Who is at the heart of Burma's junta? 26 March 2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8586697.stm
This year's Armed Forces Day in Burma comes after election laws were announced and before a poll date is revealed.
But while elections elsewhere might imply an end to military rule, the BBC's Vaudine England has been finding out that the country's top generals are as solidly in charge as ever.
OVERVIEW
The elections are described by analysts as the moment when top leader Than Shwe seeks legitimacy and secures a political transition that keeps his old age free from prosecution or disgrace.
Speculation is swirling as to what role the general sees for himself - either Than Shwe will want to remain as army chief or will need a solid ally in place so he can become president.
None of these calculations take the opposition into account, analysts agree. Indeed, the election laws bar the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and all political detainees from taking part.
"It's not Suu Kyi who keeps him awake at night, but the question of how his trusted officers can ensure his future security and that of his family," says Aung Zaw, editor of Irrawaddy magazine.
"I doubt he will announce a successor - he doesn't need to do that - but this is likely to be the last time Than Shwe addresses this gathering as armed forces commander in chief," says Professor Win Min, at Payap University in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.
With or without elections, Burma's military will remain the only institution that counts. So who is in charge?
SENIOR GENERAL THAN SHWE
No-one doubts this general's supremacy. He is chairman of the 12-member State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), aka the junta, and commander in chief of the armed forces. An impressive rise for a former postal clerk who did not finish secondary school.
Born in 1933, he joined the army in 1953 and helped former top leader Ne Win mount a coup against a democratically elected government in 1962.
He emerged as the chairman of SLORC, the State Law and Order Restoration Committee, precursor to the SPDC, and the body formed when the military took control after the 1988 elections which were won by Ms Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy.
In 2004, he dispensed with a key source of competition to his power, namely then prime minister and intelligence chief Khin Nyunt. He remains under house arrest and hundreds of his followers were purged.
Than Shwe is patron of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), a mass organisation known for brutally enforcing military wishes in civilian guise.
He harbours a reportedly visceral hatred for Ms Suu Kyi and is said to be secretive, deeply superstitious, xenophobic and rich.
DEPUTY SENIOR GENERAL MAUNG AYE
Born in 1937, General Maung Aye is the closest source of competition, and sometimes conflict, to General Than Shwe.
Once commander of Burma's drug-growing northeast region, he is now also known for his complex business involvements.
He is reputedly hostile to Burma's ethnic groups, yet is believed by some watchers to have argued against the use of force to crack down on the monk-led opposition protests in 2007.
GENERAL SHWE MANN
Recent analysis has concluded that Shwe Mann, joint chief of staff and coordinator of special operations, is Than Shwe's preferred successor.
Born in 1947, he is described as down to earth, with the respect of the foot soldiers he commanded for many years.
He too has complex business links - one of his three sons married into a leading real estate developer's family, another is in business with Tay Za, a tycoon subject to United States' economic sanctions.
TEAM PLAYERS
Ranked as number four in the junta, Prime Minister Thein Sein does not appear on lists of expected successors to Than Shwe.
Number five in terms of influence is General Tin Aung Myint Oo, followed by Lt Gen Tin Aye, the chief of military ordinance.
This is a hugely important job, reportedly involving Tin Aye in negotiations with North Korea among other weapons suppliers.
The other important lieutenant general is Myint Shwe, who could be ranked as number seven, analysts say, even though he is the only name here who is not a member of the SPDC.
A key indicator of who is closest to Than Shwe at any time can be found in his choice of shopping partners on trips to Singapore - long a discreet playground and medical centre for the generals.
"Than Shwe has been trying to promote Shwe Mann but his inability to do so shows he could not yet reach an agreement with Maung Aye," believes Professor Win Min.
With Armed Forces Day being attended by a longer list of guests than usual, the only certainty is that the power - and the opacity - of the junta will remain.
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
U.N. rights forum condemns Myanmar, extends probe
U.N. rights forum condemns Myanmar, extends probe Stephanie Nebehay
Mar 26, 2010
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62P2U220100326
(Reuters) - The U.N. Human Rights Council condemned Friday widespread violations in Myanmar and called on its generals to release 2,100 political prisoners ahead of an election this year, saying the vote must be free and fair.
World
It adopted by consensus a resolution, presented by the European Union, which also extended by one year the mandate of the Council's special investigator on the former Burma.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, called in a report this month for an international inquiry into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the ruling junta.
The Council condemned "systematic violations," including disappearances, arbitrary detentions, torture and ill-treatment of prisoners and recruitment of child soldiers.
It urged Myanmar's government to "ensure a free, transparent, fair electoral process which allows for the participation of all voters, all political parties."
This included the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the 1990 poll in a landslide, a result the regime ignored and recently annulled.
The Council voiced concern at the "continued arbitrary house arrest" of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, head of the NLD party, who has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years. She was sentenced to a further 18 months of house arrest last August.
Myanmar's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Wunna Maung Lwin, rejected the EU resolution as being "politically motivated" and infringing on his country's internal affairs.
Resource-rich Myanmar, crippled by sanctions, has promised to hand over power to an elected civilian government, although few people believe the military will really transfer power.
Spain's ambassador Javier Garrigues, presenting the EU resolution, told the Council: "We reaffirm the essential importance of inclusive political dialogue with a view to national reconciliation and of the release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed frustration on Thursday at slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, where planned elections have been derided in the West as a sham.
Ban spoke after discussing Myanmar with a group of countries, but diplomats said any Security Council action was blocked by objections from China and Russia to what they see as interference in the Asian country's internal affairs.
In Geneva, Chinese diplomat Ke Yousheng told the Council his country regretted that the EU resolution was "sharp in words" and failed to reflect efforts by Myanmar's rulers.
(Editing by Jonathan Lynn)
Mar 26, 2010
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62P2U220100326
(Reuters) - The U.N. Human Rights Council condemned Friday widespread violations in Myanmar and called on its generals to release 2,100 political prisoners ahead of an election this year, saying the vote must be free and fair.
World
It adopted by consensus a resolution, presented by the European Union, which also extended by one year the mandate of the Council's special investigator on the former Burma.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, called in a report this month for an international inquiry into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the ruling junta.
The Council condemned "systematic violations," including disappearances, arbitrary detentions, torture and ill-treatment of prisoners and recruitment of child soldiers.
It urged Myanmar's government to "ensure a free, transparent, fair electoral process which allows for the participation of all voters, all political parties."
This included the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the 1990 poll in a landslide, a result the regime ignored and recently annulled.
The Council voiced concern at the "continued arbitrary house arrest" of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, head of the NLD party, who has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years. She was sentenced to a further 18 months of house arrest last August.
Myanmar's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Wunna Maung Lwin, rejected the EU resolution as being "politically motivated" and infringing on his country's internal affairs.
Resource-rich Myanmar, crippled by sanctions, has promised to hand over power to an elected civilian government, although few people believe the military will really transfer power.
Spain's ambassador Javier Garrigues, presenting the EU resolution, told the Council: "We reaffirm the essential importance of inclusive political dialogue with a view to national reconciliation and of the release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed frustration on Thursday at slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, where planned elections have been derided in the West as a sham.
Ban spoke after discussing Myanmar with a group of countries, but diplomats said any Security Council action was blocked by objections from China and Russia to what they see as interference in the Asian country's internal affairs.
In Geneva, Chinese diplomat Ke Yousheng told the Council his country regretted that the EU resolution was "sharp in words" and failed to reflect efforts by Myanmar's rulers.
(Editing by Jonathan Lynn)
Myanmar orders CNN correspondent deported
Myanmar orders CNN correspondent deported
Mar 26, 2010
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvfWEVVJxEA_NjVlUVm6rHcX4JEAD9EMEGF01
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — A reporter for the U.S. television network CNN has been ordered deported from Myanmar for the second time in two years.
Dan Rivers, who was in the capital city Naypyitaw to cover Armed Forces Day — one of the few events which the ruling junta invites foreign journalists to cover — will be deported because he is on a blacklist for illicitly reporting from the country in May 2008, an Information Ministry official said Friday.
Rivers was one of the few Western journalists to openly report on the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis — which left 138,000 people dead or missing — and was kicked out after several days.
The official, who spoke on connection of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said Rivers was accidentally allowed in again this month because of a mistake by Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, where the CNN correspondent is based.
The official said Rivers was sent from Naypyitaw, to Yangon, the country's commercial hub, from where he would be expelled. He was unsure when the deportation would be carried out.
A CNN spokesman in Hong Kong declined to comment.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Mar 26, 2010
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvfWEVVJxEA_NjVlUVm6rHcX4JEAD9EMEGF01
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — A reporter for the U.S. television network CNN has been ordered deported from Myanmar for the second time in two years.
Dan Rivers, who was in the capital city Naypyitaw to cover Armed Forces Day — one of the few events which the ruling junta invites foreign journalists to cover — will be deported because he is on a blacklist for illicitly reporting from the country in May 2008, an Information Ministry official said Friday.
Rivers was one of the few Western journalists to openly report on the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis — which left 138,000 people dead or missing — and was kicked out after several days.
The official, who spoke on connection of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said Rivers was accidentally allowed in again this month because of a mistake by Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, where the CNN correspondent is based.
The official said Rivers was sent from Naypyitaw, to Yangon, the country's commercial hub, from where he would be expelled. He was unsure when the deportation would be carried out.
A CNN spokesman in Hong Kong declined to comment.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Alcatel-Lucent Denies Supplying Surveillance Gear to Myanmar
Alcatel-Lucent Denies Supplying Surveillance Gear to Myanmar March 26, 2010
By Matthew Campbell
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-26/alcatel-lucent-denies-supplying-surveillance-gear-to-myanmar.html
March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Alcatel-Lucent SA, France’s biggest telecommunications equipment supplier, denied a magazine report suggesting it provided the military government of Myanmar with equipment that could be used for surveillance.
The Paris-based company is providing normal telecommunication infrastructure to Myanmar and not “any solution dedicated to the control of conversations”, Alcatel said in a statement. Nouvel Observateur, a French magazine, today published a letter from non-governmental organizations that said Alcatel products could help Myanmar censor communications.
Myanmar, the south-east Asian country formerly known as Burma, is preparing for its first elections since 1990. Earlier this month, the country’s rulers announced election laws that will ban political prisoners including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating.
“Alcatel-Lucent understands and shares concerns about the situation in Myanmar,” the company said. “We are nevertheless convinced that the improvement of communications infrastructure can promote the economic and cultural development of a country and equally contribute to its evolution toward democracy.”
--Editor: Simon Thiel, Chad Thomas.
To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Campbell in London at mcampbell39@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Vidya Root at vroot@bloomberg.net.
By Matthew Campbell
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-26/alcatel-lucent-denies-supplying-surveillance-gear-to-myanmar.html
March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Alcatel-Lucent SA, France’s biggest telecommunications equipment supplier, denied a magazine report suggesting it provided the military government of Myanmar with equipment that could be used for surveillance.
The Paris-based company is providing normal telecommunication infrastructure to Myanmar and not “any solution dedicated to the control of conversations”, Alcatel said in a statement. Nouvel Observateur, a French magazine, today published a letter from non-governmental organizations that said Alcatel products could help Myanmar censor communications.
Myanmar, the south-east Asian country formerly known as Burma, is preparing for its first elections since 1990. Earlier this month, the country’s rulers announced election laws that will ban political prisoners including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating.
“Alcatel-Lucent understands and shares concerns about the situation in Myanmar,” the company said. “We are nevertheless convinced that the improvement of communications infrastructure can promote the economic and cultural development of a country and equally contribute to its evolution toward democracy.”
--Editor: Simon Thiel, Chad Thomas.
To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Campbell in London at mcampbell39@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Vidya Root at vroot@bloomberg.net.
SCENARIOS -Myanmar's uncertain post-election future
SCENARIOS -Myanmar's uncertain post-election future Mar 26, 2010
By Martin Petty
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-47236120100326
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Military-ruled Myanmar will hold its first democratic election in two decades later this year, polls that critics say will be a sham resulting in no significant transfer of power to a civilian government.
The resource-rich country of 48 million people is heading for a period of uncertainty, with concerns about economic and social stability after almost five decades of army rule.
Following are possible post-election scenarios:
COSMETIC CHANGE ONLY, MILITARY RETAINS POWER
Few believe the military will really hand power back to a civilian government. The new constitution guarantees the army 25 percent of parliamentary seats, and junta proxies are expected to run and win plenty more. The military will have jurisdiction over key ministries and reserves the right to take power at a time of national crisis.
Civilians backed, or at least vetted, by the junta will probably be given some government positions, but analysts say the military will still control major policy and budget decisions.
This is the most likely scenario. Analysts say the generals sincerely believe the military is the only institution capable of keeping the country together and therefore want to remain in charge.
GRADUAL TRANSFER TO CIVILIAN CONTROL
In the long term, Myanmar could undergo a gradual transition of power to a civilian government free of military control. This would be an evolutionary process rather than a junta-inspired shift.
Future elections, constitutional amendments and shifts in the power structure or patronage systems could lead to the emergence of splinter groups or factions within the military; some may favour offering a role to experienced, educated technocrats deemed capable of handling the economy, for example.
"The generals may believe they can control political proxies, crony businessmen, military colleagues and ethnic factions ... but in a new context these groups might develop independent agendas," the International Crisis Group said in a report.
PUBLIC REJECTS MILITARY-CONTROLLED GOVERNMENT
Decades of economic mismanagement, human rights abuses and a failure to invest sufficiently in education, health and public services have created deep public resentment of the military.
Nationwide monk-led protests in 2007 triggered by increases in fuel and cooking gas prices stoked public anger. The bloody crackdown that followed showed the junta had no qualms about using force to suppress dissent. However, ordinary people are willing to take that risk, as seen in a recent wave of strikes by garment workers that have rattled the military.
Myanmar's people have been promised big things after the elections. Analysts say they could revolt if a new government fails to deliver the goods.
"DEMOCRACY" FAILS, MILITARY TAKES BACK POWER
The last time elections were held in 1990, the result was unfavourable for the generals and they refused to hand over power. It appears the junta has learned from that and drafted electoral laws that will limit the powers of elected opponents.
However, if the 2010 election process throws up problems, the regime could scrap or indefinitely postpone the polls, citing reasons of national security and stability.
Even if a government and national assembly are in place, a constitutional clause allows the commander-in-chief to dissolve the house and assume power at a time of crisis. If army influence wanes, it could provoke a crisis of its own making as a pretext to wrestle back control.
However, most analysts say the generals won't find this necessary: provisions written into the constitution, drafted mainly by the military, will ensure there is no real threat to the status quo.
(Editing by Alan Raybould and David Fox)
By Martin Petty
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-47236120100326
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Military-ruled Myanmar will hold its first democratic election in two decades later this year, polls that critics say will be a sham resulting in no significant transfer of power to a civilian government.
The resource-rich country of 48 million people is heading for a period of uncertainty, with concerns about economic and social stability after almost five decades of army rule.
Following are possible post-election scenarios:
COSMETIC CHANGE ONLY, MILITARY RETAINS POWER
Few believe the military will really hand power back to a civilian government. The new constitution guarantees the army 25 percent of parliamentary seats, and junta proxies are expected to run and win plenty more. The military will have jurisdiction over key ministries and reserves the right to take power at a time of national crisis.
Civilians backed, or at least vetted, by the junta will probably be given some government positions, but analysts say the military will still control major policy and budget decisions.
This is the most likely scenario. Analysts say the generals sincerely believe the military is the only institution capable of keeping the country together and therefore want to remain in charge.
GRADUAL TRANSFER TO CIVILIAN CONTROL
In the long term, Myanmar could undergo a gradual transition of power to a civilian government free of military control. This would be an evolutionary process rather than a junta-inspired shift.
Future elections, constitutional amendments and shifts in the power structure or patronage systems could lead to the emergence of splinter groups or factions within the military; some may favour offering a role to experienced, educated technocrats deemed capable of handling the economy, for example.
"The generals may believe they can control political proxies, crony businessmen, military colleagues and ethnic factions ... but in a new context these groups might develop independent agendas," the International Crisis Group said in a report.
PUBLIC REJECTS MILITARY-CONTROLLED GOVERNMENT
Decades of economic mismanagement, human rights abuses and a failure to invest sufficiently in education, health and public services have created deep public resentment of the military.
Nationwide monk-led protests in 2007 triggered by increases in fuel and cooking gas prices stoked public anger. The bloody crackdown that followed showed the junta had no qualms about using force to suppress dissent. However, ordinary people are willing to take that risk, as seen in a recent wave of strikes by garment workers that have rattled the military.
Myanmar's people have been promised big things after the elections. Analysts say they could revolt if a new government fails to deliver the goods.
"DEMOCRACY" FAILS, MILITARY TAKES BACK POWER
The last time elections were held in 1990, the result was unfavourable for the generals and they refused to hand over power. It appears the junta has learned from that and drafted electoral laws that will limit the powers of elected opponents.
However, if the 2010 election process throws up problems, the regime could scrap or indefinitely postpone the polls, citing reasons of national security and stability.
Even if a government and national assembly are in place, a constitutional clause allows the commander-in-chief to dissolve the house and assume power at a time of crisis. If army influence wanes, it could provoke a crisis of its own making as a pretext to wrestle back control.
However, most analysts say the generals won't find this necessary: provisions written into the constitution, drafted mainly by the military, will ensure there is no real threat to the status quo.
(Editing by Alan Raybould and David Fox)
Myanmar junta prepares for final salute
Myanmar junta prepares for final salute 03.26.10
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3868448,00.html
An ostentatious parade by Myanmar's ruling generals on Saturday is being cast by the junta as a swansong, but the military looks set to remain the dominant political force even after handing power to a civilian government after elections later this year.
The annual Army Day parade in the new capital of Naypyitaw will no doubt feature nationalist speeches on economic potential and democratic rule in the former Burma, but analysts say the generals have a far more important message to deliver. (Reuters)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3868448,00.html
An ostentatious parade by Myanmar's ruling generals on Saturday is being cast by the junta as a swansong, but the military looks set to remain the dominant political force even after handing power to a civilian government after elections later this year.
The annual Army Day parade in the new capital of Naypyitaw will no doubt feature nationalist speeches on economic potential and democratic rule in the former Burma, but analysts say the generals have a far more important message to deliver. (Reuters)
Ban 'frustrated' over Myanmar polls
Ban 'frustrated' over Myanmar polls
March 26, 2010
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/03/201032645122620152.html
The UN secretary-general has said his frustrated and disappointed with Myanmar's military leaders lack of progress in taking their country towards democracy.
Ban Ki-moon's comments on Thursday follow a meeting of the so called the so-called "Group of Friends" on Myanmar and Security Council talks, which were held a day earlier.
"It's frustrating and ... disappointing that we have not seen much progress," Ban said.
The "Group of Friends" comprises Australia, Britain, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the US, Vietnam and the EU.
Diplomats said that any action by the Security Council had been blocked by objections from China and Russia to what they see as interference in the country's internal affairs.
China has long been unwilling to take punitive action against neighbouring Myanmar, whose coastline provides it with easy access to lucrative Asian markets.
Diplomatic divisions
The differences were also apparent after Wednesday's closed-door Security Council discussion of Myanmar.
"A general election being held in any country is a matter of a sovereign state, so that should be respected," Li Baodong, China's ambassador, told reporters.
But Mark Lyall Grant, the British ambassador, argued: "The instability that could be caused by a flawed electoral process is a threat to international peace and security," he said.
Earlier in the month Myanmar's military government unveiled election laws, one of which says that parties registering for the elections must exclude members serving prison terms.
That would exclude Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, who has been under house arrest for almost two decades, as well as many senior members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
Ban also said Myanmar had been slow to implement commitments made to him by General Than Shwe, Myanmar's military leader, during the UN chief's visit last year.
He cited the lateness in publishing the electoral laws and also complained of the failure to set a date for the polls or free prisoners of conscience.
Critics in the West say the election will be a sham aimed at creating a facade of civilian rule with the ruling general possessing total control over the country's affairs.
The military has ruled the former British colony for almost five decades.
Myanmar election laws
Myanmar's military government has announced new laws governing national election expected later this year. The following are key points of the laws announced so far:
Anyone convicted by courts is barred from standing as a candidate or voting.
Parties must expel any many member convicted and serving time in jail or in detention.
Political parties wanting to contest poll must re-register with election commission within 60 days.
Anyone disrupting voting can be jailed for up to one year.
Results of previous 1990 election, won by the NLD, are annulled.
March 26, 2010
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/03/201032645122620152.html
The UN secretary-general has said his frustrated and disappointed with Myanmar's military leaders lack of progress in taking their country towards democracy.
Ban Ki-moon's comments on Thursday follow a meeting of the so called the so-called "Group of Friends" on Myanmar and Security Council talks, which were held a day earlier.
"It's frustrating and ... disappointing that we have not seen much progress," Ban said.
The "Group of Friends" comprises Australia, Britain, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the US, Vietnam and the EU.
Diplomats said that any action by the Security Council had been blocked by objections from China and Russia to what they see as interference in the country's internal affairs.
China has long been unwilling to take punitive action against neighbouring Myanmar, whose coastline provides it with easy access to lucrative Asian markets.
Diplomatic divisions
The differences were also apparent after Wednesday's closed-door Security Council discussion of Myanmar.
"A general election being held in any country is a matter of a sovereign state, so that should be respected," Li Baodong, China's ambassador, told reporters.
But Mark Lyall Grant, the British ambassador, argued: "The instability that could be caused by a flawed electoral process is a threat to international peace and security," he said.
Earlier in the month Myanmar's military government unveiled election laws, one of which says that parties registering for the elections must exclude members serving prison terms.
That would exclude Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, who has been under house arrest for almost two decades, as well as many senior members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
Ban also said Myanmar had been slow to implement commitments made to him by General Than Shwe, Myanmar's military leader, during the UN chief's visit last year.
He cited the lateness in publishing the electoral laws and also complained of the failure to set a date for the polls or free prisoners of conscience.
Critics in the West say the election will be a sham aimed at creating a facade of civilian rule with the ruling general possessing total control over the country's affairs.
The military has ruled the former British colony for almost five decades.
Myanmar election laws
Myanmar's military government has announced new laws governing national election expected later this year. The following are key points of the laws announced so far:
Anyone convicted by courts is barred from standing as a candidate or voting.
Parties must expel any many member convicted and serving time in jail or in detention.
Political parties wanting to contest poll must re-register with election commission within 60 days.
Anyone disrupting voting can be jailed for up to one year.
Results of previous 1990 election, won by the NLD, are annulled.
At UN, As Friends on Myanmar Calculate Their Share, Ban Splits Difference
At UN, As Friends on Myanmar Calculate Their Share, Ban Splits Difference
By Matthew Russell Lee
http://www.innercitypress.com/ban2sirte032610.html
UNITED NATIONS, March 25 -- Following the closed door meeting on Myanmar by the UN Secretary General's "Group of Friends" on Thursday morning, S-G Ban Ki-moon took two questions from the Press. One of his advisors told Inner City Press that both the United States and France have become "more nuanced," with only the UK still beating the drum about what they call Burma.
He said that donors like Norway and Australia and Japan are trying to "recalibrate." He snidely pointed out that on roads outside of Yangon, the construction equipment is "all from Caterpillar," the U.S. firm.
Meanwhile, India's Tata now plans a truck factory in Myanmar. India is said to be concerned that if they don't invest, Myanmar will become an economic colony of China. Money is talking.
Ban was flanked by his interim envoy to Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar and performed under the watchful eyes of diplomats from Friends of Myanmar who urge a hands-off approach. One of these told Inner City Press, before Ban began, that he would mention something about "that lady." Inner City Press was about to say, "The Lady?" but then asked Ban about it. See below.
Last Friends on Myanmar meeting- of this one, no photos were allowed
From the UN's transcript:
Inner City Press: Mr. Secretary-General, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said, she has actually encouraged the NLD not to register for the polls under the current laws. I wonder what do you think can happen between now and when a date is set. Would you view that as a fatal flaw to the election, if the NLD didn’t participate? And are you thinking of naming a more permanent successor to Mr. [Ibrahim] Gambari to carry out the good offices? Some say that having an interim person may either reflect or be interpreted as a lack of commitment on the issue.SG: If what she said is based on her genuine belief, based on the current situations, then we have to respect her decision. I’m not quite sure what the surrounding circumstances were as she made that statement. However, she is the leader of her party and when she said such decision then I think that should be respected. That depends upon how people will decide on that. As a matter of principle, as I have said repeatedly, publicly and privately to the Myanmar leadership, that this election should be fully open, transparent, inclusive and participatory and credible, and I told the Myanmar leadership that without full participation of all the people, including political prisoners, and particularly Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, it may not be regarded as credible and inclusive. Therefore all the process and development, we have to carefully monitor. And about the appointment of Mr. Gambari’s position: at this time I have designated my Chef de Cabinet, Mr. Vijay Nambiar as ad interim Special Advisor until such time when I will be able to find a Special Advisor for that post.
Inner City Press: There was at least one report that you proposed a name to Myanmar and they turned it down. Maybe the report was wrong?
SG: No. I have never proposed any names.
The purveyor of the report was the only other journalist to ask Ban a Myanmar question. Before he did, a UN Security Officer asked him to move away from the meeting room. He maintained to Inner City Press that Nambiar traveled to Myanmar to deliver Ban's letter, and that Ban has received a response that emphasizes Myanmar's sovereignty.
Inner City Press asked at the noon briefing for confirmation that a response had been received, but the spokesman merely said he would look into it. Watch this site.
By Matthew Russell Lee
http://www.innercitypress.com/ban2sirte032610.html
UNITED NATIONS, March 25 -- Following the closed door meeting on Myanmar by the UN Secretary General's "Group of Friends" on Thursday morning, S-G Ban Ki-moon took two questions from the Press. One of his advisors told Inner City Press that both the United States and France have become "more nuanced," with only the UK still beating the drum about what they call Burma.
He said that donors like Norway and Australia and Japan are trying to "recalibrate." He snidely pointed out that on roads outside of Yangon, the construction equipment is "all from Caterpillar," the U.S. firm.
Meanwhile, India's Tata now plans a truck factory in Myanmar. India is said to be concerned that if they don't invest, Myanmar will become an economic colony of China. Money is talking.
Ban was flanked by his interim envoy to Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar and performed under the watchful eyes of diplomats from Friends of Myanmar who urge a hands-off approach. One of these told Inner City Press, before Ban began, that he would mention something about "that lady." Inner City Press was about to say, "The Lady?" but then asked Ban about it. See below.
Last Friends on Myanmar meeting- of this one, no photos were allowed
From the UN's transcript:
Inner City Press: Mr. Secretary-General, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said, she has actually encouraged the NLD not to register for the polls under the current laws. I wonder what do you think can happen between now and when a date is set. Would you view that as a fatal flaw to the election, if the NLD didn’t participate? And are you thinking of naming a more permanent successor to Mr. [Ibrahim] Gambari to carry out the good offices? Some say that having an interim person may either reflect or be interpreted as a lack of commitment on the issue.SG: If what she said is based on her genuine belief, based on the current situations, then we have to respect her decision. I’m not quite sure what the surrounding circumstances were as she made that statement. However, she is the leader of her party and when she said such decision then I think that should be respected. That depends upon how people will decide on that. As a matter of principle, as I have said repeatedly, publicly and privately to the Myanmar leadership, that this election should be fully open, transparent, inclusive and participatory and credible, and I told the Myanmar leadership that without full participation of all the people, including political prisoners, and particularly Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, it may not be regarded as credible and inclusive. Therefore all the process and development, we have to carefully monitor. And about the appointment of Mr. Gambari’s position: at this time I have designated my Chef de Cabinet, Mr. Vijay Nambiar as ad interim Special Advisor until such time when I will be able to find a Special Advisor for that post.
Inner City Press: There was at least one report that you proposed a name to Myanmar and they turned it down. Maybe the report was wrong?
SG: No. I have never proposed any names.
The purveyor of the report was the only other journalist to ask Ban a Myanmar question. Before he did, a UN Security Officer asked him to move away from the meeting room. He maintained to Inner City Press that Nambiar traveled to Myanmar to deliver Ban's letter, and that Ban has received a response that emphasizes Myanmar's sovereignty.
Inner City Press asked at the noon briefing for confirmation that a response had been received, but the spokesman merely said he would look into it. Watch this site.
Human Trafficking Increases on Sino-Burma Border
Human Trafficking Increases on Sino-Burma Border By ALEX ELLGEE
March 26, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=18124
RUILI, China —Thi Thi Win reminisces about a time when she wore traditional Burmese clothes and walked around her village at sunset. For the best part of her childhood, she considered herself to be lucky—she had two loving parents and food was plentiful.
Until one day when her family was pushed out of their farm by the Burmese army to make way for a highway. One of eight siblings, she knew she had to find work to help her family.
While she was selling some of her families clothes in the local bus station, a man approached her saying he could find her a “factory job” in China. With high hopes, she packed her bags and left for Burma’s booming neighbor.
A Burmese woman who worked in a Chinese brothel on the Sino-Burma border in 2009. (Photo: Than Aung/The Irrawaddy)
“He told me I would no longer have to sell my family’s belongings and could buy presents for them within a month,” said Thi Thi Win, who asked that The Irrawaddy not use her real name.
She said her trip to the border was full of excitement. As she looked out the bus window, paddy fields flew past ,and she dreamed of her new life in China. At the bus station, she was greeted by a Chinese man who took her to a teashop where she was given noodles, which she quickly ate.
“The next thing I remember I was in a small room with Burmese girls—they had drugged me,” she said.
“The next couple of hours I spent chatting with the other girls, and they all had the same story. Then they led us out into a room, in front of lot of Chinese men —one man pointed at me.”
That was the moment that the man “bought” her, and without delay or discussion, she was taken to his farm in rural China to be his wife. At first, she refused, and his family was furious. They beat her until she couldn’t take the suffering anymore, and finally gave in.
Like thousands of girls who are trafficked from Burma to China each year, what followed her forced marriage was a life of hardship. The family forbade her to leave the house, and her days were spent housekeeping and cooking, as a way to “repay” the fee they had paid for her.
One day, after a year with the family—what she says felt like a lifetime—the police came to the home and took her into custody. Treated as an illegal immigrant, she was thrown in prison for three months, without an interview or assessment.
Treatment of trafficking victims is a major concern for NGOs that work in the region. They say that China is not doing enough to identify foreign women who have been forced into marriage. Lacking interpreters and proper screening processes, many trafficking victims end up in jail.
Despite the lack of attention to foreign victims, more work has been done to curb domestic trafficking in China.
With most of the trafficking is related to urban migration, the government has spent large sums educating farmers about the dangers of trafficking. China has a total of 1,351 Relief Administrative Centers located at provincial, county and city levels which work with trafficking victims.
Various counter-trafficking training courses have been held for media, trainers, police and key government officials in collaboration with UN agencies and international NGOs. Legal aid for victims has increased with more centers being opened across the country, and China is attempting to improve its prosecution procedure.
Last year, the public security ministry launched a special crackdown. Police across the country rescued 3,455 children and 7,365 women from April to the end of December last year. A total of 1,684 human-trafficking groups were identified and 2,895 trafficking cases were solved with 19 out of 20 suspects arrested.
In March, China's police chief, Meng Jianzhu, called for greater effort in halting trafficking of women and children, saying the crime "grossly violates human rights." Meng vowed zero tolerance for trafficking cases, asking local governments to address economic and social problems that are at the root of rampant human trafficking.
Unfortunately, all this has done little to stop the flow of Burmese women being sold for between 10,000 and 40,000 yuan (US $1,500 to $6,000) into forced marriage. Local grassroots organizations working along the Sino-Burma border believe that more and more women are trafficked across the border each week.
With increasing cases of land confiscation and what the Kachin Woman’s Organization in Thailand calls the Burmese regime's “mismanagement of the economy,” more and more women are leaving for China to survive.
“They have to work so hard in Burma and make very little. When people tell them about jobs in China they are ready to leave the next day,” one KWA worker based on the Sino-Burma border told The Irrawaddy.
Burmese women in a brothel in China live in fear of being arrested by police. Many were victims of human trafficking. (Photo: Than Aung/The Irrawaddy)
Also to blame is China’s one-child policy which has left many of the rural areas with an overwhelming proportion of men. Faced with a life alone, many men jump at the opportunity to buy a Burmese wife and fulfill their dreams of having a child.
Woman support groups report that in many cases the Chinese men only see their newly acquired Burmese wives as a means to continue their family line. The coordinator of one underground woman’s group told The Irrawaddy that once a women gives birth they are often “passed on.”
“All Chinese men want is to have a baby, once the girl has given birth she is often neglected, and we’ve heard many cases where she is sold on to another husband for the same reason,” she said. “Sometimes they are sold on three of four times.”
It’s still very hard for the NGOs to work on the border and most do so clandestinely, especially at this moment of increasing pressure by local authorities.
A US trafficiking reported stated: “Factors that continue to impede progress in anti-trafficking efforts include tight controls over civil society organizations, restricted access of foreign anti-trafficking organizations and the government’s systemic lack of transparency.”
Working underground, NGO workers receive countless calls from parents asking them to find their daughters or from the victims themselves, who are often impossible to reach.
There have been public attempts by the Chinese authorities to work with Burma to prevent trafficking. In line with a bilateral framework agreement signed in Kunming, liason offices have been set up along the border at Ruili and Zhangfeng.
When the Chinese authorities correctly identify a woman to be a trafficking victim, their treatment is reported to be good. However, women are normally returned without rehabilitation and problems often arise when they ask the Burmese border officials to pay for transportation home.
Burma has made some efforts with the passage of the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Law in 2005. Burma is also in the process of drafting a national-level five-year plan of eliminating human trafficking. Burma signed a memorandum of understanding involving the six-member Greater Mekong Sub region against trafficking in persons in 2004.
Julia Matrip, the head of the Kachin Woman's Association in Thailand, believes the regime is mainly involved in pleasing the international community rather than actually dealing with the problem.
“The number of girls coming across is increasing and if the SPDC really cares, they need to address the root causes of this problem which is economic desperation as a result of their poor management of Burma’s economy,” she said.
To curb the number of girls being trafficked into China, the Burmese authorities have restricted under-18 girls from travelling unaccompanied. However, walking around Ruili’s many massage parlors its clear that many children work in the premises. The women's group recent report titled “Eastward bound” says that 25 percent of trafficking victims are under 18.
Many of the women and children are never heard from again and may never be found as they slowly accept a life of solitude and are unable to communicate with anyone. Those who are rescued risk going back to a life of shame in their villages where their forced marriage in China makes them undesirable as wives.
For Thi Thi Win, she knew she couldn’t return to Burma, because she couldn’t face her village again. Instead, she remains in limbo on the border working as a sex worker to fuel her methamphetamine addiction.
Thi Thi Win picked up a wedding album of probably the most depressing wedding photos ever taken. A Burmese girl, lost and scared, standing with a stunned gaze next to her Chinese “husband.”
“Whatever happens after we escape, we all suffer inside for the rest of our lives,” she said, as she turned the pages of a wedding album of a forced marriage.
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group www.irrawaddy.org
COMMENTS
Kerry Wrote:
31/03/2010
Crimes against humanity includes Crimes against Women.Isn't it time for this unbelievable 2010 barbarity to end!With the internet there is nowhere to hide.
Yaw Mintha Wrote:
27/03/2010
Than Shwe is responsible for this horrible issue. I wish his daughters will end up in Hell as he makes countless lives of women hell on earth too. Curse be with Than Shwe and his family.
tocharian Wrote:
27/03/2010
The one child policy led to killing of baby girls (gendercide) in China. Men outnumber women by the millions in China. That's why they are raiding and kidnapping the girls from Burma. Its a truly sad story that you can buy a girl form Burma (who I might be distantly related to) as a slave-wife for less than $6,000. I feel ashamed of what is happening in the country of my birth. There are so many devastating things that are happening to the country nowadays (rape of the natural environment and mistreatment of children and women, corruption etc. etc.) that Burmese people normally do not want to talk about openly (forget the silly elections and the constitution). Maybe the UN should be more involved in these kind of humanitarian disasters than about legal nit-picking.I always thought real Burmese are kind, honest, courageous, proud and intelligent people. Where are they now in Burma?
March 26, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=18124
RUILI, China —Thi Thi Win reminisces about a time when she wore traditional Burmese clothes and walked around her village at sunset. For the best part of her childhood, she considered herself to be lucky—she had two loving parents and food was plentiful.
Until one day when her family was pushed out of their farm by the Burmese army to make way for a highway. One of eight siblings, she knew she had to find work to help her family.
While she was selling some of her families clothes in the local bus station, a man approached her saying he could find her a “factory job” in China. With high hopes, she packed her bags and left for Burma’s booming neighbor.
A Burmese woman who worked in a Chinese brothel on the Sino-Burma border in 2009. (Photo: Than Aung/The Irrawaddy)
“He told me I would no longer have to sell my family’s belongings and could buy presents for them within a month,” said Thi Thi Win, who asked that The Irrawaddy not use her real name.
She said her trip to the border was full of excitement. As she looked out the bus window, paddy fields flew past ,and she dreamed of her new life in China. At the bus station, she was greeted by a Chinese man who took her to a teashop where she was given noodles, which she quickly ate.
“The next thing I remember I was in a small room with Burmese girls—they had drugged me,” she said.
“The next couple of hours I spent chatting with the other girls, and they all had the same story. Then they led us out into a room, in front of lot of Chinese men —one man pointed at me.”
That was the moment that the man “bought” her, and without delay or discussion, she was taken to his farm in rural China to be his wife. At first, she refused, and his family was furious. They beat her until she couldn’t take the suffering anymore, and finally gave in.
Like thousands of girls who are trafficked from Burma to China each year, what followed her forced marriage was a life of hardship. The family forbade her to leave the house, and her days were spent housekeeping and cooking, as a way to “repay” the fee they had paid for her.
One day, after a year with the family—what she says felt like a lifetime—the police came to the home and took her into custody. Treated as an illegal immigrant, she was thrown in prison for three months, without an interview or assessment.
Treatment of trafficking victims is a major concern for NGOs that work in the region. They say that China is not doing enough to identify foreign women who have been forced into marriage. Lacking interpreters and proper screening processes, many trafficking victims end up in jail.
Despite the lack of attention to foreign victims, more work has been done to curb domestic trafficking in China.
With most of the trafficking is related to urban migration, the government has spent large sums educating farmers about the dangers of trafficking. China has a total of 1,351 Relief Administrative Centers located at provincial, county and city levels which work with trafficking victims.
Various counter-trafficking training courses have been held for media, trainers, police and key government officials in collaboration with UN agencies and international NGOs. Legal aid for victims has increased with more centers being opened across the country, and China is attempting to improve its prosecution procedure.
Last year, the public security ministry launched a special crackdown. Police across the country rescued 3,455 children and 7,365 women from April to the end of December last year. A total of 1,684 human-trafficking groups were identified and 2,895 trafficking cases were solved with 19 out of 20 suspects arrested.
In March, China's police chief, Meng Jianzhu, called for greater effort in halting trafficking of women and children, saying the crime "grossly violates human rights." Meng vowed zero tolerance for trafficking cases, asking local governments to address economic and social problems that are at the root of rampant human trafficking.
Unfortunately, all this has done little to stop the flow of Burmese women being sold for between 10,000 and 40,000 yuan (US $1,500 to $6,000) into forced marriage. Local grassroots organizations working along the Sino-Burma border believe that more and more women are trafficked across the border each week.
With increasing cases of land confiscation and what the Kachin Woman’s Organization in Thailand calls the Burmese regime's “mismanagement of the economy,” more and more women are leaving for China to survive.
“They have to work so hard in Burma and make very little. When people tell them about jobs in China they are ready to leave the next day,” one KWA worker based on the Sino-Burma border told The Irrawaddy.
Burmese women in a brothel in China live in fear of being arrested by police. Many were victims of human trafficking. (Photo: Than Aung/The Irrawaddy)
Also to blame is China’s one-child policy which has left many of the rural areas with an overwhelming proportion of men. Faced with a life alone, many men jump at the opportunity to buy a Burmese wife and fulfill their dreams of having a child.
Woman support groups report that in many cases the Chinese men only see their newly acquired Burmese wives as a means to continue their family line. The coordinator of one underground woman’s group told The Irrawaddy that once a women gives birth they are often “passed on.”
“All Chinese men want is to have a baby, once the girl has given birth she is often neglected, and we’ve heard many cases where she is sold on to another husband for the same reason,” she said. “Sometimes they are sold on three of four times.”
It’s still very hard for the NGOs to work on the border and most do so clandestinely, especially at this moment of increasing pressure by local authorities.
A US trafficiking reported stated: “Factors that continue to impede progress in anti-trafficking efforts include tight controls over civil society organizations, restricted access of foreign anti-trafficking organizations and the government’s systemic lack of transparency.”
Working underground, NGO workers receive countless calls from parents asking them to find their daughters or from the victims themselves, who are often impossible to reach.
There have been public attempts by the Chinese authorities to work with Burma to prevent trafficking. In line with a bilateral framework agreement signed in Kunming, liason offices have been set up along the border at Ruili and Zhangfeng.
When the Chinese authorities correctly identify a woman to be a trafficking victim, their treatment is reported to be good. However, women are normally returned without rehabilitation and problems often arise when they ask the Burmese border officials to pay for transportation home.
Burma has made some efforts with the passage of the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Law in 2005. Burma is also in the process of drafting a national-level five-year plan of eliminating human trafficking. Burma signed a memorandum of understanding involving the six-member Greater Mekong Sub region against trafficking in persons in 2004.
Julia Matrip, the head of the Kachin Woman's Association in Thailand, believes the regime is mainly involved in pleasing the international community rather than actually dealing with the problem.
“The number of girls coming across is increasing and if the SPDC really cares, they need to address the root causes of this problem which is economic desperation as a result of their poor management of Burma’s economy,” she said.
To curb the number of girls being trafficked into China, the Burmese authorities have restricted under-18 girls from travelling unaccompanied. However, walking around Ruili’s many massage parlors its clear that many children work in the premises. The women's group recent report titled “Eastward bound” says that 25 percent of trafficking victims are under 18.
Many of the women and children are never heard from again and may never be found as they slowly accept a life of solitude and are unable to communicate with anyone. Those who are rescued risk going back to a life of shame in their villages where their forced marriage in China makes them undesirable as wives.
For Thi Thi Win, she knew she couldn’t return to Burma, because she couldn’t face her village again. Instead, she remains in limbo on the border working as a sex worker to fuel her methamphetamine addiction.
Thi Thi Win picked up a wedding album of probably the most depressing wedding photos ever taken. A Burmese girl, lost and scared, standing with a stunned gaze next to her Chinese “husband.”
“Whatever happens after we escape, we all suffer inside for the rest of our lives,” she said, as she turned the pages of a wedding album of a forced marriage.
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group www.irrawaddy.org
COMMENTS
Kerry Wrote:
31/03/2010
Crimes against humanity includes Crimes against Women.Isn't it time for this unbelievable 2010 barbarity to end!With the internet there is nowhere to hide.
Yaw Mintha Wrote:
27/03/2010
Than Shwe is responsible for this horrible issue. I wish his daughters will end up in Hell as he makes countless lives of women hell on earth too. Curse be with Than Shwe and his family.
tocharian Wrote:
27/03/2010
The one child policy led to killing of baby girls (gendercide) in China. Men outnumber women by the millions in China. That's why they are raiding and kidnapping the girls from Burma. Its a truly sad story that you can buy a girl form Burma (who I might be distantly related to) as a slave-wife for less than $6,000. I feel ashamed of what is happening in the country of my birth. There are so many devastating things that are happening to the country nowadays (rape of the natural environment and mistreatment of children and women, corruption etc. etc.) that Burmese people normally do not want to talk about openly (forget the silly elections and the constitution). Maybe the UN should be more involved in these kind of humanitarian disasters than about legal nit-picking.I always thought real Burmese are kind, honest, courageous, proud and intelligent people. Where are they now in Burma?
New Burmese Passport to Make Blacklisting Easier
New Burmese Passport to Make Blacklisting Easier By NYEIN ZAY
March 26, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=18126
RANGOON — Burmese and foreigners who are blacklisted by the Burmese military regime will soon find it more difficult to obtain passports and visas when a new bar-code scanner system is introduced on April 1, according to an official at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The official, who also works with the Myanmar Passport Issuing Office, told The Irrawaddy that personal data, criminal records or political activities could be recorded in each passport and be accessed by officials, which could result in problems for those who are not in favor with the regime.
“At the moment, 10 out of 100 applicants are who are on the blacklist are likely to be granted [a passport or visa], but after the new system is introduced, it will be more difficult for them to obtain passports and visas,” said the official.
One member of Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), said people with political backgrounds, media workers, people with prison records and oppositions politicians will face greater challenges when they apply for travel documents.
“I have been trying to get a passport for about eight months, and I met with officials at different levels, but I still haven't got it. Passport offices wouldn't say if my application would be granted. And my broker said he didn't understand why it was taking so long for me,” said the NLD member.
One journalist who was imprisoned in the past, said it normally would take a little over a month for those who are not on the regime's blacklist.
“Even if we apply for a family-visit visa in another country, authorities won't issue documents for us now. We will wait and see if there will be any change in the passport and visa processes after the election,” he said.
An official at the Immigration Department said brokers who make fake census records and IDs for a travel document applicant will likely be eliminated when the new bar-code system goes into effective.
In a recent press conference, Maj-Gen Aye Myint Kyu, the deputy minister at the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, said foreigners on the blacklist will not be given visas to enter the country.
As part of the switch to the new passports and to facilitate international passport holders, the scanner machines will be installed at Rangoon International Airport, the report said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has given instructions to all Burmese embassies that they introduce passports using the international bar-code system and embassies will suspend passport extension services for one month in April.
Passports that will expire in April are to be extended before April, according to the ministry.
There are concerns that Burmese expatriates could face difficulties in extending their passports under the new regulations due to a lack of information about the move.
Burma has diplomatic ties with 92 countries and embassies in 30 countries.
The International Civil Aviation Organization, a UN agency that promotes understanding and security through cooperative aviation regulation, has called on the Burmese government to stop issuing hand-written passports, according to a Xinhua news agency report.
COMMENTS
Myanmar Patriot 4 UMPF Wrote:
29/03/2010
About time too. We are so amazed that some of our people are so naive not to understand how we are trying to struggle out of the long shadow of colonialism whilst trying to give our people, freedom, democracy and human rights. Message for SPDC: Your are commanded by our king HM King Shwebomin II to stay on course: you will be given advice as and when the situation warrants. ANALYSE why the 1990 election results were so skewed in favour of the NLD AND SNLD. As a start, calculate votes per seat!
lal Wrote:
28/03/2010
I wonder if non-Buddhist Burmese people will be given the same type of passports or once aqain they will they be discreminated against, as always. There is no future for Burmese of Indian origin, They will always be KALAS, The Burmese are forgetting that BURMA was once part of INDIA, Go back to the history and you will see Burma was part of INDIA.
March 26, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=18126
RANGOON — Burmese and foreigners who are blacklisted by the Burmese military regime will soon find it more difficult to obtain passports and visas when a new bar-code scanner system is introduced on April 1, according to an official at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The official, who also works with the Myanmar Passport Issuing Office, told The Irrawaddy that personal data, criminal records or political activities could be recorded in each passport and be accessed by officials, which could result in problems for those who are not in favor with the regime.
“At the moment, 10 out of 100 applicants are who are on the blacklist are likely to be granted [a passport or visa], but after the new system is introduced, it will be more difficult for them to obtain passports and visas,” said the official.
One member of Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), said people with political backgrounds, media workers, people with prison records and oppositions politicians will face greater challenges when they apply for travel documents.
“I have been trying to get a passport for about eight months, and I met with officials at different levels, but I still haven't got it. Passport offices wouldn't say if my application would be granted. And my broker said he didn't understand why it was taking so long for me,” said the NLD member.
One journalist who was imprisoned in the past, said it normally would take a little over a month for those who are not on the regime's blacklist.
“Even if we apply for a family-visit visa in another country, authorities won't issue documents for us now. We will wait and see if there will be any change in the passport and visa processes after the election,” he said.
An official at the Immigration Department said brokers who make fake census records and IDs for a travel document applicant will likely be eliminated when the new bar-code system goes into effective.
In a recent press conference, Maj-Gen Aye Myint Kyu, the deputy minister at the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, said foreigners on the blacklist will not be given visas to enter the country.
As part of the switch to the new passports and to facilitate international passport holders, the scanner machines will be installed at Rangoon International Airport, the report said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has given instructions to all Burmese embassies that they introduce passports using the international bar-code system and embassies will suspend passport extension services for one month in April.
Passports that will expire in April are to be extended before April, according to the ministry.
There are concerns that Burmese expatriates could face difficulties in extending their passports under the new regulations due to a lack of information about the move.
Burma has diplomatic ties with 92 countries and embassies in 30 countries.
The International Civil Aviation Organization, a UN agency that promotes understanding and security through cooperative aviation regulation, has called on the Burmese government to stop issuing hand-written passports, according to a Xinhua news agency report.
COMMENTS
Myanmar Patriot 4 UMPF Wrote:
29/03/2010
About time too. We are so amazed that some of our people are so naive not to understand how we are trying to struggle out of the long shadow of colonialism whilst trying to give our people, freedom, democracy and human rights. Message for SPDC: Your are commanded by our king HM King Shwebomin II to stay on course: you will be given advice as and when the situation warrants. ANALYSE why the 1990 election results were so skewed in favour of the NLD AND SNLD. As a start, calculate votes per seat!
lal Wrote:
28/03/2010
I wonder if non-Buddhist Burmese people will be given the same type of passports or once aqain they will they be discreminated against, as always. There is no future for Burmese of Indian origin, They will always be KALAS, The Burmese are forgetting that BURMA was once part of INDIA, Go back to the history and you will see Burma was part of INDIA.
Burma to hold national elections
Burma to hold national elections
March 27, 2010
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2010/03/27/Burma_to_hold_national_elections_444874.html
Military-ruled Burma will hold national elections in the last week of October or in early November, a senior official said on Saturday.
'The candidates will get about six months for campaigning after they have registered as political parties,' the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
'The elections will be in the last week of October or early in November.'
The junta has not announced a date for the polls but earlier this month it released election laws that were criticised for barring political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, from standing.
New party registration laws also mean that Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party must expel her in order to be able to contest the vote.
The elections will be the first held since 1990 polls, which the NLD won by a landslide but which were never recognised by the military.
The NLD has yet to decide if it will take part in the vote. Critics say the polls are a sham designed to legitimise the ruling generals' grip on power, and that an NLD boycott would further damage their credibility.
Suu Kyi, a 64-year-old Nobel peace laureate, has been in detention for 14 of the last 20 years.
March 27, 2010
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2010/03/27/Burma_to_hold_national_elections_444874.html
Military-ruled Burma will hold national elections in the last week of October or in early November, a senior official said on Saturday.
'The candidates will get about six months for campaigning after they have registered as political parties,' the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
'The elections will be in the last week of October or early in November.'
The junta has not announced a date for the polls but earlier this month it released election laws that were criticised for barring political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, from standing.
New party registration laws also mean that Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party must expel her in order to be able to contest the vote.
The elections will be the first held since 1990 polls, which the NLD won by a landslide but which were never recognised by the military.
The NLD has yet to decide if it will take part in the vote. Critics say the polls are a sham designed to legitimise the ruling generals' grip on power, and that an NLD boycott would further damage their credibility.
Suu Kyi, a 64-year-old Nobel peace laureate, has been in detention for 14 of the last 20 years.
US Ready to Engage in Military Dialogue with Burma: Official
US Ready to Engage in Military Dialogue with Burma: Official
By LALIT K JHA
March 27, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=18133
WASHINGTON — The US armed forces is ready to re-engage with Burma's ruling junta in a military-to-military dialogue if there is any change in Washington's policy toward the Southeast Asian country, a top US military official told lawmakers this week.
Appearing before both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees on Thursday and Friday, Adm Robert Willard, Commander of the US Pacific Command, acknowledged that there is virtually no contact between the two countries' armed forces, but said that could change if Washington decides to alter its Burma policy.
Navy Adm Robert Willard (C), commander of the US Pacific Command, Air Force Gen Kevin Chilton (L), commander of the US Strategic Command and Army Gen Walter Sharp (R), commander of United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/US Forces Korea testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on US Pacific Command, US Strategic Command, and US Forces Korea in review of the Defense Authorization Request for FY2011 and the Future Years Defense Program on March 26, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo: Getty Images)“It [US-Burma military engagement] remains essentially non-existent as a matter of policy and public law. That said, the US Pacific Command is prepared to re-engage in a military-to-military dialogue with the Burmese whenever US policy allows,” Willard said.
Although he did not elaborate on what kind of relationship he would like to have with the Burmese regime, he identified a number of key areas of concern currently affecting bilateral ties.
“Beyond the significant issues associated with their human rights record, Burma presents challenges to regional stability in a number of other areas, including a maritime border dispute with Bangladesh, narcotics trafficking, trafficking in persons, and potential for rapid spread of pandemic disease,” he said.
The last time that the US military had any significant contact with the Burmese junta was in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, when the US Department of Defense used 36 C-130 planes to deliver nearly $1.2 million worth of US aid to Rangoon to support humanitarian relief operations in the Irrawaddy delta.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the Obama administration expressed concern about the election laws in Burma. “We were clearly disappointed by them,” the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, P J Crowley, said.
“It by no means does what Burma has to do in terms of opening up its political process and having meaningful dialogue with parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi’s, as well as the various ethnic groups within Burmese society,” he said.
“I can’t predict that we’ll have a specific discussion at the G-8 summit. But this is, obviously, something that is of concern to us, as [it has] concerned others, and we will continue to share notes where it’s appropriate,” Crowley said in response to a question at his daily news briefing.
COMMENTS
plan B Wrote:
31/03/2010
Now we know This is not by coincidence that this remark was made. This is a US foray to the Junta now not hamstrung by NLD as the only legitimate government of Myanmar.
plan B Wrote:
30/03/2010
"Why is the US so dim-witted as not to know in advance where the junta is heading for after all these years of close watch. ''We were clearly disappointed by them,” is just a stupid remark"The US is not dim witted. It has hemmed itself in by the HR 2330 with no sun-setting provision. The yahoos, the main one NLD and the expats abroad who benefited from incessantly promoting this HR are all to blame.As long as HR 2330 exist, the US can not engage Myanmar legally. The only way around is for the NLD to disband.In HR 2330 NLD is the only legal entity to govern Myanmar.Now you know why NLD does what it does. And the US keep FAKING dialogue and engagement.
funny Wrote:
29/03/2010
Why is the US so dim-witted as not to know in advance where the junta is heading for after all these years of close watch. ''We were clearly disappointed by them,” is just a stupid remark.
plan B Wrote:
27/03/2010
Here it is the admission of empty dialogue/engagement charade.HR 2330Absolutely attempt to isolate myanmar from the the world and yet US has the audacity to claim the right to further these policies that has proven to hurt the people more and make the SPDC one of the most xenophobic and paranoid government within ASEAN.
By LALIT K JHA
March 27, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=18133
WASHINGTON — The US armed forces is ready to re-engage with Burma's ruling junta in a military-to-military dialogue if there is any change in Washington's policy toward the Southeast Asian country, a top US military official told lawmakers this week.
Appearing before both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees on Thursday and Friday, Adm Robert Willard, Commander of the US Pacific Command, acknowledged that there is virtually no contact between the two countries' armed forces, but said that could change if Washington decides to alter its Burma policy.
Navy Adm Robert Willard (C), commander of the US Pacific Command, Air Force Gen Kevin Chilton (L), commander of the US Strategic Command and Army Gen Walter Sharp (R), commander of United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/US Forces Korea testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on US Pacific Command, US Strategic Command, and US Forces Korea in review of the Defense Authorization Request for FY2011 and the Future Years Defense Program on March 26, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo: Getty Images)“It [US-Burma military engagement] remains essentially non-existent as a matter of policy and public law. That said, the US Pacific Command is prepared to re-engage in a military-to-military dialogue with the Burmese whenever US policy allows,” Willard said.
Although he did not elaborate on what kind of relationship he would like to have with the Burmese regime, he identified a number of key areas of concern currently affecting bilateral ties.
“Beyond the significant issues associated with their human rights record, Burma presents challenges to regional stability in a number of other areas, including a maritime border dispute with Bangladesh, narcotics trafficking, trafficking in persons, and potential for rapid spread of pandemic disease,” he said.
The last time that the US military had any significant contact with the Burmese junta was in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, when the US Department of Defense used 36 C-130 planes to deliver nearly $1.2 million worth of US aid to Rangoon to support humanitarian relief operations in the Irrawaddy delta.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the Obama administration expressed concern about the election laws in Burma. “We were clearly disappointed by them,” the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, P J Crowley, said.
“It by no means does what Burma has to do in terms of opening up its political process and having meaningful dialogue with parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi’s, as well as the various ethnic groups within Burmese society,” he said.
“I can’t predict that we’ll have a specific discussion at the G-8 summit. But this is, obviously, something that is of concern to us, as [it has] concerned others, and we will continue to share notes where it’s appropriate,” Crowley said in response to a question at his daily news briefing.
COMMENTS
plan B Wrote:
31/03/2010
Now we know This is not by coincidence that this remark was made. This is a US foray to the Junta now not hamstrung by NLD as the only legitimate government of Myanmar.
plan B Wrote:
30/03/2010
"Why is the US so dim-witted as not to know in advance where the junta is heading for after all these years of close watch. ''We were clearly disappointed by them,” is just a stupid remark"The US is not dim witted. It has hemmed itself in by the HR 2330 with no sun-setting provision. The yahoos, the main one NLD and the expats abroad who benefited from incessantly promoting this HR are all to blame.As long as HR 2330 exist, the US can not engage Myanmar legally. The only way around is for the NLD to disband.In HR 2330 NLD is the only legal entity to govern Myanmar.Now you know why NLD does what it does. And the US keep FAKING dialogue and engagement.
funny Wrote:
29/03/2010
Why is the US so dim-witted as not to know in advance where the junta is heading for after all these years of close watch. ''We were clearly disappointed by them,” is just a stupid remark.
plan B Wrote:
27/03/2010
Here it is the admission of empty dialogue/engagement charade.HR 2330Absolutely attempt to isolate myanmar from the the world and yet US has the audacity to claim the right to further these policies that has proven to hurt the people more and make the SPDC one of the most xenophobic and paranoid government within ASEAN.
Burma's Gruesome Animal Trade
Burma's Gruesome Animal Trade
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN
March 27, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=18131
BANGKOK—Noted wildlife photographer and cameraman Karl Ammann has made numerous trips to the Golden Triangle region to document the illegal and destructive trade in wild animals. His trips have included the Shan Special Region 4 in Burma where a lucrative cross-border business has emerged in recent years, with tigers, bears, leopards and other animals hunted, caged and killed for food and medicinal products, mainly for consumption in China's Yunnan Province.
A stall in Central Market in Mong La, on the border between Burma and China, sells various dead wildlife, such as this bear (foreground), and skewers of unidentified meat in this undated photo. (Photo: Karl Ammann / National Geographic)At a screening of his 2007 documentary on the Mong La animal trade in Bangkok earlier this week, Ammann lamented the apparent decline of the animal population in the region around Mong La, the revamped casino town in Shan State near the Chinese border. Once a haven for gambling, drug trafficking and prostitution, the people of Mong La and the surrounding area––for a time at least––have taken to hunting large, rare and exotic animals.
Ammann's documentary featured some gruesome exhibits, such as a group of around 80 black bears kept in small cages, having their bile “milked” via catheters. This so-called "liquid gold," is popular in traditional Chinese remedies, an apparent cure for eye and liver problems. Ammann highlighted the vast array of animal body parts used in traditional Chinese medicine––such as bear paws and gall bladders, big-cat teeth and tiger penis––which can be found at markets around the town.
Ammann believes that much of the economic motivation for the illicit animal trade comes from the reduced drug trade in Shan State in recent years. China closed its border post near Mong La in 2005, apparently after family members connected to the Communist Party leadership lost heavily while gambling at the casino there.
A large male tiger skin is offered for sale in a private backroom in Mvng La, a casino town near the border between Myanmar (Burma) and China, in this photograph taken in summer 2005. (Photo: Karl Ammann / National Geographic)The Swiss-born photographer's images included cages stacked on top of each other, containing macaques, small primates, pangolins, rare birds and a wide variety of reptiles. Other pictures showed gore-laden tables covered with animal remains, including dogs and monkeys, some with bullet holes through their heads, their throats cut or beheaded. Many of the animals on display are listed as endangered species.
Ammann says the scale of the illicit trade he witnessed in Mong La outweighs anything he has seen, including the well-documented “bushmeat” trade in central and eastern Africa, adding that animal numbers have declined significantly due to hunting.
However, just as Ammann found a desolate Mong La in 2007, and a near traffic-free border post, he fears that the nearby hills and forest are now barren of much of the large wildlife that once roamed the region.
The border post has reportedly reopened from the Chinese side, enabling a return influx of Chinese gamblers and tourists, and a return to the older, bustling Mong La, once known as “Las Vegas in the Jungle.”
The border post apparently re-opened amid Burmese junta pressure on ethnic cease-fire groups, including the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) and United Wa State Army (UWSA), to stand down and become part of the junta's border security forces. The re-opening appears to have taken place not long after the Burmese army offensive against the ethnic Chinese Kokang, which sent 37,000 refugees into China and caused consternation in Beijing. The NDAA, UWSA and other cease-fire groups are thought to be stepping up drug production and selling off stocks to finance a possible war with the government forces, should Naypyidaw seek to enforce the border guard plan.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) gathering has just concluded in Doha, Qatar, and has been condemned as a failure by conservationists after member states vetoed protection measures proposed to reduce the hunting of various sharks, blue-fin tuna and bears.
“LDCs [lesser-developed countries] no longer want to be dictated to by the West. They say, 'You have consumed so much over the past century, but now you want to stop us doing the same,'” said Ammann.
Burma and China are both signatories to CITES, and the trade puts both countries in breach of their obligations under CITES. Burmese government officials protest that they cannot do anything about the illegal animal trade, as the ethnic area in question has local autonomy.
Ammann said he sought to interview Chinese officials in Geneva about the issue, but said he was “given the runaround,” with no opportunity to ask questions.
Asked about what can be done to reduce or stamp out the illicit trade in wild animals, Ammann says that while education and cultural awareness can help in the long term, “what is needed now is enforcement, as time is running out for some of the animals, as we have seen from Mong La.”
Elsewhere, years of war in eastern Congo have seen gorilla numbers reduced drastically, according to activists, with rebels hunting the animals for food and for re-sale into the bushmeat trade. Chinese demand for ivory has seen elephant numbers drop as China expands its diplomatic and commercial presence across Africa. Elephant poaching is on the rise across Africa, 21 years after the ivory trade was outlawed. Last year, China approved 37 new retail ivory stores. However, China says it is committed to the ban on the ivory trade, and officials say that ivory seizures by Chinese customs officials have almost doubled in recent years.
Experts say the illicit trade piggybacks on lawlessness, state failure and political conflict. According to the CITES Web site: “The illegal wildlife trade that takes place around the world is often highly organized and sophisticated and can involve criminal gangs, armed with automatic weapons, who don’t hesitate to murder the wardens, game scouts or forest guards whose daily job it is to protect our planet’s natural resources.”
In the past, all too often, the response to such criminals has not been equally organized or sophisticated,” said Willem Wijnstekers, the secretary-general of CITES.
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN
March 27, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=18131
BANGKOK—Noted wildlife photographer and cameraman Karl Ammann has made numerous trips to the Golden Triangle region to document the illegal and destructive trade in wild animals. His trips have included the Shan Special Region 4 in Burma where a lucrative cross-border business has emerged in recent years, with tigers, bears, leopards and other animals hunted, caged and killed for food and medicinal products, mainly for consumption in China's Yunnan Province.
A stall in Central Market in Mong La, on the border between Burma and China, sells various dead wildlife, such as this bear (foreground), and skewers of unidentified meat in this undated photo. (Photo: Karl Ammann / National Geographic)At a screening of his 2007 documentary on the Mong La animal trade in Bangkok earlier this week, Ammann lamented the apparent decline of the animal population in the region around Mong La, the revamped casino town in Shan State near the Chinese border. Once a haven for gambling, drug trafficking and prostitution, the people of Mong La and the surrounding area––for a time at least––have taken to hunting large, rare and exotic animals.
Ammann's documentary featured some gruesome exhibits, such as a group of around 80 black bears kept in small cages, having their bile “milked” via catheters. This so-called "liquid gold," is popular in traditional Chinese remedies, an apparent cure for eye and liver problems. Ammann highlighted the vast array of animal body parts used in traditional Chinese medicine––such as bear paws and gall bladders, big-cat teeth and tiger penis––which can be found at markets around the town.
Ammann believes that much of the economic motivation for the illicit animal trade comes from the reduced drug trade in Shan State in recent years. China closed its border post near Mong La in 2005, apparently after family members connected to the Communist Party leadership lost heavily while gambling at the casino there.
A large male tiger skin is offered for sale in a private backroom in Mvng La, a casino town near the border between Myanmar (Burma) and China, in this photograph taken in summer 2005. (Photo: Karl Ammann / National Geographic)The Swiss-born photographer's images included cages stacked on top of each other, containing macaques, small primates, pangolins, rare birds and a wide variety of reptiles. Other pictures showed gore-laden tables covered with animal remains, including dogs and monkeys, some with bullet holes through their heads, their throats cut or beheaded. Many of the animals on display are listed as endangered species.
Ammann says the scale of the illicit trade he witnessed in Mong La outweighs anything he has seen, including the well-documented “bushmeat” trade in central and eastern Africa, adding that animal numbers have declined significantly due to hunting.
However, just as Ammann found a desolate Mong La in 2007, and a near traffic-free border post, he fears that the nearby hills and forest are now barren of much of the large wildlife that once roamed the region.
The border post has reportedly reopened from the Chinese side, enabling a return influx of Chinese gamblers and tourists, and a return to the older, bustling Mong La, once known as “Las Vegas in the Jungle.”
The border post apparently re-opened amid Burmese junta pressure on ethnic cease-fire groups, including the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) and United Wa State Army (UWSA), to stand down and become part of the junta's border security forces. The re-opening appears to have taken place not long after the Burmese army offensive against the ethnic Chinese Kokang, which sent 37,000 refugees into China and caused consternation in Beijing. The NDAA, UWSA and other cease-fire groups are thought to be stepping up drug production and selling off stocks to finance a possible war with the government forces, should Naypyidaw seek to enforce the border guard plan.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) gathering has just concluded in Doha, Qatar, and has been condemned as a failure by conservationists after member states vetoed protection measures proposed to reduce the hunting of various sharks, blue-fin tuna and bears.
“LDCs [lesser-developed countries] no longer want to be dictated to by the West. They say, 'You have consumed so much over the past century, but now you want to stop us doing the same,'” said Ammann.
Burma and China are both signatories to CITES, and the trade puts both countries in breach of their obligations under CITES. Burmese government officials protest that they cannot do anything about the illegal animal trade, as the ethnic area in question has local autonomy.
Ammann said he sought to interview Chinese officials in Geneva about the issue, but said he was “given the runaround,” with no opportunity to ask questions.
Asked about what can be done to reduce or stamp out the illicit trade in wild animals, Ammann says that while education and cultural awareness can help in the long term, “what is needed now is enforcement, as time is running out for some of the animals, as we have seen from Mong La.”
Elsewhere, years of war in eastern Congo have seen gorilla numbers reduced drastically, according to activists, with rebels hunting the animals for food and for re-sale into the bushmeat trade. Chinese demand for ivory has seen elephant numbers drop as China expands its diplomatic and commercial presence across Africa. Elephant poaching is on the rise across Africa, 21 years after the ivory trade was outlawed. Last year, China approved 37 new retail ivory stores. However, China says it is committed to the ban on the ivory trade, and officials say that ivory seizures by Chinese customs officials have almost doubled in recent years.
Experts say the illicit trade piggybacks on lawlessness, state failure and political conflict. According to the CITES Web site: “The illegal wildlife trade that takes place around the world is often highly organized and sophisticated and can involve criminal gangs, armed with automatic weapons, who don’t hesitate to murder the wardens, game scouts or forest guards whose daily job it is to protect our planet’s natural resources.”
In the past, all too often, the response to such criminals has not been equally organized or sophisticated,” said Willem Wijnstekers, the secretary-general of CITES.
Myanmar's ruler warns against external interference
Myanmar's ruler warns against external interference
March 27, 2010
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/27/myanmar.military.day/?hpt=T2
Naypyitaw, Myanmar (CNN) -- Myanmar's junta chief spoke Saturday of pending political and economic change even as an ostentatious parade served as a reminder of the isolated nation's military might.
In his annual Armed Forces Day national speech, Senior Gen. Than Shwe signaled that transition would soon be under way though he gave no date for upcoming national elections, the first such vote in two decades.
"Preparations are being made to be ready in every aspect for a gentle transition to democracy and market oriented economic systems," Than Shwe said. "Failure to make a systemic step-by-step transition from one system to another may endanger the nation and the people."
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962. The Armed Forces Day parade -- commemorating the start of the Burmese army's resistance to Japanese occupation in 1945 -- is designed to showcase military power.
Saturday's parade could be the last for the military junta, though critics believe that Myanmar's announced elections are intended only to create a facade of democracy.
Election process faces criticism
The so-called Group of Friends on Myanmar, an informal collection of 14 countries and the European Union, are unhappy with the junta's lack of progress toward establishing a fair and transparent election process.
In his speech, Than Shwe took a jab at nations like the United States, which has said that diplomatic ties between the two nations could improve if Myanmar took tangible steps toward democracy.
"During the transition to an unfamiliar system, countries with greater experience usually interfere and take advantage for their own interest," he said. "For this reason, it is an absolute necessity to avoid relying on external powers."
The upcoming vote will be the first since 1990, when opposition candidate Aung San Suu Kyi won by a landslide. The junta refused to recognize her party's victory.
Suu Kyi, the iconic face for democracy in Myanmar, has been kept under detention for 14 of the past 20 years.
Earlier this month, the junta announced that Suu Kyi would be barred from participating in this year's election. The Political Parties Registration Law, announced in state-run newspapers, excludes electoral participation by any member of a political party who has been convicted in court.
CNN's Kit Swartz contributed to this report
March 27, 2010
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/27/myanmar.military.day/?hpt=T2
Naypyitaw, Myanmar (CNN) -- Myanmar's junta chief spoke Saturday of pending political and economic change even as an ostentatious parade served as a reminder of the isolated nation's military might.
In his annual Armed Forces Day national speech, Senior Gen. Than Shwe signaled that transition would soon be under way though he gave no date for upcoming national elections, the first such vote in two decades.
"Preparations are being made to be ready in every aspect for a gentle transition to democracy and market oriented economic systems," Than Shwe said. "Failure to make a systemic step-by-step transition from one system to another may endanger the nation and the people."
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962. The Armed Forces Day parade -- commemorating the start of the Burmese army's resistance to Japanese occupation in 1945 -- is designed to showcase military power.
Saturday's parade could be the last for the military junta, though critics believe that Myanmar's announced elections are intended only to create a facade of democracy.
Election process faces criticism
The so-called Group of Friends on Myanmar, an informal collection of 14 countries and the European Union, are unhappy with the junta's lack of progress toward establishing a fair and transparent election process.
In his speech, Than Shwe took a jab at nations like the United States, which has said that diplomatic ties between the two nations could improve if Myanmar took tangible steps toward democracy.
"During the transition to an unfamiliar system, countries with greater experience usually interfere and take advantage for their own interest," he said. "For this reason, it is an absolute necessity to avoid relying on external powers."
The upcoming vote will be the first since 1990, when opposition candidate Aung San Suu Kyi won by a landslide. The junta refused to recognize her party's victory.
Suu Kyi, the iconic face for democracy in Myanmar, has been kept under detention for 14 of the past 20 years.
Earlier this month, the junta announced that Suu Kyi would be barred from participating in this year's election. The Political Parties Registration Law, announced in state-run newspapers, excludes electoral participation by any member of a political party who has been convicted in court.
CNN's Kit Swartz contributed to this report
Burmese leader warns against 'slanderous' election campaign
Burmese leader warns against 'slanderous' election campaign
27 Mar 2010
http://australianetworknews.com/stories/201003/2857940.htm?desktop
A day after a massive parade to mark Burma's Armed Forces Day, the leader of the country's junta has warned against 'divisive' and 'slanderous' election campaigning in the run up to polls - possibly in late October or early November.Senior General Than Shwe was addressing thousands of soldiers at a parade ground in the remote capital, Naypyidaw.But observers have dismissed the polls as a move to strengthen the generals' power. The detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from standing and a quarter of parliamentary seats will be nominated by the junta.
27 Mar 2010
http://australianetworknews.com/stories/201003/2857940.htm?desktop
A day after a massive parade to mark Burma's Armed Forces Day, the leader of the country's junta has warned against 'divisive' and 'slanderous' election campaigning in the run up to polls - possibly in late October or early November.Senior General Than Shwe was addressing thousands of soldiers at a parade ground in the remote capital, Naypyidaw.But observers have dismissed the polls as a move to strengthen the generals' power. The detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from standing and a quarter of parliamentary seats will be nominated by the junta.
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