BURMA RELATED NEWS - JUNE 04, 2011

BURMA RELATED NEWS - JUNE 04, 2011


UPI - McCain tells Myanmar to make changes
Gulf Today - McCain backs Myanmar curbs
Bangkok Post - Minor quakes hit Burma, Laos
Straits Times - Jury still out on Myanmar regime change
Xinhua - China's COMAC signs agreement to sell two ARJ21 planes to Myanmar Airways
Xinhua - Senior Chinese official attends China-Myanmar "Brightness Action" program
Amnesty International - Myanmar prisoners kept in ‘dog cells’ after protests
The Hill - Pelosi calls for immediate release of Ai Weiwei
BWDF - Burma Conflict Situation Report
The Daily Star, Bangladesh - Business Bangladesh looks to better trade with Myanmar


McCain tells Myanmar to make changes
Published: June 3, 2011 at 11:12 AM

YANGON, Myanmar, June 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says Myanmar's new military-backed government could face the kind of revolution sweeping through Arab nations.

McCain said unless Myanmar, formerly Burma, is willing to make pro-democracy changes peacefully, it could be wracked by the kind of unrest leaders in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere in the Middle East are experiencing, CNN reported Friday.

"The winds of change are now blowing, and they will not be confined to the Arab world," McCain told reporters in the former capital, Yangon, formerly Rangoon. "Governments that shun evolutionary reforms now will eventually face revolutionary change later. This choice may be deferred. It may be delayed. But it cannot be denied."

McCain spent two days in Myanmar, where he met with senior leaders in its new government. He said it is clear "the new government wants a better relationship with the United States," but he called for "concrete actions" before the U.S. can consider lifting sanctions.

McCain said such actions include the unconditional release of more than 2,000 political prisoners and guarantees of safety for pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she travels around the country in an upcoming political tour.
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Gulf Today - McCain backs Myanmar curbs
June 04, 2011

YANGON: US Sen. John McCain reiterated a call for Myanmar to release more than 2,000 political prisoners, saying on Friday that sanctions should remain on the repressive nation until its new government takes “concrete” steps toward democratic reform.

Speaking to reporters at the end of a three-day visit, the Republican from Arizona said both countries want better relations, but that Myanmar’s government needs to take more steps toward democracy — including “the unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience.” The release of political prisoners has been a top demand of Western nations that criticise Myanmar’s human rights record and are maintaining long-standing political and economic sanctions against its government until it undertakes reforms.

McCain called on Myanmar to allow the International Red Cross “unfettered” access to all prisoners in the country, something he said he hoped would start as soon as Saturday.

The organisation has been unable to visit inmates here since the former military junta halted access in 2005.

McCain was in Myanmar to assess progress on reform since a new civilian government took over from a military junta in March. Rights groups and critics say little has changed since then because the new government is simply a proxy for the military, which has ruled for decades.

McCain, however, acknowledged that the new government “represents some change from the past, and one illustration of this change was their willingness to allow me to return to this country after 15 years worth of attempts to do so on my part were rejected.” But “without concrete actions by this government that signal a deeper commitment to democratic change, there should be no easing or lifting of sanctions,” the 2008 presidential candidate said.

One key test of the government’s commitment to reform, McCain said, will be its ability to ensure the safety of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she tours the country later this month.

Suu Kyi’s last tour of northern Myanmar in 2003 rattled the military and ended with an ambush that killed several of her followers. Suu Kyi escaped, but was arrested and placed under house arrest — from which she was finally freed late last year.

“The new government’s ability and willingness to prevent a similar outcome this time will be an important test of their desire for change,” McCain said. “Concrete steps like these need not, and should not, take a lot of time.” On Thursday, Suu Kyi expressed concern about the health of dozens of political prisoners who are staging a hunger strike to demand better food and conditions.

Myanmar, under military rule since 1962, held its first elections in 20 years in November. Suu Kyi’s political party boycotted the polls, and critics say the vote was designed to deliver power to the military’s allies.

Though the US long tried to isolate Myanmar, the Obama administration has switched to a policy of engagement in hopes of coaxing democratic change.

McCain urged the government to ensure the safety of Suu Kyi, who said this week she hoped to soon conduct a political tour around the country that will be a key test of her freedom following her release.

“Aung San Suu Kyi’s last attempt to travel freely was marred by violence, and the new government’s ability and willingness to prevent a similar outcome this time will be an important test of their desire for change,” McCain said.
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Bangkok Post - Minor quakes hit Burma, Laos
Published: 4/06/2011 at 12:36 PM
Online news: Local News

Two earthquakes hit Burma and Laos on Friday night, the Meteorological Department reported on Saturday.

The first earthquake, measured 3.7 on the Richter scale, occurred at 8.12pm inside Burma, about 11km north of tambon Mae Na in Chiang Mai's Chiang Dao district.

The second quake with a magnitude of 3.1 took place in Laos, about 29km east of Chiang Khong district of Chiang Rai.

The jolts were felt by people in Thailand. No damage was reported.
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Jun 4, 2011
Straits Times - Jury still out on Myanmar regime change

YANGON - WHEN Myanmar's new government announced a prisoner amnesty last month, Mr Than Kyaw was among a few dozen of the country's more than 2,000 political detainees to be set free.

'I had a bitter experience in the prisons,' the 56-year-old said, showing a large scar on his hip - a reminder of the hundreds of beatings he endured behind bars for offences as slight as not catching flies when ordered to by the guards.

With only three days left to serve of his 25-year sentence for high treason when he was released, the former member of the anti-junta Communist Party in western Rakhine state could hardly be described as lucky.

The move to cut all sentences by one year freed tens of thousands of common criminals but, despite persistent calls from the international community, left the overwhelming majority of political prisoners languishing in jail. The March handover of power from the junta to a nominally civilian government and the release of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi after the first election in 20 years sparked cautious hopes of gradual reform in Myanmar, ruled by the military for nearly half a century.

But the so-called amnesty was 'a measure of how fragile the changes are', according to Mr David Mathieson, a Myanmar specialist at New York-based Human Rights Watch. He said the fact so few political prisoners were released meant the country's leaders still perceived them as a challenge.

'Even though they have said some positive things in the past few months, it's got to be demonstrated in action,' he said.
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China's COMAC signs agreement to sell two ARJ21 planes to Myanmar Airways
English.news.cn 2011-06-04 21:49:03

BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), a state-owned aircraft manufacturer, has signed an agreement to sell two ARJ21-700 aircraft to the Myanmar Airways, a statement from the country's state-assets supervisor said.

The value of the deal was not revealed in the statement posted Friday on the website of country's State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

The delivery time for the two models were also not disclosed, but the statement said the signing of the agreement has marked big progress made by COMAC in promoting the ARJ21 aircraft to the overseas markets.

The statement added the agreement has paved the way for the long-term cooperation between COMAC and Myanmar Airways in the future.

The ARJ21 is China's first homegrown commercial regional aircraft, which earlier made an international debut at the Zhuhai air show in November last year.

The 78- to 90-seat craft has a maximum flight range of 3,700 kilometers and maximum altitude of 11,900 meters. The statement said COMAC plans to deliver its first ARJ21-700 regional aircraft to its first client, the Chengdu Airlines.
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Senior Chinese official attends China-Myanmar "Brightness Action" program
English.news.cn 2011-06-03 22:47:25

YANGON, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Visiting senior Chinese official Li Yuanchao, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, attended a China-Myanmar " Brightness Action" program here Friday, which is aimed to offer free surgical treatment for cataract patients in Myanmar.

Li, also a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, visited the Myodaw medical center a learned about the post-operation result of the surgeries.

Li said the program brings hope for cataract patients and conveys Chinese people's sincerity and kindness to the Myanmar people.

He hoped that the medical staff of the two sides can work closely to contribute more to the friendship of the two peoples.

A total of 260 Myanmar cataract patients are receiving free medical treatment under the program jointly organized by the China Foundation for Peace and Development (CFPD) and the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

The Chinese medical team has been conducting a week-long surgical treatment on cataract patients in Yangon since May 31 under the "Brightness Action" program for the first time.

In the afternoon, Li also visited No.1 State High School in Yangon, where he met with teachers and students and donated some teaching materials and athletic equipment.

Li, heading a CPC delegation, arrived in Nay Pyi Taw Wednesday on a good-will visit to Myanmar at the invitation of the USDP.
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Amnesty International - Myanmar prisoners kept in ‘dog cells’ after protests
The monk and human rights activist U Gambira is reportedly on hunger strike
3 June 2011

The Myanmar authorities must stop forcing prisoners into cells designed for military dogs, Amnesty International said today, after it emerged that the practice is being used as punishment against hunger striking activists.

Seven prisoners, including two Buddhist monks who went on hunger strike at Insein prison in the main city of Yangon, were placed in solitary confinement between 24 and 26 May, in the cells, Amnesty International has learned.

“The shocking accounts of the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment prisoners in Insein prison are being subjected to is yet another example of the utter disregard for the most basic human rights by authorities in Myanmar,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Myanmar researcher.

“Authorities in Myanmar must immediately stop any ill-treatment of prisoners. Any official suspected of being responsible for such offences must be suspended and prosecuted”, he added.

One political prisoner who was held in a dog cell in the past at Insein reported that the space was covered in white lice and smelt like a sewer. Others have reported that they were periodically denied food and water whilst in the cell.

At least three female political prisoners started the hunger strike on 17 May at Insein prison, in protest against a government decision to reduce all prison sentences by only one year.

They were joined on 22 May by 22 other political prisoners who started a protest about prison conditions.

On 24 May, hunger strikers Aung Kyaw Soe, Nyi Nyi Tun, Nyan Lin Tun, Soe Moe Tun, Zaw Tun Naing and two Buddhist monks, U Vithoddi (aka Wunna Htay) and U Yayvata (aka Ye Min Naung), were placed in dog cells.

They were returned to their usual cells on 26 May. Officials reportedly started talks with the protesters around 27 May, but when the talks broke down, those political prisoners who decided to continue the hunger strike were again placed in the dog cells.

The dog cells are about 10 feet in length and seven feet wide, windowless and soundproof. There is no proper sanitation, no bed and no mats on the floor.

In a separate development, a number of political prisoners at Kale prison in the north of the country have signed a petition calling for improvements to prison conditions. Among the signatories is the monk and human rights activist U Gambira, currently serving a 68-year sentence for his role in pro-reform demonstrations in August and September 2007.

The petition, sent to President Thein Sein and the UN Human Rights Council, stated that all the signatories would go on hunger strike if their demands were not met by 31 May.

On 16 May the Myanmar government announced that all current prison sentences were being reduced by one year. However, at least 2,200 political prisoners remain behind bars.
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The Hill - Pelosi calls for immediate release of Ai Weiwei
By Mike Lillis - 06/03/11 03:30 PM ET

The top House Democrat hammered the Chinese government on Friday for the continued detention of China's most prominent artist.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is urging the immediate release of artist Ai Weiwei, as well as other high-profile community leaders and human-rights advocates who've been deemed threats to the state.

Ai, who helped design the landmark "Bird's Nest Stadium" for Beijing's 2008 Summer Olympics, has been missing since the government picked him up at the Beijing airport in the first week of April.

Pelosi used the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre to slam Chinese leaders for what she says is a failure to heed that tragedy's message, even 22 years later.

"Today, as the heroes of Tiananmen are remembered, the Chinese government intensifies its crackdown on those calling for democratic reform," Pelosi said in a statement. "In recent months, an alarming number of Chinese religious leaders, artists, lawyers, bloggers and workers have disappeared, been harassed and intimidated, forcibly detained and imprisoned."

Aside from Ai, Pelosi urged the "immediate" and "unconditional" release of Liu Xiaobo, a Nobel Peace Laureate; Liu Xianbin, a former Tiananmen protester recently imprisoned for 10 years for criticizing the government; and Gao Zhisheng, a human-rights lawyer who has been detained for more than a year.

Pelosi is no stranger to confronting China head on when it comes to issues of human rights. The San Francisco Democrat thumbed China's eye in 2008 by meeting the Dalai Lama amid Beijing’s violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tibet. She has also been critical of China's support for the oppressive regime in Myanmar.

Pelosi on Friday also pushed Chinese leaders to release more information about the uprising in Tiananmen Square, where Communist Party leaders used military force to clear tens of thousands of pro-democracy activists. An unknown number of protesters was killed during the episode, and many others detained in the weeks and months that followed.

"It is long past time for the Chinese government to provide a full, public accounting of the crackdown, stop persecution of the families, and finally allow the families to mourn publicly without interference," Pelosi said.

The anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre is Saturday.
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Saturday, June 4, 2011
Burma Wants Freedom and Democracy (Weblog)
BURMA CONFLICT SITUATION REPORT (http://www.dictatorwatch.org/burmaconflictblog.html)
Please forward.
By: Roland Watson

NEW BLOG
June 3, 2011

1. Burma is in a state of war, and has been since January 1949. This is when Ne Win, who became the first modern dictator of the country, had his private army commit atrocities against the Karen people (Burma’s second largest ethnic group), and attack their political organizations in Insein Township, thus instigating the Karen revolution. The war in Burma, though, receives little international attention, because it is:
(1) a civil war, within the country's own borders;
(2) initiated by the military forces of the dictatorship against the nation's ethnic minority groups; and
(3) which groups for the most part reside in mountainous or otherwise remote areas inaccessible to combat journalists. Also noteworthy is that the organizations that are working inside Burma, such as the United Nations and its affiliated aid agencies, under order of the dictators avoid the conflict zones.

Coverage of the war to-date is piecemeal. Some significant battles are described by expatriate Burmese media, including Irrawaddy, Mizzima, Democratic Voice of Burma, SHAN, and the other members of Burma News International. The Karen National Union, whose military wing the Karen National Liberation Army has been involved in the highest number of clashes with the Burma Army, also puts out summary military engagement reports. (To give one measure of the scale of the conflict that is underway, for the period January 1 to March 31, 2011, the KNLA was involved in 526 clashes with the Burma Army and - from October 1, 2010 -
21 with its affiliated Border Guard Forces, resulting in 416 known Burma Army KIA casualties and 15 known KIA for the BGF.)

There has never been an effort to track all the conflict that occurs in Burma, from the Mon, Karen and Karenni areas in the east, to the Shan and Kachin states in the north, to the Arakan, Chin and Naga areas in the west. This blog, which is a work in progress, will be just such an attempt. We appeal to all the different resistance groups that are engaged in conflict with the Burma Army and its proxies, including such groups information and media units, to send us descriptions of the clashes that occur in your areas of operation, to burmaconflict@dictatorwatch.org

The description of a clash should include
* its date;
* resistance group and enemy units involved;
* location, i.e., state or division, district, and township;
* the type of clash, e.g., sniper attack, column ambush, outpost raid, equipment demolition, etc.; and
* the outcome.

We would also appreciate photo and video documentation, and maps.

2. The goal of the blog is to give a much better feel for what is happening with the war in Burma: the number, severity and character of the clashes that are taking place and where they are occurring and involving whom. This will also reveal that the vast majority of the conflict is ethnic related. It is driven by the racism and ethnic superiority aspirations of the military rulers of Burma.

The initiative should have many practical, positive outcomes, including:

- Prove that it is unsafe for refugees who have fled to Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia and elsewhere to return to Burma.

- Demonstrate that the sanctions that are now in place against the regime should not be ended. Instead, they should be expanded including with the enforcement of a global arms embargo. (Of note, such an embargo was efficiently put in place against the dictator of Libya, Muammer Gaddafi, after he similarly began to attack the Libyan people.)

- Substantiate that there is full justification to begin a United Nations sponsored Commission of Inquiry on the regime's war crimes, and to pursue international intervention to end them including by such things as demanding Burma Army troops withdraw from the ethnic areas; the creation of an international peace-keeping force; and providing direct assistance to the resistance groups (as has also happened in Libya).

- More generally, illustrate that the situation in Burma is not improving, and that there is no possibility of gradual change. The regime must be removed. The “government” of the country is nothing but a collection of puppets, who follow the strict orders of the military rulers, foremost Senior General Than Shwe, who now command from outside the public eye.
These generals must be expelled (just as Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak have been expelled). This is the only way to end the war, the repression of Burma's ethnic nationalities, and also to shut down the regime's clandestine nuclear and ballistic missile cooperation with North Korea, China and Russia.
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Sunday, June 5, 2011
The Daily Star, Bangladesh - Business Bangladesh looks to better trade with Myanmar
Refayet Ullah Mirdha

Bangladesh will ask Myanmar to allow small goods vessels to enter the neighbouring country, in an effort to boost bilateral border trade, said a senior commerce ministry official.

The official said officials of both countries will also discuss how to complete border transactions through the Asian Clearing Union payment system.

At present, an importer is entitled to bank draft against import worth $10,000-$30,000 at a time under the existing border trade arrangement.

Bangladeshi importers now settle their payments for bulk shipments through bank drafts issued by foreign banks to a third country.

According to rules, the “non-conventional” vessels cannot enter Myanmar from Bangladesh, which prevents many businessmen from trading with Myanmar.

"We have already sent an official letter to Myanmar mentioning the issues to be discussed in a meeting," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Syed Mahmudul Huq, chairman of the Bangladesh Myanmar Business Promotion Council, said both countries have great border trade potentials. "But the transaction system is complex."

The official data shows that the bilateral trade balance is heavily tilted in favour of Myanmar over the years. Bangladesh exported goods worth $9.17million to Myanmar in 2008-09 while it imported goods worth $66.65 million.