News & Articles on Burma-Tuesday, 11 October, 2011-UZL

News & Articles on Burma
Tuesday, 11 October, 2011
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Burma's Prisoner-Release Plan Met With Caution
Burma Announces a Mass Prisoner Amnesty— Is Real Reform Next?
Burma announced to free 6,359 prisoners, but how many political detainees?
Burma announces amnesty for 6,359 prisoners
Myanmar gives amnesty to 6,300 prisoners
Western oil groups eye Myanmar changes cautiously
Factbox - Sanctions imposed on Myanmar
Myanmar Releases 6,300 Prisoners
Myanmar says it will free 6,300 prisoners
US will positively respond to Myanmar's 'dramatic political development'
Myanmar set to free thousands of “prisoners of conscience”
Burma to free thousands of prisoners
Govt claims Kachin army drugs link
KIA Denies Govt Allegations of Drug Links
Burma to Compensate China for Dam Suspension
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October 11, 2011
Burma's Prisoner-Release Plan Met With Caution
Daniel Schearf | Bangkok, Thailand

Burma has announced it will release thousands of prisoners as part of a general amnesty amid indications that political prisoners could be among those set free. A leading rights group has dismissed the news, though, as a ploy that shows no real change in policy.

Burma’s state TV announced Tuesday that authorities would release more than 6,300 prisoners as part of an amnesty plan.

Myanmar Radio and Television 4 said officials have prepared a list of the prisoners who will be set free, but did not name anyone.

The news reader said prisoners who already have served parts of their sentences with good behavior will be released under a humanitarian amnesty by President Thein Sein. He said 6,359 inmates will be set free beginning Wednesday in accordance with the constitution.

There was no confirmation, however, that any of Burma’s estimated 2,000 political prisoners will be among those given amnesty.

On-screen text during the announcement repeated the official line that Burma has no political prisoners, only criminals. But there have been other indications that some political prisoners are about to be released.

Tuesday’s edition of the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper published a plea from Burma’s Human Rights Commission urging Sein to release “prisoners of conscience.” On Monday, a Norwegian deputy foreign affairs minister told VOA's Burmese service that parliament speaker Thura Shwe Mann assured him political prisoners will be released beginning within days.

Critics of Burma’s government say that even if the political prisoners are freed, that does not indicate a change of policy by authorities.

Bo Kyi, a spokesman for the Thailand-based Association for Political Prisoners in Burma, said authorities’ refusal to recognize the existence of political prisoners means they would still have criminal records.

Lawyers arrested for defending democracy activists would be unable to practice law, he said, and students sentenced for protesting would not be allowed to continue their studies.

“The European Union or the United States should consider what they are saying and should maybe carefully interpret what they are saying. Right now, I don’t see any policy changes. So, what we need is first like policy changes to recognize them as political prisoners to release them as political prisoners,” he said.

Bo Kyi also said the amnesty is a ploy to get economic sanctions against Burma lifted and to increase support for the country to host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in 2014.

He notes even as the amnesty was announced, recently arrested political activists are on trial and a journalist imprisoned for photographing a bombing had his sentence increased.

On Monday, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told an audience in Bangkok that there have been dramatic developments in Burma, but Washington is waiting for more substantial moves.

“We are prepared for a new chapter in our relations and we are watching carefully developments on the ground. And, I think it would be fair to say that we will match their steps with comparable steps,” said Campbell.

Campbell listed the release of political prisoners among several steps the United States wants to see Burma take. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Burmas-Prisoner-Release-Plan-Met-With-Caution-131514143.html
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Burma Announces a Mass Prisoner Amnesty— Is Real Reform Next?
Posted by Hannah Beech Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 6:34 am

Squeezed between booming India and equally booming China, Burma has long felt like a time capsule of repressive rule, economic mismanagement and military dominance. But is change finally coming to this strategic crossroads? On Oct. 11, in a state T.V. announcement emblazoned with a “breaking news” banner, the country's government announced a prisoner amnesty affecting 6,359 inmates that would begin on Wednesday, potentially leading to freedom for some of the country's 2,000 or so political prisoners. The same day, a government-run human-rights council urged in an open letter to state media that “what is referred to as prisoners of conscience” be released, in order to promote the task of “nation-building.”

In 2009 and May of this year, Burma, also known as Myanmar, granted amnesty to tens of thousands of inmates, however, few political prisoners were released. But this time the fact that the government human-rights commission acknowledged the existence of prisoners of conscience, plus positive noises made by Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin at the U.N. late last month, are buoying hopes. The release of Burma's political prisoners—who range from politicians, monks and journalists to lawyers, ethnic activists and a famous comedian—might encourage Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to call for an end Western sanctions on the regime. Some outside observers have called the economic restrictions noble but ineffective, given that Burma freely trades with its Asian neighbors, most notably China and Thailand. But so far, opposition icon Suu Kyi has continued to support the sanctions.

In recent weeks, Burma's leaders have not only made human-rights concessions that are pleasing the West but they have also distanced themselves from the country's biggest trading partner and patron, China. Last month, Prime Minister Thein Sein, a retired general who now heads the country's nominally civilian government, suspended a $3.6 billion Chinese-directed dam in northern Burma that was designed to send most of its future electricity over the border to China. The abrupt decision on the Myitsone hydropower project initially led to grumbles from China's Foreign Ministry, but on Oct. 10, Wunna Maung Lwin visited Beijing to smooth over relations.

Thein Sein has also met in recent weeks with Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest last year, just days after carefully orchestrated elections in which her National League for Democracy (NLD) did not take part. (The last polls in 1990, which her NLD won, were ignored by the ruling junta.) Critics say the current government is merely a civilian figleaf for the military regime. Nevertheless, there's no question that promises of reform are beginning to play out—perhaps because Burma wants support in its campaign to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2014.

Last week, in a startling interview with Radio Free Asia, Burma's censorship chief hinted that his own bureau should be disbanded. Tint Swe, the head of the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department, said Burma should accept press freedoms in its near future. Last month, websites that had long been banned, like the BBC and YouTube, were unblocked. But press restrictions still remain, and a Burmese magazine that put Suu Kyi on the cover last month was suspended for a fortnight. At least two journalists have been imprisoned in the past year for their work.

On Monday, Kurt Campbell, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, acknowledged that there were “dramatic developments underway” in Burma. “The United States is prepared to match the steps that have been taken,” he said during a stop in Bangkok. As the prisoners being walking out of some of the world's most notorious jails tomorrow, the world will see just how many steps Burma is willing to take toward real change.

Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/10/11/burma-announces-a-mass-prisoner-amnesty%e2%80%94-is-real-reform-next/#ixzz1aUAnnWZD
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Burma announced to free 6,359 prisoners, but how many political detainees?
By Zin Linn Oct 11, 2011 8:54PM UTC

Burma or Myanmar government’s appointed human rights body – Myanmar National Human Rights Commission – has submitted a request in open letter to President Thein Sein of Burma (Myanmar) today. The MNHRC ‘s chairman Win Mra has urged Burma’s President to release prisoners of conscience in the open letter which appeared in the state-owned media today.

The Rights Commission says in its letter that the establishment of the organization is meant to promote and protect the fundamental rights of citizens enshrined in the Constitution. It can also be regarded as fulfilling the hope and aspiration of the international community.

The letter also says: “The release of those prisoner, convicted for breach of the existing laws, who do not pose a threat to the stability of state and public tranquility in the interest of national races will enable them to participate in whatever way they can in the nation-building tasks.”

The open letter marks an important swing in a country where military-dominated government accustomed to say no to the existence of political prisoners.

Many people notice the letter that published in the state-owned newspapers as a significant sign. Because the government controlled newspapers have a habit of revealing government attitude.

Concurrently, at 1 pm today, Burma’s state-owned MRTV television has broadcast 6,359 prisoners will be freed tomorrow the full moon day of Tha-din-gyut in Burmese calendar as an amnesty given by the new president.

The announcement came out following the chairman of the national human rights body urged President Thein Sein to release “prisoners of conscience” in an open letter in state media.

However, the MRTV did not mention about the numbers of convicts considered to be political prisoner would be among those released.

According to earlier news, Shwe Mann, speaker of Burma’s lower house of parliament, told Norway’s visiting deputy foreign minister Espen Barth Eide that the government has a plan to release more than 1200 political prisoners “within days” at a meeting on 7 October.

Shwe Mann’s assertion was supported by an anonymous government official who confirmed prisoners would be released before the country’s president Thein Sein leaves for an official visit to India on Wednesday (12 October).

Ahead of the government’s today announcement on amnesty, a movement of letter-campaigns has been taking place across the country urging President Thein Sein to release all political prisoners for the sake of national reconciliation. Several famous writers, poets, musicians, artists and intellectuals have signed the petition letter in order to initiate national reconciliation in Burma.

On last May 17, the new Burmese government released more than 14,600 prisoners who had less than one year left on their terms. However, under that clemency line-up, very few political prisoners released because most of political prisoners are serving long-terms imprisonments at least 10 years, 65 years and up to 104 years.

Together with its 2,000 political prisoners, Burma has more than 60,000 prisoners in 42 prisons and 109 labor camps.

Human rights watchdogs and the U.S. State Department have stated the government must go further and immediately release Burma’s estimated 2,100 political prisoners. U.S. President Barack Obama renewed American economic sanctions on Burma for another year in May, saying the large-scale repression of the democratic opposition in that country has not been resolved. http://asiancorrespondent.com/66983/burma-announced-to-free-6359-prisoners-but-how-many-political-detainees/
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Burma announces amnesty for 6,359 prisoners
By A Washington Post Correspondent, Updated: Tuesday, October 11, 9:23 PM

RANGOON, Burma — Burma on Tuesday announced amnesty for 6,359 prisoners, a group expected to include hundreds of political prisoners whose release would be a dramatic sign of opening after nearly 50 years of autocratic rule.

The United States and Europe have long demanded the release of political prisoners as a condition for lifting of economic sanctions on Burma, also known as Myanmar.

The sanctions tightly restrict investment, trade and financial transactions. Easing them probably would accelerate a realignment of Burma’s previously close relations with authoritarian China, which was stunned last month when Thein Sein halted construction of a mammoth Chinese-financed dam in the north of the country. Thein Sein leaves this week for a trip to India, the world’s largest democracy, which has long competed with China for influence and business deals in Burma.

State-controlled Burmese media said the releases of inmates would begin Wednesday, a Buddhist religious holiday. The announcement didn’t name those due to be freed, but both supporters and foes of the regime, as well as diplomats, said they believe the amnesty will cover many pro-democracy activists and others imprisoned because of their political beliefs.

The announcement came on the same day that a newly established human rights commission in Burma issued an open letter to President Thein Sein, urging him to free “prisoners of conscience” who do not pose a “threat to the stability of the state and public tranquility.”

Such prisoners, who are scattered in jails across the country, range from former student leaders--some of whom have been in prison since pro-democracy protests in 1988--to military intelligence officers jailed after the 2004 purge of Khin Nyunt, a former prime minister and spy chief who had tried to reach out to opposition forces.

Their numbers are estimated to range from 600 to more than 2,000. Burma, ruled by military generals in one guise or another since 1962 and long one of the world’s most repressive states, denied for decades that such prisoners even existed.

Thein Sein, an ex-general, took office in March and has since implemented some reforms, passing laws that allow trade unions and opening talks with Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s main opposition leader.

Speaking in Bangkok on Monday, a day before the amnesty news, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell said there “are clearly changes afoot” in Burma and added that Washington will respond favorably, though he didn’t spell out how.

Early steps are likely to include an easing of U.S. pressure on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund not to provide financial assistance Burma. An IMF team is due to visit Rangoon, also called Yangon, soon, to advise on how to reform its chaotic and corrupt foreign exchange system, which includes a plethora of different, state-fixed rates.

A single exchange rate would mark an important step in reforming Burma’s decrepit economic system, which has enriched insiders but wrecked what had been, when the country gained independence from Britain in 1948, Southeast Asia’s most prosperous economy.

Tin Oo, vice chairman of the National League for Democracy and a longtime lieutenant of Suu Kyi, said a release of political detainees would signal an important break with the past, though he noted that previous governments had also issued amnesties. A May amnesty for 1,400 inmates included just a few dozen political prisoners.

The current government, despite being stacked with generals, seems more serious about change than its predecessors, Tin Oo said.

He described the Thein Sein as someone Suu Kyi “can work with,” unlike the country’s previous leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, who ruled from 1992 until earlier this year.

Since being released from house arrest last year, Suu Kyi has held a series of meetings with the president and senior officials to discuss the release of political prisoners and other issues.

Government censors, who vet all publications, this week allowed her photograph to appear on the front page of several privately run journals. State-run newspapers have dropped what had been a campaign to demonize her and her supporters in the National League for Democracy.

Taken together, the recent reforms “have gone too far to be just window dressing,” said Steven Marshall, the International Labor Organization’s liaison officer in Rangoon. “The political environment now is very different than what it was before.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/burma-announces-amnesty-for-6359-prisoners/2011/10/11/gIQAPV2KcL_story.html?wprss=rss_world
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Myanmar gives amnesty to 6,300 prisoners
By Aye Aye Win: Associated Press, Tuesday, October 11, 2011

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar‘s newly elected civilian government announced Tuesday it will release more than 6,300 prisoners in an amnesty that could help patch up the country’s human rights record and normalize relations with Western nations.

It was widely expected that many of the country’s estimated 2,000 political prisoners would be among those freed, but the amnesty announcements broadcast on state radio and television did not supply any names.

Freedom for political detainees has been hotly anticipated as part of liberalizing measures since Myanmar‘s long-ruling military government handed power in March to a military-backed civilian administration.

“We welcome the amnesty announcement. This is very good news and we hope that many political prisoners will be among those freed,” said Nyan Win, a spokesman for democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The announcement said 6,359 inmates would be released beginning Wednesday under a humanitarian amnesty signed by the president for inmates who are old, disabled or unwell or who had shown good “moral behavior.”

Relatives of political detainees were excited by the announcement but wary, given that they could not be sure who would be among those released. The president instituted an earlier amnesty soon after taking office, but it included just a few dozen political detainees.

“We are waiting for the good news, but we have not yet been contacted by authorities here,” said Ma Nyein, sister-in-law of prominent comedian and activist Zarganar, who is serving a 35-year sentence in Myitkyina Prison in northernmost Kachin State.

She said she was unable to reach the prison by phone Tuesday.

Most prominent political prisoners, including many affiliated with ethnic minorities, are held in facilities far from the country’s main city of Yangon, in a policy apparently aimed at limiting their ability to communicate through visiting family members and lawyers.

Zarganar was arrested in 2008 after he gave interviews to foreign news outlets criticizing the junta’s slow response to Cyclone Nargis, which left nearly 140,000 people dead or missing. He was convicted of causing public alarm and illegally giving information to foreign media.

The release of political detainees has been a key concern of the United States, which has been seeking to re-engage with Myanmar after isolating its former military government with political and economic sanctions over its poor record on human rights and democracy.

“We have made clear our desire to see continuing progress on issues such as prisoner releases” and other matters, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell said Monday during a lecture in the Thai capital, Bangkok.

Myanmar officials who have spoken privately of the release do not expect all of the country’s 2,000 political detainees to be freed. But a failure to release a substantial number could be considered by Washington as an inadequate gesture.

“There are clearly changes afoot, but we are at the early stages of that process, and we are looking to see whether they will be sustained,” said Mr. Campbell, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia. The United States believes Myanmar‘s elections were flawed but has been encouraged by its liberalizing trend since the civilian administration took power, Mr. Campbell said.

“I think it would be fair to say that we will match their steps with comparable steps,” he said.

The U.S. could ease restrictions on financial transactions and travel by top Myanmar officials, and also unblock aid by some multilateral agencies as well as resume its own assistance. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/11/myanmar-gives-amnesty-6300-prisoners/
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Western oil groups eye Myanmar changes cautiously
By Tom Bergin; LONDON | Tue Oct 11, 2011 9:00am EDT

Oct 11 (Reuters) - International energy groups say recent signs of political change in autocratic Myanmar are unlikely to lead to a rapid expansion of their activities in the country, which holds valuable reserves of oil and gas.

Christophe de Margerie, Chief Executive of France's Total SA , said his company, which has a project in the former British colony, would like to play a bigger role in the country, formerly known as Burma, but had to see concrete signs of increased democratisation before this was possible.

Western trade sanctions have been in place since the military crushed a 1988 student uprising isolating Myanmar's army dictatorships but in March, the army nominally handed over power to civilians after elections in November. The process was ridiculed at the time as a sham to cement authoritarian rule behind a democratic facade.

It was followed by other overtures such as calls for peace with ethnic minority guerrilla groups, some tolerance of criticism and more communication with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released last year from 15 years of house arrest.

On Tuesday, state television said 6,359 prisoners would be freed on Wednesday and political detainees are expected to included.

"We decided that... it was important to be in Myanmar but that we will not invest until things are getting better... I do hope that will happen," Total's de Margerie told reporters on the sidelines of the Oil and Money conference in London.

Total leads the $1 billion Yadana gas project in the Andaman Sea, and the CEO said he would like to back additional exploration and production investments.

U.S. oil major Chevron is a partner in Yadana but Washington banned new investments in Myanmar by U.S. companies in 1997 and barred imports.

New investments by western oil companies could be a boon for the companies which build and supply their facilities but Andrew Gould, chief executive of the world's largest oil services company, Schlumberger , said it was too soon to tell the implications from the recent political easing.

Myanmar's crude oil reserves are estimated at 3.2 billion barrels, the energy ministry has said. This compares with China's proven oil reserves of 14.8 billion barrels, Malaysia's 5.8 billion, Vietnam's 4.4 billion and Indonesia's 4.2 billion barrels, at the end of 2010, according to the BP Statistical Review.

The country's proven gas reserves tripled in the past decade to around 800 billion cubic metres, equivalent to more than a quarter of Australia's, BP Statistical Review figures show.

Malcolm Brinded, Executive Director for Upstream International, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Ali Moshiri, President, Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production Company all declined to talk about possible new investments in Myanmar. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/oil-myanmar-idUSL5E7LB1MA20111011?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews&rpc=401
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Factbox - Sanctions imposed on Myanmar
ReutersBy Asia Desk, Singapore | Reuters – 7 hours ago

(Reuters) - A new official human rights body in Myanmar urged the president on Tuesday to release "prisoners of conscience" in an open letter in state media, the clearest sign yet that the reclusive state may free political prisoners within days.

The United States, Europe and Australia have made the release of an estimated 2,100 political prisoners a key condition before they would consider lifting sanctions imposed in response to human rights abuses.

Washington's demands go beyond prisoners, making it unclear whether it would lift sanctions if the prisoners are released and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi withdraws her support for punitive measures.

Here is an overview of existing sanctions on the former Burma and its rulers:

EU SANCTIONS:

-- The European Union adopted a Common Position on Myanmar in 1996, including a ban on the sale or transfer from the EU of arms or weapons expertise to Myanmar, or of any equipment that might be used for internal repression.

-- EU governments tightened sanctions after a crackdown on pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks in September 2007, targeting 1,207 firms with measures including visa bans and asset freezes.

In April 2009, the EU extended for another year a visa ban and asset freezes on members of the Myanmar military government and its backers. It has long called for the release of political prisoners.

-- France said last year there should be a global embargo on arms sales to Myanmar and economic sanctions focussed on its key exports, timber and rubies. Britain called for the U.N. Security Council to impose a global arms embargo.

-- The EU has added members of the judiciary responsible for Suu Kyi's extension of house arrest in 2009 to its list of military officials subject to asset freezes and bans on travel.

U.S. SANCTIONS:

-- The United States first imposed broad sanctions in 1988 after the junta's crackdown on student-led protests. It banned new investment in Myanmar by U.S. nationals or entities in 1997.

-- Washington has gradually tightened sanctions to try to force Myanmar's generals into political rapprochement with Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which won a landslide election victory in 1990 but was kept out of power.

-- President Barack Obama renewed the U.S. sanctions in May last year. Washington has said sanctions will be reassessed if the government formed after last year's election made major efforts to improve the country's human rights record.

-- In July 2008, the Treasury moved to block the assets and transactions of Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd and the Myanmar Economic Corp and their subsidiaries.

-- The moves banned American individuals and businesses from transactions with the firms and froze any assets they had under U.S. jurisdiction.

-- The Burma Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 banned all imports from Myanmar, restricted financial transactions, froze the assets of certain Myanmar financial institutions and extended visa restrictions on junta officials.

OTHER SANCTIONS:

AUSTRALIA - Since October 2007, Australia has implemented sanctions against members of Myanmar's leadership and their associates and supporters.

Sanctions currently cover: targeted financial sanctions (implemented by the Reserve Bank of Australia), restrictions on financial transactions involving Myanmar's leadership and its associates and restrictions on visas and travel to Australia.

CANADA -- Imposed sanctions in November 2007 banning exports to Myanmar, except for humanitarian goods, and barring imports. It froze the Canadian assets of Myanmar citizens connected with the junta. Canada also prohibited the provision of financial services and the export of technical data to Myanmar and banned new investment by Canadians.

NEW ZEALAND -- Has a long-standing ban on visas for military leaders and their families.

JAPAN -- Japan froze new development assistance to Myanmar in 2003, while continuing humanitarian aid. It restored development help in June and the Foreign Ministry said it may make further moves if political prisoners are released.

ASIA -- Most Asian governments have favoured a policy of engagement towards Myanmar and southeast Asian countries have called for Western sanctions to be lifted.

(Compiled by Asia Desk, Singapore; 65 6870 3815) http://uk.news.yahoo.com/factbox-sanctions-imposed-myanmar-071001636.html
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Myanmar Releases 6,300 Prisoners
AYE AYE WIN 10/11/11 09:35 AM ET AP

YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar's newly elected civilian government announced Tuesday it will release more than 6,300 prisoners in an amnesty that could help patch up the country's human rights record and normalize relations with Western nations.

It was widely expected that many of the country's estimated 2,000 political prisoners would be among those freed, but the amnesty announcements broadcast on state radio and television did not supply any names.

Freedom for political detainees has been hotly anticipated as part of liberalizing measures since Myanmar's long-ruling military government handed power in March to a military-backed civilian administration.

"We welcome the amnesty announcement. This is very good news and we hope that many political prisoners will be among those freed," said Nyan Win, a spokesman for democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

President Thein Sein, a former army officer who took office in March, has begun a dialogue with the democracy movement and promised other reforms that could start to reverse the harsh policies of decades of military rule.

The announcement said 6,359 inmates would be released beginning Wednesday under a humanitarian amnesty signed by Thein Sein for inmates who are old, disabled, unwell or who had shown good "moral behavior."

Relatives of political detainees were excited by the announcement, but wary, given that they could not be sure who would be among those released. Thein Sein instituted an earlier amnesty soon after taking office, but it included just a few dozen political detainees.

"We are waiting for the good news but we have not yet been contacted by authorities here," said Ma Nyein, sister-in-law of prominent comedian and activist Zarganar, who is serving a 35-year sentence in Myitkyina prison in northernmost Kachin State.

She said she was unable to reach the prison by phone Tuesday.

Most prominent political prisoners, including many affiliated with ethnic minorities, are held in facilities far from the country's main city of Yangon, in a policy apparently aimed at limiting their ability to communicate through visiting family members and lawyers.

Zarganar was arrested in 2008 after he gave interviews to foreign news media criticizing the junta's slow response to Cyclone Nargis, which left nearly 140,000 people dead or missing. He was convicted of causing public alarm and illegally giving information to foreign media.

The release of political detainees has been a key concern of the United States, which has been seeking to re-engage with Myanmar after isolating its former military government with political and economic sanctions over its poor record on human rights and democracy.

"We have made clear our desire to see continuing progress on issues such as prisoner releases" and other matters, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell said Monday during a lecture in the Thai capital, Bangkok.

Myanmar officials who have spoken privately of the release do not expect all of the country's 2,000 political detainees to be freed. But a failure to release a substantial number could be considered an inadequate gesture by Washington.

"There are clearly changes afoot, but we are at the early stages of that process and we are looking to see whether they will be sustained," said Campbell, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia.

The United States believes Myanmar's elections were flawed but has been encouraged by its liberalizing trend since the civilian administration took power, Campbell said.

"I think it would be fair to say that we will match their steps with comparable steps," he said.

The U.S. could ease restrictions on financial transactions and travel by top Myanmar officials, and also unblock aid by some multilateral agencies as well as resume its own assistance. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/11/myanmar-releases-prisoners_n_1004690.html
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Myanmar says it will free 6,300 prisoners
Published: Oct. 11, 2011 at 7:23 AM

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- The Myanmar government would offer amnesty to some 6,300 prisoners, state media said Tuesday but critics said they had doubts.

CNN reported it was not clear if those to be released Wednesday would include political detainees, the release of whom the United States and other critics of Myanmar's decades-long military rule have been demanding.

Myanmar was formerly called Burma.

The amnesty announcement reportedly came after a call by the government-appointed National Human Rights Commission to pardon "prisoners of conscience."

CNN reported the commission was appointed last month but some of its members had previously defended past Myanmar's human rights record.

The New York Times reported there was no mention of prisoners of conscience in the official announcement, adding there are an estimate 2,100 political prisoners currently in detention.

However, there have been changes in the country since elections last November, which led to the appointment of a military-backed civilian government.

Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been held under house arrest for years before being freed, has since met with new President Thein Sein. Last month, Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin met with U.S. officials in Washington.

Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said Monday there have been dramatic developments in Myanmar and the United States is watching carefully, prepared for a new chapter in relations.

Late last month, President Thein Sein suspended construction on a $3.6 billion China-led hydroelectric project, which had been opposed by Suu Kyi and environmental groups.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/10/11/Myanmar-says-it-will-free-6300-prisoners/UPI-14931318332192/#ixzz1aU6f5r26
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US will positively respond to Myanmar's 'dramatic political development'

Washington, Oct 11 : A senior U.S. official has described political overhauls under way in Myanmar as a "dramatic development", but assured that Washington would respond to the situation there positively to improve ties between both countries.

Speaking at a forum in Bangkok on U.S. engagement in Asia, Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said that discussions between the U.S., Europe and Asian countries over Myanmar have "stepped up very, very substantially" in recent months amid rising hopes the secretive Southeast Asian nation could be embarking on its most extensive effort at overhauls in more than a decade.

Among other steps, Myanmar has eased curbs on the Internet, relaxed restrictions on the media, and launched what Campbell described as a "very consequential" dialogue with dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from more than seven years of house arrest last year.

The government has also promised to take other steps soon, including the possible release of hundreds of political prisoners whose incarceration has long bedeviled relations between Myanmar and the West.

"Compared to what we have experienced in the past, there are clearly changes afoot. The United States is prepared to match the steps that have been taken and we''re in the process" of determining how to proceed, The Wall Streets Journal quoted Campbell, as saying.

However, he cautioned that changes in Myanmar were in the "early" stages and that U.S. officials still had "enduring concerns" over a range of issues in the country, including unconfirmed reports that Myanmar''s government is engaged in a covert nuclear-proliferation program with North Korea, which Myanmar officials deny.

--ANI http://www.newkerala.com/news/2011/worldnews-85171.html
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Myanmar set to free thousands of “prisoners of conscience”
Aung Hla Tun, Yangon— Reuters; Published Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011 7:07AM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011 8:49AM EDT

Reclusive Myanmar is expected to release a number of political detainees on Wednesday under an amnesty for thousands of prisoners announced after the national human rights commission urged the president to free “prisoners of conscience.”

The United States, Europe and Australia have made the release of an estimated 2,100 political prisoners a key condition before they would consider lifting sanctions imposed on the pariah Southeast Asian state.

State television said 6,359 prisoners who are “elderly, sick, disabled or have served their punishment with good conduct and character” would be freed on Wednesday, but did not say if political detainees would be among them.

General prisoner amnesties are fairly common in Myanmar. A May amnesty for 14,000 inmates included just 47 political prisoners, which human rights activists called a token gesture.

But there may be more reason for optimism this time.

One lawmaker, who attended a meeting on Friday in the capital, Naypyitaw, told Reuters the release of political prisoners could come “in a few days”. He said that was the message given by Shwe Mann, the lower house speaker.

In an open letter published on Tuesday, Win Mra, chairman of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, wrote that prisoners who did not pose “a threat to the stability of state and public tranquility” should be released.

“The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission humbly requests the president, as a reflection of his magnanimity, to grant amnesty to those prisoners and release them from the prison,” the letter ended.

The commission was formed last month by President Thein Sein, a former general but who took over this year as the first civilian head of state in half a century.

The open letter marks a significant shift in the former British colony, also known as Burma, where authorities have long refused to recognise the existence of political prisoners, usually dismissing such detainees as common criminals.

There have been other significant signs of change since the army nominally handed over power in March to civilians after elections in November, a process ridiculed at the time as a sham to cement authoritarian rule behind a democratic facade.

Recent overtures by the government have included calls for peace with ethnic minority guerrilla groups, some tolerance of criticism and more communication with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released last year from 15 years of house arrest.

“It raises the question of whether the government is indeed moving towards some serious relaxation of its control of the population and of the way politics works in Myanmar,” said Milton Osbourne, Southeast Asia analyst at Australia’s Lowy Institute for International Policy.

The government has faced pressure for change on multiple fronts - from the wildly popular Suu Kyi to the need to find alternatives to China in the face of popular resentment of its influence, to growing frustration in Southeast Asia over Myanmar’s isolation as the region approaches an EU-style Asian community in 2015.

Diplomats say other factors play into Myanmar’s desire to open up, include a need for technical assistance from the World Bank and other multilateral institutions which cut off ties years ago in response to rights abuses.

The country’s infrastructure is in shambles and its economy has few sources of growth beyond investment from China and Thailand, and about 30 percent of the population living in poverty, according to UN data.

Some analysts say Myanmar also wants to show the United States that it is independent of China.

Last week, the government suspended a $3.6-billion, Chinese-led dam project, a victory for supporters of Suu Kyi and a sign the country was willing to yield to popular resentment over China’s growing influence.

These moves have stoked hopes the new parliament will slowly prise open the country of 50 million people that just over 50 years ago was one of Southeast Asia’s wealthiest as the world’s biggest rice exporter and a major energy producer.

Nestled strategically between economic powerhouses India and China, Myanmar has been one of the world’s most difficult destinations for investors, restricted by sanctions, blighted by 49 years of oppressive military rule and starved of capital despite rich natural resources, from gems to timber to oil.

In November 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama offered Myanmar the prospect of better ties if it pursued democratic reform and freed political prisoners, including opposition leader Suu Kyi.

But Washington’s demands go beyond prisoners, making it unclear whether it would lift sanctions if the prisoners are released.

The United States has also demanded more transparency in Myanmar’s relationship with North Korea and an end to human-rights abuses involving ethnic minorities in remote regions bordering Thailand and China.

A European diplomat in Bangkok said many European countries had privately urged the European Union to ease sanctions and that the EU could face strong internal pressure to do so if prisoners were released and Suu Kyi changed her stance.

“All it would take is for Suu Kyi to urge sanctions to come down,” said the diplomat, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject.

In Tokyo, a foreign ministry official said Japan had resumed some aid to Myanmar in June after the release of Suu Kyi and other signs of reform.

“We may continue with this stance if there are more releases of political prisoners,” the official said. “Work still needs to be done in terms of democracy but we think they are moving in the right direction.”

Myanmar also appears to be trying to convince the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to allow it to take its rotating presidency in 2014, two years ahead of schedule and a year before the next general election.

Hosting ASEAN would give Myanmar a degree of international recognition and help convince the World Bank and other multilateral institutions to return to the impoverished nation.

It is unclear whether all political prisoners would be released at once, or indeed how many would be freed.

Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, said he had not heard whether political detainees would be freed. Families of prisoners also had not been told.

“We are still trying to find out,” said Ma Nyein, sister-in-law of Zar Ga Nar, a jailed comedian and government critic. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/asia-pacific/myanmar-set-to-free-thousands-of-prisoners-of-conscience/article2197074/singlepage/#articlecontent
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BANGKOK POST
Burma to free thousands of prisoners
Published: 11/10/2011 at 02:32 PM
Online news: Asia

Burma announced a mass prisoner amnesty Tuesday, raising hope for the imminent release of hundreds of political detainees in what would be a major sign of change in the authoritarian state.

More than 6,300 prisoners will be pardoned from Wednesday "on humanitarian grounds", state television announced, without saying whether political prisoners would be among them.

The fate of the country's estimated 2,000 political detainees, who include pro-democracy campaigners, journalists, monks and lawyers, has long been a top demand of Western nations that have imposed sanctions on Burma.

The announcement came just hours after a government-appointed human rights panel called for a pardon for the country's "prisoners of conscience".

This file photo shows protesters in mock chains and prison cells rallying in front on the Myanmar Embassy in Manila, in June. Myanmar will grant an amnesty to more than 6,300 prisoners, state media announced on Tuesday, without saying whether political detainees would be included.

The National Human Rights Commission said freeing detainees "who do not pose a threat to the stability of state" would allow them to participate in "nation-building", according to an official English-language newspaper.

It noted that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and foreign governments were calling for "the release of what is referred to as 'prisoners of conscience'," in a rare official acknowledgement of their existence.

On Monday a government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that political prisoners were expected to be freed within days.

Their release would be arguably the clearest sign yet of change under a new leadership that has reached out to critics including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, freed in November after seven straight years of detention.

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

He has been applauded by international observers for holding direct talks with Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) on Monday said it was "expecting" all political detainees to be released.

A top US official, Kurt Campbell, on Monday hailed recent developments in Burma, including what he described as "very consequential dialogue" between Suu Kyi and the leadership.

He hinted that concrete moves towards democracy by Burma 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 controversial 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, a former general.

Suu Kyi, whose party won 1990 election but was never allowed to take power, has said she believes Thein Sein genuinely wants to make reforms, but she cautioned it was too soon to say whether he would succeed.

The NLD boycotted last year's ballot, largely because of rules that would have forced it to expel imprisoned members. As a result it was delisted as a political party by the regime. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/260804/burma-to-free-thousands-of-prisoners
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Govt claims Kachin army drugs link
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 11 October 2011

Claims by the Burmese government that it has seized a large quantity of methamphetamine and other drug paraphernalia during fighting with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) have been dismissed by critics and Kachin personnel as propaganda.

The claim surfaced in a New Light of Myanmar article today, which said that KIA forces had attacked a “work camp” at Tima, in Shan state’s Muse township, on 21 September. Troops captured three police officers, three Myanmar Correctional Department staff and 55 others.

During a subsequent 11-day effort to rescue the captives, the Burmese army claimed to have seized small arms, bags of gunpowder and “46 buildings”, the article said. It added that it had “rescued 37 prisoners” whom the KIA claimed it had freed from the Tima work camp.

The operation continued, and on 8 October the Burmese army allegedly seized over half a million “stimulant tablets”, tablet moulds and a machine for making pills, along with precursor chemical for methamphetamine, sulphuric acid.

This “obviously proved that despite showing various reasons, KIA group is producing and selling narcotic drugs menacing the mankind,” the newspaper said.

Author Bertil Lintner, who has written extensively on Burma’s narcotics industry, however questioned why accusations of KIA involvement in the drugs trade had not surfaced during the KIA’s 17-year ceasefire with the Burmese government, which ended in June. He told DVB that Naypyidaw “uses the drugs as a political tool”, and once ceasefires breakdown, “all these groups are involved with narcotics”.

“As soon as the groups have a ceasefire agreement with the government, you never hear anything about drugs; on the contrary they [government] defend them and claim they are not involved. With the Kokang [ethnic army], for instance, they never said anything about them and the drugs trade, and they were involved.”

Fighting between the two sides has displaced some 25,000 civilians already, whilst a report last week by the Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand (KWAT) claimed that 37 women and girls, some as young as nine, had been raped by Burmese troops, 13 of whom subsequently died. The Kachin News Group alleged that three women were gang-raped by Burmese forces on 7 October in Shadan Pa, west of the Bhamo-to-Myitkina road.

James Lung Dao, spokesperson of the KIA’s political wing, the Kachin Independence Organisation, told DVB that the drugs accusation was “false information”, and added that it is “impossible” to trade in narcotics without Burmese government consent. Lintner corroborated that “to my knowledge they [KIA] have never been involved in the drugs trade”.

Lung Dao added: “President Thein Sein is talking about peace in Naypyidaw… and at the same time the army is busy attacking Kachin.” He also claimed that KWAT’s numbers for rape cases were conservative estimates.

Lintner described this as a two-pronged strategy, trying to “tame” the ethnic groups after the major armies refused to sign up to the government’s Border Guard Force plan.

Along with the Kachin accusation, the New Light of Myanmar said the Karen army splinter group, the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, had handed over “arms for peace”, while a little known group from Mongla in Shan state signed a peace deal with the Burmese.

The offensive against the KIA has been a tough sell for President Thein Sein, who has been successfully improving the image of the regime, notably an apparent turnaround on the massive Myitsone hydropower project in Kachin state, and promise that 6,300 prisoners will be released tomorrow. http://www.dvb.no/news/govt-claims-kachin-army-drugs-link/18085
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KIA Denies Govt Allegations of Drug Links
By KO HTWE Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has denied government allegations that it is involved with drug trafficking by saying the reports are merely an attempt to discredit the armed group.

State-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported on Tuesday that government troops confiscated 521,340 amphetamine pills, one machine for producing tablets, four tablet moulds and related equipment in a KIA Battalion 1-controlled area near Muse Township, in northern Shan State. Another 1,020 tablets of the stimulant were also reported found nearby.

“The incidents obviously prove that despite offering alternative reasons, the KIA group is producing and selling narcotic drugs that menace mankind,” said the report.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, La Nan, the joint-secretary of the KIA's political wing the Kachin Independence Organization, denied the area was under KIA control and said that the government knows that narcotics have been distributed by militias there for a long time.

“There are many incidents when [the government] has made narcotics arrests in the area but after receiving bribes they release the trafficker and it never gets published in the newspapers. But now they want to accuse Kachin groups of having links with narcotics,” said La Nan.

In August 2009, government troops defeated the Kokang ethnic armed group—otherwise known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army—and seized its capital of Laogai, in northeastern Shan State.

Burmese authorities said that they raided the city to search for drugs, and hundreds of refugees fled into China as a result of the fighting.

The city had long benefited from booming border trade with China and substantial Chinese investment, but it has come almost to a standstill since junta troops seized control on August 24.

La Nan also said that the area of Muse Township where this week's narcotics seizure took place was three miles away from KIA Battalion 9 and notorious for drugs despite being under the administration of the government.

“In 2006, the KIA also performed a drugs raid in the area and the government accused us of collecting bribes to stop our operation,” said La Nan.

The report also said that the Burmese government column seized one AK-47, 60 rounds of ammunition, two 60 mm mortars, one M-21, 12 assorted small arms, 16 assorted mines and 45 bags of gunpowder.

“We have no reason to keep weapons in that area. We do not have enough ammunition to distribute to the village,” said La Nan.

In 2010, the Burmese junta accused the KIA of being “insurgents” and blamed the group for a mine blast which killed two and injured one in Kachin State.

Loikang, near Kutakai Township, was the headquarters of KIA Brigade 4 but fell into government hands in September. The Brigade was based across northern Shan State but KIA Battalions 2 and 9, under Brigade 4, already lost their bases to advancing government soldiers.

Government newspapers also accused the KIA of opening fire at a work camp in Tima, near Muse Township of Muse District in Shan State, on September 21. Reports allege that three members of the Myanmar Police Force, three staff of the Myanmar Correctional Department, eight small arms and 55 prisoners were seized. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22238
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Burma to Compensate China for Dam Suspension
By BA KAUNG Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Burma and China have resolved a dispute over the recent suspension of the Chinese-backed Myitsone hydro-power dam project in Kachin State, according to a Burmese presidential adviser who said that Burma may have to compensate China for the move.

The sudden suspension of the US $3.6 billion project earlier this month angered Beijing and the state-owned China Power Investment (CPI) corporation, the main investor in the scheme. In an interview with Chinese state media, CPI president Lu Qizhou warned the Burmese government of possible legal repercussions and said the suspension of the project would cause immeasurable losses to both countries.

A week after Beijing called for talks to address the issue, Burmese President Thein Sein held a rare meeting with the Chinese ambassador to Burma, Li Junhua, in Naypyidaw on Saturday and briefly explained his reasons for making the decision, according to presidential adviser Dr Nay Zin Latt.

At the same time, Thein Sein sent his foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, to Beijing for talks with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi over the dam suspension issue.

In its coverage of the meetings, the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Monday that the two sides had agreed to properly settle the matter while reaffirming commitments aimed at achieving joint development.

The meetings clearly highlighted the magnitude of Thein Sein's decision, which has been widely seen as a demonstration of his new, quasi-civilian government's eagerness to demonstrate that it is not a client of China and is ready to re-balance its international relations.

“It is not good for Burma or any other nation to rely too much on relations with just one country. We must forge friendly ties with all nations,” said Nay Zin Latt in an interview with The Irrawaddy on Monday, describing the president's decision as an extraordinarily bold step taken in the national and public interest.

He added that the Myitsone dam issue has been thoroughly settled by both sides, but Burma might have to compensate China, probably in the form of granting economic concessions to its giant resource-hungry neighbor.

“I don't think we have to pay them back in the form of billions of dollars,” he said, without specifying what kind of economic concessions Burmese leaders agreed to offer to make up for the suspension of the Myitsone project, which was expected to generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity, mostly for export to China.

It also remains unclear if the project has been canceled completely, because in his original announcement, Thein Sein only said it had been suspended for the remainder of his term in office, which expires in 2016. Meanwhile, it is believed that work is still continuing on six other hydro-power dams in Kachin State connected to the Myitsone dam project.

In response to a comment by the CPI president that suspension of the project would make it impossible for Burma to implement a loan agreement between China and Burma's former military junta, Nay Zin Latt said Burma will find other means of repaying the loan.

“Using revenues from other sources, not only from Myitsone, we can repay the loan. For example, we can pay back using revenues from the gas pipeline to China,” he said, referring to the $2.5 billion oil and natural gas pipelines being constructed by China's state-owned China National Petroleum Corp from the Bay of Bengal to China's Yunnan Province through central and northeastern Burma.

The pipelines are seen as China's most geopolitically and economically important investment in Burma. Last week, Burmese activists called for a suspension of the pipeline project, citing human rights violations, but both the Chinese and Burmese governments have expressed optimism that it will continue smoothly. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22239
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