News &Articles on Burma Tuesday, 28 February 2012 ----------------------------------------------- Thein Sein: Reformist or Caretaker? E.U. delegation to meet Suu Kyi 88-generation students volunteer to help end Kachin conflict U.N. should consider commission of inquiry on Burma: AI Teenager ‘tortured, forced into sex trade’ Exiled media weigh up return to Burma Myanmar relaxes grip on media, vows end to censors Outside vote monitors to observe Burmese election Burmese army officers deny arrest of missing Kachin woman Hu Lost Burma ----------------------------------------------- Thein Sein: Reformist or Caretaker? By AUNG ZAW / THE IRRAWADDY Tuesday, February 28, 2012 This is the final part of a three-part series. Part one is here, and part two is here. If meeting with Suu Kyi was the act that convinced many that Thein Sein was serious about at least some degree of reform, then his decision to suspend work on the China-funded Myitsone Dam project was what helped dispel the notion that he was weak and indecisive. The decision was a slap in the face to China, Burma’s giant neighbor and traditional ally that for years had shielded the Burmese regime from UN Security Council censure debates and international condemnation. But Thein Sein was rewarded for his audacity, because the move brought him domestic accolades, served as a signal to the West that Burma wanted to balance out its relationship with China and significantly increased the momentum for his reforms. “Despite his tender appearance outside, he is usually a man of determination,” said presidential adviser Ko Ko Hlaing. “After consideration, he keeps his decisions steadfastly.” However, some critics have noted that many other Chinese-funded and controlled mega-projects, including other Irrawaddy River dam projects and a gas pipeline and railway line to China’s Yunnan Province, remained untouched. There are also skeptics who continue to argue that all of the steps Thein Sein and his government have taken were a façade meant to gain the 2014 Asean chair and get Western sanctions lifted and international investment flowing into domestic businesses controlled by the ex-junta leaders and their cronies. From the very beginning of his administration, Thein Sein has made no secret of the fact that one of his main goals was to forge good relations with Burma’s most vocal international critic, the US. From that point of view, his Myitsone gambit worked brilliantly to convince Washington that not only was he capable of making a break with the past, but also that he had something to offer. In an op-ed in The Washington Post, Zaw Htay, the director of the president's office, made it clear that the Myitsone decision was not just about environmental concerns or the “will of the people,” as Thein Sein had said when he announced the suspension of the project. “My president’s cancellation of the Beijing-backed Myitsone Dam signaled to the world what he stands for,” wrote Zaw Htay. “If the United States neglects this opportunity, Washington will part ways with the new order in the Indochina region.” He added: “What the West must realize is that in today’s geopolitical situation, particularly given the rise of China, it needs Myanmar.” By playing the China card so effectively—and at the same time demonstrating to China that Burma couldn't be taken for granted—Thein Sein greatly strengthened his hand, albeit at considerable risk to a relationship that remains crucial to Burma's future and, possibly, his own hold on power. Even as he signaled a desire to move Burma away from its excessive dependence on Beijing, Thein Sein was careful to give China pride of place among the country's strategic partners. China was his first destination after coming into office, followed by India. He also moved to cement ties with the rest of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), hoping to use the grouping to enhance the legitimacy of his government, which after all owed its existence to an election widely dismissed as neither free nor fair. In November, Thein Sein did in fact convince Asean to grant Burma its 2014 chair, and on the heels of that decision US President Barack Obama announced that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would become the first top US diplomat to visit Burma in over 50 years. But while her visit itself gave the new government another injection of legitimacy, Clinton held the line and said that sanctions would not be lifted until further reforms were made. That tough stance was later rewarded with the release of hundreds of political prisoners—a long-time demand of Washington and the West. On Jan. 13, some of Burma's most famous dissidents, including Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Gambira, were freed in yet another signal that Thein Sein was listening to his critics, both at home and overseas. But there have also been signs that he is now facing real opposition from other quarters. Despite his public call on the Burmese military to end its offensive in Kachin State, attacks on the Kachin Independence Army continue to this day. When asked recently about the discrepancy, Ko Ko Hlaing noted that the army's chief, Gen Min Aung Hlaing, is a member of the NDSC and added that “Our country is no longer an autocratic state as before.” These comments cryptically implied that Thein Sein has no personal power to tell the Burmese military to refrain from anything. But many foreign visitors who have met Thein Sein have described him as impressive, in his own quiet but commanding way. He has shown that he is a good listener, and in spite of hardline and moderate divisions in the government, insiders say he is still very much in control. One story goes that when he saw a news report published in both The Irrawaddy and the Bangkok Post suggesting that Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo was constantly undermining him and perhaps gearing up for a military coup, Thein Sein simply asked his staff to bring him extra copies of the news article. He then pinned a short note to the clippings and sent them over to the vice-president's office. No one knew what was written in the short note, but many in his office assumed that he politely asked the first vice president to read the article. According to officials in Naypyidaw, Thein Sein has since brought Tin Aung Myint Oo into his camp. But the question is whether the military is fully behind the president and his reform process. Several ministers are also sitting on the fence, waiting to see how the power struggle between the hardline and reform factions plays out. Informed sources said that some members of the NDSC do not support the president. In any event, Thein Sein remains an enigma. He is a man who has demonstrated some admirable qualities while acting as one of the leaders of a brutally immoral regime. He is also a man who has spent his adult life obeying the military chain-of-command in an authoritarian junta who now purports to head up a civilian government on the path towards democracy. Finally, he is the man who most believe represents the Burmese people’s best hope for internal government reform, while remaining closely connected to those who wish to remain in absolute power. Under these circumstances, the Burmese people should receive understanding for their continued insistence that it is the actions of Thein Sein’s government, rather than his personal words, that will convince them that he is the real deal when it comes to reforms. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=23107 ------------------------------------------------ E.U. delegation to meet Suu Kyi Tuesday, 28 February 2012 14:56 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – In another example of the West reaching out to Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi will receive her first European delegation of lawmakers on Wednesday in Rangoon. The European Parliament members said they welcomed recent positive developments in Burma, and they will invite Suu Kyi to address the European Parliament at a later date. The delegation, led by Werner Langen of Germany will visit the newly elected Burmese Parliament to establish formal inter-parliamentary relations, meet with President Thein Sein, various ministers, representatives of civil society and members of the opposition. The European Parliament is expected to vote on removing more E.U. sanctions against Burma sometime after the April 1 by-election, and also to consider implementing more humanitarian aid packages. E.U. Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs announced on February 13 the release of a US$ 200 million aid package to Burma, earmarked to benefit the health, education and infrastructure. Piebalgs said President Thein Sein had noted in their meeting that in spite of major reforms in Burma, the EU sanctions were still in place. Piebalgs said he told the president that if the April 1 by-elections were free and fair, “then everyone would expect the easing of sanctions to continue.” An end to E.U. sanctions would require the consensus of 27 EU countries, something that is “not such an easy thing to achieve,” Piebalgs said. Reports from Brussels said that on April 23, E.U. foreign ministers would explore the possibility of a substantial reduction of sanctions on Burma. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in early February on signed a partial waiver on restrictions that will allow the U.S. to support assessment missions and limited technical assistance by international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, in Burma. The assessments by international financial institutions will provide means to gain a greater understanding of Burma’s economic situation, particularly its severe poverty alleviation needs and capacity gaps. The waiver was important in light of Burma’s need to create a banking and foreign exchange system in line with international standards and to reform its economic structure. Currently, it is working with the IMF, which is assessing its economic structure. Burma’s relationship with the U.S. has evolved rapidly in the past several months to the point where the U.S. is now considering reinstating a modest aid program and not oppose moves by the International Monetary Fund and other key bodies to offer assistance to Burma as it attempts to emerge from two decades of isolation. Burma’s hope is that the U.S. and other countries will lift economic sanctions, which were put in place after the former military regime attacked and killed hundreds of peaceful demonstrators in 1988 and began a systematic imprisonment of pro-democracy activists. The Associated Press reported that during Clinton’s meeting with President Thein Sein he outlined his government's plans for reform in a 45-minute presentation in which he acknowledged that Burma lacked a recent tradition of democracy and openness. He asked for U.S. help in making the transition from military to full civilian rule. At the time, Clinton was quoted as saying: “We’re not at the point yet where we can consider lifting sanctions. But any steps that the government takes will be carefully considered and will be matched.” http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/6667-eu-delegation-to-meet-suu-kyi.html --------------------------------------------- 88-generation students volunteer to help end Kachin conflict Tuesday, 28 February 2012 16:52 Ko Pauk New Delhi (Mizzima) – The 88-Generation students who arrived at Myitkyina in Kachin State on Thursday have offered to help broker a peace deal between ethnic groups and the government. The group issued a statement to the media titled “Myitkyina Echo for Peace in Kachin State.” The four-point statement said that greater cooperation is needed between all parties to allow humanitarian relief supplies to reach displaced refugees as quickly as possible. According to the statement, the 88-Generation students believe the country’s problems are two fold: ethnic issues that prevent nationwide peace and the lack of sufficient economic development throughout the country. Only with peace can economic development progress, it said. The statement acalled on both sides “to hold a political dialogue as soon as possible to end the civil war and to establish genuine peace.” Mya Aye, a member of the 88-Generation student group, said the group, which is comprised of many former political prisoners, is ready to mediate between the Burmese government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) to achieve a cease-fire in Kachin State. National League for Democracy chairman Aung San Suu Kyi, who campaigned in Namti in Kachin State on Thursday, has also offered to mediate between the two sides. Fighting resumed in mid-summer and negotiations between the two sides has progressed slowly. Up to 50,000 war refugees are estimated to have been displaced by fighting in ethnic areas. So far, only a small amount of organized international aid has been allowed access to the refuges. The group’s leaders were invited to visit Myitkyina Township to attend a prayer ceremony to mark the suspension of the Myitsone Dam Project. An organizer told Mizzima that 88-generation students and Rangoon journalists were invited because the two groups were involved in activities urging the government to stop the dam project. “Their visit will mean that Kachin war refugees might receive their help. They were involved in activities urging [the government] to stop the dam. I hope that they can be involved in activities to try to establish peace in Kachin State,” an organizer said. Mya Aye told Mizzima that 16 leaders of the 88-Generation group, including Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Htay Kywe, Min Zeya and Jimmy have expressed support and sympathy for the war refugees. “Our objective is not just to attend the ceremony. Although we don’t have any money or materials to give to the war refugees, we can give them mental support,” Mya Aye said. http://www.mizzima.com/special/kachin-battle-report/6668-88-generation-students-volunteer-to-help-end-kachin-conflict.html ----------------------------------------------- U.N. should consider commission of inquiry on Burma: AI Tuesday, 28 February 2012 12:38 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – Burma’s human rights situation has improved notably in some respects but it has significantly worsened in others, Amnesty International (AI) said this week. It called for the U.N. to seriously consider a commission of inquiry to investigate war crimes and systematic human rights abuses. amnesty-international-logoFreedoms of assembly and expression remain restricted, and hundreds of political prisoners and many prisoners of conscience remain in jail. In several ethnic minority areas, the army continues to commit violations of international human rights and humanitarian law against civilians, including acts that may constitute crimes against humanity or war crimes, AI said in a statement submitted to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday. “Many of these reported crimes are taking place despite cease-fire agreements between the Myanmar army and the relevant ethnic minority armed groups,” AI said in its statement. “In some cases, the cease-fire is not being obeyed, while in others serious human rights violations continue even when the fighting has stopped.” Civilians have been a target of the Burmese army, the statement said. It cited “credible accounts” of the army using prison convicts as porters, forcing them to act as human shields and minesweepers. In Kachin State, where at least 55,000 people have been internally displaced since fighting resumed in mid-2011, AI said sources reported extrajudicial executions, children killed by shelling and other indiscriminate attacks, forced labour, and unlawful confiscation of food and property. Human rights violations are not confined to the conflict zones, as evidenced by reports of forced labour on a large scale in Chin and Rakhine states (usually targeting the Rohingya ethnic minority in the latter), it said. It said that in May 2011, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma referred to evidence that the armed forces continue to commit serious and systematic violations with impunity. AI said Burma’s civilian government “has not taken any meaningful steps toward holding suspected perpetrators of human rights violations accountable.” The Investigation and prosecution of human rights violations and crimes against humanity are obstructed by Article 445 of the 2008 Constitution, which stipulates that “no proceeding” may be instituted against officials of the military governments since 1988 “in respect of any act done in the execution of their respective duties.” AI called for the U.N. to “seriously consider the establishment of an international commission of inquiry.” In an early February statement, Ojea Quintana stressed that moving forward on Burma cannot ignore or whitewash what happened in the past, and that acknowledging the violations suffered will be necessary to ensure national reconciliation and prevent future violations from occurring. AI noted that ethnic minorities make up approximately 35-40 per cent of Burma’s population, including people of Chinese and Indian ethnicities. According to the government, there are at least 135 different ethnic nationalities in Burma, but the exact number is difficult to determine conclusively. “There is clear evidence that Myanmar’s authorities often target members of ethnic minorities on discriminatory grounds, such as religion or ethnicity, or seek to crush their opposition to major development projects that adversely affect their lands and livelihoods,” the AI statement said. In addition, the government often suppresses social organizations, including groups focused around religion or ethnic identity that are outside its authority and control. Some minorities’ ethnic identity in Burma is closely related to their association with a religion other than the majority Buddhism; this generally means Islam for most Rohingya, and Christianity for many Chin, Kachin, and Karen. The Rohingya ethnic minority is particularly exposed to human rights violations, as they are singled out in practice and law, with discrimination against them codified. “Under the 1982 Citizenship Law, they are denied citizenship and thus are de facto and de jure stateless,” AI said. “The international community must improve its understanding of the aspirations of Myanmar’s ethnic minorities generally and give greater attention to addressing the needs of these minorities in discussions of the country’s human rights situation,” said the statement. Amnesty International urged the U.N. HRC to: – Support the establishment of an international commission of inquiry with a specific fact-finding mandate to address the question of international crimes in Burma; – Renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma for a three-year term. – Call on the government of Burma to: – Immediately cease violations of international human rights and humanitarian law against ethnic minority civilians, both in conflict and ceasefire areas; – Hold perpetrators of human rights violations accountable; – Release immediately and unconditionally all prisoners of conscience, including Khun Kawrio and Ko Aye Aung, and release political prisoners or charge them with an internationally recognizable criminal offence and try them in full conformity with international standards for fair trial; – Seek assistance from the United Nations in convening a panel to reconcile differences in numbers and definitions of political prisoners; – In full consultation with the UN and Burma civil society, amend or repeal laws used to stifle peaceful political expression, and reform the justice system; – End immediately torture and other ill-treatment and punishment during interrogation and in prisons; – Bring prison conditions in line with international standards; –Cooperate fully with U.N. human rights treaty bodies and Special Procedures, including the Special Rapporteur on Burma; –Ratify and effectively implement core U.N. human rights treaties and their optional protocols and the Rome Statute of the International Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/6665-un-should-consider-commission-of-inquiry-on-burma-ai.html ----------------------------------------------- Teenager ‘tortured, forced into sex trade’ By NAW NOREEN Published: 28 February 2012 Location of Kyaunggon in Irrawaddy, where the teenager was forced into prostitution (DVB) A 17-year-old girl has filed a complaint with the International Labour Organisation in Rangoon in which she claims she was forced to become a sex worker by her aunt and uncle, who duped her parents into allowing them to care for the teenager. The girl, from the Irrawaddy division town of Kyaunggon, who has not been named, told DVB that the case was lodged with the ILO on Monday after she received assistance from the National League for Democracy party. “Basically she [aunt] was selling me for prostitution,” the girl said. “She took money from men and forced me go with them and I didn’t get a penny of it. I wasn’t even given time to rest – I was taken out [for prostitution work] every night.” She claims she was made to sleep with six to 10 clients each day on average. On two separate occasions she tried to escape. “I tried to run twice and they caught me and beat me up and threatened to stab me to death. They choked my neck and kicked me. In the end I ran and they have been harassing me since. I want action taken on them.” Thet Wai, ILO liaison officer at the NLD, said the girl was forced to endure this treatment for five months before escaping on 24 February. Included in the complaint are allegations that policemen from the local Kyaunggon stationed also paid the aunt for the girl’s services. The ILO’s mandate in Burma covers forced labour, although the majority of complaints it receives concern government recruitment of civilians to work on infrastructure projects or for portering in the army. The government last year gave the nod to form a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) tasked with dealing with complaints from civilians, although with a make-up that includes former government officials, its impartiality has been questioned. Asked why the girl did not approach the NHRC prior to the ILO, Thet Wai said that the body is “not really reliable”, and that it was formed to give the government a “political advantage” in its dealings with western nations. “They don’t have the authority or the will to help.” http://www.dvb.no/news/teenager-%E2%80%98tortured-forced-into-sex-trade%E2%80%99/20474 --------------------------------------------- Exiled media weigh up return to Burma By AFP Published: 28 February 2012 As censorship eases in Burma and the press tastes long-suppressed freedom, exiled media groups are weighing up the risks of a return to cover the dramatic changes in their country from within. Not long ago, working for one of them could result in a lengthy prison sentence if caught inside the army-dominated nation, but the past year’s political openings have turned recent pipe dreams into real ambitions. Exiled reporting groups want permission to return to Burma, also known as Myanmar — but only when they are sure there will be no turning back on the new regime’s radical steps towards reforms. “It is our dream to publish a publication or online magazine inside Burma. I hope it will happen soon,” said Aung Zaw, the founder of the Irrawaddy news Web site based in neighboring Thailand. The journalist has just completed his first trip to Burma since he escaped after a popular uprising in 1988 was brutally crushed by the junta. This time, he came back charmed. “I think the authorities will consider my proposal if we want to publish inside Burma,” he said. Over the past year the government of former general Thein Sein, which took over from the junta in March, has overseen dramatic political reforms, including in the media. Censorship, already softened, will supposedly disappear. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, released from house arrest in late 2010, has crept on to the front pages, while exiled media Web sites are no longer blocked. Even imprisoned journalists from the Democratic Voice of Burma, a broadcasting group based in Oslo, were all released in January in a mass amnesty for political prisoners. For the exiles, what remains is the strategic question of timing. According to Aung Zaw, senior journalists have suggested to the Irrawaddy to “remain here in Thailand until 2015” to ensure the reforms are well entrenched. “Laws that restrict press freedom are still there,” so “it is too risky” for them to go back now, said Maung Maung Myint, chairman of the Burma Media Association based in Oslo, whose members are mostly exiled journalists. In Burma’s capital of Naypyidaw, the Ministry of Information says that the way is clear. Ye Htut, the ministry’s director general, told AFP that there was “no restriction” on the media in exile. “We only ask for fair and balanced reporting,” he said. But the new press legislation under development is limited to print media. Even if the law enters into force, “pluralism and good practices will still be missing,” noted Benjamin Ismail, head of the Asia bureau at media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in Paris. In terms of press freedom, Burma is still ranked just 169th among 179 countries, according to an index by RSF published in January. Exiled media therefore have no choice but to take things step by step. The editor of Mizzima, a news agency based in India, told the Burma Times that, similar to the Irrawaddy, it was “ready to set up our office in Yangon.” As for the DVB, the first step is “legalizing DVB’s operation in the country” and preventing further arrests, according to its deputy director Khin Maung Win. The government is closely linked to the previous military rulers, who “treated DVB as the enemy,” he said. Although the group is still considered illegal, the new regime has behaved differently, for example by accepting interview requests from DVB reporters. Ultimately, the exiles’ return seems inevitable if decades of military rule really are consigned to the history books. “The exiled Burmese media will simply fade away when Burma has become a truly democratic society,” said the Burma Media Association’s Maung Maung Myint. Meanwhile, international donors who are increasingly tempted to favor projects inside the country must continue to support them, he argued. DVB, which has already experienced financial problems linked to an embezzlement scandal, has only found 10 percent of its $3.5 million budget for 2012. “DVB donors are excited with the changes in Burma and like to switch their support to inside Burma, rather than outside,” said Khin Maung Win. Whatever their future role, the contributions of these experienced English speakers will be crucial for a country where the main newspaper, The New Light of Burma, remains a dogmatic mouthpiece of the regime. “They have said that they wanted us to do some training and introduce quality standards of journalism,” said Aung Zaw. “If they are serious, I’m ready.” http://www.dvb.no/news/exiled-media-weigh-up-return-to-burma/20483 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Myanmar relaxes grip on media, vows end to censors By TODD PITMAN Associated Press YANGON, Myanmar -- It was a newspaper article that just months ago, Myanmar's draconian state censors never would have approved. It told how prison authorities crudely attempted to cure a scabies outbreak by wiping down naked inmates with medicine-laden brooms - a demeaning act that revealed the poverty of the nation's prisons and the decrepit state of its health care system. "In the past it would've been a very dangerous thing to publish," said Zaw Thet Htwe, who wrote the story and was a political prisoner himself until last month. "It wasn't allowed." But in a sign of just how much is changing in this long-oppressed nation, it was allowed. The article was not only published this month in the Health Journal, a Yangon-based weekly, but it hit the streets without having to be reviewed first by the government's infamous censorship body, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department. Journalists have been jailed, beaten and blacklisted for decades in Myanmar, and the government continues to censor reporting about politics and other subjects it deems sensitive. But since last year, when the nation's long-entrenched military junta stepped down, censorship has ended on subjects such as health, entertainment, fashion and sports, and reporters are testing the limited freedom that has begun to emerge. Today, images of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, once a highly taboo figure, routinely appear on the front pages of everything except state-controlled media. And the days of buying foreign publications, only to find sensitive stories cut out, are over. "It's much more relaxed," said Thiha Saw, chief editor of a news weekly called Open News, who said he's now able to write freely about fires, murders and natural disasters - all prohibited at various times in the past. The government has gone even further, promising to abolish censorship altogether once the parliament approves a new media law later this year. The legislation, currently being drafted, would effectively allow Myanmar's independent press to publish on a daily basis for the first time in decades. As recently as last fall, the future of journalism seemed grim in this Southeast Asian nation, which is also known as Burma. Reporters were still subjected to routine state surveillance, phone taps and censorship so intense that many were forced to work anonymously, undercover. In January, Reporters Without Borders ranked the country a lowly 169 out of 179 nations in its annual press freedom survey. Few expected much change when the junta ceded power last March. The new government, dominated by a clique of retired officers, had risen to power in an election widely considered neither free nor fair. But in an inaugural speech, President Thein Sein promised sweeping democratic reform, and vowed to "respect the role of the media, the fourth estate." In June, the government quietly began removing blocks on once-banned foreign news websites. It also began allowing international newspapers and magazines to be sold without sensitive sections cut out. Exiled reporters, for decades among the country's most fervent critics, have been allowed to return and report freely, along with once-blacklisted correspondents from foreign news organizations, including The Associated Press. "Things are moving in the right direction," the Committee to Protect Journalist's Southeast Asia representative, Shawn W. Crispin, said Tuesday in Bangkok. But he added, "The reforms we've seen are just scratching the surface. By any objective measure, Burma's media is still among the most repressed in the world." Nine reporters have been freed this year, but three remain behind bars, he said. While "publications have been allowed to put Suu Kyi on the cover and report some of the things she says ... there are plenty of areas the press is not allowed to venture into, including any critical reporting of the ongoing conflict" between ethnic Kachin insurgents and the army in the north. Saw, the Open News editor, said a team of around 50 government censors still spikes about 10 percent of the content in his 30-page journal each week. But even that is progress. In the past, he said, censors were not averse to scrapping entire editions. "We don't really expect freedom of expression in a few months or a few years," the bespectacled journalist told the AP in an interview in his small Yangon office, where a poster of Suu Kyi hangs on the wall. Censorship has been in place in Myanmar one way or another since a 1962 military coup, he said, and "we still have a long, long way to go." Now, writing about peace talks between the government and ethnic rebels is OK, Saw said, but stories about fighting between them are not. Pictures of refugees aren't allowed, and neither are articles about past crimes or corruption allegedly committed by ruling party officials. Also taboo: stories about student activists (like the ones who rose up in 1988) and monks (like the ones who rose up in 2007). When dissident monk Shin Gambira was briefly detained by authorities earlier this month, "that story was killed, too," Saw said in an email Monday. "We just keep on pushing." U Tint Swe, Myanmar's censorship boss, told the AP that censorship had historically been needed to maintain stability. But he said such edicts will be a soon be a thing of the past. "Once the press law is out, there will be no need for the press scrutiny department at all," Swe said. Journalists here are looking forward to the freedom to write freely, but they worry, too. The end of censorship will remove government responsibility for the printed press, leaving reporters liable for prosecution. Some laws that have been used to sentence journalists to long jail terms will also remain on the books. Crispin said that as long as the recent, sweeping reforms are not enacted into law, reporters will remain "skeptical that the regime could yank the rug out from under them any time down the road." And indeed, progress could easily be reversed. Suu Kyi and other opposition politicians are running in parliamentary by-elections in April, but only a few dozen seats are up for grabs and the current government is assured of staying in power until national elections in 2015. Htwe said he wrote his article about the prison "in a very careful manner, very mildly, so the government would not be offended." He had special reason to be concerned. Htwe was one of hundreds of political prisoners released in a Jan. 13 amnesty, and the article was his first since going back to work. In 2008, he was sentenced to 19-year jail term, in part for distributing a video of local donors handing out aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis. The natural disaster killed about 140,000 people, but journalists were only allowed to report official state statistics about the devastation. Some journalists in Myanmar suspect the government is less interested in freedom for journalists than it is in ending Western economic sanctions. "They want the international community to think there is press freedom here," Htwe said. "But I feel that all these changes that are being made, they aren't coming from the heart. They aren't sincere." Posted on Tue, Feb. 28, 2012 01:45 AM Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/28/3456363/myanmar-relaxes-grip-on-media.html#storylink=cpy ---------------------------------------------- Outside vote monitors to observe Burmese election Tuesday, 28 February 2012 14:31 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – Burma has not requested United Nations monitors or assistance in the April 1 bi-elections, but the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is planning to send election observers to monitor the process from the outside, U.N. special envoy Vijay Nambiar told reporters in New York on Monday. He said Burma’s by-elections would be closely watched from the outside to get an idea of the impartiality and fairness of the process. The U.N. would likely be involved in assisting in the 2015 national elections, he told reporters at a U.N headquarters press conference after returning from a five-day visit to Burma. Responding to a question, Nambiar said he had not met with any military generals, but had discussed ethnic peace issues with relevant groups and academics. He said he talked with the government minister who dealt with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), and he had met with the Union Peace Committee, which seemed confident that peace issues with the KIO would be addressed. He said the Burma’s commitment in the signing of key cease-fire agreements and meetings with stakeholder groups were among the key factors in his urging greater humanitarian and technical support by the West. The dramatic positive changes in Burma ove the past year had demonstrated “an unprecedented level of initiative”, he said. However, Burma was only at the beginning of its transition, he added, noting that this was his fourth visit in the past year. While international support was needed, the onus rested on the Burmese government to ensure further positive developments to bring about real improvements to the lives of its people, he said. The first test of that commitment would be the coming by-elections in April for 48 seats in Parliament, which would test the government’s ability to enhance the democratic process. He said a similar commitment was needed to further social and economic development, as well as peace and reconciliation efforts. But chances for continued progress meant that “the international community must respond robustly to people’s needs by lifting current restrictions” on the country, he said. “The people of Myanmar will expect the international community to step up,” he said, adding that the United Nations was currently intensifying its efforts, including helping with the first national census taken since 1983, and the United Nations Development Programme had suggested holding a donors’ conference later this year to better coordinate aid and assistance. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/6666-outside-vote-monitors-to-observe-burmese-election.html --------------------------------------------- Burmese army officers deny arrest of missing Kachin woman Tuesday, 28 February 2012 12:15 Phanida Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Two Burmese army officers have testified in the Burmese Supreme Court that soldiers in their units did not arrest and detain a Kachin woman who has been missing for more than four months. The proceedings were brought by Zawng Hkawng of Momauk Township, the husband of Sumlut Roi Ja, after he said his wife was arrested and taken away in October 2011 by troops from Light Infantry Unit No. 321. Captain Kyaw Kyaw Htay of Light Infantry Unit 321 and Major Zay Yar Aung of Infantry No. 37 appeared at the hearing as the representatives of the two battalions. “They testified that they knew about Roi Ja’s case only after it has been reported,” said Zawng Hkawng’s lawyer, Markhar. “They said no complaint was launched with them in the past. The Northern Command set up a tribunal to examine the charge. They said that in the Northern Command, there was no incident like Roi Ja’s case.” Lawyer Markhar told Mizzima, “We testified that…in fact, they really arrested her,” and asked the court to order her release or establish her whereabouts. Markhar said that on October 28, 2011, Sumlut Roi Ja was on her way to work on a farm with her husband and her father when government soldiers from Light Infantry Unit No. 321 arrested them, alleging that they worked in intelligence for the Kachin Independence Army. Sumlut Roi Ja’s husband and father escaped on the day of their arrest. In January 2011, a lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court in Naypyitaw and the first hearing was conducted on February 9. In a related lawsuit involving the unlawful arrest of two Kachin men, Brang Seng and Zau Seng of Tarlawgyi village by Infantry Unit No. 37, was also heard by the Supreme Court. The government testified that the men were arrested because of security violations, Markhar said. The two men have been were charged under the Unlawful Associations Act, he said. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/6664-burmese-army-officers-deny-arrest-of-missing-kachin-woman.html -------------------------------------- Hu Lost Burma By Michael Moran | Posted Monday, Feb. 27, 2012, at 1:44 PM ET Myanmar President Thein Sein (left) iwith his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao last May. Apparently, Thein wanted to go the other way. Photograph by Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images We live in an era, according to many people I respect, in which tenets of capitalism that a decade ago seemed unshakably part of the 21st century are being challenged. Ian Bremmer’s upcoming book, “Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World,” builds on a theme we’re both fond of: that the competition between state capitalism and market economics is very real, but that it need not split the world into Cold War-like warring tribes if managed properly. Big “if” in there, of course, especially in the midst of a GOP presidential primary season. And, truth be told, good reasons exist for the free market side to be defensive these days, too. Capital flows now favor the Emerging Markets (EM), and in many cases demographics do, too (though not with respect to “one-child” obsessed China, but that’s another story). The ability of China and other EM powers to generate growth while still intervening furiously in their domestic markets has chipped away at the western dogma that argues such states will invariably be swamped by inefficiencies and poor bureaucratic choices and fall victim to a growth-and-jobs killing sclerosis. The irony that these same market purists led the world’s largest economy off an economic cliff in 2008 is interesting to point out but less important in the long-run. Crises happen, and intelligent societies emerge from them better equipped to avoid making the same mistakes. But the great, universal question hanging over global economy today is this: will a middle income EM country – a Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia or South Africa – or even a small, resource rich country aspiring to improve its lot - have a better chance moving up the economic food chain and avoiding cyclical catastrophe by emulating China’s state capitalist model, or the west’s liberal market democratic form of capitalism? Ian’s book and many others argue convincingly that many states – from “usual suspects” like Venezuela and Iran, to more surprising ones like South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – effectively already have adopted some form of China’s state capitalist model. But the slide goes both ways. I find it strange that few have remarked on the amazing flip-flop occurring in Myanmar (Burma) right now. This country, led by a paranoid, repressive pro-Beijing military junta since the late 1980s, has come of out its shell. Six months ago, Myanmar's President U Thein Sein visited Beijing, where Hu Jintao promised to "protect Myanmar's interests" and signed a treaty of friendship. But Myanmar has since moved in some very un-Chinese directions. Yet, upon emerging from the darkness chosen to release political prisoners, Myanmar appears poised to go West rather than stick with its patrons to the north. Over the next few months, it looks likely to elect a civilian-led government and set in motion sweeping economic and political reforms. After decades of stagnating as a resource-rich, repressive backwater under Beijing’s wing, the Burmese Spring, as some have inevitably called it, has led to calls in the US Congress for a lifting of US sanctions, and a high-profile visit from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in December. More importantly, Myanmar has entered into serious talks with two institutions that will insist that it play by liberal market economic rules: the IMF and World Bank. The military junta, which appears to have gone out of business after last year’s elections, had stopped payment on previous debts. A recent visit by a joint delegation stressed that the arrears would have to be dealt with before new international financing became available – but Myanmar’s mining and energy revenues should make that academic. But the two multinational lenders already have started helping Myanmar’s government modernize its banking and regulatory sectors, and a World Bank vice president said if the arrears are cleared up and the April 1 elections are judged to be fair, the taps will open quickly. “If President Thein Sein maintains the trend of opening Myanmar economically and politically — and there is reason to believe he will — such bottlenecks could be removed, external finance could flow, and Myanmar could experience an economic boom as labor productivity and living standards catch up with its Southeast Asian neighbors,” writes Vikram Nehru of the Carnegie Endowment’s East Asia Forum. Other promising signs have emerged, too. Japan, which suspended aid to Myanmar when Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested in 1993, has just pledged to reengage there. The government late last year also suspended a Chinese-funded $3.6 dam construction project that had local residents and environmentalists alarmed – another sign that what the average person thinks may finally matter there. All this is progress, of course, for Myanmar’s long-suffering citizens. Free and fair elections are hardly a given, and the country continues to suffer from serious ethnic frictions. But viewed from the standpoint of global influence, this looks a bit like Sadat ejecting his Soviet advisors back in 1977. the decision of such a long-standing Chinese ally to essentially reject China’s most basic practice – buying off the middle class with economic reforms while insisting on complete control of political discourse. Ever since then, China’s fortunes have waned in the country it practically owned until recently, and relations – both locally and diplomatically – have suffered. Maybe it is better that Asia has not yet sunk into a zero-sum mindset – no headlines read, “Rangoon to Beijing: Drop Dead,” or maybe “Obama Sets Pick, Myanmar Rolls.” But beneath the happy headlines about Suu Kyi’s release and an apparent springtime for democracy there, the deeper story is of a brewing competition for influence between cash rich China and fickle Uncle Sam from the Atlantic Coast of Morocco right around to the 38th parallel in the Korean Peninsula. And from Algeria to Zambia, in that sense, a race of sorts has already begun. Michael Moran is Director and Editor-in-Chief of Renaissance Insights, at Renaissance Capital, the emerging markets investment bank. Follow him on Twitter, subscribe to his Facebook feed, or preorder his book, "The Reckoning: Debt, Democracy and the Future of American Power," coming in April from Palgrave Macmillan. http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_reckoning/2012/02/27/hu_lost_burma.html __._,_._
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
News & Articles on Burma-Sunday, 26 February 2010-uzl
News & Articles on Burma Sunday, 26 February 2010 ----------------------------------------------- Why does the Burmese army act against the country’s peace plans? China asks Myanmar to tighten border security Killings and attacks between DKBA and BGF drives villagers from their homes India unprepared for new Myanmar Lady of Yangon Suu Kyi draws large crowds in Kachin State Ruili working conditions tough on Burmese women ------------------------------------- Why does the Burmese army act against the country’s peace plans? By Zin Linn Feb 26, 2012 9:29PM UTC President Thein Sein led Burmese government and the Shan State Army to sign a ceasefire agreement as a major breakthrough at Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, on 2 December 2011. However, armed conflicts between the Burmese army and the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) cannot stop simply since Burmese soldiers have been combating uncontrollably so far. The dilemma is that even though there is a truce between the Burmese government and SSA-S, the Burma army becomes visible to move more actively particularly in the Eastern Shan State, where its Triangle Region Command headquarters is based in Kengtung. According to the Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.), the Burmese army makes use of the ceasefire to renovate its strategic roads and garrisons on the Thai-Burmese border. Its units are also raking through the countryside to drive the SSA forces to their bases. As a result, the two armies encountered one another in a village-tract outside of the Tachilek township, which lies on the border with Thailand. Major Sai Lao Hseng, spokesperson for the SSA-S, said to the Democratic Voice of Burma that the fighting broke out after the Burmese army pressured the group to pull back its troops to the border. He claims, however, that there had been no provision for its withdrawal from the Mongtaw and Monghta regions in the ceasefire agreement. “They threatened to open fire on us if we didn’t leave and then actually did fire at us,” he said. Two personnel from the SSA–S and three Burmese soldiers died in action. Homong and Monghta have been designated as main offices for the SSA in keeping with the 16 January agreement, Shan Herald Agency for News said. Moreover, the agreement does not include anything about its forces outside the territory. It also emphasizes that the president’s peacemaking envoy, Aung Min, had agreed that Burma army units would be responsible for security on the main roads and towns, and the SSA the rest – at least for the time being. Furthermore, any difference between the two sides should be resolved through negotiations and not by force, S.H.A.N. reported. However, there were unavoidable armed clashes between Burmese armed forces and SSA–S troops that refused to be hard pressed. At least 11 clashes have taken place between the two, with 7 of them in the Eastern Shan State; three battles in Mongiang and four in Tachilek also took place. And the clashes in Tachilek, as each day passes, are growing into a long-lasting battle, reports S.H.A.N. Another inexcusable story has occurred in the northern Shan State. According to S.H.A.N., Lt. Ta Long of SSA was invited to dinner by the Hsipaw-based Infantry Battalion 23 at its foothill camp near the village of Haikwi on 17 February. Candidly, he had appeared there with his wife and their three-year-old son on a motorbike. Ta Long was ambushed by soldiers from IB 23 on his way back. His wife was killed. As for his son, his whereabouts are unknown, while Kawli Media says that he is believed to be at the Lashio regional HQ. Due to that cunning plot, at least two clashes have taken place between the two sides since the ambush, one on 17 February and one two more days later. Those clashes after the ceasefire accord spotlight the government’s peacemaking deals to be untrustworthy. While the government is working towards peace deals, its armed forces are doing inconceivable damage. It is suitable to quote the viewpoint of Shan Herald Agency for News on Friday. It says, “The obvious question therefore is: Are the government and the army playing good guy and bad guy against the armed resistance movements? Or, is the army bent on discrediting the government whenever and wherever the opportunity is given?” Since the government has publicly declared its reform plans including national reconciliation, it must conscientiously control its armed forces to support the peacemaking efforts. But, right now, the Burma army seems to be disobeying the peace plan made by head of its government. If it was a made-up story, the people would blame the president as an anti-reformist. The consequences of the army’s contradictory acts will push the country into another abysmal of misfortune. According to some analysts, the government’s democracy plan is similar to imaginary words that do not go with its visible dealings such as overlooking to restore law and order, neglecting to allow creation of trade unions, not allowing public protests and so on. However, the government should not mislead the people’s hope for change. The ethnic armed groups do not completely trust the government’s peace talks. The fact is that while offering the peace proposal, the government has been increasing its deployment of armed forces in the conflict zones. Above and beyond, the Burma army has been constantly carrying on combating the ethnic rebels which may lead to damaging the president’s reform aspiration. http://asiancorrespondent.com/76801/why-does-burma-army-go-against-governments-peace-plan/ ------------------------------------- China asks Myanmar to tighten border security1 Beijing–China has urged Myanmar to ensure security along their common border following attacks on river shipping and inflows of refugees fleeing fighting with ethnic minority militias, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. China, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand began joint Mekong River patrols in December after 13 Chinese sailors were killed along a section of the river flowing through the Golden Triangle region, which is notorious for drug production and trafficking. Members of Myanmar’s Kachin ethnic group also have fled across the border amid fighting between militias and the army.“It’s in both countries’ interests to maintain border peace and stability,” China’s chief government adviser Jia Qinglin was quoted as saying at Thursday’s meeting with the speaker of Myanmar’s lower house of parliament, Thura Shwe Mann, in Beijing.“China respects Myanmar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and sincerely hopes Myanmar will find peaceful means to appropriately resolve issues of ethnic reconciliation and protect the long-term peace and order of the China-Myanmar border region,” he said. China was a loyal diplomatic ally and source of arms and investment for the Myanmar long-ruling junta, but ties have soured in recent months after the military established a nominally civilian government and opened contacts with the West.One major sign of Myanmar’s change of course was the abrupt suspension of a heavily criticized dam project that would have provided hydroelectric power to China’s southwestern province of Yunnan. Jia did not mention any sources of friction by name, but said China-Myanmar relations face “unprecedented opportunities, but also challenges.”—AP http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=142000 ------------------------------------ Killings and attacks between DKBA and BGF drives villagers from their homes February 24 | Author: By Saw Thein Myint (KIC) Tension between soldiers from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and Border Guard Force troops has forced at least 50 villagers from Mae Tha Waw village, Hlaingbwe Township to seek temporary refuge across the border in Thailand. A Mae Tha Waw villager explained their situation to Karen News. “We have fled from our village on February 19, during the night. People say the situation is not good to stay. All the village schools are closing now.” Villagers say they are now taking refuge with relatives or friends on the Thai border and have yet to receive any humanitarian support. According to a DKBA soldier from Maw Tha Waw village, on February 20, a BGF sniper shot and wounded a DKBA major at his camp compound in the Myaing Gyi Ngu. A DKBA soldier told to Karen News that recent clashes have created added more tension to an already tense situation. “We have our orders to shoot at BGF soldiers if they go through our territory. We’ve defined our no-go line starting at the waterfall near Mae Tha Waw village and will shoot if they cross that line.” The DKBA source warned that their soldiers based in the conflict area are now on emergency alert. “The fighting probably will happen at any time as the BGF have also prepared their soldiers. The BGF soldiers are going to be busy if they do not return our weapons that they recently took from us.” On 19th February, a BGF Battalion 1011 attacked the DKBA in the Myaing Gyi Ngu area and disarmed 23 fire guns. The DKBA launched a counter attack against the BGF battalion on the same day killing five BGF soldiers. The Commander of the Karen National Union Brigade 7, Brigadier General Saw Jonny said the “the fighting is not a concern of ours, it is happening between soldiers under the command of the Myaing Gyi Ngu monk, [also known as U Thuzana].” According to the new DKBA structure, there are two military strategic units known as Klo Htoo Wah and Klo Htoo Lar operating to the DKBA Klo Htoo Baw Headquarters. The Klo Htoo Wah strategic unit led by Colonel Saw Kyaw Thet and active in the Kawkariek, Myawaddy and Kyarkdon areas and Major Saw Beeh’s fighters operate in the Hlaing Bwe and Myaing Gyi Ngu area. The DKBA’s Klo Htoo Baw Headquarters recently reached a ceasefire arrangement with the Burma government and on Novermber 2011 at Pa-an Town. http://karennews.org/2012/02/killings-and-attacks-between-dkba-and-bgf-drives-villagers-from-their-homes.html/ ---------------------------------- India unprepared for new Myanmar ReutersBy Satarupa Bhattacharjya and Frank Jack Daniel | Reuters – Sunday, 26 February 2010 MOREH (Reuters) - As dusk falls on a lonely police station in the eastern tip of India, a young policeman nervously keeps an eye on the Arakan hills above him, dotted with poppy fields. Just 22 bumpy miles from the capital of Manipur, he and his colleagues are outnumbered by gunmen from a faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, one of half a dozen insurgent groups operating near India's border with Myanmar. Last year, six policemen were killed a few miles away in an ambush authorities blamed on them. Small groups of men with machetes on their belts can be seen in the winter twilight, openly climbing steep paths through the poppy fields, where valuable seed heads will later be harvested and taken to Myanmar for processing into heroin. "There are many poppy fields in the hills here," the policeman said in a hushed voice, refusing to give his name to Reuters for fear of reprisals from the men he said were armed rebels patrolling the fields above his office. Growers will either sell the seed heads to agents or openly in the local market , he said. Opium and insurgency can make for a profitable if exotic business model, but it is not what India had in mind when it launched its "Look East" policy 20 years ago to link its markets to those of booming Southeast Asia. Now as resource-rich Myanmar emerges from decades of isolation under military rule, India should be a natural partner, with ties stretching back to 3rd Century BC Buddhist emperor Ashoka and, more recently, a shared experience of British colonialism and World War Two. Map of border area: http://link.reuters.com/zux66s BRIDGE TO SOUTHEAST ASIA "Myanmar is India's only bridge to Southeast Asia," Myo Myint, Myanmar's deputy foreign minister, told Reuters last week at a meeting of Southeast Asian diplomats in New Delhi to look at ways to speed up road, rail and telecoms connections with India. "India needs to come forward with assistance." Myanmar sits at Asia's crossroads, sharing a western border with India, and a northern one with China. Thailand is its neighbour to the east and the Malacca Strait is on its southern flank. The country of nearly 60 million people has emerged from a half-century of military rule and is courting the West while trying to wean itself from dependency on China for trade and investment. But despite a recent flurry of high-level visits between the two countries, India appears ill-placed on the ground to exploit Myanmar's opening. Reuters journalists on a recent trip to the Myanmar-India border in Manipur found a region where rebel groups deeply influence politics and business. Opium poppies are grown openly. Cross-border gun-running remains big business. Manipur and the three other Indian states sharing the 1,640- km (1,020-mile) border with Myanmar were supposed to be India's "Gateway to the East". Instead, the area has become India's Wild East. Legal trade on the border has dwindled in the last five years to just 0.15 percent of total commerce between Myanmar and India. Checkpoints by security forces and rebel group supporters make the 120 km (75 mile) journey along rutted Highway 102 through the hills from Manipur's capital Imphal to Moreh on the border a painstakingly slow -- and expensive, too, from the "taxes" they impose on traffic. NO CRIME HERE The sleepy border town of Moreh had dreams of being a major international trading centre, a key station on the ambitious Trans-Asia Railway that will enable containers from East and Southeast Asia to travel overland across India to Europe. But work on the $900 million, 125 km (77 mile) stretch of the railway is already two years behind schedule and has only progressed a short distance. Costs are soaring. At first glance, Moreh seems to be a quiet bazaar of traditional wooden stilt houses, frontier hotels and stores where Myanmarese Buddhist monks and tribespeople in traditional dress and sandal-paste painted faces mingle with traders from across India. The town of 15,000 people has one bank. "There is no crime here," acting police chief Akbar Hussein said, chewing on a lump of betel nut at his outdoor desk. "There was only one case registered this month, and that was a road accident." Opened in 1995 to great fanfare, the Moreh crossing was supposed to be a major trading post by now. Only some small-scale merchants conduct legal trade. Much of that is on a barter system, exchanging flour and soy products for betel, a mild stimulant popular in India. Despite the police chief's boast, Moreh is a major smuggling centre where outlaws move around freely. Heroin from the Golden Triangle, guns and gem stones go westward; raw opium, tiger bones and rhino horn move east. "Since 1995, nothing substantial has taken place. The border area is like a 17th-century tribal village," said N. Mohindro, an expert on trade in the state. "It's all about drugs and guns. People can make money so easily." Some of this business is in the hands of Indian insurgents who run their operations from the Myanmar side of the border. Several of Myanmar's own rebel groups are also based in the area. A U.S. diplomatic cable from 2006 released by Wikileaks described local politicians either in league with the rebels or supporting them for financial reasons. Local residents say security forces are also deeply involved in trafficking but a senior officer of the police intelligence branch in Imphal denies that. "The dense forest cover in this open border region is a nightmare for us," the officer said of an unfenced 63 mile stretch running from Moreh, adding that "the easy availability of weapons inside Myanmar has worsened the situation". IMAGINARY ROAD It wasn't always this way. Until the early 1990s, Myanmarese flocked across the border to buy Indian-made consumer goods. But as China's workshops cranked up and offered cheaper, more durable products, the market shifted to the other side of the fence. Now, traders from Imphal endure the serpentine journey along bumpy Highway 102 and its checkpoint shakedowns to visit the Namphalong bazaar on the Myanmar side of the Moreh border gate. Their pick-up trucks are piled high with Chinese mattresses, refrigerators and TVs to sell back in India, returning along the same road that brought Japanese troops in World War Two through then Burma in an attempt to invade India. The trip from the border to Imphal carrying such contraband can involve payoffs along the way amounting to several hundred dollars. Highway 102 was supposed to be part of a road network linking up with Mandalay, Myanmar's main city in the North, and on into Thailand. But the only notable improvement on the Indian side is a short patch running through the Manipur chief minister's home town. "People had plans to open eateries, motels and shops along the Asian highway. Now, the trans-national road is imaginary. It does not exist here," said Lunminthang Haokip, a senior state government official for Moreh's Chandel district. "The Look East policy is no more than power-point presentations in Delhi." The complaint is voiced often here by residents in Manipur who have suffered decades of rights abuses under draconian emergency powers including "shoot-to-kill" orders aimed at curtailing the insurgencies. Residents say New Delhi acts like a colonial power, with much of its mistrust of the region stemming from its relative proximity to China. "The overwhelming presence of military, paramilitary and police officers contributed to the impression that Imphal was under military occupation," the U.S. embassy cable said. "The Indian civil servants were also clearly frustrated with their inability to stem the growing violence and anarchy in the state, feeling their efforts to effectively control the insurgencies was hamstrung by local politicians either in league with or at least through corruption, helping to finance the insurgents." India, which fought a border war in 1962 with China, has watched with mounting concern as Beijing steadily increases its influence around the rim of the Indian Ocean. "You can't leave the whole region under an iron curtain just because they look Chinese," said rights activist Babloo Loitongbam, in a restaurant left dark by one of the chronic power cuts in Imphal. "You have to constantly prove you are not anti-national." Ten years ago India's foreign minister proposed reopening a World War Two highway to the north of Manipur called the Stilwell Road, which connects India's far eastern region, known as the Northeast, with Myanmar and China. Worried that the road risked strengthening China's influence and the flow of militants and arms to the region, India dragged its feet and Myanmar turned to China's Yunnan Construction Engineering Group instead. India also missed out on the natural gas from two fields in Myanmar it has a stake in, when the government chose to pipe it to China. During long years of self-imposed isolation, Myanmar's only major economic partner was China. India realised in the 1990s that Chinese investment in Myanmar's military and infrastructure was giving Beijing a strategic advantage in a nation that borders five countries, straddles busy Bay of Bengal shipping lanes and has large oil and gas reserves. New Delhi quietly dropped its backing for the opposition party of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who went to school and university in India. Ties have strengthened since then, with President Thein Sein just the latest of Myanmar's leaders to call on New Delhi on a visit to India last year. Rajiv Bhatia, who was India's ambassador to Myanmar until 2005, says India is still more concerned with its South Asian neighbours, including Bangladesh and Pakistan, and could miss the moment. "In pure geopolitical terms, Myanmar is hugely important to India. We are now getting a historic opportunity to recover our relationship," he said. " But it is still not a priority for our politicians." (Editing by John Chalmers and Bill Tarrant) http://in.news.yahoo.com/indias-wild-east-unprepared-myanmar-022803097.html ------------------------------------ Lady of Yangon Looking for William Lady? www.Facebook.comFind William Lady on Facebook. Sign Up Free Shankar Acharya : Sat Feb 25 2012, 03:51 hrs I picked up this latest biography of Aung San Suu Kyi with some scepticism. There have been several books, and films, about this remarkable lady, including the substantial biography by Justin Wintle in 2007. What was there left to say? Happily, my scepticism was wholly unjustified. Peter Popham has crafted a very fine and sympathetic account, which contains a great deal of new information, analysis and insight. The basic outline of Suu Kyi’s life is well-known: the daughter of Aung San, the founder of modern Burma (now Myanmar) who was machine-gunned in a cabinet meeting of the provisional government in July 1947 a few months before full independence, Suu spent her early years in Rangoon (now Yangon); then moved to Delhi in 1960 at age 15 when her widowed mother became Burma’s ambassador and Suu spent four years in school and college, followed by three years in England at Oxford for a degree in politics, philosophy and economics; then romance and marriage (1972) to budding Tibet scholar Michael Aris; and the next 15 unremarkable years in Oxford as a don’s wife, rearing two young sons and trying fitfully to resume academic interests. Then came the fateful return to Rangoon to tend her dying mother in March 1988, when Suu Kyi found herself swept up in the extraordinary tumult of that year as Ne Win’s 26-year-old military rule ended; her charismatic speech at the Shwedagon pagoda on August 26, which made her the natural leader of the democracy movement; the founding of the National League for Democracy (NLD) just before renewed repression ushered in a new military government in September; house arrest in 1989 along with imprisonment of NLD’s top leadership; the elections of 1990 in which the NLD and allies won 94 per cent of the seats, a result ignored and later annulled by the military government; the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and many other honours, which did not alter the terms of her detention until 1995 when she was released, only to be rearrested in 2000, released in 2002, incarcerated again in 2003 and released in November 2010, a week after the new, carefully “managed” elections which the NLD could not contest and were won by the military-sponsored party. Popham tells the tale with verve and empathy. He does full justice to the most dramatic episodes, such as the Shwedagon speech, Suu Kyi’s legendary facing down of soldiers at Danubyu in April 1989 and the ruthless military-sponsored attack on her convoy at Depayin, 100 miles north west of Mandalay, in May 2003, which killed around 70 of her supporters, wounded many and which Suu survived thanks only to luck and the skill of her driver. He also brings new information to bear, for example, the detailed diary accounts of 1988-89 of her lively personal assistant, Ma Thanegi, who accompanied Suu on all her campaign trips, including the one to Danubyu. These diary entries, kept at Aris’s request, reveal much about Suu’s personality and emotions in this first phase of her political involvement: her untiring commitment, her quiet courage and determination in the face of adversity, her fretting over the competing obligations to country and family, and her puckish humour. Suu Kyi has been accused sometimes of obduracy in dealing with the military government. Popham says she did hold substantive negotiations with the government on the only occasion they were offered, in 2002-04, when the head of military intelligence (MI) and prime minister Khin Nyunt, deputed Brigadier-General Than Tun to conduct the talks. Popham cites senior MI defector Aung Lyn Htut, who obtained asylum in US in 2005, and other “insiders” to support the view that a draft agreement was reached in May 2004 to reengage the NLD in the political process. But it was rejected by the ruling general, Than Shwe, who placed Khin Nyunt under house arrest in two months’ time. The central conundrum of Suu Kyi’s life is what transformed a charming, dutiful 43-year-old housewife of an English Tibet scholar into an iconic, Mandela-like crusader for democracy and freedom in her homeland for the next 23 years, two-thirds of which were spent in detention? This book provides some pieces of the puzzle: her lineage as daughter of the legendary Aung San; the accident of timing, which took her back to Rangoon in 1988 when the country was in unprecedented ferment; her long-held belief that if her country called, she had to answer (in a 1971 letter to her betrothed, Michael, she wrote “ I only ask one thing, that should my people need me, you would help me to do my duty by them”); her innate courage, commitment and charisma, which swept her into natural leadership of the democracy movement and kept her there; her Buddhist principles and outlook, honed by years of meditation in house arrest; her commitment to non-violence (it is no accident that Gandhi’s favourite Tagore poem-song, “If they answer not your call, walk alone…” was also hers); and perhaps, above all, her enduring bond with the people of her land. The book has a couple of flaws. There is perhaps a little too much of the “Beauty vs Beast” syndrome. Suu is undoubtedly beautiful and the military government was often beastly. But to dismiss the reforms of the last 15 months in terms of “fake elections and fake parliament” seems unduly harsh. After all, Suu Kyi herself is campaigning for by-election seats in the same parliament. Second, the book sheds little light on the impact of evolving geopolitics on the Myanmar’s polity. What was the impact of Western sanctions or Asian “constructive engagement”? Did China’s tightening economic and political embrace spur the government to reengage with the West and others? Bottom line: Read this gripping account about the extraordinary life of an exceptional person who has changed Myanmar forever. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/lady-of-yangon/916348/0 --------------------------------------- Suu Kyi draws large crowds in Kachin State Friday, 24 February 2012 11:59 Phanida Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Aung San Suu Kyi told supporters in Kachin State on Thursday that she will work in Parliament to create a genuine federal union in Burma with rights for all ethnic people. “One of the reasons for the NLD to contest in this election is to establish a genuine federal union with a genuine union spirit. Since its inception, the NLD’s main objective is for unity of all ethnic people,” Aung San Suu Kyi told supporters in Namti Township. Some estimates said the turnout to greet her numbered 50,000 people. Reiterating a familiar campaign theme, she said unemployment is too high and people should support NLD candidates such as Khin Kyi, who campaigned with Suu Kyi. She noted that the NLD has fielded many women candidates in the by-election, and it is an important step for the country in terms of equal gender rights. “Our country will not develop to the level it should unless we fully use the strength of our women,” she said. “The population of women is slightly higher than the male population in the country, and we must include women in over half in our party. We selected women candidates as much as we could for this election.” A total of 12 NLD female candidates including Suu Kyi are running in the by-election. The NLD has fielded candidates in all 48 open seats. After the Namti rally, Suu Kyi’s caravan proceeded to Mogaung Township, and she told supporters at the Odan football grounds that voters should ask candidates questions and make the candidates explain why voters should support them. She returned to Myitkyina at 7:30 p.m. to attend a banquet with Kachin leaders. She will speak at a rally on Friday at 8 a.m. at the Manau grounds in Sitapu Ward. This is her third visit to Kachin State. She visited in 1989 and 2003. In 1989, she met with Duwa Zau Rip, who took part in the drafting of the Panglong agreement with Suu Kyi’s father, General Aung San, and other ethnic leaders. In other political news, a group of 88-Generation student leaders arrived in Myitkyina to attend an all-faith prayer meeting on Friday, to mark the suspension of the Myitsone Dam project. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/6647-suu-kyi-draws-large-crowds-in-kachin-state.html ------------------------------------------ Ruili working conditions tough on Burmese women Friday, 24 February 2012 20:58 Kyaw Kha E-mail Print PDF Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Chinese border town of Ruili is booming – party because of Burmese working women – but the jobs are often hazardous, low paying and Burmese workers have no legal rights, according to a report by the Thailand-based Burmese Women’s Union (BWU). A Burmese woman works in construction in Ruili, China, a border town where many Burmese women have found low-paying, hazardous jobs. Photo: BWUThe report, “Forgotten Workforce,” is based on interviews with 32 Burmese women, including women in the sex industry. Other women are employed in low-paying jobs in construction and in factories without legal status, according to the report. “For example, in some factories women polish petrified wood and the air is contaminated with dust and particles. The workers should wear masks. The dust and gases can damage their health. Construction workers have encountered similar problems,” BWU General-Secretary Noe Noe Htet San told Mizzima. Most Chinese do not want to do such work, Burmese workers told interviewers. “I have to sit on a hard chair and work all day, so my haunches are covered with calluses. It’s the same with all the workers,” the report quoted a female worker as saying. “The job exhausts us. And the atmosphere is contaminated. The Chinese don’t want to do this job. Some workers had X-rays and found that they have lung problems. When we polish the petrified wood, we inhale bad smells and chemicals and the chemicals cause nasal polyps and coughing.” Burmese women in the sex industry are often forced to have unprotected sex and some have been sold as wives to Chinese men, the report said. Because of a lack of jobs in Burma, many women chose to work in Ruili to earn a regular income and to support their families, said Noe Noe Htet San. The BWU survey found that there are more than 100,000 Burmese workers in Ruili, most with low salaries and no workers’ rights or health care. “Chinese people will not work if they do not get a basic monthly salary, as much as US$ 1,000. But Burmese workers have to work at a salary of about US$ 200 to 300 per month. If there are accidents in the work place, most are not given compensation or health care,” Noe Noe Htet San said. Mu Mu, an interpreter, told Mizzima that some Chinese employers in Ruili also look for ways to cheat Burmese out of their wages. “There are many problems,” he said. “They pay monthly. When they pay, for instance, a worker should get, say, 600 but the employer just pays 400. The employers often keep the remaining 200 as the worker’s ‘deposit.’ The remaining 200 will be returned after six-month service or one-year service,” Mu Mu told Mizzima. “But they cheat in many ways. If a worker gives up the job before one-year’s service, they will not get the deposit money back. And if a worker resigns a job in a middle of a month, the worker will not get the salary for the month. The working hours are from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.” Most Burmese workers do not have a work permit from the Chinese government, so they cannot complain to the authorities, and there are no workers’ rights organizations in the area, according to the report. The BWU has urged the Chinese government and local authorities in Yunnan Province to pay Burmese workers fair wages, to provide work permits, suitable health care and to let Burmese organize workers’ organizations. http://www.mizzima.com/news/regional/6652-ruili-working-conditions-tough-on-burmese-women.html
Sunday, February 26, 2012
News & Articles on Burma-Friday, 24 February 2010-uzl
News & Articles on Burma Friday, 24 February 2010 ----------------------------------------------- Letter from Burma: Reunion, Union - 1 HRW: Army Abuse Unabated Despite Burma Reforms Burma: To Dream the Impossible Dream A Future with Prospects Suu Kyi campaigns with reconciliation message In Myanmar's Kachin hills, Suu Kyi stirs hopes of peace Naypyitaw, Tatmadaw: Dual tracks running in opposite directions ASEAN Secretary-General Assesses Burmas Reforms Beyond ceasefires: Burma's precarious peace process Myanmar: Demand Open Trial, Retrial And Dropping Of Contempt 22 MYANMAR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAUGHT PACKED IN A VAN Lim Hng Kiang to attend 18th Asean Economic Minsters' Retreat in Myanmar China Urges Burma to Secure Border, Infrastructure Projects ----------------------------------------------- MAINICHI DAILY: February 25, 2012 Perspectives Letter from Burma: Reunion, Union - 1 Aung San Suu Kyi leaves NLD headquarters in Yangon, Myanmar, on Oct. 27, 2011. (Mainichi)I have always thought of February as the very best month of the year. My father, my maternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, men I loved and admired most were all born in February, so since childhood I have looked upon it as the month of goodness and heroism. An added glory of February is that the 12th (Lincoln's birthday) is Union Day, which marks the anniversary of the signing of an agreement between several ethnic nationalities of Burma to cooperate in efforts for the freedom of the country. This was an unprecedented political step and although the Panglong Agreement (so called after the name of the Shan town where it was signed in 1947) was not a perfect formula for unity, it represented the essence of the spirit of Union. February this year has not to date failed my expectations. The NLD campaigns for the by-elections started at the end of January in the most auspicious way in Dawei in the southeast tail of Burma. It was my first visit there in twenty-three years and it was a joy and an inspiration to find that the support of our people of the Tenessarim had not diminished in strength of numbers or firmness of spirit. By the first week of February our party campaigns had gathered considerable momentum in spite of a few hitches. A proposed visit to Mandalay had to be postponed because of difficulties with regard to a suitable venue for a public rally. However, a trip to Pathein, capital of the Irrawaddy Division, and Myaungmya, my mother's home town, took place as planned. We started out early in the morning from Rangoon, but progress was very slow as in all the villages along the way our supporters would come out to greet us, waving small NLD flags and proffering flowers and diverse gifts, including traditional painted parasols that came in very handy later that day. By the time we reached Pathein we were way behind schedule and the sun had already become uncomfortably hot. The divisional government had decreed that school attendance would be compulsory on that day, no civil servants would be allowed to take leave and that students of Pathien College would have to take "mini" examinations that would be linked to their eligibility to take the annual final examinations. These measures were obviously calculated to keep school children, college students and civil servants from coming out to demonstrate their support for the NLD. Nevertheless, there was a strong showing of young people among the crowds that greeted our party and a cavalcade of motorbikes accompanied us along the streets as we made our way to the football grounds where I gave a public address. Many of the motorbikes accompanied us all the way to Myaungmya along a route that was largely a dirt track. We passed by many small hamlets sunk in abject poverty. The bright smiles and enthusiastic calls with which the inhabitants greeted us in spite of the heat and the dust and their destitution was heart rending. It brought home to us the enormity of our duty to try our utmost to help our people achieve a decent standard of living within a safe and secure environment. As might have been expected, the people of Myaungmya welcomed me as a long absent member of the family. A high percentage of the population of the township was Karen, and they were present in large numbers at our rally, especially as our candidate for the elections was a much respected Karen teacher. Their colourful costumes added a touch of gaiety, and the enthusiasm and spirits of the gathering remained high despite the noonday sun that beat down mercilessly on us. A very common Burmese expression is "ye-set," which means "drops of water." When we say to one another "this is ye-set" or "this is the meeting of ye-set," we mean that we have been brought together by a good karmic bonds between us. Traditionally, after we have performed an act of charity we pour some water from a jug into a bowl, drop by drop, and later pour the water into the earth that it may stand witness to our good deed. Those who are present to share the merit of this deed will be brought together again in the course of samsara by the bonds of "ye-set." The second week of February was a time of "ye-set" for our Karen peoples and me. The seventh day of the month had found me among the Karens of my mother's hometown. On the tenth I was able to welcome to my home the Karen National Union/ Karen National Liberation Army delegation that had come for peace talks with the government. When I received a letter from the KNU/KNLA Supreme Headquarters asking if they could meet me in Rangoon after their peace talks at Naypyidaw, it seemed unbelievable. Were we at long last to be given the opportunity to meet those whom we had long thought of as friends and comrades in our quest for a Union of peace and prosperity throughout long years, years during which we had been distanced from them by geography and by political conditions? Within a short time of the arrival of the fourteen strong delegation it became clear that our hearts and minds had not been distanced by the circumstances that had created undesirable barriers between the peoples of our country. (By Aung San Suu Kyi) (Mainichi Japan) February 24, 2012 http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20120224p2a00m0na001000c.html ---------------------------------------- HRW: Army Abuse Unabated Despite Burma Reforms By MATTHEW PENNINGTON / AP WRITER Friday, February 24, 2012 WASHINGTON Human Rights Watch says that despite Burma's headlong rush toward reform and cease-fires reached with ethnic insurgents, abuses by the military have not abated. The group's senior researcher on Burma, David Mathieson, said on Thursday the country has seen its most rapid changes in decades and the government has tasked ministers to reach out to groups embroiled in long-running ethnic conflicts. Mathieson said that on a recent visit to the main city of Rangoon, the first he was able to make in 10 years, he heard unprecedented open discussion about rights violations, including in Kachin State where fighting since last June has displaced 70,000 people. But he said the army of Burma is acting no better than it has in the past six decades, with reports of sexual violence, use of forced labor and firing on civilians. The military is the wild card, Mathieson told the Wilson Center think tank in Washington. No one knows what's happening within the military. The only thing we can discern is that they are as abusive as ever. He said government forces had shown no restraint in their conduct of counterinsurgency operations in ethnic minority regions in the east of the countryconflicts far-removed from life in central regions where the Burman ethnic majority live. With all the changes happening in central Burma, it's quite alarming that the military has shown absolutely no compunction to change its behavior, Mathieson said. Mathieson is based in neighboring Thailand where about 140,000 ethnic minority refugees from eastern Burma live in camps. He said based on his interviews with victims of abuse and with former soldiers, there appears to be a culture of recreational sadism in the Burma army, with troops looking down on minorities. Mathieson also noted less-documented rights abuses by some ethnic armed groups against their own people, including use of child soldiersrampant too in the national armyand executions of Burma prisoners of war, which constitutes a war crime. In some cases, they are just as deeply corrupt as the Burmese military units they are fighting against, he said. Fighting in the country's border regions has been an enduring adjunct to Burmas half-century of military domination. While most international attention has been focused on the democracy struggle of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, addressing the grievances of its many ethnic minorities could be the toughest challenge as the nation opens up. A civilian government dominated by former generals took over from a military junta last year, and has eased restrictions on media, freedom of assembly and labor unions. Free and fair conduct of by-elections to be contested by Suu Kyi's party next month could persuade Western governments to ease tough sanctions. Mathieson described Burmas release of prominent political prisoners as remarkable but cautioned that several hundred remain and urged the government to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross access to the nation's prisons. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=23091 --------------------------------------------- Burma: To Dream the Impossible Dream A Future with Prospects by David Calleja February 24, 2012 Sixteen year old Naw S has lived in the Nupo Refugee Camp, along the Thai-Burma border, with her family for the past six years. They fled their native home in Karen State, Burma, following the regions conflict between the Burmese Army and Karen forces, a war lasting more than six decades. Their dream was to find peace and stability. As part of this transition, Naw S attended primary school in a small town near Chiang Mai. But settling into her new environment alienated Naw S from other students because she had to carry her birth certificate at all times. Convinced that the only opportunity to fit in with a community and receive more support would be through residing in a temporary refugee camp, Naw Ss parents made the long trek to Nupo. It has since become a permanent home. The Thai Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) estimates that Nupo is home to more than 16,000 people, of which nearly 9,000 individuals are documented as refugees with the UNHCR.[1] Thanks to such assistance, Naw S is a senior student at PAB School. She has excelled in her final years of school, earning top marks in English, Mathematics, Social Studies, Burmese, Physics, and Chemistry. But as a stateless individual, not a citizen of Thailand and not in possession of a Burmese ID card, it is uncertain whether her educational opportunities will be permanently interrupted or whether she may continue her studies abroad, should she be fortunate enough to progress further. But this has not stopped Naw S from mapping out a career path. I want to become an educated person. My dream is to study international law at a famous university abroad. Not because I want to be rich, but because I want to serve my community, including refugees, she says modestly. With reports in the media referring to a possible change in Burmas political landscape under President Thein Sein, the future for Burmese refugees in camps like Nupo remains unclear. Thailand is not currently a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugees Convention or the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Statelessness Persons, but the UNHCR has noted that amendments to the Civil Registration Act 2008 will help prevent statelessness in granting universal birth registration, allowing for the issuance of birth certificates to all children born in the country, regardless of the status of their parents. Most of the refugees are from Karen State, who, like, Naw S and her parents, are lured by the prospect of not waking up to the sounds of mortar shells and landmine explosions. Refugees who have survived similar encounters in the camp vouch for the difficulties faced by Naw S. Zoya Phan, the Burma Campaign UK Campaign Manager, has first-hand experience of living in the camp. In her bid to escape, she spent countless occasions moving between makeshift refugee camps, making the most of limited schooling before studying in Bangkok as an illegal entrant before seeking asylum in the United Kingdom and attending university. I know exactly how refugees in Nupo camps feel, as I have lived there for a year after my village in Karen State was under attack by the Burmese Army, Ms. Phan says. In 2011, the TBBC identified 49 villages across four townships had been burned, destroyed or abandoned by residents following Burmese Army attacks between August 2010 and July 2011 in a report entitled Displacement and Poverty in South East Burma. Schools are often a target in the Burmese Armys drive to prevent young people learning, so donations from volunteers in setting up a school in Nupo are critical. The 360 students attending PAB School, predominately from Karen State, are a mixture of Burmas multi-ethnic and multi-faith backgrounds. They make the most of the limited materials available. The school is staffed by 18 volunteer teachers. One teacher, 25 year old Ko, is one of eight teachers aged 31 years or under. Before instructing students on methods of probing the laws of science, he tested the boundaries of political dissent. As a student leader in 2006, he was accused of spreading anti-government messages across his university campus in the southern Burmese city of Myeiko. Twelve months later, he joined monks marching through Rangoon in the Saffron Revolution and was detained and beaten by police. Although he is now in relative safety, registered with the United Nations as a refugee, this has not quelled his fears about being sent back over the border. Every day we wonder if the Burmese Army is going to attack the camp or that the Thai government will send us all back over the border, Ko claims, a situation he identifies as being exasperated by what he calls an anti-Burma policy within Thailand. It is time for refugees to stop being used as political ping pong balls by (officials in) Bangkok. In 2011, Tak Province Governor Samart Loifah was quoted in The Irrawaddy as saying that Burmese refugees in the town of Mae Sot should leave Thailand voluntarily, and indicated his willingness to work with the European Union (EU) and UNHCR to achieve this outcome by a reduction in international funding for refugee camps.[2] Since the agreement by delegations representing Burmese government officials and Karen National Union (KNU) in January 2012 to cease hostilities, Ko commented that President Thein Seins early reforms were good news for the next Karen generation. However, he remains skeptical as to whether the peace will last. He feels that it will take more written promises and photo opportunities to convince displaced populations that Burma is on the edge of a new political era. His comments are echoed by Zoya Phan, who believes that despite the initial talks, the military-backed government in Burma is unwilling to enter into serious dialogue to solve problems and end conflicts. People want to go home, but without political solutions and proper arrangements, it will be too premature to force refugees to cross back to Burma, Ms. Phan adds. Once again, there is no clear answer with regards to what may happen next. For the refugees in temporary camps hoping to stay in Thailand, life goes on as normal, even though the past has taught them that sincere words of peace and reconciliation mean little without immediate action. Individuals like Ko, whose father and brother died in Burma in the struggle to gain more civil and political freedom, face uncertainty, as do the population of Nupo. But this attitude is in stark contrast to Naw Ss belief in the power of positive thinking. She is unfazed by any potential stumbling blocks. A crisis is a challenge and I will overcome any crisis, Naw S says. I have to go about my life humbly and not worry too much about mysteries I cannot explain. I have to improve myself in order to improve my world. Authors note the names of the two individuals in the camp have been changed to protect their respective identities. Notes [1] United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Figures for August 2011, Thai Burma Border Consortium, http://www.tbbc.org/camps/2011-08-aug-map-tbbc-unhcr.pdf [2] Naing, S.Y., 2011, Time For Refugees To Go Home?, The Irrawaddy, April 7, http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21094 Accessed 31 January 2012) http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2012/02/24/burma-to-dream-the-impossible-dream-a-future-with-prospects/ ----------------------------------------------- Suu Kyi campaigns with reconciliation message The Associated Press Date: Friday Feb. 24, 2012 6:25 AM ET MYITKYINA, Myanmar Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has campaigned in restive Kachin state in northern Burma with a message of reconciliation. Suu Kyi said in a speech Friday in the state capital Myitkyina that the country would not develop unless it had peace. Sporadic but sometimes fierce fighting has been waged in the state between government troops and ethnic Kachin rebels, who have long sought more autonomy and faced increased repression in the past year. Suu Kyi told a cheering crowd of thousands that peace could be reached only through mutual understanding and not by fighting. She was campaigning for her National League for Democracy party, which is contesting all 48 seats at stake in an April 1 byelection. http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20120224/burm-aung-san-suu-kyi-120224/ ----------------------------------------------- In Myanmar's Kachin hills, Suu Kyi stirs hopes of peace Reuters staff reporter Reuters 1:27 a.m. CST, February 24, 2012 MYITKYINA, Myanmar (Reuters) - Developing Myanmar will be impossible without peace in restive areas of the country, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Friday in a region where fighting has raged since June between the army and ethnic Kachin rebels. Suu Kyi, the 66-year-old Nobel Peace laureate, is seen as pivotal to Myanmar's nascent transition to democracy after five decades of military rule, and some believe she is the only figure who can unify one of Asia's most ethnically diverse countries and resolve the conflict in Kachin state. "Development is impossible without peace," she told cheering supporters in the state capital, Myitkyina, where she is seeking to build support for her National League for Democracy (NLD) party ahead of April 1 parliamentary by-elections. The symbolism of the Nobel Peace laureate's visit to Kachin state goes well beyond the election. The conflict in the Kachin hills near the Chinese border represents one of the last hurdles between Myanmar and a largely sanctions-free relationship with the West. "The ethnic minorities believe that she is probably the best person available to be part of the reconciliation process," said a Western diplomat. "She's got the respect of the ethnic minorities." The government, under President Thein Sein, has released hundreds of political prisoners, re-engaged with Suu Kyi after she was kept under house arrest for much of the past two decades, and appears to want free and fair by-elections a year after a nominally civilian parliament took office. This week, the government reacted with uncharacteristic speed to a complaint from the NLD about campaigning regulations, which they swiftly changed. The United States and European Union, which maintain economic sanctions on Myanmar in response to human rights violations, are openly discussing lifting the measures if progress toward democracy and human rights continues. "Everything else is going to plan except the situation in Kachin state," said a Myanmar-based aid consultant who declined to be identified. HOLDING OUT In Kachin state, many see Suu Kyi as their last hope. At a Buddhist monastery sheltering villagers who fled the fighting, Than Nu, has a message for the long-detained opposition leader affectionately known as "Auntie Suu." "We want to tell Auntie Suu that we want her to bring a peace agreement as quickly as she can," Than Nu, 46, said. At a rally on Thursday in the town of Mogaung, about 40 miles outside Myitkyina, Suu Kyi excited the crowd with a plea for peace and unity in the country also known as Burma. "The lack of peace in Kachin state is a sad condition not only for Kachin but also for the whole country," she told supporters packed on to a dusty soccer pitch. The Kachin rebels, many of whom are Christian, are the last of Myanmar's many ethnic minority factions battling the army. Eight months of fighting have forced as many as 60,000 people into nearly 80 camps, like the one where Than Nu and her family were living, according to aid group estimates. The new civilian government has reached ceasefires with other armed groups including Karen rebels based near the border with Thailand, and the Shan in the northeast. But the Kachin are holding out for more than a ceasefire. They say they gained little in the way of autonomy from a 1994 ceasefire deal that collapsed in June. Several rounds of peace talks with the new government have been inconclusive. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-myanmar-kachin-suukyitre81n0co-20120223,0,1116478.story ----------------------------------------------- Naypyitaw, Tatmadaw: Dual tracks running in opposite directions Friday, 24 February 2012 12:46 S.H.A.N. Since the ceasefire agreement was signed on 2 December 2012, between the Shan State Army and Naypyitaw, the Burma Army appears to have been more active especially in Eastern Shan State, where its Triangle Region Command with its headquarters in Kengtung, is stationed. On the Thai-Burmese border, it is taking advantage of the ceasefire to overhaul its strategic roads and garrisons. Its units are also scouring the countryside to push the SSA forces to their border bases. Its explanation is that as Homong and Monghta sub-townships, opposite Thailand's Maehongson and Chiangmai provinces, have been reserved for the SSA (although Burma Army units, at least 7 battalions, and the United Wa State Army's two brigades have yet to show any signs to withdraw), the SSA doesn't have any business remaining outside the roughly 500 square mile territory. As to be expected, the SSA has refused to budge, saying that wasn't what was agreed at the meetings, both pre-and formal. According to the 16 January agreement, Homong and Monghta have been designated as main offices for the SSA and the agreement does not include anything about its forces outside the territory. It also claims that U Aung Min, Naypyitaw's chief envoy, had agreed that Burma Army units would be responsible for security on the main roads and towns, and SSA the rest, at least for the time being. And that any difference between the two should be resolved through negotiations and not by force. The result was inevitable: the pushers and those refuse to be pushed have no other options but to fight it out. At least 11 clashes have taken place between the two, with 7 of them in Eastern Shan State: 3 in Mongiang and 4 in Tachilek. And the clashes in Tachilek, as each day passes, are growing into a long drawn out battle. The two in northern Shan State are also noteworthy. It began with an invitation to Lt Ta Long of the SSA to dinner by the Hsipaw-based Infantry Battalion 23 at its foothill camp near the village of Haikwi on 17 February. Unsuspectingly, he had gone there with his wife and their 3 year old son in a motorbike. On his way back, the ambushers from IB 23 had allowed the security guard to pass through and fired at him. And while his wife was holding him in her arms and weeping, she was shot to death. As for his son, his whereabouts is unknown, though Kawli Media says he is believed to be at the Lashio regional HQ. The result was predictable: at least two clashes have taken place between the two sides since the incident, one on 17 February, following the ambush, and the other two days later. The obvious question therefore is: Are the government and the army playing good guy and bad guy against the armed resistance movements? Or, is the army bent on discrediting the government whenever and wherever the opportunity is given? Lt-Gen Yawdserk, the SSA leader, who keeps in touch with Naypyitaw, seems to believe in "we and the government vs. the Burma Army and its militias," as he told SHAN. Looking at what's happening in Kachin and Shan states, one thing appears to be certain: the Tatmadaw is caught in a psychological trap of its own making. The late Barbara Tuchman has something to say about this in her The March of Folly (1984): Character is fate, as the Greeks believed. Germans were schooled in winning objectives by force, unschooled in adjustment. They could not bring themselves to forgo aggrandizement even at the risk of defeat. She might have been speaking the same about the Burmese military. So where does that leave us, especially the long-suffering people of Burma, who richly deserve peace and rule of law? http://www.english.panglong.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4442:naypyitaw-tatmadaw-dual-tracks-running-in-opposite-directions&catid=86:war&Itemid=284 --------------------------------------------- ASEAN Secretary-General Assesses Burmas Reforms Daniel Schearf | Bangkok ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan speaks to reporters at a briefing held at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Myanmar in Rangoon, February 23, 2012. The secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian nations, Surin Pitsuwan, says Burma appears committed to reforms but needs to prove it to meet international expectations. He gave an assessment Friday of Burmas political progress following a visit there this week. Surin said he thinks Burmas leaders are committed to further economic and political reforms as long as they can control the process. "Just like any government that has been centralized and authoritarian would like to open up, if you dont want to confront instability and tension and confrontation right away you have to be rather measured about it. And, I think they are determined to do that," he said. Surin made the comments at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand during a stopover in Bangkok on day three of a four-day visit to Burma. Political progress During his visit he met with President Thein Sein and other government leaders who he says recognize the challenges and opportunities of reforming the country. The ASEAN leader also met for the first time with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy. He says the partys participation in free and fair elections in April would be an extremely crucial test for international confidence in the reform process. "Precisely for that reason the international community is waiting for signals from inside whether this is going to be sustained, whether this is going to lead to more opening, or whether this is just a mirage," he said. Burma is considering allowing ASEAN election observers as they did for the 2010 election that ended overt military rule. But, even if allowed, Surin acknowledged ASEAN was not the best organization for sharing or monitoring democracy in Burma. "To be fair, to be frank, to be truthful, the credit is not that A-plus. But, it is a beginning. It is a commitment," he said. "It is a recognition that without some indicators coming from outside, measured from outside, its going to be difficult to convince the world that it has made some changes." Hosting ASEAN meetings ASEANs ten members include developing democracies but also an absolute monarchy, Brunei, and two communist one-party states-Laos and Vietnam. Aside from Burma, the other members are Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Surin said Burmas hosting of ASEAN meetings in 2014 would help ensure it does not turn back on reform efforts. But he also noted serious preparations were needed in the country, as known as Myanmar, including improving roads, telecommunications and Internet, sufficient hotel space, and a stable banking and financial system. "If Myanmar is going to carry out its chairmanship fully, responsibly, effectively, successfully, many many things have to happen within the next two years," he said. For one thing, Surin said Burmas largely cash-only finance system would have to go. He said such as system is not adequate to support hosting a year of high-profile economic and political meetings that are the responsibility of the ASEAN chair. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/ASEAN-Secretary-General-Assesses-Burmas-Reforms-140283503.html ------------------------------------------------------------ Beyond ceasefires: Burma's precarious peace process Kyaw San Wai RSIS , Singapore February 24, 2012 1:00 am February 12 marked Burma's Union Day, which commemorates the signing of the Pinlon Agreement in 1947. The agreement created the Union of Burma, in which the majority Burmans and a myriad of ethnic minorities opted to achieve independence from the British as a single state. How this arrangement fared is well known, as Burma still copes with ethnic rebellions and grievances. President Thein Sein's government has embarked on an ambitious initiative to secure peace with ethnic rebels who hug Burma's borders. The chief government negotiator recently stated that Burma would achieve complete peace by mid 2012. Nine out of 16 rebel groups have signed provisional agreements, with six set to follow soon. The current round of ceasefires, despite claims to the contrary, do contain certain differences with past rounds - notably that ceasefires are now treated as part of a process towards inclusive political dialogue, rather than solutions to a security problem. Economics undeniably plays a role in the push for such agreements as Burma seeks to realise its potential. Resource-rich ethnic minority regions are crucial for Burma to link up with neighbouring countries via large infrastructure projects. The negotiations also help meet a key stipulation by the West on removing crippling sanctions. In addition, as Thailand and China move to expand links with Burma, the presence of rebel pockets within their territories will be less tolerated, in order to appease the Burmese government, thus sapping rebel support bases and abilities. The sincerity of the government's push for dialogue remains doubted by sceptical dissidents. On one hand, the Burmese government has made good use of the public relations value of the peace drives to reinforce its claims of reforms. On the other side of the arena, ethnic misgivings, ongoing conflicts with the Kachins, alleged past government insincerities, and the fragility of agreements are highlighted to claim that the current process will not solve the ethnic issues. A "trust deficit" exists between the government and ethnic minority groups, who remain sceptical, as they do not perceive a fundamental change in the power structure. Dissidents and rebels have long accused the Tatmadaw (the military) of neglecting the Pinlon Agreement, of its pathological dislike for federalism and for ignoring ethnic grievances. However, the fact is that most of the majority Burmans are unaware of, and often unable to fathom, the sentiments behind ethnic grievances. For the minorities, vivid recollections of unequal and often violent treatment serve as stark reminders to be wary of both the military and the Burmans. These grievances can easily be exploited to turn into hatred. Beyond the military there exist grievances about "Burmanisation", the promotion of the Burmese language, the state's strong association with Buddhism (for non-Buddhists), and historical events, some dating back centuries. Even ethnic Buddhist monks have misgivings about "being dictated" to by Burman monks. On their part, the Burmans, who form 70 per cent of the population, view themselves as either first amongst equals or elder brothers. The minorities, however, desire complete equality: they wish to be part of the "Burmese state" but not of the "Burmese nation". To the Burmans both notions are almost interchangeable. Enthusiasm surrounding Burma's recent political reforms remains mainly confined to the Burmans, as some minorities view it as beguilement by a fresh set of Burman faces. The negotiations are bound to stoke differences between hawks and doves in both the government and rebels. Tatmadaw hardliners will dislike the perceived erosion of central authority, and see concessions as signs of weakness. While some ethnic groups may try to work towards better economic and political prospects through collaboration, stronger rebel factions may be recalcitrant. Thus, both sides have great internal impediments in pursuing peace. Many ethnic minorities would welcome Aung San Suu Kyi as a better candidate to negotiate with for a more inclusive arrangement. However, fringe voices have claimed that she is also Burman and, in their opinion, would still spell Burman dominance, albeit via a democratic tyranny of the majority. Grievances are louder in exiled ethnic circles, where secession still appears an option to some. The previous junta frequently cited the numerous ceasefires it secured with ethnic groups as one of its achievements. The agreements usually allowed rebels to remain armed and create business niches in exchange for cessations of hostilities, temporarily placating rebel leaders into not raising issues on political dialogue. The junta's approach was that only when no armed groups challenged the military throughout Burma, would a political dialogue be embarked upon. However, it adopted a glacial approach to solving the political aspects, frustrating the minorities. The Burmese government needs to make sure that the current agreements progress beyond ceasefires. The government has to note that seeking to drown ethnic grievances with either economic incentives or military action would at best only treat the symptoms and not the causes of Burma's ethnic issues. The rebels would have to learn to adapt to a possible new political agreement if the ceasefires hold, entailing the demobilisation of generations of troops who have never seen peace. Both sides would also have to demilitarise their territories and their mentalities to work together. A federal structure may be the best inclusive and peaceful option for Burma's myriad ethnic groups to pursue. Certain aspects of the current constitution would have to be amended and more power devolved to the regional parliaments. Ethnic representatives, be it under the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, or opposition parties, could be given greater roles and duties in both regional and union-level affairs. The Tatmadaw's ingrained phobia of federalism would also have to be dealt with, along with hardliners' dissatisfactions with the Tatmadaw playing a perceived smaller role in politics. Democracy would be the best system under which mutually agreeable arrangements could be negotiated and ethnic rights respected. However, democracy alone would not automatically resolve the issues. Both sides would have to take leaps of faith, and the government would have to create irreversible and institutionalised guarantees of ethnic rights. Burma's nascent peace process faces many obstacles. And the ball is now in everybody's court. Kyaw San Wai, a Burmese national, is a research analyst with the External Programmes at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. His research interests include ethnic politics and civil society in Burmese politics. RSIS Commentaries. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Beyond-ceasefires-Burmas-precarious-peace-process-30176566.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Nationmultimediacom-Opinion+%28NationMultimedia.com+-+Opinion%29 ----------------------------------------- Myanmar: Demand Open Trial, Retrial And Dropping Of Contempt Friday, 24 February 2012, 3:25 pm Press Release: Asian Human Rights Commission AHRC-OLT-003-2012 An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to the Chief Justice of Myanmar/Burma U Tun Tun Oo Chief Justice Office of the Supreme Court Office No. 24 Naypyitaw MYANMAR Tel: + 95 67 404 080/ 071/ 078/ 067 or + 95 1 372 145 Fax: + 95 67 404 059 Dear Chief Justice, Myanmar: Demand Open Trial, Retrial And Dropping Of Contempt Proceedings In Case Of Phyo Wai Aung The Asian Human Rights Commission is writing to you concerning the case of Phyo Wai Aung, the young man whom the Myanmar Police Force have falsely accused of conducting a bombing at the traditional New Year festival during 2010. The AHRC has been closely following this case since the beginning, and has documented multitudinous miscarriages of justice throughout the investigation and trial proceedings. The latest of these miscarriages occurred on Monday, 20 February 2012 when the judge in the closed court in the central prison where the trial has been going on ordered that contempt of court proceedings begin against the defendant and his two lawyers and curtailed the defendant's testimony. According to the information that we have received, the lawyers, U Kyaw Hoe and Daw Thinza Hlaing had been examining their client concerning the taking of advance testimony from a witness before the actual trial had begun. When the defendant cast doubt on the manner in which the judge responsible for taking this advance testimony had conducted the inquiry and the defence lawyer asked if it appeared that evidence had been deliberately withheld--since the purpose of the advance testimony was evidently to deny the defendant a witness who could provide him with an alibi--the prosecution claimed that the defence had intentionally insulted the judicial and legal officers involved in the case and asked for legal action to be taken against the two defence lawyers and the defendant. The defendant's lawyers objected that no legal ground existed for action against them as they were just rebutting the evidence brought against their client, but Judge U Aung Thein ordered that charges be laid against the lawyers and their client either under section 228 of the Penal Code, for intentionally causing an insult to a judicial officer or under the Contempt of Courts Act section 3, 1926. The order to charge the defendant and lawyers not only demonstrates the utter lack of credibility of the trial process in this case but also raises serious questions about the rights of any defendant in a Myanmar court to issue a defence on the facts of the case. Phyo Wai Aung and his lawyers were doing no more than submit a defence testimony in response to the facts alleged by the prosecution. They did not raise questions concerning the evidence submitted by the judge in order to cause insult or do anything else in contempt of the judiciary, but merely as part of the defence of the accused, as is his legal right. If doing no more than attempting to rebut prosecution evidence submitted to court through a judicial officer constitutes an act of contempt, then woe to all accused in Myanmar, since in any case where anyone attempts to cast doubt on the evidence presented by a judicial officer in order to rebut the prosecution case, he or she could be charged with committing a criminal offence. The logic of this order to prosecute for contempt of court is nothing other than that a judicial officer's evidence cannot be subject to cross examination. As this logic is clearly nonsensical, a decision needs to be made from higher up in the judiciary to suspend these meaningless criminal actions against the two lawyers and their client without delay. The question of the criminal charges being brought against the lawyers and Phyo Wai Aung is of course by no means the only one pertaining to this case with which we are concerned. On the contrary, it is just the latest in a long line of persistent gross injustices and abuses of fundamental human rights that have been on display from the moment of the defendant's arrest in April 2010. The most glaring among those features is the holding of the trial behind closed and locked doors in the Insein central prison, where the defendant has been held since his arrest. After on some occasions even the family of the defendant was not allowed inside to hear the trial, the presiding judge recorded in his diary that whoever was allowed into the court or not was not his concern and was a matter for the prison officials. A lawyer took this matter of access to the court all the way to the Supreme Court. In January 2011, Judge Myint Thein of the Supreme Court ruled that he saw no cause to interfere in the proceedings, noting that the order for the trial to be heard in a closed courtroom was justified because the case was "not an ordinary criminal case but a well-known case". In other words, for the very reason that the case would attract onlookers, it apparently has to be held behind closed doors. This preposterous reasoning, like the reasoning that a defendant who does no more than legally defend himself may be subject to a charge of contempt, which goes completely against the claims of the government of Myanmar to be implementing principles of justice in the holding of criminal trials, including open court. Therefore, we take this opportunity to call for a review of the case against Phyo Wai Aung and for it to be transferred to an open court without delay, where members of the public, his family and legal advocates may assemble without interference and peaceably hear the proceedings against him. The case against Phyo Wai Aung is fatally flawed for other reasons too. Just to mention one or two, the current judge hearing the case is the fourth judge since the case began. Both the Criminal Procedure Code and the Courts Manual make clear that where new judges take up cases, the defence has a right to request that the trial be reheard. Although Phyo Wai Aung's defence lawyers have repeatedly submitted requests at all levels for the trial to be reheard, this has not happened. From the point of view of the AHRC, in a complicated and important case of this sort, it would be inconvenient although perhaps unavoidable that the presiding judge might be changed once in the course of trial, but that four judges in a row hear proceedings makes the prospect of justice remote indeed. Other persistent flaws in the case include the refusal of the court to allow the defence to cross-examine prosecution witnesses fully; the resistance of the prosecution to give evidence to the defence to which the latter is entitled; the failure to call prosecution witnesses to the court, instead receiving from them "advance" testimonies made in another court, and thereby denying the defence the right to cross-examine them, and a wide variety of procedural defects. These failures are procedural. The lack of any solid evidence against the accused, the failure of the court to admit evidence in his defence, the use of torture to extract confession, and many other elements in the case all contribute to our finding that the case ought never have gone to court. For these reasons, we call for a retrial, or for the case to be dismissed on the grounds that it is fatally flawed and evidence-less. To reiterate, we are calling on the Supreme Court to: (1) Stop the pressing of contempt charges against Phyo Wai Aung and his lawyers, U Kyaw Hoe and Daw Thinza Hlaing. (2) Transfer the case against Phyo Wai Aung to an open district court. (3) Order a retrial of the case, or if possible, take steps to have the case dismissed as groundless, fruitless, illegal and unjust. Finally, we also take this opportunity to renew a call of the Asian Human Rights Commission's sister organisation, the Asian Legal Resource Centre, dated 22 December 2011 (ALRC-OLT-009-2011) for the licences of 32 lawyers that the Supreme Court revoked for political reasons to be restored at the earliest possible opportunity. We note that a number of these lawyers were, like the lawyers in the current case, charged with contempt or under section 228, and sentenced to periods of imprisonment or fined, after which they lost their licences. We observe that not only these lawyers but also others handling other types of cases have also been imprisoned and lost their licences in cases of contempt. We construe that a pattern of behaviour exists in Myanmar courts whereby judges use the threat of contempt or section 228 proceedings to intimidate lawyers and thereby prevent them from performing their legitimate tasks of defending their clients, as in the case of Phyo Wai Aung. We note that at present the new legislature in Myanmar is undertaking to review many old laws, and accordingly we call for a thorough review of the law on contempt so that it not be systematically abused, as at present, so as to prevent lawyers from undertaking their legitimate tasks, and thereby to deny defendants their legal rights. Yours sincerely, Wong Kai Shing Executive Director Asian Legal Resource Centre, Hong Kong Copies to: The President, Naypyitaw Director General, Office of the Attorney General, Naypyitaw Chairperson, Legislative and Judicial Affairs Committee, Pyithu Hluttaw, Naypyitaw Chairperson, Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, Yangon United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Geneva United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges & lawyers, Geneva Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Regional Office, Bangkok # # # About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1202/S00627/myanmar-demand-open-trial-retrial-and-dropping-of-contempt.htm ------------------------------------------ 22 MYANMAR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAUGHT PACKED IN A VAN Bernama Media Bernama - JITRA, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- Twenty-two Myanmar illegal immigrants were detained by the dog patrol unit (K9) of the Kubang Pasu District Police Headquarters at Km 24 of the North-South Highway heading south at noon today. The illegal immigrants comprised 15 adults and seven children in a tourist van believed to be from Changlun heading to Kulim. Kubang Pasu police chief Supt Ibrahim Mohamed Yusuf said in the 1.10 pm check, the van was found heavily packed with passengers without valid travel documents. "Apparently the modus operandi by the group involved was to carry out their operation during lunch hour on Friday with the belief that checks would not be so stringent as Muslim officers were away for Friday prayers," he told reporters here. He said this was the biggest illegal immigrant case for the K9 unit so far as the unit used to nab four or five illegal immigrants at one time in the past. "We will investigate the case under Section 26A of the Anti-Human Trafficking Act and the Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act and the case has been referred to the Immigration Department for further action," he said. -- BERNAMA ASMA KAY CHW AO http://my.news.yahoo.com/22-myanmar-illegal-immigrants-caught-packed-van-112613648.html ---------------------------------------------- Lim Hng Kiang to attend 18th Asean Economic Minsters' Retreat in Myanmar Published on Feb 24, 2012 Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang will be attending the 18th Asean Economic Ministers' Retreat in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar from Feb 25 to 26, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced on Friday. During the two day retreat, Mr Lim and other ministers will discuss the current status of the implementation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC), which is targeted for 2015, and the challenges they will face in seeing it through. The ministers will also examine further ways to enhance Asean's external relations with its dialogue partners. These will include the implementation of the Asean Framework on Regional Closer Economic Partnership (RCEP), a key initiative which was endorsed by leaders at the 19th Asean Summit in November 2011. Mr Lim will be accompanied by MTI officials. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_770257.html ------------------------------------------ China Urges Burma to Secure Border, Infrastructure Projects By PATRICK BOEHLER / THE IRRAWADDY Friday, February 24, 2012 China voiced its concerns about the security of its border with Burma on Thursday during the first full day of a five-day visit by Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann, who was also urged to ensure that Chinese-backed infrastructure projects inside the country proceed smoothly. Peace and stability in the border areas are in the interests of both countries, Jia Qinglin, the fourth highest-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party, told Shwe Mann during a meeting yesterday. A summary of the talks aired by Chinese national television CCTV on Thursday evening hinted at frank discussions. A toned-down transcript of the television news summary was published on the website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday. China hopes that Burma can peacefully solve problems in northern Burma, Jia was quoted as saying in the original television news summary. We also wish to respond to the Burmese request to continue to assist and jointly safeguard peace and security in areas along the Sino-Burmese border. Jia, who is also the chairman of the standing committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, a national political advisory body, made the remarks amid an ongoing conflict between the Burmese army and ethnic Kachin rebels that has sent thousands fleeing to border areas. Efforts to restart peace talks between the Burmese government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of the Kachin Independence Army, have stalled in recent months. Last week, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied reports of Kachin refugees fleeing across the border to China. Talks hosted by China in January between the government and the KIO did not lead to an easing of the conflict, despite a renewed pledge by President Thein Sein on Union Day to bring peace to ethnic areas along Burma's borders. Jia and Shwe Mann also discussed infrastructure projects in Burma contracted to Chinese companies, according to the television news summary. The extensive infrastructure projects, such as railways, highways, ports and pipelines agreed upon in recent years, have helped to pull the Burmese economy forward, Jia was quoted as saying. We have to establish trust, strengthen cooperation, avoid interference and guarantee the smooth progress of [contracted] projects, he added. The earlier they are completed, the earlier benefits can be reaped. Jia's comments were likely intended as a reminder to Burma that Beijing doesn't want to see a repeat of Thein Seins's decision last year to pull the plug on the Chinese-backed Myitsone dam project, which would have produced up to 6,000 megawatts of electricity, primarily for Chinese consumption. Shwe Mann last held talks with Jia in Naypyidaw in April last year. In the afternoon, Shwe Mann met with General Chen Bingde, chief of the general staff of the Peoples Liberation Army. The content of the meeting beyond diplomatic platitudes was not made public. Chen had hosted Shwe Mann, then number three of the military junta, during the latters visit to Beijing in September 2010. Shwe Mann told Chinese media before his departure that this was his seventh visit to China. Shwe Manns visit is scheduled to last until Sunday. He and the parliamentary delegation he is leading are yet to meet the Chinese Communist Partys number two Wu Bangguo, who is also the head of the Chinese Peoples Congress, Chinas national parliament. Wu is the official host of the Burmese delegation. On Friday, Shwe Mann met Li Yuanchao, the up and coming head of the Communist Partys powerful Organization Department. He is later expected to visit the port city of Tianjin. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=23092
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