Peaceful Burma (ျငိမ္းခ်မ္းျမန္မာ)平和なビルマ

Peaceful Burma (ျငိမ္းခ်မ္းျမန္မာ)平和なビルマ

TO PEOPLE OF JAPAN



JAPAN YOU ARE NOT ALONE



GANBARE JAPAN



WE ARE WITH YOU



ဗိုလ္ခ်ဳပ္ေျပာတဲ့ညီညြတ္ေရး


“ညီၫြတ္ေရးဆုိတာ ဘာလဲ နားလည္ဖုိ႔လုိတယ္။ ဒီေတာ့ကာ ဒီအပုိဒ္ ဒီ၀ါက်မွာ ညီၫြတ္ေရးဆုိတဲ့အေၾကာင္းကုိ သ႐ုပ္ေဖာ္ျပ ထားတယ္။ တူညီေသာအက်ဳိး၊ တူညီေသာအလုပ္၊ တူညီေသာ ရည္ရြယ္ခ်က္ရွိရမယ္။ က်ေနာ္တုိ႔ ညီၫြတ္ေရးဆုိတာ ဘာအတြက္ ညီၫြတ္ရမွာလဲ။ ဘယ္လုိရည္ရြယ္ခ်က္နဲ႔ ညီၫြတ္ရမွာလဲ။ ရည္ရြယ္ခ်က္ဆုိတာ ရွိရမယ္။

“မတရားမႈတခုမွာ သင္ဟာ ၾကားေနတယ္ဆုိရင္… သင္ဟာ ဖိႏွိပ္သူဘက္က လုိက္ဖုိ႔ ေရြးခ်ယ္လုိက္တာနဲ႔ အတူတူဘဲ”

“If you are neutral in a situation of injustice, you have chosen to side with the oppressor.”
ေတာင္အာဖရိကက ႏိုဘယ္လ္ဆုရွင္ ဘုန္းေတာ္ၾကီး ဒက္စ္မြန္တူးတူး

THANK YOU MR. SECRETARY GENERAL

Ban’s visit may not have achieved any visible outcome, but the people of Burma will remember what he promised: "I have come to show the unequivocal shared commitment of the United Nations to the people of Myanmar. I am here today to say: Myanmar – you are not alone."

QUOTES BY UN SECRETARY GENERAL

Without participation of Aung San Suu Kyi, without her being able to campaign freely, and without her NLD party [being able] to establish party offices all throughout the provinces, this [2010] election may not be regarded as credible and legitimate. ­
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

Where there's political will, there is a way

政治的な意思がある一方、方法がある
စစ္မွန္တဲ့ခိုင္မာတဲ့နိုင္ငံေရးခံယူခ်က္ရိွရင္ႀကိဳးစားမႈရိွရင္ နိုင္ငံေရးအေျဖ
ထြက္ရပ္လမ္းဟာေသခ်ာေပါက္ရိွတယ္
Burmese Translation-Phone Hlaing-fwubc

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

News & Articles on Burma-Monday 30 May, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Monday 30 May, 2011
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Two battalions of Burmese reinforcements deployed near KIA position
Burmese Delegation in Sweden Raises Concerns
Suu Kyi Plans Tour of Myanmar Countryside
Myanmar trial of Australian journalist adjourned until June 14
Myanmar's Suu Kyi calls for China openness amid clampdown
Police file whitewashes Depayin massacre
Eight years after the tour that led to her arrest, Suu Kyi plans rural Myanmar visit
Hunger strike spreads to remote jails
Myanmar opposition figure returns home after medical treatment
Military Cronies Expand into Media
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Two battalions of Burmese reinforcements deployed near KIA position
Monday, 30 May 2011 21:15 KNG

The military-controlled Burmese government sent two army battalions to the area near Battalion 9 of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), in northern Shan State, local residents said.

Battalion 9 connects the KIA headquarters in the north and Loikang-based KIA’s Brigade 4 Command as well as Kokang and the Wa (or United Wa State Army, UWSA) territories in the east.
kia-battalion-9-map-engAccording to local military observers, Burmese troops have been transported from Lashio and stationed at the village of Dima, close to the base of the KIA’s Battalion 9, since Saturday, May 28.

In Dima, about 60 Burmese soldiers had already been deployed before the new military reinforcements arrived in the village, the observers added.

The KIA’s Battalion 9 is now on standby for a military response if government troops enter into its controlled areas, sources close to the battalion said.

Dima is controlled by a pro-government militia group. The village connects with the KIA-controlled Daknai Village, on the east side of Dima Stream.

The road reconstruction intended to cross the area controlled by the KIA’s Brigade 4 was temporarily stopped by the Burmese government after a May 14th warning that it will lead to war.

Military tension and short clashes have gradually increased since the KIA rejected the government’s proposal to disarm and transform into the Burmese Army-controlled Border Guard Force (BGF), in August last year.

Local military analysts said China wants the Burmese government and KIA to avoid renewed civil war between them because it will jeopardize China’s multi-million dollar investment in the country.

The KIA officially demanded on May 19th that the central government withdraw all its troops from the areas close to KIA military bases by May 25. It also warned the government must take responsibility for the consequences of refusing to withdraw. http://www.kachinnews.com/news/1925-two-battalions-of-burmese-reinforcements-deployed-near-kia-position.html
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Burmese Delegation in Sweden Raises Concerns
By BA KAUNG Monday, May 30, 2011

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) has denied having links with the new Burmese government or violating EU economic sanctions in connection with a program in which it is indirectly financing Burmese groups for the purpose of economic development.

The denial was issued following Swedish media reports about a meeting on May 20 in Stockholm between Sida representatives and a Burmese delegation that reportedly included members of Myanmar Egress, a Rangoon-based Burmese NGO, and possibly with individuals connected to the Burmese Chamber of Commerce.

Myanmar Egress is known in Burma for its pro-government stance, including support for the controversial election in November of last year and opposition to Western economic sanctions.

Burma's Chamber of Commerce is technically independent of the government but is known to be government-influenced. For example, the previous chairman of the Chamber of Commerce was Win Myint, who is also the minister of commerce.

The Local, a Swedish news website based in Stockholm, reported last week that the Burmese delegation was invited by the International Council of Swedish Industry (known as the NIR in Sweden), which on its website describes itself as the independent associate of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, representing some 60,000 member companies.

The Burmese delegation met with representatives of Sida, Swedish foreign ministry officials and the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. News of the meetings has raised the issue of whether Sida and the NIR's relationship with the Burmese government and groups close to it might be in violation of EU policy towards Burma.

In April, the EU lifted its visa ban on certain Burmese senior government officials, including the Burmese foreign minister, but decided to maintain its economic sanctions against Burma, known as the the EU Common Position on Burma.

Speaking with The Irrawaddy on Friday, Johan Akerblom, a senior adviser at Sida who met the Burmese delegation, said that one and a half years ago Sida began providing 12 million Swedish Kroner (US $ 1.9 million) annually to an NIR project involving several countries to promote “market development, human rights and democracy,” and Burma was only a small part of that project.

“This exchange with the Burmese delegation is part of an agreement between Sida and NIR,” said Akerblom, who added that the Burmese individuals he met were not representing the new Burmese civilian government.

In interviews with The Irrawaddy, both Sida and NIR officials declined to comment on the identity of the members of the Burmese delegation, citing policy reasons, and reaffirmed that both Sida and the NIR were in line with the EU Common Position on Burma.

But when asked if they had confirmed that the Burmese individuals in the delegation were not linked to the Burmese government, Akerblom said that Sida has asked the NIR for an explanation about these individuals and expected to get an answer by Tuesday.

“When it comes to Burma, it is very important to underline that Sweden follows EU policy and the NIR has to work in line with that. We are not cooperating with the regime,” he said.

The NIR's director of operations, Sofia Svingby, conceded in a local Swedish report that the Burmese delegation included members of Myanmar Egress. When speaking with The Irrawaddy on Friday, however, she said the NIR does not work with Burmese government and individuals connected to it.

Regarding the NIR's intentions for its programs directed towards Burma, Sofia said that the organization is now investigating what it can do for positive economic development in the country.

Asked whether the NIR is going to implement its programs in Burma regardless of the country's political conditions, she said, “Economic development, that is what we want. We are not into politics. We don't work politically.”

In the report in The Local, NIR CEO Erika Molin was quoted as saying that they [the Burmese delegation] believe that economic growth and a functioning industry is a fundamental prerequisite for the development of the country and the people.

“That's why we have invited these people,” she said.

Despite the EU decision to maintain its economic sanctions against Burma, Burmese opposition groups have expressed concerns that some of the bloc members, such as Germany, are trying to lift sanctions for business interests before any political progress is made.

According to a 2008 diplomatic cable from the US Embassy in Berlin that was disclosed by Wikileaks, German officials had previously expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the EU's economic sanctions against Burma, and members of the German parliament did not want to see ordinary Burmese people hurt by sanctions,.

The US cable quoted the then German Foreign Minister and current vice-chancellor Frank-Walter Steinmeier as having the impression that the sanctions were “largely counterproductive, had helped to forge solidarity within the military, had increased China's influence and had given the regime excuses for legitimizing its rule.”

Early this month, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, a German foundation based in Berlin, invited a Burmese delegation, which included a representative from the Myanmar Egress, to come and speak about Burma in the post-election period. The Irrawaddy’s editor Aung Zaw also attended the conference.

Burma analysts have noted that some EU governments are eager to engage the regime and its proxies, such as the Myanmar Egress, who claim to have established civil society groups inside Burma. Government critics also point out that mainstream opposition members inside Burma cannot travel outside of Burma, but some “third force” members, such as the Myanmar Egress representatives, enjoy the freedom to travel internationally and are frequently invited to Western capitals to present their political views and paint the Burmese picture in a positive light.

As a result, critics say, international officials who have the responsibility to determine Burma policy on issues such as sanctions only hear the pro-government arguments while attending international events.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21389
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Suu Kyi Plans Tour of Myanmar Countryside
Associated Press

HONG KONG—Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Monday she plans to tour the country next month in her first trip into the provinces since a 2003 political tour ended in her lengthy house arrest.

"I hope to be able to travel out of Rangoon in the month of June, as soon as I have got rid of all the work that has piled up," she said in a videolink to an audience at Hong Kong University. Rangoon is the old name for Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city.

She said the authorities have not given her any "particular assurances" about security. She didn't provide further details.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate drew large crowds when she last toured northern Myanmar, and her popularity rattled the military government. Exactly eight years ago Monday, supporters of the ruling junta ambushed her entourage. Several of her followers were killed, but she escaped, only to be arrested.

She was released last November after Myanmar held general elections in which her party didn't participate, calling the vote unfair. Ms. Suu Kyi's party won the last elections in 1990 but wasn't allowed to govern. The junta was officially disbanded after the November elections, but the current government is still military dominated.

Ms. Suu Kyi answered dozens of questions from students, alumni and reporters in the videolink with Hong Kong University. She has been jailed or under house arrest for 15 of the past 21 years, and during her brief periods of freedom she hasn't traveled outside Myanmar, fearing the military wouldn't allow her to return.

She avoided criticizing China, an important backer of Myanmar's government. Beijing provides the country crucial economic support, military assistance and diplomatic protection at the United Nations.

Myanmar could maintain neighborly relations with China while having a "friendship based on shared values of democracy" with Western countries, she said.

"I don't think we have to make it either-or. We can be friends with the West and we can be friends with China each in its own special way," Ms. Suu Kyi said.

Western nations and groups critical of Myanmar's poor human-rights record had made her freedom a key demand. They estimate the country still has more than 2,000 political prisoners, and a U.N. envoy said last week Myanmar has changed little since its stated transition to civilian rule.

Ms. Suu Kyi said her party has tried hard to establish a relationship with China's government. But party members aren't even able to break the ice with Chinese diplomats at cocktail receptions, she said.

"Somehow they seem to be able to evade our people quite successfully. I wish they would talk to us," she said.

Ms. Suu Kyi ended by answering a question on how she felt about the death of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden, who was killed by U.S. Navy Seals in a raid on his hide-out in Pakistan.

"With regards to the recent death of bin Laden, it just shows that violence ends with violence, and that there is too much violence already in our world and we've got to try do something about it," she said. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303745304576355160774891024.html?mod=rss_asia_whats_news
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Myanmar trial of Australian journalist adjourned until June 14
May 30, 2011, 12:39 GMT

Yangon - The trial of Australian journalist Ross Dunkley, arrested in Myanmar on charges of violating immigration regulations and sexually assaulting a woman, was adjourned at its start on Monday.

Dunkley, a co-founder of the foreign-funded Myanmar Times weekly newspaper, was arrested on February 10.

An hour into the proceedings, the trial was adjourned until June 14, Dunkley's defence lawyer said. Dunkley was questioned, but no more details were available.

Dunkley, 53, was released on bail from Myanmar's Insein Prison on March 29 and, at the time, expressed confidence he would be found not guilty of charges against him.

Insein Prison is notorious for its poor conditions.

The Kamaryut Township Court granted Dunkley bail of 10 million kyats (12,300 dollars), after six previous attempts at gaining his release had failed.

The Myanmar Times was founded in 2000 and is the country's only media outlet with foreign investment. Like all other media in Myanmar, it is subject to government censorship.

Dunkley told the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2008 that about 20 per cent of the stories he submitted for publication were censored.

Myanmar, also called Burma, has been under military dictatorships since 1962 and has one of the world's worst records for press freedom.

Critics say that the advent of a new elected government, packed with ex-military men, appears not to have changed the regime's attitude towards the press.

According to the CPJ there were 13 journalists in jail in Myanmar as of December 1, 'making it one of the five worst jailers of journalists in the world.' http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1642376.php/Myanmar-trial-of-Australian-journalist-adjourned-until-June-14
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President Thein Sein declared that the historical paukphaw (fraternity) relationship between Burma and China has reached “a strategic level” during his three-day state visit to China, potentially alienating Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members in the process.

“Having been designated as partners for multi-strategic cooperation, Myanmar [Burma]—China relations have reached a new chapter and the highest level in China’s foreign relations,” he said while meeting Chinese President Hu Jintao at Bejing's Great Hall of the People on May 28, according to the state-owned New Light of Myanmar. “Both [of the] two countries have to work hard at all levels to maintain multi-strategic cooperation partnership relations.”

The two nations issued a joint statement defining the strategic level as: “The two sides will maintain close high-level contacts, continue to promote strategic mutual trust and further enhance friendly exchanges and cooperation between the parliaments, governments, judicial departments and political parties of the two countries.”

This was Thein Sein's first state visit to China after assuming the presidency and he headed a high-level delegation with more than a dozen cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and senior officials of the new government. He discussed a broad range of bilateral and regional issues with his Chinese counterpart.

During discussions with President Hu, Thein Sein apparently sought China's political support for Burma's relationship with Asean—specifically the issue of taking the bloc's chairmanship in 2014—and financial support for a number of development projects assisted by China.

In return for China's consistent support, Thein Sein pledged to President Hu that his new government maintained support for the “One China Policy” and backed its northern neighbor regarding South China Sea issues.

Thein Sein's vocal backing coincides with rising tensions between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea. Chinese marine surveillance vessels recently approached a ship operated by the state oil and gas firm PetroVietnam and cut its exploration cables, according to AFP.

Asean and China signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) on the sidelines of the sixth Asean-China Summit in November 2002, and so Burma has an obligation as a member state to respect the DOC and take a neutral standpoint. Thein Sein, however, decided to side himself with China.

Point five of the DOC stipulates: “The parties undertake to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability including, among others, refraining from inhabiting the presently uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, cays, and other features and to handle their differences in a constructive manner.”

Furthermore, Thein Sein's support for China in South China Sea issues could further weaken the unity of Asean and is not consistent with bloc leaders’ Joint Statement on the Asean Community in a Global Community of Nations, which was issued during the Indonesia Asean Summit in May.

According to this statement, Asean is making efforts to have a common platform by 2022 for “a more coordinated, cohesive, and coherent Asean position on global issues of common interest and concern, based on a shared Asean global view, which would further enhance Asean’s common voice in relevant multilateral fora.”

Thein Sein also sought China's assistance to be able to lead Asean in 2014. Referring to China's experiences in hosting international games and conferences, Thein Sein said: “Myanmar will host the SEA [Southeast Asia] Games in 2013 and the Asean Summit in 2014, so Myanmar would like China to offer its assistance.”

Thein Sein needs the support of Asean's dialogue partners in order for Burma to gain the bloc chairmanship, and the Chinese president is a crucial figure in this regard for the influence he wields. Other key partners are the European Union, Japan, United States, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Russia.

Kavi Chongkittavorn, senior editor for Bangkok-based newspaper The Nation, said that China's support is key for the Burmese chairmanship bid.
He said: “The scope and extent of China's influence and interest depends on the ability of Thien Sein's administration to gain international recognition as soon as possible. The best way to wrap up the seven-point road map is to chair Asean in 2014.
“China's attendance is important because of the East Asia Summit and other key meetings.
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Myanmar's Suu Kyi calls for China openness amid clampdown
ReutersBy Robert Birsel | Reuters – 52 minutes ago

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged China's Communist leaders Monday to be more open and tolerant amidst a heavy clampdown on dissidents and government critics in recent months.

"My message to China's leaders will be very simple," said Suu Kyi who was released after years of house arrest last November by Myanmar's military junta and is widely seen as a voice against political repression worldwide.

"China is a great country, the Chinese people are a great people with a marvellous and long history behind them. They can afford to take more steps, they can afford to be daring, they can afford to allow room for all kinds of opinions," said Suu Kyi during a video conference with an international audience at the University of Hong Kong.

With Myanmar subject to widespread international sanctions, China has remained its biggest economic and political ally and has maintained a no strings investment policy.

Myanmar, a former British colony also known as Burma, is widely considered to have one of the world's most autocratic governments despite releasing Suu Kyi and holding elections last year that were widely criticised as a sham.

Uprisings across the Arab world have made Chinese authorities jittery about any sign of instability and several prominent dissidents have been detained in recent months.

Suu Kyi's comments come days before the 22nd anniversary of a bloody crackdown in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, when Chinese troops were ordered to fire on pro-democracy demonstrators.

The previous year, the military in Myanmar crushed a student-led protest movement.

While any public commemoration of June 4 is banned in mainland China, pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong are gearing up for a candlelight vigil that organisers expect to draw an especially large turnout given the ongoing clampdown.

"I don't think that we should despair," said Suu Kyi. "The Chinese people are so interested in economic progress that they have not quite reached the political side of the matter. I think that will come, and perhaps sooner than people imagine."

As for her own plans, Suu Kyi said she intended to make a trip around Myanmar in the next month or two to meet supporters, but she declined to give details.

On the Middle East uprisings and whether they might hold lessons for Myanmar's long struggle for democracy, Suu Kyi said it was too early to deem such populist uprisings a success, though she said she was against foreign military intervention of the kind seen in Libya.

"This is not something that we particularly want (in Myanmar). What we want to achieve is national reconciliation."

Myanmar's new president Thein Sein, who took office last month, is seen as a stooge for former junta supremo Than Shwe and analysts expect little change.

Western governments are pressing for reforms and the release of hundreds of political prisoners in Myanmar.

(Editing by Robert Birsel) http://uk.news.yahoo.com/myanmars-suu-kyi-calls-china-openness-amid-clampdown-124736186.html
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Police file whitewashes Depayin massacre
By DVB
Published: 30 May 2011

A police report following the infamous Depayin massacre in 2003 in which a convoy carrying Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters was attacked claims that only four people died, far short of the 70 deaths estimated by observers.

The title of the 11-page internal report, seen by DVB, refers to “the disturbance” that took place on 30 May 2003 in Depayin town in Sagaing division, and comprises “accounts from 117 witnesses”, none of which are identified.

It claims that a number of slingshots and pellets were found in the car Suu Kyi, her driver and bodyguard were travelling in, which came under attack eight years ago today. The discovery of the weapons, it claimed, was proof that Suu Kyi knew her supporters were preparing to “attack the peaceful protesters” that had harassed her convoy over the previous month as it travelled around Burma.

It also refers to the Nobel laureate, who spent the subsequent seven years under house arrest for what the regime said was for her own security, as Daw Suu Kyi – considered a disparaging name among Burma’s pro-democracy movement.

The findings of the report contrast sharply with documentation of the incident over the eight years since it took place. Members of Suu Kyi’s convoy, the majority of whom were National League for Democracy (NLD) members, have recounted how upon arrival in Kyiywar village on the outskirts of Depayin township, hundreds of people armed with sticks and other weapons blocked the road.

Her driver at the time, Kyaw Soe Lin, told DVB in an exclusive interview last year that a mob carrying knives surrounded the vehicle, some of whom were wearing monk robes. A number of young NLD supporters who had tried to act as a shield between the car and the attackers were beaten to death.

Kyi Kyi Myint, who was travelling in the convoy at the time said that two monks had flagged down the car near to Kyiywar village and asked Suu Kyi to make a speech. “Just as this was happening, our car shook violently, and we saw about five or six vehicles coming with their headlights on,” she told DVB.

“The mob started beating up people including villagers from Kyiywar, kids and the elderly indiscriminately, killing two men on the spot.” Kyi Kyi Myint and two women in her car were also beaten. “They kept on with the beating and when the noises died down, one of their leaders shouted: ‘It’s all good men! They are all dead. Get back into the cars’.” People who then began to flee the scene were arrested.

The police report states however that upon seeing the mob blocking the road, the NLD convoy “came charging into the direction of the mob”. One of these was a pickup truck carrying Suu Kyi, it claimed.

The truck “ignored the mob” and “instead came in with increased speed”, forcing “all the people – abbots, monks and commission members – to dive off their chairs to avoid getting hit by the vehicle”. A second vehicle brushed past a motorbike, causing the driver to come off, and “a third vehicle following the second one ran over the motorbike driver. After that, the driver lost control and the vehicle came to stop when it hit a tree”.

A convoy of motorbikes then “aggressively rammed into the mob”, the police report says. Many people scarpered down nearby dirt tracks, “but the motorbikes followed them down there, still trying to hit them”.

“The people [referring to the mob] finally lost their temper and a riot, lasting for about 15 minutes, ensued.” Around 150 NLD supporters from Kyiywar village then arrived with weapons and began smashing the windows of minibuses that had carried the mob, which is referred to as the “anti-DSK mob”, shorthand for Daw Suu Kyi.

The police file quoted an anonymous Abbot who was reportedly witness to events at Depayin. “We were lucky to be alive given that her [Suu Kyi’s] car was driven very fast,” he said. “She is a very vile and rude woman [who is] trying to provoke a problem. Why don’t you just leave given that circumstances are out of control?”

The exact identity of the plain-clothed men who set upon the convoy has never been ascertained, although speculation has rested on members of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), which last year became the now-ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, or the notorious Swan Arr Shin militia.

The Hong Kong-based Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) said in a follow-up report to the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) that it was “a well-organised and premeditated attack… planned in advance with the connivance of the highest authorities”, an evaluation supported by the Burma Lawyers’ Council.

Of the four people listed as dead in the police report, two are NLD members – Tin Maung Oo and Myint Soe – and two are “non-NLD members”. Three of these died from “injuries sustained from reckless driving”.

The Ad Hoc Commission formed of the Burma Lawyers’ Council and the National Council of the Union of Burma, said in a report dated 25 June 2003 that at least 70 people were killed by the 5000-strong mob that had gathered outside Kyiywar village.
http://www.dvb.no/news/police-file-whitewashes-depayin-massacre/15890
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Eight years after the tour that led to her arrest, Suu Kyi plans rural Myanmar visit
KELVIN CHAN
Hong Kong— The Associated Press
Published Monday, May. 30, 2011 8:30AM EDT

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Monday she plans to tour rural Myanmar next month in her first trip into the provinces since a 2003 political tour ended in her lengthy house arrest.

“I hope to be able to travel out of Rangoon in the month of June, as soon as I have got rid of all the work that has piled up,” she said.
More related to this story

She said the authorities had not given her any “particular assurances” about security. She did not provide further details.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate drew large crowds when she toured northern Myanmar, and her popularity rattled the military government. Exactly eight years ago Monday, supporters of the ruling junta ambushed her entourage. Several of her followers were killed, but she escaped, only to be arrested.

She was unconditionally released in November after Myanmar held a general election in which her party did not participate, calling the vote unfair. Ms. Suu Kyi's party won the last election in 1990 but was not allowed to govern. The junta officially disbanded since the November election, but the current government is still military dominated.

Ms. Suu Kyi spoke Monday via videolink to an audience at Hong Kong University, answering dozens of questions from students, alumni and reporters. She has been jailed or under house arrest for 15 of the last 21 years, and during the brief periods of freedom, she has not traveled outside Myanmar, fearing the military would not allow her to return.

She avoided criticizing China, an important backer of Myanmar's military-dominated government. Beijing provides the country crucial economic support, military assistance and diplomatic protection at the United Nations.

Myanmar could maintain neighborly relations with China while having a “friendship based on shared values of democracy” with Western countries, she said.

“I don't think we have to make it either-or. We can be friends with the West and we can be friends with China each in its own special way,” Ms. Suu Kyi said.

Western nations and groups critical of Myanmar's poor human rights record had made her freedom a key demand. They estimate the country still has more than 2,000 political prisoners, and a UN envoy said last week Myanmar has changed little since its stated transition to civilian rule.

Ms. Suu Kyi said her NLD party has tried hard to establish a relationship with China's government. But party members aren't even able to break the ice with Chinese diplomats at cocktail receptions, she said.

“Somehow they seem to be able to evade our people quite successfully. I wish they would talk to us,” she said.

Ms. Suu Kyi ended by answering a question on how she felt about the death of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden, who was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs in a secret raid on his hideout in Pakistan.

“With regards to the recent death of bin Laden, it just shows that violence ends with violence, and that there is too much violence already in our world and we've got to try do something about it.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/asia-pacific/eight-years-after-the-tour-that-led-to-her-arrest-suu-kyi-plans-rural-myanmar-visit/article2039578/
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Hunger strike spreads to remote jails
By AHUNT PHONE MYAT
Published: 30 May 2011

Influential monk Ashin Gambira is among a group of political prisoners in the remote Kale jail in northern Burma who began a hunger strike last week, only days after a similar protest in Rangoon’s Insein prison ended.

Four inmates there, including Ashin Gambira and 1990 MP-elect Nyi Pu, had addressed a letter earlier this month to Burma’s home affairs minister complaining that they were being denied adequate healthcare, food and the freedom to communicate with their families.

Khin Thu Htay, the sister of the monk, who is serving a 63-year sentence for his pivotal role in the September 2007 uprising, visited the prison over the weekend. She said that the lack of any response to the letter prompted inmates to begin the hunger strike on Friday.

“I inquired with guards at the prison’s gate if the situation has been solved and they said not yet,” said Khin Thu Htay. “Just as I was talking to them, a local police official and a Special Branch official arrived and apparently they were there to collect information about the hunger strike.

“[Ashin Gambira] said all political prisoners would stage a hunger strike together – so I know it wasn’t only him.”

Nearly 30 political prisoners in the notorious Insein prison in Rangoon joined a hunger strike last week, also in protest at conditions there, while reports are circulating today that inmates in Hkamti prison in far northern Burma are also refusing food.

The Insein strike began on 17 May, the day after Burmese President Thein Sein announced a controversial amnesty that saw only 50 political prisoners among nearly 17,000 inmates released in a countrywide commutation.

At least seven of the Insein protesters were placed in solitary confinement for several days before eventually returning to their cells on 26 May.

Ashin Gambira is no stranger to prison protests, which are often met with hefty punishment: previous demands he made for former junta chief Than Shwe to visit him in prison and begin dialogue were quickly dealt with by authorities, who filled his mouth with a cloth, taped him up and repeatedly beat him.

Thein Sein and the UN Human Rights Commission were among the would-be recipients of the letter from Kale jail, which includes requests for prisoners to be allowed reading books, radio and satellite television.

Burma is estimated to have around 200,000 prisoners in 43 jails across the country. Around 2,100 of its prison population are so-called political prisoners, a group that includes monks, journalists, lawyers and doctors. Kale prison lies close to Burma’s border with India, around 680 miles north of Rangoon, and houses more than 40 political prisoners.
http://www.dvb.no/news/hunger-strike-spreads-to-remote-jails/15878
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Myanmar opposition figure returns home after medical treatment
May 30, 2011, 12:56 GMT

Yangon - Outspoken Myanmar government critic U Win Tin returned home Monday after five days in hospital, his family said.

Win Tin, who is a senior adviser to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and a founding member of her National League for Democracy, was hospitalized Thursday.

Win Tin served 19 years in prison for publishing anti-government propaganda to instigate civil disobedience.

Since his release in September 2008 he has been in poor health, suffering from both liver and heart problems.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1642381.php/Myanmar-opposition-figure-returns-home-after-medical-treatment
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Military Cronies Expand into Media
By KO HTWE Monday, May 30, 2011

Burma's top cronies are expanding into the media industry by starting new publications.

Nay Aung and Pyi Aung, the sons of the secretary of Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) Aung Thaung, and owners of the IGE Group of Companies, are planning to publish a business weekly. On top of controlling large-scale import-export concessions, IGE currently has investments in information technology and the energy sector.

Aung Thaung and his immediate family are on the EU and US visa blacklist and are listed as a target of EU sanctions. Pyi Aung is married to former Deputy Snr-Gen Maung Aye's daughter.

“I heard they will put more investment in the media industry,” said an editor of a Rangoon-based publication on the condition of anonymity. “They have offered journalists twice their current salary.”

IGE offered the editor-in-chief position of the Myanmar Wall Street, the proposed title of the forthcoming publication, to a Burmese economist and is currently filling other positions.

At the same time, the Htoo Group of Companies, owned by influential Burmese tycoon Tay Za, also plans to publish a journal. A source close to the company have outlined some details of the Htoo publication, but issues such as the inaugural issue’s date of publication have yet to be worked out.

“Htoo has already hired reporters,” said the source close to Htoo; however, he refused to give the names of reporters who have been extended offers.

Htoo has not confirmed plans for a new journal.

“By using media, the tycoon Tay Za wants to influence the public,” said Maung Wun Tha, a well-known Burmese writer and journalist. Maung Wun Tha also added that Tay Za is aware of the media’s utility, and plans to capitalize on the media’s advantages.

Meanwhile, US-sanctioned crony Zaw Zaw is reportedly planning to buy Myanmar Times in the near future.

“IGE, Htoo and Zaw Zaw involve ministers’ children, and they also have political intentions,” said the editor of the Rangoon-based publication, “Businessmen associated with the military are preparing to enter the next election, and they believe the media will be an effective force.”

There are an estimated 170 journals in Burma, several of which have close ties to the current regime. Myat Khaing, a close associate of Snapshot publisher and Minister of Information former Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, publishes Monitor. Tin Tun Oo, a USDP member, publishes the Myanmar Times, Pyi Myanmar and Thadin Hlwar. Zaw Min Aye, the son of former Lt-Gen Tin Aye, publishes Messenger, and ex-Lt-Gen Win Myint’s family owns Popular. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21388

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Read More...

Saturday, May 28, 2011

News & Articles on Burma-Friday 27 May, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Friday 27 May, 2011
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Government Disrespects the People's Will: Suu Kyi
KIO Doesn't Expect Chinese Pressure
US senator John McCain to visit Myanmar, sources say
Win Tin sends recorded message to 1990 election celebration
'The Character of the Army Has Deteriorated'
ILO conducts forced labour workshops with Burmese gov’t officials
China fetes new Myanmar president on state visit
China's top political advisor meets with Myanmar president
India losing patience with Burma dam
U.S. Engagement With Burma
Govt looks to stem gambling crisis
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Government Disrespects the People's Will: Suu Kyi
By SAW YAN NAING Friday, May 27, 2011

Ignoring the result of the general election in 1990 was disrespectful to the will of the Burmese people, said pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday, calling it “a historically inappropriate policy that damaged the image of the country.”

Suu Kyi made the comment at headquarters of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), in Rangoon’s Sanchaung Township where more than 200 people had gathered on the eve of the 21st anniversary of Burma’s 1990 election.

The NLD won a landslide victory in the election in 1990, winning 392 out of 485 parliamentary seats. However, the regime refused to hand over power to the party.

Suu Kyi was quoted by reporters in Rangoon as saying: “We have always opposed the rejection of the 1990 election result. It is not because we want power. It is an inappropriate policy because they [government] broke their promise to the people. They gave the people hope, and then broke that hope.”

She added: “To maintain good image of a country, the government has to respect the will of the people.”

On the anniversary of the 1990 election victory, Suu Kyi also told the recently free political prisoners not to be afraid, and urged them to stay involved in the political movement for the interest of the people of Burma, said sources in Rangoon.

“My father [Gen Aung San] said that those who dare to resist have courage,” she said. “If we are afraid to continue our work, then all the time we have spent in prison is meaningless.”

Suu Kyi spoke at the ceremony before more than 30 political prisoners who had been freed on May 17.

Burma released some 14,600 prisoners on May 17 after announcing an amnesty. However, only 47 political prisoners were among those released.

NLD members, Burmese opposition politicians, ethnic leaders and family members of political prisoners also attended the ceremony. Some police were nearby taking notes and photographs of the gathering, sources said.

Suu Kyi also said that the amnesty granted by the government can be only called “mercy,” according to Win Htein, an NLD member, and personal assistant and close aide to Suu Kyi.

Tin Oo, the deputy chairman of the NLD, also spoke at the ceremony, saying that the government did not offer an honest amnesty as it released very few political prisoners.

Suu Kyi said that a country where democracy prevails has practices such as free elections and the rule of law. Detaining political activists unlawfully is against the spirit of democracy, she added.

Meanwhile, Win Tin, a senior advisor to Suu Kyi who was scheduled to speak at the event, was unable to attend the ceremony as he was hospitalized on Thursday evening suffering from a liver problem and serious skin infection.

The Irrawaddy correspondents in Rangoon contributed to this article. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21376
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KIO Doesn't Expect Chinese Pressure
By SAI ZOM HSENG Friday, May 27, 2011
KIA soldier warms himself over a bonfire (Photo: Ryan Libre).

The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) said that China will not pressure its organization despite continued tension between the KIO and the Burmese army near the China-Burma border, including small-scale armed flare-ups.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday, the joint-secretary of the KIO, La Nan, said, “If China is going to pressure us, first of all they will lose what they invested in our area. They invested billions of dollars in the jade, mining and hydro-power sectors. I’m sure that before they pressure us they will take care of their investment.”

La Nan said that the KIO, which controls areas along the China-Burma border, have developed a normal relationship with the Chinese authorities. He also said that the KIO received information that China has urged the Burmese government to maintain stability in the border areas.

However, small-scale skirmishes between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the military wing of the KIO, and Burmese government’s troops broke out recently after the vice-chairman of China's Central Military Commission, Gen. Xu Caihou, visited Burma and met the country's new president, Thein Sein.

Some military observers said that the skirmishes were related to the visit by the Chinese general, but La Nan said that, “While the Chinese general visited Burma, I don't think they talked about defeating or attacking the armed groups on the China-Burma border. I heard that they talked about military cooperation between the two countries.”

“The intention of the government forces is to reduce our controlled area and to enforce the four-cuts mission in our controlled area. They want our troops to be weaker than now. So they cut the communication between our troops and the local people, the communication between our own battalions, the support and the food supplies for our troops,” La Nan said.

Although the media reported that the Burmese government had withdrawn their troops from the KIO-controlled area, it was just a strategic shift of the government troops, La Nan said.

As evidence, on Friday morning, KIA Battalion No. 27 fired warning shots after Burmese troops tried to sneak into the KIO controlled area, said La Nan. In addition, small-scale gunfire was exchanged near Laiza, the headquarters of KIA, and in the area in Mohnyin Township, Kachin State controlled by KIA Brigade 5.

Meanwhile, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), which is an ethnic armed group also based on the China-Burma border, is seeking a political discussion with the new Burmese civilian government and their relationship with China is going well, according to a UWSA official.

“We want the new government to hold a political discussion with all of the ethnic armed groups, but there’s no sign from the government side yet,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Many military observers say that the UWSA, which has 20,000-30,000 troops, is the strongest ethnic armed group. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21375
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US senator John McCain to visit Myanmar, sources say

May 27, 2011, 12:03 GMT

Yangon - US senator John McCain, the Republican's unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2008, has been granted a visa to visit Myanmar next week, government sources said Friday.

'He will visit here in the first week of June,' said a government official who requested anonymity.

McCain is expected to meet with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but it was unclear whether he would be granted an audience with President Thein Sein or senior government officials, the source said.

The senator, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, has been one of the foremost critics of Myanmar's military junta that ruled the country from 1988 to 2010, before passing power to an elected government after a general election in November.

The election, labelled a sham by US President Barack Obama, was won by the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party.

McCain's visit would follow on other high-profile visits since Myanmar's new government took office on March 30.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Joseph Yun visited Myanmar last week and met with Foreign Minister Wanna Maung Lwin.

Yun, who also met with Suu Kyi, told the Nobel laureate that he 'wanted to see significant development here,' before the US would consider lifting sanctions.

It was Yun's first official visit since the new government was formed, and followed a visit by United Nations special envoy to Myanmar Vijay Nambiar in early April.

Yun last visited in December, shortly after Suu Kyi was released from a seven-year house arrest.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1641893.php/US-senator-John-McCain-to-visit-Myanmar-sources-say
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Win Tin sends recorded message to 1990 election celebration
Friday, 27 May 2011 17:18 Mizzima News

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Win Tin, hospitalized on Thursday, sent a recorded message to the1990 election victory anniversary celebration on Friday at party headquarters.

The NLD co-founder was admitted to Asia Tawwin Hospital on Thursday to undergo tests on his liver and lungs. X-ray and blood test have been done and the results will be known soon.

Party General-Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi attended the election victory day celebration which included a welcome home party for political prisoners who were recently released when the government issued a 1-year commutation of all sentences.

A friend said Win Tin took a fall on Thursday evening at his home and doctors who examined him recommended he be hospitalized for a medical checkup.

After the senior NLD leader returned from visiting Aungban in southern Shan State last week by passenger bus to attend writer Dagon Tarya’s birthday party, he appeared to be tired, according to a close friend. Win Tin has a heart condition, has had problems with his lungs, and has undergone surgery for a hernia. A friend said he was in pain when he entered the hospital.

His physician, Dr. Myo Nyunt, was his prison mate in Insein Prison, where Win Tin served a 19-year sentence. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/5338-win-tin-sends-recorded-message-to-1990-election-celebration.html
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'The Character of the Army Has Deteriorated'
By KO HTWE Friday, May 27, 2011

In their hearts, most of the rank and file soldiers in the Burmese army want democracy, but the power-hungry generals lead the soldiers by the nose for their own selfish interests, said former Lt Col Kyaw San, who served in the army for more than 36 years.

Kyaw San, 79, joined the army in 1949 and attended the Defense Service Academy No 18, but he later was a political prisoner for more than 15 of the 21 years that Than Shwe's military regime held power.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Kyaw San said that most of the soldiers voted for the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), in the 1990 election. He said he doesn't want the army to be the enemy, rather the army should be the referee for the country.

Kyaw San at a ceremony commemorating the 21st anniversary of Burma's 1990 election on May 27, 2011. The election was won by the National League for Democracy, but the results were not honored by the military regime. (Photo: The Irrawaddy).
“The motivation of the soldiers should not to be to become the president. If they want power in their hands, they should abandon weapons and uniform and establish a political party,” said Kyaw San after his release from prison.

He retired from the army in 1986 and went on to participate in the 1988 uprising with Tin Oo, who is the current vice-president of the NLD. In 1990, Kyaw San was elected to be an MP in Parliament, but the election was not honored by the regime. In 1992, he was sentenced to a seven-year, seven-month prison term for praising Aung San Suu Kyi for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

“The character of the current army has deteriorated as compared to the age of its founder, Gen Aung San,” Kyaw San said, adding that there are many child soldiers who should carry milk in their backpack rather than weapons, but these child soldiers are moved one mile away from the battalion when the head of the army visits.

“It seems that nobody wants to join the army. In my age, 500 soldiers were sent together for military operations, but nowadays only half that number are sent,” said Kyaw San, “Now there are soldiers whose priorities are their own interests.”

He said the origin of the army is the same, but the essence has changed compared with the former army because the essence depends on the commitment and spirit of the leader.

While Kyaw San was serving as battalion commander in the army, Lt-Gen Myint Swe served as his intelligence officer and ex Lt-Gen Tin Aye served as one of his company commanders.

“They are good persons, obedient and faithful while I was with them. I know well about them as parents know their children. But now I don't know whether they have become the victims of power and wealth,” said Kyaw San.

“Now I don't know whether our paths are totally different or not. They consider me an enemy and their regime has sentenced me to 15 years imprisonment,” said Kyaw San. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21374
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ILO conducts forced labour workshops with Burmese gov’t officials
Thursday, 26 May 2011 16:38 Mizzima News

(Interview) – Steve Marshall, the International Labour Organization liaison in Rangoon, recently visited Harka Township in Chin State. Reporter Ko Pauk talked with him about the ILO work in Burma and its campaign to educate government officials and the general public about international labour standards.

Question: How did you come to be in Chin State?

Steve Marshall, centre, at an ILO labour conference meeting. Photo: ILO

Steve Marshall, centre, at an ILO labour conference meeting. Photo: ILO
Answer: Essentially there were two reasons. The first reason is that the government of Myanmar [Burma] and the ILO have agreed that we should undertake joint awareness-raising seminars over all of the country, and Chin was one of the states where we had not undertaken that activity yet. The second was that we have over a period of time received a number of complaints about the use of forced labour from Chin state.

Q: How many complaint letters have you received from Chin State?

A: We’ve received about five formal complaints and a large number of informal complaints. But what we discussed with the government was that we should undertake this training and awareness activity, with a view to seeing whether in fact we were able to start effecting some change in the behavioural patterns in that region. It is no different in fact from any other region in the country. We receive complaints from all over the country, and the awareness raising activity has proven very positive in terms of getting peoples’ understanding and towards some behavioural change.

Q: The ILO will distribute brochures about forced labour in Chin state. How will you distribute this information?

A: We have a brochure which has been developed in agreement with the government, and you should be aware that it has already been distributed to all of the persons that were present at our seminar, and that the senior official at that seminar in fact requested more, so that he would be in a position to distribute them through to other government personnel who were not present at the seminar, which is extremely positive. However, of course it is also important for citizens to understand their rights under the law, which are also covered in the brochure, and so that is normally distributed through a range of different community based organizations and NGOs, people with an interest in their environment and who can brief others in terms of their rights and responsibilities.

Q: Apart from the brochures, are there other activities for the awareness campaign in Chin state?

A: Not specifically in Chin State, but frankly we use every opportunity we can to raise awareness. For example, my talking with you is important, because media is one of the important networks for getting people aware of the situation and more aware of their rights under the law and their responsibilities under the law. So I use the media as much as is possible. We also undertake a whole range of workshop activities for individuals who are concerned, or the staff of community-based organizations, to give them an understanding and a basis on which they can then pass the word to others in the locations where they live and work, and we have undertaken a lot of this kind of workshop activity over the last year.

Q: How many Chin State authorities did you get a chance to meet?

A: Well, it was a state-wide activity, so the state authorities invited in representatives from townships. There were 160-plus persons, they represented almost every government department, from township, district and state levels. It encompassed the military as well, representatives of the army, representatives of the police, the judicial authorities, legal officers and all of the government departments and ministries with operations in Chin state.

Q: Did you meet with any members of Parliament or local people?

A: At that particular meeting there were no members of Parliament, but we have in fact had separate discussions with a number of members of Parliament. They obviously are interested in terms of the issues, and want to see the law applied and development activities result from that application of the law.

Similarly in terms of ordinary citizens, we undertake our educational activity with them through workshops and through community-based operations. This was a specific seminar targeted for local authority personnel, both military and civilian from all levels of the state.

Q: So overall you are satisfied with the visit?

A: Frankly, I am always satisfied with the opportunity of actually meeting people and exchanging information and knowledge. The critical factor now is that we maintain a monitoring activity to measure whether in fact there is any change in approach, in terms of the use of forced labour in Chin state, and that will only be measured over a period of time. I am very hopeful that the outcome will be positive both for the country and for the people of Chin state.

Q: What is your comment on the Physicians for Human Rights report critical of forced labour in the state?

A: That was an important report. We obviously took serious note of the content of that report and elements of that report were discussed with the government towards getting understanding and agreement that we should hold this training activity. However, that report took place previously. It is important, however, what we are now loooking to determine whether a future report would say anything different in terms of changed behaviour and change approaches; it is my hope that it would.

Q: When will you return to Chin State?

A: To be honest, I have no idea; the ILO office in Myanmar is very small, we are not in the position to do regular follow-up missions, and so what we do is we operate through a network of individuals throughout the whole country, voluntary individuals, who keep us informed, who observe, record and report on developments, both positive developments and negative developments. So I am hopeful that through that mechanism we will be able to keep a good eye on how things are developing.

Q: Compared with other states in terms of human rights violations or forced labour, what can you say about Chin State?

A: You are aware that forced labour has been a problem in Myanmar for many years, and it is not an issue which is limited or restricted to particular states; it has been a general problem. There have been a number of areas in the country, because of their geographic location, or their economic situation or their political situation, which have had more serious histories in respect of forced labour. Chin, I would say, is an area that because of its geographic location, and possibly because of some of the political environment, has had serious issues in the past.

I do not see it as necessarily being worse than any other similar part of the country, but again I have to say that we are working towards the future, and we are not concentrating purely on what has happened in the past.
http://www.mizzima.com/edop/interview/5326-ilo-conducts-forced-labour-workshops-with-burmese-govt-officials.html
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May 27, 4:31 AM EDT
China fetes new Myanmar president on state visit

BEIJING (AP) -- China is bestowing a pomp-filled welcome on Myanmar's new president, conferring legitimacy on the country's newly elected but still military-backed civilian government and ensuring continued Chinese access to its gas and other resources.

Thein Sein was due to hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday, after a formal welcome ceremony inside the Great Hall of the People. Later the two are expected to preside at the signing of agreements on technical and economic cooperation.

The trip is Thein Sein's first state visit abroad since taking office in February, underscoring the importance of China ties to the Myanmar government.

Critics have dismissed Myanmar's November's general election as rigged in favor of Thein Sein's army-backed party. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_MYANMAR?SECTION=HOME&SITE=AP&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
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China's top political advisor meets with Myanmar president
English.news.cn 2011-05-27 19:39:15

Jia Qinglin (1st R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, meets with Myanmar President U Thein Sein in Beijing, capital of China, May 27, 2011. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng)

BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The country's top political advisor Jia Qinglin met with Myanmar President U Thein Sein on Friday to discuss bilateral relations.

Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said he appreciated Thein Sein's visit to China shortly after taking office in March.

He said the visit showed the great importance Myanmar attached to the relationship between the two countries.

China and Myanmar have always maintained mutual trust and support since the two countries forged diplomatic relations more than 60 years ago, he said.

China-Myanmar relations have enjoyed rapid development, featuring frequent high-level exchanges, increasing political mutual trust and expanded economic cooperation, he said.

The two countries also have maintained mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests and kept close coordination in international and regional affairs, he said, adding that bilateral friendly cooperation was developing towards a strategic level.

To increase bilateral cooperation is in accordance with the fundamental interests of both nations and is conducive to regional peace, stability and prosperity, said Jia.

He called on both sides to enhance strategic mutual trust, raise the level of economic and trade cooperation and expand people-to-people and culture exchanges.

China is ready to work Myanmar to deepen traditional friendship and enhance comprehensive cooperation and make the two countries good neighbors, good friends and good partners forever, said Jia.

Thein Sein said he appreciated Jia's visit to Myanmar in April shortly after the new Myanmar administration took office.

He also thanked Jia for his valuable advice on developing bilateral relations during his April visit.

Thein Sein said his visit aimed to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges between the two nations and show Myanmar's willingness to advance mutually-beneficial cooperation in various fields.

"I am glad to see the bilateral relations developing towards the strategic cooperative level on the basis of traditional brotherly friendship," he said.

Thein Sein arrived in Beijing Thursday afternoon for a three-day state visit to China.

This is the Myanmar president's first state visit to China since taking office.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-05/27/c_13897771.htm
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India losing patience with Burma dam
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 27 May 2011

India should consider withdrawing from a stop-start hydropower project on Burma’s northwestern Chindwin river that despite years of diplomatic manoeuvring has struggled to take shape, Delhi’s ambassador to Burma has said.

The suggestion came in a letter sent recently to Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao. Ambassador V.S. Sheshdari was quoted in the Times of India as saying that “we should, without further loss of time, exit the project in as smooth a manner as possible rather than expending further diplomatic capital on seeking clearances etc… the delay is affecting our image and is seen as confirming local (mis)perceptions about Indian companies.”

The project, designed in collaboration with India’s National Hydro Power Company (NHPC), was first mooted in a 2004 cooperation agreement. The Tamanthi dam, as it was known, had a projected capacity of 1,200 megawatts.

The Times of India further suggests that the Burmese government’s hydropower planning department was ponderous in communications and had not offered NHPC any high-level government access.

The striking aspect of the delay is the inevitable tussle with China, at a time when Burmese President Thein Sein is in Beijing for his first bilateral visit since taking office.

Whilst India has looked to gain greater connectivity to its restive northeast region through infrastructure projects such as this, the greater imperative that concerning Delhi is its enduring rivalry with China. Frustratingly for India, the Bu’ma’s new autocratic has favoured China over its western neighbour.

The rift in influence between the two nations was highlighted by Burma’s bilateral trade figures last year – around $US4 billion with China compared to $US1 billion with India.

The relationship between Burma and China was cemented with the Shwe gas pipeline, a highly lucrative deal that India lost out on. This has seen not only a huge Chinese investment in the country but also a massive strategic reliance on Burma as China looks to the pipeline to import oil through the country.

The Tamanthi project has struggled to get off the ground, despite concerted efforts by Delhi at strengthening bilateral relations. This even included a trip to India last year by former junta head Than Shwe, during which he controversially paid homage to Indian independence hero and peaceful protester, Mahatma Gandhi.

India’s imperative in its relationship with Burma’s hermetic rulers also hinges on China and its claim to its northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The border is an unclear colonial relic while Arunachal Pradesh is, according to the Chinese, part of Tibet, which was annexed by Beijing in the late 1940?s. The relations have not been helped by both countries’ harbouring of dissidents, with India long the home of Tibetan religious leader, the Dalai Lama, and China the alleged safe haven of Paresh Barua of the northeastern separatist outfit, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).

This adds to Delhi’s concerns about China’s influence over bitter rival Pakistan, where Beijing’s impressive foreign policy continues apace. This comes at a time when that country’s populace and politicians grow increasingly frustrated with US patronage and the subsequent military actions that the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan has created.

These concerns have been aired by the whistleblower website Wikileaks, with one leaked US cable from 2003 stating that “according to our Indian interlocutors, India intends to seize every opportunity to counter growing Chinese influence in BURMA, even if this requires cozying up to the SPDC,” referring to the former ruling State Peace and Development Council.
http://www.dvb.no/news/india-losing-patience-with-burma-dam/15853
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Voanews.com: Editorials
U.S. Engagement With Burma
05-26-2011
A top U.S. diplomat traveled to Burma recently to meet senior officials in the new government and consult with civil society on the political and human rights situation there.

To maintain pressure for reform, the United States has renewed for another year its targeted economic sanctions against Burma.

A top U.S. diplomat traveled to Burma recently to meet senior officials in the new government and consult with civil society on the political and human rights situation there. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Joseph Yun met Burma's foreign affairs minister and the deputy speaker of the People's parliament, as well as business leaders and representatives of nongovernmental organizations, ethnic minorities and political parties, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Syi. His visit reflects our nation's continued willingness to engage with the government of Burma, while still pressing its leaders for needed change.

Relations between the U.S. and Burma face serious challenges, but rather than isolate the regime, we aim to air our differences and seek possible common ground. Unfortunately, Burma has still shown little progress in improving human rights overall. We have long called for the release of all political prisoners there, estimated to number more than 2,000. The clemency program recently announced was disappointing, in that it reduced prison sentences by just one year and included only a few political prisoners.

To maintain pressure for reform, the United States has renewed for another year its targeted economic sanctions against Burma. These restrictions are aimed at senior officials of the regime and their key supporters who are responsible for preventing Burma’s transition to genuine democracy. We will continue to sustain pressure on the Burmese regime, while at the same time pursuing engagement, as we strive to promote positive change for the citizens of Burma. http://www.voanews.com/policy/editorials/US-Engagement-With-Burma-122678219.html
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Govt looks to stem gambling crisis
By SHWE AUNG
Published: 27 May 2011

Farmers in the Irrawaddy delta are increasingly turning to gambling as businesses struggle to recover from cyclone Nargis (Reuters)

Education workshops have been held in the Burmese capital aimed at tackling rising rates of gambling among farmers, an issue that threatens to send greater numbers into debt.

Gambling is technically illegal in Burma, although the government turns a blind eye to the burgeoning casino industry in the country’s border regions. Farmers however are taking part in more informal activities, says Htun Lwin a meteorologist who was present at one of the sessions.

“When I was travelling around for public lectures in rural areas, I got to talk with farmers and found out they are spending a lot of money on illegal two and three digit lotteries,” he said, adding that the phenomenon was “driving them deeper and deeper into poverty”.

Those present at the workshop, part of a three-day National Level Workshop on Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation in Naypyidaw, were initially coy, he said, likely a result of the status of the activity and the stigma attached to those involved.

A farmer in Bogalay township in the Irrawaddy delta said that problem was spreading among Burmese, and many low-income workers had lost their businesses. One man he spoke of had lost two-thirds of his farmland to pay off gambling debts.

The majority of buildings in Bogalay were destroyed by cyclone Nargis in May 2008, which killed upwards of 10,000 people in the small town. The slow pace of reconstruction, even three years on, has pushed inhabitants to look for an income in the two-digit lottery games based on Thai stock exchange figures.

The Rangoon-based Seven Day News said that 70 percent of village populations in Rangoon division’s Htantabin township are playing the two-digit lottery.
http://www.dvb.no/news/govt-looks-to-stem-gambling-crisis/15859


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Thursday, May 26, 2011

News & Articles on Burma-Wednesday 25 May, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Wednesday 25 May, 2011
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The DW Debate with Aung San Suu Kyi
http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_single_mediaplayer/0,,6532017_type_video_struct_4756_contentId_6520969,00.html
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Political Prisoners go on hunger-strike in Burma’s prison
Aung San Suu Kyi records message for Amnesty International's 50th Birthday
Burma remains a millstone around Asean's neck
New Burma leader seeks friendly deals
China says Myanmar wants greater engagement with outside world
Visits from NKorean, Myanmar leaders highlights China’s close ties to shunned regimes
White Tiger party to cooperate with Thai company for mining in Shan State
All KIA troops in Northern Burma on alert
Headache for Thein Sein, 4 Chinese dam workers vanish into thin air
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Political Prisoners go on hunger-strike in Burma’s prison
By Zin Linn May 25, 2011 11:43PM UTC

A grouping of 22 political prisoners in Rangoon’s infamous Insein jail has been going on a hunger-strike for better living conditions since 17 May. According to Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), seven out of those 22 political prisoners have been placed in solitary confinement.

They have demand six points regarding basic prisoner rights and they have decided to undergo a hunger-strike until their demands are met. The prison authorities responded by sending them to the Military Dog-Cell, a disreputably well-known prison chamber for brutal torture and extreme punishment. They were transferred on 24 May in the afternoon.

Other political prisoners who have been on hunger strike were told to collect their possessions, an indication that they will be transferred to remote prisons as a punishment, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) said.

The hunger-strike starts as over 14,600 prisoners have left prison last week under a clemency program for prisoners or a limited amnesty granted by the new president but “astonishingly insufficient”, said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Myanmar researcher.

As said by families of political prisoners, women prisoners have also joined in the hunger-striker. The main motive of the strike is to state detest toward the namesake amnesty, which left more than 2,000 political prisoners in detention.

New president Thein Sein, former junta prime minister, said the amnesty was to “turn prisoners into citizens who will in one way or another contribute toward the process of building a new nation.”

But observers said that sham amnesty is the government’s naive effort to gain international support for itself after taking office in March. Human Rights Watch said very few of the country’s 2,200 political prisoners were among those being released. Also, the one-year reduction in sentences for political prisoners serving 65 years was “a sick joke,” Human Rights Watch said when the amnesty was announced earlier this month.

As reported by AAPP-B, at least 159 political prisoners are in poor health due to the denial of proper medical care, harsh prison conditions, torture and transfers to remote prisons where there are no doctors. Political prisoners’ right to healthcare is principally denied by the successive regimes. Prison healthcare system in Burma is totally poor, especially in far-flung jails. There are 44 prisons across Burma, and at least 50 labour camps. Some of them do not have a prison hospital as well as health assistance personnel.

The regime’s treatment of political prisoners directly breaks the 1957 UN standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) carried out its last prison visit in Burma in November 2005. In January 2006 the ICRC suspended prison visits in the country, as it was not allowed to fulfill its independent, impartial mandate.

The AAPP-Burma said in its April report that there were 2,061 political prisoners and 156 were female. On May 17, Burma began releasing about 14,600 prisoners across the country under the one-year commutation order signed by President Thein Sein. According to the latest figures, out of the 14,600 prisoners, 55 are political prisoners. 27 out of the 55 political prisoners are members of the National League for Democracy.

There are at least 329 ethnic people who still remain in prison. Five ethnic parties joined forces in Rangoon – the Brotherhood Forum – called for the release of all political prisoners for the sake of national reconciliation.

“The government should announce a general amnesty , said Hla Saw secretary of Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), adding that he is a former political prisoner who was released from prison in 1980 under a general amnesty.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/55799/political-prisoners-go-on-hunger-strike-in-burma%E2%80%99s-prison/
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Aung San Suu Kyi records message for Amnesty International's 50th Birthday

Posted: 25 May 2011

The world’s best known political prisoner pays tribute to the world’s largest human rights organisation and looks forward to the day Amnesty no longer exists

Amnesty International, the world’s largest human rights organisation, is celebrating 50 years of work on Saturday 28 May 2011. In a message to Amnesty International, Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s iconic pro-democracy leader who was released last year after having spent 15 of the last 20 years under house arrest, paid tribute to the work that Amnesty had done over the last half a century and said how happy she will be when there is no longer any need for such an organisation.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, said:

“I wish, on this 50th anniversary of Amnesty International, that its work will continue to be so successful, that there will no longer be any need for such an organisation.

“So I hope that we shall be able to cooperate together to bring about this sad, this happy day when Amnesty International no longer needs to carry on its work. “

Aung San Suu Kyi went on to talk about her early awareness of the organisation, and how she became increasingly aware of its importance when she herself became the focus of Amnesty’s campaigning.

Aung San Suu Kyi, said:

“The work that Amnesty International has done for all those who are suffering as prisoners of conscience is great - all over the world.

“I was quite young when I first learned about Amnesty International and was struck by the fact that it had been founded simply because one thinking man had read about the arrest of two young students in Portugal. One man in the UK decided because of what had happened to two young men in Portugal, that there was a need for such an organisation as Amnesty International.

“From that day I have harboured great respect for the organisation and after I was placed under house arrest and many of my colleagues were imprisoned for their political beliefs, my appreciation for Amnesty International increased by the day.”

Amnesty was started in London, in 1961, when British barrister Peter Benenson read an article about two Portuguese students who had been arrested for raising a “toast to freedom”. In the 1960s, Portugal was one of the remaining European colonial powers in Africa, ruled by the authoritarian Estado Novo regime. Anti-regime conspiracies were vigorously repressed by the Portuguese state police and deemed anti-Portuguese. The simple toast was deemed insurgent and a challenge to the government and the two were sent to prison.

Benenson wrote an article entitled ‘The Forgotten Prisoners’, in which he highlighted the plight of similar prisoners who had been jailed around the world for peacefully expressing their views. In an impassioned plea, he coined the term ‘prisoner of conscience’ and called for like-minded people across the world to unite in an appeal for amnesty on their behalf. The response was immense, and within weeks Amnesty International, a coordinated movement of ordinary people standing up for justice, had been born.

Today Amnesty has more than three million supporters, members and activists working at the forefront of human rights issues in more than 150 countries and territories across the globe. Amnesty’s purpose is to protect people when their human rights are denied, calling for an end to the discrimination, persecution and harassment that individuals face.

Aung San Suu Kyi, said:

“Basic to the strength of Amnesty International is the fact that so many ordinary people from so many countries in the world have been persuaded to take part in its work.

“The letters written by ordinary housewives, by school children, by retired people, by active young businessmen - all over the world - for the rights of those who have been imprisoned, makes a great difference.

“One single postcard means a lot, and it’s this kind of idea; that great things start from small beginnings - that has made Amnesty International such an unusual and such a globally relevant organisation.”

Speaking from Rangoon, wearing her trade-mark huge, bright flower in her hair, the political leader known simply as “The Lady” by her Burmese supporters, looked straight into the camera and smiled as she said what a happy, sad day the end of Amnesty would mark for the world. She acknowledged how vital Amnesty had been in conveying the dire situation of human rights in Burma, and asked that Burma is not neglected after the elections last November.

Aung San Suu Kyi, concluded:

“We should be sorry not to be in touch anymore with all those people who have made this such a very, very valuable organisation, but we should also be very happy when we know that there is no need for Amnesty International any more.”

For more information about Amnesty’s work; past, present and future, and to obtain a copy of the message from Aung San Suu Kyi, contact the press office.
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=19476
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Burma remains a millstone around Asean's neck
Editorial Desk
The Nation (Thailand)
Publication Date : 25-05-2011

The new Burmese government of President Thein Sein could make such a big difference to the future of the country and its people if it was honest about bringing positive changes. A few things would suffice to demonstrate to the international community that, as the new leader in Naypyidaw, he is not a puppet of the military strongman General Than Shwe and cronies in the former junta. Such action would include addressing human rights and corruption issues. After all, Thein Sein has been described as a new pragmatist leader who can bring changes and transformation to a much-loathed administration.

Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on human rights, and Vijay Nambiar, a UN senior envoy to Burma, have similar assessments of the current situation in Burma. Quintana was not given an entry visa while Nambiar was allowed in earlier this month to review whatever progress the new government has achieved or promised to do. But they were both disappointed.

First of all, violations of human rights among the minorities continue unabated. Quintana observed correctly that there is systematic militarisation, which leads to abuses of human rights along the Thai-Burmese border. Land confiscation, forced labour, internal displacement and sexual violence are widespread. It is a well-known fact also that the Burmese military has used rape as a weapon to terrorise the minorities, especially in the Shan dominated areas.

Most importantly, the process of national reconciliation has yet to start in a tangible way. There have been some positive signs from the government regarding certain minority groups, such as the ceasefire prospect with rebels in the Kayin State and the release of political prisoners in the Shan State. But there must be concrete results. Apart from this, the overall picture remains negative.

Last week, US deputy assistant secretary of state Joseph Yun visited Burma, the most senior US official to visit since the new government was set up. He told reporters that Washington is willing to strengthen ties with Burma on the condition that there are improvements in human rights, the release of all political prisoners and better governance. For the time being, however, Washington continues its sanctions against Burma, and will likely continue to do so until the above conditions are met.

The opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has urged the US to continue with the sanctions until there is sufficient progress on human rights, saying that they hurt the ruling military leaders.

Without positive developments in Burma, Asean should not even consider allowing it to be chairman of the regional body in 2014. Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa has yet to visit Naypyidaw to assess the situation on the ground. Fortunately, the Asean leaders have deferred their decision on whether to grant Burma the chairmanship until November. Although the proposed move is three years away, the situation in Burma could affect relations between the regional grouping and its dialogue partners, especially the US. Asean-led forums such as the East Asia Summit could be set back badly if Washington refuses to participate due to the lack of progress in Burma. Asean can ill-afford this kind of diplomatic rebuttal.

Since its admission to Asean in 1997, Burma has got away with years of brutal atrocities and dubious undertakings. Judging from this history, it is doubtful if Naypyidaw will embark on the necessary steps to meet reasonable demands from the UN and the international community. Only a well-coordinated international effort can help change Burma for the better. http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=19082&sec=3
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The Standard [Hong Kong]
New Burma leader seeks friendly deals
Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Burma's new civilian president, Thein Sein, is due to arrive in Beijing tomorrow on a three-day mission of friendship.

As a loyalist of the reclusive former paramount leader Than Shwe, he is no stranger to the capital, having met top leaders in previous official capacities, including as prime minister.

"He'll probably sign several agreements and maybe visit some industrial sites, as Burma's focus now is developing its economy," said Lin Xixing, a Burma expert at Jinan University, Guangzhou.

"China is investing large sums in high-speed rail and road links, as well as pipelines, in Burma."

Bilateral trade rose more than half last year to US$4.4 billion (HK$34.32 billion), and Chinese investment in Burma reached US$12.3 billion last year, with a strong focus on natural resources and energy projects.

Diplomatically, Beijing provides Burma with cover at the United Nations, fending off calls for tougher action demanded by the West on the country's human rights record.

REUTERShttp://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=3&art_id=111367&sid=32491068&con_type=1&d_str=20110525&fc=4
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STRAITS TIMES
Wednesday May 25, 2011
China says Myanmar wants greater engagement with outside world

BEIJING (Reuters) - Myanmar's new civilian government wants greater engagement economically and diplomatically with the outside world, China's ambassador to the isolated Southeast Asian nation said ahead of a visit to Beijing by the former Burma's president.

Myanmar is subject to wide-ranging sanctions by Europe and the United States, which both criticised as a sham elections last year under a "road map" to democracy and hand-over of power from a military junta.

But China's ambassador to Myanmar, Li Junhua, told the official Xinhua news agency in an interview carried on Wednesday that new president Thein Sein was much more than just a chip off the old block.

"We have seen a new phenomenon economically, (they) are inducing more foreign investment, expanding foreign trade and strengthening private enterprises," Li said, according to an English-language Xinhua report.

The new government had become "more self-confident and more active diplomatically", he added, citing Thein Sein's recent attendance at a summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

Li said Thein Sein's first speech upon taking office "produced a strong signal to the Myanmar people of all walks of life and the international community, saying that the new government would ... speed up the rate of opening to the outside world".

Li added that Thein Sein "clearly stated that Myanmar's new government will more actively participate in the activities of the international community, especially those of the Association of South East Asian Nations".

Thein Sein is a loyalist of the reclusive former paramount leader Than Shwe, and was number four in the previous military regime.

China is Myanmar's most important diplomatic ally, and the two have strong trade links. Chinese companies have invested billions of dollars in Myanmar, mostly in energy and raw material projects.

Li praised Myanmar's new government, with its "smooth" transfer of power from the military.

"Government at different levels are also operating orderly," he added.

Underscoring the importance Myanmar attaches to the president's Beijing visit this week, Thein Sein will be bringing 10 ministers with him, Li said.

China and Myanmar will sign various agreements during the trip and issue a joint statement that will "be a new breakthrough, a new push in the development of the two countries' relations and future cooperation", he added, without elaborating.

Myanmar's critics say the military is firmly in control behind a veneer of civilian rule and the government tolerates no opposition despite the release from house arrest last year of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Copyright © 2011 Reuters http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/25/worldupdates/2011-05-25T134105Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-572650-1&sec=Worldupdates
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Visits from NKorean, Myanmar leaders highlights China’s close ties to shunned regimes
By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, May 25, 5:48 PM

BEIJING — Visits to Beijing this week by top officials from North Korea, Myanmar, and Iran are spotlighting China’s cozy ties with nations widely shunned for human rights abuses and threatening behavior.

North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong Il arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao that would underscore the influence economic powerhouse China has with Kim’s ostracized regime, which struggles to feed its people.

Beijing is North Korea’s most vital diplomatic ally and economic supporter and is desperate to prevent a chaotic collapse of its hardline communist neighbor. Kim rarely makes foreign trips and his third visit to China in just over a year emphasizes his dependency on Beijing.

On Thursday, Beijing will host a visit from Myanmar President Thein Sein, a former general and prime minister in the military junta that handed power to a nominally civilian government at the end of March. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi stopped in Beijing as part of commemorations of four decades of diplomatic ties.

To many observers, such ties tarnish Beijing’s self-image as a responsible rising power.

But to China, they represent a political kinship in rejecting Western-style democracy as well as the economic benefits of trade with partners whose markets are shunned by the West yet wide open for Chinese investment.

China’s communist leaders are themselves accused of violating rights and locking up its critics and have little patience for Western accusations against similar regimes.

“China views a number of countries in the world as in alliance in not having democracy or sharing Western human rights concepts,” said Michael Davis, a law professor and Chinese politics expert at Chinese University of Hong Kong. “It helps mobilize their legitimacy argument that the Western approach is not the only one.”

China’s Foreign Ministry has refused to confirm Kim’s presence in China, although Premier Wen Jiabao has said China invited him to study, and hopefully adopt, Beijing’s market-oriented reforms. His previous stops during the trip, which began Friday, were said to be economically related.

Previous reform attempts have been abandoned by North Korea and it’s far from clear how much 69-year-old Kim — or his anointed successor, son Kim Jong Un — would be willing to change.

South Korean media said Kim arrived in Beijing on Wednesday morning from the southern city of Nanjing aboard his personal train. A motorcade believed to be carrying Kim and his delegation arrived Wednesday evening at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of the legislature in the heart of Beijing where Hu usually receives official visitors.

In South Korea’s capital, Seoul, President Lee Myung-bak said he thought Kim’s China visits were a positive thing.

“Visiting there often, watching and learning, and China’s assistance — such things would bring about changes,” Lee said, according to the Yonhap News agency.

North Korea’s exchanges with China have grown even more important since South Korea’s conservative government halted unconditional food and fertilizer shipments in early 2008 and suspended almost all trade with the North. The U.N. and other groups also have enacted sanctions to punish the country for violating nuclear agreements.

Iran for its part is under four sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions for refusing to stop uranium enrichment — an activity that can make both nuclear fuel and fissile warhead material. Like North Korea, Iran’s nuclear and missile programs are seen as a threat to its neighbors, while Myanmar’s crackdown on political opponents and ethnic minorities has seen it widely shunned by the international community.

Beijing, with its avowedly noninterventionist foreign policy, takes a different approach, emphasizing the need for continued dialogue and economic engagement. China also has a huge interest in avoiding the kind of unrest that could be unleashed at its borders if one of the regimes in North Korea or Myanmar should fall.

But while these states may seem to have warm relations, they don’t necessarily share deep trust.

North Korea and Myanmar may resent their dependence on China and often seem to want to go their own way, as shown in their unwillingness so far to undertake the economic reforms China is pitching, said Ian Storey of the Singapore-based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, a think tank that focuses on social, political, economic and security trends.

“China’s influence over these countries tends to be greatly exaggerated,” Storey said.
___

Associated Press writer Foster Klug in Seoul, South Korea contributed to this report. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/north-korean-leader-kim-said-to-arrive-in-beijing-will-meet-chinas-hu-on-secretive-visit/2011/05/24/AFlcmpAH_story.html?wprss=rss_middle-east
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White Tiger party to cooperate with Thai company for mining in Shan State
Wednesday, 25 May 2011 17:53 Hseng Khio Fah

Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), better known as the White Tiger party, the second winning party in Shan State at the 2010 elections, is planning to work together with some Thai companies in mining projects in Shan State as well as others business projects, according to party’s finance chief Sao Than Myint.

Apart from mining projects, the companies have also proposed, when the party members and some 10 representatives of the companies met on 23 May, at the party’s office in Rangoon, that they were willing to help develop local communities including their agricultural projects, said Sao Than Myint.

“They said they wanted to help in agricultural and farming including technical methods,” he said.

The party however has yet to reach any agreement with the companies as it still have to discuss and hold meeting with Executive Committee (EC) again whether the projects should be conducted or not.

In addition, they party and the companies will also have to make some survey first what kinds of ore the companies are interested to extract, where and which part of the state that the projects would be set up, Sao Than Myint added.

Currently, the companies have reportedly more interest to work in areas where there is a shared boundary with the Thailand like eastern and southern Shan State.

“Whatever it is we haven’t given them commitment because we are still having discussion with EC members. Then we will have another meeting with the companies,” Sao Than Myint said.

If both sides can reach an agreement, the party members then will submit a letter for permission to the state government and to the union government if necessary, for approval.

Regarding their projects, the groups say they will also make consideration for environment problems the projects may cause to local people.

The party however says it will not handle any project directly.

“The party will not be directly involved in business. We will lay down principles and hire someone to handle on behalf of the party. He/she then will operate the project in the name of the party’s company,” Sao Than Myint added.

The company name is called “Top White Tiger”, according to the party. Now, the party is producing detergent powder with “White Tiger” logo. The raw materials are imported from Malaysia.
http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3722:white-tiger-party-to-cooperate-with-thai-company-for-mining-in-shan-state&catid=85:politics&Itemid=266
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All KIA troops in Northern Burma on alert
Tuesday, 24 May 2011 18:53 KNG

All frontline KIA troops have been placed on alert in Kachin State and Northern Shan State, in the country’s north. The KIA is waiting to see how the central Burmese government will respond to the KIA warning to withdraw Burmese troops near KIA military bases by tomorrow.

The warning includes withdrawal of the three new Burmese military posts circling the KIA’s Pang Hkawn-based, Battalion 5, in Sinbo, Mohnyin Township.

The unusual warning from the Central Committee of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of the KIA, was released on May 19 after the Burmese army fired mortar rounds at Battalion 25, based in Dum Bung Krung, near the Taping (Ta Hkaw Hka or Dapein) hydropower plants.

The warning was contained in a letter sent to the Burmese Army’s Northern Regional Commander, Brig-Gen Zeyar Aung. A copy was also sent to Lajawn Ngan Seng, Chief Minister of the government in Kachin State.

The KIA official in Laiza headquarters in eastern Kachin State said the civil war will be broken out if the central government responds the KIA’s warning with military ways. http://www.kachinnews.com/news/1920-all-kia-troops-in-northern-burma-on-alert.html
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Headache for Thein Sein, 4 Chinese dam workers vanish into thin air
Tuesday, 24 May 2011 13:10 S.H.A.N.

4 Chinese workers from the Tasang hydropower project disappeared on 17 May probably causing a pain in the backside for President Thein Sein who is scheduled to visit Beijing the day after tomorrow, 26 May, according to sources from Mongton, opposite Chiangmai.

“If they aren’t found before he leaves, it’ll be a fly in the ointment throughout his trip,” a businessman on the Thai-Burma commented.

It might even cost a job and a future for Col Tun Tun Shwe, the commander in Pongpakhem, south of Mongton, who is responsible for the area security. He is now personally monitoring the developments at Ta Hsala, just a few miles south of the project dam site.

The 4 Chinese reportedly took a motorboat upstream, “with maps and local guides” last Tuesday, coinciding with the Buddhist holy day of the Vesak and failed to return in the evening. The next day, 27 truckloads of soldiers from Mongton went down to the dam site on the Salween and scoured the surrounding area for 4 days. On 21 May, they returned to their home bases empty-handed.

The area is under heavy security provided by 3 Infantry Battalions (#43, 49 and 225) and 1 Light Infantry Battalion (#519) plus a local militia led by Panta of Ta Hsala.

Apart from the Chinese workers believed to be from the Three Gorges Group Corporation there are also a number of officials from Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT).

Lt-Gen Yawd Serk, whose anti-Naypyitaw Shan State Army (SSA) fighters are active outside the security perimeter dismissed speculations that his troops might be involved. “We have no reason to do it (any kidnapping),” he told SHAN this morning from his Loi Taileng base, further southwest on the Maehongson-Mongpan border. “The Burma Army commanders must be trying to shift reasonability to us.”

He promised to help find out the truth “if I’m requested by the Chinese company concerned.”

The SSA’s 701st Force is also active on the Sino-Burma border in Namkham township. Naypyitaw has reportedly lodged complaints with Chinese authorities in the past all to no avail.

The Tasang dam project since the survey began in 1997 by Thailand’s MDX Group, has been opposed by a score of human rights and environmental movements that are united under the umbrella group called Salween Watch. http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3711:headache-for-thein-sein-4-chinese-dam-workers-vanish-into-thin-air&catid=85:politics&Itemid=266


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