Cambodia and Myanmar have basically sabotaged the efforts of Thailand," said Debbie Stothard, from the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, which refers to Myanmar by its former name.
Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva has been pushing hard for the creation of the rights body this year, as laid out under the group's landmark charter, which came into force in December.
According to a draft seen by AFP, in its current form the body has no powers to investigate or prosecute rights abusers and is packed with provisions rejecting external interference.
"We want to make it clear that ASEAN will not go far," if individual members can hijack the group's proceedings, added Soe Aung, deputy coordinator of the rights group Burma Partnership.
Myanmar's junta has been accused of committing widespread human rights abuses, including the extended detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and has been a constant thorn in ASEAN's side.
"As long as the changes do not take place in Burma, ASEAN will not change at all. Burma's human rights violations, continued arrest and imprisonment (of suspected dissidents) will not bring ASEAN any further," Soe Aung said.
"ASEAN must abandon its principle of non-interference. Until then this human rights body or ASEAN charter will not be effective at all."
ASEAN is comprised of more relatively developed countries like Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand as well as strong-arm ruled Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
The United States and Europe have long pressed ASEAN to use its influence to press for change in Myanmar.
Most recently, the junta has come in for criticism due to its treatment of refugees from the Muslim minority Rohingya.
Many have been rescued in Indonesian and Indian waters in recent weeks. Thailand's army has been accused of towing them out to sea after they washed up on Thai beaches, but scores are feared to have died.
Amnesty International's Donna Guest was unequivocal in what it would take for ASEAN's rights body to be taken seriously.
"To be worthy of its name, the body must be empowered to effectively address human rights in Myanmar."
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Wednesday, March 4, 2009
ASEAN rights push backfires over Myanmar: analysts, activists
BRCJ]3月の活動案内
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ビルマ市民フォーラム メールマガジン 2009/3/2
People's Forum on Burma
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日本ビルマ救援センター（ＢＲＣＪ）からのお知らせを転送させていただき
ます。
（重複の際は何卒ご容赦ください。）
ＰＦＢ事務局
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皆さま、
3月の活動案内をさせていただきます。
13，14，15日名古屋で「BRACIF2009 国際会議 & パブリック・フォーラム」が開
催されます。このために、今年度は「ビルマ人権の日」（3月13日）のアクショ
ンの日程をずらして実施いたします。詳細は決まり次第ご連絡いたします。
今月の「月例ビルマ問題学習会」は19日（木）となります。
3月26日より4月3日までタイ・ビルマ国境訪問を実施いたします。その間事務局
は休業とさせていただきます。
どうぞよろしくお願いいたします。
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■月例ビルマ問題学習会 （１９日、大阪市・谷七）
「ビルマ語講座入門編」
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○日時：３月１９日（木） １９：００～２０：３０
○講師：遠藤 茜さん
○内容：昨年好評でしたビルマ語講座の続編として、簡単な日常会話を教えてい
ただきます。また、ビルマの文化についてもお話しいただきます。
○会場：大阪ボランティアセンター（大阪社会福祉指導センター）
地下１階ボランティアルーム
地下鉄「谷町６丁目駅」より谷町７丁目交差点を右
地下鉄「谷町９丁目駅」より谷町７丁目交差点を左
＊向かいの大阪社会福祉会館ではありません。お間違えのないように。
会場周辺の地図は、次のアドレスからご覧いただけます。
http://www.osakafusyakyo.or.jp/sidoucenter/sidoucenter-access.htm
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◇■日本ビルマ救援センター（ＢＲＣＪ）事務局■◇
FAX:050-2008-0125
E-Mail:brcj@syd.odn.ne.jp
URL:http://www.burmainfo.org/brcj
--
Burmese Relief Center-Japan
burmainfo] ビルマ関係の国際会議とパブリック・フォーラム BRACIF2009（名古屋、3月13~15日）
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ビルマ市民フォーラム メールマガジン 2009/3/2
People's Forum on Burma
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ビルマ情報ネットワーク（BurmaInfo）からのメールを転送させていただき
ます。
（重複の際は何卒ご容赦ください。）
ＰＦＢ事務局
http://www1.jca.apc.org/pfb/
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「地球市民社会とビルマ／ミャンマーの平和的変革 -現状と課題-」
（名古屋、3月13~15日）のご案内をいただきましたので、転送いたします。
ビルマ情報ネットワーク （www.burmainfo.org）
秋元由紀
-----------------
みなさま
ビルマ人権デーの3月13日（金）より三日間、名古屋大学にてビルマ関係の国際会議
とパブリック・フォーラム BRACIF2009 が開催されます。
多くの方々の来場をお待ちします。
ビルマの現状と課題国際フォーラム実行委員会
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概要
1) 名称：
Global Civil Society and Peaceful Change in Burma/Myanmar: Review and
Challenges
地球市民社会とビルマ／ミャンマーの平和的変革 -現状と課題-
2) 日程： 平成21年3月13日（金）~15日（日）
3) 会場： 名古屋大学IB電子情報館2階大講義室
（地下鉄名城線名古屋大学駅 3番出口より徒歩1分）
4) 入場料： 無料
5) 定員： 250名（申込み不要・先着順）
6) 使用言語： 13日・14日-英語； 15日-日本語および英語（同時通訳有）
7) プログラムおよび発表予定者：後述
8) 主催：ビルマの現状と課題国際フォーラム実行委員会
ホームページ：http://www.bracif.org/
問合せ先： conference09@bracif.org
9) 後援：愛知県国際交流協会
＊ 会場１階にて、ビルマ写真展（宇田有三ほか）を同時開催いたします。
＊ 本国際会議・パブリックフォーラムは、上記助成と関係大学の協力のほか、開催
趣旨に賛同していただける方・団体よりの賛同金（協賛金）にて運営されます。
ホームページおよび会場にて賛同（協賛）のお願いをしておりますので、どうぞよろ
しくお願いいたします。
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開催趣旨
1988年に新たな軍事政府が権力の座につき、四半世紀におよぶビルマ式社会主義を転
換して海外資本に国を開いてから、ビルマ（ミャンマー）は数多くの解決困難な問題
に直面してきました。その深刻さは、多くの人命が無為に失われた昨年5月のサイク
ロン禍の惨状に端的に表れています。衛生状況の改善、環境の保護、人間の安全保
障、軍事政権と民主化勢力の和解、多民族の結束感の平和的な促進など、喫緊の課題
が山積しています。豊富な天然資源と耕作地を持ちながら世界で最も貧しい国の一つ
であるビルマ（ミャンマー）では、公正な経済開発も必要とされています。
本国際会議のねらいは、国内外の研究者、ジャーナリスト、宗教関係者、医療関係
者、市民組織などの報告を通して、ビルマ（ミャンマー）の危機的な社会・経済・政
治状況に関する認識を共有することにあります。
また、我々国際社会のメンバーが、政府レベルまた市民レベルで、ビルマ（ミャン
マー）国内の自然と人道の危機にどうしたら効果的に対応できるのか、またビルマ
（ミャンマー）のすべての人々が、安全で、豊かで、安定した生活を安心して送るこ
とができるためにどのような積極的な役割を果たすことできるのか、ともに考えてい
きたいと思います。
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プログラム概要
第１日（3/13） - 人間の安全保障
基調講演
第1セッション「公衆衛生、資源と環境、開発」
第2セッション「国家の安全保障、報道の自由、民主化の可能性」
第3セッション「居住、人間の安全保障、サンガの役割」
第２日（3/14） - 人権
第4セッション「人権、ガバナンス、諸機関」
第5セッション「国内避難民、難民、地域の対応」
第6セッション「独立、軍、民族関係」
特別セッション「アウンサンスーチー ―ノーベル平和賞受賞者―」
第3日（3/15） - 国際社会
基調講演
第7セッション「報道機関から見たビルマ/ミャンマー」
第8セッション「市民組織から見たビルマ/ミャンマー」
第9セッション「日本の役割、国際協力、地球市民社会」
パネルディスカッション「援助を越えて -現状の打破-」
（詳細は、今後ホームページに随時追加します）
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報告者等予定
ドナルド M. シーキンス（名桜大学）
林良嗣（名古屋大学）
ウォラウィット・スワンワニットキット（ジョンホプキンス大学）
バーティル・リントナー（アジア太平洋メディアサービス）
ウー・ウッタラ師（ササナ・ラムシ僧院）
佐藤祐造（愛知学院大学）
ノリユキ・ムラカミ（アメリカ国立衛生研究所）
ショーン・ターネル（マッコーリー大学）
タン L. トゥン（ヴォイス・オブ・アメリカ）
新海英行（愛知学院大学）
エイ・チャン・ナイン（ビルマ民主の声）
真継隆（愛知学院大学）
土井香苗（ヒューマン・ライツ・ウォッチ）
三宅隆史（シャンティ国際ボランティア会）
ベネディクト・ロジャーズ（クリスチャン・ソリダリティ・ワールドワイド）
マーク・ファーマナー（英国ビルマ・キャンペーン）
コエ・ボエラ（作家）
津守滋（桐蔭横浜大学）
ナンシー・スペンサー（バーマ・ボーダー・プロジェクト）
根本敬（上智大学）
山旗張星允（愛知学院大学）
ジェーン・ファーガソン（オーストラリア国立大学）
トレバー・ウィルソン（オーストラリア国立大学）
田辺寿夫（ジャーナリスト）
マーン・マーン（ビルマ緊急援助チームEAT-Burma）
西嶋洋一（愛知学院大学）
ムー・ライン・テイン（ビルマ・ニュース・インターナショナル）
伊奈久喜（日本経済新聞社）
村井吉敬（早稲田大学）
ショーバン K. サハ（ニューデリー計画建築大学）
中尾恵子（日本ビルマ救援センター）
ウー・ウィン（ウィナーズ・サークル・コンサルティング）
守屋友江（阪南大学）
ジョナサン・ワッツ（アジア仏教開発プロジェクト）
秋元由紀（ビルマ情報ネットワーク）
チット・コー・コー（米国ビルマキャンペーン；政治囚支援協会AAPP）
佐々木由香（三重県立看護大学）
ディビット M. ポッター（南山大学）
メーナシ・ドーテー（ニューデリー計画建築大学）
以上
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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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EU leaders warned to beware new 'Iron Curtain'
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/eu-leaders-warned-to-beware-new-iron-curtain-1635135.html
Fears that protectionism will divide Continent dominate Brussels summit
By Ben Russell, Home Affairs Correspondent
Monday, 2 March 2009
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been vocal about any EU protectionism
European leaders have insisted that trade protectionism would not create a new economic "iron curtain" across the continent as they declared that the free market would help pull the member states out of recession.
They rejected moves yesterday to restrict the single market, despite reports of a split between the union's largest economies and the poorer states of eastern and central Europe.
EU nations agreed that governments should make sure that bailouts for banks or car makers should not be protectionist or hurt the economies of other members in the 27-nation bloc. A French scheme for a €6bn (£5.3bn) package of state loans to its carmakers in return for guarantees that they will not shift production elsewhere has prompted fears that EU governments will rush to protect their own industries at the expenses of others.
Related articles
Roland Rudd: If Europe wants to be relevant, it needs an elected president
"People neither want protectionism nor do they want to be in a situation where we don't take the interest-rate and fiscal action that is necessary," said Gordon Brown after emergency talks in Brussels aimed at co-ordinating the response to the global economic crisis. "I found complete support for the measures that I am talking about that are central to the success of the G20." The G20 summit is being held in London in a month's time.
Mr Brown added: "Protectionism will mean less trade, less business and less jobs in the long run. When I talked about the importance of British workers, what I was talking about was how in an open, free-market, competitive economy we had to help workers get the skills that were necessary for the jobs of the future.
"I think what is happening in Europe is people are realising that if trade falls then businesses will collapse and then jobs will go. That is why the communiqué today is saying very clearly that protectionism is no answer to the current crisis."
The Czech Prime Minister, Mirek Topolanek, whose country holds the EU presidency until the end of June, said: "We agreed that as much as possible we should use the single market as a motor for growth." Earlier, the Hungarian Prime Minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, warned that the recession could cause new divisions in Europe, two decades after the collapse of Communist rule in the east. "We should not allow a new 'Iron Curtain' to ... divide Europe into two parts," he said. "At the beginning of the Nineties we reunified Europe. Now it is another challenge – whether we can unify Europe in terms of financing and its economy."
The European Commission has backed the French car industry scheme, noting that the loans do not contain any formal conditions on the location of activities, but has said it will monitor events closely. Jose Manuel Barroso, the Commission president, said the 10 former Soviet bloc members of the EU did not want a special bailout programme for their region. He insisted they "do not want a programme just for them". However, Mr Topolanek said that the EU would not leave any nation "in the lurch".
World leaders at the G20 summit will be faced with strong demands to use the downturn to invest in green manufacturing jobs, action to cut global warming and development in the Third World. A coalition of trade unions and international aid organisations will stage a major demonstration in London before the summit to press their case for an end to the profit-driven policies of the past 20 years.
Burma’s economy gasps under junta’s stranglehold
http://www.mizzima.com/edop/anslysis/1782-burmas-economy-gasps-under-juntas-stranglehold.html
by Mungpi
Sunday, 01 March 2009 22:10
New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Burmese military junta’s allegation of sanctions being the key to the country’s economic deterioration is merely an excuse and is totally baseless, an Australian economist said.
Sean Turnell, an Associate Professor at the Department of Economics in Australia’s Macquarie University said sanctions do not hinder Burma’s military rulers from exploring ways to improve the economy of the country.
Turnell said, imposing or lifting sanctions does not make much difference economically to the already impoverished Southeast Asian nation, because the economy of Burma has long been sliding downhill before sanctions were imposed. It continues to slide under the military rulers, who are not competent in managing the economy.
Burma’s military rulers have time and again blamed the country’s economic deterioration squarely on sanctions imposed on the country by the west. Burma’s Prime Minister Thein Sein told the visiting UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari that political stability in the country would require the lifting of sanctions.
Thein Sein told Gambari, during his latest visit to the country in early February, that economic sanctions affected human rights and caused unemployment, tainted the economy, social affairs, education, health and the living standard of the people.
But Thein Sein’s argument seems to be baseless, according to Turnell, who in an email interview to Mizzima, said, “The critical economic issue in Burma, is government policy and economic management, not sanctions. If sanctions were lifted but no improvements were made to these, Burma would not be much better off.”
According to Turnell, despite the economic sanctions imposed by the US and EU, the generals, if they were smart, could still implement several economic reforms beginning with reducing military expenditure, which according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, account for over 40 percent of the national budget.
Turnell also said the generals could float the currency to end the dual exchange rate, liberalise credit markets by eliminating interest controls, and providing legal certainty to micro financing, which will help in uplifting people from poverty.
Burma being an agro-based economy could recapitalise the Agricultural Development Bank, and remove any remaining procurement and other restrictive policies on agriculture, he added.
He further said allowing the Central Bank to have an independent policy would strengthen financial institutes. The junta should also stop arbitrary property seizures, which is common in rural areas of the country.
But he said, currently the junta is more or less dependent on the sale of its natural resources including natural gas, oil, timber, and precious stones and are not exploring other ways of economic reformation.
Grave poverty
The international community including the United Nations and even many Burma watchers agree that Burmese people, after decades of economic stagnation and impact of natural disasters such as Cyclone Nargis, are faced with severe poverty causing humanitarian crisis in the country.
The situation has led several Burma watchers to think that sanctions on the country are not in the best interest of the people.
While the Burmese military junta’s charge that sanctions are the root cause of economic stagnation in the country is baseless, it also proves the general’s admitting that the country is facing severe economic crisis.
So, the question is, even when the generals know that the country’s economy is deteriorating further, why are they reluctant or what are the general’s concerns in implementing economic reforms?
Reluctance for reform
According to a Burmese economist, Prof. Khin Muang Kyi, who now resides in Singapore, Burma’s military generals fear that by opening up the economy they might lose control.
Every economy is related to politics of the country, and in implementing economic reforms, at times, requires giving up control over certain sectors of the economy, which the military generals are loath to do, Khin Maung Kyi said.
Khin Maung Kyi, a retired lecturer of the National University of Singapore, said the general’s would rather sacrifice the peoples’ desire of economic development than lose their stranglehold on political power.
“They [the generals] want to control everything, and would not give a chance to experts because they fear losing even one sector of the economy, as they feel that this opening might threaten their power,” he said.
“Economic reforms in Burma, therefore, will not be possible unless there is a political solution first,” Khin Maung Kyi said. “The people will continue suffering.”
According to Turnell, who has long had an eye on Burma’s economy, the Burmese generals while they are incapable of managing the economy have not accepted suggestions by experts in the past and “there is absolutely nothing to suggest they will in the future.
BURMA-A Test Case For Obama
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/21766
Burmese authorities have begun to free prisoners from Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison under a government amnesty for 6,313 inmates nationwide. No one is certain how many of the 2,000-plus political prisoners would be released but it is clear that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her deputy Tin Oo, both of whom have been under house arrest since mid-2003, have been excluded from the amnesty.
Incidentally, Tin Oo’s prison term was extended by a year on the eve of the arrival of UN Rapporteur on Human Rights Tomas Ojea Quintana on 14 Feb. A slap in the face to the UN would be an understatement.
The development came a day after UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari had just briefed the UN Security Council on his recent trip to Burma. While the release of the political prisoners should be welcomed, one should not lose sight of the fact that things aren’t always what they seem in trouble plagued Burma.
Things move at snail’s pace and whatever development may have come out of the country must be received with a great deal of caution. Like his last two trips to the military-run country, Gambari didn’t have much to say or offer to the UN Security Council. In fact, he was harshly criticised. France’s UN Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert called Gambari’s report “very, very thin and disappointing”.
"For too long, regional countries and Asean members try, at times half-heartedly, to bring about changes in Burma."
He said the Security Council must not legitimise elections in Burma, scheduled for 2010, unless they are democratic and ensure that the opposition can fully participate.
It wasn’t that difficult to figure out because the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had sent him there empty-handed.
Before Ban there was Kofi Anan and his point man on Burma, Razali Ismail. Like the current bunch, Razali couldn’t make headway with the stubborn Burmese generals.
And yet, these men still keep coming and yet the world continues to use the same benchmark to determine if these visits are successful or not. Photo ops with Suu Kyi or a meeting with junta supremo General Than Shwe should not be the benchmarks for success.
Catch words like ‘national reconciliation’ and ‘democratisation’ make nice sound bytes for the international audience and community, but for the Burmese junta, they want to know what any of these issues mean for them in real terms.
To be fair to the UN, the world body has neither carrot nor stick to offer the generals. But the UN can generate ideas and in situations like this, ideas count a great deal.
For too long, the UN, and much of the international community, has been dealing with Burma without a clear objective and strategy. We have to move beyond just telling the junta what we don’t like.
For too long, regional countries and Asean members try, at times half-heartedly, to bring about changes in Burma. We use word like ‘Road Map’ and ‘Constructive Engagement’, borrowing them from the Middle East and South Africa, respectively, without realising that for that in these cases, such words actually mean something.
Burma’s general election is scheduled for next year and time could very well be running out for Asean and the world community if something is not done seriously.
US President Barack Obama, in his inaugural address made the world’s tyrants a proposition.
“We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist,” Obama said.
Incidentally, it is becoming clear that Burma could be the first test case for this approach. Since the late 1990s, the US has maintained economic sanctions against Burma. But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during her recent visit to Indonesia, announced a review of US policy towards Burma. She did not rule out easing sanctions or other forms of diplomatic engagement.
“Clearly, the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn’t influenced the Burmese junta,” Clinton said, adding that the policy of Burma’s neighbours of “reaching out and trying to engage them” has not produced desired results either.
The Bush Administration won a great deal of admiration for its tough position on Burma. But in real terms it didn’t do much in loosening the junta’s tight grip on its people or improving their livelihoods.
It’s Obama’s turn now. And by all means, Washington should conduct a policy review. But the US president must stick to what he said in his inaugural address: Relax your grip on your people and we just might extend a hand to you. (The Nation/ AsiaNews)
( The opinions expressed by the writer do not necessarily reflect those of MySinchew ) MySinchew 2009.03.01
ASEAN presses Myanmar on democracy plan
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20090301-191721/ASEAN-presses-Myanmar-on-democracy-plan
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 14:08:00 03/01/2009
Filed Under: Foreign affairs & international relations, Politics, Human Rights
HUA HIN -- Southeast Asian leaders urged Myanmar's junta to follow its so-called roadmap to democracy during an "open" discussion with the country's prime minister, Thailand's premier said Sunday.
The annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit was marred on Saturday when Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein blocked a rights activist from attending a meeting with the bloc's leaders.
Myanmar has long been a headache for ASEAN, which faces persistent criticism that it has failed to use its influence to persuade the military-ruled nation to introduce reform and free political prisoners.
"We had an open discussion on Myanmar where the prime minister of Myanmar briefed us on developments," Thai Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, who holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN, told a press conference.
"ASEAN leaders encouraged him to continue cooperation with the United Nations and to make sure that the roadmap continues according to plan," Abhisit said.
The ruling junta's roadmap calls for elections in 2010 but critics have dismissed the polls as a sham because Myanmar's Nobel Prize-winning opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention.
Abhisit said ASEAN leaders had asked Thein Sein to ensure that the roadmap "would be as inclusive as possible, which of course includes the release of political detainees and participation of political parties in elections."
ASEAN is to set up a new human rights body later this year under its new charter but rights groups say that it will be largely powerless to tackle violators such as Myanmar.
Officials revealed early details on the proposed body, which showed that it would have no investigative or punitive powers and would abide by ASEAN's controversial policy of non-intervention in domestic matters.
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962 and has refused to recognise the results of elections in 1990 that Aung San Suu Kyi's party won by a landslide.
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