Burma's "Saffron Revolution" Is Not Over -- ITUC
11 December 2007
Press Release: ITUC
Burma's "Saffron revolution" is not over
The ITUC and the FIDH today released a new report on Burma entitled: "Burma's "Saffron Revolution" is not over".
Based on the findings of a joint international mission to the Thai-Burma border and interviews with participants in last October's protest movement and victims of its repression by the military, the 50-page report includes detailed policy proposals and recommendations to the international community.
It comes on the eve of two key events scheduled next week. On Monday, 10 December, which is also International Human Rights Day, EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels are expected to assess the situation after a number of high-profile United Nations visits to Burma. The next day, the same topic will be discussed by the UN Human Rights Council, meeting in Geneva.
As indicated by the report's sub-title, the ITUC and FIDH believe this is the "Time for the international community to act". The underlying analysis is that the violent repression, particularly the targeting by the military of peacefully-demonstrating monks, has deeply antagonised Burma's society, at the same time as it has created new resistance dynamics which are unlikely to fade away.
"Desire for change seems to be greater than ever", the report says. Noting that "no real signs of de-escalation of repression and commitment to a peaceful transition have been given by the ruling junta since the crackdown", the world's largest global trade union organisation and the oldest international human rights organisation with a universal mandate argue that the recent events make a strong case for urgent and increased international pressure.
They say this view reflects positions defended both by victims and by organisations representing Burma's democracy movement, based inside and outside the country. In addition to meeting with victims and witnesses, the mission held meetings with 15 different organisations as well as with the diplomatic community.
The joint report details four key principles for action and suggests the international community should focus on four main leverage points. The principles stress that Burma should be kept as a top priority on the international agenda; that increasing pressure on the junta now will be useful, not harmful to the reconciliation and democracy process; that the international community should accept "taking responsibility for Burma" rather than sticking to its "wait-and-see" attitude; and that it should implement a two-pronged approach of influencing the regime and encouraging the people by sending clear messages of international support.
The leverage points cover detailed recommendations aimed both at raising international pressure on the military junta and supporting national reconciliation; cutting the junta's economic lifeline through comprehensive sanctions including, in particular, the priority sectors of oil and gas, timber, gems and financial - including banking - services, with due consideration, where justified, for exceptions on humanitarian or similar grounds; establishing a "Burma Transition Fund" that would be available after a return to democracy and, finally, supporting a peaceful transition to democracy by concrete initiatives aiming at promoting a culture of democracy within Burma, also directed at the army, the professionalizing of which should be accepted both by officers and soldiers themselves, as well as by the population.
While also expressing support for the "good offices" mission of the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Burma, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari and the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Prof. Sergio Pinheiro, the report notes that the junta has so far failed to fully cooperate with either. It explains why both mechanisms should be allowed to open permanent representation offices in Burma.
The report contains detailed recommendations addressed on all these issues to the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council, the EU, ASEAN and other regional organisations and governments. It also contains a concrete warning to the ruling military junta, that it "should consider very seriously" that, unless it "acts swiftly to towards implementing the reforms expected from it", it may soon find itself facing legal action against it at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
Both options, currently under examination at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and by the international legal community and human rights movements, respectively, are explained in detail in the relevant sections of the report. Other pressure points, such as a Security Council arms embargo, or decision to place all revenue from international investment and trade with Burma on an escrow account, are also examined in the report.
All stakeholders in the Burma crisis must accept their share of responsibilities in encouraging a peacefull transition to democracy, say the FIDH and ITUC. "There is no time to loose: we cannot run the the risk that the current window of opportunity for a democratic transition swings shut", said Olivier De Schutter, FIDH Secretary General.
"While the United Nations Secretary General will declare open, on Monday 10 December a year-long campaign to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, our collective capacity to effectively realise and promote peace, human rights and democracy, is at stake" added Guy Ryder, ITUC General Secretary.
Founded on 1 November 2006, the ITUC represents 168 million workers in 153 countries and territories and has 305 national affiliates.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0712/S00660.htm
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
8/12/07 'Rise of the military in Burma'
'Rise of the military in Burma'
Aliran Monthly
08 December 2007
Burma is one country with zero democracy. In the light of the bloody crackdown against peaceful protesters there, John Smith Thang recounts the rise of the brutal military regime and how it morphed into a brutal dictatorship.
After World Wars I and II, the Burmese people realised that state security from sudden invasion by the then imperialist powers such as the Japanese and Germans was not guaranteed. At that time, the role of the military was to fight the invading enemy, to protect the people and the country. This did not mean that the military’s primary objective was to rule the state. Military rule should be the exception - only during emergency situations.
According to Alagappa, “the military’s primary role is deemed to be in [the] international arena”. The people’s voice should be supreme for nation building in this day and age. The military’s role in the international arena only arises when world war or other global conflicts occur. This is when the country is faced with an external threat. The state’s police force is seen as sufficient for handling crime and maintaining internal security.
Moreover, the state should be accountable for any militarised action it takes. It should be with the consent of the people or there should be provisions in the Constitution to authorise such action.
Here ‘civilian rule’ refers to the state, political society, and civil society, especially the political, administration, and juridicial institutions. In civilian rule, the military is not involved in ruling the country. This article looks at how the military developed in Burma and finally took over the country.
Achieving a shaky independence
In Asia, many modern day sovereign nations are ex-colonies of former colonial powers. Even after gaining independence, many of them had not achieved sufficient political maturity to build the state themselves. This resulted in the potential collapse of the state as weaknesses were found in several sectors. Occasionally the military interfered in the civilian rule and politics of the state. Under military rule, however, different levels of state building and ruling systems were developed in the newly independent nations in Asia.
Military domination in North Korea, Pakistan and Burma clearly shows how the political process, national goals and agenda have been determined by the military. The state is directly run by the military, although a different name such as council or committee may be used for the governing body. But the military are in full control of the State in those countries.
Formation of the Burmese army
The Union of Burma had a basic civil constitution in 1947 (reflecting the Penglong Agreement), as well as its agreement with the different ethnic nationalities for the first time as a step towards nation building. This was of common interest to all the people and an acceptable basic principle for the formation of a nation. The Penglong Agreement also paved the way to achieving Burmese independence from the British. It was a historic event as the different ethnic nationalities united to defend Burma from the threat of a colonising invasion. It was founded on state civil-military relations from the founding moment: independence from colonial rule in 1948.
In Burma the armed forces were originally organised as a federation of ethnically constituted regiments established during the colonial period such as the Chin and Kachin regiments. It also saw the involvement of different ethnic nationalities fighting for independence from colonisation. Apart from this, ethnic regiments significantly contributed to defending the federal union of Burma during the civil war in the early years.
But the sincere comradeship of the multi-ethnic regiments was destroyed after Independence was achieved. The reason is that, immediately after Independence, the Burmese Independence Army (BIA) was formed by only the prominent Burman nationalist politicians who had participated in Japan’s invasion of Burma in 1942.
Subsequently, within a few months of Independence in 1948 it was reorganised by force “with Burman (refers to ‘proper Burma’ as well as known ‘lower Burma’ mainly from the central part of the country, not Chin, Kachin, Shan, Karenni, Karen, Mon or Arakan ethnic group) officers and men dominating all units, regardless of their ethnic names” (Silverstein 1990). The ethnic regiments were excluded and placed in different units and so were fragmented.
Hence, it was a total assault on the federal army, national freedom and independence, unity and loyalty of the ethnic groups. The federal army was abolished. The army comprises Burman extremists who have betrayed the ethnic nationalities.
Moreover, the new army started claiming a hold on the nation touting itself its guide. This was not at all fair as the new army only served the interests of Burman extremist leaders. This was the beginning of how the Burmese army became the federal broker and national ethnic unity broker in contravention of the 1947 constitution. It is clearly a military insult to the nation after the secret arrest and disappearance of the Federal Union’s constitutionally appointed former president and Chairman of the chamber of nationalities S. Shwe Thaik in 1962. (An ethnic Shan, he became the president of the Union of Burma on 4 January 1948 at its independence. He served as the head of state of Burma between 1948 and 1952. After this term as president, he was the chairman of the chamber of nationalities until 1962. In the military coup of March 1962 he was arrested by military head General Ne Win and died in prison in November 1962.) Similarly, the father of Independence, General Aung San, was assassinated in 1947 by Burman extremists.
Since then, the armed forces have been almost permanently at war with the Karen, Shan and other ethnic minorities. The government has failed to incorporate these minorities into the national community. Ethnic rebel groups increase in numbers on the periphery of Burma.
At the height of conflict in 1949-50 the military was elevated to partnership in the government. It was called in again by the politicians to form a caretaker government and hold the country together in 1958 and subsequently took power; the constitution was allegedly terminated in the 1962 coup (Luckham).
This coup arose in connection with civilian rule due to alleged intrigue by the Burman extremist patriotic group. It led to a mis-driven economic budget utilisation, which failed to implement the policy reforms required that might have transformed the economy. The military coup in 1962 occurred with the cooperation of the Burman dominated army. To date, this army remains Burma’s national army, known as “Myanmar Thatmadaw”.
Nation's guardian or oppressor?
Now the role of the army is more than guardian of the nation; it is a full participant in government. The army has paved the way to dictatorship instead of maintaining and rebuilding the nation. Its failure to maintain parallel economies and political institutions – have reinforced the stagnation of the economy and the repressiveness of the military regime (Luckham).
The Burmese military government attempted to outflank the left by establishing its own Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP); the new military order was an autarkic and non-aligned socialist state. The reason for becoming Socialist was to create a political ideological balance between the neighboring countries. Burma was treated as a strategic buffer between the democratic Indian and the communist Chinese regimes on its borders (Luckham).
For various reasons, the Burmese army took power not only to solve the crisis but also to form its own party, the BSPP. Army chief, General Ne Win, became Burma’s Socialist Party president. The prolonged and continuing domination by the military clearly seems to be aimed at perpetuating military rule through the creation of a single-party structure. Since then, Burma’s democracy has been totally confiscated and the country has never returned to civilian rule.
The Burmese Army started the repression of the students’ and workers’ demonstrations in the 1960s and 1970s; these were brutally crushed. It even resorted to torture, and the economy steadily deteriorated. By mid-1988, rice shortages and popular discontent reached crisis proportions. The police slaying of a student sparked demonstrations.
Coinciding with the fall of the communist strong hold of Soviet Russia, which was also Burma’s ally, General Ne Win, Burma’s socialist dictator, in fear of mass demonstrations, resigned as head of the government in July 1988. Sein Lwin, his own armyman, replaced him as the new president. But the strongman Sein Lwin was forced by public fury to quit on 12 Aug after only 18 days in power. There was a nation wide strike and thousands were killed by the army.
The main thing that the people demanded was a change in political structure. The people did not demand a mere change of BSPP leadership. But the military group didn’t want to end the BSPP, and kept on changing the leadership of the party making General Maung Maung the next leader. Later, by the continuous demand of the people, and failed repressive measures to crush it, the BSPP’s hold on power was finally ended.
Then, in September 1988, through reassertion of their power in the country, the army formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC); senior general Saw Maung became chairman of SLORC. On 18 September 1988, the military took power again with the new name (SLORC) after killing a sufficient number of people. At the same time, the military made a verbal promise for “democracy” just to pacify the people.
However, the SLORC military government again abolished the second constitution of 1974; even though that 1974 constitution was not democratic, the new SLORC issued martial law decrees that forbade any public criticism of the military and prohibited public gatherings of more than five people. On the same date SLORC took power, the military regime announced that they would implement a multi-party democratic system in Burma.
It looked like the army had finally responded to calls for democracy by announcing a coup by SLORC. But this announcement turned out to be merely idealistic rhetoric, as people later realised, because SLORC did not transfer power to the elected party.
In June 1989, SLORC changed the name of the country to Myanmar; in 1992, senior general Saw Maung, who took control of the state by force in 1988, retired. Another general, Than Shwe, then became the chairperson of SLORC and has ruled till today. Than Shwe renamed the party the State Peace and Development Council in November 1997.
Recent massacre
The current Burmese public demonstration that began in September is not just an ethnic confrontation with the military government; but the majority of Burman people also participated in the demonstration. They realised it was not only about ethnic conflicts but also an issue for the whole nation, and that the military caused misunderstanding amongst ethnic communities of different religions. That is why a big internal revolution was raised recently in Burma mainly led by the monks.
The monks, particularly, feel a huge burden because of military misuse of Buddhism against other ethnic minority religions. On 24 September 2007 alone, over a million people took to the streets in 26 cities and towns, including all the ethnic states across Burma, marching for freedom and human rights (Asia Pacific People’s Partnership on Burma (APPPB) Maroon Revolution in Numbers).
However, as was characteristic of the military junta, despite claiming to be Buddhists and Burman nationalists, they brutally killed the monks in the recent September massacre. The army didn’t even respect the Buddhist ‘god’ by not taking off their shoes in the temple and pagoda, against their own Buddhist tradition, and went in to kill Buddhist monks.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), at least 4,000 people including more than 1,000 monks were arrested. At least two national United Nations staff have been arrested and detained. Around 300 people were killed including one Japanese journalist and possibly thousands of people as well. Not less than 1,000 people have disappeared in this Revolution. Possibly ten thousand people were arrested. Even before 21 August 2007, there were 1,158 political prisoners already in prisons. Three thousand students were shot in 1988 and numbers of people massacred in 2003 at Depayin.
Moreover the public feared further prolonging of military power in Burma as the newly drafted constitution stipulates “25 per cent directly reserve seats for military in parliament”. This is dangerous for all Burmese people. Public participation was very limited in drafting the constitution, and there were no fundamental rights of freedom of expression and the right to assembly. It can lead to wrong nation building that could have adverse implications for Burma’s future.
Burma has a serious ruling structure problem. The military government is a cruel illegal ruler , which is still trying to hold on to power.
This is how the Burmese military junta, which was supposed to be the nation’s guidance in early times, later turned into a dictatorship, killing its own people till today. Moreover, the Burmese military has a deep-rooted tradition of dictatorship; it cannot commit to genuinely building a democratic nation as long as power is in the hands of the army.
Democracy versus military rule
The possibility exists for the military to take temporary control when a civilian government strays from its ‘national ideal’ or obligation. In Burma’s case, if the military was the genuine guardian it should have solved the civilian conflict among the various ethnic nationalities. For example, there was a democracy dilemma in civilian rule in early 1950 to 1960: civilian rulers from the Burman extremists group tried to dominate the country by secret Buddishtisation and Burmanisation over other ethnic nationalities (Horton, Guy 2005). The Prime Minister U Nu himself was presumably involved in these efforts. (U Nu also attempted to legalize Buddhism as the state religion in 1961.) This is the consequence of extremist Burmanisation and a weak democracy.
It certainly violates the nation’s constitution as well as the fundamental Penglong Agreement, by discrimination and restriction of freedom. Society’s support of this fundamentalist and pro-domination trend is always a problem for nation building. It apparently led to the failure of civilian rule. In such an event, the intervention of the military is appropriate to prevent extremists taking power. But here the military also became the partner of extremist Burmans. We later realised they were linked with each other.
Slowly, we discovered that the military initially, immediately reorganised the army and later held a coup to form the Socialist party, with the purpose of monopolising military power and controlling the country. Looking back, the behaviour of the Burmese military was not about creating a resolution for democracy, but rather about having lasting political power and control of the country.
When conflicts between the Burman dominant group and other ethnic groups arise, within the system of civilian rule, the army should protect and be responsible for their reunification instead of aiding the ethnic-cleansing of the other ethnic groups. The army should play an impartial role.
According to Enloe (1981), a second society-based explanation of military politicisation and intervention is that the military intervenes to protect and advance the interests of a specific class or ethnic/religious group (Alagappa 48). But in the case of Burma the military is systematically maintaining power itself to control the civilian population. This is one of the reasons the BIA (military name of early time) allegedly removed from the federal army ethnic regiments like the Chin and Kachin Regiments. The military was also hand-in-hand with the Burman extremists helping to exploit and collapse other ethnic societies. This is another regrettable mistake in the Burmese Army’s history.
The military seemed to try to re-assume democracy in the 27 May 1990 election. But out of 485 parliamentary seats contested; the NLD won 392 (over 80%; 82%). Ethnic minority parties won 65 more seats. The army-front NUP won only 10 constituencies; it was clear that people did not approve of the army being in power. The result was not the one expected by the military.
However, the urgent question is whether the military will hand over power to a civilian government or whether the Burmese military junta will retain power forever. The military has tasted power for a long period; so until there is serious or any damaging opposition armed attack, their attitude is unlikely to change.
In our latest experience, a non-violent method is totally opposed to the Burma military. The military has cheated the public. This is a trap for the Burmese people as the military always blocks efforts to obtain civilian rule. The Burmese people have lost the opportunity of having a civilian administration and their liberty, for more than half a century.
In a democracy, a civilian government should control the army. But it appears that the Burmese army never wants to be under civilian control. Civilian supremacy is “government control of the military,” and the criterion for civilian control is “the extent to which military leadership groups, and through them the armed forces as a whole, respond to the direction of the civilian leaders of the government” (Alagappa).
Furthermore, in a democratic system, the concern is to ensure a professional and political military that acknowledges civilian authority and executes the orders of a democratically elected government.
Conclusion
After various studies of the military, it is not possible for a military that was always linked to dictatorship or quasi dictatorship to produce democracy. Therefore, the military should totally relinquish power and transfer it to a civilian government. Today, the Burman and other ethnic groups are mature enough to build the nation.
However, Burma is one of the countries in Asia dominated by a very hard-line military. The military has become the supreme power overriding civilian supremacy. Indeed, it clearly expresses its intention not to develop democracy. It is right to say that the present Burmese military government is an illegal government.
Since 1988, the caretaker military administration remains in place, rules by martial law, has imprisoned politicians, and refuses to hand over power to an elected government (Luckham 32). Furthermore, the newly drafted constitution has allegedly betrayed the public by giving weight to military power and again the holding of elections remains uncertain.
The reason for the existence of a military government in Burma is neither an emergency nor for a temporary term. They intend to prolong their rule permanently. So their action is not limited to a nationalistic ideal or security matter. Moreover, there is no threat of any external invasion in Burma. Rather, the Burmese military has become a threat to neighbouring countries through unnecessarily increasing its troop numbers to 400,000, with an additional, 200,000 auxiliary soldiers.
John Smith Thang is a Burmese MA human rights student.
http://www.aliran.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=379:rise-of-the-military-in-burma&catid=49:2007-8&Itemid=45
Aliran Monthly
08 December 2007
Burma is one country with zero democracy. In the light of the bloody crackdown against peaceful protesters there, John Smith Thang recounts the rise of the brutal military regime and how it morphed into a brutal dictatorship.
After World Wars I and II, the Burmese people realised that state security from sudden invasion by the then imperialist powers such as the Japanese and Germans was not guaranteed. At that time, the role of the military was to fight the invading enemy, to protect the people and the country. This did not mean that the military’s primary objective was to rule the state. Military rule should be the exception - only during emergency situations.
According to Alagappa, “the military’s primary role is deemed to be in [the] international arena”. The people’s voice should be supreme for nation building in this day and age. The military’s role in the international arena only arises when world war or other global conflicts occur. This is when the country is faced with an external threat. The state’s police force is seen as sufficient for handling crime and maintaining internal security.
Moreover, the state should be accountable for any militarised action it takes. It should be with the consent of the people or there should be provisions in the Constitution to authorise such action.
Here ‘civilian rule’ refers to the state, political society, and civil society, especially the political, administration, and juridicial institutions. In civilian rule, the military is not involved in ruling the country. This article looks at how the military developed in Burma and finally took over the country.
Achieving a shaky independence
In Asia, many modern day sovereign nations are ex-colonies of former colonial powers. Even after gaining independence, many of them had not achieved sufficient political maturity to build the state themselves. This resulted in the potential collapse of the state as weaknesses were found in several sectors. Occasionally the military interfered in the civilian rule and politics of the state. Under military rule, however, different levels of state building and ruling systems were developed in the newly independent nations in Asia.
Military domination in North Korea, Pakistan and Burma clearly shows how the political process, national goals and agenda have been determined by the military. The state is directly run by the military, although a different name such as council or committee may be used for the governing body. But the military are in full control of the State in those countries.
Formation of the Burmese army
The Union of Burma had a basic civil constitution in 1947 (reflecting the Penglong Agreement), as well as its agreement with the different ethnic nationalities for the first time as a step towards nation building. This was of common interest to all the people and an acceptable basic principle for the formation of a nation. The Penglong Agreement also paved the way to achieving Burmese independence from the British. It was a historic event as the different ethnic nationalities united to defend Burma from the threat of a colonising invasion. It was founded on state civil-military relations from the founding moment: independence from colonial rule in 1948.
In Burma the armed forces were originally organised as a federation of ethnically constituted regiments established during the colonial period such as the Chin and Kachin regiments. It also saw the involvement of different ethnic nationalities fighting for independence from colonisation. Apart from this, ethnic regiments significantly contributed to defending the federal union of Burma during the civil war in the early years.
But the sincere comradeship of the multi-ethnic regiments was destroyed after Independence was achieved. The reason is that, immediately after Independence, the Burmese Independence Army (BIA) was formed by only the prominent Burman nationalist politicians who had participated in Japan’s invasion of Burma in 1942.
Subsequently, within a few months of Independence in 1948 it was reorganised by force “with Burman (refers to ‘proper Burma’ as well as known ‘lower Burma’ mainly from the central part of the country, not Chin, Kachin, Shan, Karenni, Karen, Mon or Arakan ethnic group) officers and men dominating all units, regardless of their ethnic names” (Silverstein 1990). The ethnic regiments were excluded and placed in different units and so were fragmented.
Hence, it was a total assault on the federal army, national freedom and independence, unity and loyalty of the ethnic groups. The federal army was abolished. The army comprises Burman extremists who have betrayed the ethnic nationalities.
Moreover, the new army started claiming a hold on the nation touting itself its guide. This was not at all fair as the new army only served the interests of Burman extremist leaders. This was the beginning of how the Burmese army became the federal broker and national ethnic unity broker in contravention of the 1947 constitution. It is clearly a military insult to the nation after the secret arrest and disappearance of the Federal Union’s constitutionally appointed former president and Chairman of the chamber of nationalities S. Shwe Thaik in 1962. (An ethnic Shan, he became the president of the Union of Burma on 4 January 1948 at its independence. He served as the head of state of Burma between 1948 and 1952. After this term as president, he was the chairman of the chamber of nationalities until 1962. In the military coup of March 1962 he was arrested by military head General Ne Win and died in prison in November 1962.) Similarly, the father of Independence, General Aung San, was assassinated in 1947 by Burman extremists.
Since then, the armed forces have been almost permanently at war with the Karen, Shan and other ethnic minorities. The government has failed to incorporate these minorities into the national community. Ethnic rebel groups increase in numbers on the periphery of Burma.
At the height of conflict in 1949-50 the military was elevated to partnership in the government. It was called in again by the politicians to form a caretaker government and hold the country together in 1958 and subsequently took power; the constitution was allegedly terminated in the 1962 coup (Luckham).
This coup arose in connection with civilian rule due to alleged intrigue by the Burman extremist patriotic group. It led to a mis-driven economic budget utilisation, which failed to implement the policy reforms required that might have transformed the economy. The military coup in 1962 occurred with the cooperation of the Burman dominated army. To date, this army remains Burma’s national army, known as “Myanmar Thatmadaw”.
Nation's guardian or oppressor?
Now the role of the army is more than guardian of the nation; it is a full participant in government. The army has paved the way to dictatorship instead of maintaining and rebuilding the nation. Its failure to maintain parallel economies and political institutions – have reinforced the stagnation of the economy and the repressiveness of the military regime (Luckham).
The Burmese military government attempted to outflank the left by establishing its own Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP); the new military order was an autarkic and non-aligned socialist state. The reason for becoming Socialist was to create a political ideological balance between the neighboring countries. Burma was treated as a strategic buffer between the democratic Indian and the communist Chinese regimes on its borders (Luckham).
For various reasons, the Burmese army took power not only to solve the crisis but also to form its own party, the BSPP. Army chief, General Ne Win, became Burma’s Socialist Party president. The prolonged and continuing domination by the military clearly seems to be aimed at perpetuating military rule through the creation of a single-party structure. Since then, Burma’s democracy has been totally confiscated and the country has never returned to civilian rule.
The Burmese Army started the repression of the students’ and workers’ demonstrations in the 1960s and 1970s; these were brutally crushed. It even resorted to torture, and the economy steadily deteriorated. By mid-1988, rice shortages and popular discontent reached crisis proportions. The police slaying of a student sparked demonstrations.
Coinciding with the fall of the communist strong hold of Soviet Russia, which was also Burma’s ally, General Ne Win, Burma’s socialist dictator, in fear of mass demonstrations, resigned as head of the government in July 1988. Sein Lwin, his own armyman, replaced him as the new president. But the strongman Sein Lwin was forced by public fury to quit on 12 Aug after only 18 days in power. There was a nation wide strike and thousands were killed by the army.
The main thing that the people demanded was a change in political structure. The people did not demand a mere change of BSPP leadership. But the military group didn’t want to end the BSPP, and kept on changing the leadership of the party making General Maung Maung the next leader. Later, by the continuous demand of the people, and failed repressive measures to crush it, the BSPP’s hold on power was finally ended.
Then, in September 1988, through reassertion of their power in the country, the army formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC); senior general Saw Maung became chairman of SLORC. On 18 September 1988, the military took power again with the new name (SLORC) after killing a sufficient number of people. At the same time, the military made a verbal promise for “democracy” just to pacify the people.
However, the SLORC military government again abolished the second constitution of 1974; even though that 1974 constitution was not democratic, the new SLORC issued martial law decrees that forbade any public criticism of the military and prohibited public gatherings of more than five people. On the same date SLORC took power, the military regime announced that they would implement a multi-party democratic system in Burma.
It looked like the army had finally responded to calls for democracy by announcing a coup by SLORC. But this announcement turned out to be merely idealistic rhetoric, as people later realised, because SLORC did not transfer power to the elected party.
In June 1989, SLORC changed the name of the country to Myanmar; in 1992, senior general Saw Maung, who took control of the state by force in 1988, retired. Another general, Than Shwe, then became the chairperson of SLORC and has ruled till today. Than Shwe renamed the party the State Peace and Development Council in November 1997.
Recent massacre
The current Burmese public demonstration that began in September is not just an ethnic confrontation with the military government; but the majority of Burman people also participated in the demonstration. They realised it was not only about ethnic conflicts but also an issue for the whole nation, and that the military caused misunderstanding amongst ethnic communities of different religions. That is why a big internal revolution was raised recently in Burma mainly led by the monks.
The monks, particularly, feel a huge burden because of military misuse of Buddhism against other ethnic minority religions. On 24 September 2007 alone, over a million people took to the streets in 26 cities and towns, including all the ethnic states across Burma, marching for freedom and human rights (Asia Pacific People’s Partnership on Burma (APPPB) Maroon Revolution in Numbers).
However, as was characteristic of the military junta, despite claiming to be Buddhists and Burman nationalists, they brutally killed the monks in the recent September massacre. The army didn’t even respect the Buddhist ‘god’ by not taking off their shoes in the temple and pagoda, against their own Buddhist tradition, and went in to kill Buddhist monks.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), at least 4,000 people including more than 1,000 monks were arrested. At least two national United Nations staff have been arrested and detained. Around 300 people were killed including one Japanese journalist and possibly thousands of people as well. Not less than 1,000 people have disappeared in this Revolution. Possibly ten thousand people were arrested. Even before 21 August 2007, there were 1,158 political prisoners already in prisons. Three thousand students were shot in 1988 and numbers of people massacred in 2003 at Depayin.
Moreover the public feared further prolonging of military power in Burma as the newly drafted constitution stipulates “25 per cent directly reserve seats for military in parliament”. This is dangerous for all Burmese people. Public participation was very limited in drafting the constitution, and there were no fundamental rights of freedom of expression and the right to assembly. It can lead to wrong nation building that could have adverse implications for Burma’s future.
Burma has a serious ruling structure problem. The military government is a cruel illegal ruler , which is still trying to hold on to power.
This is how the Burmese military junta, which was supposed to be the nation’s guidance in early times, later turned into a dictatorship, killing its own people till today. Moreover, the Burmese military has a deep-rooted tradition of dictatorship; it cannot commit to genuinely building a democratic nation as long as power is in the hands of the army.
Democracy versus military rule
The possibility exists for the military to take temporary control when a civilian government strays from its ‘national ideal’ or obligation. In Burma’s case, if the military was the genuine guardian it should have solved the civilian conflict among the various ethnic nationalities. For example, there was a democracy dilemma in civilian rule in early 1950 to 1960: civilian rulers from the Burman extremists group tried to dominate the country by secret Buddishtisation and Burmanisation over other ethnic nationalities (Horton, Guy 2005). The Prime Minister U Nu himself was presumably involved in these efforts. (U Nu also attempted to legalize Buddhism as the state religion in 1961.) This is the consequence of extremist Burmanisation and a weak democracy.
It certainly violates the nation’s constitution as well as the fundamental Penglong Agreement, by discrimination and restriction of freedom. Society’s support of this fundamentalist and pro-domination trend is always a problem for nation building. It apparently led to the failure of civilian rule. In such an event, the intervention of the military is appropriate to prevent extremists taking power. But here the military also became the partner of extremist Burmans. We later realised they were linked with each other.
Slowly, we discovered that the military initially, immediately reorganised the army and later held a coup to form the Socialist party, with the purpose of monopolising military power and controlling the country. Looking back, the behaviour of the Burmese military was not about creating a resolution for democracy, but rather about having lasting political power and control of the country.
When conflicts between the Burman dominant group and other ethnic groups arise, within the system of civilian rule, the army should protect and be responsible for their reunification instead of aiding the ethnic-cleansing of the other ethnic groups. The army should play an impartial role.
According to Enloe (1981), a second society-based explanation of military politicisation and intervention is that the military intervenes to protect and advance the interests of a specific class or ethnic/religious group (Alagappa 48). But in the case of Burma the military is systematically maintaining power itself to control the civilian population. This is one of the reasons the BIA (military name of early time) allegedly removed from the federal army ethnic regiments like the Chin and Kachin Regiments. The military was also hand-in-hand with the Burman extremists helping to exploit and collapse other ethnic societies. This is another regrettable mistake in the Burmese Army’s history.
The military seemed to try to re-assume democracy in the 27 May 1990 election. But out of 485 parliamentary seats contested; the NLD won 392 (over 80%; 82%). Ethnic minority parties won 65 more seats. The army-front NUP won only 10 constituencies; it was clear that people did not approve of the army being in power. The result was not the one expected by the military.
However, the urgent question is whether the military will hand over power to a civilian government or whether the Burmese military junta will retain power forever. The military has tasted power for a long period; so until there is serious or any damaging opposition armed attack, their attitude is unlikely to change.
In our latest experience, a non-violent method is totally opposed to the Burma military. The military has cheated the public. This is a trap for the Burmese people as the military always blocks efforts to obtain civilian rule. The Burmese people have lost the opportunity of having a civilian administration and their liberty, for more than half a century.
In a democracy, a civilian government should control the army. But it appears that the Burmese army never wants to be under civilian control. Civilian supremacy is “government control of the military,” and the criterion for civilian control is “the extent to which military leadership groups, and through them the armed forces as a whole, respond to the direction of the civilian leaders of the government” (Alagappa).
Furthermore, in a democratic system, the concern is to ensure a professional and political military that acknowledges civilian authority and executes the orders of a democratically elected government.
Conclusion
After various studies of the military, it is not possible for a military that was always linked to dictatorship or quasi dictatorship to produce democracy. Therefore, the military should totally relinquish power and transfer it to a civilian government. Today, the Burman and other ethnic groups are mature enough to build the nation.
However, Burma is one of the countries in Asia dominated by a very hard-line military. The military has become the supreme power overriding civilian supremacy. Indeed, it clearly expresses its intention not to develop democracy. It is right to say that the present Burmese military government is an illegal government.
Since 1988, the caretaker military administration remains in place, rules by martial law, has imprisoned politicians, and refuses to hand over power to an elected government (Luckham 32). Furthermore, the newly drafted constitution has allegedly betrayed the public by giving weight to military power and again the holding of elections remains uncertain.
The reason for the existence of a military government in Burma is neither an emergency nor for a temporary term. They intend to prolong their rule permanently. So their action is not limited to a nationalistic ideal or security matter. Moreover, there is no threat of any external invasion in Burma. Rather, the Burmese military has become a threat to neighbouring countries through unnecessarily increasing its troop numbers to 400,000, with an additional, 200,000 auxiliary soldiers.
John Smith Thang is a Burmese MA human rights student.
http://www.aliran.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=379:rise-of-the-military-in-burma&catid=49:2007-8&Itemid=45
8/12/07 UN raises Burma crackdown death toll
UN raises Burma crackdown death toll
Posted Sat Dec 8, 2007
A report by a UN rights envoy to Burma has concluded that the death toll from September's crackdown on democracy activists was over three times the official estimate.
The crackdown killed at least 31 people, with up to 4,000 arrested and 1,000 still detained, the report said.
The report, to be presented to the UN's Human Rights Council on December 11, said Burma's military rulers used "excessive force" in quelling the monk-led street protests and had violated "fundamental rules of international law".
The 77-page report, written by UN special rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro following his November 11-15 fact-finding visit, is among the fullest accounts to date of the suppression of the country's largest uprising since 1988.
Official media in Burma have only acknowledged that 10 people died in the crackdown. Mr Pinheiro said authorities confirmed to him 15 deaths and he found evidence of a further 16 people killed in street demonstrations.
The report cites at least 74 cases of "enforced disappearance" where Burma's authorities are either unable or unwilling to account for the whereabouts of individuals.
Along with live ammunition and rubber bullets, authorities used a range of weapons against protesters including tear gas, smoke grenades, wooden sticks, rubber batons and slingshots, said the report.
Up to 4,000 people were arrested, compared to the official count of 2,927, while between 500 and 1,000 were "still detained at the time of writing", including 106 women, of whom six were nuns.
'Dog cells'
Mr Pinheiro described large-capacity informal detention centers and said he had credible reports of a special punishment area known as "military dog cells" in Yangon's notorious Insein Prison.
Cells lacked ventilation or toilets. Detainees, mostly political prisoners, slept on thin mats on the concrete floor and were only allowed to bathe with cold water once every three days for five minutes, the report said.
One detainee described being forced to kneel bare-legged on broken bricks and to stand on tiptoes for long periods. Monks were disrobed and intentionally fed in the afternoon when they are religiously forbidden to eat, the report said.
Mr Pinheiro's findings contrasted with UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari's upbeat assessment on November 13 when he said the situation in Burma was improving.
According to Mr Pinheiro, state security groups continued to detain people suspected of roles in the protests, primarily through nocturnal home raids. The authorities were also rounding up family members, close friends and suspected sympathisers of protesters in hiding.
- Reuters
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/08/2113383.htm
Posted Sat Dec 8, 2007
A report by a UN rights envoy to Burma has concluded that the death toll from September's crackdown on democracy activists was over three times the official estimate.
The crackdown killed at least 31 people, with up to 4,000 arrested and 1,000 still detained, the report said.
The report, to be presented to the UN's Human Rights Council on December 11, said Burma's military rulers used "excessive force" in quelling the monk-led street protests and had violated "fundamental rules of international law".
The 77-page report, written by UN special rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro following his November 11-15 fact-finding visit, is among the fullest accounts to date of the suppression of the country's largest uprising since 1988.
Official media in Burma have only acknowledged that 10 people died in the crackdown. Mr Pinheiro said authorities confirmed to him 15 deaths and he found evidence of a further 16 people killed in street demonstrations.
The report cites at least 74 cases of "enforced disappearance" where Burma's authorities are either unable or unwilling to account for the whereabouts of individuals.
Along with live ammunition and rubber bullets, authorities used a range of weapons against protesters including tear gas, smoke grenades, wooden sticks, rubber batons and slingshots, said the report.
Up to 4,000 people were arrested, compared to the official count of 2,927, while between 500 and 1,000 were "still detained at the time of writing", including 106 women, of whom six were nuns.
'Dog cells'
Mr Pinheiro described large-capacity informal detention centers and said he had credible reports of a special punishment area known as "military dog cells" in Yangon's notorious Insein Prison.
Cells lacked ventilation or toilets. Detainees, mostly political prisoners, slept on thin mats on the concrete floor and were only allowed to bathe with cold water once every three days for five minutes, the report said.
One detainee described being forced to kneel bare-legged on broken bricks and to stand on tiptoes for long periods. Monks were disrobed and intentionally fed in the afternoon when they are religiously forbidden to eat, the report said.
Mr Pinheiro's findings contrasted with UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari's upbeat assessment on November 13 when he said the situation in Burma was improving.
According to Mr Pinheiro, state security groups continued to detain people suspected of roles in the protests, primarily through nocturnal home raids. The authorities were also rounding up family members, close friends and suspected sympathisers of protesters in hiding.
- Reuters
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/08/2113383.htm
6/12/07 At least 20 killed in Myanmar crackdown: Human Rights Watch
At least 20 killed in Myanmar crackdown: Human Rights Watch
(AFP) – Dec 6, 2007
BANGKOK (AFP) — At least 20 people were killed in Myanmar's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in September, twice as many as its junta has admitted, Human Rights Watch said in a report Friday.
The New York-based group warned that the true toll was likely much higher, accusing the government of lying about the killings and number of arrests and saying hundreds of activists remain behind bars.
"The crackdown in Burma is far from over," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, referring to Myanmar's former name.
"Harsh repression continues, and the government is still lying about the extent of the deaths and detentions."
The report specifically accuses Myanmar's national police chief Khin Yee of supervising arrests, beatings and killings of Buddhist monks at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon on September 26.
The military regime has admitted 10 people died, but the United Nations has put the figure at 15 or more.
Buddhist monks and former student leaders spearheaded the protests across the country in August and September, posing the biggest challenge to military rule in nearly two decades as more than 100,000 people took to the streets at the peak of the movement.
Soldiers and police used baton charges, tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition to break up the crowds. The junta has said nearly 3,000 people were arrested, but insists only a few dozen remain in detention.
Khin Yee told AFP on Monday that no monks had been killed.
Human Rights Watch said its assessment was based on interviews with more than 100 witnesses, but added that it could not establish a definitive death toll because it could not gather any information from outside Yangon.
The group said "hundreds" of monks and activists remain behind bars, while Amnesty International has put the number at 700.
Myanmar already held at least 1,100 political prisoners before the unrest.
"It's time for the world to impose a UN arms embargo and financial sanctions, to hurt Burma's leaders until they make real changes," said Adams.
"Countries like China, India and Thailand have the responsibility to take action to help hold the generals accountable and to end this long nightmare of military repression."
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gX-65WMYfwO8rTMvHBT9tj9W9cUw
(AFP) – Dec 6, 2007
BANGKOK (AFP) — At least 20 people were killed in Myanmar's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in September, twice as many as its junta has admitted, Human Rights Watch said in a report Friday.
The New York-based group warned that the true toll was likely much higher, accusing the government of lying about the killings and number of arrests and saying hundreds of activists remain behind bars.
"The crackdown in Burma is far from over," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, referring to Myanmar's former name.
"Harsh repression continues, and the government is still lying about the extent of the deaths and detentions."
The report specifically accuses Myanmar's national police chief Khin Yee of supervising arrests, beatings and killings of Buddhist monks at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon on September 26.
The military regime has admitted 10 people died, but the United Nations has put the figure at 15 or more.
Buddhist monks and former student leaders spearheaded the protests across the country in August and September, posing the biggest challenge to military rule in nearly two decades as more than 100,000 people took to the streets at the peak of the movement.
Soldiers and police used baton charges, tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition to break up the crowds. The junta has said nearly 3,000 people were arrested, but insists only a few dozen remain in detention.
Khin Yee told AFP on Monday that no monks had been killed.
Human Rights Watch said its assessment was based on interviews with more than 100 witnesses, but added that it could not establish a definitive death toll because it could not gather any information from outside Yangon.
The group said "hundreds" of monks and activists remain behind bars, while Amnesty International has put the number at 700.
Myanmar already held at least 1,100 political prisoners before the unrest.
"It's time for the world to impose a UN arms embargo and financial sanctions, to hurt Burma's leaders until they make real changes," said Adams.
"Countries like China, India and Thailand have the responsibility to take action to help hold the generals accountable and to end this long nightmare of military repression."
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gX-65WMYfwO8rTMvHBT9tj9W9cUw
7/12/07 Burma is lying about democracy protest death toll, says rights group
Burma is lying about democracy protest death toll, says rights group
December 8, 2007
Richard Lloyd Parry, Asia Editor
The Burmese junta is lying about the numbers of people killed in its crackdown on democracy protesters in September, and hundreds more opponents of the regime have disappeared without trace, according to two influential reports released yesterday.
At least 31 people died, up to 4,000 were arrested and 1,000 are still detained, a document to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday claims. The 77-page report by the UN special rapportuer Paulo Sergio Pinheiro was partially corroborated by a separate assessment by the US-based campaign group Human Rights Watch.
Mr Pinheiro based his findings on a four-day trip to Burma last month. He described “military dog cells” in Rangoon’s Insein Prison, where detainees are locked for days in two-metre-high cubes guarded by dogs, with neither toilets nor ventilation.
Human Rights Watch’s 130-page document, based on clandestine interviews with 100 witnesses to the violence, describes in detail the deaths of 20 people. They were shot, run over, beaten or tortured by soldiers, police and civilian militiamen in the largest city of Rangoon alone. In one incident soldiers shot directly into a crowd of protesters. One witness said that the bullets came “like rain”.
“The Government crackdown included baton charges and beatings of unarmed demonstrators, mass arbitrary arrests and repeated instances where weapons were fired shoot-to-kill,” the report says. “Many more people were killed than the Burmese authorities are willing to admit.”
The unrest began in August with small-scale protests against sudden increases in the cost of fuel and groceries. Early in September a march of monks in the town of Pakkoku was suppressed violently by the Army, infuriating devout Buddhists. Two weeks later tens of thousands of people were occupying the streets of Rangoon and Mandalay in daily demonstrations, led by columns of barefoot monks. On September 26 the authorities pounced, beating and arresting monks at the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in the centre of the city. The following day troops fired into crowds of people who had gathered to continue the protests.
Observers filmed the shooting at point-blank range of the Japanese photojournalist Kenji Nagai by a soldier. The worst massacre documented in the Human Rights Watch report was in front of the Tamwe Basic Education High School No 3 in central Rangoon, where at least eight people, including two teenage boys, died.
After firing teargas and bullets into the air, soldiers began shooting at a crowd of protesters, killing several. Several more died when an army truck was driven into a crowd. One protester was shot dead as he cowered helplessly in a metal barrel.
“Harsh repression continues, and the Government is still lying about the extent of the deaths and detentions,” Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3017089.ece
December 8, 2007
Richard Lloyd Parry, Asia Editor
The Burmese junta is lying about the numbers of people killed in its crackdown on democracy protesters in September, and hundreds more opponents of the regime have disappeared without trace, according to two influential reports released yesterday.
At least 31 people died, up to 4,000 were arrested and 1,000 are still detained, a document to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday claims. The 77-page report by the UN special rapportuer Paulo Sergio Pinheiro was partially corroborated by a separate assessment by the US-based campaign group Human Rights Watch.
Mr Pinheiro based his findings on a four-day trip to Burma last month. He described “military dog cells” in Rangoon’s Insein Prison, where detainees are locked for days in two-metre-high cubes guarded by dogs, with neither toilets nor ventilation.
Human Rights Watch’s 130-page document, based on clandestine interviews with 100 witnesses to the violence, describes in detail the deaths of 20 people. They were shot, run over, beaten or tortured by soldiers, police and civilian militiamen in the largest city of Rangoon alone. In one incident soldiers shot directly into a crowd of protesters. One witness said that the bullets came “like rain”.
“The Government crackdown included baton charges and beatings of unarmed demonstrators, mass arbitrary arrests and repeated instances where weapons were fired shoot-to-kill,” the report says. “Many more people were killed than the Burmese authorities are willing to admit.”
The unrest began in August with small-scale protests against sudden increases in the cost of fuel and groceries. Early in September a march of monks in the town of Pakkoku was suppressed violently by the Army, infuriating devout Buddhists. Two weeks later tens of thousands of people were occupying the streets of Rangoon and Mandalay in daily demonstrations, led by columns of barefoot monks. On September 26 the authorities pounced, beating and arresting monks at the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in the centre of the city. The following day troops fired into crowds of people who had gathered to continue the protests.
Observers filmed the shooting at point-blank range of the Japanese photojournalist Kenji Nagai by a soldier. The worst massacre documented in the Human Rights Watch report was in front of the Tamwe Basic Education High School No 3 in central Rangoon, where at least eight people, including two teenage boys, died.
After firing teargas and bullets into the air, soldiers began shooting at a crowd of protesters, killing several. Several more died when an army truck was driven into a crowd. One protester was shot dead as he cowered helplessly in a metal barrel.
“Harsh repression continues, and the Government is still lying about the extent of the deaths and detentions,” Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3017089.ece
7/12/07 China Should Reconsider Its Support for Burma: Observers
China Should Reconsider Its Support for Burma: Observers
Dec 7 2007
By Saw Yan Naing
China should rethink its policy of supporting the Burmese military government, especially in light of the recent arms shipments, say Burma observers.
On Thursday, some 400 Chinese-made FAW (First Automobile Works) armed trucks arrived in Jiegong, a Chinese border town, due to be transported into Burma, according to the local sources.
And according to an eyewitness, on November 6, seven large trucks transported some 21 artillery cannons via Ruili to Muse on the China-Burma border.
When it comes to arms sales, China definitely supports the Burmese junta despite the unstable situation in Burma, said Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese analyst on the China-Burma border. He said that more than 1,500 armed trucks from China were imported to Burma in 2006.
However, in November, India put on hold the sale and transfer of all arms to the Burmese government, a decision following the junta's brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrations led by Buddhist monks.
Human Rights Watch released a statement on Wednesday urging the United Nations Security Council to impose an arms embargo in response to the Burmese military government’s continuing recruitment of children for its national army.
An exiled Burma observer, Win Min, said that he doesn’t see any sign that China will impose an arms embargo on Burma.
“For China, they pay for arms shipment to Burma in order to get natural gas back from the junta,” said Win Min. “They have great business interests in Burma, such as gas pipelines and dam projects. That’s why they are selling it [the arms shipment] to Burma.”
Observers say that China, in supporting the junta, could be the targeted as an enemy by the people in Burma, who are running out of patience.
“It would be best if China didn’t sell arms to Burma. In supplying weapons to the junta, people’s annoyance will become focused on them [China],” said political analyst Aung Naing Oo.
“They [China] should consider the event of the attack on the Chinese consulate in Mandalay,” concurs Aung Kyaw Zaw.
In early October, the Chinese consulate in Mandalay was attacked by an unknown motorcyclist. Some critics and local residents alike view the isolated attack as a sign of growing discontent among the Burmese people in Mandalay against the Chinese government.
A former Burmese ambassador to China, Thakin Chan Htun, earlier said, “If Burmese people can’t control their annoyance against the Chinese people, it could lead to riots between Chinese and Burmese people, just like the riots in the past.”
In 1967, a major riot occurred between Burmese and Chinese residents in Rangoon, the Chinese embassy was attacked by Burmese demonstrators and more than 1,000 Chinese people were detained. Over 50 Chinese people were reportedly killed; however, the Chinese authorities claimed that several hundred died.
China became Burma's leading trading partner in 2005, with trade heavily lopsided in China's favor, topping US $1.7 billion, according to Sean Turnell, an economist and expert on Burma at Australia's Macquarie University.
Recently, China National Petroleum Corp, the biggest oil and gas producer in China, signed an agreement with the southwestern province of Yunnan to cooperate in oil refining, a step toward building a pipeline to neighboring Burma.
Analysts estimate that the role of the Chinese government is significant in applying pressure on the Burmese military regime to initiate political dialogue toward democratic reform in Burma, as well as China not applying its veto on the Burma agenda at the UN Security Council.
“China should put more pressure on the junta,” said Win Min. “If not, their business will be unstable in Burma. They should also reduce their financial support in areas such as construction and development projects in Burma.”
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=9539
Dec 7 2007
By Saw Yan Naing
China should rethink its policy of supporting the Burmese military government, especially in light of the recent arms shipments, say Burma observers.
On Thursday, some 400 Chinese-made FAW (First Automobile Works) armed trucks arrived in Jiegong, a Chinese border town, due to be transported into Burma, according to the local sources.
And according to an eyewitness, on November 6, seven large trucks transported some 21 artillery cannons via Ruili to Muse on the China-Burma border.
When it comes to arms sales, China definitely supports the Burmese junta despite the unstable situation in Burma, said Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese analyst on the China-Burma border. He said that more than 1,500 armed trucks from China were imported to Burma in 2006.
However, in November, India put on hold the sale and transfer of all arms to the Burmese government, a decision following the junta's brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrations led by Buddhist monks.
Human Rights Watch released a statement on Wednesday urging the United Nations Security Council to impose an arms embargo in response to the Burmese military government’s continuing recruitment of children for its national army.
An exiled Burma observer, Win Min, said that he doesn’t see any sign that China will impose an arms embargo on Burma.
“For China, they pay for arms shipment to Burma in order to get natural gas back from the junta,” said Win Min. “They have great business interests in Burma, such as gas pipelines and dam projects. That’s why they are selling it [the arms shipment] to Burma.”
Observers say that China, in supporting the junta, could be the targeted as an enemy by the people in Burma, who are running out of patience.
“It would be best if China didn’t sell arms to Burma. In supplying weapons to the junta, people’s annoyance will become focused on them [China],” said political analyst Aung Naing Oo.
“They [China] should consider the event of the attack on the Chinese consulate in Mandalay,” concurs Aung Kyaw Zaw.
In early October, the Chinese consulate in Mandalay was attacked by an unknown motorcyclist. Some critics and local residents alike view the isolated attack as a sign of growing discontent among the Burmese people in Mandalay against the Chinese government.
A former Burmese ambassador to China, Thakin Chan Htun, earlier said, “If Burmese people can’t control their annoyance against the Chinese people, it could lead to riots between Chinese and Burmese people, just like the riots in the past.”
In 1967, a major riot occurred between Burmese and Chinese residents in Rangoon, the Chinese embassy was attacked by Burmese demonstrators and more than 1,000 Chinese people were detained. Over 50 Chinese people were reportedly killed; however, the Chinese authorities claimed that several hundred died.
China became Burma's leading trading partner in 2005, with trade heavily lopsided in China's favor, topping US $1.7 billion, according to Sean Turnell, an economist and expert on Burma at Australia's Macquarie University.
Recently, China National Petroleum Corp, the biggest oil and gas producer in China, signed an agreement with the southwestern province of Yunnan to cooperate in oil refining, a step toward building a pipeline to neighboring Burma.
Analysts estimate that the role of the Chinese government is significant in applying pressure on the Burmese military regime to initiate political dialogue toward democratic reform in Burma, as well as China not applying its veto on the Burma agenda at the UN Security Council.
“China should put more pressure on the junta,” said Win Min. “If not, their business will be unstable in Burma. They should also reduce their financial support in areas such as construction and development projects in Burma.”
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=9539
7/12/07 Human Rights Group Calls for International Pressure on Burma
Human Rights Group Calls for International Pressure on Burma
By Violet Cho
Human Rights Watch has called for stronger actions, including by the United Nations Security Council, to press Burma to undertake major reforms, following the release of its report which says the regime killed more people than it claimed during pro-democracy demonstrations.
The Human Rights Watch report, “Crackdown: Repression of the 2007 Popular Protest in Burma,” claims 20 people were killed during the national uprising in Burma. The junta claims 10 people were killed.
At a news briefing on December 3, National Police Chief Maj-Gen Khin Yi said, “Ten people died and 14 were injured during the monk protests from 26 to 30 September. The security members handled the situation in accord with the procedures.”
The 140-page HRW report is based on more than 100 interviews with eyewitnesses in Burma and Thailand. It also presents a chronology of key events.
Brad Adams, the Asia director at HRW, said, “It’s time for the world to impose a UN arms embargo and financial sanctions, to hurt Burma’s leaders until they make real changes.”
“Countries like China, India and Thailand have the responsibility to take action to help hold the generals accountable and to end this long nightmare of military repression,” he said.
The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) claimed that 2,927 people, including 596 monks, were detained and almost all have been released. It said nine people have been sentenced to prison terms and 59 laypeople and 21 monks remain in detention.
HRW said that hundreds of protestors, including monks and members of the ’88 Generation students group remain unaccounted for.
“The crackdown in Burma is far from over,” said Adams. “Harsh repression continues, and the government is still lying about the extent of the deaths and detentions.”
The report noted that the crackdown was carried out in part by the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), an organization the Burmese military is reportedly preparing to use as a base to form a future civilian government.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=9540
By Violet Cho
Human Rights Watch has called for stronger actions, including by the United Nations Security Council, to press Burma to undertake major reforms, following the release of its report which says the regime killed more people than it claimed during pro-democracy demonstrations.
The Human Rights Watch report, “Crackdown: Repression of the 2007 Popular Protest in Burma,” claims 20 people were killed during the national uprising in Burma. The junta claims 10 people were killed.
At a news briefing on December 3, National Police Chief Maj-Gen Khin Yi said, “Ten people died and 14 were injured during the monk protests from 26 to 30 September. The security members handled the situation in accord with the procedures.”
The 140-page HRW report is based on more than 100 interviews with eyewitnesses in Burma and Thailand. It also presents a chronology of key events.
Brad Adams, the Asia director at HRW, said, “It’s time for the world to impose a UN arms embargo and financial sanctions, to hurt Burma’s leaders until they make real changes.”
“Countries like China, India and Thailand have the responsibility to take action to help hold the generals accountable and to end this long nightmare of military repression,” he said.
The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) claimed that 2,927 people, including 596 monks, were detained and almost all have been released. It said nine people have been sentenced to prison terms and 59 laypeople and 21 monks remain in detention.
HRW said that hundreds of protestors, including monks and members of the ’88 Generation students group remain unaccounted for.
“The crackdown in Burma is far from over,” said Adams. “Harsh repression continues, and the government is still lying about the extent of the deaths and detentions.”
The report noted that the crackdown was carried out in part by the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), an organization the Burmese military is reportedly preparing to use as a base to form a future civilian government.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=9540
7/12/07 ASEAN chief wants more US involvement
ASEAN chief wants more US involvement
December 07, 2007
Surin Pitsuwan, a former foreign minister of Thailand, said one reason that Washington has neglected its South-East Asian friends is that the Bush administration has been distracted by problems elsewhere, implicitly referring to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
The United States also has distanced itself from ASEAN since military-ruled Burma joined the group in 1997.
"Anybody can argue, 'Well, we are there even if not physically present. The tsunami; we provided help then'. That's true, but a tsunami doesn't come every day," Surin said today. The United States was among early providers of emergency aid for countries hit by a massive tsunami on December 26, 2004.
Surin, who becomes ASEAN secretary-general on January 1, said part of the problem is that Americans are disappointed with the way ASEAN does business. "You want it black and white," he said. "That is not the way we do it in ASEAN."
"The United States used to understand that," Surin said, "but not in the last few years."
"We would like to see more engagement. We would like to see more of the president on the ground."
President George W Bush generally attends summit meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, where he meets leaders of the seven ASEAN member countries that also belong to APEC.
"The United States is still the only power in the region that can provide security (for the ASEAN members),'' Surin said, "but it needs to be present."
The 40-year-old regional grouping has come under strong criticism from the United States and others for its failure to discipline Burma. Under military rule for 45 years, Burma's junta recently used guns, truncheons and mass arrests to break up massive anti-government demonstrations led by Buddhist monks.
Speaking at an event sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Surin said ASEAN is ready to help Burma through its political crisis and to return to normalcy but only if the generals request help.
Surin said there is a political consensus that Burma "will not be status quo; it will not go back to where it was".
ASEAN was founded as an anti-communist Cold War organisation. Its founding members were Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. It has expanded to include Brunei, Laos, Burma and Vietnam.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/asean-chief-wants-more-us-involvement/story-e6frg6t6-1111115056272
December 07, 2007
Surin Pitsuwan, a former foreign minister of Thailand, said one reason that Washington has neglected its South-East Asian friends is that the Bush administration has been distracted by problems elsewhere, implicitly referring to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
The United States also has distanced itself from ASEAN since military-ruled Burma joined the group in 1997.
"Anybody can argue, 'Well, we are there even if not physically present. The tsunami; we provided help then'. That's true, but a tsunami doesn't come every day," Surin said today. The United States was among early providers of emergency aid for countries hit by a massive tsunami on December 26, 2004.
Surin, who becomes ASEAN secretary-general on January 1, said part of the problem is that Americans are disappointed with the way ASEAN does business. "You want it black and white," he said. "That is not the way we do it in ASEAN."
"The United States used to understand that," Surin said, "but not in the last few years."
"We would like to see more engagement. We would like to see more of the president on the ground."
President George W Bush generally attends summit meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, where he meets leaders of the seven ASEAN member countries that also belong to APEC.
"The United States is still the only power in the region that can provide security (for the ASEAN members),'' Surin said, "but it needs to be present."
The 40-year-old regional grouping has come under strong criticism from the United States and others for its failure to discipline Burma. Under military rule for 45 years, Burma's junta recently used guns, truncheons and mass arrests to break up massive anti-government demonstrations led by Buddhist monks.
Speaking at an event sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Surin said ASEAN is ready to help Burma through its political crisis and to return to normalcy but only if the generals request help.
Surin said there is a political consensus that Burma "will not be status quo; it will not go back to where it was".
ASEAN was founded as an anti-communist Cold War organisation. Its founding members were Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. It has expanded to include Brunei, Laos, Burma and Vietnam.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/asean-chief-wants-more-us-involvement/story-e6frg6t6-1111115056272
6/12/07 Burma named worst violator of housing rights
Burma named worst violator of housing rights
Dec 6, 2007 (DVB)–
The Burmese ruling State Peace and Development Council has been named one of the worst violators of housing rights by an international human rights organisation.
Since 2002, the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions has nominated three governments or public institutions for its annual Housing Rights Violator Awards who have been responsible for particularly severe violations of housing rights.
COHRE deputy director Jean du Plessis said that the Burmese regime had shown an “abysmal disregard” for the basic right to housing.
“More than one million people have been dispossessed and are internally displaced in Burma – not because of a natural disaster, but due to their own government’s calculated and brutal actions,” he said in a press release.
He went on to described the severe violations of land rights in Burma, particularly those of ethnic minority groups.
“The military regime in Burma has displaced more than one million people from their lands and homes since 1962, disproportionately affecting ethnic nationality communities – which has included confiscating their lands,” he said in the statement.
“The SPDC’s brutal campaign against ethnic nationality communities – confiscating their lands, attacking and burning villages, killing thousands of civilians, raping women and looting property – is in clear breach of international law,” he said.
“The military regime’s ‘Burmanisation’ policy of ethnic cleansing and social engineering through forced relocation and land confiscation, which has led to the mass displacement of more than one million people from their lands and homes in Burma, is clear evidence of its complete disregard for human rights including the right to adequate housing.”
Du Plessis said that fundamental changes needed to be made by the regime to enable people to access their rights.
“These problems can only be resolved through substantial and sustained change in Burma. Political transition should include improved access to a range of fundamental rights, as enshrined in international law and conventions — including respect for [housing, land and property] rights,” he said.
COHRE has published a report, Displacement and Dispossession: Forced Migration and Land Rights in Burma, which details the Burmese government’s abuses of housing, land and property rights through land confiscation.
Along with the SPDC, Slovakia and the Beijing Munipality and Beijing Olympics organising committee were also chosen for this year’s Housing Rights Violator Awards.
Reporting by DVB
Dec 6, 2007 (DVB)–
The Burmese ruling State Peace and Development Council has been named one of the worst violators of housing rights by an international human rights organisation.
Since 2002, the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions has nominated three governments or public institutions for its annual Housing Rights Violator Awards who have been responsible for particularly severe violations of housing rights.
COHRE deputy director Jean du Plessis said that the Burmese regime had shown an “abysmal disregard” for the basic right to housing.
“More than one million people have been dispossessed and are internally displaced in Burma – not because of a natural disaster, but due to their own government’s calculated and brutal actions,” he said in a press release.
He went on to described the severe violations of land rights in Burma, particularly those of ethnic minority groups.
“The military regime in Burma has displaced more than one million people from their lands and homes since 1962, disproportionately affecting ethnic nationality communities – which has included confiscating their lands,” he said in the statement.
“The SPDC’s brutal campaign against ethnic nationality communities – confiscating their lands, attacking and burning villages, killing thousands of civilians, raping women and looting property – is in clear breach of international law,” he said.
“The military regime’s ‘Burmanisation’ policy of ethnic cleansing and social engineering through forced relocation and land confiscation, which has led to the mass displacement of more than one million people from their lands and homes in Burma, is clear evidence of its complete disregard for human rights including the right to adequate housing.”
Du Plessis said that fundamental changes needed to be made by the regime to enable people to access their rights.
“These problems can only be resolved through substantial and sustained change in Burma. Political transition should include improved access to a range of fundamental rights, as enshrined in international law and conventions — including respect for [housing, land and property] rights,” he said.
COHRE has published a report, Displacement and Dispossession: Forced Migration and Land Rights in Burma, which details the Burmese government’s abuses of housing, land and property rights through land confiscation.
Along with the SPDC, Slovakia and the Beijing Munipality and Beijing Olympics organising committee were also chosen for this year’s Housing Rights Violator Awards.
Reporting by DVB
7/12/07 Activist Mirante to speak on Burma, Dec. 11, Princeton University
Activist Mirante to speak on Burma, Dec. 11
Activist and author Edith Mirante will present a lecture titled "Burma in Crisis: Background and Update on the Saffron Revolution" at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, in 16 Robertson Hall.Myanmar has been engulfed in political turmoil as the country's ruling military has detained hundreds of Buddhist monks who spearheaded pro-democracy demonstrations in a movement that some are calling the "saffron revolution," referring to the color of the monks' robes.Mirante has been actively involved in collecting information on environmental and human rights conditions in Myanmar, formerly called Burma, since the early 1980s. She specializes in the conditions on Myanmar's northern and western frontiers and has had extensive contacts with ethnic groups from those remote areas. Mirante also is the founder and director of Project Maje, an independent effort to distribute information about Myanmar since 1986, and she is the author of "Burmese Looking Glass: A Human Rights Adventure." She also has testified on Myanmar before the U.S. Congress, European Trade Commission and the International Labor Organization. The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination are sponsoring this lecture.
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S19/69/92M31/index.xml?section=announcements
Activist and author Edith Mirante will present a lecture titled "Burma in Crisis: Background and Update on the Saffron Revolution" at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, in 16 Robertson Hall.Myanmar has been engulfed in political turmoil as the country's ruling military has detained hundreds of Buddhist monks who spearheaded pro-democracy demonstrations in a movement that some are calling the "saffron revolution," referring to the color of the monks' robes.Mirante has been actively involved in collecting information on environmental and human rights conditions in Myanmar, formerly called Burma, since the early 1980s. She specializes in the conditions on Myanmar's northern and western frontiers and has had extensive contacts with ethnic groups from those remote areas. Mirante also is the founder and director of Project Maje, an independent effort to distribute information about Myanmar since 1986, and she is the author of "Burmese Looking Glass: A Human Rights Adventure." She also has testified on Myanmar before the U.S. Congress, European Trade Commission and the International Labor Organization. The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination are sponsoring this lecture.
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S19/69/92M31/index.xml?section=announcements
6/12/07 POLITICS-BURMA: Junta Snubs UN Yet Again
POLITICS-BURMA: Junta Snubs UN Yet Again
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, Dec 6, 2007 (IPS) - Burma’s military regime fired a warning shot this week to let the United Nations and the international community know that it will not cave into pressure on domestic political reform.
The junta’s unequivocal stance was confirmed during a rare press conference held by the country’s information minister, Brig. Gen. Kyaw Hsan, when he told reporters that the doors of the South-east Asian nation were not open to influence from outside. He also confirmed what many analysts had long suspected in the recent months: the military rulers of Burma, which is also known as Myanmar, are in no mood to welcome the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, currently in her 12th year under house arrest, to discussions on the drafting of the new constitution. ‘’No assistance or advice from other persons is required,’’ Kyaw Hsan, who is a close confidante of Burma’s strongman, Gen. Than Shwe, said on Monday. The press conference was the first held by the junta since the brutal crackdown of peaceful pro-democracy protesters in late September. The comments came on the day the military-appointed Committee for Drafting a New Constitution was to begin work. This phase is the third in a seven-step ‘’roadmap’’ to democracy that the junta has been touting since it was unveiled in August, 2003. No time limit has been placed for the 54 appointees of the committee to finish their task. The U.N., however, has been pressing for a different outcome. Ibrahim Gambari, a special U.N. envoy, had informed the international community following two visits to Burma since the crackdown that Suu Kyi should be given a significant role to play in the political reform process. The Nigerian diplomat had urged the junta to release her from detention and to involve her in the constitution drafting process. Initial signs suggested that the junta had warmed up to Gambari’s appeals, given that his mission was backed by some of the military regime’s allies, such as China and the governments in South-east Asia. The junta permitted Suu Kyi to meet a government liaison officer, Labour Minister Aung Kyi, on three occasions as part of a reconciliation effort. After one of these broadly publicised meetings, she described it as ‘’positive.’’ But the early hope that emerged after these encounters has been dashed with the junta reverting to its more familiar role of stubbornly defending its entrenched positions. ‘’The junta wants to demonstrate that it will not be cowed by international pressure and it doesn’t want outside mediation,’’ Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political analyst living in exile in Thailand, said in an interview. ‘’It is a sign that the Burmese military has become more entrenched.’’ The reaction from the U.S. government to this week’s turn of events was the first in what could be a litany of statements of condemnation and disappointment from capitals across the world. After all Beijing had backed Gambari’s mission to Burma on behalf of the international community and so had the members of the 10-nation regional bloc, the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Burma is a member. ‘’We condemn the Burmese regime’s rejection of meaningful participation for Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratic and ethnic minority leaders in the process of drafting a national constitution,’’ the U.S. department of state spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement during a Tuesday press briefing. ‘’The regime’s December 3 statement to the diplomatic corps make clear that Senior General Than Shwe and his regime have no intention to begin a genuine, inclusive dialogue necessary for a democratic transition.’’ But this week’s stance on political reform was not the only bullet that junta had in store for the U.N. On Tuesday, the U.N. resident coordinator Charles Petrie left Rangoon after the military regime refused to extend his visa. Petrie had angered the regime by making a media statement that was released by the local U.N. office in late October expressing concerns about Burma’s ‘’deteriorating humanitarian condition.’’ The U.N.’s view about increasing poverty in the country conveyed what was widely known by then, since the pro-democracy protests in September had evolved out of small public demonstrations that were staged in mid-August after the junta raised the price of fuel by 500 percent overnight. Economic conditions have continued to worsen, according to residents in Rangoon that IPS spoke with. Many who survive on a daily wage are cutting back on meals. The stakes have consequently increased for Gambari, who is due back in Burma later this month or in early 2008, to engage the junta. ‘’Unless Gambari can bring more leverage from the Security Council and China, his next mission will be a failure,’’ says Win Min, a Burmese academic attached to Payap University, in Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai. ‘’The junta feels it has less pressure on its back now that the ASEAN summit is over.’’ But there are growing signs within Burma that its oppressed people have little reason for optimism, Win Min revealed during an interview. ‘’Most people have lost hope for political change to be achieved with the help of the U.N. and the international community. They know now that nothing will change as long as Than Shwe remains in power.’’ It is a view shaped by the current regime’s record. After all, the first step in the ‘’roadmap’’ to democracy was the reconvening of a National Convention to draft the new charter. The initial round of talks for this convention began 14 years ago as an effort to prevent the opposition party that Suu Kyi heads, the National League for Democracy, from forming a government after it secured a thumping mandate in the 1990 parliamentary elections.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40370
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, Dec 6, 2007 (IPS) - Burma’s military regime fired a warning shot this week to let the United Nations and the international community know that it will not cave into pressure on domestic political reform.
The junta’s unequivocal stance was confirmed during a rare press conference held by the country’s information minister, Brig. Gen. Kyaw Hsan, when he told reporters that the doors of the South-east Asian nation were not open to influence from outside. He also confirmed what many analysts had long suspected in the recent months: the military rulers of Burma, which is also known as Myanmar, are in no mood to welcome the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, currently in her 12th year under house arrest, to discussions on the drafting of the new constitution. ‘’No assistance or advice from other persons is required,’’ Kyaw Hsan, who is a close confidante of Burma’s strongman, Gen. Than Shwe, said on Monday. The press conference was the first held by the junta since the brutal crackdown of peaceful pro-democracy protesters in late September. The comments came on the day the military-appointed Committee for Drafting a New Constitution was to begin work. This phase is the third in a seven-step ‘’roadmap’’ to democracy that the junta has been touting since it was unveiled in August, 2003. No time limit has been placed for the 54 appointees of the committee to finish their task. The U.N., however, has been pressing for a different outcome. Ibrahim Gambari, a special U.N. envoy, had informed the international community following two visits to Burma since the crackdown that Suu Kyi should be given a significant role to play in the political reform process. The Nigerian diplomat had urged the junta to release her from detention and to involve her in the constitution drafting process. Initial signs suggested that the junta had warmed up to Gambari’s appeals, given that his mission was backed by some of the military regime’s allies, such as China and the governments in South-east Asia. The junta permitted Suu Kyi to meet a government liaison officer, Labour Minister Aung Kyi, on three occasions as part of a reconciliation effort. After one of these broadly publicised meetings, she described it as ‘’positive.’’ But the early hope that emerged after these encounters has been dashed with the junta reverting to its more familiar role of stubbornly defending its entrenched positions. ‘’The junta wants to demonstrate that it will not be cowed by international pressure and it doesn’t want outside mediation,’’ Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political analyst living in exile in Thailand, said in an interview. ‘’It is a sign that the Burmese military has become more entrenched.’’ The reaction from the U.S. government to this week’s turn of events was the first in what could be a litany of statements of condemnation and disappointment from capitals across the world. After all Beijing had backed Gambari’s mission to Burma on behalf of the international community and so had the members of the 10-nation regional bloc, the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Burma is a member. ‘’We condemn the Burmese regime’s rejection of meaningful participation for Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratic and ethnic minority leaders in the process of drafting a national constitution,’’ the U.S. department of state spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement during a Tuesday press briefing. ‘’The regime’s December 3 statement to the diplomatic corps make clear that Senior General Than Shwe and his regime have no intention to begin a genuine, inclusive dialogue necessary for a democratic transition.’’ But this week’s stance on political reform was not the only bullet that junta had in store for the U.N. On Tuesday, the U.N. resident coordinator Charles Petrie left Rangoon after the military regime refused to extend his visa. Petrie had angered the regime by making a media statement that was released by the local U.N. office in late October expressing concerns about Burma’s ‘’deteriorating humanitarian condition.’’ The U.N.’s view about increasing poverty in the country conveyed what was widely known by then, since the pro-democracy protests in September had evolved out of small public demonstrations that were staged in mid-August after the junta raised the price of fuel by 500 percent overnight. Economic conditions have continued to worsen, according to residents in Rangoon that IPS spoke with. Many who survive on a daily wage are cutting back on meals. The stakes have consequently increased for Gambari, who is due back in Burma later this month or in early 2008, to engage the junta. ‘’Unless Gambari can bring more leverage from the Security Council and China, his next mission will be a failure,’’ says Win Min, a Burmese academic attached to Payap University, in Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai. ‘’The junta feels it has less pressure on its back now that the ASEAN summit is over.’’ But there are growing signs within Burma that its oppressed people have little reason for optimism, Win Min revealed during an interview. ‘’Most people have lost hope for political change to be achieved with the help of the U.N. and the international community. They know now that nothing will change as long as Than Shwe remains in power.’’ It is a view shaped by the current regime’s record. After all, the first step in the ‘’roadmap’’ to democracy was the reconvening of a National Convention to draft the new charter. The initial round of talks for this convention began 14 years ago as an effort to prevent the opposition party that Suu Kyi heads, the National League for Democracy, from forming a government after it secured a thumping mandate in the 1990 parliamentary elections.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40370
7/12/07 Burma: Crackdown Bloodier Than Government Admits
Burma: Crackdown Bloodier Than Government Admits
07 Dec 2007
Source: Human Rights Watch
Arrests Continue Amidst International InactionMany more people were killed and detained in the violent government crackdown on monks and other peaceful protestors in September 2007 than the Burmese government has admitted, Human Rights Watch said today in a new report. Since the crackdown, the military regime has brought to bear the full force of its authoritarian apparatus to intimidate all opposition, hunting down protest leaders in night raids and defrocking monks.
(New York, December 7, 2007) � Many more people were killed and detained in the violent government crackdown on monks and other peaceful protestors in September 2007 than the Burmese government has admitted, Human Rights Watch said today in a new report. Since the crackdown, the military regime has brought to bear the full force of its authoritarian apparatus to intimidate all opposition, hunting down protest leaders in night raids and defrocking monks. The 140-page report, "Crackdown: Repression of the 2007 Popular Protests in Burma," is based on more than 100 interviews with eyewitnesses in Burma and Thailand. It is the most complete account of the August and September events to date.
Human Rights Watch research determined that that the security forces shot into crowds using live ammunition and rubber bullets, beat marchers and monks before dragging them onto trucks, and arbitrarily detained thousands of people in official and unofficial places of detention. In addition to monks, many students and other civilians were killed, although without full and independent access to the country it is impossible to determine exact casualty figures.
"The crackdown in Burma is far from over," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Harsh repression continues, and the government is still lying about the extent of the deaths and detentions."
Human Rights Watch found that the crackdown was carried out in part by the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), a "mass-based social welfare" organization with more than 23 million members that the Burmese military is grooming to lead a future civilian government. It operated alongside the Swan Arr Shin (Masters of Force) militia, soldiers and riot police in beating and detaining protestors.
The report documented the killing of 20 people in Rangoon, but Human Rights Watch believes that the death toll there was much higher, and that hundreds remain in detention. Human Rights Watch was unable to gather information on killings and detentions from other cities and towns where demonstrations took place.
At a news conference in the new capital at Naypidaw on December 3, National Police chief Major General Khin Ye stated that, "Ten people died and 14 were injured during the monk protests from 26 to 30 September. The security members handled the situation in accord with the procedures." Human Rights Watch has information that Khin Ye personally supervised the brutal arrests, beatings and killings of monks at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon on September 26.
The ruling State and Peace Development Council (SPDC) claims that overall 2,927 people, including 596 monks, were "interrogated,"and almost all have been released. It says that nine people have been sentenced to prison terms, while 59 lay people and 21 monks remain in detention.
Human Rights Watch said that hundreds of protestors, including monks and members of the '88 Generation students, who led protests until being arrested in late August, remain unaccounted for. Human Rights Watch noted that before the protests there were more than 1,200 political prisoners languishing in Burma's prisons and labor camps.
"The generals unleashed their civilian thugs, soldiers and police against monks and other peaceful protestors," said Adams. "Now they should account for those killed and shed light on the fate of the missing."
Human Rights Watch called for greater international action, including by the United Nations Security Council, to press the Burmese government to undertake major reforms. On December 11, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights, Paulo S�rgio Pinheiro, will present his findings on the crackdown to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Human Rights Watch criticized the lack of action by countries with good relations and influence on Burma, such as China, India, Russia, Thailand, and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations members. China has made it clear that it will not allow the UN Security Council to take up Burma in any meaningful way. Despite the killing of a Japanese journalist by Burmese security forces, Japan has reacted timidly.
"It's time for the world to impose a UN arms embargo and financial sanctions, to hurt Burma's leaders until they make real changes," said Adams. "Countries like China, India and Thailand have the responsibility to take action to help hold the generals accountable and to end this long nightmare of military repression."
Selected Eyewitness Accounts from "Crackdown"
"The raid at the monastery was around 1 a.m. The soldiers shouted to open the monastery gates, and then broke the gate open by hitting it with their truck when no one came to open. Shouting loudly, they were throwing teargas and firing their automatic guns into the buildings of the monastery, and used their batons to beat the monks whenever they saw them. Many monks ran away, climbing into the trees nearby and escaping by hiding in the houses of the neighborhood. I was injured in the head when I was hit by baton charges. I saw pools of blood, shattered windows, and spent bullet casings on the floor when I came back to the monastery in the morning. We found about 100 monks missing out of 230 monks. They took our money and jewelry, and other valuable things they found at the monastery." � U Khanda, a monk describing a raid on his monastery, September 27
"We were so frightened. My two friends were crying loudly, and I was so frightened that the soldiers would find us. Then the informers pointed to the grass. Seven young people were hiding there. They got up and ran, but the soldiers started firing into their backs. They were only able to run six or seven steps before they fell. Three or four of the young boys aged around 20 to 22, were gunned down straight away. The others tried to run but were caught and taken away in the military cars." � Thazin Aye, describing killings at Tamwe No.3 High School on September 27
"After the warnings, the soldiers in the first row shot teargas into the crowd. Five soldiers shot the teargas. They began shooting immediately after the announcement. People ran in all directions. Twenty soldiers came over the barricade, climbed over, and started beating the people. Two people died. � It was not like in the movies. When the soldiers beat those people, they were trying to kill them. They beat them on the head and the abdomen. The soldiers pulled them by their legs over the barricade � they put the two bodies next to their trucks." � Zaw Zan Htike, describing an incident on September 27 in downtown Rangoon
"At the time, a girl wasn't sure whether to lie down or stand up. A riot police [officer] hit the girl on the side of her face with his baton. The girl collapsed. She was in her 20s � there was blood running down her face, and her skull might have been broken. I'm not sure if she died. No one was able to help her. If we put our heads up, they would hit us and kick us with their boots." � Htun Kyaw Kyaw, describing arrests on September 27
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/3c1aaf895d728a8966f71da94f08fde0.htm
07 Dec 2007
Source: Human Rights Watch
Arrests Continue Amidst International InactionMany more people were killed and detained in the violent government crackdown on monks and other peaceful protestors in September 2007 than the Burmese government has admitted, Human Rights Watch said today in a new report. Since the crackdown, the military regime has brought to bear the full force of its authoritarian apparatus to intimidate all opposition, hunting down protest leaders in night raids and defrocking monks.
(New York, December 7, 2007) � Many more people were killed and detained in the violent government crackdown on monks and other peaceful protestors in September 2007 than the Burmese government has admitted, Human Rights Watch said today in a new report. Since the crackdown, the military regime has brought to bear the full force of its authoritarian apparatus to intimidate all opposition, hunting down protest leaders in night raids and defrocking monks. The 140-page report, "Crackdown: Repression of the 2007 Popular Protests in Burma," is based on more than 100 interviews with eyewitnesses in Burma and Thailand. It is the most complete account of the August and September events to date.
Human Rights Watch research determined that that the security forces shot into crowds using live ammunition and rubber bullets, beat marchers and monks before dragging them onto trucks, and arbitrarily detained thousands of people in official and unofficial places of detention. In addition to monks, many students and other civilians were killed, although without full and independent access to the country it is impossible to determine exact casualty figures.
"The crackdown in Burma is far from over," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Harsh repression continues, and the government is still lying about the extent of the deaths and detentions."
Human Rights Watch found that the crackdown was carried out in part by the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), a "mass-based social welfare" organization with more than 23 million members that the Burmese military is grooming to lead a future civilian government. It operated alongside the Swan Arr Shin (Masters of Force) militia, soldiers and riot police in beating and detaining protestors.
The report documented the killing of 20 people in Rangoon, but Human Rights Watch believes that the death toll there was much higher, and that hundreds remain in detention. Human Rights Watch was unable to gather information on killings and detentions from other cities and towns where demonstrations took place.
At a news conference in the new capital at Naypidaw on December 3, National Police chief Major General Khin Ye stated that, "Ten people died and 14 were injured during the monk protests from 26 to 30 September. The security members handled the situation in accord with the procedures." Human Rights Watch has information that Khin Ye personally supervised the brutal arrests, beatings and killings of monks at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon on September 26.
The ruling State and Peace Development Council (SPDC) claims that overall 2,927 people, including 596 monks, were "interrogated,"and almost all have been released. It says that nine people have been sentenced to prison terms, while 59 lay people and 21 monks remain in detention.
Human Rights Watch said that hundreds of protestors, including monks and members of the '88 Generation students, who led protests until being arrested in late August, remain unaccounted for. Human Rights Watch noted that before the protests there were more than 1,200 political prisoners languishing in Burma's prisons and labor camps.
"The generals unleashed their civilian thugs, soldiers and police against monks and other peaceful protestors," said Adams. "Now they should account for those killed and shed light on the fate of the missing."
Human Rights Watch called for greater international action, including by the United Nations Security Council, to press the Burmese government to undertake major reforms. On December 11, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights, Paulo S�rgio Pinheiro, will present his findings on the crackdown to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Human Rights Watch criticized the lack of action by countries with good relations and influence on Burma, such as China, India, Russia, Thailand, and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations members. China has made it clear that it will not allow the UN Security Council to take up Burma in any meaningful way. Despite the killing of a Japanese journalist by Burmese security forces, Japan has reacted timidly.
"It's time for the world to impose a UN arms embargo and financial sanctions, to hurt Burma's leaders until they make real changes," said Adams. "Countries like China, India and Thailand have the responsibility to take action to help hold the generals accountable and to end this long nightmare of military repression."
Selected Eyewitness Accounts from "Crackdown"
"The raid at the monastery was around 1 a.m. The soldiers shouted to open the monastery gates, and then broke the gate open by hitting it with their truck when no one came to open. Shouting loudly, they were throwing teargas and firing their automatic guns into the buildings of the monastery, and used their batons to beat the monks whenever they saw them. Many monks ran away, climbing into the trees nearby and escaping by hiding in the houses of the neighborhood. I was injured in the head when I was hit by baton charges. I saw pools of blood, shattered windows, and spent bullet casings on the floor when I came back to the monastery in the morning. We found about 100 monks missing out of 230 monks. They took our money and jewelry, and other valuable things they found at the monastery." � U Khanda, a monk describing a raid on his monastery, September 27
"We were so frightened. My two friends were crying loudly, and I was so frightened that the soldiers would find us. Then the informers pointed to the grass. Seven young people were hiding there. They got up and ran, but the soldiers started firing into their backs. They were only able to run six or seven steps before they fell. Three or four of the young boys aged around 20 to 22, were gunned down straight away. The others tried to run but were caught and taken away in the military cars." � Thazin Aye, describing killings at Tamwe No.3 High School on September 27
"After the warnings, the soldiers in the first row shot teargas into the crowd. Five soldiers shot the teargas. They began shooting immediately after the announcement. People ran in all directions. Twenty soldiers came over the barricade, climbed over, and started beating the people. Two people died. � It was not like in the movies. When the soldiers beat those people, they were trying to kill them. They beat them on the head and the abdomen. The soldiers pulled them by their legs over the barricade � they put the two bodies next to their trucks." � Zaw Zan Htike, describing an incident on September 27 in downtown Rangoon
"At the time, a girl wasn't sure whether to lie down or stand up. A riot police [officer] hit the girl on the side of her face with his baton. The girl collapsed. She was in her 20s � there was blood running down her face, and her skull might have been broken. I'm not sure if she died. No one was able to help her. If we put our heads up, they would hit us and kick us with their boots." � Htun Kyaw Kyaw, describing arrests on September 27
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/3c1aaf895d728a8966f71da94f08fde0.htm
7/12/07 Burma : Junta Named Worst Housing Rights Violator
Burma : Junta Named Worst Housing Rights Violator
7 December 2007
Terry Evans
This week the State Peace and Development Council of Burma named as Housing Rights Violator for the mass displacement of more than one million civilians
The "State Peace and Development Council" (SPDC) of Burma has been named one of three Housing Rights Violators of 2007 by the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) for the mass displacement of more than one million civilians from their lands and homes.
Each year, COHRE presents its Housing Rights Violator Awards to three governments or other institutions guilty of particularly serious and pervasive housing rights violations in the preceding year. COHRE has issued these awards since 2002. This year, the SPDC of Burma shares the Violator Awards with Slovakia and (jointly) the Beijing Municipality and Beijing Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (BOCOG).
COHRE named the SPDC of Burma for its persistent, systematic and unjustified violation of the housing rights of its citizens and for its ongoing failure to apply international human rights standards.
Jean du Plessis, COHRE's Deputy Director, said, "The military regime in Burma has displaced more than one million people from their lands and homes since 1962, disproportionately affecting ethnic nationality communities - which has included confiscating their lands. The SPDC's brutal campaign against ethnic nationality communities - confiscating their lands, attacking and burning villages, killing thousands of civilians, raping women and looting property - is in clear breach of international law. The military regime's 'Burmanisation' policy of ethnic cleansing and social engineering through forced relocation and land confiscation, which has led to the mass displacement of more than one million people from their lands and homes in Burma, is clear evidence of its complete disregard for human rights including the right to adequate housing. International law clearly and unequivocally prohibits forced evictions and the arbitrary confiscation of peoples' homes and lands."
According to COHRE's new report, Displacement and Dispossession: Forced Migration and Land Rights in Burma, land confiscation by Government forces is responsible for many serious housing, land and property (HLP) rights violations in Burma. These abuses occur during military counter-insurgency operations; to clear land for the construction of new army bases; to make way for infrastructure development projects; to facilitate natural resource extraction; and to cater for the vested interests of business.
Displacement and Dispossession: Forced Migration and Land Rights in Burma also reveals that control of land is a key strategy for the military regime, and a means of promoting the on-going expansion of the Burmese Army (Tatmadaw). In 1998, the SPDC issued a directive instructing Tatmadaw battalions to become self-sufficient in rice and other basic provisions. This prompted the Tatmadaw to 'live off the land' by appropriating resources (food, cash, labour, land) from the civilian population. This policy has exacerbated conflict and displacement across much of rural Burma.
The Thai Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) and its partners estimate that during 2007, approximately 76,000 people have been newly displaced by armed conflict and associated human rights abuses. The majority of new incidents of forced migration and village destruction were concentrated in northeast Karen State and adjacent areas of Pegu Division. The total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Eastern Burma in October 2007 was 503,000. These included 295,000 people in ceasefire zones, 99,000 IDPs 'in hiding' in the jungle and 109,000 in relocation sites. The estimates exclude hundreds of thousands of IDPs in other parts of Burma (especially Kachin and Shan States, and the west of the country, as well as in some parts of Karen State). Including these figures would bring the total to over a million internally displaced people.
COHRE's Du Plessis said, "More than one million people have been dispossessed and are internally displaced in Burma - not because of a natural disaster, but due to their own government's calculated and brutal actions. We have here a state monopoly which forcibly transfers property, income and assets, from rural, non-Burman ethnic nationalities to an elite, military Government. The HLP violations found in Burma today are the result of short-sighted and predatory policies that date back to the early years of Independence, and to the period of colonial rule. These problems can only be resolved through substantial and sustained change in Burma. Political transition should include improved access to a range of fundamental rights, as enshrined in international law and conventions - including respect for HLP rights."
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0712/S00175.htm
7 December 2007
Terry Evans
This week the State Peace and Development Council of Burma named as Housing Rights Violator for the mass displacement of more than one million civilians
The "State Peace and Development Council" (SPDC) of Burma has been named one of three Housing Rights Violators of 2007 by the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) for the mass displacement of more than one million civilians from their lands and homes.
Each year, COHRE presents its Housing Rights Violator Awards to three governments or other institutions guilty of particularly serious and pervasive housing rights violations in the preceding year. COHRE has issued these awards since 2002. This year, the SPDC of Burma shares the Violator Awards with Slovakia and (jointly) the Beijing Municipality and Beijing Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (BOCOG).
COHRE named the SPDC of Burma for its persistent, systematic and unjustified violation of the housing rights of its citizens and for its ongoing failure to apply international human rights standards.
Jean du Plessis, COHRE's Deputy Director, said, "The military regime in Burma has displaced more than one million people from their lands and homes since 1962, disproportionately affecting ethnic nationality communities - which has included confiscating their lands. The SPDC's brutal campaign against ethnic nationality communities - confiscating their lands, attacking and burning villages, killing thousands of civilians, raping women and looting property - is in clear breach of international law. The military regime's 'Burmanisation' policy of ethnic cleansing and social engineering through forced relocation and land confiscation, which has led to the mass displacement of more than one million people from their lands and homes in Burma, is clear evidence of its complete disregard for human rights including the right to adequate housing. International law clearly and unequivocally prohibits forced evictions and the arbitrary confiscation of peoples' homes and lands."
According to COHRE's new report, Displacement and Dispossession: Forced Migration and Land Rights in Burma, land confiscation by Government forces is responsible for many serious housing, land and property (HLP) rights violations in Burma. These abuses occur during military counter-insurgency operations; to clear land for the construction of new army bases; to make way for infrastructure development projects; to facilitate natural resource extraction; and to cater for the vested interests of business.
Displacement and Dispossession: Forced Migration and Land Rights in Burma also reveals that control of land is a key strategy for the military regime, and a means of promoting the on-going expansion of the Burmese Army (Tatmadaw). In 1998, the SPDC issued a directive instructing Tatmadaw battalions to become self-sufficient in rice and other basic provisions. This prompted the Tatmadaw to 'live off the land' by appropriating resources (food, cash, labour, land) from the civilian population. This policy has exacerbated conflict and displacement across much of rural Burma.
The Thai Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) and its partners estimate that during 2007, approximately 76,000 people have been newly displaced by armed conflict and associated human rights abuses. The majority of new incidents of forced migration and village destruction were concentrated in northeast Karen State and adjacent areas of Pegu Division. The total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Eastern Burma in October 2007 was 503,000. These included 295,000 people in ceasefire zones, 99,000 IDPs 'in hiding' in the jungle and 109,000 in relocation sites. The estimates exclude hundreds of thousands of IDPs in other parts of Burma (especially Kachin and Shan States, and the west of the country, as well as in some parts of Karen State). Including these figures would bring the total to over a million internally displaced people.
COHRE's Du Plessis said, "More than one million people have been dispossessed and are internally displaced in Burma - not because of a natural disaster, but due to their own government's calculated and brutal actions. We have here a state monopoly which forcibly transfers property, income and assets, from rural, non-Burman ethnic nationalities to an elite, military Government. The HLP violations found in Burma today are the result of short-sighted and predatory policies that date back to the early years of Independence, and to the period of colonial rule. These problems can only be resolved through substantial and sustained change in Burma. Political transition should include improved access to a range of fundamental rights, as enshrined in international law and conventions - including respect for HLP rights."
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0712/S00175.htm
7/12/07 The Irrawaddy: All the news that Burma deems unfit to print
The Irrawaddy: All the news that Burma deems unfit to print
A Burmese dissident magazine based in Thailand relies on thousands of Burmese contacts reporting from inside the sealed country
By Tibor Krausz Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor / December 7, 2007
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Aung Zaw got his first taste of publishing two decades ago in the kitchen of his family's home in the old Burmese capital of Rangoon. A student of botany protesting his country's jackbooted military regime to the alarm of his mother, Aung Zaw began producing samizdat leaflets at night on an antiquated printing cylinder operated as if rolling dough.
Arrest, torture, and a stint in jail followed. As the Burmese pro-democracy uprising of 1988 was being crushed by the ruling junta and thousands were being killed, Aung Zaw, disguised as a monk, escaped through the land-mined jungles of Burma (Myanmar) to Thailand. Here, he made a discovery – the "magic of the fax machine," as he puts it. Presently, he was back in business, dispatching reports about his compatriots' plight to human rights groups.
Now, a mere fax seems ancient beside the top-notch office tools of Aung Zaw's current project: The Irrawaddy. Based in Thailand, the English-language print and online newsmagazine offers coverage of Burma and its iron-fisted military junta. The once penniless refugee now oversees a $500,000-a-year media operation, funded largely by European Union governments.
Aung Zaw crosses his arms and claps himself on both shoulders, saying, "A heavy responsibility weighs on these." Then gesturing around the newly furbished newsroom in this city in mountainous northern Thailand, he adds: "I never thought I'd come so far!"
Burma's secretive generals probably wish he hadn't.
The Irrawaddy's reporters draw on a clandestine network of sources several thousand strong across tightly policed Burma, from shop owners to disgruntled officials who communicate via phone, e-mail, courier, and meetings snatched at border crossings. The journalists also parse the regime's propaganda statements for insight.
Earlier this year, Aung Zaw obtained a secret video of the wedding of strongman General Than Shwe's daughter – an alleged $300,000 affair bankrolled by arms-dealing and drug-trafficking cronies. The leaked video enraged impoverished, long-suffering Burmese citizens, most of whom languish on less than $1 a day.
In September when Buddhist monks, riled by skyrocketing prices, took to Rangoon streets in silent protest, Aung Zaw began working the phones frantically. For days, he says, he was interviewing and being interviewed (by foreign media) often simultaneously. When the crackdown began, he recalls. "We were speaking to a stringer on his mobile. Just then the soldiers started shooting protesters."
Such immediate access made The Irrawaddy's website, constantly updated daily in both English and Burmese, a must for people seeking news from the hermetically sealed country. Hits on the site, says office manager Win Thu, jumped threefold to 39 million a week ... until a cyber-attack brought it down for days.
"Censorship in Burma is tighter than ever," says Zin Linn, a former political prisoner who works as media director for a shadow government of Burmese exiles in Bangkok. "But The Irrawaddy is on the side of truth and dedicated to finding out facts on the ground. Often, people from Burma ask me what The Irrawaddy says is happening in their country.
• • •
In 1994, Kyaw Zwa Moe was serving a 10-year sentence in Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison. His crime: posting antigovernment notices in his high school's lavatories as a 16-year-old student. Political prisoners were forbidden to read anything except propaganda sheets. "They wanted to imprison our minds," notes Kyaw Zwa Moe, now The Irrawaddy's managing editor. Yet he kept returning with relish to a screed denouncing a Burmese émigré in Thailand for publishing "lies." The "traitor" was his older brother, Aung Zaw. "I knew immediately," he recalls, chuckling, "if the government was denouncing him, Aung Zaw was on the right track."
A year before, with an old PC and $100 in savings, Aung Zaw had launched The Irrawaddy from his cramped, windowless room in a rundown Bangkok hotel. Named after Burma's largest river, it debuted as a four-page news bulletin. He made several hundred photocopies and distributed them to advocacy groups and embassies.
"In my simple English, I wrote a project proposal [to an aid agency] asking for $2,000 a year," recalls Aung Zaw, who frequently punctuates his sentences with exclamations. "For several months, nothing! Then they called me and said, 'Can you ask for more?'" He laughs.
But Aung Zaw turns somber in his reminiscences.
His mother, a teashop owner, never got to read the magazine, he laments. She was crushed to death by an Army truck in Rangoon not long after The Irrawaddy launch. "In a letter she wrote me before her death she said, 'We will reunite soon!' " Aung Zaw says. "But I couldn't even attend her funeral."
A slender man with feline features, Aung Zaw sports the kind of ponytail you see on portrait painters in the artistic enclaves of Chiang Mai. His bookshelves groan under works by Turgenev, Chekov, and Camus – testaments to his membership in a literary circle back in Rangoon.
Yet his bohemian exterior masks an imperious resolve: "The day I started The Irrawaddy I declared my independence from party politics."
That didn't please all in the factious Burmese émigré community. Nor has the independent-minded editor made friends by investigating controversies about exile groups, like their alleged extrajudicial murder of suspected government spies along the Thai-Burmese border.
"I'm not very diplomatic when I write," Aung Zaw explains. "But our job as journalists is not to bring down the government but to seek the truth objectively."
Still, objectivity can be a challenge. After his release in 1999, Kyaw Zwa Moe joined his brother in Thailand, working his way up from office boy to managing editor at The Irrawaddy. In 2005 he studied journalism on a scholarship at the University of California, Berkeley.
"I hate those ... generals," he concedes. "But I've learned that you do a disservice to people by [countering propaganda with propaganda]."
• • •
The New Light of Myanmar, meticulously catalogued in The Irrawaddy's library, is a Rangoon-based government daily. It's propagandists periodically congratulates "newly trained" journalists for answering the call of duty.
Kaung Set isn't a journalist the junta has in mind. The journalist writes for government publications by day and, using that pen name, secretly works for The Irrawaddy on the side.
"Journalism is an unknown concept in Burma," says Kaung Set during a visit to the magazine's offices here before slipping back into Burma. "Whenever I write I'm thinking constantly how I can get past the censors – even if it's only about fashion."
While soldiers beat, shot, and arrested monks and peaceful protesters in September at the Shwedagon Pagoda, the country's holiest site, The Irrawaddy correspondent surreptitiously took photos and e-mailed them to The Irrawaddy – facing 20 to 30 years in prison on charges of sedition, if caught.
"If we don't do it, no one will know what's happening to us," the reporter stresses. "For us, truth is more precious than gold."
Last year, an Irrawaddy contact was sentenced to seven years in prison. Yet messages and photos keep pouring in.
A new e-mail pops up on Aung Zaw's computer. Its attachment is a handwritten letter penned in squiggly Burmese script. Desperate to tell his story, a Burmese man had it scanned and sent to the editor from a secure Internet connection.
"The flow of information is unstoppable," Aung Zaw says. "It's very hard to remove the mountain, but we've started shoveling."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1207/p20s01-wosc.html/(page)/2
A Burmese dissident magazine based in Thailand relies on thousands of Burmese contacts reporting from inside the sealed country
By Tibor Krausz Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor / December 7, 2007
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Aung Zaw got his first taste of publishing two decades ago in the kitchen of his family's home in the old Burmese capital of Rangoon. A student of botany protesting his country's jackbooted military regime to the alarm of his mother, Aung Zaw began producing samizdat leaflets at night on an antiquated printing cylinder operated as if rolling dough.
Arrest, torture, and a stint in jail followed. As the Burmese pro-democracy uprising of 1988 was being crushed by the ruling junta and thousands were being killed, Aung Zaw, disguised as a monk, escaped through the land-mined jungles of Burma (Myanmar) to Thailand. Here, he made a discovery – the "magic of the fax machine," as he puts it. Presently, he was back in business, dispatching reports about his compatriots' plight to human rights groups.
Now, a mere fax seems ancient beside the top-notch office tools of Aung Zaw's current project: The Irrawaddy. Based in Thailand, the English-language print and online newsmagazine offers coverage of Burma and its iron-fisted military junta. The once penniless refugee now oversees a $500,000-a-year media operation, funded largely by European Union governments.
Aung Zaw crosses his arms and claps himself on both shoulders, saying, "A heavy responsibility weighs on these." Then gesturing around the newly furbished newsroom in this city in mountainous northern Thailand, he adds: "I never thought I'd come so far!"
Burma's secretive generals probably wish he hadn't.
The Irrawaddy's reporters draw on a clandestine network of sources several thousand strong across tightly policed Burma, from shop owners to disgruntled officials who communicate via phone, e-mail, courier, and meetings snatched at border crossings. The journalists also parse the regime's propaganda statements for insight.
Earlier this year, Aung Zaw obtained a secret video of the wedding of strongman General Than Shwe's daughter – an alleged $300,000 affair bankrolled by arms-dealing and drug-trafficking cronies. The leaked video enraged impoverished, long-suffering Burmese citizens, most of whom languish on less than $1 a day.
In September when Buddhist monks, riled by skyrocketing prices, took to Rangoon streets in silent protest, Aung Zaw began working the phones frantically. For days, he says, he was interviewing and being interviewed (by foreign media) often simultaneously. When the crackdown began, he recalls. "We were speaking to a stringer on his mobile. Just then the soldiers started shooting protesters."
Such immediate access made The Irrawaddy's website, constantly updated daily in both English and Burmese, a must for people seeking news from the hermetically sealed country. Hits on the site, says office manager Win Thu, jumped threefold to 39 million a week ... until a cyber-attack brought it down for days.
"Censorship in Burma is tighter than ever," says Zin Linn, a former political prisoner who works as media director for a shadow government of Burmese exiles in Bangkok. "But The Irrawaddy is on the side of truth and dedicated to finding out facts on the ground. Often, people from Burma ask me what The Irrawaddy says is happening in their country.
• • •
In 1994, Kyaw Zwa Moe was serving a 10-year sentence in Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison. His crime: posting antigovernment notices in his high school's lavatories as a 16-year-old student. Political prisoners were forbidden to read anything except propaganda sheets. "They wanted to imprison our minds," notes Kyaw Zwa Moe, now The Irrawaddy's managing editor. Yet he kept returning with relish to a screed denouncing a Burmese émigré in Thailand for publishing "lies." The "traitor" was his older brother, Aung Zaw. "I knew immediately," he recalls, chuckling, "if the government was denouncing him, Aung Zaw was on the right track."
A year before, with an old PC and $100 in savings, Aung Zaw had launched The Irrawaddy from his cramped, windowless room in a rundown Bangkok hotel. Named after Burma's largest river, it debuted as a four-page news bulletin. He made several hundred photocopies and distributed them to advocacy groups and embassies.
"In my simple English, I wrote a project proposal [to an aid agency] asking for $2,000 a year," recalls Aung Zaw, who frequently punctuates his sentences with exclamations. "For several months, nothing! Then they called me and said, 'Can you ask for more?'" He laughs.
But Aung Zaw turns somber in his reminiscences.
His mother, a teashop owner, never got to read the magazine, he laments. She was crushed to death by an Army truck in Rangoon not long after The Irrawaddy launch. "In a letter she wrote me before her death she said, 'We will reunite soon!' " Aung Zaw says. "But I couldn't even attend her funeral."
A slender man with feline features, Aung Zaw sports the kind of ponytail you see on portrait painters in the artistic enclaves of Chiang Mai. His bookshelves groan under works by Turgenev, Chekov, and Camus – testaments to his membership in a literary circle back in Rangoon.
Yet his bohemian exterior masks an imperious resolve: "The day I started The Irrawaddy I declared my independence from party politics."
That didn't please all in the factious Burmese émigré community. Nor has the independent-minded editor made friends by investigating controversies about exile groups, like their alleged extrajudicial murder of suspected government spies along the Thai-Burmese border.
"I'm not very diplomatic when I write," Aung Zaw explains. "But our job as journalists is not to bring down the government but to seek the truth objectively."
Still, objectivity can be a challenge. After his release in 1999, Kyaw Zwa Moe joined his brother in Thailand, working his way up from office boy to managing editor at The Irrawaddy. In 2005 he studied journalism on a scholarship at the University of California, Berkeley.
"I hate those ... generals," he concedes. "But I've learned that you do a disservice to people by [countering propaganda with propaganda]."
• • •
The New Light of Myanmar, meticulously catalogued in The Irrawaddy's library, is a Rangoon-based government daily. It's propagandists periodically congratulates "newly trained" journalists for answering the call of duty.
Kaung Set isn't a journalist the junta has in mind. The journalist writes for government publications by day and, using that pen name, secretly works for The Irrawaddy on the side.
"Journalism is an unknown concept in Burma," says Kaung Set during a visit to the magazine's offices here before slipping back into Burma. "Whenever I write I'm thinking constantly how I can get past the censors – even if it's only about fashion."
While soldiers beat, shot, and arrested monks and peaceful protesters in September at the Shwedagon Pagoda, the country's holiest site, The Irrawaddy correspondent surreptitiously took photos and e-mailed them to The Irrawaddy – facing 20 to 30 years in prison on charges of sedition, if caught.
"If we don't do it, no one will know what's happening to us," the reporter stresses. "For us, truth is more precious than gold."
Last year, an Irrawaddy contact was sentenced to seven years in prison. Yet messages and photos keep pouring in.
A new e-mail pops up on Aung Zaw's computer. Its attachment is a handwritten letter penned in squiggly Burmese script. Desperate to tell his story, a Burmese man had it scanned and sent to the editor from a secure Internet connection.
"The flow of information is unstoppable," Aung Zaw says. "It's very hard to remove the mountain, but we've started shoveling."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1207/p20s01-wosc.html/(page)/2
5/12/07 United States lead on Burma needed, USCIRF panel told
United States lead on Burma needed, USCIRF panel told
Dec 5, 2007 by Tom Strode
WASHINGTON (BP)
Effective, international pressure on the military junta of Burma, also known as Myanmar, to change its repressive ways depends on the leadership of the United States, a bipartisan, religious liberty panel was told in a Capitol Hill hearing.The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom heard witnesses testify Dec. 3 about Burma's bloody September crackdown on peaceful protests led by Buddhist monks and what the United States and other international actors could do to help bring change in the Southeast Asian country.There was an agreement that the United States had responded firmly but needed to do more, especially in coordinating an international effort. Witnesses also said the United Nations and countries such as China and India could do much more."I think we're not going to see the international community come together in an effective way unless the U.S. takes the lead," said Michael Green, a senior adviser at the Center for International Studies who formerly worked at the National Security Council (NSC). "We don't necessarily want to be the face of this international approach, but we have to be the engine."The confrontation between Burmese citizens and the regime began in mid-August when people began protesting an exorbitant rise in fuel prices instigated by the military junta. It intensified when thousands of Buddhist monks joined the demonstrations. The military put down the protests in late September by killing some protesters, beating and jailing others, and raiding Buddhist monasteries.The junta reported 14 deaths among dissenters, one witness said at the hearing, but others estimate the figure is much higher. About 5,000 people, including 2,000 monks, were arrested, the panel was told.The Burmese regime's violent putdown of the protests has been met by "broad international indignation," but it will be an "uphill battle" to produce reform, Green told the USCIRF members at the hearing. He described the U.S. government's proposals as "very strong and very smart." He also said China, India, the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had taken some important, though inadequate, steps. Burma is one of the 10 members of ASEAN.The United States, "in spite of some very good sanctions..., really has not brought together this effort in a coordinated way to make sure that the sanctions are enforced," Green told the commissioners. "[W]e really can't afford to wait, because the international indignation and focus is going to dissipate. It's not too late, but it's getting there."The U.S. needs a senior level official in place, such as at the NSC or State Department, to coordinate the effort, he said.Jared Genser, a human rights lawyer, told the panel, "[L]ikely what is required is both more sanctions and more engagement. The sanction-based approach has been confined primarily to Western democracies."The United States ordered sanctions on new investments in Burma in 1997 and on the import of numerous goods in 2003, he said."Rather than concluding economic sanctions have failed, as some have argued internationally, it is actually more accurate to say they haven't really been tried in any meaningful way, except by the United States," said Genser, president of Freedom Now, which works to free prisoners of conscience overseas.Both Genser and Aung Din, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, called for Congress to pass the Burma JADE Act, H.R. 3890, which would expand U.S. sanctions to Burmese gems that go through third-party countries on their path to this country.Din also recommended the selection of a U.S. sanctions coordinator for Burma.The U.N. Security Council probably must adopt a meaningful resolution to bring about change in Burma, Genser said.Southern Baptist church-state specialist Richard Land, who chaired the hearing for USCIRF, reiterated the commission's call for a Security Council action "that calls for the release of Burmese prisoners, an end to the regime's crackdown and real dialogue that leads to peaceful transition to democracy," as well as the panel's request that the U.S. leverage other governments to pressure Burma."The international community needs to demand a full accounting of the latest atrocities in Burma so that we can know the full scope of the Burmese military's brutality and can hold those responsible accountable," said Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "All monks need to be freed immediately and unconditionally."Land is a vice chair of USCIRF, serving in his sixth year on the panel.The State Department has included Burma on its list of "countries of particular concern" (CPC) ever since it began issuing an annual report on international religious freedom in 1999. In May, USCIRF urged the State Department to retain Burma as a CPC, a category reserved for governments that have "engaged in or tolerated systemic and egregious violations of religious freedom." The State Department has yet to release its CPC list this year.The regime promotes Buddhism but also works to control it, jailing monks who have opposed the junta's policies, according to USCIRF. The government also suppresses ethnic Christians and Muslims, USCIRF has reported.More than 3,200 villages in ethnic areas of Burma have been demolished during the military's rule, Din testified. That has resulted in the dislocation of more than 500,000 ethnic Burmese, he said.USCIRF was established in 1998 to advise the White House and Congress on global religious freedom issues. The president selects three members of the nine-person panel, while congressional leaders name the other six. The State Department's ambassador at large for international religious freedom serves as a non-voting member of the panel.
Tom Strode is the Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press.
http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=26969
Dec 5, 2007 by Tom Strode
WASHINGTON (BP)
Effective, international pressure on the military junta of Burma, also known as Myanmar, to change its repressive ways depends on the leadership of the United States, a bipartisan, religious liberty panel was told in a Capitol Hill hearing.The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom heard witnesses testify Dec. 3 about Burma's bloody September crackdown on peaceful protests led by Buddhist monks and what the United States and other international actors could do to help bring change in the Southeast Asian country.There was an agreement that the United States had responded firmly but needed to do more, especially in coordinating an international effort. Witnesses also said the United Nations and countries such as China and India could do much more."I think we're not going to see the international community come together in an effective way unless the U.S. takes the lead," said Michael Green, a senior adviser at the Center for International Studies who formerly worked at the National Security Council (NSC). "We don't necessarily want to be the face of this international approach, but we have to be the engine."The confrontation between Burmese citizens and the regime began in mid-August when people began protesting an exorbitant rise in fuel prices instigated by the military junta. It intensified when thousands of Buddhist monks joined the demonstrations. The military put down the protests in late September by killing some protesters, beating and jailing others, and raiding Buddhist monasteries.The junta reported 14 deaths among dissenters, one witness said at the hearing, but others estimate the figure is much higher. About 5,000 people, including 2,000 monks, were arrested, the panel was told.The Burmese regime's violent putdown of the protests has been met by "broad international indignation," but it will be an "uphill battle" to produce reform, Green told the USCIRF members at the hearing. He described the U.S. government's proposals as "very strong and very smart." He also said China, India, the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had taken some important, though inadequate, steps. Burma is one of the 10 members of ASEAN.The United States, "in spite of some very good sanctions..., really has not brought together this effort in a coordinated way to make sure that the sanctions are enforced," Green told the commissioners. "[W]e really can't afford to wait, because the international indignation and focus is going to dissipate. It's not too late, but it's getting there."The U.S. needs a senior level official in place, such as at the NSC or State Department, to coordinate the effort, he said.Jared Genser, a human rights lawyer, told the panel, "[L]ikely what is required is both more sanctions and more engagement. The sanction-based approach has been confined primarily to Western democracies."The United States ordered sanctions on new investments in Burma in 1997 and on the import of numerous goods in 2003, he said."Rather than concluding economic sanctions have failed, as some have argued internationally, it is actually more accurate to say they haven't really been tried in any meaningful way, except by the United States," said Genser, president of Freedom Now, which works to free prisoners of conscience overseas.Both Genser and Aung Din, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, called for Congress to pass the Burma JADE Act, H.R. 3890, which would expand U.S. sanctions to Burmese gems that go through third-party countries on their path to this country.Din also recommended the selection of a U.S. sanctions coordinator for Burma.The U.N. Security Council probably must adopt a meaningful resolution to bring about change in Burma, Genser said.Southern Baptist church-state specialist Richard Land, who chaired the hearing for USCIRF, reiterated the commission's call for a Security Council action "that calls for the release of Burmese prisoners, an end to the regime's crackdown and real dialogue that leads to peaceful transition to democracy," as well as the panel's request that the U.S. leverage other governments to pressure Burma."The international community needs to demand a full accounting of the latest atrocities in Burma so that we can know the full scope of the Burmese military's brutality and can hold those responsible accountable," said Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "All monks need to be freed immediately and unconditionally."Land is a vice chair of USCIRF, serving in his sixth year on the panel.The State Department has included Burma on its list of "countries of particular concern" (CPC) ever since it began issuing an annual report on international religious freedom in 1999. In May, USCIRF urged the State Department to retain Burma as a CPC, a category reserved for governments that have "engaged in or tolerated systemic and egregious violations of religious freedom." The State Department has yet to release its CPC list this year.The regime promotes Buddhism but also works to control it, jailing monks who have opposed the junta's policies, according to USCIRF. The government also suppresses ethnic Christians and Muslims, USCIRF has reported.More than 3,200 villages in ethnic areas of Burma have been demolished during the military's rule, Din testified. That has resulted in the dislocation of more than 500,000 ethnic Burmese, he said.USCIRF was established in 1998 to advise the White House and Congress on global religious freedom issues. The president selects three members of the nine-person panel, while congressional leaders name the other six. The State Department's ambassador at large for international religious freedom serves as a non-voting member of the panel.
Tom Strode is the Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press.
http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=26969
6/12/07 Burma to Free 49 Bangladeshi Prisoners
Burma to Free 49 Bangladeshi Prisoners
12/6/2007
Dhaka: The Burmese government has agreed to free forty-nine Bangladeshi prisoners being held in the country in the near future, said a Bangladesh official.
The official said, "We expect they will be free very soon, and the Burmese authority is preparing to hand over the prisoners to Bangladesh."
A few Bangladesh nationals have been detained in Burma's prisons for entering Burmese territory without permission, said a police officer in Maungdaw.
Bangladesh officials said that fishermen and loggers had been been picked up by the Burmese border security force, Nasaka, while they were working inside Bangladesh territory.
Bangladesh and Burma share over 200 miles of border and quarrels over arrests of citizens on either side are common.
"I see this as a good and friendly gesture... It shows that patient diplomacy bears fruit," Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Foreign Affairs Adviser to the Bangladesh interim government, said in a statement.
http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=1542
Narinjara News (NN) was founded by a group of Arakanese in exile in Bangladesh from Burma in 2001 seeking to voice for the people depriving of human and democratic rights and to pave the way for them who are struggling for those rights. The Narinjara News is an independent organization, not affiliated with any political party or organization.
12/6/2007
Dhaka: The Burmese government has agreed to free forty-nine Bangladeshi prisoners being held in the country in the near future, said a Bangladesh official.
The official said, "We expect they will be free very soon, and the Burmese authority is preparing to hand over the prisoners to Bangladesh."
A few Bangladesh nationals have been detained in Burma's prisons for entering Burmese territory without permission, said a police officer in Maungdaw.
Bangladesh officials said that fishermen and loggers had been been picked up by the Burmese border security force, Nasaka, while they were working inside Bangladesh territory.
Bangladesh and Burma share over 200 miles of border and quarrels over arrests of citizens on either side are common.
"I see this as a good and friendly gesture... It shows that patient diplomacy bears fruit," Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Foreign Affairs Adviser to the Bangladesh interim government, said in a statement.
http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=1542
Narinjara News (NN) was founded by a group of Arakanese in exile in Bangladesh from Burma in 2001 seeking to voice for the people depriving of human and democratic rights and to pave the way for them who are struggling for those rights. The Narinjara News is an independent organization, not affiliated with any political party or organization.
6/12/07 Michigan Community Steps Forward to Support Burma's Refugees
Michigan Community Steps Forward to Support Burma's Refugees
Refugee family receives overwhelming support in resettlement effort.
Sault Ste. Marie, MI (PRWEB) December 6, 2007
When a Michigan realtor informed her church congregation that the Htoo family would soon become members of the local community, the plea for help on their behalf was all that was needed to cause dozens of people to spring into action.
In the days that followed her request, an outpouring of support brought about a flood of donations, including clothing, furniture, household supplies and food, as well as donations of time and labor from an army of volunteers who pitched in to renovate what would become the Htoo family's new home.
The Htoos are not just any family that has come to live in Michigan. They are refugees from Burma, victims of one of the oldest - and least talked about - civil wars in human history. Although recent monk-led protests briefly caught the attention of the international community this past summer, the country has been suffering for decades under a repressive government that has caused the displacement of thousands of ethnic Karen and Karenni Christians.
Christian Freedom International, a nonprofit organization that relocated its headquarters from Front Royal, Virginia to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in September 2007, has been on the forefront of the ongoing political and humanitarian effort to resettle Burma's refugees in the United States. CFI president Jim Jacobson recently awarded Assistant Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbrey with the 2007 CFI Freedom Award in recognition of her extensive work on behalf of the refugee resettlement. On a more local scale, CFI initiated the process of resettling the Htoos - a family of 10 that had been temporarily residing in Fort Wayne, Indiana - in Michigan. "The community up here has been awesome in their support for the refugees," says Jacobson.
Volunteers from Central Methodist Church, as well as several other churches and organizations, joined together to paint, fix broken windows, repair plumbing and electrical systems, and scrub floors in the Htoos' rented house before the family's arrival on Friday, November 30. Local department stores and supermarkets donated gift cards, and a Goodwill store has offered donations of free merchandise and clothing for six months. Pending the receipt of proper work papers, jobs have also been secured for several members of the Htoo family.
Like hundreds of other refugees who spent years on the run from the Burmese military or languishing in refugee camps, the second chance at life in the United States is making a world of difference for the Htoos. Mercy Htoo, a 15-year-old former student at CFI's vocational school for refugee children in Thailand, is especially excited about the future. "I want to stay in America to get an education," she says, "because I want to be a missionary teacher."
"When they arrived, their joy and excitement was evident from the smiles on their faces," says Karen Jacobson, wife of CFI president Jim Jacobson. "I could see that their journey had led them from the chains of the refugee camps to freedom and dignity which allows them to work, provide for their families, and contribute something special to this community in the north. They will have many challenges to overcome, but God is watching over them and will help them with the assistance of their brothers and sisters in the family of God."
CFI intends to help additional refugees resettle in Michigan in January 2008. To learn more about the refugee resettlement, or the humanitarian crisis in Burma, visit http://www.christianfreedom.com.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/12/prweb574257.htm
Refugee family receives overwhelming support in resettlement effort.
Sault Ste. Marie, MI (PRWEB) December 6, 2007
When a Michigan realtor informed her church congregation that the Htoo family would soon become members of the local community, the plea for help on their behalf was all that was needed to cause dozens of people to spring into action.
In the days that followed her request, an outpouring of support brought about a flood of donations, including clothing, furniture, household supplies and food, as well as donations of time and labor from an army of volunteers who pitched in to renovate what would become the Htoo family's new home.
The Htoos are not just any family that has come to live in Michigan. They are refugees from Burma, victims of one of the oldest - and least talked about - civil wars in human history. Although recent monk-led protests briefly caught the attention of the international community this past summer, the country has been suffering for decades under a repressive government that has caused the displacement of thousands of ethnic Karen and Karenni Christians.
Christian Freedom International, a nonprofit organization that relocated its headquarters from Front Royal, Virginia to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in September 2007, has been on the forefront of the ongoing political and humanitarian effort to resettle Burma's refugees in the United States. CFI president Jim Jacobson recently awarded Assistant Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbrey with the 2007 CFI Freedom Award in recognition of her extensive work on behalf of the refugee resettlement. On a more local scale, CFI initiated the process of resettling the Htoos - a family of 10 that had been temporarily residing in Fort Wayne, Indiana - in Michigan. "The community up here has been awesome in their support for the refugees," says Jacobson.
Volunteers from Central Methodist Church, as well as several other churches and organizations, joined together to paint, fix broken windows, repair plumbing and electrical systems, and scrub floors in the Htoos' rented house before the family's arrival on Friday, November 30. Local department stores and supermarkets donated gift cards, and a Goodwill store has offered donations of free merchandise and clothing for six months. Pending the receipt of proper work papers, jobs have also been secured for several members of the Htoo family.
Like hundreds of other refugees who spent years on the run from the Burmese military or languishing in refugee camps, the second chance at life in the United States is making a world of difference for the Htoos. Mercy Htoo, a 15-year-old former student at CFI's vocational school for refugee children in Thailand, is especially excited about the future. "I want to stay in America to get an education," she says, "because I want to be a missionary teacher."
"When they arrived, their joy and excitement was evident from the smiles on their faces," says Karen Jacobson, wife of CFI president Jim Jacobson. "I could see that their journey had led them from the chains of the refugee camps to freedom and dignity which allows them to work, provide for their families, and contribute something special to this community in the north. They will have many challenges to overcome, but God is watching over them and will help them with the assistance of their brothers and sisters in the family of God."
CFI intends to help additional refugees resettle in Michigan in January 2008. To learn more about the refugee resettlement, or the humanitarian crisis in Burma, visit http://www.christianfreedom.com.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/12/prweb574257.htm
5/12/07 Burma, China, Slovakia Named Worst Housing Violators
Burma, China, Slovakia Named Worst Housing Violators
05 December 2007
Geneva
The Geneva-based Center on Housing Rights and Evictions has given its 2007 Housing Rights Violator Awards to Burma, China and Slovakia. The citation is given to governments or public institutions that systematically violate housing rights and fail to abide by international law. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.
By all accounts, the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing is expected to be a glittering affair. The structures built for the event are grand and beautiful. But all this comes at a heavy price for more than one-and-one-quarter million residents who have been evicted from their property in the Chinese capital, according to the Center on Housing Rights and Evictions..
The group says mass displacements and evictions implemented in Beijing are a clear case of the illegitimate use of evictions as a tool of development.
Center Deputy Director Jean du Plessis says the government claims it has compensated people who were forced to move. But, he says evidence tells another story.
"What we are having in the Chinese situation is people jumping off bridges, people setting fire to themselves, people taking extraordinary risks in a very repressive society to protest against evictions and resist them," he said. "And, for us that is the big test. Why are people actually taking these risks to resist?"
The Center on Housing Rights and Evictions accuses the military government of Burma of ethnic cleansing of minority groups and social engineering through land confiscation and forced relocation of more than one million people since 1962.
Center Communications Officer Radhika Satkunanathan says many of these people have been displaced several times. She says the Burmese army displaces communities close to harvest time, so they can confiscate their crops.
"Most of these communities live a sort of nomadic life-style because of the Burmese army," she said. "Of course, the Burmese army claims that there are resettlement sites. But, once again, one of the trends that we noticed when doing the research for the report, is that there would be these resettlement sites and the displaced would cultivate, etc. and then during harvest time or close to harvest time, they would be evicted again."
The Center on Housing Rights and Evictions criticizes Slovakia for persistently discriminating against its Roma population that frequently faces segregation and forced eviction by local authorities.
More than 120,000 Roma in Slovakia reside in slums, lacking access to basic services such as water and electricity. The center says it is entirely unacceptable for a member of the European Union to allow this situation to continue.
On a more positive note, the Center on Housing Rights and Evictions has presented its Housing Rights Protector Award to the Mayor of Naga City, Philippines, Jesse Robredo, for assisting more than 6,000 families to obtain legal title to their land.
A housing rights activist from Karachi, Pakistan, Baseer Naveed won the Housing Rights Defender Award for helping to secure the housing rights of the poor in Pakistan.
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2007-12-05-voa57-66533962.html
05 December 2007
Geneva
The Geneva-based Center on Housing Rights and Evictions has given its 2007 Housing Rights Violator Awards to Burma, China and Slovakia. The citation is given to governments or public institutions that systematically violate housing rights and fail to abide by international law. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.
By all accounts, the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing is expected to be a glittering affair. The structures built for the event are grand and beautiful. But all this comes at a heavy price for more than one-and-one-quarter million residents who have been evicted from their property in the Chinese capital, according to the Center on Housing Rights and Evictions..
The group says mass displacements and evictions implemented in Beijing are a clear case of the illegitimate use of evictions as a tool of development.
Center Deputy Director Jean du Plessis says the government claims it has compensated people who were forced to move. But, he says evidence tells another story.
"What we are having in the Chinese situation is people jumping off bridges, people setting fire to themselves, people taking extraordinary risks in a very repressive society to protest against evictions and resist them," he said. "And, for us that is the big test. Why are people actually taking these risks to resist?"
The Center on Housing Rights and Evictions accuses the military government of Burma of ethnic cleansing of minority groups and social engineering through land confiscation and forced relocation of more than one million people since 1962.
Center Communications Officer Radhika Satkunanathan says many of these people have been displaced several times. She says the Burmese army displaces communities close to harvest time, so they can confiscate their crops.
"Most of these communities live a sort of nomadic life-style because of the Burmese army," she said. "Of course, the Burmese army claims that there are resettlement sites. But, once again, one of the trends that we noticed when doing the research for the report, is that there would be these resettlement sites and the displaced would cultivate, etc. and then during harvest time or close to harvest time, they would be evicted again."
The Center on Housing Rights and Evictions criticizes Slovakia for persistently discriminating against its Roma population that frequently faces segregation and forced eviction by local authorities.
More than 120,000 Roma in Slovakia reside in slums, lacking access to basic services such as water and electricity. The center says it is entirely unacceptable for a member of the European Union to allow this situation to continue.
On a more positive note, the Center on Housing Rights and Evictions has presented its Housing Rights Protector Award to the Mayor of Naga City, Philippines, Jesse Robredo, for assisting more than 6,000 families to obtain legal title to their land.
A housing rights activist from Karachi, Pakistan, Baseer Naveed won the Housing Rights Defender Award for helping to secure the housing rights of the poor in Pakistan.
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2007-12-05-voa57-66533962.html
5/12/2007 UN: Impose Burma Arms Embargo to End Child Soldier Use
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
UN: Impose Burma Arms Embargo to End Child Soldier Use
Burmese Government’s Steps to Address Problem Are Wholly Insufficient
(New York, December 5, 2007) –
The United Nations Security Council should impose an arms embargo on Burma in response to the Burmese military government’s continuing recruitment of children for its national army, Human Rights Watch said today.Tomorrow, the Security Council’s working group on children and armed conflict will meet to consider a report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that has found “grave violations” against children in Burma, including patterns of underage military recruitment. The UN secretary-general has issued five reports since 2002 citing Burma’s national army, the Tatmadaw, for violating international law prohibiting the use of child soldiers. The reports have also cited several non-state armed groups in Burma for recruiting children, including armed opposition groups. “Burma’s army has recruited thousands of children to fill its ranks,” said Jo Becker, children’s rights advocate for Human Rights Watch. “The Security Council needs to show Burma’s generals that they cannot get away with such horrendous practices.” The Security Council’s working group on children and armed conflict must now consider what action the Security Council should take in response to the secretary-general’s new report on violations in Burma. In past resolutions on children and armed conflict, the Security Council has stated that it will consider targeted measures – including embargoes on arms and other military assistance – in cases where governments and armed groups fail to end their use of child soldiers. In a report released in October, Human Rights Watch documented how children as young as 10 are recruited by force into Burma’s army. At recruitment centers, officers falsify documents to register new recruits as age 18, even if they are clearly underage. Former soldiers reported that in many training camps, children made up more than 30 percent of new recruits. After putting children through military training, the Burmese army uses them in combat against ethnic armed opposition groups, and sometimes to participate in human rights abuses against civilians. Children who try to escape are typically beaten, re-recruited, or imprisoned. The army’s forced recruitment is designed to fill personnel shortages as a result of both increased desertion rates and army expansion. This expansion includes new units established to utilize arms purchased from China, India, Russia, and Ukraine. Under Burma’s national law, the recruitment of anyone below age 18 is prohibited. The recruitment and use of child soldiers below the age of 15 is considered a war crime under international law. In 2004, the military government, known as the State Peace and Development Council, established a high-level committee to prevent the recruitment of underage soldiers. Human Rights Watch’s investigation found that the committee had taken little action to end child recruitment, and instead repeatedly denied outside reports of child soldier use by government forces. There is no independent oversight of this committee, nor is there monitoring of recruitment centers or access to military bases throughout Burma’s hinterland, where many child soldiers are deployed. “The Security Council should not be fooled by Burma’s repeated promises to address the army’s use of child soldiers,” said Becker. “Nothing short of an arms embargo is likely to make Burma’s military government end all recruitment and use of children.” Non-state armed groups in Burma also use child soldiers, though practices vary widely. Some groups actively recruit and use children in armed conflict, while others, including the Karenni Army and Karen National Liberation Army, have taken steps to end the recruitment of children into their forces. In its report, Human Rights Watch noted that cooperation by the Karenni Army and its efforts since 2002 to end the use of child soldiers had eradicated the practice, and recommended the armed group be removed from the UN secretary-general’s list of parties using child soldiers. “Burma’s diplomatic supporters in the Security Council, China and Russia, are also its main arms suppliers,” Becker said. “These countries sell weapons to Burma with scant regard for the impact on the civilian population.”
http://www.hrw.org/legacy/english/docs/2007/12/05/burma17481_txt.htm
UN: Impose Burma Arms Embargo to End Child Soldier Use
Burmese Government’s Steps to Address Problem Are Wholly Insufficient
(New York, December 5, 2007) –
The United Nations Security Council should impose an arms embargo on Burma in response to the Burmese military government’s continuing recruitment of children for its national army, Human Rights Watch said today.Tomorrow, the Security Council’s working group on children and armed conflict will meet to consider a report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that has found “grave violations” against children in Burma, including patterns of underage military recruitment. The UN secretary-general has issued five reports since 2002 citing Burma’s national army, the Tatmadaw, for violating international law prohibiting the use of child soldiers. The reports have also cited several non-state armed groups in Burma for recruiting children, including armed opposition groups. “Burma’s army has recruited thousands of children to fill its ranks,” said Jo Becker, children’s rights advocate for Human Rights Watch. “The Security Council needs to show Burma’s generals that they cannot get away with such horrendous practices.” The Security Council’s working group on children and armed conflict must now consider what action the Security Council should take in response to the secretary-general’s new report on violations in Burma. In past resolutions on children and armed conflict, the Security Council has stated that it will consider targeted measures – including embargoes on arms and other military assistance – in cases where governments and armed groups fail to end their use of child soldiers. In a report released in October, Human Rights Watch documented how children as young as 10 are recruited by force into Burma’s army. At recruitment centers, officers falsify documents to register new recruits as age 18, even if they are clearly underage. Former soldiers reported that in many training camps, children made up more than 30 percent of new recruits. After putting children through military training, the Burmese army uses them in combat against ethnic armed opposition groups, and sometimes to participate in human rights abuses against civilians. Children who try to escape are typically beaten, re-recruited, or imprisoned. The army’s forced recruitment is designed to fill personnel shortages as a result of both increased desertion rates and army expansion. This expansion includes new units established to utilize arms purchased from China, India, Russia, and Ukraine. Under Burma’s national law, the recruitment of anyone below age 18 is prohibited. The recruitment and use of child soldiers below the age of 15 is considered a war crime under international law. In 2004, the military government, known as the State Peace and Development Council, established a high-level committee to prevent the recruitment of underage soldiers. Human Rights Watch’s investigation found that the committee had taken little action to end child recruitment, and instead repeatedly denied outside reports of child soldier use by government forces. There is no independent oversight of this committee, nor is there monitoring of recruitment centers or access to military bases throughout Burma’s hinterland, where many child soldiers are deployed. “The Security Council should not be fooled by Burma’s repeated promises to address the army’s use of child soldiers,” said Becker. “Nothing short of an arms embargo is likely to make Burma’s military government end all recruitment and use of children.” Non-state armed groups in Burma also use child soldiers, though practices vary widely. Some groups actively recruit and use children in armed conflict, while others, including the Karenni Army and Karen National Liberation Army, have taken steps to end the recruitment of children into their forces. In its report, Human Rights Watch noted that cooperation by the Karenni Army and its efforts since 2002 to end the use of child soldiers had eradicated the practice, and recommended the armed group be removed from the UN secretary-general’s list of parties using child soldiers. “Burma’s diplomatic supporters in the Security Council, China and Russia, are also its main arms suppliers,” Becker said. “These countries sell weapons to Burma with scant regard for the impact on the civilian population.”
http://www.hrw.org/legacy/english/docs/2007/12/05/burma17481_txt.htm
12/5/2007 US Senate Hears Testimony of Venerable Ashin Nayaka on Burma
US Senate Hears Testimony of Venerable Ashin Nayaka on Burma
12/5/2007
Dhaka: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom on Tuesday heard the testimony of Venerable Ashin Nayaka, who is a leading member of the International Burmese Monks Organization and a visiting professor at Columbia University, on the issue of oppression in Burma and the situation after the monk-led protests.
Ashin Nayaka said, "The senate hearing was held at the Raybum House office building from 2:30 to 4:30 on 3 December, 2007, and I spoke about many things of Burma after the Saffron Revolution."
He also said that he discussed the issue of religion in Burma, the repression of the people by the military, and US police options for Burma after the recent so-called Saffron Revolution that was led by monks.
During the hearing, he also stated before the commission that the very existence of monastic life is being destroyed by the military regime in Burma, and that the country will face bloodshed again if the international community, including the UN Security Council, can't find a collective and effective strategy to stop this evil regime from its arresting and killing.
He also said that as long as the UN Security Council could not make the regime engage in meaningful and time-bound dialogue with the democratic opposition led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, for a peaceful transition to democracy, the spiritual revolution of the monks and people will continue, and another brutal crackdown will be unavoidable.
Ashin Nakaya spoke out about the military government's killing of monks, who are highly respected by the people in a country where Buddhism is the major religion. The junta has emptied monasteries, which are not only places of worship and religious functions, but also for education, maintenance of culture, and caring for HIV/AIDS patients and orphans - duties which the regime has neglected. Burma's military regime has forcibly disrobed monks, beaten them, and assaulted them severely.
Today, he said, we know that several leading monks in Burma are still on the run. We do not know with any accuracy how many monks have been killed, or how many were forcibly disrobed. We do not know how many are in prison, or how many monks have been taken to secret locations. There is a terrible secrecy and silence over Burma.
"We remain steadfast in our commitment to the freedom in our country and the freedom in our own hearts. All these things Americans value and cherish. Freedom for the people of Burma cannot be denied. The cost of that freedom is the only question in Burma," He said to the senate.
The venerable monk thanked President Bush and the First Lady, the United States Congress, and the American people for their support of the Burmese people in their struggle, and asked President Bush to make Burma his legacy of freedom. #
http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=1537
Narinjara News (NN) was founded by a group of Arakanese in exile in Bangladesh from Burma in 2001 seeking to voice for the people depriving of human and democratic rights and to pave the way for them who are struggling for those rights. The Narinjara News is an independent organization, not affiliated with any political party or organization.
12/5/2007
Dhaka: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom on Tuesday heard the testimony of Venerable Ashin Nayaka, who is a leading member of the International Burmese Monks Organization and a visiting professor at Columbia University, on the issue of oppression in Burma and the situation after the monk-led protests.
Ashin Nayaka said, "The senate hearing was held at the Raybum House office building from 2:30 to 4:30 on 3 December, 2007, and I spoke about many things of Burma after the Saffron Revolution."
He also said that he discussed the issue of religion in Burma, the repression of the people by the military, and US police options for Burma after the recent so-called Saffron Revolution that was led by monks.
During the hearing, he also stated before the commission that the very existence of monastic life is being destroyed by the military regime in Burma, and that the country will face bloodshed again if the international community, including the UN Security Council, can't find a collective and effective strategy to stop this evil regime from its arresting and killing.
He also said that as long as the UN Security Council could not make the regime engage in meaningful and time-bound dialogue with the democratic opposition led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, for a peaceful transition to democracy, the spiritual revolution of the monks and people will continue, and another brutal crackdown will be unavoidable.
Ashin Nakaya spoke out about the military government's killing of monks, who are highly respected by the people in a country where Buddhism is the major religion. The junta has emptied monasteries, which are not only places of worship and religious functions, but also for education, maintenance of culture, and caring for HIV/AIDS patients and orphans - duties which the regime has neglected. Burma's military regime has forcibly disrobed monks, beaten them, and assaulted them severely.
Today, he said, we know that several leading monks in Burma are still on the run. We do not know with any accuracy how many monks have been killed, or how many were forcibly disrobed. We do not know how many are in prison, or how many monks have been taken to secret locations. There is a terrible secrecy and silence over Burma.
"We remain steadfast in our commitment to the freedom in our country and the freedom in our own hearts. All these things Americans value and cherish. Freedom for the people of Burma cannot be denied. The cost of that freedom is the only question in Burma," He said to the senate.
The venerable monk thanked President Bush and the First Lady, the United States Congress, and the American people for their support of the Burmese people in their struggle, and asked President Bush to make Burma his legacy of freedom. #
http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=1537
Narinjara News (NN) was founded by a group of Arakanese in exile in Bangladesh from Burma in 2001 seeking to voice for the people depriving of human and democratic rights and to pave the way for them who are struggling for those rights. The Narinjara News is an independent organization, not affiliated with any political party or organization.
5/12/07 US Condemns Myanmar Excluding Suu Kyi From Democracy Talks
US Condemns Myanmar Excluding Suu Kyi From Democracy Talks
By Paul Tighe
Dec 5 (Bloomberg)
Myanmar's exclusion of Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders from talks on drafting a new constitution shows the military's determination to hold onto power in the Southeast Asian nation, the U.S. government said.
"Senior General Than Shwe and his regime has no intention to begin a genuine, inclusive dialogue necessary for a democratic transition with these parties as called for by the international community", the State Department said in a statement issued in Washington yesterday.
The government's 54-member commission drafting the consitution is sufficient for the task, Information Minister General Kyaw Hsan said Dec. 3, according to the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper. "No assistance or advice from other persons is required".
Myanmar's military, which has ruled the country formerly known as Burma for 45 years, was condemned around the world for deploying soldiers Sept. 26 to crush the biggest anti-junta protests in almost 20 years. The U.S. and the United Nations led calls for the regime to start talks with the opposition, including Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest.
Suu Kyi, 62, the leader for the National League for Democracy, made clear in a Nov. 8 statement "she remains committed to meanful and time-bound talks with Burma's rulling generals" and welcomes a UN offer to assist with the discussions, the State Depatment said. "It is Than Shwe and his senior generals who are obstructing progress toward democratization in Burma."
National Convention
A National Convention, begun in 2004, completed its work on proposed democratic changes in September. The U.S. and the UN denounced the process for failing to include the NLD and ethnic groups.
The governement-appointed panel began its work on drafting the constitution this week Kyaw Hsan said Dec. 3 at the government's first news conference since crushing the anti-junta protests in September.
"The writing of the constitution may be delayed if there are disturbances and hindrances", the ministers told reporters in the capital, Naypyidaw, according to the New Light newspaper. "If there is cooperation in the democratisation process, and if there are no disturbances or hindrances, the writing of the constitution will be completed within a reasonable time."
Labor Minister U Aung Kyi told the news conference he held three meetings with Suu Kyi that will prepare the way for future discussions. He didn't elaborate.
Prisoners Released
Security forces detained 2,927 people, including 596 monks, during the protests and 80 people remain in detention with the rest released, the lobor minister said. Nine detainees have been sentenced, he said without giving any details.
The government said it freed 8,585 prisoners to mark the start of work this week by the panel known as the Commission for Drafting the State Constitution.
An estimated 1,800 political prisoners are still being held, the State Department said, renewing its call for the junta to free all political detainees "as a necessary condition for a genuine dialogue with democratic and ethnic groups on a transition to a civilian, democratic government in Burma."
The UN has said as many as 110 demonstrators may have been killed by security forces during the September protests. Opposition groups in Myanmar and outside the country, as well as "bogus monks" were behind the unrest, Kyaw Hsan said.
As many as 700 people arrested during and since the protests remain behind bars and another 1,150 political prisoners held before the uprising haven't been released, Amnesty International said last week.
The arreest of political activists and harassment of Buddhist monks by the Myanmar regime is "deeply troubling," the U.S. State Depatartment said last week.
At least 14 activists, including members of the NLD, have been detained since junta leaders met with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari on Nov. 3-8 and pledged to stop such arrests, Amnesty said in its report.
To contact the reporter of this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net
By Paul Tighe
Dec 5 (Bloomberg)
Myanmar's exclusion of Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders from talks on drafting a new constitution shows the military's determination to hold onto power in the Southeast Asian nation, the U.S. government said.
"Senior General Than Shwe and his regime has no intention to begin a genuine, inclusive dialogue necessary for a democratic transition with these parties as called for by the international community", the State Department said in a statement issued in Washington yesterday.
The government's 54-member commission drafting the consitution is sufficient for the task, Information Minister General Kyaw Hsan said Dec. 3, according to the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper. "No assistance or advice from other persons is required".
Myanmar's military, which has ruled the country formerly known as Burma for 45 years, was condemned around the world for deploying soldiers Sept. 26 to crush the biggest anti-junta protests in almost 20 years. The U.S. and the United Nations led calls for the regime to start talks with the opposition, including Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest.
Suu Kyi, 62, the leader for the National League for Democracy, made clear in a Nov. 8 statement "she remains committed to meanful and time-bound talks with Burma's rulling generals" and welcomes a UN offer to assist with the discussions, the State Depatment said. "It is Than Shwe and his senior generals who are obstructing progress toward democratization in Burma."
National Convention
A National Convention, begun in 2004, completed its work on proposed democratic changes in September. The U.S. and the UN denounced the process for failing to include the NLD and ethnic groups.
The governement-appointed panel began its work on drafting the constitution this week Kyaw Hsan said Dec. 3 at the government's first news conference since crushing the anti-junta protests in September.
"The writing of the constitution may be delayed if there are disturbances and hindrances", the ministers told reporters in the capital, Naypyidaw, according to the New Light newspaper. "If there is cooperation in the democratisation process, and if there are no disturbances or hindrances, the writing of the constitution will be completed within a reasonable time."
Labor Minister U Aung Kyi told the news conference he held three meetings with Suu Kyi that will prepare the way for future discussions. He didn't elaborate.
Prisoners Released
Security forces detained 2,927 people, including 596 monks, during the protests and 80 people remain in detention with the rest released, the lobor minister said. Nine detainees have been sentenced, he said without giving any details.
The government said it freed 8,585 prisoners to mark the start of work this week by the panel known as the Commission for Drafting the State Constitution.
An estimated 1,800 political prisoners are still being held, the State Department said, renewing its call for the junta to free all political detainees "as a necessary condition for a genuine dialogue with democratic and ethnic groups on a transition to a civilian, democratic government in Burma."
The UN has said as many as 110 demonstrators may have been killed by security forces during the September protests. Opposition groups in Myanmar and outside the country, as well as "bogus monks" were behind the unrest, Kyaw Hsan said.
As many as 700 people arrested during and since the protests remain behind bars and another 1,150 political prisoners held before the uprising haven't been released, Amnesty International said last week.
The arreest of political activists and harassment of Buddhist monks by the Myanmar regime is "deeply troubling," the U.S. State Depatartment said last week.
At least 14 activists, including members of the NLD, have been detained since junta leaders met with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari on Nov. 3-8 and pledged to stop such arrests, Amnesty said in its report.
To contact the reporter of this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)