News & Articles on Burma-Monday, 07 November, 2011-uzl

News & Articles on Burma Monday, 07 November, 2011 ----------------------------------------- Govt overtures to let Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD into political system Irony of Burma's Flawed Election Kachin church razed, pastor detained by Burmese Army Burma is changing, but not towards a simple state of freedom Participants upbeat after 'green' forum NLD waiting for amended law: Suu Kyi Indonesian FM backs political changes Lawyers, doctors pen post-jail lette EU sees 'important changes' in Myanmar Burma's reforms may let Suu Kyi contest byelections How Burma can show it's really changed Private banks to reintroduce ATMs ---------------------------------------- ? 11/07/2011 12:38 MYANMAR Govt overtures to let Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD into political system After their exclusion from the 2010 parliamentary elections, the main opposition party and its leader could become legal. The president signs three amendments to the Political Party Registration Law that would open the doors to the Nobel Prize laureate. EU, US and UN praise and encourage the changes. Yangon (AsiaNews/Agencies) -- Senior US, EU and UN officials have come out in favour of "important changes" that have been recently introduced in Myanmar. They have also urged the government to continue on the path of reform. Myanmar President Thein Sein recently signed into law amendments to the Political Party Registration Law after they were approved by both houses of parliament. Under the changes, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) would be able to rejoin the political system and reregister as a party. Under the old law, the NLD was illegal because it had refused the conditions set by the old military regime to take part in the country's November 2010 elections. Last Friday, Myanmar state TV reported that President Thein Sein had signed the law that changed the existing legislation in three areas to accommodate Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy. One article was amended to say that registered parties shall "respect and abide" by the constitution rather than "safeguard" it. The constitution was adopted by the military in 2008 after a referendum riddle with allegations of fraud held during the crisis caused by Cyclone Nargis. The change was evidently made to accommodate criticisms of the charter by Suu Kyi's party without making them illegal. The old law also banned anyone convicted of a crime from being a member of a political party. Suu Kyi has a prior conviction. The third amendment says that any party that registers after the general election must run candidates in at least three constituencies in by-elections to remain legally registered. The original law said a party had to run at least three candidates in the general election, which would have been an impediment to Suu Kyi's party, since it boycotted the 2010 polls. On 9 November 2010, Myanmar held its first parliamentary elections after 20 years of dictatorship, marking the transition from a military to a civilian parliamentary regime. However, the vote was rigged and the new government is largely a creation of the military. Despite the situation, the president appears to have started a process of greater democratisation, beginning with the release of the main opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and the loosening of media censorship. Political changes, which are driven by a desire for international legitimacy and an end to Western-sponsored economic and trading sanctions, have been met with support. "There are important changes going on in this country," said Ambassador David Lipman, head of the EU delegation to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Burma. "The European Union is very much hoping to support and to encourage this momentum of change," he added. US special envoy to Burma Derek Mitchell has acknowledged the positive steps taken by Myanmar, including the release of political prisoners and the overtures towards the National League for Democracy. Vijay Nambiar, a special adviser to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, also concluded a visit Friday and added his voice to those encouraging further reforms. http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Govt-overtures-to-let-Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-and-NLD-into-political-system-23105.html ------------------------------------------- NEWS ANALYSIS Irony of Burma's Flawed Election By BA KAUNG Monday, November 7, 2011 Exactly one year ago on Monday, Burma held its first parliamentary elections in two decades which were marred by widespread vote rigging and boycotted by opposition groups led by Aung San Suu Kyithen under house arrest. How has this rigged election shaped Burma 12 months on? Did this usher in the recent tentative political and economic reforms and bring forth the thaw in hostility between the quasi-civilian government and critics including Suu Kyi and the US-led Western bloc? These reforms are not insignificant because they include a relaxation on media censorship and espouse greater tolerance for the opposition. There have been two anti-government protests in the country since new President Thein Sein came into power in March, but the Burmese authorities did not violently crackdown on demonstrations nor arrest those involveda radically different response from the previous military junta. In addition, the government's decision to revise its foreign exchange rate regime and redraft banking and foreign investment rules with the input of academics also reveals its desire to liberalize the country's economy and help the impoverished general public to some extent. Given the political deadlock and economic woes suffered over decades of military dictatorship since the first army coup in 1962, most people naturally welcome these reform steps. Of course, the new government is led by ex-army leaders of the state-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) which unsurprisingly won more than 80 percent of parliamentary seats in last year's election. Even the US Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner, who visited the country last week, remarked that the beginning of a transition is underway in Burma. But none of these reforms were a direct consequence of the November elections. Rather, they were careful steps taken to successfully establish the discipline-flourishing multi-party democracy under a Constitution that enshrines a continued powerful role for the military in Burmese politics. Up until now, little has been done to address the core issues that originally led Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) and other opposition groups to boycott the elections and the Constitution. Prior to the vote, NLD officials called for a review of the controversial Constitution, the unconditional release of all political prisoners and a political dialogue between the government and opposition groups including Suu Kyi. More than 1,000 political prisoners remain in jail including influential dissidents. There has not been any sort of Constitutional review that would reduce the role of the army in the country's executive branch or Parliament. The 11-member National Defense and Security Councilestablished by the Constitution and formed with six military retirees including Thein Sein plus five active military personnelmakes final decisions for Burma. The USDP and military-dominated Parliament attempts to dispel criticisms that its role is little more than a rubber-stamp. Even though the bills proposed by opposition MPs rarely get passed in the Parliament, it was the home minister, a military official, who proposed the freedom of assembly bill. And even military MPs, appointed by the army to a quarter of parliamentary seats, joined calls for an amnesty for political prisoners. In this context, the election merely served as a chapter for the then-ruling military junta and its offshoot party, the USDP, to legitimize the new system. But the suspension of the unpopular Chinese-backed hydropower dam project in Kachin State and a private meeting between Thein Sein and Suu Kyi are welcome moves that have considerably improved public perception towards the government. It is indeed ironic that the free elections held in 1990 which Suu Kyi won by a landslide achieved virtually no benefits for the Burmese people, while last November's flawed ballot has at least heralded some positive reform. However, steps towards a concrete political transition are yet to be taken. Until that happen, the United States may not lift its punitive economic sanctions against Burmaone of the clearest reciprocal benefits which the Burmese government expects from its reform package. Even so, optimism reigns in Burma today. Reflecting that overall mood, veteran political commentator Maung Wuntha said on Monday, We have seen good changes for the country within the past year. But we say this by looking at the outcome of these steps, instead of judging them by the causes behind. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22402 ------------------------------------------- Kachin church razed, pastor detained by Burmese Army Category: News Published on Monday, 07 November 2011 19:42 Written by KNG A Kachin church was razed and the pastor was detained for hours together by Burmese Army troops in the unabated civil war in Burma's northern Kachin State, said eyewitnesses. The soldiers entered the Church of Assembly of God in ward No. 1 in Muk Chyik village, six miles from Waingmaw town and detained Pastor Yelawng Lum Hkawng. Hpalawng Lum Hkawng, who was in the church compound, was shot in the leg, according to eyewitnesses. "The entire church, the inside stage and the 'Offering Box' were hit and destroyed by Burmese soldiers. There were no covered wooden planks in the front of the building," an eyewitness told Kachin News Group. Four villagers, who were suspected to be aiding the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), were also arrested by Burmese soldiers, said villagers. "The detainees Lahawng Hkawng Hawng and Shayu Lum Hawng were severely tortured by Burmese soldiers after their hands, legs and necks were tied with ropes," an eyewitness recounted. The pastor and three other villagers were taken to the nearby military base located near Washawng Dam. However, Maung Maung, the owner of a rice grinder machine was taken to the Infantry Battalion No. 58 based in Waingmaw town, eyewitnesses said. During the army operation in ward no. 1 of the village, the soldiers burnt down the house of Jum Hpawk's family. The soldiers also looted money from the Tithe box and micro credit boxes of two NGOs--- the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Metta Development Foundation, villagers said. mukchyikThe heinous acts by the Burmese soldiers were carried out after clashes with the KIA in areas near the villages from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. local time. The government troops were from Magway-based Light Infantry Division No. 88, added villagers. The clashes occurred between the two sides when over 100 Burmese troops headed for Washawng from Waingmaw at 8 a.m., said eyewitnesses. At least seven Burmese Army soldiers were killed in the two hour skirmish, confirmed KIA officers in Waingmaw battle zone. The pastor was freed in the evening after being interrogated by the Burmese Army soldiers, said sources close to the pastor. http://kachinnews.com/photo-news/2137-kachin-church-razed-pastor-detained-by-burmese-army.html ------------------------------------------------- Burma is changing, but not towards a simple state of freedom By JOSEPH ALLCHIN Published: 7 November 2011 Not all are convinced: Burmese in Malaysia protest the ongoing offensives against ethnic minorities in Burma (Reuters) Denial is not just a river in Egypt, Mark Twain once famously quipped. Indeed it seems it is a river in the memories of many international observers now swooning blindly over President Thein Sein and his reform agenda. Things are changing: the sun sets, the world spins, people, even dictators, evolve. The nature of current changes is, however, all too often hugely simplified to analyses that suggest either a clear misunderstanding of this country, or an intentional misrepresentation of its politics. Now, a year after the country's elections, in which Burmese have lived under a government they did not choose, the state of power in the country must be scrutinised as an antidote to the cries of progress. One major change has been Burma's relationship with China. Most would agree with the words of Burmese economist Khing Maung Nyo, who says that Burma"needs new friends", and that her reliance upon China has had to end. China's weight on the country is keenly felt, none more so than by Burma's generals who also have successfully pursued a neutralist policy since independence. They, according to the US embassy, mistrust their neighbours motives the most. And Burma's generals need finance and a source of cheap loans. Why this is the case is because of the delicate power balance that exists. Burma is not poor, but government spending is completely unsustainable for the economic long haul, as it has been since 1962. Nearly a quarter of the budget goes on the military, with no sign that this weighting will change any time soon. "I don't think spending on health and education will change remarkably," says Khin Maung Nyo. "Remember there are really two governments in this country," adds Win Tin, a political veteran and founding member of the National League for Democracy, noting that the core of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is believed to be opposed to many of the recent legislative reforms that the president has sought. But in fact there could be three, with the country's military remaining a powerful force. The most notable area of reform that the self-proclaimed elected party has fought hard against is agriculture: farmers make up nearly three-quarters of the population, but the USDP was deeply against their inclusion on the Labour Organisation Bill, a move that would have been remarkable were it not for an intervention by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). But in other legislation, such as the Land Act, the USDP had their way in legally subjugating the vast majority of workers. In a country where land confiscation, which amounts to the theft of people's livelihoods, is a growing problem, the Land Act makes these disputes go not to a court of law, but to a committee. Thus the aiding of impunity before the law for the powerful and the elite, from which strata the USDP hails, continues unabated. As Khin Maung Nyo explains, "we are trying to change agriculture into a business" by taking small holdings and turning them into large commercial agribusinesses. The Land Act that prevents legal issues from arising will aid this. So if the country doesn't want to rely on China, it needs to placate the West to fund the dual priorities of the military and to kick start the economy. Western priorities run fairly juxtaposed with the more upwardly mobile business elite in Burma, many of whom have been schooled in the West and many of whom now brief experts like the International Crisis Group's Jim Della-Giacoma and other visiting dignitaries in air-conditioned hotels as far removed from the population as possible. This elite then desperately wants the trappings of the West -- the credit cards, 24-hour electricity, the Western export markets and the international "economic legitimacy", as Khin Maung Nyo terms it. The IMF has of course just finished a trip to the country. The reluctance of institutions such as this to engage with Burma is one of the most powerful tools that visitors like US envoy Derek Mitchell have to pressure Thein Sein. The loans that such institutions can provide will be essential: at present the government has put a number of large-scale infrastructure projects on hold, and this as the value of government debts have soared by some 30 percent, despite massively increased tax revenue and foreign investment. Mitchell will relate to Thein Sein on the basis of easily communicable signs of change, such as political prisoners. In all probability he will have read Della-Giacoma's assertions that there was a "general amnesty", which is fiction -- the only thing "general" about it was the military rank of the man who ordered it, Thein Sein. In actual fact it was unremarkable. In the government's communique's on the amnesty, it made no reference to any substantial change of tack -- instead Thein Sein et al still claim that the 1,700 remaining political prisoners are in jail under existing laws, and refuses to show any contrition towards them or their sentences. Similarly, the government-appointed National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had to refer to political prisoners as "so-called 'prisoners of conscience'". The amnesty moreover was acted upon on an auspicious full moon day, indicative of the fact that this was not the opening of "freedom's gate" as the Financial Times saw it, but a vain attempt to shore up whatever karma is possible for the soul of a Burmese general. Della-Giacoma also claims in a shameful twist of logic that the amnesty was different in that the military nominees in parliament are now in favour of the prisoner release, thereby "indicating the move is openly backed by the armed forces in a way that previous releases have not been". But who else has "backed" previous releases? Only the military has locked up political prisoners, and only the military can or has decided to release them, as they have done at intervals for years. Nothing has changed then, which suggests these commentators have a woeful lack of understanding of why there are military men in parliament in the first place -- to do the bidding of the institution from which they hail. Win Tin contends that the president would have gained approval for the amnesty from an 11-member military council of which he is the only "civilian" member, and that this council would not permit the move for all political prisoners. He claims that it is fearful of the "young men", Win Tin describes inmates such as Min Ko Naing, who can still disrupt to the government's controlled reorganisation. Councils such as this meanwhile simply will not allow for the cuts in military spending that are required alongside the crackdown on their vast corruptions that would allow the Burmese a fighting chance in terms of social spending. More money then must be sought. The dynamic that parliament has worked under has caused interest. Primarily it seems there are breaks from the party line, with some government-aligned MPs straying from the traditional conservative bent of the USDP, while most have acted in unison with the particular house they are in. So there is an allegiance to the house of parliament they sit in, whether upper or lower. Both houses are naturally dominated by the USDP, whose ranks are filled with former military personnel and other elites. The upper house has a greater ethnic make up because of the regional weighting, and has reportedly sided more with the president, whilst the lower is more conservative. The question of what brand of democracy Burma is headed towards must be asked. Thein Sein's decision to suspend the Myitsone Dam was hail as a positive sign, although it should be seen more as a vital tool with which to make the reciprocal sensation felt once more in politics, and temporarily appease the people -- after all, it has only been suspended, and does not necessarily mark a radical break with the country's rapacious enthusiasm for destructive industry. It would be impossible to put an appraisal on the year that has been without commentating on the upsurge in violence against two of the largest ethnic groups in Burma, the Kachin and the Shan. It could be that Thein Sein, despite his statements, has no control over this; that the conquests are solely in the hands of the "third government", the army. Yet those who boast that he has forged peace with groups like the Wa and Mongla are attempting to distract us from the continued violence elsewhere: these two groups are keen business partners of the Thein Sein government, whom various experts have implicated in the country's narcotics trade. Other "overtures" to the likes of the Kachin provide more evidence of the army's intentions, given that they have been accompanied by various reports of rape and shelling of civilians. Of the praise heaped on Thein Sein by key players in the international community, Win Tin provides some sobering afterthought: "Men like this simply do not change overnight", he says of the man who has a lifetime of service in war and whose tenure in the top job has only heightened conflict. On the other key area of sanctions, Burma has used the gullible ones out there to help massage the notion that its economic ruin is the fault of the West's blockade, and not its own feudal system of governance and economics. The ICG followed suit by slating sanctions as "counterproductive, encouraging a siege mentality among its leadership and harming its mostly poor population". The only thing now breaking this "siege mentality" is a realisation that the government desperately needs what sanctions blocked, finance. So while Burma is changing, its change is not towards a simple state of "freedom", but towards greater Western capitalism. This is elite-orientated and engineered, and arguably threatens its sovereignty as much as China does. As Western capital will sweep into a corruptible land with little rule of law, it will become party to the corporate seizures of farmland and squabbles over her mineral-rich hillsides -- a corrupt feeding frenzy that remains the envy of Western companies. Burma has not changed because of the good will of her leaders or their desire to be more democratic. The people on the street are not fooled; they appreciate the suspension of the dam on the "mother river", the ability to buy posters of their hero Aung San Suu Kyi, but they do not forget. Rather, they still live in fear and know that the constitution that has been implanted on them reinforces the impunity for those above them and clamps a feudal yoke upon their shoulders. http://www.dvb.no/analysis/burma-is-changing-but-not-towards-a-simple-state-of-freedom/18584 ----------------------------------------- THE MYANMAR TIMES Participants upbeat after 'green' forum By Ei Ei Toe Lwin November 7 - 13, 2011 Towards a greener Myanmar Daw Aung San Suu Kyi speaks with U Nay Htun, a research professor at New York's Stony Brook University, at the Green Economy and Green Growth conference in Yangon on November 4, the final day of the four-day event. Participants said they believed the forum would help Myanmar secure greater financial and technical assistance to facilitate sustainable development. Pic: Yadanar THE Green Economy and Green Growth forum and conference marked a significant step towards realising sustainable economic growth in Myanmar, environmental experts said last week. Organised by prominent Myanmar-based non-government organisations and foundations, the first two days of the November 1-4 event were held in Nay Pyi Taw, with the final two days in Yangon. Among those who attended were U Win Tun, Minister for Environmental Conservation and Forestry; Dr Rajendra Pauchauri, director general of the New Delhi-based Energy Resource Institute and chairman of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Mr Erik Solheim, Norwegian Minister for Environment and International Development; and Mr Vijay Nambiar, a special advisor to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon; and local and international experts from eight countries. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also attended the final day of the conference, which featured 32 papers on policy, technology and finance issues. Participants said the forum showed Myanmar recognised the importance of environmentally sustainable development and it would help attract financial, technological and human resources to the country. "Being a developing country, we need technological transfer, particularly for the development of renewable energy through solar, wind and tidal power," U Win Tun said on November 1. U Win Tun said Myanmar had much to learn from the experiences of other countries and in particular would need to study the potential conflicts that may occur in the transition period to a green economy. He said the forum would contribute to the creation of a "road map" to sustainable development. The forum had been convened because the groups involved felt it was now possible to "openly share and discuss" their views, said U Sun Oo, vice-president of Association of Myanmar Architects, one of the co-sponsors of the event. "This forum is very significant because the conveners arranged for all sectors to take part. We can collect different views from everyone and get more knowledge. This forum has given us great expectations" that Myanmar can receive more technical and financial assistance, he said. Dr Khin Ni Ni Thein, founder and president of the Water, Research and Training Centre said she was "very pleased" to be able to take part. "But government ministries also support us to convene the forum," she said. U Tin Win Aung, president of the Environmental and Economic Research Institute and Myanma Computer Company, said organisers were planning to hold similar forums in the future. The forum also created better understanding between non-profit groups and the business community, said U Ohn, vice president of Forest Resource and Environment Development Association. "We are energetic to conserve the environment of our country so we cooperated with the private sector to implement this forum. We want to show that both the private and public sectors are interested in the conservation process," he said. "The first [Green Economy and Green Growth] forum and conference is an important step that will propel Myanmar to a sustainable, resilient, inclusive, innovative, competitive, prosperous and safe future," said U Nay Htun, a research professor at Stony Brook University in New York, who presented a paper titled "Low carbon pathways for green economy and green growth" on November 1. Professor Maung Maung Aye from the Department of Geography at the University of Yangon agreed the forum was the "first step on a long journey" for Myanmar. "Before, we did not have the chance to talk openly about environmental issues outside the classroom. This forum really gave us an excellent opportunity." http://www.mmtimes.com/2011/news/600/news60015.html ------------------------------------- THE MYANMAR TIMES NLD waiting for amended law: Suu Kyi By Yadana Htun November 7 - 13, 2011 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Aung Kyi (right) speak to the media after their meeting in Yangon on October 30, their fourth since the formation of the new government in March. Pic: Thet Htoo THE National League for Democracy will only consider registering after a bill amending the Political Parties Registration Law is promulgated, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said after meeting U Aung Kyi last week. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi insisted that registration would depend on the law, which was passed by both houses of parliament last month. "We are clear on this. We can only say [whether we will register] after seeing the law. We can't say now because we haven't seen the law. If the law comes out, we will hold a meeting. Due to the principles of the party, we can only make a decision after the meeting," she said. The 55-minute meeting in Yangon on October 30 was the fourth between the NLD leader and Minister for Labour and Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement U Aung Kyi since the new government was formed. During the meeting, the pair discussed political and economic issues, including the government's reform efforts, negotiations with armed ethnic groups and the release of prisoners of conscience. In response to a question as to whether there was a plan to release more political prisoners, U Aung Kyi said: "When we perform a task, we do it step by step. We don't jump at once and we also don't stop." The meeting was their 13th since U Aung Kyi was appointed by the State Peace and Development Council was appointed to a liaison role in October 2007. A senior journalist told The Myanmar Times that the pair should release more specific information on what was discussed. "They have met many times and every time what we are told about the meeting is very general. In my opinion, a result should come out after the meetings," he said. More than 130 journalists and photographers attended the press conference. http://www.mmtimes.com/2011/news/600/news60009.html ------------------------------------------ THE MYANMAR TIMES Indonesian FM backs political changes By Zaw Win Than and Kyaw Hsu Mon November 7 - 13, 2011 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with Indonesian Foreign Minister Mr Marty Natalegawa in Yangon on October 29. Pic: Yadanar MYANMAR'S bid for the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2014 appears to have strengthened further, with Indonesian Foreign Minister Mr Marty Natalegawa last week praising the government for taking positive steps on dialogue and the release of political prisoners. ASEAN leaders had tasked Mr Natalegawa with visiting Myanmar to assess the progress of the government and whether the country was in a position to chair the bloc in a little over two years time. He arrived in Myanmar for a three-day visit on October 28, holding discussions with government ministers and other officials in Nay Pyi Taw before travelling to Yangon and meeting Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other stakeholders. Speaking to reporters on October 29, Mr Natalegawa said he sought views on the political situation in Myanmar and the government's request to chair ASEAN. "My visit here is to ascertain the moves and the developments in Myanmar. I only have preliminary views at this stage [but] I get the impression that the changes in Myanmar are significant and Myanmar has begun its own process of reform," he said. However, he described the ASEAN chairmanship as a "secondary issue" and said the "key thing" was that "important developments", such as the release of prisoners of conscience and dialogue between the government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, were taking place. "I know some are quite occupied by the ASEAN chairmanship idea. But the big picture is the changes [that] are taking place in Myanmar. And that [is what] I wish to acknowledge, I wish to lock it in and I wish to encourage further to see more momentum in the process," he said at a press conference at Sedona Hotel in Yangon. Mr Natalegawa said he had also been pleased with the government's decision to initiate dialogue with some armed ethnic groups. He said he had "got a sense" that recent changes were "irreversible". "Through the discussions I had with various parties here in Myanmar, I got the sense that these developments are significant and that ... this is an irreversible process towards democracy and irreversible process towards good governance and better respect for human rights. I got a sense of the irreversible nature, not turning back nature of the process now underway in Myanmar," he said. He said he would only make a full assessment on "whether conditions are conducive for Myanmar to assume the chairmanship" after returning to Jakarta. "I have listened to the rationales and aspiration with whom I had communications here in Myanmar and I'm observing those comments and I shall share these developments with my ASEAN foreign minister colleagues for our recommendations to our leaders when they meet at the summit in November in Bali, Indonesia." Mr Natalegawa told The Myanmar Times that he also saw strong "similarities" with his own country, which emerged from the Suharto dictatorship in 1997 and he expected more cooperation between the two countries in the future. "Myanmar has begun its own process of reform. Between Indonesia and Myanmar there are a lot of similarities, a lot of commonalities in our democratic efforts. The government and the people of Myanmar can rely on Indonesia to be a strong partner [in] their efforts to promote democracy, human rights and good governance," he said. The Indonesian embassy in Yangon said in a statement on October 31 that there were high expectations that Myanmar would be granted the ASEAN chairmanship in 2014 as it would further motivate the reform and democratisation process. Under the ASEAN Charter the chairmanship rotates annually based on the alphabetical order of the English-language names of its members. Myanmar is due to chair the grouping in 2016 but has requested a swap with Laos, which the communist nation has publicly supported. The proposal has drawn the ire of some ASEAN dialogue partners and also human rights groups but China has publicly supported the proposal. Analysts consider the bid an attempt to secure legitimacy for Myanmar's fledgling civilian government, which was sworn in late March. Myanmar was due to chair the association in 2006 after Laos but eventually agreed to defer its right, apparently to allow it to focus on "national reconciliation" and the transition to democracy. The decision was made following pressure from dialogue partners, including the United States and European Union, who had threatened to boycott any ASEAN meetings held in Myanmar, as well as some of the more established ASEAN members. http://www.mmtimes.com/2011/news/600/news60003.html ------------------------------------------ Lawyers, doctors pen post-jail letter By SHWE AUNG Published: 7 November 2011 Lawyers, doctors and students have put their names to a joint letter destined for President Thein Sein in which they complain that their hopes for a rebirth of their careers have been dashed as a result of time spent in prison. Around 25 signatures will feature on the letter, which is also headed for the government-backed National Human Rights Commission. All have spent time in jail on politically-motivated charges. For the students this has meant they are forbidden from studying again, while the doctors' and lawyers' licenses have been revoked. Among them is Aung Thein, the former lawyer of opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi. In May 2009, Aung Thein was preparing to defend the Nobel Laureate in a trial in which she was accused of sheltering US citizen John Yettaw, when he was dismissed. A top judge in Burma's Supreme Court had ruled that Aung Thein's four-month spell in prison on charges of violating lawyer ethics made him unfit for the posting, and he was forbidden from entering the Insein jailhouse court where Suu Kyi was being tried. Of the letter, Aung Thein appeared less than hopeful that it would trigger a revision of the laws banning former prisoners from working again, but that was not the only intention. "It's not exactly because we believe it will work, but we want to find out how much a body [National Human Rights Commission] that was created by the constitution is able do," he said in a press conference to announce the letter yesterday. Also putting his name to the letter is Robert San Aung, a lawyer and active member of the pro-democracy movement, who was first arrested in 1997 and spent seven years in prison for his political activities. The 25 become the latest in a line of former political prisoners who have complained of the ramifications of their time spent in jail. Aung Than Htun spent three and a half years of a five-year sentence in Irrawaddy division's Myaungmya prison for his work with the opposition National League for Democracy, before he was released in he October amnesty. In a letter to the NHRC last month, he detailed the regular abuse he suffered at the hands of prison authorities, who beat inmates with batons on a regular basis. The issue of the wholesale release of political prisoners in Burma remains the key litmus test for the new government -- around 220 of the more than 6,300 inmates released in the amnesty were political prisoners, leaving some 1,700 behind bars. Despite the NHRC making a rare reference to the presence of "prisoners of conscience" in Burmese jails, the government still denies that anyone is in prison on political charges: Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin said last month that only "common criminals" are jailed. Critics have also questioned the legitimacy of the NHRC, whose 15-member body includes former ministers and which has said it will only focus on new complaints of human rights abuses, and not the hundreds stagnating in the country's woeful judicial system. http://www.dvb.no/news/lawyers-doctors-pen-post-jail-letter/18572 ---------------------------------------- EU sees 'important changes' in Myanmar (AFP) -- 3 hours ago YANGON --- A senior EU diplomat has hailed political changes under way in military-dominated Myanmar, where a new nominally civilian government has made a series of gestures towards reform. "There are important changes going on in this country," Ambassador David Lipman, head of the EU delegation to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, told reporters late on Sunday. "The European Union is very much hoping to support and to encourage this momentum of change," he added. Lipman was in Myanmar's main city Yangon for a two-day workshop, organised by the European Union, on financial reform and poverty reduction that began on Monday. The United States and European countries have imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar over its human rights record, including the imprisonment of about 2,000 political detainees, about 200 of whom were freed last month. Myanmar is now ruled by a nominally civilian government but its ranks are filled with former generals. Hopes of political change have grown, with efforts by the new regime to reach out to opponents including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who also attended Monday's workshop. The government has also invited a team from the International Monetary Fund to visit the country formerly known as Burma to offer advice on reforming its complex foreign exchange system. On Friday Myanmar's president approved changes to a law on political parties, a move that could potentially pave the way for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party to rejoin the official political arena. The NLD boycotted a rare election held in Myanmar last year, largely because of rules that would have forced it to expel imprisoned members. As a result it was officially delisted as a political party and is now considering whether to re-register. Copyright (c) 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More ? http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j2uPcw8Lh7LgV2TSCyHb9rC5BF7g?docId=CNG.463620b2366c6b89f6ebc0bc9538e28d.3a1 ---------------------------------------------- The Sydney Morning Herald Burma's reforms may let Suu Kyi contest byelections Lindsay Murdoch November 7, 2011 Burma's military-dominated civilian government has opened the way for the democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's deregistered political party to re-enter politics as the US cautiously loosens some travel restrictions and considers new aid for the isolated country. President Thein Sein has marked the 12-month anniversary of winning tightly controlled elections by signing amendments to the Political Party Registration Law that will allow Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy to become a legal party that could contest coming byelections, the first electoral test of its popularity in more than two decades. Analysts say allowing Ms Suu Kyi and her party to freely campaign would give the government greater legitimacy at home and abroad as it lobbies for the lifting of economic sanctions. Advertisement: Story continues below The NLD was delisted last year after it refused to register for the November 2010 elections, saying they were being held under undemocratic conditions. Burma's leaders have stirred hopes during the past year that the pariah state, where for decades dissent was brutally suppressed, has embarked on an irreversible path of economic and political reform that will dramatically reopen the country to the world. Parliament has passed a number of reformist laws, relaxed media restrictions, stopped a controversial hydro-electric dam project and released about 200 of an estimated 2000 political prisoners. Ms Suu Kyi has been given a level of freedom she has not been able to exercise since the NLD was denied power after winning 1990 elections in a landslide. She has regularly met government officials, describing the talks as substantive and hopeful. The US State Department's top human rights official, Michael Posner, and Washington's special envoy for Burma, Derek Mitchell, pledged more help for the country after meeting Burmese leaders last week. Mr Mitchell said the US was considering expanding assistance programs on microfinance and agricultural loans. As well, travel restrictions for some officials were being lifted. But he made it clear that there must be more progress on the release of political prisoners and other issues before the US discusses dropping sanctions first imposed in 1988 after a crackdown on student-led protests. Burma's former military rulers often in the past reneged on promises of reform made to appease the West. ''So far we have seen some very positive steps, positive gestures and so we are starting to get ready and think about things,'' Mr Mitchell said. ''But we'll need to see some more concrete steps in order to lift the real sanctions.'' Human rights groups are urging Western states not to allow the government's positive actions to obscure serious human rights problems still persisting in the country of 50 million mostly impoverished people. ''The real test will be the reaction when Burmese citizens try to avail themselves of their rights,'' Elaine Pearson, the deputy director (Asia) at Human Rights Watch said. ''Atrocities against civilians in conflict zones, torture of political prisoners and courts that justify repression have been features of the first year of nominally civilian rule as much as the announced reforms,'' she said. Amnesty International has voiced grave concern about 15 political prisoners who have reportedly been denied drinking water as punishment for going on hunger strike. Australia has told Burma's leaders that Canberra will not lift sanctions until a substantial number of political prisoners are released. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/burmas-reforms-may-let-suu-kyi-contest-byelections-20111106-1n1xd.html#ixzz1cyEfcwPS ------------------------------------------- The Washington Post How Burma can show it's really changed By Fred Hiatt, Monday, November 7, 8:05 AM Life in the new Burma: Fifteen political prisoners who embarked on a hunger strike to protest their confinement have been denied water as punishment. Eight of them, according to Amnesty International, have been sent to cells built for dogs, which have no light, no mats or bedding, and insufficient space for humans to stand. In the past year, more than 100,000 ethnic minorities have been forced to leave their homes by brutal army tactics, including gang-rapes. U Gambira, a Buddhist monk serving 63 years in prison for his role in a peaceful 2007 movement for democracy, is rapidly deteriorating, according to Amnesty International, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) and his elder sister, Ma Khin Thu Htay. The monk, 32, apparently has never recovered from being tortured in 2009 and is being given narcotic injections to silence him rather than appropriate medical care. None of this would have been surprising in the past, because Burma, a nation of 50 million or so in Southeast Asia, has long been ruled by one of the world's most brutal regimes (which calls its country Myanmar). But in recent months, there have been signs of change and, along with those, arguments in the West about how to respond. Longtime opponents of pro-democracy sanctions have urged a rapid easing of those. The International Crisis Group, for example, in September proclaimed a "major reform underway": "President Thein Sein has moved rapidly to begin implementing an ambitious reform agenda . . . strong signs of heralding a new kind of political leadership in Myanmar . . . a completely different tone for governance." Among the changes: Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Burma's foremost pro-democracy political party, has been freed from house arrest and allowed to meet with diplomats and Burmese leaders. Her photograph has emerged in many Rangoon homes from its hiding place beneath mattresses or between book pages. Her party, now banned, may be permitted to re-register. Domestic media remain strictly controlled, but Internet access has been eased. A dam construction project, which would have displaced thousands, has been suspended. That decision not only cheered Burma's beleaguered environmentalists but also angered neighboring China, which was helping to finance the project and would have received almost all of the electricity generated. That, in turn, suggests that Burma's leaders, like those of other countries in the region, are chafing under China's increasingly peremptory attitude toward its near-abroad. Chinese businessmen in Burma buy property, claim natural resources and export young girls to become forced brides in Chinese villages. Indeed, a leading argument against sanctions has been the opening they would give China to a strategically located, resource-rich country. Now it seems the sanctions --- and Burma's desire for someone to play a counterbalancing role --- may be one factor swaying the regime toward the pro-reform steps it knows the West will insist on. If that's the case, the logical response is assurance that true reform will lead to Western engagement --- but no premature removal of the incentives for change. How to define premature? There is no single yardstick. But one basic requirement would be freedom for all political prisoners (1,700 or so), including the 120 suffering from severe health problems --- among them U Gambira. Four years ago, while he was on the run inside his country, the monk published an op-ed on this page in which he "welcomed the strong actions of the United States to impose financial and travel restrictions on the regime and its enablers." "Burma's Saffron Revolution is just beginning," U Gambira bravely wrote. "The regime's use of mass arrests, murder, torture and imprisonment has failed to extinguish our desire for the freedom that was stolen from us so many years ago. We have taken their best punch." Sadly, the regime set out to prove him wrong. According to his sister, he was beaten on the head with a stick "every 15 minutes for the entire month of April 2009." "He was beaten in this manner for requesting permission to walk for his health," she wrote in a recent letter to Burma's president. "While he was being beaten, his hands were placed behind his back and handcuffed, and he was forced to wear iron shackles. In addition, he was hooded with a black cloth bag and pieces of cloth were forcefully put in his mouth . . . he was fed meals with a spoon by prison guards . . . and [had to] urinate or defecate on the chair." By the time he was transferred to another prison in May, he was, according to a prison official, "a crazy guy." The new Burma regime is, perhaps, not responsible for the crimes of May 2009. But one would think that a "completely different tone for governance" will include freedom for the dictatorship's most damaged victims, and an end to its most appalling crimes. fredhiatt@washpost.com http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-burma-can-show-its-really-changed/2011/11/04/gIQAQHBetM_story.html -------------------------------------- Private banks to reintroduce ATMs By THUREIN SOE Published: 7 November 2011 As Burma's economists go to work on rejuvenating the country's moribund banking sector, residents of Rangoon may soon benefit from the reintroduction of automatic teller machines (ATMs) and banking cards. Kanbawza Bank is one of a number of banks given permission to install ATMs, a luxury only afforded by private enterprises. An official there told DVB on condition of anonymity that machines were already being installed at the headquarters in the former capital's Kamaryut township, and at three other branches. "We are going to provide ATM services free of charge for now as it's only been approved in Rangoon so far," he said. The scheme, still in its infancy, will be trialled for one year, and Kanbawza will begin with just four machines. The Voice journal said the first one thousand users will get the service free of charge. "There are more that will arrive by the end of this month and we are planning to install them in essential areas and at our other branches in Rangoon," he continued, adding that the maximum withdrawal amount would be one million kyat (US$1,170) per day. First introduced in the mid-1990s, ATMs and banking cards were withdrawn in the banking crisis of 2003. Now 13 private banks have been permitted to use them. The managing director of Asia Green Development bank, Ye Min Oo, told the Myanmar Times in September that Mandalay and the capital, Naypyidaw, would also see a reintroduction of machines. The announcement is the latest in a flurry of measures aimed at overhauling Burma's beleaguered economy, and follows reports late last month that the government had committed to developing a viable stock exchange by 2015. A team from the IMF was in the country last week to advise the government on how to reform the country's multiple exchange rates, seen as one of the prime stumbling blocks for more general reform of the economy. http://www.dvb.no/news/private-banks-to-reintroduce-atms/18579