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
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
News & Articles on Burma-Monday, 27 December, 2010
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.
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