News & Articles on Burma, Sunday, 05 July 2009
Jul 5th, 2009
THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL’S REMARKS ON MYANMAR
Brown attacks Burmese leaders
Ban disappointed in Myanmar
In Myanmar, expectations were low for U.N. visit
Burma junta blamed for UN chief’s failed visit
Suu Kyi party blames junta for UN’s failed mision
Myanmar students seek hope abroad
Ban’s failure to meet Suu Kyi is ‘great loss’: NLD
UN’s Ban ends Myanmar trip empty-handed
5,000 days in captivity: The world’s most famous political prisoner
Can Mr. Ban Ki-moon cope with Burma’s Political Crisis?
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THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
REMARKS ON MYANMAR TO DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS, UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES, INTERNATIONAL AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
Yangon, 4 July 2009
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests and colleagues
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is my second visit to Myanmar in just over a year. Both visits have been at critical times for the country’s future.
My first visit was in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. This devastating natural disaster, which took so many lives and created so much hardship, touched hearts across the globe. In Myanmar’s moment of need, the world responded generously.
I want to personally thank everyone here today for your remarkable contributions to the relief and recovery effort.
You have saved lives, rejuvenated communities and made it possible for many thousands of people to reclaim their livelihoods. You have helped Myanmar to overcome adversity. It is important that this work continues.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I felt the tragedy of Cyclone Nargis deeply — as a fellow Asian and as Secretary-General .
I am Asia’s second Secretary-General. The first was Myanmar’s U Thant. I revere his memory. I also recall his wise words.
U Thant said: “The worth of the individual human being is the most unique and precious of all our assets and must be the beginning and end of all our efforts. Governments, systems, ideologies and institutions come and go, but humanity remains.”
This is why I have returned.
As Secretary-General, I attach the highest importance to helping the people of this country to achieve their legitimate aspirations.
The United Nations works for people – their rights, their well-being, their dignity. It is not an option. It is our responsibility.
I have come to show the unequivocal shared commitment of the United Nations to the people of Myanmar.
I am here today to say: Myanmar – you are not alone.
We want to work with you for a united, peaceful, prosperous, democratic and modern Myanmar.
We want to help you rise from poverty.
We want to work with you so your country can take its place as a respected and responsible member of the international community.
We want to help you achieve national reconciliation, durable peace and sustainable development.
But, let me emphasize: neither peace nor development can thrive without democracy and respect for human rights.
Myanmar is no exception.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The challenges are many. But they are not insurmountable.
We know from experience that securing Myanmar’s peaceful, democratic and prosperous future is a complex process.
None of Myanmar’s challenges can be solved on their own. Peace, development and human rights are closely inter-related.
Failure to address them with equal attention will risk undermining the prospects for democracy, durable peace and prosperity.
However, we also know that where there is a genuine will for dialogue and reconciliation, all obstacles can be overcome.
The question today is this: how much longer can Myanmar afford to wait for national reconciliation, democratic transition and full respect for human rights?
The cost of delay will be counted in wasted lives, lost opportunities and prolonged isolation from the international community.
Let me be clear: all the people of Myanmar must work in the national interest.
I said this yesterday when I met with representatives of Myanmar’s registered political parties and with those armed groups that have chosen to observe a cease-fire. I encouraged them respectively to honour their commitments to the democratic process and peace.
Nonetheless, the primary responsibility lies with the Government to move the country towards its stated goals of national reconciliation and democracy.
Failure to do so will prevent the people of Myanmar from realizing their full potential.
Failure to do so will deny the people of Myanmar their right to live in dignity and to pursue better standards of life in larger freedom.
These principles lie at the core of the United Nations Charter, whose opening words are “We the peoples”.
The founding Constitution of independent Myanmar echoes these noble words. We must work together to ensure that Myanmar’s future embodies these principles too.
With this in mind, I bring three messages.
First, respect for human dignity is the precondition for peace and development everywhere.
Myanmar was one of the first United Nations Member States to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It subscribed early on to the consensus that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is indispensable to political, economic and social progress.
Unfortunately, that commitment has not been matched in deed. Myanmar’s human rights record remains a matter of grave concern.
The Government has articulated its goals as stability, national reconciliation and democracy.
The upcoming election –the first in twenty years – must be inclusive, participatory and transparent if it is to be credible.
Myanmar’s way forward must be rooted in respect for human rights.
This is why I say that all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, should be released without delay.
When I met General Than Shwe yesterday and today, I asked to visit Ms.
Suu Kyi. I am deeply disappointed that he refused.
I believe the government of Myanmar has lost a unique opportunity to show its commitment to a new era of political openness.
Allowing a visit to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would have been an important symbol of the government’s willingness to embark on the kind of meaningful engagement that will be essential if the elections in 2010 are to be seen as credible.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi must be allowed to participate in the political process without further delay.
Indeed, all the citizens of Myanmar must be given the opportunity to contribute fully to the future of this country.
National reconciliation cannot be complete without the free and active participation of all who seek to contribute.
The country must embark on a process of genuine dialogue that includes all concerned parties, all ethnic groups and all minorities.
People must be free to debate and to engage in political dialogue, and they must have free access to the information that will help them participate meaningfully in the democratic process.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Any transition is difficult. Myanmar has already undergone transitions from sovereign kingdom, to occupied colony, and now independent State.
This history carries a twin legacy of armed conflict and political deadlock, including recent painful events: the repression of demonstrators in 1988, the cancellation of the 1990 election results, and the clampdown on peaceful dissent that continues to this day.
At the same time, there have been some positive efforts that should be recognized.
Although still fragile, the cease-fire agreements between the Government and armed groups have reduced the level of conflict. The United Nations has wide-ranging experience in making such gains irreversible.
Sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity are legitimate concerns for any government.
We contend that opening and broadening the political space is the best way to ensure that each group and each individual becomes part of the greater collective project.
The military, all political parties, ethnic minority groups, civil society, and indeed every son and daughter of Myanmar has a role to play in this country’s transition.
Only mutual compromise, respect and understanding can lay the foundations for durable peace, national reconciliation and democracy.
My second message is on addressing the humanitarian needs of Myanmar’s people.
I am glad I have been able to return to see the progress made in the Irrawaddy Delta. The loss of some 130,000 people was tragic, but the rebuilding I saw today was impressive.
The tragedy showed the resilience of the people of Myanmar. It also demonstrated that people throughout the world care deeply about Myanmar and its people.
Above all, the response to Cyclone Nargis proved the value of engagement over isolation.
The unprecedented cooperation between Myanmar, the United Nations and ASEAN through the Tripartite Core Group, with the support of the donor community, has demonstrated that humanitarian imperatives and the principles of sovereignty do not conflict.
Humanitarian assistance — in Myanmar as elsewhere — should never be held hostage to political considerations. We can and must work together to ensure access to humanitarian and development assistance to all those in Myanmar who need it.
This brings me to my third message. It is time for Myanmar to unleash its economic potential.
Myanmar sits in the middle of Asia’s economic miracle. Harnessing Myanmar to the rapid advances taking place around it is the surest way to raise living standards.
I welcome the Government’s policy of opening up to outside trade and investment, and its efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, control HIV, combat human trafficking and curtail opium production.
But the reality is that millions continue to live in poverty. Standards of living in Myanmar remain among the lowest in Asia.
The people of Myanmar need jobs, they need food security and they need access to health care.
We must work to ensure that the people of Myanmar can benefit from and contribute to the regional and global economy.
We must recognize that the region and the world have much to gain from a stable, prosperous and democratic Myanmar. We must work together for that goal.
The Government of Myanmar must seize the moment.
It must take advantage of the opportunities that the international community is prepared to offer to the people of Myanmar.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I came here as a friend.
My duty is to uphold the ideals and principles of the United Nations Charter.
My role is to encourage all of you – the Government, political parties, ethnic groups, civil society – to move forward together as one people and one nation.
Nothing is insurmountable or impossible when the people’s interest is placed above divisions.
The region and the world are changing fast. Myanmar only stands to gain from engagement — and from embarking on its own change.
The Government of Myanmar has repeatedly stated that cooperation with the United Nations is the cornerstone of the country’s foreign policy.
We ask it to match deeds with words.
The more Myanmar works in partnership with the United Nations to respond to its people’s needs and aspirations, the more it affirms its sovereignty.
Similarly it is incumbent on the international community as whole to work together to help Myanmar meet our shared goals: a united, peaceful, prosperous and democratic future, with full respect for the human rights of all the country’s people.
Kyae zoo tin bar tae.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/
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Brown attacks Burmese leaders
Gordon Brown has attacked Burma’s leaders after they refused to let UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Prime Minister, who has been a vocal campaigner for her release from jail, spoke out after Mr Ban’s two-day visit to the country ended without progress.
Mr Brown said: “The UN Secretary general was right to go to Burma. he gave powerful voice to the UN’s core mission – our collective commitment to humanitarian relief, democratic governance and human rights.
“But it is a measure of the obstinacy of the Burmese regime that they have once again failed to respect those principles, and failed to properly respond to the international figurehead who best embodies them.
“We await the Secretary General’s report. I hope that there is still the possibility of a change of approach from Burma but if not, my sad conclusion is that the Burmese regime has put increased isolation, including the possibility of further sanctions, on the international agenda.”
Mr Ban said he was “deeply disappointed” after Burma’s military ruler said he could not see Suu Kyi because she was on trial.
© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.
http://itn.co.uk/
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Ban disappointed in Myanmar
IANS
First Published : 05 Jul 2009 12:25:44 AM IST
Last Updated : 05 Jul 2009 12:36:05 AM IST
YANGON: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Saturday called on Myanmar’s junta to allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to participate in politics. Ban was speaking after being denied access to the democracy icon on his two-day official visit to the country.
“I am deeply disappointed with the refusal of the Senior General to let me meet with Daw (Mrs) Aung San Suu Kyi,” a grim looking Ban told a press briefing before departing Myanmar Saturday evening.
Ban met with Myanmar junta chief Senior General Than Shwe twice Friday and Saturday in Naypyi taw, 350 km north of Yangon, to press for the freedom of Suu Kyi and 2,100 other political prisoners and to request permission to visit the Nobel peace prize laureate. He was denied the visit twice.
Suu Kyi, 64, is currently on trial for breaking the terms of her detention and is likely to be sentenced to 3-5 years in prison soon, which would assure her absence in the upcoming 2010 general election planned by Myanmar’s military rulers.
“Daw Aung san Suu Kyi must be allowed to participate in the political process without delay,” Ban said.
In a strongly worded statement, Ban added: “Without respect for human rights and democracy a country cannot develop.”
Suu Kyi is currently in Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison.
Ban arrived in Yangon mid-day Saturday from Naypyitaw, the junta’s headquarters, and paid a quick visit to the Irrawaddy Delta, which was devastated by Cyclone Nargis May 2-3 last year, leaving an estimated 140,000 people dead or missing.
Ban last visited Myanmar a year ago, when he succeeded in persuading Than Shwe to facilitate international aid to the millions of victims left homeless and without food or medicine by the cyclone.
He has been less successful this trip, which aimed at putting political pressure on the authoritarian regime that has ruled Myanmar since 1988.
Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy opposition party, has been imprisoned for 14 of the past 20 years and faces another three to five years in jail if found guilty of breaking the terms of her house arrest.
The Nobel peace laureate has been charged with deliberately allowing US citizen John William Yettaw to swim to her lakeside residence May 3 and spend two nights in her compound.
A special court was scheduled to hear a defence witness in the Suu Kyi case Friday, but the hearing was postponed until July 10, perhaps because of Ban’s arrival.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won the 1990 general election by a landslide but has been blocked from power by Myanmar’s junta ever since.
The new trial of Suu Kyi, whose most recent six-year house arrest sentence expired May 27, has sparked a chorus of protests from world leaders and statements of concern from its regional allies in ASEAN.
Ban will stopover in Bangkok Saturday night, when he has scheduled a brief meeting with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
“Abhisit is meeting the UN secretary-general both in his capacity as prime minister and as the current chair of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN),” Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said.
“Obviously Myanmar will be discussed but it will not be a single-issue meeting,” Thani added.
http://www.expressbuzz.com/
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In Myanmar, expectations were low for U.N. visit
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expresses disappointment at not being allowed to see pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A former prisoner says he’s not surprised.
By Charles McDermid
July 5, 2009
Reporting from Bangkok — Aging former political prisoner Win Tin says he wasn’t surprised that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Myanmar to plead for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi ended in failure.
Ban said Saturday he was “deeply disappointed” that Senior Gen. Than Shwe refused to allow him to see Suu Kyi, adding that she should be released “without delay.” He said Myanmar’s human rights record was a matter of serious concern.
But Win Tin, 80, a former journalist and founding member of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, said he didn’t expect a breakthrough.
“I am not being cynical, but I expected nothing much from the visit. Even though he came at the invitation of the regime, it can be seen as the regime’s response to worldwide pressure due to Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial,” he said by telephone Saturday from Myanmar, also known as Burma. “If there is no real political progress, we will see Burma under a military dictatorship for many years.”
Since Win Tin was released in September after 19 years in Yangon’s Insein Prison, he has worn his prison uniform as a sign of defiance. Last month, he was barred from testifying on Suu Kyi’s behalf.
Suu Kyi has been detained for nearly 14 of the last 20 years. She was charged with violating her house arrest after an American swam uninvited to her home and stayed there for two days. The American, John Yettaw of Falcon, Mo., is also being held.
Ban said his two-day visit, which ended Saturday, would be used to call for the release of Myanmar’s estimated 2,100 political prisoners, promote dialogue between the regime and the opposition, and assure a credible vote in general elections scheduled for next year.
Historian Thant Myint-U, grandson of U Thant, secretary-general of the U.N. from 1961-1971, said it was unfair to blame Ban for the trip’s failure.
“Many governments were pushing him to go, the same governments that can’t agree among themselves on what to do about Burma,” he said. “As long as the big powers are deadlocked, it’s easy to push the U.N. secretary-general into the limelight, and then blame him for not producing results.”
Pro-democracy opposition and exile groups were left with the largely ineffectual tools they started with: international outcry and economic sanctions.
“The trouble with sanctions is that they are easy to put into effect and very difficult to get rid of. If you want to achieve an objective, sometimes you have to give people a way out,” said David Steinberg, a Myanmar expert at Georgetown University.
Meanwhile, Win Tin says he is practically homeless. His property was seized by the government when he went to jail on July 4, 1989, and his friends have been denied the government approval needed to house him.
Born into a poor family in north Yangon, also known as Rangoon, Win Tin dreamed of joining Myanmar’s struggle for independence from the British. When he was a teenager, he met Aung San, the nation’s independence hero and father of Aung San Suu Kyi. Win Tin asked if he could join the resistance and was rebuffed.
“Aung San plainly said ‘Stick with your studies. There are many people to fight. The time will come for you,’ ” Win Tin said.
When an uprising broke out in 1988, he became a founding member of NLD and a close aide to Suu Kyi. He was arrested a year later and jailed, and his sentence was extended when he managed to smuggle out a report to a United Nations official about torture and other human-rights violations rampant in Myanmar’s jails.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Win Tin had repeatedly refused to sign a letter promising to give up his political activities as a condition of his release. Local media have reported that Win Tin could be jailed for refusing to return his prison-issue dungarees. He says he will continue to wear the prison blues until Myanmar is free.
“I remember Daw Suu Kyi’s response to this kind of warning about her security. She said, ‘If a quack shoots me with a pistol, then the whole world will know where this bullet comes from,’ ” he said.
McDermid is a special correspondent. Special correspondent Swe Win contributed to this report.
http://www.latimes.com/news/
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Burma junta blamed for UN chief’s failed visit
Sunday, July 05, 2009 – 10:14 AM
The opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi said today the United Nations’ secretary-general’s recent trip to military-ruled Myanmar was a failure but it was not his fault.
Nyan Win, spokesman for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, said UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s “failure to achieve his objectives was not due to a lack of effort but a lack of willingness and genuine goodwill on the part of the government”.
Ban Ki-moon ended a two-day mission to Myanmar on Saturday saying he was “deeply disappointed” that the country’s military ruler had rejected his requests to visit Suu Kyi in jail
Nyan Win said: “Mr Ban’s visit was not successful as he was unable to achieve his main goals and was not allowed to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”
“Daw” is a term of respect used for older women.
In two days of rare talks with Senior General Than Shwe, the UN chief urged the reclusive 76-year-old autocrat to release Suu Kyi and an estimated 2,100 other political prisoners and embark on democratic reforms ahead of elections scheduled for next year.
The visit achieved no immediate results.
The 64-year-old Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years. Her opposition party won national elections in 1990, but Burma’s generals refused to relinquish power.
In May, Suu Kyi was charged with violating the terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American man swam secretly to her lakeside home and stayed for two days. Suu Kyi’s trial was set to resume after a monthlong delay on Friday, the same day the UN chief arrived. But the court met for a brief session to adjourn until July 10.
“I pressed as hard as I could” to see Suu Kyi, Ban told reporters after meeting Than Shwe. “I had hoped that he would agree to my request, but it is regrettable that he did not.”
Burma has been ruled by a military government since 1962.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/
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Suu Kyi party blames junta for UN’s failed mision
Sun, 07/05/2009 3:13 PM | World
The U.N. secretary-general’s visit to military-ruled Myanmar was a failure but it was not his fault, the opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi said Sunday.
The failure was because of “a lack of willingness and genuine goodwill on the part of the government,” said Nyan Win, spokesman for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party.
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon ended a two-day mission to Myanmar on Saturday, saying he was “deeply disappointed” that the country’s military ruler had rejected his requests to visit Suu Kyi in jail
“Mr. Ban’s visit was not successful, as he was unable to achieve his main goals and was not allowed to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” said Nyan Win. “It is understandable that the secretary-general was disappointed.”
“Daw” is a term of respect used for older women.
In two days of rare talks with Senior Gen. Than Shwe, the U.N. chief urged the reclusive 76-year-old autocrat to release Suu Kyi and an estimated 2,100 other political prisoners and embark on democratic reforms ahead of elections scheduled for next year.
The visit achieved no immediate results.
The 64-year-old Suu Kyi, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years. Her opposition party won national elections in 1990, but Myanmar’s generals refused to relinquish power.
In May, Suu Kyi was charged with violating the terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American man swam secretly to hr lakeside home and stayed for two days. Suu Kyi’s trial was set to resume after a month-long delay on Friday, the same day the U.N. chief arrived. But the court met for a brief session to adjourn until July 10.
“I pressed as hard as I could” to see Suu Kyi, Ban told reporters Saturday after meeting with Than Shwe. “I had hoped that he would agree to my request, but it is regrettable that he did not.”
Myanmar has been ruled by a military government since 1962.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/
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Myanmar students seek hope abroad
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 5, 2009
YANGON, Myanmar — Armed with a law degree from the University of East Yangon, 22-year-old Win is clear-eyed about his job prospects: Practically speaking, there are none. For him, the future lies overseas.
In this June 3, 2009 photo, a Myanmar woman student passes by a sign of the University of Yangon which can be barely seen due to tree branches that overhang it from outside. (AP Photo)
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Abroad there is “some hope, some opportunity. But in our country, there’s no hope left,” said Win, who is applying to go to Australia for further studies.
Unlike the students who hit the streets in 1988 in big demonstrations against the military government, the generation now emerging from college is focused on avoiding political activism, learning English and seeking opportunities in a world they have come to know through TV and the Internet.
The government has labored long and hard to disempower a university system that once produced its strongest opponents. It was students who led the August 1988 uprising that brought tens of thousands into the streets, only to be crushed by military might.
Authorities set out to fragment the student body, moving colleges at least 10 miles out of cities and forcing students to find their own housing rather than live together on campus and find strength in numbers.
Student activists from the ’88 generation managed to make their voices heard again in 2007 in the uprising led by Buddhist monks, and last fall many of them were given prison sentences of 65 years.
Experts insist student political action has not died out but has largely shifted to “low-risk activism” or gone underground because of the military government’s repression.
There is still a “widespread dissident movement” inside the country that includes student groups, bloggers, monks and others, but their activities are much less centrally organized, said David Mathieson, a Myanmar researcher with New York-based Human Rights Watch.
Students concerned with the country’s politics know better than to voice it publicly.
“I really care about politics and the future of the country, but I feel I am not free to participate. Sometimes we talk politics in cafes, but we have to careful. Even walls have ears,” said Wai, a 23-year-old graduate who majored in English.
http://newsok.com/myanmar-
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Ban’s failure to meet Suu Kyi is ‘great loss’: NLD
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar’s opposition party said UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s failure to meet its imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi during his trip to the military-ruled nation was a “great loss”.
The UN Secretary General left Myanmar empty-handed from his two-day visit after the ruling junta snubbed his attempts to visit the pro-democracy icon.
“Mr Ban Ki-moon did not work as he intended during his visit,” said Nyan Win, spokesman for the Nobel Peace Laureate’s National League for Democracy (NLD).
“Failing to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was important. We would like to say it was a great loss for him.
“But we do not want to say his trip was a failure as we do not know in detail what he discussed with Senior General Than Shwe,” he added.
Ban departed with a stern rebuke for the military ruler, saying the reclusive general had missed an opportunity to show the regime’s commitment to implementing democratic reform and to holding free elections in 2010.
But his failure to extract even the smallest concession from the iron-fisted regime plays into the hands of critics, who warned him against visiting while Aung San Suu Kyi faces an internationally condemned trial.
The UN chief admitted he was “deeply disappointed” by Than Shwe’s intransigence over visiting the opposition leader. He was even kept waiting overnight in the capital Naypyidaw Friday to hear about the refusal.
Myanmar’s state media said Sunday that while Than Shwe said he “would like” to arrange a meeting between Ban and Aung San Suu Kyi, the UN boss’s requests were refused because of her current trial at Insein prison in Yangon.
Than Shwe told Ban “that the case is being heard freely and fairly, so they have no right to arrange a meeting between the UNSG (secretary general) and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi”, according to The New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
Aung San Suu Kyi is charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest after a US man swam uninvited to her lakeside house in May. Ban had hoped to secure her release and that of Myanmar’s estimated 2,100 political prisoners.
He defended himself against criticisms that his trip was fruitless, saying that the junta chief only rejected his request to meet Aung San Suu Kyi.
His meetings with Than Shwe had allowed him to convey “very frankly” the international community’s concerns about Myanmar’s progress towards democracy, he added.
Rights groups and analysts warned however that the junta could use the high-profile visit as a way of showing that it was listening to international concerns — while doing nothing about them.
“They (Myanmar’s ruling generals) brought Ban Ki-moon for public relations purposes,” said Zarni, a Myanmar analyst at the London School of Economics who goes by only one name.
In London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown raised the prospect of further sanctions against Myanmar following Ban’s visit while US President Barack Obama has called the case against Aung San Suu Kyi a “show trial”.
The opposition leader has been either jailed or under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years since the junta refused to recognise the NLD’s victory in Myanmar’s last elections, in 1990.
Critics have accused the junta of using her trial as an excuse to keep her locked up for next year’s polls. They also say the elections are a sham designed to entrench the generals’ power.
In a rare public speech to hundreds of diplomats and aid workers in the commercial hub Yangon before departing late Saturday, Ban outlined his vision for a democratic Myanmar.
“I am here today to say: Myanmar, you are not alone. We want to work with you for a united, peaceful, prosperous, democratic and modern Myanmar,” he said, adding that the elections should be free, fair and inclusive.
The New Light of Myanmar said Than Shwe assured Ban: “The government will hold fair elections in 2010. Necessary laws, regulations and procedures are being drafted to be completed in time”.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
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UN’s Ban ends Myanmar trip empty-handed
AFP: Sat Jul 4, 10:39 pm ET
YANGON (AFP) – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon headed home empty-handed from a trip to Myanmar after the ruling junta brazenly snubbed his attempts to visit pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
Ban departed with a stern rebuke for military ruler Than Shwe, saying that the reclusive general had missed an opportunity to show the regime’s commitment to implementing democratic reform and to holding free elections in 2010.
But his failure to extract even the smallest concession from the iron-fisted regime plays into the hands of critics, who warned him against visiting at the same time as Aung San Suu Kyi faces an internationally condemned trial.
The UN chief admitted that he was “deeply disappointed” by Than Shwe’s intransigence over visiting the Nobel Peace laureate. He was even kept waiting overnight in the capital Naypyidaw Friday to hear about the refusal.
He said being able to visit her would have been an “important symbol of the government’s willingness to embark on the kind of meaningful engagement that will be essential if the elections of 2010 are to be seen as credible.”
Than Shwe had told the UN chief that he could not visit Aung San Suu Kyi in prison because she was still on trial for breaching the terms of her house arrest after a US man swam uninvited to her lakeside house in May, he said.
But Ban defended himself against criticisms that the two-day trip was fruitless, saying that the junta chief had not rejected any of his other proposals for reform including the release of political prisoners.
His meetings with Than Shwe had allowed him to convey “very frankly” the international community’s concerns about Myanmar’s progress towards democracy.
“If you use the word reject, it’s only my request to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. For all my proposals, I believe they will seriously consider, they have not rejected any of what I proposed,” Ban said.
Rights groups and analysts warned however that the junta could use the high-profile visit as a way of showing that it was listening to international concerns — while doing nothing about them.
“They (Myanmar’s ruling generals) brought Ban Ki-moon for public relations purposes,” said Zarni, a Myanmar analyst at the London School of Economics who goes by only one name.
The regime has faced a firestorm of international criticism over the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is being held in the notorious Insein prison in Yangon.
In London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown raised the prospect of further sanctions against Myanmar following Ban’s visit while US President Barack Obama has called the case against Aung San Suu Kyi a “show trial”.
The opposition leader has been either jailed or under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years since the junta refused to recognise her National League for Democracy’s victory in Myanmar’s last elections, in 1990.
Critics have accused the junta of using her trial as an excuse to keep her locked up for next year’s polls. They also say the elections are a sham designed to entrench the generals’ power.
In a rare public speech to hundreds of diplomats and aid workers in the commercial hub Yangon before departing late Saturday, Ban outlined his vision for a democratic Myanmar.
“I am here today to say: Myanmar, you are not alone. We want to work with you for a united, peaceful, prosperous, democratic and modern Myanmar,” Ban said.
He said that the elections should be free, fair and inclusive — a reference to his call for Myanmar to free the estimated 2,100 political prisoners in the country’s grim jails.
Myamar authorities handed lengthy jail terms to dozens of activists late last year, mostly for involvement in mass protests led by Buddhist monks which were brutally suppressed by the regime in 2007.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
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5,000 days in captivity: The world’s most famous political prisoner and a dismal landmark
Burma’s leaders hoped the world would forget about the detained opposition leader. But her influence and support are a potent threat to the military regime – and it refused the UN Secretary General permission to meet her last week
By Andrew Buncombe
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Today, like most days, Aung San Suu Kyi will sit and wait. She will spend the day with the two women she has been detained with since 2003. That she is being held in a “guesthouse” in the grounds of Rangoon’s Insein jail, as opposed to her lakeside house where she has spent the past six years, makes little difference; she has no television, radio or phone. But today is special, and for the most dismal of reasons. It is the 5,000th day of her incarceration.
Ms Suu Kyi is being held at the prison, having been charged with violating the terms of her house arrest after a mysterious American swam to her home and spent the night there. In truth, the only crime committed by the graceful opposition leader was to win an election two decades ago. Even now, the junta is terrified that this slight 64-year-old widow has the power to do something they have never been able to do: lead and unite the people of Burma without the threat of force. That is why she is kept a prisoner, out of sight but never out of mind.
Yesterday, in a move that underlined the regime’s fear about Ms Suu Kyi’s latent power, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was refused permission to speak with her. On a controversial visit to Burma to try to convince Senior General Than Shwe to release more than 2,000 political prisoners and restart dialogue with the opposition, Mr Ban said his request for a meeting with Ms Suu Kyi had been turned down. “I pressed as hard as I could. I had hoped that he would agree to my request, but it is regrettable that he did not,” he told reporters. “I am deeply disappointed that they have missed a very important opportunity.”
The high-profile snub came after the UN head had initially asked General Than Shwe for a meeting with the detained opposition leader during two hours of talks on Friday evening in the remote administrative capital, Naypyitaw. He was made to wait overnight for the decision and was then told that a meeting would be impossible because the opposition leader’s trial was ongoing.
As he last night left Burma empty-handed, having met with foreign ambassadors in Rangoon, the Secretary General faced renewed criticism from campaigners and members of the international community – Britain among them – who believed that he should not have gone. Many warned that by coming away with nothing, Mr Ban was merely providing the regime with a propaganda coup.
Yet others were not surprised, not least by the generals’ decision not to allow him to visit Ms Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide election victory in 1990 only for the result to be ignored by the junta. It was at that time that the opposition leader was first imprisoned, for a period of three years. She was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Since then she has spent almost 14 of the past 19 years under house arrest, the world’s most prominent political prisoner. On occasion, the junta has made clear it would release her if she agreed to leave Burma but she has always chosen to remain a part of her country’s struggle. In 1999, while temporarily free, she faced the dilemma of whether to visit her dying husband, the British academic Michael Aris, who had prostate cancer and who was refused a visa to enter Burma. Fearful that if she left she would never be allowed to return, she stayed in Burma without seeing her husband again. “Since we live in this world, we have to do our best for this world,” she once told an interviewer.
Those are typically brave words from a woman whose life has been blighted by political opponents almost from the start. She was a mere toddler in 1948 when her father, who had negotiated Burma’s independence from Britain a year earlier, was assassinated. The mantle of the country’s democracy movement passed eventually to her mother, and then – after her graduation from Oxford, postgraduate studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and time spent working for the UN – to her.
Mark Farmaner, of the Burma Campaign UK, said the reason for her continued detention was very simple. In a country that has been brutalised by violence and the fear of violence, ordinary people will still, in private, whisper about the “the lady” and how she could help fix their broken land.
“It might be one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world but they are terrified of this one woman,” he added. “They hoped by keeping her detained the world would forget about Burma, but the opposite has happened. The fact that she has now spent 5,000 days in detention should shame world leaders who have tolerated this situation.”
The current charges against Ms Suu Kyi were brought in May after John Yettaw, a 53-year-old Vietnam veteran, swam across Rangoon’s Inya Lake to her home. Apparently, the opposition leader was not pleased by the intrusion – realising what it would mean for her – but let him sleep on the floor. Her supporters later complained to the authorities about the breakdown in security at her supposedly heavily guarded home.
After she was charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest, her supporters claimed that the regime was using the incident as an excuse to keep her locked up until after an election is held next year. The planned election has been widely condemned as a sham that will do nothing other than cement the regime’s control, and the NLD is to boycott proceedings.
Aung Din, a former political prisoner who now heads the US Campaign for Burma, said the regime believes that by holding the election it will be seen as a legitimate government by the international community. “It is extremely important for the regime that its crony candidates should secure almost all of seats to be contested in the election.
“[Ms Suu Kyi] is the serious and major obstacle for the regime to achieve its objective. If she is released, she will be able to revive the NLD and organise the people to stand up together for positive changes… That’s why the regime is trying to extend her detention.”
Of course, Ms Suu Kyi is just the best known of an estimated 2,000 or more political prisoners being held by the regime. Many of these were rounded up in the aftermath of pro-democracy demonstrations in the summer and autumn of 2007, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary people and Buddhist monks marched through the streets of Burma’s biggest cities calling for change.
Members of a group of activists called the 88 Generation Students Group were imprisoned for up to 65 years. A monk who had helped organise the protest, Ashin Gambira, was jailed for a similar period. In a deliberate effort to make their jail terms more harsh, they have been sent to prisons away from Rangoon, making it harder for their families to visit.
Over the years, the conditions of Ms Suu Kyi’s imprisonment have changed. Once she occupied herself playing the piano and was permitted visits from diplomats. But in recent years, the terms have been tightened and now the only visits are with her lawyer, occasional meetings with senior members of her party and a supposedly regular, but often blocked, check-up from her doctor. She did not even learn of Mr Ban’s visit to Burma and his request to meet her until her lawyer informed her last Thursday.
Despite her isolation from ordinary Burmese people, the power she holds remains obvious. In September 2007, at the height of the protests, a group of monks marched to her house to pay their respects. Earlier this year, Agga, one of those monks, described the moment when Ms Suu Kyi emerged from her house.
“We tried to talk with her but there were soldiers between her and ourselves. She seemed to be so sad, she seemed to have tears in her eyes,” said the monk, who has fled Burma and is now living in the US. “Then the monks gave respect to her as if she was their mother.
“It was strange to see her, but we were very happy to see her.”
Countdown to custody: Nobel prize winner and political prisoner
January 1948 Burma becomes independent
September 1987 Currency devaluation wipes out many people’s savings and triggers anti-government riots
July 1989 The ruling junta declares martial law. National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi is put under house arrest
May 1990 The NLD wins parliamentary elections in a landslide. The junta ignores the result
October 1991 Ms Suu Kyi wins Nobel Peace Prize
July 1995 She is released from house arrest
May 2003 She is taken into “protective custody” after clashes between supporters on both sides
September 2007 Buddhist monks hold a series of anti-government protests
April 2008 Government publishes proposed new constitution, which allocates a quarter of seats in parliament to the military. It also bans Ms Suu Kyi from holding office
May 2009 John William Yettaw visits the dissident leader at her house. Government charges her with violating the terms of her detention
http://www.independent.co.uk/
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Can Mr. Ban Ki-moon cope with Burma’s Political Crisis?
by Zin Linn Page 1 of 2 page(s)
www.opednews.com
Burmese people are so exciting to keep an eye on the UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon’s July 3-4 visit to Burma. Ban has told reporters at the UN headquarters in early June that he was prepared to visit Burma. “Promoting democratization, including the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
other political prisoners, has been one of my top priorities and it will continue to be my top priority,” Ban said then. People are really excited to know about Mr. Ban’s top priorities on Burma question.
The United Nations’ special envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari has ended a two-day visit (26-27 June) to Burma after meeting the country’s foreign minister to prepare for a trip by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the ruling junta’s state television and newspaper said. State television reported on 27 June that the United Nations’ special envoy met with Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the capital of Naypyitaw and
discussed preparation for a visit by the UN Secretary-General.
“The secretary-general looks forward to returning to Burma to address directly with the senior leadership a broad range of issues, including longstanding concerns to the United Nations and to the international community,” a spokesperson told reporters at the daily press briefing held at the UN headquarters in New York on 29 June.
The secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has arrived Japan on 30 June for a three-day visit – 30 June to 2 July – to meet Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone to discuss Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial and North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
On 30 June, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Burma’s military-run regime to free all political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The UN Secretary General, in Japan for a three-day visit, will travel to Myanmar/Burma on 3 July in a diplomatic endeavor to win the release of the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has spent more than 13 of the
past 19 years under arrest without trial.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial has raised outrage from her local and international supporters, who say the military regime is using the John Yettaw’s story as a pretext to keep her in custody through elections scheduled for year 2010. Burma’s military junta has planned a general election for 2010, the first since 1990. It is widely believed that junta wishes Aung San Suu Kyi, 64, out of the political stage during the run-up to the polls.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial, being conducted at a special court set up in Insein Prison, is scheduled to resume on July 3, the same date of Ban’s arrival, according to the NLD source.
After talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, Ban told reporters in Tokyo on 30
June that he was aware of concerns about his July 3-4 visit coinciding with the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, the main opposition leader, who has been under house arrest for several years.
“It may be the case that the trial happens during my visit to Myanmar (Burma). I am very much conscious of that,” Ban told reporters. “I consider that three of the most important issues for Myanmar
cannot be left unaddressed at this juncture,” he said.
According to Ban Ki-Moon, the first will be release of all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The other two points were the resumption of dialogue between the military rulers and opposition and the creation of conditions favorable to a trustworthy election, he added.
For Burma, there can be no proper consideration of a democratic system while the democracy icon and some 2,100 fellow political leaders remain isolated from the political way of life and languish in prisons of the junta. Aung San Suu Kyi’s service is the quintessence not only of a leader of a nation, but of the very basic code of freedom and democracy itself. It is an irony that she, as the freedom icon of our generation, is put through such inhumane treatment while the autocratic military talks of democracy to the world and to its citizens.
The pro-democracy movement of Burma has urged the international community to have responsible
plans in place of a situation heat up in the approaching days. The area around the prison compound is heavily guarded and roads have been blocked off, as the military regime fortifies itself for a possible protest at the treatment of the democracy icon and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
Looking back into near past, around 70 Burmese were killed and hundreds were imprisoned following the last major public demonstrations, known as the Saffron Revolution, broke out in September 2007.Currently, there are over 2100 political prisoners student leaders, ethnic leaders, members of parliament, influential monks and many more intellectuals in various prisons in the military ruled country.
People of Burma have been asking for a concerted effort from major powers like India, China, the US and the EU, as well as regional bodies like ASEAN, working together to find a solution to this unsustainable situation. First, the UN should provide the most effective means of solving out this crisis. It has to work to defuse current tensions and to secure the release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi. Secondly, an emergency session of the Security Council should be convened without delay discussing the situation in Burma and to decide upon what collective action can be taken in an effective manner.
This is precisely the time the UN must lead, to rally all powers, and to show the world it is not organized to sit absentmindedly by an extensive injustice is perpetrated on the Aung San Suu Kyi and on the people of Burma. Pro-democracy people around the globe call for immediate action through the UN to put an end to this outrageous action on the part of Burma’s military junta.
The UN, the EU and the ASEAN ought to collaborate to convince China to cooperate in finding a solution for crisis in Burma. Regional players should urge the military regime to abandon its recalcitrant and counter-intuitive anti-dialogue policies in the interests of dialogue and
reconciliation.
http://www.opednews.com/
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