The Irrawaddy Blog

The enemy is in sight: Attack!

2010-09-27T19:44:00.007+07:00

By HARN LAY / THE IRRAWADDY

262 Monks and Nuns Still in Burmese Prisons

2010-09-27T19:39:00.001+07:00

By WAI MOE
Three years after Burma's military regime crushed monk-led protests, at least 262 Buddhist monks and nuns remain behind bars.

Three years after Burma's military regime crushed monk-led protests in September 2007, at least 262 Buddhist monks and nuns remain behind bars, according to an exiled human rights group based in Thailand.

At an event marking the third anniversary of the uprising, known as the Saffron Revolution, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma (AAPP) said that there are currently 256 monks and six nuns still in the country's notorious prisons, including some who are old and in poor health.

“According to our data, Burma holds more clerics behind bars than any other country. It is quite unfortunate that the Burmese military regime often claims it is promoting Buddhism,” said Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the AAPP.

“We have learned that the well-known leading monk Ashin Gambira, who is currently being held in Kale Prison [near the Indian-Burmese border], is not well due to torture and other mistreatment during interrogation and in prison,” he added.
Ashin Gambira was arrested in November 2007 and later sentenced to 63 years in prison for his role in the protests.

His sentence is second only to that of Ashin Nanda Vantha in its severity. Ashin Nanda Vantha, who is currently being held in Lashio Prison, in northern Shan State, is serving a 71-year sentence after being found guilty of a variety of charges related to the uprising.

More than 30 people are believed to have been killed when the military moved in to end the demonstrations, including Japanese photojournalist Kenji Nagai. No Burmese military official has ever been charged in connection with Nagai's murder, and despite repeated requests from the Japanese government, his belongings—including video footage of the military assault on protesters—have never been returned.

None of the victims' families are likely to see justice anytime soon. It has recently been learned that several of the leading commanders responsible for the crackdown have been promoted and may be in line to hold high-level positions after this year's election, which will see a return to ostensibly civilian rule.

It is believed that the crackdown was overseen by former Lt-Gen Myint Swe under the orders of the office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army). Assisting him in carrying out the orders was Maj-Gen Hla Htay Win, the then commander of the Rangoon Regional Military Command, and Brig-Gen Win Myint, the former commander of Light Infantry Division 77.

Myint Swe retired from his military post as part of a reshuffle in late August and is now a candidate of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) for the Rangoon regional parliament, running in Seikgyi Khanaungto Township.

Observers in Rangoon say he is tipped by junta head Snr-Gen Than Shwe to become chief minister of the Rangoon region, where Burma’s largest city and chief commercial hub are located, after the Nov. 7 election.

Hla Htay Win has also risen significantly since the crackdown. A year after the uprising was crushed, he was promoted from major general to lieutenant general and reappointed chief of armed forces training and made a member of the ruling State Peace and Development Council.

Win Myint, whose LID 77 was responsible for killing Nagai and an unknown number of protesters on Sept. 27, 2007, subsequently became Hla Htay Win's successor as Rangoon regional commander post and was promoted to major general. In the latest reshuffle, he was promoted to the position of military appointment general.

Marking the third anniversary of the Saffron Revolution—Burma's largest mass uprising against military rule in two decades—New York-based Human Rights Watch called for “an open and impartial investigation into the violence.”

In its statement, the group also called on the United States and Southeast Asian leaders to press the Burmese junta to end its escalating campaign of repression, release more than 2,100 political prisoners and start a genuine dialogue with the democratic opposition.

However, the regime shows no signs of relenting in its efforts to snuff out dissent. In February, it sentenced former political prisoner and monk Ashin Nyana to 22 years in prison for writing a Buddhist tract calling on monks to be more involved in worldly affairs. Currently held in Myitkyina Prison in Kachin State, he also served sentences in the 1980s and 1990s.

NLD Marks 22 Years

2010-09-27T19:37:00.004+07:00

By BA KAUNG
At an event marking the NLD's 22nd anniversary, Vice-chairman Tin Oo says the party is reconsolidating and will be revitalized when Suu Kyi is released from detention.
As it marks its 22nd anniversary on Monday, the disbanded National League for Democracy (NLD) party has claimed that it is currently reconsolidating and will be revitalized when its leader Aung San Suu Kyi is released from detention.

Under the surveillance of plainclothed security forces, the anniversary event was held at the home of party vice-chairman Tin Oo in Rangoon and was attended by 300 party members and some veteran politicians.

“The NLD will become stronger when Daw Suu is released,” said Tin Oo, 83, who founded the party in 1988 together with Suu Kyi. “We are now consolidating our forces on a steady basis.”

Although the party was disbanded last month for failing to register for the Nov. 7 election, senior party officials claim that the party still exists and will continue its struggle for democracy in Burma.

Party officials said the party's headquarters in Rangoon still opens every day, but that meetings are held in its members' homes in order to avoid confrontation with the regime.

“We will continue to march forward with the principle of nonviolence guided by Daw Suu,” Tin Oo said.

Despie jail threats, the NLD has sent its representatives out to spread the message among the electorate that Burmese citizens have the right not to vote and that they can exercise that right should they find no alternative to the NLD.

Over the past 22 years, the NLD has frequently come under criticism for its unsuccessful struggle against the regime and for its aging leadership. But over the past few months, the party has undergone some changes.

Party Chairman Aung Shwe, who wanted the NLD to contest the election, has not appeared at a party gathering since March 29 when a majority of party members made a decision to boycott the polls.

Aung Shwe and some other top leaders, including party secretary U Lwin, were known for their cautious approach and were often frowned upon by party's active members at the township and regional levels.

They also reportedly discouraged party members from joining in the 2007 monks' protests. Thus, the party has been long infamous for acrimonious relations between the “elders” and the active members at the grassroots level.

This problematic relation has almost been solved since Aung Shwe and U Lwin no longer come to the party meetings, and several party members who were suspended under their leadership have been brought back within the party's fold again, according to Aye Thar Aung, the secretary of the Committee Representing the Peoples' Parliament, an alliance of several political parties which won seats in the last election in 1990.

Asked how the NLD will respond if another mass uprising occurred, Tin Oo said, “We will provide the leadership this time around.”

Led by charismatic Suu Kyi, the NLD won the 1990 election by a landslide, however the results were never honored by the regime.

“Nowadays, U Tin Oo and U Win Tin are effectively leading the party. Daw Suu is also advising them,” Aye Thar Aung said.

Myat Hla, the NLD party chairman of Pegu Township, said that the party's structure is now “more horizontal than vertical.” He was one of the party members who were suspended but recently reinstated.

Although four members of party's Central Executive committee quit the party to form the National Democratic Force NDF to contest the election, both Tin Oo and Win Tin dismiss the idea of restructuring the leadership.

“We cannot carry out a purge within the party,” Win Tin said.

Ethnic Leaders Discuss Military Cooperation

2010-09-27T19:34:00.001+07:00

By SAW YAN NAING and LAWI WENG
Representatives of major ethnic cease-fire groups meet in Chiang Mai to consolidate their alliance and discuss military tactics.

As expectations grow of an armed conflict with Burmese government forces, ethnic leaders met in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand last weekend to exchange military skills and tactics, sources told The Irrawaddy.

The ethnic leaders attending the conference were from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the Shan State Army–North (SSA –North), the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the Chin National Front (CNF), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and the Karen National Union (KNU).

The secret meeting reportedly took place with the aim of consolidating an ethnic alliance to oppose the Burmese army and to develop military training techniques which can be deployed in the field.

“The KNU and the NMSP have an agreement to cooperate if the Burmese government forces attack one or the other,” said a source who requested anonymity.

Four leaders of the NMSP, including party chairman Nai Htaw Mon and army chief Nai Joi Ya, participated in the meeting.

The NMSP, the KIO and the SSA-North have each signed cease-fire agreements with the Burmese regime, but recently rejected joining the junta's border guard force (BGF) plan.

Kachin sources said that KIO leaders who participated in the meeting actively sought suggestions and military cooperation from their fellow ethnic representatives in Chiang Mai as tensions escalate in the northern region.

Earlier this month, several KIO leaders visited China and asked the Chinese authorities to accept Kachin people that seek refuge in China should a war break out between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which is the military wing of the KIO, and Burmese government troops, the sources said.

KIO leaders have also launched a campaign in Kachin State asking Kachin civilians, including housewives and the elderly, to help KIA troops if hostilities break out in the area. The KIO leaders also warned the Burmese government not to send its soldiers into KIO-controlled areas and advised Kachin people not to invite Burmese friends to their homes.

Earleir this month, KIA soldiers fired a warning shot at a Burmese military helicopter as it flew over a KIA-controlled area in northern Burma.

In an interview with The Nation, Bee Htoo, the military chief of the KNPP who also attended the meeting, said, “We are now working closely together, both politically and militarily. I have personally met leaders of the SSA three times this year and we have an exchange committee with the KNU.

“I think there is no other way but to join hands and units and fight together. All groups and factions should know that we have a common enemy,” he said.

No official statement about the meeting has been made by the ethnic groups.
Similarly, a secret meeting was held in Chiang Mai in May at which ethnic representatives discussed avenues of cooperateration, both military and political.

The ethnic sources said that United Wa State Army (UWSA), the strongest ethnic armed group, which has also rejected the BGF proposal, has become the main source of weapons for the other ethnic armies.

NMSP leaders also issued a warning to the regime not to try to deploy troops within five miles of their 14 NMSP-controlled areas. They said they would open fire if Burmese soldiers entered their territory without permission.

There are 17 ethnic cease-fire groups, all of which have been under pressure by the Burmese government since April 2009 to transform their battalions into BGF units.

An Anniversary Written in Blood

2010-09-27T19:30:00.001+07:00

By THE IRRAWADDY
On the third anniversary of the violent suppression of the “Saffron Revolution,” the international community should consider taking immediate concerted and focused actions to secure the human rights, dignity and future of Burma's 54 million people.

Three years ago, Buddhist monks overturned their alms bowls during their morning rounds of the streets of Burma's old capital, Rangoon, and other principal cities and refused to receive offerings from the Burmese ruling generals and their families—historically seen as an act of defiance.

Thus began the protests that came to be known as the “Saffron Revolution”—which reached its climax on Sept 27, when troops put a violent end to the monk-led demonstrations.

The outside world hasn't forgotten the blood-stained anniversary. But neither has the regime—shortly after midnight on Monday, a cyber attack was launched against the Web sites of activist movements and of media organizations, including The Irrawaddy. The exiled media is now accustomed to these crude displays of censorship, which fail to silence the voices of freedom for very long.

The immediate cause of the Sept. 2007 protests was a sudden, government-ordered cut in fuel subsidies, which increased the price of gasoline by as much as 500 percent overnight and led to a spike in the cost of food and other necessities.

The price rises sparked demonstrations that were initially led by a charismatic political group, the 88 Generation Students. The junta cracked down on the movement by arresting many demonstrators, including 13 prominent leaders such as Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Min Zeya, Jimmy, Pyone Cho, Arnt Bwe Kyaw and Mya Aye.

On September 5, 2007, Burmese troops forcibly broke up a peaceful demonstration by Buddhist monks in Pakokku, injuring three monks.

The society of Buddhist monks, the Sangha, demanded an apology by the regime, setting a deadline of Sept. 17. The junta refused, and the monks began their protest, taking to the streets of major cities. Soon they were joined by pro-democracy activists, nuns and local residents.

Within a few days, thousands of demonstrators from all walks of life were pouring onto streets across Burma, demanding political and economic reforms from the military government.

The ruling generals responded by sending soldiers on nighttime raids of dozens of monasteries. Eyewitnesses reported that monks were beaten and arrested.

Despite the raids, hundreds of thousands of Rangoon residents, led by monks, took to the streets of Rangoon on Sept. 27, again demanding political and economic reforms.

The regime response was again a violent one. Soldiers opened fire on the crowds, killing at least nine unarmed protesters. A Japanese photojournalist, Kenji Nagai, also died in the gunfire, his death captured on video and beamed around the world.

The September 2007 peaceful protests and the violent crackdown created new dynamics inside Burma. The country's young, technologically advanced generation acquired a role as publishers of text, audio, and video files illustrating the brutal events within their country.

Suddenly, Burma was attracting the full attention of such international media as the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera. Condemnation of the regime’s suppression of the protests followed from regional and international governments.

Under the increasing pressure, the head of Burma’s military junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, announced in March 2008 that he would allow a civilian government to assume control of the country after a general election.

In present-day Burma, however, all segments of the population have grown hostile to the regime, and the country’s future is still unknown, just weeks ahead of the election, slated to take place on Nov. 7.

The reason for the continued unpopularity of the government is clear—the abuses committed by the junta haven't ceased during the past three years. Oppression of pro-democracy activists continues.

The level of fear, but also anger, among the general population remains unprecedented, fueled by actions taken against religious leaders and also the government indifference to the plight of survivors of the 2008 Cyclone Nargis.

Meanwhile, Burmese jails still hold more than 2,200 political prisoners, including 256 monks and six nuns—more than double the number imprisoned before the 2007 protests.

The junta has sentenced more than 230 political detainees to lengthy prison sentences, some as long as 68 years, for their leadership roles in the “Saffron Revolution.” In effect, the Burmese junta is mocking the UN Security Council, which issued a statement in Oct. 2007 calling for the release of all political prisoners, including Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest. Despite the regime's indifference, the Security Council has taken no action.

International attention in recent months has focused on the power-play between the military and the government’s proxy parties on the one hand and the armed ethnic minority groups, the National League for Democracy, and a small number of new opposition parties on the other, according to Amnesty International.

In a statement on the third anniversary of the violent crackdown on the “Saffron Revolution,” Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Burma researcher, said: “While the international community, including Burma’s Asean neighbours, has been calling for free, fair and inclusive elections there, the plight of thousands of political prisoners has been overlooked.”

The political prisoners are being punished merely for peacefully exercising their rights to free expression, assembly and association. Without their voice, peace, human rights and democracy in Burma are meaningless.

The lives, human rights, dignity and future of Burma’s 54 million people require immediate concerted and focused commitment and actions from the international community.

US, China and Asean: A new strategic triangle

2010-09-27T19:26:00.003+07:00

By KAVI CHONGKITTAVORN
If Asean and China again fail to overcome their difference over the guidelines for their proposed conduct in the disputed sea in the near future, it could be attributed to the US factor.

Do not let the festive mood of "zhong qiu jie"—the mid-autumn festival in Beijing—fool you. Throughout last week's holidays, officials at Chaoyangmen—the offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—worked around the clock following the body language and every word of the Asean and US leaders before, during and after their second meeting in New York on September 24. Beijing wanted to know whether they were ganging up against the Middle Kingdom or not.

The joint statement released after Friday's summit between President Barack Obama and Asean leaders was rather comprehensive and a positive one, demonstrating both sides' paramount goodwill, without antagonising their friends and alliance. It contains two clear messages.

First of all, from now on Asean and the US are strategic partners in principles and policies. This represents a great-leap-forward commitment, given the condescending view Washington used to have towards the grouping and its stands on global issues.

This collaborative effort, which still has a long way to go, will have far reaching consequences in shaping the future strategic landscape in Asia. To accomplish this task, an eminent persons' group will be set up to prepare a five-year action plan (2011-15) by the end of next year when they meet again in Indonesia.

Secondly, the Asean-US strategic partnership is not aimed at China but for peace and stability in the region. It avoided the mentioning of the problem in the South China Sea and the US positions made in Hanoi in July. The earlier draft proposed by the US,specifying the dispute and ways to resolve it, was eventually suppressed at the Asean leaders' request. Kudos should go to them for their strong resistance and solidarity in warding off pressure from the US side.

It was replaced by a more general statement of intention (paragraph 18) which reaffirms the importance of unimpeded commerce, freedom of navigation and relevant international laws including the peaceful settlement of disputes. To foreign policy analysts, this self-explanatory paragraph does not need any elaboration as it automatically refers to the South China Sea and an existing code of conduct promoted by Asean.

After the draft joint statement was leaked to the US media ahead of the New York meeting, China's diplomatic mechanism went into full operation. Beijing issued a directive to its embassies based in all Asean countries urging their host countries to reject the US prepared document, otherwise it would have dire consequences for their ties. For the Chinese side, the mere naming of the conflict, which it argues has nothing to do with the US, is tantamount to an attempt to internationalise this sensitive issue.

At least for the time being, the Asean leaders have been wise to heed China's concern with seriousness. Likewise, the US also plays along. After all, it has succeeded in raising the profile of the South China Sea and the importance of Asean-US strategic relations. Given the current effort by the US and China to work out their delicate relations over currency and other economic issues, insisting on the maritime dispute would render destructive impacts on the world's most important bilateral relations.

Throughout its Asean chair, Vietnam has been instrumental in discussing the issue in discreet ways, knowing full-well any displayed enthusiasm would raise China's eyebrows. Previous Asean chairs, Singapore and Thailand—both were non-claimants—avoided it altogether. It is interesting to note that even with Hanoi's extreme caution, the China-Vietnam relations have continued to take a beating. Although several top Vietnamese leaders have visited China this year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, none of the top Chinese leaders has yet set foot on Vietnam.

For the past 15 years after the Mischief Reefs incident in March 1995, Asean and China have been quite successful in containing the conflicts as a mere bilateral matter. Then, exactly 64 days ago, the US entered the fray by commenting on the international aspect of the longstanding territorial conflict—freedom and safety of navigation. While this concern is not new, the timing and way the US expressed it is. By pinpointing its backing of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (2002) between Asean and China, Washington has indeed waved an international red flag—not to mention recent disputes China has ahd with Japan and South Korea.

Washington's dual decisions to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation last July and to join the East Asia Summit recently have levelled out its strategic level playing field on par, if not greater, with the level of China's long-held preference. That explains why Beijing has reacted strongly the way it has. Despite the current cordial Asean-China ties, there is one dark spot - no progress made on joint cooperation related to the South China Sea.

Judging from the Asean leaders' performance, they think they have what it takes to invite major powers to play real-politic in their backyard. In the past four decades, Asean was happy to serve as a fulcrum for these players to exchange views and build up confidence. They like Asean because it is a non-threatening entity and causes no harm. Now, with the wind of change shifts to East Asia, Asean wants to increase its stake and become a player too—no longer a sitting duck—as in the Cold War. Shaping the future strategic environment affecting the region of these powers is their common objective.

As great powers, big and small, are fully imbedded inside the Asean structure and political culture, the frequently asked questions these days are: Can Asean handle all these players at once? Is Asean a key player or just a mere bystander? Will the US-China cooperation and competition undermine Asean solidarity? How can Asean escape being a tool of the US or China?

With Asean, China and the US engaged in triangular relations, it would be hard to predict the outcome. For instance, if Asean and China again fail to overcome their difference over the guidelines for their proposed conduct in the disputed sea in the near future, it could be attributed to the US factor. That would further harden positions of Asean and China. Beijing has already said its sovereignty in the South China Sea is unchallengeable as, like Taiwan, it is one of its core national interests.

In more ways than one, the outcome of the New York meeting could now provide a much need impetus for China and Asean to work closely to break the impasse and make some progress on this front.

Both sides must compromise and agree on the language acceptable to all so that the guidelines can move forward. Indeed, to divert external involvement in this dispute, the two sides will have to demonstrate their efficacy in preventing, containing and resolving together their common challenges in the region.

Kavi Chongkittavorn is senior editor and columnist at the Bangkok-based English-language daily newspaper, The Nation. This article appears in The Nation on Monday.

Harn Lay Creates Free Animated Work

2010-09-27T19:23:00.002+07:00

By KO HTWE
Harn Lay, The Irrawaddy's illustrator and cartoonist, has created an animated work in video that pokes fun at Burmese junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe, which is now available to all without charge to mark the third anniversary of the monk-led mass demonstration called the “Saffron Revolution.”

The three-minute animated feature was done in cooperation with the Dai Artist Group and can be viewed and downloaded at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifEs53qkjsA.
Harn Lay, 44, an ethnic Shan artist, is a graduate of the Rangoon School of Fine Arts Academy.

“We distribute this work free to mark the anniversary of the Saffron revolution,” he said. “To this day, the regime has failed to apologize to the Sangha, the most revered institution in our country.”

Harn Lay has specialized in satirizing Snr-Gen Than Shwe, the head of the Burmese military junta. His work regularly appears in The Irrawaddy online website and in the monthly print magazine, where he frequently illustrates magazine cover stories and articles. He also exhibits fine art oil paintings, mostly in portraiture and landscapes.

In April, Harn Lay received a Hellman/Hammett grant for his political cartoons and art penned against the Burmese regime.

The Saffron Revolution began after a brutal crackdown on monks in Pakokku in central Burma, after they refused to accept alms from the families of regime officials. Outrage at the attacks on the monks spread to Rangoon and Mandalay, the country’s two largest cities, as well as to other urban areas.

There are more than 400,000 monks in Burma. There are more than 2,183 political prisoners in Burmese jails including 262 monks and nuns, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoner—Burma.

Cyber Attack Shuts Down Irrawaddy Websites

2010-09-27T14:43:00.000+07:00

The websites of The Irrawaddy were under attack on Monday morning, shutting down its English and Burmese online editions. We are now working to restore service to our readers worldwide.

The attack came on the third anniversary of the Saffron Revolution, the monk-led demonstrations in 2007.

According to an e-mail sent by the website host in the US to The Irrawaddy webmaster team, the website was attacked in a high volume attack which overloaded its capacity to provide service. The attack is called a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.

A DDoS attack is defined as an attack in which a multitude of compromised systems attack a single target, thereby causing denial of service for users of the targeted system. A flood of incoming messages to the target system essentially forces it to shut down, thereby denying service to the system by legitimate users.

In September 2008, the website was also attacked by a DDoS attack. The volume of the DDoS attack on Monday was 2 gigabytes, one gigabyte larger than the attack in Sept. 2008, according to Win Thu, the general manager of The Irrawaddy.

Win Thu said that the attack would be short-term, but it has disrupted the daily news production and access by our readers.
Hackers began the attack on the English and Burmese website address: www.irrawaddy.org at 1 a.m on Monday and later attacked The Irrawaddy's mirror website: www.irrawaddymedia.com.

The Irrawaddy web team is now trying to recover the websites. In 2008, it took three days to recover the website, according to technicians.

Two other Burmese news websites, Mizzima and the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), were also attacked on Monday.

The Irrawaddy, DVB, Mizzima and a fourth site, Khitpyaing, were all attacked by DDoS in September 2008, on the anniversary of the Saffron Revolution.

Ban Convenes 'Friends of Burma' Meeting

2010-09-27T13:25:00.003+07:00

By LALIT K JHA
Monday, September 27, 2010

WASHINGTON—UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has convened a meeting of his 14-nation “Group of Friends” on Burma to discuss the current situation in the country and the Nov. 7 general election, which most of the Western world said lacks legitimacy.

The meeting on Monday evening in New York will be attended by several top diplomats, including some foreign ministers who are currently attending a General Assembly session at the UN headquarters. However, diplomatic sources said that the Burma meeting is unlikely to yield any results.

It is expected that the UN will issue a statement expressing its concern over the current situation in Burma and reiterate its call to the military junta to ensure that the election is free and fair. The meeting will be attended by Ban’s Chef de Cabinet Vijai Nambiar, who is temporarily overseeing the Good Offices of the Secretary-General on Burma.

Nine months after the secretary-general removed Special Envoy on Burma Ibrahim Gambari, Ban is yet to find a suitable replacement.

Reflecting the disappointment of the pro-democracy Burmese people living in exile in the United States, Aung Din of the US Campaign for Burma said he does not expect anything from the UN Friends of Burma meeting. He said there will be division as usual among the 14 members of this group: Australia, Indonesia, Russia, the US, China, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, France, Norway, Thailand, India, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

“As long as Ban Ki-moon does not assert his moral authority and demand these nations exercise a collective and effective pressure on the regime, this meeting will be nothing more than another public relations show by the UN,” Aung Din told The Irrawaddy.

“The military regime in Burma does not care about their hollow voices. It cares only about actions, such as a UN Commission of Inquiry and a total rejection of its sham election,” he said. The US Campaign for Burma, along with several other organizations, has been pressing the world body for a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity against the military junta, which has of late gained support from a host of Western countries including the US, Britain, Canada and France.

Meanwhile, US State Department Spokesman P J Crowley said that, at this point of time, it was not clear if this issue would be brought up for discussion at the Friends of Burma meeting at the UN on Monday. “I don't know if that's going to be brought up at this meeting or not. Let's wait and see,” he said, adding that that US plans to go through a “full range of issues” at the meeting.

Following his meeting with the leaders of the Association of Southest Asian Nations (Asean) in New York last week, US President Barack Obama renewed his call for the Burmese junta to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

“The president believes in the importance of democratic reform and protection of human rights and renews his call on Burma to embark on a process of national reconciliation by releasing all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and by holding free and fair elections in November,” the White House said in a statement after the meeting.

Obama and the Asean leaders agreed on the importance of stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and highlighted their concerns about North Korea and Iran in the joint statement they issued, the White House said.

Last week in his meeting with Asean leaders, the UN secretary-general made a passionate appeal to help move Burma toward democracy. “I count on your support in encouraging Myanmar’s engagement with my Good Offices,” he said. “I am sorry that I have to specifically have one visional issue among 10 Asean countries, but this has become somewhat of a common concern among all issues.”

Noting that the UN and Asean share the aim of stability and development in Burma, the secretary-general said they all agree on the critical need for a democratic transition and national reconciliation, and for ensuring free, fair and inclusive elections.

“Failure to meet these expectations could undermine the credibility of the process, which, in turn, could reflect on Asean’s collective values and principles,” Ban said. “At the same time, we must also help Myanmar, so that they can address these humanitarian and development challenges.

“With Asean's support, I am committed to continue working with the government and people of Myanmar to enable a successful transition to civilian and democratic rule,” he added.

Earlier this month, Ban voiced his concern at the decision by Burma's election commission to dissolve 10 political parties, including Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. He called on the authorities to ensure that November’s elections are fully inclusive.

In August, Ban called on the military junta to release all remaining political prisoners so that they could fully participate in Burma’s November polls.

Burmese Election Campaigns Officially Begin

2010-09-27T13:19:00.005+07:00

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RANGOON—Campaigning has begun officially in Burma for the November elections, with state television and radio broadcasting the first sanctioned party announcements.

The National Unity Party, the descendant of the party that ruled under late strongman Ne Win, who held power from 1962 until 1988, made the first broadcast on Friday night. A transcript was printed in state-run newspapers on Saturday.

The ruling junta plans to hold general elections on Nov. 7, the first in 20 years. Detained Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory in the 1990 polls, but was not allowed to take power by the military. It decided to boycott this year's elections, charging that the process is unfair and undemocratic.

The government announced last week that the 37 political parties contesting the elections will each be allowed 15 minutes of airtime to describe their party platforms.

Parties have to apply for permission seven days ahead of time and submit the texts of their party policies for approval by the Election Commission.

During the National Unity Party's 15-minute broadcast, joint secretary Khin Maung Gyi presented its policies and urged people to "correctly choose reliable candidates."

He said the party would ensure basic human rights such as freedom of expression, assembly and religion within the framework of the Constitution and would combat bribery and corruption.

The party is not especially popular because of its association with the late dictator. However, it is well funded, and with nearly 990 candidates running, it is the only party that can come close to fielding the same number as the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, which has more than 1,100 candidates.

Ban Seeks Asean Support on Burma

2010-09-27T12:14:00.003+07:00

By LALIT K JHA
The UN secretary general urges Southeast Asian leaders to work together with the world body to ensure that Burma makes a transition to genuine democracy.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday made an appeal to the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to help him move Burma towards genuine democracy.

Speaking to the Asean leaders at his annual gathering with them at the UN headquarters in New York, Ban noted that the UN and Asean both want stability and development in Burma and agree on the critical need for a democratic transition and national reconciliation in the country, and for ensuring that this year's election is free, fair and inclusive.

“Failure to meet these expectations could undermine the credibility of the process—which, in turn, could reflect on Asean’s collective values and principles. At the same time, we must also help Myanmar [Burma], so that they can address these humanitarian and development challenges,” Ban said.

“With Asean’s support, I am committed to continue working with the government and people of Myanmar to enable a successful transition to civilian and democratic rule,” he said.

“I count on your support in encouraging Myanmar’s engagement with my good offices,” said the secretary general, who has yet to appoint a new special envoy for Burma—a post that has been vacant since January.

Ban, who has visited Burma and met with the head of the ruling junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, has not been able to move the regime any closer to restoring democracy or releasing opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Last week, he voiced concern at a decision by the regime-appointed Union Election Commission to dissolve 10 political parties, including Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. He called on the authorities to ensure that November’s election is fully inclusive.

In August, Ban called on the military junta to release all remaining political prisoners so that they could fully participate in Burma’s first election in 20 years, due to be held on Nov. 7.

Ban also discussed the current situation in Burma with Philippine President Benigno Aquino.

“With regard to Myanmar, the secretary-general and the president underscored the need to ensure a credible electoral process and, in this regard, the importance of engagement by the countries in the region,” said a UN statement.

In an interview on Thursday, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that Burma's political system must become “more inclusive” after the election and that Suu Kyi should be allowed to participate.

Obama Urges Burma to Embark on Process of Reconciliation

2010-09-27T12:10:00.003+07:00

By LALIT K JHA
The US president repeats his call for a free and fair election in Burma and the release of all political prisoners following a meeting with Asean leaders in New York.
WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama on Friday urged the Burmese leadership to embark on a process of national reconciliation by releasing all political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Obama renewed his call during a meeting with the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in New York, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting was attended by Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win, but there was no direct contact between him and the US president.

“The president believes in the importance of democratic reform and protection of human rights and renews his call on Burma to embark on a process of national reconciliation by releasing all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi and by holding free and fair elections in November,” the White House said in a statement after the meeting.

In a joint statement issued together with their US counterpart, the Asean leaders said they “welcomed the continued US engagement with the government of Myanmar [Burma]” and expressed hope that “Asean and US engagement encourages Myanmar to undertake political and economic reforms to facilitate national reconciliation.”

Reiterating a call made at the first US-Asean meeting in Singapore last November, the statement said this year's election in Burma must be “conducted in a free, fair, inclusive and transparent manner in order to be credible for the international community.”

“We emphasized the need for Myanmar to continue to work together with Asean and the United Nations in the process of national reconciliation,” the joint statement said.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the State Department reiterated that the US does not believe that the election in November will be legitimate.

“We have made it clear all along that we think the Nov. 7 elections are going to lack legitimacy,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

“We obviously remain concerned about the oppressive political environment in the country and we urge the authorities to release all the political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and I believe there’s 2,100 additional political prisoners,” he said.

“We don’t believe those elections can be free or fair, and we continue to urge the Burmese authorities to begin a genuine political dialogue with the democratic opposition … and also the ethnic minority leaders, as a first step towards national reconciliation,” Toner said.

Is it Time to Take Than Shwe to International Criminal Court?

2009-05-20T11:59:00.000+07:00

By ARKAR MOE

East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta and the Burma Lawyers’ Council have announced they are ready to appeal to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to charge Snr-Gen Than Shwe with criminal acts.

The ICC was established in 2002 as a permanent international tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The court’s Pre-Trial Chamber can authorize its Prosecutor’s Office to open an investigation on the basis of information received from outside sources.

Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said he would appeal to the ICC to investigate Burma’s ruling junta if it fails to free Aung San Suu Kyi, who was arrested last week and is standing trial on what many say are trumped up charges.

The Burma Lawyers’ Council (BLC) said on Saturday it will seek to restore the rule of law to Burma by asking the ICC to launch an investigation into human rights abuses and violations of international law in Burma.

Nan Shan Hpound, a team leader of the BLC Working Team for the International Criminal Court, told The Irrawaddy, "Now we are gathering evidence and collating information on how to prosecute the military generals in the International Criminal Court.”

Ramos-Horta said he will urge the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC to investigate and prosecute Sen-Gen Than Shwe and other responsible leaders of the State Peace and Development Council for crimes committed under their leadership.

The ICC has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes which have been committed or are being committed if a given state’s judicial system is unable or unwilling to investigate and take legal action to ensure justice.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now being tried for violation of her house arrest, is being detained under the State Protection Law of 1975. The government is permitted to detain her for five years under that law. Contrary to law, they have already held her in detention for almost six years.

The Women’s League of Burma (WLB) said it also supports a move to appeal to the ICC and called for the international community to join in referring Snr-Gen Than Shwe and others to the ICC.

Lway Aye Nang, the general-secretary of the WLB, told The Irrawaddy, "The time has come to say enough is enough. The United Nations should invoke its responsibility-to-protect mechanism and establish a commission of inquiry to investigate crimes against humanity in Burma. The Burmese military ignores all international laws and uses rape as a weapon of war. Snr-Gen Than Shwe is a real criminal.”

International condemnation against the Burmese military government has increased as a result of its recent arrest and prosecution of Suu Kyi, who faces a five-year prison sentence if she is found guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest. She has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.

Yettaw Isn’t the Only Fool in this Bizarre Affair

2009-05-20T11:58:00.000+07:00

By AUNG ZAW

World attention is focused on Rangoon and the trial there of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and a man who appears to be responsible for her appearance in court—the American intruder John W Yettaw.

Exiled Burmese and Suu Kyi’s colleagues accuse Yettaw of recklessness and plain stupidity. Suu Kyi’s lawyer has called the American a fool.

Yettaw is by no means the only fool in this bizarre affair, however. Consider for a moment the question: who is behind the affair, and why did junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe dare to go this far?

Than Shwe, it must be remembered, was implicated in the Depayin massacre in 2003, when Suu Kyi’s motorcade was attacked by pro-regime thugs. In September 2007, he was again implicated in the killing of monks and activists who peacefully took to the streets.

The September crackdown and subsequent arrests could not have occurred without Than Shwe’s approval.

Under Than Shwe’s command, Burmese Army forces have been guilty of countless crimes against ethnic minorities. The reports of forced labor, conscription, extortion, torture and other human rights abuses are endless.

On this record, Than Shwe is the one who should now be standing trial.

Than Shwe commits his crimes with impunity, in the knowledge that previous protests quickly die away. The former psychological warfare officer knows how to manipulate international opinion and is fully aware of the meaning of global hypocrisy.

Perhaps Than Shwe anticipated the short-lived outcry and outrage that greeted his action against Suu Kyi. He was confident he could get away with the preposterous charge that has now been brought against her—knowing that his confidence could be placed in a company of fools and idiots.

They include hypocritical leaders in the West and Asia and officials sitting comfortably in their UN offices in New York. They acted swiftly, trotting out their customary condemnation of the regime—like so many times in the past.

These people—not just Yettaw—should be nailed. The UN “special envoys,” including Ibrahim Gambari, even UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon himself, all those who put their name to statements hailing Burma’s “progress” and calling for a “new page” of national reconciliation to be turned.

When these crackpots take the podium, don’t they consider consequences of what they say?

Nail, too, their “partners in crime,” who insisted all along that the generals were just misunderstood men who were willing to cooperate with the international community. These misguided experts, scholars, diplomats and apologists—where are they hiding now?

Until Suu Kyi’s arraignment in the prison court, they had been loud enough, defending the regime’s human rights record and belittling Suu Kyi and her movement.

The question of Suu Kyi’s relevance in Burmese politics crops up constantly in discussions I participate in. Perhaps Than Shwe has now shown those who doubt Suu Kyi’s relevance that she remains a force to be reckoned with. Ironically, Than Shwe has caused them to lose face, as they can no longer even justify a policy of engagement.

We have no shortage of fools—not only activists but also some diplomats, government officials and self-appointed experts on Burma. They talk nonsense on Burma—a western ambassador recently told me: “You’ll all be going home after the 2010 election.” What naïve rubbish!

Instead of writing an open letter to Suu Kyi, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown would do better to address large oil companies like US-based Chevron, French Total, Malaysia’s Petronas and South Korea's Daewoo International Corp, which do so much to prop up Than Shwe and his regime.

US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy could offer moral support by wiring letters to the leaders of China, India, Russia and Thailand, countries which are among the principal backers of the regime.

The truth is that Than Shwe is still in the driver’s seat. Asean, the UN, China, and the rest of the world are again just reacting to Than Shwe’s latest dirty trick. All the statements of support for Suu Kyi and condemnation of her tormentors will soon evaporate into thin air. Global outrage will then turn into global hypocrisy.

Asean’s Human Rights Dilemma

2009-05-20T11:57:00.001+07:00

By WAI MOE

KUALA LUMPUR —Thailand announced a statement as chair of Asean on Tuesday that expressed grave concern over the arrest and trial of Aung San Suu Kyi. As Asean chair, it said that it was ready to play a mediation role in Burma’s “national reconciliation process” and a “peaceful transition to democracy” in the country.

But, the arrest and trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, coupled with the international outrage in the West, has clearly put Asean’s human rights charter in the spotlight, which is now undergoing its first major test. Its response appears to be a carbon copy of its reactions and statements prior to its creation of a human rights charter.

So far only Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand have expressed their concern over Burma’s worsening political situation in recent weeks. Another founding member country, Malaysia, and other four countries including the next Asean chair, Vietnam, have remained silent.

Analysts agree that Burma continues to be an embarrassment for Asean. As a member country, shouldn’t Burma abide by the intent of Asean’s human rights charter, and, if it doesn’t, what should be the consequences?

A Thai member of parliament, Kraisak Choonhavan, told reporters at the Foreign Correspondent Club of Thailand on May 15 that the junta’s current action is totally against the Asean Charter.

Many think the Burmese military regime is in violation of article 14 of the Asean Human Rights Body (AHRB). A draft of the forthcoming AHRB states that one of purposes of the human rights body is to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Asean.

Thitinan Pongsuhirak, the director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, said that Burma’s 2010 election is a violation of the Asean Charter because it is not a free and fair democratic election, but a rigged process to establish the regime as “legitimate.”

Since military-ruled Burma became a member of Asean in 1997, it has been a contentious issue for Asean, which is often forced to equivocate and haul out its oft-mentioned “non-interference policy” in internal matters of member states. The European Union and the United States are strong critics of Burma’s absolute lack of human rights and rule of law.

The Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) had been postponed several times because of Burmese issues and the EU’s common position on the country, which bans EU visas for officials of the Burmese junta and official visits of EU officials to Burma.

On Monday, Suu Kyi’s first day of trial, EU foreign ministers discussed the Burma issue in Brussels. After the meeting, ministers denounced the Suu Kyi trial and called for Burma’s neighbors to push the junta for positive change in the country. It also warned of further sanctions against Burma.

Czech President Václav Klaus will chair the EU-China Summit in Prague on May 20. At the meeting, the EU is expected to bring up Burma with its Chinese counterpart. Recently, China modified its Burma policy to include the principle of stability, development and national reconciliation.

ASEM foreign ministers and Asean foreign ministers will meet in Hanoi on May 22-25 to discuss bilateral issues between the two groupings. EU ministers have said they will raise the Burma issue when they are in Hanoi.

However, Asean, now celebrating its 40th anniversary, will avoid taking a critical stand, citing its core principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of member countries.

The principle is enshrined in article 2 of the Asean Charter, which critics say effectively makes the Asian grouping toothless in terms of human rights issues.

By 2015, the Asean goal is full integration of all 10-member nations under an EU- style single market region.

Commenting on Asean integration, Latheefa Koya, a leading human rights advocate, said many Asean countries still lack a democratic civil society and an independent press.

Asean’s integration motto is: “One Vision, one Identity, one Community.” How that will accommodate human rights abuses is anyone’s guess.

Some observers note the motto’s similarity to the Burmese military regime’s motto of “One Blood, one Voice, one Command.”

This story was written under a 2009 Southeast Asian Press Alliance Fellowship.

Lawyer: Burma Possibly Rushing Suu Kyi's Trial

2009-05-20T11:56:00.000+07:00

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RANGOON — Burma's military regime appeared to be rushing through the trial of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Suu Kyi, who has been in detention without trial for more than 13 of the past 19 years, is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest by allowing a visitor to stay at her home without official permission. The offense is punishable by up to five years' imprisonment.

She is standing trial with two female members of her party who live with her, and John W. Yettaw, the American man who triggered the charges by swimming to Suu Kyi's property under the cover of darkness earlier this month and sneaking uninvited into her home.

Suu Kyi had been scheduled to be freed May 27 after six consecutive years under house arrest. The charges against her are widely seen as a pretext for her to stay in detention during polls scheduled for next year—the culmination of the junta's "roadmap to democracy," which has been criticized as a fig leaf for continued military rule.

Burma has been under military rule since 1962. It last held an election in 1990, but the junta refused to honor the results after a landslide victory by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

Nyan Win, a party spokesman and one of her four lawyers, said five of the prosecution's 22 scheduled witnesses testified Tuesday.

"Now it is very clear that they are trying to speed up the trial," he told reporters at party headquarters. "If it goes on at this rate, it could even be over by next week."

Asked what the motive might be for speeding up the trial, he said "They must have their plans, though I don't know." Nyan Win had speculated Monday that the trial could last up to three months.

Suu Kyi's arrest last week reignited criticism of Burma's military rulers and led to renewed calls by world leaders for her immediate release.

US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the charges against Suu Kyi were "unjustified" and called for her unconditional release and that of more than 2,100 other political prisoners.

Suu Kyi's arrest could well derail a "softer" approach that the Obama administration had been searching for to replace sanctions and other get-tough policies that have done nothing to divert the junta's iron-fisted rule.

China, which as Burma's closest ally probably has the most influence with its ruling generals, has shown no signs it will exert pressure on Burmese military government.

"Myanmar's [Burma's] issue should be decided by the Myanmar people," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said at a regular news briefing. "We hope that the relevant parties in Myanmar could realize reconciliation, stability and development through dialogue."

Prices Rise in Burma during Suu Kyi Trial

2009-05-20T11:55:00.000+07:00

By THE IRRAWADDY

The price of basic commodities, fuel and gold has risen in Rangoon following the arrest and trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, according to local residents.

According to a gold shop owner in downtown Rangoon, the price of gold in Burma reached 528,000 kyat (US $493) per tical (6.4 grams) on Tuesday, rising from 515,000 kyat ($481).

“Buyers are still increasing, especially buyers from the countryside,” said a gold shop owner. “The price of gold will go up in the coming days.”

The price of gold on the global market is currently $925 per ounce; diesel oil is $2.231 per gallon (3.8 liters); and gasoline is $2.30 per gallon. A black market fuel trader in Rangoon said that one gallon of diesel currently costs 2,200 kyat ($2.05) and a gallon of gasoline is 3,000 kyat ($2.8o).

Burma has a quota system for the allocation of fuel to car owners, allowing them to receive up to 60 gallons of fuel each month at a cost of 3,000 kyat ($2.8o) a gallon for diesel and 2,500 kyat ($2.3o) for gasoline.

The ongoing instability of Burmese politics contributes to the cost increases in basic commodities, because people tend to stock up on goods in troubled times, said a Rangoon business man.

A Rangoon foreign currency dealer said that Burmese currency prices have decreased in recent days because people tend to buy more foreign currencies, mainly the dollar.

A dollar is now at 1,070 kyat, depreciating from 1,050 on Friday. A Foreign Exchange Currency (FEC) is equal to 1,015 kyat, according to the currency exchange market in Rangoon.

According to a trader at the Bayint Naung Wholesale Market in Rangoon, standard-quality rice is currently priced at 26,000 kyat ($24) for one basket (approximately 20 kilograms per basket) and low-quality rice is 15,000 kyat ($14).

Asian Property May Keep Sliding, Analysts Say

2009-05-20T11:53:00.000+07:00

By ALEX KENNEDY / AP WRITER

SINGAPORE — Asian property values may keep sliding this year as the global credit crisis and economic slowdown undermine investor confidence, investors and analysts said.

"It's going to be another year of pain," Stuart Labrooy, chief executive at real estate investment trust Axis-REIT in Kuala Lumpur, said Tuesday at an industry conference in Singapore. "Asia is in for a fairly lean spell."

Markets such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore have already seen large price drops since last year after years of cheap credit lured a flood of foreign money into the region's real estate, especially high-end residential and office space.

As credit conditions tightened last year and the global appetite for risk waned, speculative money fled the region's stock and property markets.

Investors who chased hot markets last year have absorbed big losses, and new buyers now shouldn't expect to make a quick profit, said Blake Olafson, head of the Asia real estate group for Bahrain-based investment firm Arcapita.

"Those who made investments last year have had significant writedowns," Olafson said. "You can't have a trading mentality, but rather a five- to seven-year view."

Markets that soared the most during the years leading up to 2008 have subsequently plunged and may not have bottomed yet, analysts said.

Singapore, for example, has seen private residential property prices fall about 20 percent from their peak in the second quarter last year after jumping 31 percent in 2007.

Along with the broader global downturn, each Asian market may face its own particular challenges.

In Thailand, the prospect of renewed violent anti-government street protests paired with overbuilding in Bangkok could send property prices lower, said John Evens, managing director of Bangkok-based consultancy Tractus Asia.

"I expect to see a considerable drop in the value of residential prices," Evens said. "Thailand hasn't yet fully realized the impact of the global economic crisis or political instability."

In Singapore, the city-state's growing status as a regional finance and wealth management hub left it vulnerable as banks and investment firms shed workers amid the credit crisis. Offices here that rented for $3,000 a square foot last year are now available for $1,800, Olafson said.

Asian property values will probably bottom by the end of this year but may not start to rise again until the economies of U.S. and Europe have consistent growth and boost investor confidence, Labrooy said.

"In Japan, the real estate industry depended on foreign money coming in to sustain growth," Labrooy said. "A lot of that money is gone and won't return for a long time. We all have to get back to reality."

Journalists Attend Suu Kyi Trial

2009-05-20T11:50:00.000+07:00

By SAW YAN NAING

Ten journalists were allowed inside the courtroom on Wednesday to cover the trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, said journalists in Rangoon.

Five journalists working for foreign news media were chosen by lot. Three were Japanese journalists and two work for Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

The remaining five were chosen by Burmese authorities. Sources believe they represent state-backed newspapers and publications associated with the regime.

A journalist who was chosen to report on the trial said it was not clear whether the authorities will allow the journalists to bring recorders and cameras into the courtroom. In the past, he said, journalists have not been able to use recorders or cameras when covering sensitive events.

A Burmese journalist in Rangoon confirmed that one journalist from the Myanmar Times was chosen to cover the trial.

Associated Press writers, who participated in the draw, lost out to the luck of the draw, sources said.

Wednesday is day three of the trial of Suu Kyi, who has been charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by allowing a US citizen, John William Yettaw, to stay overnight at her compound on Inya Lake. If convicted, she could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison.

Yettaw, 53, who allegedly swam across the lake to the compound, which is under 24-hour guard, is also on trial for violating Burmese security laws and immigration laws, along with two housekeepers who live with Suu Kyi.

Security Council Members Hold Informal Discussions on Burma

2009-05-20T11:48:00.000+07:00

By LALIT K JHA

WASHINGTON — Members of the UN Security Council have informally begun discussions on the possibility of issuing a statement on the current situation in Burma, especially the ongoing trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, following an initiative by the United States, France and Britain.

Members of the Security Council and UN secretary-general have been under pressure during the past one week following a global outcry against the detention and trial of Aung San Suu Kyi by the Burmese military government.

The Burmese community and its pro-democracy leaders have sought intervention from the Security Council, along with 72 former prime ministers and presidents, more than 40 global celebrities and 11 Nobel laureates in statements and letters urging the Security Council to take up the matter on an urgent basis.

However, because of resistance by China and Russia—two veto-wielding members—the 15-member UN body is not expected to be able to make much headway. Informed sources at UN headquarters in New York said the other three permanent members of the Council —the US, Britain and France—have made a fresh move on the need to issue either a press statement or a presidential statement by the Security Council.

The Security Council could have a formal meeting on Burma, if an agreement is reached among its 15 members. China is opposed to such a move, saying it would be considered as interference in the internal affairs of a country. Russia and Japan too are believed to have adopted a cautious approach in this regard.

On the other hand, the US, Britain and France argue that the current situation in Burma and the ongoing trial of Aung San Suu Kyi deserves the immediate attention of the Security Council. In a Presidential Statement issued in October 2007, the Security Council called for the release of all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi.

Meanwhile, two Noble laureates—the Dalai Lama and Jose Ramos Horta—joined nine other recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize in writing to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the issue. “We urge you to discuss this matter with the members of the United Nations Security Council and to do so as expeditiously as possible,” the Noble laureates said in a letter dated May 18.

In a related development, the US State Department said that a consular officer from the US Embassy in Rangoon has been permitted to observe the joint legal proceedings against Aung San Suu Kyi and an American national, John W. Yettaw, who was arrested for allegedly staying overnight at the house of the Burmese leader.

The State Department said that its Burma policy continues to be under review. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated during her trip to Asia in February, neither sanctions nor engagement alone have succeeded in bringing about change in Burma, the State Department said in a written response to a question from reporters.

“The goal of our policy is to encourage progress toward democracy and the protection of human rights. We are reviewing all elements of our policy to assure that we are pursuing the most effective means of achieving that goal,” the State Department said.

In another statement, Rep Joe Crowley urged the Burmese military regime to release Aung San Suu Kyi and abandon their campaign of intimidation against her.

“I am also concerned about her current state of health, and the military junta should allow her doctor to examine and provide her with the necessary medical treatment. This is another example of the Burmese dictatorship's attempt to stay in power at all cost— including at the expense of the people of Burma," Crowley said.

Indonesian Plane Crashes, At Least 93 Dead

2009-05-20T11:16:00.000+07:00

By NINIEK KARMINI / AP WRITER

JAKARTA — An Indonesian military plane carrying more than 100 people crashed into several homes and burst into flames Wednesday, killing at least 93 people, officials said.

Dozens were injured and more were feared dead, with local television flashing footage of fire engulfing the mangled wreckage. Black smoke billowed in the air, as soldiers carried badly burnt bodies on stretchers to waiting ambulances.

Air force spokesman Bambang Sulistyo said at least 93 people were killed when the C-130 Hercules crashed near a base in East Java province early Wednesday. There were 112 passengers and crew on board.

Military spokesman Sagom Tamboen said the aircraft was transporting troops and their families, including at least 10 children, when it tumbled from the sky near an air force base in East Java province.

It smashed into a row of houses in Geplak village, killing three on the ground, before skidding into a rice field.

The tail of the plane and several large parts of its charred body were scattered in the paddy and nearby bushes.

It was not clear what caused the crash, the latest in a string to hit the air force.

But several witnesses described hearing a large explosion while it was still in the air and then seeing it split apart.

"One of the wings fell off," Agus Yulianto, a villager, was quoted as saying on the Web site of Kompas newspaper. "Then the plane nose-dived into the houses."

The accident occurred 325 miles (520 kilometers) east of the capital, Jakarta.

The country's air force has long complained of being underfunded and handicapped by a recently lifted U.S. ban on weapons sales. It has suffered a series of accidents, including a Fokker 27 plane that crashed into an airport hangar last month, killing all 24 onboard.

A series of commercial airline crashes in recent years has killed more than 120 people in Indonesia.

Suu Kyi Court Continues Hearing Prosecution Witnesses

2009-05-19T11:15:00.000+07:00

By MIN LWIN

Prosecution witnesses continued to give evidence on the second day of Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial before a special court in Rangoon’s Insein Prison on Tuesday.

Sources within her National League for Democracy (NLD) said Suu Kyi and other defendants were not allowed to testify.

Evidence was heard on Tuesday from five government officials, including police Lt-Col Maung Muang Khin of the Criminal Investigation Department, and immigration officer Myat Twin, according to the NLD sources.

The sources said Suu Kyi was brought into the courtroom by women security officers.

Speaking on Tuesday to The Irrawaddy, one of Suu Kyi’s former lawyers, Aung Thein, who has been barred from defending her, challenged the official account of the circumstances leading to the NLD leader’s arrest and arraignment.

State-run newspapers reported on Tuesday that an American citizen, John William Yettaw, swam twice across Inya Lake to Suu Kyi’s home, in November 2008 and again this month.

On his second visit, Suu Kyi had allowed him to stay for two nights, giving him food and drink, the official reports said.

Aung Thein described the official version of events as “a story.” Suu Kyi’s house was well guarded by security men, who were also posted on the banks of the lake, he said.

Another lawyer, Kyi Win, said Suu Kyi had told Yettaw to leave her house, but he had refused. She did not report him to the authorities because she did not want anybody to get into trouble, Kyi Win said.

Suu Kyi’s doctor, Tin Myo Win, was also arrested last week and accused of knowing about Yettaw’s visit, but he was later released.

“Why didn’t they [the authorities] take action when Dr Tin Myo Win informed them that a US citizen had entered the house?” he asked.

Who is John W. Yettaw?

2009-05-19T11:14:00.000+07:00

By SAW YAN NAING

John William Yettaw, 53, spent more than a month at a hotel in Mae Sot in November 2008, after he had traveled to Rangoon and visited Aung San Suu Kyi’s compound for the first time.

While in Mae Sot, people recall him saying that he planned to return to visit Suu Kyi again, which led to his second, fateful encounter with Suu Kyi in May, according to Burmese and Thai sources.

Suu Kyi, Yettaw and two others are now standing trial in Insein Prison in Rangoon on charges that they violated her terms of house arrest. Suu Kyi has entered a plea of innocent, saying she had no control over Yettaw’s visit to her compound, where she has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.

Burmese security forces provide a 24-hour guard around her compound on Inya Lake.

Press reports suggested that when Yettaw went to Rangoon in November of last year he was forced to lay over in Burma due to the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, which was seized by Thai protesters led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy.

While in Mae Sot, Yettaw stayed at the Highland Hotel, where he spoke to several people about Burma and made brief comments about Suu Kyi. He openly told people about his first visit to her compound.

He said he was coming back to Mae Sot in April, said a Burmese source.

Sources said that while in Mae Sot, he was frequently accompanied by a Thai woman, and he visited refugee schools where he met children and took notes.

One Burmese source said that few people paid much attention to Yettaw, seeing him as a typical tourist.

Thai security officials are now gathering information on Yettaw, said a Burmese activist who requested anonymity.

According to his family members, Yettaw is still in debt for the expenses he incurred from his first trip to Burma in 2008. Before leaving his home in Falcon, Missouri, Yettaw told his wife, Betty Yettaw, that he planned to visit Asia for a book he is writing, according to an Associated Press story.

Betty Yettaw said she was surprise after hearing that her husband had swam nearly two kilometers across Inya Lake in Rangoon, because he suffers from asthma and diabetes.

Publications and blogs which are closely associated with Burmese authorities of information ministry, such as tharkinwe.com and myanmarnargis.org, posted photos of Yettaw, but there have been no photographs showing the spot where he was arrested by Burmese police.

One conspiracy theory on a Burmese opposition blog, www.niknayman-niknayman.co.cc, contends that Yettaw in fact walked into Suu Kyi’s compound after a taxi driver dropped him in front of Suu Kyi’s home.

The blog alleges that Yettaw walked into the compound after he showed a red card to the guards in front of the democracy leader’s house.

Yettaw, a Mormon, reportedly does not hold strong political views. He receives disability payments from the US Veteran’s Affairs office for Vietnam-related injuries and has pursued studies in psychology.

It’s All Going According to Plan

2009-05-19T11:12:00.000+07:00

By AUNG ZAW

Inside sources in Naypyidaw have revealed that Snr-Gen Than Shwe held a meeting with his top brass in the remote capital in March. The meeting was convened for one reason only—to discuss the thorny issue of Burma’s most famous prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Than Shwe reportedly asked five of his advisers, including Deputy Snr-Gen Maung Aye and Gen Shwe Mann, how they thought the regime should tackle the “kaung ma lay” (little girl).

The answers he received were vague and sycophantic with some generals reportedly advocating that Than Shwe continue ignoring the international pressure to release Suu Kyi and keep her under house arrest indefinitely.

Apparently, Than Shwe was not satisfied with the suggestions from his subordinates. He wanted to create a legal case against her. He saw Suu Kyi as the biggest threat to the junta and took the decision to order the Ministry of Home Affairs to design a case that would nail her.

Of the possible scenarios to frame the democracy leader for breaking the terms of her house arrest, the use of John William Yettaw was perhaps a long shot.

It was known that he had sneaked into Suu Kyi’s compound when he was in Rangoon in November. Suu Kyi’s personal physician Dr Tin Myo Win had informed the police of Yettaw’s intrusion, but authorities decided not to take action against him at that time.

According to former intelligence officers, it is easy to trace foreigners who apply for Burmese visas. If the authorities did not want Yettaw to return to the country, they would simply inform Burmese embassies to put him on the black list. They didn’t.

Yettaw is known to have been in Thailand speaking to Burmese exiles. He had let it slip that he had secretly entered Suu Kyi’s compound and that he wanted to interview Suu Kyi for a book he was writing on heroism and how people react under pressure.

His mother is reported to have said he has mental problems, and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. His wife described him as a “peace-loving” man.

This misguided individual fitted the profile that Than Shwe needed. If he could be coerced (or permitted) into repeating his act of intrepidness, he would unwittingly be giving the regime the legal loophole they needed to charge Suu Kyi with breaking the law, in this case Section 22 of the “Law to Safeguard the State Against the Dangers of Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts.”

Of course it was not a foolproof plan; perhaps one of several pawns that Than Shwe was maneuvering. But since the morning the police fished Yettaw out of Inya Lake, the authorities have moved with a conviction that strongly suggests they were confident that this pawn sacrifice had swung their game plan into a checkmate position.

Sources in Naypyidaw said that when Than Shwe heard the news of the arrest of an intruder at Inya Lake, he was “elated.”

Although Yettaw’s intrusion can in no rational way be attributed to Suu Kyi—on the contrary, it points to a gaping hole in the junta’s security—it is now being used as the foundation of a legal case against her.

This is not the first time that the regime has tried to find a petty incident to tie up the NLD leader in legal red tape.

In 2001, Burma’s military authorities exploited a family feud between Suu Kyi and her brother, Aung San Oo, who lives in the United States and holds American citizenship. They fast-tracked an opportunity for the disgruntled brother to sue his sister for control of half of the residential compound that has been her home since 1988.

Aung San Oo said that if he won the case, he would donate half of the land to the government, as his late mother Daw Khin Kyi had expressed a desire to open her house as a museum.

In the end, the court dismissed his case on the grounds that, according to Burmese law, foreigners don't have the right to own land in Burma. But Than Shwe’s intentions were clear—to cast doubts over Suu Kyi, to humiliate her and to cause her pain.

In February 2003, Suu Kyi faced a light jail term after refusing to pay a fine handed down by a Rangoon divisional court. Suu Kyi’s cousin, Soe Aung, had reportedly punched her at the lakeside compound where he was also living. Suu Kyi and Soe Aung both filed charges over the incident. Soe Aung filed charges against Suu Kyi for illegally ejecting him from the compound.

The court offered Suu Kyi the choice between a week in jail or a 500 kyat (US $0.50) fine. Suu Kyi refused to pay the fine and said that she would rather go to jail for seven days. The case was subsequently dropped.

But in trapping John William Yettaw at Inya Lake, this time Than Shwe thinks he has caught a bigger fish.

The regime is moving quickly now to move the trial along. Suu Kyi faces a sentence of up to five years imprisonment if found guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest by supposedly “harboring” the American.

In conducting a kangaroo court in Insein Prison, Than Shwe may have underestimated the swiftness of international reaction and the extension of sanctions from the US and EU. However, he can shrug that off as long as his old benefactors—China, Russia, India and Asean—stand by him.

He will also be measuring the amount of time and energy world leaders allot to Suu Kyi’s case, assuming the hullabaloo will die down as soon as a new crisis unfolds somewhere else in the world.

In any case, he knows he can ride the storm of disapproval from abroad.

In the meantime, sources say, back in Naypyidaw Than Shwe is happily following the proceedings from the trial in Insein, no doubt licking his lips in anticipation of the kill.

Additional reporting by correspondents in Burma.

British PM Sends Open Letter to Suu Kyi

2009-05-19T11:11:00.000+07:00

By THE IRRAWADDY

In an open letter of support to detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that people around the world “are heartened by your tremendous courage, your inspirational leadership, and by the knowledge that no oppression is so great that the forces of liberty cannot prevail.”

Addressing the democracy icon as “Daw Suu,” the British premier consoled Suu Kyi for her predicament, saying, “... from the deepest wells of despair can come the greatest triumphs of human endeavor.”

He reiterated British support for “tough and targeted” sanctions and called for the release of her and all other political prisoners in Burma. In a reference to the generals who are imprisoning Suu Kyi, he stated: “The time for a transition to democracy is now.”

To read the full letter on the official Web site of the British prime minister’s office: http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page19355

Two Burmese Die in Malaysian Detention Center

2009-05-19T11:10:00.000+07:00

By WAI MOE

KUALA LUMPUR — Two Burmese migrant workers who were detained at an immigration detention center in Malaysia have died of leptospirosi, an ailment caused by unhealthy drinking water, sources said.

According to the Burma Worker Rights Protection Committee, two migrant workers died in Bukit Mertajam at Bukit Mertajam Hospital following their detention in Juru Immigration Detention Center in Pulau Pinang Province.

“We heard that a second Burmese from the immigration camp died on Monday. On May 12, another Burmese died of the same cause,” said Ye Min Tun, the secretary of the group. The names of the dead were not available.

“There is no proper drinking water system for detained foreigners,” said Ye Min Tun.
“There is no health care for detainees.”

Malaysian health officials told local newspapers that about 25 people from the immigration camp have contracted leptospirosi and are being treated now. One man is in critical condition.

Leptospirosis is commonly transmitted by allowing water that has been contaminated by animal urine to come into contact with unhealed cuts or abrasions on the skin, eyes or mucous membranes. It is a relatively rare bacterial infection in humans, health experts said.

“Out of the 23 cases under treatment as of yesterday, one has died. Three were discharged, leaving 19 cases still under treatment now,” said Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican, in a statement.

Former inmates said that water storage facilities in the detention camp are near toilet areas. There are three buildings in the camp. An estimated 700 foreigners, held by immigration authorities for various offenses, are detained there.

Earlier this year, two Burmese migrant workers died at a detention center. Two men, indentified as Ko Paul and Kyaw Swa, died in January 2008, sources said. No cause of death was given.

“After they tighten the rules in the centers, immigration officials and RELA [a government-backed group that focuses on illegal immigration] harassed detainees at the center,” said a former detainee who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said that during searches detainees are sometimes beaten. RELA is a mass group that is used to suppress illegal migrant workers in Malaysia. Human rights groups say RELA members are not trained properly as professionals. In 2005, authorities granted RELA the right to help oversee immigration detention centers and arrest illegal migrants.
In an effort to escape economic hardship at home, millions of Burmese migrant workers are in neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Thailand.

Malaysia is home to an estimated 500,000 Burmese migrant workers, illegally or legally, while Thailand hosts at least 2.5 million migrant workers from Burma.

“Malaysia is not a good place for foreigner migrants, particularly migrant workers,” said Latheefa Koya, a well-know Malaysian human rights lawyer. Human rights standards for migrant workers are low, she said, and there is also a high level of xenophobia, which compounds the problem.

Malaysia needs to reform its migrant worker laws, which now allow systematic abuse of migrant workers, she said.

This story was written under a 2009 Southeast Asian Press Alliance Fellowship

‘We Don’t Recognize the Trial’: Win Tin

2009-05-19T11:07:00.000+07:00

By THE IRRAWADDY

Win Tin, a leader of the National League for Democracy, spoke to The Irrawaddy regarding the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Question: Do the authorities have a strong case against Aung San Suu Kyi?

Answer: I don’t think so. This is a conspiracy. The matter of her security is totally in their hands. If the authorities don’t open up the compound, no person can enter it. At this time, they [the authorities] have rejected her appeal and even charged her with another case. I believe that it is a conspiracy. I believe they did it because they don’t want to release her. They want to ban her from being involved in politics in the future.

Q: What do you think will be the outcome of the trial?

A: Ideally, they want to put her into prison. But politically, they can’t do that. The international community is voicing its concern and even demanding she be released. We [the NLD] also don’t accept the charges and demand she be released.

If the case proceeds, we demand justice during the court process. The court must open up to the public so people can witness the court process. They must allow enough lawyers to defend her in court. It means that the number of lawyers must be enough not only for the defense at court but also for the legal preparation, to collect data and facts on the case.

A fair trial would allow the families of the defendants as well as the public to observe. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has sons in England. They should issue visas for them to come to Burma. Likewise, the family of Daw Khin Khin Win lives abroad. The authorities must allow them to come here if they wish. Even if the family members are foreign citizens, they must issue visas.

Media must be allowed to report the case. Journalists should have the right to ask the defense lawyers and the prosecutor questions. They should have the right to ask the opinions of people who come to the court to see the trial.

Another issue is security. We can’t say that the security is good, and they won’t threaten her security even in the courtroom set-up in the prison compound. They must guarantee Daw Suu’s security. They must also guarantee the security of her lawyers.

Q: In the past 20 years, Aung San Suu Kyi has been attacked and detained for many years. She has been under house arrest for more than 13 years. What is her mental state?

A: I didn’t see her, but [her lawyer] U Kyi Win saw her. What I first want to say is to repeat the comments of U Kyi Win: Daw Suu is mentally strong and firm in her stand. Regarding the case [of John W. Yettaw], she clearly told her lawyer that she didn’t breach any laws. Based on these facts, Daw Suu’s position is strong and firm. Although I haven’t seen her for years, based on our past experiences and her political stance and sacrifice during these 20 years, I can say that she will never feel depressed and give up or change her political stance.

Q: Why do you think the government wants to continue to detain her?

A: The truth is that it’s because of Daw Suu’s personal fame and the world’s recognition of her position. She has become the main enemy of the military regime. But putting aside personal fame and looking at things from the point of view of current politics, the situation has largely changed. In the past, we asked for a parliament to draw up a constitution in accordance with the 1990 election results, which we have consistently supported. Now, we recently called for parliament to review the constitution and for a dialogue [with the military]. We changed our position to be flexible in order to bring about a dialogue.

Daw Suu has been in a very important position for solving political problems through the dialogue method since 1988. Gen Saw Maung pointed out the importance of arranging a dialogue when there are many parties involved. Many parties gave their mandate to Daw Suu to engage in dialogue with the military. The NLD also gave its mandate to her. Even today, if we have a dialogue with the military regime, I think all ethnic nationalities will want her to speak on behalf of them.

Daw Suu is a key player if we are to solve the current political situation through a dialogue. Therefore, the present charges against Daw Suu mean that they [the generals] are trying to eliminate her from the stage. I feel that they are trying to destroy the possibility of political dialogue and national reconciliation by political means.

Q: Dr Tin Myo Win, Aung San Suu Kyi’s family doctor, was detained for nearly a week. How is he related to this case?

A: At first, we heard that Dr Tin Myo Win had also been brought to court and that there would be five persons in this case. But he was not on the list. Perhaps, he was under interrogation and was tortured. He has endured such an experience in the past. I am worried that they are putting pressure on Dr Tin Myo Win to say things that they want him to say. Or they will prosecute him with other charges because this case can only warrant three to five years imprisonment.

Another option is that they can put Dr Tin Myo Win on the witness list. If so, we are not worried about him because he is not a person who is easily persuaded to say what others wish. We know his political beliefs and opinions, and his personal history. We also respect him. We are not worried about that.

If they brought him to the court as a witness, he would tell what really happened. What he did is not much; Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told him to report Yettaw’s first entry last year to the authorities, and he went to the Home Ministry to report it. He has no more than that to say. We don’t expect him to say he had a personal encounter with Yettaw.

State-run Media Break Silence on Suu Kyi Case

2009-05-19T11:05:00.001+07:00

By MIN LWIN

Burma’s state-run press has broken nearly two weeks of silence on the case against democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who faces charges of violating the conditions of her house arrest after an American intruder allegedly stayed overnight at her home.

According to reports in The New Light of Myanmar and other official newspapers, Suu Kyi and her two personal assistants are accused of breaking Section 22 of the “Law to Safeguard the State Against the Dangers of Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts” for their role in the incident.

The newspapers, which have not reported on this bizarre episode since May 7, also claimed that John William Yettaw, the man accused of swimming to Suu Kyi’s lakeside home earlier this month, made a similar attempt to meet the pro-democracy leader late last year.

According to the newspapers, Yettaw swam across Inya Lake on November 30, 2008, and gave a copy of The Book of Mormon to Daw Khin Khin Win and Ma Win Ma Ma, Suu Kyi’s live-in assistants, for Suu Kyi to read.

He later repeated the stunt on May 3, this time remaining in Suu Kyi’s home until the evening of May 5, according to the reports.

Yettaw faces charges of violating the same law as Suu Kyi and her two assistants, as well as Section 13 (1) of the Immigration Act (Emergency Provisions) and a municipal ordinance against swimming in Inya Lake.

The reports in the state-run press made no mention of the domestic or international reaction to Suu Kyi’s detention in Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison, where she is currently being tried in a special closed-door court.

Many world leaders have expressed outrage at the proceedings, which are seen as an attempt by the Burmese junta to extend Suu Kyi’s six-year detention, which was set to expire later this month.

According to Assocaited Press, a crowd of about 100 people gathered near Insein Prison amid a heavy security presence. Sources also said that prison authorities have suspended family visits to prisoners since Monday, the day Suu Kyi’s trial began.

Win Tin, a central executive committee member of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, said that local residents were providing food and other refreshments to supporters of the pro-democracy leader and others awaiting news about her trial.

EU to ask China to Push Burma

2009-05-19T11:02:00.000+07:00

By ROBERT WIELAARD / AP WRITER

BRUSSELS — The European Union is asking China and other Asian nations to press Myanmar to drop charges against pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and free her from house arrest.

EU officials said the issue will be raised Wednesday at the trade, economic and political talks in Prague with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, and in Hanoi next week with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Burma.

Both events were scheduled before Suu Kyi went on trial Monday for allegedly harboring an American man who swam to her lakeside home where she has been under house arrest.

Last week's arrest of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has been in detention without trial for more than 13 of the past 19 years, reignited criticism of Burma's ruling junta, and led to renewed calls by world leaders for her immediate release.

The EU foreign ministers denounced the trial, urging Burma's neighbors to push for a restoration of democracy in Burma.

This has never worked since many Asian nations tend to view appeals for action against human rights abuses as meddling in a country's internal affairs.

China has close diplomatic and economic ties with Burma's junta, but has always refused to criticize it.

Suu Kyi had been scheduled to be freed May 27 after six consecutive years of house arrest, but it was expected the military government would try to find reason to hold her, as has happened in the past.

Topping the agenda of the EU-China talks are climate change, the global recession and difficulties in two-way trade. The EU will be represented by Czech President Vaclav Klaus—whose country now holds the rotating EU presidency—European Commission President Jose Barroso and Javier Solana, the EU's foreign and security affairs chief.

The EU hopes trade and investment can reverse the economic slowdown. Negotiations for a world trade pact fell apart in 2008 because the US, India and China refused to compromise.

Global trade is now in a free fall as wealthy nations' demand for imports that boosted the economies of China, Brazil and others has evaporated.

While China may escape a recession this year, it will suffer from plunging exports to the US and the 27-nation EU. Europe is China's biggest export market and was worth €248 billion last year—dwarfing the EU's €78.4 billion in exports to China.

China worries that a recession could make Europe more protectionist and start shutting out cheaper Chinese goods that European manufacturers blame for poor sales.

Key irritants for the EU are trade barriers in China, which EU companies blame for €21 billion a year in lost sales. Sixty percent of counterfeit goods seized in the EU come from China, and 70 percent of EU businesses there complain about intellectual property rights violations.

Than Shwe defies the world again

2009-05-19T11:01:00.000+07:00

Type the rest of your post here.

Foreign Companies in Burma Must Review Their Involvement

2009-05-19T10:21:00.000+07:00

By YENI

As the Burmese regime brutally increases its isolation of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the US and countries of the European Union remain steadfast in applying their pressure on the junta. US President Barack Obama formally extended his administration’s sanctions, while the EU is considering whether to step up its own measures.

Burma's stubborn, thuggish military leaders can shrug off Western pressure, however, knowing they can rely on support from such friendly and powerful neighbors as China and India. While neither Beijing nor New Delhi has officially commented on the latest moves against Suu Kyi, many Southeast Asian countries, some of whom have significant trade and investment links with Burma, are also inclined to follow a live-and-let-live policy towards the regime.

However, both camps—supporters of sanctions and proponents of engagement— acknowledge failure in their efforts to influence Burma’s military leaders. That is why US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in February correctly said that sanctions applied by the US and the European Union, as well as the policy of constructive engagement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and Burma’s neighbors, were not working.

So the question remains: who can influence the Burmese generals to listen to world opinion?

Many observers agree that a start could be made on at least ending ongoing human rights abuses if oil and gas companies operating in Burma use their influence with Burma's ruling junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

Current investors in Burma’s oil and gas industry include companies from Australia, the British Virgin Islands, China, France, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Russia and the US.

Those companies are funding the Burmese dictatorship. At the height of the monk-led demonstrations in September 2007, Marco Simons, US legal director at EarthRights International, an environmental and human rights group with offices in Thailand and Washington, declared: "The oil and gas companies have been one of the major industries keeping the regime in power."

The concept of "corporate social responsibility" is often advanced by companies operating in Burma, although that’s usually just a shield behind which they campaign against international environmental and human rights regulations.

For instance, there have been documented abuses connected to the Yadana project operated by the French company Total and the US-based Unocal, including land confiscation, forced labor, rape, torture and killings within the communities along the pipeline. Compensation was paid to some victims after human rights groups filed legal actions against the companies before a federal court in the US.

Foreign investment in Burma’s oil and natural gas sector is significant. But there is no transparency in Burma about how much the government receives in oil and gas payments, nor clarity about how the funds are spent.

The military receives the largest share of the official budget and the Burmese regime allocates little to public sectors such as health and education. Instead, hundreds of millions of dollars disappear annually into the pockets of the ruling generals, their cronies and their pet projects, such as the new administrative capital, Naypyidaw, the cyber city, Yadanabon, and even a nuclear research reactor.

The latest action against Suu Kyi, following the regime’s criminal mismanagement of Cyclone Nargis relief and its crackdown on the September 2007 demonstrations should lead companies to search their consciences when contemplating deals with the regime.

ERI Project Coordinator Matthew Smith believes there are also business reasons to think twice about accepting Burma contracts. "Financing the Burmese regime in this way can only reflect poorly on a company’s reputation and that will ultimately affect their bottom line and ability to capitalize on deals in the future,” he says. “It’s simply bad business.”

Of course, good business must come with ethics, morality and responsibility. This is the time for shareholders of global and regional oil and gas companies operating in Burma not only to think about maximizing profits but also to face up to their responsibilities by evaluating the human rights impact and the criteria for continuing to invest there.

Suu Kyi Trial Continues

2009-05-19T10:19:00.000+07:00

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RANGOON — Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi faced a second day of a closed-door trial Tuesday as international criticism mounted against a military regime that repeatedly has found pretexts for keeping her in detention over most of the past two decades.

Suu Kyi, her two companions under house arrest, and an American, John W. Yettaw, are being tried together for violating the conditions of her restriction order, which bans visitors without official permission. The offense is punishable by up to five years' imprisonment.

Yettaw prompted the charges by swimming to her property and sneaking into her home for reasons which are still unclear.

Hundreds of police in full riot gear, some armed with rifles, were deployed along all roads leading to Insein prison as the trial continued Tuesday morning. The country's major activist groups have vowed to stage peaceful protests until Suu Kyi is freed.

Last week's arrest of the Nobel Peace laureate, who has been in detention without trial for more than 13 of the past 19 years, reignited criticism of Burma's military junta, and led to renewed calls by world leaders for her immediate release.

US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the charges against Suu Kyi were "unjustified" and called for her unconditional release and that of more than 2,100 other political prisoners.

Suu Kyi's arrest could well derail a "softer" approach that the Obama administration had been searching for to replace Washington's sanctions and other get-tough policies which did nothing to divert the ruling junta's iron-fisted rule.

Even Burma's partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, who rarely criticize one another, expressed "grave concern," saying "the honor and the credibility of the Myanmar government are at stake."

The statement Monday night was issued by Thailand, which currently chairs the 10-nation bloc.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Paris, one of several cities where activists rallied, called Suu Kyi's trial a "scandalous provocation."

Until now, 63-year-old Suu Kyi was detained under the State Protection Act, which allows the military regime to hold people without a trial if they are considered a threat, said Aung Din, executive director of the US Campaign for Burma. The new charges of violating the terms of her house arrest could lead to imprisonment under much harsher conditions.

Suu Kyi had been scheduled to be freed May 27 after six consecutive years of house arrest, but it was expected that the military government would try to find reason to hold her, as has happened in the past.

The new charges are widely seen as a pretext for the government to keep Suu Kyi out of elections it scheduled for next spring as the culmination of its "roadmap to democracy," which has been criticized as an attempt to legitimize continued military control. Many other prominent dissidents received long jail terms last year, which could hurt any opposition effort to contest the polls.

The ambassadors of Britain, France, Germany and Italy as well as an Australian diplomat were barred from entering the prison compound for the trial, but US consular chief Colin Furst was allowed in.

Yettaw is also being tried separately for violations of immigration law and a statute covering swimming in the city's Inya Lake.

Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party and one of four lawyers representing her at the trial, said the court, "for security reasons," rejected their request to open her trial to the public and media. The trial is expected to last about three months.

Her lawyers have so far not contested the government's version of events, but insist she is not guilty.

In the trial's opening day, police Lt-Col. Zaw Min Aung laid out the prosecution's basic case—that Suu Kyi, two female party members who are her companions, and Yettaw violated the terms of her restriction order, which bans any visitors without official permission, said Nyan Win. The police official was the first of 22 scheduled prosecution witnesses.

Yettaw, 53, of Falcon, Missouri, swam under cover of darkness early this month to sneak into Suu Kyi's compound, where he was allowed to stay for two days after pleading that he was too ill and tired to leave. He allegedly made a similar visit last year.

Suu Kyi's lawyers have said he was not invited to her residence, and that she told him to leave.

Yettaw's family have described him as a well-intentioned admirer of Suu Kyi, unaware of the problems his actions could trigger. Her supporters have expressed anger at him for getting her into trouble.

Parliamentary rule in Burma was overthrown by a coup in 1962, and the army has been in control since then. Suu Kyi's party won elections in 1990 but the junta refused to recognize the results.

Trial of Suu Kyi a Mockery: Nine Nobel Laureates

2009-05-19T10:12:00.000+07:00

By LALIT K JHA

WASHINGTON — Nine Nobel Peace prize recipients on Monday called the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi a “mockery” and urged UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the issue with members of the Security Council as soon as possible.

“We are outraged by the deplorable actions of the military junta against Suu Kyi and strongly encourage challenging this obvious harassment of our fellow Nobel laureate,” the nine Nobel Peace Prize recipients wrote in a letter to the secretary-general.

The signatories to the letter are President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Wangari Mathaai, Mairead Corrigan Maguire and Betty Williams.

Referring to the trial, the nine Noble laureates said: “The trial is a mockery. There is no judicial system in Burma. It is clear that this is an excuse by the military junta to add trumped-up charges at a time when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s unlawful detention was scheduled to end May 27, 2009.”

The Noble laureates said they are extremely concerned about the health of Suu Kyi. “Insein prison is infamous for its inhumane and treacherous conditions, where prisoners endure mental and physical torture,” the letter said.

Calling for immediate release of the popular Burmese leader, they said: “We urge you to discuss this matter with the United Nations Security Council, to do so as expeditiously as possible.” They also reiterated their call to the international community to implement arms embargoes against the regime.

There was no immediate response from the office of the secretary-general. Last week, the Club of Madrid – representing 72 former presidents and prime ministers – urged Ban to look into the possibility of traveling to Burma to talk with the junta leaders seeking her release.

Another statement signed by world celebrities urged all countries and the UN to speak in one voice and demand the Burmese military regime free Aung San Suu Kyi.

In October 2007, the UN Security Council in a presidential statement urged the Burmese military junta to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
The United States on Monday also urged the Burmese junta to free the popular Burmese leader immediately and unconditionally along with other political prisoners.

“We are deeply disturbed by the actions of the Burmese government and reiterate that the charges that the regime is bringing against Aung San Suu Kyi are unjustified,” State Department spokesman, Ian Kelly, told reporters at a daily press briefing.

“We call on the regime to end its incarceration of Aung San Suu Kyi and to release her immediately and unconditionally along with the more than 2,100 other political prisoners that the regime holds,” he said.

Expressing concern over the charges imposed against Suu Kyi, the State Department spokesman said: “These charges are being used as a pretext to either extend her house arrest, or even more disturbingly perhaps, justify a prison sentence.”

Acknowledging the regime is usually not willing to listen, Kelly said: “How do we get them to do the right thing? I think our approach is the best one, and that’s to approach it from a multilateral perspective to get as much leverage as we can. But yes, we’re frustrated, absolutely. “

Kelly said an American consular officer was present in the courtroom for the proceedings against Aung San Suu Kyi and American citizen, John Yettaw. “He was there to observe the hearing. Yettaw faces charges relating to immigration, trespassing into a restricted zone, and violating a law that protects the state from those desiring to cause subversive acts,” he said.

Meanwhile, speaking on the Senate floor, Sen Mitch McConnell applauded the decision of the US President Barack Obama to extend US sanctions on the military regime by one more year.

“The government of Burma should be aware that its actions are highly troubling to democracies the world over. This is reflected not only in the administration’s new executive order but also in the strong support the Burmese people enjoy in the US Senate,” the senator said.

In another statement, Canada’s main opposition Liberal Party condemned the charges brought against Suu Kyi as part of the junta's efforts to extend her unjust detention.

“We call for her immediate release and the release of all political prisoners in Burma. We further call on the Government of Canada to work with the international community to strengthen its sanctions of the Burmese junta and press for her release,” the Liberal Party said in a statement.

Trial of Suu Kyi May Dash Change in US Policy

2009-05-19T10:09:00.000+07:00

By FOSTER KLUG / AP WRITER

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has been considering whether a softer approach on Burma could spur democratic change in the military-run country, but the trial starting this week of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi may dash the possibility of a new US policy.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly was blunt when asked Monday whether the proceedings against Suu Kyi make it more difficult for the administration to ease tough sanctions against Burma:

"It certainly doesn't help."

Kelly would not elaborate, saying only a "whole range of options" are being considered as senior officials from various US agencies meet to review the policy meant to push Burma's junta "to do the right thing."

Even as the review continues, President Barack Obama extended for another year on Friday a state of emergency regarding Burma. Sanctions would have expired had the emergency order not been extended.

Still, signals from Obama's administration had prompted speculation that the United States might be poised to reconsider its hard line against Burma.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in February, on a trip to Indonesia, "Clearly, the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn't influenced the Burmese junta." She added, however, that Burma's neighbors' policy of "reaching out and trying to engage them hasn't influenced them either."

Suu Kyi, who went on trial Monday, already has spent more than 13 of the past 19 years in detention. The Nobel Peace laureate has been charged with violating conditions of her house arrest by sheltering an American man who swam to her lakeside home to secretly visit her earlier this month. The offense is punishable by up to five years' imprisonment.

David Steinberg, a Burma specialist at Georgetown University, said the Obama administration might have been considering small changes, such as joint efforts to recover the remains of US soldiers.

"The modest progress that could have taken place will be set back now," he said. The United States, Steinberg said, cannot begin easing sanctions until it sees real change from Burma's generals.

Suu Kyi had been scheduled to be freed May 27 after six consecutive years of house arrest. The latest charges are widely seen as a pretext for the government to keep her detained past elections scheduled for next year.

Ralph A. Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS think tank, questioned the US policy of maintaining "total isolation and strict sanctions" until the junta recognizes the results of the 1990 elections it lost in a landslide to Suu Kyi's party but did not honor.

"That a new policy is needed is beyond dispute," he wrote last week. "What that policy should or will be is far from clear, however." Some, Cossa said, have pushed for an approach similar to the six-nation negotiations being used by the United States, South Korea, Japan, Russia and China to try to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear programs.

US sanctions, he wrote, "need to be more targeted against the government and its leaders and not against the people themselves."

Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell, the Senate's top Republican and a regular critic of Burma's generals, offered rare praise for Obama on Monday for his decision to extend the emergency order against Burma.

He warned Burmese military leaders that both Democrats and Republicans "will continue to follow Suu Kyi's trial with great interest and deep concern."

Police Officer Testifies in Suu Kyi Trial

2009-05-18T10:07:00.000+07:00

By SAW YAN NAING

The first witness called by the prosecution on Monday was a police official, said National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman Nyan Win, who is also a member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s legal team.

The police official testified that Suu Kyi—in flaunting the law governing personal restrictions enforced on her in 2003—had broken the terms of her house arrest, said Nyan Win, although he was unable to provide further details of the police official’s testimony or his position within the police force.

The NLD spokesman confirmed that the defense team had sufficient time to question the witness.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday afternoon after attending the opening day of the trial of Suu Kyi in Insein Prison, Nyan Win said that proceedings had begun at 10 a.m. and finished at about 2 p.m., before being adjourned until the following day.

Two NLD members, Khin Khin Win and her daughter Win Ma Ma, who have acted as Suu Kyi’s caretakers in recent years, as well as John William Yettaw—an American tourist who allegedly sneaked into Suu Kyi’s lakeside home on May 3—also appeared in court on Monday, said Nyan Win.

There are 22 prosecution witnesses, all of whom will be questioned, said the NLD spokesman.

However, he said that he was worried about the process of the trial as the military court usually takes orders directly from the ruling junta.

“From our experience of the Burmese courts, they usually do what the regime orders,” said Nyan Win. “I’m worried about this situation.”

Suu Kyi faces a maximum of five years imprisonment if she is convicted of violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring the American intruder, who apparently swam two kilometers across Inya Lake to interview the 63-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

It is obvious that the junta is attempting to prevent Suu Kyi from participating in the upcoming election in 2010, said the NLD spokesman.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people—mostly NLD supporters—gathered outside Insein Prison on Monday during Suu Kyi’s trial, said Win Tin, a leading member of the NLD.

However, security forces were able to control the rally and persuaded the crowd not to protest, said Win Tin.

Rangoon sources said that security forces were beefed up on Monday around Insein Prison and on roads leading into the area. Shopkeepers near the prison had earlier been ordered by the authorities to close their premises.

EU Weighs Stepping up Burma Sanctions

2009-05-18T10:06:00.000+07:00

By CONSTANT BRAND / AP WRITER

BRUSSELS — China, India and other Asian countries should press Burma's military leaders to drop charges against pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and release her from house arrest, EU foreign ministers said Monday.

The EU ministers meeting in Brussels discussed increasing sanctions against Burma's junta, but also said they would urge Burma's neighbors to do more to help restore democracy in the Southeast Asian country.

"We will have to engage with other countries in the region, those are the ones that have a real possibility to influence" the military junta, Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said.

Suu Kyi, one of Burma's more than 2,100 political prisoners, is on trial in Rangoon for allegedly harboring an American man who swam to her lakeside home where she was under house arrest.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Paris called the trial a "scandalous provocation."

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the EU was "very concerned" over the trial and efforts by the military junta to shove through "sham" constitutional reforms.

"The house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi is bad enough, but for her to be put on a show trial just adds to her pain," he said in Brussels. Suu Kyi has spent more than 13 of the last 19 years under detention.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana led the call for more sanctions, though others questioned whether existing EU punitive measures were working, including a travel ban on Burma's political officials, an arms embargo and a freeze of assets in Europe.

"We have seen the sanctions have not helped. They have not brought anything new," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.

Sweden's Bildt said EU nations would pressure their counterparts from the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Burma, when they meet next week in Hanoi, Vietnam. Past efforts to cajole the Asian group to denounce Burma have failed.

Burma has been ruled by its military since 1962. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy uprising, and has stepped up its campaign against opposition politicians and activists before elections planned for next year.

The EU imposed sanctions in 2006 to protest the junta's crackdown on pro-democracy groups, and added other economic sanctions in 2007, including a ban on imports of timber, gemstones and precious metals.

Facebook Campaign Organizes Support for Suu Kyi

2009-05-18T10:05:00.000+07:00

By MIN LWIN

Burmese living abroad have launched a campaign for the release of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Facebook, the popular Internet social-networking Web site.

According to the Landon-based Burma Campaign UK, as of Sunday 40,000 people has registered their support on a Facebook site.

“Facebook is an excellent way to reach people and let them know about Aung San Suu Kyi and the situation in Burma,” said Johnny Chatterton, a campaigns officer at Burma Campaign UK. “We are able to use Facebook to translate sympathy into action.”

The Suu Kyi page is being used to promote and coordinate global campaign actions, including a global day of action on Monday, when demonstrations will take place in more than a dozen cities, including London, Bangkok, Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Canberra, Taipei, Barcelona, Paris, Stockholm, Ottawa, Barcelona, Cadiz, Sevilla, and Kuala Lumpur. (see: Aung San Suu Kyi Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi/9953503420?ref=pdb)

Facebook is increasingly popular among Burmese in exile for social networking and the promotion of Burma causes. Several Burmese activists and campaign groups in the West and in the region also use Facebook to promote Burma.

In September 2007 when monks led a pro-democracy uprising in Burma, the campaign on Facebook registered several hundred thousand people.

Observers recently warned that the regime monitors Facebook to trace and identify activists.

Facebook is a free-access social networking Web site; Internet users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school or other venues that connect people with like-minded interests.

China Should Break its Silence on Suu Kyi

2009-05-18T10:04:00.000+07:00

By THE IRRAWADDY

The removal of Aung San Suu Kyi from her home to Rangoon’s infamous Insein Prison and her trial before a secret court have sparked international outrage and condemnation, shared by world leaders, Nobel Prize winners and prominent personalities.

Two governments have remained significantly silent, however—those of Burma’s two giant neighbors, China and India.

The reasons for their silence aren’t difficult to discern.

Both countries exploit Burma’s natural resources and are major trading partners. China, in particular, profits from lively arms sales to the pariah regime.

China makes no secret of its strong ties with Burma. New Delhi, on the other hand, is a pathetic hypocrite, changing its policy from support for Suu Kyi to one of subservience to Burma’s ruling generals. India has descended a long and ignoble decline since presenting Suu Kyi with its coveted Jawaharlal Nehru Award.

It’s sad indeed to see one of the world’s largest democracies—whose commitment to democracy has just been proved in a general election—kowtowing to the bullies of Naypyidaw.

China’s stance on Burma is, by comparison, at least intriguing.

At the time of the September 2007 demonstrations, when monks and other protesters were gunned down in the streets of Rangoon, China told Burma to exercise restraint. Beijing urged the junta to restore order quickly and to address the domestic tensions that caused the unrest.

Although the regime ignored the appeals from Beijing, China remained on friendly terms with Naypidaw and used its UN veto to block a Security Council resolution on Burma in 2007.

Beijing is not blind, however, to Burma’s ongoing problems. Chinese analysts and officials have been meeting exiled Burmese and making assessments on Burma. They have suggested that Beijing is wary of political development in Burma.

China has also told the Burmese regime that it doesn’t share Naypyidaw’s description of Suu Kyi as a tool of the West, and has indicated strongly that it wants to see national reconciliation in Burma.

When Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visited Burma in December, he urged junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe to respect the UN’s request for an inclusive political process in Burma, and he reportedly mentioned political prisoners, including Suu Kyi.

Informed sources in Naypyidaw suggested that Than Shwe looked unhappy, while briefing his Chinese visitor on the state of the country, including its political and economic development and reconstruction work in the cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta.

It is sad that Burmese leaders have found in China a convenient shield to hide behind whenever they face international outrage and condemnation. Again, the silence emanating from Beijing only sent a wrong signal to Than Shwe.

As in September 2007, Beijing should speak out. But this time it should exercise its political influence not only on Burma but also on the region as a whole to press for the release of Suu Kyi and the other political prisoners.

Such a move by China would be warmly welcomed by oppressed Burmese and the exiled community. It shouldn’t be forgotten that they also want to regard China as a friend.

"You didn't see me, OK?"

2009-05-18T10:01:00.000+07:00

Hundreds Gather as Suu Kyi Trial Starts

2009-05-18T10:00:00.000+07:00

By SAW YAN NAING

Hundreds of people, including members of Burma’s opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) gathered outside Rangoon’s Insein Prison on Monday morning as the trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi got under way in a special court.

The ambassadors of four European countries were refused entry to the prison to attend the trial, reported the AFP news agency, quoting an unnamed diplomat.

Suu Kyi’s lawyer, Kyi Win, said he planned to ask for the trial to be held in public. Suu Kyi is also being represented by lawyers Khin Htay Kywe and Nyan Win.

Kyi Win said 22 prosecution witnesses, including police officers, would be called. He said Suu Kyi’s family doctor, Tin Myo Win, who was arrested by Burmese authorities the day after the discovery that an American intruder had entered her house, would not be called to give evidence.

Tin Myo Win was freed by Burmese authorities on Saturday, a member of his family reported.

The American intruder also reportedly went on trial on Monday, but no details were officially disclosed.

Suu Kyi faces a sentence of up to five years imprisonment if found guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest by allegedly harboring the American.

Rangoon sources reported that security had been stepped up around Insein Prison and on roads leading to the area. Shopkeepers in the immediate area had also been ordered by the authorities to close their premises. Phone lines were cut, the sources said.

NLD member Kyin Toe said security forces had been deployed around the homes of opposition members, including his own. Some NLD members reported their movements were being followed by security agents.

72 Former Presidents, Prime Ministers Write to UN

2009-05-18T09:54:00.000+07:00

By LALIT K JHA

WASHINGTON — The Club of Madrid has sent a letter, signed by 72 former presidents and prime ministers, to the United Nations urging Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to go to Burma to seek the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Condemning the recent arrest of Suu Kyi, the Club of Madrid, in a letter dated May 15, said: “We urge you to make use of every possible means, including considering to travel to Burma on behalf of the United Nations, to press for her immediate release.”

The letter released to the media on Sunday was signed by Ricardo Lagos, president of the Club of Madrid and former president of Chile; Mary Robinson, vice-president of the Club of Madrid and former president of Ireland, and Kjell Magne Bondevik, a member of the board of directors of the Club of Madrid and former prime minister of Norway.

The letter cited the October 11, 2007, presidential statement of the UN Security Council calling on the Burmese junta to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

“In defiance of the United Nations Security Council, the Burmese junta has not only almost doubled the number of political prisoners, but now also imprisoned and charged Aung San Suu Kyi with breaching the terms of her house arrest. Hearing of the court will start on 18 May, 2009. The charges carry a maximum jail term of five years,” it said.

Meanwhile, in advance of the trial of Suu Kyi more than 40 global celebrities on Sunday urged the countries of the world and the UN to speak in one voice and to demand that the Burmese democracy leader be freed immediately.

“We must not stand by as she is silenced once again. Now is the time for the United Nations and the entire international community to speak clearly and with one voice: Free Aung San Suu Kyi,” global celebrities said in a statement on Sunday.

Prominent signers included David Beckham, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Anderson Cooper, Madonna, John McCain, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Salman Rushdie, Meg Ryan and Steven Spielberg.

“Nineteen years ago, the Burmese people chose Aung San Suu Kyi to be their next leader. And for most of those 19 years she has been kept under house arrest by the military junta that now runs the country. She is the world’s only incarcerated Nobel Peace Prize laureate,” the statement said. “Last week Suu Kyi was taken to Burma’s Insein Prison to face criminal charges as part of a concerted plan to deny her freedom.”

Among other signatories to the “Free Aung San Suu Kyi” statement were George Clooney, Madeleine Albright, Wes Anderson, Drew Barrymore, Matthew Broderick, Sandra Bullock, James Carville, Michael Chabon, Daniel Craig, John Cusack, Matt Damon, Robert De Niro, Dave Eggers, Jake Gyllenhaal, Václav Havel, Helen Hunt, Anjelica Huston, Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman, Ashton Kutcher, Norman Lear, Mary Matalin, Cindy McCain, Rose McGowan, Orhan Pamuk, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Robert Rodriguez, Meg Ryan, Liev Schreiber, George Soros, Meryl Streep, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Naomi Watts, Prof Elie Wiesel and Owen Wilson.

Security Tight at Suu Kyi Trial

2009-05-18T09:53:00.000+07:00

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RANGOON — Riot police behind barbed wire barricades ringed a notorious prison where pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was to go on trial Monday for allegedly harboring an American man who swam to her lakeside home.

The tight security came as activist groups, which spearheaded an uprising against Burma's military rulers in 2007, called for peaceful protest rallies in front of Rangoon's Insein prison until Suu Kyi is freed.

On the eve of the trial, her defense lawyer said Suu Kyi was innocent of the charges, which could put her into prison for up to five years.

"We call all political forces for Free Aung San Suu Kyi to mobilize all over Burma, by holding praying sessions in homes, places of worship ... and holding silent, peaceful rallies in front of Insein prison," said a statement from three activist groups.

The groups included an organization of Buddhist monks, who were at the forefront of the 2007 protests, which were brutally crushed by the regime.

Security forces blocked all roads leading to the prison as several hundred riot police, many armed with guns, batons and shields, guarded the perimeter of Insein, where the regime has for years incarcerated political prisoners. There was no sign of any protesters near the prison.

"After listening to the sequence of events, it is very clear that there is no breach of conditions of her restrictions," lawyer Kyi Win said after visiting the Noble Peace Prize laureate in the prison over the weekend.

Suu Kyi, 63, was charged Thursday with violating the terms of her detention by sheltering John William Yettaw, reportedly a Vietnam War veteran, who will also be tried along with two female assistants who have been with Suu Kyi since 2003.

Suu Kyi had been scheduled to be freed May 27 after six consecutive years of house arrest.

The charges are widely seen as a pretext for the ruling junta to keep Suu Kyi detained past elections it has scheduled for next year as the culmination of a "roadmap to democracy" which has been criticized as a fig leaf for continued military control.

Burma has been ruled by its military since 1962. The regime lost democratic elections in 1990 but did not honor the landslide victory of Suu Kyi's party.

In Monday's court session, Kyi Win said Suu Kyi's defense team will ask for an open trial and may also request bail. The prosecution is expected to call 22 witnesses during the trial.

Kyi Win said Suu Kyi was ready to tell her side of the story. "She has always been ready to tell the truth," he said.

On Sunday, a family member said Suu Kyi's personal physician, Tin Myo Win, was released by authorities a day earlier after being taken from his home on May 7, a day after Yettaw was arrested near Suu Kyi's lakeside residence, where she has been detained for more than 13 of the last 19 years.

The family member spoke on condition of anonymity, citing possible reprisals by authorities.

It is not known why Tin Myo Win was arrested. A spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy earlier said the doctor's detention may have been related to the American swimmer, who has been labeled a "fool" by the pro-democracy movement.

Her latest arrest has sparked a storm of international appeals to Burma's military government to free her and to restore democracy in the country.

In unusually sharp criticism from a Southeast Asian nation, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said Sunday that his government was "deeply troubled and outraged" over the "trumped-up charges" against Suu Kyi.

"We urge the government of Myanmar [Burma] to resolve the matter speedily and to release Aung San Suu Kyi immediately and unconditionally," he said.

Normally, members of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Burma, refrain from criticizing one another.

Exactly why Yettaw, of Falcon, Missouri, swam across the lake to see Suu Kyi remains unclear. After leaving, he was fished out of the lake by authorities about 1.2 miles (two kilometers) from her residence and taken into custody.

"I cannot tell you what he was thinking when he made those swims or whether or not he considered the consequences for anyone but himself," said Yettaw's stepson Paul in an e-mail to The Associated Press Monday.

"He knew he could be caught and arrested, though I am very sure it never occurred to him that Suu Kyi or her companions could also suffer from his choices," he said.

His wife, Betty Yettaw, earlier described her husband as eccentric but peace-loving and "not political at all."

According to his ex-wife Yvonne Yettaw, he said he went to Asia to work on a psychology paper about forgiveness.

She said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and a head wound during his military service.

His former wife said Yettaw belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons, adding it was unlikely he was in Southeast Asia to proselytize for the church or convert the Nobel laureate.

"As a family, we are very sorry for any additional problems that John's action may have caused Suu Kyi and her companions," his stepson said.

Did someone turn a blind eye?

2009-05-16T11:10:00.000+07:00

Two Suu Kyi Lawyers Dismissed from Bar

2009-05-16T11:04:00.000+07:00

By MIN LWIN and THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Two of Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers, Aung Thein and Khin Maung Shein, were dismissed from the country’s bar by the Burmese military on Friday.

“Township magistrate officer U Aung Soe and some local authorities came and gave an order in which we are dismissed from the Burmese lawyer’s list,” Aung Thein told The Irrawaddy on Saturday.

Attorney Aung Thein confirmed on Saturday that he had been dismissed on Friday, a day after he had applied to represent Suu Kyi in her latest trial, which is set to begin on Monday.

Aung Thein has defended political activists in the past and was recently jailed for four months for contempt of court because of his strong advocacy on his clients’ behalf.

“The dismissal is not fair to us,” Aung Thein said. “We have served four months (in detention for contempt to the court).”

In November, Aung Thein and his close associate Khin Maung Shein were both sentenced to four months imprisonment for contempt of court. The authorities were prejudiced against lawyers who have defended political activists, said Aung Thein.

Their past clients include the prominent Buddhist monk Gambira, who was sentenced to prison following his leadership of the “Saffron Uprising” in 2007. Aung Thein ultimately resigned from that case, complaining that he was had not been allowed to prepare a proper defense.

U Aung Thein is a lawyer associated with Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy’s (NLD) legal advisory team.

On Thursday, authorities barred Aung Thein from entering Insein Prison where Suu Kyi is being detained. Kyi Win was allowed inside the prison.

The Thailand-based human rights group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) (AAPP), released a statement on Saturday saying Aung Thein had his license to practice law revoked by the authorities on grounds that he did not abide by professional ethics.

In a statement, the AAPP said the action was a blatant attempt to damage the defense of Suu Kyi and her two caretakers and represents a pattern of harassment against lawyers who defend pro-democracy activists. There are currently eleven lawyers in prison across the country on charges associated with defense of activists.

Suu Kyi was charged on Thursday with violating the terms of her house arrest after her home was invaded by an American, John William Yettaw, 53, who also faces trial on charges he violated internal security laws.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize committee called for Suu Kyi’s immediate release.

“Her recent detention in prison is totally unacceptable. She has done nothing wrong,” said the statement from the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which rarely comments on past peace laureates.

The charges against Suu Kyi are widely seen as a pretext for the ruling junta to keep Suu Kyi detained beyond the 2010 national election, part of the junta’s so-called "roadmap to democracy," which has been criticized as a ploy for the military regime to remain in power.

Despite sharp criticism and economic sanctions by the US, Europe and other countries, Burma’s generals have enjoyed the support of China and other Asian nations. They invariably march to their own tune and are likely to do so again in the prosecution of Suu Kyi, who they regard as their No 1 enemy.

The charges against Suu Kyi carry a penalty range of three to five years imprisonment.

Chronology of Suu Kyi and the ‘Inya Lake Swimmer’

By ARKAR MOE

May 1 - Burmese military authorities reject an appeal to release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

May 2 - American John William Yettaw arrives in Rangoon on a tourist visa.

May 3 - Yettaw swims across Inya Lake to Suu Kyi’s house.

May 6 - Yettaw is fished out of the lake by police and arrested.

May 7 - State-run media report that a US citizen swam to Suu Kyi’s house and stayed for three days; More than 20 police briefly enter Suu Kyi’s compound; Suu Kyi’s lawyer announces that she is “not safe”; Dr Tin Myo Win is refused entry to the compound and is then arrested.

May 8 - Dr Pyone Mo Ei pays Suu Kyi a medical visit for about 2 hours.

May 11 - Dr Pyone Mo Ei revisits Suu Kyi and administers an intravenous drip.

May 13 - US embassy officials meet with Yettaw for three minutes at an interrogation center in Rangoon.

May 14 - Suu Kyi and her two “companions” are arrested and transferred to Insein prison where they are detained in a guest house within the jail’s compound; Suu Kyi, her two companions and Yettaw are charged; Suu Kyi’s lawyer announces she is to be tried on May 18; State-run newspapers publish a biography of Yettaw.

Wanted: Surin Pitsuwan

2009-05-16T11:03:00.000+07:00

By THE IRRAWADDY

Since the arrest and detention of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi last week, regional newspapers have published front page stories on Burma and the detention of Suu Kyi. A few Asean-member countries have also spoke out against the politically motivated and unjust detention of Suu Kyi and her companions.

But the question is: where is Surin Pitsuwan, head of Asean?

As head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and a former foreign minister of Thailand, Surin was a ray of hope in the region, known for being media friendly, outspoken and an open and democratic-minded person. Surin’s appointment injected a new wave of optimism in the region and beyond.

He recently gained deserved kudos for his active engagement in helping Burma when the country faced a serious humanitarian disaster in May 2008. After visiting the cyclone-hit delta, he declared, "We are being baptized by Cyclone Nargis."

Indeed, Surin is no stranger to Burma. He has many admirers in Burma for his outspokenness against the military dictators in Burma when he was foreign minister of Thailand under Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai.

At this sad moment in Burma’s history, wouldn’t it be proper for Surin and Asean to forcefully and clearly speak out on human rights principles by condemning Burma in the strongest possible language?

Is Surin afraid of making enemies among the generals in Naypyidaw? We hope not.

A group of the world’s Nobel Peace Prize winners recently appealed directly to Surin for help and leadership, in a letter on May 14 signed by Desmond Tutu, Jody Williams, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Adolfo Perez Esquivel Wangari Mathaai, Shirin Ebadi, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire.

They urged him to take action against the false imprisonment of their fellow Nobel laureate, Suu Kyi.

“It is time for Asean and the international community to join in voicing their outrage for this horrible injustice,” the letter said. “We urgently express our views to you and implore you to do everything in your power to free this internationally champion of nonviolence, human rights and democracy.”

Surin, we call on you to stand up for justice in Burma and to make Asean relevant in human rights. As of now, it is nothing more than a toothless tiger taking in circles.

Two US Senators Call for ‘Reform-minded’ Junta Leaders

2009-05-16T11:02:00.000+07:00

By LALIT K JHA

WASHINGTON—Two powerful US lawmakers, one from the ruling Democratic party and one from the opposition Republicans, have urged Burmese generals to challenge the current authoritarian rule of Snr-Gen Than Shwe in Burma.
In a statement issued by Sen John Kerry and his Republican counterpart Sen Richard Lugar, both leaders of the powerful foreign affairs committee, they called for “reform-minded” leaders in the military junta to step forward.

Kerry is chairman of the committee, and Lugar is its ranking member. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee plays a key role in shaping US foreign policy.

“Now is the time for reform-minded leaders within the military junta to step forward and be heard,” said the statement. “Releasing Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners would signal the start of a constructive dialogue with the United States.”

Sources in Naypyidaw said that the junta’s top leaders noticed the lawmakers’ appeal, but one informed source said that any reformed-minded military leaders would need greater assurance and the full backing from the international community and the US to part ways with Than Shwe and other hardliners.

Observing that the Obama administration and Congress are reviewing America’s policy toward Burma, the two Senators said: “At this critical time, some in the junta are trying to leverage the recent alleged unauthorized entry into Aung San Suu Kyi’s compound to extend her detention.”

This action, they said: “sends precisely the wrong message to the citizens of Burma, the people of Southeast Asia, and all those in the global community who seek for the Burmese people the opportunity to live in a country where universal human rights are respected, not trampled.”

Both Kerry and Lugar are close confidants of Obama in matters of US foreign policy. Despite being a Republican, Lugar at one point was considered for the post of secretary of state in the Obama administration, the post that ultimately went to Hillary Clinton.

Obama’s rise to national fame started when Kerry, then the Democratic presidential nominee, gave him the opportunity in 2004 to address the Democratic National Convention; the speech made Obama a household name in the US overnight.

Meanwhile, US lawmakers continued to issue statements deploring the junta’s decision to charge Aung San Suu Kyi and hold her in Insein Prison in Rangoon.

“Her transfer from house arrest to prison to face criminal charges is a serious matter that deserves the strongest condemnation from the world's democracies—and from regional neighbors, including Thailand and China," said Sen Judd Gregg.

"The only thing criminal about Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been the abusive injustices she and her supporters have suffered under the State Peace and Development Council,” he said.

Rep Dana Rohrabacher said, “It has long since passed when the military dictators of Burma should have stepped aside and allowed a more honest and efficient government democratically chosen by the people of Burma.”

“Nothing undermines the legitimacy of the upcoming elections more than this type of maneuver against Aung San Suu Kyi by the military junta," said the lawmaker.

Obama Extends Sanctions on Burma

2009-05-16T11:01:00.000+07:00

By LALIT K JHA

WASHINGTON—US President Barack Obama extended economic and other sanctions on the Burmese military regime for one more year as the trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is set to begin on Monday.
Several US lawmakers had urged Obama to extend the sanctions this week, even as his administration was undertaking a policy on Burma.

The US president said that the authoritarian regime continued to be “engaging in large-scale repression of the democratic opposition.” The current sanctions, first imposed on Burma in 1997, were set to expire May 19.

In his message to Congress, Obama said the actions and policies of the junta are “hostile” to US interests and pose a continuing “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.

The extension of sanctions against the junta was welcomed by leading activist groups.

The move bars new US investment in Burma and was first put into place by President Clinton in 1997. In 2003 and 2007, the US Congress increased the sanctions by adding and then strengthening a ban on exports from Burma to the US. While there is no ban on tourism or exports to Burma, the sanctions are believed to have denied the military regime tens of billions of dollars per year.

“Now that President Obama has continued a wise policy from the United States, it is time for him to seize the moment and take action internationally,” said Jeremy Woodrum, director of the US Campaign for Burma.

“We hope he will immediately pursue a global arms embargo at the UN Security Council, as well as an investigation into crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Burma's military regime,” he said.

KIO Meet to Discuss Call to Form Border Security Force

2009-05-16T11:00:00.000+07:00

By MIN LWIN

The central executive committee of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) held a two-day meeting on May 11-12 to discuss the Burmese regime’s calls for the ceasefire group to transform its armed wing into a border security force (BSF).

According to sources, plans were made at the meeting to hold consultations with members of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and others to discuss the proposed move to turn the armed group into a BSF.

“In the meeting, they made two groups to explain the recent situation for the Kachin people—one group for armed personnel and local residents and one for community leaders in Kachin State,” said a source who is close to the KIO.

The Kachin News Group quoted Dr Manam Tu Ja, a vice-president of the KIO, as saying, “On the matter of transforming the KIA, both sides have to have a series of negotiations on political, economic and other organizational rights.”

The KIO will hold a meeting with Kachin community leaders on May 17-18 to explain the political and economic situation.

On April 28, a delegation led by KIO Vice-Chairman Lt-Gen Gauri Zau Seng went to the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina to meet with Brig-Gen Soe Win, the junta’s Northern Regional Commander, to learn more about the details of the regime’s plan.

Under the junta’s scheme, the Burmese military will be given more control over the armed ceasefire groups. Each border guard battalion will consist of 326 troops, including 30 from the Burmese army, of who three will be Burmese officers with administrative positions.

The plan also stipulates that BSFs will only be mobilized within the territory currently held by the armed ceasefire groups.

Although the KIO has not yet formally responded to the junta’s proposed plan, senior members of the KIA are expected to resist the idea.

“We make a pledge every morning that we will not give up our weapons,” said a KIA major who asked not to be named.

In a statement released on May 12, five Kachin exile organizations—the All Kachin Students and Youth Union, Kachin Today Group, Kachin National Organization, Kachin State National Congress for Democracy, and Progressive Kachin Christian Solidarity—also rejected the Burmese junta’s plan.

Meanwhile, a belated quarterly meeting held by the junta at its remote capital of Naypyidaw last week has resulted in a major reshuffle linked to efforts to push ceasefire groups to form themselves into BSFs ahead of next year’s elections.

According to a Rangoon resident who is close to the military, three commanders of the regime’s six Bureaus of Special Operations (BSO) have been reassigned.

The source said that Maj-Gen Ohn Myint was moved from the BSO (1) to BSO (6), Lt-Gen Thar Aye was moved from the BSO (4) to BSO (1) and Lt-Gen Khin Zaw was moved from the BSO (6) to BSO (4).

Bangladesh Diplomat to Discuss Maritime Boundary Dispute

2009-05-16T10:58:00.000+07:00

By ARKAR MOE

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni arrived in Burma on Friday for a three-day visit centering on negotiations over disputed maritime boundaries in the Bay of Bengal involving large amounts of potential gas deposits.

Accordingly to a Zai Zai Din, a Bengali newspaper, the Bangladesh diplomatic team will also discuss the repatriation of Rohingya refugees and the restarting of a stalled highway project.

According to sources, Burma’s construction of a border fence between the two neighbors, a project that was undertaken without official consultation with Bangladesh, has worsened relations between the two countries.

Khine Mrat Kyaw, an editor with the Bangladesh-based Narinjara news agency, told The Irrawaddy, that a meeting between Burma and Bangladesh on the construction of the fence ended without any agreement. “I think both sides will not give up on their demands,” he said.

Bangladesh is planning to ask for a United Nations’ ruling on its maritime demarcation dispute with Burma and India in the Bay of Bengel, as both neighbors have challenged its proposals with overlapping charges. Bangladesh has also objected to Burma’s test drilling in the sea adjacent to its territory.

Khine Mrat Kyaw said: “The dispute over the maritime boundary was averted by diplomatic resolutions last November. Actually, Burma and Bangladesh have been locked in tensions concerning territorial issues. I don’t think it can solve these issues because both governments will not give up their demands. But it can be resolved under the United Nations.”

According to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Bangladesh must demarcate its boundaries by July 27, 2011; India by June 29, 2009; and Burma by May 21, 2009.

The issue of Rohingya refugees poses a longstanding dispute between the countries. Bangladesh is now on alert along the border for a feared influx of refugees due to Burma’s border fence construction. The repatriation of current refugees has been stalled for more than three years by Burma’s refusal to take them back.

Khine Mrat Kyaw said, “Now Bangladesh wants to practice a ‘constructive engagement policy’ to solve several issues. But it needs to take time to solve these issues.”

In addition to discussing territorial tensions, the Bangladesh team will also propose restarting a cross-border highway project that was agreed upon in 2005.

“This highway project started a long time ago,” said Khine Mrat Kyaw. “I don’t think it will succeed now. For the time being, this will only be on paper.”

Weekly Business Roundup (May 16, 2009)

2009-05-16T10:56:00.000+07:00

By WILLIAM BOOT

Australia Firm Quits Burma Airport Project under Sanctions Pressure

A leading Australian engineering company has cancelled a contract involving one of its subsidiaries in the development of a new airport in the Burmese capital of Nyapyidaw.

The cancellation followed news reports that named Singapore-based CPG as a designer of the airport. CPG is owned by Sydney-based Downer EDI.

The parent company announced it was severing CPG’s links with Burma’s regime-friendly Asia World conglomerate because it contravened its “zero harm environment” policy. The company said it was not aware of the subsidiary’s involvement.

It failed to mention that under Australian government sanctions it is illegal for Australian firms to do business with Asia World.

On its company Web site, Downer defined its zero harm policy as “providing direction and support for our people with respect to health, safety, sustainability, community and environmental management.” Its policies would be reviewed, the company said.

The new airport is to be built in three stages designed to eventually handle more than 10 million passengers per year, according to the airport construction industry Web site passengerterminaltoday.com.

The Website, without citing sources, said the main contractor was Asia World, whose boss, Tun Myint Naing, also known as Steven Law, is on a U.S. sanctions list because of his close connections with the country’s military leaders.

Bangladesh Appeals to UN to Arbitrate Sea Dispute with Burma

The Bangladesh government is to appeal directly to the United Nations to arbitrate over its sea territories dispute with Burma.

After the repeated failure of efforts to negotiate a settlement with the Burmese military government, the Dhaka government now says it will ask the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in June to give a ruling.

Both countries claim a segment of the Bay of Bengal which is believed to hold oil or gas. The disputed area is not far from Burma’s Shwe gas field, known to hold at least 200 billion cubic meters of gas.

The two countries’ navies engaged in a high seas confrontation last September after South Korea’s Daewoo International began drilling in the disputed waters on the basis of a permit granted by the state Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni is expected to raise the issue during a three-day visit to Burma on May 15-17 to discuss a number of border problems between the two neighbors, Bangladesh news media said this week.

Russians Plan Nuclear Power Plant on Burma’s Doorstep

Russia has agreed to build Bangladesh a large nuclear power station with a generating capacity of up to 1,000 megawatts.

The deal followed a visit to Dhaka by a high-level Russian delegation led by the deputy director general of the state Rosatom Corporation.

Details on a timetable for building the plant, its location and cost have not been announced, but it is likely to be financed by low-credit loans from the Russians, said bdnews24, a Bangladesh Internet-based newspaper.

It’s understood that bids to build a nuclear plant have also been made to the Bangladeshis by Chinese and Korean firms.

Bangladesh suffers from acute electricity shortages.

Previous efforts to reach an agreement with Burma to build hydrodams in Burma to generate electricity back across the border have proved to be inconclusive.

Russia and Burma made a provisional agreement in 2007 to collaborate in development in Burma of what was termed a nuclear research center, but nothing more has been heard the proposal.

That agreement also involved Moscow’s Atomstroieksport, and the funding and training of at least 300 Burmese scientists and technicians to help run the research center.

Chinese Accused of Using Forced Labor on Shan Rubber Plantations

A report by a Burmese human rights group said Chinese businesses in collusion with the Burma military are forcibly relocating villagers and using forced local labor in Shan State to develop rubber plantations.

The group, Lahu National Development Organization, named the Chinese firm Yunnan Hongyu Group as coordinator of the rubber plantation activities.

The NGO said the rubber planting is being carried out under a prextext that it is working to eradicate poppy plant cultivation for opium.

But Lahu said in its report that the rubber plantations are part of a wider commercial encroachment on Shan State by Chinese from neighboring Yunnan Province, including wildlife plundering.

Was Yettaw a Pawn of Burma’s Generals?

2009-05-15T10:53:00.001+07:00

By THE IRRAWADDY

There is growing doubt among Burmese observers that the bizarre case of an American intruder who managed to enter the highly restricted property of democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was the work of one misguided individual.
The incident involving John William Yettaw, an American national who allegedly wanted to interview Suu Kyi for a book he was writing, has resulted not only in his arrest, but also that of Suu Kyi herself, as well as her two live-in assistants and her doctor.

The arrests come less than two weeks before the democracy icon was due to be released after serving six under house arrest.

“We suspect that the military authorities turned a blind eye when the guy swam across Inya Lake,” said Ngwe Lin, the joint general-secretary of the exiled Democratic Party for a New Society. “I believe Burmese security authorities were definitely involved.”

Like Ngwe Lin, many Burmese are questioning the circumstances surrounding Suu Kyi’s latest brush with the ruling junta’s draconian laws. Many have expressed surprise at how easily Yettaw was able to enter her residential compound, which is one of the most tightly restricted properties in the country.

Aung Lin Htut, a former military intelligence officer and deputy ambassador to the US who is currently living in Washington, said that it was unlikely that Yettaw simply outwitted security personnel by swimming to Suu Kyi’s lakeside home.

“There’s always tight security around Inya Lake,” he said, pointing out that the area is also home to many other VIPs. “Without help from security personnel, there’s no way you could just swim across the lake.”

The strange case of the Inya Lake swimmer first attracted attention on May 7, when it was reported by The New Light of Myanmar. The state-run newspaper identified Yettaw as “John Willian [sic] Yeattaw,” and claimed that he had been arrested on the morning of May 5 as he was swimming away from Suu Kyi’s home.

Although the regime has made no official mention of the incident, the story was quickly picked up by junta-friendly blogs set up by the Ministry of Information, which claimed that Suu Kyi now faced up to five years imprisonment for violating the restriction order under which she was placed in detention.

Sure enough, on Thursday, Suu Kyi was officially charged under Section 22 of the State Protection Act, which says that “any person against whom action is taken, who opposes, resists, or disobeys any order passed under this Law, shall be liable to imprisonment for a period of from three years up to five years, or to a fine of up to 5,000 kyat, or both.”

Burmese opposition groups were quick to denounce this move to extend Suu Kyi’s incarceration.

“It is nothing more than a political ploy to hoodwink the international community so that they can keep Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under lock and key while the military maneuvers its way to election victory in 2010,” said Dr Sein Win, a cousin of Suu Kyi and the prime minister of the Washington-based National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, which describes itself as the country’s government-in-exile.

Another suspicious aspect of this whole episode is the fact that Suu Kyi’s doctor, Dr Tin Myo Win, was also taken into custody shortly after Yettaw’s arrest. As her personal physician, Tin Myo Win is one of the few people who have regular access to Suu Kyi.

According to opposition sources, Yettaw told them he had made an unsuccessful attempt to enter Suu Kyi’s compound during a trip to Rangoon that lasted from November 7 to December 3, 2008.

Sometime after that incident, Suu Kyi asked Tin Myo Win to inform the authorities about it on her behalf. The physician duly reported the attempted illegal entry to the Police Special Branch, but no action was taken.

“By arresting Tin Myo Win, the military authorities tried to stop him from spreading the information about Yettaw’s previous efforts to break in,” said a Rangoon-based observer.

Now everyone is trying to figure out who John William Yettaw, 53, of Falcon, Missouri, really is, and what motivated him to undertake a stunt that has attracted worldwide attention.

According to an Associated Press report, Betty Yettaw, his wife, said that he simply wanted to talk to Suu Kyi as part of his research on forgiveness and resilience. She said her husband is “not political at all,” but interested in how people deal with stress and abuse of all sorts.

But while it’s entirely plausible that a determined, if misguided, individual might attempt to circumvent the tight security measures surrounding the world’s most famous political prisoner, it is highly unlikely that he would have succeeded without a helping hand.

Opposition sources on the Thai-Burmese border who met him prior to his latest trip to Rangoon say that he was not one to be dissuaded easily from carrying out his foolhardy plan. However, they add that he probably also came into contact with some who actually encouraged him to go through with it.

It may take some time to put all the pieces together, but conspiracy theories suggesting that Yettaw’s “mission” was somehow orchestrated by the Burmese regime are not completely unfounded.

We know that the authorities were aware of Yettaw’s earlier attempt to meet Suu Kyi, and that it would not have been difficult for border-based agents of the regime to send him astray with assurances that Suu Kyi was ready to meet him this time.

The only way we will ever uncover the truth is if the junta allows all concerned to reveal what they know. But if one thing is certain, it is that the regime has no interest in any version of this story that doesn’t end with Suu Kyi behind bars.

The Lady, a “Fool” and a Crazy Dictator

2009-05-15T10:52:00.000+07:00

By AUNG ZAW

Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer, Kyi Win, is an angry man. His client is now in jail as a result of a madcap escapade by the American intruder John William Yettaw.

“Everyone is very angry with this wretched American,” said Kyi Win. “He is the cause of all these problems. He's a fool.”

While creating serious problems for Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD), the American swimmer was a
blessing in disguise for the regime leaders in Naypyidaw. They now have an excuse to extend Suu Kyi’s current six-year term of detention, which was to have ended this month.

The bizarre affair pits an eccentric American against a man who probably is really insane—the junta’s cunning leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe.

Indications of the state of Than Shwe’s unsound mind first surfaced in the early 2000s, when he and his family were reported to be behaving like royalty.

In 2005, Than Shwe relocated Burma’s capital to Naypyidaw after secretly constructing a new power center in the rural depths of Burma, at an estimated cost running into billions of dollars.

Than Shwe then bought a 10-megawatt nuclear reactor from Russia and declared to a doubting world that the secrecy-shrouded investment was for peaceful purposes. He reportedly confided to his subordinates that he planned to make Burma a nuclear nation.

He is said to be a devout Buddhist and recently participated with family members in the consecration of a replica of Rangoon’s famous Shwedagon Pagoda.

For all his devout piety, however, family sources suggest that Than Shwe and his wife are superstitious and often consult astrologers, even when making major policy decisions.

Among these decisions were moves to steer Burma into an even darker corner of the world—by restoring formal diplomatic ties, for instance, with North Korea.

Relations between the two countries were broken off in 1983 after a Rangoon bomb attack by North Korean terrorists on a visiting South Korean delegation headed by then-President Chun Doo-hwan.

Burma has sent secret missions to North Korea, and although little news emerges about these visits it is known that the regime is buying arms, including short-range missiles, from the hermit state.

In May 2003, Than Shwe and his hard-line ministers launched an attack on a Suu Kyi motorcade in the heartland of Burma.

The thuggish attack on Suu Kyi and her supporters sparked outrage within the international community. Than Shwe and his regime responded by placing her under house arrest.

Despite the treatment she received at the hands of the regime, Suu Kyi made clear she bore no grudge and extended an olive branch to Than Shwe, seeking political dialogue and national reconciliation.

Than Shwe, however, made clear for his part that he had no interest in meeting Suu Kyi. Instead, he introduced the country to a “road map” leading to what he promised would be “disciplined democracy.”

A new constitution was drawn up and put to the country in 2008 in a national referendum which not even Cyclone Nargis could delay.

The regime made the preposterous claim that the rigged referendum had been approved by more than 90 percent of the electorate. The document provided for a general election to be held in 2010, although no precise date has yet been announced—and even an election law is still awaited.

Suu Kyi’s NLD—outright winner of the 1990 election—recently took a bold step and said it would participate in the 2010 election if the regime met a series of demands, including the release of all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi, changes to the constitution and for international observers to be allowed to monitor the poll.

Interestingly, the NLD did not call on the regime to honor the outcome of the 1990 election. Analysts greeted the moderate stance.

Than Shwe had other things on his mind and rejected an appeal by Suu Kyi’s lawyers to free her. He was clearly looking for a reason to justify an extension of her detention.

He was also eager to build the regime’s image and inform the public about “progress” in his country.

Two weeks ago, while not bothering to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Cyclone Nargis, Than Shwe arrogantly claimed at a top brass meeting that his country had almost tripled its rice production over the past two decades. He claimed a food surplus existed, despite the destruction in the delta and reports of famine in Chin State.

“There is no need to worry about food even when the nation's population reaches 100 million,” Than Shwe boasted.

His message appeared to be that since Burma has enough rice all its problems are solved. He enjoys living in this world of his own.

The xenophobic regime supremo shuns visiting UN envoys and doesn’t like meeting ambassadors who raise the issue of Suu Kyi’s detention. He is said to take refuge in pre-emptive action when meeting foreign dignitaries who dare to raise the issue.

With Yettaw and Suu Kyi in prison, Than Shwe may have thought that he has more justification to lecture his foreign guests on the reasons for keeping the Lady behind bars.

If any foreign officials are ready to accept such an explanation, Than Shwe will not need to seek psychiatric treatment.

Security Increased around Insein Prison

2009-05-15T10:43:00.000+07:00

By MIN LWIN

Increased security forces, including firefighters, members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and Swan Arr Shin, have been stationed around Rangoon’s infamous Insein prison, following the imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday.

An estimated two dozen people gathered at the prison on Friday morning seeking information about Suu Kyi. They were ordered to leave the area by security guards.

“Since yesterday morning, the security troops have deployed heavily in northern Rangoon and Insein Township,” said a source close to Insein Prison.

After the Burmese military government brought Aung San Suu Kyi from her lakeside house to Insein Prison, she was charged with violating the conditions of her house arrest.

A US citizen, John William Yettaw, 53, of Falcon, Missouri, swam across Inya Lake to Aung San Suu Kyi’s lakeside resident where he stayed two nights last week, according to authorities. It is against the law in Burma for nationals to allow foreigners to stay overnight without approval from authorities.

According to sources in Insein Township, located in the northwest outskirts of Rangoon, additional security forces are posted around government buildings and monasteries near the prison, which houses many pro-democracy activists.

“Police, soldiers, firefighters and uniformed Swan-Arr-Shin have been stationed at Eight mile Junction and Thamine Junction and on the outskirts of the city,” said a Rangoon resident said.

“They [USDA and Swan-Arr-Shin] are stationed along the streets in Insein wards,” she said. “They stop taxis, cars and passersby, and they inspect them carefully.”

She said that plainclothes police and USDA members are going around check on the overnight guests’ list in various wards.

Sources in Rangoon said that people are flocking to Internet shops to try to get more news and information about Suu Kyi’s trial from exiled media Web sites. The trial may get underway on Monday, according to sources. Suu Kyi, her doctor, two caretakers and Yettaw are all charged with violating state security laws.

“The government is making people angry, and most people don’t believe that Daw Suu is guilty,” said a Rangoon-based reporter. “The government is manipulating the events again to put her in jail.”

“Many people, even when they go for walk, have a radio and listen for information about Daw Suu,” he said. “I saw trishaw drivers in a circle listening for news.”

Meanwhile, Internet service has been unreliable in Burma recently, with connections going on and off.

“Normally, Internet users go to chat rooms and talk, but now they read quietly about Daw Suu,” said one Internet user in downtown Rangoon.

Rangoon Media Silent on Suu Kyi

2009-05-15T10:24:00.000+07:00

By SAW YAN NAING

Burmese journalists from Rangoon-based publications have complained that they cannot report freely about pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s transfer to Insein Prison due to heavy restrictions on press freedom.

While the Burmese public is eager to hear news surrounding Suu Kyi’s arrest and the incident at her home involving an American intruder, they are forced to turn to the international press and Burmese news agencies in exile, because local media is largely silent on the issue.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday, an editor working with a leading journal in Rangoon said, “Of course we want to report this news, but we cannot. The censorship board will definitely reject it.”

Another Rangoon-based editor said, “We can publish reports about this news in similar terms to those of the state-run newspapers. I’m sure that we cannot report any more than that. Otherwise, our lives will be in danger.”

A Burmese journalist in Rangoon who is working with a foreign news agency said that he is constantly confronted with difficulties when confirming details deemed “sensitive matters” by the Burmese authorities.

Sources in Rangoon said that “everyone” in the former capital—from reporters to rickshaw drivers—listens to the radio every morning and evening to find out what is happening with Suu Kyi.

Several sources indicated that the public reaction to Suu Kyi’s arrest and her subsequent detention in a guest house within the compound of Insein Prison ranges from anger toward the junta to feelings of pity for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and fears for her safety.

A resident in Rangoon said that the news about Suu Kyi and the “Inya Lake Swimmer” is the talk of the town and that many people are constantly calling each other sharing the latest rumors.

“Some are saying that the incident [with the American intruder at Suu Kyi’s house] has been fabricated by the Burmese authorities,” he said.

On Thursday, pro-junta newspapers The New Light of Myanmar and The Mirror published details about the “US citizen who secretly entered the house of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.” The report included a photograph and full biography of 53-year-old psychology student John William Yettaw.

However, neither newspaper ran a report mentioning Suu Kyi’s arrest.
Some local journals, including Rangoon-based The Voice, also reported on the arrest of Yettaw, but only quoted from the “official” report in The New Light of Myanmar.

The New Light of Myanmar said that the US citizen was arrested on May 6. According to the report, the man arrived in Rangoon on May 2, swam across Inya Lake on the night of May 3 and secretly entered Suu Kyi’s house.

Several pro-junta publications and blogs have criticized the reporting by Burmese news agencies and radio stations in exile, such as BBC Burmese, Voice of America, and Radio Free Asia, saying that their coverage shows a lack of ethics and is influenced by the Western community.

Motives of 'Suu Kyi Swimmer'

2009-05-15T10:20:00.000+07:00

By MARIA SUDEKUM FISHER / AP WRITER

CAMDENTON, Missouri — The American in Burma custody after swimming across a lake to the home of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is eccentric but peace-loving, and had done the same thing last summer in an unsuccessful attempt to meet the Nobel Peace Prize winner, his wife said Thursday.

Betty Yettaw said she's sure her husband, John, is "very dismayed" that his arrest has prompted the Burmese government to level new charges against Suu Kyi less than two weeks before her yearslong detention had been due to end. She said John Yettaw wanted to talk to Suu Kyi as part of his research on forgiveness and resilience.

"He's a very peace-loving person, well-meaning, forgiving, mild-mannered. He meant the very best for her," Betty Yettaw said outside her home near Camdenton in south-central Missouri. "I don't think he could have foreseen that it was going to be such a mess, that they were going to make such a huge deal out of it.

"He probably thought he would be in and out, and no one would know because that's what happened before."

She said John Yettaw visited Suu Kyi's home last summer, also by swimming the lake, but that house staff kept him from speaking to her.

"I think that's what motivated him to go back. He thought he could be in and out."

John Yettaw, 53, was arrested last week and charged Thursday with illegally entering a restricted zone, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and breaking immigration laws, which is punishable by up to one year in jail.

"I guess you tend not to think that it will end badly, but I don't know. I worry about his reputation," his adult daughter, Carley Yettaw, said Thursday. "But I would like people to know that he has no ill intention that he was not trying to cause harm."

Suu Kyi's supporters accuse the military government of using the incident to keep her in detention ahead of general elections scheduled for next year.

John Yettaw's ex-wife, Yvonne Yettaw of Palm Springs, California, said he left his 10-year-old daughter and three teenage sons in southern Missouri before visiting her and telling her he had to go to Asia to work on a psychology paper about forgiveness. He has physical custody of the children.

"He's got four children, and he went out of the country and left the children with friends," she said.

Betty Yettaw, however, said John Yettaw is a good father who loves his children and made sure they would be cared for by her and friends while he was gone.

"He's not crazy. He's eccentric," she said.

She said her husband is "not political at all" but interested in how people deal with stress and abuse of all sorts, which is why he wanted to speak to Suu Kyi.

"He has no agenda whatsoever as far as the country goes," she said. "He really just wanted to have some comments from her I believe."

US Embassy spokesman Richard Mei said Yettaw had no legal representation at his arraignment but that the embassy was trying to find him an English-speaking lawyer.

Betty Yettaw said she was getting ready to send $630 to pay for a lawyer. "We do not have a lot of money," she said, adding that the Asia trip Yettaw made last year has not been paid off yet.

Yvonne Yettaw said her ex-husband said nothing about Suu Kyi when he talked to her. He mentioned researching the psychology paper but said little else about his trip.

"I don't know if this was cathartic," she said from Palm Springs. "But he wanted to return to Southeast Asia. He wanted to take some documents and some information because he's doing research on a paper on forgiveness for trauma."

She added, "I was just told that he needed to go." He had been scheduled to return June 24.

John Yettaw has claimed he is a student of the Forest Institute in Springfield, Missouri. Officials at the institute, a school for advanced degrees in psychology with about 250 students, said Yettaw is not enrolled there and did not have a degree from there; they said school rules bar them from disclosing whether he had ever attended.

Betty Yettaw said her husband had been working toward a degree in psychology but had not been enrolled in the Forest Institute recently.

Yvonne Yettaw said she was married to John Yettaw for 12 years and divorced him in 2002. They had six children together; one of them, a son, died in a motorcycle accident in 2007.

Yvonne Yettaw, 53, said John Yettaw lived on veterans disability payments and from work as a general contractor.

He got physical custody of the children when they divorced, she said, but she was going to have the children for a while when school ended for the summer. She asked him to postpone the trip to Asia until then.

"He's got a 14-year-old who's graduating from eighth grade, and a son who missed his prom," Yvonne Yettaw said. "He couldn't wait until I could have them?

"I have harsh feelings toward that man," she said.

The family belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Yvonne Yettaw said. She said it was unlikely he was there to proselytize for the church or convert the Nobel laureate.

John Yettaw is borderline diabetic and has asthma, but recently lost about 70 pounds, she said.

"He has asthma real bad, that's why I'm surprised he swam so good," she said.

Betty Yettaw said American authorities have told her he is being treated well in jail, and that prison staff have been monitoring his diabetes.

US Lawmakers Decry Junta

2009-05-15T10:19:00.000+07:00

By LALIT K JHA

WASHINGTON — US lawmakers are outraged at the Burmese military junta’s latest move to persecute Aung San Suu Kyi, with calls coming from Capitol Hill for tougher action against the junta and an attempt to galvanize key regional and global players on the issue.

A series of statements from powerful lawmakers—whose voices resonate in the shaping US foreign policy—led political observers to say that it would be very tough for the Obama administration to show any sign of leniency or softening of stance with the Burmese military junta.

The lawmakers, who either issued statements or spoke on the floor of the US Congress, argued that it is now time for decisive action, to restore democracy in Burma and protect the human rights of Burmese nationals.

The Obama administration—which has been looking at the possibilities of engaging the junta and has hinted that it would review the impact of economic sanctions—appeared to be siding with the lawmakers.

“The accusations against her are baseless and without merit,” said senators Dianne Feinstein and Kay Bailey Hutchison in a joint statement. The two senators are co-chair of the Senate Women’s Caucus on Burma.

The trial of Suu Kyi represents yet another desperate attempt on the part of the despotic military junta to silence her voice and stifle the will of the people of Burma who overwhelmingly support Suu Kyi and her call for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law for Burma, said the senators.

“The world must now respond to the junta's latest outrage in a way that demonstrates the inevitability of those values she so clearly demonstrates,” said influential Republican Senator John McCain, on the floor of the Senate. “The thugs who run Burma have tried to stifle her voice, but they will never extinguish her moral courage,” he said.

McCain said the US must continue to press the junta until it is willing to negotiate an irreversible transition to democratic rule. The Burmese people deserve no less, he said.

“This means renewing the sanctions that will expire this year, and it means vigorous enforcement by our Treasury Department of the targeted financial sanctions in place against regime leaders. And it means being perfectly clear that we stand on the side of freedom for the Burmese people, and against those who seek to abridge it,” McCain said.

Howard Berman, chairman of the powerful House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and its ranking member, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, in another statement, demanded the immediate release of Suu Kyi.

“The military junta should immediately release her, allow greater political freedoms in the country, and respect the human rights of all of Burma’s citizens,” the two congresspersons said.

Meanwhile, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters at his daily press briefing that the Obama administration’s position is that Suu Kyi shouldn't be under house arrest.

“She shouldn't be—and even less so in prison,” Kelly said. “Our bottom line is, she should be released immediately.”

Senator Judd Gregg also spoke. “The only thing criminal about Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been the abusive injustices she and her supporters have suffered under the State Peace and Development Council,” he said. “Her transfer from house arrest to prison to face criminal charges is a serious matter that deserves the strongest condemnation from the world’s democracies—and from regional neighbors, including Thailand and China.”

Clinton to Raise Suu Kyi’s Case Worldwide

2009-05-15T10:16:00.000+07:00

By LALIT K JHA

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she will raise the imprisonment of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi with the UN, Burma’s partners within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)—and even China.

Describing the removal of Suu Kyi from her home to Rangoon’s infamous Insein Prison as unlawful and “a pretext to place further unjustified restrictions on her,” Clinton told a press conference in Washington on Thursday that she would also raise the democracy icon’s plight with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Clinton was speaking after meeting visiting Malaysian Foreign Minister YB Datuk Anifah bin Haji Aman, who promised to raise the matter with the Asean Secretariat and also seek a solution through the Asean+3 group, which includes China.

Clinton said: “We are reaching out to our Asean partners like Malaysia. I hope to be speaking myself to the [UN] Secretary-General. We think that this does rise to the level of the kind of regional statements of concern that we would ask for.

“We will also raise this with other nations like China and see if we can’t, on a humanitarian basis, seek relief for Aung San Suu Kyi from this latest effort to intimidate and perhaps even incarcerate her.”

The Malaysian Foreign Minister said the arrest of Suu Kyi made it all the more important not to isolate Burma. “We do not want to leave Myanmar in isolation,” he said.

“We will use the good office of the Asean Secretariat to immediately engage in and to finding solutions to this matter, and if it is possible, this—the Asean+3, which includes China—we would also be, if it’s necessary to engage in, to seek their views and assistance in trying to solve the problem.”

Clinton said she was deeply troubled by the decision by the Burmese regime to charge Suu Kyi with a baseless crime. “It comes just before the six-year anniversary of her house arrest, and it is not in keeping with the rule of law, the Asean charter, or efforts to promote national reconciliation and progress in Burma.

“We oppose the regime’s efforts to use this incident as a pretext to place further unjustified restrictions on her, and therefore we call on the Burmese authorities to release her immediately and unconditionally, along with her doctor and the more than 2,100 political prisoners currently being held.”

Ban ‘Concerned’ about Suu Kyi in Prison

2009-05-15T10:08:00.000+07:00

By LALIT K JHA

WASHINGTON—United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday expressed his concern about the news reports that Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved to the Insein Prison to face criminal charges.
However, aside from issuing a statement through his spokesperson’s office, there was no indication as to what specific measures the UN secretary-general was willing to take to resolve this latest issue in the long saga of the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s detention.

“The Secretary-General believes that Aung San Suu Kyi is an essential partner for dialogue in Myanmar’s national reconciliation and calls on the Government not to take any further action that could undermine this important process,” the statement said.

Ban, who has repeatedly said in the past that he has a personal interest in Burma, believes strongly that Suu Kyi and all those who have a contribution to make to the future of their country must be free to be able to do so to ensure that the political process is credible, according to his spokesperson’s office.

Meanwhile, several world leaders, including former US President Jimmy Carter, former South African President Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, condemned the latest move by the Burmese military junta. In a statement, the group of eminent world personalities—calling themselves “The Elders”—urged the military rulers to immediately release Suu Kyi, who is an honorary member of the group.

“This so-called trial is absurd!” charged Tutu. “It is an excuse by the junta to extend her incarceration yet again. Our sister must be released immediately.”

“The regime is clearly seeking reasons not to release her,” said Carter. “We stand by Aung San Suu Kyi, our fellow Elder, and urge the United Nations and Asean to dispatch envoys to Burma to demand her immediate release.”

The lady and the lake

2009-05-15T10:04:00.000+07:00

Govts, Exiles Call for Suu Kyi's Release

2009-05-14T10:02:00.000+07:00

By THE IRRAWADDY

The British prime minister, the Australian government and its opposition party joined the chorus of calls from Burmese activist groups around the world on Thursday for the immediate release of Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

“I am deeply disturbed that Aung San Suu Kyi may be charged with breaching the terms of her detention,” said British premier Gordon Brown on Thursday. “The Burmese regime is clearly intent on finding any pretext, no matter how tenuous, to extend her unlawful detention.”

Earlier, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith had addressed Australia’s parliament. "It is Australia's longstanding position—shared by governments of both political persuasions—that she [Suu Kyi] should be released immediately and unconditionally and I repeat that today,” he said.

According to the Australian press, opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop told parliament that the Burmese military junta had ignored the will of the majority of its people.

"The world must engage in greater levels of diplomacy and other actions to ensure Aung San Suu Kyi is free, and that freedom and democracy is returned to the people of Burma," she said.

Meanwhile on Thursday, in Rangoon, Suu Kyi’s party, the NLD, released a press statement saying that Suu Kyi was “devout in her search of national reconciliation and was the one person who could effect political reform through dialogue and compromise.”

Suu Kyi was charged with breaching the conditions of her house arrest relating to an incident last week when an American man— John William Yettaw, 54, from Missouri—swam across Inya Lake and entered her house.

Suu Kyi, 63, has spent over 13 of the past 20 years in detention for leading the pro-democracy movement in Burma. Her latest term under house arrest is due to expire at the end of this month and opposition activists say the junta is looking for a legal pretext to keep her detained.

“We unequivocally condemn this attempt by the junta to cloak its continued detention of Suu Kyi in a veil of legitimacy,” Jared Genser, her US-based legal counsel, said on Thursday before the court hearing.

On March, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared that they found Suu Kyi's current detention violates international and Burmese law.

The Washington-based National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma— which describes itself as the country's government-in-exile—also condemned the NLD leader’s arrest. The group's prime minister, Dr Sein Win, who is a cousin of Suu Kyi, said, "It is nothing more than a political ploy to hoodwink the international community so that they can keep Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under lock and key while the military maneuvers its way to election victory in 2010."

Meanwhile, a London-based advocacy group, Burma Campaign UK, called for an intense diplomatic effort to secure the release of Suu Kyi after she was taken into custody from her lakeside home on Thursday morning to a guest house inside the compound of Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison.

“The United Nations and Asean must dispatch envoys to Burma to demand the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all Burma’s political prisoners,” said Zoya Phan, the international coordinator at Burma Campaign UK, adding that she also called on the British government, the EU and the US to use their influence to ensure the UN sends an envoy to Burma.

“Burma’s generals will use any excuse to keep Aung San Suu Kyi detained. If strong action isn’t taken, Aung San Suu Kyi could face the rest of her life in jail,” she said in a statement on Thursday.

Suu Kyi was recently reportedly to be suffering from low blood pressure and dehydration, and had difficulty eating. Her health reportedly improved this week after a visit from a doctor who administered an intravenous drip. However, the NLD has called for her to receive regular medical checkups.

The US State Department and the EU also voiced their concerns over the health of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Asean, UN: Silent Partners in Crime?

2009-05-14T10:01:00.000+07:00

By THE IRRAWADDY

Aung San Suu Kyi, now under arrest in Insein Prison in Rangoon, will face politically motivated charges against her, her personal physician and two caretakers in her home in a special prison court on Monday.

Suu Kyi, 63, and her two female caretakers were arrested at her lakeside home on Thursday, following an American citizen’s overnight intrusion into her home last week.

Suu Kyi and four others involved in the bizarre incident will be tried for violating Burma’s security laws.

Her personal physician was arrested last week, along with the American intruder, John William Yettaw, 53.

Early last week, the US government urged the Burmese government to grant the country’s ailing Nobel Peace Prize laureate immediate access to proper medical care, since she was ill last week.

America and the European Union have made urgent calls for Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest and have asked the regime to give her proper medical care.

But such calls are falling on deaf ears. The authorities have charged her and the others, and Suu Kyi will likely be kept under house arrest or in prison for many years to come.

This is a dark moment for democracy in Burma. Shamelessly, there has been a lack of proper expressions of outrage by many governments in Asia, especially members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Likewise at this provocative moment, the United Nations must take more aggressive actions against Burma’s repressive rulers.

Where is the UN’s special Burma envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who should be leading a forceful UN charge to counter the military regime’s manipulation of these unfortunate events that have led to the charges against Suu Kyi, which could lead to a maximum of five years in prison?

Where is Surin Pitsuwan, Asean’s leader? As a former foreign minister of Thailand, he often criticized the junta’s abysmal human rights record. Now Asean has a human rights charter. Wouldn’t it be proper for Asean to exercise its human rights principles at this sad moment in Burma’s history by clearly and forcefully condemning Burma in the strongest possible language?

Where is Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who has said Thailand would have “an ethical foreign policy”?

Suu Kyi will be standing in a kangaroo court on Monday. The generals have acted with impunity, knowing that previous protests against their abuses and acts of negligence have quickly faded away.

All nations should speak out now—with force. Silence and mild expressions of concern only send a signal of business as usual to the autocratic rulers of Burma.

Burmese Junta’s Rubber-band Laws Trap Suu Kyi

2009-05-14T10:00:00.000+07:00

By KYAW ZWA MOE

Eventually, an apparently unwitting American citizen has helped the Burmese military regime find a way to extend the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi just before her current period of house arrest was set to expire on May 27.

The 63-year-old, pro-democracy leader was taken to Insein Prison early Thursday morning and charged with breaching the conditions of her house arrest, under Section 22 of the Law Safeguarding the State from Dangers of Subversive Elements.

She was charged after an American, John William Yettaw, 53, was arrested last week for swimming across Inya Lake and intruding into her home where he remained for several days.

Suu Kyi will appear in count in the prison on Monday, and she could be sentenced to a maximum of five years.

Yettaw appeared in court in Insein Prison on Thursday and was charged with breaching security laws and with immigration violations. Kyi Win, Suu Kyi’s attorney, said, “Everyone is very angry with this wretched American. He is the cause of all these problems.”

That’s true, but only partly. Actually, Yettaw just gave the regime what it has been searching for: Any “reasonable” excuse to continue her detention before it expired on May 27, marking six years since May 2003 when her motorcade was attacked by a junta-backed mob in upper Burma, and she was detained under house arrest for the second time. She has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.

Suu Kyi’s lawyer said last month that according to Burmese law, she should be released on May 27. He’s correct technically, but the generals typically redo their own rules and laws, using them like a rubber band—to stretch and shrink at will.

For example, Suu Kyi was detained for the first time in 1989 under 10 (b) of the State Provision Act, under which a person could be detained for a maximum of three years. But one year later, the government changed the law to a maximum of five years. She was detained until 1995, a total of six years.

This is a critical moment for the generals, since they plan to hold a national election in 2010. If Suu Kyi was free, it would greatly complicate the election. In 1990, the junta held an election while she was under house arrest, believing the state-backed National Unity Party, formed by former members of the late dictator Ne Win’s Burma Socialist Programme Party, could win the election. Instead, Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy party won by landslide.

If Suu Kyi was set free this time, her most loyal supporters and the general public would return to the political activism of 1995 and 2002, when she actively led the NLD.

In light of that, the generals were searching for any excuse not to release her, in spite of their own law. Suddenly, they were presented with a golden opportunity following Yettaw’s misguided intrusion.

Yet, that’s not end of the story. In the long-term, there’s the issue of her viability as the icon of the pro-democracy movement. Here’s a relevant question: Is the junta deliberately manipulating events in hope that Suu Kyi will die from natural causes in detention, which—in this case—would not be natural at all?

Too farfetched, you say? The ruling generals in Naypyidaw, the capital, see the pro-democracy movement leader as an “enemy of the state.” She’s their No 1 enemy, the leader of the “destructive elements” that have sabotaged “the peace and stability of the country” and threaten their dictatorial rule.

So, is it out of the question that the generals would be happy if Suu Kyi died by natural causes or was so physically impaired she couldn’t lead the pro-democracy movement? The generals can’t assassinate her because of the counterproductive reaction from the international community, even from such loyal allies as China and Russia. But they can ensure that her medical treatment is lacking or dispensed at a minimum level.

You can judge for yourself regarding the incidents that unfolded last week at her lakeside house at No 54 University Avenue. Actually the house is not a real home, it’s a prison.

Suu Kyi was suffering from low blood pressure; she was dehydrated; she had difficulty eating. In short, she was ill again, but on the day her doctor was scheduled to visit her for her regular monthly checkup, he was barred and detained for questioning. Another doctor treated her with an intravenous drip the following day.

"We are worried about Suu's health,” said NLD spokesman Nyan Win last week.
“Authorities should allow free access of her doctor to give Suu the required medical treatment."

If you look at that incident, and similar others, in light of basic law and human rights you can see a pattern of willful negligence by the generals.

The fact is that Suu Kyi has been detained illegally for 14 years, with no just cause and only the minimum of proper medical care, which could lead to an early death or a premature loss her ability to function fully.

The access to proper medical treatment is a serious issue, but it pales now in comparison to the charges against her and her trumped-up trial.

There’s little doubt, the junta’s rubber-band laws will find a way to keep Suu Kyi in detention, preventing her from taking part in the 2010 election.

Burma’s ruling generals are smiling now as Suu Kyi’s show trial is set to begin, and the pro-democracy movement has been dealt another cruel blow.

Suu Kyi ‘Looking Good, Mentally Strong’: Lawyer

2009-05-14T09:57:00.000+07:00

By SAW YAN NAING

After meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi at Insein Prison on Thursday, her lawyer Kyi Win told The Irrawaddy that she says she is confident of being found “not guilty” of the charges against her and that she looked good and was mentally very strong.

Pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi is being detained in a guest room in the compound of Insein Prison awaiting trial, which is scheduled to be held at Insein Special Court on Monday, according to her lawyer.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Kyi Win said, “Suu Kyi said that she believes that she will be found ‘not guilty’ over her connection with the American intruder.”

Asked about Suu Kyi’s health, the lawyer said that the pro-democracy leader looked good and is mentally very strong.

“I should have been the one encouraging her,” he said. “But instead, she was encouraging me to stay strong.”

Suu Kyi has now been charged for breaking the terms of her house arrest by communicating with “Inya Lake swimmer” John William Yettaw under Section 22 of the law Safeguarding the State from the Dangers of Subversive Elements, said her lawyer. Under this article, she could be imprisoned for a period of three to five years or fined up to 5,000 kyat (US $5), or both.

Suu Kyi’s two female maids are also being held in Insein Prison on the same charge, apparently resulting from their alleged communication with Yettaw.

Suu Kyi’s family doctor Tin Myo Win was arrested by Burmese authorities last weekend and has reportedly been charged under State Emergency Act 5/J, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

Meanwhile, security forces, including plainclothes personnel, have been prominent around Insein Prison.

Local Rangoon journalists have been prevented from following and reporting on the Suu Kyi story. All Internet cafés in Insein Township were reportedly shut down and many telephone lines in the neighborhood were cut off, said sources.

Journalists who were in the vicinity of Insein Prison when Suu Kyi arrived were photographed by the Burmese Special Police, said journalists in Rangoon.

Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years. Her latest arrest was in May 2003 when her convoy of vehicles was attacked by junta-backed thugs. Suu Kyi’s most recent appeal for release, advocated by her lawyer Kyi Win in October, was rejected by the Burmese regime.

Confusion Reigns over Suu Kyi’s Fate

2009-05-14T09:55:00.000+07:00

By ARKAR MOE

Burma’s military government charged opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday with breaching the conditions of her detention, as Burmese tried to make sense of the circumstances leading to her arrest and the implications of this latest turn of events for her future.

Suu Kyi, who appeared at a court in Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison this morning with her two live-in assistants, is believed to be facing up to five years imprisonment for allegedly allowing a man who swam to her lakeside compound to remain there for two nights without informing the authorities.

According to sources from her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), Suu Kyi is facing trial for violating the terms of her house arrest, which is due to end on May 27. She has been detained in her home for 13 of the past 19 years, most recently since May 2003.

In the state-run press, Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein was quoted as saying on May 11 that “It is incumbent upon the administrative body to supervise the rule or discipline for every citizen to abide by”—possibly signaling the regime’s intention to prosecute Suu Kyi to the full extent of the law.

Many in Burma suspect that the regime is exploiting the bizarre intrusion of John William Yetthaw, an American citizen, into Suu Kyi’s home on May 3 as a pretext to extend her detention.

“I suspect the military junta will use this incident as an excuse to detain Daw Suu indefinitely,” said a university student in Rangoon. “It is grossly unfair, but that is the true nature of the dictatorship.”

He also linked the case to the regime’s plans to hold elections next year.

“I believe the military government doesn’t want to release Daw Suu before the 2010 elections,” he said, adding that most Burmese people were too busy trying to make ends meet to pay close attention to the junta’s machinations.

Another resident of Rangoon expressed resignation about the latest episode in the long-running saga of the junta’s efforts to sideline Suu Kyi and the NLD.

“I feel unhappy about this news. I think most people dislike the junta, but they don’t dare to say so frankly because they are afraid,” he said.

Han Thar Myint, a member of the NLD, said that the regime should explain its actions.

“I don’t expect the government to release her, but I doubt they will put her in prison. However, nobody knows for sure what will happen to her until the regime holds a press conference to explain what they intend to do,” he said.

Thakin Chan Tun, a retired ambassador, agreed that the regime should provide more information about the situation.

“News about Daw Suu is rather confused inside Burma right now. The government needs to explain what’s going to happen to her,” he said.

"It's for her own security!"

2009-05-14T09:53:00.000+07:00

Suu Kyi to Face Trial Following Unauthorized Visit

2009-05-14T09:49:00.000+07:00

By SAW YAN NAING

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her two female caretakers were arrested at her lakeside home in Rangoon on Thursday and taken to Insein Prison, following an American citizen’s overnight intrusion into her home.

Suu Kyi, 63, and four others involved in the incident are expected to be tried for violating Burma’s security laws.

Police and members of the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association provided increased security around the prison after crowds of Burmese citizens gathered.

Dr. Tin Myo Win, Suu Kyi’s family physician, also will be charged in connection with John William Yettaw, 53, staying in Suu Kyi’s compound overnight after swimming across Inya Lake.

Opposition sources said Suu Kyi will appear in court on Monday. In Burma, it is against the law for a foreigner to stay in the home of a Burmese citizen overnight without approval from authorities.

Yettaw, 53, of Falcon, Missouri, will also be charged, presumably for violating one of Burma internal security laws. No motive has been given for Yettaw’s intrusion into the compound.

Yettaw swam across Inya Lake on the night of May 3 and left the compound early on the night of May 5, swimming a distance of about 2 kilometers. Authorities arrested him later that morning.

NLD sources said Suu Kyi spoke with the American while he was in the compound. Her caretakers gave him food, and Suu Kyi told him to leave the premises, said NLD sources.

Security authorities said Yettaw told them he had made a similar visit to Suu Kyi’s compound from Nov 7 to Dec 3, 2008.

According to opposition sources, at a later date, when Suu Kyi received a medical check-up from her family doctor, Tin Myo Win, she asked the physician to report Yettaw’s entry into the compound to the authorities. The doctor made a report to the Police Special Branch, but no action was taken.

Nyan Win, a spokesperson for the National League for Democracy (NLD) told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the Nobel Prize laureate and her two caretakers, Khin Khin Win and Win Pa Pa, were escorted by authorities from the lakeside compound early Thursday morning.

According to Suu Kyi’s lawyer, Kyi Win, Police Col Win Myint Htun said Suu Kyi will face charges in an Insein Prison special court set up to handle political dissidents. Late Thursday, it was not known if Suu Kyi was returned to her home or remained in Insein Prison.

According to her lawyer, Suu Kyi is charged under Section 22 of the State Protection Act, which says that “any person against whom action is taken, who opposes, resists, or disobeys any order passed under this Law shall be liable to imprisonment for a period of from three years up to five years, or to a fine of up to 5,000 kyat, or both.”

On Thursday, lawyers representing Suu Kyi, including Kyi Win, Hla Myo Myint and Nyan Win, attempted to meet with Suu Kyi in Insein prison. Last week, Suu Kyi had difficulty eating and was suffering from low blood pressure and dehydration.

According to sources, cars from the US embassy entered the prison on Thursday morning.

A US diplomat was allowed to talk with Yettaw on Wednesday. Burma's state-owned newspapers published a still photograph of the swimmer.

The Rangoon rumor mill greeted the story of Yettaw’s intrusion into Suu Kyi’s compound with a high degree of skepticism, questioning his motives and the background to the incident.

Many speculated that the incident was created or being manipulated to discredit Suu Kyi and offer the military government an opportunity to extend her house arrest, which is set to expire on May 27.

In past weeks, there was a slim ray of hope that Suu Kyi might be released from house arrest, but that now seems to be an impossibility.

Thailand Postpones Asian Summit Again

2009-05-14T09:46:00.000+07:00

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BANGKOK — Thailand has again postponed a regional summit of Asian leaders that was twice canceled because of political unrest, the foreign minister said Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said scheduling conflicts, not security concerns, were behind the decision to put off the meeting of 16 Asia-Pacific leaders again, which had been set for June.

Protesters seeking the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva forced the cancellation of the summit on April 11 after they stormed the hotel at which meetings were being held in the seaside resort of Pattaya. Some visiting leaders fled by helicopter.

In December, a rival group of protesters shuttered Bangkok's two airports for eight days, forcing the previous government to also postpone the summit.

"Some countries have by-elections, some have general elections while some leaders have a schedule of foreign visits," Kasit said. "No one raised a question about Thailand's capacity to provide security."

Thai officials have proposed to hold the meeting on the resort island of Phuket—an area more distant from the capital and more politically sympathetic to the current government.

Senior officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will discuss the rescheduling later this month, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said.

The meeting is to be attended by Asean's 10 member countries and key regional nations—China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Meanwhile Thailand's fugitive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra has acquired a passport from Montenegro and is considering buying a resort island there, an adviser said Wednesday.

Removed from power in a 2006 coup, Thaksin has been on the run since he fled Thailand ahead of a corruption conviction last year. Last month, the Thai government revoked the personal passport of Thaksin, whom it accuses of stoking anti-government riots in Bangkok that left two people killed and hundreds wounded.

Noppadon Pattama, a lawyer who has been an adviser to Thaksin, said the ousted prime minister has a Montenegrin passport and at least a few others.

"Leaders of a few countries have given Thaksin passports because they sympathize with his position and know the injustice he suffered," Noppadon said but did not specify which countries have offered him travel documents.

In January, Nicaragua named Thaksin an "Ambassador on a Special Mission" to bring investment to the Central American country and issued him a passport.

Noppadon said Thaksin has also expressed an interest in buying Sveti Nikola island, despite also recently saying he is short on cash since the Thai government froze his assets after convicting him in absentia violating a conflict of interest law while in office.

"He thinks there is a lot of potential there in terms of developing its tourism business," Noppadon said. "But I am not sure about the status and whether he has officially entered a bidding process or anything."

The acquisition of a new passport is expected to further complicated Thailand's efforts to extradite the ousted premier.

Vice Foreign Minister Panich Vikitsreth said the ministry has ordered several Thai embassies to look into confirming the issuance of the passport.

The ministry has earlier submitted extradition requests through diplomatic channels to the United Arab Emirates and Nicaragua to facilitate the repatriation of Thaksin who fled the country before the court issued its verdict and sentenced him to two years in prison.

Long Weekend at Suu’s

2009-05-13T09:42:00.000+07:00

By DAVID PAQUETTE

This week the barber interviews pro-democracy icon John William Yettaw.

Question: Lee Harvey Oswald. John Wilkes Booth. Mark David Chapman. John William Yettaw. Why do all nut-jobs have middle names?

Answer: Not sure. Maybe it’s a Facebook thing. This week, my cousin John Yettaw changed his Hi-5 name to John Paul Yettaw. I don’t know why. I’m just glad somebody has finally taken notice of me.

Q: Talking of Facebook, does Suu Kyi ever email you?

A: Of course she does. We have been in touch for years. She invited me to be her friend AND she invited me to join her cause. Of course she has to use a different name online, but I know it’s her.

Q: Did she invite you to swim across Inya Lake to her house for the weekend?

A: No, I just did that to surprise her. And boy, was she surprised!

Q: I hear you took some nice photos while you were at her house—one of yourself looking in the mirror and one of your flippers. Did you show them to Suu Kyi?

A: I did!

Q: What did she say?

A: She shouted at me to get the hell out of her bedroom. Then she threw one of her slippers at me. Then her maid came running into the room. Then they both started shouting at me. It was a bit of an anti-climax really.

Q: Then what happened?

A: They said they were going to call the police. Then they changed their minds, because they thought they police might arrest them instead, you know, for failing to inform the authorities that they had an overnight guest. I offered them both $100 to let me stay. I even promised to do some of the housework.

Q: So what did you do all weekend?

A: The maid and I played scrabble while Suu played the piano. It was great.

Q: Did you really?

A: No. Sorry. That was a lie. They locked me in a cupboard. But I heard her playing piano.

Q: There was a report that when police caught you they found a pair of pliers and a five-liter plastic jug. Let me guess—you used the plastic bottle as a floating device and the pliers were for cutting through the fence.

A: Not exactly. It was a jug of Chardonnay. Suu Kyi told me online that she loves a glass of white wine on a Saturday night. So I swam across the lake with the jug strapped to my back.

Q: And the pliers?

A: Dentistry.

Q: Okey-cokey. So what about the future? Where do you go from here?

A: After I get back to the States I’ve got a full agenda. I’ve been invited onto some talk shows, I’ve signed a deal to write an autobiography and I’m doing a nationwide tour as an after-dinner speaker.

Q: Any thoughts of returning to Burma?

A: Of course. I’m hoping the UN send me back as an envoy.

Q: Thanks John. Do you want me to cut your hair now?

A: Yes please. And would you mind scratching my nose? I can’t do anything in this straitjacket.

Senior Burmese Commander Killed by KNLA Soldiers

2009-05-13T09:41:00.000+07:00

By MIN LWIN

A Burmese senior commander was killed in an ambush by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) on Monday in Bawgaligyi in Karen State, The Irrawaddy has confirmed with Burmese and KNLA sources.

A KNLA source said that as Brig-Gen Kaung Myat, the commander of No 5 Military Operation Command based in Taungoke in Arakan State, was en route to Bawgaligyi, soldiers in the KNLA 2nd Brigade ambushed and killed him and several body guards.

No other casualties were reported. The clash involved around 100 Burmese and KNLA troops.

Military analysts said it was the first time since 1948 that KNLA soldiers have killed a top-level Burmese commander.

Brig-Gen Kaung Myat had reportedly been aggressively using force labor in the area, ordering villagers to construct roads and perform other work in Pegu Division in Karen State. Kaung Myat, 49, had served as the commander in MOC (5) since 2008. He graduated from the Defense Service Academy, 23rd intake.

According to KNLA reports, 225 armed Burmese soldiers, including 12 officers, have been killed in the first quarter of 2009, and 434 soldiers were injured.

The KNLA has fought the Burmese government since 1948. Its headquarters was overrun in 1995, and its area of engagement has since moved to the eastern Burmese-Thai border area.

Since then, the KNLA has used guerilla-like tactics and based small units in temporary jungle camps along the border.

Suu Kyi’s Stalker Swimmer

2009-05-13T09:38:00.000+07:00

By AUNG ZAW

Since John William Yettaw was arrested last week, several rumors and speculations have been aired.

Did he really swim across Inya Lake—some two kilometers—to meet Aung San Suu Kyi? If so, what was his motive? Had he really been there before? Who was backing him?

Unconfirmed reports suggest that he managed to find a way into Suu Kyi’s home once before, but was made unwelcome and told to leave.

This time—according to the rumor mill in my dissident circle—he pleaded with Suu Kyi to be allowed to stay there for a few days. The NLD leader, who is currently fighting for her freedom through legal channels, obviously did not want the American stalker there. Apparently, Suu Kyi’s caretaker even threatened to call the police.

Conspiracy theorists believe he was coaxed into breaking into Suu Kyi’s house so that the regime would have an excuse to extend her detention.

Junta supporters would rather see it as collaboration between the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a foreign intelligence intermediary—a real-life secret agent, an aquatic James Bond.

As a result, Dr Tin Myo Win is under investigation. Opposition members fear that Suu Kyi’s personal physician may be charged if the regime decides to implicate him in the swimmer’s case.

But informed sources conclude that John William Yettaw is no 007. He is simply a weird character who acted alone.

The American had also turned up in Thailand; he met with some exiled Burmese groups and reportedly told them he was working on a faith-based book on heroism.

They said he is interested in Burma’s plight; that his heart is in right place even if his head is not.

And this is exactly what belies the passion of his action—that he did not think it through; that he did not consider the consequences.

If the regime leaders were looking for an excuse to extend Suu Kyi’s house arrest, he has given them one on a plate.

Indeed, Suu Kyi can be deemed to have broken the “law”—in Burma, you must inform the authorities if you want to invite a guest to stay overnight at your home.

John William Yettaw probably didn’t know this; he apparently didn’t conduct much research into the knock-on effects of his stupidity.

Burma’s pro-democracy movement has long been an attraction for fantasists, fanatics and adventure tourists.

Apart from the usual Walter Mittys that roam the Western world, Burma’s self-appointed saviors have included activists, experts, apologists, lobbyists, scholars, opportunists, do-or-die religious zealots and mercenaries.

While the Karen stronghold of Manerplaw remained undefeated in the early 1990s, foreign mercenaries—or “freedom fighters”—flocked to the border to leap Rambo-like to the Karen front lines.

In August 1999, James Mawdsley, a young Englishman, was arrested in Rangoon after distributing pro-democracy leaflets in the street. It was his third visit to Burma to protest against the military regime. His ambition was to spend time in a Burmese gulag.

He was given a 17-year sentence, but spent only 300 days in Kengtung prison, Shan State, before being released in October 2000 due to mounting international pressure.

Mawdsley was indeed lucky. If he were a Burmese, he would be serving a full sentence and there would be little outcry from abroad.

Unabashed, he later authored a book titled “The Heart Must Break” and threatened to stand in a British election.

“Mawdsley is one of the most outstanding young people Britain has produced since World War Two,” wrote David Alton, an independent cross-bench peer and founder of the Jubilee Campaign, in Mawdsley’s book.

But not everyone was so enthused about Mawdsley’s protest.

The Guardian reported: “In Britain, the response to him was ambivalent. There was a degree of cynicism about his professed Christian zeal, and suggestions that he was reckless to have stuck two fingers up at a dictatorship that has slaughtered thousands of its own people. But there was also grudging respect for his conviction, altruism and bravery.”

I remember a Burmese woman in her 30s who was involved in NGO work at the Thai-Burmese border. Bluntly, she told me: “I could not stand that he was talking about Burma and restoring democracy in my country. He has no clue what’s going on in Burma. I’m not going to listen to what he says and I’ve also told my colleagues not to listen to him.”

She added, “By using Burma and our problems, he has tried to seek fame and personal gain. He was a nobody [in London], but by getting involved in Burma, he became somebody.”

Aside from Mawdsley, there are several other do-gooders who could appear on her hit list.

Another young misguided Brit was Rachel Goldwyn, who was arrested in 1999 for singing a protest song in Rangoon. Her “act of revolution” earned her a seven-year sentence, but she only served two months in Insein.

Shortly before Goldwyn’s petty act of defiance, 18 foreign human rights activists, including a handful of Thais, staged a protest in Rangoon. They were immediately arrested and detained. Again—an international outcry and they were soon on a plane home.

But was Burma liberated?

Critics have noted that these naïve acts cause more harm than good.

Foreign activists know that the Burmese authorities won’t keep them in jail forever. They know that their arrest in Burma will make headlines back home. In his book, Mawdsley discusses the special treatment he received in Kengtung prison. He was allowed to read books, meet diplomats and relatives, and eat Western food.

Former political prisoners of Burma have spoken ironically of these foreign heroes. They noted that if every political prisoner received as much attention as Mawdsley and Goldwyn there would be empty prisons around Burma.

Make no mistake, there is no shortage of foreign volunteers and activists who genuinely want to help Burma and its people. But they do not indulge themselves without considering the effect of their actions on others.

Did John William Yettaw consider the consequences? Did he think for a minute that he would do more harm than good?

Probably not. Next time a foreign activist undertakes a publicity stunt, let’s hope they check the depth of the water before they go swimming.

Pro-Regime Web Sites Step Up Smear Campaign Against Suu Kyi

2009-05-13T09:27:00.000+07:00

By SAW YAN NAING

The confusing tale of an American man, John William Yettaw, and his secret, three-day intrusion into the lakeside compound of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon is still the talk of Burma.

The state-run newspapers The New Light of Myanmar and The Mirror have published no new information since the news of the man’s arrest last week.

However, state-friendly Web sites are spewing out damaging allegations that could hurt the pro-democracy leader’s image among her non-supporters, and—most dangerous of all—provide an unsubstantiated foundation to deny her release from house arrest, which is set to expire this month.

Several Burmese Web sites believed to be associated with the regime are having a field day reporting unverified accounts of the incident.

Most Burmese inside and outside the country that have access to the Web sites do not believe the tall tales, seeing it as propaganda, yet they monitor the reports and search for real news.

The People Media Voice, an online journal, quoting a pro-junta Web site, reported that the detained democracy leader could be sentenced to three-years in prison under Article 22 if she is convicted of failing to inform authorities that the US man entered her home and spent the night.

According to some reports, the prominent NLD politician Win Tin made a remark about the case during a meeting with party executives.

The incident, which can be interpreted in scandalous ways by Suu Kyi’s detractors, is not good for the party’s image, Win Tin reportedly said.

Another report claimed that Suu Kyi is now being criticized by some of her NLD colleagues and central executive committee members, including Win Tin.

However, NLD party leaders, including Win Tin, remain steadfast supporters of Suu Kyi, calling for her release from house arrest and greater access to regular medical care.

A Web site, peoplemediavoice.com, reported unsubstantiated details and included a photograph with no information about when or where it was taken. In the photo, a large man with short hair is identified as Yettaw and appears to be in his sixties. He is holding a camera while sitting at a table in a room.

The Web site alleged that Yettaw confessed to authorities that he had swam to Suu Kyi's house during a previous visit to Rangoon from November 7 to December 3, 2008, and spent a longer period there. No specific number of days was reported.

Suu Kyi’s housekeepers who live with her reportedly offered him food, the site reported.

Washington Post Urges Regime to Free Suu Kyi’s Doctor

2009-05-13T09:25:00.000+07:00

By THE IRRAWADDY

The Washington Post has called on Burma’s military rulers to release Aung San Suu Kyi’s personal physician, Dr Tin Myo Win, who has been in custody since an American national was arrested last week for allegedly swimming to the pro-democracy leader’s lakeside house.

The regime has offered no explanation for Tin Myo Win’s arrest, although dissidents speculate that it is intended to implicate him in the case of John William Yettaw, a US citizen who was accused of swimming to Suu Kyi’s house and staying there for two days.

The junta has denied repeated requests from the US embassy in Rangoon for a counsel visit with the detained American.

In an editorial in its Wednesday edition, The Washington Post also touched on US Burma policy, which is currently under review.

On the policy review and the issue of engagement with Burma, the editorial wrote: “So, by all means, the administration should engage with Burma’s leaders. But it should insist on the ability to engage with all of them—including those now behind bars. A good start would be to insist on the release of Tin Myo Win and on freedom for his courageous patient.”

The editorial appears as the debate over alternative approaches to Burma is heating up.

Last week, a number of high-profile opponents of sanctions on Burma gathered in Washington for a closed-door meeting.

Called “Views from the Ground and the International Community,” the forum was presented by the Atlantic Council of the United States, the National Bureau of Asian Research, the US-Asean Business Council and Refugees International.

UN: Monsoon Threatens Burmese Cyclone Survivors

2009-05-13T09:24:00.000+07:00

By THE IRRAWADDY

Hundreds of thousands of survivors in the area of Burma devastated by Cyclone Nargis one year ago are in extremely vulnerable temporary shelters that may not survive the upcoming monsoon season, United Nations’ officials warned on Tuesday.

"At the moment half a million people still live in tremendously poor housing conditions, and with the monsoon coming we are now facing a humanitarian crisis again," said Mariko Sato, a rapid response coordinator for the UN human settlement programme UN-HABITAT, in a media conference in Geneva.

Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy delta and Rangoon Division on May 2, 2008, killing at least 140,000 people and displacing 2.4 million. In the meantime, many survivors of the deadly storm continue to live in makeshift huts, mainly built from bamboo and sheets of tarpaulin.

"The tarpaulins and thatched (roofs) are dilapidated or destroyed, and they need to be replaced before the monsoon season," Sato told journalists there.

Bishow Parajuli, a resident UN humanitarian coordinator in Burma, said that about US $10 million for minimum shelter repair was urgently needed. About US $315 million in international aid came through last year, broadly meeting the targets for health, food and education, he said.

A Tripartite Core Group (TCG) involving the Burmese regime, Asean and the United Nations launched a three-year US $691 million recovery plan in February. So far about $100 million has come in, Parajuli said.

According to the UN, Burmese families in need received $23 on average to repair thatched roofs following the cyclone. That compares with an average of $10,000 per family in Sri Lanka for shelter after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Parajuli also told reporters that the process of approving visas for aid workers was slowing down and it will impact the arrival of new aid workers before the cyclone season.

Following the cyclone, the military government had initially prevented aid workers from entering the country, but eventually relaxed its objections and opened the door to many humanitarian aid workers.

According to the AP news agency, Parajuli told reporters in Geneva that the UN is urging the military government to learn from past experience that has shown a fast-track visa system is essential to moving a large number of aid workers into the country quickly.

Climate Change Threatens Millions on Asian Coasts

2009-05-13T09:23:00.000+07:00

By GRACE WAKARY / AP WRITER

MANADO, Indonesia — Around 100 million people risk losing homes and livelihoods unless drastic steps are taken to protect Southeast Asia's biologically diverse coral reefs, which could be wiped out in coming decades because of climate change, a report said Wednesday.

The Coral Triangle—which spans Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and East Timor—makes up 30 percent of the world's coral reefs and 35 percent of coral reef fish species.

If carbon emissions are not cut by 25 percent to 40 percent by the year 2020, higher ocean temperatures could kill off vast marine ecosystems and half the fish in them, according to the World Wildlife Fund, which presented its 220-page study at the World Ocean Conference on Wednesday.

One third of around 300 million people now earning a living off of the sea's natural resources could be forced to leave the coast and find new employment. Commercial fishing in the area generates roughly $3 billion in annual income.

"Decisive action must be taken immediately or a major crisis will develop," the report said, citing 300 scientific studies and 20 climate change experts. "Hundreds of thousands of unique species, entire communities and societies will be in jeopardy."

The WWF outlines a series of conservation priorities and emission reduction goals to avert that scenario and recommends they be adopted by governments negotiating a new international climate change treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

The report drives home a message of urgency ahead of the conclusion of those talks at a major meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December and raises the profile of the oceans in the climate change debate.

The US government is providing $40 million in funding for a 5-year program in the Coral Triangle to improve management of marine and coastal resources.

"We are looking to promote better understanding of the role of the ocean in the climate system," said Mary M. Glackin, US deputy under secretary for oceans and atmosphere. "It's really a web of life. So you need to be concerned about the very smallest thing up to the very high predators."

Thailand Confirms 2 Cases of Swine Flu; Malaysia Cancels Tournament over Flu Threat

2009-05-13T09:21:00.000+07:00

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BANGKOK — Thailand announced on Tuesday its first confirmed cases of swine flu in two people who recently returned from Mexico and have recovered from the illness.

Health Minister Witthaya Keawparadai declined to disclose the identities of the patients, citing doctor-patient confidentiality and the fact that their conditions had improved.

"The two patients have received a full dose of antiviral medicine and have returned to live normal lives," Witthaya said. "There is no outbreak in Thailand."

The cases in Thailand also marked the official arrival of swine flu in Southeast Asia. Other countries on the continent have reported cases, including China, Japan and South Korea.

Following the confirmation, Witthaya said the country's public health officials will step up surveillance by setting up more thermal scanners at airports and border checkpoints.

"We will have to be even more vigilant," he said. "We will also make sure our mobile medical teams are ready to be dispatched in case there is a case and to check on those who had possible contact with patients."

Witthaya said one of the patients had a fever upon returning from Mexico and the other developed a temperature three days after getting back to Thailand, declining to say when that was.

Authorities have contacted passengers who traveled on the same flight as the two patients and "no one has presented any symptoms," said Kumnuan Ungchusak, an official at Thailand's Department of Communicable Disease Control.

Health authorities sent samples from both patients last week to the U.S. Center for Disease Control for final testing, Witthaya said.

Authorities have also monitored eight people close to both patients for a week and none registered any symptoms, Witthaya said. He said an additional 10 people in Thailand were being monitored for swine flu.

Fourteen Thais who returned from an exchange program in Mexico earlier this month were taken to a hospital for observation. All tested negative.

Kumnuan said Thailand has a stockpile of 1.32 million tablets of the anti-flu medicine oseltamivir, and the Health Ministry is expected to buy more raw materials to locally produce at least another 2 million tablets.

Meanwhile, Malaysian football officials have canceled next month's Intercontinental Cup under-23 tournament due to the threat of the spread of swine flu, local media reported on Tuesday.

The Football Association of Malaysia canceled the eight-team tournament after consulting with the nation's Health Ministry, the New Straits Times reported.

Among the teams that had been expected to contest the June 1-14 tournament were Brazil, Mexico and South Korea, which have confirmed cases of swine flu.

"The cancellation of the Intercontinental Cup is due to the threat posed by the influenza virus outbreak which has affected several countries," the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) said in a statement quoted in the domestic media.

"FAM referred the matter to the Health Ministry, and after close consultation with various parties, a conclusion to cancel the tournament was reached as the well-being of those involved comes first."

The number of countries reporting swine flu cases stands at 31, with the World Health Organization confirming about 4,800 cases. At least 61 people have been killed by swine flu around the world: 56 in Mexico, three in the U.S., one in Canada and one in Costa Rica.

The so-called A (H1N1) virus, which is thought to have originated in Mexico, has left Asia relatively unscathed and authorities in the region are taking few chances with its possible spread.

In precautionary measures, competitors arriving in Thailand for next week's youth world weightlifting championships will be monitored by thermal scanners at airports in a bid to identify possible infection, Thai media reported.

Any competitor or support staff appearing unwell, with high body temperature or flu-like symptoms, will be quarantined and forbidden to join the competition, the Nation newspaper reported.

Suu Kyi Needs Regular Checkups: NLD

2009-05-12T11:02:00.000+07:00

By SAW YAN NAING

Aung San Suu Kyi’s health is getting better, but she needs regular long-term medical checkups, a spokesman for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) has said.

Speaking with The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, NLD spokesperson Nyan Win said that Pyone Mo Ei—an assistant to Suu Kyi’s family doctor—visited Suu Kyi on Monday afternoon at about 1 p.m. and spent about four hours at her lakeside house in Rangoon.

“According to the doctor, Daw Suu’s health is improving. She is getting better. There are no worries about her health at this moment,” said Nyan Win.

However, according to Pyone Mo Ei, although the Nobel Peace Prize winner can eat meals, regular long-term medical checkups are needed, said Nyan Win.

He added that Pyone Mo Ei has been told she will be allowed to visit Suu Kyi if the detained leader needs emergency treatment in the future.

Except for the condition of her health, Nyan Win said that the doctor did not report any other matters concerning Suu Kyi to him.

Suu Kyi reportedly had difficulty eating last week and was suffering from low blood pressure and dehydration. According to sources from journalists’ circles in Rangoon, Suu Kyi was also suffering from cramps due to dehydration.

Nyan Win said that Suu Kyi’s family physician, Tin Myo Win, who was arrested last Thursday while waiting to visit Suu Kyi, had not returned home. He said he had no idea where Tin Myo Win is being held.

Last week, Burmese officials arrested US citizen John William Yettaw who allegedly swam to Suu Kyi’s lakeside home and spent nearly three days there.

Tin Myo Win was detained the day after Yettaw was arrested, leading to several sources speculating that the Burmese military authorities suspected that Tin Myo Win and Yettaw may have had some connection, in which case Suu Kyi’s personal physician could face serious charges.

The doctor’s detention and the case of the Inya Lake swimmer coincide with the expiration of Suu Kyi’s detention at the end of May. Her lawyers have been sending letters of appeal to the junta leaders requesting her release.

US Embassy spokesman Richard Mei told Associated Press that the embassy has requested access to the detained US man, which as of Monday had still not been granted. He confirmed that Yettaw had made a previous visit to Burma, and said his family had been told of his arrest.

Meanwhile, a pro-regime Web site, tharkinwe.com, included several details of John William Yettaw that do not seem to be otherwise publicly available, suggesting that they were leaked by security officials.

It reported that Yettaw admitted that he swam to Suu Kyi's house during his previous visit to Burma on November 7-December 3, 2008, and spent a longer period there, although no specific time was given in the report. It cited him saying that he had scouted his swimming route using the Google Earth Web service, according to an AP report on Tuesday.

The Web site reported that on arrival last week at Suu Kyi's house, Yettaw first met Suu Kyi’s two female assistants—a mother and daughter, who are her sole companions—and told them that he was tired and hungry after the swim and that he has diabetes. The two women were said to have given him meals. The assistants have not been detained.

Journalists Say They Don’t Know Why They Were Deported

2009-05-12T11:01:00.000+07:00

By MIN LWIN

Two American journalists who were deported from Burma last week said that they had no idea why they were arrested and put on a plane to Bangkok, but local officials told them that they were acting on orders from Naypyidaw.

In a statement issued on Monday, the two journalists, Jerry Redfern and Karen Coates, said that they were suddenly taken into custody last Wednesday after they finished teaching workshops on feature writing and photography in Mandalay.

According to the statement, they were deported to Bangkok the following night after being escorted to Rangoon by train, despite already having air tickets to the former capital city.

The pair were taking part in a program organized by the American Center in Rangoon and approved by the Scrutiny Board—the Burmese regime’s censors—and the Special Branch of the police.

The American and British embassies have long been active in providing special training programs in military-ruled Burma. Burmese officials closely monitor students who take part in workshops and other training programs on offer at the foreign embassies, and dissidents say that the regime plants informers among the trainees.

In their statement, the two journalists said that they had heard numerous rumors about why they had been deported, but were given no explanation by the authorities. They said they were not questioned or searched, but simply told that they had to leave the country.

In response to speculation about possible reasons for their deportation, they denied that they were working for the CIA and said that they had no connection to the American man who allegedly swam across Inya Lake to the home of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

This was not the first time that the Burmese junta has pulled the welcome mat out from under the feet of foreign journalists. Reporters are routinely deported and blacklisted for meeting opposition figures or gathering information inside Burma.

Last year, BBC correspondent Andrew Harding was deported on arrival at Rangoon International Airport for visa violations after he attempted to enter the country to report on the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. Accorder to a Burmese news presenter, he was accused of possessing a “disguising tourist visa.”

According to media rights watchdog Reporters Sans Frontières, at least 10 foreign journalists have been forced out of Burma or banned from entering since Cyclone Nargis struck on May 2-3.

Internet Users Face More Restrictions

2009-05-12T10:59:00.000+07:00

By ARKAR MOE

Internet users in Burma are finding it more difficult to register new G-mail accounts while the military authorities have warned Internet café owners not to assist customers in opening email accounts, according to several Internet café owners and users in Rangoon.

“I had to contact my friends abroad and ask them to open a G-mail account for me as I couldn’t do it over here,” said a student at Dagon University.

She added that most Internet users have faced similar difficulties since March.

Yahoo and Hotmail are banned in the military-run country. G-mail can be accessed through proxy servers although it is also banned.

The Burmese military government is notorious for controlling the flow of information into and out of the country.

“Burma leads the dishonor roll,” said the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a leading media watchdog, in its April report. CPJ named Burma as the worst violator of Internet freedom in the world.

Internet cafés which get caught helping customers open G-mail accounts by running bypass programs are to be closed down, said the owner of an Internet café in Mayangone Township in Rangoon.

“Our café only helps people we know when we are asked to open an email account,” he said. “We don’t help strangers because we will be in trouble if the authorities find out.”

The military regime has blocked the well-known Google research engine and its Google mail service since June 2006.

The regime has been constructing a “silicon valley,” called Yadanabon Cyber City, in Maymyo in Mandalay Division since June 2006. According to state-run newspapers, the facility is intended to serve as the sole nationwide Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Burma.

One computer technician said, “The Cyber City will likely be used to control Internet users and the flow of information.

“The government is losing its cyber battle because of Google high technology, but it has kept trying to block access to popular e-mail services, including G-mail,” he said, adding that the government can’t eradicate e-mail completely, but can slow it down and shut it down temporarily.

“It is believed that the junta is concentrating on Yadanabon Cyber City in preparation for controlling and monitoring the flow of information before the 2010 election,” he added.

Burma currently has three ISPs: state-run Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), which operates Myanmar Info-tech; semi-government-owned Myanmar Teleport (formerly Bagan Net); and Hanthawaddy National Gateway.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy in September, a senior member of the Myanmar Computer Professionals Association said that Hanthawaddy National Gateway—Burma’s newest ISP, which was launched in July 2008—is expected to become the largest ISP in the country.

He said it receives technical assistance from Alcatel Shanghai Bell Company, which is represented in Burma by Tay Za, a wealthy tycoon and close associate of senior leaders of Burma’s military junta.

Hanthawaddy National Gateway is to be linked to the Yadanabon teleport in Mandalay and will provide access to subscribers in every state and division except Rangoon Division. It is currently only available to military officials, he said.

No visa for swimmers

2009-05-12T10:58:00.000+07:00

US Urges Junta to Give Immediate Medical Access to Suu Kyi

2009-05-12T10:57:00.000+07:00

By LALIT K JHA

WASHINGTON —The US government urged Burma’s military junta on Monday to grant the country’s ailing pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi immediate access to medical care.

“The US government is concerned about reports that Aung San Suu Kyi needs medical care and that the Burmese authorities have detained her primary personal physician, Dr. Tin Myo Win,” said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly.

“We urge the Burmese regime to allow Aung San Suu Kyi to receive immediate medical care from a doctor. We further call on the regime to permit Aung San Suu Kyi to meet with her personal attorney immediately,” Kelly said.

With the anniversary of Suu Kyi’s detention approaching, Kelly added: “We join with the calls of the international community and urge her immediate release, along with the release of all the more than 2,100 political prisoners the Burmese regime currently holds.”

Meanwhile, the US Campaign for Burma urged world leaders, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to speak out for the freedom of Aung San Suu Kyi and her doctor.

“The world needs to act urgently to ensure that Aung San Suu Kyi is released immediately, so that she will have all the medical attention she needs,” said Aung Din, co-founder of the US Campaign for Burma. “The arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi’s doctor puts her in a seriously dangerous situation.”

To date, the United Nations has remained “puzzlingly” silent on the arrest of Suu Kyi’s doctor, added Aung Din.

Burma’s neighboring countries and members of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations have also issued no official comment on the issue.

Threatening Suu Kyi’s Health

2009-05-12T10:55:00.000+07:00

By KYAW ZWA MOE

Here’s a relevant question that no one has raised yet: is the Burmese junta deliberately manipulating events in hope that Aung San Suu Kyi will die from natural causes, which—in this case—would not be natural at all?

That’s not possible, you say? The ruling generals in Naypyidaw see the 63-year-old pro-democracy movement leader as an “enemy of the state.” They believe she’s the No 1 enemy, the leader of the “destructive elements” that threaten their rule and who have sabotaged “the peace and stability of the country.”

So, is it out of the question that the generals would be happy if Suu Kyi died by natural causes or was physically impaired? They can’t assassinate her because of the counterproductive reaction from the international community, even from such loyal allies as China and Russia. But they can ensure that her medical treatment is lacking or dispensed at a minimum level.

You can judge for yourself regarding the incidents that unfolded last week at her lakeside house at No 54 University Avenue. Actually, the house is not a real home for the Nobel peace laureate. For 13 years, it’s been her prison.

Suu Kyi now has low blood pressure; she is dehydrated; she has difficulty eating. In short, she is ill again, but on Thursday her primary physician was barred from visiting her for a routine medical checkup and detained for questioning.

Another doctor treated her with an intravenous drip on Friday. Following her request and demands by the National League for Democracy (NLD), she was allowed to return on Saturday and Monday.

"We are worried about Daw Suu's health,” said NLD spokesman Nyan Win last week.
“Authorities should allow free access of her doctor to give Daw Suu the required medical treatment."

If you look at these and earlier incidents in light of basic humanity, law and human rights you can see a pattern of willful negligence by the regime. Of course, in Burma the local population is used to neglect.

The fact is that Suu Kyi has been detained illegally for 13 years, with no just cause and only the minimum of proper medical treatment, which could lead to an early death or a premature loss of physical strength.

This month is more critical than ever for the junta. Suu Kyi’s lawyer, Kyi Win, said that according to the law, she should be released on May 27, the date marking six years since May 2003 when her NLD motorcade was attacked by a junta-backed mob in upper Burma and she was detained.

Suu Kyi’s lawyer is right, but the generals redo their own rules and laws, using them like a rubber band—to stretch and shrink at will.

For example, Suu Kyi was detained for the first time in 1989 under 10 (b) of the State Provision Act, under which a person could be detained under house arrest for a maximum of three years under the existing law. But one year later, the government changed the law to a maximum of five years. Suu Kyi was detained at that time until 1995, a total of six years.

This is a critical moment for the generals, since they plan to hold a national election in 2010. If Suu Kyi is free, it greatly complicates the election. In 1990, the junta held an election while Suu Kyi was under house arrest, believing the state-backed National Unity Party, formed by former members of the dictator Ne Win’s Burma Socialist Programme Party, could win the election. Instead, Suu Kyi’s NLD party won by landslide.

If a healthy Suu Kyi is free prior to the 2010 election her most loyal supporters and the general public will return to the political activism of 1995 and 2002 when she was free.

In light of that, you should expect the generals to find a way not to release Suu Kyi, in spite of their own law.

So what now? Several options could play out during the course of the next year.

The junta’s rubber-band law could find a way to keep her under house arrest. Or perhaps Suu Kyi does develop a serious illness, effectively limiting her leadership ability.

Or, if the regime does release her—somehow seeing a political gain in that act—it could always fabricate a new reason for her arrest, as it did in 2003.

Detained American Visited Suu Kyi Before?

2009-05-12T10:54:00.000+07:00

By GRANT PECK / AP WRITER

BANGKOK — An American accused of swimming across a lake to sneak into the home of detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi may have made another secret visit to her last year.

Last week's incident—the first known case of someone creeping unnoticed into Suu Kyi's closely guarded compound—has raised fears that the Nobel Peace laureate may have been ensnared in activities that could put her in further legal trouble.

A new report in a Burmese-language Web site published two photos said to have been found in the digital camera of the visitor, identified by the US Embassy as John William Yettaw. One photo shows a heavyset, middle-aged man posing for a self-portrait in front of a mirror. The other shows feet wearing swimming flippers. The report says Yettaw is from Falcon, Missouri.

The Web site, tharkinwe.com, seems to be close to the country's military-ruled government and hostile to Suu Kyi's democracy movement.

Pro-democracy activists and diplomats in Rangoon have voiced suspicions that the incident may have been concocted by the government. There has been no government comment beyond the original report in the state-run press.

Suu Kyi has already spent more than 13 of the last 19 years—including the past six—in detention without trial for her nonviolent promotion of democracy, despite international pressure for her release.

Her house is a restricted zone, she has no telephone, and she cannot be contacted for comment.

Burma's state-run newspapers reported last week that Yettaw swam on the night of May 3 to the lakeside home of the 63-year-old Suu Kyi and left the same way on the night of May 5, before being arrested the next morning. The swimming distance between the house and where he was arrested is about 1 1/4 miles (2 kilometers).

The reports said the man was found with an empty 1.3-gallon (5-liter) plastic water jug—presumably used as a floatation device—as well as a US passport, a flashlight, pliers, a camera, two $100 bills and some local currency.

Aside from the number of his passport and the claim that the man arrived in Rangoon on May 2 and spent two full days inside Suu Kyi's compound, no other details were given. The authorities were said to be investigating his motives.

The US Embassy has requested access to the detained man, which as of Monday had still not been granted, embassy spokesman Richard Mei said. He confirmed that Yettaw had made a previous visit to Burma, and said his family had been told of his arrest.

Mei said the embassy did not know about Yettaw's activities.

Verifying the detained man's identity has been complicated because the spelling of his name has varied slightly in the Burma's official press. But the name given by the embassy is consistent with details in Monday's Web site account, some of which The Associated Press have confirmed using US public records.

Neighbors, along with a phone listing and court records, confirm that a 53-year-old man named John William Yettaw has a residence in the small rural community of Falcon, Missouri, and previously lived in California. Yettaw has a wife and seven children, most or all of whom live nearby.

Repeated calls to Yettaw's friends and family went unanswered, and messages left had not received a reply by Monday.

The account on the tharkinwe.com Web site included several details that do not seem to be otherwise publicly available, suggesting that they were leaked by security officials. No attribution was given for them.

The most surprising assertion was that Yettaw had confessed to swimming to Suu Kyi's house during his earlier visit to Burma on November 7-December 3, 2008 and staying there for a longer period, not specified in the report. It cited him saying that he had scouted his swimming route using the Google Earth web service.

The Web site's report also said that on arrival last week at Suu Kyi's house, Yettaw first met her two female assistants—a mother and daughter who are her sole allowed companions—and told them that he was tired and hungry after the swim and has diabetes. The two women, supporters of Suu Kyi's party, were said to have given him food.

One of many strict rules the junta imposes on citizens is that they must notify local officials about any overnight visitor who is not a family member. The law also states that foreigners are not allowed to spend the night at a local's home.

Some members of Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, have been jailed for about two weeks for violating that law.

"I'm not really concerned she could be penalized for this break-in because she didn't invite him in," said Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's party, adding that it was worrisome how easily the man accessed her home. "My main concern is her security."

Suu Kyi is not allowed visitors, aside from her doctor. On infrequent occasions, she is allowed out under tight guard to meet with fellow party leaders and visiting UN representatives.

Another doctor, Dr. Pyone Moe Ei, was granted a medical visit to her home Monday afternoon after she was found last week to be suffering from dehydration and low blood pressure. Her main doctor, Tin Myo Win, was detained last week for questioning after the swimming incident.

Suu Kyi's condition was not disclosed.

Associated Press Writer Maria Fisher in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed to this report.

Weekly Business Roundup (May 12, 2009)

2009-05-12T10:50:00.001+07:00

By WILLIAM BOOT

India’s Hydro-Electric Power Push in Burma to Cost US$5 Billion

India’s state hydroelectric firm NHPC says it is ready to invest about US$5 billion in two river hydroelectric projects in western Burma.

That’s how much it will cost to develop hydro dams at Tamanthi and Shwezaye in the Chindwin River basin, said a report in India’s Hindu News newspaper, quoting senior company executives.

The two projects would deliver an electricity generating capacity of 1,800 megawatts. That’s more than Burma’s current meager national capacity, but most if not all of the power would be transmitted into equally energy starved northeast India.

“There is great potential in Myanmar and the government there is very keen that we [NHPC] start work,” the Hindu News quotes NHPC Managing Director S.K. Garg.

So far, the two governments have signed an only memorandum of understanding the developments.

The US$5 billion investment estimate by Garg includes building transmission power lines to transmit the hydro electricity from northwest Sagaing Division in India.

The human rights NGO Burma Rivers Network has estimated that at least 30,000 people would be forced to move to make way for the two dams.

Mae Sot Workers Protest Poor Pay, Conditions at Thai Factory

Burmese workers employed at a Thai-owned clothes factory have protested about poor pay and living conditions in a new confrontation in the border town of Mae Sot.

The workers, who chose not be identified for fear of reprisals, said they were not paid enough to live on properly and the working and live-in conditions flouted Thailand’s labor laws.

The complaint, which was delivered to a government labor department office in the town, was reported by the independent Burmese information agency, Democratic Voice of Burma.

Mae Sot District, which lies across from Myawaddy on the Burmese side, has scores of factories that make Western-brand garments where owners habitually ignore Thailand’s minimum wage law.

The town is a major commercial conduit between the two countries and is sometimes also a flashpoint of migrant protests.

Earlier this year, Thai commercial drivers blocked the border bridge crossing for two days to protest Burmese taxis crossing to the Thai side and competing for transportation business.

Third Try at Asean Regional Summit in Thailand?

The Thai government will make a third attempt to convene an economic summit involving Asean countries and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.

It wants to restage the meeting in June after a previous meeting was abandoned in disarray in April when anti-government demonstrators forced government leaders—including the Chinese prime minister, Japanese prime minister and South Korean president—to flee their seaside gathering in Pattaya.

That meeting was being held after the originally scheduled December summit was postponed by other demonstrators who blocked Bangkok’s airports.

Now, the government is asking leaders if they will return to Thailand and reconvene their talks in Phuket on June 13-14.

The Pattaya summit had aimed to discuss regional economic recovery plans, and hear proposals for financial stimulus aid by China and Japan.

Burma to Host Asean Business Forum

A warning hangs over an Asean-led business forum to be held in Burma.

British Trade Minister Gareth Thomas says the British government will campaign to make sure that Burma cannot benefit from a European Union-Asean free trade agreement.

“This is an issue to which the UK attaches great importance,” Thomas said in a statement.

The two sides are engaged in FTA negotiations, but Burma is a sticking point.

Thomas’s warning comes as the Burmese military government prepares to host the East Asia Business Council on June 22-24.

The council groups the 10-country Asean with China, Japan and South Korea.

It will be the first time Burma has hosted the council, which it joined as an active member two years ago.

Indian Weapons Smuggled Out of Burma in Black Market

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent on buying black market weapons in Burma for militant rebels in northeast India, according to reports.

The allegation was made by police in Shillong, the capital of the small mountain state of Meghalaya.

Two members of an outlawed separatist group were arrested with the equivalent of 100,000 US dollars which was to be spent buying arms in Burma, alleged Shillong Police Chief Claudia Lyngwa in a statement to Indian newspapers.

Investigations said the group, known as Black Widow, “frequently” sends agents into Burma to procure weapons, said Lyngwa.

The group is blamed for attacking a train in April, killing a guard and wounding 15 passengers.

India has been accused of helping maintain the military regime in Burma by supplying it with weapons and related equipment—some of which are reportedly sold back to northeast India’s many rebel groups.

Indonesian President's Party Wins Elections

2009-05-12T10:49:00.000+07:00

By NINIEK KARMINI / AP WRITER

JAKARTA — The secular party of Indonesia's president tripled its share of the vote in parliamentary elections and support for religious parties nose-dived—a sign of how even devout believers in the world's most populous Muslim nation are delinking faith and politics.

Many say they've had enough of unpopular laws and edicts pushed through by hard-liners, regulating women's dress and banning everything from smoking to yoga.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic party won the lion's share of the vote in last month's parliamentary poll—21 percent, according to final results released over the weekend—buoyed by his popularity and reform agenda.

That puts him in an even stronger position to win a second, five-year term when Indonesian's pick their new president in July.

He faces a changing political landscape in this secular nation of 235 million, 90 percent of whom are Muslim.

Though people are becoming more religious at home, that has not translated at the ballot box.

Support for the main Islamist parties in the April 9 polls declined from 39 percent five years ago to just 24 percent, largely because modern, urban voters view them as intolerant.

"It's not moral guidance I'm looking for in government, it's pragmatism," said Rachmadi Khoirin, 29, who works in the back office of a sprawling plastics factory on the outskirts of the capital, Jakarta.

He wants leaders who can deliver jobs, put food on the table and fight corruption, which is still considered by many to be the biggest problem the country faces.

So for the first time in his life, he decided to abandon Islam-based parties, voting instead for the Yudhoyono's ruling Democratic Party.

The Democrats now have 148 seats in the 560-member parliament.

Because the remainder are shared between eight other secular and Islamic parties—some getting a few as 15 seats and other just over 100—a mad scramble is under way to form a coalition to push through policies.

The deal-making—and Yudhoyono's fallout with his current, main coalition partner, Golkar—could see various religious parties' political clout strengthened in the next government.

It is now seen as likely that the vice president job or other prominent Cabinet posts could go to the largest and most intolerant of the Islamic group, the Prosperous Justice Party.

Yudhoyono is credited by many with bringing stability following decades of dictatorship and then years of political uncertainty as democracy took root after former military leader Gen. Suharto was ousted amid massive street protests in 1998.

He won popularity by launching a security crackdown that netted hundreds of militants, including several involved in a string of deadly suicide bombings. His administration has overseen the arrest of several high profile politicians and businessmen for corruption.

The former army general has indicated that, despite their drop in popularity, he will bring Islamic groups into his coalition—as he did in 2004 when he became the country's first democratically elected leader.

But this time, because the Democrats hold a larger number of seats in parliament, he will not need Golkar—the secular party of former dictator Suharto and the second-largest vote getter in last month's polls.

"It makes political sense to partner up with the Islamists," said Arbi Sanit, an analyst from the University of Indonesia, noting that the two share a pro-poor, anti-graft platform. "It's an alliance that could both strengthen (Yudhoyono's) hand in parliament and convince people on his 'clean government' commitment."

It helps too that Islamic parties recognize, following their pummeling at the polls, they need to reshape their image. Some people worry that any of their claims of change are politically motivated and that hard-liners would revert to a conservative Islamist agenda once back in office.

The post-Suharto years have seen more open religious expression—women today can be seen proudly wearing headscarves, business executives go on religious retreats with their employees, some regions even have experimented with sharia-based laws.

Yet Islamists are struggling to find their place in politics, as reflected by the unpopularity of laws championed by hard-liners in recent years.

Most Muslims in Indonesia practice a moderate form of the faith, but an increasingly vocal extremist fringe has gained ground, influencing policy and in some cases carrying out terrorist attacks.

Some regions also have passed Islamic-based laws.

There women have faced prostitution charges if they were caught walking alone in the streets after dusk. Others have been forced to wear headscarves regardless of their religion. At least one traditional dance has been discouraged, because it is seen as "erotic."

Political Prisoners Suffering Ill Health: AAPP

2009-05-11T10:48:00.000+07:00

By MIN LWIN

Many Burmese political prisoners who were recently sentenced to long terms of imprisonment in remote prisons around the country are suffering from physical and mental health problems, according to Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP).

According to a report issued by the AAPP on Monday titled “Burma’s Prisons and Labour Camps: Silent Killing Fields,” at least 127 political prisoners are in poor health and 19 of them require urgent medical attention, including Aung San Suu Kyi, comedian Zarganar, female labor activist Su Su Nway and 88 Generation Students group leader Min Ko Naing.

The report blamed the military government for its “cruel and inhumane practices,” which include the use of systematic torture and the denial of healthcare to political prisoners, most of whom are pro-democracy activists.

“Not only are there more political prisoners than ever before, they are facing harsher sentences,” said Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the AAPP. “Leading activists have been transferred to the most remote prisons, where there are no prison doctors, and they are more likely to contract diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.”

The report said that more than 350 activists have been sentenced since October last year, and the majority of them have been transferred to remote jails away from their families. The prison transfers make it difficult for family members to visit and provide essential medicine.

“Many political prisoners have already died in prison,” said Bo Kyi. “This has to stop. The regime must end its cruel and inhumane practices, and release all political prisoners.”

Since November 2008, at least 228 political prisoners have been transferred to remote prisons far from their families. The long-term consequences for the health of political prisoners who have been transferred will be very serious, said the report.

There are 44 prisons in Burma and at least 50 labor camps. Some of them do not have a prison hospital and at least 12 of the prisons do not even have a prison doctor.

Mystery Deepens around ‘Swimmer’s’ Arrest

2009-05-09T10:46:00.000+07:00

By WAI MOE

The Burmese regime detained Aung San Suu Kyi’s physician on Thursday and the Nobel laureate was treated by his assistant on Friday for dehydration and low blood pressure, following the arrest of an American who reportedly secretly entered her guarded compound on Sunday night.
According to the National League for Democracy (NLD), Pyone Mo Ei, an assistance of Suu Kyi’s family doctor, Tin Myo Win, gave her an intravenous drip on Friday, spending a few hours in her house.

“First authorities permitted Pyone Mo Ei to enter for only one hour,” said Khin Maung Swe, an NLD executive member on Saturday. “But the doctor told authorities that one hour was not enough to give her an intravenous drip so authorities allowed more time for the doctor.”

Khin Maung Swe confirmed the arrest of her family doctor, Tin Myo Win, on Thursday evening.

“Authorities came to pick up Dr Tin Myo Win on Thursday for his regular visit to give her a medical checkup. After he waited awhile to enter the house, authorities told him that he could not visit her. So he went back home,” said Khin Maung Swe. “On Thursday evening, authorities came to the doctor’s house again and took him away.”

A family member of Tin Myo Win said that he has not returned home since then. On Friday, intelligence officers came to Tin Myo Win’s house and took away some clothes, medicine and religious handbooks. Where he is being held is unknown.

Under permission of the junta, Tin Myo Win has been allowed to visit Suu Kyi every first Thursday of the month. He is the only outside visitor who regularly sees the 1991 Nobel laureate, who has been under detention for 13 of the past 19 years. Two caretakers, Khin Win and Win Pa Pa, are allowed to live with Suu Kyi in the compound.

State-run media reported that it had arrested a US citizen, “John Willian [sic] Yeattaw,” after he reportedly swam to Suu Kyi’s lakeside house compound and stayed secretly in the house from Sunday night to Tuesday night. He was arrested about 5:30 am on Wednesday.

NLD sources said foreigners have previously attempted to enter Suu Kyi’s lakeside compound. A foreigner tried to enter in 2008 by giving money to security guards. At the time, Tin Myo Win reportedly told authorities about the incident on behalf of Suu Kyi.

An NLD source, who requested anonymity, speculated that Tin Myo Win’s arrest could be related to the swimmer’s case because authorities might want to question him about the previous incident.

The state-run-media did not report any new details about the arrested US citizen or Tin Myo Win’s arrest on Saturday.

However, members of the junta-backed mass organization, Union Solidarity and Development Association, have launched a smear campaign, claiming the swimmer who sneaked into Suu Kyi’s house was an agent of the US Central Intelligence Agency.

“This kind of rumor is totally wrong and impossible,” said Han Thar Myint, an NLD spokesman.

Suu Kyi’s current house detention is set to expire on May 27 under Burmese law. However, government prosecutors contend the date of expiration is in November.

Some diplomats believe Suu Kyi could be released this month while others think the junta will find a way to keep her in detention after the expiration date.

Story of 'Suu Kyi Swimmer' Widely Questioned

2009-05-08T10:43:00.000+07:00

By WAI MOE

The news reported on Thursday that a US citizen swam across Inya Lake to the home of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon, where he stayed for a three-day period, has become the talk of Burma.

The man, identified by the government as John Willian [sic] Yeattaw, was reportedly arrested on Wednesday morning as he was swimming away from Suu Kyi’s home.

Because of the unexplained sequence of events, many Rangoon residents discount the truth of the government account, which appeared in state-backed media. No other details or motives were provided.

The alleged intrusion into her private compound comes as Suu Kyi’s house arrest is set to expire this month.

“Security personnel found a suspicious looking foreigner swimming with the help of a 5-litre drinking water bottle in Inya Lake” at 5.30 a.m. On Wednesday, the state-run New Light of Myanmar reported. The report was not accompanied by a photograph of the intruder.

The report said “he secretly entered the house and stayed there” on Sunday night and remained there through Tuesday night.

The US Embassy in Rangoon said it has made repeated requests to see the man, which have been denied.

“We would like to confirm the information ourselves and to speak with the man directly,” said embassy spokesman Richard Mei.

According to Rangoon residents and journalists contacted by The Irrawaddy, many citizens in the former capital do not believe the story as it has been reported.

“The news of an American guy swimming to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s house is now the talk of the town here,” said a Rangoon journalist who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said many people think the story was fabricated by the government as propaganda, intended to discredit Suu Kyi and provide an excuse not to release her from house arrest.

A Burmese social worker in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that the story is confusing.

“Yes, it is the hottest news in the town,” she said. “But people are saying that nobody knows if it is really true. Only Daw Aung San Suu Kyi can tell the truth. And nobody can ask her directly.”

For some members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) and other dissidents at home and abroad, the news raised concern about the Nobel laureate’s security.

“We cannot confirm yet that the news is true or not. However, this is a very dangerous situation for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi if the event really happened,” said Han Thar Myint, an NLD spokesman. “As we know, security forces are supposed to be on the bank of the lake at her compound.”

An exiled dissident group, the Democratic Party for New Society, announced on Thursday that the incident showed that Suu Kyi’s life was at risk.

Recently the junta rejected an appeal by Suu Kyi’s lawyer for her release, saying the “grounds for her appeal were not strong enough.”

Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 13 of past 19 years. In 2008, the junta extended her detention for one more year. Her attorney and the government differ on the date when her detention is scheduled to end. According to NLD spokesman Han Thar Myint, the detention is set to expire in May, but authorities said it will be in November.

Authorities allow only her doctor and two caretakers access inside Suu Kyi’s home. Her family doctor, Tin Myo Win, regularly visits her every first Thursday each month, NLD sources said. Tin Myo Win was scheduled to visit her on Thursday, but he was not available when The Irrawaddy tried to contact him.

If elements of the story are true, the tantalizing questions are what were the man’s motives and did he have any connection with a government, a political group, or was the incident the act of one individual working alone?

In the past, foreigners who entered Burma and who tried to engage in political work or activities have been arrested and threatened with imprisonment. Usually, they are deported.

The US Campaign for Burma, a leading Burma campaign group in the United States, denied any connection with the American who was named in the newspaper report. Other exiled pro-democracy groups have also denied involvement.

Following the incident, US citizens in Burma are reportedly under increased surveillance by Burmese authorities, according to sources in Rangoon.

Two US journalists were reportedly deported from the country on Thursday after authorities learned that they gave a journalism training course in Mandalay.

Suu Kyi’s neighbors said on Friday that authorities had changed security guard personnel at her compound.

Recently, increased personal attacks on Suu Kyi have appeared on Internet blogs and some observers say they are the work of pro-junta elements.

“Last month, I told the chairman of the NLD that we should expect that there could be some unusual news and attacks on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi ahead of the expiration of her detention date,” said Thein Nyunt, a senior NLD member.

Burma's Most Respected Writer Turns 90

2009-05-08T10:41:00.001+07:00

By ARKAR MOE

The 90th birthday of Dagon Taya, Burma's greatest living literary figure, will be celebrated on May 10 in the mountain city of Aung Pan in southern Shan State.
Dagon Taya, a creative writer who continues to compose beautiful poems, short stories, novels and commentaries, is the recognized leader of the post-World War II writers who promoted literary realism and art for the people’s sake under the banner of Sar Pe Thit (New Literature).

Many young Burmese writers who emerged after World War II were deeply affected by their struggle against imperialism and fascism and by the left-wing political ideology of the post-war period.

"I greatly admire him because his ideas and his literature which influenced me in my youth," Win Tin, a celebrated pro-democracy leader and former journalist, told The Irrawaddy. "I like his philosophy, 'Literature can solve social problems and record the people’s struggle for freedom and peace.”

Dagon Taya is not only a leading literary figure. He was also an influential peace activist who made a significant contribution to both domestic and international peace efforts.

He was subjected to political persecution when the military staged a coup in 1962, when he was arrested and imprisoned for four years on suspicion of being a Communist.

Dagon Taya is known for his reserved, calm and flexible personality, and for his firm convictions. He was a close friend of Burma’s independence hero, Gen Aung San, who in 1943 offered him a high-ranking position in the Japanese occupation government—an offer he refused. Before Aung San's assassination in 1947, Dagon Taya wrote an important critical essay about his friend’s personality, titled "Aung San the Untamed."

Many Burmese were shocked by the criticism of the revered father of independence, but Dagon Taya, and Aung San himself, merely smiled in response to the controversy generated when the essay appeared in Taya magazine.

Dagon Taya wrote, “History is unforgettable. Criticism is intended to benefit the country. I believe if there is criticism, there can be progress.”

He refused a State Honorary Award by late dictator Gen Ne Win. After his refusal to accept the award, he went into self-imposed exile from Rangoon, from which he composed one of his best-know poems, "Sending Myself to the Mae Za." Mae Za is a place where critics of the king were sent into exile.

He called himself “the Liberator,” but he never assumed an active role in any political party or regime.

Following the 1988 uprising, many Burmese writers began using a variety of highly abstract styles and techniques to express their political dissatisfaction and hopes for a democratic society. Dagon Taya wrote an important poem titled “The Thaw,” addressing the changes in the international political climate.

In the mid 1990s, Dagon Taya briefly came under critical attack from some groups made up of ex-Communists and former members of Ne Win’s Burma Socialist Program Party. In reply, he reaffirmed his view that writers should not lose touch with the people and their social environment. He wrote, “You cannot separate the arts from the socio-political setting.”

In 2004, he said that the only way to resolve the country’s political deadlock in the best interest of all parties was through peaceful means, adding he was ready to play a role in peace talks between the military government and oppositions groups at any time.

“I have no foes, only friends,” he once said. “I have no hatred for any person. To me, politics means making friends of foes."

Generals Call the Ceasefire Groups’ Hands

2009-05-08T10:39:00.001+07:00

By WAI MOE

If the ethnic ceasefire groups agree to follow proposals by Burma’s military junta to transform their battalions into border guard forces, they will be left with no room to maneuver politically. Either way, stability across the country is under threat.

The dilemma facing several of Burma’s ethic armies comes after high-ranking officers from Naypyidaw made several visits to the ethnic groups’ bases last week to outline blueprints for the post-election period that would entail the former insurgents submitting to the command of the Burmese army, also known as the Tatmadaw.

Among the groups that sat with the junta officials last week is the largest armed ethnic group, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), a 20,000-strong army based in Shan State which is closely associated with the drugs trade.

Other groups include the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), a Kokang group called the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the National Democratic Alliance Army, which is based in Shan State.

According to a copy of the blueprint obtained by The Irrawaddy, none of the ethnic ceasefire groups would retain the right to manage day-to-day affairs independently and its command structure would have to share—and, in certain positions, be submissive to—the Tatmadaw’s regional commanders.

Under the plan outlined in the leaked blueprint, one Burmese officer would share command of each ethnic ceasefire group battalion alongside two ethnic commanders. Burmese military personnel would also assume several other significant posts in each battalion.

According to the junta’s guidelines, the ceasefire groups have to respond to the proposal in the coming months. Military training for the ceasefire groups has been penciled in for October.

“The ceasefire groups should think carefully about their future,” said Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese military analyst based on the Sino-Burmese border. “This is a crucial time for them.

“If the junta’s plan comes to fruition, there will be no more UWSA or KIA—only political wings, such as the UWSP [United Wa State Party] and the KIO [Kachin Independence Organization].”

Observers say that if the ceasefire groups do not accept the Tatmadaw’s border guard force proposal, the fragile ceasefire agreements between many of the ethnic groups and the junta could be broken; and the border trade zone along Burma’s eastern border could suddenly become a battleground again.

Aside from the UWSA, the other ethnic ceasefire groups are not as strong nowadays as they were before they entered into ceasefire agreements. The Tatmadaw now has several outposts positioned in the ethnic group-controlled areas.

However, according to Khuensai Jaiyen, the editor-in-chief of the Shan Herald Agency for News, ceasefire groups such as the Shan State Army (North) would still be a force to be reckoned with if they were called into action, even though they have a much smaller army than the UWSA.

According to intelligence sources, junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe has indicated to his officers that handling the ethnic ceasefire groups would be one of their biggest challenges in the coming years.

“Apart from non-violent dissidents such as Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD [National League for Democracy], the generals in Naypyidaw see this as another threat to their administration since there are no concrete political solutions to ceasefire agreements,” said a political observer in Rangoon who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said that facing down the ceasefire groups would be different from Suu Kyi and other dissidents. “If the junta wants to crack down on the non-violent opposition, they can simply open more prison doors. But the ceasefire groups—like the junta—also know how to use firepower to get their way,” he said.

The issue also encompasses geopolitical concerns for the regime. China, being Burma’s northern neighbor and one of its biggest trade and military partners, enjoys a strong influence on all the ceasefire groups based near the Sino-Burmese border, especially the UWSA and the KIA.

China is scheduled to build a strategic oil and gas pipeline stretching from western Burma to Yunnan Province, passing through much ethnic territory.

China, as former comrades-in-arms, would not ignore the UWSA and the Kokang if they were in crisis, said Aung Kyaw Zaw.

In recent years, the question of Burma’s stability, development and national reconciliation has become a main concern for Beijing.

In April, Chen Bingde, the Chief-of-Staff of the People's Liberation Army, told the visiting Burmese general Tin Aye that Beijing hoped Burma could achieve social stability, economic development and national reconciliation.

However, at last week’s meeting between junta officers and the UWSA, one of the Wa leaders reportedly rebuked the Burmese regime’s offer angrily, calling it a recipe for disunity.

Other ethnic leaders are going to have to make big decisions in the near future—decisions that could tread dangerously close to plunging the region into instability and bloodshed.

Security Council Silent on Burma’s Child Victims

2009-05-08T10:38:00.000+07:00

By THALIF DEEN/ IPS WRITER

UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council, which has remained virtually paralyzed on Palestine because of strong Western support for Israel, is considered equally ineffective on Burma (Myanmar) because of Chinese and Russian backing for the military junta in that politically troubled Southeast Asian nation.

A 60-page study by the New York-based Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict released here says it is time for the Security Council to "move swiftly" to protect the tens of thousands of Burmese children who are "raped, abducted and recruited as soldiers by the country's military and non-state armed groups (NSAGs)."

Asked why the Security Council continues to remain silent on Burma, Julia Freedson, director of Watchlist, told IPS there are several possible reasons.

"Monitoring reports being sent to the Security Council, through official UN channels about violations against children, are dismal," she said.

This is in part because authorities in Burma, and other key countries such as Thailand, block access by the United Nations to important segments of the country, thereby preventing documentation, she added.

However, many reliable sources from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have produced trustworthy documentation of sexual violence, killing and maiming, forced displacement and other violations which the Security Council should give more weight to, Freedson added.

Last year, both China and Russia exercised a rare double veto against a Western-sponsored resolution critical of the military regime, officially dubbed the State Peace Development Council (SPDC).

The Chinese and Russian support has prevented any UN sanctions against the SPDC, which is battling ethnic minorities complaining of military aggression and human rights violations.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Burma is a member, has opposed any political involvement in the armed conflict, which it considers an internal affair outside the purview of the Security Council.

Asked how confident she was that the Security Council will eventually take any action—in the context of the opposition from Russia and China—Freedson said: "The geopolitical factors are a concern."

However, she pointed out, the dynamic in the Council in 2009 is different than it was last year.

Following last week's open debate in the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict, she said, "The sense is that there is now a deeper commitment to moving forward on the Council's obligations to hold perpetrators of violations against children accountable."

"We hope that Myanmar will not be an exception," Freedson added.

According to the Watchlist report, children as young as nine constantly face the threat of forced recruitment by security forces, non-state armed groups and civilians, even in public places such as bus or train stations and markets.

Armed forces have also occupied schools, recruited teachers and students for forced labor and planted landmines close to schools or on the paths to schools.

Asked how violations by the military junta compare with other countries, Freedson said violations in Burma are certainly on par with some of those countries that the international community considers the worst in the world like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or Afghanistan, where child mortality is comparable due to denial of humanitarian assistance and medical treatment by the Burmese authorities.

"On the issue of child soldiers, we don’t have precise figures because of lack of access for this type of monitoring, but trustworthy estimates have put the numbers in the tens of thousands," Freedson said.

If this is the case, she said, it could be among the highest, if not the highest number in the world.

At the same time, there are larger geopolitical factors inside the Security Council which have hampered action on Burma, Freedson said.

For example, the Security Council's special Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict deliberated for six months on their conclusions on Burma last year.

"It is our understanding that this was largely due to stalling tactics by China and others which do not want to see human rights issues in Myanmar discussed inside the Security Council," she said.

And when the Working Group finally issued their conclusions, they were disappointing and weak, she noted.

The Watchlist report includes several policy recommendations, including targeted measures on the Burmese government and relevant non-state armed groups, particularly if no real progress is achieved in ending the recruitment and use of children within a specified time frame. These sanctions should include travel bans, asset freezes or arms embargoes.

Meanwhile, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been asked to provide information to the Security Council on all six grave violations called for under Resolution 1612, including sexual violence, attacks against schools, and denial of humanitarian assistance.

"Too much time has been wasted denying the extent of the crisis facing children in Myanmar's conflict zones," Freedson said. The United Nations must act now to protect these children and bring the perpetrators to justice, she added.

Terror Suspect Who Fled Singapore Held in Malaysia

2009-05-08T10:36:00.000+07:00

By JULIA ZAPPEI / AP WRITER

KUALA LUMPUR — A top Islamic terror suspect who escaped from a high-security jail in Singapore last year has been arrested in Malaysia, an official said Friday, ending a massive manhunt for the man accused of plotting to crash a hijacked plane into Singapore.
Mas Selamat Kastari, suspected commander of the Singapore arm of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, escaped from the jail on Februal 27, 2008, by wriggling out a toilet window in a surprising security breach that sparked a massive manhunt.

The search had largely focused on Singapore and neighboring Indonesia, where the Indonesian branch of Jemaah Islamiyah was thought likely to find him shelter. The group is accused of carrying out the 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia.

However, he was arrested in Malaysia's southern Johor state bordering Singapore and is being interrogated by authorities there, said Walter Chia, a spokesman for the Singapore's embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

"The arrest was made possible with the cooperation of the two countries," Chia told The Associated Press.

Mas Selamat was captured April 1 in a joint operation involving the security agencies of both countries, Singapore's Straits Times newspaper said on its Web site, quoting unidentified regional intelligence officials.

Malaysia's home minister was expected to hold a news conference Friday to reveal details.

Mas Selamat, who is known to walk with a limp, is accused of plotting to hijack a plane and crash it into Singapore's international airport. He was being held under the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial.

Security breaches are virtually unheard of in tightly policed Singapore, an island nation of 4 million people that is a 45-minute boat ride from Indonesia where Mas Selamat is alleged to have links with militant groups.

The Singapore government said Mas Selamat escaped from the high-security Whitley Road Detention Centre because of a "security lapse." He had been taken from his cell to a room where he was waiting for his family to make a scheduled visit. He escaped after being granted permission to visit the washroom, authorities said.

Following his escape, the detention center's superintendent was dismissed and the superintendent's deputy was demoted.

Mas Selamat first came to prominence in December 2001 when he fled Singapore following an Internal Security Department operation against Jemaah Islamiyah.

He was arrested by the Indonesian police on Bintan island in January 2006 and handed over to Singapore authorities.

US Man Arrested for Entering Suu Kyi Home

2009-05-07T10:35:00.000+07:00

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RANGOON — Police tightened security around Burma's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday after an American man was arrested for allegedly swimming across a lake and sneaking into her lakeside home.

The Myanma Ahlin newspaper reported that authorities fished the man out of Rangoon's Inya Lake early Wednesday while he was returning from the visit to Suu Kyi's home. The report identified the man as John William Yeattaw but gave no details of his motives.

It would be the first time anyone has sneaked into Suu Kyi's compound or swam across the lake in an attempt to get there.

More than 20 police entered Suu Kyi's compound Thursday morning, according to neighbors who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals in the military-ruled country. Despite police checkpoints and barbed-wire barricades outside the home, police rarely enter Suu Kyi's compound, where she has been kept under house arrest for more than 13 of the past 19 years.

The newspaper report said the American man had confessed to swimming across the lake Sunday evening, sneaking into Suu Kyi's residence and then swimming back late Tuesday before being spotted by police and arrested early Wednesday.

"He secretly entered the house and stayed there," the newspaper reported, saying that he swam with an empty 5-liter plastic water jug, presumably to use as a float. "Further investigation is under way to find out his motive for secretly entering the restricted area."

Police confiscated the man's belongings, which included a US passport, a black backpack, a pair of pliers, a camera and two US 100 dollar bills, the newspaper reported.

A spokesman from the US Embassy in Yangon said consular officers were "seeking access" to the man as is routine in any case of an American citizen arrested overseas.

"Right now we don't know anything more than what is generally known, that this man was arrested for swimming across the lake and wound up being at Aung San Suu Kyi's house," said spokesman Richard Mei, who said he could not immediately confirm the man's identity or spelling of his name.

Suu Kyi's home is tightly guarded and she is not allowed visitors, aside from her doctor. Swimming in Inya Lake in the vicinity of Suu Kyi's compound is not allowed.

Nyan Win, spokesman for her National League for Democracy party, said he had no information about the American visitor aside from what he had read in the state-controlled newspaper. But he said it was worrisome how easily the man accessed the tightly guarded home.

"We are very much concerned of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's security. What happened shows a security lapse," Nyan Win said. "Daw" is a term of respect in Myanmar.

Suu Kyi has been held without trial for leading an internationally hailed movement for democracy in Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military with an iron fist since 1962.

Her party won Burma's last elections in 1990, a result the military junta never recognized.

Earlier this week, the junta rejected an appeal to free Suu Kyi, whose most recent period of detention is due to expire May 27, according to the party spokesman.

Rice for breakfast, lunch, dinner, heh, heh!

2009-05-07T10:34:00.000+07:00

Abuses Rampant Along Gas Pipeline: Rights Group

2009-05-07T09:45:00.000+07:00

By MIN LWIN

A gas pipeline in southern Burma is the scene of widespread rights violations, including forced labor and land confiscation, according to a new report released by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM).
The 104-page report, titled “Laid Waste: Human Rights along the Kanbauk to Myaing Kalay gas pipeline,” accuses Burma’s military government of committing “systemic, shocking and ongoing” abuses along the 186-mile (300 km) pipeline.

“The Burmese government’s Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise [MOGE] operates the Kanbauk to Myaing Kalay gas pipeline project, so the government bears responsibility for these human rights violations,” said Aue Mon from HURFOM, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday.

The report details widespread human rights violations ranging from the daily commandeering of motorcycles and chickens to rape and summary executions. It also says that more than 15,000 acres of land have been confiscated to make room for the pipeline and to support 30 army battalions tasked with protecting it since construction began in 2000.

“They have already confiscated many acres of land. My land and plantations cost about 4 million kyat [US $4,000],” said one villager quoted in the report. “They took it without paying me one kyat.”

The report also details the rampant use of forced labor in the area along the pipeline. It says that local people, including children as young as 12, are routinely forced to do maintenance work on the pipeline, and to guard it and carry equipment for soldiers, at all times under threat of violent retribution for accidents or insurgent attacks.

“In one month, I was forced three to four times to be a porter… It was difficult, and we were beaten all the time,” said Nai Lot, 65, from the village of Mihtawhlagyi in Ye Township.

The abuses are “the predictable result of deploying large numbers of soldiers and encouraging them to extract what they can from the countryside, without oversight,” according the report.

“But abuses along the pipeline are also a deliberate, calculated part of the pipeline security effort,” it adds.

“There should be no question: projects like the Kanbauk to Myaing Kalay gas pipeline do not benefit the people of our country,” said Kasauh Mon, the director of HURFOM.

The Kanbauk-Myaing Kalay pipeline begins at the Total Pipeline Center near the town of Kanbauk in Yebyu Township, Tenasserim Division, and passes through five townships in Mon State and Tenasserim Division, ending in Myaing Kalay in Karen State, where the gas is used in government cement factories.

Burma’s pipelines have long been controversial, with rights groups claiming that they are built on land taken from local people, often using their unpaid labor. They also attract a heavy military presence, resulting in further abuses, rights groups say.

The British company Premier Oil, which signed a contract with MOGE in 1990 to extract gas from the Yetagun gas fields in the Andaman Sea, and the French oil giant Total, which signed an agreement to harvest gas from the Yadana gas fields in 1992, have both accused of complicity in the Burmese regime’s routine rights violations.

Burma Absent from Regional Health Ministers’ Meeting

2009-05-07T09:43:00.001+07:00

By SAW YAN NAING

Burma’s health minister failed to attend a regional meeting to discuss measures to prevent an outbreak of swine flu and other health issues on Thursday, according to a report by the Bangkok Post.

Burma is the only member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) that has not confirmed the participation of its health minister at the two-day meeting in Bangkok, the paper reported.

No reason was given for the Burmese minister’s absence from the meeting, which brings together Asean and its regional partners, China, Japan and South Korea.

Burmese ambassador to Thailand Aung Thein instead accepted an invitation to attend the meeting, Siriporn Kanchana, Thailand’s deputy permanent secretary for public health, told the Bangkok Post.

Siriporn said that strict measures at the borders of Mekong countries were necessary to prevent swine flu from spreading.

“An enhancement of surveillance for the new strain of influenza is urgently needed to strengthen disease control measures among [Asean] member countries,” she was quoted as saying.

On Thursday, Burmese state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported that Burma’s Ministry of Health has been taking preventive measures against the spread of the swine flu virus A/H1N1 since April 25.

The paper reported that the Ministry of Health was keeping a constant watch on the virus and was prepared to provide medicine and medical equipment to hospitals in the event the disease reaches Burma. Special care units and hospital wards were also being prepared for emergency use, according to the paper.

The paper reported that visitors to Burma have been subject to screening at airports, seaports and borders since April 19. So far, there has been no case of swine flu in Burma, according to the Ministry of Health.

Gale Force Winds Hit Mandalay

2009-05-07T09:41:00.000+07:00

By SAW YAN NAING

Winds of up to 50 mph (80 km/ph) slammed Burma’s second largest city, Mandalay, on Wednesday causing widespread damage.

Trees, electrical poles and street signs were uprooted in the storm, which struck the city at around 4 p.m. and lasted about 30 minutes, local residents said.

“Wind and rain ripped through the entire city,” a housewife in Mandalay told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. “The southern part of the city was hit especially hard.”

She said she had seen several fallen trees and electrical poles.

A journalist in Mandalay said that there were reports of roof tiles and satellite dishes blown away by the gale force winds.

One woman and a child were reportedly injured and have been hospitalized, but there have been no reports of deaths caused by the storm.

Last year, Burma’s Irrawaddy delta and Rangoon Division were hit by a category 4 cyclone and winds of up to 100 mph (160 km/ph). The cyclone and resulting tidal wave caused about 140,000 deaths and affected some 2.4 million people.

To date, cyclone survivors in many of the remote areas of the Irrawaddy delta are still living in makeshift shelters and relying on humanitarian aid.

Asia Largely Spared from Swine Flu Outbreak

2009-05-07T09:40:00.000+07:00

By MICHAEL CASEY / AP WRITER

BANGKOK — Asian health officials gathered Thursday to draw up a game plan for dealing with an outbreak of swine flu that has sickened thousands worldwide, considering measures to develop vaccines and bolster medicine stockpiles.

The virus has largely spared the region. South Korea remained the only Asian country with confirmed cases of swine flu, or the H1N1 virus, while China on Thursday released a group of people quarantined for a week after being on the same flight as a Mexican man diagnosed with swine flu. At least 28 persons in Hong Kong also regained their freedom.

But delegates at the Bangkok meeting said there was no room for complacency.

They said this two-day conference would be a chance to boost cooperation among governments that already are considered among the world's most prepared because of their experience responding to the SARS outbreak in 2003 and bird flu since then.

Hundreds of police and troops in battle gear ringed the hotel in downtown Bangkok where the officials met to forestall a repeat of last month's meeting of Asian leaders which was broken up by anti-government demonstrators. There were no protesters in sight Thursday.

"In a more globalized and interconnected world, an outbreak of an emerging infectious disease is immensely swift. To deal with it requires strong cooperative efforts," Thailand's Permanent Secretary for Health Prat Boonyawongvirot told delegates.

Prat said the health ministers from the 10 countries of Association of Southeast Nations along with China, South Korea and Japan will consider establishing mechanism for the development, holding and production of vaccines and anti-viral drugs and expansion of the ASEAN emergency stockpile of 1 million courses of Tamiflu and Relenza.

"This will ensure security for all people from the emergency threat of H1N1," he said.

The majority of swine flu cases have come from Mexico which has reported 840 of the nearly 1,600 confirmed cases of swine flu in 23 countries worldwide. There have been 44 deaths, 42 in Mexico and two in the US.

South Korea on Thursday confirmed a third case of swine flu, but said the 62-year-old woman already had recovered from the disease. She was released from a military-run hospital, the Health Ministry said.

The woman had been staying in the US state of Arizona and was on the same flight back to South Korea as the country's first confirmed patient, a Catholic nun returning from a trip to Mexico on April 26. The nun recovered earlier this week. China's tough measures have drawn complaints from Mexico and other countries that their citizens were being quarantined based merely on their nationality. Mexico's president has called the Chinese measures discriminatory.

China defends the measures, which it says are needed to block swine flu virus from entering the world's most populous nation. There has been one confirmed case in Hong Kong, a plane passenger from Mexico, but none on the mainland.

Dozens of people under quarantine across China were released or would be released later Thursday if they showed no symptoms of the illness, the Health Ministry said. Many were put in isolation because they had been on an April 30 flight from Mexico with the traveler diagnosed in Hong Kong.

While some were released, others began new rounds of isolation. In Shanghai, 119 Chinese who returned home from Mexico on Wednesday aboard a charter flight began a week of quarantine at a local hotel, while a vice health minister said the nation's aggressive prevention measures were working and would be maintained.

At least 28 of the 34 passengers who flew from Shanghai to Hong Kong with the Mexican man confirmed as the territory's only swine flu patient were released Thursday afternoon. TV footage showed the passengers being loaded onto a bus and driven to local hotels from a Hong Kong holiday camp where they were held for a week.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the six remaining, detained in two other locations, had left, though their quarantine also ended.

The 274 guests and employees isolated inside Hong Kong's Metropark Hotel, where the Mexican man had stayed, since May 1 were set to be released Friday.

Thai Gov’t Approves Tax Increase on Alcohol

2009-05-07T09:26:00.000+07:00

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's government on Wednesday approved an excise tax increase on beer and other alcoholic drinks to 9 percent from 7 percent in a bid to boost government revenue amid global economic slowdown.

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said the increase of excise taxes on liquor, beer and brandy will be effective from Thursday onwards. The measure is expected to boost the government's income by 6.3 billion baht ($179 million), which will be used for investment in infrastructure projects.

The government also approved a budget worth 1.43 trillion baht ($41 billion) for investments in infrastructure projects for the next three years in a bid to stimulate the sluggish economy, Korn said.

Korn said the government plans to revise the excise tax structure further, which may include an increase in taxes on fuel and cigarettes.

Permanent secretary of Finance Ministry Suparat Kawatkul said tax revenues collected by the government during the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 fell by an estimate of 9 percent. Excise tax collection fell more than 20 percent on-year during the period due to lower consumer spending.

The Bank of Thailand last month forecast gross domestic product may shrink as much as 3.5 percent this year and said it may have to reduce the forecast further if domestic political turmoil exacerbates.

Domestic political uncertainties and falling exports amid global slumps have hurt investment, consumer spending and tourism in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy.

Dog Eats Dog

2009-05-07T09:11:00.000+07:00

By SEAN YOONG / AP WRITER

KUALA LUMPUR — More than 300 stray dogs that were dumped on isolated islands turned to cannibalism after weeks of starvation, animal welfare activists said on Thursday.

The plight of the dogs cast away by villagers on two small, uninhabited islands off Malaysia's western Selangor state ignited outrage after activists this week released photographs showing dogs eating the carcasses of ones that had died.

Residents of a fishing village on Pulau Ketam, another island off Selangor, caught the dogs last month and took them to the islands covered in mangroves. The villagers said they never intended to be cruel—they believed the dogs could feed on the deserted islands' wildlife—but wanted to rid their island of dogs that defecate on the streets and sometimes bite children.

A team from the Selangor Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals SPCA) visited one of the islands—Pulau Selat Kering—on Monday and saw several emaciated dogs "crowded and hunched around something—they were hungrily feasting on the remains of another dog," the SPCA said in a statement.

"Nearby, a weak dog was screaming because several dogs were trying to bite her," it said.

Volunteers have so far rescued two dogs and left food for the others, said SPCA official Jacinta Johnson. They estimate 200 might have survived. Activists would also try to rescue any dogs left on the other island, Pulau Tengah.

Pulau Ketam's residents have said some dogs tried to swim back to their island, about a half-hour boat ride away, but it was not clear how many succeeded.

Efforts to save the dogs have been slow because many were fearful of people and scampered into mangrove swamps when rescuers approached, Johnson said.

Activists have persuaded Pulau Ketam's villagers not to dump any more dogs and are considering measures such as sterilization and relocation to ease problems posed by an estimated 2,000 stray dogs, the SPCA said.

Experts Challenge Than Shwe’s Rice Production Claims

2009-05-06T10:13:00.000+07:00

By ARKAR MOE

Claims by Burmese junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe that Burma is enjoying a rice production surplus are being greeted with skepticism by the experts.

Than Shwe made his claims—including a statement that Burma is making remarkable progress in agriculture—one day after the first anniversary of Cyclone Nargis, which devastated the country’s richest rice producing region. Farmers there are still struggling to restore their destroyed paddy fields.

In a report issued in July 2008, three months after the cyclone hit Burma’s Irrawaddy delta, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said 63 percent of the paddy fields there were still under water, up to 85 percent of seed stocks had been destroyed and 75 percent of farmers lacked sufficient seed to prepare for a new harvest.

Earlier this week, as Than Shwe was delivering his disputed report to a Naypyidaw meeting, an official of the World Food Program said most households in the delta were worried about food shortages. “In fact, even some farmers who own dozens of acres of paddy are unable to feed themselves,” he said.

Reporting to the Naypyidaw meeting on Monday, Than Shwe said—according to the state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar—“due to remarkable progress in the agricultural sector, the nation had not only self-sufficiency but also surplus in food.”

The paper said Than Shwe told the meeting that when the present government came to power in 1988 paddy output was just over 600 million baskets annually (a basket is 33 kilograms). Today, Than Shwe claimed, annual output was about 1,600 million baskets, and efforts were being made to increase this to 2,000 million baskets.

“Complete rubbish,” was the reaction of Burma expert Sean Turnell, associate professor at Australia’s Macquarie University “Burma’s rice production is routinely, ludicrously exaggerated.”

Turnell said: “Farmers are under the gun to report good production numbers to their superiors, like the pattern of the former Soviet Union and other places. Meanwhile, bribes and corruption grease the wheels along the way.”

If Burma really had tripled its rice production, said Turnell, the country would once again be one of the world’s largest rice exporters.

However, Burma exports only a small amount of rice—much of it a broken, poor quality product which finds customers in Africa.

Far from having a surplus, said Turnell, Burma faced widespread food shortages this year.

A leading Burmese economist who requested anonymity told The Irrawaddy, “Than Shwe’s speech may have been intended to counter the UN and other international organizations reports about food shortages in Burma.”