News & Articles on Burma-24 September 2012-uzl

News & Articles on Burma 24 September 2012 ---------------------------------------- Suu Kyi optimistic Burma will have a happy ending Aung San Suu Kyi Calls for Reconciliation in Burma A Voice From Myanmar, Worthy of a Heros Welcome 13 Peace Activists Charged in Burma Burma President Thein Sein bids to regain Chinas trust Thein Sein to Address UN, Meet Clinton in New York Hard lines, red lines and green lines Suu Kyi to speak at Yale Myanmar leader stalls investment law Friedman: Why not truly honor the lady from Myanmar? Kachin Silence to Avoid Worsening Crisis: Suu Kyi Thein Sein Concludes China Visit Myanmar's parliamentarians, business delegates visit Singapore ----------------------------------------- Suu Kyi optimistic Burma will have a happy ending Date: September 24, 2012 Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi awarded Global Citizen Award for dedication to humanitarian rights. NEW YORK: Just after midnight on Saturday, a crowd began gathering on a narrow stretch of footpath at Queens College. The people came from all over New York and as far away as Miami and North Carolina, but originally, they and their families were from Burma. They stood in line overnight to see Aung San Suu Kyi, in New York as part of her first visit to the US in about 40 years. Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's opposition leader and Nobel Peace Price winner, at Queens College in New York. No hint of bitterness Aung San Suu Kyi accepts the applause at Queen's College in New York, and below, some of the hundreds of Burmese in the audience. Photo: The New York Times ''As soon as I heard she was coming, I decided I had to be here,'' said Aung Kaung Myat, 25, a Burmese man living in Buffalo. ''I got in line at 1am.'' Advertisement Now leader of the opposition and a member of the Burmese parliament, Ms Suu Kyi, 67, spent 15 years under house arrest and has long been an international symbol of personal sacrifice and the struggle for human rights. Yet there was no hint of bitterness from Ms Suu Kyi as she was lauded by New York politicians, was questioned by students and spoke to Burmese immigrants as if to a room full of old friends. ''Dissidents can't be dissidents forever,'' she said in response to a question from a Queens College student about serving in Burma's government after so many years as its most prominent opponent. ''I don't believe in professional dissidents; it's just a phase, like adolescence.'' Ms Suu Kyi's release, her visit and her role in parliament are all steps the Burmese government, headed by former general President Thein Sein, has taken from its authoritarian past. In Washington last week, she urged the easing of US sanctions on Burma, saying they had played their political role. But on Saturday she made it clear that much work remained. ''While we are started on the path, we are not yet anywhere near our goal of a truly democratic society,'' she said. Ms Suu Kyi's schedule also included a discussion at Columbia University moderated by journalist Ann Curry. There, Ms Suu Kyi spoke of how Burma's economic troubles had pushed the country towards openness and how she made the most of her time under house arrest with a strict daily schedule of meditation, reading, listening to the radio, and exercising. ''I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of knowing that I've become less disciplined and that I've dissipated those years under detention,'' she said. ''I think I was the healthiest prisoner of conscience in the world.'' Ms Suu Kyi, a slight woman in an emerald green outfit and red flowers in her hair, spoke comfortably in English and her native tongue to the crowds and frequently drew laughs. She spoke about the role of discipline and duty in her own life; of Burma's young people, put at a disadvantage by a crumbling education system; and of the country's movement towards a more open government. At one point, someone asked her about Private Bradley Manning, the army intelligence analyst accused of passing archives of classified documents to WikiLeaks. Ms Suu Kyi said one must balance rights with responsibilities, and that she had been dismayed to learn that some of the leaks revealed information about dissidents, and that might put them in danger in their own countries. From the past hardships and present challenges, she projected optimism about the future: ''We were a country of hope in our part of the world, and we want to become that kind of country again,'' she said. ''A country that proves that there can be such things as happy endings. ''And when that happy ending arrives,'' Ms Suu Kyi said, ''I hope I will be able to welcome all of you into Burma.'' The New York Times Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/suu-kyi-optimistic-burma-will-have-a-happy-ending-20120923-26f2w.html#ixzz27OQX3FEA ---------------------------------------- Aung San Suu Kyi Calls for Reconciliation in Burma Carolyn Presutti September 23, 2012 Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi is in the United States on a 17-day visit. She spoke Saturday at a college in New York on the fifth day of her tour. Burmese Americans waited in line for more than six hours to see their heroine - the woman they call Mommy Suu, greeting her with chants of be healthy. Aung San Suu Kyi was released two years ago after serving nearly 19 years of her life under house arrest by Burmas military government. The country is rich with ethnic diversity which has also been a source of violent conflict. But in New York, different ethnic groups handed her gifts. And, she offered advice. Don't focus on the conflict. Focus on the reconciliation, she said. It's a different concept in a country where transparency is foreign and compromise is new. Filmmaker Robert Lieberman can attest to that. He spent for years in Burma secretly shooting the documentary They Call It Myanmar, for which he also interviewed Aung San Suu Kyi. She's probably right now the only person who can hold this country together, says Lieberman. At another location, on campus at New Yorks Queen College, Aung San Suu Kyi tailored her speech to students. She told them to appreciate their freedoms. "I hope you will all understand what it is like to struggle for human rights and democracy and human rights in Burma. It is just the way you have heard about it. It may seem to you not quite real until you meet it face-to-face. And then you know what it's really like. Sapna Chhatpar Considine protested on Burma's behalf for years and was on site to see Aung San Suu Kyi. Considine said she discovered her passion for human rights as a college student. I think that type of message resonates on campuses all over the world and she knows that. She knows the power of the student groups. She's seen it in Burma. She's seen it throughout the world. Aung San Suu Kyi, now 67, will not be able to run for president when the next elections are held in Burma in three years because of restrictions in the countrys constitution. She says she wants the youth to direct the future of Burma, saying that they have the freedom to question their lawmakers and to demand change -- something she was punished for time and time again in her country. http://www.voanews.com/content/during-new-york-visit-aung-san-suu-kyi-calls-for-reconciliation-in-burma/1513262.html ------------------------------------------- The Day September 24, 2012, 9:15 amComment A Voice From Myanmar, Worthy of a Heros Welcome By CLYDE HABERMAN Long ago, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi lived for a few years in New York. On her arrival in the late 1960s, she was surprised to find a city that was exactly as she had pictured it, skyscrapers and all. I thought, Oh, it looks just like a postcard, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi said on Saturday. Somehow, I never really believed it would be quite like that. Years later, she said, she thought of New York when she was packed off to prison by the thugs in uniform who had taken control of her country, then called Burma and now officially Myanmar. It was the start of what would turn into many years of house arrest stretched across two decades. Not that this city resembled a prison, she said, a disclaimer that brought laughter from hundreds of people listening to her at Queens College. What came to mind was the same sense of surprise at discovering that some things are indeed what one had been told they were. It was a five-star residence by Burmese prison standards, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi said. Still, they shut the door. It was an iron door, and there was this clank, and there were all these bars on the windows. And I suddenly thought: This is prison. Its just like in the books. There was a lesson in this for her audience as well. I hope youll all understand what it is like to struggle for human rights and democracy in Burma, she said. It is just the way you heard about it. The way we have heard about it, and feel it, is that Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, 67, embodies the never-ending struggle for human dignity and decency, everywhere. In Myanmar, where the generals have at long last eased the worst of their repression, she has emerged from house arrest to become the opposition leader in Parliament. She is now visiting the United States, and is supposed to appear later this week at the United Nations, where she worked during her years in New York. If ever a word has suffered from serial abuse, it is hero. Genuine heroes emerge only now and again. New Yorkers knew one such moment in 1990 when Nelson Mandela arrived here soon after his jailers in apartheid South Africa freed him from a 27-year imprisonment. This visit by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is an echo of that experience. The city threw a ticker-tape parade for Mr. Mandela. Maybe if many Burmese lived here, officialdom might have thought about organizing a similar event for Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi. But their numbers are small, only 6,200, according to the best estimates of the Department of City Planning. During Mr. Mandelas visit, this newspaper said in an editorial that he reflected the power of positive heroism. The same words easily apply to the visitor from Burma. She is elegant and brave, thoughtful and witty attributes amply displayed at Queens College, where she was introduced by Representative Joseph Crowley, a major supporter of hers in Congress. She appeared before two groups, speaking in English to one audience, then in Burmese to about 2,000 of her countrymen and women, who sat spellbound. One of them was Minn Dylan Tun, now an American citizen living in Astoria, Queens. He had intended to be in Luxembourg on Saturday, to start graduate school studies there in banking and finance. But when he heard about the scheduled appearance of Daw Suu, as he called her, he changed his travel plans. How could he not? he said; this was so exciting. Daw Suu means Aunt Suu. Some in her country refer to her as Amay Suu, or Mother Suu. In the hall where the Burmese gathered, many after having waited hours in line, a young man in the back led a rhythmic chant in his native language. Mother Suu, he cried. Long live, the crowd shouted back. The audiences heard appeals from Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi to uphold democratic virtues. But hers was an idealism wrapped in obligation and braced with pragmatism. Duty, I think, is considered a very boring word by some young people, she said, but actually it is not. You cannot take for granted the tools of liberty, like voting in free elections, she admonished students: You must use your democratic rights. Otherwise, theyll fade away. She found scant value in dissent for its own sake I dont believe in professional dissidents. I think its just a phase, like adolescence and she spoke of an absolute need to balance rights with responsibilities. Those words rang of themes in an essay, Freedom From Fear, that she wrote in 1991. An excerpt was read by the actress Anjelica Huston. It spoke of free people, how they are the ones, even under oppression, who keep striving to make themselves fit to bear the responsibilities and to uphold the disciplines which maintain a free society. The essay put it this way: Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who go on trying. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/24/a-voice-from-myanmar-worthy-of-a-heros-welcome/ -------------------------------------------- 13 Peace Activists Charged in Burma By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| September 24, 2012 | Thirteen peace activists in Burma have been charged by police and could face jail time for leading marches to mark the UNs International Peace Day without official permission. The protest leaders have been charged under Article 18 of the countrys penal code for staging a public gathering without official permission. Nine of the 13 were involved in Fridays peaceful demonstration in Rangoon where up to 500 people marched from the City Hall to Inya Lake to protest the ongoing civil conflicts in Kachin State and other ethnic areas. Four other activists were similarly charged for organizing an unauthorized protest in Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State. Marches were also held in Mandalay, Moulmein and other townships across the country, though no reports have surfaced of charges being brought against protesters. The nine activists in Rangoon say they are astonished at the chargesthey reportedly face trial and a maximum sentence of one year imprisonment and 30,000 kyat (US $35) fine. However, as they are being charged on 10 accounts of breaking Article 18due to the fact that they allegedly broke the law in each of the 10 townships that the demonstration passed throughthey appear to be facing a maximum sentence of 10 years. All nine activists have been ordered by each of the 10 township police stations to sign a pledge guaranteeing that they will appear before a judge if called upon. One alleged organizer, Jaw Gum, from the Kachin Peace Network, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that he and fellow activist May Sapae Phyu have spent all day going from one police station to another signing police documents relating to their charges. Speaking from Pazundaung Township police station on Monday afternoon, he said, We have been to see the police chiefs of Sanchaung, Botahtaung and Tamwe townships [all in central Rangoon], and were told that we are being charged under Article 18 in each township. On Friday evening, Rangoons chief of police Myint Htwe told reporters at a press conference that, following the march to Inya Lake, those who led the protest will be charged with breaking Article 18 of the Assembly and Procession bylaw enacted in July. One of the more prominent activists that was charged, Nay Myo Zin, a National League for Democracy (NLD) member and social worker who was formerly a political prisoner, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that he was obliged to sign pledges on Sunday at five police stations: Pazundaung, Botahtaung, Tamwe, Kyauktada and Mingalar Taung Nyunt townships. The other activists charged in Rangoon were named as: Moe Thway, Khin Sandar Nyunt, Phway Yu Mon, Kyaw Bo Bo, Win Co and Wai Lu. The six said they were called on by police to sign pledges at 10 police stations: Kyauktada, Botahtaung, Tamwe, Pazundaung, Bahan, Sanchaung, Kyimyintai, Mingalar Taung Nyunt, Kamaryut and Hlaing townships, all in the central district of Rangoon. Three of the other four activists who have been chargednamed as Nay Myo, Bo Bo Han and Maung Maung of the 88 Generation Students group in Shan Statehave been detained in Taunggyi at an unknown location since Friday, an 88 Generation spokesman, Zaw Min, told The Irrawaddy. A fourth activist, Aung Thu, an NLD member in Taunggyi, told The Irrawaddy that he too had been similarly charged with breaking Article 18 as one of the organizers of the Taunggyi protest, however he had not been detained like the other 88 Generation students activists in Taunggyi. Irrawaddy reporter Kyal Pyar contributed to this article. http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/14780 ------------------------------- Burma President Thein Sein bids to regain Chinas trust By Zin Linn Sep 24, 2012 12:11AM UTC President of Burma Thein Sein will make visit the United States after concluding his current China trip. He has been visiting China for a trade fair since 18 September. It is Thein Seins second trip to China since he became head of state in March 2011. President Thein Sein is attending the 9th China-Asean Expo and the China-Asean Investment Summit. The 9th Expo in Nanning aims to promote economic cooperation between China and ASEAN. Burma was named the trade fairs Country of Honor this year and the President spoke at the opening ceremony on behalf of the ASEAN-member states to launch the event, which runs from September 21 to 25. Relation between China and Burma (Myanmar) has become a little strained recently as Burma moves closer to the US. However, according to Reuters News, during a meeting on the sidelines of a trade fair in southern China, Thein Sein said Beijing should not worry. Myanmar is at present in a transitional phase, but Myanmar pays great attention to developing relations with China, and its policy of seeing China has a true friend has not changed, Chinas foreign ministry cited Thein Sein as telling Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping. In the wake of the postponement of the controversial Myitsone dam in Burma, China Power Investment Corp. President Lu Qizhou said the projects suspension by the Burmese government in September 2011 was an upset. It will lead to a series of legal issues, he said. According to Chinese media, CPI representatives have repeatedly met with Burmese officials to lift the dam suspension and in April CPI visited relocated villagers to assure them that the dam will be beneficial. CPI is the project implementer for a series of seven dams on the Irrawaddy and its tributaries in war-torn Kachin State to sell electricity to China, Kachin Development Networking Group said. Ahead of the 9th Trade Fair in Nanning, President Thein Sein visited Yanglin Northwest Agriculture & Forest University of Yanglin High Tech Agriculture Sector Demonstration District on September 19, according to The New Light of Myanmar daily. Prof Sun Quxin Confers Doctoral Degree to U-Thein-Sein Mr Sun Quxin conferred the honorary doctoral degree on the President Thein Sein on 19 September 2012 at the Yanglin University. (Photo: http://www.president-office.gov.mm) Rector of Yezin Agriculture University of Burma Dr Tin Htut and Mr. Sun Quxin signed a MoU for cooperation between the two universities and exchanged documents in the presence of President Thein Sein and party. As a symbol of greeting, Mr Sun Quxin conferred the honorary doctorate degree on the President. The President said in his acceptance speech that he thanked the University for conferring the honorary doctorate degree on him for his poverty eradication efforts through rural development tasks undertaking in Myanmar (Burma) and he was encouraged by it. It looks as if China has been trying to keep Burma within its influential sphere since the ASEAN-member country has also been seeking to join in the US-led Cobra Gold military exercise in the Pacific. A senior Thai army officer was quoted by Japans Kyodo News saying that Burma expressed an interest in joining the Cobra Gold annual military exercises in the future. China may be concerned about military relations between Burma and the US. http://asiancorrespondent.com/89815/china-persuades-burma-to-maintain-the-status-quo/ ---------------------------------- Thein Sein to Address UN, Meet Clinton in New York By LALIT K JHA / THE IRRAWADDY| September 24, 2012 | Burmese President Thein Sein arrives in New York this week to address the annual session of the UN General Assembly, meet world leaders and brief them on the reform process that has been unleashed by his quasi-civilian administration. Thein Sein will deliver a speech at the 67th annual session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday to become the first Burmese President to address the world body in many years. Recently, it has instead fallen to the Burmese foreign minister to address the meeting. In his speech, Thein Sein is expected to inform the world body on the steps his government has been taking on democratic and economic reforms. At the same time, 67-year-old is likely to appeal for the lifting of Western sanctions by highlighting the steps he has already taken to address the concerns of the international community. On Wednesday, Thein Sein is expected to sit down with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who has already met main opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Washington last week. Besides holding as series of meetings with other world leaders gathered in New York on the sidelines of the General Assembly, the former general will make his first public appearance at the Asia Society where his speech on Myanmar in Transition: Opportunities and Challenges will be followed by questions from the audience. The Permanent mission of Burma to the United Nations declined to comment on the presidents visit to the United Nations when approached by The Irrawaddy by email. Meanwhile, in an interview with the popular Charlie Rose Show on the United States PBS news network, Suu Kyi termed the ongoing reforms as a beginning of the path to democracy. Ive often said that this is something that well have to construct for ourselves. Its not there smooth and waiting; its something that we have to build up as we go along because we have been given a chance to do it. Previously, we were not given the chance even to start building the path. We had been struggling for the opportunity to start out on such a path, she said. Observing that politics is always a delicate balance, the Nobel Laureate said that the present government shares her view that the country should move towards democracy. I think they have discovered that the previous military regime form of government did not really work well, she said. I think we have to look at the whole of the government now, not just at the executive. We must look at the executive and we must look at the legislature. I dont mention the judiciary, because thats very weak in Burma at the moment and thats what were trying to build up. But I think we have to look at both the executive and the legislature and then we can come to the conclusion how far we are proceeding towards democracy. I can speak more for the legislature, because I happen to be in it. And I think its going in the right direction. Suu Kyi called being described as an icon embarrassing. Perhaps Im shyer than you think I am, she added. I have tried to keep my sense of responsibility quite apart from peoples opinion of me. If you let peoples opinions of yourselfwhether favorable or unfavorableimpact on your sense of responsibility, then its not as firm as it ought to be. Responding to questions, she praised her relationship with the Burmese president but noted that China has some concerns regarding her nations warming relationship with the United States. I think China has its concerns about the engagement of the United States in Burma because people talk about the strategic distrust between the United States and China because we are a very close neighbor, just across the border from China, obviously they will be concerned about whats going on within our country, she said. But I do not think that we should look upon Burma as a bone of contention. I would like to think of Burma as an area where China and the United States can strengthen their understanding of one another, added the National League for Democracy chairwoman. In New York, Suu Kyi urged the corporate world to invest in Burma in a responsible fashion. I want investment in Burma, but in the right way. Im not just saying, invest in Burma. What Im saying is, invest in Burma in the right way, she said. The right way is what I call democracy-friendly, human rights-friendly investment. If you ask me, it has to begin with transparency. We want to know what kind of people are investing in Burma and for what reason and whether in the long run it will be as beneficial for our people as for the investors themselves. Of course, they must benefit from the situation.http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/14789 ---------------------------------------- 24 September 2012 | last updated at 10:15PM Hard lines, red lines and green lines By Thomas L. Friedman FEAR OF LOSING POWER CORRUPTS: It's time US emulates The Lady ON Wednesday, Myanmar's democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, came to Washington and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony in the Capitol. I was not there, but I read the transcript and was deeply impressed by the emotional tribute delivered by Senator John McCain, who thanked "'The Lady', for teaching me at my age a thing or two about courage". In closing, McCain quoted Suu Kyi's famous dictum that "it is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it". I love that line: it's not power but the fear of losing power that corrupts. It is deeply true and relevant today, when so few leaders now dare to throw caution and polls to the wind and tell people the truth about anything hard or controversial. Suu Kyi gave up 20 years of her life for her country. Many leaders today won't even give up a news cycle. You see it everywhere: Muslims go on a rampage against the United States embassy in Cairo because of a despicable and juvenile anti-Islam video on YouTube, and Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, from the Muslim Brotherhood, at first refuses to condemn them or even properly protect America's diplomatic mission. Only a blistering phone call from President Barack Obama, who no doubt hinted that Egypt wouldn't get another penny of foreign aid if Morsi didn't act, prompted the Egyptian leader to condemn the attack. Muslim Brotherhood officials "explained" that Morsi was torn between the demands of diplomacy and not wanting to alienate his base or be outflanked by even more hardline Salafist Muslims. Sorry, to lead is to choose. Not a good sign. But you know what they say about people in glass houses. In July, Republican Michele Bachmann started a bogus campaign against Muslims in the US government, including a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Bachmann wrote to the leaders of US national security agencies questioning whether the Muslim Brotherhood had infiltrated the federal government. Both McCain and House Speaker John Boehner chastised Bachmann for her politically inspired witch-hunt, but not Eric Cantor, the House majority leader. The ambitious Cantor saw a chance to get a little political edge with the Republican base, against his rival Boehner, and told Charlie Rose of CBS News that we should understand Bachmann: "I think that her concern was about the security of the country." Yes, right, Cantor, and I suppose that was all Senator Joe McCarthy was concerned about, too. Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu of Israel has been loudly demanding that America publicly draw a "red line" in respect to Iran's nuclear programme that would delineate exactly when the US would launch a strike against Teheran. Bibi is Winston Churchill when it comes to demanding that the US draw red lines, but he is a local party boss when America asks him to draw a "green line" delineating where Jewish settlements in the West Bank will stop and a Palestinian state might start. Oh, no! Can't do that, Bibi tells American officials. "I would lose my coalition." So, America is supposed to risk a war with Iran, but Bibi won't risk anything to advance a deal with the Palestinians that might create a little more global legitimacy and sympathy for Israel, and America, in the event of a war with Iran. Thanks a lot. Obama made every mistake in the book in trying to negotiate a "grand bargain" on taxes and spending last year with Boehner. But I've always had one question: Boehner said that he walked away after Obama, at the 11th hour, asked for US$400 billion (RM1.2 trillion) more in taxes to bring along more Democrats. Why did Boehner just walk away and not call Obama back and say, "Here is my deal -- no US$400 billion more -- take the original bargain or leave it." He didn't do that because he was afraid Obama might take it -- and Boehner knew he could not deliver his Tea Party base or would lose his speakership trying. So he didn't try. As for Obama, he's been at his best when he has dared to lead without fearing the politics: taking out Osama bin Laden, securing healthcare without a public option, racing to the top in education and saving the banks rather than throwing all the bankers in jail, which they deserved. And he has been at his worst when he's put politics first: spurning Simpson-Bowles, doubling down on Afghanistan for fear of being called a wimp and dropping "climate change" from his speeches. My gut tells me that this deficit of global leadership can't last. For one thing, the world is getting so interdependent that weak leadership in one country now deeply impacts so many others. Think euro crisis, Israel-Iran or Chinese pollution. And, for another, I don't believe the two most powerful disciplining forces on the planet -- the market and Mother Nature -- will sit idle for another decade and let us keep building these huge financial deficits and carbon surpluses without one day delivering some punishing blows that will require Herculean leadership to deal with. So let's honour The Lady from Myanmar, not just with a medal, but in a way that really matters -- with emulation. NYT Read more: Hard lines, red lines and green lines - Columnist - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/hard-lines-red-lines-and-green-lines-1.147528#ixzz27O9BjjjP ------------------------------------- Suu Kyi to speak at Yale AP / September 24, 2012 NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) Aung San Suu Kyi, whose struggle for democracy and human rights in Myanmar earned her a Nobel Peace Prize, is coming to Yale University to give a talk. The Myanmar opposition leader is scheduled to give a public speech on Thursday. Suu Kyi was elected to parliament after 15 years of house arrest and chairs the National League for Democracy in the Southeast Asian nation also known as Burma. She waged a peaceful struggle against Myanmars generals over more than two decades. Suu Kyi will visit Yale under the auspices of the Chubb Fellowship, one of the highest honors accorded to a visiting speaker. Chubb Fellows have included former U.S. presidents and prominent figures in government, industry and the arts.end of story marker Copyright 2012 Globe Newspaper Company. http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/2012/09/24/suu-kyi-speak-yale/l2ou9ojfez1vEdTYvDCmbN/story.html ------------------------------------- Myanmar leader stalls investment law Posted: 24 September 2012 1659 hrs Myanmar President Thein Sein. (AFP/File - Tomohiro Ohsumi) YANGON: Myanmar's president has delayed an eagerly-awaited foreign investment bill, an official said on Monday, asking for amendments to the law that aims to open up the long-isolated nation to overseas trade. Thein Sein returned the draft law to parliament at the weekend "with remarks", according to Zaw Htay in the presidential office. "The president wanted to amend some of the provisions in the bill, which was approved by the Parliament," he told AFP. Myanmar is seen by many investors as the next regional frontier market as businesses eye its huge natural resources, large population and strategic location between China and India. A spate of reforms have seen the international community roll back many of the tough sanctions imposed during military rule, which was replaced by a quasi-civilian regime last year. Global corporate giants from Coca-Cola to General Electric have already begun to vie for a share of an expected economic boom in the impoverished nation. But observers had expressed concern over so-called protectionist measures in the law, including that foreign firms would only be able to own up to a 50-per cent stake in joint ventures with local partners. - AFP/xq http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/1227740/1/.html -------------------------------------- Friedman: Why not truly honor the lady from Myanmar? Sunday, September 23, 2012 WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, Myanmar's democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, came here and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony in the Capitol. I was not there, but I read the transcript and was deeply impressed by the emotional tribute delivered by Sen. John McCain, who thanked "the lady, for teaching me at my age a thing or two about courage." In closing, McCain quoted Aung San Suu Kyi's famous dictum that "it is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it." I love that line: It's not power but the fear of losing power that corrupts. It is deeply true and relevant today, when so few leaders now dare to throw caution and polls to the wind and tell people the truth about anything hard or controversial. Aung San Suu Kyi gave up 20 years of her life for her country. Many leaders today won't even give up a news cycle. You see it everywhere: Muslims go on a rampage against the U.S. Embassy in Cairo because of a despicable and juvenile anti-Muslim video on YouTube - and the new Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi, from the Muslim Brotherhood, at first refuses to condemn them or even properly protect America's diplomatic mission. Only a blistering phone call from President Barack Obama, who no doubt hinted that Egypt wouldn't get another penny of foreign aid if Morsi didn't act, prompted the Egyptian leader to condemn the attack. Muslim Brotherhood officials "explained" that Morsi was torn between the demands of diplomacy and not wanting to alienate his base or be outflanked by even more hard-line Salafist Muslims. Sorry, to lead is to choose. Not a good sign. But you know what they say about people in glass houses. In July, Rep. Michele Bachmann started a bogus campaign against Muslims in the U.S. government, including a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Both McCain and the House speaker, John Boehner, chastised Bachmann for her politically inspired witch hunt - but not Eric Cantor, the House majority leader. The ambitious Cantor saw a chance to get a little political edge with the Republican base, against his rival Boehner, and told Charlie Rose of CBS News that we should understand Bachmann: "I think that her concern was about the security of the country." Yes, right, Cantor, and I suppose that was all Sen. Joe McCarthy was concerned about, too. Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, of Israel, has been loudly demanding that America publicly draw a "red line" in respect to Iran's nuclear program that would delineate exactly when the U.S. would launch a strike against Tehran. Bibi is Winston Churchill when it comes to demanding that the U.S. draw red lines, but he is a local party boss when America asks him to draw a "green line" delineating where Jewish settlements in the West Bank will stop and a Palestinian state might start. Oh, no! Can't do that, Bibi tells American officials. "I would lose my coalition." So America is supposed to risk a war with Iran, but Bibi won't risk anything to advance a deal with the Palestinians that might create a little more global legitimacy and sympathy for Israel, and America, in the event of a war with Iran. Thanks a lot. Obama made every mistake in the book in trying to negotiate a "grand bargain" on taxes and spending last year with Boehner. But I've always had one question: Boehner said that he walked away after Obama, at the 11th hour, asked for $400 billion more in taxes to bring along more Democrats. Why did Boehner just walk away and not call Obama back and say, "Here is my deal - no $400 billion more - take the original bargain or leave it." He didn't do that because he was afraid Obama might take it - and Boehner knew he could not deliver his tea party base or would lose his speakership trying. So he didn't try. As for Obama, he's been at his best when he has dared to lead without fearing the politics: taking out Osama bin Laden, securing health care without a public option, racing to the top in education and saving the banks rather than throwing all the bankers in jail. And he has been at his worst when he's put politics first: spurning Simpson-Bowles, doubling down on Afghanistan and dropping "climate change" from his speeches. My gut tells me that this deficit of global leadership can't last. For one thing, the world is getting so interdependent that weak leadership in one country now deeply impacts so many others. Think euro crisis, Israel-Iran or Chinese pollution. And, for another, I don't believe the two most powerful disciplining forces on the planet - the market and Mother Nature - will sit idle for another decade and let us keep building these huge financial deficits and carbon surpluses without one day delivering some punishing blows that will require herculean leadership to deal with. So let's honor The Lady from Myanmar, not just with a medal, but in a way that really matters - with emulation. Friedman is a columnist for the New York Times and a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner. http://www.chron.com/news/article/Friedman-Why-not-truly-honor-the-lady-from-3887803.php ---------------------------------------- Kachin Silence to Avoid Worsening Crisis: Suu Kyi By LAWI WENG / THE IRRAWADDY| September 24, 2012 | Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said that she will always condemn human rights abuses and acts outside the rule of law but would not criticize any side in the ongoing Kachin State conflict in order not to exacerbate the fighting. Speaking to members of the Burmese community at Queen College in New York on Sunday, Suu Kyi said, There are people who criticized me when I remained silence on this case. They can do so as they are not satisfied with me. But, for me, I do not want to add fire to any side of the conflict. The Nobel Laureate told hundreds of Burmese diaspora in the United States that to solve one conflict means being calm and considering the roots of the problem, instead of pointing fingers and blaming each other. There are times when you have power, but there are also times when you do not have power, said Suu Kyi. When you think that you have the power to dominate other people, this is not a solution that can last for a long time. Observers have urged Suu Kyi to participate in the Peacemaking Working Committee to solve the Kachin conflict as they believe neutral figures must mediate between the government and rebels to build trust and find a solution. Suu Kyi chairs the Lower House of Parliaments Rule of Law Committee but has not had a chance to participate in solving the Kachin conflict. Some critics have condemned the 67-year-old for staying silent on Kachin as well as the sectarian violence between Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in western Burma. When one audience member submitted a question regarding the Kachin conflict, Suu Kyi replied that her National League for Democracy party is not in power. The government is running the peace process and so it is not for her party to score political points, but if people see bad things happening then they must speak out, she said. We should remove such fear and hate in order that all of us can live with unity, said Suu Kyi, referring to the climate of fear which characterized the previous half-century of military dictatorship. Burma is a union where there are different ethnic people and all the different minorities make the country stronger, she added. Meanwhile, the BBC (Burmese Version) reported on Sunday that serious abuses are ongoing in Kachin State where fighting between government troops and the ethnic rebel Kachin Independence Army continues unabated during Suu Kyis visit to the US. Ma Hka, a Kachin lawyer representing the families of four alleged torture victims, told the BBC that he sent letters to President Thein Sein, Northern Regional Command and also the UN Human Rights Commission on Sept. 20 to demand a thorough investigation of serious sexual and physical abuse committed to his clients under interrogation. The victims were burned by candles if they refused to perform homosexual acts and this is the main issue that we want the authorities to take action about, he told the BBC. Two victims from Myitkyina and two from Thar Law Gyi Village in Waingmaw Township were captured by government troops from Light Infantry Battalion 37 based nearby. Military Intelligence officers are accused of torturing the villagers who were suspected of being Kachin rebels. The four were detained in June around the one-year anniversary of resumed hostilities after a 17-year ceasefire broke down in 2011. Humanitarian groups report that around 90,000 civilians have so far been displaced by the fighting in northernmost Burma. http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/14767 ---------------------------------------- Thein Sein Concludes China Visit By PATRICK BOEHLER / THE IRRAWADDY| September 24, 2012 | Burmas President Thein Sein on Saturday concluded his second visit to China since taking office in March 2011. The five-day trip through four Chinese provinces focused on encouraging investment in Burma and included a meeting with the man most believe will be Chinas next president, Xi Jinping. However, the trip did not result in any major announcements. The older leadership generation created and cultivated a deep friendship between China and Burma, he told a provincial Communist Party official on Friday, according to a Guangxi Autonomous Region state-media release. We will continue to uphold this tradition. China is Burmas largest investor. By August, Chinese direct investment amounted to US $14.1 billion, according to figures cited by the Burmese president in a speech on Friday. Bilateral trade in the first half of the year reached $3.5 billion. Thein Seins visit comes just days after he received Wu Bangguo, a Chinese Communist Party Politburo member who is at the helm of the countrys rubber-stamp parliament, in Naypyidaw. Wus visit was the highest of a Chinese official in a decade. The president departed from Naypyidaw on his second trip to China last Tuesday. In transit at Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, Thein Sein met with the provincial party secretary Qin Guangrong and governor Liu Jiheng. Yunnan is Chinas province bordering Burmas Kachin State where an ongoing civil war has provoked Chinese concern. Yunnan also hosts the headquarters of the joint security force fighting piracy and drug trafficking along the Mekong River. Thein Seins visit came a couple of days ahead of the murder trial of Burmese militiaman, Naw Kham, at a court in Kunming. Party Secretary Qin stressed Yunnans interests in the construction of economic co-operation zones which were previously discussed near the provinces border hub Ruili and elsewhere. [Yunnan Province] wants to contribute in the construction of the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone, Qin was quoted as saying by the provincial government mouthpiece Yunnan Daily. Kyaukpyu is in Burmas Arakan State and is the base for operations for two massive oil and gas pipelines under construction which lead to Yunnan. The Burmese president continued his trip to Xian, the capital of the central province Shaanxi, where his visit focused on agricultural matters. He also received an honorary doctorate from Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, which has set up a scholarship program for five Burmese students per year, and visited the Yangling Agricultural Hi-tech Industries Demonstration Zone, a hub for agricultural research in China. He also held talks with governor Zhao Zhengyong, and visited a Buddhist temple and the grave of Chinas first emperor. On Thursday, Thein Sein visited Shenzhen, Chinas first special economic zone, which borders Hong Kong. We invite Shenzhen investors to join in the construction of Burmese ports, telecommunications equipment and other infrastructure projects, he told Shenzhen mayor Xu Qin, according to a local television broadcast of the meeting. His visit coincided with a visit by Khin Aung Myint, the speaker of Burmas Upper House of Parliament, to Shenzhen to participate in a regional conference by the Chinese Peoples Association for Peace and Disarmament. On Friday, Thein Sein met with Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi autonomous region. Xi, who made headlines earlier this month by canceling several meetings, including with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for purported health reasons, is widely expected to succeed Hu Jintao as the Chinese head of state later this year. Xi last met a senior Burmese figure in May when ruling Union Solidarity and Development Partys secretary general Htay Oo visited Beijing. A report by the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua quoted Xi asking for both sides to focus on ensuring the smooth implementation of major cooperation projects. Thein Seins suspension last year of the Myitsone dam project, a Chinese-run hydropower plant in Kachin State, raised concerns among Chinese investors over the willingness of the new civilian government to back deals agreed upon by the former military regime. Also on Friday, Thein Sein inaugurated the 9th Asean-China Trade Expo in Nanning, which focused on Burmese agricultural, jade and wood products. The Burmese president along with Minister of Commerce Win Myint participated in a roundtable discussion with representatives of major Chinese companies. We welcome foreign direct investment on condition that it doesnt harm the peoples interests and the environment, Thein Sein said, according to a transcript. Tang Yi, the CEO of China National Technology Import & Export Co., a state-owned trader of industrial technology, revealed that the company had invested $200 million in Burma in hydro-energy, construction and agriculture. The other panelists represented the leading fields of Chinese investment in Burma: the state-owned construction contractor China Machinery Engineering Corp.; the defense contractor with mining investments in Kachin State Norinco; Tianjin Great Wall Garments Group; and telecommunications equipment and services provider Huawei. Traveling with the Burmese president were Minister for Foreign Affairs Wunna Maung Lwin, Minister of Religious Affairs Thura Myint Maung, Minister of Presidents Office Soe Thein, Minister of National Planning and Economic Development Kan Zaw, Minister of Finance and Revenue Win Shein, Minister of Transport Nyan Tun Aung, Minister of Commerce Win Myint, and two deputy ministers. Lt-Gen Aung Than Tut, the head of the Bureau of Special Operations 2 of the Ministry of Defence, who is in charge of military operations in the area bordering China and the Golden Triangle, was also part of the delegation. In a lighter moment before returning to Naypyidaw on Saturday, Thein Sein confessed a fondness for Chinese television dramas. Since childhood, I have been watching Chinese television, the president told China Radio International. Thein Seins visit to the worlds second largest economy concluded two days before he embarked on a historic visit to the United States on Monday. http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/14709 --------------------------------------------- Myanmar's parliamentarians, business delegates visit Singapore By S. Ramesh | Posted: 24 September 2012 1958 hrs SINGAPORE: Myanmar's Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, Thura U Shwe Mann, is in Singapore for a four-day visit. On Monday, Mr Shwe Mann called on Singapore's Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, reaffirming the warm relations between both countries. Mr Goh was in Myanmar in June this year, and noted Myanmar has the opportunity to become the new regional economic powerhouse if the country can succeed in its political and economic reforms. Mr Goh added that both Singapore and Myanmar can complement each other for mutual benefits. Singapore is Myanmar's fourth largest trading partner, with bilateral trade amounting to some S$1.6 billion last year. Mr Shwe Mann is accompanied by five Members of Parliament, officials and business representatives from Myanmar. Earlier in the day, Mr Shwe Mann and his delegation called on Singapore's Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer, who hosted them to lunch and a tour of Parliament House. - CNA/de http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1227758/1/.html __._,_.___Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (727)