News & Articles on Burma, Sunday, 26 July 2009
Jul 26th, 2009
Myanmar state media accuses Clinton of interference
Myanmar criticizes Clinton following ASEAN meeting
Suu Kyi Unsatisfied with Trial Delay: Lawyer
Weekly Business Roundup (July 24, 2009)
United States approves new Burma sanctions
Army Commanders meet to discuss operation against rebels
Myanmar may get more money in fight against AIDS
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Myanmar state media accuses Clinton of interference
AFP
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar’s state media Sunday accused US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of interfering with the internal affairs of Southeast Asia and said America’s troops in Asia threatened world security.
Clinton attended Asia’s largest security forum in Thailand last week where she urged Myanmar’s military rulers to set pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi free, dangling the carrot of future business ties.
She also called for democratic reforms in the country and said expelling Myanmar from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) if Suu Kyi was not released would be an “appropriate” measure to consider.
“This is really interfering with ASEAN’s internal affairs,” said the state-run Myanma Ahlin newspaper.
“If ASEAN obeys the United States Secretary of State, ASEAN will be under the United States’ influence,” the comment piece said.
During the meetings in Phuket, Clinton expressed concerns about the possibility that North Korea was transferring weapons and nuclear technology to Myanmar.
However, in what Clinton later described as an “encouraging” move, Myanmar made a surprising show of support for sanctions designed to squeeze North Korea over its nuclear ambitions.
But the Myanma Ahlin article showed little sign of improved relations with the US, criticising its presence in Afghanistan.
“The real danger in the region resides in the US military troops in Asia. They are the ones who threaten the security of the whole world, not just in the region,” it said.
On Friday, the country’s English-language state newspaper The New Light of Myanmar criticised foreign calls for Suu Kyi’s release from Insein prison, saying they showed “reckless disregard for the law”.
But Suu Kyi’s lawyers hailed international calls for her freedom as they gave their closing arguments in a bid to prevent her being jailed for five years on charges of breaching her house arrest rules.
Prosecution lawyers will give their final arguments Monday in the court case, which stems from an incident in which an American man swam to her lakeside home in May.
Suu Kyi has spent most of the last two decades in detention since the junta refused to recognise her party’s victory in elections in 1990.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
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Myanmar criticizes Clinton following ASEAN meeting
Sunday, July 26, 2009
(07-26) 00:55 PDT YANGON, Myanmar (AP) –
A Myanmar state-run newspaper on Sunday accused U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of interfering in the affairs of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations after she urged its members to press for more democratic reforms in the country.
Clinton, who attended the ASEAN Regional Forum last week in Thailand, also called on Myanmar to unconditionally release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest and faces a possible five-year prison term.
“It amounts to interfering in the affairs of the ASEAN,” according to a commentary in the state-run Myanma Ahlin daily. “If ASEAN complies with the instruction of U.S. Secretary of State, ASEAN will become the follower of United States.”
Myanmar is one of ASEAN’s 10 member countries.
The commentary also suggested that American calls for Suu Kyi’s release were part of a long-term plan to place someone in power in Myanmar whom it can control.
Clinton saved some of her toughest criticism during the forum for Myanmar and North Korea, which is not an ASEAN member. She expressed concerns that North Korea, already a threat to its neighbors and the U.S. with its history of illicit sales of missiles and nuclear technology, is now developing ties to Myanmar’s military dictatorship.
Clinton also offered Myanmar the prospect of better relations with the United States, but said that depended in part on the fate of Suu Kyi.
Myanmar state media rejected the criticism, accusing those calling for Suu Kyi’s release of “interference” and “showing reckless disregard for the law.”
Suu Kyi, 64, is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man who swam to her lakeside home and stayed for two days in May.
Western diplomats in Yangon generally believe that Suu Kyi will be found guilty, with the verdict expected sometime next month.
The trial has drawn condemnation from the international community and from Suu Kyi’s local supporters, who worry the ruling junta has found an excuse to keep her behind bars through elections planned for next year.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962.
Suu Kyi’s opposition party won national elections in 1990, but Myanmar’s generals refused to relinquish power. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/
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Suu Kyi Unsatisfied with Trial Delay: Lawyer
By SAW YAN NAING Saturday, July 25, 2009
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is unhappy with the repeated delays in the current trial against her, according one of her lawyers.Nyan Win, a member of Suu Kyi’s legal team, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that she complained about the court’s decision to adjourn her trial until Monday because it gave the prosecution extra time to prepare its final arguments. Suu Kyi’s defense team made its closing arguments on Friday.
“I’m not satisfied with the delay,” Suu Kyi told her lawyer.
Kyi Win, Suu Kyi’s chief defense counsel, told the court on Friday that his client maintains that she is not guilty of the charges against her. He argued that under the 1974 law that she is accused of violating, it is not a crime to speak to a stranger or offer him food.
He also said that his client did not break the terms of her house arrest because she did not contact any outsiders by phone or letter.
Suu Kyi, 64, has been on trial at Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison court since May 18. She is accused of illegally allowing an intruder, US national John William Yettaw, to stay at her home for two days.
The trial has provoked international outrage and is widely regarded as a ploy to allow the Burmese junta to keep Suu Kyi in detention ahead of elections slated for next year.
Critics say the trial has been highly biased. They note that the court approved 23 witnesses for the prosecution, of whom 14 appeared on the stand, while only two of the four witnesses requested by the defense were permitted to appear in court.
Burma does not have an independent judiciary.
Suu Kyi has spent nearly 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest. Her latest detention began in May 2003, when she and her supporters came under attack by junta-backed thugs while traveling in central Burma.
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
http://www.irrawaddy.org/
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Weekly Business Roundup (July 24, 2009)
By WILLIAM BOOT Saturday, July 25, 2009
US Lawmakers Renew Import Ban on Burma for one More Year
A ban on imports from Burma has been renewed for one year by the US House of Representatives.
The ban affects a range of products but especially Burmese gemstones via third countries, said the Voice of America radio station.
The house action seeks to renew the import bans contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, which was due to expire on July 26.
It comes as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested that the United States would consider resuming investment and other economic links if the Burmese regime freed Aung San Suu Kyi.
The sponsor of the renewed import ban, New York Democrat Joseph Crowley, said it was justified because the “junta has also rejected recent diplomatic outreach” on the Suu Kyi issue.
Republican Kevin Brady of Texas was quoted by VOA as saying that although he regarded sanctions with “great skepticism,” they are “crafted to maximize their ability to effect change.”
The renewal was backed by the American Apparel & Footwear Association.
Under the act, however, President Barack Obama has the power to lift the trade sanctions if he considers that steps have been taken by the Burmese junta to improve human rights.
Aid for Burmese Nuclear Reactor Complies with Rules, says Moscow
Russia’s state-controlled Novosti news agency has declared that Moscow’s cooperation with Burma on commercial nuclear development does not contravene international treaties on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.
The agency this week quoted a Russian foreign ministry spokesman, Andrei Nesterenko, on the issue at the same time the US expressed concerns about a possible liaison between the Burmese and North Korean regimes.
Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation, signed an agreement in 2007 to help construct a nuclear research center in Burma, and Moscow will stand by this agreement, Nesterenko said.
The deal, which is supposed to cost tens of millions of dollars, envisages developing a reactor with an energy capacity of 10 megawatts.
However, Novosti also noted that there had been virtually no practical development of the agreement since it was signed.
Burma Says it Wants More Trade with India and Bangladesh
Burma, Bangladesh and India have met to discuss trade expansion between the three countries.
Kyaw Nyunt Lwin, the first secretary of the Burmese mission in New Delhi, represented Burma at the talks this week in the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram, according to the Indian newspaper The Telegraph.
The Burmese envoy called for increased trade with India to include more Burmese imports of machinery, cement, fertilizer and consumer goods. In return, he said, Burma wanted to export more teak, fish and pulses to India.
Little was reported on the details of any improvement in Burma-Bangladesh trade.
India is one of Burma’s biggest customers for pulse crops.
New Delhi state funding is financing a US $120 million transport and port improvement inside Burma, connecting Mizoram with the Burmese port of Sittwe via the River Kaladan.
India is Burma’s fourth biggest trading partner, but still lags far behind Thailand and China. However, it is catching up with Singapore in third place.
Nepal Seeks to Improve Ties with Burma
Nepal is planning to reestablish direct air links with Burma after a 20-year break.
The plan comes as a result of the two countries’ membership in BIMSTEC—the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
Nepal and Burma are among seven member countries of the organization, which also includes India and Thailand.
Landlocked Nepal severed previous air links with Burma in 1988 and there have been virtually no economic ties between the two countries since.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/
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United States approves new Burma sanctions
July 24, 2009 (DVB)–The US Senate has approved a one-year renewal of sanctions banning the import of Burmese goods to the US, and will now look to Congress for an extension to the boycott.
The decision belonged to the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over United States’ international trade.
The current resolution on Burma, contained in the 2003 Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, authorizes Congress to renew the import ban each year through to 2012.
“As long as the Burmese junta continues to engage in gross human rights violations and govern its people with an iron fist, the United States should continue to stand in support of human rights, and on behalf of the Burmese people,” said Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus.
“These international trade sanctions, together with the sanctions imposed by several of our trading partners, put necessary pressure on the junta so they, in turn, stop the mistreatment of their own people.”
The renewal of US sanctions has been a likely decision since May, when Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was brought to court on charges of breaching conditions of her house arrest.
The trial marked a return to the prevailing US attitude towards Burma, which had deviated slightly in February when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke of the need to rethink policy in light of the failure of sanctions.
Clinton however again fueled speculation on Wednesday that a new dawn was approaching in US-Burma relations when she spoke of the potential for the US to engage and invest in Burma if Suu Kyi were to be released.
The US has also expressed concern about the potential for Burma and North Korea to trade in nuclear material and information, following strengthening ties between the two pariah states.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum, which ends today in Thailand, Burmese foreign minister Nyan Win reportedly told Clinton that Burma would adhere to a UN resolution requiring member states to search suspicious North Korea cargo.
Clinton had earlier urged the 10-member ASEAN bloc, which follows a path of non-interference in domestic affairs of member states, to expel Burma if it fails to carry out democratic reforms.
Reporting by Francis Wade http://english.dvb.no/news.
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Army Commanders meet to discuss operation against rebels
News – Shan Herald Agency for News
Report by Hseng Khio Fah
Friday, 24 July 2009 13:32
Battalion commanders under the Burmese Army’s Mongnawng based Military Operations Command (MOC) #2 in Shan State South reportedly met recently to discuss launching of a military offensive against the Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’ after dozens of its soldiers were killed and weapons lost to the SSA on July 15, local sources said.
On July 20, battalion commanders based in Kehsi, Mongkeung and Laikha townships met in Mongnawng. The meeting, presided over by the MOC commander Col Kyaw Zan Myint, discussed preparations for a military offensive against the SSA, said an informed source.
Six battalions would be deployed in the planned operation after many of its soldiers from LIB # 515 were killed, he said.
However, there has been no further information of supporting units in the operation and the main target.
There are 12 battalions under the MOC # 2 command, Loilem based IB #9, and #12, Laikha based IB #64 and LIB #515, Namzang based IB #66 , #247 and LIB #516, Mongnai based IB #248 and LIB #518, Panglong based LIB #513, Mongkeung based LIB #514 and Mongpawn based LIB#517. At least 156 soldiers from each battalion are expected to join the fresh offensive.
During the clash on July 15 in Kehsi Township, the Burmese Army lost 11 soldiers, one was captured and five assorted weapons were seized by the attackers while 14 others escaped with serious injuries. However, of those who got away eight more reportedly died on the way back.
A border analyst said that “local militias are almost certain to be used in the operation.” In the meantime, hundreds of youths from rural areas in Lashio Township, northern Shan State, are also being recruited by junta-backed local militia forces for the Burmese Army since early June and some 200 were already sent to Pyinmana near the new capital Naypyitaw, according to a SHAN report on July 22.
On July 21, another clash between the two sides reportedly occurred between Wan pang and Nawngka villages, Laikha township. The SSA said it has yet to receive detailed information but the clash was confirmed, according to a senior officer from the Loi Taileng base.
Since May 21 (Shan Resistance Day) the SSA has killed more than 30 soldiers and seized more than 20 weapons from the Burmese Army, according to the SSA.
On the other hand, the Burmese Army in Shan State is also said to be preparing for a military showdown with either the SSA South or the ceasefire armies including the United Wa State Army (UWSA) with which its relationship has increasingly soured since last year.
http://www.bnionline.net/news/
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Myanmar may get more money in fight against AIDS
7/25/2009, 8:15 p.m. ET
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Associated Press
(AP) — YANGON, Myanmar – Shrunken to 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms) of skin and bones, Ma Moe could barely walk when she arrived on the doorstep of the clinic nearly two years ago. AIDS had killed her husband three years earlier, and it was slowly killing her.
If not for the free medicine she receives, she would be dead, the 35-year-old widow said as she waited for her monthly visit. “I had no money, my house was destroyed by (Cyclone) Nargis, I had nowhere else to go.”
The modest one-story wooden clinic, one of two dozen run by international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, is on the front lines of Myanmar’s struggle against HIV/AIDS, a disease that often spells a slow death sentence for Burmese because of a shortage of antiretroviral medicines. As foreign donors largely shunned this isolated military-run nation, its AIDS epidemic, one of the most serious in Asia, steadily worsened out of the spotlight.
But now Western governments and donors have begun re-assessing their approach after years of tough sanctions failed to yield much progress. The Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a major international donor that pulled out in 2005, is considering returning to Myanmar, a decision that could inject millions of dollars in funding and triple the number of people getting life-saving medicine.
Donors have long feared that aid would only bolster the iron-hand rule of the military government. Myanmar receives only about $3 per capita in aid, compared with $23 for Vietnam and $50 for Laos.
An estimated 240,000 people are infected by the HIV virus that causes AIDS. Of those, about 76,000 are in need of the life-saving anti-retroviral treatment, but less than a quarter of them-about 18,000-are getting it. The lack of accessible treatment translates into about 25,000 deaths a year.
At $30 a month, roughly equal to the average monthly salary here, the cost for the medication is beyond the reach of many. A lucky few get it free from Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders, which provides drugs and treatment to some 12,000 people across the country. A handful of smaller NGOs cover about 4,000 patients, while the government provides for about 1,800.
“There’s such huge need but so little money from donors that we end up being the main provider of (anti-retroviral treatment),” said Luke Arend, the head of MSF in Myanmar. “It’s probably the only place in the world where an NGO is effectively running the country’s HIV program, as the national AIDS program has such limited funding. That’s a sad state of affairs.”
After years of silence and denial, the regime finally acknowledged the AIDS scourge in early 2000.
Some aid groups say privately that government health officials are now keenly aware of the problem but that the regime’s priorities lie elsewhere. Myanmar, with one of the world’s largest armies, spends the least amount of any country on its national health budget-just 0.3 percent of GDP, of which a small amount goes toward AIDS.
The lines start early outside the AIDS clinic set in the middle of farmland on the outskirts of Yangon. By midmorning, the waiting room is jammed with patients-mothers holding babies, young couples, men visibly frail and emaciated.
The anti-retroviral drugs have returned Ma Moe, the young AIDS widow, to a visibly healthy glow. Her weight has rebounded back to normal. Sitting in a small room off the main clinic, she talked candidly about the disease she didn’t know existed until after her husband died in 2006.
“I was scared to take a blood test. I didn’t know anything about AIDS,” she said. “The doctors warned me ahead of time that if I had HIV, I might die.”
“My health has gotten better but I know in my mind I am still HIV positive. I know I can die without the drugs,” she said.
In mid-2007, overwhelmed and beyond its capacity, MSF temporarily stopped taking new patients for more than a year. The result was starkly painful, said Dr. Soe Yadanar, who has been working in the clinics for a decade.
“While they waited, some died,” she said.
The situation could be very different by next year. The Global Fund, a U.N.-backed fund for three key diseases, is now considering an application by Myanmar for $320 million in funding, with the goal of treating 42,000 new AIDS cases within five years. A final decision could come by this fall.
Increasingly, Western nations have realized that broad sanctions are hurting their interests because the military junta is prepared to forego any aid with political strings attached, according to a report last fall by the International Crisis Group.
The European Union, including Britain, has reviewed its assistance policy to Myanmar. Even the United States, perhaps the strongest supporter of ever-tightening aid restrictions, has said it is now in the process of reviewing its overall Myanmar policy. During a trip to Asia earlier this year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke plainly: “Clearly, the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn’t influenced the Burmese junta.”
The shift marks a turnaround in the political climate from even a few years ago, when Myanmar was treated as a complete pariah state.
In 2005, the Global Fund abruptly announced it was withdrawing from the country after less than a year. Spokesman Jon Liden said government restrictions barring access to certain areas of the country made it impossible to monitor how the $100 million in funding was being used.
“For us, there was no direct political considerations,” he said. “We’d always be willing to provide funds regardless of the government, as long as we can ensure that it’s being used effectively.”
But other aid groups believed the decision was more likely the result of heavy political pressure exerted by the U.S., the largest donor to the Global Fund and one that strongly opposed any kind of aid.
Regardless of the reasons, the government read it negatively, said Andrew Kirkwood, country director for Save the Children in Myanmar.
“It sent a message to the (Myanmar) government that humanitarian assistance was political, despite the rhetoric that it was not linked. It did a great deal of damage to the relationship between international aid groups and the regime,” he said.
For humanitarian groups, the key shift came in the aftermath of last year’s devastating Cyclone Nargis, which claimed at least 138,000 lives and was impossible for other nations and aid groups to ignore.
After an initial bottleneck by Myanmar’s military leaders, aid groups have flooded into the country, said Choo Phuah, country director for the UK-based International HIV/AIDS Alliance, which works with grassroots organizations in Myanmar.
“I think (Cyclone) Nargis did shift people’s perspective about working in the country. Following the cyclone, many organizations started programs in the country,” she said.
In the wake of Nargis, huge amounts of aid funding flowed into the country, she said, money that ultimately “has a momentum of its own.”
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July 27th, 2009 at 3:08 am
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