News & Articles on Burma-Wednesday 1 June, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Wednesday 1 June, 2011
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NLD Holds First Youth Conference Since Suu Kyi's Release
Burma or Myanmar: McCain’s Challenge in Naypyidaw?
McCain Arrives in Naypyidaw
US Sen. John McCain visits Myanmar to assess new government’s reform promises
China has failed to progress, McCain says
McCain hails border clinic, urges funding
Chinese medical team offers free eye surgical service in Myanmar
Foreign lecturers to tutor Burma opposition
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NLD Holds First Youth Conference Since Suu Kyi's Release
By SAI ZOM HSENG Wednesday, June 1, 2011

National League for Democracy (NLD) youth members from around Burma are meeting at the party's headquarters in Rangoon, in the first such gathering since party leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest last November.

According to party spokesperson Ohn Kyaing, more than 100 NLD youth delegates are attending the conference. He added that Suu Kyi called for the meeting to give youth members a chance to share their experiences and learn from each other.

Phyu Phyu Thin, a well-known HIV/AIDS activist and NLD youth leader, told The Irrawaddy that by attending the meeting, youth members would have a chance to find out what is going on in other parts of the country.

“The situation is not the same in every state or region,” said Phyu Phyu Thin, adding that many youth members are engaged not only in political activities, but also in social programs aimed at addressing various problems. “By coming together like this, we can share ideas and find solutions and make plans for the future.”

The main problem facing most NLD youth members is pressure from the authorities, who impose numerous restrictions on their activities. Delegates at the conference will discuss ways to work around these limitations to achieve their goals, said Phyu Phyu Thin.

Meanwhile, the NLD is also planning to provide political training to party representatives, including youth and women's association members, from June 20 to 28, according to Ohn Kyaing.

The training will be conducted in English, and will include instruction from Burmese academic Dr. Kyaw Yin Hlaing and seven foreign professors from Hong Kong City University and the National University of Singapore.

“The instruction will focus on what is really useful in the country’s current situation,” said Ohn Kyaing. “This includes research methodology, constitutional law, legal thinking, international relations among Southeast Asian countries, good governance and cultural anthropology.”

The training was organized by Kyaw Yin Hlaing in consultation with Suu Kyi. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21408
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Burma or Myanmar: McCain’s Challenge in Naypyidaw?
By WAI MOE Wednesday, June 1, 2011

US Sen. John McCain arrived in Burma’s remote capital on Wednesday to meet Burmese officials including a vice president and lawmakers, but the 2008 Republican presidential candidate’s first challenge in Naypyidaw will be whether to use the name “Burma” or “Myanmar.”

Although McCain is the highest ranking US official to visit the Southeast Asian pariah state since President Thein Sein was sworn in on March 30, he is actually the second US official to arrive in the country in two months after US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Joseph Yun touched down in May.

During Joseph Yun’s meeting with Burma’s new foreign minister ex-Col Wunna Maung Lwin on May 18, Rangoon weekly The Myanmar Times claims there were complaints over the senior American diplomat using the term “Burma” rather than “Myanmar.”

“You might think this is a small matter, but the use of ‘Myanmar’ is a matter of national integrity. Using the correct name of the country shows equality and mutual respect,” Wunna Maung Lwin was quoted as rebuking Joseph Yun.

The military junta—then called the State Law and Order Restoration Council, which orchestrated the September 1988 coup—changed the Southeast Asia nation’s name in English from Burma to Myanmar in 1989.

However, the government's main political opposition National League for Democracy Party—led by pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and supported by countless Western nations including the US and UK—claims that the military junta’s name changing stunt lacks legitimacy.

“Since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; the US Government did not adopt the name…,” says the CIA World Factbook.

After 22 years of the changed name, the debate still remains amongst Burma scholars and foreign diplomats over whether “Burma” or “Myanmar” is correct. Currently, the European Union and scholars are putting the two names together and calling the country “Burma/Myanmar.”

Another issue that senior Burmese officials—such as Lower House speaker Shwe Mann and Upper House speaker Khin Aung Myint—are expected to raise with the US delegation is the continued policy of trade sanctions.

Before his Burma trip, McCain—a ranking member of the US Senate’s Committee on Armed Services—told reporters in Bangkok: “the changes being contemplated by the new government [depend on] how serious they are about reform.”

He added that Burma's commitment to rights reforms will be measured by how the government in Naypyidaw handles Aung San Suu Kyi’s upcoming tour of the provinces.

However, the Burmese regime is likely to have a different perspective in handling the US senator in Naypyidaw.

In May, the Burmese foreign minister told Joseph Yun that if the US lifted some restriction on Burma it would be regarded as a positive step towards constructive engagement.

But the Burmese regime’s state-run newspapers failed to cover the US senator’s trip to the country on Wednesday.

A day before McCain arrived in Naypyidaw, Royal Thai Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Khamthorn Pumhiran met his Burmese counterpart Vice-Admiral Nyan Tun in “a goodwill visit”, according to The New Light of Myanmar. But the newspaper neglected to mention the Thai navy chief’s agenda in Burma.

Both McCain and Khamthorn Pumhiran’s Burma visits come shortly after Naypyidaw and Beijing announced that the Sino-Burmese relationship has been upgraded to a “strategic partnership.” The elevated state of cooperation was announced during Thein Sein’s China trip on May 26-28, and comes three years ahead of the completion of the Sino-Burmese oil and gas pipelines. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21407
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McCain Arrives in Naypyidaw
By SAW YAN NAING Wednesday, June 1, 2011

US Senator John McCain arrived in Burmese capital Naypyidaw on Wednesday where he is due to meet Burmese lawmakers before traveling to Rangoon on Thursday to meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives of other opposition parties.

“Headed to Burma this morning,” McCain wrote on his Twitter account. “Looking forward to seeing my inspiration, Aung San Suu Kyi. It has been a long, long time.”

He met Suu Kyi in Rangoon 15 years ago.

The US Senator is also scheduled to hold separate talks with the Speaker of the House of Nationalities, Khin Aung Myint, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Thura Shwe Mann, on Wednesday afternoon before flying to former capital Rangoon.

McCain, who was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 US election, is expected to meet one of the country’s new vice-presidents, ex-general Tin Aung Myint Oo. The other vice-president is Dr Sai Mauk Kham, an ethnic Shan MP representing the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party.

Ohn Kyaing, a spokesperson for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), said the senator will hold talks with the NLD central executive committee, representatives from the Committee Representing the People's Parliament, and ethnic leaders such as Aye Tha Aung, the chairman of the Arakan League for Democracy.

They are all scheduled to meet McCain on Thursday afternoon at 2 pm at the NLD headquarters in Sanchaung Township in Rangoon.

McCain will hold a separate meeting with the NLD central executive committee, before private talks with Suu Kyi at her home overlooking Inya Lake, said Ohn Kyaing.

Ohn Kyaing told The Irrawaddy that he will raise political issues during the NLD meeting with McCain such as the release of more than 2,100 political prisoners, tripartite dialogue, solutions to the civic problems in the country, and the NLD's political stance.

Speaking with the Associated Press in Thailand on Tuesday, McCain said he would assess "the changes being contemplated by the new government ... how serious they are about reform."

The new Burmese government, led by former general Thein Sein, took office in March this year.

While in Thailand, McCain took time to visit the Mae Tao clinic in the Thai border town of Mae Sot where he met up with its founder, Karen physician Dr Cynthia Maung.

Speaking to reporters in Mae Sot, the powerful US Republican said that he will press Burma's new government to initiate national reconciliation, release political prisoners and engage in tripartite dialogue during his trip to the country.

Sen McCain also visited Mae La refugee camp on Tuesday and listened to their views about the shifting political landscape in the country. Mae La houses more than 40,000 Burmese refugees, mostly ethnic Karen villagers who left their homeland due to attacks and human rights abuses by Burmese government troops.

McCain's tour follows a visit to Burma last month by another top US official, Joseph Y. Yun, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. During his trip, Yun called on the government to take "meaningful, concrete steps toward democratic governance," and called on Burma's authorities to release political prisoners. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21405
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US Sen. John McCain visits Myanmar to assess new government’s reform promises
By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, June 1, 1:31 PM

YANGON, Myanmar — U.S. Sen. John McCain began a brief trip to Myanmar on Wednesday to assess the situation in the country after a new civilian government promising reform took over from a military junta several months ago.

Rights groups and critics say little has changed since the new government took power in March. They say the new government is simply a proxy for the military and little has been done to address widespread abuses or to free more than 2,000 political prisoners remaining behind bars.

McCain arrived in the administrative capital, Naypyitaw, where he is expected to meet one of the nation’s vice presidents as well as lawmakers, a Myanmar government security official said, refusing to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

On Thursday, McCain is scheduled to meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest late last year but remains closely monitored by authorities.

Speaking in Bangkok on Tuesday, McCain said he would assess “the changes being contemplated by the new government, how serious they are about reform.”

He called Suu Kyi, who he met 15 years ago in Yangon, “a person I have admired more than any other ... living individual.”

McCain’s trip follows a visit last month by another top U.S. official, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Joseph Y. Yun. Yun urged the government to take “meaningful, concrete steps toward democratic governance” and called on authorities to release political prisoners.

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.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-sen-john-mccain-visits-myanmar-to-assess-new-governments-reform-promises/2011/06/01/AGJAX4FH_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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China has failed to progress, McCain says
By Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation
Published on June 1, 2011

US Republican Senator John McCain said in Bangkok yesterday he was "disappointed" with China's "lack of progress" as an emerging superpower in failing to push neighbours such as Burma and North Korea to be more democratic.

"Many of us have been disappointed in China's lack of progress as a world power," said McCain, who was visiting Bangkok for two nights.

He is due to fly for Burma early today to meet leaders of the new elected government plus pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

McCain, who met with PM Abhisit Vejjajiva and a leader of the opposition, also urged the Thai government not to force unregistered refugees in camps near the Burmese border back to their homeland.

"I strongly believe that the [Thai] government will not send these people back to persecution or even death," he told Thai and foreign reporters.

McCain, a former presidential candidate who was a prisoner during the war in Vietnam, said 2,000 people were "literally dying in a prison camp" in North Korea, while no significant changes in terms of human rights could be seen in Burma.

He said China, as an "emerging superpower" should exhibit "more mature behaviour" in relations with its neighbours.

He added that the US would put more interest and commitment into the region once their preoccupation with the situation in Iraq had scaled down.

McCain said one indicator of the lack of freedom in China was the fact that Chinese were not allowed to "tweet" (use the Twitter web service). He also noted that the so-called Arab Spring "is not confined to the Arab world".

"Burma does not exist in a vacuum - the Arab Spring has unsettled dictators all over the world." He said later, though, that he was not "a judge" on Burma but viewed developments in the country with "a healthy dose of scepticism" as it looked like the Burmese generals had simply removed their uniforms and ran for election last November.

"Why is it that they are so poor?" asked McCain, of people in Burma. "It's because they got a lousy government."

McCain urged Burma's new leaders to release all 2,000 political prisoners and to assure Suu Kyi she would be safe if she travels around the country to meet people, as planned this month.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/06/01/national/China-has-failed-to-progress-McCain-says-30156711.html
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McCain hails border clinic, urges funding
By DVB
Published: 1 June 2011

US senator John McCain, who will meet with government officials in Burma today, told reporters in the Thai border town of Mae Sot yesterday that more funding was needed for the lauded Mae Tao clinic, which treats thousands of Burmese each year.

The 2008 presidential hopeful arrived in Thailand on Monday for talks with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, before heading to Mae Sot the following day where he visited refugee camps and met with Dr Cynthia Maung, who runs the clinic.

“It’s one of the most impressive efforts that I’ve ever seen in the world, and I believe that Dr Cynthia in certain areas needs some extra funding both from governments and some charitable organisations in the US,” he said.

The clinic opened in 1989 and has received praised for its apolitical stance, treating anyone from migrant workers to government militia troops. Its largest group of patients however is the thousands of refugees that cross into Thailand each year to escape conflict in neighbouring Karen state.

The Burmese government is thought to spend less than a dollar per person each year on healthcare, or 1.3 percent of its total annual budget. The woeful conditions of hospitals inside Burma means that the majority of those close to the border often choose to seek treatment in Thailand, where life expectancy is around seven years higher.

“I know that a couple of years ago Laura Bush [former US First Lady] was here and came back carrying the same message, so it’s very rare that I get the chance to meet a true saint, so this has been my opportunity and my honour,” McCain said.

The 74-year-old, who unsuccessfully ran for the US presidency three years ago, is travelling to Burma on his own initiative as a member of Congress, and will meet with members of parliament and opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

Few details have been released about the itinerary for the trip, which follows closely behind that of Joseph Yun, the deputy US assistant secretary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Bureau who spent several days there last week.

“I’ll meet with government leaders and discuss the situation regarding refugees and the treatment of the minorities,” McCain said. “I’ll point out that because of the unrest and attacks on minorities, they’ve had to come to Thailand to live and to receive treatment when almost all of them desire to return home to their families.

“I want to discuss opportunities for an improvement to Burma’s international standing – that means the release of political prisoners, open dialogue between the opposition, The Lady [Suu Kyi] and the government, and I will urge them to engage in that dialogue and to show that they are really interested in progress towards reform.”
http://www.dvb.no/news/mccain-hails-border-clinic-urges-funding/15924
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Chinese medical team offers free eye surgical service in Myanmar
08:43, June 01, 2011

A visiting Chinese medical team, on its international tour, launched a free eye surgical treatment campaign in Yangon Tuesday.

Organized by the China Foundation for Peace and Development ( CFPD) and the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the Chinese medical team's "Tour of Sight", the first of its kind, will conduct a week-long surgical treatment on cataract patients by surgeons from the No. 1 People's Hospital of Yunnan province.

USDP Yangon Region Secretary U Aye Myint said at an inaugural ceremony at the Myodaw Medical Center here that the Chinese medical team's tour of sight activities not only brings treatment expertise and experience to Myanmar counterparts, good news of regaining sight to cataract eye patients, but also brings " paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship to Myanmar people.

"We thank a lot for the activities organized by the Chinese side. We thank Chinese medical team," he said.

At the ceremony, Xu Zhensui, Secretary-General of the CFPD said the activity is the first overseas trip of free treatment rendered by the foundation, aimed at enhancing understanding and friendship between the peoples of China and Myanmar.

Before the inaugural ceremony, many Myanmar ophthalmic patients have queued up in front of the medical center early morning to receive treatment.

Source: Xinhua http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/7396894.html
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Foreign lecturers to tutor Burma opposition
By AHUNT PHONE MYAT
Published: 1 June 2011

NLD member Aung Kyi Nyunt is seen lecturing students on agriculture and environment issues (NLD website)

Staff from universities in Hong Kong and Singapore will travel to Burma later this month as part of a programme by the political opposition to boost the academic capacity of its members.

A series of courses have been held at the Rangoon headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in recent weeks that include journalism and training for farmers, and which will wrap up at the end of June.

A week-long political science course is due to begin on 20 June, NLD spokesperson Ohn Kyaing said, and will accommodate four members from the more than 300 nationwide branches it has.

“Training courses will be conducted by lecturers from Hong Kong University and Singapore National University, as well as professors from Institute of Southeast Asian Studies,” he said, without giving details of the identity of the tutors.

But the content may irk the Burmese government, which keeps a close eye on any sort of organising by the opposition. Among the modules on offer are political transition and examinations of constitutional laws, two very sensitive issues in Burma.

Although the party led by Aung San Suu Kyi has never shied away from voicing its desire to see reform in Naypyidaw, particularly since controversial elections last year, any discussion of transition can be met with hefty punishment: Maj-Gen Hso Ten, chairman of the Shan State Peace Council, was sentenced in 2005 to 106 years in prison on charges of high treason after he organised a meeting allegedly to discuss governmental change.

The constitution, which was rushed through in the wake of the 2008 cyclone Nargis became official in March, has been dogged by controversy, with analysts accusing it of enshrining political impunity and denying equal rights for ethnic peoples.

Oversees academics have also fallen victim to the government’s almost pathological suspicion of foreigners: in 2009, two US citizens were deported after delivering workshops on photography and feature writing at the US Embassy-affiliated American Centre in Rangoon. They claimed at the time that their work had been approved by the censor board and police intelligence.

The NLD’s journalism workshops, the first of which ended on 22 May, have been led by the party’s co-founder Win Tin, a veteran journalist who until his release in September 2008 was Burma’s longest-serving political prisoner. Burma has some of the world’s harshest media laws, and keeps nearly 30 reporters behind bars.
http://www.dvb.no/news/foreign-lecturers-to-tutor-burma-opposition/15928

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