By LALIT K JHA
WASHINGTON — The human rights situation in Burma remains grim as the military government continues to ignore basic rights and continues to jail political opponents using draconian laws, according to the annual human rights report of the US State Department.
“The military regime in Burma continued its oppressive methods, denying citizens the right to change their government and committing other severe human rights abuses,” said the 2008 Human Rights Report.
The report was released by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said, “Promotion of human rights is essential to our foreign policy.”
Responding to media queries, spokesperson Karen Stewart said the human rights situation has deteriorated.
The Burmese military junta in 2008 sentenced a large number of democracy activists to “draconian” prison terms. “And so, yes, there’s quite a significant increase in the number of prisoners and generally the government continues to control all the governmental organs,” Stewart said.
The Burma section of the report charges that the military regime brutally suppressed dissent using extrajudicial killings, disappearances and torture.
“The regime continued to abridge the right of citizens to change their government and committed other severe human rights abuses,” the report said, adding the military detained civic activists indefinitely and without charges
“Human rights and prodemocracy activists were harassed, arbitrarily detained in large numbers, and sentenced up to 65 years of imprisonment. The regime held detainees and prisoners in life-threatening conditions,” according to the report.
As the army continued its attacks on ethnic minority areas, the report also said the regime routinely infringed on citizens' privacy and restricted freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, religion and movement.
“Violence and discrimination against women and ethnic minorities continued, as did trafficking in persons. Workers' rights were restricted and forced labor persisted,” the report said, adding that the government took no significant actions to prosecute or punish those responsible for such abuses.
“The regime showed contempt for the welfare of its own citizens when it persisted in conducting a fraudulent referendum in the immediate aftermath of a cyclone that killed tens of thousands and blocked and delayed international assistance that could have saved many lives,” the report said.
February 26, 2009
February 25, 2009
VOA: UDP Leader Threatens to Sue The Irrawaddy
By WAI MOE
The leader of the Canada-based United Democratic Party of Myanmar (UDP), Kyaw Myint, also known as Michael Hua Hu, is threatening legal action against The Irrawaddy and its editor, Aung Zaw, according to an interview carried by the Burmese service of the Voice of America (VOA) on Wednesday.
Kyaw Myint, who also goes by the name of Michael Hua Kyaw Myint Hu, told VOA that the basis of his legal action was an article published in The Irrawaddy on December 26, 2008. The article quoted a report in the now defunct magazine Asiaweek accusing a company run by Kyaw Myint of laundering money for the United Wa State Army (UWSA), which is heavily involved in the drug trade.
The company, Kyone Yeom, was chaired by Kyaw Myint in the 1990s.
Kyaw Myint told VOA he was never involved in laundering drug money. “I am preparing documents for a lawsuit,” he said. The action would be lodged in a court in Thailand.
The Irrawaddy article also quoted a report that appeared in Jane’s Intelligence Review in November 1998 saying Kyone Yeom had been blacklisted by the Burmese regime because Kyaw Myint, who claimed to be a deputy minister of finance for the UWSA, openly and brazenly flouted Burmese business laws and regulations.
Jane’s Intelligence Review had reported in March 1998 that on December 11, 1997, an article in the state-run vernacular press announced the black-listing of Kyone Yeom by the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development for “submitting false accounts.”
The Jane’s report added: “However, following meetings between Wa leaders and junta chief Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, the minister responsible, technocrat Brigadier General David Abel was abruptly shunted to an inactive post.”
At the time, Kyaw Myint was under surveillance by US agencies. A US State Department “International Narcotics Control Strategy Report” in 1998 said that in February 1998, the Burmese regime effectively suspended the Kyone Yeom for violating the Myanmar [Burma] Company Act, although the government did not indicate that this was a counternarcotics action.
“The company's chairman, a former high-level United Wa State Army officer, was reportedly later sentenced to 9 years imprisonment,” the report said.
Kyaw Myint told VOA that he was arrested for political reasons and charged under State Emergency Act 5-J. He later escaped from prison and travelled first to the US and then Canada, reportedly with the help of the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese military analyst and former member of the Burma Communist Party, said that Kyaw Mint “wasn’t prominent before the Wa separated from the Communist Party in 1989. After the Wa’s ceasefire with the junta, he became well-known for doing business for the Wa.”
Related stories:
UDP Leader Involved in Drugs, Money Laundering, Says Ex-agent
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15174
Canada-based Party Linked to Controversial Businessman
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=14852
The leader of the Canada-based United Democratic Party of Myanmar (UDP), Kyaw Myint, also known as Michael Hua Hu, is threatening legal action against The Irrawaddy and its editor, Aung Zaw, according to an interview carried by the Burmese service of the Voice of America (VOA) on Wednesday.
Kyaw Myint, who also goes by the name of Michael Hua Kyaw Myint Hu, told VOA that the basis of his legal action was an article published in The Irrawaddy on December 26, 2008. The article quoted a report in the now defunct magazine Asiaweek accusing a company run by Kyaw Myint of laundering money for the United Wa State Army (UWSA), which is heavily involved in the drug trade.
The company, Kyone Yeom, was chaired by Kyaw Myint in the 1990s.
Kyaw Myint told VOA he was never involved in laundering drug money. “I am preparing documents for a lawsuit,” he said. The action would be lodged in a court in Thailand.
The Irrawaddy article also quoted a report that appeared in Jane’s Intelligence Review in November 1998 saying Kyone Yeom had been blacklisted by the Burmese regime because Kyaw Myint, who claimed to be a deputy minister of finance for the UWSA, openly and brazenly flouted Burmese business laws and regulations.
Jane’s Intelligence Review had reported in March 1998 that on December 11, 1997, an article in the state-run vernacular press announced the black-listing of Kyone Yeom by the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development for “submitting false accounts.”
The Jane’s report added: “However, following meetings between Wa leaders and junta chief Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, the minister responsible, technocrat Brigadier General David Abel was abruptly shunted to an inactive post.”
At the time, Kyaw Myint was under surveillance by US agencies. A US State Department “International Narcotics Control Strategy Report” in 1998 said that in February 1998, the Burmese regime effectively suspended the Kyone Yeom for violating the Myanmar [Burma] Company Act, although the government did not indicate that this was a counternarcotics action.
“The company's chairman, a former high-level United Wa State Army officer, was reportedly later sentenced to 9 years imprisonment,” the report said.
Kyaw Myint told VOA that he was arrested for political reasons and charged under State Emergency Act 5-J. He later escaped from prison and travelled first to the US and then Canada, reportedly with the help of the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese military analyst and former member of the Burma Communist Party, said that Kyaw Mint “wasn’t prominent before the Wa separated from the Communist Party in 1989. After the Wa’s ceasefire with the junta, he became well-known for doing business for the Wa.”
Related stories:
UDP Leader Involved in Drugs, Money Laundering, Says Ex-agent
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15174
Canada-based Party Linked to Controversial Businessman
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=14852
Burma Talks Security with Laos amid Ceasefire Tensions
By LAWI WENG
A leading member of Burma’s ruling junta traveled to Laos on Sunday to discuss cooperation on security in the volatile Golden Triangle region, where tensions are mounting between the Burmese regime and ceasefire groups.
Gen Thura Shwe Mann, Burma’s army chief of staff and the third-ranking general in the country’s military regime, held talks with Lao PDR President Choummaly Sayasone and Minister of National Defense Lt-Gen Duangchay Phichit during his two-day visit, the Vientiane Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.
At the top of their agenda was the continued exchange of border security delegations to prevent the illegal passage of people, goods and drugs across the two countries’ common border, the newspaper reported.
Some analysts said military cooperation between Burma and Laos was aimed at tightening restrictions on the activities of Burma-based ethnic armed ceasefire groups, including the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS).
Mai Aik Phone, an observer of the Wa situation, said that the Burmese military is trying to limit the UWSA’s ability to conduct cross-border activities in the Golden Triangle. He added, however, that the regime would not have much success because the Wa have full control over their own territory.
Tensions have been growing between the Burmese junta and the UWSA since January, after Lt-Gen Ye Myint, chief of the regime’s Military Affairs Security, asked the ceasefire group to serve as a militia under the command of the Burmese army. UWSA leaders rejected the request.
According a source close to the UWSA, the group has started conducting military training for Wa civilians in order to prepare for the possibility of war with the Burmese military.
“They warned their civilians to store enough food for this summer because they were worried that there could be a war,” the source said. “Some Wa parents have sent their children to other townships to avoid joining the military training.”
Relations between the Burmese military and the NDAA-ESS have also been tense since last week, when the ceasefire group refused to pay a 30 percent tax to a Burmese military detachment based in Mong La, according to Saeng Juen, assistant editor of the Shan Herald Agency for News.
The Burmese military reinforced its troops in the area in response to the show of defiance by the NDAA-ESS, prompting fears of a full-scale clash among local residents.
A leading member of Burma’s ruling junta traveled to Laos on Sunday to discuss cooperation on security in the volatile Golden Triangle region, where tensions are mounting between the Burmese regime and ceasefire groups.
Gen Thura Shwe Mann, Burma’s army chief of staff and the third-ranking general in the country’s military regime, held talks with Lao PDR President Choummaly Sayasone and Minister of National Defense Lt-Gen Duangchay Phichit during his two-day visit, the Vientiane Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.
At the top of their agenda was the continued exchange of border security delegations to prevent the illegal passage of people, goods and drugs across the two countries’ common border, the newspaper reported.
Some analysts said military cooperation between Burma and Laos was aimed at tightening restrictions on the activities of Burma-based ethnic armed ceasefire groups, including the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS).
Mai Aik Phone, an observer of the Wa situation, said that the Burmese military is trying to limit the UWSA’s ability to conduct cross-border activities in the Golden Triangle. He added, however, that the regime would not have much success because the Wa have full control over their own territory.
Tensions have been growing between the Burmese junta and the UWSA since January, after Lt-Gen Ye Myint, chief of the regime’s Military Affairs Security, asked the ceasefire group to serve as a militia under the command of the Burmese army. UWSA leaders rejected the request.
According a source close to the UWSA, the group has started conducting military training for Wa civilians in order to prepare for the possibility of war with the Burmese military.
“They warned their civilians to store enough food for this summer because they were worried that there could be a war,” the source said. “Some Wa parents have sent their children to other townships to avoid joining the military training.”
Relations between the Burmese military and the NDAA-ESS have also been tense since last week, when the ceasefire group refused to pay a 30 percent tax to a Burmese military detachment based in Mong La, according to Saeng Juen, assistant editor of the Shan Herald Agency for News.
The Burmese military reinforced its troops in the area in response to the show of defiance by the NDAA-ESS, prompting fears of a full-scale clash among local residents.
Authorities Threaten the Free Funeral Services Society
By MIN LWIN
A Rangoon-based social welfare organization, the Free Funeral Services Society (FFSS), has been ordered by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) not to park hearses in Rangoon municipal areas.
The YCDC ordered the funeral services society to relocate from Rangoon to the outskirts of the city before February 28.
Kyaw Thu, a member of the FFSS, said the YCDC also ordered it not to park its hearses at Byamma Vihara Monastery in Thingangyun Township in Rangoon, and instead park in a government cemetery outside Rangoon. The FFSS offices are located at the monastery.
Kyaw Thu said 16 hearses carry more than 50 coffins to burial or cremation sites every day in Rangoon, the former capital of Burma.
The FFSS provides free burial or cremation services for people who can not afford to pay burial or cremation fees for family members.
The FFSS has asked the YCDC to provide an area where the society can build a garage to keep the hearses, said Kyaw Thu. The YCDC has yet to reply to the request.
Kyaw Thu told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, “If they don't respond, we will work as usual until they seize the hearses, punish us and stop the free funeral services.”
Residents in the area say the government has long worried about the influence and popularity the FSSS enjoys among the public. Founded in 2001, the FFSS is a nongovernmental, apolitical organization that relies on donations from inside and outside Burma. Most donations come from Burmese living in Japan, Taiwan, England and the United States.
Media coverage of the FFSS was banned by the military government after leading members of the FFSS were involved in the 2007 pro-democracy uprising.
“We will continue the free funeral services,” Kyaw Thu said. “It is not our own business. We will do for the people.”
A Rangoon-based social welfare organization, the Free Funeral Services Society (FFSS), has been ordered by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) not to park hearses in Rangoon municipal areas.
The YCDC ordered the funeral services society to relocate from Rangoon to the outskirts of the city before February 28.
Kyaw Thu, a member of the FFSS, said the YCDC also ordered it not to park its hearses at Byamma Vihara Monastery in Thingangyun Township in Rangoon, and instead park in a government cemetery outside Rangoon. The FFSS offices are located at the monastery.
Kyaw Thu said 16 hearses carry more than 50 coffins to burial or cremation sites every day in Rangoon, the former capital of Burma.
The FFSS provides free burial or cremation services for people who can not afford to pay burial or cremation fees for family members.
The FFSS has asked the YCDC to provide an area where the society can build a garage to keep the hearses, said Kyaw Thu. The YCDC has yet to reply to the request.
Kyaw Thu told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, “If they don't respond, we will work as usual until they seize the hearses, punish us and stop the free funeral services.”
Residents in the area say the government has long worried about the influence and popularity the FSSS enjoys among the public. Founded in 2001, the FFSS is a nongovernmental, apolitical organization that relies on donations from inside and outside Burma. Most donations come from Burmese living in Japan, Taiwan, England and the United States.
Media coverage of the FFSS was banned by the military government after leading members of the FFSS were involved in the 2007 pro-democracy uprising.
“We will continue the free funeral services,” Kyaw Thu said. “It is not our own business. We will do for the people.”
Asean Must Now Face Up to Burma Issues
By AUNG ZAW
Reports of Rohingya boatpeople fleeing from the Burma-Bangladesh border region and the fate awaiting many of them when Thailand pushed them back to sea have captured international newspaper headlines.
Their plight will now be discussed at bilateral, informal meetings at this week’s summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), according to Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan.
The Rohingya issue is a pressing one. Yet the question does arise: what about the hundreds of thousands of Burmese and ethnic people who have also been fleeing persecution and civil war in Burma? What about the refugees living along the border with Thailand and the internally displaced people?
Although they didn’t take to sea in open boats, they are nonetheless victims of Burmese regime brutality, particularly in Shan, Karen and Mon States.
Over the past two decades, local and international human rights groups have documented hundreds of cases of extrajudicial killing, rape, forced labor, extrajudicial killings and other abuses committed by the Burmese army.
Moreover, Burma has more than 2,000 political prisoners languishing in its jails. Economic migrants are fleeing the country every day. The country is in a mess.
The Rohingya issue is just the tip of the iceberg. Surin and Asean need to look at the root cause of the problem if they can only summon up the political will to search for a solution. The irony is whether it will be difficult to wake up some one who has been pretending to be asleep?
Debbie Stohard of the Alternative Asean Network on Burma has said Asean needs to wake up and address the Burma issue before it’s too late. Burma’s problems are urgent.
A discussion of the Rohingya question might provide the opening for Asean to tackle other immediate Burmese issues, according to Stohard.
Burmese regime leaders are not likely to agree to discuss the Rohingya issue, however, since they claim that people of this Muslim minority do not come from Burma. Again, Asean’s track record shows that the regional grouping has little relevance and effectiveness.
But Asean now has a charter and claims to be constructing a people-centered community. Critics of Asean remain doubtful, however, about the grouping’s commitment to human rights and its engagement with civil society groups.
Surin has said that Asean can’t avoid discussing human rights issues, although “not in the context of condemning any country.”
Although admitting that Burma has been “a very difficult issue for Asean,” Surin believes there have been some positive changes since Burma joined the regional body.
Critics disagree here with Surin, claiming that since Burma became a member of Asean in 1997 the regime there has been able to hide within the grouping.
Surin has defended the Asean principle of non-interference in member states' domestic affairs, describing it as "necessary," while saying "we wish we could do more" about Burma.
This is not enough. Action to tackle the Burma issue is long overdue. Asean won’t be taken seriously until and unless Surin and Asean governments begin to think about how to bring about change in Burma and assist the oppressed Burmese people.
Reports of Rohingya boatpeople fleeing from the Burma-Bangladesh border region and the fate awaiting many of them when Thailand pushed them back to sea have captured international newspaper headlines.
Their plight will now be discussed at bilateral, informal meetings at this week’s summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), according to Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan.
The Rohingya issue is a pressing one. Yet the question does arise: what about the hundreds of thousands of Burmese and ethnic people who have also been fleeing persecution and civil war in Burma? What about the refugees living along the border with Thailand and the internally displaced people?
Although they didn’t take to sea in open boats, they are nonetheless victims of Burmese regime brutality, particularly in Shan, Karen and Mon States.
Over the past two decades, local and international human rights groups have documented hundreds of cases of extrajudicial killing, rape, forced labor, extrajudicial killings and other abuses committed by the Burmese army.
Moreover, Burma has more than 2,000 political prisoners languishing in its jails. Economic migrants are fleeing the country every day. The country is in a mess.
The Rohingya issue is just the tip of the iceberg. Surin and Asean need to look at the root cause of the problem if they can only summon up the political will to search for a solution. The irony is whether it will be difficult to wake up some one who has been pretending to be asleep?
Debbie Stohard of the Alternative Asean Network on Burma has said Asean needs to wake up and address the Burma issue before it’s too late. Burma’s problems are urgent.
A discussion of the Rohingya question might provide the opening for Asean to tackle other immediate Burmese issues, according to Stohard.
Burmese regime leaders are not likely to agree to discuss the Rohingya issue, however, since they claim that people of this Muslim minority do not come from Burma. Again, Asean’s track record shows that the regional grouping has little relevance and effectiveness.
But Asean now has a charter and claims to be constructing a people-centered community. Critics of Asean remain doubtful, however, about the grouping’s commitment to human rights and its engagement with civil society groups.
Surin has said that Asean can’t avoid discussing human rights issues, although “not in the context of condemning any country.”
Although admitting that Burma has been “a very difficult issue for Asean,” Surin believes there have been some positive changes since Burma joined the regional body.
Critics disagree here with Surin, claiming that since Burma became a member of Asean in 1997 the regime there has been able to hide within the grouping.
Surin has defended the Asean principle of non-interference in member states' domestic affairs, describing it as "necessary," while saying "we wish we could do more" about Burma.
This is not enough. Action to tackle the Burma issue is long overdue. Asean won’t be taken seriously until and unless Surin and Asean governments begin to think about how to bring about change in Burma and assist the oppressed Burmese people.
KNU Colonel Released by Thai Army
By MIN LWIN
Col Ner Dah Mya, the son of the late Gen Bo Mya of the Karen National Union (KNU), has reportedly been released on bail by the Thai army, according to the London-based British Broadcasting Corporation Burmese service. He was arrested in January.
The BBC quoted a Thai army officer as saying that Col Ner Dah Mya was arrested and charged with possessing illegal weapons and transporting Burmese migrants to Thailand.
A senior KNU official confirmed Col Ner Dah Mya had been arrested along the Thai-Burmese border, where, the official said, he was supporting KNLA battalions in Burma.
Observers in Mae Sot in Tak Province said Thai authorities have increased pressure on leaders of the KNU and its armed wing, the KNLA.
The KNLA has been fighting the Burmese government since 1948. Its headquarters was overrun in 1995, and KNLA military activities moved closer to the Burmese-Thai border.
The KNU has continued to wage war against the Burmese military, mainly by forming small units and basing themselves in temporary jungle camps along the Thai-Burmese border.
Col Ner Dah Mya, the son of the late Gen Bo Mya of the Karen National Union (KNU), has reportedly been released on bail by the Thai army, according to the London-based British Broadcasting Corporation Burmese service. He was arrested in January.
The BBC quoted a Thai army officer as saying that Col Ner Dah Mya was arrested and charged with possessing illegal weapons and transporting Burmese migrants to Thailand.
A senior KNU official confirmed Col Ner Dah Mya had been arrested along the Thai-Burmese border, where, the official said, he was supporting KNLA battalions in Burma.
Observers in Mae Sot in Tak Province said Thai authorities have increased pressure on leaders of the KNU and its armed wing, the KNLA.
The KNLA has been fighting the Burmese government since 1948. Its headquarters was overrun in 1995, and KNLA military activities moved closer to the Burmese-Thai border.
The KNU has continued to wage war against the Burmese military, mainly by forming small units and basing themselves in temporary jungle camps along the Thai-Burmese border.
Italian Decapitated after Jumping from Thai Bridge
By JOCELYN GECKER / AP WRITER
BANGKOK — Authorities said Wednesday that they have identified the body of an Italian tourist who apparently decapitated himself by jumping off a bridge with a noose around his neck.
Billed as the case of the headless foreigner, the mystery of the dead man enthralled the Thai media in recent days.
Clues had trickled in since Sunday's gruesome discovery of the 52-year-old man's head hanging by a rope from Rama VIII bridge in what is believed to be a suicide, Thai and Italian officials said.
His headless body, clad in a white shirt and black trousers, was found floating nearby in Bangkok's Chao Phraya river and authorities confirmed a match.
Forensics experts determined the body showed no sign of assault and that the "force of gravity" appeared to have separated the body and head, said deputy police commissioner Jongrak Jutanont.
"We have no evidence that suggested it was a murder," Jongrak said.
The unusual death near Bangkok's main backpacker district instantly became a front-page story in Thai newspapers. Media speculated that the death resembled a Russian mob-style execution.
The Italian Embassy said their investigation corroborated the suicide theory.
"The first impression that we got—an Italian head attached by a rope to a bridge—we thought it was a mafia-type warning," said Andrea Vitalone, the embassy's police commissioner.
"Our analysis confirms that it is possible that it was a suicide. We are still investigating," he said.
The man was identified as Tosadori Maurizio of Verona who was visiting Bangkok, said Vitalone, adding that he had no criminal record in Italy but appeared to be in financial trouble.
A number of clues helped police determine the man was an Italian national, including clothing by the Italian brand Puma and a bag bearing the name of an Italian hotel, Jongrak said.
A Bangkok guesthouse filed a missing persons report about an Italian visitor, which led police to his room. They found photos of a man resembling the victim, Jongrak said. Forensics experts linked the identity by a distinctive mole on the head that was also visible in the photographs.
BANGKOK — Authorities said Wednesday that they have identified the body of an Italian tourist who apparently decapitated himself by jumping off a bridge with a noose around his neck.
Billed as the case of the headless foreigner, the mystery of the dead man enthralled the Thai media in recent days.
Clues had trickled in since Sunday's gruesome discovery of the 52-year-old man's head hanging by a rope from Rama VIII bridge in what is believed to be a suicide, Thai and Italian officials said.
His headless body, clad in a white shirt and black trousers, was found floating nearby in Bangkok's Chao Phraya river and authorities confirmed a match.
Forensics experts determined the body showed no sign of assault and that the "force of gravity" appeared to have separated the body and head, said deputy police commissioner Jongrak Jutanont.
"We have no evidence that suggested it was a murder," Jongrak said.
The unusual death near Bangkok's main backpacker district instantly became a front-page story in Thai newspapers. Media speculated that the death resembled a Russian mob-style execution.
The Italian Embassy said their investigation corroborated the suicide theory.
"The first impression that we got—an Italian head attached by a rope to a bridge—we thought it was a mafia-type warning," said Andrea Vitalone, the embassy's police commissioner.
"Our analysis confirms that it is possible that it was a suicide. We are still investigating," he said.
The man was identified as Tosadori Maurizio of Verona who was visiting Bangkok, said Vitalone, adding that he had no criminal record in Italy but appeared to be in financial trouble.
A number of clues helped police determine the man was an Italian national, including clothing by the Italian brand Puma and a bag bearing the name of an Italian hotel, Jongrak said.
A Bangkok guesthouse filed a missing persons report about an Italian visitor, which led police to his room. They found photos of a man resembling the victim, Jongrak said. Forensics experts linked the identity by a distinctive mole on the head that was also visible in the photographs.
Asean Financial Gloom to Trump Rights Issues
By JOCELYN GECKER/ AP WRITER
BANGKOK — The prickly issue of human rights in Burma will take a back seat to the global financial meltdown as leaders of cash-strapped Southeast Asian countries meet this weekend for an annual summit.
Ducking the spotlight will be a relief for Burma's military junta, which has been busy locking up dissidents and has ignored UN demands to free its highest-profile political prisoner, the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
For the rest of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the financial crisis offers an opportunity to avoid the perennial dilemma of confronting its most troublesome member and other sensitive topics.
Thailand, which currently holds Asean's rotating chairmanship and is hosting the summit, bills the meeting as a turning point for the bloc that has long been criticized as a talk shop that forges agreements by consensus and steers away from confrontation.
It is the first time leaders will meet since the group signed a landmark charter in December. The document made Asean a legal entity and moves it a step closer toward the goal of establishing a single market by 2015 and becoming a European Union-like community.
"This summit will mark a new chapter for Asean," Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said recently. "We want to make Asean a more rule-based and effective organization according to the charter."
But the run-up to the summit has showcased some of the disarray in Asean, which groups more than 500 million people and includes fledgling democracies, a monarchy, a military dictatorship and two communist regimes.
Originally scheduled for December in Bangkok, the summit was postponed because of political upheaval in Thailand. Abhisit, who came to power that month on the back of protests, shifted the venue to the beach resort Hua Hin, 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of the capital, to escape lingering protests in Bangkok.
Senior officials start meeting on February 26 ahead of the weekend leaders' summit. Asean's 10 members include Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
In recent years, Asean summits have been followed by the so-called East Asia Summit, which includes the leaders of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. But Beijing couldn't make the new Feb meeting, forcing Thailand to call a second summit in April.
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has decried the back-to-back meetings as "a waste of time," saying the absence this weekend of China, Japan and South Korea means Asean can't lobby Asia's economic powers for financial aid. The sharp-tongued Hun Sen has been particularly critical of Thailand since a border dispute last year sparked deadly clashes and brief concerns of war between the neighbors.
Philippine diplomats also say their interest in the summit has "really waned" without the three East Asian powers attending.
Southeast Asian countries are struggling to revive their export-driven economies amid rising employment and fears of recession. The economies of Thailand and Singapore have already shrunk while Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are grappling with rapidly slowing growth.
Asian finance ministers agreed last weekend to form a $120 billion pool of foreign-exchange reserves to protect falling currencies. Asean members will provide 20% of funding, with 80% from China, Japan and South Korea.
Among the key documents to be signed at the meeting are a free trade agreement with Australia and New Zealand and a roadmap for turning Asean into an EU-style bloc by 2015, as outlined by the new charter.
One of the charter's key pledges is to set up a regional human rights body, though critics doubt that members like Burma would allow it to have much clout.
Meanwhile, specific human rights issues—including the plight of the stateless Rohingya boat people who flee Burma and have recently washed up on the shores of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia—will be discussed on the sidelines but not as part of the summit's formal agenda.
Burma has come under vocal criticism by the United Nations for jailing hundreds of dissidents ahead of general elections promised for 2010—the first in 20 years. The junta holds more than 2,100 political detainees, including pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi. The 63-year-old Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention without trial.
But Asean has no intention of formally scolding Burma, Vitavas Srivihok, the director-general the Thai Foreign Ministry's Asean department told reporters earlier this week.
"We don't have any specific meetings regarding Myanmar (Burma) because it is sensitive," he said, "and we don't want to single out any country."
BANGKOK — The prickly issue of human rights in Burma will take a back seat to the global financial meltdown as leaders of cash-strapped Southeast Asian countries meet this weekend for an annual summit.
Ducking the spotlight will be a relief for Burma's military junta, which has been busy locking up dissidents and has ignored UN demands to free its highest-profile political prisoner, the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
For the rest of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the financial crisis offers an opportunity to avoid the perennial dilemma of confronting its most troublesome member and other sensitive topics.
Thailand, which currently holds Asean's rotating chairmanship and is hosting the summit, bills the meeting as a turning point for the bloc that has long been criticized as a talk shop that forges agreements by consensus and steers away from confrontation.
It is the first time leaders will meet since the group signed a landmark charter in December. The document made Asean a legal entity and moves it a step closer toward the goal of establishing a single market by 2015 and becoming a European Union-like community.
"This summit will mark a new chapter for Asean," Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said recently. "We want to make Asean a more rule-based and effective organization according to the charter."
But the run-up to the summit has showcased some of the disarray in Asean, which groups more than 500 million people and includes fledgling democracies, a monarchy, a military dictatorship and two communist regimes.
Originally scheduled for December in Bangkok, the summit was postponed because of political upheaval in Thailand. Abhisit, who came to power that month on the back of protests, shifted the venue to the beach resort Hua Hin, 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of the capital, to escape lingering protests in Bangkok.
Senior officials start meeting on February 26 ahead of the weekend leaders' summit. Asean's 10 members include Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
In recent years, Asean summits have been followed by the so-called East Asia Summit, which includes the leaders of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. But Beijing couldn't make the new Feb meeting, forcing Thailand to call a second summit in April.
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has decried the back-to-back meetings as "a waste of time," saying the absence this weekend of China, Japan and South Korea means Asean can't lobby Asia's economic powers for financial aid. The sharp-tongued Hun Sen has been particularly critical of Thailand since a border dispute last year sparked deadly clashes and brief concerns of war between the neighbors.
Philippine diplomats also say their interest in the summit has "really waned" without the three East Asian powers attending.
Southeast Asian countries are struggling to revive their export-driven economies amid rising employment and fears of recession. The economies of Thailand and Singapore have already shrunk while Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are grappling with rapidly slowing growth.
Asian finance ministers agreed last weekend to form a $120 billion pool of foreign-exchange reserves to protect falling currencies. Asean members will provide 20% of funding, with 80% from China, Japan and South Korea.
Among the key documents to be signed at the meeting are a free trade agreement with Australia and New Zealand and a roadmap for turning Asean into an EU-style bloc by 2015, as outlined by the new charter.
One of the charter's key pledges is to set up a regional human rights body, though critics doubt that members like Burma would allow it to have much clout.
Meanwhile, specific human rights issues—including the plight of the stateless Rohingya boat people who flee Burma and have recently washed up on the shores of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia—will be discussed on the sidelines but not as part of the summit's formal agenda.
Burma has come under vocal criticism by the United Nations for jailing hundreds of dissidents ahead of general elections promised for 2010—the first in 20 years. The junta holds more than 2,100 political detainees, including pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi. The 63-year-old Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention without trial.
But Asean has no intention of formally scolding Burma, Vitavas Srivihok, the director-general the Thai Foreign Ministry's Asean department told reporters earlier this week.
"We don't have any specific meetings regarding Myanmar (Burma) because it is sensitive," he said, "and we don't want to single out any country."
February 24, 2009
Gas Discovery Reported Near Rangoon
By MIN LWIN
The Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) has located an inland gas deposit in Dagon Myothit Eastern Township near Rangoon, according to residents in the exploration area.
MOGE started drilling a test well on February 12 on land owned by a local farmer, Than Tun, near Laydaungkan Village, said a local farmer.
“The exploration group came into the bean fields to conduct seismic surveys in search of gas,” he said. He said drilling tests proved successful on February 14.
Another farmer from Laydaungkan Village said, “They destroyed the crops planted by Than Tun without compensation.” Than Tun was hospitalized because of stress associated with the drilling, he said.
MOGE, which operates under the Ministry of Energy, would not respond to queries from The Irrawaddy about the reported gas discovery. MOGE is the government’s exploration and production department for oil and gas in Burma.
At least 21 multinational oil and gas companies from China, Singapore, South Korea, India, Russia, Malaysia, Thailand, the United States, France, Japan and Australia have long-term contracts with MOGE. The Burmese military government began to allow foreign investments in energy production in 1988.
The military government has signed gas and oil contracts with multinationals such as Total of France; CNOOC and SNPC of China; Daewoo of South Korea; onGC of India; Danford Equities of Australia and PTTEP of Thailand.
According to the Rangoon-based Myanmar Times weekly journal, the Burmese energy sector, including hydropower, oil and gas, comprises 65 percent of Foreign Direct Investment, which is made up of 12 economic sectors that include power, energy, mining, manufacturing, hotels and tourism, livestock and fisheries, transportation and telecommunications.
The Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) has located an inland gas deposit in Dagon Myothit Eastern Township near Rangoon, according to residents in the exploration area.
MOGE started drilling a test well on February 12 on land owned by a local farmer, Than Tun, near Laydaungkan Village, said a local farmer.
“The exploration group came into the bean fields to conduct seismic surveys in search of gas,” he said. He said drilling tests proved successful on February 14.
Another farmer from Laydaungkan Village said, “They destroyed the crops planted by Than Tun without compensation.” Than Tun was hospitalized because of stress associated with the drilling, he said.
MOGE, which operates under the Ministry of Energy, would not respond to queries from The Irrawaddy about the reported gas discovery. MOGE is the government’s exploration and production department for oil and gas in Burma.
At least 21 multinational oil and gas companies from China, Singapore, South Korea, India, Russia, Malaysia, Thailand, the United States, France, Japan and Australia have long-term contracts with MOGE. The Burmese military government began to allow foreign investments in energy production in 1988.
The military government has signed gas and oil contracts with multinationals such as Total of France; CNOOC and SNPC of China; Daewoo of South Korea; onGC of India; Danford Equities of Australia and PTTEP of Thailand.
According to the Rangoon-based Myanmar Times weekly journal, the Burmese energy sector, including hydropower, oil and gas, comprises 65 percent of Foreign Direct Investment, which is made up of 12 economic sectors that include power, energy, mining, manufacturing, hotels and tourism, livestock and fisheries, transportation and telecommunications.
Lack of Proper Equipment Hampers Burma’s Firefighters
By THE IRRAWADDY
Lack of money and effective equipment is hampering Burmese local authorities tackle an increasing number of dry season fires.
The official government newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported a total of 96 serious fires had broken out in Burma in January.
Fires so far in February include a blaze on Tuesday that destroyed a plastics factory in Rangoon’s Dawbon Township and a disastrous one on February 22 that swept through Kyaut Oe village in Sagaing Division, destroying 85 homes. The 649 villagers left homeless by the blaze are being sheltered at the local monastery.
A forest fire that began last week in a northeastern border region of Burma has spread into neighboring Chinese Yunnan Province, according to China's official Xinhua news agency. More than 200 hectares were ablaze, the agency said.
More than 3,000 soldiers, armed police and villagers were marshaled to fight the fire in the border county of Tengchong. The firefighters dug a 10,000-meter ditch on Sunday to keep the blaze from spreading, but a combination of strong gales, dry weather and mountainous terrain made their work difficult, Xinhua said.
Of the 96 serious fires registered in January, 74 were caused by kitchen accidents and negligence, 14 by electrical short circuits and six by arson. There was one forest fire.
The New Light of Myanmar report did not say whether there had been casualties.
In 2008, more than 5,000 houses, 15 factories and workshops and 30 warehouses were destroyed by fire, according to official statistics. More than 17,000 people were made homeless.
Firefighters in Burma are hampered by a lack of such essential equipment as extension ladders and fireproof clothing, according to fire department officials.
The country has 217 fire stations. There are an additional 328 auxiliary fire stations, which rely on donations from local communities. “If you want the firemen to put out the fire, you have to give them money,” said one source.
Lack of money and effective equipment is hampering Burmese local authorities tackle an increasing number of dry season fires.
The official government newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported a total of 96 serious fires had broken out in Burma in January.
Fires so far in February include a blaze on Tuesday that destroyed a plastics factory in Rangoon’s Dawbon Township and a disastrous one on February 22 that swept through Kyaut Oe village in Sagaing Division, destroying 85 homes. The 649 villagers left homeless by the blaze are being sheltered at the local monastery.
A forest fire that began last week in a northeastern border region of Burma has spread into neighboring Chinese Yunnan Province, according to China's official Xinhua news agency. More than 200 hectares were ablaze, the agency said.
More than 3,000 soldiers, armed police and villagers were marshaled to fight the fire in the border county of Tengchong. The firefighters dug a 10,000-meter ditch on Sunday to keep the blaze from spreading, but a combination of strong gales, dry weather and mountainous terrain made their work difficult, Xinhua said.
Of the 96 serious fires registered in January, 74 were caused by kitchen accidents and negligence, 14 by electrical short circuits and six by arson. There was one forest fire.
The New Light of Myanmar report did not say whether there had been casualties.
In 2008, more than 5,000 houses, 15 factories and workshops and 30 warehouses were destroyed by fire, according to official statistics. More than 17,000 people were made homeless.
Firefighters in Burma are hampered by a lack of such essential equipment as extension ladders and fireproof clothing, according to fire department officials.
The country has 217 fire stations. There are an additional 328 auxiliary fire stations, which rely on donations from local communities. “If you want the firemen to put out the fire, you have to give them money,” said one source.
Burmese Prisoner Release a ‘Positive Step’: Japan
By WAI MOE
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the release of 6,313 prisoners in Burma over the weekend as “a positive step,” although it added that it would “take some time to get the whole picture of the release.”
In a brief statement in English, the ministry said that Tokyo expects the Burmese junta “to further promote its movement of releasing political prisoners in the future and promote the democratization process in a way that involves all parties concerned.”
A slightly longer version of the statement in Japanese added that, according to Burma’s state-run media, the prisoners were released for humanitarian reasons and to enable them “to participate in fair elections to be held in 2010.”
The Japanese-language version also included information about the party affiliation or other political involvement of 13 prisoners of conscience who were freed as part of the amnesty.
According to the latest figures from the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), so far 24 of the released detainees have been identified as political prisoners.
A Japanese researcher, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that it was significant that the Japanese government quoted Burma’s state-run media without any qualification.
Tokyo is widely seen as less critical of the Burmese regime than most Western governments.
Last week, Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), reacted angrily to a joint statement by Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone and UN Special Envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari that appeared to endorse the Burmese junta’s plans for an election in 2010.
“Even though there are few positive moves by the Myanmar [Burmese] government, it’s a huge step for them to have announced that they would hold a general election in 2010, compared with two past decades of silence about its democratization process,” Nakasone said in the statement.
“If they take favorable action, the international community should react in a manner that encourages more positive actions,” Nakasone added.
The NLD said that the statement departed from resolutions by the UN General Assembly which honor the result of a 1990 election that the NLD won by a landslide. The NLD captured more than 80 percent of seats, but the ruling junta refused to respect its victory.
Japan has been one of Burma’s main aid donors for many years. By 2006, Burma’s debt to Japan had reached approximately US $2.5 billion.
Japan temporarily cut aid after a brutal attack by junta-backed thugs on pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters in May 2003. It also suspended aid following a crackdown on demonstrators in September 2007, but resumed loans after just two months.
Unlike the US and other major developed nations, Japan has sought to promote democratization in Burma through engagement and dialogue with the regime, according to Jürgen Haacke, an expert in international relations.
“Given its less vocal and punitive position regarding Myanmar, Tokyo has thus, in theory, represented for the military an easier target [for aid requests] than its Western counterparts,” Haacke writes in his paper, “Myanmar's Foreign Policy: Domestic Influences and International Implications.”
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the release of 6,313 prisoners in Burma over the weekend as “a positive step,” although it added that it would “take some time to get the whole picture of the release.”
In a brief statement in English, the ministry said that Tokyo expects the Burmese junta “to further promote its movement of releasing political prisoners in the future and promote the democratization process in a way that involves all parties concerned.”
A slightly longer version of the statement in Japanese added that, according to Burma’s state-run media, the prisoners were released for humanitarian reasons and to enable them “to participate in fair elections to be held in 2010.”
The Japanese-language version also included information about the party affiliation or other political involvement of 13 prisoners of conscience who were freed as part of the amnesty.
According to the latest figures from the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), so far 24 of the released detainees have been identified as political prisoners.
A Japanese researcher, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that it was significant that the Japanese government quoted Burma’s state-run media without any qualification.
Tokyo is widely seen as less critical of the Burmese regime than most Western governments.
Last week, Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), reacted angrily to a joint statement by Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone and UN Special Envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari that appeared to endorse the Burmese junta’s plans for an election in 2010.
“Even though there are few positive moves by the Myanmar [Burmese] government, it’s a huge step for them to have announced that they would hold a general election in 2010, compared with two past decades of silence about its democratization process,” Nakasone said in the statement.
“If they take favorable action, the international community should react in a manner that encourages more positive actions,” Nakasone added.
The NLD said that the statement departed from resolutions by the UN General Assembly which honor the result of a 1990 election that the NLD won by a landslide. The NLD captured more than 80 percent of seats, but the ruling junta refused to respect its victory.
Japan has been one of Burma’s main aid donors for many years. By 2006, Burma’s debt to Japan had reached approximately US $2.5 billion.
Japan temporarily cut aid after a brutal attack by junta-backed thugs on pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters in May 2003. It also suspended aid following a crackdown on demonstrators in September 2007, but resumed loans after just two months.
Unlike the US and other major developed nations, Japan has sought to promote democratization in Burma through engagement and dialogue with the regime, according to Jürgen Haacke, an expert in international relations.
“Given its less vocal and punitive position regarding Myanmar, Tokyo has thus, in theory, represented for the military an easier target [for aid requests] than its Western counterparts,” Haacke writes in his paper, “Myanmar's Foreign Policy: Domestic Influences and International Implications.”
Thai Anti-govt Group Stages Protest
By AMBIKA AHUJA / AP WRITER
BANGKOK — Thousands of protesters surrounded the prime minister's office Tuesday demanding Thailand's Parliament be dissolved and new elections held.
The rally by demonstrators allied with exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra came three days before Thailand is to host the annual summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. About 7,000 people attended, police said.
One of the protest leaders, Jakrapob Penkair, said the demonstration was being staged this week to show Thailand's Southeast Asian neighbors that the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had no right to rule.
Abhisit became prime minister in December after a court ruling that ousted a government of Thaksin's allies—but only after the former leader's opponents spent much of last year demonstrating in the capital, occupying the prime minister's offices for three months and Bangkok's two airports for a week.
Abhisit's Democrat Party, which came in second in a December 2007 general election, cobbled together a ruling coalition from defecting supporters of the previous administration.
"This government is full of robbers. We did not vote for them. The majority of this country did not vote for them but somehow they are in power because the elite want them to be," said Jatuporn Phromphan, another protest leader, on top of a pickup truck amid loud cheers.
Abhisit's government held its weekly Cabinet meeting in Hua Hin, 90 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Bangkok, instead of its usual venue at Government House, at which some 3,000 police in riot gear were deployed. Two-thousand army troops were on standby in the area, said police Lt-Gen Worapong Chiewpreecha.
"We will not use violence," Abhisit told reporters. "I am not concerned. I am ready to walk into (the Government House) as long as there are no weapons."
Jakrapob said the demonstrators would camp out there for at least two days to press their demands but would not break in as their political rivals had done.
The demonstrators also demanded the resignation of Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who was a vocal supporter of the anti-Thaksin demonstrators who besieged the airports last year.
The Tuesday protest was organized by the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship — commonly known as the "red shirts" because of their attire, which contrasts with the yellow shirts worn by their rivals, the self-styled People's Alliance for Democracy. The DAAD is an eclectic mix of Thaksin loyalists, rural farmers and laborers, all of whom benefited from Thaksin's policies that reached out to the poor.
Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon, remains popular among the rural majority for introducing social welfare plans, including virtually free medical care. He now lives in self-imposed exile after being forced from office in a 2006 military coup for alleged corruption and abuse of power.
BANGKOK — Thousands of protesters surrounded the prime minister's office Tuesday demanding Thailand's Parliament be dissolved and new elections held.
The rally by demonstrators allied with exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra came three days before Thailand is to host the annual summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. About 7,000 people attended, police said.
One of the protest leaders, Jakrapob Penkair, said the demonstration was being staged this week to show Thailand's Southeast Asian neighbors that the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had no right to rule.
Abhisit became prime minister in December after a court ruling that ousted a government of Thaksin's allies—but only after the former leader's opponents spent much of last year demonstrating in the capital, occupying the prime minister's offices for three months and Bangkok's two airports for a week.
Abhisit's Democrat Party, which came in second in a December 2007 general election, cobbled together a ruling coalition from defecting supporters of the previous administration.
"This government is full of robbers. We did not vote for them. The majority of this country did not vote for them but somehow they are in power because the elite want them to be," said Jatuporn Phromphan, another protest leader, on top of a pickup truck amid loud cheers.
Abhisit's government held its weekly Cabinet meeting in Hua Hin, 90 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Bangkok, instead of its usual venue at Government House, at which some 3,000 police in riot gear were deployed. Two-thousand army troops were on standby in the area, said police Lt-Gen Worapong Chiewpreecha.
"We will not use violence," Abhisit told reporters. "I am not concerned. I am ready to walk into (the Government House) as long as there are no weapons."
Jakrapob said the demonstrators would camp out there for at least two days to press their demands but would not break in as their political rivals had done.
The demonstrators also demanded the resignation of Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who was a vocal supporter of the anti-Thaksin demonstrators who besieged the airports last year.
The Tuesday protest was organized by the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship — commonly known as the "red shirts" because of their attire, which contrasts with the yellow shirts worn by their rivals, the self-styled People's Alliance for Democracy. The DAAD is an eclectic mix of Thaksin loyalists, rural farmers and laborers, all of whom benefited from Thaksin's policies that reached out to the poor.
Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon, remains popular among the rural majority for introducing social welfare plans, including virtually free medical care. He now lives in self-imposed exile after being forced from office in a 2006 military coup for alleged corruption and abuse of power.
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