ABC Radio Australia - Is Burma's government listening to the people?
Updated October 6, 2011 21:54:54
The Burmese government has surprised almost everyone by shelving a multi-billion dollar Chinese dam project in the face of rare public opposition.
The 3.6 billion dollar dam was to be built on Burma's crucial waterway - the Irrawaddy River.
Preliminary work was already underway.
The government's decision to shelve the project follows rare public protests, an outcry from environmentalists and a call from democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Observers are becoming increasingly optimistic that real change could actually be underway in Burma after last year's election which theoretically transformed the military junta into a civilian government.
Reporter: Zoe Daniel
Speakers: Painporn Deetes, International Rivers, environmental ngo; David Mathieson, Human Rights Watch
Listen: Windows Media(http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/stories/m2036967.asx)
DANIEL: The massive Myitsone Dam on Burma's artery, the Irrawaddy River, attracted widespread international and local concern.
Painporn Deetes from the environmental NGO International Rivers is overjoyed at the shelving of the project, which would have displaced thousands and inundated a significant ecosystem.
PAINPORN: There are many fora and fauna would be submerged if this dam is built and in the downstream area, the Irrawaddy delta is a rice basket of Burma. It is a very important area where the Burmese people grow rice and important agricultural area.
DANIEL: The project in the northern Kachin state of Burma also had the potential to escalate an existing conflict between ethnic Kachin rebels and the Burmese army.
The project was the largest of seven in the area intended to export power to China. It's suspension by the president, at least for the term of this government, has drawn a furious response from the Chinese company involved which is threatening legal action.
But Burma's president Thein Sein says he's followed the will of the people by stopping the project.
International Rivers is hopeful it could be a turning point in the way that developments are done in Burma.
PAINPORN: The unprecedented uprising outcry of the local people in Burma against Myitsone Dam gave us a clue that it is time for foreign investors to make their investment more transparent and they should also include the public consultation.
DANIEL: But while the shelving of the dam is highly significant, it's the president's decision to respond to public and international concern that's come as a real shock.
Last year's election turned the military junta into a civilian government, but any real progress seemed unlikely because the same military officers are still running the country in civilian clothes.
There's now a cautious hope developing that it may have been the start of a process of change.
David Mathieson from Human Rights Watch.
MATHIESON: Well I think it's really quite significant. The Myitsone Dam project has been quite a contentious project for several years now and it really was threatening to become a major national issue.
And one of the things that we've seen in the past several months is that there has been uncharacteristically open support and dissension about this project throughout Burma. It's not just exiled activists that have been pointing at this project, it's also community groups in northern Kachin state and even disagreement within the government. You've got ministers that were openly disagreeing with each other.
So I don't think we should downplay the significance of this.
DANIEL: He says there's been no period of comparable political progress in Burma since the 1960s.
MATHIESON: I think it is accurate to say that there hasn't been this much political momentum and promises of reform and a change in official rhetoric and the kind of, if you will, the bearing of the government, in really quite some time. I don't think there's been political change in Burma of this type since at least 1962.
But we have to really start analysing what promises of reform and what gestures are genuine and what is just window dressing.
DANIEL: Having denied they even existed earlier this year, the government now admits that about 500 people are in jail for political offences. Previous estimates have been around 2,200. A real symbol of change would be their release.
Updated October 6, 2011 21:54:54
The Burmese government has surprised almost everyone by shelving a multi-billion dollar Chinese dam project in the face of rare public opposition.
The 3.6 billion dollar dam was to be built on Burma's crucial waterway - the Irrawaddy River.
Preliminary work was already underway.
The government's decision to shelve the project follows rare public protests, an outcry from environmentalists and a call from democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Observers are becoming increasingly optimistic that real change could actually be underway in Burma after last year's election which theoretically transformed the military junta into a civilian government.
Reporter: Zoe Daniel
Speakers: Painporn Deetes, International Rivers, environmental ngo; David Mathieson, Human Rights Watch
Listen: Windows Media(http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/stories/m2036967.asx)
DANIEL: The massive Myitsone Dam on Burma's artery, the Irrawaddy River, attracted widespread international and local concern.
Painporn Deetes from the environmental NGO International Rivers is overjoyed at the shelving of the project, which would have displaced thousands and inundated a significant ecosystem.
PAINPORN: There are many fora and fauna would be submerged if this dam is built and in the downstream area, the Irrawaddy delta is a rice basket of Burma. It is a very important area where the Burmese people grow rice and important agricultural area.
DANIEL: The project in the northern Kachin state of Burma also had the potential to escalate an existing conflict between ethnic Kachin rebels and the Burmese army.
The project was the largest of seven in the area intended to export power to China. It's suspension by the president, at least for the term of this government, has drawn a furious response from the Chinese company involved which is threatening legal action.
But Burma's president Thein Sein says he's followed the will of the people by stopping the project.
International Rivers is hopeful it could be a turning point in the way that developments are done in Burma.
PAINPORN: The unprecedented uprising outcry of the local people in Burma against Myitsone Dam gave us a clue that it is time for foreign investors to make their investment more transparent and they should also include the public consultation.
DANIEL: But while the shelving of the dam is highly significant, it's the president's decision to respond to public and international concern that's come as a real shock.
Last year's election turned the military junta into a civilian government, but any real progress seemed unlikely because the same military officers are still running the country in civilian clothes.
There's now a cautious hope developing that it may have been the start of a process of change.
David Mathieson from Human Rights Watch.
MATHIESON: Well I think it's really quite significant. The Myitsone Dam project has been quite a contentious project for several years now and it really was threatening to become a major national issue.
And one of the things that we've seen in the past several months is that there has been uncharacteristically open support and dissension about this project throughout Burma. It's not just exiled activists that have been pointing at this project, it's also community groups in northern Kachin state and even disagreement within the government. You've got ministers that were openly disagreeing with each other.
So I don't think we should downplay the significance of this.
DANIEL: He says there's been no period of comparable political progress in Burma since the 1960s.
MATHIESON: I think it is accurate to say that there hasn't been this much political momentum and promises of reform and a change in official rhetoric and the kind of, if you will, the bearing of the government, in really quite some time. I don't think there's been political change in Burma of this type since at least 1962.
But we have to really start analysing what promises of reform and what gestures are genuine and what is just window dressing.
DANIEL: Having denied they even existed earlier this year, the government now admits that about 500 people are in jail for political offences. Previous estimates have been around 2,200. A real symbol of change would be their release.
***********************************************************
John McCain hails Myanmar dam decision
(AFP) – 20 hours ago WASHINGTON — Senior US Senator John McCain on Wednesday praised Myanmar's government for the "democratic act" of halting work on a $3.6 billion China-backed mega-dam following public opposition to the project.
"I commend President Thein Sein and other government leaders in Naypyidaw for their bold and responsible decision to suspend construction of the Myitsone dam project," McCain
said in a statement.
"They listened to the voice of the people and made a dramatic change in government policy for the sake of the public interest," he said.
"This was a democratic act, and I hope the government in Naypyidaw will continue to respond to the peaceful will of the people to make additional positive changes in other areas."
Washington has praised the decision, but China -- Myanmar's second-largest trading partner and biggest foreign investor -- has criticized the move in a rare public display of discord between the two countries.
The senator, the Republican presidential candidate in 2008, said the project could have caused "irreparable harm to the Irrawaddy River" and praised Myanmar's leaders for bucking "considerable internal and external pressure."
"More than any issue in recent memory, this project and its reportedly disastrous environmental impact have united the Burmese people in overwhelming public opposition," said McCain.
The project had attracted opposition from pro-democracy groups and environmentalists testing the limits of freedom under Myanmar's new nominally civilian regime -- in March the junta handed power to a government whose ranks are filled with former generals.
Green groups have warned the dam would inundate an area about the size of Singapore, submerging dozens of villages, displacing at least 10,000 people and irreversibly damaging one of the world's most biodiverse areas.
(AFP) – 20 hours ago WASHINGTON — Senior US Senator John McCain on Wednesday praised Myanmar's government for the "democratic act" of halting work on a $3.6 billion China-backed mega-dam following public opposition to the project.
"I commend President Thein Sein and other government leaders in Naypyidaw for their bold and responsible decision to suspend construction of the Myitsone dam project," McCain
said in a statement.
"They listened to the voice of the people and made a dramatic change in government policy for the sake of the public interest," he said.
"This was a democratic act, and I hope the government in Naypyidaw will continue to respond to the peaceful will of the people to make additional positive changes in other areas."
Washington has praised the decision, but China -- Myanmar's second-largest trading partner and biggest foreign investor -- has criticized the move in a rare public display of discord between the two countries.
The senator, the Republican presidential candidate in 2008, said the project could have caused "irreparable harm to the Irrawaddy River" and praised Myanmar's leaders for bucking "considerable internal and external pressure."
"More than any issue in recent memory, this project and its reportedly disastrous environmental impact have united the Burmese people in overwhelming public opposition," said McCain.
The project had attracted opposition from pro-democracy groups and environmentalists testing the limits of freedom under Myanmar's new nominally civilian regime -- in March the junta handed power to a government whose ranks are filled with former generals.
Green groups have warned the dam would inundate an area about the size of Singapore, submerging dozens of villages, displacing at least 10,000 people and irreversibly damaging one of the world's most biodiverse areas.
***********************************************************
Myanmar, Thailand to strengthen ties
Published: Oct. 6, 2011 at 2:05 AM
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Thailand will seek to strengthen ties with neighbor Myanmar, visiting Thai Prime Minister Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra told her hosts.
During her one-day introductory trip to Myanmar, which currently has a civilian government, Shinawatra met with President Thein Sein and praised the country's progress in promoting democracy and reconciliation, the Thai News Agency reported.
Both Thailand and Myanmar, which was formerly called Burma, are members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations. She invited Thein Sein to visit Thailand.
In her talks with Myanmar leaders, the Thai leader stressed her country's policy of not allowing any armed group to use its territory to launch any offensive move against the Myanmar government, the report said.
She urged Myanmar's cooperation to reopen the border checkpoint at Tak's Mae Sot-Myawaddy as a way to boost trade and other economic cooperation. The checkpoint was closed last year.
The report quoted President Thein Sein as saying the process would be speeded up once bridge repairs are completed.
Published: Oct. 6, 2011 at 2:05 AM
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Thailand will seek to strengthen ties with neighbor Myanmar, visiting Thai Prime Minister Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra told her hosts.
During her one-day introductory trip to Myanmar, which currently has a civilian government, Shinawatra met with President Thein Sein and praised the country's progress in promoting democracy and reconciliation, the Thai News Agency reported.
Both Thailand and Myanmar, which was formerly called Burma, are members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations. She invited Thein Sein to visit Thailand.
In her talks with Myanmar leaders, the Thai leader stressed her country's policy of not allowing any armed group to use its territory to launch any offensive move against the Myanmar government, the report said.
She urged Myanmar's cooperation to reopen the border checkpoint at Tak's Mae Sot-Myawaddy as a way to boost trade and other economic cooperation. The checkpoint was closed last year.
The report quoted President Thein Sein as saying the process would be speeded up once bridge repairs are completed.
***********************************************************
Thursday, 06 October 2011 20:48
Malaysian Digest - Penang Police Detain 97 Myanmar Illegal Immigrants
BALIK PULAU, 6 OCTOBER, 2011: Penang police detained 97 Myanmar illegal immigrants in an operation conducted at about 8am along the coast of Pulau Betong here today.
South West district police chief Supt Hatta Md Zin said the men, aged between 20 and 30, were hiding in a boat and in the jungle there.
"Some fishermen saw them swim to shore after their boat anchored some 28 nautical miles from Pulau Betong," he told reporters.
Initial investigations revealed that the boat had been carrying 115 Myanmar nationals, he said.
"Police are tracking the rest of the Myanmar nationals who are believed to be still hiding in the jungle," he said.
Those arrested were taken to the South West District Police headquarters before being handed over to the Immigration Department.
Malaysian Digest - Penang Police Detain 97 Myanmar Illegal Immigrants
BALIK PULAU, 6 OCTOBER, 2011: Penang police detained 97 Myanmar illegal immigrants in an operation conducted at about 8am along the coast of Pulau Betong here today.
South West district police chief Supt Hatta Md Zin said the men, aged between 20 and 30, were hiding in a boat and in the jungle there.
"Some fishermen saw them swim to shore after their boat anchored some 28 nautical miles from Pulau Betong," he told reporters.
Initial investigations revealed that the boat had been carrying 115 Myanmar nationals, he said.
"Police are tracking the rest of the Myanmar nationals who are believed to be still hiding in the jungle," he said.
Those arrested were taken to the South West District Police headquarters before being handed over to the Immigration Department.
***********************************************************
Asia Sentinel - Burma's winds of change
Written by Larry Jagan
Thursday, 06 October 2011
Civilian government warily negotiates a minefield
While Burma’s civilian government appears willing to at least observe the veneer of democracy, hardliners and some former top generals are uneasy with the extent and pace of change and are threatening to force another military coup, diplomatic sources in Rangoon say.
The government, for the first time since the military seized power more than 20 years ago, is making a concerted effort to tackle the country’s poverty. The newly elected parliament – though many MPs owe their seats to a manipulated vote last November -- is beginning to function.
Last week’s executive decision by president Thein Sein to suspend construction on the controversial Myitsone dam in Kachin state near the border with China is another example of the government’s responsiveness to the wishes of the people, according to a senior Burmese government official. And now the government seems poised to release political prisoners.
The key to change is Thein Sein’s willingness to accommodate the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. This rapprochement, after their first meeting some seven weeks ago -- seems to have set a new tone.
Everything now depends on the release of these political prisoners – of which there are more than 2,000 according to the human rights group Amnesty International. Only after a significant number are freed will the country be launched on a genuine path to democracy.
Burma’s foreign minister Wanna Maung Lwin told the UN General Assembly in New York last month that the government intended to free more prisoners in the near future – though he did not mention whether political prisoners would be included or when. But in Rangoon there is mounting speculation that the government is set to free political prisoners – or at least a significant number of them – within the next few weeks.
The prisoners will be released in three batches, said a senior government official on condition of anonymity. More than 200 political activists may walk free within the next week or so, including the internationally renowned comedian, Zaganar.
This would be a clear signal both to the country and to the international community that Thein Sein’s reform agenda is not simply window dressing. There have been growing signs that the government, elected last November, is serious about economic and political reform.
The changes are often without formal announcements. To mark democracy day, the government unblocked many international news sites, including the Bangkok Post, the BBC, the exile-run Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), the Burmese language broadcasts of Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, all of which have been blocked for more than two decades. That follows earlier relaxation of media censorship, including allowing access to Skye, Yahoo and Youtube.
“There is enough to make us cautiously optimistic, with the stress on optimistic,” Steve Marshall, the head of the International Labour Organization in Rangoon told the Asia Sentinel recently. “There is a new attitude amongst the government ministers according to diplomats and UN officials who have been dealing with them for years. Ministers are far more responsive than before. There’s a real discussion now unlike under the previous regime. Decisions do not have to be passed back up to be approved.”
Even Aung San Suu Kyi seems encouraged. “I believe we have reached a point where there is an opportunity for change,” she recently told a small crowd gathered outside the National League for Democracy’s headquarters . Thein Sein seems to be looking to involve Aung San Suu Kyi in the country’s political future – albeit tentatively.
Although Aung San Suu Kyi has revealed few details of their talks, her attitude towards the government has changed markedly. “She trusts Thein Sein, believes he is sincere and needs support,” she told western diplomats in Rangoon recently, according to someone who attended the meeting.
The liberal-minded ministers who support Thein Sein’s initiatives also believe she is the key to a democratic transition in the country. “It was important to show the Lady that we are willing to work with her," said a government official close to the president. “We see her as a potential partner, not an adversary.”
Of course the issue of political prisoners was high on the agenda for the pro-democracy leader, who told her host that there could be no movement forward without their release first. Thein Sein knows that this is also the key to improved relations with the outside world -- and even with their neighbors and supporters in ASEAN. It would certainly smooth the path to Burma being confirmed as ASEAN chairman for 2014 later this year.
But the release of political prisoners remains a delicate and vexed issue. General Than Shwe, the head of the junta that ran the country prior to the election, has made it clear on at least two occasions -- once just after the elections last year and again earlier this year before Thein Sein took over the reins of government -- that the release of political prisoners and the jailed military intelligence officers was not an option. Both Thura Shwe Man and Maung Aye tried to convince him to make the gesture, but he remained intransigent.
Of course, the recent motion to free political prisoners adopted by parliament by a large majority may have set the seal on the release. It was significant that the speaker of the lower house, Thura Shwe Mann – the former third top general in the junta’s army – steered this through parliament.
Thura Shwe Mann is strongly supporting the president, according to sources close to him. He sees the issue of the release of political prisoners as something he can do which would make a difference – both domestically and internationally.
This is crucial, for the government cannot be seen to be bowing to international pressure. The freeing of these political activists is a necessary step in the democratic transition that Thein Sein says he is committed to. They have to be freed before planned by-elections, possibly in November. It is believed that the president promised Aung San Suu Kyi this when they met in August.
It now seems certain that there will be a role, so far unspecified, for Suu Kyi. Diplomats in Rangoon who have met her recently all say she is confident about the future and optimistic about the possibility of genuine change. Her role is going to be crucial. She is obviously willing to support the president’s reform process. But whether the next big step is taken will depend on Thein Sein and the government releasing political prisoners.
But the optimism needs to be tempered, said a senior liberal-minded minister. The hardliners are still waiting to pounce if they are given the opportunity. These same hardliners, led by the vice-president Thin Aung Mying Oo, were not happy to see Thein Sein meet Suu Kyi. Some ministers did not even know the meeting had taken place until they saw the evening television news.
While for the moment the signs are good, the hardliners are still lurking in the background. “If we fail, we’ll end up in jail,” said a senior member of the government recently on condition of anonymity.
Another military coup is possible if the army becomes convinced that these changes are not in their interests. In fact it is written into the 2008 constitution. Before he retired, Than Shwe had the army Chief General Min Aung Hlaing agree that he would lead a coup if necessary, according to senior military sources in Naypyidaw. The parliament would be abolished, the existing political parties dissolved, a new military-based party formed and new elections held.
For the moment Min Aung Hlaing is supporting both the President and the Speaker of the lower house, but the army’s continued support is by no means certain – especially if Than Shwe decides to intervene. Already some old hardliners in the governing United Solidarity and Development Party have been encouraging the old man to return, but so far to no avail.
Written by Larry Jagan
Thursday, 06 October 2011
Civilian government warily negotiates a minefield
While Burma’s civilian government appears willing to at least observe the veneer of democracy, hardliners and some former top generals are uneasy with the extent and pace of change and are threatening to force another military coup, diplomatic sources in Rangoon say.
The government, for the first time since the military seized power more than 20 years ago, is making a concerted effort to tackle the country’s poverty. The newly elected parliament – though many MPs owe their seats to a manipulated vote last November -- is beginning to function.
Last week’s executive decision by president Thein Sein to suspend construction on the controversial Myitsone dam in Kachin state near the border with China is another example of the government’s responsiveness to the wishes of the people, according to a senior Burmese government official. And now the government seems poised to release political prisoners.
The key to change is Thein Sein’s willingness to accommodate the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. This rapprochement, after their first meeting some seven weeks ago -- seems to have set a new tone.
Everything now depends on the release of these political prisoners – of which there are more than 2,000 according to the human rights group Amnesty International. Only after a significant number are freed will the country be launched on a genuine path to democracy.
Burma’s foreign minister Wanna Maung Lwin told the UN General Assembly in New York last month that the government intended to free more prisoners in the near future – though he did not mention whether political prisoners would be included or when. But in Rangoon there is mounting speculation that the government is set to free political prisoners – or at least a significant number of them – within the next few weeks.
The prisoners will be released in three batches, said a senior government official on condition of anonymity. More than 200 political activists may walk free within the next week or so, including the internationally renowned comedian, Zaganar.
This would be a clear signal both to the country and to the international community that Thein Sein’s reform agenda is not simply window dressing. There have been growing signs that the government, elected last November, is serious about economic and political reform.
The changes are often without formal announcements. To mark democracy day, the government unblocked many international news sites, including the Bangkok Post, the BBC, the exile-run Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), the Burmese language broadcasts of Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, all of which have been blocked for more than two decades. That follows earlier relaxation of media censorship, including allowing access to Skye, Yahoo and Youtube.
“There is enough to make us cautiously optimistic, with the stress on optimistic,” Steve Marshall, the head of the International Labour Organization in Rangoon told the Asia Sentinel recently. “There is a new attitude amongst the government ministers according to diplomats and UN officials who have been dealing with them for years. Ministers are far more responsive than before. There’s a real discussion now unlike under the previous regime. Decisions do not have to be passed back up to be approved.”
Even Aung San Suu Kyi seems encouraged. “I believe we have reached a point where there is an opportunity for change,” she recently told a small crowd gathered outside the National League for Democracy’s headquarters . Thein Sein seems to be looking to involve Aung San Suu Kyi in the country’s political future – albeit tentatively.
Although Aung San Suu Kyi has revealed few details of their talks, her attitude towards the government has changed markedly. “She trusts Thein Sein, believes he is sincere and needs support,” she told western diplomats in Rangoon recently, according to someone who attended the meeting.
The liberal-minded ministers who support Thein Sein’s initiatives also believe she is the key to a democratic transition in the country. “It was important to show the Lady that we are willing to work with her," said a government official close to the president. “We see her as a potential partner, not an adversary.”
Of course the issue of political prisoners was high on the agenda for the pro-democracy leader, who told her host that there could be no movement forward without their release first. Thein Sein knows that this is also the key to improved relations with the outside world -- and even with their neighbors and supporters in ASEAN. It would certainly smooth the path to Burma being confirmed as ASEAN chairman for 2014 later this year.
But the release of political prisoners remains a delicate and vexed issue. General Than Shwe, the head of the junta that ran the country prior to the election, has made it clear on at least two occasions -- once just after the elections last year and again earlier this year before Thein Sein took over the reins of government -- that the release of political prisoners and the jailed military intelligence officers was not an option. Both Thura Shwe Man and Maung Aye tried to convince him to make the gesture, but he remained intransigent.
Of course, the recent motion to free political prisoners adopted by parliament by a large majority may have set the seal on the release. It was significant that the speaker of the lower house, Thura Shwe Mann – the former third top general in the junta’s army – steered this through parliament.
Thura Shwe Mann is strongly supporting the president, according to sources close to him. He sees the issue of the release of political prisoners as something he can do which would make a difference – both domestically and internationally.
This is crucial, for the government cannot be seen to be bowing to international pressure. The freeing of these political activists is a necessary step in the democratic transition that Thein Sein says he is committed to. They have to be freed before planned by-elections, possibly in November. It is believed that the president promised Aung San Suu Kyi this when they met in August.
It now seems certain that there will be a role, so far unspecified, for Suu Kyi. Diplomats in Rangoon who have met her recently all say she is confident about the future and optimistic about the possibility of genuine change. Her role is going to be crucial. She is obviously willing to support the president’s reform process. But whether the next big step is taken will depend on Thein Sein and the government releasing political prisoners.
But the optimism needs to be tempered, said a senior liberal-minded minister. The hardliners are still waiting to pounce if they are given the opportunity. These same hardliners, led by the vice-president Thin Aung Mying Oo, were not happy to see Thein Sein meet Suu Kyi. Some ministers did not even know the meeting had taken place until they saw the evening television news.
While for the moment the signs are good, the hardliners are still lurking in the background. “If we fail, we’ll end up in jail,” said a senior member of the government recently on condition of anonymity.
Another military coup is possible if the army becomes convinced that these changes are not in their interests. In fact it is written into the 2008 constitution. Before he retired, Than Shwe had the army Chief General Min Aung Hlaing agree that he would lead a coup if necessary, according to senior military sources in Naypyidaw. The parliament would be abolished, the existing political parties dissolved, a new military-based party formed and new elections held.
For the moment Min Aung Hlaing is supporting both the President and the Speaker of the lower house, but the army’s continued support is by no means certain – especially if Than Shwe decides to intervene. Already some old hardliners in the governing United Solidarity and Development Party have been encouraging the old man to return, but so far to no avail.
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Asian Correspondent - Wasted lives: Burmese soldiers die for nothing on Kachin frontline
By Zin Linn Oct 05, 2011 11:57PM UTC
Political analysts and observers are deeply concerned about widespread war in Kachin State in Burma. The Thein Sein government has been slammed for breaking every promise with the ethnic ceasefire groups.
KIA officials repeatedly said the civil war will spread across Kachin and Shan states if the government continues its war against the Kachin Independence Organization. The latest series of armed clashes in Kachin state have prompted observers to say that intentional warfare in the border regions may not be avoidable.
The government’s poor handling of the Kachin situation seems to be pushing the nation into an abysmal series of tragedies. New military offensives by the Burmese army on the Kachin, Karen and Shan armed groups will steer the nation into a vicious downward spiral.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi released a statement in June calling for both the government and the KIO to stop heavy fighting immediately in order to protect people’s lives and properties. It also called for peaceful talks between stakeholders to settle the decade-long political crisis of the country.
However, the government has turned a deaf ear to calls for peace.
Although government troops have suffered heavy casualties, the decision-makers are still dragging their heels about stopping this useless confrontation. They have no sympathy for their fallen soldiers.
Ongoing civil war in Kachin State has been intensifying in various fronts. On Tuesday, Burmese armed forces expanded their offensive in central Kachin State. The fighting took place around Ja Ing Yang Village, near Sinbo, in central Kachin State.
The People’s Army soldiers under the KIA’s 3rd Brigade in eastern Kachin geared up for self-protective warfare. During fighting against the People’s Army under the KIA, several government soldiers died in action, local residents said Wednesday.
As the momentum increases in the civil war in Burma’s northern Kachin State, about 40 Burma Army’s soldiers were killed in a single day, a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) source in the war zone confirmed on Tuesday.
According to one KIA officer in the frontline, there were no KIA casualties in Tuesday’s battle.
Skirmishing between government troops and Kachin people’s armed forces has been taking place daily in different areas in the Shadan Pa Valley, close to Ja Ing Yang, according to local inhabitants.
According to KIA officials in Laiza, since the last week of September hundreds of government troops have arrived in those areas likely to launch a new offensive against the KIA headquarters at Laiza.
The KIA strongholds at Laiza – Alen Bum, Laisin Bum, Hpalap Bum and Mai Ja Yang – in eastern Kachin State are close to the Chinese border, which is approximately 25 miles west of the current battle sites.
The Burmese army is heightening its offensives against the KIA strongholds, since Shadan Pa and Ja Ing Yang are situated at strategic positions, KIA officials said. The fighting continues in the two areas, natives in the war zone said. There are casualties daily.
The President of Burma should take into consideration that all the fallen soldiers – Burmese or Kachin – are citizens of this nation. If the new president and the government truly want to reconstruct the country into a democratic and developed society, all the wars with respective ethnic rebels including KIO/KIA must be immediately stopped.
If President Thein Sein has genuine inspiration of poverty alleviation, he must stop all forms of civil conflict that make the country underprivileged in the region. Most analysts agree that allowing civil war and saying poverty alleviation looks like an impractical guiding principle.
So, it is really important for the president to end the civil war, especially war against Kachin. By doing so, president has to show the country is on the right reform path and can gain trust domestically and internationally.
By Zin Linn Oct 05, 2011 11:57PM UTC
Political analysts and observers are deeply concerned about widespread war in Kachin State in Burma. The Thein Sein government has been slammed for breaking every promise with the ethnic ceasefire groups.
KIA officials repeatedly said the civil war will spread across Kachin and Shan states if the government continues its war against the Kachin Independence Organization. The latest series of armed clashes in Kachin state have prompted observers to say that intentional warfare in the border regions may not be avoidable.
The government’s poor handling of the Kachin situation seems to be pushing the nation into an abysmal series of tragedies. New military offensives by the Burmese army on the Kachin, Karen and Shan armed groups will steer the nation into a vicious downward spiral.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi released a statement in June calling for both the government and the KIO to stop heavy fighting immediately in order to protect people’s lives and properties. It also called for peaceful talks between stakeholders to settle the decade-long political crisis of the country.
However, the government has turned a deaf ear to calls for peace.
Although government troops have suffered heavy casualties, the decision-makers are still dragging their heels about stopping this useless confrontation. They have no sympathy for their fallen soldiers.
Ongoing civil war in Kachin State has been intensifying in various fronts. On Tuesday, Burmese armed forces expanded their offensive in central Kachin State. The fighting took place around Ja Ing Yang Village, near Sinbo, in central Kachin State.
The People’s Army soldiers under the KIA’s 3rd Brigade in eastern Kachin geared up for self-protective warfare. During fighting against the People’s Army under the KIA, several government soldiers died in action, local residents said Wednesday.
As the momentum increases in the civil war in Burma’s northern Kachin State, about 40 Burma Army’s soldiers were killed in a single day, a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) source in the war zone confirmed on Tuesday.
According to one KIA officer in the frontline, there were no KIA casualties in Tuesday’s battle.
Skirmishing between government troops and Kachin people’s armed forces has been taking place daily in different areas in the Shadan Pa Valley, close to Ja Ing Yang, according to local inhabitants.
According to KIA officials in Laiza, since the last week of September hundreds of government troops have arrived in those areas likely to launch a new offensive against the KIA headquarters at Laiza.
The KIA strongholds at Laiza – Alen Bum, Laisin Bum, Hpalap Bum and Mai Ja Yang – in eastern Kachin State are close to the Chinese border, which is approximately 25 miles west of the current battle sites.
The Burmese army is heightening its offensives against the KIA strongholds, since Shadan Pa and Ja Ing Yang are situated at strategic positions, KIA officials said. The fighting continues in the two areas, natives in the war zone said. There are casualties daily.
The President of Burma should take into consideration that all the fallen soldiers – Burmese or Kachin – are citizens of this nation. If the new president and the government truly want to reconstruct the country into a democratic and developed society, all the wars with respective ethnic rebels including KIO/KIA must be immediately stopped.
If President Thein Sein has genuine inspiration of poverty alleviation, he must stop all forms of civil conflict that make the country underprivileged in the region. Most analysts agree that allowing civil war and saying poverty alleviation looks like an impractical guiding principle.
So, it is really important for the president to end the civil war, especially war against Kachin. By doing so, president has to show the country is on the right reform path and can gain trust domestically and internationally.
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The Nation - PM might have made a blunder by ignoring Aung San Suu Kyi
Supalak Ganjanakhundee
October 6, 2011 11:13 am
Prime minister's short visit and her failure to meet democracy icon cuts Thailand's role in reforming Burma
Making her first visit to Burma yesterday, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra missed a golden opportunity to go along with the country's reforms and put Thailand in the right position in the changing regional geopolitics by her failure to meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Yingluck landed in Burma's new capital of Naypyidaw in the afternoon and spent only 10 hours with senior officials, including President Thein Sein, discussing bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
She handed over meteorological equipment to help Burma improve its weather forecasting as well as witnessed a signing ceremony on road construction and the repair of a friendship bridge.
She also paid homage to Uppatasanti pagoda in Naypyidaw.
President Thein Sein hosted a dinner for Yingluck and her delegation before her departure from the capital city at the end of her official visit late at night.
Before the visit, a government source said the prime minister's discussions with her Burmese counterpart would focus on economic cooperation such as energy cooperation as Thailand imports a lot of natural gas from Burma.
Thai construction firm Italian-Thai is developing a mega deep seaport, a highway and an economic zone in Dawei to link economic activities between Thailand and Burma.
Nothing is wrong with such A visit, other than the message it sends is that the two countries have just a conventional relationship.
However, Burma is not a normal neighbouring country with which Thailand wants to simply ensure relations of mutual economic interest.
Burma is situated in one of the world's strategic locations and shares borders with two regional powerhouses: China and India.
Political conflict in Burma, notably between the government and ethnic minorities, poses a lot of troubles to Thailand.
Furthermore, Burma is in the process of reform towards democracy and reconciliation. The international community, including the United Nations, United States, European Union and Asean, are carefully looking at changes inside Burma.
Aung San Suu Kyi is a crucial part of these reforms and national reconciliation. She is now free and allowed to see foreigners and to exchange views on the changes in her country.
Many senior officials from the UN, US and EU have met with her to ask her opinion about Burma's future.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, as the chair of Asean, is to visit Burma soon and will meet Aung San Suu Kyi to ask her opinion whether Burma should take the Asean chair in 2014.
Aung San Suu Kyi does not know Yingluck personally but she congratulated Yingluck immediately after she won the July election and became Thailand's first female prime minister.
Aung San Suu Kyi hoped Thailand's newly elected government would be an inspiration and that the new PM could help her country to install democracy and restore national reconciliation.
So far, Yingluck has not yet said a single word to support Aung San Suu Kyi and political reform in Burma.
Supalak Ganjanakhundee
October 6, 2011 11:13 am
Prime minister's short visit and her failure to meet democracy icon cuts Thailand's role in reforming Burma
Making her first visit to Burma yesterday, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra missed a golden opportunity to go along with the country's reforms and put Thailand in the right position in the changing regional geopolitics by her failure to meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Yingluck landed in Burma's new capital of Naypyidaw in the afternoon and spent only 10 hours with senior officials, including President Thein Sein, discussing bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
She handed over meteorological equipment to help Burma improve its weather forecasting as well as witnessed a signing ceremony on road construction and the repair of a friendship bridge.
She also paid homage to Uppatasanti pagoda in Naypyidaw.
President Thein Sein hosted a dinner for Yingluck and her delegation before her departure from the capital city at the end of her official visit late at night.
Before the visit, a government source said the prime minister's discussions with her Burmese counterpart would focus on economic cooperation such as energy cooperation as Thailand imports a lot of natural gas from Burma.
Thai construction firm Italian-Thai is developing a mega deep seaport, a highway and an economic zone in Dawei to link economic activities between Thailand and Burma.
Nothing is wrong with such A visit, other than the message it sends is that the two countries have just a conventional relationship.
However, Burma is not a normal neighbouring country with which Thailand wants to simply ensure relations of mutual economic interest.
Burma is situated in one of the world's strategic locations and shares borders with two regional powerhouses: China and India.
Political conflict in Burma, notably between the government and ethnic minorities, poses a lot of troubles to Thailand.
Furthermore, Burma is in the process of reform towards democracy and reconciliation. The international community, including the United Nations, United States, European Union and Asean, are carefully looking at changes inside Burma.
Aung San Suu Kyi is a crucial part of these reforms and national reconciliation. She is now free and allowed to see foreigners and to exchange views on the changes in her country.
Many senior officials from the UN, US and EU have met with her to ask her opinion about Burma's future.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, as the chair of Asean, is to visit Burma soon and will meet Aung San Suu Kyi to ask her opinion whether Burma should take the Asean chair in 2014.
Aung San Suu Kyi does not know Yingluck personally but she congratulated Yingluck immediately after she won the July election and became Thailand's first female prime minister.
Aung San Suu Kyi hoped Thailand's newly elected government would be an inspiration and that the new PM could help her country to install democracy and restore national reconciliation.
So far, Yingluck has not yet said a single word to support Aung San Suu Kyi and political reform in Burma.
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MCOT - Thailand, Myanmar agree to strengthen cooperation at all levels
วันพฤหัสบดี ที่ 06 ต.ค. 2554
BANGKOK, Oct 6 - Thailand and Myanmar have agreed to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation at all levels while exploring ways to develop new cooperation between the two members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The two neighbouring countries agreement came during Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s one-day official introductory visit to Myanmar on Wednesday.
During the visit, Ms Yingluck paid a courtesy call on Myanmar President Thein Sein before the two delegations met together.
The Thai premier praised Myanmar for the progress of its development of democracy and reconciliation. Ms Yingluck took the opportunity to invite Mr Thein Sein to visit Thailand.
Ms Yingluck assured the Myanmar leader that Thailand adheres to its policy of not allowing any armed group to use Thailand as its base to launch any offensive move against the Myanmar government.
Thailand stands ready to promote bilateral ties and cooperation at all levels and dimensions to jointly achieve the goal of establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015, the Thai prime minister said.
As for the cooperation between Thailand and Myanmar, both sides agreed to continue existing cooperation and, at the same time, to explore new ways to develop new cooperation.
In an attempt to boost cross border trade and investment between the two countries and facilitate the cross border contacts, the Thai premier requested cooperation from Myanmar to reopen the border check-point at Tak's Mae Sot-Myawaddy, closed since mid-July last year.
President Thein Sein agreed to speed up the process to reopen the checkpoint, as the bridge footings are under repair. The Myanmar government affirmed that once the bridge repairs were complete, the checkpoint would immediately reopen.
Trade and transport across the Mae Sot-Myawaddy border was suspended when Myanmar officials shut the border at the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge across the Moei River and at over 20 cross-border trading ports along the river.
The Thai premier also asked for progress regarding the plan to upgrade the Singkhon border gate in Prachuap Khiri Khan province as a permanent border check-point to facilitate trade and transport.
Thailand expressed support for the development of infrastructure in Myanmar. Both leaders then witnessed an exchange of a signed road construction and improvement contract as well as for repairs of the Friendship Bridge. The contract was signed by the Thai and Myanmar foreign ministers.
Ms Yingluck and Mr Thein Sein also witnessed the presentation of meteorological equipment worth Bt40 million to Myanmar.
The Thai premier requested Myanmar to support development of the Tavoy deep sea port, industrial estate and the road linking Tavoy and Kanchanaburi.
The two leaders discussed the plan to jointly tackle border-related problems including illicit drugs, rights protection for Myanmar workers and assistance for persons from Myanmar who were displaced because of fighting.
After the talks, the Myanmar leader hosted a dinner to honour Ms Yingluck who returned to Thailand last night.
The visit to Myanmar is the latest in a series of introductory visits by Ms Yingluck following trips last month to Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos.
She plans to visit Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and China later this month. (MCOT online news)
วันพฤหัสบดี ที่ 06 ต.ค. 2554
BANGKOK, Oct 6 - Thailand and Myanmar have agreed to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation at all levels while exploring ways to develop new cooperation between the two members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The two neighbouring countries agreement came during Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s one-day official introductory visit to Myanmar on Wednesday.
During the visit, Ms Yingluck paid a courtesy call on Myanmar President Thein Sein before the two delegations met together.
The Thai premier praised Myanmar for the progress of its development of democracy and reconciliation. Ms Yingluck took the opportunity to invite Mr Thein Sein to visit Thailand.
Ms Yingluck assured the Myanmar leader that Thailand adheres to its policy of not allowing any armed group to use Thailand as its base to launch any offensive move against the Myanmar government.
Thailand stands ready to promote bilateral ties and cooperation at all levels and dimensions to jointly achieve the goal of establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015, the Thai prime minister said.
As for the cooperation between Thailand and Myanmar, both sides agreed to continue existing cooperation and, at the same time, to explore new ways to develop new cooperation.
In an attempt to boost cross border trade and investment between the two countries and facilitate the cross border contacts, the Thai premier requested cooperation from Myanmar to reopen the border check-point at Tak's Mae Sot-Myawaddy, closed since mid-July last year.
President Thein Sein agreed to speed up the process to reopen the checkpoint, as the bridge footings are under repair. The Myanmar government affirmed that once the bridge repairs were complete, the checkpoint would immediately reopen.
Trade and transport across the Mae Sot-Myawaddy border was suspended when Myanmar officials shut the border at the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge across the Moei River and at over 20 cross-border trading ports along the river.
The Thai premier also asked for progress regarding the plan to upgrade the Singkhon border gate in Prachuap Khiri Khan province as a permanent border check-point to facilitate trade and transport.
Thailand expressed support for the development of infrastructure in Myanmar. Both leaders then witnessed an exchange of a signed road construction and improvement contract as well as for repairs of the Friendship Bridge. The contract was signed by the Thai and Myanmar foreign ministers.
Ms Yingluck and Mr Thein Sein also witnessed the presentation of meteorological equipment worth Bt40 million to Myanmar.
The Thai premier requested Myanmar to support development of the Tavoy deep sea port, industrial estate and the road linking Tavoy and Kanchanaburi.
The two leaders discussed the plan to jointly tackle border-related problems including illicit drugs, rights protection for Myanmar workers and assistance for persons from Myanmar who were displaced because of fighting.
After the talks, the Myanmar leader hosted a dinner to honour Ms Yingluck who returned to Thailand last night.
The visit to Myanmar is the latest in a series of introductory visits by Ms Yingluck following trips last month to Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos.
She plans to visit Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and China later this month. (MCOT online news)
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Washington Post - Aid group Doctors Without Borders ending activities in Thailand
By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, October 6, 5:17 AM
BANGKOK — The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders says it is ending its operations in Thailand after 35 years.
The group’s chief in Thailand, Denis Penoy, said Thursday it is halting its activities because it could not reach agreement with the government on conditions under which it could provide medical care to illegal migrants.
Most of Thailand’s estimated 2 million unregistered migrants come from Myanmar, and their status prevents them from receiving proper health care.
Government spokeswoman Thitima Chaisaeng said she could not immediately comment because she was not familiar with the details of the group’s decision.
The group’s first activity in Thailand was helping Cambodian refugees fleeing the Khmer Rouge in 1976.
By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, October 6, 5:17 AM
BANGKOK — The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders says it is ending its operations in Thailand after 35 years.
The group’s chief in Thailand, Denis Penoy, said Thursday it is halting its activities because it could not reach agreement with the government on conditions under which it could provide medical care to illegal migrants.
Most of Thailand’s estimated 2 million unregistered migrants come from Myanmar, and their status prevents them from receiving proper health care.
Government spokeswoman Thitima Chaisaeng said she could not immediately comment because she was not familiar with the details of the group’s decision.
The group’s first activity in Thailand was helping Cambodian refugees fleeing the Khmer Rouge in 1976.
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Monsters and Critics - Myanmar independence hero Aung San back in the limelight
By Peter Janssen Oct 6, 2011, 5:02 GMT
Yangon - When Myanmar President Thein Sein held conciliatory talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in August, he made sure that Suu Kyi's famed father, Aung San, was part of the picture.
A portrait of Aung San, an independence hero and founding father of the Myanmar army, was on the wall behind Thein Sein and Suu Kyi as they shook hands for state media after a meeting that has set a new tone for national politics.
Thein Sein's predecessor, Senior General Than Shwe, who led the junta that ruled Myanmar from 1992 to 2010, was well-known not only for his dislike of Suu Kyi but also for distain for her father, who was gunned down by political rivals in 1947.
Prior to the Thein Sein-Suu Kyi meeting, no official portraits of Aung San were hung in government offices in the capital, Naypyitaw.
'Thein Sein sent a message to the people that he is a follower of Aung San,' said Kwin Maung Swe, leader of the National Democratic Force, an opposition party in parliament.
'Hanging the portrait was a message to the whole country that he will not deny the Aung San image,' Kwin Maung Swe said.
The National Democratic Force, a breakaway faction from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, plans to propose to parliament that Aung San's portrait be reinstated on the kyat bank notes, a practice that was discontinued under Than Shwe's rule.
'He is a national hero,' Kwin Maung Swe said. 'We are trying to take things back to normal times.'
There are other signs of an Aung San revival in Myanmar.
Children openly sell small posters of Aung San and his famous Nobel Peace Prize-winning daughter to motorists in the country's largest city and former capital, Yangon, and the state-controlled media has been full of articles about the Aung San legacy in recent weeks.
'Aung San's image has been brought back again,' said Tin Oo, deputy leader of the National League for Democracy and a former general. 'Now the younger soldiers are beginning to understand who was the hero of independence and the father of the army.'
Before the rise of Suu Kyi as the country's champion of democracy in the aftermath of a brutal army crackdown on anti-military demonstrations in 1988, her father was revered by the military as the army's founder and a hero of the country's struggle for independence from Britain, its former colonial master.
Aung San portraits graced kyat notes and hung in government offices, and the anniversary of his assassination, Martyr's Day, was a national holiday marked by solemn state commemorations.
After Than Shwe moved the capital to Naypyitaw in 2005, Martyr's Day was presided over by the Yangon governor.
Unlike Than Shwe, Thein Sein, who took office in March, has acknowledged that he needs Suu Kyi on his side to achieve his goals: securing the position of the military establishment that still runs the country, ending Myanmar's pariah status in the world community and easing economic sanctions, observers said.
'If the regime thinks that Aung San Suu Kyi will now play ball, then reviving Aung San as the father of it all is fine with the army,' said Robert Taylor, author of The State of Myanmar. 'After all, he was their founder, so back to normality.'
Myanmar military strongman Ne Win, who overthrew the county's fledgling post-independence democracy in 1962, did not play down the Aung San legacy because it enhanced his own.
Both Aung San and Ne Win were members of the Thirty Comrades, young revolutionaries who sided with the Japanese in ousting the British forces at the beginning of World War II, who then turned on the Japanese before the war ended.
Many have criticized Suu Kyi for agreeing to meet with Thein Sein before the new government has made substantive concessions, such as freeing about 2,000 political prisoners and opening peace talks with ethnic minority rebel groups, which have been fighting the army for decades.
'They've kind of hijacked Aung San and Aung San Suu Kyi for their own purposes,' said Bertil Lintner, a well-known Myanmar expert and author of The Land of Jade.
But for Suu Kyi and her followers, small progress is deemed better than none at all.
'So long as we can make one inch of progress, we will work together,' Tin Oo said.
By Peter Janssen Oct 6, 2011, 5:02 GMT
Yangon - When Myanmar President Thein Sein held conciliatory talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in August, he made sure that Suu Kyi's famed father, Aung San, was part of the picture.
A portrait of Aung San, an independence hero and founding father of the Myanmar army, was on the wall behind Thein Sein and Suu Kyi as they shook hands for state media after a meeting that has set a new tone for national politics.
Thein Sein's predecessor, Senior General Than Shwe, who led the junta that ruled Myanmar from 1992 to 2010, was well-known not only for his dislike of Suu Kyi but also for distain for her father, who was gunned down by political rivals in 1947.
Prior to the Thein Sein-Suu Kyi meeting, no official portraits of Aung San were hung in government offices in the capital, Naypyitaw.
'Thein Sein sent a message to the people that he is a follower of Aung San,' said Kwin Maung Swe, leader of the National Democratic Force, an opposition party in parliament.
'Hanging the portrait was a message to the whole country that he will not deny the Aung San image,' Kwin Maung Swe said.
The National Democratic Force, a breakaway faction from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, plans to propose to parliament that Aung San's portrait be reinstated on the kyat bank notes, a practice that was discontinued under Than Shwe's rule.
'He is a national hero,' Kwin Maung Swe said. 'We are trying to take things back to normal times.'
There are other signs of an Aung San revival in Myanmar.
Children openly sell small posters of Aung San and his famous Nobel Peace Prize-winning daughter to motorists in the country's largest city and former capital, Yangon, and the state-controlled media has been full of articles about the Aung San legacy in recent weeks.
'Aung San's image has been brought back again,' said Tin Oo, deputy leader of the National League for Democracy and a former general. 'Now the younger soldiers are beginning to understand who was the hero of independence and the father of the army.'
Before the rise of Suu Kyi as the country's champion of democracy in the aftermath of a brutal army crackdown on anti-military demonstrations in 1988, her father was revered by the military as the army's founder and a hero of the country's struggle for independence from Britain, its former colonial master.
Aung San portraits graced kyat notes and hung in government offices, and the anniversary of his assassination, Martyr's Day, was a national holiday marked by solemn state commemorations.
After Than Shwe moved the capital to Naypyitaw in 2005, Martyr's Day was presided over by the Yangon governor.
Unlike Than Shwe, Thein Sein, who took office in March, has acknowledged that he needs Suu Kyi on his side to achieve his goals: securing the position of the military establishment that still runs the country, ending Myanmar's pariah status in the world community and easing economic sanctions, observers said.
'If the regime thinks that Aung San Suu Kyi will now play ball, then reviving Aung San as the father of it all is fine with the army,' said Robert Taylor, author of The State of Myanmar. 'After all, he was their founder, so back to normality.'
Myanmar military strongman Ne Win, who overthrew the county's fledgling post-independence democracy in 1962, did not play down the Aung San legacy because it enhanced his own.
Both Aung San and Ne Win were members of the Thirty Comrades, young revolutionaries who sided with the Japanese in ousting the British forces at the beginning of World War II, who then turned on the Japanese before the war ended.
Many have criticized Suu Kyi for agreeing to meet with Thein Sein before the new government has made substantive concessions, such as freeing about 2,000 political prisoners and opening peace talks with ethnic minority rebel groups, which have been fighting the army for decades.
'They've kind of hijacked Aung San and Aung San Suu Kyi for their own purposes,' said Bertil Lintner, a well-known Myanmar expert and author of The Land of Jade.
But for Suu Kyi and her followers, small progress is deemed better than none at all.
'So long as we can make one inch of progress, we will work together,' Tin Oo said.
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E-Pao.net - Indo-Myanmar Border meet
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 05 2011: An Indo-Myanmar basic contact field level officers meeting on drug control was held at Immigration Office, Tamu, Myanmar today.
The Indian delegates was led by NCB Imphal Regional Director VS Shaha and the Myanmarese team was led by Superintandent of Police of Myanmar Police Force, Pol Col Lin Htut.
The Myanmar team informed that a Myanmarese woman who was arrested with WY tablets from Kale airport had revealed that the tablets were manufactured at Moreh.
The Indian delegates responded that there is no manufacturing unit of WY tablets at Moreh and it is produced only in Myanmar.
On being informed about peddling of opium at Molcham, the Indian delegates urged the Myanmarese authority to inform the exact location and identity of the arrested individuals to related officials at Moreh and Assam Rifles at Molcham.
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 05 2011: An Indo-Myanmar basic contact field level officers meeting on drug control was held at Immigration Office, Tamu, Myanmar today.
The Indian delegates was led by NCB Imphal Regional Director VS Shaha and the Myanmarese team was led by Superintandent of Police of Myanmar Police Force, Pol Col Lin Htut.
The Myanmar team informed that a Myanmarese woman who was arrested with WY tablets from Kale airport had revealed that the tablets were manufactured at Moreh.
The Indian delegates responded that there is no manufacturing unit of WY tablets at Moreh and it is produced only in Myanmar.
On being informed about peddling of opium at Molcham, the Indian delegates urged the Myanmarese authority to inform the exact location and identity of the arrested individuals to related officials at Moreh and Assam Rifles at Molcham.
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Times of India - 2 Naxalites held, spill beans on Myanmar camps
TNN | Oct 6, 2011, 04.13AM IST
New Delhi: The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested two suspected Naxalites for allegedly planning to send a consignment of arms and ammunition to their insurgent outfit in Jharkhand. Sources said the arrest of Dilip and Arun has also revealed the nexus between the banned group, People's Liberation Army (PLA), and Naxals.
The police claim they have the accused's laptop that contains important information related to future Naxal operations. "The laptop also has information about a training camp to be jointly organized by PLA and Naxals in Myanmar," said a source.
During interrogation, the accused reportedly told police they were planning to send a huge arms consignment to Naxalites in Ranchi (Jharkhand) so that the insurgents could carry out fresh attacks on security forces deployed in Naxal-affected areas. However, officers said the police were yet to recover the consignment, and the two suspects had come to Delhi to plan a safe route to deliver it.
Dilip and Arun, both said to be in their 30s, were arrested from Lodhi Colony last Saturday. "Crucial details related to Naxal operations and some maps of Myanmar showing the place where a joint training camp is to be held in a few weeks were recovered from their laptop," said an officer.
Dilip and Arun are allegedly members of PLA and they have been smuggling arms and ammunition for Naxals for some time. "They provide training to the members of the 'military wing' of Naxalites. They also give communications training to Naxals," said a source. Both of them can speak English.
Arun reportedly runs a travel agency in Pune. Sources say he sends arms to Jharkhand and other Naxal affected areas using his travel agency as a front. Special Cell teams will visit Pune and Ranchi to find out more about the arms consignment. "We have to find out where exactly these arms have come from and who all are supporting them to send the arms," said a senior police officer.
TNN | Oct 6, 2011, 04.13AM IST
New Delhi: The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested two suspected Naxalites for allegedly planning to send a consignment of arms and ammunition to their insurgent outfit in Jharkhand. Sources said the arrest of Dilip and Arun has also revealed the nexus between the banned group, People's Liberation Army (PLA), and Naxals.
The police claim they have the accused's laptop that contains important information related to future Naxal operations. "The laptop also has information about a training camp to be jointly organized by PLA and Naxals in Myanmar," said a source.
During interrogation, the accused reportedly told police they were planning to send a huge arms consignment to Naxalites in Ranchi (Jharkhand) so that the insurgents could carry out fresh attacks on security forces deployed in Naxal-affected areas. However, officers said the police were yet to recover the consignment, and the two suspects had come to Delhi to plan a safe route to deliver it.
Dilip and Arun, both said to be in their 30s, were arrested from Lodhi Colony last Saturday. "Crucial details related to Naxal operations and some maps of Myanmar showing the place where a joint training camp is to be held in a few weeks were recovered from their laptop," said an officer.
Dilip and Arun are allegedly members of PLA and they have been smuggling arms and ammunition for Naxals for some time. "They provide training to the members of the 'military wing' of Naxalites. They also give communications training to Naxals," said a source. Both of them can speak English.
Arun reportedly runs a travel agency in Pune. Sources say he sends arms to Jharkhand and other Naxal affected areas using his travel agency as a front. Special Cell teams will visit Pune and Ranchi to find out more about the arms consignment. "We have to find out where exactly these arms have come from and who all are supporting them to send the arms," said a senior police officer.
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Oct 7, 2011
Asia Times Online - West leads in Security Council vetoes
By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK - When Russia and China exercised a rare double veto against a Western resolution aimed at punishing Syria, the two big powers were repeating a similar feat derailing two earlier resolutions: one against Myanmar in 2007 and the other against Zimbabwe in 2008.
The Myanmar resolution was critical of that country's human-rights record, while the Zimbabwe resolution threatened to cut off arms sales to the beleaguered regime of President Robert Mugabe (who was being beefed up with both Chinese and Russian weapons).
Both Western-inspired resolutions were double-vetoed by Russia and China in an attempt to protect their allies - just as much as the last five US vetoes (during 2004-2011) in the Security Council were meant to protect Israel.
The vetoed resolutions either condemned Israel for building settlements in Occupied Territories or were critical of its devastating military operations in Gaza.
But in the annals of the Security Council, Tuesday's double veto is apparently not a political monopoly held by the Russians and the Chinese.
Stephen Zunes, professor of politics and chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco, who has done extensive research on voting patterns in the Security Council, told Inter Press Service (IPS), "Actually, it is the United States and its allies [United Kingdom and France] that hold the record for double [and triple] vetoes."
There have been 23 double vetoes by the US and UK and 13 triple vetoes by the US, the UK and France, he said. Most of them, he pointed out, were in regard to sanctions and related matters involving South Africa, Namibia or Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in the 1970s and 1980s.
The last triple veto was in 1989, in a resolution deploring the US invasion of Panama. (The UK and France also had two double vetoes during the 1956 Suez crisis.)
"I think it is worth pointing out that the United States holds the UN record in terms of vetoing resolutions threatening or imposing sanctions against governments engaged in human-rights abuses as well as of resolutions simply deploring or condemning such governments," Zunes said.
Although a majority of the council members - nine out of 15 - voted in favor of Tuesday's resolution (qualifying it to be adopted), the two vetoes negated the positive result.
The draft resolution, which strongly condemned the continued grave and systematic human-rights violations by Syrian authorities, drew positive votes from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, France, Gabon, Germany, Nigeria, Portugal, the UK and the US.
The countries abstaining were India, Brazil, South Africa (known collectively as IBSA) and Lebanon.
The resolution, which had been co-sponsored by France, Germany, Portugal and the UK, also called on Syria to immediately cease the use of force against civilians.
If Syria failed to do so within 30 days, the Security Council would consider "other options" (a euphemism for economic and military sanctions).
Asked about the failed resolution, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters on Wednesday that secretary general Ban Ki-moon "regrets" that the council failed to adopt the resolution.
But he hopes the divisions will be overcome. "We have a moral obligation to avoid further bloodshed and help the people of Syria out of this crisis," Ban was quoted as saying. He also reiterated that the violence in Syria - from any quarter - cannot continue.
Since mid-March, an estimated 2,700 people have been killed in Syria, according to the United Nations. Syria's growing protest movement is part of a wider uprising across North Africa and the Middle East this year.
Zunes told IPS that the double-veto was definitely a reaction to the decision by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to go way beyond the UN Security Council mandate earlier this year to authorize force to protect Libyan civilians and to instead become an active participant in the civil war.
He said he found it interesting that four non-permanent members - Brazil, India, Lebanon and South Africa - abstained.
Asked whether Libya was the reason for failure of the Security Council resolution, US ambassador Susan Rice told reporters, "I think this is an excuse." "I think the vast majority of countries, even today, on the council that were not able to vote in favor of this text know that this was a resolution that, in substance, was unobjectionable," she said.
And their decisions to vote as they did, she said, may have had a lot less to do with the text than it did with some effort to maintain solidarity among a certain group of countries.
"So I think Libya has been beat to death, overused and misused as an excuse for countries not to take up their responsibilities with respect to Syria," Rice said.
Asked whether diplomacy had reached a dead-end on Syria, she refuted the argument by pointing out that the majority of members would have supported a sanctions resolution.
And the countries in the region are, every day, coalescing and raising their voices against what is transpiring in Syria, she added.
"This is not, as some would like to pretend, a Western issue. We had countries all over the world supporting this resolution today, and we have countries throughout the region who've been very clear that the brutality of the [Bashar] al-Assad regime has to end and that the behavior of the regime is absolutely intolerable."
The two dissenting countries - Russia and China - took a strong stand on their vetoes. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia said his country did not support the regime of Assad but the draft resolution would not promote a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
The majority of Syrians, he said, wanted gradual political change, rather than quick regime change, and the text of the resolution did not adequately take into account the behavior of extremist groups in opposition to Syrian authorities.
Chinese ambassador Li Baodong said the draft resolution was overly focused on exerting pressure on Syria, and included the threat of sanctions, which would not resolve the situation.
Asia Times Online - West leads in Security Council vetoes
By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK - When Russia and China exercised a rare double veto against a Western resolution aimed at punishing Syria, the two big powers were repeating a similar feat derailing two earlier resolutions: one against Myanmar in 2007 and the other against Zimbabwe in 2008.
The Myanmar resolution was critical of that country's human-rights record, while the Zimbabwe resolution threatened to cut off arms sales to the beleaguered regime of President Robert Mugabe (who was being beefed up with both Chinese and Russian weapons).
Both Western-inspired resolutions were double-vetoed by Russia and China in an attempt to protect their allies - just as much as the last five US vetoes (during 2004-2011) in the Security Council were meant to protect Israel.
The vetoed resolutions either condemned Israel for building settlements in Occupied Territories or were critical of its devastating military operations in Gaza.
But in the annals of the Security Council, Tuesday's double veto is apparently not a political monopoly held by the Russians and the Chinese.
Stephen Zunes, professor of politics and chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco, who has done extensive research on voting patterns in the Security Council, told Inter Press Service (IPS), "Actually, it is the United States and its allies [United Kingdom and France] that hold the record for double [and triple] vetoes."
There have been 23 double vetoes by the US and UK and 13 triple vetoes by the US, the UK and France, he said. Most of them, he pointed out, were in regard to sanctions and related matters involving South Africa, Namibia or Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in the 1970s and 1980s.
The last triple veto was in 1989, in a resolution deploring the US invasion of Panama. (The UK and France also had two double vetoes during the 1956 Suez crisis.)
"I think it is worth pointing out that the United States holds the UN record in terms of vetoing resolutions threatening or imposing sanctions against governments engaged in human-rights abuses as well as of resolutions simply deploring or condemning such governments," Zunes said.
Although a majority of the council members - nine out of 15 - voted in favor of Tuesday's resolution (qualifying it to be adopted), the two vetoes negated the positive result.
The draft resolution, which strongly condemned the continued grave and systematic human-rights violations by Syrian authorities, drew positive votes from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, France, Gabon, Germany, Nigeria, Portugal, the UK and the US.
The countries abstaining were India, Brazil, South Africa (known collectively as IBSA) and Lebanon.
The resolution, which had been co-sponsored by France, Germany, Portugal and the UK, also called on Syria to immediately cease the use of force against civilians.
If Syria failed to do so within 30 days, the Security Council would consider "other options" (a euphemism for economic and military sanctions).
Asked about the failed resolution, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters on Wednesday that secretary general Ban Ki-moon "regrets" that the council failed to adopt the resolution.
But he hopes the divisions will be overcome. "We have a moral obligation to avoid further bloodshed and help the people of Syria out of this crisis," Ban was quoted as saying. He also reiterated that the violence in Syria - from any quarter - cannot continue.
Since mid-March, an estimated 2,700 people have been killed in Syria, according to the United Nations. Syria's growing protest movement is part of a wider uprising across North Africa and the Middle East this year.
Zunes told IPS that the double-veto was definitely a reaction to the decision by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to go way beyond the UN Security Council mandate earlier this year to authorize force to protect Libyan civilians and to instead become an active participant in the civil war.
He said he found it interesting that four non-permanent members - Brazil, India, Lebanon and South Africa - abstained.
Asked whether Libya was the reason for failure of the Security Council resolution, US ambassador Susan Rice told reporters, "I think this is an excuse." "I think the vast majority of countries, even today, on the council that were not able to vote in favor of this text know that this was a resolution that, in substance, was unobjectionable," she said.
And their decisions to vote as they did, she said, may have had a lot less to do with the text than it did with some effort to maintain solidarity among a certain group of countries.
"So I think Libya has been beat to death, overused and misused as an excuse for countries not to take up their responsibilities with respect to Syria," Rice said.
Asked whether diplomacy had reached a dead-end on Syria, she refuted the argument by pointing out that the majority of members would have supported a sanctions resolution.
And the countries in the region are, every day, coalescing and raising their voices against what is transpiring in Syria, she added.
"This is not, as some would like to pretend, a Western issue. We had countries all over the world supporting this resolution today, and we have countries throughout the region who've been very clear that the brutality of the [Bashar] al-Assad regime has to end and that the behavior of the regime is absolutely intolerable."
The two dissenting countries - Russia and China - took a strong stand on their vetoes. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia said his country did not support the regime of Assad but the draft resolution would not promote a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
The majority of Syrians, he said, wanted gradual political change, rather than quick regime change, and the text of the resolution did not adequately take into account the behavior of extremist groups in opposition to Syrian authorities.
Chinese ambassador Li Baodong said the draft resolution was overly focused on exerting pressure on Syria, and included the threat of sanctions, which would not resolve the situation.
***********************************************************
October 6, 2011, 9:10 AM SGT
The Wall Street Journal - Myanmar’s Latest Obsession: Top Spot in Asean
By A Wall Street Journal Reporter
A series of economic and social reforms in Myanmar in recent months has triggered speculation its leaders are redoubling efforts to break free from the Western economic sanctions that have held back the country’s development since the late 1990s.
But Asian diplomats believe Myanmar may be just as motivated by another goal, at least in the short term: Securing the chairman’s seat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2014.
The Asean regional grouping – which includes all of the ten Southeast Asian nations and meets regularly throughout the year – has suffered its share of ridicule over the years, with investors and many Western leaders privately describing it as a do-nothing talk shop featuring little more than big dinners and photo ops.
But the group’s role has taken on more significance in recent years, as the U.S. government courts more influence with Asean in a bid to contain China’s growing power. Asean has also succeeded in reducing some trade walls between Southeast Asian nations and is embarked on a project to streamline customs procedures and other trade barriers to create some form of regional economic community by 2015.
Many Southeast Asian leaders have long opposed letting Myanmar occupy the chairman position, which changes every year and is currently held by Indonesia, because they fear Myanmar’s reputation for human rights abuses would discredit the organization and upset the U.S. and other important Western trade partners.
Yet Myanmar leaders have made it clear they want the seat in 2014, a year ahead of the next national elections there. Doing so would help burnish the country’s international reputation and de-stigmatize its military-backed government, while also giving Myanmar more power to chart the group’s agenda. It could also provide a platform for senior officials who want to raise their profiles at home and abroad before the 2015 vote, diplomats believe.
Momentum for giving Myanmar the green light has been building in recent months after its military junta handed over power to a civilian government last year in the country’s first election in 20 years. Although Western observers said the election was rigged in favor of military-backed candidates — which Myanmar denied – the new government has surprised diplomats since then by easing press and Internet restrictions, halting a controversial Chinese-backed dam project, and seeking foreign advice on how to reform the country’s economy and reduce poverty.
Backers of Myanmar’s bid — including some dissidents in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city — say it could force the government to open up more than ever. The myriad planning meetings and ministerial summits involved attract reporters and civil society organizers as well as senior U.S. officials – including in recent years the U.S. Secretary of State – who haven’t been welcome in Myanmar for years. It would also force Myanmar to invest in infrastructure upgrades for telephones, transportation and other services, and expose more Myanmar leaders to their cohorts abroad.
Opponents, including many dissidents in exile, feel Asean officials haven’t pressed hard enough to extract concessions from the Myanmar government – such as an unconditional release of all political prisoners – before signing off. The Global Justice Center, an international human rights group, recently went one step further, calling for Asean governments to kick Myanmar out of the regional grouping entirely “because its constitution and elections violate the most fundamental rules of law,” according to a letter it sent to Asean heads of state.
The decision will likely come to a head soon. Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has said he plans to visit Myanmar this month to gauge its progress – a step Myanmar residents believe is a prelude to reaching a final decision in time for the upcoming Asean leaders’ summit in Indonesia in November. It is widely believed he will be seeking the support of famed dissident Aung San Suu Kyi when he visits Yangon, which, if obtained, would likely clear the decks for all of Myanmar’s neighbors and potentially the U.S. to support Myanmar’s push.
In an interview this week, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene confirmed the trip would be in October, most likely at the end of the month, and that details were still being finalized, with Mr. Natalegawa planning “to meet Myanmar government officials and Myanmar people.” The trip would be “an ‘assessment’ to see Myanmar’s preparedness” for taking on the chairmanship role, he said.
Another possibility, analysts say, is that the issue will get kicked down the road until next year, when Cambodia takes over as the next Asean chair for 2012. But that may only increase the odds Myanmar will get what it wants, since Cambodia is widely seen as even more likely to endorse a Myanmar chairmanship than Indonesia.
The Wall Street Journal - Myanmar’s Latest Obsession: Top Spot in Asean
By A Wall Street Journal Reporter
A series of economic and social reforms in Myanmar in recent months has triggered speculation its leaders are redoubling efforts to break free from the Western economic sanctions that have held back the country’s development since the late 1990s.
But Asian diplomats believe Myanmar may be just as motivated by another goal, at least in the short term: Securing the chairman’s seat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2014.
The Asean regional grouping – which includes all of the ten Southeast Asian nations and meets regularly throughout the year – has suffered its share of ridicule over the years, with investors and many Western leaders privately describing it as a do-nothing talk shop featuring little more than big dinners and photo ops.
But the group’s role has taken on more significance in recent years, as the U.S. government courts more influence with Asean in a bid to contain China’s growing power. Asean has also succeeded in reducing some trade walls between Southeast Asian nations and is embarked on a project to streamline customs procedures and other trade barriers to create some form of regional economic community by 2015.
Many Southeast Asian leaders have long opposed letting Myanmar occupy the chairman position, which changes every year and is currently held by Indonesia, because they fear Myanmar’s reputation for human rights abuses would discredit the organization and upset the U.S. and other important Western trade partners.
Yet Myanmar leaders have made it clear they want the seat in 2014, a year ahead of the next national elections there. Doing so would help burnish the country’s international reputation and de-stigmatize its military-backed government, while also giving Myanmar more power to chart the group’s agenda. It could also provide a platform for senior officials who want to raise their profiles at home and abroad before the 2015 vote, diplomats believe.
Momentum for giving Myanmar the green light has been building in recent months after its military junta handed over power to a civilian government last year in the country’s first election in 20 years. Although Western observers said the election was rigged in favor of military-backed candidates — which Myanmar denied – the new government has surprised diplomats since then by easing press and Internet restrictions, halting a controversial Chinese-backed dam project, and seeking foreign advice on how to reform the country’s economy and reduce poverty.
Backers of Myanmar’s bid — including some dissidents in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city — say it could force the government to open up more than ever. The myriad planning meetings and ministerial summits involved attract reporters and civil society organizers as well as senior U.S. officials – including in recent years the U.S. Secretary of State – who haven’t been welcome in Myanmar for years. It would also force Myanmar to invest in infrastructure upgrades for telephones, transportation and other services, and expose more Myanmar leaders to their cohorts abroad.
Opponents, including many dissidents in exile, feel Asean officials haven’t pressed hard enough to extract concessions from the Myanmar government – such as an unconditional release of all political prisoners – before signing off. The Global Justice Center, an international human rights group, recently went one step further, calling for Asean governments to kick Myanmar out of the regional grouping entirely “because its constitution and elections violate the most fundamental rules of law,” according to a letter it sent to Asean heads of state.
The decision will likely come to a head soon. Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has said he plans to visit Myanmar this month to gauge its progress – a step Myanmar residents believe is a prelude to reaching a final decision in time for the upcoming Asean leaders’ summit in Indonesia in November. It is widely believed he will be seeking the support of famed dissident Aung San Suu Kyi when he visits Yangon, which, if obtained, would likely clear the decks for all of Myanmar’s neighbors and potentially the U.S. to support Myanmar’s push.
In an interview this week, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene confirmed the trip would be in October, most likely at the end of the month, and that details were still being finalized, with Mr. Natalegawa planning “to meet Myanmar government officials and Myanmar people.” The trip would be “an ‘assessment’ to see Myanmar’s preparedness” for taking on the chairmanship role, he said.
Another possibility, analysts say, is that the issue will get kicked down the road until next year, when Cambodia takes over as the next Asean chair for 2012. But that may only increase the odds Myanmar will get what it wants, since Cambodia is widely seen as even more likely to endorse a Myanmar chairmanship than Indonesia.
***********************************************************
Jakarta Globe - In Surprising Burma, Seize the Moment
Thant Myint-U | October 06, 2011
Burma is at its most important political watershed since the establishment of army rule in 1962.
Over the next few weeks, the Obama administration can make a big difference in determining whether historic reforms under way there will lead to Asia’s newest democratic transition. President Obama should publicly support those changes, and back up those words with actions to end the country’s isolation, before hard-liners who oppose reform are able to push back.
Six months ago it was difficult to be optimistic. Elections had been held but they were widely condemned as being far from free and fair. And although Burma’s aging autocrat, Gen. Than Shwe, retired, the constitutional leadership that replaced his junta included many of the same former generals. Few expected more than minor reforms.
But U Thein Sein, the new president and himself a former general, surprised everyone. In his inaugural address to Parliament, he spoke forcefully of combating poverty, fighting corruption and working for political reconciliation.
By June, state pensions for nearly a million people, most of them very poor, were increased by as much as a thousandfold, taxes were reduced, and trade cartels were dismantled.
The government redrafted banking and foreign investment rules and began revising its foreign exchange rate policy — all of this in consultation with businesspeople and academics. That alone was a huge step, because army rulers had long shunned civilian advice.
Then, on July 19, Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who was released from house arrest in November, was invited to the annual Martyrs’ Day ceremony.
The holiday memorializes the 1947 assassination of her father, who is considered the architect of the country’s independence. Thousands of her supporters were permitted to hold their first lawful march in years and several independent newspapers came to life. Suu Kyi’s name, which couldn’t be mentioned in print a year ago, began to appear regularly on the front pages.
By August, Parliament began debating sensitive issues, like the release of political prisoners, and passed laws legalizing microfinance for the rural poor and allowing independent trade unions. All Internet restrictions were soon lifted.
On Aug. 18, at a meeting with dozens of independent civic groups, the president called for peace talks with the country’s ethnic-based rebels and invited exiles to return. The next day, he met for over two hours alone with Suu Kyi.
I saw her soon afterward for the first time in over 20 years. She told me she believed the president was genuine in wanting change and that she hoped we were at the dawn of a new era in Burma.
This past week, we’ve seen previously unimaginable developments. On Friday, following increasing popular agitation, the president halted work on a $3.6 billion hydroelectric dam being built by China to send power to Chinese provinces next door. This was a victory for Burma’s nascent environmental movement and the area’s minority Kachin people. That the president would stop a Chinese-backed project of this size was the clearest sign yet that the country was at a turning point.
But monumental challenges remain — for example, even though the government agreed recently to a cease-fire with the country’s largest ethnic-based militia, deadly clashes continue with smaller militias fighting on behalf of minorities in the mountains to the north and east. It is hard to imagine a successful democratic transition while these long-standing and often brutal little wars continue.
Reformist voices are not the only ones in the new system, and a hard-line pushback is far from inconceivable. So the Obama administration needs to do three things, and do them quickly.
First is to unambiguously voice its support for the reforms under way, while at the same time being patient and refraining from demanding too much too fast. The alternative to what is happening is not a perfect revolution; the alternative is going back to square one.
Second, the administration needs to ensure that the reform efforts receive the technical advice and knowledge they desperately require. After decades of isolation, Burma suffers from a dearth of skilled people in every field, from banking to environmental regulation to public health. So the United States should lift all restrictions that limit the United Nations and international financial institutions like the World Bank from offering Burma their technical expertise.
Third is to move toward ending trade embargoes against Burma. Responsible trade and investment can play key roles in creating jobs, helping build a new middle class and hastening democratic change.
What we’re seeing today is Burma’s best chance in half a century for a better future. America needs to help end Burma’s isolation, urgently.
The New York Times
Thant Myint-U, a historian and former United Nations official, is the author of “Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia.”
Thant Myint-U | October 06, 2011
Burma is at its most important political watershed since the establishment of army rule in 1962.
Over the next few weeks, the Obama administration can make a big difference in determining whether historic reforms under way there will lead to Asia’s newest democratic transition. President Obama should publicly support those changes, and back up those words with actions to end the country’s isolation, before hard-liners who oppose reform are able to push back.
Six months ago it was difficult to be optimistic. Elections had been held but they were widely condemned as being far from free and fair. And although Burma’s aging autocrat, Gen. Than Shwe, retired, the constitutional leadership that replaced his junta included many of the same former generals. Few expected more than minor reforms.
But U Thein Sein, the new president and himself a former general, surprised everyone. In his inaugural address to Parliament, he spoke forcefully of combating poverty, fighting corruption and working for political reconciliation.
By June, state pensions for nearly a million people, most of them very poor, were increased by as much as a thousandfold, taxes were reduced, and trade cartels were dismantled.
The government redrafted banking and foreign investment rules and began revising its foreign exchange rate policy — all of this in consultation with businesspeople and academics. That alone was a huge step, because army rulers had long shunned civilian advice.
Then, on July 19, Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who was released from house arrest in November, was invited to the annual Martyrs’ Day ceremony.
The holiday memorializes the 1947 assassination of her father, who is considered the architect of the country’s independence. Thousands of her supporters were permitted to hold their first lawful march in years and several independent newspapers came to life. Suu Kyi’s name, which couldn’t be mentioned in print a year ago, began to appear regularly on the front pages.
By August, Parliament began debating sensitive issues, like the release of political prisoners, and passed laws legalizing microfinance for the rural poor and allowing independent trade unions. All Internet restrictions were soon lifted.
On Aug. 18, at a meeting with dozens of independent civic groups, the president called for peace talks with the country’s ethnic-based rebels and invited exiles to return. The next day, he met for over two hours alone with Suu Kyi.
I saw her soon afterward for the first time in over 20 years. She told me she believed the president was genuine in wanting change and that she hoped we were at the dawn of a new era in Burma.
This past week, we’ve seen previously unimaginable developments. On Friday, following increasing popular agitation, the president halted work on a $3.6 billion hydroelectric dam being built by China to send power to Chinese provinces next door. This was a victory for Burma’s nascent environmental movement and the area’s minority Kachin people. That the president would stop a Chinese-backed project of this size was the clearest sign yet that the country was at a turning point.
But monumental challenges remain — for example, even though the government agreed recently to a cease-fire with the country’s largest ethnic-based militia, deadly clashes continue with smaller militias fighting on behalf of minorities in the mountains to the north and east. It is hard to imagine a successful democratic transition while these long-standing and often brutal little wars continue.
Reformist voices are not the only ones in the new system, and a hard-line pushback is far from inconceivable. So the Obama administration needs to do three things, and do them quickly.
First is to unambiguously voice its support for the reforms under way, while at the same time being patient and refraining from demanding too much too fast. The alternative to what is happening is not a perfect revolution; the alternative is going back to square one.
Second, the administration needs to ensure that the reform efforts receive the technical advice and knowledge they desperately require. After decades of isolation, Burma suffers from a dearth of skilled people in every field, from banking to environmental regulation to public health. So the United States should lift all restrictions that limit the United Nations and international financial institutions like the World Bank from offering Burma their technical expertise.
Third is to move toward ending trade embargoes against Burma. Responsible trade and investment can play key roles in creating jobs, helping build a new middle class and hastening democratic change.
What we’re seeing today is Burma’s best chance in half a century for a better future. America needs to help end Burma’s isolation, urgently.
The New York Times
Thant Myint-U, a historian and former United Nations official, is the author of “Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia.”
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COMMENTARY
The Irrawaddy - China and Burma: No Longer Birds of a Feather?
By AUNG ZAW Wednesday, October 5, 2011
In May, newly "elected" Burmese President Thein Sein flew to Beijing to meet with Chinese leaders. The trip, his first state visit as president of Burma, was intended to upgrade the China-Burma relationship.
In that respect, Thein Sein’s trip was a success. While he was in Beijing, the two nations agreed to forge a comprehensive "strategic partnership" of cooperation, and Chinese prime minster Wen Jiabao declared after the meeting that, "The partnership is bound to push forward bilateral friendly cooperation in all areas to a new stage."
At the time, there were no doubts that China remained firmly behind the Burmese regime following the November 2010 sham election—whether they wore civilian clothes or a military uniform, Burma’s ruling leaders knew they could count on Beijing’s unequivocal support in the international arena.
Last week, however, Thein Sein dropped a bombshell by announcing the decision of his new government to suspend Burma’s controversial Myitsone Dam project, which has China as its main investor.
While most of the Burmese population applauded the bold move as having saved the Irrawaddy River and reflected the will of the people, it left some political pundits scratching their heads and wondering whether it was a rational decision given that it could greatly anger Burma’s massive neighbor to the north.
Thein Sein is generally viewed as a politician who is sometimes indecisive when it comes to making major policy decisions, but on its face, the decision to suspend work on the Myitsone Dam was bold and risky. So many are wondering what motivated him to apparently thumb his nose at his powerful "strategic partner."
Was it a calculated move to win more friends in the West at a time that the Burmese government is seeking to reduce or eliminate sanctions and deflect a call for a UN Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into crimes against humanity?
Was it intended to demonstrate the willingness of Burma’s new government to "listen to public opinion," as Thein Sein announced in his statement to Parliament, and both preserve the integrity of the Irrawaddy River and blunt Chinese influence in Burma?
Can it be seen as a major concession to anti-dam activists and the political opposition, who were threatening to turn the issue into a cause célèbre that would unite the public and potentially incite it to rise up against the government?
All of the above?
In addition, some political observers speculate that Thein Sein’s decision was a strong political signal to the US and the EU—both of whom welcomed the announcement and remain committed to an "engagement" policy with Burma—that Burma is willing to cooperate, at least to some extent, in their efforts to pull Burma away from China’s sphere of influence.
According to news reports, the president of China Power Investment Corp., Lu Qizhou, called the suspension bewildering and said it "will lead to a series of legal issues." In addition, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing stepped in and urged Burma to protect the interests of Chinese companies.
This could indicate the start of a diplomatic row between the two nations. But despite the growing anti-China sentiment in both Burma’s general population and its new government, Burma probably does not dare to directly challenge China in a manner that will provoke the dragon’s full wrath.
Politically as well as economically, Burma still needs China. For more than two decades, Beijing has been the one backing the Burmese regime whenever it was faced with international pressure and condemnation for its brutal clampdowns on civilians and opposition forces. Particularly, anytime Burma faced a censure debate in the UN Security Council, it easily hid behind Beijing.
Therefore, Burma’s civilian regime will likely continue its dependence on China in the form of other joint megaprojects, including the controversial—and for China more strategically important—oil pipeline and railway projects across upper Burma from Shan State to Arakan State.
But it is important to remember that the greedy China needs Burma as well. Beijing has heavily invested in Burma’s energy sector and will continue to do so.
Burma is also strategically important to China, because it is only through Burma that China has access to the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, and Chinese naval vessels made port calls in Burma for the first time last year.
For these reasons, China also does not want to overreact to the Myitsone Dam suspension and push Burma into the arms of the West.
It is a well known fact, however, that some Burmese leaders—including some in uniform—want to distance Burma from China. Therefore, some pundits argue that it is time for the West to change its Burma policy and be more accommodating to the leaders of the new government. But the US has thus far insisted that Burma make concrete reforms, including the release of political prisoners, a comprehensive dialogue with the opposition and ethnic leaders and cooperation with a CoI.
In any event, one thing is clear: Burma under President Thein Sein has a chance to develop a closer relationship with the West if speedy and substantive reforms are undertaken in the near future.
Thant Myint-U, author of "Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia" (a must-read book on Burma), concluded that progress in Burma would be a boon for the region, and a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Burma would be a game-changer for all Asia. Everyone would like to see Thant Myint-U’s happy ending scenario become a reality, and in order to move in that direction it is important for Burma to re-enter and integrate into the world community with dignity.
It is time for Burma to step out of China’s shadow and embrace the West and regional neighbors in order to gain new allies that help counter China’s influence. To make this happen, Burma’s president Thein Sein must make major political reforms in Burma, and perhaps the suspension of the Myitsone Dam project was his first step in that direction.
The Irrawaddy - China and Burma: No Longer Birds of a Feather?
By AUNG ZAW Wednesday, October 5, 2011
In May, newly "elected" Burmese President Thein Sein flew to Beijing to meet with Chinese leaders. The trip, his first state visit as president of Burma, was intended to upgrade the China-Burma relationship.
In that respect, Thein Sein’s trip was a success. While he was in Beijing, the two nations agreed to forge a comprehensive "strategic partnership" of cooperation, and Chinese prime minster Wen Jiabao declared after the meeting that, "The partnership is bound to push forward bilateral friendly cooperation in all areas to a new stage."
At the time, there were no doubts that China remained firmly behind the Burmese regime following the November 2010 sham election—whether they wore civilian clothes or a military uniform, Burma’s ruling leaders knew they could count on Beijing’s unequivocal support in the international arena.
Last week, however, Thein Sein dropped a bombshell by announcing the decision of his new government to suspend Burma’s controversial Myitsone Dam project, which has China as its main investor.
While most of the Burmese population applauded the bold move as having saved the Irrawaddy River and reflected the will of the people, it left some political pundits scratching their heads and wondering whether it was a rational decision given that it could greatly anger Burma’s massive neighbor to the north.
Thein Sein is generally viewed as a politician who is sometimes indecisive when it comes to making major policy decisions, but on its face, the decision to suspend work on the Myitsone Dam was bold and risky. So many are wondering what motivated him to apparently thumb his nose at his powerful "strategic partner."
Was it a calculated move to win more friends in the West at a time that the Burmese government is seeking to reduce or eliminate sanctions and deflect a call for a UN Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into crimes against humanity?
Was it intended to demonstrate the willingness of Burma’s new government to "listen to public opinion," as Thein Sein announced in his statement to Parliament, and both preserve the integrity of the Irrawaddy River and blunt Chinese influence in Burma?
Can it be seen as a major concession to anti-dam activists and the political opposition, who were threatening to turn the issue into a cause célèbre that would unite the public and potentially incite it to rise up against the government?
All of the above?
In addition, some political observers speculate that Thein Sein’s decision was a strong political signal to the US and the EU—both of whom welcomed the announcement and remain committed to an "engagement" policy with Burma—that Burma is willing to cooperate, at least to some extent, in their efforts to pull Burma away from China’s sphere of influence.
According to news reports, the president of China Power Investment Corp., Lu Qizhou, called the suspension bewildering and said it "will lead to a series of legal issues." In addition, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing stepped in and urged Burma to protect the interests of Chinese companies.
This could indicate the start of a diplomatic row between the two nations. But despite the growing anti-China sentiment in both Burma’s general population and its new government, Burma probably does not dare to directly challenge China in a manner that will provoke the dragon’s full wrath.
Politically as well as economically, Burma still needs China. For more than two decades, Beijing has been the one backing the Burmese regime whenever it was faced with international pressure and condemnation for its brutal clampdowns on civilians and opposition forces. Particularly, anytime Burma faced a censure debate in the UN Security Council, it easily hid behind Beijing.
Therefore, Burma’s civilian regime will likely continue its dependence on China in the form of other joint megaprojects, including the controversial—and for China more strategically important—oil pipeline and railway projects across upper Burma from Shan State to Arakan State.
But it is important to remember that the greedy China needs Burma as well. Beijing has heavily invested in Burma’s energy sector and will continue to do so.
Burma is also strategically important to China, because it is only through Burma that China has access to the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, and Chinese naval vessels made port calls in Burma for the first time last year.
For these reasons, China also does not want to overreact to the Myitsone Dam suspension and push Burma into the arms of the West.
It is a well known fact, however, that some Burmese leaders—including some in uniform—want to distance Burma from China. Therefore, some pundits argue that it is time for the West to change its Burma policy and be more accommodating to the leaders of the new government. But the US has thus far insisted that Burma make concrete reforms, including the release of political prisoners, a comprehensive dialogue with the opposition and ethnic leaders and cooperation with a CoI.
In any event, one thing is clear: Burma under President Thein Sein has a chance to develop a closer relationship with the West if speedy and substantive reforms are undertaken in the near future.
Thant Myint-U, author of "Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia" (a must-read book on Burma), concluded that progress in Burma would be a boon for the region, and a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Burma would be a game-changer for all Asia. Everyone would like to see Thant Myint-U’s happy ending scenario become a reality, and in order to move in that direction it is important for Burma to re-enter and integrate into the world community with dignity.
It is time for Burma to step out of China’s shadow and embrace the West and regional neighbors in order to gain new allies that help counter China’s influence. To make this happen, Burma’s president Thein Sein must make major political reforms in Burma, and perhaps the suspension of the Myitsone Dam project was his first step in that direction.
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The Irrawaddy - As Conflict Heats Up, Kachins Pray for Peace
By SAI ZOM HSENG Thursday, October 6, 2011
“We are asking for God's mercy to give us justice and equal rights for our people,” said Naw Sai, an ethnic Kachin man living in Myitkyina, the capital of northern Burma's Kachin State, explaining the purpose of a prayer event recently organized by the Myanmar Christian Council.
The event, which took place at churches throughout the city from Sept 28 to Oct 4, brought together a community growing increasingly anxious about a war that has reared its head after a decade and a half of relative peace, and now shows no signs of abating.
“We believe that our difficulties will not always be with us and will one day disappear. To make that day come very soon, we are asking for the mercy of God,” said Naw Sai.
Gam Shaung, a Christian minister from Myitkyina who asked not to be identified by his real name, said that local people want to see an end to the conflict between Burmese government troops and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and need to find a way to calm their souls.
“The people know that the Kachin fighters are fighting for our land and dignity, and they want to support them in some way,” he said. “Therefore we decided to organize this seven-day prayer event, and will hold similar events in the future.”
Many others, he said, have been praying privately since the fighting broke out earlier this year.
Kachin communities inside Burma are not alone in praying for an end to the conflict now raging in their homeland. Kachin people living in foreign countries are also gathering at their churches and to pray for a KIA victory.
According to a Kachin student living in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, special prayer meetings are usually held after regular Sunday services. He said that although they wanted peace, they did not want it to come without achieving any real benefit for the Kachin people. He added that people's faith in God helped them to remain strong in spirit in the face of this crisis.
A ceasefire agreement signed by the Burmese military regime and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of the KIA, in 1994 first showed signs of unraveling a year ago, when KIA troops fired warning shots at a Burmese army helicopter near Laiza, the KIO's headquarters, on Sept 23, 2010.
This was followed by a skirmish between KIA and Tatmadaw (Burmese army) troops in February of this year, after which Burma's state-run media stepped up its rhetoric against the Kachin army, referring to them as “rebels.”
The tensions that led to these incidents stem from the KIA's refusal to become part of a Border Guard Force (BGF) scheme first proposed by Burma's then military regime two years ago. Under the BGF plan, armed ceasefire groups would be allowed to retain their weapons, but only as part of a BGF under Burmese military command.
In the early stages of the current conflict, skirmishes took place only in the area around Laiza, near the Sino-Burmese border. More recently, however, the fighting has spread to northern Shan State, where there a few hundred KIA troops are operating.
At the end of last month, KIA Brigade 4 lost its headquarters at Loikang, near Kutkai Township in northern Shan State, after a huge military offensive by Tatmadaw troops.
Despite these setbacks, however, Kachin leaders remain defiant, saying that armed struggle remains the best way to achieve their long-term goal of turning Burma into a federal union with equal rights for the country's ethnic minorities.
Hkun Sa Mahkaw, the general secretary of the UK-based Kachin National Organization (KNO), said that reaching this goal would not be possible without the KIO and KIA, and so he continued to support their efforts.
“We raised awareness among the local Kachin community, we told them what is happening and what we need. Then we organized prayer services based on our religion and collected donations to support our troops financially,” Hkun Sa Mahkaw told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
Some military observers say that it is only a matter of time before the Tatmadaw starts a major offensive in Kachin State, and that the KIA will be hard-pressed to defend itself because of its relative lack of resources.
But Hkun Sa Mahkaw said he believes that the solidarity of the Kachin people, both inside the country and abroad, will keep the revolution alive.
“When the Burmese government took control of the Hpakant area, the KIO/KIA called on local people to contribute to its war funds. We also support them financially, not because we've been ordered to do so by the KIO/KIA, but as an expression of our solidarity,” said Hkun Sa Mahkaw, adding that Kachins living in the UK meet for prayer services almost every Saturday.
But religious gatherings are not the only way for Kachin people to show their support for Kachin soldiers fighting on the front line.
Since fighting broke out, many Kachins have started using the KIA flag as their profile picture on social websites such as Facebook and Hi5.
By SAI ZOM HSENG Thursday, October 6, 2011
“We are asking for God's mercy to give us justice and equal rights for our people,” said Naw Sai, an ethnic Kachin man living in Myitkyina, the capital of northern Burma's Kachin State, explaining the purpose of a prayer event recently organized by the Myanmar Christian Council.
The event, which took place at churches throughout the city from Sept 28 to Oct 4, brought together a community growing increasingly anxious about a war that has reared its head after a decade and a half of relative peace, and now shows no signs of abating.
“We believe that our difficulties will not always be with us and will one day disappear. To make that day come very soon, we are asking for the mercy of God,” said Naw Sai.
Gam Shaung, a Christian minister from Myitkyina who asked not to be identified by his real name, said that local people want to see an end to the conflict between Burmese government troops and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and need to find a way to calm their souls.
“The people know that the Kachin fighters are fighting for our land and dignity, and they want to support them in some way,” he said. “Therefore we decided to organize this seven-day prayer event, and will hold similar events in the future.”
Many others, he said, have been praying privately since the fighting broke out earlier this year.
Kachin communities inside Burma are not alone in praying for an end to the conflict now raging in their homeland. Kachin people living in foreign countries are also gathering at their churches and to pray for a KIA victory.
According to a Kachin student living in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, special prayer meetings are usually held after regular Sunday services. He said that although they wanted peace, they did not want it to come without achieving any real benefit for the Kachin people. He added that people's faith in God helped them to remain strong in spirit in the face of this crisis.
A ceasefire agreement signed by the Burmese military regime and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of the KIA, in 1994 first showed signs of unraveling a year ago, when KIA troops fired warning shots at a Burmese army helicopter near Laiza, the KIO's headquarters, on Sept 23, 2010.
This was followed by a skirmish between KIA and Tatmadaw (Burmese army) troops in February of this year, after which Burma's state-run media stepped up its rhetoric against the Kachin army, referring to them as “rebels.”
The tensions that led to these incidents stem from the KIA's refusal to become part of a Border Guard Force (BGF) scheme first proposed by Burma's then military regime two years ago. Under the BGF plan, armed ceasefire groups would be allowed to retain their weapons, but only as part of a BGF under Burmese military command.
In the early stages of the current conflict, skirmishes took place only in the area around Laiza, near the Sino-Burmese border. More recently, however, the fighting has spread to northern Shan State, where there a few hundred KIA troops are operating.
At the end of last month, KIA Brigade 4 lost its headquarters at Loikang, near Kutkai Township in northern Shan State, after a huge military offensive by Tatmadaw troops.
Despite these setbacks, however, Kachin leaders remain defiant, saying that armed struggle remains the best way to achieve their long-term goal of turning Burma into a federal union with equal rights for the country's ethnic minorities.
Hkun Sa Mahkaw, the general secretary of the UK-based Kachin National Organization (KNO), said that reaching this goal would not be possible without the KIO and KIA, and so he continued to support their efforts.
“We raised awareness among the local Kachin community, we told them what is happening and what we need. Then we organized prayer services based on our religion and collected donations to support our troops financially,” Hkun Sa Mahkaw told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
Some military observers say that it is only a matter of time before the Tatmadaw starts a major offensive in Kachin State, and that the KIA will be hard-pressed to defend itself because of its relative lack of resources.
But Hkun Sa Mahkaw said he believes that the solidarity of the Kachin people, both inside the country and abroad, will keep the revolution alive.
“When the Burmese government took control of the Hpakant area, the KIO/KIA called on local people to contribute to its war funds. We also support them financially, not because we've been ordered to do so by the KIO/KIA, but as an expression of our solidarity,” said Hkun Sa Mahkaw, adding that Kachins living in the UK meet for prayer services almost every Saturday.
But religious gatherings are not the only way for Kachin people to show their support for Kachin soldiers fighting on the front line.
Since fighting broke out, many Kachins have started using the KIA flag as their profile picture on social websites such as Facebook and Hi5.
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The Irrawaddy - Pipelines to China Become New Target For Burmese Activists
By BA KAUNG Thursday, October 6, 2011
Chinese-backed strategic oil and natural gas pipelines under construction in Burma have become the new target for Burmese activists following President Thein Sein’s suspension last week—under heavy public pressure—of the controversial Chinese-backed Myitsone Dam hydropower project in Kachin State.
Citing human rights violations, activists on Thursday called for the similar suspension of the US $ 2.5 billion oil and natural gas pipelines being constructed by state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC). The pipelines are to start at the Bay of Bengal in Arakan State on Burma's western coast, travel through central and northeastern Burma, and end in Yunnan Province, China.
“Widespread land confiscation to make way for the pipeline corridor has already left countless people landless and jobless, while others along the pipeline are facing human rights violations and exploitation,” said a group of Burmese activists from the Shwe Gas Movement, a campaign group opposing the exploitation of Burma’s natural gas reserves, in a statement on Thursday.
The oil pipeline, which CNPC was granted exclusive rights to build and operate, is even more economically and strategically important to China than the $ 3.6 billion Myitsone Dam, which was expected to generate 6,000-megawatts of electricity that would be sent mostly to China.
The pipeline, with an estimated capacity of 20 million tons of crude oil per year that will enjoy tax concessions and customs clearance rights from the Burmese government, will enable China to bypass the Strait of Malacca when importing crude oil from the Middle East and Africa, saving an estimated 1,200 km shipping distance.
As part of the oil pipeline project, China is also constructing a deep-water crude oil unloading port and oil storage facilities on Burma’s Maday Island off the coast of Arakan State—an investment that will provide China with crucial access to the geopolitically strategic Indian Ocean, where the US is poised to increase its navy presence in the coming decade.
The gas pipeline, scheduled to be completed in 2013, will be used to transport Burmese natural gas from the Shwe Natural Gas Fields located off the Arakan coast to Yunnan Province.
The pipeline projects have angered the people and politicians in Arakan State, which is rich with Burma’s largest oil and natural gas reserves but has a poor electricity supply.
On Sept 27, Ba Shin, an opposition MP representing Kyaukphyu Island off the Arakan coast, submitted a question to the national Parliament in Naypyidaw, asking whether his constituency would receive a share of the natural gas extracted from the Shwe Natural Gas Fields for the purpose of improving the island’s electricity supply.
In response, Energy Minister Than Htay reminded Ba Shin that the previous military government awarded China the right to purchase and export the natural gas generated by the Shwe Natural Gas Fields for the next 30 years, and therefore the gas was unavailable for local use.
“People opposed the Myitsone Dam because they don't want their natural resources being used to line the pockets of the regime and corporations with atrocious reputations, all at the expense of local people. The Shwe Gas Project must be stopped, recognizing that like the dam, it will be destructive socially and economically,” said Wong Aung, an Arakan activist with the Shwe Gas Movement.
On Monday, China's Xinhua news agency reported that construction of the pipeline was "proceeding smoothly" and that CNPC said it gave $1.3 million to Burma this week to help build eight schools in the country, as part of an agreement signed in April to provide $6 million of aid.
"Construction of the fourth stage of the oil and gas pipeline [within Burma] commenced on October 1, which is being built by CNPC Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Co. The pipeline project will continue after the rainy season in Myanmar [Burma]," Xinhua said.
Any major obstacle to pipeline construction, such as the broad-based public movement which prompted the Burmese president to suspend the Myitsone Dam project, could be a devastating blow to China-Burma relations.
Napyidaw's decision to suspend construction of the Myitsone Dam has already angered Beijing, which has called for the protection of the legal rights of the Chinese companies that have invested in the project.
In addition, the lead Chinese investor in the dam project warned the Burmese government of possible legal action.
Jim Della-Giacoma, the South East Asia project director for the International Crisis Group, said that the Myitsone Dam crisis has the potential to weaken the Sino-Burma relationship, particularly if it comes to be seen as some sort of strategic rebalancing of Burma's international relations.
“The relationship is deeper and wider than just one dam, but this is clearly a significant decision that probably involves environmental, political and other factors,” he said in an interview with The Irrawaddy.
But since Naypyidaw's decision is apparently part of a more calculated effort by Thein Sein to win support from the Burmese public for his reform agenda and improve Burma's standing in the West while still retaining close ties with China, the new president is expected to appease China by offering economic concessions and ensuring the successful continued construction of the pipelines.
However, even if the same type of public resistance that formed in the case of the Myitsone Dam project does not materialize, the oil and natural gas pipelines will still pass through conflict zones in northeastern parts of Burma, where Shan and Kachin rebels are operating. Military clashes between government troops and those ethnic armed groups have been ongoing since June and have escalated over the past few weeks.
Meanwhile, according to unconfirmed reports, Burma’s Vice-President Tin Aung Myint Oo will visit China in the next few days, leading a delegation of government ministers, including the minister of the Ministry of Electric Power No. 1, possibly in an effort to patch-up the relationship strained by Myistone Dam suspension.
By BA KAUNG Thursday, October 6, 2011
Chinese-backed strategic oil and natural gas pipelines under construction in Burma have become the new target for Burmese activists following President Thein Sein’s suspension last week—under heavy public pressure—of the controversial Chinese-backed Myitsone Dam hydropower project in Kachin State.
Citing human rights violations, activists on Thursday called for the similar suspension of the US $ 2.5 billion oil and natural gas pipelines being constructed by state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC). The pipelines are to start at the Bay of Bengal in Arakan State on Burma's western coast, travel through central and northeastern Burma, and end in Yunnan Province, China.
“Widespread land confiscation to make way for the pipeline corridor has already left countless people landless and jobless, while others along the pipeline are facing human rights violations and exploitation,” said a group of Burmese activists from the Shwe Gas Movement, a campaign group opposing the exploitation of Burma’s natural gas reserves, in a statement on Thursday.
The oil pipeline, which CNPC was granted exclusive rights to build and operate, is even more economically and strategically important to China than the $ 3.6 billion Myitsone Dam, which was expected to generate 6,000-megawatts of electricity that would be sent mostly to China.
The pipeline, with an estimated capacity of 20 million tons of crude oil per year that will enjoy tax concessions and customs clearance rights from the Burmese government, will enable China to bypass the Strait of Malacca when importing crude oil from the Middle East and Africa, saving an estimated 1,200 km shipping distance.
As part of the oil pipeline project, China is also constructing a deep-water crude oil unloading port and oil storage facilities on Burma’s Maday Island off the coast of Arakan State—an investment that will provide China with crucial access to the geopolitically strategic Indian Ocean, where the US is poised to increase its navy presence in the coming decade.
The gas pipeline, scheduled to be completed in 2013, will be used to transport Burmese natural gas from the Shwe Natural Gas Fields located off the Arakan coast to Yunnan Province.
The pipeline projects have angered the people and politicians in Arakan State, which is rich with Burma’s largest oil and natural gas reserves but has a poor electricity supply.
On Sept 27, Ba Shin, an opposition MP representing Kyaukphyu Island off the Arakan coast, submitted a question to the national Parliament in Naypyidaw, asking whether his constituency would receive a share of the natural gas extracted from the Shwe Natural Gas Fields for the purpose of improving the island’s electricity supply.
In response, Energy Minister Than Htay reminded Ba Shin that the previous military government awarded China the right to purchase and export the natural gas generated by the Shwe Natural Gas Fields for the next 30 years, and therefore the gas was unavailable for local use.
“People opposed the Myitsone Dam because they don't want their natural resources being used to line the pockets of the regime and corporations with atrocious reputations, all at the expense of local people. The Shwe Gas Project must be stopped, recognizing that like the dam, it will be destructive socially and economically,” said Wong Aung, an Arakan activist with the Shwe Gas Movement.
On Monday, China's Xinhua news agency reported that construction of the pipeline was "proceeding smoothly" and that CNPC said it gave $1.3 million to Burma this week to help build eight schools in the country, as part of an agreement signed in April to provide $6 million of aid.
"Construction of the fourth stage of the oil and gas pipeline [within Burma] commenced on October 1, which is being built by CNPC Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Co. The pipeline project will continue after the rainy season in Myanmar [Burma]," Xinhua said.
Any major obstacle to pipeline construction, such as the broad-based public movement which prompted the Burmese president to suspend the Myitsone Dam project, could be a devastating blow to China-Burma relations.
Napyidaw's decision to suspend construction of the Myitsone Dam has already angered Beijing, which has called for the protection of the legal rights of the Chinese companies that have invested in the project.
In addition, the lead Chinese investor in the dam project warned the Burmese government of possible legal action.
Jim Della-Giacoma, the South East Asia project director for the International Crisis Group, said that the Myitsone Dam crisis has the potential to weaken the Sino-Burma relationship, particularly if it comes to be seen as some sort of strategic rebalancing of Burma's international relations.
“The relationship is deeper and wider than just one dam, but this is clearly a significant decision that probably involves environmental, political and other factors,” he said in an interview with The Irrawaddy.
But since Naypyidaw's decision is apparently part of a more calculated effort by Thein Sein to win support from the Burmese public for his reform agenda and improve Burma's standing in the West while still retaining close ties with China, the new president is expected to appease China by offering economic concessions and ensuring the successful continued construction of the pipelines.
However, even if the same type of public resistance that formed in the case of the Myitsone Dam project does not materialize, the oil and natural gas pipelines will still pass through conflict zones in northeastern parts of Burma, where Shan and Kachin rebels are operating. Military clashes between government troops and those ethnic armed groups have been ongoing since June and have escalated over the past few weeks.
Meanwhile, according to unconfirmed reports, Burma’s Vice-President Tin Aung Myint Oo will visit China in the next few days, leading a delegation of government ministers, including the minister of the Ministry of Electric Power No. 1, possibly in an effort to patch-up the relationship strained by Myistone Dam suspension.
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Myitsone Dam agreement must be made public if CPI sues
Thursday, 06 October 2011 18:19 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Burmese government should make public the terms and conditions in the agreement with China Power Investment (CPI) Corporation if a suit is filed over the suspension of the Myitsone Dam project.
Advocate Yan Naung who has served as a legal officer in the Supreme Court with more than 25 years experience said that the facts of the contract are essential.
“We can help them and give our suggestions only if they let us know about the agreement. Only after this can we help our nation when another party makes claims for a breach of contract,” Yan Naung told Mizzima.
CPI, the main investor in the dam project, said on Monday that the suspension of Myitsone Dam during the tenure of President Thein Sein could lead to a series of legal issues.
The Burmese government has said officially that 10 per cent of the US$ 3.6 billion dam project had been completed, and CIP had almost completed the work of resettling displaced persons and villages from the dam site and flooded areas, in addition to building roads in the project areas, handling the distribution of water and electrification to the dam project and communication work. It had begun work on building a bridge near the dam site and building fuel storage tanks.
CPI and the Burmese No. 1 Electric Power Ministry signed a MoU in December 2006 and signed an electric power generation agreement in March 2009.
The CPI chairman said on Monday that the costs of the project would be escalated and over budget if it had to halt the ongoing construction work. Moreover, he said that it could affect the repayment by Burma of the loan, which was taken out under the agreement reached with China in early 2011, and was scheduled to be paid back by the income generated from the project.
No. Electric Power Ministry Minister Zaw Min told reporters in Naypyitaw in September that the facts of the dam project were kept as a “trade secret.”
Lawyer Yan Naung also said that since the agreement was made between the Burmese government and a Chinese company, the disclosure of the facts could infringe on the the Official Secrets Act if the government didn’t agree to the information’s release.
“If the minister will pay all the damages himself he does not need to disclose these facts. If he pays damages with the taxpayers’ money, he must disclose these facts. He must take all responsibility if there are misuses of funds and financial irregularities in the project,” he said.
A critic of the dam project, advocate Yan Naung said that the dispute should be resolved through negotiations rather than a legal suit, because it could affect the friendship between the two countries.
Similarly, a former Burmese ambassador to China and veteran politician Thakin Chan Tun said that the two governments should resolve the issue through negotiations since both parties need to cooperate with each other on other matters.
Political and economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and Western countries pushed the Burmese government to greater reliance on the Chinese government. China is looking for new economic and military channels to the Indian Ocean from Yunnan Province in China through Sittwe in Rakhine State, he pointed out.
“I don’t think China will dare take strict actions against Burma because there are rival forces of the U.S. and India in the region. I assume they will negotiate to find a solution,” he told Mizzima.
Besides the ecological, environmental and social impacts, there were serious concerns over a possible earthquake in the dam area due to the Sagaing fault line, which is located about 30 miles west from the Myitsone Dam site, said Tint Lwin Swe, seismologist and a former secretary of the Burma seismic committee.
In an interview given to the Xinhua news agency this week, CPI chairman Lu Qizhou said that the Zipingbu hydropower plant built in Sichuan Province was designed to withstand a magnitude 7 (Richter scale) earthquake and it remained intact after the Sichuan earthquake, but the Myitsone Dam was designed to withstand up to magnitude 9 on the Richter scale.
However, seismologist Tint Lwin Swe said that he didn’t know how CPI calculated its figures. The intensity of an earthquake depends on the distance from the epicentre but a magnitude is the same regardless of the distance from the epicentre. The magnitude of an earthquake detected by seismic stations across the world would be the same, he said.
“The nearer the epicentre, the more the intensity,” he said.
Tint Lwin Swe served on the seismic committee from 2004 to 2008, and he jointly studied and drew the seismic map of Burma along with noted geologist Dr. U Thein.
The active Sagaing fault line stretches from Thongwa in Rangoon Region in the south to Inndawgyi Lake in Kachin State in the north of Burma through Sagaing and east of the Bago Range. The four sub-fault lines stretch east, and one of them crosses east of the Kumon range and runs parallel to the Maykha River before finally reaching Putao town. It touches the India plate and Tibet plate. Inndawgyi Lake is the result of past movements of the Sagaing fault line, seismologists said.
There are many more active fault lines on the border of Yunnan and Burma, and on the upper reaches of the Salween (Thanlwin) River in China. Tint Lwin Swe said that he was not sure if CPI considered and calculated the seismic zones at the joining of the Tibet and India plates in their dam design.
According to their estimates and calculations, if an earthquake hit along the Sagaing fault line near Inndawgyi Lake with a magnitude 9, the dam site just 30 miles from the epicentre would be hit by more than 9 on the intensity scale so it was potentially very dangerous.
A mild earthquake struck at a location 20 kilometers below Myitkyina in 1994, and there were similar mild earthquakes on the Maykha River upstream of Myitsone. Seismologist Tint Lwin Swe said he assumes that the Maykha area is also an active fault line.
Thursday, 06 October 2011 18:19 Ko Wild
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Burmese government should make public the terms and conditions in the agreement with China Power Investment (CPI) Corporation if a suit is filed over the suspension of the Myitsone Dam project.
Advocate Yan Naung who has served as a legal officer in the Supreme Court with more than 25 years experience said that the facts of the contract are essential.
“We can help them and give our suggestions only if they let us know about the agreement. Only after this can we help our nation when another party makes claims for a breach of contract,” Yan Naung told Mizzima.
CPI, the main investor in the dam project, said on Monday that the suspension of Myitsone Dam during the tenure of President Thein Sein could lead to a series of legal issues.
The Burmese government has said officially that 10 per cent of the US$ 3.6 billion dam project had been completed, and CIP had almost completed the work of resettling displaced persons and villages from the dam site and flooded areas, in addition to building roads in the project areas, handling the distribution of water and electrification to the dam project and communication work. It had begun work on building a bridge near the dam site and building fuel storage tanks.
CPI and the Burmese No. 1 Electric Power Ministry signed a MoU in December 2006 and signed an electric power generation agreement in March 2009.
The CPI chairman said on Monday that the costs of the project would be escalated and over budget if it had to halt the ongoing construction work. Moreover, he said that it could affect the repayment by Burma of the loan, which was taken out under the agreement reached with China in early 2011, and was scheduled to be paid back by the income generated from the project.
No. Electric Power Ministry Minister Zaw Min told reporters in Naypyitaw in September that the facts of the dam project were kept as a “trade secret.”
Lawyer Yan Naung also said that since the agreement was made between the Burmese government and a Chinese company, the disclosure of the facts could infringe on the the Official Secrets Act if the government didn’t agree to the information’s release.
“If the minister will pay all the damages himself he does not need to disclose these facts. If he pays damages with the taxpayers’ money, he must disclose these facts. He must take all responsibility if there are misuses of funds and financial irregularities in the project,” he said.
A critic of the dam project, advocate Yan Naung said that the dispute should be resolved through negotiations rather than a legal suit, because it could affect the friendship between the two countries.
Similarly, a former Burmese ambassador to China and veteran politician Thakin Chan Tun said that the two governments should resolve the issue through negotiations since both parties need to cooperate with each other on other matters.
Political and economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and Western countries pushed the Burmese government to greater reliance on the Chinese government. China is looking for new economic and military channels to the Indian Ocean from Yunnan Province in China through Sittwe in Rakhine State, he pointed out.
“I don’t think China will dare take strict actions against Burma because there are rival forces of the U.S. and India in the region. I assume they will negotiate to find a solution,” he told Mizzima.
Besides the ecological, environmental and social impacts, there were serious concerns over a possible earthquake in the dam area due to the Sagaing fault line, which is located about 30 miles west from the Myitsone Dam site, said Tint Lwin Swe, seismologist and a former secretary of the Burma seismic committee.
In an interview given to the Xinhua news agency this week, CPI chairman Lu Qizhou said that the Zipingbu hydropower plant built in Sichuan Province was designed to withstand a magnitude 7 (Richter scale) earthquake and it remained intact after the Sichuan earthquake, but the Myitsone Dam was designed to withstand up to magnitude 9 on the Richter scale.
However, seismologist Tint Lwin Swe said that he didn’t know how CPI calculated its figures. The intensity of an earthquake depends on the distance from the epicentre but a magnitude is the same regardless of the distance from the epicentre. The magnitude of an earthquake detected by seismic stations across the world would be the same, he said.
“The nearer the epicentre, the more the intensity,” he said.
Tint Lwin Swe served on the seismic committee from 2004 to 2008, and he jointly studied and drew the seismic map of Burma along with noted geologist Dr. U Thein.
The active Sagaing fault line stretches from Thongwa in Rangoon Region in the south to Inndawgyi Lake in Kachin State in the north of Burma through Sagaing and east of the Bago Range. The four sub-fault lines stretch east, and one of them crosses east of the Kumon range and runs parallel to the Maykha River before finally reaching Putao town. It touches the India plate and Tibet plate. Inndawgyi Lake is the result of past movements of the Sagaing fault line, seismologists said.
There are many more active fault lines on the border of Yunnan and Burma, and on the upper reaches of the Salween (Thanlwin) River in China. Tint Lwin Swe said that he was not sure if CPI considered and calculated the seismic zones at the joining of the Tibet and India plates in their dam design.
According to their estimates and calculations, if an earthquake hit along the Sagaing fault line near Inndawgyi Lake with a magnitude 9, the dam site just 30 miles from the epicentre would be hit by more than 9 on the intensity scale so it was potentially very dangerous.
A mild earthquake struck at a location 20 kilometers below Myitkyina in 1994, and there were similar mild earthquakes on the Maykha River upstream of Myitsone. Seismologist Tint Lwin Swe said he assumes that the Maykha area is also an active fault line.
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Fighting erupts between gov’t, KNLA near Three Pagoda Pass
Thursday, 06 October 2011 18:51 Kun Chan
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A villager who served as a porter for the Burmese army and a Burmese government soldier were injured during fighting between Burmese government troops and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) near Three Pagoda Pass on Thursday.
The 15-minute fight involved about 50 government soldiers from Light Infantry No. 543 and 20 Karen soldiers under Brigade No. 6 between Kyaukgu and Myaingthaya villages about 20 kilometres west of Three Pagoda Pass in Karen State on the border with Thailand.
A government soldier and Myint Thein, 47, of Tadain village were injured.
A woman in the village told Mizzima that she went from the monastery to her home at around seven o’ clock. "At around half past eight, the army entered the village and took three villagers as guides," she said. "Later, the fighting started.”
Myint Thein was sent to a Christian hospital in Sangklaburi in Kanchanaburi Province in Thailand, according to a villager.
An officer in KNLA Brigade No. 6 said that it launched an ambush against the government troops. No casualty figures were known, he said.
The location where the fighting broke out was on the 65-mile-5-furlong Thanbyuzayat-Three Pagoda Pass Road.
Villagers said that on June 6, government Infantry No. 373 took 10 villagers from Myaingthaya Village and 24 from Apalone village and ordered them, including women, to march in front of the soldiers. Other villagers were forced to carry supplies, according to residents.
Thursday, 06 October 2011 18:51 Kun Chan
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A villager who served as a porter for the Burmese army and a Burmese government soldier were injured during fighting between Burmese government troops and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) near Three Pagoda Pass on Thursday.
The 15-minute fight involved about 50 government soldiers from Light Infantry No. 543 and 20 Karen soldiers under Brigade No. 6 between Kyaukgu and Myaingthaya villages about 20 kilometres west of Three Pagoda Pass in Karen State on the border with Thailand.
A government soldier and Myint Thein, 47, of Tadain village were injured.
A woman in the village told Mizzima that she went from the monastery to her home at around seven o’ clock. "At around half past eight, the army entered the village and took three villagers as guides," she said. "Later, the fighting started.”
Myint Thein was sent to a Christian hospital in Sangklaburi in Kanchanaburi Province in Thailand, according to a villager.
An officer in KNLA Brigade No. 6 said that it launched an ambush against the government troops. No casualty figures were known, he said.
The location where the fighting broke out was on the 65-mile-5-furlong Thanbyuzayat-Three Pagoda Pass Road.
Villagers said that on June 6, government Infantry No. 373 took 10 villagers from Myaingthaya Village and 24 from Apalone village and ordered them, including women, to march in front of the soldiers. Other villagers were forced to carry supplies, according to residents.
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SSA-S accepts Burmese government’s offer to start peace talks
Thursday, 06 October 2011 22:30 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A spokesman for the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) says it has accepted the Burmese government’s offer to engage in peace talks.
SSA-S spokesman Major Sai Lao Hseng said the location and the time for the talks have not been set.
“At first, they sounded us out,” Major Sai Lao Hseng said. “We replied that if they officially offered to begin peace talks, we would be ready to meet with them. We have said that we are willing to use peaceful ways to solve the problems.”
In August, President Thein Sein announced that ethnic armed groups that want peace should talk with the respective state or regional governments.
On the other hand, the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) spokesman Major Sai Hla said that the government had not offered to engage in peace talks with the SSA-N.
In July, during the fighting between Burmese government troops and SSA-N troops in the area near the SSA-N Wanhai headquarters, the government sent two Buddhist monks as representatives to discuss holding talks with the government.
The SSA-N replied that it would meet with government representatives as an initial step, but regarding talks about a cease-fire and politics, it would only meet with the central government as a member of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), which is comprised of six ethnic member-groups that have united to negotiate with the government as a single alliance.
Major Sai Hla said that SSA-N Battalion 25 under Brigade No. 1 last week helped a member of the alliance, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) Brigade No. 4, fight against government troops in the KIO area. Two soldiers of SSA-N were killed in the fighting in Mongton.
Both the SSA-N and KIO are members of UNFC that aims to cooperate in resisting government’s political pressure and military offensives. Major Sai Hla said that the SSA-N was ready to help the KIO if Burmese government troops had launched a military offensive against the KIO.
“If fighting occurs, we are not alone,” he said. “The UNFC, as a whole group, is likely to fight [against government troops].”
Recently, UNFC Genera-Secretary Nai Han Thar said the Burmese government was determined to drive a wedge between the ethnic armed groups by demanding that they talk to negotiating teams separately.
Nai Han Thar told Mizzima: “They may think that if the ethnic groups are united, the demands will be greater. It seems that they want to avoid holding political dialogue. They want only a cease-fire. They are trying to divide ethnic forces because they want to rule the country for the long term. In other words, they want the ethnic groups to be weak.”
On October 1, a delegation led by Thein Zaw, the chairman of National Races and Internal Peacekeeping Committee and secretary 2 of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, and the leaders of United Wa State Party held a meeting, but government negotiators rejected some key Wa demands.
Meanwhile, government representatives met with the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) (aka) Mong La group this week to discuss peace. The meetings are expected to continue within a few days.
Thursday, 06 October 2011 22:30 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A spokesman for the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) says it has accepted the Burmese government’s offer to engage in peace talks.
SSA-S spokesman Major Sai Lao Hseng said the location and the time for the talks have not been set.
“At first, they sounded us out,” Major Sai Lao Hseng said. “We replied that if they officially offered to begin peace talks, we would be ready to meet with them. We have said that we are willing to use peaceful ways to solve the problems.”
In August, President Thein Sein announced that ethnic armed groups that want peace should talk with the respective state or regional governments.
On the other hand, the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) spokesman Major Sai Hla said that the government had not offered to engage in peace talks with the SSA-N.
In July, during the fighting between Burmese government troops and SSA-N troops in the area near the SSA-N Wanhai headquarters, the government sent two Buddhist monks as representatives to discuss holding talks with the government.
The SSA-N replied that it would meet with government representatives as an initial step, but regarding talks about a cease-fire and politics, it would only meet with the central government as a member of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), which is comprised of six ethnic member-groups that have united to negotiate with the government as a single alliance.
Major Sai Hla said that SSA-N Battalion 25 under Brigade No. 1 last week helped a member of the alliance, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) Brigade No. 4, fight against government troops in the KIO area. Two soldiers of SSA-N were killed in the fighting in Mongton.
Both the SSA-N and KIO are members of UNFC that aims to cooperate in resisting government’s political pressure and military offensives. Major Sai Hla said that the SSA-N was ready to help the KIO if Burmese government troops had launched a military offensive against the KIO.
“If fighting occurs, we are not alone,” he said. “The UNFC, as a whole group, is likely to fight [against government troops].”
Recently, UNFC Genera-Secretary Nai Han Thar said the Burmese government was determined to drive a wedge between the ethnic armed groups by demanding that they talk to negotiating teams separately.
Nai Han Thar told Mizzima: “They may think that if the ethnic groups are united, the demands will be greater. It seems that they want to avoid holding political dialogue. They want only a cease-fire. They are trying to divide ethnic forces because they want to rule the country for the long term. In other words, they want the ethnic groups to be weak.”
On October 1, a delegation led by Thein Zaw, the chairman of National Races and Internal Peacekeeping Committee and secretary 2 of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, and the leaders of United Wa State Party held a meeting, but government negotiators rejected some key Wa demands.
Meanwhile, government representatives met with the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) (aka) Mong La group this week to discuss peace. The meetings are expected to continue within a few days.
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DVB News - Burma’s new threat to global security
By JANET BENSHOOF
Published: 6 October 2011
For over forty years, Burma’s military rulers have ignored the rules of law that govern civilized nations. General Than Shwe and his fellow perpetrators enjoyed an unfettered rule by crime only because of the global community’s long standing “whine and wait” policy towards Burma.
However, the latest power ploy by the military – establishing a “civilian” sovereign state without sovereign powers – makes such inaction untenable. Given its lack of sovereign powers, control over its people, laws, and territory, Burma’s new “civilian” government is illegitimate. The most fundamental and accepted law of nations obliges all states to treat Burma’s constitution and the elections arising from it as “null and void.”
Let me explain how this happened and why Burma’s form of government is a new threat to global peace and security.
Burma’s new constitution, implemented on 31 January 2011, establishes the sovereign state of “the Republic of the Union of Myanmar” as being composed exclusively of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The military (“Defense Services”) is a separate, legally autonomous entity, outside of and supreme over the sovereign state. The new government of Burma, represented by the Head of State President Thein Sein, is incapable – even if willing – to enforce any laws, civil or criminal, against the military. All military affairs, civil or criminal, are under the exclusive control of the commander-in-chief. No law applies to the commander-in-chief, not the constitution or any rules spanning from controlling finances to nuclear development.
This bold attempt to establish a permanent “law free zone” for the military has escaped the notice of the global community. In fact, the influential International Crisis Group goes even further, enthusiastically describing Burma’s constitution and elections as “improv[ing] the prospects for incremental reform.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The military’s stranglehold over Burma is impervious to political reform given its constitutional basis.
Even if Aung San Suu Kyi were President of Burma tomorrow, she would lack the legal capacity to be able to enforce compliance with Chapter VII Security Council Resolutions, the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, the Genocide and Geneva Conventions, the ASEAN Charter, and international laws regulating trade when they apply to military-owned companies in Burma. Neither the executive nor judiciary can end the constitutionally-guaranteed impunity of the military for past and present war crimes and genocide, including the use of rape as a weapon of war and child soldiers.
Although the military currently lacks nuclear capability, its fixation on mimicking the “North Korea model” of using the potential of nuclear weapons as a bargaining tool on the world stage is a serious threat. The military’s access to mineable uranium and billions of dollars are strengthened by a constitutional structure that ensures their legal autonomy and control over Burma’s energy development projects, including nuclear power.
The issuance and implementation of this illegal constitution is an act of state of the utmost gravity under international law, violating the most central premise of the United Nations Charter; that all Member States are able and willing to comply with Security Council mandates necessary to secure global peace and security.
Burma now must incur the legal consequences of its “serious breach of peremptory norms.” Under international law all states are under an absolute obligation not to recognise the constitution and its subsequent elections and to take all measures possible, both collectively and individually, to ensure Burma revokes its constitution and invalidates the elections.
This intransgressible legal duty of non-recognition cannot be ignored in favor a political strategy that accepts the validity of the 2010 elections. This was made plain by the Security Council in 1984 when it enforced this sanction of non-recognition mandating states treat the South African apartheid constitution and elections as null and void.
Enforcing the most fundamental law of nations is critical for the people of Burma for whom the new constitution legitimises their permanent status as prisoners of their own county.
Equally important is for the world community to stop treating Burma as immune from consequences for its illegal acts. Continuing a “whine and wait” policy towards Burma, or worse, supporting the new illegal regime, should not be considered as viable political options.
Janet Benshoof is president and founder of the New York-based Global Justice Center.
By JANET BENSHOOF
Published: 6 October 2011
For over forty years, Burma’s military rulers have ignored the rules of law that govern civilized nations. General Than Shwe and his fellow perpetrators enjoyed an unfettered rule by crime only because of the global community’s long standing “whine and wait” policy towards Burma.
However, the latest power ploy by the military – establishing a “civilian” sovereign state without sovereign powers – makes such inaction untenable. Given its lack of sovereign powers, control over its people, laws, and territory, Burma’s new “civilian” government is illegitimate. The most fundamental and accepted law of nations obliges all states to treat Burma’s constitution and the elections arising from it as “null and void.”
Let me explain how this happened and why Burma’s form of government is a new threat to global peace and security.
Burma’s new constitution, implemented on 31 January 2011, establishes the sovereign state of “the Republic of the Union of Myanmar” as being composed exclusively of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The military (“Defense Services”) is a separate, legally autonomous entity, outside of and supreme over the sovereign state. The new government of Burma, represented by the Head of State President Thein Sein, is incapable – even if willing – to enforce any laws, civil or criminal, against the military. All military affairs, civil or criminal, are under the exclusive control of the commander-in-chief. No law applies to the commander-in-chief, not the constitution or any rules spanning from controlling finances to nuclear development.
This bold attempt to establish a permanent “law free zone” for the military has escaped the notice of the global community. In fact, the influential International Crisis Group goes even further, enthusiastically describing Burma’s constitution and elections as “improv[ing] the prospects for incremental reform.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The military’s stranglehold over Burma is impervious to political reform given its constitutional basis.
Even if Aung San Suu Kyi were President of Burma tomorrow, she would lack the legal capacity to be able to enforce compliance with Chapter VII Security Council Resolutions, the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, the Genocide and Geneva Conventions, the ASEAN Charter, and international laws regulating trade when they apply to military-owned companies in Burma. Neither the executive nor judiciary can end the constitutionally-guaranteed impunity of the military for past and present war crimes and genocide, including the use of rape as a weapon of war and child soldiers.
Although the military currently lacks nuclear capability, its fixation on mimicking the “North Korea model” of using the potential of nuclear weapons as a bargaining tool on the world stage is a serious threat. The military’s access to mineable uranium and billions of dollars are strengthened by a constitutional structure that ensures their legal autonomy and control over Burma’s energy development projects, including nuclear power.
The issuance and implementation of this illegal constitution is an act of state of the utmost gravity under international law, violating the most central premise of the United Nations Charter; that all Member States are able and willing to comply with Security Council mandates necessary to secure global peace and security.
Burma now must incur the legal consequences of its “serious breach of peremptory norms.” Under international law all states are under an absolute obligation not to recognise the constitution and its subsequent elections and to take all measures possible, both collectively and individually, to ensure Burma revokes its constitution and invalidates the elections.
This intransgressible legal duty of non-recognition cannot be ignored in favor a political strategy that accepts the validity of the 2010 elections. This was made plain by the Security Council in 1984 when it enforced this sanction of non-recognition mandating states treat the South African apartheid constitution and elections as null and void.
Enforcing the most fundamental law of nations is critical for the people of Burma for whom the new constitution legitimises their permanent status as prisoners of their own county.
Equally important is for the world community to stop treating Burma as immune from consequences for its illegal acts. Continuing a “whine and wait” policy towards Burma, or worse, supporting the new illegal regime, should not be considered as viable political options.
Janet Benshoof is president and founder of the New York-based Global Justice Center.
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DVB News - Shan army ‘ready for govt talks’
Published: 6 October 2011
The opposition Shan State Army will come to the negotiating table, but only once a formal invitation is sent by Naypyidaw, the group said, marking perhaps the first step in an effort to end renewed fighting in eastern Burma.
It comes on the heels of other offers of “peace talks” to warring rebels groups in the country’s border regions. Burma’s periphery, from Mon state to Kachin state in the north, has been beset by heavy fighting since elections last year.
Major Sai Lao Hseng, spokesperson of the Shan State Army’s (SSA) political wing, the Shan State Restoration Council, said that only an official offer of dialogue would be accepted.
“We would like the government to make an official proposal with official representatives and then we could engage in peace talks after hearing the government’s demands.”
Naypyidaw’s approach to the SSA reportedly went via government-affiliated militia groups in Shan state. It has also sent high-level delegations to the Wa and Mongla ethnic groups in northern Shan state, and a state-level delegation to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).
Earlier this week the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) responded to similar offers of talks by demanding that dialogue only takes place if the government agrees to negotiate with an alliance of ethnic armies, and not individual groups.
Both the KNLA and the KIA are part of the 12-member United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), as well as the armed New Mon State Party (NMSP). The spokesperson of the NMSP, Nai Hongsar, also stated that the group would only negotiate as part of the alliance.
President Thein Sein’s political advisor, Nay Zin Latt, recently travelled to Indonesia. Billed as a ‘study’ visit, the delegation sought to get to grips with Indonesia’s transition from military rule and cessation of conflicts with ethnic minority groups – something the new Burmese government has pledged as a goal.
Published: 6 October 2011
The opposition Shan State Army will come to the negotiating table, but only once a formal invitation is sent by Naypyidaw, the group said, marking perhaps the first step in an effort to end renewed fighting in eastern Burma.
It comes on the heels of other offers of “peace talks” to warring rebels groups in the country’s border regions. Burma’s periphery, from Mon state to Kachin state in the north, has been beset by heavy fighting since elections last year.
Major Sai Lao Hseng, spokesperson of the Shan State Army’s (SSA) political wing, the Shan State Restoration Council, said that only an official offer of dialogue would be accepted.
“We would like the government to make an official proposal with official representatives and then we could engage in peace talks after hearing the government’s demands.”
Naypyidaw’s approach to the SSA reportedly went via government-affiliated militia groups in Shan state. It has also sent high-level delegations to the Wa and Mongla ethnic groups in northern Shan state, and a state-level delegation to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).
Earlier this week the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) responded to similar offers of talks by demanding that dialogue only takes place if the government agrees to negotiate with an alliance of ethnic armies, and not individual groups.
Both the KNLA and the KIA are part of the 12-member United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), as well as the armed New Mon State Party (NMSP). The spokesperson of the NMSP, Nai Hongsar, also stated that the group would only negotiate as part of the alliance.
President Thein Sein’s political advisor, Nay Zin Latt, recently travelled to Indonesia. Billed as a ‘study’ visit, the delegation sought to get to grips with Indonesia’s transition from military rule and cessation of conflicts with ethnic minority groups – something the new Burmese government has pledged as a goal.
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DVB News - Laptop reveals Maoists trained in Burma
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 6 October 2011
Maoist rebels in northeastern India were trained at camps across the border in Burma, according to police in New Delhi who claim the details were discovered on a laptop belonging to an arrested member of the group.
Two men from the group, commonly known as the Naxalites, were detained by police on Saturday last week on suspicion of smuggling arms. According to the Times of India, the men, identified only as Dilip and Arun, were carrying a laptop that contained files on joint training operations with the outlawed People’s Liberation Army (PLA), an ethnic separatist group from Manipur.
Naxalite rebels have been described by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the country’s “greatest security threat”. They are active in a belt that runs from the Nepalese border south through nine Indian states.
“Crucial details related to Naxal operations and some maps of Myanmar [Burma] showing the place where a joint training camp is to be held in a few weeks were recovered from their laptop,” a policeman told the Times of India.
The group is composed largely of disaffected tribal villagers who inhabit states such as Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand. In response New Delhi created the Salwa Judum militia, which is blamed for brutal reprisals and forced relocation of communities to stem the support network of the rebels.
The PLA was recently accused of receiving Chinese help, with Beijing ostensibly supporting its fight for an independent state in a bid to assume control over the northeast Indian states it claims as its own. The PLA is also linked with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN).
The timing of the news about training camps in Burma, and China’s role in the insurgency, may not be a coincidence: President Thein Sein is set to make his first visit to the world’s largest democracy since being elected to office, and India has been stringently pressuring the Burmese to do more to combat groups who shelter along the remote shared border between the two countries.
The supposed common ambition of both governments to eliminate these groups resulted in an allegation from the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) that the Indians had been supplying artillery to the Burmese to help fight the rebel outfits. Able to hit targets from over 40 kilometers away, these weapons give the Burmese a significant advantage over their foe.
But the commitment of the Burmese to rooting out Indian separatist insurgents has been questioned by some, including journalist and author Bertil Lintner. He described an alleged recent assault on the ULFA as a “phantom operation”.
Indian requests for Burmese action, including those made by Foreign Minister S M Krishna on a visit to Naypyidaw in June, have persisted for years, but with little tangible effect.
The Naxal struggle was born in May 1967 and named after the village of Naxalbariin northern West Bengal state. The insurrection began when police opened fire on protesting landless farmers, sparking outrage.
Their struggle is synonymous with the failure of the Indian government to combat the ravishes of poverty in rural areas. States such as Bihar are renowned for feudal caste ridden politics in which tribal or Adivasi communities bear the brunt, with the World Bank noting that over 56 percent of tribal children are clinically underweight. It has also stated that “inequalities in nutritional status widened” during the 1990s, a period of rapid economic liberalisation.
Nationwide, the World Bank notes that the “prevalence of underweight among children in India is amongst the highest in the world, and nearly double that of Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Tribal lands in states such as Chhatisgarh are also rich in minerals. The state produces some 15 percent of India’s steel, with companies such as South Korea’s POSCO involved in mining that has displaced tribal communities.
India has recently set a target of doubling trade with Burma to $US3 billion over the next five years and is keen to compete with China for influence over Naypyidaw. Given its
proximity to both Burma and China, suppressing insurgency in India’s volatile northeast is an essential component of this goal.
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 6 October 2011
Maoist rebels in northeastern India were trained at camps across the border in Burma, according to police in New Delhi who claim the details were discovered on a laptop belonging to an arrested member of the group.
Two men from the group, commonly known as the Naxalites, were detained by police on Saturday last week on suspicion of smuggling arms. According to the Times of India, the men, identified only as Dilip and Arun, were carrying a laptop that contained files on joint training operations with the outlawed People’s Liberation Army (PLA), an ethnic separatist group from Manipur.
Naxalite rebels have been described by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the country’s “greatest security threat”. They are active in a belt that runs from the Nepalese border south through nine Indian states.
“Crucial details related to Naxal operations and some maps of Myanmar [Burma] showing the place where a joint training camp is to be held in a few weeks were recovered from their laptop,” a policeman told the Times of India.
The group is composed largely of disaffected tribal villagers who inhabit states such as Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand. In response New Delhi created the Salwa Judum militia, which is blamed for brutal reprisals and forced relocation of communities to stem the support network of the rebels.
The PLA was recently accused of receiving Chinese help, with Beijing ostensibly supporting its fight for an independent state in a bid to assume control over the northeast Indian states it claims as its own. The PLA is also linked with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN).
The timing of the news about training camps in Burma, and China’s role in the insurgency, may not be a coincidence: President Thein Sein is set to make his first visit to the world’s largest democracy since being elected to office, and India has been stringently pressuring the Burmese to do more to combat groups who shelter along the remote shared border between the two countries.
The supposed common ambition of both governments to eliminate these groups resulted in an allegation from the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) that the Indians had been supplying artillery to the Burmese to help fight the rebel outfits. Able to hit targets from over 40 kilometers away, these weapons give the Burmese a significant advantage over their foe.
But the commitment of the Burmese to rooting out Indian separatist insurgents has been questioned by some, including journalist and author Bertil Lintner. He described an alleged recent assault on the ULFA as a “phantom operation”.
Indian requests for Burmese action, including those made by Foreign Minister S M Krishna on a visit to Naypyidaw in June, have persisted for years, but with little tangible effect.
The Naxal struggle was born in May 1967 and named after the village of Naxalbariin northern West Bengal state. The insurrection began when police opened fire on protesting landless farmers, sparking outrage.
Their struggle is synonymous with the failure of the Indian government to combat the ravishes of poverty in rural areas. States such as Bihar are renowned for feudal caste ridden politics in which tribal or Adivasi communities bear the brunt, with the World Bank noting that over 56 percent of tribal children are clinically underweight. It has also stated that “inequalities in nutritional status widened” during the 1990s, a period of rapid economic liberalisation.
Nationwide, the World Bank notes that the “prevalence of underweight among children in India is amongst the highest in the world, and nearly double that of Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Tribal lands in states such as Chhatisgarh are also rich in minerals. The state produces some 15 percent of India’s steel, with companies such as South Korea’s POSCO involved in mining that has displaced tribal communities.
India has recently set a target of doubling trade with Burma to $US3 billion over the next five years and is keen to compete with China for influence over Naypyidaw. Given its
proximity to both Burma and China, suppressing insurgency in India’s volatile northeast is an essential component of this goal.
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