Tuesday, 20 September, 2011
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SPECIAL
Are rulers of Burma serious about change?
Published on September 21, 2011
In the first of a series, The Nation's Supalak Ganjanakhundee explores whether recent developments in the country point towards a paradigm shift
The new Burmese government is being observed by the international community for signs that reformers led by President Thein Sein can bring about a real change towards democracy and reconciliation.
Outsiders see something is happening in the country, which was under military rule for a long time, but wonder if such movements are real.
"I think everybody who follows this country knows that there have been stops and starts, that expectations have been dashed, that things only go so far, and then they stop or they reverse themselves. And I really urged the leadership to prove the sceptics wrong," Derek Mitchell, the US special representative and policy coordinator for Burma, said in Rangoon last week when he wrapped up his visit.
The United States, together with the European Union, United Nations and Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is now engaging Burma in the hope that the new government, which was installed to replace the junta in March, would dedicate itself to political reform and national reconciliation.
Over the past months since he came to power, Thein Sein has done many "positive" things for political reform. The most significant was his hour-long meeting with Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi last month in the capital of Naypyidaw.
Outsiders did not know exactly what they talked about but a diplomatic source expected that it was not a normal conversation. The meeting seemed to have set some guidelines for the political role of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD), the source said.
Despite boycotting the November election, Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD is not being isolated from Burma's politics and reform process. Senior representatives from the US, EU and UN who visited Burma over the past weeks allocated equal time to meeting with her as with government officials.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who holds the rotating chairmanship of Asean, of which Burma is a member, said yesterday the group would weigh Aung San Suu Kyi's opinion before making a decision on whether to allow Burma to chair the group in 2014 as requested.
Marty said he would visit Burma next month to explore the possibility of the country assuming the chairmanship of the grouping.
Burma was extremely keen to do so, he said, adding that that could be an incentive to encourage more democratic reform.
Besides meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, Thein Sein has done many other things to show that he is steering the country toward reform. He began to tackle the economic hardships caused by the kyat currency crisis by easing many economic restrictions.
The new government listened to economists and employed economic tools to rescue the fragile economy, rather than exercise power to crack down on people it regarded as economic manipulators, like it had done before.
The new government opened up some Internet access for people in the country just before the release of a report by media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists, which claimed that Burma was among the world's most media restricted countries.
Outsiders might receive a lot of confusing signals from Naypyidaw, since the power arrangement between the reformers and hard-liners has not yet been settled, diplomats and observers said.
President Thein Sein, who is regarded as the leader of the reformer camp, might not wield full authority to push forward his plan toward reform and reconciliation. Thein Sein tagged along with Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann and Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, who were always countered by hard-liners in the regime led by First Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo alongside Information and Culture Minister Kyaw Hsan, Finance Minister Hla Tun and Upper House Speaker Khin Aung Myint.
They go up against each other on many issues including development projects such as the Myitsone dam, which Thein Sein opposed due to the environmental impact, while his opponent supported it, according to Irrawaddy online.
Diplomats are worried that their fighting might jeopardise the plan to cultivate reform and reconciliation. The burning issue for Thein Sein is the economy. Unless he can overcome the economic difficulties, there could be an uprising and military intervention to bring Burma back to square one, diplomats said. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/09/21/national/Are-rulers-of-Burma-serious-about-change-30165774.html
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BANGKOK POST: EDITORIAL
Still hoping for a new Burma
Published: 20/09/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
It is encouraging that Asia's democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, is optimistic about the future of Burma. But as she pointed out in her interview with a Western reporter, there is a long way to go before her countrymen gain real freedom.
Mrs Suu Kyi is supposedly free after her long years under house arrest. She continues to hedge her statements and emphasises that she is taking the optimistic route.
Burma has been a military dictatorship for almost 50 years. One must not mistake a cheerful public relations smile for the introduction of real reforms that will make the military responsible to Burmese citizens, instead of the other way around.
The army took full control of Burma in 1962. At the time, the country was ahead of almost everyone in Southeast Asia. Independent, free and booming economically, Burma was clearly bound to lead the region into the late 20th century. That script did not develop. Instead, an incompetent and corrupt band of generals installed a regime that ruled by terror. The military grabbed control of the economy, installing officers and cronies at virtually every level.
But Burmese men in green claimed for a while they were installing a form of socialism. It became clear that the only social benefits were for the military and those friends who toadied to their control. Virtually every freedom was removed _ the press, public gathering, communication, dissent, petition and more. To this day, few Burmese are allowed access to telephones, broadcast news, newspapers or the internet. Those who manage to get internet accounts are closely monitored and the regime closes down telecommunications at any sign of unrest.
Mrs Suu Kyi emerged in the mid-1980s as a voice against military corruption. The military that tortured and brutalised citizens as a matter of routine was stymied by a brave woman who stood up to the army and suffered their trumped up court cases. Since entering politics, Mrs Suu Kyi has spent the majority of her life under arrest, often even without any charges.
Last month, she was taken to the new capital Naypyidaw to meet the new president, Thein Sein. Optimists like her believe there is a chance that last year's election, a new constitution and a new generation of military officers might see Burma emerge from a repression so severe it almost made Britain's colonial occupation look benign.
Mrs Suu Kyi said she thought that she and Mr Thein Sein shared some goal for the future. She didn't say what that might be. She has, however, spoken out against a violent revolution for Burma, such as the Arab Spring.
It is entirely unclear how Burma can emerge from its darkest period to a bright future. Mrs Suu Kyi's respect for the new form of government is encouraging. Still, there is no sign that Burmese democrats are ready or willing to step forward and challenge the status quo by standing up to the uniformed men who still control the country.
The secret police remain stationed outside the headquarters of the political party Mrs Suu Kyi inspired, still photographing everyone who goes in or out.
It is clear that Burma cannot advance as a police state. What is still unclear is how the country can rid itself of an oppressive regime. http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/257379/still-hoping-for-a-new-burma
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The Diplomat
Blood Money in Burma
By Zaw Nay Aung
September 20, 2011
The US Senate has approved the renewal of a ban on Burmese imports that is part of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003. The House approved the sanctions bill in July, and so the agreement is expected to get the signature of President Barack Obama soon. This is welcome, as were the words of US special envoy Derek J. Mitchell, who concluded a five-day visit to the country last week with comments arguing that the Burmese regime needs to take concrete steps over dialogue with the opposition, the release of political prisoners and investigating human rights abuses.
The problem is that words aren't always being followed up with action in Western nations.
Since the 2010 elections, the Burmese regime has grown increasingly tactical in its dealings with the opposition and international community. It’s unclear whether the supreme leader of the regime, Than Shwe, has completely left the political arena, but the post-election strategic moves of former Gen. Thein Sein have certainly become more calculated.
Thein Sein appears to be using a little sweet talk and some cunning diplomacy to demonstrate that he can change the way the international community sees the government. Now clad in civilian garb, the president of the ‘new’ government has made powerful speeches on economic and political reforms. Yet, in the past few months, no substantive or tangible changes have actually been seen. It’s certainly true that there’s no quick fix to the decades-long political and economic stagnation that plagues Burma. But there also hasn’t yet been any sign of much-needed progress in terms of basic rights and freedoms, such as the release of political prisoners.
The continued incarceration of more than 2,000 political prisoners, as well as the need for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy to re-register as a political party, is testament to the unshakeable attitudes of the old dictatorship. Furthermore, the regime is still using various forms of diplomacy to try to gain global recognition as an ‘elected and democratic’ government. To secure its bid to chair ASEAN for the 2014 summit, and with an eye on avoiding the possible establishment of a UN commission of inquiry into alleged abuses, the Thein Sein administration has started to feign acceptance of political opposition.
But despite the largely superficial changes in Burmese politics, calls to end sanctions against the regime have been growing louder since the beginning of this year. No matter whether one views the elections and subsequent developments as progress, many still have doubts over the efficacy of Western sanctions against the regime. Furthermore, many observers argue that sanctions hurt the people rather than the ruling generals. Given the apparent improvements in Burma—the release of Suu Kyi and the emergence of a parliament (albeit one dominated by the military)—the sanctioning states have in recent months been pressed to withdraw their punitive measures.
Suu Kyi and the NLD called for an independent analysis of sanctions in November 2010. No such initiative has yet taken place. In the midst of contradictory views from both pro-sanction and anti-sanction groups, the countries imposing punitive actions should review their measures and renew them accordingly. In the current political climate in Burma, it’s vital that the sanctions controversy is clearly seen to be resolved.
Burma Independence Advocates, a human rights advocacy and think tank based in London, recently published an assessment of the political and humanitarian conditions under sanctions. It showed that the direct impact of sanctions on humanitarian conditions has been negligible. And, although sanctions have so far failed to have a significant impact on Burmese politics, it’s important to understand that it isn’t the sanctions themselves that are at fault, but the way they have been implemented and enforced.
While the majority of sanctions are targeted, those that could have dealt a significant blow to the regime were implemented far too late. Meanwhile, sanctioning countries have continued to invest in a nation still rife with persecution. The continued heavy investment in Burma by the EU and United States between 1995 and 2005 also raises questions over the consistency of their Burma policy.
It’s easy to point fingers at Burma’s neighbours—ASEAN countries and China—and chastise them for their economic ties with the regime. But one doesn’t have to look far to see the influence of Western companies. For example, the continued presence over the past two decades of Western oil companies such as Chevron and Total shows that sanctioning countries prefer Burmese oil to the Burmese people’s freedom. The blood money that the regime has accumulated was never intended for Burma’s citizens, but instead for buying weapons, building up military academies, and sending scholars to Russia to learn about nuclear technology.
Yet, there are still many who believe Burma should receive development assistance and who naively think the regime would spend this overseas aid wisely on making the country a better place in which to live. Just as the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) of General Ne Win turned the country into one of the poorest in the world despite having received substantial overseas assistance, there’s no sign the new generation of military leaders would put this aid to good use. Indeed, the post-1988 regime has extended its defence capabilities dramatically compared with its predecessor, the BSPP. Over the past two decades, for example, about 20 percent of government expenditure has been on defence, while the army has swelled to more than 400,000 since 1997—double its size in 1989.
Having seen the effects of Burmese sanctions, it’s becoming clearer who has been helping the regime realise its military ambitions over the past 23 years. Although Western democracies like to take the moral high ground on human rights and freedoms, their unethical foreign policies are in practice little better than those of Burma’s neighbours, who nakedly abuse its resources. If the so-called liberal democracies want to demonstrate a genuine desire to promote democracy in Burma, they must cut off their economic ties with the regime. Unless unified and well-coordinated multilateral measures that can genuinely isolate the regime are introduced, the Burmese people will continue to suffer under a thinly disguised dictatorship.
Even if other countries in the region can be neither forced nor convinced to stop exploiting Burmese resources, the West staying away from doing business in the country could still hurt the regime and give Burmese a fighting chance.
Of course, eventually, it will be up to the people of Burma to stand on their own feet. Still, it’s crucial for those who have the luxury of freedom in their own countries to behave ethically and take their business elsewhere—not to Burma, where a dictatorship flourishes in a plethora of colourful disguises.
Zaw Nay Aung is director of Burma Independence Advocates in London http://the-diplomat.com/asean-beat/2011/09/20/blood-money-in-burma/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+the-diplomat+%28The+Diplomat+RSS%29
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STRAIT TIMES
Myanmar arrests anti-dam activist in rare protest
Published on Sep 20, 2011
YANGON (AFP) - Police in military-dominated Myanmar on Tuesday arrested a man who staged a rare protest against a controversial Chinese hydroelectric power project, an official said.
'A 46-year-old man was arrested this afternoon near the Chinese Cultural Office as he tried to stage a solo protest,' said a government official who did not want to be named. The office is part of the Chinese embassy in Yangon.
He was understood to be holding a banner demanding a halt to the Myitsone hydropower dam project in northern Kachin state, electricity from which is destined for neighbouring China.
Protests are rare in authoritarian Myanmar, where pro-democracy rallies in 1988 and 2007 were brutally crushed by the junta. Demonstrators must have permission from the authorities. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_714843.html
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DAILY NEWS (Siri Lanka’s National Newspaper)
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
‘Arab-style uprising not the answer to Myanmar’s problems’
Myanmar: democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi said that an Arab-style uprising is not the answer to Myanmar’s problems, and welcomed tentative signs of political change under the new nominally civilian government. Suu Kyi who spent years as a prisoner in her own home with no telephone or Internet access,also said she is now free but too busy to use Facebook and Twitter.
“I just haven’t had the time,” the Nobel Peace Prize winner told AFP in an interview at her party offices in Yangon.
“If I were to tweet and so on it would take up so much of my time. I have to confess we are a bit snowed under because paying off a debt of work that has accumulated over seven years is not done in a hurry,” she said.
Soon after her release in November, Suu Kyi had expressed a desire to use social networking sites. But she said that for now, her party would make do with websites set up by its supporters overseas.
Internet connections are notoriously slow in Myanmar, whose rulers also have a history of blocking critical websites and jailing online dissidents.
Social networking sites were used by anti-government demonstrators to thwart censorship during pro-democracy revolts in Tunisia and Egypt.
And during a failed monk-led uprising in Myanmar in 2007, citizens used the web to leak extensive accounts and video to the outside world, prompting the regime to block Internet access.
Her party won a 1990 election but was never allowed to take office. It boycotted an election held last year, the first in two decades, and as a result it was delisted as a political party by the regime.
Recently, however, the regime has adopted a more conciliatory stance towards its opponents, including Suu Kyi, who met President Thein Sein last month. Internet users in army-dominated Myanmar during the week said they were able to see previously blocked media websites, including the Burmese-language version of the BBC, but doubts remained about whether the move would last.
The country’s Internet legislation has long been among the world’s most repressive, according to the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.
AFP http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/09/20/wld01.asp
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Jakarta Globe
Asean to Listen to Suu Kyi as Burma Seeks Chair
September 20, 2011
New York. Indonesia’s foreign minister says the opinion of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and civil society will influence whether Myanmar is invited to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2014.
Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told The Associated Press that he would travel to Burma in October as Asean assesses if the military-dominated country is on track, as it makes tentative steps toward reform.
He said Burma was extremely keen to take on the rotating chairmanship of the 10-member regional grouping, currently held by Indonesia. He described that as “an important opportunity to hasten change.”
Natalegawa said: “I shall be keen to listen and to hear the voice of civil society, not least the voice of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”
Associated Press http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/asean-to-listen-to-suu-kyi-as-myanmar-seeks-chair/466480
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Media watchdog: Myanmar reporters among world's most restricted despite reform promises
Article by: TODD PITMAN , Associated Press
Updated: September 19, 2011 - 9:35 PM
BANGKOK - Journalists in Myanmar remain among the most restricted and censored in the world despite promises by the country's new rulers to implement democratic reform, an international media watchdog group said Tuesday.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report that media workers in the Southeast Asian nation are still under perpetual surveillance by authorities who monitor their movements, tap their phones and subject all privately run news publications to pre-censorship requirements so time-consuming they can only publish on a weekly — not daily — basis.
After half a century of army rule, Myanmar's former military government organized elections late last year and handed power in March to a civilian administration. President Thein Sein said in an inaugural speech that the role of the media as a "fourth estate" should be respected.
However, "the government has made virtually no progress on press freedom" since then, CPJ said. "Under Thein Sein's elected regime, authorities continue to systematically harass, sanction, and imprison journalists, particularly those who report undercover for exile-run media groups."
Foreign observers said November's elections were neither free nor fair, and the main opposition party of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi boycotted the ballot. Since then, authorities have suspended more than a dozen news publications and sentenced at least two media workers to long jail terms, CPJ said.
The Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma says around 25 journalists are currently detained in Myanmar, 17 of them its own. Myanmar is also known as Burma, a term favored by exiles and dissidents including Suu Kyi.
"The government's promise of reform is welcome, yet censorship in Burma remains arbitrary, intensive, and highly restrictive," said CPJ's Bangkok-based Southeast Asia representative Shawn W. Crispin. "Legal reform to ensure press freedom would lend much-needed credibility to the government's claims of democratic change in Burma. Draconian laws restricting reporting must be abolished, and imprisoned journalists must be immediately released."
The government issued no statement on the report and its representatives could not be reached for comment. Myanmar's regime has no permanent government spokesman available to answer media queries.
Among the seemingly innocuous stories banned from publication by Myanmar's Press Scrutiny and Registration Department: volatile fuel prices, Chinese land purchases and water shortages. One editor who published a story about cheaper cell phone SIM cards without approval had his publication suspended for two weeks.
CPJ said two of its staff members and a freelance reporter working for the organization were all denied visas to conduct research for its report — a common obstacle for foreign journalists trying to cover the country. Instead, the group interviewed seven Burma-based journalists and six working for media in exile; almost all of them requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Last week, the government unblocked foreign and local news websites that had been banned for years, including the British Broadcasting Corp., the Voice of America and exiled media outlets like the Democratic Voice of Burma.
The move was welcomed by local journalists. But Crispin said the government can still detain anyone accessing the sites.
The CPJ report said that in November — the same month elections were held — authorities forced an estimated 500 Internet cafes in the main city Yangon "to install closed-circuit cameras, screen-capture programs and keystroke-logging software to monitor and store users' online activities." http://www.startribune.com/world/130167623.html
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Myanmar media restrictions among world's worst: Watchdog
Published on Sep 20, 2011
BANGKOK (AP) - Journalists in Myanmar remain among the most restricted and censored in the world despite promises by the country's new rulers to implement democratic reform, an international media watchdog group said on Tuesday.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report that media workers in the South-east Asian nation are still under perpetual surveillance by authorities who monitor their movements, tap their phones and subject all privately run news publications to pre-censorship requirements so time-consuming they can only publish on a weekly - not daily - basis.
After half a century of army rule, Myanmar's former military government organised elections late last year and handed power in March to a civilian administration. President Thein Sein said in an inaugural speech that the role of the media as a 'fourth estate' should be respected.
However, 'the government has made virtually no progress on press freedom' since then, CPJ said. 'Under Thein Sein's elected regime, authorities continue to systematically harass, sanction, and imprison journalists, particularly those who report undercover for exile-run media groups.'
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_714768.html
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Media watchdog calls for free press under Burma’s new government
By Zin Linn Sep 21, 2011 12:34AM UTC
In the face of guarantee by the President Thein Sein government to put into action for democratic reform, journalists in Burma pass the time under the most restricted censorship in the world, an international media watchdog group said on Tuesday.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report – ‘In Burma, transition neglects press freedom’ – that media workers in the Southeast Asian nation are still under uninterrupted close watch by authorities who check their activities. The Press Scrutiny and Registration Department also scrutinizes privately run news publications censoring or banning topics such as instability in fuel prices; recent land purchases by Chinese investors around the city of Mandalay; a shortage of fresh water near a southern coast development, CPJ’s report says.
It also says, “In a much discussed March 30 speech, Thein Sein hinted at a more liberal media approach, saying that the press should play the role of the “fourth estate,” as it does in established democracies. He has also spoken of the need for economic reforms and better governance in one of Asia’s poorest and most mismanaged nations.”
Nevertheless, the government has made virtually no progress on press freedom in line with Thein Sein’s speech, CPJ said. “Under Thein Sein’s nominal civilian government, authorities continue to systematically harass, sanction, and imprison journalists, particularly those who report undercover for exile-run media groups.”
At least 14 journalists and media support workers are still behind bars. The government has made virtually no progress on press freedom, a CPJ analysis has found. Under Thein Sein’s regime, authorities continue to systematically harass, sanction, and imprison journalists, particularly those who report undercover for exile-run media groups, the report points out.
Most observers said November elections, which elected Thein Sein’s government, were neither free nor fair, and the main opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi boycotted the voting. Since then, authorities have suspended more than a dozen news publications and sentenced at least two media workers to long prison terms, CPJ said.
The report says, “On the surface, Burma-based editors and journalists say, there is a veneer of press freedom on the country’s newsstands. Privately owned and -run news publications have proliferated in recent years, with around 200 journals, magazines, and newspapers currently in circulation. Those publications, however, are heavily censored and are often forced to publish state-prepared news and commentaries that present the government and its policies in a glowing light.”
The Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma says around 25 journalists are currently detained in Burma and 17 of them are members of DVB. Of those, 12 have remained unnamed due to DVB’s concerns that authorities would lengthen their sentences or worsen their already-substandard prison conditions if their professional affiliations were disclosed.
CPJ said two of its staff members and a freelance reporter working for the organization were all denied visas to conduct research for its report – a common obstacle for foreign journalists trying to cover the country. Instead, the group interviewed seven Burma-based journalists and six working for media in exile; almost all of them requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Last week, the government unblocked foreign and local news websites that had been banned for years, including the British Broadcasting Corp., the Voice of America and exiled media outlets like the Democratic Voice of Burma. The move was welcomed by local journalists. But the government can still keep in custody anyone accessing the sites, CPJ’s Shawn Crispin said.
Reporters Without Borders has confirmed that access to a number of previously banned foreign news websites including Youtube, BBC, Reuters, The Bangkok Post, Straits Times, Radio Free Asia, Irrawaddy, Democratic Voice of Burma, and the Burmese version of Voice of America has been unblocked. Internet connections nonetheless continue to be very slow.
Furthermore, Reporters Without Borders calls for the release of all their imprisoned reporters including Sithu Zeya, sentenced to 18 years in prison, Ngwe Soe Lin, sentenced to 13 years, Maung Maung Zeya, sentenced to 13 years, Win Maw, sentenced to 18 years, and Hla Hla Win, sentenced to 27 years.
The CPJ’s report highlights that in November 2010 – the same month elections were held – authorities forced an estimated 500 Internet cafes in Rangoon (Yangon) “to install closed-circuit cameras, screen-capture programs and keystroke-logging software to monitor and store users’ online activities.”
According to analysts, as long as the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department existed, people of Burma could not enjoy the freedom of press and freedom of expression as their basic rights. http://asiancorrespondent.com/65450/media-watchdog-calls-for-free-press-under-burma%E2%80%99s-new-government/
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SPECIAL
Are rulers of Burma serious about change?
Published on September 21, 2011
In the first of a series, The Nation's Supalak Ganjanakhundee explores whether recent developments in the country point towards a paradigm shift
The new Burmese government is being observed by the international community for signs that reformers led by President Thein Sein can bring about a real change towards democracy and reconciliation.
Outsiders see something is happening in the country, which was under military rule for a long time, but wonder if such movements are real.
"I think everybody who follows this country knows that there have been stops and starts, that expectations have been dashed, that things only go so far, and then they stop or they reverse themselves. And I really urged the leadership to prove the sceptics wrong," Derek Mitchell, the US special representative and policy coordinator for Burma, said in Rangoon last week when he wrapped up his visit.
The United States, together with the European Union, United Nations and Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is now engaging Burma in the hope that the new government, which was installed to replace the junta in March, would dedicate itself to political reform and national reconciliation.
Over the past months since he came to power, Thein Sein has done many "positive" things for political reform. The most significant was his hour-long meeting with Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi last month in the capital of Naypyidaw.
Outsiders did not know exactly what they talked about but a diplomatic source expected that it was not a normal conversation. The meeting seemed to have set some guidelines for the political role of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD), the source said.
Despite boycotting the November election, Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD is not being isolated from Burma's politics and reform process. Senior representatives from the US, EU and UN who visited Burma over the past weeks allocated equal time to meeting with her as with government officials.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who holds the rotating chairmanship of Asean, of which Burma is a member, said yesterday the group would weigh Aung San Suu Kyi's opinion before making a decision on whether to allow Burma to chair the group in 2014 as requested.
Marty said he would visit Burma next month to explore the possibility of the country assuming the chairmanship of the grouping.
Burma was extremely keen to do so, he said, adding that that could be an incentive to encourage more democratic reform.
Besides meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, Thein Sein has done many other things to show that he is steering the country toward reform. He began to tackle the economic hardships caused by the kyat currency crisis by easing many economic restrictions.
The new government listened to economists and employed economic tools to rescue the fragile economy, rather than exercise power to crack down on people it regarded as economic manipulators, like it had done before.
The new government opened up some Internet access for people in the country just before the release of a report by media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists, which claimed that Burma was among the world's most media restricted countries.
Outsiders might receive a lot of confusing signals from Naypyidaw, since the power arrangement between the reformers and hard-liners has not yet been settled, diplomats and observers said.
President Thein Sein, who is regarded as the leader of the reformer camp, might not wield full authority to push forward his plan toward reform and reconciliation. Thein Sein tagged along with Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann and Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, who were always countered by hard-liners in the regime led by First Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo alongside Information and Culture Minister Kyaw Hsan, Finance Minister Hla Tun and Upper House Speaker Khin Aung Myint.
They go up against each other on many issues including development projects such as the Myitsone dam, which Thein Sein opposed due to the environmental impact, while his opponent supported it, according to Irrawaddy online.
Diplomats are worried that their fighting might jeopardise the plan to cultivate reform and reconciliation. The burning issue for Thein Sein is the economy. Unless he can overcome the economic difficulties, there could be an uprising and military intervention to bring Burma back to square one, diplomats said. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/09/21/national/Are-rulers-of-Burma-serious-about-change-30165774.html
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BANGKOK POST: EDITORIAL
Still hoping for a new Burma
Published: 20/09/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
It is encouraging that Asia's democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, is optimistic about the future of Burma. But as she pointed out in her interview with a Western reporter, there is a long way to go before her countrymen gain real freedom.
Mrs Suu Kyi is supposedly free after her long years under house arrest. She continues to hedge her statements and emphasises that she is taking the optimistic route.
Burma has been a military dictatorship for almost 50 years. One must not mistake a cheerful public relations smile for the introduction of real reforms that will make the military responsible to Burmese citizens, instead of the other way around.
The army took full control of Burma in 1962. At the time, the country was ahead of almost everyone in Southeast Asia. Independent, free and booming economically, Burma was clearly bound to lead the region into the late 20th century. That script did not develop. Instead, an incompetent and corrupt band of generals installed a regime that ruled by terror. The military grabbed control of the economy, installing officers and cronies at virtually every level.
But Burmese men in green claimed for a while they were installing a form of socialism. It became clear that the only social benefits were for the military and those friends who toadied to their control. Virtually every freedom was removed _ the press, public gathering, communication, dissent, petition and more. To this day, few Burmese are allowed access to telephones, broadcast news, newspapers or the internet. Those who manage to get internet accounts are closely monitored and the regime closes down telecommunications at any sign of unrest.
Mrs Suu Kyi emerged in the mid-1980s as a voice against military corruption. The military that tortured and brutalised citizens as a matter of routine was stymied by a brave woman who stood up to the army and suffered their trumped up court cases. Since entering politics, Mrs Suu Kyi has spent the majority of her life under arrest, often even without any charges.
Last month, she was taken to the new capital Naypyidaw to meet the new president, Thein Sein. Optimists like her believe there is a chance that last year's election, a new constitution and a new generation of military officers might see Burma emerge from a repression so severe it almost made Britain's colonial occupation look benign.
Mrs Suu Kyi said she thought that she and Mr Thein Sein shared some goal for the future. She didn't say what that might be. She has, however, spoken out against a violent revolution for Burma, such as the Arab Spring.
It is entirely unclear how Burma can emerge from its darkest period to a bright future. Mrs Suu Kyi's respect for the new form of government is encouraging. Still, there is no sign that Burmese democrats are ready or willing to step forward and challenge the status quo by standing up to the uniformed men who still control the country.
The secret police remain stationed outside the headquarters of the political party Mrs Suu Kyi inspired, still photographing everyone who goes in or out.
It is clear that Burma cannot advance as a police state. What is still unclear is how the country can rid itself of an oppressive regime. http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/257379/still-hoping-for-a-new-burma
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The Diplomat
Blood Money in Burma
By Zaw Nay Aung
September 20, 2011
The US Senate has approved the renewal of a ban on Burmese imports that is part of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003. The House approved the sanctions bill in July, and so the agreement is expected to get the signature of President Barack Obama soon. This is welcome, as were the words of US special envoy Derek J. Mitchell, who concluded a five-day visit to the country last week with comments arguing that the Burmese regime needs to take concrete steps over dialogue with the opposition, the release of political prisoners and investigating human rights abuses.
The problem is that words aren't always being followed up with action in Western nations.
Since the 2010 elections, the Burmese regime has grown increasingly tactical in its dealings with the opposition and international community. It’s unclear whether the supreme leader of the regime, Than Shwe, has completely left the political arena, but the post-election strategic moves of former Gen. Thein Sein have certainly become more calculated.
Thein Sein appears to be using a little sweet talk and some cunning diplomacy to demonstrate that he can change the way the international community sees the government. Now clad in civilian garb, the president of the ‘new’ government has made powerful speeches on economic and political reforms. Yet, in the past few months, no substantive or tangible changes have actually been seen. It’s certainly true that there’s no quick fix to the decades-long political and economic stagnation that plagues Burma. But there also hasn’t yet been any sign of much-needed progress in terms of basic rights and freedoms, such as the release of political prisoners.
The continued incarceration of more than 2,000 political prisoners, as well as the need for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy to re-register as a political party, is testament to the unshakeable attitudes of the old dictatorship. Furthermore, the regime is still using various forms of diplomacy to try to gain global recognition as an ‘elected and democratic’ government. To secure its bid to chair ASEAN for the 2014 summit, and with an eye on avoiding the possible establishment of a UN commission of inquiry into alleged abuses, the Thein Sein administration has started to feign acceptance of political opposition.
But despite the largely superficial changes in Burmese politics, calls to end sanctions against the regime have been growing louder since the beginning of this year. No matter whether one views the elections and subsequent developments as progress, many still have doubts over the efficacy of Western sanctions against the regime. Furthermore, many observers argue that sanctions hurt the people rather than the ruling generals. Given the apparent improvements in Burma—the release of Suu Kyi and the emergence of a parliament (albeit one dominated by the military)—the sanctioning states have in recent months been pressed to withdraw their punitive measures.
Suu Kyi and the NLD called for an independent analysis of sanctions in November 2010. No such initiative has yet taken place. In the midst of contradictory views from both pro-sanction and anti-sanction groups, the countries imposing punitive actions should review their measures and renew them accordingly. In the current political climate in Burma, it’s vital that the sanctions controversy is clearly seen to be resolved.
Burma Independence Advocates, a human rights advocacy and think tank based in London, recently published an assessment of the political and humanitarian conditions under sanctions. It showed that the direct impact of sanctions on humanitarian conditions has been negligible. And, although sanctions have so far failed to have a significant impact on Burmese politics, it’s important to understand that it isn’t the sanctions themselves that are at fault, but the way they have been implemented and enforced.
While the majority of sanctions are targeted, those that could have dealt a significant blow to the regime were implemented far too late. Meanwhile, sanctioning countries have continued to invest in a nation still rife with persecution. The continued heavy investment in Burma by the EU and United States between 1995 and 2005 also raises questions over the consistency of their Burma policy.
It’s easy to point fingers at Burma’s neighbours—ASEAN countries and China—and chastise them for their economic ties with the regime. But one doesn’t have to look far to see the influence of Western companies. For example, the continued presence over the past two decades of Western oil companies such as Chevron and Total shows that sanctioning countries prefer Burmese oil to the Burmese people’s freedom. The blood money that the regime has accumulated was never intended for Burma’s citizens, but instead for buying weapons, building up military academies, and sending scholars to Russia to learn about nuclear technology.
Yet, there are still many who believe Burma should receive development assistance and who naively think the regime would spend this overseas aid wisely on making the country a better place in which to live. Just as the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) of General Ne Win turned the country into one of the poorest in the world despite having received substantial overseas assistance, there’s no sign the new generation of military leaders would put this aid to good use. Indeed, the post-1988 regime has extended its defence capabilities dramatically compared with its predecessor, the BSPP. Over the past two decades, for example, about 20 percent of government expenditure has been on defence, while the army has swelled to more than 400,000 since 1997—double its size in 1989.
Having seen the effects of Burmese sanctions, it’s becoming clearer who has been helping the regime realise its military ambitions over the past 23 years. Although Western democracies like to take the moral high ground on human rights and freedoms, their unethical foreign policies are in practice little better than those of Burma’s neighbours, who nakedly abuse its resources. If the so-called liberal democracies want to demonstrate a genuine desire to promote democracy in Burma, they must cut off their economic ties with the regime. Unless unified and well-coordinated multilateral measures that can genuinely isolate the regime are introduced, the Burmese people will continue to suffer under a thinly disguised dictatorship.
Even if other countries in the region can be neither forced nor convinced to stop exploiting Burmese resources, the West staying away from doing business in the country could still hurt the regime and give Burmese a fighting chance.
Of course, eventually, it will be up to the people of Burma to stand on their own feet. Still, it’s crucial for those who have the luxury of freedom in their own countries to behave ethically and take their business elsewhere—not to Burma, where a dictatorship flourishes in a plethora of colourful disguises.
Zaw Nay Aung is director of Burma Independence Advocates in London http://the-diplomat.com/asean-beat/2011/09/20/blood-money-in-burma/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+the-diplomat+%28The+Diplomat+RSS%29
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STRAIT TIMES
Myanmar arrests anti-dam activist in rare protest
Published on Sep 20, 2011
YANGON (AFP) - Police in military-dominated Myanmar on Tuesday arrested a man who staged a rare protest against a controversial Chinese hydroelectric power project, an official said.
'A 46-year-old man was arrested this afternoon near the Chinese Cultural Office as he tried to stage a solo protest,' said a government official who did not want to be named. The office is part of the Chinese embassy in Yangon.
He was understood to be holding a banner demanding a halt to the Myitsone hydropower dam project in northern Kachin state, electricity from which is destined for neighbouring China.
Protests are rare in authoritarian Myanmar, where pro-democracy rallies in 1988 and 2007 were brutally crushed by the junta. Demonstrators must have permission from the authorities. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_714843.html
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DAILY NEWS (Siri Lanka’s National Newspaper)
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
‘Arab-style uprising not the answer to Myanmar’s problems’
Myanmar: democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi said that an Arab-style uprising is not the answer to Myanmar’s problems, and welcomed tentative signs of political change under the new nominally civilian government. Suu Kyi who spent years as a prisoner in her own home with no telephone or Internet access,also said she is now free but too busy to use Facebook and Twitter.
“I just haven’t had the time,” the Nobel Peace Prize winner told AFP in an interview at her party offices in Yangon.
“If I were to tweet and so on it would take up so much of my time. I have to confess we are a bit snowed under because paying off a debt of work that has accumulated over seven years is not done in a hurry,” she said.
Soon after her release in November, Suu Kyi had expressed a desire to use social networking sites. But she said that for now, her party would make do with websites set up by its supporters overseas.
Internet connections are notoriously slow in Myanmar, whose rulers also have a history of blocking critical websites and jailing online dissidents.
Social networking sites were used by anti-government demonstrators to thwart censorship during pro-democracy revolts in Tunisia and Egypt.
And during a failed monk-led uprising in Myanmar in 2007, citizens used the web to leak extensive accounts and video to the outside world, prompting the regime to block Internet access.
Her party won a 1990 election but was never allowed to take office. It boycotted an election held last year, the first in two decades, and as a result it was delisted as a political party by the regime.
Recently, however, the regime has adopted a more conciliatory stance towards its opponents, including Suu Kyi, who met President Thein Sein last month. Internet users in army-dominated Myanmar during the week said they were able to see previously blocked media websites, including the Burmese-language version of the BBC, but doubts remained about whether the move would last.
The country’s Internet legislation has long been among the world’s most repressive, according to the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.
AFP http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/09/20/wld01.asp
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Jakarta Globe
Asean to Listen to Suu Kyi as Burma Seeks Chair
September 20, 2011
New York. Indonesia’s foreign minister says the opinion of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and civil society will influence whether Myanmar is invited to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2014.
Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told The Associated Press that he would travel to Burma in October as Asean assesses if the military-dominated country is on track, as it makes tentative steps toward reform.
He said Burma was extremely keen to take on the rotating chairmanship of the 10-member regional grouping, currently held by Indonesia. He described that as “an important opportunity to hasten change.”
Natalegawa said: “I shall be keen to listen and to hear the voice of civil society, not least the voice of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”
Associated Press http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/asean-to-listen-to-suu-kyi-as-myanmar-seeks-chair/466480
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Media watchdog: Myanmar reporters among world's most restricted despite reform promises
Article by: TODD PITMAN , Associated Press
Updated: September 19, 2011 - 9:35 PM
BANGKOK - Journalists in Myanmar remain among the most restricted and censored in the world despite promises by the country's new rulers to implement democratic reform, an international media watchdog group said Tuesday.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report that media workers in the Southeast Asian nation are still under perpetual surveillance by authorities who monitor their movements, tap their phones and subject all privately run news publications to pre-censorship requirements so time-consuming they can only publish on a weekly — not daily — basis.
After half a century of army rule, Myanmar's former military government organized elections late last year and handed power in March to a civilian administration. President Thein Sein said in an inaugural speech that the role of the media as a "fourth estate" should be respected.
However, "the government has made virtually no progress on press freedom" since then, CPJ said. "Under Thein Sein's elected regime, authorities continue to systematically harass, sanction, and imprison journalists, particularly those who report undercover for exile-run media groups."
Foreign observers said November's elections were neither free nor fair, and the main opposition party of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi boycotted the ballot. Since then, authorities have suspended more than a dozen news publications and sentenced at least two media workers to long jail terms, CPJ said.
The Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma says around 25 journalists are currently detained in Myanmar, 17 of them its own. Myanmar is also known as Burma, a term favored by exiles and dissidents including Suu Kyi.
"The government's promise of reform is welcome, yet censorship in Burma remains arbitrary, intensive, and highly restrictive," said CPJ's Bangkok-based Southeast Asia representative Shawn W. Crispin. "Legal reform to ensure press freedom would lend much-needed credibility to the government's claims of democratic change in Burma. Draconian laws restricting reporting must be abolished, and imprisoned journalists must be immediately released."
The government issued no statement on the report and its representatives could not be reached for comment. Myanmar's regime has no permanent government spokesman available to answer media queries.
Among the seemingly innocuous stories banned from publication by Myanmar's Press Scrutiny and Registration Department: volatile fuel prices, Chinese land purchases and water shortages. One editor who published a story about cheaper cell phone SIM cards without approval had his publication suspended for two weeks.
CPJ said two of its staff members and a freelance reporter working for the organization were all denied visas to conduct research for its report — a common obstacle for foreign journalists trying to cover the country. Instead, the group interviewed seven Burma-based journalists and six working for media in exile; almost all of them requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Last week, the government unblocked foreign and local news websites that had been banned for years, including the British Broadcasting Corp., the Voice of America and exiled media outlets like the Democratic Voice of Burma.
The move was welcomed by local journalists. But Crispin said the government can still detain anyone accessing the sites.
The CPJ report said that in November — the same month elections were held — authorities forced an estimated 500 Internet cafes in the main city Yangon "to install closed-circuit cameras, screen-capture programs and keystroke-logging software to monitor and store users' online activities." http://www.startribune.com/world/130167623.html
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Myanmar media restrictions among world's worst: Watchdog
Published on Sep 20, 2011
BANGKOK (AP) - Journalists in Myanmar remain among the most restricted and censored in the world despite promises by the country's new rulers to implement democratic reform, an international media watchdog group said on Tuesday.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report that media workers in the South-east Asian nation are still under perpetual surveillance by authorities who monitor their movements, tap their phones and subject all privately run news publications to pre-censorship requirements so time-consuming they can only publish on a weekly - not daily - basis.
After half a century of army rule, Myanmar's former military government organised elections late last year and handed power in March to a civilian administration. President Thein Sein said in an inaugural speech that the role of the media as a 'fourth estate' should be respected.
However, 'the government has made virtually no progress on press freedom' since then, CPJ said. 'Under Thein Sein's elected regime, authorities continue to systematically harass, sanction, and imprison journalists, particularly those who report undercover for exile-run media groups.'
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_714768.html
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Media watchdog calls for free press under Burma’s new government
By Zin Linn Sep 21, 2011 12:34AM UTC
In the face of guarantee by the President Thein Sein government to put into action for democratic reform, journalists in Burma pass the time under the most restricted censorship in the world, an international media watchdog group said on Tuesday.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report – ‘In Burma, transition neglects press freedom’ – that media workers in the Southeast Asian nation are still under uninterrupted close watch by authorities who check their activities. The Press Scrutiny and Registration Department also scrutinizes privately run news publications censoring or banning topics such as instability in fuel prices; recent land purchases by Chinese investors around the city of Mandalay; a shortage of fresh water near a southern coast development, CPJ’s report says.
It also says, “In a much discussed March 30 speech, Thein Sein hinted at a more liberal media approach, saying that the press should play the role of the “fourth estate,” as it does in established democracies. He has also spoken of the need for economic reforms and better governance in one of Asia’s poorest and most mismanaged nations.”
Nevertheless, the government has made virtually no progress on press freedom in line with Thein Sein’s speech, CPJ said. “Under Thein Sein’s nominal civilian government, authorities continue to systematically harass, sanction, and imprison journalists, particularly those who report undercover for exile-run media groups.”
At least 14 journalists and media support workers are still behind bars. The government has made virtually no progress on press freedom, a CPJ analysis has found. Under Thein Sein’s regime, authorities continue to systematically harass, sanction, and imprison journalists, particularly those who report undercover for exile-run media groups, the report points out.
Most observers said November elections, which elected Thein Sein’s government, were neither free nor fair, and the main opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi boycotted the voting. Since then, authorities have suspended more than a dozen news publications and sentenced at least two media workers to long prison terms, CPJ said.
The report says, “On the surface, Burma-based editors and journalists say, there is a veneer of press freedom on the country’s newsstands. Privately owned and -run news publications have proliferated in recent years, with around 200 journals, magazines, and newspapers currently in circulation. Those publications, however, are heavily censored and are often forced to publish state-prepared news and commentaries that present the government and its policies in a glowing light.”
The Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma says around 25 journalists are currently detained in Burma and 17 of them are members of DVB. Of those, 12 have remained unnamed due to DVB’s concerns that authorities would lengthen their sentences or worsen their already-substandard prison conditions if their professional affiliations were disclosed.
CPJ said two of its staff members and a freelance reporter working for the organization were all denied visas to conduct research for its report – a common obstacle for foreign journalists trying to cover the country. Instead, the group interviewed seven Burma-based journalists and six working for media in exile; almost all of them requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Last week, the government unblocked foreign and local news websites that had been banned for years, including the British Broadcasting Corp., the Voice of America and exiled media outlets like the Democratic Voice of Burma. The move was welcomed by local journalists. But the government can still keep in custody anyone accessing the sites, CPJ’s Shawn Crispin said.
Reporters Without Borders has confirmed that access to a number of previously banned foreign news websites including Youtube, BBC, Reuters, The Bangkok Post, Straits Times, Radio Free Asia, Irrawaddy, Democratic Voice of Burma, and the Burmese version of Voice of America has been unblocked. Internet connections nonetheless continue to be very slow.
Furthermore, Reporters Without Borders calls for the release of all their imprisoned reporters including Sithu Zeya, sentenced to 18 years in prison, Ngwe Soe Lin, sentenced to 13 years, Maung Maung Zeya, sentenced to 13 years, Win Maw, sentenced to 18 years, and Hla Hla Win, sentenced to 27 years.
The CPJ’s report highlights that in November 2010 – the same month elections were held – authorities forced an estimated 500 Internet cafes in Rangoon (Yangon) “to install closed-circuit cameras, screen-capture programs and keystroke-logging software to monitor and store users’ online activities.”
According to analysts, as long as the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department existed, people of Burma could not enjoy the freedom of press and freedom of expression as their basic rights. http://asiancorrespondent.com/65450/media-watchdog-calls-for-free-press-under-burma%E2%80%99s-new-government/
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