News & Articles on Burma-Monday, 02 May, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Monday, 02 May, 2011
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Official says Burma to grant amnesty to prisoners
Burma ‘preparing prisoner amnesty’
Govt pushed on labour rights
Myanmar three years on since Cyclone Nargis
Indonesia hosts 1st EU-ASEAN Business Summit
Freedom of Press will remain unchanged under Burma’s sham civilian government
Nargis seen as ‘humanitarian watershed’
Cautious hope for change in Burma
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Official says Burma to grant amnesty to prisoners
RANGOON, BURMA - May 02 2011 12:47

Burma's new military-backed government is preparing to grant an amnesty to some prisoners, an official said on Monday, but it was unclear whether they would include political dissidents.

The move is expected to coincide with President Thein Sein's visit to Indonesia from Thursday to attend a summit of south-east Asian leaders, his first overseas trip since he was sworn in as head of state on March 30.

"Some prisoners will be released around the time of the president's first state visit," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and did not provide further details.

According to the London-based human rights group Amnesty International there are more than 2 200 political prisoners in Burma being held under vague laws frequently used to criminalise peaceful political activists.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in November shortly after an election that led to the handover of power from the military to a nominally civilian government.

Her release was welcomed worldwide, but Western governments who impose sanctions on Burma have urged the new government to do more to demonstrate its commitment to improving its much criticised human rights record.

Thein Sein, who was prime minister under the now-disbanded junta headed by former leader General Than Shwe, is one of a group of generals who shed their army uniforms to successfully stand in the November poll.

The election, Burma's first in 20 years, was criticised by the opposition and the West as anything but free and fair, and the military still wields considerable power in the impoverished south-east Asian nation. -- AFP http://mg.co.za/article/2011-05-02-official-says-burma-to-grant-amnesty-prisoners/
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Burma ‘preparing prisoner amnesty’
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE and DVB
Published: 2 May 2011

Burma’s new military-backed government is preparing to grant an amnesty to some prisoners, an official said Monday, but it was unclear whether they would include political dissidents.

The move is expected to coincide with President Thein Sein’s visit to Indonesia from Thursday to attend a summit of Southeast Asian leaders, his first overseas trip since he was sworn in as head of state on 30 March.

“Some prisoners will be released around the time of the president’s first state visit,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and did not provide further details.

According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPPB) there are currently 2,073 political prisoners in Burma being held under vague laws frequently used to criminalise peaceful political activists.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in November shortly after an election that led to the handover of power from the military to a nominally civilian government.

Her release was welcomed worldwide, but Western governments who impose sanctions on Burma have urged the new government to do more to demonstrate its commitment to improving its much criticised human rights record.
http://www.dvb.no/news/burma-preparing-prisoner-amnesty/15479
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Govt pushed on labour rights
By PETER AUNG
Published: 2 May 2011

Burmese opposition groups have called on the government kick start the formation of a trade union congress as workers’ rights took centre stage yesterday on Labour Day.

A statement released by the National League for Democracy (NLD) party on 1 May mooted the idea of a congress in a bid to protect manual labour and white-collar workers in factories and workshops around the country.

The opposition group’s spokesperson, Nyan Win, said that the 2008 constitution, which came into force following elections last November, included a clause opening the door for a congress.

“According to international laws and standards, a labour congress should be in existence… that protects the workers,” he said. “So we are just reminding [the government] to start the procedures to form such an organisation.”

The statement also criticised the UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO), claiming that despite the fact it had conducted investigations into some labour abuses in Burma, it had not taken any effective action.

Trade unions have been legally allowed in Burma, although a clause in the 2008 constitution states that their formation is conditioned on not being “contrary to the laws enacted for [Burma’s] security, prevalence of law and order, community peace and tranquillity, or public order and morality”. The subsequent definitions for these criteria are vague.

More than 30 labour activists, including eight female members of the Federation of Trade Unions Burma (FTUB), are imprisoned in Burma out of a total of nearly 2,073 political prisoners. Perceived dissent in Burma is often punished by lengthy jail terms.

The opposition National Democratic Force (NDF) party also released a statement on May Day calling for full labour rights and adequate wages in line with inflation in Burma, which currently stands at around nine percent.

“Our party’s parliamentary representatives will work to propose bills for wages in relevance with today’s [living expenses], for overtime payment and to narrow down the inflation gap,” said NDF member Dr Mya Nyarna Soe. He added that the government would also need to stabilise commodity prices and the budget allocated to the health and education sectors.
http://www.dvb.no/news/govt-pushed-on-labour-rights/15470
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Myanmar three years on since Cyclone Nargis
By Sabrina Chua | Posted: 02 May 2011 1927 hrs

MYANMAR: It has been three years since Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar, leaving more than 140,000 people dead in its wake. Survivors are rebuilding their lives, but aid groups said their recovery does not mean they should be forgotten.

"Psychologically you could say they are better than three years ago but they are still very sad. A lot of the students that i've met, they still wake up in the middle of the night, crying for their parents," said Plan Asia regional communications specialist Ms Warisara Sornpet.

Plan is one of the few international aid agencies working in Myanmar.

It is focused on child-centred community development, and has built 51 schools for the devastated communities.

Ms Warisara said: "The aim is not just to build back but to build back better.

"The new schools are stronger and disaster resilient than the old schools and will save a lot more lives. And also, Plan, along with our local partner has trained the children to protect themselves from natural disasters.

"Now if you go into a classroom and bang on the table and shout 'earthquake', the children will run to an open field or hide under the table. Before they wouldn't know what to do."

Ms Warisara added: "The people of Myanmar who've been affected by Nargis have shown incredible resilience, by rebuilding their homes, replanting farmland, going back to schools and carrying on with their routine.

"The difference here is that they're carrying on despite poverty and scarce resources."

Plan hopes the world won't forget the Nargis victims.

It is planning to upgrade its long-term presence in the country.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southeastasia/view/1126310/1/.html
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Indonesia hosts 1st EU-ASEAN Business Summit
Economics 5/2/2011 1:42:00 PM

BRUSSELS, May 2 (KUNA) -- EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht leaves Monday for Jakarta to meet with ASEAN economic and trade ministers from the South-East Asian block of ten countries and open the first ever ASEAN-EU Business Summit on Thursday.

"The first ASEAN-EU Business Summit in Jakarta is an important signal that shows both regions mean business when it comes to building stronger economic ties," said De Gucht in statements before his departure.

The Summit will help intensify business-to-business relations but also promote dialogue between governments and the private sector. ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), including Brunei Darussalam, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as a whole represents the EU's 7th largest trading partner with 175 billion euro of trade in goods and services.

The EU is ASEAN's second largest trading partner after China, accounting for around 10.9% of ASEAN trade. The EU is the largest investor in ASEAN countries. EU companies have invested around 10.4 billion euro annually on average.

Indonesia, the host country of the first EU-ASEAN Business Summit, is a major partner for the EU: EU-Indonesia trade stood at 20 billion euro in 2010. (end) nk.rk KUNA 021342 May 11NNNN http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2163694&Language=en
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Freedom of Press will remain unchanged under Burma’s sham civilian government
By Zin Linn May 02, 2011 7:45PM UTC

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Burma presently is at a crossroads. The incumbent nominal civilian government led by former general Thein Sein as president wants to maintain the country under limited democracy while the majority population desires a new stage of change. Especially, citizens are demanding freedom of expression and association while the Union Government is inflexibly vetoing basic rights of the citizens.

If the junta is honest concerning democratic reforms, the media must be free at the outset since access to information is fundamental to a healthy democracy. But in Burma, the political opposition as well as journalists and media personnel are under the strictest rules by the successive military regimes.

For instance, Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai was killed while covering the 2007 Saffron Revolution, and some citizen journalists are still in prison. Some received long prison sentences, including the film director, writer and comic Zarganar and blogger Nay Phone Latt, while print journalists have been jailed for at least seven years.

According to the Burma Media Association and Reporters Sans Frontieres, at least 12 journalists and dozens of media workers including poets and writers are still in custody since the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis and the constitutional referendum in May 2008.

Burma is one of the most high-handed and covered up countries in the world, due to both its restrictive press laws and its practice of punishing journalists. In recent elections, the junta did not allow press freedom for both Burmese and international news media. It was a significant impediment to the free and fair elections.

Reporters Without Borders released its annual press freedom report in October 2010, ranking Burma 174th out of 178 countries. On 18 October the regime, announced that foreign journalists would not be granted access to Burma to cover the news on elections.

Journalists should have offered boundless access to information, polling stations, all the participating parties and candidates and the Union Election Commission. However, Burma’s junta denied journalists to observe the situation of elections in a strictest manner. The censorship, threats, and detention of foreign or local journalists were common during last election in Burma.

The arrest of Japanese journalist, Toru Yamaji in Myawaddy in Karen State on the morning of the elections is a practice of such a cover-up policy. He was afterward deported on 9 November. Similarly, two Australian documentary makers, Hugh Piper and Helen Barrow, filming a documentary for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), in Burma, were arrested and deported on 11 November. The journalists were making a film about independent media in Southeast Asian countries.

In addition, two Burmese journalists were randomly apprehended on Election Day. The two female journalists from the ‘True News’ journal were apparently arrested by the personnel of the Election Commission, in South Okklappa, Rangoon, even though they were released the next day. Four journalists informed that their news reportage films were smashed in front of the Union Election Commission authorities in Rangoon, on Election Day. Intimidation of journalists and the confiscation and destruction of their belongings were reported right through the country, including in Arakan State and Magwe Division where journalists had been threatened with arrest during the elections.

Harsh censorship rules also set toward political parties as well as the media. Political parties had to submit an application to the military regime’s Censorship Board within 90 days of their registration if they wanted to circulate their brochures or bulletins.

Extraordinary case was that photojournalist Sithu Zeya has been sentenced to eight years in jail last December. Zeya was sentenced by the military controlled court in Insein prison for his photos of the scene of an explosion at a traditional water festival pavilion in Rangoon in April 2010 according to his lawyers.

Burma also recommences the arrest of journalists from time to time. Journalists based in Rangoon say the detentions were part of a continued crackdown by the military authorities on those involved in covering news in the exile media, such as The Irrawaddy and Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB).

Sithu Zeya was sentenced three years for violating the Immigration Act and five years for violating the 1957 Unlawful Associations Act for links he made with unlawful organizations, according to his lawyer Aung Thein. Sithu Zeya apparently confessed the police about his former connection with an executive from the exile media organization Democratic Voice of Burma.

According to some analysts, there has been no progress concerning media freedom since the new president has come into office. There have been usual restrictions on media and journalists and also extra restrictions on Internet users as the information minister is the same man from former junta.

Although the optimistic politicians and media personnel hope for better free-press environment after the election, the scenario seems gloomy. Free speech or free press would not be allowed under the new disguised civilian government which sworn in January 2011.

Freedom of Press will remain unchanged under the military dominated parliaments and cabinet.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/53605/freedom-of-press-will-remain-unchanged-under-burma%E2%80%99s-sham-civilian-government/
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Nargis seen as ‘humanitarian watershed’
By AFP
Published: 2 May 2011
Nargis seen as ‘humanitarian watershed’ thumbnail
People displaced by Cyclone Nargis at a refugee camp in Kyondah village, Burma, 22 May 2008 (Reuters)

A tattered UN tarpaulin makes a shady awning for one of the huts dotting the emerald rice paddies of Burma’s Irrawaddy delta, a reminder of the devastation wrought by cyclone Nargis three years ago.

“We rebuilt everything ourselves – the government did nothing,” said Myo Tun, who came to the area with an international aid agency after the disaster struck and whose name has been changed to protect his identity.

Bodies were still floating in the area’s network of waterways weeks after the cyclone hit, he said, as the ruling junta failed to act to help the region.

Now there are signs that the new, nominally civilian government, which took power earlier this year after controversial November elections that excluded democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, is striving to show a changed attitude.

President Thein Sein, a retired general who was prime minister during Nargis, has pledged to work more closely with humanitarian groups and responses to recent disasters suggest the approach has changed.

“They are more ready to give timely public information on details of these events, and to give access to international agencies,” said Burma analyst Richard Horsey.

But privately, many remain cautious.

“I would not say that any organisation operates with 100 percent confidence in this country,” said one senior international aid agency figure, asking not to be named.

Nargis smashed through the southern delta region on 2 May 2008 leaving an estimated 138,000 people dead or missing.

Burma’s rulers refused foreign assistance for weeks while 2.4 million people struggled desperately for survival.

“Nargis was a real humanitarian watershed,” said Chris Herink of World Vision, which took part in relief work after an earthquake hit eastern Burma in March.

Thousands are still sleeping in temporary shelters after the quake but, unlike when Nargis struck, those affected were helped quickly and by the army itself.

The United Nations said the earthquake, as well as cyclone Giri, which affected an estimated 260,000 people in Burma’s western Rakhine state last October, represented “increased cooperation” between agencies and government.

“It’s an open question in terms of the new leadership and how they will regard humanitarian assistance and in particular international assistance,” said Herink, who added that the signs at the moment were “positive.”

Foreign aid has become crucial in filling the gaps left by a government that spent just 0.9 percent of its budget on health in 2007, according to the World Health Organisation – substantially lower than any other country that year.
http://www.dvb.no/news/nargis-seen-as-humanitarian-watershed/15466
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Cautious hope for change in Burma

By Tim Johnston in Bangkok

Published: May 1 2011 17:55 | Last updated: May 1 2011 17:55

Eight weeks after the nominally civilian government of President Thein Sein took power in Burma, there are indications that one of the world’s most repressive and poorest states might be finally heading towards reform.

Mr Thein Sein last week appointed U Myint, an economist who commands respect on both sides of the country’s deep political divide, to his presidential advisory board, a decision that followed public statements that spoke of economic and social reform and a new era of the rule of law.

The appointment of Mr Myint to such a high-profile position is particularly startling because he has personal ties to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate and opposition leader. That would previously have been sufficient to bar him from the corridors of power.

Burma analysts are cautiously optimistic but point out that all the changes so far have been symbolic rather than concrete, and say the country is no stranger to false dawns when it comes to reform.

In his inaugural speech, Mr Thein Sein laid out plans for an open market economy and citizens’ rights and asked his supporters to show goodwill towards those who did not agree with them; radical statements in the context of Burma’s history of military autocracy.

Diplomats said Ms Suu Kyi had indicated privately that she was encouraged by his words. But most analysts said that if there were going to be change, it would be a long, slow process.

The appointment of Mr Myint, 73, has been hailed as indicating that a significant shift in both government policy and professionalism could be under way.

“The fact that Thein Sein has appointed U Myint to the advisory board is a substantial effort rather than a superficial effort,” said one European diplomat.

“[U Myint] has been quite open about economic mismanagement being the root cause of many of the country’s problems and he has sensible ideas about fixing them,” said the diplomat. His appointment “indicates that Mr Thein Sein might be a genuine progressive, at least in the limited context of Burmese reform”.

But some observers voiced doubts on how far Mr Myint would be able to influence policy in an environment where much of the power remains concentra-ted in the hands of reactionary former generals. “The big question is whether anyone is going to listen to him,” said Sean Turnell, an academic at Australia’s Macquarie University.

Diplomats and other international observers have been encouraged by the limited steps Mr Thein Sein has taken but caution that his achievements so far are little more than expressions of good intentions.

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