News and Articles on Burma

Saturday, 26 November 2011

Myanmar's opening up
By Boston Herald Editorial Staff
Saturday, November 26, 2011

You don't have to know why Myanmar is liberalizing a long-oppressive regime to approve of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit there in the coming week.

The leader of the main opposition, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, has agreed to take part in free elections. Her party won the last free elections in 1990 but the result was ignored by the ruling generals and Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the time since.

Myanmar's new civilian president, Thein Sein, a former general, made overtures this fall to Suu Kyi, who was freed last year. Her acceptance of those overtures has persuaded many skeptics that the government is sincere.

Clinton no doubt will urge release of the 1,668 remaining political prisoners. She probably will warn about election procedures and the role of the military. Since Myanmar is desperately poor, she may be asked for economic help and eased sanctions. Whatever she responds, she should stress the need to build institutions, possibly with international help. Myanmar, for example, has no mortgages. Banks cannot lend to farmers.

Back in Washington articles have appeared saying it was a 2009 review of U.S. policy ordered by President Barack Obama and its conclusion that economic sanctions were not changing behavior that led to U.S. overtures to Thein Sein, which were reciprocated. Perhaps.

Possibly the rulers of Myanmar (formerly Burma) realized that they risked becoming a patsy for China, their only ally. Bowing to public opposition, Thein Sein recently suspended work on a $3.6 billion dam being built by China at Myitsone near the Chinese border, the first of several planned to produce nine times the output of Hoover Dam in Arizona.

For U.S. interests, liberation of a Chinese vassal is a good thing.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/editorials/view/2011_1126myanmars_opening_up/
----------------------------------------
THE DIPLOMAT
Slow Down With Burma
By Zaw Nay Aung
November 26, 2011

Association of Southeast Asian Nation leaders recently selected Burma to chair the organization in 2014. But has Burma truly done enough to be awarded such an honor, considering its very recent past?

Even if ASEAN has prepared for the worst, the stakes are too high to give the regime what it wants considering the country's horrendous human rights record and aversion to democracy.

But it's not only ASEAN that is taking a risk by offering diplomatic incentives to the Burmese regime -- the United States and, crucially, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD), are taking a huge gamble in engaging with President Thein Sein.

The NLD decided to re-register and contest by-elections last Friday. Yet, although there's no doubt that the party has the best of intentions, it's not clear that the country is ready for this shift. After all, what exactly has the Burmese regime done? For example, instead of freeing all of those in jail for supposed political crimes, as the international community has called for, only a few leading activists have been freed. In addition, Thein Sein has rejected the term "prisoner of conscience" and repeated the cliche'd mantra of "prisoners who violated the laws."

As a result of their decision, Suu Kyi and the NLD have given up the major trump card they had in any negotiations with the regime. If they had played their cards a little closer to the chest and held out for more concessions, they might have stood to gain more in the long run. Unless the remaining political prisoners are released by the end of the year or early next, the political situation in Burma is likely to be both chaotic and static, and the promises of reform will ring hollow.

Western governments eager to reap the economic and geostrategic benefits of a partnership with Burma would be better served by taking a slower, wait and see approach. With little set in stone and so much at stake for the people of Burma, Western governments mustn't give credit for promises only.

Zaw Nay Aung is director of Burma Independence Advocates in London.
http://the-diplomat.com/asean-beat/2011/11/26/slow-down-with-burma/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+the-diplomat+%28The+Diplomat+RSS%29
----------------------------------------------------
Myanmar wants 'regular relationship' with America
Published: November 26, 2011

NAYPYIDAW (AFP) - Myanmar wants a "regular relationship" with the United States, a senior official in the army-dominated country said Friday, days before a historic visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"We have no regular relations between the United States and Myanmar. In reality, we want to have a regular relationship," said Thura Shwe Mann, the speaker of the lower house of Myanmar's parliament.

Former general Thura Shwe Mann, who is considered one of the most powerful men in the current regime, said Myanmar welcomed Clinton's visit, the first by a US secretary of state for 50 years.

Her trip comes in the wake of signs of change in Myanmar, which languished under military rule for decades before an election last year brought a nominally-civilian government to power. The new administration has surprised many observers with a series of reformist moves, including holding talks with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, passing a law giving workers the right to strike and releasing hundreds of political prisoners.

"The road is open for better relations between the two countries," Thura Shwe Mann told reporters in the capital Naypyidaw, in his first-ever news conference. "I think this visit is not only good for the two governments but also for people in the two countries and the world."

His comments came on the day that Suu Kyi's party took its first formal step towards a return to mainstream politics after years of marginalisation.http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/International/26-Nov-2011/Myanmar-wants-regular-relationship-with-America
------------------------------------------------------------
Burma junta chief 'retired': senior official

A top Burmese official has insisted feared strongman Than Shwe has no government role, in the first public confirmation that the former military regime chief had released the reins of power.

"The senior general is really retired," Thura Shwe Mann, lower house speaker, told reporters after the final session of parliament in Naypyidaw on Friday.

After a two-decade reign marked by suppression, isolation and deep paranoia about democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, Than Shwe officially stepped down from his role as head of Burma's armed forces after the military junta was disbanded in March.

The senior general, whose face had been emblazoned across the front pages of state newspapers on an almost daily basis, has been virtually invisible since then.

A fleeting reference in Burmese newspapers on Thursday, reporting his donation of money and gemstones to a relic reputed to be a tooth of the Buddha, was the first time his name had been printed in months.

His low profile had not convinced many experts that he had fully relinquished his grip on the impoverished nation, despite controversial November 2010 polls which brought a nominally civilian government to power.

Thura Shwe Mann said the ailing 78-year-old is "absolutely" not involved with the army-backed United Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which won an overwhelming majority in the election.

"To be more clear, the senior general is absolutely not concerned with the party, nor the government, nor our parliament, nor legislative organisations," he said, at the first public news briefing the top official has ever given.

History dictates

Analysts have said Than Shwe would retain some influence over the government after the elections.

The military strongman knew the risk of retiring only too well, having put his predecessor, the late dictator Ne Win, under house arrest in 2002 after his family members were convicted of plotting to overthrow the regime.

Burma, which for decades has been isolated on the world stage, has shown signs of reform in recent months, despite a parliament that remains dominated by the military and former junta generals.

The new administration has surprised many observers with a series of reformist moves.

In a diplomatic coup last week, Burma won approval from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to chair the 10-nation bloc in 2014.

On Friday, Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition took its first step towards a return to mainstream Burma politics by re-registering as a political party, days before a historic visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

- AFP http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/stories/201111/3377123.htm
------------------------------------------
US Secretary urged to highlight human rights violations in ethnic states during her visit to Burma
Sat, 2011-11-26 02:53 --- editor
News
London, 26 November, (Asiantribune.com):

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has on Friday written to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, welcoming her forthcoming visit to Burma and requesting her to use the opportunity to "urge the regime to stop attacking ethnic people, declare a nationwide ceasefire, release all political prisoners, and engage in a meaningful process of dialogue with the ethnic nationalities and the democracy movement led by Aung San Suu Kyi".

In a joint-letter by CSW-UK and CSW-USA, the organization highlights specific incidents of rape, forced labor, torture, killings and attacks on churches in Kachin State. "We are deeply concerned about the continuing grave violations of human rights perpetrated by the Burma Army in the ethnic areas, and in particular Kachin State. There is no sign of the situation in the ethnic states improving, and in some areas the human rights and humanitarian crisis is deteriorating."

The letter is signed by Bishop John Perry, Chairman of the Board of CSW-UK; Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of CSW-UK; Benedict Rogers, East Asia Team Leader at CSW-UK; Lisa Scaling, Chairman of the Board of CSW-USA; Dr. Thomas Farr, Deputy Chairman of CSW-USA and former Director of the US State Department Office of International Religious Freedom; and Steve McFarland, a CSW-USA Board member and former Executive Director of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. In the letter, they specifically cite cases of violations against religious adherents, including attacks on Christian pastors, priests and churches in Kachin State; discrimination of the Muslim Rohingya people; and the continued detention of Buddhist monks, including U Gambira, one of the leaders of the 2007 pro-democracy protests led by monks.

CSW's Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, "We welcome the forthcoming visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the first such visit to Burma in many decades, and we regard it as a unique opportunity to encourage significant and substantial change in the country. We hope the US Secretary of State will seize the moment, seek answers to the specific cases we have provided, and impress upon the regime the message that if it does want to convince people that it is serious about change, it must stop raping and killing people, stop attacking churches, declare a nationwide ceasefire, release prisoners of conscience, and engage in talks that will lead to a lasting and peaceful political solution for the ethnic nationalities, the democracy movement and all the people of Burma."

- Asian Tribune -http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/11/25/us-secretary-urged-highlight-human-rights-violations-ethnic-states-during-her-visit-
---------------------------------------
No reason for rushing into giving Burma the Asean chair

Bambang Hartadi Nugroho
The Nation (Thailand)
Publication Date : 26-11-2011

Burma's formal request to chair Asean in 2014 has sparked debate in the media.

The Burmese government says it is now ready to take the opportunity to lead the organisation, after passing up the opportunity to do so in 2006.

At that time, Burma said it needed to focus on managing domestic affairs, although it was widely believed that the decision was a result of pressure from fellow Asean members and the international community.

Now that Burma has been approved to lead the organisation in 2014, it is interesting to follow arguments that have arisen surrounding the issue. Many scholars and government officials have indicated a tendency to support Burma's willingness to take the opportunity to chair Asean, believing that giving it this opportunity will serve as an incentive to continue political reforms there.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, acting as a representative of the current Asean chair, recently visited Burma to assess the country's readiness to chair Asean. Apparently, the minister was quite impressed with progress made by the present Burmese government, and said the ongoing political reform was "irreversible".

Conversely, civil society groups and the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Burma Caucus (AIPBC) called for the postponement of Burma's plea, doubting the government's seriousness in its proposed transition to democracy.

Article 31, paragraph 1 of the Asean Charter reaffirms the traditional principle of alphabetical order in deciding the rotation for Asean chairmanship, stating that "The chairmanship of Asean shall rotate annually based on the alphabetical order of the English names of member states."

Therefore, according to this rule, Burma should not become Asean chair until 2016. This imperative, nonetheless, has never really been applied in the strictest manner. There have been several cases when members have requested to take the role earlier due to certain considerations, including this year's Indonesian chairmanship.

Burma clearly also has its own reasons for requesting an earlier turn. One thing that might come to mind is the fact that 2014 is only one year before the implementation of the Asean Community in 2015, and Burma may want to take the opportunity to improve its political standing in the international arena.

Leading the organisation in the vital stage of realising this long-desired vision would undoubtedly be a prestigious position for any member. Looking at it from this point of view, Burma may want to prove it can also contribute something to the organisation it joined in 1997.

Some promising developments have in fact taken place in Burma since the November 2010 elections. The new administration under President Thein Sein was reported to have released around 200 political prisoners last month, an indication of its seriousness in implementing political reform. It also issued a new regulation giving workers the right to form associations and to strike.

However, despite the good news, roughly 2,000 political prisoners remain in jail in Burma, including key opposition actors. In addition to that, tension and conflicts involving several ethnic minorities also persist in the country.

In this regard, Asean should have taken careful consideration, particularly because 2014 is a crucial year for the grouping in realising the Asean Community by 2015.

Externally, Asean needs to consider the reaction from its dialogue partners, particularly the United States and the European Union, which have consistently pushed both Asean and Burma for political reform with respect to human rights. Internally, Asean must seriously consider whether Burma's leadership in 2014 will disrupt its path toward the idea of a people-centered community.

A significant shift has been made by the Obama administration in its Burma policy. Unlike in the past, the US now has been more open and has been showing a softer approach toward the military junta.

US coordinator for policy on Burma, Derek Mitchell, after his visit to the country last September, noted that there were indeed some encouraging signs toward political reform, but remained concerned about the political prisoners who were yet to be released.

Similarly, UN rights envoy Tomas Ojeo Quintana in August also underlined that there were still many serious human rights violations in Burma.

Mitchell's and Quintana's claims are reasonable, and may determine what kind of policy response will be issued by the US government. Asean, therefore, should be aware if its decision to endorse Burma's proposal will trigger a strong reaction from the US and other dialogue partners as such moves have in the past.

Should they object and boycott Burma's chairmanship, the continuity of Asean-initiated regional cooperation, such as the ARF and the EAS, would be put at risk. This, in turn, would also jeopardize Asean's plan to "strengthen Asean centrality in regional cooperation and community-building" as laid out in the APSC blueprint.

Internally, it is also important to consider Burma's commitment to put Asean's vision to become a people-centered community into real action and policies. One among other aspects of this vision is the engagement between Asean and civil society, which can be represented by the Asean Civil Society Conference (ACSC).

During previous executions of the ACSC, the Burmese government has indicated strong objections toward civil society's participation in the interface meeting between CSOs and the Asean leaders at the summit, both by rejecting the Burma CSO delegate and replacing it with a government-appointed representative.

In fact, it is difficult to make a good and objective assessment of Burma's readiness to lead the organisation in 2014, particularly because it has only been one year since the country began the political transition process. It would have been wise, therefore, not to rush into the country's chairmanship.

It would have been better, both for Asean and for Burma, to give the Burmese government and people time to focus on domestic political developments and to develop its capacity to lead a people-centered Asean.

In 2016, when Myanmar's political transition and leadership capacity have achieved a higher and more stable level, there should be no more doubt for Asean to present the Burmese people with their rightful opportunity to chair and lead the organisation. http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=24244&sec=3
-----------------------------------------
AFP
Burma's ex-junta chief 'really retired'
Hla Hla Htay, AFP Updated November 26, 2011, 8:37 pm

A top Burmese official has insisted that feared strongman Than Shwe has no government role, in the first public confirmation that the former junta head has released the reins of power.

"The senior general is really retired," Thura Shwe Mann, lower house speaker, told reporters on Friday after the final session of parliament in Naypyidaw.

After a two-decade reign marked by suppression, isolation and deep paranoia about democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, Than Shwe officially stepped down from his role as head of Burma's "Tatmadaw" armed forces after the military junta was disbanded in March.

The senior general, whose face had been emblazoned across the front pages of state newspapers on an almost daily basis, has been virtually invisible since then.

A fleeting reference in Burmese newspapers on Thursday -- reporting his donation of money and gemstones to a relic reputed to be a tooth of the Buddha -- was the first time his name had been printed in months.

Than Shwe himself was not said to have gone to visit the relic -- which is touring Burma on loan from China -- and no photographs of him appeared in the press.

His low profile had not convinced many experts that he had fully relinquished his grip on the impoverished nation, despite controversial November 2010 polls which brought a nominally civilian government to power.

Thura Shwe Mann said the ailing 78-year-old is "absolutely" not involved with the army-backed United Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which won an overwhelming majority in the election.

"To be more clear, the senior general is absolutely not concerned with the party, nor the government, nor our parliament, nor legislative organisations," he said, at the first public news briefing the top official has ever given.

Analysts had said Than Shwe would retain some influence over the government after the elections.

The military strongman knew the risk of retiring only too well, having put his predecessor, the late dictator Ne Win, under house arrest in 2002 after his family members were convicted of plotting to overthrow the regime.

Burma, which for decades has been isolated on the world stage, has shown signs of reform in recent months, despite a parliament that remains dominated by the military and former junta generals.

The new administration has surprised many observers with a series of reformist moves.

In a diplomatic coup last week, Burma won approval from the Association of South-East Asian Nations to chair the 10-nation bloc in 2014.
On Friday, Suu Kyi's opposition took its first step towards a return to mainstream Burmese politics by re-registering as a political party, days before an historic visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/12056414/burmas-ex-junta-chief-really-retired/
---------------------------------------------
Asean hails move to re-register NLD
2011-11-26 11:42

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- Asean secretary-general Dr Surin Pitsuwan has described the move to re-register Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) as a political party, paving the way for the democracy icon to run in Myanmar's upcoming elections, as very encouraging.

"I think Asean can claim credit for the positive changes taking place there which would contribute significantly towards Myanmar's efforts in its national reconciliation process," he said.

This could pave the way for stability, peace and prosperity in the country, he told reporters after delivering a lecture at an event organised by the Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya, here, today.

Myanmar will chair the 10-member Asean regional bloc in 2014. Suu Kyi was released from house arrest last November.
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/66939
-------------------------------------
Burma: Suu Kyi's party re-registers while by-election date still uncertain
By Zin Linn Nov 26, 2011 2:11AM UTC

Burmese people are highly concerned about the issue of releasing political prisoners in Burma. President Thein Sein's remark in Bali was giving serious cause for concern. Speaking Burmese journalists in Bali, Thein Sein said that he did not agree with the assessment that Burma has been holding several political prisoners, repeating previous military junta's usual complaint that Burma only lockups prisoners who violated relevant laws.

In his remarks reported by Radio Free Asia Burmese service and Democratic Voice of Burma, Thein Sein said, "We punished the prisoners since they violated the law. In our prisons, there are lots of people due to breaking the law. So if we give favor some of them by using the term 'prisoner of conscience', then it will be unfair for the other inmates. "

The authorities transferred some important political prisoners in mid-November. Well-known student leader Min Ko Naing was transferred from a far-off prison in Shan State to notorious Insein Prison in Rangoon. But next day, he was transferred to Thayet Prison which is 350 km north of his place of origin Rangoon. Moreover, Buddhist monk U Gambira was transferred from Kale Prison in northern Burma to Myaungmya Prison in the Irrawaddy Delta and a prominent female prisoner of conscience Nilar Thein was transferred from Thayet Prison to Thayarwaddy Prison in Pegu Division. Leader of Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) Khun Htun Oo has been transferred from Putao prison in Kachin State to Taung-ngu's prison in middle Burma.

The transfers carried out after the government-appointed Human Rights Commission appealed President Thein Sein to grant official pardon to Burma's lingering prisoners of conscience. The appeal was made public in an open letter published in state-run newspapers on 12 November.

However, the letter also urged the president that if he thought some prisoners were not appropriate to be released for reasons of keeping peace and stability, he should allow them transferring to prisons close to their families. Consequently, there are now assumptions that prisoners like Min Ko Naing and Khun Tun Ooo who have now been transferred from remote prisons to prisons closer to their hometown will not be released anytime soon.

Most people think that after ASEAN agreed its chair to Burma in 2014, President Thein Sein seems breaking his promise to release all political prisoners right away.

In addition, the momentum of civil war in Kachin State has been increasing hysterically. People throughout the country are against this war since numerous casualties from both sides were citizens of Burma. As a result, many people do not have trust in Thein Sein government as a sincere administration that guaranteed good governance.

In such a moment, Burma's opposition party the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, submitted its application to Union Election Commission Friday to reregister to contest in forthcoming by-election. Twenty-one senior members as party founders including Suu Kyi, Tin Oo and Win Tin made the submission in the capital, Naypyitaw, a spokesman for the NLD said.

Although the international community has hailed the NLD's decision as an essential gesture of rapprochement between the government and the opposition party, some anti-military dissidents are reluctant to support the NLD's risking political stance.

NLD's application to return to the political tussle came days before the arrival of US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, scheduled to visit Burma next week. Clinton travels to Burma from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, during which she will be meeting top officials of the Burmese government and opposition leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy.

Meanwhile, according to Democratic Voice of Burma, Lower House Speaker Thura Shwe Mann welcomed the NLD's return to parliament politics, after it was dissolved earlier this year for boycotting the 2010 elections. As said by a journalist, Shwe Mann said he welcomes her on behalf of the People's Parliament if she was planning to compete for it.

Nevertheless, the lower house speaker said today in a press briefing in Naypyidaw that three months' notice needed to be given before the polls are held. Since no notice has yet been made, would-be candidates can guess there will be no by-elections for at least three months.

The uncertainty of political prisoners' release and the inattention of ethnic war in Kachin State provide evidence that current government is still dragging its feet for genuine change. For that reason, some people are worrying for the future of the NLD led by charismatic leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has decided to enter parliament so as to work together with the military-dominated Thein Sein government.

However, one good thing is that majority of people believe in Suu Kyi's honesty and sacrifice and they also have a clear choice of supporting the NLD as people's party. So, people consider the upcoming by-elections as the most important point for entering into a new era. http://asiancorrespondent.com/70632/burma-suu-kyi%E2%80%99s-party-re-registers-while-by-election-date-still-uncertain/

Comments