News & Articles on Burma-Sunday, 30 January, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
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Burma’s parliament sitting today, is little more than a calculated ruse
Burma prepares to open military dominated Parliament
Myanmar opposition group launches website
Myanmar prepares to open first session of parliament in over 20 years
Myanmar Parliament Looks Set to Meet
Tight security for Myanmar's first session of parliament
Egyptian troubles paralleled in Burma
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Burma’s parliament sitting today, is little more than a calculated ruse
By Zin Linn Jan 31, 2011 12:08AM UTC

Security measures were tightened up Sunday around Burma or Myanmar’s newly made grandiose parliamentary buildings, which will be used for the first time this week by lawmakers elected in the country’s first polls in two decades in November.

Barbwire-barricades were in place on the ways to the huge parliament complex in the locality of Naypyitaw, Myanmar’s new capital since 2005, situated 350 kilometres north of the old capital Rangoon or Yangon.

Plain-clothed security personnel were posted at municipal guest houses where hundreds of legislators were lodged ahead of the first session of the upper and lower houses of parliament starting at 8:55 am on Monday.

As the trustworthiness of the junta’s 2008 constitution and 2010 polls was dismissed by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party, the up-to-date parliamentary meetings seem little hope to change the political environment of the country.

According to Mizzima News Agency, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Myanmar (FCCM) held a meeting in Rangoon on January 18 and made a decision submitting an application to the Ministry of Information for right of entry into parliamentary sessions to cover the events.

“We applied via the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division. But, we haven’t got any reply. We are still waiting’, a Rangoon-based correspondent from a foreign news agency told the Mizzima News.

However, on January 17, during an opening ceremony for a library in one Township in Rangoon, Information Minister Kyaw Hsan told local correspondents from a foreign news agency that Information Ministry has been planning to invite journalists from foreign news agencies to cover parliamentary sessions. But, it is unlikely to be happened.

Any authentic question is improbable to discuss. The speeches that jeopardize national security or the unison of the nation are forbidden and any complaint or objection within the parliament is liable to be punished by up to two years prison-term. According to ‘Section 52’ of New Parliamentary Laws, anyone (except legislators) who penetrates the parliament buildings without authorization of the Parliamentary chairman could be sentenced to a minimum of one year in prison or fined 100,000 kyat roughly equal to USD 100 or both.

Parliamentary buildings are new; members of parliament are also news but incoming lawmakers have to obey the instructions prescribed in 17 booklets on legislative nuts and bolts, including instructions on how to use green, yellow and red buttons to make their opinion poll. The instructions are so comprehensive that they can find there even their dress design as well. All lawmakers are to wear traditional outfits, with ethnic representatives putting on the costume of their respective ethnic groups.

Although there are 388 military-appointed members of parliament for 3 chambers, only the upper and lower houses, with 166 military appointees, will assemble in Naypyitaw on Monday. The regional and state parliaments will convene separately in their own region-wise capitals.

Parliament’s primary and significant mission will be to play nominating of three presidential candidates to be chosen by a junta-backed electoral college, as hinted by the observers. No other bills will be allowed putting forward for discussion. No media personnel were invited to cover the opening ceremony of the parliament as yet. It will be a premeditated performance or fake assembly.

A report – Burma’s 2010 Elections: a comprehensive report – released by Burma Fund UN Office today for the opening of Burma’s first Parliament, documents the widespread political repression and human rights abuses marring the electoral process in the country’s first elections in more than 20 years. It found that none of the fundamental requirements for free and fair elections exist in Burma, and instead the human rights crisis deepened, as a consequence of the elections.

The Burma Fund UN Office Director, Dr Thaung Htun evaluated the recent November polls as a political deception mixed with human rights abuses.

“The parliament sitting today, is little more than a calculated ruse. The actors are the same; it is only the stage that has been newly decorated. However, we must not lose hope, the election is far from an end in itself and cannot divert the aspirations of the people for a genuine democratic transition. The agents of change in Burma are the people and their true representatives, who were cruelly excluded from the election process,” the Burma Fund UN Office Director said.

“Even though a lot of challenges lie ahead on the path to freedom, the genuine pro-democracy and ethnic leaders and activists will continue to stand with the people, fearlessly facing down the military regime, and eventually, the will of the people will prevail in shaping the future of Burma”, Dr Thaung Htun also cricitized.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/47335/burmas-parliament-sitting-today-is-little-more-than-a-calculated-ruse/
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Burma prepares to open military dominated Parliament
AYE AYE WIN | RANGOON, BURMA - Jan 30 2011 05:46

Burma is preparing to open its first session of Parliament in more than two decades, a major step in the ruling military's self-styled transition to democracy but one being carried out with little fanfare or public enthusiasm.

There is muted hope that Monday's convening of the new legislature will be a step, however small, in the right direction for a country that has seen the army rule with impunity since a 1962 coup ended the last legitimate parliamentary democracy. Still, with a quarter of the seats in the upper and lower houses reserved for the military and the remainder dominated by political parties loyal to the outgoing junta, there is little chance for an actual return of power to the people.

The junta for years has been touting the convening of Parliament as the penultimate step in its so-called roadmap to democracy, leaving only the task of having it elect a president. Current junta chief Senior General Than Shwe, however, is expected to remain the country's guiding force, no matter what position he holds in the new regime.

While the general public is curious who may become head of state -- even though it is certain to be a prominent member of the junta -- there appears to be little popular interest in Parliament's opening. Last November's election and the widespread perception the junta cheated to ensure a victory by its proxies has done little to quell criticism that the road map is nothing more than army rule by a different name.

Even the military has done little to highlight the simultaneous opening of the 440-seat lower house and 224-seat upper house in a massive new building in Naypyitaw, the remote city to which the capital was moved from Yangon in 2005.

There are few if any of the propaganda billboards that normally trumpet momentous state occasions. Neither the press nor the foreign diplomatic community has been invited to attend, which is tantamount to saying "stay away".

While the credibility of the road map was long ago dismissed by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party -- which boycotted the polls and consequently was dissolved under a new election law -- some anti-military parties prefer to look at the bright side.

They expressed optimism that despite being a minority, they will be able to make proposals and work for democratic changes within a legal framework that was previously absent.

"Our experience of 20 years trying to make our voices heard from the streets hasn't yielded any result. But this time I am optimistic that we can achieve something as we are going to talk in the parliament," said Thein Nyunt, an elected representative and former leader of the National Democratic Force, a party formed by breakaway members of Suu Kyi's NLD.

Others, however, note that the combination of military and pro-military lawmakers can push through or block any legislation and constitutional amendments on their own. The pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party combined with military appointees will account for 85% of seats in the lower house and 83% in the upper house.

Lacking independence
"Generally speaking, having a Parliament is better than not having a Parliament. However, this Parliament is a military-dominated Parliament that will lack independence," said 90-year old Thakin Chan Tun, a former ambassador and veteran politician.

He said there is little doubt that Than Shwe will be the one pulling parliamentary strings.

"The Parliament will only perpetuate military rule. ... Do not expect democratic changes to come," he said.

Parliamentary democracy is an unfamiliar concept in Burma. A single-party Parliament under late dictator Ne Win last met in 1988, when a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations tossed out the old constitution and installed the current junta.

Suu Kyi's party won elections in 1990, but the military refused to hand over power and did not allow Parliament to convene. They locked Suu Kyi away for most of the past 21 years, freeing her a week after November's elections.

With the legislative process being new to most, incoming lawmakers have been given a booklet on legislative basics, including instructions on how to use green, yellow and red buttons to vote. There is a dress code as well. All lawmakers are to wear traditional attire -- women must wear long-sleeved jackets -- with representatives of ethnic minorities donning the garb of their respective groups.

Any real debate is unlikely, though. Words that endanger national security or the unity of the country are banned and any protest staged within Parliament is punishable by up to two years in prison. - Sapa-AP http://mg.co.za/article/2011-01-30-burma-prepares-to-open-military-dominated-parliament/
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Jan 30, 10:18 AM EST
Myanmar opposition group launches website

BANGKOK (AP) -- The Myanmar opposition group led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has launched its first official website.

Suu Kyi says she believes the National League for Democracy's site will help achieve the group's goal of democracy for Myanmar at a faster pace.

The website, in English and Burmese, was launched Sunday, a day before the opening of Myanmar's first parliament in 22 years. The NLD boycotted last year's general elections, saying they were held under unfair conditions to perpetuate military rule.

It was not immediately clear if the government, which exercises tight control over the Internet and other media, would try to block the site, which is meant for party members at home as well as supporters abroad.
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Myanmar prepares to open first session of parliament in over 20 years
Aye Aye Win
Yangon, Myanmar— The Associated Press
Published Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011 10:37PM EST
Last updated Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011 10:41PM EST

Myanmar is preparing to open its first session of parliament in more than two decades, a major step in the ruling military's self-styled transition to democracy but one being carried out with little fanfare or public enthusiasm.

There is muted hope that Monday's convening of the new legislature will be a step, however small, in the right direction for a country that has seen the army rule with impunity since a 1962 coup ended the last legitimate parliamentary democracy. Still, with a quarter of the seats in the upper and lower houses reserved for the military and the remainder dominated by political parties loyal to the outgoing junta, there is little chance for an actual return of power to the people.

The junta for years has been touting the convening of parliament as the penultimate step in its so-called roadmap to democracy, leaving only the task of having it elect a president. Current junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe, however, is expected to remain the country's guiding force, no matter what position he holds in the new regime.

While the general public is curious who may become head of state — even though it is certain to be a prominent member of the junta — there appears to be little popular interest in parliament's opening. Last November's election and the widespread perception the junta cheated to ensure a victory by its proxies has done little to quell criticism that the road map is nothing more than army rule by a different name.

Even the military has done little to highlight the simultaneous opening of the 440-seat lower house and 224-seat upper house in a massive new building in Naypyitaw, the remote city to which the capital was moved from Yangon in 2005.

There are few if any of the propaganda billboards that normally trumpet momentous state occasions. Neither the press nor the foreign diplomatic community has been invited to attend, which is tantamount to saying “stay away.”

While the credibility of the road map was long ago dismissed by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party — which boycotted the polls and consequently was dissolved under a new election law — some antimilitary parties prefer to look at the bright side.

They expressed optimism that despite being a minority, they will be able to make proposals and work for democratic changes within a legal framework that was previously absent.

“Our experience of 20 years trying to make our voices heard from the streets hasn't yielded any result. But this time I am optimistic that we can achieve something as we are going to talk in the parliament,” said Thein Nyunt, an elected representative and former leader of the National Democratic Force, a party formed by breakaway members of Suu Kyi's NLD.

Others, however, note that the combination of military and pro-military lawmakers can push through or block any legislation and constitutional amendments on their own. The pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party combined with military appointees will account for 85 per cent of seats in the lower house and 83 per cent in the upper house.

“Generally speaking, having a parliament is better than not having a parliament. However, this parliament is a military-dominated parliament that will lack independence,” said 90-year old Thakin Chan Tun, a former ambassador and veteran politician.

He said there is little doubt that Than Shwe will be the one pulling parliamentary strings.

“The parliament will only perpetuate military rule. ... Do not expect democratic changes to come,” he said.

Parliamentary democracy is an unfamiliar concept in Myanmar. A single-party parliament under late dictator Ne Win last met in 1988, when a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations tossed out the old constitution and installed the current junta.

Suu Kyi's party won elections in 1990, but the military refused to hand over power and did not allow parliament to convene. They locked Suu Kyi away for most of the past 21 years, freeing her a week after November's elections.

With the legislative process being new to most, incoming lawmakers have been given a booklet on legislative basics, including instructions on how to use green, yellow and red buttons to vote. There is a dress code as well. All lawmakers are to wear traditional attire — women must wear long-sleeved jackets — with representatives of ethnic minorities donning the garb of their respective groups.

Any real debate is unlikely, though. Words that endanger national security or the unity of the country are banned and any protest staged within parliament is punishable by up to two years in prison.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/asia-pacific/myanmar-prepares-to-open-first-session-of-parliament-in-over-20-years/article1887772/
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Myanmar Parliament Looks Set to Meet

By A WSJ REPORTER

Myanmar is expected to convene its first parliament in more than two decades Monday, setting the stage for the selection of a new president to head one of Asia's most secretive states.

Although analysts and residents say they doubt much will change in the near term in Myanmar, a resource-rich state controlled by the military since the early 1960s, the latest steps are being watched closely by foreign diplomats and investors for any sign the country is becoming more open to reform—an outcome investors hope could lead to a softening of Western economic sanctions.

The first order of business on Monday will be the formal opening of the massive new parliament building in the capital of Naypyitaw, a remote redoubt in central Myanmar far from major population centers and the prying eyes of most international and local observers. The parliament will be composed almost entirely of military allies, junta-backed candidates having dominated last November's national election, Myanmar's first in 20 years—widely condemned by dissidents and Western governments amid reports of fraud.

A quarter of the more than 600 parliamentary seats were already reserved for military nominees before the vote, and the government-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party won nearly 80% of the remainder. The main opposition party in the vote, the National Democratic Force, ended up with just 12.

Anyone other than lawmakers found wandering into the parliament while it is in session will be subject to a one-year prison term, according to laws released by the government late last year. Attempts to reach the Myanmar government, which rarely speaks to foreign journalists, were unsuccessful.

The next step after the formal opening will be the selection of a new president by the parliament. The decision-making process has been shrouded in mystery, typical for Myanmar. Many analysts have long expected the country's current leader, 77-year-old Gen. Than Shwe, to retire or at least drift into the background, controlling the new government from behind the scenes. But a growing number of analysts and dissidents have said in recent weeks that the strongman may choose to have himself declared president to ensure he is not sidelined by ambitious younger generals.

Others cited as possible presidents include Shwe Mann, until recently the junta's third-ranking general, and Thein Sein, Myanmar's prime minister and head of the Union Solidarity and Development Party.

"I'm a bit surprised at how unclear it all still is—we have no idea who is going to be president," said Sean Turnell, a Myanmar expert at Macquarie University in Australia.

Those who see Myanmar's recent path as a slow road to democracy say they are still hopeful the launch of a new parliament could lead to positive changes in in the long term, especially if the military decides it wants to improve relations with Western governments in a bid to lift the economic sanctions.

Leaders of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Myanmar, said earlier this year they believe Myanmar is making progress and that the U.S. and Europe should reward its government by loosening the sanctions.

Pro-democracry dissident and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has indicated since her release from seven years of house arrest in November—just days after the vote—that she may be open to rethinking her longtime support for sanctions. In a taped address to the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday, Ms. Suu Kyi said she "looks forward" to the day when more foreign investors can operate in the country, though people familiar with her thinking say she first wants to see more meaningful concessions, such as the release of more than 2,000 political prisoners.

Other opposition leaders say they intend to use the new parliament to see how far they can push the new government. Khin Maung Swe, a former political prisoner and a leader of the National Democratic Force, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal last week that his party intends to introduce two motions: one an antitrust bill to encourage more competition at a time when the government is selling off many state assets to politically connected businessmen; and the other a call for the release of political prisoners.

"We have to be patient," he said. "We want to build up political confidence and build trust among our national groupings."

Other possible legislation could seek to give residents greater legal rights in buying and selling land—a reform backed by many economists who believe better land laws are needed to encourage more investment in the country's beleaguered agricultural sector.

If the parliament agrees to hear such bills, it could be a sign the regime intends to allow at least some measure of debate on sensitive issues—a step forward in the mind of some analysts.

Other analysts are more pessimistic.

"If the NDF thinks proposing a few bills on land tenure and competition in the economy are going to constitute what they consider a small but significant policy progress, they are delusional," said Maung Zarni, a Myanmar research fellow at the London School of Economics. "Introducing a few bills in the rubber-stamp parliament is not going to make a dent—it would be like applying first-aid tactics to a patient with advanced cancer."
—Celine Fernandez contributed to this article. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703833204576113633778618242.html
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Tight security for Myanmar's first session of parliament

Jan 30, 2011, 9:53 GMT

Naypyitaw, Myanmar - Security was tight Sunday around Myanmar's newly built parliament compound, which will be used for the first time this week by legislators elected in the country's first polls in two decades in November.

Barricades were in place on roads leading to the massive parliament compound in the suburb of Naypyitaw, Myanmar's new capital since 2005, situated 350 kilometres north of the old capital of Yangon.

Plain-clothed security personnel were posted at municipal guest houses where hundreds of legislators were lodged ahead of the first session of the upper and lower houses of parliament starting at 8:55 am on Monday.

The odd start time is attributed to Myanmar's military supremo Senior General Than Shwe, who is known to be a believer in numerology.

But members of parliament were in the dark about what was on the agenda for the first session.

'We haven't been told what meetings are on the agenda for tomorrow yet,' said Khin Maung Yi, a member of National Democratic Force (NDF), an opposition party.

The NDF, a breakaway faction from the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, won only 1.5 per cent of the contested seats in the November 7 polls.

The pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won 77 per cent of the seats in Myanmar's three chambers of parliament - upper, lower and regional.

The polls were condemned by Western democracies for being neither free nor fair nor inclusive.

Myanmar's parliament also includes military appointees accounting for 25 per cent of the three chambers.

Only the upper and lower houses, along with 166 military appointees, will meet in Naypyitaw this week. The regional and state parliaments will meet separately in their own capitals.

Parliament's first important task will be to nominate three presidential candidates to be voted on by an electoral college.

The president is expected to be selected before mid-February.

Than Shwe, who turns 78 on Wednesday, is a likely candidate, although he may chose to push a protege into the presidency and control him from 'behind the curtain,' government sources said.

Than Shwe has ruled Myanmar under a junta since 1992, but the country has been under military dictatorships since 1962.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1615646.php/Tight-security-for-Myanmar-s-first-session-of-parliament
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EDITORIAL
Egyptian troubles paralleled in Burma

* Published: 30/01/2011 at 12:00 AM
* Newspaper section: News

For the second week in a row the big news story is a crumbling dictatorship in the Middle East. While it's still to soon to say if Egypt's Hosni Mubarak will share the same fate as Tunisian strongman Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, yesterday protesters controlled many parts of Cairo. Mr Mubarak has vowed he will not be removed, and as long as the military stands with him, he is probably right.

The situation is similar to one much closer to home, in Burma, where the chances of regime change seem much more remote. If anything, the political situation in Burma is more dismal. In Burma, of course, it is the military leadership who actually have the ruling power, despite the pretence of transferring power to a civilian government through the sham elections of last November.

The parliament elected then will begin its duties in the new capital of Naypyidaw tomorrow, but the military leaders have made sure it will act as a rubber stamp to all they propose.

In Burma, as perhaps in Egypt, there would probably have to be a mass defection in the lower ranks of the military along with a popular revolt to bring about a change in government. But as revealed in the story on page 10 of this week's Spectrum, ''Film offers glimpse of dissent in army'', this might not be as far-fetched many people might think.

There are other parallels between the situations in Burma and Egypt. Before Nobel laureate and pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei returned to his native Egypt to take part in the protests there and was put under house arrest _ much like Nobel laureate and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi _ he gave an interview in Austria. Mr Baradei noted that Egypt had parliamentary elections only two months ago, and ''they were completely rigged. The party of President Hosni Mubarak left the opposition with only 3%. Imagine that. And the American government said that it was dismayed. Well, frankly, I was dismayed that all it could say is that it was dismayed. The word was hardly adequate to express the way the Egyptian people felt.''

If we substitute Egypt for Burma and America for Asean, the story looks familiar.

Like the US and other Western nations, Thailand in particular has long found it politically and financially expedient to do business with a repressive regime while periodically offering mild reproaches.

When Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva went to Naypyidaw and was photographed shaking hands with Senior General Than Shwe last October, it was clear from the look on the PM's face that he wouldn't be framing the photo and hanging it over his mantle.

But Mr Abhisit put whatever misgivings he may have had aside and thought instead of the benefits that greater trade and investment in Burma would bring to Thai companies, one of which has the contract to develop the deep-sea port in Dawei, on Burma's stretch of the Andaman Sea. Mr Abhisit is no different than previous Thai premiers who have made similar economic calculations, just as Barack Obama is no different from his predecessors who compromised themselves over Egypt, although in the case of the US, the considerations have been driven as much by security as economics.

The point is not that Thailand should cut off relations with Burma entirely. It is likely better to try to effect change through engagement, and particularly to insist on high environmental and human rights standards for any projects with Thai investment.

Mrs Suu Kyi herself has not condemned foreign investment in Burma outright. In fact, in an audio message to the affluent crowd at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week, she encouraged it, if it is done with a conscience.

''I would like to request those who have invested or who are thinking of investing in Burma to put a premium on respect for the law, on environmental and social factors, on the rights of workers, on job creation and on the promotion of technological skills,'' she said.

The Thai government says it does regard these areas as a priority, but it's not clear that this has been expressed in any formal agreements or contracts involving Burma. http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/218907/egyptian-troubles-paralleled-in-burma

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