News & Articles on Burma-Wednesday, October 12, 2011-uzl

News & Articles on Burma
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
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The Most Influential Burmese Dissidents Not Yet Released
KIA kills 10 Burmese soldiers, injures 2 in southern Kachin State
KIA captures important frontline government post
Myanmar begins releasing 6,300 convicts, but keeps some dissidents
Myanmar Begins to Release Some Political Prisoners
Myanmar releases more than 100 political prisoners
Myanmar: UN helps Government devise disaster mitigation plans
Myanmar frees some political MYANMAR: Political prisoners among those released in amnesty
More than 100 political detainees freed in Myanmar
Rights abuses persist in ethnic states despite international perception
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The Most Influential Burmese Dissidents Not Yet Released
By BA KAUNG Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Although some prominent political prisoners were released on Wednesday morning under an amnesty granted by Burma’s President Thein Sein to over 6,000 prisoners, the country’s most influential imprisoned dissidents, the leaders of the 88 Generation Students group, were not reported to be among them.

The government released Zarganar, the famous dissident comedian, and Shan ethnic leader Sao Hso Ten, who was serving a 106-year sentence. But influential 88 Generation Students group leaders such as Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, who are both serving 65-year jail terms in remote prisons in Shan State, were not included in the political prisoners released thus far.

Around 2,000 political prisoners are currently incarcerated in Burma, but only about 100 were reported to have been released by mid-Wednesday afternoon, according to Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

“We are grateful for the release of even one political prisoner, but I heard only around a hundred prisoners are released until now,” she said at a gathering with former political prisoners in Rangoon this morning. Although welcoming the news that some political prisoners had been released, she called on the government to release those remaining behind bars as well.

The middle-aged 88 Generation Students group leaders played a key role in Burma's 1988 anti-government uprising. They were arrested after leading a protest march against an increase in fuel prices just prior to the mass protests led by Buddhist monks in the 2007 uprising known as the Saffron Revolution, and they still wield heavy influence among the public and political opposition.

Min Ko Naing’s sister, Kyi Kyi Nyunt, told the Associated Press that her brother said he was not on the list of political prisoners to be set free.

“We are used to these ups and downs,” she said.

Kyaw Khin, a prison official from Burma's most infamous Insein Prison in Rangoon, said that 642 prisoners are being released from the prison today and only seven of them are political detainees.

The exact number of political prisoners who will be among the more than 6,000 prisoners that the government announced it will release has not been reported or officially announced.

Win Tin, a leading senior member of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy who spent 19 years in jail as a political prisoner, said that he strongly disapproves of the way the government is releasing political prisoners on par with ordinary convicts.

In an interview with The Irrawaddy following his release from Myitkyina Prison in the north of Burma, Zarganar said that he didn’t know he would be freed until Wednesday morning and feels sad because his fellow political prisoners are still in jail.

“Until late last night, I wanted to believe in the positive changes that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has spoken about,” said Zarganar. “But this morning, I lost belief in them because I saw that the government does not have a true desire to release all political prisoners.”

He said that despite the election last year in which a small number of opposition parties won a handful of seats in Parliament, Burma has a “mono-party” democracy rather than a multi-party democracy.

"The current system is not real democracy, so I will continue to work both as an entertainer and in the political arena," he said. “For me, they are interrelated.”

A Rangoon-based reporter for The Irrawaddy contributed to this story. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22244
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KIA kills 10 Burmese soldiers, injures 2 in southern Kachin State
Created on Wednesday, 12 October 2011 12:40
Published on Wednesday, 12 October 2011 12:40
Written by KNG

majemakau-oct12-engTen Burmese government soldiers were killed and 2 injured by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) during five battles in five areas on Wednesday, in southern Kachin State, according to witnesses.

The casualties occurred in the controlled area of KIA’s Battalion 27, under 3rd Brigade, in Manje (Mansi) Township, in Manmaw (Bhamo) District.

Eyewitnesses said they found the bodies of 8 government soldiers buried at the roadside between Manje (Mansi) and Mong Hkawng, after the explosion of KIA bombs. The dead soldiers were from the Manmaw-based Infantry Battalion No. 47, added eyewitnesses.

As well, two Burmese soldiers were killed and two injured when the KIA’s Battalion 27 attacked the government’s Je Long post on the road between Nam Hkam and the Shweli Hydroelectric Dam, said the KIA battalion officers.

The dead and injured soldiers at the Je Long post were from Mankat-based Infantry Battalion No. 144 under Lashio-based Northeastern Regional Command, which secures the Shweli hydroelectric dam.

KIA bombs exploded at two areas on the Manmaw-Mandalay railway while the Burmese Army column was crossing the road in the evening, local people said. They said it is too early to know the number of casualties.

Yesterday, the bodies of four government soldiers were left near Ndung Dingsa, east of Manje after fighting with the KIA soldiers.

Fighting has happened 10 times since Oct 7 in the KIA’s Battalion 27 area, in Manje Township, with the government army column with over 100 troops from Manmaw-based IB 47 and Manje-based LIB No. 601, according to locals and the Battalion officers.

The civil war has intensified between government troops and the KIA in Kachin State and Northern Shan State after the government started its new offensive against the KIA on June 9. http://www.kachinnews.com/news/2096-kia-kills-10-burmese-soldiers-injures-2-in-southern-kachin-state.html
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KIA captures important frontline government post
Created on Wednesday, 12 October 2011 09:08
Published on Wednesday, 12 October 2011 09:08
Written by KNG

A civilian fighter in People's Army of KIA.
In a significant victory in the four month-long civil war, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) captured an important frontline post of the Burma Army in Kachin State on Tuesday, after more than 20 hours of fighting, according to local people.


KIA officers and local residents confirmed the Jan Mai post, located on a high mountain top in west of Loije in Manmaw (Bhamo) District, was captured by the combined forces of KIA Battalions 16 and 21, under 3rd Brigade and the People’s Army.

The combined KIA forces attacked the Jan Mai Post, which was manned by about 20 government troops from Shwe Nyaung Pyin (Waingmaw)-based Light Infantry Battalion No. 321, at about 4 a.m. local time.

Local witnesses said the post was abandoned by the Burmese soldiers.
jan-maipost-oct12The captured post is a strategically important position, being close to Maijayang, the KIA’s 3rd Brigade Headquarters near the China border, KIA officers from the two battalions said.

Two KIA soldiers were killed and nine injured during the whole day of fighting. As well, two more KIA soldiers died at Sinlum Village, KIA sources and witnesses said.

The government has been sending reinforcements to Manmaw District by ships and trains since early this week, according to local eyewitnesses. http://www.kachinnews.com/news/2095-kia-captures-important-frontline-government-post.html
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Myanmar begins releasing 6,300 convicts, but keeps some dissidents
By Aye Aye Win: Associated Press
Posted: 10/12/2011 08:58:41 AM PDT
Updated: 10/12/2011 08:58:43 AM PDT

YANGON, Myanmar -- Myanmar freed an outspoken critic and a major ethnic rebel as it began releasing 6,300 convicts Wednesday in its latest liberalizing move, but kept some political detainees behind bars, dampening hopes for a broader amnesty.

It was not clear how many of the country's estimated 2,000 political detainees were included in the amnesty -- one estimate said only 155 of them were freed. But the released included ailing Shan Army commander Hso Hten and comedian Zarganar, who was imprisoned after criticizing the government's response to Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

"I will be happy and I will thank the government only when all of my friends are freed," Zarganar told The Associated Press after his release in northernmost Kachin State.

Those held back included student leaders from Myanmar's failed 1988 democracy uprising and a blogger serving a 12-year prison sentence.

Western governments, the U.N. and Myanmar's opposition have eagerly awaited a broad political amnesty as a gesture of liberalization by the elected government after decades of harsh military rule. A failure to follow through on those hopes could hamper the country's efforts to burnish its human rights record and win a lifting of Western economic and political sanctions.

Relatives of convicts held emotional reunions with loved ones outside prisons around the country a day after the country's new civilian president declared an amnesty for 6,359 inmates -- many
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of them ordinary criminals -- on humanitarian grounds, but without disclosing any names.

"The freedom of each individual is invaluable, but I wish that all political prisoners would be released," said Myanmar's most prominent pro-democracy campaigner, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy confirmed the release of 155 political detainees, including members of her party, spokesman Nyan Win said. But other dissidents could have been freed without having contacted anyone yet.

President Thein Sein, a retired senior army officer who took office in March, has launched a series of economic reforms and eased limits on freedom of speech by relaxing censorship and unblocking banned websites.

He also has started a dialogue with Suu Kyi, made calls for peace with ethnic minority rebel groups and suspended a controversial China-backed hydropower dam project after a public outcry.

"The pace of change is much faster than I would have expected," said Monique Skidmore, a Myanmar expert at the University of Canberra. "Thein Sein must be feeling pretty secure."

But she added that he knows the release of political prisoners must be comprehensive, "otherwise there will be no end to sanctions."

The human rights group Amnesty International called Wednesday's releases a "minimum first step," and said the authorities "must immediately and unconditionally release all remaining prisoners of conscience."

Among those released were Hso Hten, the Shan Army commander, but another prominent Shan leader, Hkun Htun Oo, was not freed, according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Hso Hten was serving a 106-year prison sentence for high treason following his arrest in 2005.

The activist Zarganar had been serving a 35-year sentence in Myitkyina prison.

Zarganar was detained after giving interviews to foreign media criticizing the former military rulers for being slow to respond to Cyclone Nargis, which left nearly 140,000 people dead or missing. He was convicted of causing public alarm and illegally giving information to the media.

"I am not happy at all, as none of my 14 so-called political prisoner friends from Myitkyina prison are among those freed today," he told the AP by phone as he waited to board a plane to Yangon.

The sister of famous former student leader Min Ko Naing said she was told he was not on the list of those to be freed. "We are used to these ups and downs," Kyi Kyi Nyunt said.

Min Ko Naing has been serving a 65-year sentence at a prison in Shan State in northeastern Myanmar since 2008 for staging a street protest against a massive fuel price hike. He was arrested in August 2007 along with other well-known former students who were previously jailed after being at the forefront of the failed pro-democracy uprising in 1988.

Activists and relatives said it appeared that most or all of his imprisoned "88 Generation" comrades remained behind bars.

Ashin Gambira, a young charismatic monk who was among the leaders of a September 2007 anti-government uprising, was not on the list of those freed, said Nai Nai, who handles political prisoner affairs for Suu Kyi's party.

The demonstrations attracted as many as 100,000 people at their height before being brutally suppressed.

The United States, which has been seeking ways to re-engage with Myanmar, has said it wants all political detainees released. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday that the U.S. would be keeping a close eye on who is released under the amnesty.

Washington has long isolated Myanmar with political and economic sanctions because of the former junta's failure to hand power to a democratically elected government and its poor human rights record.

In Manila, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III urged more democratic reforms.

"There seems to be some opening of the democratic space within Myanmar," he told a news conference. "We would like more and more of that."

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Associated Press writers Matthew Pennington in Washington and Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this report. http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_19096097?source=rss
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OCTOBER 12, 2011, 12:14 P.M. ET
Myanmar Begins to Release Some Political Prisoners
By A WSJ Staff Reporter
[1012myanmar1] Reuters

Released prisoners make their way through the crowd as they leave Insein Prison in Yangon Wednesday.

Myanmar's government released one of its most famous dissidents along with at least 80 other political prisoners Wednesday, but activists said authorities would need to release significantly more dissidents before they will be satisfied the country is embarking on a true path of reform.

Authorities released Zarganar, a prominent comedian who goes by one name and was detained in 2008 for criticizing Myanmar's slow response to Cyclone Nargis, a storm that left more than 135,000 people missing or dead that year. They also released several members of Myanmar's main opposition National League for Democracy political party as part of the mass amnesty announced a day earlier, which government officials said will include more than 6,000 inmates, including some common criminals.

The precise number of dissidents set free as of Wednesday night remained unclear, with no official word from the government about who was included. Efforts to reach the government for comment were unsuccessful. Myanmar freed at least 300 political prisoners including several prominent dissidents on Wednesday, leaving as many as 2,000 behind bars. Above, released female prisoners make their way from Insein Prison in Yangon Wednesday.

Human rights groups said conversations with relatives and other people indicated between 80 and as many as 155 political prisoners were included. Activists had previously said Myanmar authorities were holding between 600 and 2,100 political prisoners.

The prisoner amnesty has emerged as one of the most closely watched events in recent Myanmar history, as diplomats and activists struggle to assess recent signs that the secretive Southeast Asian nation is trying to turn the page on decades of military rule.

The harsh military junta that controlled Myanmar since 1962 recently relinquished power after army loyalists swept national elections late last year in a vote Western leaders decried as a fraud. Since then, leaders have said they are enacting changes that have drawn guarded praise from Western leaders, including recent steps to ease curbs on the Internet and boost rural development.

But Western diplomats have said they want to see more evidence Myanmar is changing before they respond with steps such as an easing of economic sanctions put in place since the late 1990s. Western leaders would likely be looking for "hundreds" of political dissidents to be set free at minimum, a European diplomat said Wednesday.

Other Western leaders have said Myanmar would need to take other steps —including ending human rights abuses in areas controlled by ethnic minorities— before opening discussions on lifting any sanctions.

The response from human rights activists to Wednesday's release, meanwhile, was lukewarm, with the numbers released falling well short of hopes, though it is possible more prisoners will be set free in the coming days.

Wednesday's release represented "a minimum first step," Amnesty International said in a statement. "Unless the figure rises substantially, it will constitute a relaxation of reform efforts rather than a bold step forward," said Amnesty Myanmar researcher Benjamin Zawacki.

Human Rights Watch and others called on Myanmar authorities to release all its remaining political prisoners.

"The freedom of each individual is invaluable, but I wish that all political prisoners would be released," said Myanmar's best-known democracy activist, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, according to the Associated Press. A spokesman for Ms. Suu Kyi's NLD political party said it had tallied 155 political prisoners freed.

A number of key detainees remained behind bars, relatives said, including former student leaders Min Ko Naing and Ko Htay Kywe, who were part of a failed pro-democracy uprising in 1988. Other activists have said they remain skeptical of the government's motives, noting that authorities have previously released prisoners only to re-arrest them later.

"I am not happy at all, as none of my 14 so-called political prisoner friends from Myitkyina prison are among those freed today," Zarganar told the AP in a phone interview, referring to the prison where he was detained. "I will be happy and I will thank the government only when all of my friends are freed," he said.
—Celine Fernandez contributed to this article. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204774604576626653446244430.html
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Manila Times
Myanmar releases more than 100 political prisoners
Published : Thursday, October 13, 2011 00:00; Written by : AFP

YANGON: Myanmar freed more than a hundred political prisoners on Wednesday, including a comedian who is one of its most famous dissidents, in a further sign of change in the authoritarian state after decades of repression.

The release of roughly 2,000 political detainees—pro-democracy campaigners, journalists, monks and lawyers, among others—has long been a key demand of Western powers that have imposed sanctions on the country also known as Burma.

“As far as I know, about 120 political prisoners have been released. We are still compiling the list,” said Nyan Win, spokesman of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy.

The prominent satirist and vocal government critic Zarganar, who goes by one name, was among those released as part of a pardon of more than 6,300 prisoners by the new nominally civilian leadership, his sister-in-law told Agence France-Presse.

The dissident was arrested in 2008 after organizing deliveries of aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis—which left 138,000 people dead or missing—and sentenced to 59 years in prison, later reduced to 35 years.

Several hundred prisoners were being released from Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison, including student activist Aung Kyaw Soe, who was arrested in 1990 and sentenced to death, later reduced to life in prison.

“I was released after serving 21 years and two days. I am glad that I was freed but I am also sorry for the people who are still inside the prison,” he told Agence France-Presse outside the jail gates.

Many of Myanmar’s political prisoners were sentenced to decades in jail and have endured “torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” according to rights group Amnesty International.

Clearest sign
A mass pardon of dissidents would be arguably the clearest sign yet of change under a new government that has reached out to critics, including Suu Kyi, who was freed in November.

State television announced on Tuesday that more than 6,300 elderly, sick, disabled or well-behaved prisoners would be granted an amnesty beginning on Wednesday “on humanitarian grounds.”

It said that freeing detainees would allow them to “help to build a new nation.”

President Thein Sein, a former general and senior junta figure, has surprised critics by signalling a series of political reforms since taking power following controversial elections in November.

He has been applauded by international observers for holding direct talks with Suu Kyi, who spent most of the past two decades locked up by the junta.

In a rare concession to public opinion in the authoritarian nation, the government last month suspended construction of a controversial mega-dam, risking the anger of traditional ally China, which is backing the project.

A top US official, Kurt Campbell, on Monday hailed “dramatic developments” in Myanmar including what he described as “very consequential dialogue” between the Nobel Peace Prize winner and the country’s leadership.

He hinted that concrete moves toward democracy by Myanmar could lead to an easing of sanctions.

“We will match their steps with comparable steps,” he said.

The new regime, which came to power after elections held a few days before Suu Kyi’s release, appears keen to improve its image and in August held the first talks between her and Thein Sein. http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/world/9131-myanmar-releases-more-than-100-political-prisoners
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Myanmar: UN helps Government devise disaster mitigation plans
12 October 2011 –

A senior United Nations official arrived in Myanmar today to help the Government devise measures to reduce the impact of natural disasters through early warning systems and other steps in a country where an estimated 140,000 people were killed and 2.4 million others affected by Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

“Myanmar is one of the most disaster-affected countries in Asia,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction Margareta Wahlström said in a statement issued ahead of her visit.

“It has been hit by six major cyclones in the last 40 years and is also vulnerable to multiple hazards such as floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and forest fires.

“UNISDR is willing to assist in whatever way we can to help the country reduce its risk which is fundamental to inclusive economic growth and poverty alleviation, which are part of the new government’s reform agenda,” she added, referring to UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, which she heads.

“UNISDR is supporting Myanmar in making disaster risk reduction a national and local priority for all citizens through engagement with the new National Disaster Preparedness Committee on developing law and regulations for disaster management and disaster risk reduction,” Ms. Wahlström added.

“I am looking forward to hearing how the responses to Cyclone Giri last year and the Shan State earthquake in March this year benefitted from the many lessons learned from Cyclone Nargis especially in early warning, preparedness and response.”

Giri, a category four cyclone, killed at least 45 people and affected 260,000 others when it struck Myanmar last October, and three months later UN humanitarian agencies reported that key challenges remained, including inadequate shelter, food insecurity and lack of livelihoods.

Ms. Wahlström is due to visit areas that were affected by Nargis. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40021&Cr=&Cr1=
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Myanmar frees some political prisoners
12/10 15:03 CET

Myanmar started releasing political prisoners on Wednesday as part of an amnesty announced by the government.

Reports say between 150 and 300 ‘prisoners of conscience’ have been freed.

Authorities have yet to give the exact figure.

Pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed the move. She was released from 15 years of house arrest last November and has since held talks with the government.

There are conflicting reports as to whether dissident Buddhist monk Shin Gambira is also among those to go free from jail.

Gambira played a prominent role in street marches in 2007 that were violently suppressed by the then-military junta.

Releasing political prisoners has long been a key demand by Western powers. They want the country formerly known as Burma to improve its human rights record before easing sanctions.

Copyright © 2011 euronews http://www.euronews.net/2011/10/12/myanmar-frees-some-political-prisoners/
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MYANMAR: Political prisoners among those released in amnesty
Photo: Lynn Maung/IRIN

YANGON, 12 October 2011 (IRIN) - A 24-year-old political prisoner in Myanmar who expected to spend the next eight years in prison walked free today, as one of the first to be released in a mass amnesty announced this week by the government.

The activist, Noe Noe, expressed hope that the move signalled a change for her country. But she also was asking what others worldwide are wondering, too - who else will be included on the government’s amnesty list.

“I’m just half happy,” Noe Noe, who was sentenced in 2008 to serve 11 years for her involvement in the 2007 Saffron Revolution, told IRIN. “There are many more political prisoners, including my relatives, behind bars.”

The military-backed Myanmar government on 11 October announced it would release 6,359 prisoners over three days, beginning on 12 October, without specifying how many would be political prisoners. The non-political prisoners include those who are elderly, disabled, and in poor health, according to the government.

Opposition groups and the international community have been calling for Myanmar to release about 2,000 political prisoners, restore national reconciliation, and end human rights violations. This is the second amnesty the new administration has announced since taking office at the end of March. In May, 65 political prisoners were included among 14,600 prisoners freed.

While questions about the most recent amnesty remain, politicians and activists have been expressing their support for the move, the latest of several under a new administration that may signal a move toward greater freedom in the country.

“I’m very, very happy. We’ve been calling for it for so long,” said Thein Nyunt, an independent Member of Parliament who has consistently called for the release of political prisoners. “It’s a sign the government shows of national reconciliation.”

The families of prisoners and other supporters crowded together outside the notorious Insein prison on 12 October, with some arriving as early as 5am to watch who would exit the gates first. Under the hot sun, supporters wearing yellow shirts held signs that read “Free all political prisoners now,” and “May the national reconciliation last long.”

Step towards national unity?

The political prisoners freed included those sentenced to long term-imprisonment. Among them were Zarganar, a well-known comedian, who began serving a 35-year sentence in 2008, and 75-year old Maj-Gen Hso Ten, a Shan ethnic leader, who was sentenced in 2005 to serve 105 years.

Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, general-secretary of the Democratic Party (Myanmar), said the release of political prisoners is an important step towards national unity and renewed talks between the government and opposition groups. She said such a move is desperately needed in Myanmar, Southeast Asia’s poorest country and one that has been under military rule for decades.

“The president shows that he listens to the people’s voice and that he looks forward to working together [with opposition groups],” said Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, who added that her happiness exceeded words since she was once imprisoned, too, for her political activities.

Politicians, including Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, said that the recent changes, including the suspension of a controversial dam project, show the Thein Sein government is heeding the concern of its people. However, some political activists and analysts said additional reforms are needed.

Nyi Nyi Aung, a naturalized US citizen who escaped Myanmar after the 1988 uprising, said amnesty should be granted to all political prisoners. Noe Noe, who also walked free today, is Nyi Nyi Aung's cousin.

"All political prisoners have to be released unconditionally, and wars in the ethnic areas have to be stopped,” said Nyi Nyi Aung, himself a former political prisoner.

lm/es/cb http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=93951
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Politics | 12.10.2011
More than 100 political detainees freed in Myanmar

Myanmar has freed at least 100 political prisoners as part of an amnesty. Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has expressed her gratefulness and hopes more will be freed in the coming weeks.

Addressing a gathering of sympathizers which included former prisoners and their families, Myanmar's democracy icon Suu Kyi applauded the government's initiatives and said the situation would get even better after more prisoners were released. Western countries have been demanding the release of nearly 2,000 political detainees including pro-democracy campaigners, journalists, monks and lawyers.

Family members of Myanmar prisoners wait outside the Insein PrisonFamily members of Myanmar prisoners wait outside the Insein Prison

Zarganar, Myanmar’s famous satirist and political activist, was also among those released by the government. He was arrested in 2008 while organizing aid deliveries to cyclone victims in his country. He was sentenced to 59 years imprisonment, which was later reduced to 35 years. Another prominent student activist, Aung Kyaw Soe, was also released after being initially sentenced to life imprisonment.

Myanmar’s state government announced on Tuesday that more than 6,300 elderly, sick, disabled and well-behaved prisoners would be granted an amnesty from Wednesday on "humanitarian grounds." In a statement, the government said it would "help them to build a new nation."

Myanmar’s President, Thein Sein, who was part of the military junta which used to rule the country, has ushered in new reforms ever since he came to power after controversial elections last year. He has also initiated talks with Suu Kyi, whose party won elections in 1990, but was never allowed to form the government.

Agencies: Reuters, AFP (mg)
Editor: Grahame Lucas http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6636605,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-asia-5133-rdf
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Rights abuses persist in ethnic states despite international perception
Tuesday, 11 October 2011 16:08 Stephen Perraud / Hseng Khio Fah

Though Myanmar’s central government held a general election on 7 November 2010 and has promised progress towards peace throughout the country, regular reports of human rights abuses in several ethnic states have persisted. Recent accounts from Mongyaw, about 32 miles east of Lashio (the capital of Shan State north) have indicated that villagers have been forced into labor and support of government troops.
According to sources, villagers in Mongyaw have been made to build fences for a government armed forces base. They have also been forced to fetch water for troops, and act as security for the army’s light infantry #41. The use of civilian vehicles has also been reported, with owners of cars and trucks forced to remain on call in case of military need, with each vehicle assigned to work for the base for a week at a time, according to local sources.

“Food supplies have been demanded by troops, with villagers forced to plant corn, rice, and other crops,” said a villager.

They have also been forced to supply militia members with personal rice supplies, he added.

In Laikha township in Shan State south, government troops have taken livestock from villagers without permission. Troops have also asked for checkpoint fees at various road stops, where motorbikes have been forced to pay 500 Kyat.

The widespread use of rape as a method of warfare in ethnic states has been reported by a variety of advocacy groups and news outlets, including a press conference last week by the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT). The KWAT press conference cited eighteen separate reported incidents in eleven different townships in the Kachin state, where 34 women had been raped by government troops. The KWAT also shared growing sentiment that the rapes had been part of military orders as a means of demoralizing and controlling ethnic populations with resistance forces opposing government troops.

The Myanmar government has been recognized by the international community recently for perceived progress and a willingness to listen to popular demand, particularly in the case of the cancellation of the unpopular Myitsone dam project. According to an article published 7 October by The Irrawaddy, top United States government officials praised the current regime for reform in a recent press conference. http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4113:rights-abuses-persist-in-ethnic-states-despite-international-perception&catid=87:human-rights&Itemid=285