News & Articles on Burma
Wednesday, 29, December, 2010
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Aung San Suu Kyi: Burma's First Lady of Freedom
‘Hope is the Desire to Try’
Mon party holds pre-parliament meeting
Junta Expands Military
South Korea makes rare call on Burma
UN calls Thai not to forcibly return Myanmar nationals
Thailand forces 166 back to Burma
Singapore, Japan make more proposals to study Myanmar earthquake belt
Burma's new fake civilian government will not allow liberty
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Aung San Suu Kyi: Burma's First Lady of Freedom
By Hannah Beech / Rangoon Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2039939,00.html#ixzz19VCvz8ZK
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2039939,00.html#ixzz19VClmXKv
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‘Hope is the Desire to Try’
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DECEMBER, 2010 - VOL.18, NO.12
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The Irrawaddy spoke to Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi by telephone in the days after she was released from house arrest.
She talked about the military generals she has met over the years and about Gandhi, mobile phones, the new parliament and the changes she has seen in Rangoon since she last walked free
Question: You are now free after seven years of house arrest. Over the past few days, you’ve had a chance to speak to the people of Burma and see the outside world. What do you think has changed?
Answer: The first thing I noticed was that there were many more young people in the crowd that came to welcome me. Many of them were using cell phones. They were taking photographs with their phones, which I had never seen before. There was no such thing 10 years ago, but they have become quite widespread these days. I think there are more communication lines than before, which is important. I don’t see many significant changes in the city. Perhaps that’s because I haven’t been to many parts of the city, since I am not the kind of person who is always on the street.
Q: Are the Burmese people poorer now than before?
A: They looked poor, but those who came to greet me and give their support were very happy and smiling. I am very thankful to them. I could really feel their warmth.
Q: Some observers say your release is just a matter of transferring you from a smaller prison to a bigger one. Do you feel that way?
A: I don’t see it that way. I always consider myself free because my mind is free. With my own ideology and beliefs, I am walking on the path that I have chosen. I have never felt that I wasn’t free. Even when I was officially released, I felt the same. Of course, I now have much more work to do. I am now able to see and feel the changes in person. But, in fact, my inner mind remains the same.
Q: Many believe your release one week after the election was just an attempt by the military regime to divert people’s attention from the polls. What do you think about that?
A: I can’t say exactly. It’s possible. Since the election is over now, people don’t need to focus on it anymore. That’s why they are paying more attention to me. [Laughs]
Q: Soon after your release, you said you wanted to meet with the leaders of the military regime to help bring about national reconciliation in Burma. However, the junta leaders don’t seem to want to talk to you. Since you first entered Burmese politics in 1988, the regime has repeatedly stated that it has never wanted your presence. It has been 22 years now. Why do you think they still don’t want to speak with you, even though you have offered dialogue with them on numerous occasions?
A: I think we have a different understanding of the main purpose of dialogue and its real meaning and essence. In my opinion, dialogue is not a debate to make one side lose and the other win. One side says what it wants, and so does the other. If there are disagreements, a negotiation should be carried out. Dialogue must be a win-win situation for both parties. I have said this to them before, but they don’t seem to understand it. I am not sure if they don’t understand it or if they don’t believe it. Perhaps it’s because in the military, there is no such thing as a negotiated settlement. This is something I really need to give a lot of thought to.
Q: You met with senior leaders of the military, including Snr-Gen Than Shwe and Gen Khin Nyunt, in 1994, 1995 and around 2000. Were your conversations with them fruitful?
A: Yes, we met, but I can’t say that we had a true dialogue. I can say that real discussions took place when I met with Col. Tin Hlaing, Maj-Gen Kyaw Win and Brig-Gen Than Htun after the Depayin incident. However, what we discussed has never actually been implemented.
Q: They are no longer in office. Neither is Gen Khin Nyunt. Some are serving lengthy prison terms. What do think about them? Did you think that they might have been the ones who might be able to bridge the gap between you and the military? Do you plan to see them again?
A: I think they did the best they could. Whenever I spoke with them, I always noticed that they raised good points. That’s why I never thought that I was always right. I always felt friendly toward them. Perhaps they felt the same about me.
Q: I heard they became very respectful toward you. How did you feel about that?
A: They treated me well. Whenever I meet with officers responsible for my security these days, they treat me well, too. I don’t know what they are thinking in their minds, but from what I can tell, they have treated me well and I am thankful to them. I also want to be friends with them. As I told the people in front of my party’s office on Sunday, I want the military leaders to treat everybody the way they treat me.
Q: Do you think that in the future you will have a chance to go to Naypyidaw and meet Snr-Gen Than Shwe?
A: I don’t think that way. I think of how I am going to make it happen. I am not sure if you have heard that Gandhi was very fond of a Christian hymn, even though he was a follower of Hinduism. The name of the song is ‘Lead, Kindly Light.’ It says: ‘I do not ask to see the distant scene; one step enough for me.’ Gandhi believed that, and so do I. I will do my best to walk, step by step. If I am on the right track, I will reach the right place. I don’t want to try to imagine something very distant. For me, hope is the desire to try. I believe I can only hope for something if I have tried to achieve it. I will continue to make an effort with this belief in mind.
Q: There has been speculation, within the country and outside, including even in the UN, that there is a prospect of substantial dialogue between you and senior military leaders. What do you think about this?
A: It’s not wrong to think that might be possible. I have sometimes thought about what I might say if I had a chance to meet with them. Not often, though. But it’s something I must be prepared for, because it wouldn’t look good if I didn’t know what to say if I was invited to take part in a dialogue. So I don’t mind if people say that this is something that might happen. But sometimes I wanted to laugh a bit at some of the speculation I heard, some of which was quite funny.
Q: So, do you know what you will say to Snr-Gen Than Shwe if you meet him again?
A: It depends on the situation. Whatever I say will depend on the circumstances and the reason for our meeting.
Q: Some have expressed the view that the military cannot be excluded from Burmese politics. The new Constitution guarantees the military a dominant role in future politics. What do you think about the military and its political role?
A: No one should be excluded from politics, since it is related to everyone. However, it is important to have the correct relationship to politics.
Q: We have heard that there are some in the military who support you and the democracy movement. What is your message to army officers and their families and others in the military who want to see change?
A: If they want change, they have to make it happen. As I said earlier, I don’t believe in just imagining how things might be better. If we hope for something, we must strive to achieve it.
Q: The election was neither free nor fair. The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) appears to have won, although the results have not yet been announced. It will soon form a new government. Some in the international community think that this will herald a new political landscape in Burma. How will you face this situation?
A: I don’t know what people mean when they talk about a new political landscape. Are they referring to the new parliament? In any case, there are always some who participate in politics inside parliament, and others who are involved in politics outside parliament. We will be in the latter category. Since we have some experience with how they [the USDP] engage in political activities, we will use various means to carry out our political activities outside the parliament.
Q: Before the election was held, some members of the international community, particularly in Europe, said that taking part in it was the only option for the opposition. Now that it is over, however, those who backed the election have been embarrassed by the way it was carried out by the regime. It didn’t happen as they expected. What would you like to say to these people?
A: Perhaps this was a good lesson for them. [Laughs]
Q: The international community has welcomed your release. The US government has said it will continue its existing policy on Burma, combining sanctions and engagement. What kind of pressure do you think the international community should exercise on the Burmese regime, and what kind of relationship should it have with the junta? What would you like to say to China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)?
A: I want Asean and China to have close relations with us. I want them to know that we are not people they can’t deal with. I think the fact that sanctions remain in effect is related to what you said earlierthe new political landscape. I think they are waiting to see if this really is a new landscape or not.
Q: The exiled Burmese community is becoming larger and larger. Hundreds of thousands of Burmese have left their country illegally, most of them from the younger generation. You have often spoken about the importance of education and helping the young to realize their potential. What are your plans for young people living inside and outside the country? What is your message to them?
A: The reason I want to have contact with young people living outside Burma is to promote the importance of education. Theyespecially those living in Western countrieshave many more educational opportunities than young people living in Burma. That’s why I want them to have contact with each other. I don’t want young people living overseas to forget those remaining inside. I don’t think they will forget. Many of them have been involved in blogging and other Internet-related activities, so I don’t think they have forgotten the situation inside their country. I think they will believe in their strength and continue to stand for their people.
Q: When you were freed in the past, Burma’s ethnic communities were largely silent. This time, however, they have given you their strong support. You are also in favor of a second Panglong Conference. How do you feel about the response to your release by the ethnic nationalities?
A: I am very happy, not because of their support for me, but because of the way they are becoming more united. This will lead to greater unity in the future.
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20387
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Mon party holds pre-parliament meeting
By HTET AUNG KYAW
Published: 29 December 2010
All Mon Region Democracy Party which won 16 parliamentary seats in the November 7 elections held a two-day meeting in Mon capital Moulmein ending yesterday, to hold discussions on the constitution and the new parliaments to be convened by the end of January.
“We held discussions with two legal consultants,” said party chairman Nai Ngwe Thein . “There are many things to discuss [in the parliament] – everything including the economy, politics and social issues although we are not sure whether [they] will be accepted or not, but we do hope so”.
“Our country has been without a parliament for many years and we hope that political prisoners will be released around the opening of the parliament. We are also likely to make a demand for that.”
Although it is claimed that the parliament will be convened by the end of January, no preparation for such a procedure has been seen in Mon State, Nai Ngwe Thein added.
Meanwhile, Union Democracy Party that won no seat in the elections has released a statement on December 27, calling for an all-inclusive dialogue, end of sanctions on Burma and release of political prisoners.
“Sanctions on Burma are not helping democratic transformation, national reconciliation and social economic developments in the country and that they should be revoked,” cites the statement.
“We also believe the release of political prisoners, lack of which has been hindering the all-inclusiveness in the national reconciliation, should be granted.”
“We also believe Burma will be swiftly on the path of peace and development if Senior General Than Shwe and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi meet and negotiate.”
The party’s chairman Thein Tin Aung said it would make it obvious that Than Shwe doesn’t want to see national reconciliation in Burma if he refuses to meet with Suu Kyi.
http://www.dvb.no/news/mon-party-holds-pre-parliament-meeting/13553
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Junta Expands Military
By WAI MOE Wednesday, December 29, 2010
The Burmese military junta has reportedly ordered the formation of new regional military commands (RMC) as part of part of sustained military expansion, bringing to 15 the number of RMCs since the last one was established in 2005.
Burmese military sources said the plans call for at least two new RMCs to be formed in eastern and northwest Burma to maintain security in strategic areas near the borders with Thailand and India.
Despite a lack of official confirmation about the new regional military commands, military sources said that one new RMC is in the Laikaw area, Kareni State, which is in a strategic area on a shorter journey from the eastern border to the new capital at Naypyidaw.
A second new RMC is reportedly to be located in Tanaing in Kachin State near ethnic areas on the Indo-Burmese border.
“The plan is to upgrade existing regional operations commands (ROC) to regional military commands in important areas,” a source said, adding that the new commands created new commander posts for younger generals.
Brig-Gen Mya Tun Oo, commander of the Defense Services Academy, and Brig-Gen Ko Ko Naing, commander of the Defense Services Medical Academy, are said to have been appointed as the commanders of newly formed RMCs.
Both Mya Tun Oo and Ko Ko Naing were promoted from the rank of colonel to brigadier general and appointed heads of two military elite schools in the Aug. 27 military reshuffle, which was Burma’s biggest in recent years. Before the reshuffle, Mya Tun Oo was commander of Light Infantry Division 101 while Ko Ko Naing was a tactical general staff officer in Military Operations Command 8.
Mya Tun Oo’s name was mentioned twice in state media in December when junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe attended graduation ceremonies at the Defense Services Academy and the Defense Service Technological Academy on Dec. 10 and Dec. 17 in Maymyo, which the junta now calls Pyin U Lwin.
Along with other military hierarchy, Ko Ko Naing appeared in the state media recently when Than Shwe attended the graduation ceremony at the Defense Services Medical Academy in Rangoon on Friday.
Thanks to the growing military budget, the junta has greatly expanded the military since the 1988 military coup. According to experts of Burma's military, particularly Maung Aung Myoe, the Burmese army has grown from 168 infantry battalions in 1988 to 504 in 2007.
In 1990, a new RMC called the Northwest Regional Military Command was formed in Monywa, Sagaing Division, while the former Northwest Regional Command in Mandalay was renamed Central Command and the Central Command in Taungoo was renamed the Southern Command.
In 1996, another two RMCs were formed in Myeik in southern Burma and Kengtung in Shan State and called the Coastal Command and the Triangle Command. The junta also formed a new regional command at the new capital called the Naypyidaw Command in December 2005.
The junta also formed two new light infantry divisions (LID)s after 1988. LID 11 was formed in December 1988 and LID 101 in 1991.
The junta also established other significant military command mechanisms after 1988, such as six Regional Operations Commands (ROC) and 20 Military Operations Commands (MOC), which have the same strength as LIDs. Like the LIDs, an MOC commands 10 battalions, but an ROC commands six battalions. http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=20435
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South Korea makes rare call on Burma
Ian Mackinnon, Rangoon
December 30, 2010
SOUTH Korea has struck a deal with Burma to develop its natural resources in the latest attempt by industrialised nations to secure new sources of rare-earth minerals to circumvent the near-monopoly exercised by China.
Rare-earth metals are vital components of many technological products, including smartphones and hybrid cars. Most countries have had supplies squeezed since China, which produces 97 per cent, restricted exports this year.
China said yesterday that exports would be cut by a further 11 per cent in the first few months of next year.
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That South Korea should be doing business with a pariah state such as Burma is a measure of the panic that the export restrictions have created among big producers of electronic goods. In September, Beijing halted supplies to Japan, which consumes 60 per cent of China's rare-earth exports, after a diplomatic spat over the arrest of a fishing boat captain in disputed Japanese waters.
Concern that stockpiles of rare-earth minerals could run out by March prompted Tokyo to explore a deal with Vietnam to mine the metals.
Beijing denied any official ban on exports to Japan, but figures show it cut export quotas by 72 per cent in the second half of the year, leading to a sharp jump in prices.
Rising prices have also spurred the US to begin reopening rare-earth mines. A California mine, closed in 2002 because of environmental concerns and low prices, has recently reopened, though production will not reach capacity for two years.
Chen Jiazuo, a metals research analyst, said the latest cuts in exports were in line with Chinese government efforts to protect the environment and resources.
The latest move to curb exports may further exacerbate tensions with the US, which last week said it might file a complaint at the World Trade Organisation over restraints on supplies of the minerals.
Rare-earth minerals are 17 chemically similar elements including neodymium, cerium and lanthanum. The price of neodymium oxide, used in magnets in BlackBerrys, has risen more than fourfold to $US88.50 a kilogram from $US19.12 last year. http://www.watoday.com.au/business/south-korea-makes-rare-call-on-burma-20101229-19a6g.html
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UN calls Thai not to forcibly return Myanmar nationals
New York, Dec 29 : The United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday urged Thailand not to forcibly return a group of some 166 Myanmar nationals who fled their country amid renewed fighting and are currently seeking temporary protection from the Royal Government.
On Dec 25, the Thai authorities asked the group from Myanmar to return to their villages from the Wa Lay temporary site, located at the Pob Phra District in Tak Province, according to a news release issued by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The group, which includes 50 women and over 70 children, told UNHCR that they were not ready to return because of security concerns. Many of them had already fled their villages more than once since early Nov after fighting erupted.
UNHCR urged the Thai Government to adhere to the internationally accepted principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returns to a situation of danger.
"While strongly appreciating Thailand's continued policy to allow access to its territory for Myanmar nationals when fighting occurs, UNHCR appeals to the Royal Thai Government that returns should take place on a strictly voluntary basis, and only when conditions are in place to return in safety and dignity," the Geneva-based agency stated.
"While the majority of Myanmar nationals currently seeking temporary protection in Thailand express their wish to return their villages of origin when conditions permit, they should be allowed to make a free and fully informed decision when to do so," it added.
UNHCR said it has already voiced its concern to the Thai authorities over the "hasty manner" in which some returns took place, where some persons returned home only to have to flee again when fighting resumed shortly afterwards.
In Nov UNHCR assisted over 15,000 refugees who fled into northern Thailand after fighting broke out between ethnic Karen rebels and government troops in the Myawaddy area of Myanmar.
--IBNS http://www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-114314.html
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Thailand forces 166 back to Burma
Dec 29 2010 08:22
Thailand forced 166 men, women and children back into Burma on Saturday even though they were fleeing fighting in their villages, prompting a reprimand from the United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday.
Fifty women, 70 children and 46 men at Wa Lay site in Tak Province, were ordered to leave, the UNHCR said in a statement.
The agency said that while it appreciated Thailand's policy of allowing in Burma nationals when fighting occurs, they should only be returned home voluntarily and safely.
"They were fleeing clashes between the government and ethnic rebels in south-east Myanmar. The people fleeing were Karen," UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told Reuters in Geneva.
Continuing exodus
No one at the Thai diplomatic mission to the UN in Geneva was immediately available to comment.
The ruling Burma has long been accused of persecuting the country's ethnic minorities, sparking a continuing exodus. About 150 000 refugees live in official camps along the Thai-Burma border, according to the agency.
At least 3 000 have entered Thailand since June 2009 as fighting intensifies in the south-eastern border area, and the UNHCR said it had expressed its concern already over the last few weeks to the Thai government over the hasty manner in which some refugees were returned.
Some had fled their homes again when fighting resumed shortly after their return, it said.
While Thailand has been a major country of asylum for four decades, it has not ratified the 1951 UN refugee convention. - Reuters http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-12-29-thailand-forces-166-back-to-burma
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Singapore, Japan make more proposals to study Myanmar earthquake belt
13:23, December 29, 2010
Singapore and Japan have made more proposals to study Myanmar's earthquake belt in next year to help the country deal with disaster mitigation problem, the Myanmar Newsweek reported Wednesday.
Besides the professors from the Nanyang University of Singapore and the Tokyo University from Japan, those from Chinese Taipei will also come to Myanmar for the move, the Myanmar Earthquake Committee (MEC) was quoted as saying.
Kyaukphyu and Manaung areas in Myanmar's western Rakhine state will be covered by their studies, the report added.
In March this year, experts from Singapore had proposed to jointly conduct earthquake monitoring with Myanmar in such areas in Rakhine coastal region as Yanbye and Manaung islands, assumed as having the possibility of earthquake occurrence, MEC said, adding that the areas fall in the earthquake zones important for observation according to the past record.
The MEC and Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) have been cooperating in earthquake monitoring since early this year by collecting data from southern sections of the Sagaing fault which is a major sources of earthquakes in southern Myanmar.
Under the project, four continuous Global Positioning System ( GPS) stations are being installed at Taikgyi in Yangon division, Inkalay and Wal in Bago division and Shan Eik Taung in Mon State lying on the country's main live fault diagonally.
During the year, Myanmar set up a GPS in four cities to monitor earthquake with the help of the EOS. The four cities are known as Kyaikto, Wal, Bago and Taikgyi located on the country's main live fault diagonally.
In November last year, Japanese paleoseismologist Dr Hiroyuki Tsutsumi and a team of MEC researchers had dug a trench in Kyauktaga, Bago division.
Representing its country's overseas aid agency, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has also been helping Myanmar establish an early earthquake warning system by setting up seismographic network and record center in the country, according to an earlier report of Myanmar state media.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) was also committed to help Myanmar develop an early warning system for Tsunami and other natural disasters by setting up two seismograph stations and two sea-level measurement stations, according to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology Department.
Moreover, Myanmar is also cooperating with the rest of the world in taking part in the global earthquake model (GEM) foundation program. The project of collecting facts worldwide related with earthquake to produce map was set to finish in 2013.
Representatives of Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines attended the related workshop held in Singapore which was also joined by Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
After the project was finished, every nation can locate the place hit by earthquake, project officials said.
During 2010, three earthquakes measuring 5.4, 6.4 and 5.1 on the Richter scale struck Myanmar's Monywa and in the Andaman Sea off Myanmar western coast in March and April respectively.
Source: Xinhua http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7245608.html
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Burma's new fake civilian government will not allow liberty
By Zin Linn
opednews.com
Burma has to celebrate its 63rd anniversary of independence on 4th January, 2011. Burma gained its independence from Britain on 4 January, 1948. But the country tried out with democracy until 1962, when the military seized power to which it has since clung.
The current military junta has come out in 1988 after violently suppressing mass pro-democracy protests. It held a general election in 1990, but refused to recognize the results after a landslide victory by the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who has just released from house-arrest recently. She was under detention for more than a decade and a half and freed on 13 November, 2010.
Some ethnic Shan leaders believe that the then Shan's leadership decision to depart the British colonialism on 7th February 1947 had paved the way to Burma's Independence sunshine on 4 January 1948. The decision was taken by the Shan States Council, comprising the ruling princes and people's representatives of Shan States, as Shan State was known then, at the Panglong Conference from 3 to 12 February 1947.
So, up to this day, Shan community believe they deserve autonomy as a free people. However, Burmese military regime has no attitude to allowing equal status to the ethnic nationalities of Burma including the Shans. The major disagreement between junta and the opposition NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi is no other than to give equal category to all ethnic groups.
Latest political scenario is still blurred although a multi-party general election on 7 November has been done. In accordance with the figures pronounced by Union Election Commission (UEC), a total of 1,148 candidates representing political parties and 6 independent candidates were elected as parliamentary representatives at three levels.
The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by Prime Minister Thein Sein, won the majority of 882 parliamentary seats or 76.43 percent out of the total1, 154 seats. The USDP is followed by the National Unity Party (NUP) with 64 seats, Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) with 57 seats, Rakhine Nationalities Development Party with 35 seats, National Democratic Force (NDF) and the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP) each with 16 at three levels of parliament.
Meanwhile, the SNDP Chairman Sai Aik Paung told a party conference in Taunggyi in mid-December that the party has achieved extraordinary unity among ethnic Shan nationals. The December 13-15 conference set up about 180 members, including 57 winning candidates from the November 7 election, as said by the Myanmar Times December 20 - 26, 2010 Issue.
The Shan Nationalities Democratic Party won 57 of the 156 seats and the third-largest number of candidates in national and regional legislatures, after the USDP.
Simultaneously, the three ceasefire armed groups have challenged Burma Army that pressured them to transform into Border Guard Forces (BGFs). For that reason, the groups have come around declining BGF plan in order to avoid Burmese junta's oppressive strategies. The UWSA, the NDAA, and the Shan State Army-North are along with the other armed ethnic groups which are defying the military regime's demands on them to join its Border Guard Force (BGF). Actually, the junta's BGF program intended to win over the ceasefire groups through laying down their arms.
Coincidentally, the United Wa State Army (UWSA)'s political wing United Wa State Party (UWSP) has drawn another contradict proposal which includes a point to demand for a state with the Right of Self Determination from the new government, quoting UWSP sources Shan Herald Agency for News said.
The UWSP's new proposal which is to be presented to the new parliamentary government expected to be held early 2011. In the proposal, UWSP says that their armed force will remain in the Wa State to defend their independence. Although they will not secede from the Union, they will steadfastly demand for a state with the Right of Self Determination from the upcoming government, upholding a policy of non-alignment and neutrality.
The said proposal was drawn at the UWSP's 5th annual district level party congress which is being held in Mongmai, 170 km north of its main base Panghsang from 20 to 29 December. According to a Wa officer, after the December Congress, the UWSP leading party committee will send its delegation to talk with the new government on the basis of 'Opposition to War' and 'Work for Peace and Development' principle.
Subsequently, General meeting of the 3rd Central Standing Committee (CSC) of the 14th KNU Congress was fruitfully held from December 14 to 19, 2010, according to the Karen National Union (Supreme Headquarters) source. KNU adopted the four guiding principles delineated by the late heroic leader Saw Ba U Gyi. The four principles are "Surrender is out of the question", "We shall retain our arms", "Recognition of Karen State must be complete" and "We shall decide our own political destiny."
KNU says in its statement dated 23 December 2010: "As the parliament and government that would come into being according to the SPDC Road Map were for realization of the 2008 Constitution, the meeting adopted the view that instead of resolving the problems faced by Burma, it would create more insecurity and conflicts, especially in the political and military fields."
According to SPDC's 2008 constitution, the incoming legislative body will convene its first session 90 days after the election to elect a president and two vice presidents and to form a new government.
However, the first issue the new government has to head on be the question of self-determination. The ethnic parties not only representing in parliament but also from outside of the legislative body have the same demand in favor of autonomy.
As the self-styled new civilian government is the rebirth of the same military itself, the ethnic autonomy seems to be out of question. Correspondingly, national reconciliation proposal by Burma's Nobel laureate has also to be faced the same destiny. Thus, people of Burma have to continue struggle for national reconciliation plus self-determination.
Noticeably, Burma's military dictators has held the recent polls, not to restore freedom, justice and equality but to resume the dictatorial power.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Burma-s-new-fake-civilian-by-Zin-Linn-101229-87.html
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Thursday, December 30, 2010
News & Articles on Burma-Wednesday, 29, December, 2010
BURMA NEWS HEAD LINES-29-12-2010
Burma`s First Lady of Freedom
UN refugee agency calls on Thailand not to forcibly return Myanmar nationals
Singapore, Japan make more proposals to study Myanmar earthquake belt
Orion resident adopts 3 orphanages in Myanmar WITH VIDEO
Burmese poachers apprehended from dormant volcano
Canada PM Harper invites Aung San Suu Kyi for visit
Heir to Burmese kingdom
Burma boosted by rare metals boom
Farmers, fishermen still reeling from October cyclone
Thailand forces 166 back to Myanmar, UNHCR chides
Fishing, farming declines in Myanmar
Kachin court to give verdict in Yuzana land-grab case
UNHCR concerned over forced return of Myanmar displaced
Young activists form network after seminar with Suu Kyi
Wa Leaders Seek to Continue Talks with Naypyidaw
Where My Loyalties Lie
BGF Issue Remains Major Challenge in 2011
Competition Between Pay-TV Companies Heats Up
Than Shwe`s son-in-law named Ambassador to China - Wai Moe
Refugees hide after forced repatriation - Lawi Weng
India, Myanmar to sign legal aid agreement
Korea cements pact with Myanmar
Indonesia, Suu Kyi join efforts to push for democratic Myanmar - Mustaqim Adamrah
IAEA asks to inspect alleged Myanmar nuclear sites
Ten things we can do about Burma - Amartya Sen
Who is 2010 leader of the year - Susan Peters
Panglong II requires further touches, military on board
What is requirement for national reconsolidation in Myanmar - Kyaw Myint Naing
Giri victims have just 45pc of basic needs, UN aid office in Rangoon says
Red Link to up WiFi access points - Nay Zaw Tun
Myanmar Press Award Ceremony Postponed
Burmese Arrested with Fake Currency
Aid Dependence May Hurt Successes in HIV, AIDS
Suu Kyi Listens to Burma's Youth
Wa Leaders Seek to Continue Talks with Naypyidaw
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
BURMESE NEWS -28-12-2010-HEADINGS
Canada invites its honorary citizen Suu Kyi
Harper invites Burmese pro-democracy leader to Canada
Biting into Burmese Food in D.C.
Journalists to receive honours for excellence
Myanmar man dies after motorcycle crashes into flower pots
Panglong II requires further touches, military on board
Could it Change Burma
Suu Kyi Pays Tribute to Her Mother
Refugees Hide After Forced Repatriation
KNPP Troops Ambush Convoy Carrying Dam Technicians
"Prime Minister KAN's TV" E-mail Service -(December 28, 2010)
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"Prime Minister KAN's TV" E-mail Service
(December 28, 2010)
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- Update Information
"No. 9 [Postwar] Prime Minister Kan in Ioto. An Eight-minute
Documentary of the Task Force Team for Recovering the Remains of
the War Dead"
http://nettv.gov-online.go.jp/eng/prg/prg2021.html
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Prime Minister KAN's TV
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The following are the messages contained in the videos:
"No. 9 [Postwar] Prime Minister Kan in Ioto. An Eight-minute
Documentary of the Task Force Team for Recovering the Remains of
the War Dead"
Narration: On Tuesday, December 14, Prime Minister Kan and a non-
partisan group of Diet members headed for Ioto, a remote Pacific
island 1,250 kilometers south of Tokyo. With all the residents
having evacuated the island during World War II, no one but a unit
of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces is living here today. As many
as 21,900 Japanese soldiers lost their lives on this small island,
which became a fierce battlefield during the war.
Prime Minister: I've been very much concerned about Ioto since my
first visit to the island four years ago. That is why I organized
a team, the first task force team in my Cabinet, for recovering and
collecting the remains of the war dead there.
Narration: Mr. Shoichiro Nagasawa, a bereaved family member, has
long been trying to recover the remains on the island. About 8,700
remains had been recovered before the end of last year, but...
Mr. Nagasawa: The scale of the recovery project had reduced
significantly since around 1998. The survivors and I used to go
inside the dugouts in the island to recover the remains until we
had excavated all of the dugouts.
Narration: About 13,000 remains of Japanese soldiers are reportedly
still buried somewhere in the island, awaiting their return home.
This is the largest number of unrecovered remains in a battlefield
in Japan. Having searched almost every place possible, only a few
dozen or so remains had been recovered per year in recent years,
but the recovery rate started to grow suddenly since this autumn,
with more than 300 remains already having been recovered thus far.
The number is expected to continue increasing. An instruction Prime
Minister Kan gave to the team leader upon his appointment this
summer was the trigger for the rapid change in situation.
Mr. Akutsu, Team Leader: I was instructed to go to the United
States. The Prime Minister said the US National Archives must have
documents on Ioto. He looked in my eyes convincingly and gave me
a clear instruction to start with scientific research and
collection of documents.
Narration: We found related documents at the National Archives in
Washington, D.C. --about 400,000 pages in total stored in some 600
boxes. Out of the mass of documents, the research group found small
letters on the map, which read "enemy cemeteries," which seem to
indicate cemeteries the US army built for Japanese soldiers.
Mr. Akutsu, Team Leader: I was really astonished. We started
excavating the area in October, and within a short time period, we
have already identified two sites with numerous unrecovered remains.
Without the instruction of Prime Minister Kan, who was convinced of
the existence of documents on cemeteries, we would never have
discovered these sites.
Narration: Bereaved family members were immediately notified of the
discovery of the documents.
Mr. Nagasawa: The Prime Minister told me on August 10 of this year
that documents on cemeteries were found. I really couldn't believe
it. As a bereaved family member, I really thank the Prime Minister
for starting the search in the released information, finding the
documents, and bringing about results.
Prime Minister: 65 years is a long time to wait. I am truly sorry.
Mr. Nagasawa: It was worth waiting for.
Prime Minister: With this discovery, they can now return home.
Mr. Nagasawa: Yes, indeed.
Narration: There were two cemeteries marked as "enemy cemeteries"
on the map. After visiting the first dig site, the Prime Minister
went to the second site, at the foot of Mount Suribachi. What makes
the Prime Minister work on this issue so enthusiastically?
Mr. Akutsu, Team Leader: I just happened to hear Prime Minister Kan
say that politicians' failure to act has kept some 10,000 remains
of the war dead unrecovered in Ioto. It seemed that the Prime
Minister strongly resented the inaction of politicians, including
himself, questioning why they haven't carried out a responsibility
of the government.
Narration: At a memorial service on the island, the Prime Minister
read aloud a letter General Tadamichi Kuribayashi wrote on the
island to his young daughter. The General led the garrison in Ioto
during fierce battles.
Prime Minister: "My dear Tako, your father wants you to grow up
quickly and be a source of support for your mother. Keep yourself
healthy, study hard, do as your mother tells you, and put your
father's heart at ease." Those who have fought to the death were
fathers who protected their families, good husbands, and sons
carrying promising futures, before they were soldiers. I pledge
here that we will examine every grain of sand and spare no effort
to bring about the recovery of the remains of even one more among
the deceased.
Prime Minister: I myself unearthed some remains. When I saw and
actually touched them, I felt something strongly. I thought if the
remains had been collected more promptly, we could have returned
them home to their families earlier.
Narration: In respect of the war dead, the government stopped using
the term "collection of the remains" to replace it with "recovery
of the remains." The soldiers fought to the death and 65 years have
passed since then. The bereaved family members waiting for their
return are also aging.
Mr. Nagasawa: I would like to see for myself my father's remains
and welcome him back home. That is the strongest desire I have as
a child.
Mr. Nagasawa: Thank you. We are almost 80, so this should be the
last duty for our parents.
Prime Minister: I hope that younger generations will learn more
about this. I really respect your endeavors.
Narration: Prime Minister Kan intends to steadily advance efforts
in Ioto first and then move on to the return home of the remains
that are waiting to be recovered in other battlefields.
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Publication : Cabinet Public Relations Office
1-6-1 Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8968, Japan
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
News & Articles on Burma-Monday, 27 December, 2010
News & Articles on Burma
Monday, 27 December, 2010
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Wa party to demand for Self Determination
Wa set up brigade on western flank
Burma’s new parliaments will convene in January: USDP MP-elect
Burmese generals ‘hate China’, says India
Suu Kyi Pays Tribute to Her Mother
Refugees Hide After Forced Repatriation
KNPP Troops Ambush Convoy Carrying Dam Technicians
India defies US, Myanmar project on
Unseasonal Rain Damages Crops in Lower Burma
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Wa party to demand for Self Determination
Monday, 27 December 2010 18:10 Hseng Khio Fah
The United Wa State Army (UWSA)’s political wing United Wa State Party (UWSP) has drawn another counter proposal which includes a point to demand for a state with the Right of Self Determination from the new government, according to UWSP sources.
The new proposal which is to be presented to the new government that is expected to be installed early next year includes the following 6 points:
* The Wa stands for the Wa State’s peace and development
* The Wa State shall have its own armed force. Wa weapons will remain in Wa hands. The Wa armed force will also remain in Wa State.
* The Wa will not secede from the Union
* The Wa will never demand or declare independence under any (Union) government
* The Wa will steadfastly demand for a state with the Right of Self Determination from every (Union) government until it is achieved
* The Wa are ready to discuss Wa affairs with the upcoming government, upholding a policy of non-alignment and neutrality.
“The words that we said that we will uphold non-alignment and neutrality policy means we [the Wa] won’t side either with the new government or with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s 21st century Panglong conference,” a Wa officer said. “But we will discuss Wa affairs with any new government until we achieve self-determination.”
The said proposal was drawn at the UWSP’s 5th annual district level party congress which is being held in Mongmai, 170 km north of its main base Panghsang from 20 December to 29 December.
Moreover, the group will not also stay under other countries’ policy, the officer added.
According to him, the UWSP leading party committee will send its delegation after the congress to talk with the new government on the basis of 'Opposition to War' and 'Work for Peace and Development' principle. http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3379:wa-party-to-demand-for-self-determination&catid=85:politics&Itemid=266
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Wa set up brigade on western flank
Friday, 24 December 2010 18:01 Jai Wan Mai
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The United Wa State Army has set up a brigade to boost security on its western flank along a route it believes Burmese troops would take to march on UWSA headquarters in Pangsang, a high-ranking UWSA official said.
Brigade 618 commanded by Bao Samrai was stationed at Manghseng-Nawngkhet, bordering Tangyan Township, facing Burmese Army troops at Loi Panglong, in Shan State, the Wa official said.
The base is also adjacent to the area controlled by the Shan State Army North (SSA-N) Brigade 1, which along with the UWSA, is a member of the six-party alliance of armed ethnic minority groups that have refused to transform into Border Guard Force (BGF) under Burmese Army command, and that have signed a deal saying each would come to the other’s aid should they be attacked by junta forces.
The UWSA official said: “We will not exchange our weapons for peace but we will protect ‘peace’ with our weapons. Moreover, we will continue to follow our two main principles: peace and development in our area.”
The UWSA has nine brigades, four of which (318, 418, 468 and 618) were stationed in the north of the Wa-held areas while another five brigades (772, 775, 218, 518 and 778) were positioned along the Thai-Burmese border. The UWSA reportedly claims to have more than 20,000 soldiers and is believed to be the strongest amongst the armed ethnic opposition groups.
Meanwhile, the United Wa State Party (UWSP), the political wing of the UWSA, was holding a congress in Maing Maw (Mong Mai in Shan), in the north of Shan State. The meetings started on Monday and will finish on Wednesday, a source close to the Wa told Mizzima.
Around 2,500 participants were attending, including high-ranking UWSA officials, Xiao Minliang, vice chairman of Wa State; Bo Lai Kham, chairman of the Wa Political Consultative Conference; Bao Youri, political commissar of the Wa’s southern military region 171; and Ai Lon, the UWSA deputy commander-in-chief, the source said.
The congress was discussing party policies, political stance, economics and social welfare, the source said. The party had also reaffirmed its peace and development policy and that it would continue to bear arms and defend its territory.
The UWSP had decided to monitor and judge the approach of the new Burmese government towards the Wa group. It was keen to talk about self-determination for Wa State and the difference between the regime and the UWSA, however, the group affirmed that it would not hand over weapons nor become a BGF, the source added, quoting decisions of the congress.
The UWSP was formed on December 20, 1988 after it overthrew the Communist Party of Burma and before signing a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese regime.
The relationship between the Burmese regime and UWSA started to sour when the group was pressured to transform into a BGF. Both Burmese and Wa troops had reinforced their positions along demarcated territories in the Northern Shan State. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/4703-ethnic-wa-army-sets-up-new-brigade-for-security.html
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Burma’s new parliaments will convene in January: USDP MP-elect
By AHUNT PHONE MYAT
Published: 27 December 2010
Burma’s parliaments will be convened with representatives elected in the 7 November election before the end of January, said an elected representative of a pro-military party.
Khin Shwe, owner of Zaykabar company who was elected to the national parliament from a constituency of Rangoon Region, disclosed the information to DVB after his party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party held two days of meeting in the country’s new capital Nay Pyi Taw, from 22 to 23 December.
“The People’s Parliament will be convened first around the middle of next month, then the National Parliament about seven days later, and lastly, the Union Parliament (joint session of the two), seven days following that,” said Khin Shwe.
He also said that representatives also discussed the restructuring and democratisation of the party as it was originally a “social” association which inherited both its strengths and shortcomings.
“The main issues that we discussed were about how we should behave when we become Members of Parliament and about the restructuring of the USDP,” he said. “Previously, township secretaries were appointed by the higher-ups, now they will be elected by blocs.”
But when asked about the possibility of cooperation between his party and the main opposition, the National League for Democracy led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, which boycotted the elections, Khin Shwe was less forthcoming.
“Policies regarding politics will be up to the leaders but for matters concerning economic development and other issues, there will be assignments which we will have to carry out. We, however, cannot talk about policies that are way beyond our reach.”
Having also expressed his enthusiasm for telling the truth about his party through media, Khin Shwe claimed that things will get better for Burma.
“What I want to say is that things will be much better than before,” he said. “It will be much better because decisions will be made by the majority instead of an individual. Primarily, we will have to work to raise the standard of living of the common people. We, economic entrepreneurs, are part of the system now and my promise to you is that things will be much better than before.”
Most powerful big companies in Burma are controlled or run by cronies and close relatives of top ruling generals.
The USDP, which won close to 80 percent of the votes in the November elections, marred by claims of frauds, intimidation and vote rigging, is believed to have millions of members, many of whom were leftovers from the party’s previous incarnation, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).
The NLD also won the 1990’s elections by a landslide, but was never allowed to rule by the military.
http://www.dvb.no/elections/burma%E2%80%99s-new-parliaments-will-convene-in-january-usdp-mp-elect/13520
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Burmese generals ‘hate China’, says India
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 27 December 2010
Burma’s hermetic military rulers detest their strongest ally, China, according to an Indian official quoted in a leaked US diplomatic cable.
Washington’s Consul General in India, Peter Kaesthner, also explains in the cable that India feels its position on Burma is compromised by persistent US pressure to be more vocal about rights and democracy.
India, which does not want to be castigated for engaging the Burmese generals, has often rued external pressure. Delhi’s position is that engagement will be more productive than the condemnation of the junta expressed by the majority of western democracies.
The cable dates from 2007, and documents a conversation between Kaesthner and Mohan Kumar, the joint secretary of India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
“The more the US presses India to bring Burma before the UN Security Council, [Kumar] said, the more the Burmese tell India to ‘go to hell’,” Kaesthner wrote.
Furthermore, if India engages the generals, then Burma will be able to loosen China’s grip on the country.
“Burmese officials have told Kumar that they ‘hate’ the Chinese and would prefer not to cooperate with China, but do so because they feel Beijing is more reliable than New Delhi”.
No elaboration is given on how India would promote democracy in Burma, were it to be closer to the ruling junta. But, tellingly, the cable reveals that economic objectives in its relations with its eastern neighbour remain key.
While India has sought to increase investments in Burma over the past two decades, particularly in the energy sector, Kumar reportedly told Kaesthner that, “We’re getting screwed on gas”.
“India is not getting any gas contracts from Burma, nor is it getting the transit rights it seeks which would open a bridge to East Asia,” Kaesthner wrote.
This raises an important, but often overlooked, Indian imperative: that whilst China seeks a strategic gateway to the Indian Ocean via Burma, India in turn would seek to use the pariah as its own access point to the growing eastern economies.
It also perhaps alludes to an Indian understanding of US imperatives that look to counter China’s influence in the region.
Moreover, while references to the promotion of democracy arise frequently in the cable, it also makes mention of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, countries where China’s influence is growing and where both India and the US are keen to stem this.
Since the cable was sent in 2007, India has seemingly moved beyond the unidimensional level of cooperation over counterinsurgency on the troubled border to eye with increasing fervour Burma’s vast natural gas capacity.
Delhi has gained a stake in the Shwe gas project and has come closer to developing some of Burma’s hydropower potential, whilst bilateral trade has also increased significantly.
Tension between India and China has been a recurrent theme since the two nations fought a short war in 1962 over their disputed, ill-defined Himalayan border. The tensions persist to this day with Chinese claims for the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Despite trade between the two nations expanding rapidly before a recent visit to Delhi by Chinese Premiere Wen Jiabao, Beijing has described the bilateral relationship as “very fragile”.
http://www.dvb.no/news/burmese-generals-%E2%80%98hate-china%E2%80%99-says-india/13531
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Suu Kyi Pays Tribute to Her Mother
By THE IRRAWADDY Monday, December 27, 2010
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi held a religious ceremony at home and then paid tribute at her mother's tomb near the southern gate of the country's landmark Shwedagon Pagoda on the 22nd anniversary of her mother's death, which fell on Monday.
“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi held a religious ceremony on the 22nd anniversary of her mother's death at 1 pm at home,” said Ohn Kyaing, a spokesperson for the National League for Democracy. “Buddhist, Christian, Muslim and Hindu religious leaders who were invited to the ceremony then paid tribute to her mother's tomb on Shwedagon Pagoda Road at 4 pm.”
Khin Kyi, wife of Burma's national hero General Aung San, died on Dec. 27, 1988 after suffering a severe stroke.
Hearing of her mother's illness, Suu Kyi immediately flew from London to Rangoon to take care of her mother, but she also unexpectedly witnessed the illness of the society where she was born following a series of the peaceful student demonstrations against the military regime.
When the military government brutally cracked down on the demonstrations, Suu Kyi became involved in politics to seek a peaceful political solution, transforming herself to a lady with an iron will and unwavering commitment to democracy, which she has maintained until this day.
Khin Kyi, who was regarded highly by Burmese society, stepped into politics after Gen Aung San was assassinated by his political rival in 1947, becoming a member of parliament in the first parliament of independent Burma. After that, she became the first woman ambassador to India.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20420
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Refugees Hide After Forced Repatriation
By LAWI WENG Monday, December 27, 2010
More than 200 Karen refugees were forcibly sent back into Burma from Thailand on Saturday despite unstable conditions and fighting near their villages, according to border sources.
The Thai army forced refugees sheltering at a Buddhist temple and a Thai school in Pop Phra-District in Thailand's Tak Province back across the border, telling them the situation had become stable.
“They [refugees] are afraid of the Thai army and were forced back even though they dare not return to their villages,” said Blooming Night Zan, the joint secretary of the Karen Women's Organization.
Many of the refugees forced back across the border remained in hiding close to the Moei River on the Burmese side of the border, ready to flee back across the river if fighting breaks out nearby, according to Mahn Mahn, the director of the Back Pack Health Workers Team.
Over 1,000 Karen refugees fled to the Thai border near Mae Sot when fighting between Burmese junta troops and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) brigade 5 troops broke out early in December in Phaluu village, Kawkareik Township, 40 kilometers south of the Mae Sot-Myawaddy border crossing on the Thai-Burmese border.
About 600 Karen refugees still remain in hiding at relatives' homes on the Thai border as they are afraid they will be forced back.
“So many people illegally staying at the homes of their kin may cause problems in the longer term, but the refugees do not want to return as long as fighting frequently takes place near their villages,” said Blooming Night Zan.
More junta troops have deployed along the road from Phaluu to Wah Lay villages in an attempt to control the area and restrict the movement of Karen troops.
Meanwhile, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 7, which is active in the Manerplaw area, launched separate attacks on Dec. 22 and 23, according to the Thailand-based Karen Information Center.
During the attack, nine junta soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion No. 106 and four from Infantry Battalion No. 588 were killed by KNLA troops, border sources said.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20419
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KNPP Troops Ambush Convoy Carrying Dam Technicians
By SAI ZOM HSENG Monday, December 27, 2010
Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) troops ambushed a Burmese military convoy transporting technicians to a dam construction project on Friday afternoon, according to Khu Oo Reh, the joint secretary of the KNPP.
The KNPP troops attacked 20 government military trucks near Pruhso Township, killing at least three persons including the foreign technicians, according to the KNPP. No information was provided about the number of people injured in the attack.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Khu Oo Reh said, “We attacked the convoy because it brought the persons who can harm local people by building a dam. The convoy came from Loikaw, the capital of Karenni State, and was headed to the dam project in the Ywathit area of Bawlakhe Township, Karenni (Kayeh) State.”
“We are investigating the building of this dam, including what company is investing in the project. We received some information that the regime began conducting secret surveys four years ago. At the beginning, we thought that they were working on the Weigyi dam and didn't expect that they planned to build a new dam in Ywathit,” Khu Oo Reh added.
A member from Karen River Watch confirmed that there was a new dam project in Bawlakhe Township, but the organization is also still investigating the new dam project to obtain detailed information.
Currently, according to the Burma Rivers Network, only five proposed dam projects are on the Salween River.
The KNPP, an armed ethnic armed group, has recently formed an alliance with the Kachin Independence Army, New Mon State Party, Shan State Army-North, Karen National Union and Chin National Front.
In October, KNPP troops attacked government troops based at Pon bridge, which is located between Loi Kaw and Shar Daw, Karenni State. The bridge was destroyed during the attack.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20418
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India defies US, Myanmar project on
27 Dec, 2010, 04.50AM IST, Sachin Parashar,TNN
Read more on »united states|sittwe|myanmar|mizoram|manmohan singh|kaladan river|beijing
NEW DELHI: Despite the pressure from the US to tighten screws on the ruling military junta in Myanmar, India has gone ahead and started work on the crucial Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project, which seeks to augment trade ties between the two countries.
The project — named after the Kaladan River and will enhance connectivity between India’s east coast and northeastern states — comprises construction of a port in Myanmarese town Sittwe, another waterway terminal and a highway.
Expected to cost over Rs 500 crore, the project linking Sittwe with Mizoram is being funded fully by the ministry of external affairs, and is likely to be completed by 2013. The two neighbours envisaged the project more than 12 years ago, but work kept getting delayed as relations between the two countries worsened steadily in the past decade.
Work has commenced more than two years after a final agreement for the project was signed with Myanmar’s military regime. With the government now displaying a renewed commitment to reach out to the military junta — not least because of the growing Chinese influence in the region — sources said the emphasis is going to be on completing the project at the earliest.
Once completed, India will use the Sittwe port to transport goods from its port in Kolkata to the northeastern states. When Senior General Than Shwe visited India in July, the two sides had reiterated their commitment to the project.
Than Shwe and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had welcomed the expansion of trade and commerce between the two countries “manifest in the increase in the volume of trade to over $1 billion per year” .
They had said it was important to enhance trade at border trade points to boost bilateral trade.It’s a win-win situation for India because of the benefits this initiative is likely to yield to northeast states.
While US President, Barack Obama, came down hard on India during his November visit for not speaking out against the military junta , New Delhi made it clear almost immediately that it is not going to change its Myanmar policy because of strategic and security reasons, keeping in mind not just the Chinese influence but also the insurgency. Officials believe that India has already lost out to China in tapping Myanmar’s rich energy reserves.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/india-defies-us-myanmar-project-on/articleshow/7170039.cms
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Unseasonal Rain Damages Crops in Lower Burma
By KO HTWE Monday, December 27, 2010
An unseasonal three days of continuous rain has caused significant damage to salt fields and rice thrashing grounds in lower Burma.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Tun Lwin, the retired director-general of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, said that low pressure weather patterns that occurred over Southern India and Sari Lanka formed storms in early December that passed over Burma.
“The effect of the storms made nearly three continuous days of rain during the second week of December,” Tun Lwin said.
Hundreds of acres of salt fields in Panga village, which is the main salt-producing center in in Thanbyuzayat Township in Mon State, were damaged by the rain, according to a field owner.
Slide Show (View)
Nai Tin Aung, who owns 40 acres of salt fields, said that he lost 4 million kyat (US $4,000) because of the rain.
He said that there are are more than 40 private salt fields in Panga village, the largest occupying 100 acres. All of the salt fields were destroyed.
Farmers who placed harvest paddy on threshing grounds in Pegu Township in Pegu Division lost about 30 percent of their product, according to farmers.
Tin Maung Win, a farmer in Pegu Towship, said, he lost at least 150, 000 kyat (US $150) because of the unexpected rain.
Most farmers in Irrawaddy Division have been affected by the rain.
“Paddy from my farm was soaked, and it cannot be kept. The quality of the rice would be poor and the production would be lower,” said Chit Aung of Dedaye Township.
Most farmers in Dedaye Township, which has about 180,000 acres in crops, have been affected by the rain. Irrawaddy Division is called the “granary of Burma.”
Depending on the soil type, many bean crops in Kayan and Thongwa townships also will be lower because of the rain.
“In this circumstance, many farmers will sustain a big loss this harvest season. But for farmers who planted earlier in the season, the rain could be beneficial,” said Tun Win, a farmer in Khayan Township.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=20417
Amnesty Japan no HP no link wo tsukatte kudasai.
Dear all,
itsumo osewa ni natte orimasu.
(We have got 107,271 actions and counting.
http://3freedoms.amnesty.org/index_en.html )
Amnesty Film Festival made ato 1kkagetsu ni narimashita.
Burma no true wo takusannno nihonjin ni shitte morau tameni, hikitsuzuki senden shite kudasai.
minasanno HP ya Blog ya Twitter ya ML ni kaite kudasai.
sonotokini ↓ no link wo tsukatte kudasai.
yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.
Amnesty Film Festival 2011
http://www.amnesty.or.jp/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=3287
ビルマ（ミャンマー）はいま・・・
(Burma no seiji to human rights no setsumei no page desu)
http://www.amnesty.or.jp/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=3084
アウンサンスーチーさんから若い人へのメッセージ
http://www.amnesty.or.jp/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=3547
Thank you!
＋--------------------------+
杉山透子 Toko Sugiyama
社団法人アムネスティ・インターナショナル日本（個人会員/ビルマチーム）
Amnesty International Japan(Burma Team)
http://www.amnesty.or.jp/
youtube
http://www.youtube.com/user/hisoka20100710?feature=mhum
アムネスティ・フィルム・フェスティバル、チケット発売中！
http://www.amnesty.or.jp/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=3286
日本支部声明: 死刑執行に抗議する
http://www.amnesty.or.jp/modules/news/article.php?storyid=824
日本 : 「立川テント村事件」の最高裁判決を懸念
http://www.amnesty.or.jp/modules/news/article.php?storyid=467
Russian tycoon Khodorkovsky again found guilty
AP – Mikhail Khodorkovsky stands behind bars at a court room in Moscow, Monday, Dec. 27, 2010. A Russian judge …
By LYNN BERRY and NATALIYA VASILYEVA, Associated Press Lynn Berry And Nataliya Vasilyeva, Associated Press – 1 hr 59 mins ago
MOSCOW – Mikhail Khodorkovsky was convicted Monday of stealing oil from his own company and laundering the proceeds, a verdict likely to keep the oil tycoon who once challenged the power of Vladimir Putin behind bars for several more years.
The unrelenting legal attack on Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, has come to define the country's transformation under Putin. The outcome of the second trial exposes how little has changed under President Dmitry Medvedev despite his promises to strengthen the rule of law and make courts an independent branch of government.
Putin, now prime minister, remains the more powerful leader. Any lingering doubt that the verdict would be guilty was dispelled this month when he said Khodorkovsky was a proven criminal who should sit in prison.
Putin, seen as the driving force behind the trial, has not ruled out a return to the presidency in 2012 and appears unwilling to risk the possibility that a freed Khodorkovsky could help unite and lead his political foes.
During his seven years in prison, Khodorkovsky has been transformed into a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia. His hair, now gray, is cropped short and his complexion is pasty from lack of sun and exercise, but he appears strong and unbroken.
It was clear from the opening pages of his verdict that the judge had found Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev guilty. Reading the full verdict and announcing the sentence was expected to take several days.
Khodorkovsky, 47, is nearing the end of an eight-year sentence after being convicted of tax fraud in a case seen as punishment for challenging the Kremlin's economic and political power, in part by funding opposition parties in parliament.
The conviction on charges of stealing around $27 billion worth of the oil that his Yukos company produced from 1998 to 2003 and laundering the proceeds could keep him behind bars until at least 2017.
Prosecutors accused Khodorkovsky and Lebedev of stealing the oil from Yukos' own production units and then selling the oil abroad at higher prices. The defense called the charges ridiculous, arguing that prosecutors do not understand the oil business, including the payment of transit fees and export duties.
One of Khodorkovsky's lawyers, Vadim Klyuvgant, said Monday that if this logic were extended to the state oil and gas company Gazprom, the same charges could be brought against Medvedev.
"The court ruled that the difference between the oil price at the production site and at the market represents theft," Klyuvgant said. "Gazprom, where Medvedev served as board chairman, buys oil at the production site at a price 10 times lower than the market price in Rotterdam. Isn't that selective justice? Do they have any shame?"
Numerous witnesses, including current and former government officials, testified during the 20-month trial that the charges against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were absurd.
Hundreds of Khodorkovsky supporters rallied outside the courthouse, holding up signs saying "Freedom" and "Russia without Putin." Police detained some of them as they chanted "Freedom" and "Down with Putin!"
In the courtroom, Judge Viktor Danilkin read the verdict in a rapid-fire monotone, his low voice drowned out at times by loud chants from outside. Khodorkovsky and Lebedev sat impassively in a glass cage. Khodorkovsky exchanged glances with his elderly mother. His father, Boris, sat next to her, his head bowed.
By mid-afternoon, the judge had read through more than 80 of the verdict's estimated 250-300 pages.
"This is a miserable country with arbitrary rule," said Yekaterina Veselovskaya, 62, a regular at the trial who took part in Monday's protest rally. She is thankful to Khodorkovsky for providing computers to the school where she used to work as a librarian.
When Putin came to power in 2000, Khodorkovsky was among a handful of oligarchs who controlled much of Russia's economy and were used to dictating their terms to the Kremlin.
Putin set out to put them in their place, a task made easier because most Russians reviled the businessmen who had grown fabulously rich in the 1990s at a time when many of their countrymen were thrown into poverty.
Khodorkovsky's arrest in October 2003 and the subsequent state takeover of his Yukos oil company allowed the government to reassert control over the energy sector and tamed the other wealthy businessmen, who have obediently followed Kremlin orders ever since.
The Kremlin also consolidated its hold over political life. Soon after Khodorkovsky's arrest, parties that he had funded were shut out of parliament or sidelined. New controls were imposed on non-governmental organizations, like those once funded by Khodorkovsky, that have worked to help strengthen civil society in Russia.
On Friday, Khodorkovsky published an opinion piece in the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta containing a scathing criticism of Putin. "I wish Putin kindness and tolerance, I wish him to be loved, not feared. Maybe not by all, but loved sincerely and unselfishly, and not just by dogs," he wrote in a reference to Putin's fondness for animals.
Medvedev, who despite his title remains Putin's junior partner, has promised to strengthen the rule of law as part of his mission to modernize Russia and attract more foreign investment. An acquittal in the Khodorkovsky trial would have been seen as evidence that Medvedev has the power to deliver on his promises.
While the guilty verdict is certain to be condemned by many political figures in the U.S. and Europe, it was expected and is unlikely to cause any lasting damage to relations.
Khodorkovsky's wife Inna said in an interview with the monthly Snob magazine that she expects him to be kept behind bars at least until 2012. She said that her husband wasn't expecting any clemency from the authorities.
"My husband is a strong man," she said. "He has made a decision for himself and has no hope."
____
Vladimir Isachenkov contributed to this report.
Monday, December 27, 2010
＜ミャンマー＞タイへ移民２００万、少数民族大半 自国政治に冷めた目
＜ミャンマー＞タイへ移民２００万、少数民族大半 自国政治に冷めた目
毎日新聞 12月24日(金)8時17分配信
◇スーチーさんへの期待さまざま
タイ国内で２００万人以上ともいわれるミャンマー人の移民労働者が働いている。軍事政権の圧政下、経済の混乱や、国軍との戦闘から逃れてきた少数民族が大半だ。民主化運動指導者アウンサンスーチーさんが解放され、民主化への希望も高まっているが、労働者の多くは、日々の生活に追われ、自国の政治に冷めた見方が多い。【サムットサコーン県（タイ中央部）で矢野純一、写真も】
◇「何も変わらない」
バンコク中心部から南西に車で約１時間。タイ湾に面するサムットサコーン県には、約８０００軒の水産加工場が建ち並ぶ。従業員の多くは、ミャンマーから逃れてきた少数民族だ。
「スーチーさんは好きだが、彼女が仕事をくれるわけでもない」。水揚げされた魚をトラックに積んでいたオンさん（３０）は、タイで生涯を暮らすことに決めている。タイと国境を接する地域で暮らす少数民族モン族出身。政府軍との戦闘のたび、集落を追われる生活に嫌気が差し、１０年前にタイへ密入国した。
バンコクなどタイ各地の建設現場などを転々とし、５年前から、モン族が多く住む同県に落ち着いた。日給は３００バーツ（約８４０円）と、タイ人の平均収入の半分以下。それでも、「３度の食事が取れる。故郷の暮らしよりずっとまし」。密入国以来、一度も顔を合わせていない両親には、年に約１万５０００バーツ（約４万２０００円）を送金している。
「スーチーさんには興味がない」。夜勤明けで自宅で休んでいたトゥモーさん（２６）は即答した。親戚を頼り７年前、逃れてきた。エビ加工場で働くが、水揚げによって月収は左右され、２０００バーツ（約５６００円）しか稼げない月もある。両親への送金も滞りがちだ。
自国の政治には興味があるが、「総選挙は不正だらけで、結果は認めるわけにはいかない。とはいえ、これまで、彼女（スーチーさん）がいても、何も変わらなかった」。
◇「彼女が解決する」
一方、スーチーさんの熱烈な支持者もいる。「スーチーさんだけが人権や少数民族の差別問題を解決してくれる」。アジャヌアさん（３１）は、ここで暮らす子供たちにモン語を教えている。
自治を求めるモン族への軍事政権の攻撃のたび、家族でジャングルを転々とした。大学への進学が夢だったが、軍事政権と対立する少数民族の出身者には門戸は閉ざされている。「ミャンマーに残っても将来がない」と、１８歳でバンコクで不法就労する叔父を頼り、国を去った。数年間は、食事と住居だけをあてがわれ、無給で建設中のビルにガラスを取り付ける仕事を続けた。４年前にこの地域で移民を支援する財団のメンバーとなった。
政治家の父は国に残り、反軍政を貫いている。夢は、父の後を継いで政治家になり、民族の自治を確立すること。「少数民族の権利を尊重すると話すスーチーさんが、国を動かせば、必ず良くなる」と信じる。
外国からの移民労働者を支援する労働権利促進財団によると、サムットサコーン県には約４０万人の外国人労働者がおり、うち３０万人が不法就労者だ。全体の７割がミャンマー出身で、モン族の割合が高いという。
移民労働者が働く水産加工場は、どれも小規模で従業員は１００人未満だ。そのため、賃金も低く、差別的な状況が生まれている。祖国よりは生活が安定しているうえ、不法に働く労働者も多く、声を上げることができない状況だ。
日本などに輸出するエビの皮むきなどの単純作業で、処理した重さで給与が支払われる。両親と一緒に働く児童の労働も問題になっている。同財団マネジャー、パティマさんは「ここの労働者は経済的な理由で、国を逃げてきた人だ。皆、軍政は嫌いと答えるが、日々の暮らしに追われ、政治どころではない」と話した。
Prime Minister KAN's TV
The following are the messages contained in the videos:
"No. 8 [Healthcare] A Great Leap Forward for the HTLV-1 Task Force
Team"
Narration: Former Governor of Miyagi Prefecture Shiro Asano
continues to struggle with Adult T-cell Leukemia. This cancer is
caused by Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type 1, also known as HTLV-1,
which is estimated to be carried by more than 1 million people
across Japan. Most of the carriers never develop any diseases, but
on occasion, it develops into leukemia, as with Mr. Asano, or even
causes serious nerve damage. There is yet no effective treatment
for the virus. However, the development of a comprehensive policy
to address HTLV-1 took a great leap forward on December 20.
Prime Minister: I am extremely pleased to have worked with everyone
here, and that together we were able to make definite progress
today.
Narration: The "everyone" referred to by Prime Minister Kan
includes the sufferer of HTLV-1-related diseases who attended the
meeting.
On September 8, this patient group made a direct plea to the Prime
Minister, visiting his office. Having received the patients'
request down on his knees to do something about the virus, the
Prime Minister immediately formed a task force team to tackle this
issue, and only five days later the team's first meeting was held.
Prime Minister: I would like to thank everyone for coming together
so quickly for this meeting and proceeding forward with such
substantive discussion.
Narration: Ms. Kayoko Sugatsuki, who is a member of the patient
group petitioning the government for seven years, initially
believed that things would not change so smoothly.
Ms. Sugatsuki: Of course, there are some humane people working at
the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and they have been
working with us to make a breakthrough on this issue. It's not that
the Ministry is bad, but that the vertically-oriented
organizational structure of the Ministry means that no matter how
much you say you want something done about a certain disease,
nothing is ever resolved.
Narration: However, as the meetings of the task force team went on,
Ms. Sugatsuki found that her impressions began to change.
Ms. Sugatsuki: There were many opportunities in each meeting for
the patient-side to express its opinions. Over the course of the
meetings, I began to really feel that this task force team is
serious about coming up with countermeasures for the virus.
Narration: Mr. Asano, who was actually an official of the Ministry
of Health, Labour and Welfare before becoming Governor of Miyagi
Prefecture, expressed a similar opinion.
Mr. Asano: The thing I strongly felt this time was the power of
politics. There was no worrying about the status-quo--I really felt
there was strong will to find a solution to this problem.
Narration: The "strong will" referred to by Mr. Asano was not just
aimed at finding countermeasures for HTLV-1.
Prime Minister Kan sees this initiative as the way leading toward
a much more universal goal.
Prime Minister: I believe that we could take a first step forward
to create a model task force team-based approach for finding
breakthrough solutions for those who suffer from various diseases.
Narration: Yesterday's meeting (that was held on December 20)
marked the 99th day since the first meeting of the HTLV-1 Task
Force Team, and saw the completion of a comprehensive policy on the
virus. With more than 60% of the infected receiving the virus via
their mother's milk as infants, it has been decided that systems
for maternity checkups and health guidance will be set up across
the country.
In addition, preparations will be made to create a consultation
system for those with the virus, as well as a seamless medical-care
system for examinations and treatments. The Government will also
start efforts to greatly increase research funding. It was decided
that the national government, regional governments, medical
institutions, as well as patient organizations will strongly
promote this policy in close coordination with each other.
Ms. Sugatsuki: I truly appreciate it.
Mr. Asano: I was surprised; I am grateful; I was moved. I am
currently fighting what is known as ATL (Adult T-cell Leukemia),
and I will overcome this challenge.
Prime Minister: In formulating this comprehensive policy today,
I believe that this significant step forward was realized thanks to
your valuable efforts, though you all went through very difficult
times. I will close my remarks with the promise that I will firmly
implement this policy. Thank you very much.
===================================================================
Publication : Cabinet Public Relations Office
1-6-1 Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8968, Japan
News & Articles on Burma-Sunday, 26 December, 2010
News & Articles on Burma
Sunday, 26 December, 2010
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Ten things we can do about Burma
Does junta use drug as a weapon in Burma’s politics?
India should speak up for Myanmar: Amartya Sen
Burmese refugees sent back home
Weekly Business Roundup (December 25, 2010)
Don't Try to 'Control' New Gov't, Regime Tells Opposition
Burmese Freedom of Press hits a new low
-------------------------------------------------
Ten things we can do about Burma
By Amartya Sen
Cambridge, MA
Published on December 25, 2010
Burma has been under the jackboot of a supremely despotic military junta for almost half a century now, with collapsing institutions, arbitrary imprisonment, widespread torture, organised rapes and killings, and the terrorisation of minority communities including the Chins, the Karen, the Shan and the Rohingyas. The release in November of the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, from unjust imprisonment was not just a great moment for celebration, it should also make us think more clearly about what the world can do to help Burma achieve reconciliation and build a democratic foundation for the future.
The military generals designed the recent election, the first in twenty years, in a crooked way to ensure that they, or their proxies or cohorts, will stay in power. Most gratuitously, 25 per cent of the seats were reserved for military rulers; strong pro-democracy candidates were barred from participation; opposition leaders and activists were kept in confinement; and criticism of the regime was totally banned in pre-election speeches.
So, what can the world do now? The answer is: A great deal.
First, many analysts of Burmese affairs have called for an international Commission of Enquiry on Burma, possibly led by the United Nations. The case for this is very strong, especially after the manipulated election.
Second, the framework of sanctions and embargos has to be made more effective. General sanctions that hurt the Burmese people (such as restrictions on garment exports from Burma) can be sensibly replaced by those that isolate the military rulers - by targeting their business activities and their financial transactions overseas.
Third, at the top of the list of potentially effective targeted sanctions must be an embargo on the trading of arms and armaments of all kinds.
Fourth, there is a strong political case for considering imposing sanctions on those natural commodities - such as minerals, gems, timber, and oil and gas - that yield huge profits for individuals in the regime.
Fifth, severe financial restrictions and prohibitions imposed on large transactions from Burma can be a well-targeted and effective policy.
Sixth, a ban on foreign travel imposed on the generals at the head of the regime can also be effective.
Seventh, neighbouring countries, particularly China but also Thailand and India - which provide support to the military regime in exchange for their own commercial gains - have a special responsibility. Aside from the doubtful morality of supporting such an oppressive regime, this continued and tacit support may well turn out to be a prudential mistake. The tyrants of Burma will, sooner or later, fall - as all tyrants eventually do. However, the memory of the betrayal of the Burmese people will last a long time, just as the intense anti-Americanism in Latin America today draws on the history of US support for the brutal South and Central American regimes of yesteryear.
Eighth, the Western countries are sharp in rhetoric when denouncing Burma's rulers, but they do not do what is entirely within their power to do - like withdrawing from lucrative Burmese business, and imposing financial sanctions.
This is bad in itself, but it also makes it harder to persuade China, India and Thailand to do the right thing.
Ninth, and most important - there has to be an end to the sense of dejection and hopelessness that is so dominant among the Burmese people. The fight, we have to remember, is for the beginning of democracy in Burma, not for tiny concessions from an entrenched military government.
Finally, in a non-defeatist approach, we have to start thinking about how a post-military government will deal with the culprits of the past. There is a strong case for not threatening bloody revenge but opting instead for the sagacity of offering amnesty in exchange for remorse. Even butchers have to find a "way out" if they are not to go on fighting - and tyrannising - to the bitter end.
With well-targeted policies, carried out with determination and clarity of reasoning, we can make the Burmese leaders withdraw.
The change can come more quickly than most people imagine.
Amartya Sen is an Indian economist who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Ten-things-we-can-do-about-Burma-30145136.html
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Does junta use drug as a weapon in Burma’s politics?
By Zin Linn Dec 26, 2010 11:15PM UTC
The Burmese junta’s mouthpiece newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported yesterday that in 2010-2011 poppy cultivation seasons, a total of 5745.03 acres of poppy plantations were destroyed up to 13 December 2010.
The paper also says that during the period from 14 to 20 December, a total of 1564.9 more acres of poppy plantations were destroyed in States and Regions. Therefore, 7309.93 acres of poppy plantations have been destroyed till 20 December.
Out of 1564.9 acres of poppy plantations, a total of 1270.35 acres of poppy plantations were destroyed in Pekhon, Pinlaung, Hsihseng and Kalaw townships in Shan State (South), 199.1 acres in Monghsat, Mongkhat, Mongping, Kengtung, Tachilek and Mongton townships in Shan State (East), and 1564.9 acres in Lashio, Tangyan, Hsenwi, Namhkam and Kutkai townships in Shan State (North), as said by the New Light of Myanmar.
Burma is the second largest opium producing country after Afghanistan, as indicated by the United Nation. Burma’s Minister for Home Affairs and Chairman of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control, Maj-Gen Maung Oo said the drug eradication program had successfully brought down the cultivation of opium in the country. But nearly all observers of the drug question in Burma speak out that there is very little improvement.
According to a report – Poisoned Hills – issued on 26 January 2010 by the Paluang Women’s Organization (PWO), opium poppy cultivation in Burma is swelling all over again in areas controlled by the military regime or the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Shockingly, number of drug addicts is rising speedily in Shan state where opium is now being grown. At the same time as the rising of poppy growing is also killing the traditional tea cultivation in northern parts of the country.
PWO says opium cultivation in Burma’s northern Shan State has increased five-fold in recent years. It is much higher than the areas given by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). In the “Poisoned Hills”, field assessments were carried out of opium growing over three seasons in two main areas: Mantong and Namkham. The Report says, “It was found that the number of villages growing opium in the targeted survey area of Mantong Township has tripled from 2006 to 2009. PWO surveyed 75 villages in Mantong. During the 2006-7 season only 24 of these villages grew opium. This increased to 35 villages in the following season. By the 2008-9 seasons all of the villages were growing opium.”
It continued that poppy cultivation has increased six fold from 2006 to 2009, from 1,568 acres (635 hectares) to 9,707 acres (3,928 hectares). Most analysts on drug issue pointed out poverty as a major reason for Shan State’s continuing drug problem.
Opium crops only need a short time to grow and promptly generate income for impoverished farmers. To stop growing poppy, an alternative through cash crop substitution programs must be provided. According to some political analysts, poppy growing and opium production in Shan State have increased over the past two years due to political volatility in Burma and growing economic misery caused by cronyism, corruption and unprofessional nature of the military junta.
Six well-known drug lords in Burma represented the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). They are among those elected on the 7 November elections, according to Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.).
Two of them, Liu Guoxi, candidate of USDP who ran for a seat in Constituency No.11 of upper house in Northern Shan State and Bai Xuoqian, a candidate for state legislature in Laogai Constituency No.2 won their seats automatically as there were no rivals in their areas, a source from the Sino-Burma border said.
Liu Guoxi, 75, was dubbed as a drug kingpin in the Far Eastern Economic Review during the mid 90’s. He is deputy of Bai Xuoqian, who ascended to the leadership of Kokang, following the overthrow of his predecessor Peng Jiasheng by the Burma Army last year. The other four are U Myint Lwin aka Wang Guoda, U Ti Khun Myat, Panhsay U Kyaw Myint and U Keng Mai, the junta-backed local militia chiefs, who are notorious among local people as drug dealers in Shan State North’s Kutkhai, Muse and Namkham townships, Shan Herald News said.
It seems that unless the strategies of militarization of SPDC are challenged, drugs trade will take place ad infinitum, as if the drug is a kind of weapon for SPDC to grab hold of the sovereign power. Thus, a negotiated resolution of the root cause of civil war in Burma is immediately needed so as to tackle the drug question which intertwined with the country’s long-lasting political conundrum.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/44683/does-junta-use-drug-as-a-weapon-in-burma%E2%80%99s-politics/
--------------------------------------------------
IndiaExpress.Com: Sun, 26 Dec 2010
India should speak up for democratic forces in Myanmar: Amartya Sen
Noble laureate Amartya Sen has expressed displeasure over India's silence on the issue of restoring democracy in Myanmar and supported US President Barack Obama's criticism of New Delhi not speaking for Aung San Suu Kyi and democratic forces there.
"India should speak up. It is for India to take action. The US has woken up. I would like it (New Delhi) to take more action. I would like to have speech and action from both (countries)."
Sen was also critical of the reports that India is maintaining silence in return for support to the military junta there, to curb Bodo and Mizo rebels in the Northeast. Asked if India's stand was understandable or a Faustian bargain, he said, "It is not understandable. It is a terrible bargain".
Sen was reminded of his remarks that his heart "broke" to see the Prime Minister of his "democratic country" welcome the "butchers from Myanmar".
Asked if he raised this issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the renowned economist said, "I told him. He listened to it. He didn't reply. I wasn't saying change the policy right now. It would be something I hope he would consider. He would think about and place it before the Government."
The 77-year-old Nobel Prize winner also expressed confidence that the dictators in Burma would eventually "disappear". But the silence of India and other countries like Thailand and China would "continue to linger for long", he remarked.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-should-speak-up-for-democratic-forces-in-myanmar-amartya-sen/729465/
----------------------------------------------
The Nation:Sun, 26 Dec 2010
Burmese refugees sent back home
Tak -- Two hundred and thirty-three refugees from Burma Saturday agreed to go home after Thai soldiers told them that fighting between Burmese troops and Karen rebels on the other side of the border of Tak's Phop Phra district had ended.
Colonel Supachoke Thawatpeerachai Saturday urged the refugees to return home and said Thai authorities would accommodate them. So the refugees started to pack their belongings and crossed the bridge over to the Burmese side on foot. UNHCR officials and those from other NGOs also observed them.
The move came after an assistant to Ban Valley Neu village headman Boontham Suwansri fell ill from meningococcal infection following his visit to the refugees at an old helipad near the village. However, it wasn't confirmed if the man, who reportedly crossed over to the Burma side often, got the disease after visiting the refugees. Boontham is being treated at Mae Sot Hospital for high fever though his condition is stable. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Burmese-refugees-sent-back-home-30145194.html
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Weekly Business Roundup (December 25, 2010)
By WILLIAM BOOT Saturday, December 25, 2010
China Port in Bangladesh Faces Logistics ‘Problems’
China is to go ahead with plans to finance a new port on the Bangladesh coast close to the border with Burma and build a new road linking the port to the Chinese province of Yunnan.
The port, capable of handling the biggest ocean-going container ships, will be constructed at Sonadia, near Cox’s Bazar.
It will be close to the port reconstruction being financed by India at Sittwe on Burma’s west coast.
No development time frame or cost for the project has been disclosed, said ports news magazine Dredging Today, which noted: “[Bangladesh] needs a deep-seaport to handle its ever-increasing external trade and offer port facilities to some other neighboring countries, including India, China and Myanmar [Burma].”
Some observers question why China would back a new port in Bangladesh when Beijing already has great influence in Burma.
“This is a curious development and suggests the Chinese are not putting all their eggs in one basket where Burma is concerned, although to access the Bangladesh coast from Yunnan will mean a road passing through either Burma or India,” said a commercial attaché at a Western embassy in Bangkok.
“From a trade point of view, I suspect this will be fraught with problems,” said the official, speaking to The Irrawaddy this week on condition of anonymity.
Vietnam-Burma Trade Grows over 60 Percent in 2010
Trade between Vietnam and Burma has increased more than 60 percent in 2010 as the Vietnamese push commercial contacts with the Burmese military.
Two-way trade for this year will be above US $160 million, compared with $99 million in 2009, said the official Radio Vietnam.
Vietnam’s links with Burma have intensified this year with an increase in investment and direct flights.
In March, a branch of Vietnam’s state-owned Bank for Investment and Development was opened in Rangoon and the Vietnamese Agricultural Ministry is financing the development of 200,000 hectares of rubber plantations in Burma.
Vietnam Airlines also began a five-days-a-week service between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and Rangoon.
The intensification of Vietnam’s links with Burma has come during Hanoi’s turn as chairman of the Association of Southeast Nations, to which both countries belong.
Synthetic Drugs Production Grows in Burma’s Shan State, Says UN
Production and consumption of synthetic methamphetamine drugs is increasing in Burma, says a United Nations agency.
Most of the manufactured drugs are being exported to neighboring countries such as Thailand, but domestic consumption is also on the rise, said a report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
It said much of the production was in Burma’s Shan State.
Seizure of pills tripled in 2009 over 2008, and between January and September of this year, more than 44 million pills were seized in Thailand alone. More than 22 million pills were confiscated in Laos, said UNODC.
“Authorities in both Myanmar [Burma] and Thailand confirm that the manufacture of crystalline methamphetamine is now occurring in the Golden Triangle,” said UNODC coordinator Deepika Naruka.
Vietnam Agency to Target European Tourists for Burma Trips
A Vietnamese travel agency which has opened an office in Rangoon says it will offer “customized holidays” to Europeans wanting to visit Burma.
Ho Chi Minh City-based Vietnam Today Travel said Burma will be added to regional packages it is offering, which include visits to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and now Burma.
The firm said it would target English, French, Spanish and Italian speaking customers.
Many travel firms in Europe shun Burma under European Union economic sanctions restraints.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20412
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Don't Try to 'Control' New Gov't, Regime Tells Opposition
By BA KAUNG Saturday, December 25, 2010
Burma's democratic opposition should stop calling for national reconciliation and instead ally itself with the country's newly elected government to achieve “national reconsolidation,” according to a commentary published in the state-run New Light of Myanmar on Saturday.
In the Burmese regime's first apparent response to pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's repeated calls for dialogue with the country's ruling generals, the commentary urged opposition groups to regard the junta-backed government that will be formed sometime early next year as a “democracy ally.”
Junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe, right in foreground, walks to attend the graduation parade of the No. 12 Intake of the Defense Services Medical Academy on Dec. 24 in Naypyidaw. (Photo: AP)
The commentary referred specifically to Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party and ethnic groups which boycotted last month's election. The junta's proxy party claimed a landslide victory in the polls, which were widely dismissed as a sham by international observers.
It also warned the NLD, which has tried in the past to pressure the regime to hold talks with the opposition, not to use similar tactics in the future.
“Any ways to achieve national reconsolidation through non-violent, violent, indirect and direct approaches designed to control the ruling government will never come to fruition,” it said.
Notably absent from the commentary was the phrase “national reconciliation,” which is the stated aim of the NLD and and its ethnic allies. Instead, it refers to “national reconsolidation”—a term more in line with the regime's goal of strengthening central control over the country's many minority groups.
“How can we reconsolidate before we can reconcile with each other?” said Chin Sian Than, a Chin ethnic leader who boycotted last month's election.
“This commentary indicates yet again that the regime will press ahead with its own plans,” he said.
The front page of the New Light of Myanmar also highlighted the theme of national reconsolidation, in a speech given to the graduating class of a military medical academy in the capital Naypyidaw on Friday by junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
“I would like to urge you to build on the national reconsolidation that has been achieved and avoid all thoughts and notions that might lead to the disintegration of the Union,” he was quoted as saying.
In the speech, Than Shwe also also claimed that Burma's ethnic minorities are now enjoying the fruit of development projects his regime has undertaken since it came into power in 1988. He added that coming governments would continue their efforts for the country based on these foundations.
In January, Burma is expected to hold its first parliament in more than two decades.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=20413
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Burmese Freedom of Press hits a new low after photojournalist Zeya’s sentence
Sun, 2010-12-26 01:09 — editor
By - Zin Linn
26 December, (Asiantribune.com):
Freedom of Press in Burma received another blow as Photojournalist Sithu Zeya has been sentenced to eight years in jail last Tuesday. Zeya was sentenced by the military controlled court system for his photos of the scene of an explosion at a traditional water festival pavilion near a Rangoon lake in early according to his lawyers.
Burma also resumed the detention of journalists from time to time. Journalists based in Rangoon say the detentions were part of a continued crackdown by the military authorities on those involved in the anti-junta activities including covering news in the exile media.
Sithu Zeya was sentenced three years for violating the Immigration Act and five years for violating the 1957 Unlawful Associations Act for links he made with unlawful organizations, according to his lawyer U Aung Thein, At some point in cross-examination by special branch police, Sithu Zeya apparently confessed his former relationship with an official from the exile media organization Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB).
Moreover, he also confessed that he was present at media training in Thailand. The police plaintiff put forward those confessions at the trial. His lawyer said the case will be appealed to a higher court because the evidence shown to the township court was flawed and there were not enough witnesses.
Earlier in November 2008, Win Maw, a 47-year-old activist and rock musician, was sentenced to a 17-year imprisonment by a township court for his journalistic activities for Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), based in Norway. A military-controlled township court in Burma has handed down a 20-year jail term to freelance reporter Hla Hla Win, a young video journalist who also worked with the Burma exile broadcaster DVB, as the ruling junta continues its crackdown on the free press. She was arrested in September 2009 after taking a video interview at a Buddhist monastery in Pakokku, a town in Magwe Division, the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres and the Burma Media Association said in a joint statement. For that she was given a seven-year prison sentence in October.
In an additional case, the Special Court in Insein prison sentenced reporter Ngwe Soe Lin to a 13-year sentence in prison under section 33(a) of the Electronic Act and section 13(1) of the Immigration Emergency Provisions Act on Jan. 27, 2010 for allegedly attempting to smuggle information to exiled media, according to prominent Rangoon lawyer U Aung Thein. Ngwe Soe Lin was detained in a Rangoon Internet café on June 26, 2009 and accused of working for the DVB.
Burma was at the forefront of press freedom in Southeast Asia before the 1962 military coup. The country then enjoyed a free press; censorship was something unheard of. As many as three dozen newspapers, including English, Chinese and Hindi dailies, existed between 1948 and 1962.
The situation changed in 1962 when the military seized power. All newspapers were nationalized and a Press Scrutiny Board created to enforce strict censorship on all forms of printed matter. Since then, censorship and self-censorship have become commonplace in Burma.
The Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD) is a major tool or repression of the Than Shwe military regime. Not surprisingly, Burma stands downgraded from a free state to a prison state. All news media in Burma is strictly censored and tightly controlled by the military – all daily newspapers, radio and television stations are under supervision of the junta.
The radio, television and other media outlets are monopolized for propaganda warfare by the regime and opposition views are not allowed.
Currently, PSRD or state censor-board has been stepping up barring on news and interviews with Democracy Icon Aung San Suu Kyi as instruction comes from information ministry based in the junta’s capital Naypyidaw, one editor who wants to remain anonymous said.
Journalists from Venus journal had met Suu Kyi on 14 December and People’s Era journal on 17 December. Both journals put forward the copies of their interview with the Lady and respective photos to the infamous PSRD. The censor-board yet notifies the journos that any issue of the Lady would be postponed due to the instruction from Naypyidaw.
One sports journal and eight news periodicals including 7 Day News, The Voice, People’s Era and Venus journals have been suspended by the junta’s PSRD because of covering news articles of Burma’s Nobel laureate.
The board has also released notice limiting the size of Aung San Suu Kyi’s portrait to a maximum of 2 x 3 inches for publication in journals. In addition, the board also barred the journals not to cover her photos on front or back pages.
If the junta is sincere about democratic reforms, the media must be free at the outset. Access to information is crucial to a healthy democracy. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."
But in Burma, the political opposition as well as journalists and media personnel are under the strictest rules of the stratocracy. In most countries, journalists or media workers can do their jobs and live well. But in military-ruled Burma, it is very thorny and hazardous work.
Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai was killed while covering the 2007 Saffron Revolution, and some citizen journalists are still in prison.
According to the Burma Media Association and Reporters Sans Frontieres, at least 12 journalists and dozens of media workers are still in custody since the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis and the constitutional referendum in May 2008.
Although the optimistic politicians and media personnel hope for better free-press environment after the 7-November polls, the scenario seems depressing. Free speech or free press would not be allowed under the new disguised civilian government which will appear in early 2011. Freedom of Press will remain the status quo under the unchanged military control.
-Asian Tribune- http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2010/12/25/burmese-freedom-press-hits-new-low-after-photojournalist-zeya%E2%80%99s-sentence
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