BURMA RELATED NEWS -

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BURMA RELATED NEWS - MAY 13-14, 2011
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May 13th, 2011
Brighton and Hove News - Freedom of Brighton and Hove awarded to Aung San Suu Kyi

The Freedom of Brighton and Hove is being awarded to Burmese pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi and heroic pilot Marc Heal.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Mrs Suu Kyi, guest director of the Brighton Festival this year, is unable to attend a ceremony in her honour next Thursday (19 May).

She is unable to leave Burma but Brighton and Hove City Council hopes that a representative may attend on her behalf.

Flight Lieutenant Marc Heal, from Brighton, is expected to attend the ceremony when he becomes an honorary freeman of the city at the ceremony at Hove Town Hall on Thursday.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) last year after rescuing 29 injured troops during missions in Afghanistan.

Flight Lieutenant Heal will receive the honour “in recognition of his outstanding gallantry as the Captain of the Chinook helicopter Immediate Response Team in Afghanistan for which the Queen awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The inspirational command of his crew and superior flying skills led to the successful extraction of 29 casualties and the saving of lives”.

Mrs Suu Kyi has struggled as a human rights advocate to advance the cause of democracy in Burma.

The Brighton Festival programme this year aims to celebrate her life and reflect her tastes and passions.

Her status as a freewoman of the city recognises her “continued efforts to support the people of Burma and the many people throughout the world striving to attain democracy, human rights and ethnic conciliation by peaceful means”.

The council said that the honouring of both Flight Lieutenant Heal and Mrs Suu Kyi celebrated the importance of human rights and equalities.

The decision to award the honours was made by council chief executive John Barradell and lead councillors from each political party.

A report about the honours will be presented to the special council meeting which will make the award on Thursday. It can be read here.

Only two others have received the accolade since Brighton and Hove City Council was created – the widely respected former Argus journalist Adam Trimingham and the World War One veteran Henry Allingham.
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UN envoy meets Myanmar's pro-democracy leader
Thu May 12, 1:13 pm ET

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi says she agrees with the visiting U.N. special envoy that the country's new nominally civilian government should be given a chance to prove itself.

Suu Kyi spoke after having what she described as "a frank meeting" with Vijay Nambiar. Though her party was officially disbanded, she is still considered the country's main opposition figure.

She said the two agreed to "wait and see how things develop, but we do not want to be negative."

Critics charge the new government is merely the latest iteration of the repressive military regime that has ruled for decades.

Nambiar, who also met government officials, said the government has made "some very interesting statements ... which are very encouraging." He did not elaborate.
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Top UN official says Myanmar signs 'encouraging'
Thu May 12, 1:32 pm ET

YANGON (AFP) – A visiting top UN official said Thursday that recent signals from Myanmar's new army-backed government were "very encouraging", after talks with democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi.

"The government has made some very interesting statements... which are very encouraging," Vijay Nambiar, chief of staff to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, told reporters after meeting Suu Kyi.

But he added that it was important to watch whether there was real progress in areas such as human rights, notably whether the government will release Myanmar's more than 2,200 political prisoners.

Rights campaigners warned Nambiar's visit could be exploited by Myanmar's leaders.

"It depends on the action of the government. We do hope that there will be a breakthrough," said Nambiar, who met foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin on Wednesday in his first talks with Myanmar's nominally civilian government since the dissolution of the junta at the end of March.

It was the second time the UN official has met Suu Kyi since her release from house arrest in November soon after an election that was marred by widespread reports of intimidation and voter fraud.

Suu Kyi said she had discussed the issue of political prisoners with the UN official.

"We will have to wait and see... but we do not want to be negative," she said.

Myanmar's junta, the State Peace and Development Council, was disbanded at the end of March following the November polls.

New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Nambiar not to allow his visit "to be misused by the government to shore up its credibility on human rights in the absence of meaningful progress."

"Should Nambiar fail to speak clearly about the need for meaningful reforms, the government will simply spin his visit to justify their abusive practices," said HRW deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson.
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Threat to bears from illegal bile trade unabated: report
Thu May 12, 10:38 am ET

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters Life!) – Poaching and illegal trade of bears, whose bile is used in traditional medicine and folk remedies, remains robust across Asia, putting wild bear populations under unrelenting pressure, according to a report by a wildlife trade monitoring network.

Products made from bile extracted from bears' gall bladders were found on sale in traditional medicine outlets in all but one of the 13 nations and territories surveyed by TRAFFIC. Macao was the sole exception.

"Both the Asiatic Black Bear and the Sun Bear are threatened by poaching and illegal trade," said Kaitlyn-Elizabeth Foley, lead author of the report and senior program officer of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, in a statement.

"The demand for bile is one of the greatest drivers behind this trade and must be reduced if bear conservation efforts are to succeed."

In cases where bile is extracted, the process requires milking open incisions, which animal rights groups say causes physical and psychological suffering.

The products -- including whole gall bladders and pills -- were most frequently found in mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam, where they were for sale in half of all places surveyed.

The report noted that while sales of bear bile are legal in some Asian nations -- including mainland China and Japan -- any trade across borders is prohibited by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

In some cases this appears to be going on, with the origin of some bile products murky at best, the report said.

It cited Myanmar, where some gall bladders were reported to come from Laos, and Hong Kong, where pills were reported to have come from Japan, pointing to a "complex and robust" trading network in which some nations produced bile products, some nations consumed them, and some did both.

"Unbridled illegal trade in bear parts and products continues to undermine CITES," Foley added.

While in some cases the bile products came from animals on bear farms, very few of the farms said they had captive breeding programs, suggesting they rely on bears taken from the wild, the report said.

The countries and territories surveyed included Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan, Laos, Korea, Taiwan and Macao.

Attitudes within Asia may be starting to change, however, albeit slowly. Earlier this year, an online fury erupted after news that a Chinese company that extracts bile from captive bears for use in traditional medicine hoped to list on the stock market.
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The Hollywood Reporter - Michelle Yeoh Hopes Aung San Suu Kyi Biopic Will Raise Awareness
2:12 AM 5/13/2011 by Associated Press (Associated Press)

The former Bond girl takes on the role of the Myanmar pro-democracy leader in Luc Besson's film 'The Lady.'

HONG KONG -- Michelle Yeoh says she hopes her portrayal of Aung San Suu Kyi in an upcoming movie will raise awareness about the Myanmar pro-democracy leader's story.

The former Bond girl recently wrapped up shooting for the Luc Besson biopic, The Lady, in Thailand.

Suu Kyi spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention. She was released in November following elections that replaced the ruling military junta with a nominally civilian government. Critics called the elections, which were boycotted by Suu Kyi's party, a charade. Her party won the last elections in 1990 but was prevented from taking power.

Speaking on the sidelines of a jewelry exhibit in Hong Kong on Thursday, Yeoh called the movie "an incredible love story that has political turmoil within," referring to Suu Kyi's relationship with her husband, Briton Michael Aris.

"More importantly for me is that people should know her story because unfortunately I think a lot of people have forgotten or don't really understand what was going on because it's been 20 years," Yeoh said. The 48-year-old Malaysian-born actress met with Suu Kyi as part of her preparation for the role.

The star of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Memoirs of a Geisha and the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies said Besson, the French director, is currently editing the movie and is eyeing a world premiere at the Venice Film Festival which runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 10.

Yeoh said she was grateful that their shoot in Thailand was not interrupted by curious fans. In an age where cellphone footage is common, there were few leaks from the set of The Lady.

"It was very important that we did it low-profile and I think because of that you have the integrity of what the film is about," she said.

Yeoh's other upcoming release is the animated movie Kung Fu Panda 2, which is the first time she has lent her voice to a cartoon character. She is the voice of The Soothsayer.

Yeoh said she has always resisted voiceovers because of what she described as her "husky, deep voice," which she said was often confused for that of a man.

"Sometimes when I'm on the phone, someone will say 'Yes, Mr. Yeoh.' And I'm thinking, 'I'm not Mr. Yeoh man,'" she joked.
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Asian Correspondent - UN ‘soft power’ leaves trail of broken promises in Burma
By Francis Wade May 13, 2011 4:39PM UTC

“How many troops does the pope have?” was Stalin’s rebuke to the notion of soft power – a sinister phrase given the author, but one that, in some contexts, has a valid underlying message. That is certainly the case for the UN as it once again wraps up a visit to Burma, having showcased its ineptitude at dealing with obstinate rulers by feebly attempting to appeal to their ‘human’ sides, despite a wealth of evidence that they don’t really have one.

Vijay Nambiar, the UN chief’s closest aide, has also likely angered, even betrayed, the vast majority of the country who see praise for their enslavers as misguided and dangerous.

The new government in Burma “has made some very interesting statements… which are very encouraging”, he told reporters shortly after meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi. She on the other hand, having actually monitored developments close-up rather than from a diplomatic bubble on the other side of the world, sees “no meaningful change” since the November elections last year.

Suu Kyi could indeed be more vitriolic in her criticism of the government, except that it may land her in trouble; Nambiar on the other hand has fewer justifiable reasons to excuse himself, except that he is merely the ambassador of a system that feels hard pressure is counterproductive – instead, he thinks, we should consider the superficial signs of progress in Burma as symptomatic of a change of heart in Naypyidaw, and therefore applaud them for it.

This attitude goes right to the core of UN thinking, which under Ban Ki-moon has pushed further the belief that co-option and charm offensives are the key to unlocking regimes. Not without coincidence, Ban’s term in office has also seen the legitimacy of the UN nosedive, with the now infamous leaked Alhenius memo of 2010 showcasing better than anything the decay of a once-admired institution.

Its credibility then has been dealt another blow by this week’s events, with Nambiar managing to do exactly what experts warned him against: “Should Nambiar fail to speak clearly about the need for meaningful reforms, the government will simply spin his visit to justify their abusive practices,” Human Rights Watch said just before he touched down in Rangoon on Wednesday, apparently foretelling the outcome of the trip.

Since January 2007, when Ban used one of his first speeches as UN chief to urge for the release of Burma’s political prisoners, their numbers have doubled – one of a number a gauges we can use to assess the merits of soft power. Of course the UN doesn’t have a magic wand, and it has to grapple with Burma’s position in the middle of a tug-of-war between the Security Council’s five permanent members, but its approach to the country is naïve and shows little understanding of the mindset of the regime. I would challenge Nambiar to pinpoint tangible results of the “encouraging signs” he has hailed, or else he is guilty of succumbing to the government’s revamped wardrobe and its newfound charm.
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Asian Tribune - CSW calls for aid and action for eastern Burma to address growing humanitarian crisis
Thu, 2011-05-12 23:53 — editor
London, 13 May, (Asiantribune.com):

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) called for international action to end the growing humanitarian crisis in eastern Burma, where there is an acute food shortage in Karen state, and attacks on civilians in Shan State continue.

As UN Special Adviser on Burma Vijay Nambiar visits the country this week, CSW urges him to address the crisis directly in his talks with the regime. CSW also calls for the international community to provide emergency aid to affected communities and increase funding for the refugee camps on the Thailand-Burma border.

According to the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), at least 8,885 villagers in 118 villages in northern Karen State are facing acute food shortages. Villagers claim to have run out of food or fear they will do so before the harvest in October this year. Limited financial resources mean local humanitarian organizations have been unable to provide emergency assistance.

The unfolding humanitarian crisis is a result of recent attacks on villagers by the Burma Army, causing displacement and food insecurity compounded by a recent drought. Tens of thousands of civilians in Lu Thaw Township, northern Papun District, Karen State have gone into hiding, and are in urgent need of assistance.

In Shan State, an offensive by the Burma Army against the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) has forced more than 3,000 people to flee from their homes. Many are in hiding in the jungle. The regime’s offensive has broken a ceasefire with the SSA-N which has lasted 22 years.

CSW’s East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers said, "The regime’s offensives against civilians in eastern Burma amount to crimes against humanity, and have caused a grave humanitarian crisis. With thousands of people displaced and in hiding, with no food or medical assistance, and with the military continuing to shoot, torture, enslave, rape and kill villagers, it is time for the international community to take action. We urge the United Kingdom, the European Union and other major donors to provide emergency humanitarian assistance, and to continue to provide much-needed support for refugees on the Thailand-Burma border."

“We call on the UN Special Adviser on Burma to raise this situation with the regime during his talks this week, and to urge the regime to end its attacks and declare a nationwide ceasefire. We urge the UN to implement the recommendation of its own Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, and establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity. The world cannot sit by and claim that there is change in Burma, while the regime continues to perpetrate gross violations of human rights, inflict severe suffering on its people and flout international law, ” added CSW’s East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers.
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Sydney Morning Herald - Suu Kyi appeals to Australia for scrutiny of Burmese parliament
MPs have been shown a video message by the democracy leader, writes Deborah Snow.
Deborah Snow
May 14, 2011

THE Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has urged Australia to maintain a close watch on her country, saying the recent election of a parliament after decades of military rule has not produced a move towards ''true'' democracy.

In a video message played for federal MPs in Canberra this week, the recently released leader said: ''We have not seen any positive, definite move towards a truly democratic process''.

She cites as core concerns the failure to free the country's 2000 political prisoners and tight constraints on the new parliament. ''I particularly appeal to elected members of parliament, not just in Australia or Asia, but all over the world to look very carefully at how the elections of [November] 2010 were conducted, and what the elected members of the national assembly are allowed to do.''

Ms Suu Kyi has chosen her words carefully, given she is is not long out of 15 years of house arrest, and wants to minimise direct confrontation with the still-powerful generals. The message was recorded to mark 100 days of the Burmese parliament, which convened in January after the military orchestrated the first elections in 20 years.

Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy boycotted the poll, which was engineered to give the army control of more than 80 per cent of the seats.

The military's ruling organ, the State Peace and Development Council, dissolved itself at the end of March but seasoned Burma observers say the same people remain in charge behind the parliamentary facade.

''The old Senior General Than Shwe still calls the shots even though he holds almost no official position at all,'' says a Macquarie University academic, Sean Turnell, who visited the country less than a month ago. 'The message from just about everyone I spoke to is that … the military are still in charge.''

Associate Professor Turnell, a world expert on the Burmese economy, says the defence apparatus will consume more than half of the national budget this year, and that more than 90 per cent of Burma's revenues from natural gas - some 2 to 3 billion dollars a year - will go into a slush fund controlled by the army.

The Indonesian MP and current head of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, Eva Sundari, was also in Canberra this week underscoring warnings about how little has changed in Burma. She says her group is campaigning against Burma taking chairmanship of ASEAN in 2014.

Tensions remain along the Thai-Burma border, where some 140,000 Burmese live in refugee camps after fleeing crackdowns on ethnic minorities by the Burmese military.

A further 87,000 Burmese have taken refuge in Malaysia, where they live in the shadows among the populace, with no right to work (though many do illegally for pitiful wages) and no right for their children to attend schools.

It is from this group that Australia will draw many of the 4000 refugees it has agreed to take from Malaysia in return for 800 irregular boat arrivals it will send to Kuala Lumpur.

The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, unveiled the controversial swap this week as part of Canberra's increasingly desperate plan for a '' regional solution'' to stop the boats, hoping that those contemplating the journey would be deterred by the risk they will end up in Malaysia not Australia.

Many Burmese refugees living in Malaysia are from ethnic groups in revolt against Rangoon.
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Defence Professionals - Chinese and Myanmar military leaders hold talks in Nay Pyi Taw
13:40 GMT, May 13, 2011

NAY PYI TAW | Xu Caihou, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, held talks with Commander-in- Chief of the Myanmar Defense Service General Min Aung Hlaing here Thursday shortly after Xu's arrival in Myanmar's new capital of Nay Pyi Taw.

Xu said China and Myanmar have long closely exchanged and lived on good term, having forged deep paukphaw (fraternal) friendship and stood the test.

He said Chinese President Hu Jintao highly attached importance to the deepening of the two countries' friendly and cooperative ties and have for many occasions met and discussed with Myanmar leaders, reaching common consent on consolidation of such ties.

At present, the exchange and cooperation between the two countries in various sectors continuously deepened and have made rich achievements, he said, adding that the Chinese side highly appreciated the development of the two countries' friendly and cooperative ties under the new situation. "My present visit is to further enhance the China-Myanmar traditional friendship, boost understanding, expand consent, deepen cooperation, push the friendly and cooperative ties between the two countries and the two armed forces ahead and strive for the maintenance of regional peace and stability," he said.

Xu said that for a long time the two armed forces have maintained friendly exchange and launched outstanding practical achievements in reciprocal visits at high level, training of military personnel, border personnel exchange, not only boosting respective defense and armed forces construction but also making new contribution to the all-sided development of the two countries ' relations .

Xu made a three-point proposal for the development of the two armed forces -- 1. enhancement of mutual trust strategically and consolidation of the friendly overall situation. 2. Strengthening of link and coordination and safeguarding of the two countries' common benefit and 3. Pushing forward of practical cooperation and exchange and deepening of the two armed forces' friendly ties.

During the talks, Myanmar military leader General Min Aung Hlaing welcomed Xu, who is the first foreign military leader to visit Myanmar after the formation of the new government, saying that it is bound to further the two countries' "paukphaw" friendship as well as the traditional friendship existing between the peoples of two countries and the two armed forces.

He agreed with Xu's three-point proposals, saying that the development of the two countries relations meets new opportunity under the new historical era, hoping that the existing close relations and exchange should be maintained to well safeguard the peace and stability of the two countries and the region and continue to boost the relations between the two countries and the two armed forces to a new level.

Min Aung Hlaing reiterated Myanmar's stance to stick to the One China policy and support China's stances on the issues of Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang.

The two side exchanged views on the international and regional peace and security, and informed each other's development of their armed forces.

Xu arrived here Thursday for a goodwill visit to Myanmar at the invitation of General Min Aung Hlaing.
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China Daily - Myanmar eyes 'fraternal' ties with China
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-13 16:46

NAY PYI TAW - Speaker of the Parliament of Representative (Lower House) of Myanmar U Shwe Mann met with visiting Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission Xu Caihou here Friday and the two sides held discussions in a friendly atmosphere.

U Shwe Mann said ever since Myanmar and China forged ties, the two countries have as always respected each other and supported each other, especially in recent years, the two countries made frequent exchanges in various sectors, continuously raising the level of cooperation and making apparent achievements.

He underlined that armed forces of the two countries have maintained good relations and have played an important role in the development of bilateral ties.

He held that furthering and pushing of Myanmar-China neighborly, friendly and cooperative ties is Myanmar's designated policy which conforms to the fundamental benefit of the two peoples.

He expressed wishes to make joint efforts with the Chinese side to consolidate the two countries' "paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship, further develop the cooperative and friendly ties with China and strengthen the multi-lateral cooperation in the international community, hoping that the Chinese side could continue to render support in the course of Myanmar's national development.

At the discussions, Xu said China and Myanmar, both belonging to key countries in Asia, are linked by river and mountains with mutual benefits related and close friendship between the two peoples.

Over 61 years after China and Myanmar established diplomatic ties, the two countries' relations have as always maintained a trend of healthy and stable development no matter how the international situation as well as their domestic situation changed, bringing about tangible benefit to the two peoples, he said.

At present, when facing complicated international situation, he vowed that the Chinese side would continue to uphold a foreign policy of living in good term and making partners with surrounding neighboring countries, making joint efforts with Myanmar friends to ensure the friendship could be inherited generation by generation by supporting each other and deepening cooperation.

Xu also briefed U Shwe Mann over China's socio-economic development, stressing the need for the two countries to handle well the complicated and sensitive issues related to security and stability when the two countries are amid a critical period of social development in order to better maintain peace and stability of their respective countries.

The meeting was also attended by Xu's entourage and Chinese ambassador to Myanmar Li Junhua.
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AllAfrica.com - Africa: World in the Throes of a Human Rights Revolution, Says Amnesty
Thalif Deen
13 May 2011

United Nations — The growing demands for democratic reforms spreading across the Middle East and North Africa - along with the dramatic rise of social media networks - have triggered "a human rights revolution on the threshold of a historic change", says Amnesty International (AI).

"People are rejecting fear," as spontaneous political uprisings have ousted repressive regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and authoritarian governments in Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and Syria have been jolted by mass protests and street battles.

"Not since the end of the Cold War have so many repressive governments faced such a challenge to their stranglehold on power," says AI Secretary-General Salil Shetty.

In its annual global human rights report released Friday, the London-based organisation says courageous people, led largely by youth, are standing up and speaking out in the face of bullets, beatings, tear gas and battle tanks.

This bravery, combined with new technology that is helping activists to outflank and expose government suppression of free speech and peaceful protest, "is sending a signal to repressive governments that their days are numbered".

"Now there are whispers of discontent being heard from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe," says the report, released on the eve of AI's 50th anniversary, which falls on May 28.

At the same time, repressive governments in Azerbaijan, China and Iran "are trying to pre-empt any similar revolutions in their countries".

The 400-page report provides the state of human rights, and specifically widespread abuses, in some 157 countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Brazil, China, Mexico, Russia, Myanmar, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe.

The report singles out the specific restrictions on free speech in at least 89 countries, highlights cases of prisoners of conscience in some 48 countries, documents torture and other ill-treatment in 98 countries, and reports on unfair trials in 54 countries.

AI also points out the deteriorating country situations worldwide, including a grim picture for activists in Ukraine, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan; spiraling violence in Nigeria; and an escalating crisis posed by Maoist armed insurgencies in central and northeast India.

Conflicts have also "wreaked havoc" in the Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Russia's North Caucasus, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Somalia, "with civilians often targeted by armed groups and government forces".

On the positive side, the report points out the signs of progress, including the steady retreat of the death penalty; some improvements in maternal healthcare, including in Indonesia and Sierra Leone; and the bringing to justice of some of those responsible for human rights crimes under past military regimes in Latin America.

Information wars

But the primary theme of the report is the continuing protests in the Middle East and North Africa where there is "a critical battle" underway for control of access to information, means of communication and networking technology such as social media networks that has fuelled a new activism that governments are struggling to control.

But "as seen in Tunisia and Egypt, government attempts to block internet access or cut mobile phone networks can backfire - but governments are scrambling to regain the initiative or to us this technology against activists," according to AI.

Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies, told IPS the unprecedented opportunity for human rights change in the Middle East comes from the courage and creativity of a newly- energised, newly mobilised civil society across the Arab world and beyond.

Social media continues to play a part, but it is that of an instrument, not a strategy, she said.

"Just as the then-cutting edge fax machine played an unprecedented role in the Tiananmen Square protests (in China), cassette tapes in Iran's anti-Shah movement, and secretly printed and distributed nidat (leaflets) served to mobilise the activists of Palestine's first intifada, creative young activists took advantage of all the potential of cell phones, Facebook, Twitter accounts and more to build the Arab Spring," said Bennis.

But those are tools, and when repressive governments, including in Egypt and Tunisia, clamped down, shutting off the internet, closing cell phone service and turning off Facebook, democracy campaigners shifted seamlessly to the old face-to-face methods of organising.

"Word was spread through the mosques, in quiet words passed to neighbours and co-workers, written notes appeared. The mobilisations continued," said Bennis, who has written extensively on Middle East politics and is author of several books, including "Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict".

AI's Shetty says that powerful governments, which have underestimated the burning desire of people everywhere for freedom and justice, must now back reform rather than sliding back into cynical political support for repression.

"The true tests of these governments' integrity will be to support the rebuilding of states that promote human rights but that may not be allies, and their willingness as with Libya to refer the worst perpetrators to the International Criminal Court (ICC) when all other justice avenues fail," Shetty said.

He warned that corporations providing internet access, cellular communications and social networking sites and that support digital media and communications need to respect human rights.

"They must not become the pawns or accomplices of repressive governments who want to stifle expression and spy on their people," he said.

Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies told IPS the challenge to human rights in the Middle East today comes not from dictatorial regimes shutting down access to social media but it comes from their refusal to recognise that the Arab Spring, especially but not solely its victories in bringing down dictators in Egypt and Tunisia, has created an entirely new dynamic in the region.

"The U.S., which for more than half a century scaffolded those dictatorships with money and arms in search of an ultimately elusive stability, is facing an unprecedented challenge to retool U.S. foreign policy in light of these changes," she pointed out.

So far, she said, the U.S. record is, charitably, mixed.

In Egypt, the Barack Obama administration came late to the realisation that the U.S.-backed Hosni Mubarak regime was indeed destined for the dustbin of history, and they scrambled to retool a position that would at least appear to side with the Egyptian people's overwhelming demand for freedom, democracy and an end to dictatorship.

They have not, however, reversed longstanding reliance on the Egyptian military.

The military's continued receipt of the vast majority of the 1.3 billion dollars in U.S. aid to Egypt is helping to create a serious divide between the new government and the still-empowered military, Bennis declared.
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Thursday, May 12th, 2011 11:13:00
The Malay Mail - Two Myanmar refugees on murder rap
Reena Raj

KUALA LUMPUR: Two Myanmar refugees were charged on Tuesday with the murder of another Myanmar refugee.

The suspects, Salai Zaw Ki, 27, and Pan Hung, 22, had allegedly murdered Peng Thung on April 27 between 12.30am and 3.20am at Lot 526, Batu 6, Jalan Cheras.

Both suspects were arrested later that same day.

All three had worked as construction workers and no plea was recorded when the charge was made at the magistrate's court here yesterday.

Magistrate Siti Shakirah Mohtaruddin set July 11 for next mention and for a translator to be present.

Both suspects were unrepresented.
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uniprotokolle - Aung San Suu Kyi in live discussion with students of the Hertie School
12.05.2011 - (idw) Hertie School of Governance

Berlin, 12 May 2011 - Students of the Hertie School of Governance had the unique opportunity to discuss the future of Burma with pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi. On Tuesday 10 May 2011 Aung San Suu Kyis voice could be heard on the Hertie School campus in Berlin as she highlighted the liberation of political prisoners, the establishment of an independent judiciary and greater participation in the political process as key issues that Burma faces on its path to democratisation. Aung San Suu Kyi joined the discussion via a live audio link from her home in Burma. She spoke frankly about the lack of meaningful change in her country since the most recent elections; and shared about her movements efforts to change the minds of the Burmese people in order to facilitate real and lasting political change.

The increasing involvement of the youth in Burmas political process was emphasised by Aung San Suu Kyi as an important development; and she underlined the necessity of education and a strong civil society in creating a climate in which people are empowered to take ownership of the political process.

In terms of the role of the international community Aung San Suu Kyi called for a coordinated approach to the Burma question; as well as carefully targeted development aid that supports civil society and empowers people to become more independent from the government.

Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest on 13 November 2010 and has since actively prioritised engaging in dialogue with young people across the globe. She approached the Hertie School and expressed interest in having a discussion with the institutions international student body. Aung San Suu Kyi and her helpers participated in the event at great personal risk. Thus the Hertie School was requested to make all preparations for this event as discreetly as possible.


A panel featuring Patrick Gilroy (Student, Hertie School), Alina Mungiu-Pippidi (Professor of Democracy Studies, Hertie School), Corina Murafa (Student, Hertie School), Adrienne Woltersdorf (Head of Chinese Department, DW), and moderated by Melinda Crane (DW-TV) steered the discussion with Aung San Suu Kyi. A discussion of this nature had only been hosted once to date with students of the London School of Economics and Political Science in December 2010.

The event was hosted in cooperation with Deutsche Welle-TV and will be broadcast on DW-TV in the coming week.

Event Photo Gallery: www.hertie-school.org

The Hertie School prepares exceptional students for leadership positions in government, business, and civil society. The School also offers experienced professionals the opportunity to deepen their skills in the field of public management. A renowned international faculty with expertise in economics, business, law, political and social science take an interdisciplinary, policy-oriented approach to the School´s teaching and research agenda. The Hertie School is an international centre, with a variety of first-rate academic projects and a diverse student body. The School actively engages in public debate with its wide range of events bringing together experts from theory and practice.
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FOREIGN WORKERS
Bangkok Post - Govt gives illegals last chance to register before crackdown
Published: 14/05/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

Illegal labourers from Cambodia, Laos and Burma will be given a last chance to report to the government or face a tough crackdown if they continue to work without permission.

About two million workers from the three countries are estimated to have entered Thailand illegally and they will be subject to a stricter watch, said permanent secretary for labour Somkiat Chayasriwong.

They are being told to register with branch offices of the Department of Employment from June 15 to July 14 for the right to stay in Thailand for one year. Their accompanying children aged less than 15 will also be allowed to live with them.

The registration of illegal workers is not new. The government had earlier tried to legalise their status but many failed to register for work permits.

The latest chance came after the cabinet agreed on April 26 to put all illegal workers under stricter monitoring by the state.

Mr Somkiat called the move "opening the door and closing windows" and said it would give foreign labourers an opportunity to work in Thailand while blocking any illegal acts.

Authorities will facilitate workers who enter Thailand legally and those who register, but if they fail to follow laws, they will face a range of measures, including fines, imprisonment and social measures.

Some workers who want to be registered but cannot complete the process by the deadline can ask for an extension of another 30 days, Mr Somkiat said. Among this group are those working on fishing boats who may not be able to report to the government in June and July.

Each worker will have to pay 3,880 baht for registration, which includes 600 baht for a medical check, 1,300 baht for health insurance, 1,900 baht for a work permit and 80 baht for registration.
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Indiana's NewsCenter - City Officials Work to Bridge Burmese Communication Gap
By Megan Trent
May 12, 2011 Updated May 12, 2011 at 7:20 PM EDT

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (indiana's NewsCenter) - What are Fort Wayne officials doing to bridge the communication gap for the city's growing Burmese population?

Since 2008, Mayor Tom Henry has regularly called together a group of community agency leaders to discuss how to address issues like transportation and education with Burmese refugees.

Community leaders took a big step forward by making it easier for refugees to communicate with physicians through video conferencing and interpreters. In addition, Citilink has produced videos that teach Burmese refugees how to use the city's public transportation system.

However, officials say translating signs and documents present another challenge. Cherise Dixie is a Community Liaison to the Mayor's office for Fort Wayne's east side. She says, "In this instance, a lot of the Burmese refugees that we have are illiterate in their own language. So, it's caused somewhat of a challenge in terms of trying to bring them up to speed or teach them English at the rate at which we have in the past with other groups."

Dixie says there aren't a lot of examples in other cities to draw from when it comes to integrating the Burmese community. The Burmese population in Indianapolis, however, is beginning to catch up to Fort Wayne's numbers. Dixie says this gives officials an opportunity to exchange ideas and successes.

She says bridging the communication gap is a challenge, but one Fort Wayne is making progressing with. While there is still work to be done, she acknowledges, it's also a challenge Fort Wayne residents and officials are ready to take on.
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Press statement by Vijay Nambiar, special adviser to the UN secretary-general
Friday, 13 May 2011 20:04 Mizzima News
Source: UNIC Yangon

(Document) I have just completed a three-day working visit at the invitation of the new Government of Myanmar in my capacity as Special Adviser to the Secretary-General. This follows my earlier visit shortly after the elections in November last year. The purpose of this visit was three-fold:

First, to engage with the new six-week old Government and with other stakeholders in order to take stock of recent developments and to build on the comprehensive dialogue between the United Nations and Myanmar. In Naypyitaw, I met with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Social Welfare, National Planning and Development; and senior officials of the Ministries of Commerce, Health and Education. I also met with the newly appointed Presidential Advisers for political, legal and economic affairs. Meetings were also arranged with the Deputy Speaker of the People’s Assembly at the Union Assembly hall, and the Secretary-General of the Union Solidarity and Development Party. In Yangon, I met again with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the Central Executive Committee of the National League for Democracy. Further meetings were held with representatives of political parties represented in Parliament, and civil society organizations. This morning I visited Bago and met with the Chief Minister of Bago Region.

The second purpose of my visit was to convey a forward looking message. The United Nations welcomes the important themes and reforms announced by President Thein Sein in his inaugural speeches. These include the recognition of some of the most pressing political and economic challenges facing Myanmar and the need to address them in a way that strengthens national unity and reconciliation - sustainable development and equitable growth; good governance through greater responsiveness, inclusiveness, accountability, and transparency; continued engagement through genuine goodwill and keeping the door open with those who do not accept the Constitution and the roadmap; and respect for fundamental human rights, the media and the rule of law. These stated priorities of the Government are consistent with the expectations of the United Nations and the international community.

Recognizing the significance of the Government’s commitments, we must stress that implementation is key. I underscored the opportunity and responsibility that the Government now has to translate its commitments into effective action. Domestically and internationally, expectations are high that it will start taking concrete steps soon. In all my meetings, I stressed that this must include the release of all political prisoners and inclusive dialogue with all segments of society, as well as greater outreach to the international community to ensure that the proposed reforms enjoyed broad buy-in. Only then can there be greater confidence that the efforts undertaken will indeed serve to meet the longstanding needs and aspirations of the people of Myanmar. There is no time to waste if Myanmar is to move forward.

Thirdly, I reiterated the United Nations’ strong commitment to long-term engagement with the Government and people of Myanmar in support of their efforts to move the country towards durable peace, democracy and prosperity. Since Cyclone Nargis three years ago, the collaboration between the United Nations and Myanmar has grown significantly. With all my counterparts, I discussed the opportunity and the need to build on such efforts to deepen and broaden our engagement in advancing needed reforms, including through continued facilitation and greater assistance in the areas of economic development, health, education, capacity-building, and human rights. The United Nations wants Myanmar to succeed. With the cooperation of Myanmar and the support of all concerned, including regional and donor countries, the United Nations looks forward to being able to deliver to its full potential in order to better serve the people of Myanmar. On its part, the UN agencies would be better placed to respond to Myanmar’s development needs if the existing restrictions on its operations are removed.
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The Irrawaddy - 'Burma Soldier' Documents Life Under Regime Command
By YENI Friday, May 13, 2011

For decades, the Burmese army has been notorious for its horrific aggression against civilians, especially inconflict areas: underage boys have been forced to join the army; young women, mainly in ethnic areas, have been raped and murdered; locals haved been forced to work as porters—and in some cases even used to sweep for landmines.

“For them [the Burmese military], it is just as normal as eating and drinking,” said Myo Myint, 48, a former Burmese soldier who was an eyewitness to such atrocities and is the subject of the film “Burma Soldier,” a powerful documentary about the life of a former Burmese soldier who risked everything to become a pro-democracy activist.

The 70-minute-long film, directed by Nic Dunlop, a Bangkok-based writer and photographer, along with fellow documentarians Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern, will screen on Sunday at the Brighton Festival 2011—where Burmese prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be honored in absentia as the guest director. The film will also be shown May 19 and June 12 on HBO, and a Burmese language version is available for free download on the Vimeo site, allowing its distribution inside Burma.

“Burma Soldier” is the first-hand testimony of an ex-soldier who lost his left fingers, right arm and right leg while fighting a skirmish in Burma’s ongoing civil war—one of the world's longest unresolved conflicts which has been raging for more than half a century. The film is a true reflection of a brave, charismatic man who has sacrificed his body and dedicated himself to his country. One of the tragedies revealed by the film is that this Burma soldier is but one of many disabled soldiers who have been neglected by the country's military rulers.

Myo Myint said he joined the army when he was 17 to find safety, respect and gainful employment, later becoming an engineer who mapped and cleared landmines on the battlefield. He soon realized that the soldiers were systematically trained to normalize killing, torture and abuse of civilians in the conflict zones in order to “annihilate the enemies.”

Four years after joining the army, Myo Myint was injured during heavy fighting in northern Shan State. He remained calm, composed and articulate when speaking of battlefield horrors, but began to cry when recalling his mother's visit to the hospital after a mortar had taken off his leg, arm and fingers.

Myo Myint returned to his mother’s home when he left army. There he set up a secret library of forbidden books, reading about history and politics and reflecting on his own life.

The former soldier went on to become an outspoken activist for peace and democracy, and in 1988 he joined student protests and persuaded others to participate in the peaceful demonstrations. Later he was granted a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of the country’s founding father Gen Aung San, and became a member of her political organization, the National League for Democracy (NLD). In 1989, he said he believed the opposition party could end the civil war.

Arrested for his involvement in the NLD’s anti-government activity, Myo Myint was sentenced to 15 years in prison. During that time, he was tortured brutally for saying, “ I don’t believe in military regime,” and at one point spent four months in solitary confinement in total darkness.

“My experience in the army was nothing compared with the punishment I received in detention,” he said.

Like other political prisoners, for more than a decade Myo Myint was not allowed to read and write, but often found a way through friendly wardens who sympathized with political prisoners.

He was released at the age of 41, but suffered further harassment by the regime outside of prison. As a result, he decided to leave Burma for the border town of Mae Sot, Thailand, where his prison mates had founded an independent non-profit organization, the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), which provides assistance to political prisoners and documents news related to them.

“I was introduced to Myo Myint by Bo Kyi at the AAPP in Mae Sot.
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The Irrawaddy - Suu Kyi Asks for Federalism Theses
By BA KAUNG Thursday, May 12, 2011

Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has asked Burmese and foreign activists and experts to submit papers on the topic of federalism for what she earlier described as “an ethnic conference in conformity with the 21st century.”

Those who Suu Kyi asked to write papers on the topic include distinguished foreign experts whose names are not yet available. A seminar will be held to read out the papers a few months from now, according to Win Tin, a senior member of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

“We want to issue a concrete policy statement on this topic after hearing all the different views and suggestions from people at home and abroad,” he said. “We also wish to compile those papers, and publish them in a book.”

Many observers have referred to the proposed conference as a “Second Panglong”—referring to a meeting of ethnic leaders and other relevant stakeholders along the lines of the 1947 Panglong Conference, which not only provided a basis for a federal state but also guaranteed the ethnic minorities a right to secede from the Union 10 years after Burma won independence from Britain.

The agreement never materialized but was followed by a civil war that still rages today.

A Burmese political activist in Rangoon who spoke to The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity, said he was personally asked by Suu Kyi in February to write a paper titled, “Federalism and the Spirit of the Union,” and is now working on it.

“The successive military regimes in our country have distorted federalism as something akin to national disintegration. I think Daw Suu wants to change that misconception,” he said.

“Daw Suu wants people to understand that federalism would unite different ethnicities and even strengthen the Union.”

He added that Suu Kyi had not given him a deadline for the paper, but told him that he would be informed of it in a timely manner.

Aye Thar Aung, an Arakan politician in Rangoon, said that the paper-reading seminar on the Second Panglong will not take the form of a confrontation with the authorities as some people worry, but it will rather be a brainstorming event where findings will enable the opposition to issue a consensual policy statement.

On Tuesday, Suu Kyi, 65, said that she has seen no meaningful changes in the country since general elections were held in November. Her party, the NLD, has been dissolved for boycotting the elections and has no representation in the newly elected parliament and government.

"Until political prisoners have been released, and until we are all allowed to take part in the political process in the country, I do not think we can call it real change," Suu Kyi said in a phone interview with German broadcaster DW-TV.
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The Irrawaddy - Burmese Army Still Recruits Children: UN
By LALIT K. JHA Thursday, May 12, 2011

WASHINGTON — The United Nations released a “List of Shame” on Wednesday, detailing armed groups and governments around the world that still recruit children as soldiers and/or practice in sexual violence against children in the theater of conflict.

It was no surprise to anyone that the Burmese army still figures prominently on such a war crimes list.

But Burma's government forces were not the only culprit in the country, the UN said. Other armed groups were implicated: the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the Karen National Union-Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council, the Karenni army, the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), and the United Wa State Army (UWSA).

The Secretary-General’s 10th Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict noted, however, that the KNLA and the Karenni army have sought to conclude an action plan with the UN in line with relevant Security Council resolutions. The world body said it has been prevented from doing so by the Burmese government.

“2010 proved another tragic year for children in conflicts all over the world,” said Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy. “We’ve taken no parties off the list and added four more—two in Yemen and two in Iraq,”

The report said the UN rued that there has been no progress on dialogue with non-state armed groups in Burma. In 2010, Naypyidaw again refused access to these groups, despite continued high-level advocacy from the UN task force.

Noting that Security Council Resolution 1612 underlines the primary role of states in providing effective protection and relief to all children affected by armed conflict, the report said that, to date, prevention and response activities provided by the Burmese government have involved the country's armed forces, commonly known as the Tatmadaw, but have not been recorded in other armed groups in Burma.

Furthermore, the protection of children in armed conflict has not been included in the comprehensive strategy to negotiate transformation of ceasefire groups to border guard forces or to resolve the conflict with the KNU/ KNLA, the Karenni National Progressive Party/ Karenni army or the Shan State Army-South, it said.

According to the UN report, children do not appear to be recruited in the Burmese army at the main recruitment centers, but that was not the case at other more remote or less rigorously monitored centers. The UN report alleged that the patterns of recruitment of underage children into the Burmese army did not alter significantly, and still included the recruitment of working and unaccompanied children from the streets, railway stations or other public places, although the majority of children were recruited from their homes or villages.

“Most cases of recruitment were of children between 15 to 17 years of age, and the majority were from Yangon division. Children continue to be persuaded or duped by relatives (working in the Tatmadaw), soldiers (to earn a promotion or other incentives) and other brokers to join the Tatmadaw,” it said.

“Credible reports indicate that, in addition to children who are officially recruited into the Tatmadaw, children are used by the Tatmadaw as porters, and as labour for road construction, kitchen work, farming, and aides-de-camp to high-ranking officers,” it said, adding that reports also confirm the recruitment and use of children by village militias known as pyi thu sit.

Burma's government is yet to draw up a plan to systematically identify and separate children being used by the Tatmadaw, and the discharge of children continued to be undertaken on an ad hoc basis as a response to complaints, it said.
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Bayda Institute asked to leave premises–again and again
Thursday, 12 May 2011 20:21 Te Te

New Delhi (Mizzima) – For the third time, the Bayda Institute, a free school affiliated with the National League for Democracy (NLD), in Thingangyun Township in Rangoon Division has been asked to leave its location after local authorities applied pressure on the landlord.

Local authorities threatened the landlord that if they continued renting the building to the Bayda Institue, the building would be confiscated so the landlord has told the school to leave the location, according to Myint Oo, one of the school administrators.

The school has a six-month contract on the premises. If the school moves, it will be the third time it has been forced to move within four months. At first, the school was located in Tamwe Township but because of the authorities’ pressure it had to move to Sanchaung Township and finally it moved from Sanchaung to Thingangyun.

‘Two days after our school opened in Thingangyun Township, the head of the Township Administration Office threatened the landlord not to rent the building to us. Since then, the landlord has repeatedly told us to leave the building’, Myint Oo told Mizzima.

The school’s officers have asked for the help of lawmaker Thein Nyunt of the Thingangyun branch of the National Democratic Force.

The Bayda Institute offers courses in social relationships, world affairs, South East Asian studies and basic English to high school graduates and graduates.

Presently, about 30 students from across the country are boarding at the school. The current enrollment is the sixth batch.

At every ceremony that concludes a course, various NLD leaders including Vice Chairman Tin Oo attend and present a message from Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy leader.

The 20 administrators of the Bayda Institute include activist Myo Yan Naung Thein, independent electoral candidate Win Cho, 88-Generation student Phyo Min Thein, activist Dr. Saw Naing and various NLD leaders.

‘The government can not provide a good education. That’s why we shoulder this responsibility. But, they threaten our volunteers in many ways. The former junta and the new government are not very different’, Myint Oo said.
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Corruption in Burma, Part VI: Scholarship hurdle
Friday, 13 May 2011 11:08 Mizzima News

Rangoon (Mizzima) – Htar Htar Khin graduated in mathematics from a university in Burma in 2006. After she left university, she took a number of training courses including an English speaking course. But in the poor economic times and situation of high unemployment in Burma, she has been unable to find a job despite all the searching she has been doing.

This is a situation that many young people in Burma face. A good education is not necessarily a guarantee of a job.

Htar Htar wracked her brains about what to do.

Finally, she had the idea to apply for scholarships. To apply, she would need her academic transcripts including her grades in matriculation exams and for the first year, second year, and final year of university exams.
She already had academic transcripts of matriculation exams. So she went to the Lower Burma University Affairs Department to request her university transcripts.

But, as many Burmese are aware from hard experience, getting the wheels of bureaucracy to move when it comes to obtaining certificates, licenses, identity cards, passports or, in this case, educational qualifications can be frustrating at times.

As the former student found out, it is not that officials completely block requests. It is just that they can take an inordinate period of time to comply with a request. And herein lay the catch – if a member of the public wants to speed up the process they need to consider greasing the wheels.

Htar Htar was in a hurry because she found there was a deadline for the scholarship applications this year. But when she walked into the records office, she ran into officialdom.


Htar Htar: I want to get official academic transcripts of my university exams for every year.

Staff: Your major?

Htar Htar: Mathematics


Staff: Tell me your student ID number and give me your student ID card.


Htar Htar: Here you are. Can I get the transcripts right now?


Staff: No, no. I need to take time in accessing your records. It will take at least two weeks.


Htar Htar: Oh, I can’t wait that long. The deadline to apply for the scholarship is in three days. Is there any way I can get the transcripts fast?


Staff: Impossible. I need to find your records in your first year, second year and final year.


It was then that Htar Htar suddenly had what she thought was a bright idea. She wrapped 10,000 kyat (about US$ 11) in paper and put the money on the official’s table.


Htar Htar: This is for your service.


Staff: It sounds extremely urgent. This is my phone number. You can call me tonight.


Htar Htar: So, can I get the transcripts tomorrow morning?


Staff: You will get them before the deadline for the scholarship. And I will fill some forms that need to be filled on your behalf.

When Htar Htar called the official that night, she was told she could collect the transcripts the next morning, around 10 p.m.
Grease money had saved the day.

Htar Htar had paid 50 times the official rate for the transcripts. It should have cost her about 200 kyat (US$ 0.25) for the forms and the documents.

Afterwards, she pondered what it must be like for students who can’t afford the grease money and what her country’s new leader, President Thein Sein, had said about many people living in severe poverty and urging officials to fight corruption.

As she says, poor students have to stay at the back of the queue and put up with what appears to be a deliberately sluggish bureaucracy because they can not afford the extra grease money to speed things up.
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Prosecutor asks court to withdraw criminal charges against Dunkley
Thursday, 12 May 2011 17:44 Myo Thein

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Australian cofounder of the Myanmar Times is likely to face only a charge of violating the Immigration Act, after the Burmese prosecutor asked the Kamayut Township Court in Rangoon to drop all criminal charges on Thursday.

At the hearing, the plaintiff said that she wished to withdraw her complaint because she could not recall what happened. She told the court that she had not been coerced to withdraw her complaint. The judge accepted her statement and scheduled another hearing for May 24.

In the statement, she said that the she had just informed the police of the incident and did not want to prosecute Dunkley. Earlier, she tried to withdraw her statement during previous hearngs but the court did not allow it.

At the hearing, Dunkley’s lawyer Aung Than Soe asked the plaintiff if it was true that on the way to Dunkley’s house on the day of the alleged assault, she had accidently hit the roof of the car and was injured. She testified that she could not recall what happened on that day because she was intoxicated.

Dr. Tin Tun Oo, the chief executive officer of the Myanmar Times, an Australian consul, some employees from the newspaper and local and foreign journalists attended the hearing.

Dunkley is charged under the Emergency Immigration Act, in addition to criminal charges of assaulting the plaintiff, giving her drugs and holding her against her will.

Prior to his release on bail late last month, Dunkley was held in the infamous Insein Prison in Rangoon. The judge cited a heart condition as a factor in granting bail. Dunkley resumed work as the English editor of the newspaper after his release.

The case against Dunkley, who is also the publisher of the The Phnom Penh Post, has attracted worldwide interest in the media community.

Originally from Perth, Australia, Dunkley was the first foreigner in recent times to enter the Burmese domestic newspaper market in 2000 when he joined forces with Sonny Shwe, the son of a close ally of then military intelligence chief and junta prime minister, Khin Nyunt. Less than a year after Khin Nyunt’s purging from the military junta, Sonny Shwe was arrested and new Burmese co-owners took over his stake in the paper.

Dunkley holds 49 percent ownership in the English-language newspaper.
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DVB News - China to gauge Burma’s insurgency policy
By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 13 May 2011

Security along the volatile border between China and Burma is expected to take centre stage during talks this weekend with senior Chinese military officials in Naypyidaw.

The vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, Xu Caihou, arrived in the Burmese capital yesterday evening for what analysts are billing as high level defence exchanges between the neighbouring states. Burma’s military chief, Min Aung Hlaing, is expected to return the gesture with a visit to Beijing next month.

The key areas for discussion will be the lengthy frontier region that plays host to a number of armed ethnic groups, as well as the security of the trans-Burma Shwe dual pipeline which, when it comes online in 2013, will become a key crutch for China’s soaring energy demands.

Military analyst Aung Kyaw Zaw told DVB today that China would be looking to gauge the new Burmese government’s policy towards ethnic armies along the border. China remains concerned about stability there following clashes in 2009 that forced an exodus of Burmese refugees across the border and exposed the central government’s flimsy hold on the region.

There is also the added problem of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Burma’s largest ethnic armed group located in northern Shan state, bordering China. Aung Kyaw Zaw said that the “Wa problem is very difficult to solve” for both governments, as China attempts to reconcile its historic support for the group with its strengthening ties to the Burmese government.

China has pumped significant capital into the Burmese economy in the past two years (some $US10 billion in 2010 alone) but has quietly reasserted its fears that political unrest in the country will jeopardise investments. This is nowhere more acute that the Shwe project, with the $US30 billion pipeline set to pass close to rebel territory before it enters Yunnan province.

The Times of India reported that as part of Beijing’s moves to strengthen its sea surveillance capabilities, more ships would be deployed to the Indian Ocean to monitor security around the Bay of Bengal, where the oil and gas pipelines begin.

Several bilateral agreements over maritime security are expected to be signed during talks with Xu Caihou this weekend, who becomes the first foreign military official to visit Burma since the nominally civilian government came to power in March.

Bar a sharp rebuke from China following the 2009 border clashes, the exchange of rhetoric between the governments has generally been one of mutual respect, with both declining to comment on their respective domestic controversies. This continued yesterday with Min Aung Hlaing reiterating Burma’s support “for the One China policy” and “China’s stances on the issues of Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang”, according to Xinhua.
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DVB News - Conflict worsening Karen food crisis
By NAW NOREEN
Published: 13 May 2011

Nearly 9000 people are facing severe food shortages in northern Karen state as operations by the Burmese army combine with abnormal weather to weaken grain supplies.

Villagers in the Papun district in Karen state have been forced to resort to lower yielding hillside cultivation following attacks by Burmese troops. The Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) says that 118 villages “have either exhausted their current food supplies or will run out of food before the October 2011 harvest”.

Some villagers told KHRG researchers that they expected to have consumed all of their existing food supplies by May 2011.

Lack of funding and difficulties in transport meant that local relief groups were also struggling to provide support, according to Saw Albert, field coordinator for KHRG.

“For hillside cultivation, you have to wait about seven years to work a farm again after you’ve worked on it once. The areas get smaller and smaller so now about two and three families have to share just one farm. Due to poor soil, they don’t produce a lot of rice.”

He added that villagers would now “have to improvise for their survival, such as mixing rice with other vegetables and cutting down their meals from three to one a day”.

On the prognosis for the villagers, Saw Albert was pessimistic: “Maybe some people, unable to travel around, will die of starvation.”

Insect infestation and dry weather have also played a part, KHRG said, “exacerbating the long-standing pressures on food security and triggering the current crisis”. It asserts however that the critical shortage is “fundamentally a consequence of attacks on civilians in Lu Thaw Township by Tatmadaw [Burmese army] forces carried out since 1997”.
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DVB News - Karen hospital hit by artillery fire
By NAW NOREEN
Published: 12 May 2011

Fighting close to Karen state’s Kawkareik erupted yesterday with four artillery shells damaging buildings in the town, including a hospital.

A Kawkareik resident said that joint forces of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) yesterday morning attacked a Burmese battalion near to the town, triggering heavy exchange of fire.

He said that three wards – Wingyi, Tada Oo and Aukywar – were hit by what appears to have been stray shells. “Because the fighting took place in a number of different locations, we don’t know who the shells belong to,” he added.

The monks’ wing of Kawkareik Hospital in Wingyi ward was damaged but casualties remain unknown.

Colonel Paw Do, of KNLA Battalion 101, said a Burmese battalion commander was killed in one of four fire fights that took place yesterday morning, although they were still waiting for a detailed casualty report.

It follows several flare-ups between Karen forces and the Burmese army close to the border with Thailand. The end of April saw a week of fighting in Kyiekdon, just south of Kawkareik, in which several civilians were killed, and on 8 May seven Burmese troops died in clashes with the KNLA in Wawlay.

The Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) warned yesterday that close to 9000 people in the northern Karen district of Papun had either exhausted, or were close to exhausting their food stocks as a result of Burmese army operations in the region.

“The 118 villages are located in nine village tracts, where attacks on civilians by Burma’s state army, the Tatmadaw, have triggered wide scale and repeated displacement since 1997,” said a report.

“As tens of thousands of civilians in northern Karen state have been displaced, over-population in hiding areas where civilians can more effectively avoid attacks has created shortages of arable land, depleted soil fertility and reduced potential crop yields.”
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