Jul 9, 2011
Asia Times Online - Power struggle in 'democratic' Myanmar
By Larry Jagan
BANGKOK - The trappings of the old military regime that ruled Myanmar are slowly fading from view under new democratically elected president Thein Sein and his promises of reform. At the same time, a budding power struggle between the president and vice president Thin Aung Myint Oo has pitted moderate versus hardline agendas and stalled significantly the new government's economic and political progress.
Thein Sein, who served as prime minister for four years in the outgoing military junta, faces what many view as a pre-ordained challenge to his democratic mandate. According to some government insiders, Thin Aung Myint Oo has deliberately tried to undermine the new president, including by asserting his influence over the new army chief. As a result the president's planned economic reforms and debate over whether to release over 2,200 political prisoners have already been put on hold.
Thin Aung Myint Oo represents the old military guard and their hard-line attitudes towards political change. As former junta leader Than Shwe has withdrawn from the scene, some believe he deliberately left a power vacuum in his wake which Thein Sein and Thin Aung Myint Oo are competing to fill. If the competition escalates into open rifts, some fear the military could step in to suspend the country's nascent democracy.
To complicate matters, the top leaders of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) - the military-linked ruling party in parliament - are also trying to assert influence. These top party officials, who were persuaded to resign or retire from the army ahead of last November's election, no longer have their military stripes. Many are from the older generation of military ministers who remain suspicious of the country's move from military to democratic rule.
Although Than Shwe may have formally retired from the country's political scene, seen in the removal of his once ubiquitous portraits hung in official buildings, his legacy is playing havoc with Thein Sein's room to maneuver. In an effort to ensure that no strong military leader emerged to take control of the country and endanger his and his family's authority and wealth, Than Shwe is believed to have deliberately left a vacuum in his wake.
Thein Sein is committed to introducing moderate democratic and more ambitious economic reforms, according to sources close to him. "The old military regime has gone," said a former senior Myanmar diplomat who wanted to remain anonymous. "The new government really wants to introduce positive change," he said.
This optimistic view has been echoed by many Myanmar government officials, including diplomats posted in Asia and Europe. Thein Sein's speech in March when he took over as the country's top leader and made calls for a move towards democratic governance is indicative of his vision, they said.
But with a new pluralist power structure, comprised of executive, legislature and army branches, there is substantial scope for spoiling activities. Analysts believe that Thin Aung Myint Oo, the former head of an influential trade council, is playing that role, exploiting opportunities to usurp the president's authority and subvert his agenda.
After cabinet meetings, which usually take place once a week, the ministers are summoned into his room without Then Sein for tea and an ear bashing, according to people familiar with the situation. In particular, he has bid to exert influence over key economic decisions, including authority over potentially lucrative import and export licenses and company registrations.
In one telling episode, Thein Sein ordered that excise duties on exports be reduced to 5%. Later Thin Aung Myint Oo intervened with the support of the finance minister to put the rate at 7%. The vice president also unilaterally cut the budgets of line ministries by between 20% to 40%, apart from the defense portfolio.
Thin Aung Myint Oo has also strained the new government's international credibility by telling visitors to the capital, including a recent European Union delegation and influential US Senator John McCain, that the country holds no political prisoners. International human rights groups contend that the regime holds over 2,200 political prisoners behind bars. Internal debate over the issue has reportedly been stonewalled by the vice president.
New marching orders
The most critical tussle will concern the once dominant military's future role in politics. The 2008 constitution guaranteed military members 25% of the total seats in parliament. New army chief General Min Aung Hlaing has downplayed the military's political role and soldier MPs in both national houses of parliament were virtually silent during discussions in parliament's first session held earlier this year.
Min Aung Hlaing told military MPs before parliament was convened that their political duty was to rebuild the reputation of the army: It's your duty to become seasoned politicians, he reportedly said, as you represent the future Myanmar. He virtually blamed the old guard for the country's current economic and political mess, according to one military MP.
Thin Aung Myint Oo is reportedly unhappy with this limited role for the armed forces and has maintained they should exert pressure on both the executive and legislature. Several weeks ago Thin Aung Myint Oo reportedly summoned the army chief to his office and lectured him on the new power structure, emphasizing that he was his boss as militarily he out-ranked Thein Sein.
Die-hards in the USDP, many forced to resign from the military to contest electoral seats as civilians, are already expressing frustrations about being sidelined by the current government and parliament. They are also now working behind the scenes to reassert their lost influence through connections to the old regime.
In particular, they are reportedly trying to encourage Than Shwe to establish and lead a new State Supreme Council to oversee the new power structure, as outlined and allowed for by the new charter. USDP leaders Aung Thaung and Htay Oo have reportedly urged the former leader to consider a senior advisory role similar to the ones China's Deng Xiaoping and Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew played after they stepped down from their respective countries' formal leadership positions.
Some analysts believe that Than Shwe still runs the country from behind the scenes, evidenced in his frequent meetings with MPs at his personal residence in Naypyidaw. "Than Shwe has no plan to switch state power to the president or parliament," said Aung Lynn Htut, a former Myanmar military intelligence officer and diplomat who defected after he was posted to Washington. "He will continue to control things from behind the curtain," he said.
For the moment, these layers of political intrigue are dogging Myanmar's movement forward as a guided democracy. Thein Sein appears to have at least one strong ally in the parliamentary speaker Thura Shwe Mann, the junta's former No 3. It is in his interest to ensure parliament functions effectively within the new political structure. He is also a known rival of Thin Aung Myint Oo, especially in economic matters.
Myanmar's political future will hang in the balance until this power struggle is resolved. While Thein Sein presents a new way forward, Thin Aung Myint Oo represents the front line of defense for the status quo. While each pushes their conflicting agendas, the military waits in the wings and the potential for a coup in the name of restoring stability and suspending democracy can not for now be ruled out.
Larry Jagan previously covered Myanmar politics for the British Broadcasting Corporation. He is currently a freelance journalist based in Bangkok.
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Independent Catholic News - Burma: villagers forcibly moved to make way for new dam
By: John Newton with Reinhard Backes
Posted: Thursday, July 7, 2011 10:37 pm
Thousands of villagers in the north of Burma (Myanmar) are being forcibly moved from their homes to make way for a new hydro-electric dam. Up to 10,000 people in Kachin State will be displaced and 47 villages will disappear beneath the waters following construction of the Myitsone dam – which will create a lake some 300 square miles, almost the size of New York City.
The construction of a number of new dams in the state is a key factor that sparked fighting between the Burmese Army and the Kachin Independence Army last month (June), following demands for greater independence from the predominantly Christian Kachin State.
Aid to the Church in Need, the charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians, was told by villagers from Tang Hpre they had been forced out of their village by state authorities.
One villager said: “They arrived with 10 trucks, large numbers of police, and government representatives from Myitkyina [the capital of Kachin State]”.
Another said: “We were forced to abandon our homes – and yet this has been our land for generations.”
Up to 130 families were resettled to the newly constructed village of Aung Min Thar, 6.5 miles (10 km) to the south, in March.
One catechist from Tang Hpre said: “We cannot leave the land and houses that belonged to our forefathers.” Tang Hpre is where the Columban Missionaries started their work in Burma and the order built a church and schools there after World War II.
Compensation from those building the dam for the relocation consisted of a new house, a television, the equivalent of US$100 and six months supply of rice. However according to eye witnesses the buildings in Aung Min Thar resembled “temporary shelters”.
The construction of the hydro-electric dam is being carried out with the backing of a consortium of Burmese and Chinese companies and is expected to supply up to 6,000 megawatts of power each year, mostly to the Chinese market.
Also among those to be affected by the construction of the new dam is the Malizup Weavers’ Cooperative. Set up by a Catholic Religious Sister, this group of mostly elderly woman from the Jinghpaw (or Jingpo) tribes have been working together since February 2008. The Jinghpaw tribal groups are Christian.
Weaving is a traditional handicraft and the success of this cooperative has given the Jinghpaw a new sense of self-esteem. They reported that it made it easier to sell their produce and led to a greater respect for their ethnic group’s unique culture. There are fears that these achievements could be threatened by being forced to abandon their homes.
The Burmese government ignored calls from representatives of all the Christian denominations in the region to abandon their plans. In February they protested against the Myitsone dam project, asking the government to stop construction work. The dam is being constructed just below the point where the Mali and the Nmai rivers converge to become the Irrawaddy. Source: ACN
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Scoop.co.nz - IFJ Joins Calls to Free Video Journalists in Burma
Friday, 8 July 2011, 4:17 pm
Press Release: International Federation of Journalists
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has joined 11 other media organisations fighting for freedom of expression and freedom of the press in signing the following joint statement. It calls on the Burmese government to put a stop to its harassment and prosecution of journalists, and calling on the release of the Democratic Voice of Burma 's Video Journalists.
Despite pledges by Burma ’s new government that it has begun the transition to civilian rule, 17 video journalists (VJs) for the Oslo-based exiled media organisation, the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), remain imprisoned. They are among nearly 2,100 political prisoners in Burma , a testament to the lingering hold of dictatorial rule on the country.
The journalists’ work has included the documenting of scorched-earth tactics against ethnic minorities, the killing of monks by Burmese troops, and the ineptitude of the regime following cyclone Nargis in 2008.
DVB VJs have become a source of humiliation for the Burmese government, which resides over one of the world’s most restrictive media environments. Rather than being allowed to continue a service deemed an invaluable ingredient OF democratic societies around the world, journalists are considered criminals who warrant decades-long sentences.
We call on the Burmese government to put a stop to its harassment and prosecution of journalists, who are forced to operate under strict control and surveillance. There is evidence that despite pledges to the contrary, freedom of the press and freedom of expression continue to deteriorate in Burma , with regulations over access to the internet tightened and journalists now forced to self-censor with greater intensity.
Reports from families of a number of the jailed VJs also suggest that torture techniques have been used during the interrogation phase to extract information about DVB’s operation and its network of undercover reporters, which number close to 80. It was under torture that 21-year-old VJ Sithu Zeya was forced to reveal that his father, Maung Maung Zeya, was also a member of DVB staff. They are now serving eight and 13-year sentences respectively.
International bodies such as the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union must apply pressure on the Burmese government to release all jailed journalists.
It is time for the Burmese government to acknowledge the important function of independent journalism and the central role these journalists play in fostering public discourses and the exchange of information in a free and democratic society.
Signatories:
Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB)
Reporters Without Borders (RWB)
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Irrawaddy
Mizzima
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
Article 19
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
Burma Media Association (BMA)
Index of Censorship
Canadian Journalists for Free Excpression (CJFE)
International Press Institute (IPI)
The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries
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Russia showcases arms in Asia
Published: July 8, 2011 at 10:48 AM
MOSCOW, July 8 (UPI) -- The Russian Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rosoboronexport displayed a full range of military hardware this week in Brunei.
The venue was the BRIDEX 2011 International Defense Exhibition and Conference in Brunei's capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan.
"There is quite a capacious market here (in Asia), and we actively develop links with such nations as Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam," said Rosoboronexport Director General Viktor Komardin.
"Our partners are aware that Rosoboronexport's strategy aims to shape, strengthen, and develop long-term mutually beneficial relations."
At the exhibition, which ends Saturday, Rosoboronexport showed a lineup of patrol boats, helicopters, air defense weapons, coastal area control systems and hardware for special operations forces.
Some of the equipment on display: the BMPT tank support combat vehicle; Tigr armored vehicle; BTR-80A armored personnel carrier; BMP-3M infantry fighting vehicle; Kamaz armored vehicles; Vodnik high-mobility multi-purpose vehicle; AK105 and AN-94 assault rifles; RPO rocket launchers; PSM and PYa pistols; Kedr submachine guns; RPG-7V1, RPG-29 and RPG-29N rocket launchers; Kornet-E and Metis-M1 anti-tank guided missile systems.
Also presented: Mirazh, Sobol, Mangust and A106 patrol boats; MR-10, Mys-ME and Mys-M1E coastal radars; Komor-1 submarine detection system; Ka-226T, Ka-32 and Mi-38 multi-role helicopters; the Tor-M2E surface-to-air missile system; Igla-S man portable air defense missile system and the Strelets air defense missile launch and support equipment set.
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Herald Sun - Politics still 'off limits' for democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi after tour of rural Burma
With correspondents in Pagan
From: AFP
July 08, 2011 4:29PM
DEMOCRACY icon Aung San Suu Kyi drew large crowds today on a landmark trip to rural Burma that tested her freedom - but experts said the regime will tolerate her activities only up to a point.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner was trailed by plain clothes police but allowed to travel unhindered as she avoided making public speeches on the low-key four-day excursion to the ancient city of Pagan and nearby villages.
Observers warned that a full political tour, if it goes ahead, could still trigger a confrontation with the new army-backed government, which has issued stern warnings for Ms Suu Kyi to stay out of politics.
"The regime playing nice to her this time should not fool anyone into thinking that as soon as she travels the country to, in effect, reconnect with her base politically, the regime is to sit back and watch, undisturbed," said Maung Zarni, a researcher and activist at the London School of Economics.
Suu Kyi refrained from any overtly political activities that might have antagonized the regime during her first trip outside the main city of Rangoon since she was freed by the junta from house arrest last November.
The democracy hero, who spent most of the past two decades as a prisoner in her own home, made no comments today to a throng of reporters following her every move before she boarded a flight back to Rangoon.
"We had a break but did not rest," her youngest son Kim Aris, a British national who accompanied his mother on the trip, said. "There were too many people everywhere, but you
can't get away from that."
Ms Suu Kyi, 66, signed autographs and posed for pictures as she visited temples, markets and souvenir shops in and around Pagan, one of the top tourist destinations in Burma.
As word spread that the softly-spoken but indomitable opposition leader was nearby, hundreds of supporters gathered to catch a glimpse, some weeping with joy and others shouting, "Mother Suu, may you be in good health!"
The crowds that she attracted, while much smaller than those seen when she last traveled in 2002 and 2003, were a reminder of her enduring popularity among many Burmese, despite a long absence from public view.
"I dropped what I was doing at home when I heard she was coming. I had to meet her in person," 54-year-old housewife Nwe Nwe said while waiting to greet Ms Suu Kyi in front of a lacquer-ware workshop in Pagan.
The question now is whether the success of the trip emboldens the dissident to launch a tour with a more overtly political tone, in defiance of a warning from the regime that "chaos and riots" could ensue if she went ahead.
The regime is sending Ms Suu Kyi a clear message that overt political activities such as public speeches are "off limits," said Trevor Wilson, a former Australian ambassador to Burma.
But her National League for Democracy party "might think it's worth their risk being a bit provocative ... They do need to demonstrate that they're relevant," said Mr Wilson, a visiting fellow at Australian National University.
"It's a bit of a cat-and-mouse game but it's very hard to be confident that it's going to end peacefully. It's more likely to lead to some kind of disorder. There could be minor violence," he said.
Security is a major concern because Ms Suu Kyi's convoy was attacked in 2003 during a political trip, in an ambush apparently organized by a regime frightened by her popularity.
Ms Suu Kyi - the daughter of Burma's liberation hero General Aung San, who was assassinated in 1947 - was arrested along with many party activists on that occasion and later placed under house arrest for a third time.
The dissident's National League for Democracy (NLD) party sent many of its own members to Pagan this week to protect her, one of the party's private security personnel said on condition of anonymity.
"We think the authorities also took care of the security. They asked local people not to do this and that," he said.
Ms Suu Kyi's release in November was widely seen as an attempt to deflect criticism of an election that was marred by complaints of cheating. The military's political proxies claimed an overwhelming victory in the poll.
The NLD, which won a landslide election victory two decades ago that was never recognized by the junta, was disbanded by the military rulers last year because it boycotted the recent vote, saying the rules were unfair.
Some observers think the new government would have no qualms about limiting Ms Suu Kyi's freedom again if she was perceived as a threat.
"I think they would quite quickly restrict her movements if she did something that gave them a pretext," said Mr Wilson.
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Wandsworth Guardian - Amnesty comedy event in Balham for jailed Burmese comedian
1:15pm Friday 8th July 2011
Top young comedians will ‘stand up for stand up’ at a night of comedy and dancing to raise funds and awareness of a comedian imprisoned in Burma.
Rising stars appearing for free at the event include James Acaster (previously showcased on Russell Howard’s Good News on BBC Three), Andrew Doyle, James Mullinger and Patrick Cahill. Organised by South London Amnesty, the event aims to raise money for the charity and awareness of the plight of Burmese comedian Zarganar who was sentenced to 35 years in jail in 2008 for criticising the response of the military junta to Cyclone Nargis.
Sara Mason from Amnesty’s Wandsworth group, said: “Comedy is the ultimate freedom of expression, which is an essential human right. Amnesty is campaigning for the release of the Burmese comedian Zarganar and we hope that this night will raise essential funds for the organisation to carry out its work as well as raise awareness of the plight of those imprisoned for daring to speak out.”
The comedy will take place upstairs in the Ballroom of the Bedford pub in Balham, Wandsworth on Saturday, July 16. Doors open at 7.30pm with food available and the comedy starts at 9pm. From 11pm till 2am there will be dancing and music by DJ Retro Electro.
Tickets for the event are only available in advance in the form of donations at www.justgiving.com/standupforstandup. The email donation confirmation email counts as the ticket. Capacity is limited to 150 people.
Guests can also sponsor a song for the party playlist by adding £1 per song to donations and naming the song in donation messages.
They can also buy themselves a bespoke joke on the night for £50 by emailing pauldonohoe1000@yahoo.co.uk
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Monsters and Critics - Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi carries off "successful" pilgrimage
Jul 8, 2011, 6:38 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday completed a peaceful pilgrimage to the ancient city of Bagan, her first trip outside Yangon since 2003 when she was last arrested.
Suu Kyi, accompanied by her British-born son Kim Aris, spent Monday to Thursday in Bagan, 690 kilometres north of Yangon, on a private visit to the city's centuries-old pagodas and modern-day Buddhist monks. They returned to Yangon Friday.
'This private tour was a successful one,' said Ohn Kyaing, spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party.
It was Suu Kyi's first trip outside Yangon since her release November 13 from seven years of house detention.
Suu Kyi was last arrested on May 30, 2003, when her NLD motorcade was attacked in Depayin in central Myanmar by pro-military thugs, leaving dozens dead and Suu Kyi slightly injured.
She was arrested and sentenced to house detention for undermining national security.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has promised to conduct another political tour of the countryside soon despite government warnings that such a trip might lead to 'chaos and riots.'
'She will make a political tour, but we cannot say definitely when it will be,' Ohn Kyaing said. 'We hope to arrange the political tour based on her experiences during this private tour.'
Although Suu Kyi's pilgrimage to Bagan was carried off without incident, her movements were closely watched by the authorities, sources said.
Wherever she went, hundreds of well-wishers flocked the renowned opposition leader, the daughter of Myanmar independence hero Aung San.
'She wanted to see the people, and the people love to see her,' Ohn Kyaing said. 'It will be very good for Burma if authorities fully cooperate with us on her political tour.'
The military-managed government of Myanmar, which was once known as Burma, has sent a strong message to Suu Kyi via the state-controlled press that it is opposed to her plans to conduct a political tour of the countryside, similar to her 2003 road trip.
'We are deeply concerned that if Daw [Madam] Aung San Suu Kyi makes trips to countryside regions, there may be chaos and riots as evidenced by previous incidents,' said an editorial carried by the New Light of Myanmar and other state-run dailies on June 29.
Days later, Suu Kyi announced plans for her private pilgrimage to Bagan, now completed without incident.
The state media warned the NLD should stay away from political activities because it was no longer a registered political party.
The NLD was dissolved in September after failing to register for the November 7 general election, which the party boycotted to protest election regulations introduced by the military that would have forced it to drop Suu Kyi from the party list to run.
The NLD won the previous general election in 1990 by a landslide but was blocked from assuming power for two decades by the military.
The November 7 election, labelled a sham by Western democracies, brought to power a government led by the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party, headed by former general Thein Sein.
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Lao PM to visit Myanmar
English.news.cn 2011-07-08 11:53:05
YANGON, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong will pay an official visit to Myanmar soon, an official announcement from Nay Pyi Taw said on Friday without mentioning the specific date of his visit.
At the invitation of Myanmar President U Thein Sein, Thongsing will make the trip after a new government was installed in Myanmar.
In October last year, former Myanmar top leader Senior-General Than Shwe paid a state visit to Vientiane before Myanmar's general election and had discussions with Laotian leaders on mutual friendship and cooperation between the two nations.
The two sides touched on cooperation in economic and social sectors, including construction of the Myanmar-Laos-Vietnam road, building of the Myanmar-Laos Mekong River Friendship Bridge, anti- narcotic drives as well as forming Myanmar-Laos regional border committee in order to address border issues on a timely basis.
Myanmar and Laos, sharing border of over 230 kilometers, established diplomatic relations in 1955.
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Today's Zaman - OPINION: Relaxed sanctions equal lucrative opportunities for Turkish entrepreneurs in Myanmar
08 July 2011, Friday / MEHMET ÖĞÜTÇÜ, LONDON
LONDON - It is now a business-as-usual matter to see Turkey's extremely mobile and risk-prone entrepreneurs in the most unlikely places all over the world. I would not be surprised if they have already started knocking on doors and forging lucrative business alliances in Yangon, Mandalay, Naypyidaw and Mawlamyaing. As we speak, they might even have taken positions and established themselves in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia – almost as big as Turkey in terms of landmass and with 56 million people.
Last November after a national election, parliament -- packed with retired and serving soldiers -- dissolved the junta, the State Peace and Development Council. The end of military rule was seen as a move to attract much-needed foreign investment to a country that just over 50 years ago was one of Southeast Asia's most promising and wealthiest, the world's biggest rice exporter and a major energy producer.
The 78-year-old paramount leader, Senior General Than Shwe, named General Min Aung Hlaing as his successor as commander-in-chief. With his top allies in key posts in the army and government, Than Shwe has effectively insulated himself from a purge by preventing the emergence of another strongman. Experts agree he is likely to maintain broad behind-the-scenes influence.
Few expect immediate political, economic or social reforms, with the same generals, now retired, in control of a country where 30 percent of the population lives in poverty and botched policies and Western sanctions have blighted its economy.
The historic handover of power by the military junta was greeted with skepticism by the international community and Myanmar's opposition, most of whom have lived under a succession of brutal army dictatorships. Members of the junta retained prominent roles as president, vice president, parliament speaker and cabinet ministers or regional ministers.
The international community is now seeking engagement with the new government after decades of frosty ties with the junta. Western sanctions will be in focus although it is unlikely that the embargoes, considered a failure by many analysts, will be fully lifted any time soon.
The EU has relaxed some of its sanctions against members of Myanmar's government, signaling a more flexible approach by the West. Travel and financial restrictions have been suspended for four ministers -- including the foreign minister -- and 18 vice ministers in the new government. It is the first easing of curbs since they were imposed in 1996 in response to abuses by the junta. It follows the swearing-in last month of a new nominally civilian government. However, critics have labeled the new so-called civilian administration a sham, since it is made up of former generals, some serving military officers and a handful of technocrats.
The EU Council said in a June 2011 statement that the application of a visa ban and asset freeze for "certain civilian members of the government" would be lifted for a year, especially for Myanmar's foreign minister "as an essential interlocutor" with the West. "We recognize that there have been changes in the government, and we will judge the new government by its actions," said David Lipman, the EU's ambassador to Myanmar. All those who have had their restrictions suspended have never served in the military or, as in the case of Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, left the army more than a decade ago. The council also said a ban on high-level EU visits to Myanmar would be lifted.
However, restrictions against the rest of the country's ministers will be maintained, and trade and financial sanctions will remain in place for at least another year. Analysts say the argument for or against economic sanctions in Myanmar is a controversial subject both inside and outside the country. Those wanting sanctions lifted, who have gained a stronger voice after Aung San Suu Kyi's release, say they hurt everyone, rather than just the leaders they target, or that they have little impact, as foreign trade with countries like Thailand and China goes on anyway.
International sanctions against the Myanmar military regime are fast eroding under pressure from the Austrians and Germans eager to do business there. The Austro-German argument seems to be the classic “if we don't someone else will” as Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asian businessmen take advantage of the fact that the long-awaited elections have taken place, irrespective of the fact that they were unrepresentative of the country's true political mix. Italy and Spain too have reportedly pushed for the modification of sanctions, whereas the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and others urged that they remain in place.
One of the possible reasons for this dramatic reversal is Myanmar's emergence as a significant regional exporter of natural gas. Such exports currently account for around 13 percent of Myanmar's gross domestic product (GDP). At present the gas is exclusively exported to Thailand, but in late 2013 (should events go as planned) significant gas volumes will be piped across Myanmar and into China's Yunnan Province. This gas will come from new fields (the so-called “Shwe” fields) that are currently being brought to the point of exploitation off Myanmar's coast in the Bay of Bengal.
Recent feedback from the EU indicates a strong desire on the part of the EU countries to shift any gas volumes going to China to other destinations. While this strategy is principally directed at encouraging the flow of Central Asian gas westward into Europe, this line of thinking may also have an influence in the lifting of sanctions in Myanmar.
However, one should also caution that Myanmar is both a dream and a nightmare for companies. As with any authoritarian regime, the political risks are very high; the primary goal of any company is to get into the good graces of the generals by offering them the right financial terms, but this is an extremely opaque and unpredictable process, subject to power plays within the junta and the finite lifespan of any patron. What makes Myanmar worth it? Profits are clearly the attraction. Myanmar is a largely untapped commodity market offering high returns. Rising discovery and increasing energy production, including natural gas and hydropower, is making the market increasingly attractive for foreign investors. It isn't to prevent damage to their corporate image that stops more Western companies from working there; it is the sanctions that are now in the process of being relaxed.
The Myanmar regime is so keen for investment that it is relatively easy for companies to start up projects. The lack of regulation, on the other hand, and the active support of the Myanmar government and all the resources it has to offer, just add to the attraction. As sanctions have kept so many Western companies out of the picture, Asian enterprises are having a field day in Myanmar. With less competition, Asian companies probably have to pay less to do business. Companies operating in Myanmar will likely have to give fewer concessions to secure their contracts. Moreover, due to geographical proximity and better understanding of the Myanmar market and government regulations, Asian investors might have an edge over investors from the US and Europe.
These developments signify the opening of new investment and trade opportunities. Time is of the essence for Turkish business groups to include, if they have not already done so, Myanmar in their strategic market strategies. Myanmar's value doesn't just rest on the country itself but also on the regional linkages that it offers through its strategic geographic location. It is a dynamic crossroad linking Southeast Asia, Western China (Yunnan) and the Indian sub-continent and serves as economic gateway to a potential vast market of over 2 billion consumers as well as a sub-regional economic nodal link. Working in Myanmar will also facilitate tapping into these regional opportunities.
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Asian Tribune - Will Burma sincerely cooperate with ICRC once more?
Fri, 2011-07-08 00:27 — editor
By - Zin Linn
Many prisoners of conscience have been serving incredibly long prison terms in awfully ruthless conditions in Burma’s notorious prisons. Torture and ill treatment is a well known part of their incarceration and retribution.
The regime’s handling of political prisoners blatantly breaks the 1957 UN standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) carried out its last prison visit in Burma in November 2005. In January 2006 the ICRC suspended prison visits in the country, as it was not allowed to fulfill its independent, impartial mandate.
According to today’s state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the Government of Myanmar (Burma) has been carrying the maintenance of prisons in cooperation with ICRC.
Water and habitat Engineer Swiss Mr Eric Weissen from ICRC and two officers were allowed to visit Mawlamyine prison on 1st July. There, they inspected site chosen for sinking tube well, storage of water and construction of toilets and septic tanks.
They were conducted round by Director Soe Soe Zaw from Myanmar Correctional Department (Mon/Kayin), prison officer in-charge and engineer. According to the preliminary survey of ICRC in Myaungmya, Hpa-an and Mawlamyine prisons, solar powered water pumping system is installed by Myanmar Correctional Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs in cooperation with ICRC.
As reported by Assistance Association for Political Prisoners - Burma [AAPP-B], at least 159 political prisoners are in poor health due to the denial of proper medical care, harsh prison conditions, torture and transfers to remote prisons where there are no doctors. Political prisoners’ right to healthcare is principally denied by the successive regimes. The prison healthcare system in Burma is totally poor, especially in far-flung jails. There are 44 prisons across Burma, and at least 50 labor camps. Some of them do not have a prison hospital as well as health assistance personnel.
AAPP-B says in its June 2011 report: “The blatant insincerity and unwillingness of the current regime to address grave human rights violations was underscored in the concluding session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Throughout the dialogue, the regime made false claims as to progress made in the field of human rights while continuing to deny serious broad patterns of abuse. Burma accepts to improve relations with Special Rapporteur Quintana, but has denied him entry into the country since March 2010.”
AAPP-B also criticized the behaviors of the Burmese government in the report that if there are no widespread occurrences of human rights violations committed with impunity, as Burma claimed during the first round of the UPR in January 2011, then it should open its doors to not only the Special Rapporteur Quintana, but also to other INGOs such as the ICRC.
Burma also agreed to stop torture, but refuses to investigate allegations of torture, providing further evidence that they are only interested in providing the bare minimum so as to gain political legitimacy.
Zaw Win, Director General of the Prisons Department, brazenly lied to the international community saying there are no political prisoners in Burma. Besides, there have been no deaths in prison arising from conditions of detention, he said.
AAPP-B has documented 146 deaths as a result of ill-treatment and conditions in prison. Given the wall of secrecy surrounding prisons, the number of cases is most likely much higher. There are a total of 1,994 political prisoners in June, said AAPP Burma.
The ICRC offices were ordered to be closed in 2006. Then, ICRC released a press statement on this issue dated 29 June 2007. The statement denounced the military regime for committing human rights violations against detainees and civilians. ''The repeated abuses committed against men, women and children living along the Thai-Myanmar border violate many provisions of international humanitarian law," said Mr. Jakob Kellenberger, ICRC president.
In addition, ICRC also demanded the Burmese government to end urgently of its abuses: "We urged the government of Myanmar to put a stop to all violations of international humanitarian law and to ensure that they do not recur".
The ICRC launched an office in Rangoon (Yangon) starting a limb-fitting and rehabilitation mission in 1986. Since 1999 it has carried out assistance and protection work in places of detention and in sensitive border areas.
Since 1999, the ICRC has called on detainees in prison; in 2005 alone it met more than 3,000 prisoners in more than fifty locations. It provided kits, including basic needs such as soap and medicine for thousands of prisoners. It has been able to assess conditions even in areas of conflict via its five field offices. Under its own strict rules of engagement, the ICRC keeps its findings confidential.
In December 2005, however, the junta said ICRC staff visiting prisoners had to be accompanied by a member of the pro-junta cadres, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (now transformed into ruling party). The junta’s demand was against the principle of confidentiality that the ICRC holds as a non-negotiable condition for prison visits worldwide. It showed obviously the junta’s dislike of ICRC’s prison visits. On 23 October 2006, the junta told the ICRC to shut its field offices.
Now, observers are amazingly watching whether the Burmese government will sincerely cooperate with ICRC once more. The Burmese regime should not make use of ICRC in order to gain its credibility this time.
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The Irrawaddy - Ethnic Affairs Ministers Get Cold Shoulder
By KHIN OO THAR Friday, July 8, 2011
Several ministers of ethnic affairs have complained that they have not yet been given mandates, offices or facilities.
An ethnic affairs minister in Mon State who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “We don’t even have offices for the ministers. They issued us one car per minister but we are not yet allowed to drive them. Ministers in other departments have two cars, a house, a personal assistant and sometimes are even provided with domestic staff for their homes.”
Mon State has ethnic affairs ministers representing the Karen, Burman and Pa-O communities.
According to a source, elected ministers in Rangoon Division have been provided with houses, air-conditioned offices, telephones, personal assistants, drivers, security guards and 400,000 kyat [US $500] monthly salaries. However, he said, ethnic affairs ministers in Rangoon have only a small office at the People's Parliament compound, a car provided to the same level of a vice-director at the ministry, and they receive a salary of 350,000 kyat [$437].
“We only occupy a small office in the compound of the People’s Parliament,” said an ethnic affairs minister from Rangoon Division. “If we want a telephone or air-conditioning, we have to buy it ourselves. We get cars, but not as good as the other ministers. We have not attended a single parliamentary session to date.”
According to some ethnic affairs ministers, if they have contact with the media, they are threatened by the authorities. When contacted by The Irrawaddy, all ministers of ethnic affairs would only speak anonymously.
“We were elected by the ethnic people to carry out their affairs, but now we are more like robots with nothing to do,” one said.
The chairman of the All Mon Regions Democracy Party, Naing Ngwe Thein, said that the ethnic affairs ministers were elected under the same conditions as other ministers and should, therefore, receive the same benefits.
According to a source close to the Chin Ethnic Affairs Minister, No Htan Kut, the minister has submitted several proposals but has received no response from the central government.
Ethnic ministers are appointed in almost every state and division. There are five ministers for Burman and Karen ethnic affairs, and three ministers each for Kachin, Chin, Mon, Arakan, Shan and Pa-O affairs.
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The Irrawaddy - Shedding Light on Burma's Judicial System
By HTET AUNG Friday, July 8, 2011
Than Oo and four other farmers were returning home by motorbike late on the evening on March 21 when they were stopped at the entrance to their village by a mob of about 20 construction workers from the site of a chemical factory.
The farmers were beaten with iron bars, dragged to a building inside the site, locked inside and left overnight in a semi-conscious state.
The following day, the boss of the construction site quickly filed a complaint with police, saying his employees had been subjected to verbal abuse, including “rude words,” and that the farmers had thrown stones at the building site, and had punched a member of his staff.
The local court threw in a charge of riding motorcycles without licenses and, after a series of hearings, the five farmers were each sentenced to terms of more than 10 years in prison.
This absurd perversion of justice would be considered ridiculous in most countries, but in Burma cases like this are part of everyday life, their existence born out of judicial corruption, nepotism, and a gangster mentality that ensures that the wealthy and powerful are immune from prosecution while the poor and the innocent are routinely flayed in public.
As in so many cases where justice has been flagrantly abused in Burma, a look behind the scenes at the background to the incident paints a clearer picture.
The main player in the incident was ex-Maj Win Myint, the manager at the chemical factory construction site, which is located in the suburbs of the village of Sitsayan in Kamma Township, a rice-farming community in central Burma's arid Magwe Region.
The site is jointly operated by Myanmar Economic Holdings Co. Ltd (MEHC), a military-owned corporation, and the ubiquitous Htoo Group of Companies (HGC), which is run by Tay Za, who recently claimed to be the first billionaire in Burma.
According to the farmers' lawyer, Aung Thein, some weeks prior to the brutal attack, Than Oo and three other farmers (though not the ones who were attacked and imprisoned) filed a lawsuit at the Kamma Township Court against Win Myint and two other officials of the MEHC for illegally confiscating some 4,000 acres of farmland for the purposes of building a factory, and of destroying their crops.
Than Oo's wife claims that the subsequent attack on the farmers was directed at her husband, and was ordered by the retired army major.
To further emphasize his power, the following day Win Myint turned the tables on the farmers and pushed through his own lawsuit.
However, Win Myint's malice went one step too far.
Upon hearing about the outrageous conduct of the company's manager, the villagers of Sitsayan crowded the courthouse to support the farmers.
Fearing retaliation, Win Myint convinced the judge at the Kamma Township Court to transfer the case to Minhla Township Court.
Ruthless retribution was sought against the accused farmers and each were given sentences of more than 10 years. For his role in the fabricated litany of crimes, Than Oo was sentenced to 11 years and 6 months in prison.
However, Rangoon-based veteran lawyer Aung Thein was not prepared to surrender the case. His legal team is part of a legal network organized by the National League for Democracy, and it appealed the sentence to the district court in Minbu.
To the astonishment of everyone, they won the legal battle, and succeeded in getting the farmers' sentences cut to just three months.
Than Oo and the four other farmers were released last week from Thatyet Prison, where they had been detained since March, and returned to their village as free men.
However, this encouraging success raises a number of questions on the impartiality of Burma's judicial system.
First, how could a township court and a district court differ so dramatically on lengths of sentence imposed for such minor crimes?
“It really is a rare success,” said Aung Thein. “However, the district court [in Minbu District] maintained the decision of the lower court [in Minhla Township] that the farmers were guilty. Nonetheless, it amended the sentences.”
And what about just rewards for Win Myint and his thugs?
“Than Oo's wife filed a lawsuit against Win Myint, accusing him of organizing the attack,” said Aung Thein.
“But the court decided the accusation was unfounded, imposed small fines on two of the employees who were involved in the attack, and dropped the rest of the charges.”
He added: “As you all know, Burma's judges today stand alongside the person or company that wields the power, such as MEHC and HGC, two of the most influential firms in the country.”
President Thein Sein pledged in his first presidential speech that the new government must carry out “clean and good governance.” Asked whether a reform of the judiciary should be one of the first priorities of the new administration, Aung Thein said, “Handing out the maximum sentence is such an easy job. Even a court clerk can do that.”
Taken at face value, Aung Thein's comments and accusations highlight the immense necessity for reform in Burma's corrupt judicial system.
In addition, the new government must move to seriously review the cases of more than 2,000 political prisoners, some of whom have been given inhumane 60- to 100-year sentences.
Another important question is: how many prisoners cannot afford to hire a lawyer or have no awareness of court proceedings and appeals systems? How many farmers similar to
Than Oo are serving time for minor crimes that do not warrant the lengthy sentences handed down?
“I'd say that there is no independent judicial system in Burma,” said Aung Thein.
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The Irrawaddy - Dangerous Anti-Chinese Discontent Growing in Mandalay
By KYI WAI Friday, July 8, 2011
MANDALAY — “It is not news anymore that all good locations in Mandalay belong to the Chinese. But it will be news if Burmese can take them back,” said Sein Hla, a 57-year-old bean trader in Mandalay.
The Chinese have been able to expand their territory in downtown Mandalay because the Burmese are weak economically, Sein Hla said. When the Chinese came to Mandalay with plenty of money at a time when the Burmese were suffering an economic crisis, local land and business owners could not resist selling off their assets.
After Burma’s 1988 nationwide uprising and subsequent military coup, most local businesses in Mandalay were in bad shape and in need of cash. Beginning around 1990, many Chinese from Yunnan Province, as well as other areas of China, began to open businesses in Mandalay, buying up plots of land at high prices. Later, they brought their relatives to work in the new businesses.
In this manner, the Chinese migrants have taken over the central points of the city one after another, pushing out the local Burmese in the process.
“When I sold my land in 1994, I received over 17 million kyat [US $21,250]. Now, the price of that land is 8 billion kyat [$10,000,000]. I have never heard of such prices before,” said Lwin Maung, a 70-year-old Mandalay resident.
Lwin Maung said he sold his land at the time because he needed money. He thought that he would buy it back after working hard for a while, but he certainly cannot afford the current price.
“I think the main factor contributing to the Chinese predominance in our city is our own incompetence. Burmese are poor in terms of money and education. We are under repression, so we are poor in ideas. We are also poor in knowledge, so we lack economic vision,” said Lwin Maung.
Dr Than Htut Aung, the chief executive officer of the country’s leading Eleven Media Group, told persons attending the group’s 11th anniversary celebration in June that without capital strength, there is no way for Burmese to resist Chinese encroachment.
“We can't stand next to a soon-to-be super power country without capital strength. There is no way our poor people can resist the threat of a very rich and powerful country,” said Than Htut Aung.
The current price of a plot of land in Mandalay, which used to cost around 10 million kyat, is reported to be at least a billion kyat.
“The sales of land have been quite good. Chinese are more interested in land plots with high prices. As for Burmese and other ethnic people, they sell out a plot of land in good location and buy two or three plots in the new town area. So the real estate business in Mandalay is always on the upturn,” said Pu Lay, a real estate agent.
In early July, a plot of land located at 53rd and 38th streets in Mandalay was bought by a 40-year-old Chinese businessman, who is married to a Burmese woman, for nearly 8 billion kyat [$10,000,000].
“It is not easy to buy land in Yunnan,” the Chinese businessman said. “It is crowded and there are not many good locations to live. But I can buy land in Rangoon and Mandalay. I have planned to live here, that's why I bought it.”
Maung Maung, a gem trader in Mandalay, told The Irrawaddy that Chinese from the border have entered every business sector in town.
“Chinese from the border do everything. They are involved in the gem trade, gold mining and the bean trade. They are even involved in the construction material market,” said Maung Maung.
He pointed out that Chinese businesses in the city have quickly improved because they are united, economic-minded and share markets between themselves. While the Chinese are focusing on business and prospering, Burmese are wasting their time in teashops and gambling on football and the lottery, he said.
“There are also Burmese businessmen, such as Aung San Win in gold trading, who are smart and really work hard. But most of them are not smart and do not work hard. They just waste their time without making any effort,” said Maung Maung.
Many Burmese businessmen in Mandalay come from wealthy family businesses and prefer their traditional ways of working, some observers said.
Other local observers said that the Burmese people's discontent over Chinese encroachment has broadened because many of the Chinese people entering Burma after 1988 have been able to bribe government officials to obtain identification cards, giving them the ability to buy plots of land and houses.
“The gunpowder of hatred is already there, so it can explode anytime when it is hit by a spark. In my opinion, I don't think we should hate or be against a particular race.
I think what is happening on the ground is not because of races, but of the governments behind them,” Kyaw Yin Myint, a resident journalist in Mandalay, told The Irrawaddy.
In late June, an angry mob gathered and readied to attack a Chinese owned jewelry store after a dispute broke out. Kyaw Yin Myint said that this anger that nearly led to violence is rooted in discontent that has existed for a long time, and warned that unless an appropriate solution is implemented by either the Chinese or Burmese government, any dispute between Burmese and Chinese inside Burma could instigate a situation worse than the anti-Chinese riots of 1967.
“If the current problem [anti-Chinese sentiment] becomes bigger, it may be worse than what happened before and difficult to handle. As a result, relations between Beijing and Naypyidaw could be affected,” said Kyaw Yin Myint.
Soe Htun, a political activist and leader of the 88 Generation Students group, said that the source of growing discontent towards the Chinese lies in Beijing's appeasement of the repressive Burmese government, and urged the general public to beware of the Chinese threat.
“We must be careful about China's threat. It is important. Beijing is not only destroying our natural resources, but also backing and cooperating with the hard-hearted Burmese government,” he told The Irrawaddy.
Activists also said the recent clashes in northern Burma are the consequence of Naypyidaw's protection of Chinese interests in the area.
Than Htut Aung believes the Burmese will be able to avoid threats from China only if their country is embraced by the international community.
“We only have the will to protect and preserve our country and our independence. The thing we have do to prevent potential threats from China is not express hatred, which will affect our bi-lateral relations. We have to re-access the international community,” said Than Htut Aung, in his speech commemorating his group’s anniversary.
The Irrawaddy reporter Lin Thant contributed to this article.
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Suu Kyi discusses securing freedom
Wednesday, 06 July 2011 15:15 Mizzima News
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Aung San Suu Kyi says the mission of her political party is to restore the “whole fabric” of Burmese society not just exchange one government for another.
At a time when Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) faces a threat to its legal status, the pro-democracy leader told the audience of the second BBC Reith Lecture Tuesday that securing freedom meant more than just winning the right to rule.
The radio lecture, recorded secretly in Burma, on the subject of “Securing Freedom” was played to a select audience at the BBC studios in London, offering speakers on a panel the opportunity to ask questions of Suu Kyi live.
This was the second of two prestigious lectures, the first broadcast on 28 June.
Both programmes were recorded prior to her trip Bagan, the first time in several years that she has been able to travel outside Rangoon.
In her second lecture focused on the subject of dissent and the difficult role of the NLD over the last two decades, Suu Kyi said the position of her beleaguered party got a “bit messy” while she was under house arrest.
“A lot happened while I was under house arrest, cut off from the world outside,” she said in her prepared presentation. “Two of the most notable events, I was tempted to say mishaps, that happened in Burma were the referendum in 2008, followed by the general election last November. The referendum was supposed to show - or at least the Burmese military junta hoped it would show - that more than 90 per cent of voters were in favour of a new constitution; a constitution which would give the military the right to take over all powers of government whenever it was thought necessary for the good of the nation.”
As she pointed out, the first general elections in nearly 20 years were meant to follow “according to what the generals rather absurdly called their ‘road map to disciplined democracy’.”
Suu Kyi said that for her party to take part in the new elections set by the junta for November 2010 they had to undertake to protect and defend the constitution, drawn up two years earlier, and to expel any of their members who were in prison, including those who were appealing against their sentences.
“This included me as I would have to be expelled if the NLD wanted to register,” she said. “Instead it chose to carry on its right to remain as a political party in the law courts, although we were fully aware of the lack of an independent judiciary in Burma.”
She relates that when she was released from house arrest in November, she faced a barrage of questions from reporters including whether or not the NLD had become an unlawful organization, and how she saw the role of the party now that there was an official opposition which didn’t include the NLD. It was instead the handful of parties whose representatives now occupy less than 15 per cent of the seats in the Burmese National Assembly.
Her stock response was that the NLD was “not an unlawful organization because we had not infringed any of the terms of the unlawful organizations law.
It was a little more difficult to answer questions about the role of the party after the 2010 elections.
This was “more difficult because the NLD’s position has been ambiguous ever since the elections held in 1990 when we won more than four-fifths of the vote and shocked what was then known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), the official name of the Burmese military regime.”
As she noted, there are countries where elections have been rigged or hijacked or where the results have been disputed or denied, but Burma is the only one where the results have been officially acknowledged in the state gazette, followed by nothing.
“Nothing was done to provide a real role for the winning party or elected representatives in spite of earlier promises by leaders of the junta that the responsibility of the government would be handed over to the winners once the elections were over and the army would go back quietly to their barracks. The most notable outcome of the elections in 1990 was the systematic repression of all parties and organisations, formal or informal, as well as individuals who persisted in demanding that the desire of the people of Burma for democratic governance be fulfilled.”
Suu Kyi said her party had won, but this was the beginning of lean years for the NLD. “The party made determined efforts to keep itself alive - alive but certainly not kicking,” she said. “To casual observers, it began to look moribund. Only the year before the chairman of the party, U Tin Oo, and other key members of the Movement for Democracy were imprisoned and I had been placed under house arrest.”
Suu Kyi said that when she and U Tin Oo were released six years later, they found that many of their most effective activists were still in prison, had gone into exile or had died - some of them while they were in custody. Others were in poor health as a result of harsh years spent in jails that did not even provide the bare minimum of medical care. Most of their offices had been forced to shut down. Their activities were severely curtailed by a slew of rules and regulations, and their every move watched closely by the ubiquitous military intelligence (MI).
“The MI - as some refer to it with lugubrious familiarity - could drag any of us away at any time - they preferred the dead of night - on any charge that took their fancy,” she said. “Yet in the midst of such unrelenting persecution, we had still remained an official political party, unlike today, and we began to be referred to as ‘the opposition’. So here we were in opposition, but not the official opposition. Should we accept that we were the opposition, after all, because we were in opposition to the government, whether or not that government is legitimate?”
In 1997, the State Law and Order Restoration Council was renamed the State Peace and Development Council.
“The official explanation was that the new name indicated it was time for the junta to move on to bigger and better things, as they had succeeded in their declared intention of establishing law and order,” she said. “Considering that the Burmese expression for law and order translates literally as quiescent, cowering, crushed and flattened, perhaps we’re not far from the truth.
“The regime’s version of law and order was a state of affairs to which we were thoroughly opposed: a nation of quiescent, cowering, crushed and flattened citizens was the very antithesis of what we were trying to achieve. The shape of the NLD began to take on a sharper contour as we faced up to the challenges of the struggle to survive as a political entity under military dictatorship.”
She said they sought ideas and inspirations in their culture and history, in the struggles for revolutionary change in other countries, in the thoughts of philosophers and the opinions of observers and academics, in the words of critics, in the advice of their supporters and friends.
“We had to find ways and means of operating as effectively as possible within the parameters imposed on us by the junta while striving at the same time to extend the frontiers of possibility. Certainly we could not carry out the functions that would normally be expected of an opposition party.”
As repression intensified, she said those in the NLD felt their essential nature to be more and more distant from that of a conventional opposition. “We were recognized as the political party with the strongest support, both at home and abroad, and we carried the burden of responsibility that goes with such recognition. But we had none of the privileges that would have been accorded to such a party in a working democracy and barely any of the basic rights of a legitimate political organization. We were at once much more and much less than an opposition.”
Suu Kyi sought to cast the pro-democracy struggle in grander terms. “In one of the first public speeches I made in 1988, I suggested that we were launching out on our second struggle for independence. The first, in the middle of the last century, had brought us freedom from colonial rule. The second, we hope, would bring us freedom from military dictatorship.”
She saw history repeating itself but with a difference. “The prominent role students played when they rose up in the demonstrations of 1988 evoked images of the students who had swept the country along with them in their demonstrations for independence in the 1930s. Some of these students of a past era had become prominent national figures and served as members of the post-independence government or as party leaders until they were forcefully removed from the political arena after the military coup of 1962. Many of these veteran independence fighters were quick to join the movement for democracy and thus linked the new struggle to the old one.”
Yet there were many differences between the two, she said, of which the most obvious was while their parents had fought against a foreign power, they “were engaged in combat with antagonists who were of the same nation, the same race, the same colour, the same religion. Another difference, pivotal though seldom recognized as such, was that while the colonial government was authoritarian, it was significantly less totalitarian than the junta that came into power in 1988.”
She recounted how a well-known writer who had joined into the Independence Movement as a young student, and who had engaged in clandestine work for the resistance during the Japanese occupation, told her in 1989 that she thought the challenges they had to face were far tougher than the ones with which she and her contemporaries had had to contend. Before and after the Second World War the rule of law protected the independence movement from extreme measures by the British administration.
“When the war and the Japanese Army came to the country, the presence of the newly created Burmese Army, commanded by my father, acted as a buffer between the resistance and the worst elements of the occupation forces. We could draw inspiration from the triumph of our forebears, but we could not confine ourselves to our own history in the quest for ideas and tactics that could aid our own struggle.
“We had to go beyond our own colonial experience,” she said.
Suu Kyi said the current regime meanwhile preferred to remain shackled to the past, blaming colonialism for all the ills of the nation and branding the NLD and its supporters new colonialists.
She said she and her party scanned the world for ideas and particularly the inspiration from their neighbour India and the Indian Independence Movement and the thoughts and philosophies of its leaders, looking for what might be relevant or useful.
Mohandas Gandhi’s teachings on non-violent civil resistance and the way in which he had put his theories into practice have become part of the working manual of those who would change authoritarian administrations through peaceful means, she said.
“I was attracted to the way of non-violence, but not on moral grounds, as some believe,” Suu Kyi said. “Only on practical, political grounds.”
This is not quite the same as the ambiguous or pragmatic or mixed approaches to non-violence that have been attributed to Gandhi’s satyagraha or Dr Martin Luther King’s civil rights, she said. “It is simply based on my conviction that we need to put an end to the tradition of regime change through violence, a tradition which has become the running sore of Burmese politics.”
When the military crushed the uprisings of 1988 by shooting down unarmed demonstrators with a brutal lack of discrimination or restraint, hundreds of students and other activists fled across the border to Thailand, she said. Many of them were convinced that those who lived by the gun could only be defeated by the gun, and decided to form student armies for democracy.
“I have never condemned and shall never condemn the path they chose because there had been ample cause for them to conclude the only way out of repressive rule was that of armed resistance,” Suu Kyi said. “However, I myself rejected that path because I do not believe that it would lead to where I would wish my nation to go.”
As she noted, those who take up arms to free themselves from unjust domination are seen as freedom fighters. They may be fighting for a whole country or people in the name of patriotism or ideology, or for a particular racial or ethnic or religious group in the name of equality and human rights. They are all fighting for freedom.
“When arms are not involved ‘activists’ seem to have become the generic name for those who are fighting for a political cause: civil rights activists, anti-apartheid activists, human rights activists, democracy activists,” she said. “So do we belong to the last two categories since we are constantly speaking out for human rights and democracy? To say that those of us in Burma who are involved in the movement for democracy are democracy activists would be accurate, but it is too narrow a description to reflect fully the essential nature of our struggle.”
The NLD secretary-general said a scholar comparing Indonesia under President Suharto to Burma under army dictatorship wrote that in Burma’s case the military had “held a coup against civilian politics in general”.
“In light of this insightful observation, it can be deduced that the mission of the NLD was not merely to engage in political activities but to restore the whole fabric of our society that civilians might be assured of their rightful space,” she noted. “We were not in the business of merely replacing one government with another, which could be considered the job of an opposition party. Nor were we simply agitating for particular changes in the system as activists might be expected to do. We were working and living for a cause that was the sum of our aspirations for our people, which were not, after all, so very different from the aspirations of peoples elsewhere.”
She said that in spite of the stringent efforts of the military regime to isolate them from the rest of the world, they never felt alone in their struggle.
Despite her restrictions under house arrest, Suu Kyi said the radio was her window on the world. “From the radio that I learned of the breaching of the Berlin wall, the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the moves towards constitutional change in Chile, the progress of democratisation in South Korea, the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa.”
These freedom struggles were inspirational. “When I was released from house arrest, I took every opportunity to speak to our people about the courage and sufferings of black South Africans, about living in truth, about the power of the powerless, about the lessons we could learn from those for whom their struggle was their life, as our struggle is our life.”
She said that because she spoke so often about the East European movement for democracy, she found herself being described as a “dissident”.
She recounts that Vaclav Havel of the democracy movement in Czechoslovakia was not enthusiastic about the term “dissident” because it had been imposed by Western journalists on him and others in the human rights movement.
He then went on to explain in detail what meaning should be put on dissidents and the dissident movement in the context of what was happening in his country, she said. He held that the basic job of a dissident movement was to serve the truth - that is to serve the real aims of life - and that this endeavour should develop into a defence of the individual and his or her right to a free and truthful life. That is a defence of human rights and a struggle to see the laws respected.
Suu Kyi said this seemed to describe “very satisfactorily” what the NLD had been doing over the years “and I happily accepted that we were dissidents.”
The official status of the NLD matters little, she said. What matters is the basic job to act as dissidents.
In answer to a question from the audience in London, Suu Kyi warned that people should not be fooled by the change the present government is trying to present to the world.
“So far as I can see, there have been no real changes yet,” she said. “There have been lots of very beautiful words, but those are not enough.”
She said she was disappointed by the limit support the democracy movement had received from major countries around the world.
Suu Kyi said she wished there were more leaders who were “true to the values for which they fought; once they have succeeded in their struggle not to forget those who are still struggling.”
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On first trip outside Rangoon, people warmly greet Suu Kyi
Friday, 08 July 2011 21:03 Myo Thant
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Local people in the Bagan area expressed their admiration for pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during her four-day pilgrimage to the ancient temple complex in central Burma.
Aye Khaing, a member of her security team, said at first the local people were cautious, but her reception at a market in bagan on Thursday evening was an outpouring of love for the leader of the National League for Democracy.
“First they were a little afraid, but when they saw her they were ready to do anything to get a chance to greet her and to touch her hand. I was amazed. The people love her so much,” he told Mizzima.
Since the trip was a personal pilgrimage, local people had no information about her itinerary in advance so many encounters were very low-key, said reporters who followed her in the tour.
The visit by Suu Kyi to the Nyaung-U market was crowded with people, with estimates up to 3,000 people.
“The young girls didn’t care about their modesty and struggled through the men to reach out to Daw Suu and to get a chance to touch her. I saw this scene with my own eyes. Some cried when they saw her. Some hugged her and some cried. Our eyes were watery too,” Aye Khaing said.
On her tour of the temple complex, Suu Kyi visited Ananda, Thabbanyu and Myazedi pagodas. The trustee boards of the pagodas welcomed her with bouquets.
Foreigners and local people greeted her near Tharapa Gate in Bagan on the second day of her tour. She signed autographs and posed for photos and video and had lunch at a roadside restaurant with no name near Tharapa Gate.
In the evening, she offered robes to the abbot at the Wadaw Monastery near Tharapa Gate, and she pledged to offer four novices in the monastery donations until they became monks.
On the third day, she visited a forestry preserve on the way to Poppa Hill in Kyaukpadaung Township.
On the final day of her tour, she visited the Ingyin nature preserve forest in Zeeo Thit Hla village in Nyaung-U Township.
Aung San Suu Kyi left Nyaung-U on Friday at 8:30 a.m. on an Air Mandalay flight, and she arrived at Rangoon International Airport at 10:50 a.m.
She said before the tour that she wanted to make the visit personal and she wanted to rest, worship and study the living conditions of the local people. Earlier, her supporters at home and abroad had expressed concern about her security during the tour.
When he met US Senator John McCain, Vice-President Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo said that Suu Kyi was just an ordinary citizen, and she could make her visit in accordance with the law, the state media reported. Domestic media did not cover her pilgrimage tour.
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Rumours say Burmese police plan to raid NLD headquarters
Friday, 08 July 2011 18:59 Myo Thant
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Youth members are guarding the National League for Democracy headquarters in Rangoon amid rumours circulating that police are likely to raid the pro-democracy group’s headquarters on Friday night.
Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs sent a letter to NLD chairman Aung Shwe and NLD General-Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi alleging that the NLD is not a legal party and it is conducting illegal political and social activities not in accord with the law.
NLD youth members are guarding the headquarters on Shwegondine Road in Bahan Township in an effort to prevent the police from seizing official documents, according to Yar Zar, a youth member. For the past week, youth members have slept in the NLD headquarters. Top NLD top leaders said that it was not likely the headquarters would be ransacked.
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DVB News - Kachin army ambush leaves 30 dead
Published: 8 July 2011
Around 30 Burmese troops are presumed dead after an ambush by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) on a convoy in Kachin state’s Momauk township yesterday afternoon.
Two trucks carrying government soldiers along the Bhamo-to-Myitkyina highway were damaged in the attack; one of the two carrying more than two dozen troops was blown to pieces, according to the spokesperson of the KIA’s political wing, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO).
The attack came as government representatives were holding talks with the KIA at its headquarters in Laiza. The two sides have been engaged in heavy fighting over the past two months in various regions of Kachin state, forcing the displacement of some 20,000 people.
Government newspapers yesterday reported that the KIA had destroyed a number of roads and bridges in Kachin state.
The reasons behind the outbreak in violence focus largely on attempts by Naypyidaw to gain control over swathes of Kachin state and neighbouring Shan state, where the KIA has territory. The campaign has also been taken to Karen and Karenni state bordering Thailand, where various insurgent groups are based.
As well as exacting retribution on ethnic armies who refused to become government-controlled Border Guard Forces, Naypyidaw is also looking to secure areas around lucrative energy projects in Kachin and Shan state, the majority of which are backed by China.
An article in the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said that the Burmese army had fought the KIA “for the sake of project and public security”, a rare admission of a key reason behind its operations in the country’s north.
Despite several attempts at negotiation, skirmishes continue to break out. Colonel Than Aung, Kachin state’s Minister for Border and Security Affairs sent a handwritten letter to the KIO warning that negotiations would take time.
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DVB News - Traders hopeful over Thai-Burma bridge
By THUREIN SOE
Published: 8 July 2011
Traders in western Thailand say they are optimistic that a border crossing and lucrative trading point with Burma will reopen within three months, following nearly a year of closure.
Thailand’s overland trade with its neighbour has suffered as a result of the closure by Burmese authorities of the Mae Sot-Myawaddy Friendship Bridge in July last year. Reasons for the decision varied, with some citing anger in Naypyidaw about what it saw as Thai attempts to reroute the Moei river, while speculation also arose about Thailand’s alleged sheltering of anti-Burmese government armed groups.
A trader in the Thai border town of Mae Sot said however that the Tak Province Traders’ Association was optimistic the new Thai government would negotiate the reopening.
“The previous Democrat Party didn’t really get along with the Burmese government,” he told DVB. But following the recent election victory of the Puea Thai party, led by Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of exiled former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, relations may improve. He added that traders along the border “are already expanding their businesses” in the hope that the crossing will soon open.
The Thai side has consistently lobbied for the bridge to be reopened. In December last year former Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win allegedly held secret talks with his Thai counterpart, Kasit Piromya, in a bid to negotiate an end to the stalemate.
Thailand’s countrywide border trade generates around $US4.3 billion each year for the developing economy, nearly a quarter of which goes through Mae Sot. The closure of the crossing is thought to have cost the country around $US2.7 million each day.
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DVB News - Aid tentatively returns to Burma prisons
Published: 8 July 2011
After a six year ban the International Committee of the Red Cross has taken its first steps towards regaining access to Burmese prisons.
Earlier this month the group made three trips to jails across southern and eastern Burma, although access was restricted.
“We are conducting technical assessments of water facilities and other supplies,” said Christian Cardon, spokesperson for the ICRC’s Asia-Pacific office.
He said that although it was “a positive first step”, its mandate fell short of allowing it to conduct the full extent of its work inside Burma. “We’re not talking here about proper ICRC visits to a place of detention, like we have in many other countries.”
Since a ban was slapped on the group in December 2005 after it refused to bow to government demands to allow Burmese officials to accompany staff inside the prisons, Burma’s 200,000-strong prison population has received no outside assistance.
Conditions inside the 43 jails are notoriously poor, with malaria rife and abuse of prisoners by wardens commonplace. Among the inmate population are 1994 political prisoners, some of whom are serving sentences of more than 100 years.
During a visit to Burma last month, US Senator John McCain urged authorities to allow the ICRC freedom to visit prisons, and called for the unconditional release of the political inmates who include politicians, monks, doctors and journalists.
Tate Naing, joint secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma (AAPPB), said that the readmission of the ICRC, which from 1999 to 2005 had inspected prison conditions and documented reports from inmates, was a mixed bag.
“It’s a good sign that the [ICRC] are now allowed into the prison, but we see too much restriction by Burmese authorities who are playing political games.
“The ICRC should be allowed to meet with political prisoners, inmates who are receiving hefty punishments and those in poor health. But instead they are only allowed to inspect water and sanitation systems so, if we go step by step from here, it may take about four or five years until they are allow to resume normal procedures as before.”
ICRC officials visited to Karen state’s Hpa-an prison, Mon state’s Moulmein prison and Irrawaddy division’s Myaungmya prison.
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ေတာ္လွန္ေရးသီခ်င္းမ်ား(Politics Song)
Sunday, 10 July 2011
BURMA RELATED NEWS - JULY 09, 2011
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