News & Articles on Burma-Tuesday 21 June, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Tuesday 21 June, 2011
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Nobel laureate Suu Kyi to address U.S. Congress on Myanmar conditions
India Puts Security, Trade With Burma Ahead of Democracy
Krishna lands in Myanmar capital
Aung San Suu Kyi: 'Dave Lee Travis kept me going'
Suu Kyi to Address US Congressional Committee
Kachin Displaced by Conflict in Need of Food, Medicine
Letter from Laiza: High Spirits at the Kachin Rebel Headquarters
New Refugee Arrests Undermine Recent Progress
Australian media boss seeks acquittal in Myanmar
Myanmar clashes continue along border
Confusion over Kachin conflict orders
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Nobel laureate Suu Kyi to address U.S. Congress on Myanmar conditions
By the CNN Wire Staff
June 21, 2011 -- Updated 0105 GMT (0905 HKT)

(CNN) -- Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi will address members of the U.S. Congress this week, a rare foray into American politics for a woman who is lauded internationally even as she struggles to be heard in her native Myanmar.

Suu Kyi will not be in Washington for Wednesday's hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives' subcommittee focused on Asia and the Pacific. But she will testify via video about conditions in her nation, including on recent elections that drew widespread criticism, U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo said Monday in a statement. Myanmar is also known as Burma.

"This hearing will highlight these sham elections and Burma's difficult road ahead," Manzullo, R-Illinois, said. "I am excited to share the videotaped testimony of (Suu Kyi) so everyone can hear of the junta's continued military offenses against ethnic groups and the dire human rights situation in Burma."

The daughter of Gen. Aung San, a hero of Burmese independence, Suu Kyi repeatedly challenged Myanmar's long-time military junta and promoted democracy over the years. Her efforts helped her win the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, while making her a target of Myanmar's regime and leading to her decades-long detention.

Last November, Myanmar held its first elections in 20 years. The vote drew fire from critics who said it was aimed at creating a facade of democracy. The regime had refused to allow international monitors or journalists into Myanmar for the vote.

Members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party were among those who boycotted the vote, describing it as a sham.

But shortly afterward, on November 13, the Nobel laureate was released from house arrest -- having spent most of the past 20 years under house arrest or in prison.

Since being freed, Suu Kyi has largely remained in Myanmar with some exceptions -- like an address last January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in which she urged the world's political and business elite not to forget the people of Myanmar as they rebuild the global economy.

Earlier this month, Sen. John McCain traveled to Asia and met with Suu Kyi -- whom he called "a personal hero of mine for decades." During his talks, he said that he promised U.S. support for her efforts to promote democracy. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/06/20/dc.myanmar.suu.kyi/index.html
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June 21, 2011
India Puts Security, Trade With Burma Ahead of Democracy
Daniel Schearf | Bangkok

India's foreign minister is in Burma for meetings with top leaders that are expected to focus on security and trade. New Delhi says the trip, the first since a civilian government took office, is an opportunity to "further vitalize" the relationship.

S.M. Krishna’s visit is India’s first high-level engagement since the country’s military government was replaced with a nominally civilian leadership in March.

India says the two sides will discuss security cooperation as well as trade and investment.

Krishna is not scheduled to meet with opposition and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was banned from participating in the election.

India was once a vocal Suu Kyi supporter but changed its policy in the early 1990s in order to have better cooperation with the military government.

Professor D.S. Muni at Singapore's Institute of South Asian Studies says India realized there was a heavy security cost for supporting Aung San Suu Kyi and calls for democracy in Burma.

“Certainly as a result of change in New Dehli’s policy there has been considerable cooperation on the border, for instance," Muni said. "Lot of northeast insurgencies which have been earlier taking shelter in Myanmar - the Myanmar government’s cooperation is forthcoming.”

Muni says although there is cooperation, India has not been entirely satisfied with Burma’s border security and hopes to improve communications with the new government over the issue.

Critics say Burma’s controversial November election merely gave a civilian face to continued military rule.

A quarter of all parliament seats were reserved for the military and the military party won by a landslide amid widespread reports of voter fraud and intimidation.

Muni says although India is not pushing openly for democratic change in Burma, it has engaged in quiet diplomacy on the issue.

The engagement policy has also paid off economically for both Burma and India.

Bilateral annual trade volume shot from tens of millions of dollars in the 1980s to about a billion and a half dollars last year. Muni says Burma has also discussed brokering new deals for critical energy supplies including oil.

While that remains far less than the several billion dollars of annual Chinese trade and investment, Muni says India is more worried about Chinese naval activity in the region.

"Recently there were visit[s] of the two Chinese ships," Muni said. "Now there is a Chinese ship coming to Singapore. The Chinese are setting up a port development in Sri Lanka, they're planning a port development in Chittagong [Bangladesh]. So, I think this naval activity has suddenly alerted almost anyone who has concern for security in the Bay of Bengal.”

The Indian foreign minister’s visit coincides with a visit to Burma by a delegation from the European Union.

The EU group also met with government ministers and was to meet Tuesday evening with Aung San Suu Kyi. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/India-Puts-Security-Trade-With-Burma-Ahead-of-Democracy-124279464.html
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Krishna lands in Myanmar capital
Irish Sun
Tuesday 21st June, 2011
(IANS)

Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Tuesday arrived in this Myanmar capital for the first high-level interaction between the two countries since a civilian government took charge in March.

Accompanied by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, he flew in by a special aircraft from Yangon, the erstwhile capital from where the government shifted base in 2005. Krishna is on a three-day visit that ends Wednesday.

He will hold delegation level talks with his Myanmarese counterpart Wunna Maung Lwin, when the two sides will review pending infrastructure-related joint projects.

These includeing the Kaladan multi-modal transport system that will link India and Myanmar through a sea-river-land route, easing access to the border regions of the two countries.

The two sides will also sign agreements on developing a second industrial park in Myanmar with India's help. Krishna will also give 100 computers to Myanmar to digitalise the country's land records department.

Krishna will meet Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo, when the two sides will discuss the security situation in the region and the means to enhance their strategic relations, Indian officials said.

On Wednesay, Krishna will meet President Thein Sein before returning to New Delhi.

The new civilian government was voted into office in the November, marking the transfer of power from the military junta headed by Senior General Than Shwe. http://story.irishsun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/2411cd3571b4f088/id/800124/cs/1/
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Channel 4 News
Aung San Suu Kyi: 'Dave Lee Travis kept me going'
Tuesday 21 June 2011
Aung San Suu Kyi: 'Dave Lee Travis kept me going' - Reuters

The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who has spent 15 years under house arrest since 1989, said the DJ's request show helped make her "world much more complete".

Asked what kind of music she used to tune into, she said: "I used to listen to all sorts of different programmes, not just classical music. I can't remember what the name of that programme... Dave Travis? Was it?"

After broadcaster Eddie Mair, who conducted the Radio Times interview, asked if she meant Dave Lee Travis, Ms Suu Kyi responded: "Yes! Didn't he have a programme with all different sorts of music?
Aung San Suu Kyi: 'Dave Lee Travis kept me going' - Getty

"I would listen to that quite happily because the listeners would write in and I had a chance to hear other people's words. It made my world much more complete."

She added: "We listen to the radio much more than the average person who's not under house arrest and we listen much more carefully because that's really our only line to the outside world.

"The first six years (under house arrest)... I could be in touch with everything... with culture, with art, with books, with music."

Mr Lee Travis presented request programme A Jolly Good Show for 20 years until 2001.

He said: "I'm not surprised that Aung San Suu Kyi listened to my show, but I'm touched she remembers it."
http://www.channel4.com/news/aung-san-suu-kyi-dave-lee-travis-kept-me-going
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Suu Kyi to Address US Congressional Committee
By LALIT K JHA Tuesday, June 21, 2011

WASHINGTON — In a first of its kind, Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Burma's opposition National League of Democracy (NLD), will address a congressional committee to inform US lawmakers of the ground realities in Burma and her impressions of US-Burma ties.

Suu Kyi has sent the congresspersons a pre-recorded video message titled “Piercing Burma’s Veil of Secrecy: The Truth behind the Sham Election and the Difficult Road Ahead.”

Subcommittee Chairman Congressman Don Manzullo announced on Monday that the pre-recorded video message from Aung San Suu Kyi will be played to the House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific on Wednesday.

“This hearing will highlight these sham elections and Burma’s difficult road ahead. I am excited to share the videotaped testimony of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi—the daughter of Burma’s revolutionary hero General Aung San—with my colleagues and the public, so everyone can hear of the junta’s continued military offensives against ethnic groups and the dire human rights situation in Burma,” said the Republican lawmaker.

Manzullo is co-author with Congressman Joseph Crowley of the legislation that awarded Suu Kyi the Congressional Gold Medal in 2008, although the actual presentation of the medal has yet to take place. He has also kept pressure on the Burmese government by working annually to renew economic sanctions against them.

Washington-based US Campaign for Burma said that the timing of the hearing could not be more urgent, as Burma’s regime continues to launch military offensives against ethnic resistance groups in Burma's northern Shan and Kachin states that have driven nearly 20,000 refugees to flee to China or to go into hiding along the China-Burma border.

Additional witnesses include Aung Din, the executive director and co-founder of the US Campaign for Burma and former political prisoner from Burma, and Dr. Chris Beyrer, the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health and Human Rights and co-author of several studies on the situation of public health and human rights in Burma.

After Nov. 7 election, Manzullo said the junta’s claim of receiving 80 percent of the vote “comes from the barrel of a gun.” As the election returns were coming in to Burma, junta troops engaged in shootouts with ethnic minority forces in border areas, sending tens of thousands of refugees fleeing into Thailand, he said.

“Artillery fire even flew over the border, injuring refugees, Thai civilians and Thai soldiers on the Thai side,” Manzullo said.

Meanwhile, citing the very fact that he was allowed to visit Burma for the first time in 15 years, Sen John McCain said that was an indication that the new government formed after last year’s general election could represent a change from the past, though he came out in support of establishing a commission of inquiry into war crimes in Burma.

“This is not the time for the United States to lift sanctions,” he said. “We should also work to establish a UN Commission of Inquiry, which has nothing to do with retribution and everything to do with truth and justice for the Burmese people.”

Sharing his experience with a Washington-based think tank, McCain said that his visit to Burmese capital Naypyidaw was a dislocating experience.

“It was the first time I had been allowed to return to the country in 15 years, which is one indication that this new civilian government could represent a change from the past,” McCain said in his speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Maritime Security in the South China Sea.

Another noteworthy change, he said, was the new capital of Naypyidaw. “Massive government buildings, marble-strewn palaces, brand new hotels, 18-lane highways—and the strange thing about it: no one is there.

“Ours were the only cars on the road,” he said. “The buildings were nearly empty. It was a dislocating experience. And it certainly was a sad contrast with the crushing poverty in Rangoon.

“I visited a private AIDS clinic that was overflowing with people, many orphaned children who need more care than is available. I went to a service that offers free funerals for departed souls whose families are too poor to provide their loved ones with the dignity of a decent burial. It breaks your heart, and it makes you wish the government would devote similar levels of enthusiasm and resources to the development of their nation as the construction of their capital,” he said.

McCain said from that he took from his meetings with Burma's First Vice President, the two Speakers of Parliament, and others, that “it was clear that this government wants better relations with the United States.

“I stressed that my government and I share this aspiration, and that such a feat is not impossible. After all, if the United States and Vietnam can improve relations, which I know a thing or two about. Anything is possible,” he said.

But the main point he stressed during those meetings was that any improvement of relations would need to be built on actions by both sides. The US should be willing to put every aspect of its policy on the table, and to make tangible changes that the government in Naypyidaw asks for.

“But this can only be done in conjunction with concrete actions on their part, especially those steps called for by the UN Human Rights Council: releasing all prisoners of conscience; providing the Red Cross unfettered access to all prisons; commencing a real process of national reconciliation that involves ethnic and political opposition parties, including the National League for Democracy; and guaranteeing the safety and freedom of movement of Aung San Suu Kyi,” McCain said.

Following his return from Burma, McCain has briefed the US State Department and officials of the Obama administration on his impressions about Burma and the way forward. Referring to his meeting with Suu Kyi, McCain said the reason he is hopeful for the Burmese people has a lot to do with her.

“This amazing lady remains an inspiration to her people, and to me,” McCain said.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21534
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Kachin Displaced by Conflict in Need of Food, Medicine
By SAI ZOM HSENG Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Around 2,000 Kachin war refugees who have fled recent fighting between Burmese government troops and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) are now in need of food, shelter and medical assistance, according to relief groups.

Seven local Kachin groups are assisting the refugees and have already formed a committee to assist the fleeing villagers. The committee is responsible for distributing food and small amounts of medicine donated by other villages in the area.

People from around 60 villages have fled their homes since the fighting began nearly two weeks ago. Most are living in the jungle, while some are receiving assistance from relatives living in villages outside the conflict zone, according to Mai Ja of the Kachin Women's Association Thailand, one of the groups engaged in relief efforts near the Sino-Burmese border.

“We provide food and a small amount of medicine donated by other villages, but it isn’t enough. They are still hiding in the jungle, and many are in need of medical assistance,” said Mai Ja, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

“We are especially concerned about the spread of malaria, flu and diarrhea. There are already many cases of diarrhea, although no one has died from it yet,” she said, adding that there have been reports of the disease at almost every location where the refugees are staying.

Most of the refugees are from Momauk, Bhamo, Mansi and Waingmaw townships. A few are from villages near Laiza, where the headquarters of the KIA and its political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), is located.

According to La Nan, the joint-secretary of the KIO, there are plans to build three camps for the refugees in the area controlled by KIA Brigade 3. The camps will be in the villages of U Ra Pa, Na Ya Pa and Naw Hpar in Momauk Township. All are about one day's walking distance from the conflict area.

“Right now, we are able to provide some food—basically just rice, salt and oil—and a small amount of medicine. We can’t solve all of their problems, but we will do as much as we can to help the refugees,” said La Nan.

Meanwhile, there have been reports that some refugees who crossed into China nearly a week ago have been forced to return.

“The Chinese authorities told them that fighting had stopped in their area, so they were told to go back,” said Mai Ja.

Clashes between the Burmese army and the KIA erupted on June 9, after negotiations between the two sides over a hostage situation broke down. According to a KIA statement released on Monday, the Burmese army fired the first shot.

However, according to the state-owned New Light of Myanmar, the KIA initiated the conflict. “Tatmadaw [Burmese army] columns inevitably counterattack KIA troops for their threats and armed attacks,” read the headline of a report published in the newspaper on Saturday.

On Sunday, KIA troops destroyed a Burmese intelligence outpost in Bhamo Township. Since then, the situation has been quiet but tense.

There has been no official contact between the two sides since the government sent four Kachin leaders to Laiza as intermediaries to call for a cease-fire on Friday. In response, the KIA asked the government to provide some evidence that it has ordered its army to stop firing. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21538
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Letter from Laiza: High Spirits at the Kachin Rebel Headquarters
By RYAN LIBRE Tuesday, June 21, 2011

In Laiza spirits are high. There is a vibrancy in the air and the leadership of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and its armed wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), talk of their options with optimism. Many civilians have huddled into churches and makeshift refugee camps just meters from the Chinese border. They have chosen this spot because they don't trust the central government not to order an attack on civilians, but know that Naypyidaw is concerned about shelling China by accident. Those left in the city don't look scared.

The Kachin are in the honeymoon stage of war. If this turns into a full-scale prolonged war, this honeymoon will fade as the realities of war and refugees grow. However, the celebratory atmosphere in Laiza is not without warrant. I have personally seen many factors, some of which are still unknown even to specialists on the topic, that give the Kachin reason to be optimistic about their position and enable them to bargain with the central government with authority. The Burmese army has no chance of quickly wiping out the KIA as they did the Kokang in 2009.

The Kachin are known to be fierce fighters, but they are not warmongers. Even now, in the excitement of renewed fighting, one of the most frequently spoken words I hear during the long civil debates among the leaders and elders is “simsa,� which means peace in their native Jinghpaw language. The Kachin are the most peace-loving, kind and tolerant people I have ever come across.

However, the Kachin cannot live peacefully without their own army under the current government. As one civilian member of the KIO's central committee told me, “There are so many gross abuses of power now, I can't image what would happen if we had no arms to create a balance.�

Naypyidaw demanded that the KIO/KIA accept the Border Guard Force (BGF) plan without addressing any of the reasons the Kachin feel they need to protect themselves. In the many talks the two sides held to discuss the BGF issue, the central government never truly negotiated. It thought it had enough weapons and power to bully the KIA to accept, but in the end was unable to get its own way, which brings us to the inevitable fighting this week.

The commander of the Burmese army's Northern Regional Command, Brig-Gen Zeyar Aung, wrote a letter to the KIO under the heading, “In response to your request [for a cease-fire],� even though the KIO had never asked for a cease-fire. Before the Kachin leaders could even begin to draft a reply, they had to decide what this example of Orwellian doublespeak was actually supposed to mean. Reading between the lines, they decided that the message from the northern commander was this: “There is no meaningful dialogue to be had with us.� After much deliberation and many drafts, the KIO replied, in part, that if the government wanted the fighting to stop, there was no need for a cease-fire. Simply stop your troops from entering our area and the fighting will cease by itself, they said.

This is proof that the central government is incapable of, and seemingly not even interested in, working toward a lasting solution to the deep-seated problems that have been with this unequal union from the very beginning. The KIO has asked China to step in and mediate the situation. But at this stage, they seem more convinced than ever that the “road map to disciplined democracy� was created to give directions to a dead end and waste time so that the central government could continue to rape the land and amass wealth and weapons.

Even though they appear to have lost all faith in Naypyidaw, the KIO/KIA still believe that peace will return to their homeland. The US, EU and UN can all do more to bring lasting peace to the Kachin and Burma. However, even combined, they have less influence over Burma than China does. What China will do is still not clear.

What the Kachin see as a solution is clear. As Gen Gam Shawng, the KIA chief of staff, told me: “If we get real state rights and a federal union, we will lay down our arms. It will be a clean and lasting diplomatic solution.�

It is equally clear to the Kachin that the Lady in Rangoon, rather than the generals in Naypyidaw, represents their best hope of achieving the permanent peace they seek. This is probably why, at a time when Laiza had been emptied of much of its population, many of those who remained, including KIO/KIA leaders such as Gen Gam Shawng and Gen Gun Maw, took precious time away from their duties to pay their respects to Aung San Suu Kyi on her 66th birthday last Sunday.

Some 150 people attended a birthday event organized by a group known as the Democratic Force, consisting mostly of students from the '88 generation. The majority were Kachin, although there were also many other ethnic groups and Burmese at the party. After the ceremony was finished, people lined up to sign a two-meter tall birthday card for Suu Kyi. Gen Gam Shawng was the first to add his name.

It is impossible to understand how the Kachin see Suu Kyi without looking at the relationship her father, Gen Aung San, had with them. It was Aung San who convinced the Kachin to join the union. They trusted his promise of a union based on equality, a promise that was betrayed by his successors. This history has forever changed Kachin State and its people, making it difficult for some Kachin to put complete trust in Suu Kyi's promises.

The fact that many now see her as a person worthy of real admiration is perhaps a signal that the KIO/KIA is willing to let go of the past and work together for the future.

Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21537
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New Refugee Arrests Undermine Recent Progress
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN Tuesday, June 21, 2011

BANGKOK - on June 7, the day after 96 Pakistani Ahmadiyah refugees and asylum seekers were freed on bail in what was hailed as a landmark new departure in Thailand's dealings with refugees, six other Pakistani asylum seekers and one refugee were arrested in Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok.

The seven were sent to Bangkok’s Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre (IDC), site of the high-profile June 6 release, says the UN refugee agency (UNCHR). "We are deeply concerned about these arrests that just increase the sense of insecurity that refugees and asylum seekers already feel", said Jean-Noël Wetterwald, UNHCR regional representative and coordinator for Southeast Asia.

The June 7 arrests were followed up on June 9 with the arrest of nine more Ahmadiyah asylum-seekers in Ayutthuya, with still more Ahmadiyah detained on June 15. The new arrests include children under five years old, as well as a number of Sri Lankan nationals. The Ahmadiyah are members of a minority Islamic group that is oppressed in Pakistan, where they are not recognized as Muslims and are often victims of sectarian violence.

Speaking on Monday evening at Bangkok's Foreign Correspondent's Club, Thailand National Human Rights Commissioner Niran Pitakwatchara described possible human rights violations at the IDC, such as detention conditions he depicted as crowded and unhealthy. One year ago today, Thailand assumed the Presidency of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Thailand has long been a destination for refugees fleeing oppression in south and southeastern Asia, and currently around 140,000 Burmese refugees are in Thailand, mostly in nine camps along the Thai-Burma border. Monday, June 20, was World Refugee Day, with Burma cited as the world's fifth-highest source of refugees with 415,700 worldwide, around 200,000 of which are Rohingya.

The Rohingya are a Muslim people numbering around one million, mostly living in northern Arakan State in western Burma. They are denied Burmese citizenship and have long been persecuted. According to Refugees International, state and army land seizures, forced labor, arbitrary arrests and extortion of Rohngya are common.

More than 40 Rohngya are detained in Suan Plu IDC, which sits close to the main banking and finance district in Bangkok. Others are held elsewhere in Thailand, some of whom have languished inside detention centers for more than two years, although negotiations are taking place between refugee rights groups and the Thai authorities for the release of the Rohingya detainees.

In early 2009, allegations that the Thai army abandoned nearly 1,000 Rohingya at sea caused international anger, prompting then newly-installed Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva to say he would investigate the claims. A diplomatic cable sent from the US Embassy in Bangkok, which was released early on Tuesday, outlined that prior to March 2009, the US sought to influence Thailand's 'pushback' of Rohingya trying to enter Thailand by sea.

The American representatives, including then-Ambassador to Thailand Eric John, said they raised the issue with Thai officials and lawmakers, including PM Abhisit, resulting in what the Americans perceived to be a temporary respite in Thailand's maritime pushbacks. The cable acknowledged the role played by media coverage, including that of The Irrawaddy, in pressuring the Thai authorities to relax the pushbacks.

After the advocacy push and media coverage, the next group of Rohingya arrivals to Thailand's shores were well-treated, according to the US account. However, the Thai authorities cited their concerns that the granting of full refugee status to a party of 78 Rohingya being held at Ranong would prompt more refugees to come to Thailand in the hope of acquiring the same status and possible eventual third-country resettlement to a Western nation.

The cable mentioned US efforts to address the 'root causes' of the Rohingya problem, namely the human rights situation in Burma and Arakan State specifically. The US said it wanted Burma's fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to pressure Burma into improving conditions in Rohingya-populated regions of Burma, measures that some analysts believe would reduce the numbers of Rohingya seeking refuge abroad.

On June 9, US Assistant Secretary for Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration Eric P Schwartz reiterated the American position that “the solution to the Rohingya issue lies in Burma.� However, it is not clear that the US can convince Burma's neighbors that Burmese Government policy toward Rohingya is the cause of their flight to Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia .

In early June, Bangladeshi Food Minister Abdur Razaque accused Western countries of being the root cause of the Rohingya refugee crisis, due to their pressure on his country to register more of the estimated 200,000 Rohingya. Only 28,000 are officially-recognized as refugees by Dhaka, with the rest living in dire conditions in squalid camps.

Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21536
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STRAITS TIMES: Jun 21, 2011
Australian media boss seeks acquittal in Myanmar

Ross Dunkley (above), co-founder of the Myanmar Times, the country's only newspaper with foreign investment, is on trial in Yangon on charges including assaulting a 29-year-old woman and giving her illegal drugs, leading to injury. -- PHOTO: AFP

YANGON - AN AUSTRALIAN newspaper boss on trial in Myanmar asked to be acquitted on Tuesday in closing arguments of a case that some observers say highlights the risks of doing business in the military-dominated country.

Ross Dunkley, co-founder of the Myanmar Times, the country's only newspaper with foreign investment, is on trial in Yangon on charges including assaulting a 29-year-old woman and giving her illegal drugs, leading to injury.

If convicted on all counts he could face up to 14 years in prison.

A verdict will he handed down on June 30, the judge announced.

'I ask for an acquittal for these charges as he didn't commit any crime,' said defence lawyer Aung Than Soe.

A public prosecutor, Mone Mone, asked the court to hand down 'an appropriate punishment,' without demanding any specific sentence. -- AFP http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_682251.html
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Myanmar clashes continue along border
Published: June 21, 2011 at 6:22 AM

YANGON, Myanmar, June 21 (UPI) -- A rebel army in northern Myanmar reportedly warned its troops to expect protracted fighting after clashes with government soldiers forced thousands of civilians to flee.

Religious groups, including Christian churches, in the town of Laiza in the mountainous Kachin state bordering China are caring for the refugees. Hundreds arrive daily, a report by the independent news organization Democratic Voice of Burma said.

Fighting broke out June 9 near Bhamo, around 40 miles from the Chinese border. The clashes marked the end a 15-year cease-fire between the Kachin Independence Army and the Myanmar central government.

Unconfirmed reports said at least four rebels and a number of government troops died. Several bridges also were destroyed by the KIA.

The government blamed the escalation in fighting on the KIA, a report in the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar said. KIA troops entered the Tarpein hydroelectric dam, a joint China and Myanmar project, and seized ammunition from security guards.

Troops were moved into the area to protect civilians and the dam, the New Light report said.

However, the KIA said fighting is a result of the breakdown of talks aimed at having KIA members join the central government's Border Guard Force, made up mainly of former rebel forces. The KIA refuses to join the BGF.

The government's policy of maintaining the BGF has been a relatively successful tactic between it and insurgents in several sensitive border areas, mainly in Kachin, in Shan state directly to the south and in Karen state, further south and which borders Thailand.

DVB also said a human rights group in Thailand said seven Kachin women were raped in separate attacks allegedly by Myanmar troops. Four of the women were subsequently killed.

All incidents were in, or close to, Bhamo where additional battalions of government soldiers have been deployed in the past two weeks to fight the KIA, the Kachin Women's Association Thailand said.

Further south, the government -- ostensibly civilian but consisting of former military leaders -- sent more troops into Karen state after sections of BGF in the state returned to their rebel group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.

Last week, two battalions of government troops were sent to Myainggyingu, where BGF troops left to join the DKBA. Two more battalions arrived this week.

No fighting has been reported but the army is looking for the rebellious BGF soldiers, a commander with the Karen National Liberation Army, which is fighting alongside the DKBA, said.

Despite ruling Myanmar, formerly called Burma, for most of the years since independence was granted by the British in 1948, the military has had uneasy relations with the country's ethnic peoples along its borders.

Last November, at the time of national elections, clashes between the Myanmar army and rebels in Karen state left several dozen people dead and sent thousands fleeing into Thailand, it was estimated at the time.

Many rebel groups were pressuring their people to boycott the national elections that the junta was setting up as the first civilian poll in nearly 20 years.

Several Western leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, condemned the vote as a sham. The winning party was a group consisting of many of the former military rulers who resigned their commissions to run as civilians.

Also, one-quarter of seats in Parliament are reserved for military appointments, which critics say makes the government a military one in all but name.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/06/21/Myanmar-clashes-continue-along-border/UPI-78371308651720/#ixzz1PvBLGMEy
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Confusion over Kachin conflict orders
By DVB
Published: 21 June 2011

The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) has claimed that the Burmese army’s senior command had told troops not to launch attacks on bases in Kachin state from 18 June onwards, an order that was seemingly ignored.

Former communications minister Thein Zaw, who is now a parliamentary representative in the Kachin capital of Myitkyina, has been negotiating on behalf of the government since fighting between the two sides began on 9 June. It was Thein Zaw who reportedly told the KIO, the political wing of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), about the order.

“He sent us a letter claiming the Burmese army had ordered its troops to stop fighting as of 8pm on 18 June if we don’t open fire at them first,” said La Nang, KIO spokesperson. Despite the order, fighting continues today.

There have been doubts in recent weeks about how much authority the central government has over its frontline forces. The United Wa State Army (UWSA) said this week that President Thein Sein should exercise “more control” over troops, while shortly after the first wave of fighting began, KIA spokesperson James Lundau said he did not believe the orders to attack were coming from Naypyidaw.

Continued fighting in Burma’s northern and eastern border regions stems from the refusal of various ethnic armies to become government-controlled Border Guard Forces.

Since 9 June, clashes in Kachin state have spread, and the KIA has now mobilised all five of its brigades. The fighting has forced upwards of 10,000 to flee their homes.

Negotiations between both sides at the KIA headquarters in Laiza on 17 June were fruitless, with the KIA rejecting government proposals to rekindle the ceasefire as insincere. The following day, heavy fighting broke out in Shwebu township. One woman was killed in the crossfire.

State-run newspapers on the same day carried an article claiming the Burmese army “inevitably [had to] counterattack the KIA for their threats and armed attacks”. The KIA however maintains that it is fighting a defensive battle.

Fighting has also resurfaced in Shan state, with six battles between the Burmese army and Shan State Army occurring on 17 June alone.
http://www.dvb.no/news/confusion-over-kachin-conflict-orders/16238

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