Peaceful Burma (ျငိမ္းခ်မ္းျမန္မာ)平和なビルマ

Peaceful Burma (ျငိမ္းခ်မ္းျမန္မာ)平和なビルマ

TO PEOPLE OF JAPAN



JAPAN YOU ARE NOT ALONE



GANBARE JAPAN



WE ARE WITH YOU



ဗိုလ္ခ်ဳပ္ေျပာတဲ့ညီညြတ္ေရး


“ညီၫြတ္ေရးဆုိတာ ဘာလဲ နားလည္ဖုိ႔လုိတယ္။ ဒီေတာ့ကာ ဒီအပုိဒ္ ဒီ၀ါက်မွာ ညီၫြတ္ေရးဆုိတဲ့အေၾကာင္းကုိ သ႐ုပ္ေဖာ္ျပ ထားတယ္။ တူညီေသာအက်ဳိး၊ တူညီေသာအလုပ္၊ တူညီေသာ ရည္ရြယ္ခ်က္ရွိရမယ္။ က်ေနာ္တုိ႔ ညီၫြတ္ေရးဆုိတာ ဘာအတြက္ ညီၫြတ္ရမွာလဲ။ ဘယ္လုိရည္ရြယ္ခ်က္နဲ႔ ညီၫြတ္ရမွာလဲ။ ရည္ရြယ္ခ်က္ဆုိတာ ရွိရမယ္။

“မတရားမႈတခုမွာ သင္ဟာ ၾကားေနတယ္ဆုိရင္… သင္ဟာ ဖိႏွိပ္သူဘက္က လုိက္ဖုိ႔ ေရြးခ်ယ္လုိက္တာနဲ႔ အတူတူဘဲ”

“If you are neutral in a situation of injustice, you have chosen to side with the oppressor.”
ေတာင္အာဖရိကက ႏိုဘယ္လ္ဆုရွင္ ဘုန္းေတာ္ၾကီး ဒက္စ္မြန္တူးတူး

THANK YOU MR. SECRETARY GENERAL

Ban’s visit may not have achieved any visible outcome, but the people of Burma will remember what he promised: "I have come to show the unequivocal shared commitment of the United Nations to the people of Myanmar. I am here today to say: Myanmar – you are not alone."

QUOTES BY UN SECRETARY GENERAL

Without participation of Aung San Suu Kyi, without her being able to campaign freely, and without her NLD party [being able] to establish party offices all throughout the provinces, this [2010] election may not be regarded as credible and legitimate. ­
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

Where there's political will, there is a way

政治的な意思がある一方、方法がある
စစ္မွန္တဲ့ခိုင္မာတဲ့နိုင္ငံေရးခံယူခ်က္ရိွရင္ႀကိဳးစားမႈရိွရင္ နိုင္ငံေရးအေျဖ
ထြက္ရပ္လမ္းဟာေသခ်ာေပါက္ရိွတယ္
Burmese Translation-Phone Hlaing-fwubc

Monday, December 12, 2011

News & Articles on Burma-Sunday, 11 December 2011-uzl

News & Articles on Burma Sunday, 11 December 2011 ------------------------------------------- Generals open door as opportunity knocks Burma: Cyclones affect more and more Women Old warrior says give peace a chance Democracy's prolonged war with Corruption YEARENDER: Myanmar starts to march to a different beat Realpolitik and the Myanmar Spring Shanmugam to visit Myanmar Burma eases censorship for some: local media Thai police arrest five in huge methamphetamine bust China starts joint patrols Mekong River with Laos, Myanmar ---------------------------------------------- Bangkok Post: Spectrum Generals open door as opportunity knocks Hillary Clinton's recent visit might have put the regime a step closer to rejoining the international community, but real reforms need to happen before that can take place Published: 11/12/2011 at 12:00 AM Newspaper section: Spectrum Way back in 1998, a visiting Burmese journalist was asked by his Thai colleagues about the state of the economy in his country. He beckoned them to look at a large group of migrant workers on their way to a seafood packing factory in the coastal town of Mahachai, about an hour's drive from Bangkok. "They would not be here if they could find jobs in their hometowns or in Rangoon," he said. The fate of these migrant workers and ethnic groups still at war with the Burmese government did not gain front-page prominence during US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's historic visit to Burma last week, but it cannot be separated from the thorny issues of democratisation and human rights in the country. As a next-door neighbour, Thailand is in a position to help Burma continue its political reforms. Knowledge sharing in technology, business, agriculture and transport will benefit both countries. But this cooperation will only function well under a stable and open political system. The Obama administration may have to balance its strategic goals against the risk of rewarding a regime that has yet to win international acceptance. But the momentum for change is already there. "President Thein Sein is right in describing Mrs Clinton's visit as a milestone that would open a new chapter in relations. There were no proper relations between the two countries before. Now their relations have started to become friendly and they expect to harvest more advantages from this," said U Aye Saung, vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance of Burma. "For Thein Sein, Mrs Clinton's visit is like having a free makeover. The regime has long dreamed of being honoured by the US, hoping that the whole world will believe that they are no longer thugs like before," he said. But Thein Sein can only go as far as the powerful National Defence and Security Council allow him. "He is carrying out orders given by the council," said U Aye Saung. "Now that his performance is bearing fruit, he should be able to stay in his chair unless there are any major problems, such as a mass uprising. "He was hand-picked by his senior commanders, and he will never be secure from the threat of [former junta leader] Than Shwe and the Security Council, which is not under the country's constitution or his power." Still, some in the opposition also worry that Washington is cosying up to Rangoon prematurely. "The Burmese government must first prove its sincerity by letting the people, including all ethnic groups, enjoy the full benefits of economic development, not just relying on the Myanmar Trade Union, which now controls all aspects of the national economy, including the exploitation of natural resources," said Timothy Laklem, head of foreign and public relations of the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council. He says the government must recognise the rights and territorial sovereignty of all ethnic groups, stop all acts of violence and declare ethnic states demilitarised zones, while allowing the UN and NGOs to freely visit and help needy people in the ethnic states. It is also imperative that the government include ethnic leaders in its national policy-making procedure and allow direct foreign investment in the ethnic states. "This will be a win-win situation for all sides," said Mr Laklem. "The government will earn more tax revenue, while the ethnic people can protect their cultural heritage and natural resources." THE US MATRIX Visiting Australia and Indonesia in November, President Barack Obama pledged to enhance US political and military engagement in the Asia-Pacific region as the post-Sept 11 "war on terror" winds down. He announced plans to deploy 2,500 US marines in northern Australia, and sought to unite the US and regional allies through a free-trade agreement. A reformed Burma will also help bolster Asean as a bulwark against China's growing influence in the region, according to a Thai security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Burma and the US have a long history of bilateral cooperation. "Both countries conducted joint narcotic suppression operations for many years, with officers from the US Drug Enforcement Agency working alongside their Burmese counterparts," he said. When Cyclone Nargis hit the mouth of the Irrawaddy River Delta region on May 2, 2008, Thailand conveyed the US offer of aid to the Burmese government. On May 11, the first US aid plane left U Tapao Airport in Sattahip, Thailand for Rangoon. On May 13, the Burmese government authorised five more US flights to land in the country with needed aid for the survivors of the cyclone. A new US relationship with Burma could also create opportunities for American companies eager to tap into Burma's abundant mineral resources, he said. Washington is also keen to negotiate a US-Asean free trade agreement, after a similar deal was signed between China and Asean. Speaking at the Asean Business and Investment Summit in Bali on Nov 18, former US ambassador to Thailand and Indonesia Ralph Boyce called on the Obama administration to articulate the goal of negotiating a US-Asean free trade agreement (FTA). "American trade negotiators rightly point out that negotiating a US-Asean FTA now would be nearly impossible given US sanctions on Burma and the vastly different levels of development among Asean countries," Mr Boyce said at the business forum in Bali. "But setting the FTA as a goal makes economic and geo-strategic sense. It underlines long-term US commitment to work with Asean to get the right conditions when a negotiation would be viable." His view is shared by the Thai security official, who stressed that events of the last year _ including a new constitution, an elected parliament, a more reform-minded president and greater demands by political groups _ would make it difficult for the Thein Sein government to roll back the changes. For her part, Mrs Clinton said in the Burmese capital of Naypyidaw on Dec 1 that it would "be difficult to begin a new chapter" until Burma began forging peace with ethnic groups and started allowing humanitarian organisations, human rights monitors and journalists into conflict areas. CHINA AND THAILAND To some Asian analysts, Burma has already acquired a foothold for returning fully to the international community through its designation as Asean chair in 2014. Its economy having stagnated under military rule, Burma is the poorest member of Asean. "If it can make the best possible use of the opportunity to serve as chair, Burma should be able to persuade the United States and European countries to lift their economic sanctions, thereby encouraging the inflow of foreign capital," said the Thai security official. America's inroads into Burma have drawn some criticism from the Chinese media. But U Aye Saung of the Democratic Alliance of Burma believes that Beijing will do nothing at the moment. "China already has its own economic investments and supporters in Burma. The US is also not willing to make any great sacrifices to promote democracy and human rights for the benefit of the people in Burma," said the alliance's vice-chairman. "I believe that the US and China may have an understanding among themselves to do business together in Burma. "I don't think China is worried about its economic interests in Burma," he said. "But it may be worried about the growing activism to promote democracy and human rights." Nonetheless, Thailand's role is important in the process of democratisation in Burma. "At the moment, Thailand should find friends both in the government and the opposition and seek to carry out economic investments without supporting the regime in the oppression of its own people," said U Aye Saung. "This is because human rights are the issue of today." Sharing the same view, Kuensai Jaiyen, senior editor of the Shan Herald Agency for News, said real reform and democratisation in Burma will encourage migrant workers in Thailand to return home and help develop the country. "The Shan people working in Thailand and elsewhere are longing to come home," said Mr Kuensai. "I think the Burmese government is well aware of it." http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/270256/generals-open-door-as-opportunity-knocks ------------------------------------------ Burma: Cyclones affect more and more Women Nava Thakuria - 12/10/2011 Even as the military rulers of Burma (Myanmar) completed a general election in November 2010 and a new so-called democratic regime is installed in the poverty stricken country, millions of Burmese are still living in terrible conditions in the cyclones Nargis and Giri affected areas, with many without pure drinking water and food or proper shelter. The lives of hundred thousand poor Burmese women have not changed though there are some plastic changes like the release of pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and many other from jails, regular sittings of parliamentarians in their new capital Nay Pyi Taw and so on. Burma receives international media headlines with the flawed constitution and electoral laws that finally prevented the pro-democracy icon Suu Kyi to take part in the November 2010 polls. Her party National League for Democracy, which recorded massive victory in the last general election in 1990- but denied power by the junta- even faced forced dissolution as it did not register with the election commission as a mark of protest. The recent visit of Burmese President Thein Sein to India on October 12 -15, 2011 was an attempt to improve its tie with the largest democracy of the globe and also enhance the Southeast Asian country's image as a welfare nation. But the ground reality remains almost the same. Since the day when the devastating tropical cyclone Nargis struck Burma (Myanmar) on May 2, 2008, the women survivors remain worst sufferers. Despite the fact that three full years passed since fateful night, the relief from international agencies, originally blocked by the then military regime, remains sporadic, paltry and tragically late, those all compiled to the continued agony for the poor Burmese people primarily women and children. The cyclone, originating in the Bay of Bengal, ripped a trail of destruction across the Irrawaddy and Rangoon divisions and also ravaged parts of the Bago, Mon and Kayin regions. A water wall of four meters high is said to have rolled some 25 miles inland across the Irrawaddy River Valley, flattening everything in its path. Although the military government reported the final death toll as 84,537, with 53,836 missing, independent estimates are that 140,000 were killed and tens of thousands more have never been found. The cyclone devastated the already spavined social infrastructure, and wiped out paddy fields, which at the time were being readied for the country's primary rice crop. Even one of latest reports of Human Rights Watch, New York reveals that the Burmese government continues to deny basic freedoms and place undue restrictions on aid agencies despite significant gains in rehabilitating areas devastated by the cyclone Nargis. Mentionable is that the then Burmese group of generals named State Peace and Development Council initially did not allow international aids to its own people initially and thus they received condemnation and brickbats from the international community for their callous and cruel attitude. "For nearly five decades, Burma's military rulers had systematically undermined the interests of their own citizens. It wasn't until days into the tragedy, goaded by international criticism, that the SPDC chief senior general Than Shwe found the time to visit the destroyed areas," said in the report. The then military chief Than Shwe and his company later softened following a personal visit of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in the middle of May 2008. Slowly communications between the local government and the international agencies began to improve. Visas and travel permits were made a little easier and faster for the foreign aid workers. The officials of Human Rights Watch however claim that the local aid workers still feel the brunt of continued repression by the military authorities. The report quoted many woman survivors of Cyclone Nargis to narrate the tale of awfulness. One May Khin, a middle aged woman from Laputta township described her pain, "Nargis was the worst experience of my life. The last thing I remember is the lightning coming together with a strong wind and later a giant wave covered my daughter and me while we were running to the monastery. Then we were separated. I was washed away by the wave and became unconscious. When I came to, there were no clothes on my body and I could not walk as I had no strength. Beside me there was a dead body." The International Organization for Migration claimed that nearly 400,000 people in Burma were still living without a proper home after a devastating cyclone. It also disclosed that the government while failed to provide adequate food, water and shelter to the survivors, shamefully continues violating the rights of the victims as well as the local relief workers. Quoting the officials and aid workers, The Myanmar Times, a semi-government weekly newspaper published from Rangoon, reported that even after 'three years after Cyclone Nargis thousands remain in need of shelter assistance'. "This is an area where there are still huge needs," said Arne Jan Flolo, first secretary of the Norwegian embassy in Bangkok. Even the UN Human Settlements Program estimated that some 375,000 people still need housing, 36 months after the worst natural disaster that stroke Burma. If Nargis was of higher intensity, the Cyclone Giri struck the Arakan coast with comparatively lower magnitude. The category 4 cyclone hit the western coast of Burma on October 22, 2011 affecting the whole province. Over 100 people were killed and nearly one million Burmese were affected by the cyclone. According to the UN, over 70,000 people were left homeless by the disaster. Quoting the Arakan League for Democracy, the Narinjara news, a pro-democracy portal, reported that villages like Kyuntharyar, Pyintharhtwatwa, Taungpaw, Angu, Ywathikay, Taungnyo, Kangyemaw, Dagon, Kanthar were severely affected where the people are still running out of safe drinking water. "There is a shortage of drinking water. In the contaminated wells and ponds, saltwater sinks and the freshwater stays atop. So people collect and use the water sitting at the top portion of the well. But it is not that safe to drink. Some people still use water contaminated with saltwater. Some use the water from the well that is full with garbage," the ALD source claimed. Responding to this writer's queries, a Rangoon based UN official argues that Nargis was a tragedy that every one has learnt bitter lessons from. So the large scale deaths could have avoided in the time of Giri with more awareness and early warning efforts. Putting his individual view, Aye Win, an official of United Nations Information Centre at Rangoon said, "The earthquake in Tachilek, tragic though it was, brought a greater closeness of cooperation between the humanitarian community and the authorities. The importance of disaster risk reduction was recently underscored by the visit of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on DRR, Margareta Wahlstrom, to Myanmar in early October. There is now greater awareness, and more importantly, greater political willingness to approach DRR holistically because of its long term impact." Talking to this writer from New Delhi, Thin Thin Win, an exile Burmese lady claimed that the regime had done very little for the rehabilitation for the cyclone victims and they turned out to be inhuman for the women and children. Form the ground reality, it is understood that it would take few more years to completely rehabilitate the affected people in the cyclone affected areas of Burma, she asserted. The hapless situation has compelled the poor Burmese, mostly young girl and women to fall in trap of traffickers, the fact admitted by the UN official. The US Campaign for Burma stated in a report that the underdeveloped country emerges as a source place for women, and children who subjected to sex trafficking in other countries. Burmese children are forced to labor as hawkers and beggars in Thailand. Many Burmese men, women, and children who migrate for work in Thailand, Malaysia, China, Bangladesh, India, and South Korea are subjected to conditions of forced labor or sex trafficking in these countries. The Rangoon UN official agrees that trafficking in Burma is an important issue to deal with. It will continue to be as long as the grass is continued to be perceived as greener on the other side. The driving force therefore is poverty. The issue of poverty is now publicly and openly acknowledged, a first step on a journey of perhaps a thousand miles, to quote Confucius, Aye Win concluded. The US Campaign for Burma also added in the report, "Military and civilian officials subject men, women, and children to forced labor, and men and boys as young as 11 years old are forcibly recruited to serve in the Burma army as well as the armed wings of ethnic minority groups through intimidation, coercion, threats, and violence. Some observers estimate that thousands of children are forced to serve in Burma's national army as desertions of men in the army continue." Nava Thakuria is the editor of News Network Television, a local news channel of Assam in Northeast India. He also contributes articles to The Statesman (Kolkata), Eastern Panorama (Shillong) and The Independent (Dhaka). Nava Thakuria is an engineering graduate (Bachelor of Engineering from Assam Engineering College under Gauhati University) in Mechanical Branch. http://www.globalpolitician.com/27220-burma-weather-women ---------------------------------------------------- Old warrior says give peace a chance Published: 11/12/2011 at 12:00 AM Newspaper section: Spectrum The Burmese government has stated that it would have no objection if the Shan State Army wants to set up a political party. This was among the peace overtures Rangoon made to the armed ethnic group at a recent meeting between the two sides. WEAPONS DOWN: Col Yodsuek, chairman of the Shan State Army, agreed to a ceasefire with the Burmese government that went into effect on Wednesday. SSA leader Col Yodsuek told Spectrum it was ''a good start''. The Shan leader was strongly criticised by his supporters here and abroad when he took part in a peace negotiation on Nov 19 with a Burmese delegation led by Railways Minister U Aung Min. ''They all said that I had betrayed them, that I am already rich and so do not care about them any more. I understand their feelings. We have been fighting for nearly 60 years, and they are afraid that I would be deceived [by the Burmese government],'' said Col Yodsuek. At the Nov 19 peace talks, held in Chiang Rai, Minister U Aung Min welcomed the SSA's request to take part in national politics. Rangoon will also have no objection if the SSA wants to set up a political party, he told Col Yodsuek. ''After the meeting, both sides signed an agreement to hold further talks on this matter,'' said Col Yodsuek. ''It will take time, but our people are happy with this development.'' A ceasefire agreement was later signed, effective from last Wednesday. The armed clashes that took place between Burmese and SSA soldiers during the peace talks were due to the SSA soldiers' ''miscommunication'' with their leaders, said Col Yodsuek. ''The ceasefire is in place now.'' The Shan leader declined to comment on the prospects of peace in Kachin State and areas controlled by the Karen National Union. ''As I understand, the Burmese government prefers to negotiate with each ethnic group, rather than with all ethnic groups on one side,'' he said. The Chiang Rai peace talks will benefit Thailand as well. If there is no fighting along the border, people on both sides can resume trade and business activities. Drug trafficking would also decrease and Thai authorities would be able to deal more effectively with gangs that smuggle migrant workers into Thailand, he said. According to Col Yodsuek, the SSA and the Burmese government have been holding talks for a long time. He welcomes Thailand's role in these negotiations, as peace will benefit everyone, especially people living along the common border. ''The world needs peace,'' he said. ''But each country must have peace first.'' http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/270257/old-warrior-says-give-peace-a-chance --------------------------------------------- Sunday December 11, 2011 Democracy's prolonged war with Corruption The Nation By Tulsathit Taptim BANGKOK: The line between good and evil can move back and forth all the time. That's a fact everybody knows but hates to accept. The real taboo, however, has to do with the answer to the question, "Why?" Most people will never agree that "Good" can be very pretentious while "Evil" is straightforward. Even more people will never come to terms with the suggestion that Good is a mere version of Evil getting bored of itself and trying to be different for a change. In his prolonged war with "Corruption", "Democracy" has been resisting the former's push for a pact. The Angel has not lost himself, but he has been losing ground. The "line" is constantly edging into his territory. Even good people do bad things, Democracy is being told by his enemy. Why not accept this so that everyone can move forward and leave the ruins of an abstract showdown behind? The world is grey, Corruption says. If you don't sign a treaty with me, somebody else will, and if that ever happens, don't complain. Dictators love me to bits, and them with me will make everything go unchecked, unquestioned and unresisted. You don't want that to happen, do you? If you embrace me, we will prosper together. You help rebrand me and I'll give you plenty. Some oil, maybe. The argument makes Democracy wonder. That's what Asean has been saying about Burma, isn't it? Isolate the junta and some of their nasty neighbours will be smiling. Constructive engagement should be the way to go and blah blah blah. "But why now?" a soul-searching Democracy wants to ask himself. He probably isn't sure whose initiative it was. Is it a triumph of good virtues over an evil empire in Burma, or is someone being lured into a trap here? Nobody's trapping anybody, Corruption assures Democracy. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. It's as simple as that. Recognising Burma is the right thing. Look at the countries where you are rigid and uncompromising. They are war wrecks, aren't they? So, drop your meek defence in Thailand, Corruption tells Democracy. Let's get the amnesty thing over with and everyone will live happily ever after. It's ridiculous to have a People's Alliance for Democracy and a United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship going after each other, both claiming they do it for the good of mankind. Make me an integral, official part of yours, and there will be no more coups or pouring of blood in front of a prime minister's house. Better still, Corruption adds, an amnesty will be viewed by much of the world as "your" triumph over me. Best part is, I don't care if you are to get all the credit. How cool a deal is that? It will be hailed as something forged by 15 million votes. If the "majority" wants something, it has to be good, right? That's your original commandment, to begin with. "Don't you see how inseparable we are already?" Corruption continues. Take a look at that move to annul all the legal consequences of the 2006 coup. Did it come from you or from me? Even the newspapers are giving different answers. Who can blame them? I don't think anybody on this planet can say it one way or the other without being bombarded by critics. You are fooling yourself that you exist "as you are", Corruption says. Truth is, you exist as I am. Without me, you are just an "ideal", which in my book means you are too good to be true. I'm the ultimate reality. For you to really be, we have to reconcile. You pretend less, I pretend more, and that's a win-win. Our pact will give you some peace of mind. As for me, I'll get some more freedom. I'm a sincere man, you know. I hate wearing a mask all the time, wherever I go. I don't want to be your goddamned passport, Democracy replies, again with a high degree of self-doubt. He is wondering if he does have any choice now that things have come this far. It began simply enough, with him wanting to put Corruption in limbo. That turned into the need to "constructively engage" his enemy, who is now invading all his territories with extreme aggression. It doesn't matter when the "line" was moved. What matters is that the line is now behind him, all of a sudden, and the world, heaven and hell will have to keep holding their breath. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/12/11/asia/10063101&sec=asia --------------------------------------------- YEARENDER: Myanmar starts to march to a different beat By Peter Janssen Dec 11, 2011, 2:06 GMT Yangon - The not-so-democratic regimes of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam must be worried. Myanmar has started to shed its regional status as everyone's favourite whipping boy for human rights abuses and undemocratic rule this year, as the government elected in 2010 started to make some changes. There is still far to go for the former pariah state, but human rights and pro-democracy groups may need to refocus their campaigns on less obvious targets next year, which is bad news for the region's more modest offenders. Against all expectations, the pro-military government that won last year's general election has pushed through both political and economic reforms, maybe minor ones by international standards but massive by Myanmar's. The Arab Spring no doubt offered some inspiration, as did the sharp appreciation of the kyat currency, but some of the motivation appears to have come from within. President Thein Sein, an ex-general with an unusually clean track record for a military man, started the reforms rolling in mid-August when he invited opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi up to the capital Naypyitaw for private talks. Such a meeting was unthinkable under former junta chief Senior General Than Shwe. Than Shwe, now retired, allegedly anointed Thein Sein for the post of president, but observers are not ruling out the possibility that the latter is nonetheless his own man. 'If Thein Sein was not in a position to move freely, he would not have met with Aung San Suu Kyi, because Than Shwe hated her,' said Kwin Maung Swe, a leader of the National Democratic Force, a breakaway faction from Suu Kyi's main opposition party. No one can be certain what words passed between Thein Sein and Suu Kyi on that historic day, but the meeting signalled the regime's acknowledgement that they needed Myanmar's Nobel laureate on board. 'During that first meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, Thein Sein told her, 'We understand that you are the heart of the people,'' said Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Such words from the president would be well-chosen, as he is desperate to get the West's economic sanctions on Myanmar lifted. Since August, Thien Sein and Suu Kyi appear to have followed a well-planned script. Suu Kyi demanded that political prisoners be released before she plays ball. The regime released more than 200 prisoners on October 12, leaving an estimated 600 to 1,600 behind bars. The NLD demanded that the party registration act, which prevented it from contesting last year's polls, be amended. Parliament pushed the amendment through on November 5. Last month, the NLD applied to reregister as a legitimate political party to contest a by-election for 48 vacant seats, scheduled some time next year. Approval is pending. Suu Kyi, 66, will contest the polls, and will probably win, earning herself a seat in Parliament where she will no doubt become the country's legitimate opposition leader. The West has watched all these developments with cautious optimism, rewarding the new government with a flurry of high-profile trips, topped on December 1-3 with the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton promised to match further reforms from the regime with rewards such as increased support to the government from multinational agencies, including the United Nations. The main prize will be lifting economic sanctions, but Clinton insisted that will require more releases of political prisoners and sincere efforts to end Myanmar's civil wars with its ethnic minority insurgencies that have been going on for six decades. The country is home to a wide variety of ethnic groups in addition to the majority Burmans. Many groups resent the exploitation of their regions' rich natural resources by the central state. In the light of improving inter-ethnic relations in the country, the European Union is to decide in April whether to renew its own sanctions on Myanmar. If Suu Kyi is ensconced in parliament by then, the argument for sanctions to support her struggle will have lost some weight. Some progress is already evident in the complex ethnic minority question. On November 19 the government initiated ceasefire talks with four of the rebel groups. On December 3, the last day of Clinton's visit, a tentative truce was signed with the Shan State Army, one of the strongest and longest-running insurgencies. 'I think since the November 19 initiative the trust has been building,' said Kuensai Jaiyen, editor of the Shan Herald News Agency, a rebel publication. Significantly, the ceasefire talks were led not by the Myanmar Army but by Rail Transportation Minister Aung Min, a close associate of Thein Sein's. 'He seems to be getting along quite well with the non-Burman leaders,' Kuensai said. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1680085.php/YEARENDER-Myanmar-starts-to-march-to-a-different-beat ----------------------------------------------- Realpolitik and the Myanmar Spring By Bertil Lintner Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Myanmar, on a trip that is being hailed as a stunning breakthrough in bilateral relations and a sign that the Southeast Asian pariah state may finally be ready to rejoin the international community after two decades of isolation. It is a victory, analysts say, for the long-suffering forces of good and democracy over a brutal and self-serving military junta. But the truth is far more complicated. According to the conventional wisdom in the Western media, Myanmar's Nov. 2010 elections may have been rigged and flawed, but nevertheless led to unprecedented policy changes and new initiatives. The new president, Thein Sein, has even been dubbed "Myanmar's Gorbachev" for his seemingly daring moves toward openness and respect for (at least some) democratic values. He has held talks with pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, political prisoners have been released, and censorship of the media has been relaxed. Consequently, Clinton has saidthat the time is right to visit the country to "promote further reform." But the secretary's visit has as much to do with Myanmar's relations with China and North Korea as with its tentative progress on democracy and human rights. If Western observersare to be believed, recent developments in Myanmar reflect a power struggle between "reform-minded moderates" and "hardliners" within the government and the military that still controls it. The political reality is far more convoluted. In August and September of 1988, Myanmar saw the most massive and widespread pro-democracy demonstrations in recent Asian history. Strikes and protests were held in virtually every city, town, and major village throughout the country against a stifling military dictatorship that has held Myanmar in an irongrip since the army seized power in 1962 and abolished the country's democratic constitution. Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero Aung San, happened to be in the country at that time (she then lived in England) and people turned to her for leadership. She then emerged as the main leader of the country's pro-democracy movement. But the government didn't fall. It retreated into the background, and on Sept. 18, 1988, the military moved in, not to seize power --- which it already had --- but to shore up a regime overwhelmed by popular protest. The result was a brutal massacre. Thousands of marchers were mowed down by machine-gun fire, protesters were shot in custody, and the prisons were filled with people of all ages and from all walks of life. Not surprisingly, Western countries, led by the United States, condemned the carnage. Later, sanctions were imposed on the regime, but they were always half-hearted and had little if any effect in terms of foreign trade. Still, sanctions turned Myanmar into an international outcast and prevented it from having full access to U.N. funding and international monetary institutions. China, which long had coveted Myanmar's forests, rich mineral and natural gas deposits, and its hydroelectric power potential, took full advantage of the situation. In fact, it had already made its intentions clear in the Sept. 1985 edition Beijing Review, an officially sanctioned news magazine and a mouthpiece of the government. An article titled "Opening to the Southwest: An Expert Opinion," written by Pan Qi, a former vice minister of communications, outlined the possibilities of finding an outlet for trade for China's landlocked southern provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan through Myanmar to the Indian Ocean. It also mentioned the Burmese railheads of Myitkyina and Lashio in the north and northeast, and the Irrawaddy River as possible conduits for Chinese exports. It was the first time the Chinese outlined their designs for Myanmar, and why the country was so important to them economically. Until then, China had supported the Communist Party of Myanmar and other insurgent groups, but after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 and Deng Xiaoping's ascendance to poswer, Beijing's foreign policy shifted from supporting revolutionary movements in the region to promoting trade. This was the first time this new policy towards Myanmar was announced, albeit rather discreetly, by the Chinese authorities. The first border trade agreement between Myanmar and China was signed in early August 1988, days before the uprising began in earnest. After the movement had been crushed and sanctions were put in place, China moved in and rapidly became Myanmar's most important foreign trade partner. It helped Myanmar upgrade its antiquated infrastructure --- and supplied massive amounts of military hardware. In the decade after the massacres, China exported more than $1.4 billion worth of military equipment to Myanmar. It also helped Myanmar upgrade its naval facilities in the Indian Ocean. In return, the junta gave Beijing access to signals intelligence from key oil shipment sealanes collected by the Burmese Navy, using equipment supplied by China. The strategic balance of power in the region was being upset in China's favor. But the real resource play came later, and in spades. A plan to build oil and gas pipelines was approved by China's National Development and Reform Commission in April 2007. In Nov. 2008, China and Myanmar agreed to build a $1.5 billion oil pipeline and $1.04 billion natural gas pipeline. In March 2009, China and Myanmar signed an agreement to build a natural gas pipeline, and in June 2009 an agreementto build a crude oil pipeline. The inauguration ceremony marking the start of constructionwas held on Oct. 31, 2009, on Maday Island on Myanmar's western coast. The gas pipeline from the Bay of Bengal to Kunming, in China's Yunnan province, will be supplemented with an oil pipeline designed to allow Chinese ships carrying fuel imports from the Middle East to skirt the congested Malacca Strait. And in September of last year, China agreed to provide Myanmar with $4.2 billion worth of interest-free loans over a 30-year period to help fund hydropower projects, road and railway construction, and information technology development. Western sanctions did not cause Myanmar's economic --- and strategic ---push into "the hands of the Chinese," as many foreign observers have argued. But Western policies certainly made it easier for China to implement its designs for Myanmar. This has, in return, caused the West to rethink its Myanmar policy --- at the same time as the country's growing dependence on China has caused considerable consternation within Myanmar's military leadership. U.S. strategic concerns were outlined as early as June 1997 in a Los Angeles Times article by Marvin Ott, an American security expert and former CIA analyst. "Washington can and should remain outspokenly critical of abuses in [Myanmar]. But there are security and other national interests to be served...it is time to think seriously about alternatives," Ott concluded. But the turn took some doing. When it was revealed in the early 2000s that Myanmar and North Korea had established a strategic partnership, Washington was alarmed. North Korea was providing Myanmar with tunneling expertise, heavy weapons, radar and air defense systems, and --- it is alleged by Western and Asian intelligence agencies --- even missile and nuclear-related technology. It was high time to shift tracks and start to "engage" the Burmese leadership, which anyway seemed bent on clinging on to power at any cost, no matter the consequences. The 2010 election in Myanmar, no matter how fraudulent it was, was just the opportunity that Washington needed. Myanmar suddenly had a new face and a country run by a constitution, not a junta. It was the perfect time for Myanmar's generals to launch a charm offensive in the West, and for the United States and other Western countries to begin the process of de'tente --- and of pulling Myanmar from its uncomfortable Chinese embrace and close relationship with North Korea. Hardly by coincidence, Clinton visited South Korea before continuing on to Myanmar. For more than a year, it has been known in security circles that the United States wants South Korea to lure Myanmar away from its military cooperation with North Korea. The much richer South would be able to provide more useful assistance to Myanmar than the North, the argument goes. At the same time, many staunchly nationalistic Burmese military officers have become dissatisfied with their country's heavy dependence on China as well as uncontrolled immigration by Chinese nationals into the north of the country. The first blow against China came in Oct. 2004, when the then-prime minister and former intelligence chief Lt.-Gen. Khin Nyunt was ousted. The Chinese at first refused to believe that their man in Myanmar, Khin Nyunt, had been pushed out. How could the generals dare to move against a figure so key to the relationship? Nevertheless, both sides managed to smooth over the incident, and bilateral relations appeared to be returning to normal. Then, in 2009, Burmese troops moved into the Kokang area in the northeast, pushing more than 30,000 refugees --- both Chinese nationals and local, ethnic Chinese --- across the border back into China. Still, China did not get the message --- until Sept. 30 of this year, when Thein Sein announced that a China-sponsored, $3.6 billion hydroelectric power project in the far north of the country had been suspended. The dam was going to flood an area in Myanmar bigger than Singapore, and yet 90 percent of the electricity was going to be exported to China. Now, China has threatenedto take legal actions against the Burmese government for breach of contract. This was the final straw. Today, it is clear that Sino-Burmese relations will never be the same. To strengthen its position vis-a`-vis China, Myanmar has turned increasingly to its partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which it is due to chair in 2014. Even more significantly, when Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who was appointed commander-in-chief of Myanmar's military in March, went on his first foreign trip in mid-November, he did not go to China --- but instead to China's traditional enemy, Vietnam. Myanmar and Vietnam share the same fear of their common, powerful northern neighbor, so it is reasonable to assume that Min Aung Hlaing had a lot to discuss with his Vietnamese hosts. But the strategic change in Myanmar didn't happen overnight. In the same year as Khin Nyunt was ousted, an important document was compiled by Lt. Col. Aung Kyaw Hla, a researcher at Myanmar's Defense Services Academy. His 346-page top secret thesis, titled "A Study of Myanmar-U.S. Relations," outlined the policies which are now being implemented to improve relations with Washington and lessen dependence on Beijing. The establishment of a more acceptable regime than the old junta provided has made it easier for the Burmese military to launch its new policies, and to have those taken seriously by the international community. As a result, relations with the United States are indeed improving, exactly along the lines suggested by Aung Kyaw Hla in 2004. While paying lip service to human rights and democracy, there seems to be little doubt that Sino-Burmese relations --- and North Korea --- will be high on Clinton's agenda when she visits Myanmar this week. On a visit to Canberra in November, President Barack Obama stated that, "with my visit to the region, I am making it clear that the United States is stepping up its commitment to the entire Asia-Pacific region." The United States is a Pacific power, Obama said, and "we are here to stay." But he was quick to add: "The notion that we fear China is mistaken. The notion that we are looking to exclude China is mistaken." That statement was about as convincing as Thein Sein's assurance that he had suspended the dam project in the north because he was concerned about "the wishes of the people." The two old adversaries, Myanmar and the United States, may have ended up on the same side of the fence in the struggle for power and influence in Southeast Asia. Frictions, and perhaps even hostility, can certainly be expected in future relations between China and Myanmar. And Myanmar will no longer be seen by the United States and elsewhere in the West as a pariah state that has to be condemned and isolated. Whatever happens, don't expect relations to be without some unease. Decades of confrontation and mutual suspicion still exist. And a powerful strain in Washington to stand firm on human rights and democracy will complicate matters for Myanmar's rulers --- who are still uncomfortable and unwilling to relinquish total control. And last of all, there's China. Myanmar may be pleased that the reliance on a dominant northern neighbor might be lessened shortly, but with so many decades of ties and real, on-the-ground projects underway, the relationship with Beijing isn't nearly dead yet. (courtesy: Foreign Policy Magazine) http://ifp.co.in/imphal-free-press-full-story.php?newsid=3401&catid=1 ------------------------------------------------- Shanmugam to visit Myanmar Posted: 11 December 2011 1943 hrs SINGAPORE: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law K Shanmugam will make an introductory visit to Myanmar from Monday to Wednesday at the invitation of Myanmar Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin. During the visit from 12-14 December, Mr Shanmugam will meet President U Thein Sein and Upper House Speaker U Khin Aung Myint. He will also meet Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin, Attorney-General Dr Tun Shin, as well as Union Solidarity and Development Party Secretary-General U Htay Oo. During the visit, Mr Shanmugam will hand over a tube well in the Kawhmu Township to Yangon Region Chief Minister U Myint Swe. The tube well is one of 385 tube wells built with funds from the Singapore government's US$5 million post-Cyclone Nargis humanitarian assistance pledge, in partnership with Mingalar Myanmar, a local non-government organisation. Kawhmu Township was one of the townships most affected by Cyclone Nargis in the Yangon region. Mr Shanmuagm will also meet the Singaporean community in Myanmar over a dinner reception, as well as members of the Presidential Advisory Board in Yangon. - CNA/ir http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1170704/1/.html ------------------------------------------- Burma eases censorship for some: local media Published: 11/12/2011 at 02:32 PM Online news: Asia Burma has loosened restrictions on dozens of business and crime publications, local media reported, but kept news titles in the grip of strict censorship rules. A local newspapers' vendor is pictured here at her stall in central Yangon. Myanmar has loosened restrictions on dozens of business and crime publications, local media reported, but kept news titles in the grip of strict censorship rules. A total of 54 journals, magazines and books will no longer have to submit their content to censors before publication, according to a report in the Burma Times, after changes introduced on December 9. News media will continue to be subject to pre-publication censorship that is criticised by press freedom groups as among the most restrictive in the world, although officials told the newspaper that this would ease in time. Burma's army-dominated government, which came to power after a controversial November 2010 election, has launched a series of reformist moves in an apparent move to end its international isolation, and welcomed a landmark visit from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this month. Measures have included dialogue with democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, whose picture is now permitted to be printed in the media. Publishers were told in June that sports journals, entertainment magazines, fairytales and the winning lottery numbers would not need to have prior approval from the information ministry. According to the Burma Times, Tint Swe of the country's Press Scrutiny and Registration Department said that news, education and religious titles would also shift to "self-censorship" before a new media law is enacted -- without giving a timeframe or details of the legislation. An executive editor from 7-Day News told the Burma Times that he was disappointed that the changes had not gone further, but welcomed the relaxation on business publications. "As our country is implementing economic reforms, it's crucial that we have the freedom to write and criticise freely," he said. A report in the state-run New Light of Burma on Sunday said that Minister for Information and Culture Kyaw Hsan had suggested film and video censorship would also be relaxed, without indicating when this would happen. In September, Burma's Internet users were able to see banned media websites for the first time, including the BBC and exiled media organisations such as the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). But the move, which was not officially announced, came in the same week that a court added an extra decade to the sentence of a journalist jailed over his work for DVB. He now faces 18 years in prison. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/270294/burma-eases-censorship-for-some-local-media ------------------------------------------------ Thai police arrest five in huge methamphetamine bust Dec 11, 2011, 9:47 GMT Bangkok - Thai police have arrested five men and seized 500 million baht (16.6 million dollars) worth of methamphetamine drugs smuggled from the country's northern border with Myanmar, media reported Sunday. National Police Chief Priewpan Danapong said the huge drug haul included 40 kilograms of ?ice,? or crystal methamphetamine, and 1.7 million methamphetamine pills. Priewpan was quoted by the Bangkok Post website as saying the drugs were discovered at 11pm (1600 GMT) Saturday after police received a tip-off and stopped and searched a passenger bus in Ayutthaya province, 80 kilometres north of Bangkok. The drugs, with an estimated street value of 500 million baht, were found after a search of five suitcases belonging to three bus passengers, he said. The three suspects told police they had been hired for 300,000 baht to deliver the drugs from Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province, on the Myanmar border, to two accomplices in Ayutthaya's Bang Pahan district. The two alleged accomplices were arrested shortly afterwards. Thai and Western enforcement officials say the highly addictive crystal methamphetamine, produced at clandestine laboratories near the Thai-Myanmar border, has become the new drug of choice for many gangs previously specializing in opium and heroin. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1680113.php/Thai-police-arrest-five-in-huge-methamphetamine-bust --------------------------------------- China starts joint patrols along Mekong River with Laos, Myanmar and Thailand (Xinhua) 09:45, December 11, 2011 Representatives of police officers take part in the launching ceremony of the joint patrol of police force from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand along the Mekong River in Guanlei Port in Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Dec. 10, 2011.(Xinhua/Wang Xiaoxue) Chinese police Saturday started joint patrols with their counterparts from Laos, Myanmar and Thailand to maintain security along the Mekong River, a major transport passage in the region. The joint patrol marked the restoration of international shipping services on the Mekong River that had been suspended since deadly attacks on Chinese cargo ships on Oct. 5. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90883/7672222.html

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News & Articles on Burma-Saturday, 10 December 2011-uzl

News & Articles on Burma Saturday, 10 December 2011 ------------------------------------------- Myanmar onslaught on Kachin rebels behind exodus US uses carrot-and-stick policy for Myanmar Ethnic wars cast pall over Burma reforms Concern about welfare of Burma's displaced people No peace talks, No humanitarian aid in Kachin State of Burma Myanmar To Effectively Promote Human Rights The Burma Road 'Humanitarian crisis' in Burma Rape Used as Military Weapon Repression continues in Burma despite signs of change China tells Kachin refugees: go home Myanmar Seeks 'Win-Win-Win' in Balancing U.S.-China Competition ----------------------------------------- The Penninsula Myanmar onslaught on Kachin rebels behind exodus Saturday, 10 December BANGKOK: Myanmars continued military offensive against ethnic Kachin rebels in the north has sent tens of thousands fleeing their home and threatens a humanitarian crisis, a campaign group said yesterday. Recent ceasefire talks between the nominally civilian government that took office in March and at least two ethnic armed groups have had some success, but tension with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has increased to boiling point, Refugees International said. Fighting in the decades-old conflict flared up in June in pockets of the jungle in the northern state of Kachin controlled by the KIA and its political wing, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), after a 17-year ceasefire broke down. Refugees International is extremely concerned for the safety of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) that are living in various camps in KIO-controlled areas whose shelters and camps are right in between the Tatmadaw (the army) and the KIO bases, said Lynn Yoshikawa, Refugees Internationals southeast Asia advocate. The conflict in Kachin State requires both immediate humanitarian assistance and long-term assistance, she told a news conference in Bangkok, after a recent visit to Myitkyina, the state capital, and other ethnic areas. Aid agencies and sources in the area estimate between 30,000 and 40,000 people are living in makeshift jungle camps in KIO-controlled areas not accessible to many aid organisations, including the United Nations. Assistance is only possible through neighbouring China, which has publicly stated its unwillingness to host a huge number of IDPs, Yoshikawa said, urging donors to provide funds for local Kachin groups that are supporting the displaced. Fighting has intensified in the past week and refugee camps have swollen, sources from Kachin said. Its like an exodus, said an ethnic Kachin woman who works closely with aid workers and did not want to be identified. New camps are being created every day. Many are not recorded, she said in Yangon, showing detailed lists of numbers of IDPs that she and colleagues had collated. A Myitkyina resident who declined to be named because she feared for the safety of her family and herself said a gun battle had been heard in the town on the night of December 6. We hear bombs every night. We are used to it. But not gunfire, said the woman, who described herself as a freelance relief worker. She said checkpoints dotted the city of about 100,000 people and although there was no official curfew, nobody dares go out after 5.30 or 6pm. We keep hearing about arrests for no reason. Yoshikawa said it was not clear what was behind the fighting or who was ordering the army to go on the offensive. But it is not a promising sign for ethnic peace throughout the area, she said. Hillary Clinton, who last week became the first US secretary of state to visit Myanmar in more than 50 years, has urged the country to take further steps to release political prisoners and end ethnic conflicts. REUTERS http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/s.-asia/philippines/175194-myanmar-onslaught-on-kachin-rebels-behind-exodus.html --------------------------------------- US uses carrot-and-stick policy for Myanmar Updated: 2011-12-10 08:06 By Tao Wenzhao (China Daily) Hillary Clinton's recent visit to Myanmar, the first by a secretary of state of the United States since 1955, has drawn worldwide attention. The visit is believed to be a major step toward disseminating American values in the Asian country as part of the US President Barack Obama's "return-to-Asia" policy. The scheduled withdrawal of troops from Iraq and a similar move for Afghanistan signify Washington's intention of accelerating its "return-to-Asia" offensive on the military, political, economic and ideological fronts. The US and Myanmar have been at loggerheads for decades, reflected in US sanctions against Myanmar since 1988 when the military assumed power in the Southeast Asian country. Since then, ambassadorial-level diplomatic relations between the US and Myanmar have been downgraded to the charge d'affaires level. But despite the low-level diplomatic link, the US didn't shut out Myanmar from its strategic vision. For example, the US organized more than 20 visits by its officials to Myanmar in the past two decades, including three visits by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, to maintain continuous pressure on the Myanmar government and promote US-style "democratic reforms" in the country. After the elections last November, Myanmar completed its transition from military to civilian rule and launched some reforms, including revision of the election law and release of some political prisoners - including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's release from years-long house arrest. Bans on some newspapers have been lifted, too. Washington sees all these as the result of its push for the US-style democracy and values. Through Clinton's visit, the US sent a clear message to the Myanmar government that it welcomes the changes and the country's transition to a democratic society. But the US still thinks, as Clinton told the Myanmar government, that the country is far from meeting the West-advocated democratic criteria and thus should continue walking on its nascent "democratic path". Besides, she also urged Myanmar to cut ties, especially military ties, with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Some commentators now fear that Clinton's visit could affect Myanmar's ties with China. Such worries are unwarranted, for the foundation of China-Myanmar ties is not that fragile. Myanmar was one of the first countries to recognize the People's Republic of China, and the first country to embrace the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, an international relations norm agreed to by China and India in 1954. Despite having a 2,000-kilometer-long border between them, China and Myanmar agreed to settle their border issue way back in 1960, setting a good example for border disputes among other countries. As a result, the China-Myanmar border is now one of peace, friendship and cooperation, with people on both sides co-existing peacefully. As a sovereign nation, Myanmar has the right to establish and develop ties with any country it wants, including the US. But the decades-long sanctions imposed by the US and the United Nations have hurt Myanmar's economic development and compromised its people's livelihoods. Hence, it is normal and understandable for Myanmar to expect the sanctions to be lifted with the improvement of ties with the US. In return for the stringent demands that Clinton, during her meeting with Myanmar President Thein Sein, said Myanmar should fulfill, she didn't offer any substantial rewards. She only said that the US would become an observer for the Lower Mekong Initiative, a US-backed group discussing Southeast Asia's major waterway, and that Washington would support the World Bank and International Monetary Fund assessment missions to help Myanmar jumpstart its economy and make the new UN counter-narcotics and health cooperation programs a success. She also said that the dialogue with Myanmar is still in its initial phase because the US doesn't know whether the democratic process in Myanmar is irreversible and that her country would take some measures commensurate with those taken by the Myanmar government. To put them in perspective, Clinton's remarks indicate that the US will continue to wield the stick while placing a carrot in front of Myanmar. The author is a researcher at the Institute of American Studies, affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. (China Daily 12/10/2011 page5) http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2011-12/10/content_14243680.htm ------------------------------------------- Ethnic wars cast pall over Burma reforms Lindsay Murdoch, Bangkok December 10, 2011 www.esuperfund.com.au Take Control of Your Super Special Offer Ends Soon. Apply Now! Burma. A mother and child receive medical aid in a jungle in the far north of Burma, where soldiers have been fighting rebels since a 17-year ceasefire ended in June. Photo: Reuters Fighting has intensified between the Burmese army and ethnic rebels nine months after Burma's President Thein Sein promised to end a ''hell of untold miseries'' that have been endured by ethnic minority Burmese groups for decades. In the latest clash this week Kachin rebels claim they killed 60 Burmese soldiers, forced 40 others to flee and had another 30 surrounded in Kachin State, northern Burma. The surge in fighting in the world's longest running civil war threatens to derail efforts by Mr Thein Sein and other reformers in his government to convince Western nations to lift economic sanctions. Advertisement: Story continues below US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Mr Thein Sein during her landmark visit to Burma last week that the army must end its brutal repression of ethnic minorities if the impoverished nation is to emerge from 50 years of international isolation. While the rebels' claims to have killed soldiers have not been independently verified, more than 34,000 people have been forced into refugee camps near the Chinese border as several thousand rebel fighters abandoned their bases and engaged in guerrilla tactics against Burmese soldiers, according to aid workers and human rights organisations. At least 7000 local civilians were displaced from 30 villages near the Chinese border in the first week of December alone, aid workers said. ''No international aid has arrived in those areas,'' said La Rip, an official with the Kachin Development Group. In a speech in March, Mr Thein Sein also promised to make ending conflict with ethnic groups the top priority of his government. By June, a 17-year ceasefire with Kachin rebels had collapsed after soldiers overran a rebel outpost, prompting frequent battles during which both sides have been accused of human rights abuses. During recent secret meetings in northern Thailand, government envoy Aung Min - the railways minister and a former intelligence officer - has reached out to the Kachin rebels and four other armed groups, promising to drop an earlier demand for them to become border forces under Burmese army command. Other incentives offered to the groups include economic development, freedom of travel for unarmed ethnic leaders and a national conference to seek political solutions to ethnic divisions. In a significant breakthrough, the government has reached a preliminary ceasefire agreement with the Shan State Army, one of the biggest groups, which includes the opening of liaison offices, co-operating in combating narcotics and promises of talks about an area of demarcation. The talks have further stirred excitement about Burma's future following a series of social, economic and political reforms by the government since August. Dave Mathieson, researcher on Burma for Human Rights Watch, said that while the government had the right to conduct counter-insurgency operations against rebels, years of war have produced a culture of impunity for serious crimes such as forced labour, use of child soldiers, sexual violence against women and young girls, extrajudicial executions and torture of civilians. Mr Thein Sein responded to Mrs Clinton by detailing his government's plan to end the conflicts that have raged almost since independence in 1948. Jim Della-Giacoma, South-east Asia director of the International Crisis Group, said a ''lasting solution to the problem requires going beyond just stopping the wars''. ''Multi-ethnic, multilingual and multi-religious Myanmar [Burma] can only achieve genuine national unity and reconciliation by embracing its diversity,'' he said. Burma's veteran pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi expressed strong concern over the fighting, sending a letter to Mr Thein Sein and ethnic leaders calling for ''immediate ceasefires''. Ms Suu Kyi has long advocated autonomy under a federal system for the main ethnic groups. She has called for the revival of an autonomy plan drafted in 1947 that was backed by her late father, independence hero Aung San. Grievances run deep among ethnic minorities who comprise about one-third of Burma's 55 million mostly impoverished people. The Kachin rebels led strong opposition to a $3.6 million Chinese-backed hydroelectric dam project which the government unexpectedly halted in September, removing one issue of contention. Ethnic minorities have never received direct benefits from Burma's most valuable resources found in ethnic areas, including timber, jade, gemstones, gold, silver and other minerals. Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/world/ethnic-wars-cast-pall-over-burma-reforms-20111209-1onig.html#ixzz1g8rpUssO ---------------------------------------- Radio Australia News Concern about welfare of Burma's displaced people Last Updated: Sat, 10 Dec 2011 02:18:00 +1100 An international refugee rights group says it's gravely concerned for tens of thousands of displaced people in northern Burma. Refugees International says conflict in the area is intensifying between the government's army and ethnic rebels. It says the world community must address the escalating crisis in Kachin State, bordering China. Southeast Asia Advocate of Refugees International, Lynn Yoshikawa, says there is the potential for a serious humanitarian crisis with long-term implications. She says she is extremely concerned for at least 30-thousand displaced people estimated to be living in camps in rebel-controlled areas unable to be accessed by international aid agencies. http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/stories/201112/3388123.htm --------------------------------------- No peace talks, No humanitarian aid in Kachin State of Burma Sat, 2011-12-10 01:19 --- editor Myanmar By - Zin Linn 10, December (Asiantribune.com): Burma's namesake civilian government has been maneuvering war against the Kachin rebels incessantly, even though there are heavy casualties on its side. Starting from 9 June, the six-month long civil war claimed more than a thousand lives of government soldiers. The President Thein Sein government used to say that it has been trying to build a peaceful and developed country; in contrast the momentum of civil war is getting higher. So, the tongue of the government is not in harmony with the work of its armed forces. What is the government's goal launching the war against the Kachin rebels? Although, President Thein Sein has been speaking seriously about the national unity for several times, the wars against various ethnic groups carry on increasingly. If these wars go on in this way, the government's promises of building good governance as well as poverty alleviation seem to be in vain. Refugees International (RI), an independent humanitarian advocacy organization based in Washington, DC, recently completed an assessment of the impact of the Burma's political reform on various ethnic communities. The RI team traveled to Kachin, Karen and Mon states to meet primarily with local civil-society organizations, as well as with UN and INGO officials. The Refugees International's Lynn Yoshikawa said that during a two-week study tour in Myitkyina (Kachin state), Pa-an (Karen state) and Maw-la-myaing (Mon state) it has come across evidence of widespread human rights abuses especially in Kachin State, where the government armed forces has been fighting the Kachin Independence Organization for the last six months. The group's report appeared Friday at a press panel of Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in Bangkok, while international optimism on Burma's promise to political reforms has been rising. "Refugees International is really worried over the security of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), thousands of those are living in insufficient camps in KIO-controlled areas where the sanctuaries are sandwiched between the Tatmadaw (the government armed forces) and the KIO positions," said Lynn Yoshikawa, Refugees International's southeast Asia advocate. "The conflict zones in Kachin State seriously need both urgent humanitarian assistance and long-standing aid," she informed at a press conference in Bangkok, after a recent visit to Burma including Kachin state capital Myitkyina. Local sources on the ground in the Kachin state say that during past week the Kachin resistance has inflicted a large number of casualties on poorly trained Burmese government conscript troops, as the central government's offensive against the Kachin Independence Organization enters its seventh month. Reports from the frontline indicate that the Burmese army suffered significant losses in the Wuhtau Bum area, home to the headquarters of the KIA's Battalion No. 3. Reached by phone KIA officers in Wuhtau Bum claim their forces have strongly resisted the government's advance in the area, which is located in the Kachin Independence Army's Brigade No. 5. Quoting a Kachin resident in Sadung village under the control of KIA Battalion No. 3, the Kachin News Group said on Thursday that over a hundred government soldiers from Kalaw-based Light Infantry Division (LID) No. 55 were killed in skirmishing and several dozens wounded in the last 24 hours. He said that earlier in the week many more soldiers from the Magway-based Light Infantry Division No. 88 were killed in the same area, he estimated that at least two hundred Burmese soldiers had been killed in the area during the past week. Several soldiers from Kachin militia groups loyal to Burmese government were also among the dead, the villager added. As KIA has made use of guerrilla tactics, it suffered a few losses thus far. Last month representatives of President Thein Sein government and the KIO met twice for talks which have yet failed to reach a truce. The Burmese army continues sending troops to the area that seems the government wants to bring about a solution by means of military might. Aid workers in Kachin State estimated at least 30,000 people have escaped the fighting and are living in shelters with little access to international humanitarian assistance. It's a tragic that China has been unwilling to allow refugees or to let cross-border relief items to the Kachin area. According to Yoshikawa, international donors are disinclined to supply aid for cross-border operations due to the absence of the UN agencies in the area. After US Secretary of State Hillary Canton's extraordinary trip to Burma (Myanmar), observers and analysts are eager to know about how the nation will reconcile its greatest challenge to make peace with the armed ethnic groups. Recently, one ceasefire deal has been signed with the Restoration Council of Shan State / Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), commonly known as the SSA South which has never beforehand held a ceasefire treaty with the Burmese regime. But there are many things to be done so as to build a peaceful union of Burma and the way ahead is vague and blurred, especially in the Kachin state. -Asian Tribune-http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/12/09/no-peace-talks-no-humanitarian-aid-kachin-state-burma ------------------------------------------- December 10, 2011 14:29 PM Myanmar To Effectively Promote Human Rights YANGON, Dec 10 (Bernama) -- Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) issued a statement on Saturday which falls on International Human Rights Day to effectively fulfill its mandate of promoting and protecting human rights, Xinhua news agency reported. The statement stressed that the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) are an integral part of a democratic society, adding that the commission will contribute to democratisation process of the country to the best of its capacity. Myanmar, which became the 58th member of the United Nations in April in 1948, voted for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations General Assembly held in Paris in the same year, said the statement. The statement added that the constitution adopted in 2008 overwhelmingly by the people of the country also enshrines these fundamental human rights. Myanmar formed the 15-member MNHRC on Sept 5 this year, chaired by retired ambassador U Win Mra with other retired ambassadors and experts in different sectors as members, the statement said, adding that the commission is the first national level human rights body in Myanmar and the fifth of its kind in Asean, it added. Regarding protection of human rights, an announcement was made on Oct 4 for accepting complaints on violations of human rights. At present, the commission is planning to organise another workshop on awareness of child rights and human rights education in January in 2012 in cooperation with UNICEF in Myanmar, it added. -- BERNAMA http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsworld.php?id=633240 --------------------------------------- Outlook India.com/ south asia: myanmar The Burma Road Myanmar's clever route to integration, and India's possible role in it Pranay Sharma The image may become iconic, a visual representation of a decisive moment in the modern history of Myanmar---United States secretary of state Hillary Clinton warmly hugging Aung Sang Suu Kyi, the lady who has spent much of her political life demanding democratic freedoms and being incarcerated in answer. Since the much-celebrated embrace had the approval of the Myanmar government---though elected, it consists of several former generals---it has sparked off a furious debate: does 2011 mark the beginning of the end of Myanmar's isolation? What does the West's rapprochement with Naypyidaw mean for the region and the world? No wonder, foreign policy wonks in Delhi too are trying to foretell the future from their interpretation of Hillary's visit. They believe it expands Myanmar's foreign policy options and allows India to work with the West to check China's awesome clout in Myanmar. But there's a flip side---Washington's engagement with Naypyidaw will enable the US and its allies to seek investment opportunities in Myanmar. In such an eventuality, India is likely to lose the advantage of being among the few who do have an enviable economic presence there. Hillary's visit to Myanmar has to be seen in the context of America reinserting itself as a key player in Asia-Pacific, becoming a counterweight to a rising and assertive China, and rallying Asian countries under the banner of the Stars and Stripes. Former Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran says, "US engagement with Myanmar will promote the diversification of that country's foreign relations. This offers the best opportunity of preventing Chinese domination of its polity and economy." Saran is candid enough to admit: "India's own capabilities are not sufficient to sustain a strong and credible countervailing presence." Perhaps views such as Saran's assume an inherent rivalry in Sino-Indian relations. But there are others who have serious doubts about the possibility of countering China's clout in Myanmar. Aloke Sen, who till recently served as India's ambassador to Myanmar, says, "It's very difficult for the US or any other country to replace China's influence in Myanmar brick-by-brick." Sen points out that former Myanmarese generals, including president Thein Sein, are both "fearlessly nationalists" and "extremely pragmatic". These generals had fought against China when Beijing was supporting the ethnic insurgents in the country. Yet, as soon as the US and its allies turned against Myanmar in 1988 following the brutal suppression of popular pro-democratic protests there, the generals had no qualms in embracing China, which was the only country willing to support them diplomatically, politically and economically. Result: an exponential rise in Chinese influence. This sense of pragmatism was evident in the positive response of Myanmarese leaders to India's overtures, willing to overlook New Delhi's aloofness in the years after 1988. The leaders were also wary of putting all eggs in the Chinese basket. Wouldn't they display the same pragmatism towards the West? The only problem, says Sen, is America's extensive wishlist on democracy. "The Americans often get caught in the eloquence of their own statements, making it so much more difficult for countries like Myanmar to match," Sen explains. Already, there are differences in perceptions about what compelled Myanmar to opt for its version of glasnost. The West believes the release of Suu Kyi, greater political freedom to people, and elections---Suu Kyi is expected to fight for one of the 50 seats still to be contested---are consequences of the sanctions the West imposed on the country and its ability to cut off investments from the imf and the World Bank. They, therefore, feel the more pressure applied on Myanmar, the greater the chances of it restoring a full-fledged democracy. Others rubbish this school of thought, saying sanctions only compounded the hardship of the people and perpetuated the status quo in the country. For instance, Myanmarese historian Thant Myint-U, author of Where China meets India, told Outlook, "The positive changes taking place now are taking place in spite of the western sanctions, not because of them, and because Myanmar is that much connected to the world, through the internet, satellite TV, and the regular travel of tens of thousands of ordinary people to places like Thailand and Singapore, making it plain that the status quo was simply indefensible." Thant says Myanmar has tried for over two decades to end its international isolation, and managed to improve its ties with many countries in the region. "In fact, the American policy of trying to isolate Myanmar has failed spectacularly and only reinforced the status quo," he says. In other words, the failure of sanctions and Chinese assertion prompted the US to rethink its Myanmar policy. The possibility of the West lifting the sanctions means many western countries will rush to invest in Myanmar. This possibility is unlikely to please India, which has several road projects and an oil exploration contract. With the Indian private sector reluctant to invest in Myanmar, New Delhi has had no choice but to depend on the public sector for executing these projects. Shoddy work and time overruns have been India's unmistakable signature. About the private sector's reluctance, Saran tells Outlook, "Currently, India's corporate sector is inhibited from investing in Myanmar because US sanctions may impact their more important US-related operations." At its recent meeting, FICCI discussed threadbare the issue of investing in Myanmar, and with the changing political climate there, exuded confidence about Indian firms entering various sectors. Others feel India might have missed the bus already. To begin with, Indian public sector companies haven't really been an advertisement for India's engineering skills. Sen provides another reason: "With the opening up of Myanmar, more countries are likely to move in; it will then become a level-playing field for all. Indian businessmen and companies may then be left with just a symbolic advantage of being Myanmar's neighbour." Symbolism provides ballast to rhetoric, but lends little weight to hard business. India needs to act with professionalism and urgency. http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?279274 ---------------------------------------- Bangkok Post 'Humanitarian crisis' in Burma Published: 10/12/2011 at 12:32 AM Online news: A global campaign group expressed grave concern Friday for tens of thousands of displaced people in northern Burma, where conflict is intensifying between the government's army and ethnic rebels. A young Myanmar boy holds up a child at a camp for displaced people in the Irrawaddy Delta town of Labutta in 2008. A global campaign group has expressed grave concern for tens of thousands of displaced people in northern Myanmar, where conflict is intensifying between the government's army and ethnic rebels. Despite growing optimism over the pace of political reform in the military-dominated country, Refugees International called on the world community to address the escalating crisis in Kachin State, bordering China. "Tensions... are at boiling point with the potential for a serious humanitarian crisis with long-term implications," Lynn Yoshikawa, Southeast Asia Advocate of Refugees International, told reporters in Bangkok. She said her group was "extremely concerned" for at least 30,000 displaced people estimated to be living in camps in rebel-controlled areas, which international aid agencies are unable to access. "We feel that the evolving situation warrants particular concern from the international community," said Yoshikawa, who recently returned from two weeks in the country formerly known as Burma, including in Kachin. Burma has been riven by decades of civil war with various ethnic groups, but recent attempts to shake off its pariah state image have included bids to reach out to such guerrillas, who are fighting for greater autonomy and rights. This month a ceasefire deal was inked with one of the biggest militias still battling the regime, the Shan State Army South, and there are cautious hopes of forthcoming deals with other groups. But, although talks have been held with the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), "in the meantime the Tatmadaw (Burma military) is continuing to launch an offensive against the KIO", Yoshikawa said. She said rights abuses by both sides had been reported, with accusations against the Burma military including extrajudicial killings, use of child soldiers and rape. The KIO's army has allegedly used landmines and child soldiers, she added. On a landmark visit to the country last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for nationwide peace and welcomed what she said were efforts by the regime to resolve the ethnic conflicts. "People on the ground were not so hopeful that she would achieve anything from the military side," said Yoshikawa. http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/270100/humanitarian-crisis-looms-in-burma-activists -------------------------------------------- Rape Used as Military Weapon By Preethi Nallu BANGKOK, Dec 10, 2011 (IPS) - The Burmese army has been following a policy of systematically raping women and girls to subjugate the country's rebellious ethnic minorities, according to a new report. The latest conflict between the militant Kachin Independence Army and the Burmese military reveals widespread use of rape by the military as a psychological weapon. The Kachin Women's Association of Thailand (KWAT) reports that at least 37 women were raped by state soldiers over June and July alone when the fighting erupted. Women's rights groups operating along the Thai-Burma border have documented 81 cases of rape of women and girls over the course of eight months of fighting between the Burmese army and ethnic armed forces. Of these, 36 women were killed by the soldiers. Over the last decade the Women's League of Burma (WLB), an umbrella organisation for various ethnic women's groups, has documented hundreds of cases that suggest that rape is not a by-product of war but a deliberate strategy used by the military. "By looking at the nature of violations and the worsening situation during conflict, we can say with confidence that the military is precisely using rape as a weapon against women," Shirley Seng, founder of KWAT, told IPS. "Our aim is to collect information on sexual violence to understand the root causes and to publicise it to the international community," Seng explains. Seng is the widow of the founder of the militant Kachin Independence Organisation. "Whenever rape cases happen, we get information from our partners and we also go and interview the victims and conduct our own field investigations," she said. "How do we know that rape is being used as a weapon? Because the civilians who are attacked are told this by the soldiers attacking them," said Seng. Victims of rape may be in continuing danger not only from the perpetrators, who enjoy impunity, but also from their own communities due to the social stigma attached to rape, local reports reveal. Conflicts in northern and eastern Burma that erupted between the Burmese military and ethnic armed groups in the Shan and Kachin states in March and June are reported to have led to displacement of more than 30,000 civilians. Soldiers also regularly persecute the Rohingyas who are not recognised as citizens by the Burmese government, although they have lived in western Arakan state for generations with established roots, ties and property. Stories of displacement, violence and persecution involving ethnic minority communities such as the Karen, Shan and the Kachin have been commonplace since the formation of the Burmese state in 1948 when ethnic representatives demanded autonomy. When armed groups sprang up among these minorities the government responded by heavily militarising the homelands of these remote communities. Amongst the most vulnerable in this struggle are women. Sexual violence has been a constant theme among ethnic minority communities living along the borders of the country. There are continuing reports of deliberate displacement and intimidation, with women targeted as part of a campaign to weaken the social fabric of the different ethnic groups. "I was only four years old. My mother told me that we had to run away, otherwise they would kill us," says 21-year-old Rahima, describing her flight from her home in the western Arakan state. During her flight across the country to the Thai-Burma border Rahima, and others like her, sought refuge in railway stations that were often raided by the military. She describes soldiers taking away the "attractive" women who would be returned later with obvious physical injuries but hidden mental wounds as a result of sexual violence and torture. Rahima's sister was raped by Burmese soldiers. But due to the social stigma and ostracism that would follow in the local community, no one in her family spoke about the incident. "It is very shameful in my culture to talk about rape. In my whole time there, dozens of women were taken. Not one of them ever told of what had happened," said Rahima. Narratives resembling Rahima's are common in conflict zones where evidence suggests that the military uses rape as a psychological weapon to intimidate civilians, shame the men in the community, and to 'Burmanise' these populations by mixing bloodlines. It is difficult to verify how explicit 'orders to rape' from the state military could be. But what is verifiable is that renewed conflict situations have coincided with concurrent and drastic rise in sexual violence. Seng believes use of rape is not only encouraged but also ordered by Burmese military officials. Her peer at the WLB, Charm Tong, who leads the Shan Women's Action Network, co-authored the report 'License to Kill' in 2002, which documented 173 incidents of rape and other forms of sexual violence, involving 625 girls and women, committed by Burmese army troops in Shan state. Tong continues to travel to Shan, where she and her colleagues have documented cases of pregnant women and their daughters being raped inside their homes by state soldiers raiding villages. The International Criminal Court recognises rape, sexual slavery "or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity" as war crimes when committed as part of a systematic practice. WLB's goal is to mobilise support for an investigation by an international body to examine the trends, patterns and extent of sexual violence perpetrated by soldiers in Burma. Tomas Ojea Quintana, United Nations Human Rights rapporteur for Burma, expressed concern over "continuing human rights abuses such as forced labour, land confiscation and rape in ethnic minority communities," and called for an independent investigation commission during a visit to the country in September. Following Quintana's visit, the Burmese government set up the Myanmar (as Burma is also known) National Human Rights Commission to "safeguard the rights of its citizens" as announced in the state run newspaper 'New Light of Myanmar'. Rights groups point out that any accountability mechanism for crimes must be followed by a remedy process and that any permanent remedy can happen only when militarisation ends in these areas. (END) http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106173 --------------------------------------- ABC News Repression continues in Burma despite signs of change Updated December 10, 2011 11:13:00 Humanitarian organisations in Burma say they're still fighting against restrictions that prevent them from freely helping people in need. The desperately poor country has few basic services. And while there's hope that change is coming, so far there's been little improvement in people's lives. Zoe Daniel ELIZABETH JACKSON: Despite signs of change in Burma, humanitarian organisations say they're still battling government restrictions that prevent them from freely helping those who need it. Here's our South East Asia correspondent Zoe Daniel. ZOE DANIEL: It's perhaps the most basic symbol of human dignity, to be able to give and receive a proper send off from the world in the form of a funeral. But here in Burma, it's one of the many things that's been lost in repression and economic hardship - until now. "We cremate 45 to 50 bodies every single day" says Kyaw Thu, who was once Burma's most famous movie star and director. He's won two local academy awards. Now he's banned from acting by the government because of his humanitarian work. His group's delivered more than a million free funerals to the poor. "Our group's not an opposition party or political group but set up to help people" he says. "Even this kind of group like is not allowed, this is not democracy." ZOE DANIEL: Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi says access to the most basic rights and services for the country's people is a key motivation for bringing democracy to Burma. AUNG SAN SUU KYI: To help our country to develop its educational and health facilities, which are the basic needs of all our peoples. ZOE DANIEL: She discussed it with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who made an historic visit to the country earlier this month. HILLARY CLINTON: We want to see every child here given the chance for a good education, for the healthcare that he or she needs. ZOE DANIEL: Already nongovernment organisations have stepped in. Kyaw Thu's funeral service has now expanded to include adult education and a library. A free clinic serves hundreds each day; they line up from dawn to access healthcare. Yet in common with other NGOs here, the government still restricts the organisation's activities, refusing to grant official operating permits so staff risk arrest by defying the authorities. "Under the new government, people think there are many developments and changes," Kyaw Thu tells me. "But for social workers like us, there is no change at all." He says he won't act again, even if the ban is lifted. His role now is to give dignity to people - alive and dead. In Rangoon this is Zoe Daniel for Saturday AM. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-10/repression-continues-in-burma-despite-signs-of/3723942?section=world ------------------------------------------- Women in arms Sudha Menon (PERSON OF THE WEEK) 10 December 2011, 10:01 PMEven the most hardened cynic would not have remained unmoved by the biggest photo-op of the week just gone by, that of Hillary Rodham Clinton, possibly the worlds most powerful woman in terms of influence, gathering Myanmars pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a warm embrace. When the two met on the porch of the latters lakeside home where she has spent almost half of her life under house arrest by the military Junta, it was almost like two long-lost sisters or friends rediscovering each other. In reality, the two had only met once before the hug that grabbed worldwide media headlines at a one-to-one meeting over dinner in Kyis home, earlier that evening. Even if one grew up in the worlds largest democracy and the other in an oppressive regime where women have borne the brunt of the military rule for decades, both of them made their mark in this world with their single-minded determination. Hillary Clinton continued to have a career in law till a few days before she entered the White House as the First Lady, when husband Bill Clinton was elected President. And through her days in the White House, even when her marriage was rocked by a cringe-inducing sex scandal involving her husband, she worked consistently for the issues close to her, such as childrens rights and womens empowerment. That role continues today when she travels around the world as the 67th US Secretary of State and the first former First Lady to hold that office. Suu Kyis life has been one of struggle, largely confined to her lakeside residence where her political opponents have kept her prisoner for over 15 years. One can only imagine the trauma of a woman who was kept away from her husband and children who lived outside the country and were deprived of her care. The world waited and watched along with a silently strong Kyi when it was known in 1997 that her husband, Dr Michael Aris, was dying from cancer. The Burmese government refused to let him entry into the country and a defiant Kyi declined to travel abroad, fearing she would not be let back in. Dr Aris passed away in 1999 without meeting his wife to say his final saying good bye. Can one lifetime erase the pain of a lone woman who had to go through that torture? But Suu Kyi was made of sterner stuff, as she has shown in the years after that. Slowly but steadily and despite the fact that she has had little contact with her political supporters within Burma, her influence has been growing within and outside of her country and the ruling military dictatorship has now, finally, agreed to make changes that will set the country on the way to democracy. Hillary Clintons visit, the first ever by any US diplomat in almost 50 years, could well mark the beginning of a new era for the Burmese who are hoping things will change for the better. Will that happen soon? We dont know but going by the determined stance of the two women who stood addressing the world media, talking about their agenda for a new Myanmar, we think this could be the beginning of something bright. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/expressions/2011/December/expressions_December13.xml§ion=expressions ---------------------------------------------- China tells Kachin refugees: go home Friday, 09 December 2011 22:16 Phanida Chiang Mai (Mizzima) -- Chinese authorities on Friday told Kachin war refugees in La Ying in Yunnan Province to return to Burma. Four Chinese officials came to a camp located opposite Momauk Township in Kachin State where more than 2,000 Kachin refugees stay and told them to return home, according to Dwe P Sar, a civilian official with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) relief committee. A temporary camp for Kachin refugees who have fled from the renewed fighting by the government and Kachin Independence Army in Kachin State. Photo: Human Rights Watch A temporary camp for Kachin refugees who have fled from the renewed fighting by the government and Kachin Independence Army in Kachin State. Photo: Human Rights Watch "We replied that the villagers were just taking refuge at their relative's home for security reasons, and they would decide by themselves whether they returned home or not," said Dwe P Sar. Refugees in camps in Laiza, Mai Ja Yang and Manwin on the Sino-Burmese border now number about 45,000, he said. Friday marks six months since the fighting between the KIO and the government started. In the past six months, there were more than 800 battles between the KIO and government troops, according to the KIO. "Up until now, we've supported the refugees as much as we can. Now, the number of refugees is increasing. If we don't get international aid, we'll start to worry," Dwe P Sar said. Most of the relief aid has come from religious organizations, the Kachin in Burma and in foreign countries and businessmen. The Burmese government has not allowed help from local NGOs and international organizations, according to local aid workers. Many refugees are frustrated, said one aid worker. "They have run out of food because not enough organizations help. As time goes by, they feel upset. They don't want to stay here. So, they hope for peace. They thought that the fighting would be for a short time, but now we need to make plans for the long run," he told Mizzima. In November, the KIO and the government held peace talks, but they have failed to reach agreement. http://www.mizzima.com/special/kachin-battle-report/6267-china-tells-kachin-refugees-go-home.html ------------------------------------------- Bloomberg Myanmar Seeks 'Win-Win-Win' in Balancing U.S.-China Competition December 09, 2011, 2:26 PM EST By Daniel Ten Kate Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Myanmar aims to leverage friendly relations with both the U.S. and China to grow one of Asia's smallest economies and boost incomes in the region, according to an adviser to President Thein Sein. China welcomes greater U.S. engagement with Myanmar because a wealthier neighbor would lift the economic growth of Yunnan province and other inland areas, Nay Zin Latt, one of nine advisers who meet Thein Sein "frequently," said in a Dec. 3 interview a day after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton completed the highest-level U.S. visit to Myanmar in 56 years. "I'm going for a win-win-win situation," Nay Zinn Latt said in his Yangon office. "China wants us to be more developed. Our country is the gateway to the sea from Yunnan. If we are rich, Yunnan will be rich too. If we are poor, China can only get raw materials." China's landlocked southwest province of Yunnan adjoins Myanmar. During her visit, Clinton offered a path to ease sanctions that have been in place for more than 20 years and have left Myanmar dependent on neighbors China, India and Thailand, which have poured more than $25 billion into ports, power plants, and oil and gas pipelines. Myanmar's moves to roll back more than five decades of military rule have provided the U.S. an opening to rebuild political and economic ties as President Barack Obama shifts his foreign policy focus to Asia. "It's not that Myanmar veered toward China in recent decades," said Thant Myint-U, a former United Nations official who has written two books on Myanmar. "It's that Western governments, as part of a democratic regime-change strategy, have imposed sanctions that have left the country entirely open to economic influence from just one direction." Dam Opposition Thein Sein surprised China, the U.S. and his own citizens in September when he suspended a $3.6 billion dam being built with China Power Investment Corp. The "very popular" decision was based on domestic opposition and doesn't mean other Chinese investments are at risk, Nay Zinn Latt said. "The dam is big, but it's one project among hundreds with China and cannot damage relations," he said. "The key thing is assessment. With every project, we should disclose the advantages and disadvantages. If the advantages are more and it benefits our country, we should do it." China National Petroleum Corp. is building oil and gas pipelines across Myanmar, a move that would allow it to access Middle Eastern crude without having to go through the Malacca Straits. China, Hong Kong and Thailand account for more than 70 percent of total investment into Myanmar, compared with less than one percent for the U.S., according to government statistics. Sanctions U.S. sanctions ban imports, restrict money transfers, curb aid funding and target jewelry with gemstones originating in Myanmar. Chevron Corp., based in San Ramon, California, is one of the few U.S. companies operating in Myanmar through its 2005 purchase of Unocal Corp., which invested in a gas field and pipeline prior to a 1997 ban on new investment. Thein Sein has freed hundreds of political prisoners, eased censorship and sought a dialogue with democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi since taking office in February. Clinton said the release of another 1,000 dissidents still locked up would serve as an "important test" of his commitment to reforms. Clinton's offer on Dec. 3 to assist groups providing microcredit, health care and English-language training in Myanmar "is an indication that sanctions will be lifted," Nay Zinn Latt said. "Imposing sanctions is not so difficult but lifting them takes time." China Positive Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Dec. 1 his country was developing relations with Myanmar "across the board." He also said the leadership in Beijing hopes Myanmar and western countries "enhance and improve relations," a statement Suu Kyi said made her "very pleased." China's comment "shows that we have the support of the whole world," Suu Kyi said during a joint appearance with Clinton on Dec. 2 at her lakeside Yangon home, where she spent most of the past two decades under house arrest. "I'm particularly pleased because we hope to maintain good, friendly relations with China, our very close neighbor." Yunnan province has an economy twice the size of Myanmar, whose 62 million people are among Asia's poorest. China and India, which account for more than a third of the world population, share more than 3,600 kilometers (2,237 miles) of border with Myanmar. "We cannot move away from China or India, and we shouldn't move away," Nay Zin Latt said. "Our duty is to find the best way of dealing with everyone to benefit the country." --Editors: Peter Hirschberg, Tony Jordan To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Yangon at dtenkate@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-09/myanmar-seeks-win-win-win-in-balancing-u-s-china-competition.html

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