By ALEX KENNEDY / AP WRITER
SINGAPORE — Oil prices fell to 17-month lows below $63 a barrel Monday in Asia as investors brushed off OPEC's output cut, focusing instead on growing evidence of a severe global economic slowdown that would undermine crude demand.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery declined $1.80 to $62.35 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore, the lowest since May 2007.
On Friday—even after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced a 1.5 million barrel-a-day cut—oil fell $3.69 to settle at $64.15. Prices have plunged 57 percent from a record $147.27 on July 11.
"The mood is fairly negative reflecting worry about the international economic outlook," said David Moore, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. "If there is further weak economic data in the US or Europe, prices could come under more downward pressure."
Iran's OPEC governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi said Sunday a reduction in production "will be considered" at the group's next meeting in Algiers in December—a meeting that might even be held early if necessary.
"I thought the OPEC cut was a fairly decisive act, but concerns of recession in the major economies remain dominant," Moore said. "OPEC's cut does take a step toward tightening the market."
Investors have been paying close attention to signs that a slowing economy and higher gasoline prices earlier this year have hurt crude demand in the US, the world's largest oil consumer.
The US Department of Transportation said Friday that Americans drove 5.6 percent less, or 15 billion fewer miles (24 billion fewer kilometers), in August compared with same month a year ago—the biggest single monthly decline since the data was first collected regularly in 1942.
Oil investors have also been eyeing stock markets to gauge sentiment on global economic health. Nearly all Asian stock indexes fell Monday, led by Japan, Hong Kong and the Philippines. South Korean shares rebounded slightly after plummeting last week.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 3.6 percent Friday.
"If we're looking a severe economic downturn, it's hard to say what the bottom of any commodity price will be," Moore said.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures fell 0.45 cent to $1.47 a gallon, while heating oil fell 0.28 cent to $1.94 a gallon. Natural gas for November delivery fell 19.6 cents to $6.04 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, November Brent crude was down 60 cents to $61.45 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
October 27, 2008
Online Poll Shows Obama a Hit in China
By ANTOANETA BEZLOVA / IPS WRITER
BEIJING — Beijing has a tradition of sound relations with Republican presidents of the United States, but the latest China poll shows popular opinion bucking the trend with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama becoming an "overwhelming hit" with ordinary Chinese.
The results of the online poll conducted on the China Daily website by the US embassy here showed Obama enjoying a much greater lead over his Republican rival, John McCain, with the support of 75 percent of Chinese polled.
"Perhaps his age, energy and even complexion, which signify the U.S. dream, are more appealing to the Chinese," Song Zhiyuan, who analysed the survey, told the ‘China Daily’.
Rebecca Zhu, a 29-year-old bank employee, agreed. "No Chinese leader is that young," she said. "Obama is attractive because he is hip and unconventional. He has even used e-mails to advance his campaign."
The media has been awash with commentaries predicting a new, more sensitive America, vastly different from the country led by George W Bush, should Obama win. The popular notion in China that the US is out to impose its Western ideals on the world would take a hit with the election of a man of African descent.
"Many think that because of his origins Obama would be prone to considering other nations’ concerns better than McCain," says Shi Yinhong, an expert on international relations at China’s Renmin University. "But for China the most important factor is that he might be more susceptible to our concerns regarding Taiwan."
McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, has adopted a tough stance on national security, promising to create "a strong military in a dangerous world". His pledge to commit more troops to Iraq has not been well received in Beijing.
China has been most unhappy with US arms sales to Taiwan. While John McCain and Obama have both endorsed the US defence department's plan to sell 6.46 billion US dollars worth of weapons to Taiwan, McCain has also said that the administration should grant Taiwan's request for submarines and F-16 fighter jets.
The thorny issue of Taiwan aside, Beijing is comfortable in its knowledge that no matter which presidential candidate wins, bilateral ties are likely to deepen over the next four years. A victory for McCain would have offered a more predictable scenario for China—accustomed to dealing with Republican presidents.
George W Bush—who made securing freedom for people under tyrannical regimes the core of his agenda in his second term of office—managed to achieve strikingly warm relations with China, which he once openly branded a "strategic competitor".
That continued a long history of ‘realpolitik’ bilateral ties between communist leaders in Beijing and Republican presidents, initiated by Richard Nixon’s historic visit to Mao’s China in 1972. In 1984, Ronald Reagan went to China too, his first visit to a communist country in the middle of the Cold War waged against the former Soviet Union.
George Bush, father of the incumbent president and a lifelong Sinophile, spent more than a year in China before becoming president. He was instrumental, during his presidency, for granting preferential trade status to China, and that, in the aftermath of the Tiananmen massacre.
"It is not that China ‘loves’ Republicans more,’’ says Prof. Guo Xiangang at the China Institute of International Studies that functions under the foreign ministry. "It is more about having a common goal that binds us. Nixon and Reagan used China as a chip to counter the threat of the Soviet Union. Bush needs China’s help in his fight against terrorism."
Beijing has now got used to the reality of harsh anti-authoritarian rhetoric during US presidential campaigns, which quickly gives way to more pragmatic engagements once the elected candidate is in office. "Our bilateral ties are now above the campaign rhetoric," says Guo.
The most memorable example of such about-face concerns former US Democratic president Bill Clinton famously denouncing Bush for "coddling aging rulers with undisguised contempt for democracy, for human rights," and then, once elected, deciding that using trade policy to leverage human rights was counterproductive.
After his 1998 visit to China, Clinton went on to become one of the most popular US presidents among Chinese people—a household name remembered for his outgoing demeanor and political charisma.
But Clinton’s celebrity status in China now seems to be challenged by Obama’s sway among young Chinese people.
"It simply shows how much young Chinese people follow popular opinion in the US," says Prof Shi. "Two months ago, the same poll would have come out with a different result. Now, the financial crisis has changed everything. The McCain camp is on the losing side."
However, the choice is not as clear cut as it first appears. Obama’s criticism of China’s trade practices and his demand that China "play by the international rules" have irked the Chinese leadership, which fears regular admonishments over its human rights records from a Democratic president.
Obama has threatened to impose trade sanctions due to concerns over the yawning trade surplus, currency manipulation and intellectual property rights violations.
BEIJING — Beijing has a tradition of sound relations with Republican presidents of the United States, but the latest China poll shows popular opinion bucking the trend with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama becoming an "overwhelming hit" with ordinary Chinese.
The results of the online poll conducted on the China Daily website by the US embassy here showed Obama enjoying a much greater lead over his Republican rival, John McCain, with the support of 75 percent of Chinese polled.
"Perhaps his age, energy and even complexion, which signify the U.S. dream, are more appealing to the Chinese," Song Zhiyuan, who analysed the survey, told the ‘China Daily’.
Rebecca Zhu, a 29-year-old bank employee, agreed. "No Chinese leader is that young," she said. "Obama is attractive because he is hip and unconventional. He has even used e-mails to advance his campaign."
The media has been awash with commentaries predicting a new, more sensitive America, vastly different from the country led by George W Bush, should Obama win. The popular notion in China that the US is out to impose its Western ideals on the world would take a hit with the election of a man of African descent.
"Many think that because of his origins Obama would be prone to considering other nations’ concerns better than McCain," says Shi Yinhong, an expert on international relations at China’s Renmin University. "But for China the most important factor is that he might be more susceptible to our concerns regarding Taiwan."
McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, has adopted a tough stance on national security, promising to create "a strong military in a dangerous world". His pledge to commit more troops to Iraq has not been well received in Beijing.
China has been most unhappy with US arms sales to Taiwan. While John McCain and Obama have both endorsed the US defence department's plan to sell 6.46 billion US dollars worth of weapons to Taiwan, McCain has also said that the administration should grant Taiwan's request for submarines and F-16 fighter jets.
The thorny issue of Taiwan aside, Beijing is comfortable in its knowledge that no matter which presidential candidate wins, bilateral ties are likely to deepen over the next four years. A victory for McCain would have offered a more predictable scenario for China—accustomed to dealing with Republican presidents.
George W Bush—who made securing freedom for people under tyrannical regimes the core of his agenda in his second term of office—managed to achieve strikingly warm relations with China, which he once openly branded a "strategic competitor".
That continued a long history of ‘realpolitik’ bilateral ties between communist leaders in Beijing and Republican presidents, initiated by Richard Nixon’s historic visit to Mao’s China in 1972. In 1984, Ronald Reagan went to China too, his first visit to a communist country in the middle of the Cold War waged against the former Soviet Union.
George Bush, father of the incumbent president and a lifelong Sinophile, spent more than a year in China before becoming president. He was instrumental, during his presidency, for granting preferential trade status to China, and that, in the aftermath of the Tiananmen massacre.
"It is not that China ‘loves’ Republicans more,’’ says Prof. Guo Xiangang at the China Institute of International Studies that functions under the foreign ministry. "It is more about having a common goal that binds us. Nixon and Reagan used China as a chip to counter the threat of the Soviet Union. Bush needs China’s help in his fight against terrorism."
Beijing has now got used to the reality of harsh anti-authoritarian rhetoric during US presidential campaigns, which quickly gives way to more pragmatic engagements once the elected candidate is in office. "Our bilateral ties are now above the campaign rhetoric," says Guo.
The most memorable example of such about-face concerns former US Democratic president Bill Clinton famously denouncing Bush for "coddling aging rulers with undisguised contempt for democracy, for human rights," and then, once elected, deciding that using trade policy to leverage human rights was counterproductive.
After his 1998 visit to China, Clinton went on to become one of the most popular US presidents among Chinese people—a household name remembered for his outgoing demeanor and political charisma.
But Clinton’s celebrity status in China now seems to be challenged by Obama’s sway among young Chinese people.
"It simply shows how much young Chinese people follow popular opinion in the US," says Prof Shi. "Two months ago, the same poll would have come out with a different result. Now, the financial crisis has changed everything. The McCain camp is on the losing side."
However, the choice is not as clear cut as it first appears. Obama’s criticism of China’s trade practices and his demand that China "play by the international rules" have irked the Chinese leadership, which fears regular admonishments over its human rights records from a Democratic president.
Obama has threatened to impose trade sanctions due to concerns over the yawning trade surplus, currency manipulation and intellectual property rights violations.
October 24, 2008
‘Humanitarian Space’ Still on the Agenda
By THE IRRAWADDY
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) called this week on the international community to build on relations with Burma’s military regime in the wake of coordinated efforts made following the Cyclone Nargis disaster.
"The massive devastation caused by cyclone Nargis has prompted a period of unprecedented cooperation between the government and international humanitarian agencies to deliver emergency aid to the survivors," the ICG said in a report titled ‘Burma/Myanmar after Nargis: Time to Normalise Aid Relations.’ The report urged the international community to "seize this opportunity to reverse longstanding, counterproductive aid policies."
In the meantime, with the support of regime apologists and business circles, some so-called experts have naively come to believe that a “space” would be opened up following the 2010 election and the enactment of provisions of the constitution.
It’s still far from clear, however, whether these expectations can be met.
Instead, because of the junta’s mishandling and mismanagement, there is little hope of a dramatic increase in the amount of aid. UN and NGO assistance, for instance, will run out at the end of April 2009.
Burma's political stakeholders, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, believe that the release of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners is the key to an improved, all-inclusive, substantive and time-bound dialogue as a turning point in the country's political development. “There is no alternative to dialogue to ensure that all stakeholders can contribute to the future of their country,” Ban said.
It should be noted that junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe announced a referendum on a new constitution and plans for a general election in 2010 after coming under international and regional pressure because of the regime’s brutal crackdown on last September’s demonstrations.
The "humanitarian space"—or what the ICG calls "unprecedented cooperation" between the Burmese junta and the international community—opened up in the Irrawaddy delta because of international and exiled Burmese media pressure on international governments and the UN to act to save the victims of Cyclone Nargis.
In the absence of any significant achievement, the ICG called for more comprehensive engagement with the Burmese regime rather than pressure and sanctions. It furthermore called on Western governments to "lift political restrictions on aid."
The Burmese people are pawns in the hands of the junta led by Than Shwe. Burma is a closed society strictly controlled by the military authorities, and the balance of power is still heavily weighted in favor of the army. There also is still a lack of willpower within the military towards political and economic reform.
So aid sent directly to the Burmese junta must be subject to transparency and accountability. If this is not assured it would be a big insult to those Burmese who have sacrificed their entire lives for the betterment of their homeland.
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) called this week on the international community to build on relations with Burma’s military regime in the wake of coordinated efforts made following the Cyclone Nargis disaster.
"The massive devastation caused by cyclone Nargis has prompted a period of unprecedented cooperation between the government and international humanitarian agencies to deliver emergency aid to the survivors," the ICG said in a report titled ‘Burma/Myanmar after Nargis: Time to Normalise Aid Relations.’ The report urged the international community to "seize this opportunity to reverse longstanding, counterproductive aid policies."
In the meantime, with the support of regime apologists and business circles, some so-called experts have naively come to believe that a “space” would be opened up following the 2010 election and the enactment of provisions of the constitution.
It’s still far from clear, however, whether these expectations can be met.
Instead, because of the junta’s mishandling and mismanagement, there is little hope of a dramatic increase in the amount of aid. UN and NGO assistance, for instance, will run out at the end of April 2009.
Burma's political stakeholders, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, believe that the release of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners is the key to an improved, all-inclusive, substantive and time-bound dialogue as a turning point in the country's political development. “There is no alternative to dialogue to ensure that all stakeholders can contribute to the future of their country,” Ban said.
It should be noted that junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe announced a referendum on a new constitution and plans for a general election in 2010 after coming under international and regional pressure because of the regime’s brutal crackdown on last September’s demonstrations.
The "humanitarian space"—or what the ICG calls "unprecedented cooperation" between the Burmese junta and the international community—opened up in the Irrawaddy delta because of international and exiled Burmese media pressure on international governments and the UN to act to save the victims of Cyclone Nargis.
In the absence of any significant achievement, the ICG called for more comprehensive engagement with the Burmese regime rather than pressure and sanctions. It furthermore called on Western governments to "lift political restrictions on aid."
The Burmese people are pawns in the hands of the junta led by Than Shwe. Burma is a closed society strictly controlled by the military authorities, and the balance of power is still heavily weighted in favor of the army. There also is still a lack of willpower within the military towards political and economic reform.
So aid sent directly to the Burmese junta must be subject to transparency and accountability. If this is not assured it would be a big insult to those Burmese who have sacrificed their entire lives for the betterment of their homeland.
Bye, Bye, Big Brother
By KYAW ZWA MOE
People in any Orwellian country would cheer the disappearance of Big Brother from their life. The Burmese people should celebrate this week, because it’s the 4th anniversary of the demise of the Burmese Big Brother.
Big Brother in Burma was so powerful and ruthless that people from all walks of life—even military officers—were frightened. It was a shadow government and a main pillar that helped to prolong military rule for almost five decades.
But the 56-year-old intelligence apparatus, which was founded after the country gained independence from Britain, came to an end on October 22, 2004, when the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), headed by Khin Nyunt, was abolished by the junta. The NIB comprised the Military Intelligence Service, the police Special Branch, the Bureau of Special Investigation and the Criminal Investigation Department.
The military government announced, “The SPDC, which is striving to establish a modern, disciplined and democratic nation in line with the changing times, in the interest of the people, the security and the tranquility of the country, has found that the NIB law is no longer practicable.”
The powerful general and then prime minister, Khin Nyunt, was purged, arrested and later sentenced to 44 years imprisonment on charges of corruption and insubordination; he is now under house arrest. Most of his cadre of MI brigadier generals and colonels were sentenced to lengthy imprisonment. As many as another 1,500 intelligence personnel were retired, and about 2,500 enlisted men from the intelligence wing were transferred to infantry units in December 2004. Similarly, in 1983 the late dictator Gen Ne Win sacked his MI chief, Brig-Gen Tin Oo, on corruption charges after he became too powerful.
The military government later founded Military Security Affairs to replace the military intelligence service.
Big Brother’s disappearance from the daily life of the Burmese people is one positive act by the junta that the people can celebrate. Thousands of dissidents who experienced the MI era and this one can note the difference.
Win Tin, a prominent journalist-turned-politician who was recently released after serving 19 years in jail, gave full credit to the military regime for its abolition of the military intelligence apparatus. He told The Irrawaddy, “It was the only good thing the military regime has done through its history.”
In fact, Big Brother was feared even by the junta chief Than Shwe, who in an apparent act of self-preservation, ordered the arrest of Khin Nyunt and shut down the NIB.
Even today, it’s difficult for dissidents to find words to express their feelings about military intelligence. The MI interrogation centers across the country were living hell for thousands of dissidents following the 1988 pro-democracy movement.
As many as 10,000 dissidents experienced ruthless interrogation methods, said Bo Kyi, who was jailed two times and later co-founded of Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma). Numerous patriots in detention died during their interrogation sessions because of torture.
Before 1988, there were up to 12 military intelligence units in the country. After September 1988, MI opened up to 30 detachments across the country. MI-6, MI-7, MI-12, MI-14 and MI-20 were based in Rangoon. Each was assigned a different area. For instance, MI-6 was focused on the anti-government movement run by underground groups such as the Communist Party of Burma, while MI-7 was focused on the students’ movement.
MI-9 was in Lashio, in northern Shan State; MI-4 in Bassein, in the Irrawaddy Delta; MI-5 in Hpa-an, in Karen State; MI-8 in Myitkyinay, in Kachin State; and MI-16 in Mandalay.
Each detachment was notorious for its systematic, ruthless torture and persecution. Of course, the current police Special Branch and Military Security Affairs also use torture, but they can’t be compared with the former intelligence apparatus in terms of systematic abuse and ruthlessness.
Junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe has reigned in the intelligence apparatus, limiting its power and reach. Military Security Affairs, currently led by Lt-Gen Ye Myint, will not be allowed to accumulate power and privileges like Khin Nyunt and his MI officers.
MI has always been a tool to weaken and eliminate the pro-democracy movement. For decades it propped up the regime, until finally it became a threat to the rulers themselves.
Life without Big Brother is better. For Burma, however, a big problem remains: Big Brother’s boss is still there.
People in any Orwellian country would cheer the disappearance of Big Brother from their life. The Burmese people should celebrate this week, because it’s the 4th anniversary of the demise of the Burmese Big Brother.
Big Brother in Burma was so powerful and ruthless that people from all walks of life—even military officers—were frightened. It was a shadow government and a main pillar that helped to prolong military rule for almost five decades.
But the 56-year-old intelligence apparatus, which was founded after the country gained independence from Britain, came to an end on October 22, 2004, when the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), headed by Khin Nyunt, was abolished by the junta. The NIB comprised the Military Intelligence Service, the police Special Branch, the Bureau of Special Investigation and the Criminal Investigation Department.
The military government announced, “The SPDC, which is striving to establish a modern, disciplined and democratic nation in line with the changing times, in the interest of the people, the security and the tranquility of the country, has found that the NIB law is no longer practicable.”
The powerful general and then prime minister, Khin Nyunt, was purged, arrested and later sentenced to 44 years imprisonment on charges of corruption and insubordination; he is now under house arrest. Most of his cadre of MI brigadier generals and colonels were sentenced to lengthy imprisonment. As many as another 1,500 intelligence personnel were retired, and about 2,500 enlisted men from the intelligence wing were transferred to infantry units in December 2004. Similarly, in 1983 the late dictator Gen Ne Win sacked his MI chief, Brig-Gen Tin Oo, on corruption charges after he became too powerful.
The military government later founded Military Security Affairs to replace the military intelligence service.
Big Brother’s disappearance from the daily life of the Burmese people is one positive act by the junta that the people can celebrate. Thousands of dissidents who experienced the MI era and this one can note the difference.
Win Tin, a prominent journalist-turned-politician who was recently released after serving 19 years in jail, gave full credit to the military regime for its abolition of the military intelligence apparatus. He told The Irrawaddy, “It was the only good thing the military regime has done through its history.”
In fact, Big Brother was feared even by the junta chief Than Shwe, who in an apparent act of self-preservation, ordered the arrest of Khin Nyunt and shut down the NIB.
Even today, it’s difficult for dissidents to find words to express their feelings about military intelligence. The MI interrogation centers across the country were living hell for thousands of dissidents following the 1988 pro-democracy movement.
As many as 10,000 dissidents experienced ruthless interrogation methods, said Bo Kyi, who was jailed two times and later co-founded of Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma). Numerous patriots in detention died during their interrogation sessions because of torture.
Before 1988, there were up to 12 military intelligence units in the country. After September 1988, MI opened up to 30 detachments across the country. MI-6, MI-7, MI-12, MI-14 and MI-20 were based in Rangoon. Each was assigned a different area. For instance, MI-6 was focused on the anti-government movement run by underground groups such as the Communist Party of Burma, while MI-7 was focused on the students’ movement.
MI-9 was in Lashio, in northern Shan State; MI-4 in Bassein, in the Irrawaddy Delta; MI-5 in Hpa-an, in Karen State; MI-8 in Myitkyinay, in Kachin State; and MI-16 in Mandalay.
Each detachment was notorious for its systematic, ruthless torture and persecution. Of course, the current police Special Branch and Military Security Affairs also use torture, but they can’t be compared with the former intelligence apparatus in terms of systematic abuse and ruthlessness.
Junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe has reigned in the intelligence apparatus, limiting its power and reach. Military Security Affairs, currently led by Lt-Gen Ye Myint, will not be allowed to accumulate power and privileges like Khin Nyunt and his MI officers.
MI has always been a tool to weaken and eliminate the pro-democracy movement. For decades it propped up the regime, until finally it became a threat to the rulers themselves.
Life without Big Brother is better. For Burma, however, a big problem remains: Big Brother’s boss is still there.
ASEM Summit in Beijing Opens
By WEI MOE
Burma is an issue on the agenda at the 7th Summit of Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Beijing on October 24-25, but Burmese Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein will not attend the conference.
According to a press release, the summit is scheduled to discuss the current world economic outlook; global issues such as disaster relief, food security and safety; international and regional development including counter-terrorism, nuclear disarmament, Burma, the Korean Peninsular; trade and investment; and cultural and social dialogue.
The summit is being seen as an opportunity to talk with Chinese authorities about their obligation to ensure meaningful reform in Burma, said Debbie Stothard, coordinator of the Alternative Asean Network (Altsean).
The last ASEM Summit was in Helsinki in 2006. Before the summit in Finland’s capital, there were arguments among European countries whether to approve a visa for Burmese foreign minister Nyan Win to a European Union country.
Twenty-seven countries from the EU are taking part; 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus China, India, Japan, Mongolia, Pakistan and South Korea.
Burmese Premier Gen Thein Sein was visiting China before the summit began, but has since returned to Burma. The state-run, The New Light of Myanmar, reported on Monday that the head of the junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, welcomed Thein Sein back at the Naypidaw Airport. Thein Sein attended the 5th China-Asean Expo and the 5th China-Asean Business and Investment Summit in Nanning.
The Burmese premier met with Wen Jiabao’s deputy, Wang Qishan, during the trip.
“According to protocol, Gen Thein Sein should meet Wen Jiabao [China’s president]. I do not know why Gen Thein Sein could not meet Premier Wen,” said Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political commentator in Thailand.
During the meeting with Wang Qishan, Thein Sein said that he believed China would continue to support the junta’s seven-step roadmap for “transforming the country into a peaceful and discipline flourishing democratic nation,” according to The New Light of Myanmar.
Burma is an issue on the agenda at the 7th Summit of Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Beijing on October 24-25, but Burmese Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein will not attend the conference.
According to a press release, the summit is scheduled to discuss the current world economic outlook; global issues such as disaster relief, food security and safety; international and regional development including counter-terrorism, nuclear disarmament, Burma, the Korean Peninsular; trade and investment; and cultural and social dialogue.
The summit is being seen as an opportunity to talk with Chinese authorities about their obligation to ensure meaningful reform in Burma, said Debbie Stothard, coordinator of the Alternative Asean Network (Altsean).
The last ASEM Summit was in Helsinki in 2006. Before the summit in Finland’s capital, there were arguments among European countries whether to approve a visa for Burmese foreign minister Nyan Win to a European Union country.
Twenty-seven countries from the EU are taking part; 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus China, India, Japan, Mongolia, Pakistan and South Korea.
Burmese Premier Gen Thein Sein was visiting China before the summit began, but has since returned to Burma. The state-run, The New Light of Myanmar, reported on Monday that the head of the junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, welcomed Thein Sein back at the Naypidaw Airport. Thein Sein attended the 5th China-Asean Expo and the 5th China-Asean Business and Investment Summit in Nanning.
The Burmese premier met with Wen Jiabao’s deputy, Wang Qishan, during the trip.
“According to protocol, Gen Thein Sein should meet Wen Jiabao [China’s president]. I do not know why Gen Thein Sein could not meet Premier Wen,” said Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political commentator in Thailand.
During the meeting with Wang Qishan, Thein Sein said that he believed China would continue to support the junta’s seven-step roadmap for “transforming the country into a peaceful and discipline flourishing democratic nation,” according to The New Light of Myanmar.
Burmese Junta Sentences NLD Activists
By WAI MOE
Win Mya Mya, a well-known pro-democracy activist in Mandalay, and five other members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) were sentenced to long prison terms on Friday.
The court sentenced the six members of the NLD’s Mandalay Division to up to 13 years imprisonment, Nyan Win, an NLD spokesperson, told The Irrawaddy.
“Daw Win Mya Mya and U Kan Tun received 12 years, and U Than Lwin who was elected in the 1990 election, received eight years in prison,” he said.
Min Thu from Mogok Township, received 13 years; Win Shwe from Kyaukpadaung Township received 11 years; and Tin Ko Ko from Meiktila Township received two years.
According to a Burmese human rights group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), the NLD members were charged with Act 505 (B) for meeting with American diplomats and 153 (A) for campaigning for political and human rights and the reopening of NLD offices in the country.
Win Mya Mya is a well-known pro-democracy activist in Mandalay, Burma’s second largest city. Since 1988, she provided food and other material to political prisoners in Mandalay Prison. In return, authorities harassed her family business and arrested her several times during 20 years as a political activist.
She was injured and arrested when Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters were brutally ambushed by thugs backed by the junta in Depayin, Sagaging Division in northern Burma in late May, 2003. She has been in detention since the September 2007 demonstrations.
Than Lwin, who was a successful candidate for Madaya Township in 1990, is vice-chairman of the NLD. He was arrested during the 2007 demonstrations. He was also assaulted when he returned home from praying for the release from house arrest of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a Buddhist temple in the township in June 2007.
NLD spokesman Nyan Win said, “They didn’t commit any crimes. So the jail term for them is unjust and unfair.”
Win Mya Mya, a well-known pro-democracy activist in Mandalay, and five other members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) were sentenced to long prison terms on Friday.
The court sentenced the six members of the NLD’s Mandalay Division to up to 13 years imprisonment, Nyan Win, an NLD spokesperson, told The Irrawaddy.
“Daw Win Mya Mya and U Kan Tun received 12 years, and U Than Lwin who was elected in the 1990 election, received eight years in prison,” he said.
Min Thu from Mogok Township, received 13 years; Win Shwe from Kyaukpadaung Township received 11 years; and Tin Ko Ko from Meiktila Township received two years.
According to a Burmese human rights group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), the NLD members were charged with Act 505 (B) for meeting with American diplomats and 153 (A) for campaigning for political and human rights and the reopening of NLD offices in the country.
Win Mya Mya is a well-known pro-democracy activist in Mandalay, Burma’s second largest city. Since 1988, she provided food and other material to political prisoners in Mandalay Prison. In return, authorities harassed her family business and arrested her several times during 20 years as a political activist.
She was injured and arrested when Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters were brutally ambushed by thugs backed by the junta in Depayin, Sagaging Division in northern Burma in late May, 2003. She has been in detention since the September 2007 demonstrations.
Than Lwin, who was a successful candidate for Madaya Township in 1990, is vice-chairman of the NLD. He was arrested during the 2007 demonstrations. He was also assaulted when he returned home from praying for the release from house arrest of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a Buddhist temple in the township in June 2007.
NLD spokesman Nyan Win said, “They didn’t commit any crimes. So the jail term for them is unjust and unfair.”
UN Chief Not Likely to Achieve Much with Visit: Win Tin
By THE IRRAWADDY
Win Tin, a prominent member of Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), said he and the party would welcome a visit by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, but added that he had strong reservations about what the UN head could hope to achieve in Burma.
“I am not sure what he could accomplish,” said Win Tin, a senior member of the NLD and one of the country’s longest-serving political prisoners, who was released from Insein Prison in September after serving 19 years.
“The government plays with the time factor and it knows very well how to manipulate the UN,” Win Tin added.
Ban, who visited Burma several weeks after a deadly cyclone slammed into southern Burma in May, has said that he was contemplating a return to Burma in December. However, his visit is now in doubt.
“I understand that he doesn’t want to leave Burma empty handed,” said Win Tin, acknowledging Ban’s reluctance to make a return trip later in the year.
Ban recently said that he was frustrated by the Burmese regime’s failure to take meaningful steps to achieve national reconciliation. He also called for the release of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, and urged the regime to makes its “road map” to civilian rule more inclusive.
Ban’s statement earned him some rare praise from the NLD, but it fell far short of what many in the opposition expect from the UN.
“The pressure must step up,” said a senior NLD member.
Meanwhile, the NLD is also coming under criticism from some of its own members. Last Thursday, around 109 youth members of the party resigned after complaining that the aging leadership had excluded them from the decision-making process.
This was followed by more bad news, with reports earlier this week that NLD Secretary U Lwin, who is 86 years old, had suffered a stroke, and that the party chairman, Aung Shwe, 91, was also ill with influenza.
Win Tin, who visited U Lwin yesterday, said that the party secretary seemed to be making a quick recovery and was eating well.
Win Tin also noted that his involvement in the party has been limited since his release.
“Since I was released from prison, I haven’t attended any regular meetings at the NLD headquarters,” said Win Tin. However, he said that Aung Shwe had welcomed him back to the party.
“I am looking forward to holding regular meeting at the NLD so that we can make policy statements,” said Win Tin.
Win Tin, a prominent member of Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), said he and the party would welcome a visit by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, but added that he had strong reservations about what the UN head could hope to achieve in Burma.
“I am not sure what he could accomplish,” said Win Tin, a senior member of the NLD and one of the country’s longest-serving political prisoners, who was released from Insein Prison in September after serving 19 years.
“The government plays with the time factor and it knows very well how to manipulate the UN,” Win Tin added.
Ban, who visited Burma several weeks after a deadly cyclone slammed into southern Burma in May, has said that he was contemplating a return to Burma in December. However, his visit is now in doubt.
“I understand that he doesn’t want to leave Burma empty handed,” said Win Tin, acknowledging Ban’s reluctance to make a return trip later in the year.
Ban recently said that he was frustrated by the Burmese regime’s failure to take meaningful steps to achieve national reconciliation. He also called for the release of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, and urged the regime to makes its “road map” to civilian rule more inclusive.
Ban’s statement earned him some rare praise from the NLD, but it fell far short of what many in the opposition expect from the UN.
“The pressure must step up,” said a senior NLD member.
Meanwhile, the NLD is also coming under criticism from some of its own members. Last Thursday, around 109 youth members of the party resigned after complaining that the aging leadership had excluded them from the decision-making process.
This was followed by more bad news, with reports earlier this week that NLD Secretary U Lwin, who is 86 years old, had suffered a stroke, and that the party chairman, Aung Shwe, 91, was also ill with influenza.
Win Tin, who visited U Lwin yesterday, said that the party secretary seemed to be making a quick recovery and was eating well.
Win Tin also noted that his involvement in the party has been limited since his release.
“Since I was released from prison, I haven’t attended any regular meetings at the NLD headquarters,” said Win Tin. However, he said that Aung Shwe had welcomed him back to the party.
“I am looking forward to holding regular meeting at the NLD so that we can make policy statements,” said Win Tin.
Burma’s ‘Jack London’ Honored in Commemoration
By MIN LWIN
Burma’s “Jack London” died 30 years ago, but his books still influence many Burmese, including youth who are drawn to his commitment to truth and the fight against oppression.
Bhamo Tin Aung, a well-known Burmese leftist writer and journalist, was respected by many people, especially in literary circles. On Thursday, well-known writers, journalists, poets and politicians joined in a memorial ceremony at his daughter’s house marking the 30th anniversary of his death.
Bhamo Tin Aung was known as the “Jack London” of Burma because he wrote several novels from a socialist viewpoint and focused on the poorest classes, such as farmers, workers and the oppressed.
A publisher in Rangoon who attended the event said Tin Aung’s works are still popular among readers because he wrote about progressive, modern ideas, including philosophy and religion, for three decades.
“He was a progressive and a model in Burmese literature,” said the publisher, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday.
“He created many model characters, such as people who made sacrifices and other patriots in his novels. His philosophy was for the oppressed and the lower classes.”
A Rangoon journal editor said that Bhamo Tin Aung’s literature influenced many readers including communist sympathizers and anti-communists.
Tin Aung founded Linyone (the Eagle) journal in 1950, and he was one of the first journalist who was arrested and detained by U Nu government. He was sentenced to seven years in prison in 1952.
“Linyone journal will defend the oppressed and stand for peoples’ rights until the end,” Bhamo Tin Aung wrote in the publication’s first editorial in 1950.
Bhamo Tin Aung had a lot of trouble with the authorities. One of his readers from Mandalay said that he had never been one who bowed down to any government until his death.
Bhamo Tin Aung joined the Burmese British Army in 1941, and he was involved in the anti-fascist movement. He often criticized the ruling governments and was imprisoned several times.
He was arrested by the late Gen Ne Win’s Revolutionary Council Government in 1963 while he was actively involved in the anti-civil war campaign and sent to detention in Coco Island.
Shortly before he died of lung cancer in 1978 when he was 58 years old, he wrote a biography of Jack London, “The Life and Literature of Jack London.”
Well-known writer Dagon Taryar and Win Tin, a veteran journalist and the longest detained political prisoner before he was freed in September, were among 100 people who attended the commemoration.
Burma’s “Jack London” died 30 years ago, but his books still influence many Burmese, including youth who are drawn to his commitment to truth and the fight against oppression.
Bhamo Tin Aung, a well-known Burmese leftist writer and journalist, was respected by many people, especially in literary circles. On Thursday, well-known writers, journalists, poets and politicians joined in a memorial ceremony at his daughter’s house marking the 30th anniversary of his death.
Bhamo Tin Aung was known as the “Jack London” of Burma because he wrote several novels from a socialist viewpoint and focused on the poorest classes, such as farmers, workers and the oppressed.
A publisher in Rangoon who attended the event said Tin Aung’s works are still popular among readers because he wrote about progressive, modern ideas, including philosophy and religion, for three decades.
“He was a progressive and a model in Burmese literature,” said the publisher, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday.
“He created many model characters, such as people who made sacrifices and other patriots in his novels. His philosophy was for the oppressed and the lower classes.”
A Rangoon journal editor said that Bhamo Tin Aung’s literature influenced many readers including communist sympathizers and anti-communists.
Tin Aung founded Linyone (the Eagle) journal in 1950, and he was one of the first journalist who was arrested and detained by U Nu government. He was sentenced to seven years in prison in 1952.
“Linyone journal will defend the oppressed and stand for peoples’ rights until the end,” Bhamo Tin Aung wrote in the publication’s first editorial in 1950.
Bhamo Tin Aung had a lot of trouble with the authorities. One of his readers from Mandalay said that he had never been one who bowed down to any government until his death.
Bhamo Tin Aung joined the Burmese British Army in 1941, and he was involved in the anti-fascist movement. He often criticized the ruling governments and was imprisoned several times.
He was arrested by the late Gen Ne Win’s Revolutionary Council Government in 1963 while he was actively involved in the anti-civil war campaign and sent to detention in Coco Island.
Shortly before he died of lung cancer in 1978 when he was 58 years old, he wrote a biography of Jack London, “The Life and Literature of Jack London.”
Well-known writer Dagon Taryar and Win Tin, a veteran journalist and the longest detained political prisoner before he was freed in September, were among 100 people who attended the commemoration.
Chinese Oil Giant Accused of Human Rights Abuses in Burma
By WILLIAM BOOT
BANGKOK—More evidence has emerged of the steamrollering effect of China’s tightening grip on the economic life of Burma.
A watchdog report alleging land theft and intimidation of local people by a major Chinese corporation comes on top of a report by an international human rights agency expressing concern at China’s growing control over Burma’s natural resources.
The latest report accuses the Beijing state-owned China National Oil Corporation (CNOOC) of human rights abuses and land theft in an oil prospecting venture on isolated Ramree Island in western Arakan State.
The accusations this week by Arakan Oil Watch (AOW) come less than a month after the US-based EarthRights International (ERI) expressed concern about China’s increasing grip on Burma’s natural resources.
Both reports cite the west coast Arakan region as particularly exposed to Chinese corporate control and influence, which they say is treading on local peoples’ rights.
AOW accuses the CNOOC of a raft of abuses, ranging from land seizure to wanton pollution of rice fields and water systems with oil waste.
China already has ambitions to build an oil transshipment port on Ramree, an oil pipeline through Burma into southwest China’s Yunnan province, and a gas pipeline from the port town of Sittwe.
In September, ERI published a survey that identified 69 Chinese companies engaged in oil, gas, hydropower development and mining across Burma—a 250 percent increase on the number thought to be operating in the country when a similar study was made one year ago.
“Given what we know about development projects in Burma and the current situation, we’re concerned about this marked increase in the number of these projects,” ERI said.
This week’s AOW report is more specific. The Chinese-led Ramree oil prospecting venture had “left hundreds of local islanders landless and unemployed and their environment befouled,” the report charges.
“The consortium confiscated 81 hectares, and offered the local owners 40,000 kyat (US $31) for their land regardless of the size of their plots,” said Jockai Khaing, director of Arakan Oil Watch. “An estimated 500 to 1,000 local oil drillers were put out business.”
Ramree has been a source of near-surface crude oil well-pumping for many years by the islanders, providing a modest but steady income to supplement rice growing and offshore fishing.
But when the CNOOC and its partners were awarded the site by the military government for deeper oil exploration to test commercial viability, island land owners were rudely evicted, says the AOW, which has also produced photos to back up some of its allegations.
Observers note that the actions by CNOOC are similar to the methods still used throughout rural China when entrepreneurs in cahoots with communist party officials want to pursue a development against local peoples’ wishes. They simply steamroller opposition.
AOW, an environmental and human rights group, said the CNOOC consortium “left behind such a trail of abuses and environmental contamination on Ramree Island that outraged locals attacked their facilities.”
The AOW says its informants claim that local people looted a CNOOC installation in revenge before dozens of islanders fled Burma to avoid arrest by the authorities.
CNOOC partners in the Ramree oil venture are Golden Aaron, Asia World Company and two other state-owned Chinese oil-service firms.
Golden Aaron is registered in Singapore but is owned by Burmese businessman Steven Law. Asia World has close connections with the Burmese junta chiefs and is reportedly involved in the Ramree deepwater port project.
Both companies are on a US sanctions blacklist aimed at the military regime’s business activities.
The Ramree venture is reportedly now on hold after the initial exploratory drillings, but local residents have been told that CNOOC will return to begin commercial production, said AOW.
ERI says Burma has become “geopolitically significant” to China for natural resources, but perhaps most significantly is Burma ’s position on the edge of the Indian Ocean, making it a “particularly desirable partner in China ’s pursuit of energy security.”
China is reportedly building a deep-draught port on Ramree to handle ocean-going supertankers carrying oil from Africa and the Middle East. Transshipping the oil on the Burmese coast and piping it up through Burma into China is quicker—and probably more secure—than vessels taking the long route to southern Chinese ports via the congested Malacca Strait between Indonesia and Malaysia.
China and other Asian countries have moved into the void left by natural resources-tapping Western firms curbed by US and European sanctions against the Burma military regime.
But ERI says China’s hunger for energy makes Burma an inevitable target.
"The surge of Asian investment in Burma's oil and gas sector is not due to western sanctions, but simply to Asia's increasing demand for natural resources,” ERI’s Burma Project coordinator Matthew Smith told The Irrawaddy on Friday. “Chinese and Indian companies would be investing in Burma regardless of western foreign policy, and most of them likely dislike sanctions because they leave them alone to deal with the inherent risks of doing business with the generals.
“An oil and gas project in Burma can not proceed without human rights impacts, and Asian governments would do well to recognize that promoting and protecting human rights in Burma now will do more for their own long-term energy security.”
In its report of CNOOC’s Ramree island abuses, AOW cites the Chinese company’s own 2005 Code on Corporate Social Responsibility: “We believe that community and social acceptance is the important foundation for our long-term development. Since establishment, the company has been committed to building reciprocal and mutual trust friendly relations with stakeholders.”
BANGKOK—More evidence has emerged of the steamrollering effect of China’s tightening grip on the economic life of Burma.
A watchdog report alleging land theft and intimidation of local people by a major Chinese corporation comes on top of a report by an international human rights agency expressing concern at China’s growing control over Burma’s natural resources.
The latest report accuses the Beijing state-owned China National Oil Corporation (CNOOC) of human rights abuses and land theft in an oil prospecting venture on isolated Ramree Island in western Arakan State.
The accusations this week by Arakan Oil Watch (AOW) come less than a month after the US-based EarthRights International (ERI) expressed concern about China’s increasing grip on Burma’s natural resources.
Both reports cite the west coast Arakan region as particularly exposed to Chinese corporate control and influence, which they say is treading on local peoples’ rights.
AOW accuses the CNOOC of a raft of abuses, ranging from land seizure to wanton pollution of rice fields and water systems with oil waste.
China already has ambitions to build an oil transshipment port on Ramree, an oil pipeline through Burma into southwest China’s Yunnan province, and a gas pipeline from the port town of Sittwe.
In September, ERI published a survey that identified 69 Chinese companies engaged in oil, gas, hydropower development and mining across Burma—a 250 percent increase on the number thought to be operating in the country when a similar study was made one year ago.
“Given what we know about development projects in Burma and the current situation, we’re concerned about this marked increase in the number of these projects,” ERI said.
This week’s AOW report is more specific. The Chinese-led Ramree oil prospecting venture had “left hundreds of local islanders landless and unemployed and their environment befouled,” the report charges.
“The consortium confiscated 81 hectares, and offered the local owners 40,000 kyat (US $31) for their land regardless of the size of their plots,” said Jockai Khaing, director of Arakan Oil Watch. “An estimated 500 to 1,000 local oil drillers were put out business.”
Ramree has been a source of near-surface crude oil well-pumping for many years by the islanders, providing a modest but steady income to supplement rice growing and offshore fishing.
But when the CNOOC and its partners were awarded the site by the military government for deeper oil exploration to test commercial viability, island land owners were rudely evicted, says the AOW, which has also produced photos to back up some of its allegations.
Observers note that the actions by CNOOC are similar to the methods still used throughout rural China when entrepreneurs in cahoots with communist party officials want to pursue a development against local peoples’ wishes. They simply steamroller opposition.
AOW, an environmental and human rights group, said the CNOOC consortium “left behind such a trail of abuses and environmental contamination on Ramree Island that outraged locals attacked their facilities.”
The AOW says its informants claim that local people looted a CNOOC installation in revenge before dozens of islanders fled Burma to avoid arrest by the authorities.
CNOOC partners in the Ramree oil venture are Golden Aaron, Asia World Company and two other state-owned Chinese oil-service firms.
Golden Aaron is registered in Singapore but is owned by Burmese businessman Steven Law. Asia World has close connections with the Burmese junta chiefs and is reportedly involved in the Ramree deepwater port project.
Both companies are on a US sanctions blacklist aimed at the military regime’s business activities.
The Ramree venture is reportedly now on hold after the initial exploratory drillings, but local residents have been told that CNOOC will return to begin commercial production, said AOW.
ERI says Burma has become “geopolitically significant” to China for natural resources, but perhaps most significantly is Burma ’s position on the edge of the Indian Ocean, making it a “particularly desirable partner in China ’s pursuit of energy security.”
China is reportedly building a deep-draught port on Ramree to handle ocean-going supertankers carrying oil from Africa and the Middle East. Transshipping the oil on the Burmese coast and piping it up through Burma into China is quicker—and probably more secure—than vessels taking the long route to southern Chinese ports via the congested Malacca Strait between Indonesia and Malaysia.
China and other Asian countries have moved into the void left by natural resources-tapping Western firms curbed by US and European sanctions against the Burma military regime.
But ERI says China’s hunger for energy makes Burma an inevitable target.
"The surge of Asian investment in Burma's oil and gas sector is not due to western sanctions, but simply to Asia's increasing demand for natural resources,” ERI’s Burma Project coordinator Matthew Smith told The Irrawaddy on Friday. “Chinese and Indian companies would be investing in Burma regardless of western foreign policy, and most of them likely dislike sanctions because they leave them alone to deal with the inherent risks of doing business with the generals.
“An oil and gas project in Burma can not proceed without human rights impacts, and Asian governments would do well to recognize that promoting and protecting human rights in Burma now will do more for their own long-term energy security.”
In its report of CNOOC’s Ramree island abuses, AOW cites the Chinese company’s own 2005 Code on Corporate Social Responsibility: “We believe that community and social acceptance is the important foundation for our long-term development. Since establishment, the company has been committed to building reciprocal and mutual trust friendly relations with stakeholders.”
Junta Must Withdraw Constitution: KNU
By SAW YAN NAING
Burma’s oldest and largest ethnic rebel group, the Karen National Union (KNU), strongly condemned the ruling junta’s state constitution, calling it a reactionary throwback to the country’s age of imperialism.
David Takapaw, who was elected vice-chairman of the KNU at its recently convened 14th congress, said that the constitution reflected an ideology derived from the thinking of the Burmese kings Anawrahta, Bayintnaung and Alaungpaya—rulers of imperial dynasties that subjugated ethnic states and invaded neighboring countries.
Anawrahta, Bayintnaung and Alaungpaya were early leaders of the Pagan, Toungoo and Konbaung empires, respectively. They aggressively expanded their territory to include the kingdoms of the Mon, Arakan and other ethnic groups. King Bayintnaung even expanded his territory to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand and some regions of Cambodia and Laos.
Takapaw said that the Burmese generals were trying to impose a similar reign to subjugate ethnic minorities under military rule—an approach that he said could no longer work.
“Now, it is impossible to establish an empire. Ethnic people will not accept this ideology,” said Takapaw, who called on the regime to abandon its efforts to force its constitution on the country against the will of Burmese opposition parties and ethnic groups.
“According to the constitution, the Burmese military can announce a ‘state of emergency’ at any time, and requires the president to have military experience,” he said, highlighting the army’s prominent role under the constitution.
In September, the National League for Democracy, Burma’s main opposition party, also called on the regime to review the constitution, calling it “one-sided” and saying it lacked the participation of democratically elected representatives from the 1990 general election.
The regime held a national referendum on the constitution in May and swiftly announced that it had won more than 92 percent approval. However, critics and dissident groups inside and outside Burma called the constitution and referendum a sham.
The state constitution is step three of the regime’s seven-step “road map” to civilian rule. The fifth step is an election slated to take place in 2010.
Burma’s oldest and largest ethnic rebel group, the Karen National Union (KNU), strongly condemned the ruling junta’s state constitution, calling it a reactionary throwback to the country’s age of imperialism.
David Takapaw, who was elected vice-chairman of the KNU at its recently convened 14th congress, said that the constitution reflected an ideology derived from the thinking of the Burmese kings Anawrahta, Bayintnaung and Alaungpaya—rulers of imperial dynasties that subjugated ethnic states and invaded neighboring countries.
Anawrahta, Bayintnaung and Alaungpaya were early leaders of the Pagan, Toungoo and Konbaung empires, respectively. They aggressively expanded their territory to include the kingdoms of the Mon, Arakan and other ethnic groups. King Bayintnaung even expanded his territory to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand and some regions of Cambodia and Laos.
Takapaw said that the Burmese generals were trying to impose a similar reign to subjugate ethnic minorities under military rule—an approach that he said could no longer work.
“Now, it is impossible to establish an empire. Ethnic people will not accept this ideology,” said Takapaw, who called on the regime to abandon its efforts to force its constitution on the country against the will of Burmese opposition parties and ethnic groups.
“According to the constitution, the Burmese military can announce a ‘state of emergency’ at any time, and requires the president to have military experience,” he said, highlighting the army’s prominent role under the constitution.
In September, the National League for Democracy, Burma’s main opposition party, also called on the regime to review the constitution, calling it “one-sided” and saying it lacked the participation of democratically elected representatives from the 1990 general election.
The regime held a national referendum on the constitution in May and swiftly announced that it had won more than 92 percent approval. However, critics and dissident groups inside and outside Burma called the constitution and referendum a sham.
The state constitution is step three of the regime’s seven-step “road map” to civilian rule. The fifth step is an election slated to take place in 2010.
Weekly Business Roundup (October 24, 2008)
By WILLIAM BOOT
India Bombing Halts Plans for Burma Cross-Border Trade
Only days after India and Burma agreed to open their common border to more trade and communications, New Delhi’s response to the deadly bombing in Imphal, the state capital of Manipur, is to call for the border’s sealing.
The two countries agreed last week to ease trade restrictions at the border crossing of Moreh-Tamu and “normalize” trade at at least one other point along their 1,600 kilometer border.
For years, there has been only one official trade entry between India and Burma along that border, at Moreh just inside India’s Manipur state.
India wants to see two additional trading centers along the border —adjoining Avangkhu in Nagaland state and Zowkhathar in Mizoram state,
India’s decision followed meetings in Mandalay of the India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee, headed by India’s Minister of State for Commerce and Power Jairam Ramesh and Burma’s Minister for Commerce Brig Gen Tin Naing Thein.
The Imphal bombing on Tuesday, which killed 17, has been blamed on rebels fighting for a breakaway state from India.
New Delhi claims the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak is based in remote jungle hideouts within Burma, from where it operates raids into India.
It is not clear what will happen to the plans for eased border trade in the wake of the bomb.
UN Envoy Silent on Cyclone Aid Scam
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, has declined to comment on progress by the world body to recover losses of about US $10 million on Cyclone Nargis foreign aid caused by a junta-enforced currency exchange system.
Quitana was asked at a UN press conference for an update by the New York-based public funding accountability campaign group Inner City Press (ICP) this week.
“Quintana refused to comment on this,” ICP said. “Likewise when Inner City Press asked about reports of the government [making it a condition of] the distribution of UN aid on the recipients working on road projects for the military, Quintana said to ask elsewhere.”
The ICP, which first exposed the exchange rate scam, added: “So what does he, in fact, cover” in his UN role in Burma?
The UN admitted in late July that it was losing up to 25 percent of cyclone aid cash forcibly converted into Burmese kyat via Foreign Exchange Certificates with the junta-controlled Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank.
The loss of about $10 million through this conversion method was confirmed by UN official John Holmes when he subsequently visited Burma.
ICP’s UN representative Matthew Russell Lee said Quitana “went out of his way to offer praise” for the Burma regime.
Arakan Land Seized, Villagers Ordered to Work Free for Army
Burmese military authorities have seized 150 acres of land close to Arakan’s border with Bangladesh, reportedly to create cross-border trade zones.
The seizures followed a visit to the Taungbro Yar area by a group of high-ranking army officers, including Gen Khin Zaw of the Defense Ministry and Brig-Gen Tin Naing Thein from the Minister of Commerce.
The visit followed talks between top level officials from Burma and Bangladesh on closer commercial links.
Local businesspeople are meanwhile being offered small plots of the stolen land, together with a small warehouse, according to the exiled Arakanese group Narinjara.
“The business owners [were told] that the government has plans to construct many godowns in the trade zone and that these will also be sold to businesses to promote border trade with Bangladesh,” reported Narinjara.
Bangladesh has recently expressed interest in stepping up trade with Burma, buying land to grow crops in Arakan, and possibly building a small hydrodam to feed electricity back into energy starved Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, junta authorities have seized more than 350 acres of farmland from the Rohingya community in Rathedaung Township without reason, and then forced some of the plot holders to carry on working the land without payment.
Two hundred villagers were forced to work free in a rubber plantation near Aung Mamgala.
Tighter Kachin Border Restrictions Follow Battalion’s Replacement
Observers in Kachin State report that junta army personnel manning some border checkpoints with China have inexplicably begun blocking the import of many Chinese goods.
Until recently virtually anything could move between the two countries simply by paying a “fee” to soldiers on the Burma side of crossing points, especially at Loije.
“The only goods that are [now] allowed to pass through the gates are items on which there is a trade agreement between the two countries,” one businessman told the NGO Kachin New Group.
The restriction has apparently been introduced since the replacement of Infantry Battalion No. 74 by Light Infantry Battalion No. 348.
India Bombing Halts Plans for Burma Cross-Border Trade
Only days after India and Burma agreed to open their common border to more trade and communications, New Delhi’s response to the deadly bombing in Imphal, the state capital of Manipur, is to call for the border’s sealing.
The two countries agreed last week to ease trade restrictions at the border crossing of Moreh-Tamu and “normalize” trade at at least one other point along their 1,600 kilometer border.
For years, there has been only one official trade entry between India and Burma along that border, at Moreh just inside India’s Manipur state.
India wants to see two additional trading centers along the border —adjoining Avangkhu in Nagaland state and Zowkhathar in Mizoram state,
India’s decision followed meetings in Mandalay of the India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee, headed by India’s Minister of State for Commerce and Power Jairam Ramesh and Burma’s Minister for Commerce Brig Gen Tin Naing Thein.
The Imphal bombing on Tuesday, which killed 17, has been blamed on rebels fighting for a breakaway state from India.
New Delhi claims the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak is based in remote jungle hideouts within Burma, from where it operates raids into India.
It is not clear what will happen to the plans for eased border trade in the wake of the bomb.
UN Envoy Silent on Cyclone Aid Scam
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, has declined to comment on progress by the world body to recover losses of about US $10 million on Cyclone Nargis foreign aid caused by a junta-enforced currency exchange system.
Quitana was asked at a UN press conference for an update by the New York-based public funding accountability campaign group Inner City Press (ICP) this week.
“Quintana refused to comment on this,” ICP said. “Likewise when Inner City Press asked about reports of the government [making it a condition of] the distribution of UN aid on the recipients working on road projects for the military, Quintana said to ask elsewhere.”
The ICP, which first exposed the exchange rate scam, added: “So what does he, in fact, cover” in his UN role in Burma?
The UN admitted in late July that it was losing up to 25 percent of cyclone aid cash forcibly converted into Burmese kyat via Foreign Exchange Certificates with the junta-controlled Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank.
The loss of about $10 million through this conversion method was confirmed by UN official John Holmes when he subsequently visited Burma.
ICP’s UN representative Matthew Russell Lee said Quitana “went out of his way to offer praise” for the Burma regime.
Arakan Land Seized, Villagers Ordered to Work Free for Army
Burmese military authorities have seized 150 acres of land close to Arakan’s border with Bangladesh, reportedly to create cross-border trade zones.
The seizures followed a visit to the Taungbro Yar area by a group of high-ranking army officers, including Gen Khin Zaw of the Defense Ministry and Brig-Gen Tin Naing Thein from the Minister of Commerce.
The visit followed talks between top level officials from Burma and Bangladesh on closer commercial links.
Local businesspeople are meanwhile being offered small plots of the stolen land, together with a small warehouse, according to the exiled Arakanese group Narinjara.
“The business owners [were told] that the government has plans to construct many godowns in the trade zone and that these will also be sold to businesses to promote border trade with Bangladesh,” reported Narinjara.
Bangladesh has recently expressed interest in stepping up trade with Burma, buying land to grow crops in Arakan, and possibly building a small hydrodam to feed electricity back into energy starved Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, junta authorities have seized more than 350 acres of farmland from the Rohingya community in Rathedaung Township without reason, and then forced some of the plot holders to carry on working the land without payment.
Two hundred villagers were forced to work free in a rubber plantation near Aung Mamgala.
Tighter Kachin Border Restrictions Follow Battalion’s Replacement
Observers in Kachin State report that junta army personnel manning some border checkpoints with China have inexplicably begun blocking the import of many Chinese goods.
Until recently virtually anything could move between the two countries simply by paying a “fee” to soldiers on the Burma side of crossing points, especially at Loije.
“The only goods that are [now] allowed to pass through the gates are items on which there is a trade agreement between the two countries,” one businessman told the NGO Kachin New Group.
The restriction has apparently been introduced since the replacement of Infantry Battalion No. 74 by Light Infantry Battalion No. 348.
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