News & Articles on Burma-Friday, 8 July, 2011-UZL

News & Articles on Burma
Friday, 8 July, 2011
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US civil society urges more Myanmar pressure
Dangerous Anti-Chinese Discontent Growing in Mandalay
Obama Urged to Push for CoI on Burma War Crimes
Ethnic Affairs Ministers Get Cold Shoulder
Politics still 'off limits' for Suu Kyi after tour
Power struggle in 'democratic' Myanmar
Will Burma sincerely cooperate with ICRC once more?
Campaign stalemate, war goes on
Traders hopeful over Thai-Burma bridge
Kachin army ambush leaves 30 dead
Aid tentatively returns to Burma prisons
Lao PM to visit Myanmar
Strike Ends in Three Pagodas Pass
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US civil society urges more Myanmar pressure
– Thu Jul 7, 10:46 am ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A coalition of US civil society called Thursday on President Barack Obama to tighten sanctions on Myanmar and push for a UN probe on human rights, saying the regime will only respond to pressure.

The letter to the president was signed by senior members from 21 groups ranging from the AFL-CIO, the top US labor union confederation, to the neo-conservative Foreign Policy Initiative and prominent rights organizations.

The groups said the military was still firmly in charge of Myanmar, also known as Burma, pointing to recent deadly clashes in ethnic minority areas. They said that villagers "have been arrested, tortured and killed."

"The Burmese government has given your administration no reason to believe that more diplomacy, absent greater internal and external pressure, will persuade it to change course," the coalition wrote.

"The time has come for the United States to use the levers of pressure at its disposal."
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]

The United States has already slapped sanctions on Myanmar's leaders and restricted trade. The letter called on the Treasury Department to expand efforts by targeting banks that hold Myanmar's hard currency reserves.

The pressure groups also urged the Obama administration to "launch a vigorous diplomatic effort" to set up a UN-led Commission of Inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity in the Southeast Asian country.

The Obama administration in 2009 opened dialogue with Myanmar, concluding that the previous Western approach of seeking to isolate the regime had failed.

Myanmar last year released opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and held elections. But the United States and opposition groups consider the polls a farce and say some 2,000 more political prisoners remain locked up.

US officials have voiced disappointment with the results of engagement but say it is still the best option at a time of potential change. The administration recently named an envoy, Derek Mitchell, to spearhead diplomacy.

The United States has backed a Commission of Inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity but has not made it a priority, believing that the probe does not enjoy support among Asian nations.

Groups whose members signed the letter include Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, the Feminist Majority Foundation and the Save Darfur Coalition. http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110707/pl_afp/usmyanmardiplomacyrightslabor
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Dangerous Anti-Chinese Discontent Growing in Mandalay
By KYI WAI Friday, July 8, 2011


MANDALAY ­ “It is not news anymore that all good locations in Mandalay belong to the Chinese. But it will be news if Burmese can take them back,” said Sein Hla, a 57-year-old bean trader in Mandalay.

The Chinese have been able to expand their territory in downtown Mandalay because the Burmese are weak economically, Sein Hla said. When the Chinese came to Mandalay with plenty of money at a time when the Burmese were suffering an economic crisis, local land and business owners could not resist selling off their assets.

After Burma’s 1988 nationwide uprising and subsequent military coup, most local businesses in Mandalay were in bad shape and in need of cash. Beginning around 1990, many Chinese from Yunnan Province, as well as other areas of China, began to open businesses in Mandalay, buying up plots of land at high prices. Later, they brought their relatives to work in the new businesses.

In this manner, the Chinese migrants have taken over the central points of the city one after another, pushing out the local Burmese in the process.

“When I sold my land in 1994, I received over 17 million kyat [US $21,250]. Now, the price of that land is 8 billion kyat [$10,000,000]. I have never heard of such prices before,” said Lwin Maung, a 70-year-old Mandalay resident.

Lwin Maung said he sold his land at the time because he needed money. He thought that he would buy it back after working hard for a while, but he certainly cannot afford the current price.

“I think the main factor contributing to the Chinese predominance in our city is our own incompetence. Burmese are poor in terms of money and education. We are under repression, so we are poor in ideas. We are also poor in knowledge, so we lack economic vision,” said Lwin Maung.

Dr Than Htut Aung, the chief executive officer of the country’s leading Eleven Media Group, told persons attending the group’s 11th anniversary celebration in June that without capital strength, there is no way for Burmese to resist Chinese encroachment.

“We can't stand next to a soon-to-be super power country without capital strength. There is no way our poor people can resist the threat of a very rich and powerful country,” said Than Htut Aung.

The current price of a plot of land in Mandalay, which used to cost around 10 million kyat, is reported to be at least a billion kyat.

“The sales of land have been quite good. Chinese are more interested in land plots with high prices. As for Burmese and other ethnic people, they sell out a plot of land in good location and buy two or three plots in the new town area. So the real estate business in Mandalay is always on the upturn,” said Pu Lay, a real estate agent.

In early July, a plot of land located at 53rd and 38th streets in Mandalay was bought by a 40-year-old Chinese businessman, who is married to a Burmese woman, for nearly 8 billion kyat [$10,000,000].

“It is not easy to buy land in Yunnan,” the Chinese businessman said. “It is crowded and there are not many good locations to live. But I can buy land in Rangoon and Mandalay. I have planned to live here, that's why I bought it.”

Maung Maung, a gem trader in Mandalay, told The Irrawaddy that Chinese from the border have entered every business sector in town.

“Chinese from the border do everything. They are involved in the gem trade, gold mining and the bean trade. They are even involved in the construction material market,” said Maung Maung.

He pointed out that Chinese businesses in the city have quickly improved because they are united, economic-minded and share markets between themselves. While the Chinese are focusing on business and prospering, Burmese are wasting their time in teashops and gambling on football and the lottery, he said.

“There are also Burmese businessmen, such as Aung San Win in gold trading, who are smart and really work hard. But most of them are not smart and do not work hard. They just waste their time without making any effort,” said Maung Maung.

Many Burmese businessmen in Mandalay come from wealthy family businesses and prefer their traditional ways of working, some observers said.

Other local observers said that the Burmese people's discontent over Chinese encroachment has broadened because many of the Chinese people entering Burma after 1988 have been able to bribe government officials to obtain identification cards, giving them the ability to buy plots of land and houses.

“The gunpowder of hatred is already there, so it can explode anytime when it is hit by a spark. In my opinion, I don't think we should hate or be against a particular race.
I think what is happening on the ground is not because of races, but of the governments behind them,” Kyaw Yin Myint, a resident journalist in Mandalay, told The Irrawaddy.

In late June, an angry mob gathered and readied to attack a Chinese owned jewelry store after a dispute broke out. Kyaw Yin Myint said that this anger that nearly led to violence is rooted in discontent that has existed for a long time, and warned that unless an appropriate solution is implemented by either the Chinese or Burmese government, any dispute between Burmese and Chinese inside Burma could instigate a situation worse than the anti-Chinese riots of 1967.

“If the current problem [anti-Chinese sentiment] becomes bigger, it may be worse than what happened before and difficult to handle. As a result, relations between Beijing and Naypyidaw could be affected,” said Kyaw Yin Myint.

Soe Htun, a political activist and leader of the 88 Generation Students group, said that the source of growing discontent towards the Chinese lies in Beijing's appeasement of the repressive Burmese government, and urged the general public to beware of the Chinese threat.

“We must be careful about China's threat. It is important. Beijing is not only destroying our natural resources, but also backing and cooperating with the hard-hearted Burmese government,” he told The Irrawaddy.

Activists also said the recent clashes in northern Burma are the consequence of Naypyidaw's protection of Chinese interests in the area.

Than Htut Aung believes the Burmese will be able to avoid threats from China only if their country is embraced by the international community.

“We only have the will to protect and preserve our country and our independence. The thing we have do to prevent potential threats from China is not express hatred, which will affect our bi-lateral relations. We have to re-access the international community,” said Than Htut Aung, in his speech commemorating his group’s anniversary.

The Irrawaddy reporter Lin Thant contributed to this article.
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21656
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Obama Urged to Push for CoI on Burma War Crimes
By LALIT K JHA Friday, July 8, 2011

WASHINGTON—US President Barack Obama was urged by 22 eminent US organizations on Thursday to push for a United Nations Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into alleged war crimes committed by the Burmese junta, and to fully implement the banking sanctions imposed against cronies of the military rulers.

“The United States should also mobilize support for a UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma, recommended by UN Special Rapporteur Mr Tomás Ojea Quintana and supported by Burma’s democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,� said the letter signed by representatives of 22 different organizations.

Prominent among them are the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, American Jewish World Service, The Carter Center, Citizens for Global Solutions, Democracy Coalition Project, Enough Project, Foreign Policy Initiative, Freedom House, Genocide Intervention Network/Save Darfur Coalition, Human Rights Watch, Institute for Asian Democracy, Open Society Foundations, Orion Strategies, Perseus Strategies, Physicians for Human Rights, Project 2049 Institute, The Burma Fund-UN Office, and the US Campaign for Burma.

An IDP family shelter from the rain in the Karen jungle. (PHOTO: Free Burma Rangers)
The former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nancy Soderberg, also signed the letter to Obama dated July 7.

“The Burmese government has given your administration no reason to believe that more diplomacy, absent greater internal and external pressure, will persuade it to change course. The time has come for the United States to use the levers of pressure at its disposal, and implement in full the banking sanctions authorized in the JADE ACT,� the letter said.

The statement brings to the US president's notice that it has now been almost two years since his administration launched its new engagement policy with the military government in Burma.

Senior officials from the US State Department have visited the country several times, met with Burma’s leaders, and tried to persuade them to implement positive changes in the country, as demanded by the people of Burma and the international community, the letter said adding that this has not yielded any result so far.

“Since completing the establishment of its new, ostensibly civilian governing structures, the Burmese army continued military offensives against ethnic resistance groups in Karen and Karenni States, and began military operations in Shan and Kachin States,� the letter said.

“These armed groups in opposition to the government have refused to accept Burma’s undemocratic constitution, and to transform their armed forces into border guards under the command of the Burmese army,� the US organizations said.

Meanwhile, in a resolution introduced in the US Senate, Senator Jim Webb urged the Chinese and Burmese governments to improve cooperation with the Mekong River Commission and information sharing on water flows, as well as engaging in the regional decision-making processes on the development and use of the Mekong River.

The resolution calls for the protection of the Mekong River Basin and delaying mainstream dam construction along the river, which flows through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

“The United States and the global community have a strategic interest in preserving the health and well-being of the more than 60 million people who depend on the Mekong River,� said Webb. “All countries along the Mekong River should respect the riparian water rights of other river basin countries and take into account proper environmental standards when considering construction projects,� the Senator urged the countries of the region.

To avoid irreversible damage to the region, it is prudent to delay the construction of mainstream dams along the river, including those along the Upper Mekong River, until adequate planning and multilateral coordination can be guaranteed,� he said.

“The recent decision of the Mekong River Commission to delay endorsement of the Xayaburi Dam is a positive step forward in this regard, and I hope that all countries will abide by their commitments to complete a robust assessment of this dam before moving forward on any construction. Absent such a collaborative approach, the ecological and economic stability of Southeast Asia is at risk,� he added.

The resolution calls on US representatives at multilateral development banks to support strict adherence to international environmental standards for any financial assistance to hydropower dam projects on the mainstream of the Mekong River. It calls for the Lower Mekong Initiative to allocate more funding for infrastructure projects and to help identify sustainable alternatives to mainstream hydropower dams.

Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21654
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Ethnic Affairs Ministers Get Cold Shoulder
By KHIN OO THAR Friday, July 8, 2011

Several ministers of ethnic affairs have complained that they have not yet been given mandates, offices or facilities.

An ethnic affairs minister in Mon State who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “We don’t even have offices for the ministers. They issued us one car per minister but we are not yet allowed to drive them. Ministers in other departments have two cars, a house, a personal assistant and sometimes are even provided with domestic staff for their homes.”

Mon State has ethnic affairs ministers representing the Karen, Burman and Pa-O communities.

According to a source, elected ministers in Rangoon Division have been provided with houses, air-conditioned offices, telephones, personal assistants, drivers, security guards and 400,000 kyat [US $500] monthly salaries. However, he said, ethnic affairs ministers in Rangoon have only a small office at the People's Parliament compound, a car provided to the same level of a vice-director at the ministry, and they receive a salary of 350,000 kyat [$437].

“We only occupy a small office in the compound of the People’s Parliament,” said an ethnic affairs minister from Rangoon Division. “If we want a telephone or air-conditioning, we have to buy it ourselves. We get cars, but not as good as the other ministers. We have not attended a single parliamentary session to date.”

According to some ethnic affairs ministers, if they have contact with the media, they are threatened by the authorities. When contacted by The Irrawaddy, all ministers of ethnic affairs would only speak anonymously.

“We were elected by the ethnic people to carry out their affairs, but now we are more like robots with nothing to do,” one said.

The chairman of the All Mon Regions Democracy Party, Naing Ngwe Thein, said that the ethnic affairs ministers were elected under the same conditions as other ministers and should, therefore, receive the same benefits.

According to a source close to the Chin Ethnic Affairs Minister, No Htan Kut, the minister has submitted several proposals but has received no response from the central government.

Ethnic ministers are appointed in almost every state and division. There are five ministers for Burman and Karen ethnic affairs, and three ministers each for Kachin, Chin, Mon, Arakan, Shan and Pa-O affairs.http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21660
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STRAITS TIMES
Jul 8, 2011
Politics still 'off limits' for Suu Kyi after tour

Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi (center) is held by her son Kim Aris (back) as she is greeted by supporters during a visit to a market in the ancient temple city of Bagan on July 7, 2011. -- PHOTO: AFP

BAGAN (Myanmar) - DEMOCRACY icon Aung San Suu Kyi drew large crowds on a landmark trip to rural Myanmar that tested her freedom, but experts say the regime will tolerate her activities only up to a point.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was trailed by plain clothes police but allowed to travel unhindered as she avoided making public speeches on the low-key four-day excursion to the ancient city of Bagan and nearby villages.

Observers warned that a full political tour, if it goes ahead, could still trigger a confrontation with the new army-backed government, which has issued stern warnings for Ms Suu Kyi to stay out of politics.

'The regime playing nice to her this time should not fool anyone into thinking that as soon as she travels the country to in effect reconnect with her base politically the regime is to sit back and watch, undisturbed,' said activist Maung Zarni, a researcher at the London School of Economics.

Ms Suu Kyi refrained from any overtly political activities that might have antagonised the regime during her first trip outside the main city of Yangon since she was freed by the junta from house arrest last November. The democracy hero, who spent most of the past two decades as a prisoner in her own home, made no comments on Friday to a throng of reporters following her every move before she boarded a flight back to Yangon.

'We had a break but did not rest,' her youngest son Kim Aris, a British national who accompanied his mother on the trip, told AFP. 'There were too many people everywhere, but you can't get away from that.' Ms Suu Kyi, 66, signed autographs and posed for pictures as she visited temples, markets and souvenir shops in and around Bagan, one of the top tourist destinations in Myanmar, also known as Burma. -- AFP http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_688505.html
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ASIA TIMES: 9 July 2011
Power struggle in 'democratic' Myanmar
By Larry Jagan

BANGKOK - The trappings of the old military regime that ruled Myanmar are slowly fading from view under new democratically elected president Thein Sein and his promises of reform. At the same time, a budding power struggle between the president and vice president Thin Aung Myint Oo has pitted moderate versus hardline agendas and stalled significantly the new government's economic and political progress.

Thein Sein, who served as prime minister for four years in the outgoing military junta, faces what many view as a pre-ordained challenge to his democratic mandate. According to some government insiders, Thin Aung Myint Oo has deliberately tried to undermine the new president, including by asserting his influence over the new army chief. As a result the president's planned economic reforms and debate over whether to release over 2,200 political prisoners have already been put on hold.

Thin Aung Myint Oo represents the old military guard and their hard-line attitudes towards political change. As former junta leader Than Shwe has withdrawn from the scene, some believe he deliberately left a power vacuum in his wake which Thein Sein and Thin Aung Myint Oo are competing to fill. If the competition escalates into open rifts, some fear the military could step in to suspend the country's nascent democracy.

To complicate matters, the top leaders of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) - the military-linked ruling party in parliament - are also trying to assert influence. These top party officials, who were persuaded to resign or retire from the army ahead of last November's election, no longer have their military stripes. Many are from the older generation of military ministers who remain suspicious of the country's move from military to democratic rule.

Although Than Shwe may have formally retired from the country's political scene, seen in the removal of his once ubiquitous portraits hung in official buildings, his legacy is playing havoc with Thein Sein's room to maneuver. In an effort to ensure that no strong military leader emerged to take control of the country and endanger his and his family's authority and wealth, Than Shwe is believed to have deliberately left a vacuum in his wake.

Thein Sein is committed to introducing moderate democratic and more ambitious economic reforms, according to sources close to him. "The old military regime has gone," said a former senior Myanmar diplomat who wanted to remain anonymous. "The new government really wants to introduce positive change," he said.

This optimistic view has been echoed by many Myanmar government officials, including diplomats posted in Asia and Europe. Thein Sein's speech in March when he took over as the country's top leader and made calls for a move towards democratic governance is indicative of his vision, they said.

But with a new pluralist power structure, comprised of executive, legislature and army branches, there is substantial scope for spoiling activities. Analysts believe that Thin Aung Myint Oo, the former head of an influential trade council, is playing that role, exploiting opportunities to usurp the president's authority and subvert his agenda.

After cabinet meetings, which usually take place once a week, the ministers are summoned into his room without Then Sein for tea and an ear bashing, according to people familiar with the situation. In particular, he has bid to exert influence over key economic decisions, including authority over potentially lucrative import and export licenses and company registrations.

In one telling episode, Thein Sein ordered that excise duties on exports be reduced to 5%. Later Thin Aung Myint Oo intervened with the support of the finance minister to put the rate at 7%. The vice president also unilaterally cut the budgets of line ministries by between 20% to 40%, apart from the defense portfolio.

Thin Aung Myint Oo has also strained the new government's international credibility by telling visitors to the capital, including a recent European Union delegation and influential US Senator John McCain, that the country holds no political prisoners. International human rights groups contend that the regime holds over 2,200 political prisoners behind bars. Internal debate over the issue has reportedly been stonewalled by the vice president.

New marching orders
The most critical tussle will concern the once dominant military's future role in politics. The 2008 constitution guaranteed military members 25% of the total seats in parliament. New army chief General Min Aung Hlaing has downplayed the military's political role and soldier MPs in both national houses of parliament were virtually silent during discussions in parliament's first session held earlier this year.

Min Aung Hlaing told military MPs before parliament was convened that their political duty was to rebuild the reputation of the army: It's your duty to become seasoned politicians, he reportedly said, as you represent the future Myanmar. He virtually blamed the old guard for the country's current economic and political mess, according to one military MP.

Thin Aung Myint Oo is reportedly unhappy with this limited role for the armed forces and has maintained they should exert pressure on both the executive and legislature. Several weeks ago Thin Aung Myint Oo reportedly summoned the army chief to his office and lectured him on the new power structure, emphasizing that he was his boss as militarily he out-ranked Thein Sein.

Die-hards in the USDP, many forced to resign from the military to contest electoral seats as civilians, are already expressing frustrations about being sidelined by the current government and parliament. They are also now working behind the scenes to reassert their lost influence through connections to the old regime.

In particular, they are reportedly trying to encourage Than Shwe to establish and lead a new State Supreme Council to oversee the new power structure, as outlined and allowed for by the new charter. USDP leaders Aung Thaung and Htay Oo have reportedly urged the former leader to consider a senior advisory role similar to the ones China's Deng Xiaoping and Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew played after they stepped down from their respective countries' formal leadership positions.

Some analysts believe that Than Shwe still runs the country from behind the scenes, evidenced in his frequent meetings with MPs at his personal residence in Naypyidaw. "Than Shwe has no plan to switch state power to the president or parliament," said Aung Lynn Htut, a former Myanmar military intelligence officer and diplomat who defected after he was posted to Washington. "He will continue to control things from behind the curtain," he said.

For the moment, these layers of political intrigue are dogging Myanmar's movement forward as a guided democracy. Thein Sein appears to have at least one strong ally in the parliamentary speaker Thura Shwe Mann, the junta's former No 3. It is in his interest to ensure parliament functions effectively within the new political structure. He is also a known rival of Thin Aung Myint Oo, especially in economic matters.

Myanmar's political future will hang in the balance until this power struggle is resolved. While Thein Sein presents a new way forward, Thin Aung Myint Oo represents the front line of defense for the status quo. While each pushes their conflicting agendas, the military waits in the wings and the potential for a coup in the name of restoring stability and suspending democracy can not for now be ruled out. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/MG09Ae02.html
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Will Burma sincerely cooperate with ICRC once more?
Fri, 2011-07-08 00:27 — editor
By - Zin Linn

Many prisoners of conscience have been serving incredibly long prison terms in awfully ruthless conditions in Burma’s notorious prisons. Torture and ill treatment is a well known part of their incarceration and retribution.

The regime’s handling of political prisoners blatantly 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.

According to today’s state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the Government of Myanmar (Burma) has been carrying the maintenance of prisons in cooperation with ICRC. Water and habitat Engineer Swiss Mr Eric Weissen from ICRC and two officers were allowed to visit Mawlamyine prison on 1st July. There, they inspected site chosen for sinking tube well, storage of water and construction of toilets and septic tanks.

They were conducted round by Director Soe Soe Zaw from Myanmar Correctional Department (Mon/Kayin), prison officer in-charge and engineer. According to the preliminary survey of ICRC in Myaungmya, Hpa-an and Mawlamyine prisons, solar powered water pumping system is installed by Myanmar Correctional Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs in cooperation with ICRC.

As reported by Assistance Association for Political Prisoners - Burma [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. The prison healthcare system in Burma is totally poor, especially in far-flung jails. There are 44 prisons across Burma, and at least 50 labor camps. Some of them do not have a prison hospital as well as health assistance personnel.

AAPP-B says in its June 2011 report: “The blatant insincerity and unwillingness of the current regime to address grave human rights violations was underscored in the concluding session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Throughout the dialogue, the regime made false claims as to progress made in the field of human rights while continuing to deny serious broad patterns of abuse. Burma accepts to improve relations with Special Rapporteur Quintana, but has denied him entry into the country since March 2010.”

AAPP-B also criticized the behaviors of the Burmese government in the report that if there are no widespread occurrences of human rights violations committed with impunity, as Burma claimed during the first round of the UPR in January 2011, then it should open its doors to not only the Special Rapporteur Quintana, but also to other INGOs such as the ICRC.

Burma also agreed to stop torture, but refuses to investigate allegations of torture, providing further evidence that they are only interested in providing the bare minimum so as to gain political legitimacy.

Zaw Win, Director General of the Prisons Department, brazenly lied to the international community saying there are no political prisoners in Burma. Besides, there have been no deaths in prison arising from conditions of detention, he said.

AAPP-B has documented 146 deaths as a result of ill-treatment and conditions in prison. Given the wall of secrecy surrounding prisons, the number of cases is most likely much higher. There are a total of 1,994 political prisoners in June, said AAPP Burma.

The ICRC offices were ordered to be closed in 2006. Then, ICRC released a press statement on this issue dated 29 June 2007. The statement denounced the military regime for committing human rights violations against detainees and civilians. ''The repeated abuses committed against men, women and children living along the Thai-Myanmar border violate many provisions of international humanitarian law," said Mr. Jakob Kellenberger, ICRC president.

In addition, ICRC also demanded the Burmese government to end urgently of its abuses: "We urged the government of Myanmar to put a stop to all violations of international humanitarian law and to ensure that they do not recur".

The ICRC launched an office in Rangoon (Yangon) starting a limb-fitting and rehabilitation mission in 1986. Since 1999 it has carried out assistance and protection work in places of detention and in sensitive border areas.

Since 1999, the ICRC has called on detainees in prison; in 2005 alone it met more than 3,000 prisoners in more than fifty locations. It provided kits, including basic needs such as soap and medicine for thousands of prisoners. It has been able to assess conditions even in areas of conflict via its five field offices. Under its own strict rules of engagement, the ICRC keeps its findings confidential.

In December 2005, however, the junta said ICRC staff visiting prisoners had to be accompanied by a member of the pro-junta cadres, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (now transformed into ruling party). The junta’s demand was against the principle of confidentiality that the ICRC holds as a non-negotiable condition for prison visits worldwide. It showed obviously the junta’s dislike of ICRC’s prison visits. On 23 October 2006, the junta told the ICRC to shut its field offices.

Now, observers are amazingly watching whether the Burmese government will sincerely cooperate with ICRC once more. The Burmese regime should not make use of ICRC in order to gain its credibility this time.

- Asian Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/07/07/will-burma-sincerely-cooperate-icrc-once-more
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Campaign stalemate, war goes on
Friday, 08 July 2011 16:02 Hseng Khio Fah

The campaign launched by the Burma Army on the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) seems to be at a standstill since their first meet in April, though reports of small clashes between the two groups are still coming out everyday, according to local sources.

Yesterday, a unit of Burma Army soldiers from Infantry Battalion (LIB) 325 based in Hsawngkae, Shan State North’s Hsipaw township, was attacked by a unit of SSA fighters, leaving two Burma Army soldiers dead and some weapons to the group, said Col Sai Htoo, one of the SSA senior officer.

“They [the Burma army soldiers] were attacked by some of SSA fighters from Brigade No.1, while bathing in a river near their base. A corporal and a private were said to have died instantly while another soldier escaped,” a source said.

No casualties were reported from the SSA side, he added.

Clashes between the two groups were said to have been taking place everyday in Monghsu, Hsipaw, Mongyai and Kehsi townships, said a local source from Monghsu.

Though the Burma Army has made attempts to negotiate with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), there has been no communication between the SSA and Burma Army. Future relations between the SSA and the Burma Army are indeterminable, said a border analyst from the Thai-Burma border.

The Burma Army has made no more offers of ceasefire to the SSA since they met at Mongkhurh, Hsipaw Township in Shan State North on 11, April 2011.The SSA did not respond to the demand that it surrender.

Another border watcher commented that the Burma Army still seems willing to negotiate with the SSA. “Otherwise, it [the Burma Army] would have attacked Wanhai (the SSA’s HQ),” he said.

The SSA has lost five of its bases including gateways to its ally Untied Wa State Army (UWSA) controlled areas since 13 March, when fighting first erupted. Dozens of civilians in the conflict zones were reportedly killed and injured by the Burma Army’s heavy shells. http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3839:campaign-stalemate-war-goes-on&catid=86:war&Itemid=284
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Traders hopeful over Thai-Burma bridge
By THUREIN SOE
Published: 8 July 2011

The bridge connecting Thailand' Mae Sot to Myawaddy in eastern Burma has been closed since July 2010 (Wikimedia Commons)

Traders in western Thailand say they are optimistic that a border crossing and lucrative trading point with Burma will reopen within three months, following nearly a year of closure.

Thailand’s overland trade with its neighbour has suffered as a result of the closure by Burmese authorities of the Mae Sot-Myawaddy Friendship Bridge in July last year. Reasons for the decision varied, with some citing anger in Naypyidaw about what it saw as Thai attempts to reroute the Moei river, while speculation also arose about Thailand’s alleged sheltering of anti-Burmese government armed groups.

A trader in the Thai border town of Mae Sot said however that the Tak Province Traders’ Association was optimistic the new Thai government would negotiate the reopening.

“The previous Democrat Party didn’t really get along with the Burmese government,” he told DVB. But following the recent election victory of the Puea Thai party, led by Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of exiled former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, relations may improve. He added that traders along the border “are already expanding their businesses” in the hope that the crossing will soon open.

The Thai side has consistently lobbied for the bridge to be reopened. In December last year former Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win allegedly held secret talks with his Thai counterpart, Kasit Piromya, in a bid to negotiate an end to the stalemate.

Thailand’s countrywide border trade generates around $US4.3 billion each year for the developing economy, nearly a quarter of which goes through Mae Sot. The closure of the crossing is thought to have cost the country around $US2.7 million each day.
http://www.dvb.no/news/traders-hopeful-over-thai-burma-bridge/16488
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Kachin army ambush leaves 30 dead
By DVB
Published: 8 July 2011

Around 30 Burmese troops are presumed dead after an ambush by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) on a convoy in Kachin state’s Momauk township yesterday afternoon.

Two trucks carrying government soldiers along the Bhamo-to-Myitkyina highway were damaged in the attack; one of the two carrying more than two dozen troops was blown to pieces, according to the spokesperson of the KIA’s political wing, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO).

The attack came as government representatives were holding talks with the KIA at its headquarters in Laiza. The two sides have been engaged in heavy fighting over the past two months in various regions of Kachin state, forcing the displacement of some 20,000 people.

Government newspapers yesterday reported that the KIA had destroyed a number of roads and bridges in Kachin state.

The reasons behind the outbreak in violence focus largely on attempts by Naypyidaw to gain control over swathes of Kachin state and neighbouring Shan state, where the KIA has territory. The campaign has also been taken to Karen and Karenni state bordering Thailand, where various insurgent groups are based.

As well as exacting retribution on ethnic armies who refused to become government-controlled Border Guard Forces, Naypyidaw is also looking to secure areas around lucrative energy projects in Kachin and Shan state, the majority of which are backed by China.

An article in the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said that the Burmese army had fought the KIA “for the sake of project and public security”, a rare admission of a key reason behind its operations in the country’s north.

Despite several attempts at negotiation, skirmishes continue to break out. Colonel Than Aung, Kachin state’s Minister for Border and Security Affairs sent a handwritten letter to the KIO warning that negotiations would take time.
http://www.dvb.no/news/kachin-army-ambush-leaves-30-dead/16494
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Aid tentatively returns to Burma prisons
By DVB
Published: 8 July 2011

After a six year ban the International Committee of the Red Cross has taken its first steps towards regaining access to Burmese prisons.

Earlier this month the group made three trips to jails across southern and eastern Burma, although access was restricted.

“We are conducting technical assessments of water facilities and other supplies,” said Christian Cardon, spokesperson for the ICRC’s Asia-Pacific office.

He said that although it was “a positive first step”, its mandate fell short of allowing it to conduct the full extent of its work inside Burma. “We’re not talking here about proper ICRC visits to a place of detention, like we have in many other countries.”

Since a ban was slapped on the group in December 2005 after it refused to bow to government demands to allow Burmese officials to accompany staff inside the prisons, Burma’s 200,000-strong prison population has received no outside assistance.

Conditions inside the 43 jails are notoriously poor, with malaria rife and abuse of prisoners by wardens commonplace. Among the inmate population are 1994 political prisoners, some of whom are serving sentences of more than 100 years.

During a visit to Burma last month, US Senator John McCain urged authorities to allow the ICRC freedom to visit prisons, and called for the unconditional release of the political inmates who include politicians, monks, doctors and journalists.

Tate Naing, joint secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma (AAPPB), said that the readmission of the ICRC, which from 1999 to 2005 had inspected prison conditions and documented reports from inmates, was a mixed bag.

“It’s a good sign that the [ICRC] are now allowed into the prison, but we see too much restriction by Burmese authorities who are playing political games.

“The ICRC should be allowed to meet with political prisoners, inmates who are receiving hefty punishments and those in poor health. But instead they are only allowed to inspect water and sanitation systems so, if we go step by step from here, it may take about four or five years until they are allow to resume normal procedures as before.”

ICRC officials visited to Karen state’s Hpa-an prison, Mon state’s Moulmein prison and Irrawaddy division’s Myaungmya prison.
http://www.dvb.no/news/aid-tentatively-returns-to-burma-prisons/16484
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Lao PM to visit Myanmar
13:43, July 08, 2011

Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong will pay an official visit to Myanmar soon, an official announcement from Nay Pyi Taw said on Friday without mentioning the specific date of his visit.

At the invitation of Myanmar President U Thein Sein, Thongsing will make the trip after a new government was installed in Myanmar.

In October last year, former Myanmar top leader Senior-General Than Shwe paid a state visit to Vientiane before Myanmar's general election and had discussions with Laotian leaders on mutual friendship and cooperation between the two nations.

The two sides touched on cooperation in economic and social sectors, including construction of the Myanmar-Laos-Vietnam road, building of the Myanmar-Laos Mekong River Friendship Bridge, anti- narcotic drives as well as forming Myanmar-Laos regional border committee in order to address border issues on a timely basis.

Myanmar and Laos, sharing border of over 230 kilometers, established diplomatic relations in 1955.

Source:Xinhua http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7434017.html
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Strike Ends in Three Pagodas Pass
By LAWI WENG Friday, July 8, 2011

Around 400 striking Burmese migrant workers in the Thai border town of Three Pagodas Pass have agreed to return to work tomorrow after their Thai employers gave in to their demands for a wage hike, according to border sources.

The workers, from a shoe factory owned by the PTK Company, which employs around 3,000 people in three factories, including one on the Burmese side of the border, went on strike at 1 pm yesterday to demand a raise of 20 baht (US $0.66) per day.

“We reached an agreement at 8 o'clock this morning and will pay the workers an extra 15 baht ($0.50) per day,” said company manager Mahn Thean, speaking on behalf of PTK.

The strike began when workers refused to return to work after lunch yesterday to protest the company's rejection of their demands.

“We requested an increase of 20 baht, but they said they could only offer us 10 baht. That's why we went back home,” said Aung Tun, one of the striking workers.

In a further show of dissatisfaction, the workers walked back to the Burmese side of the border instead of returning home in company buses, sources said.

The striking workers were also joined by other Burmese migrants employed in the town. Altogether, around 2,000 workers in Three Pagodas Pass stayed off the job today, vowing to wait until an agreement had been reached before returning to work, according to sources.

“All of our workers will be back on the job tomorrow,” said Mahn Thean.

Workers at the factory were earning between 70 and 115 baht ($2.30-3.80) for a 10-hour workday, depending on experience. This is less than average for Thailand, causing many workers to feel that they were being exploited.

Also driving their demands is the fact that wage increases have not kept pace with rising commodity costs. Many workers said that they have been unable to send money home to their families because of rising food prices.

“Everything is getting more expensive, but wages haven't changed. This is why they went on strike,” said Nai Lyit Rot, a community leader in Three Pagodas Pass.

There are around 5,000 Burmese migrants in Three Pagodas Pass, many of them coming from different parts of Burma. The town has about 30 factories, producing gloves, textile, and shoes.

Factory work is the main source of employment in the town, since border trade has come almost to a standstill due to political instability on the Burmese side of the border.

Sources in the area say that Thai businessmen will no longer trade on the Burmese side of the border because of recent attacks, including one on June 14 targeting a store whose owner was suspected of supporting the Burmese army.

Another factor driving up prices for basic commodities is the weather. Most goods are transported by river, which is more difficult during the rainy season. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21659

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