‘Serious’ rights violations persist in Myanmar: UN
AFP – 16 hrs ago

Serious human rights violations persist in Myanmar despite a mass amnesty for more than 6,300 prisoners including some political opponents, the UN rights envoy to the country said Wednesday.

“Despite these positive developments, many ongoing and serious human rights issues remain to be addressed,” the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, said in a report to the General Assembly.

Quintana said while progress had been made on the human rights front in recent months, he noted that ahead of by-elections expected by year’s end, “there should be no prisoners of conscience remaining in detention.”

“This is a central and necessary step towards national reconciliation and would greatly benefit Myanmar’s efforts towards democracy,” the UN envoy said.

Last week, the new military-backed government in Myanmar released thousands of prisoners including Zarganar, a prominent comedian and vocal government critic.

However, most of an estimated 2,000 political prisoners, including key figures involved in a failed 1988 student-led uprising, remain behind bars.

President Thein Sein, a former general and senior junta figure, has surprised critics by signaling a series of political reforms since taking power following a controversial election last November.

Quintana called for the removal of restrictions on the activities of political parties, and said that “respect for the freedoms of expression, assembly and association should be ensured.”

“I firmly believe that much more is needed,” the envoy said.

He called on Thein Sein’s government to address “ongoing tensions in ethnic border areas and conflict with some armed ethnic groups,” which he said “continue to engender serious human rights violations.”

Those violations include “extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, internal displacement, land confiscations, the recruitment of child soldiers, as well as forced labor,” he said.

Myanmar’s democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi Tuesday pledged to work for the release of the country’s remaining political prisoners following the amnesty.

UN News Centre – Myanmar’s new Government must tackle continuing rights abuses – UN expert

19 October 2011 – Despite positive actions by Myanmar’s new Government, such as easing media restrictions and proposed bills on political parties and demonstrations, many serious human rights issues remain, a United Nations expert said today, calling for the speedy release of all political prisoners.

“A pattern of gross and systematic violations of human rights has existed in Myanmar for many years,” UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, told the General Assembly’s third committee in presenting his latest report on the South-East Asian country, where a newly-convened Parliament elected a new President earlier this year.

“I continue to receive allegations of such violations to date. Measures to ensure justice and accountability, including access to the truth, are essential for Myanmar to face its past and current human rights challenges and to move forward towards national reconciliation.”

It is imperative that the Government completes the liberation of all such prisoners without delay.

While welcoming the release of some 200 prisoners of conscience last week and noting that future amnesties are anticipated, he said the continued detention of a large number of prisoners of conscience is of key concern.

“It is imperative that the Government completes the liberation of all such prisoners without delay,” he stressed, echoing the points made in his report.

He cited continuing allegations of torture and ill-treatment during interrogation, use of prisoners as military porters or ‘human shields’, and the transfer of prisoners to prisons in remote areas where they are unable to receive family visits or packages of essential medicine sand foods.

“The Government of Myanmar should take immediate measures to improve the conditions of detention and the treatment of prisoners,” he said.

Mr. Quintana welcomed the fact that the new national legislature has discussed important and sensitive issues relevant to human rights, but underscored the crucial need to clarify its rules, including those on parliamentary immunity to ensure that members can exercise freedom of speech while discharging their duties.

“Also, I believe that the judiciary is neither independent nor impartial… I am concerned by reports that criminal cases are still being heard behind closed doors and that lawyers defending prisoners of conscience have had their licenses arbitrarily revoked,” he said, urging the Government to reconsider the revocations, guarantee the effective right to counsel and allow lawyers to practice their profession freely.

“The ongoing tensions in ethnic border areas and conflict with some armed ethnic groups continue to engender serious human rights violations, including attacks against civilian populations, extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, internal displacement, land confiscations, the recruitment of child soldiers, as well as forced labour and portering,” he added.

Welcoming President Thein Sein’s commitment to keep the door open to peace and to invite armed groups to peace talks, he called for greater efforts to find a durable political resolution to the complex undertaking of forging a stable multi-ethnic nation.

On the positive side, Mr. Quintana said he was encouraged by the Government’s commitment to reform and the priorities set out by President Thein Sein, including the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms, respect for the rule of law and an independent and transparent judiciary.

He cited the signing into law of a bill allowing the formation of unions and the right to strike, and a bill still before Parliament which would allow political parties previously excluded, such as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), to formally register.

Noting the recent easing of restrictions on the media and the Internet, including the lifting of bans on foreign news websites, and a draft bill on peaceful gatherings and demonstrations, he called for the removal of provisions restricting demonstrations to designated places and the inclusion of others to prohibit the excessive use of force to break up rallies deemed illegal.

“Myanmar’s new Government faces a wide range of daunting challenges: from the urgent need to improve the socio-economic situation to ending armed conflict and ensuring the protection of civilians, from building democratic institutions to ensuring lasting peace through national reconciliation,” he concluded.

“These challenges will require continued commitment, resources and far-reaching reforms. The people of Myanmar have waited many years for this transition. They deserve the support and continued engagement of the international community in ensuring that a real transition takes root.”

NECN – UN investigator encouraged by Myanmar leaders
Oct 19, 2011 8:42pm

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Recent steps by Myanmar’s new government could improve the country’s human rights situation and deepen its transition to democracy, a U.N. investigator said Wednesday.Tomas Ojea Quintana, the special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said he is encouraged by the government’s commitment to reform and President Thein Sein’s priorities including protecting human rights and respecting the rule of law.

But he said there are still many serious human rights issues that must be addressed: discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, a judiciary that is “neither independent nor impartial,” the continued detention of a large number of political prisoners, allegations of torture and ill-treatment during interrogations, and the use of prisoners as porters or “human shields.”

This is a “key moment in Myanmar’s history,” Quintana told the General Assembly’s human rights committee. “Myanmar’s new government faces a wide range of daunting challenges from the urgent need to improve the socio-economic situation to ending armed conflict and ensuring lasting peace through national reconciliation.”

He called on the international community to help the government meet these challenges so that a real transition to democracy, which the people of Myanmar have waited many years for, “takes root.”

Quintana, who visited Myanmar in August, welcomed the release of an estimated 200 political prisoners last week but said the government’s first priority must be to release all remaining “prisoners of conscience.”

The political prisoners released under a presidential amnesty represent about 10 percent of an estimated 2,000 in prison.

Quintana said “it is imperative that the government completes the liberation of all such prisoners” before upcoming by-elections, expected by the end of November.

“This is a central and necessary step towards national reconciliation and would greatly benefit Myanmar’s efforts towards democracy,” he said.

Quintana welcomed talks between government officials and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, saying it’s crucial that the Nobel peace laureate and her party are included in the political process.

He called for a revision of election laws to lift restrictions on the development and activities of political parties and reduce the high cost of registration for candidates.

President Thein Sein, who took power in March following November elections, has said his government is trying to ease tensions in the country. He is considered a moderate compared to previous leaders but critics have accused him of creating a facade of liberalization to prompt Western nations to lift sanctions imposed over the country’s political and human rights record.

Quintana welcomed Thein Sein’s “commitment to keep the door open to peace and to invite armed groups to peace talks” and his establishment last month of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, which recently called on the president to release prisoners.

“While I am encouraged that this new body has started to act and hope that it will continue to advance human rights issues in the country,” Quintana said, “many questions remain about its composition, role and functioning.”

Amnesty International UK – Burma: Government must go further with prisoner release
Posted: 12 October 2011

Burma experts available for interview in London and Bangkok

The release of at least 120 political prisoners in Burma today is a minimum first step, and the authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all remaining prisoners of conscience, Amnesty International said today.

Prisoners of conscience make up the majority of the political prisoners still jailed after the measure.

Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Burma Researcher, said:

“This release of political prisoners is welcome, but is not consistent with the authorities’ recent promises of political reform in Burma.

“Unless the figure rises substantially, it will constitute a relaxation of reform efforts, rather than a bold step forward”.

Since late 2007, some 2,000 people have been imprisoned on political grounds in Burma, about half of them because of their peaceful participation in that year’s “Saffron Revolution. Among the prisoners of conscience released today are comedian Zarganar, imprisoned in June 2008 for his humanitarian efforts in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, and Zaw Htet Ko Ko, a member of the 88 Generation Student Group who was jailed in October 2007.

In September 2009, a prisoner amnesty included 127 political prisoners.

Benjamin Zawacki, said:

“Today’s amnesty does not distinguish Burma’s new government from its previous military government.

“If Burma’s authorities are serious about demonstrating their commitment to reform, this must be only the first step towards a release of all political prisoners as soon as possible.

“They should not try them on spurious charges or hold them indefinitely.

“Releasing some political prisoners is a positive measure, but reforming Burma’s repressive judiciary and security apparatus is long overdue.”

In Burma, political prisoners are regularly charged under vaguely worded laws, mostly relating to security or public order concerns, which allow excessively broad interpretation by the authorities.  Prison conditions in Burma fall far short of international standards.  Food, water and medical care are insufficient; many political prisoners are held far away from their families and most have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including prolonged solitary confinement.

In his 27 September 2011 statement to the UN General Assembly, Burma’s Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin stated that the “steps taken by Burma are concrete, visible, and irreversible”.

Amnesty called on the Burmese authorities to follow through on today’s prisoner release, by ending repression of political activism.

In the past, many political prisoners have been re-arrested shortly after being released.  Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Burma’s political opposition, was released from house arrest in November 2010 after spending over 15 of the last 21 years in detention, and having been detained and released three times.

Benjamin Zawacki said:

“Many of the prisoners released today are likely to continue their political activity, and they should not be thrown in jail again for exercising their basic rights.

“Any meaningful claim by the authorities to political reform in Burma must involve putting an end to crimes against humanity against their own population.

“Burma must not only uphold this claim but improve its human rights record, including ceasing widespread and systematic violations against ethnic minority civilians.”
Background

At the UN Human Rights Council in January 2011, the Burmese authorities denied holding any political prisoners, claiming that all those behind bars were criminals.  In August, Burma’s Minister of Home Affairs Lt. Gen. Ko Ko, reportedly told the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma that “over 100 prisoners” said to be prisoners of conscience had committed criminal offences.

One prisoner of conscience whom Amnesty spoke with just hours before he was detained in October 2007, Htay Kywe, is serving a 64-year prison sentence in a cell measuring 2.4 metres by three metres in Buthidaung prison, over 1,000 kilometers from his home in Yangon.  He has been tortured in prison.  It is not yet known if he is among those released today.

New Kerala – UN experts ask Myanmar to address rights abuse

New York, Oct 20: Despite positive actions by Myanmar’s new Government, such as easing media restrictions and proposed bills on political parties and demonstrations, many serious human rights issues remain, a United Nations expert said Wednesday, calling for the speedy release of all political prisoners.

“A pattern of gross and systematic violations of human rights has existed in Myanmar for many years,” UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, told the General Assembly’s third committee in presenting his latest report on the South-East Asian country, where a newly-convened Parliament elected a new President earlier this year.

“I continue to receive allegations of such violations to date. Measures to ensure justice and accountability, including access to the truth, are essential for Myanmar to face its past and current human rights challenges and to move forward towards national reconciliation.”

While welcoming the release of some 200 prisoners of conscience last week and noting that future amnesties are anticipated, he said the continued detention of a large number of prisoners of conscience is of key concern.

“It is imperative that the Government completes the liberation of all such prisoners without delay,” he stressed, echoing the points made in his report.

He cited continuing allegations of torture and ill-treatment during interrogation, use of prisoners as military porters or ‘human shields’, and the transfer of prisoners to prisons in remote areas where they are unable to receive family visits or packages of essential medicine sand foods.

“The Government of Myanmar should take immediate measures to improve the conditions of detention and the treatment of prisoners,” he said.

Quintana welcomed the fact that the new national legislature has discussed important and sensitive issues relevant to human rights, but underscored the crucial need to clarify its rules, including those on parliamentary immunity to ensure that members can exercise freedom of speech while discharging their duties.

“Also, I believe that the judiciary is neither independent nor impartial… I am concerned by reports that criminal cases are still being heard behind closed doors and that lawyers defending prisoners of conscience have had their licenses arbitrarily revoked,” he said, urging the Government to reconsider the revocations, guarantee the effective right to counsel and allow lawyers to practice their profession freely.

“The ongoing tensions in ethnic border areas and conflict with some armed ethnic groups continue to engender serious human rights violations, including attacks against civilian populations, extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, internal displacement, land confiscations, the recruitment of child soldiers, as well as forced labour and portering,” he added.

Welcoming President Thein Sein’s commitment to keep the door open to peace and to invite armed groups to peace talks, he called for greater efforts to find a durable political resolution to the complex undertaking of forging a stable multi-ethnic nation.

On the positive side, Quintana said he was encouraged by the Government’s commitment to reform and the priorities set out by President Thein Sein, including the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms, respect for the rule of law and an independent and transparent judiciary.

He cited the signing into law of a bill allowing the formation of unions and the right to strike, and a bill still before Parliament which would allow political parties previously excluded, such as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), to formally register.

Noting the recent easing of restrictions on the media and the Internet, including the lifting of bans on foreign news websites, and a draft bill on peaceful gatherings and demonstrations, he called for the removal of provisions restricting demonstrations to designated places and the inclusion of others to prohibit the excessive use of force to break up rallies deemed illegal.

“Myanmar’s new Government faces a wide range of daunting challenges: from the urgent need to improve the socio-economic situation to ending armed conflict and ensuring the protection of civilians, from building democratic institutions to ensuring lasting peace through national reconciliation,” he concluded.

“These challenges will require continued commitment, resources and far-reaching reforms. The people of Myanmar have waited many years for this transition. They deserve the support and continued engagement of the international community in ensuring that a real transition takes root.”

The Age – Malaysia to deport 1000 Burmese
Kirsty Needham
October 21, 2011

THE Malaysian government plans to deport 1000 Burmese being held in immigration detention back to Burma, after reaching a deal with the Burmese government for a ‘’swap” of detainees.

The federal government maintains that sending asylum seekers to Malaysia is its preferred policy and the best deterrent to stop boat arrivals to Australia.

However, human rights groups in Malaysia have expressed alarm that Malaysia’s latest swap deal breaches the United Nations Refugee Convention principle of ”non-refoulement”, or returning people to danger.

The High Court’s ban on sending asylum seekers to Malaysia was driven by the absence of legal safeguards in Malaysia against such returns.

The peak group for Burmese in Malaysia, the Chin Refugee Committee, said that despite statements by Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein that refugees would not be deported, it was common for Burmese asylum seekers, who must work illegally, to be arrested.

Committee spokesman Simon Sanghre told The Age it often took months, and up to a year, for the UNHCR to get Burmese released from immigration detention.

”We are really, really concerned our people will get sent back to the country. They risked their lives to get here,” Mr Sanghre said.

Newly arrived Burmese who are yet to receive UNHCR papers are at particular risk.

”It’s easy to be arrested. Whenever raids occur, 100 per cent sure they will be arrested and sent to detention centres. We have to give information to the UNHCR and they visit the centres,” Mr Sanghre said.

Mr Hishammuddin told Malaysian reporters he had informed the UNHCR that genuine refugees would not be deported ”but at the same time do not use refugee status as an excuse to dump so many people who are not eligible in our country”.

There are about 87,000 registered Burmese refugees living in Malaysia.

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said the Australian High Commission in Malaysia was ”following the issue closely”.

”We note Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin has given public assurances that none of the Burmese to be returned are refugees or asylum seekers. We also note UNHCR is in regular dialogue with the Malaysian government,” she said.

UNHCR Malaysia spokeswoman Yante Ismail said the refugee agency encouraged all governments, including Malaysia, to protect asylum seekers.

Ms Ismail said UNHCR had good access to asylum seekers in detention.

Brisbane Times – Burmese refugees in Malaysia swap deal
Kirsty Needham
October 21, 2011

THE Malaysian government plans to deport 1000 Burmese being held in immigration detention to Burma, after reaching a deal with the Burmese government for a swap of immigration detainees.

The federal government maintains sending asylum seekers to Malaysia is its preferred policy and the best deterrent to stop boat arrivals to Australia.

Human rights groups in Malaysia expressed alarm that Malaysia’s swap deal breaches the United Nations Refugee Convention principle of ”non-refoulement”, or returning people to danger.

The High Court’s ban on sending asylum seekers to Malaysia was driven by the absence of legal safeguards in Malaysia against such returns.

The peak group for Burmese in Malaysia, the Chin Refugee Committee, said despite statements by the Home Affairs Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, that refugees wouldn’t be deported, it was common for Burmese asylum seekers, who must work illegally, to be arrested.

Committee spokesman Simon Sanghre said it often took months, and up to a year, for the UN High Commission for Refugees to secure the release of Burmese from detention.

”We are really, really concerned our people will get sent back to the country. They risked their lives to get here,” Mr Sanghre said.

He said newly-arrived Burmese, who were yet to receive UNHCR papers, were at particular risk. ”It’s easy to be arrested. Whenever raids occur, 100 per cent sure they will be arrested and sent to detention centres,” he said.

Mr Hishammuddin said he had informed the UNHCR genuine refugees won’t be deported ”but at the same time do not use refugee status as an excuse to dump so many people who are not eligible in our country”. There are 87,000 registered Burmese refugees living in Malaysia.

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said the Australian High Commission was ”following the issue closely”. ”We note Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin has given public assurances that none of the Burmese to be returned are refugees or asylum seekers. We also note UNHCR is in regular dialogue with the Malaysian Government,” she said.

UNHCR Malaysia spokeswoman Yante Ismail said the refugee agency encouraged all governments, including Malaysia, to protect asylum seekers.

”This means that individuals who may be subject to arrest, detention and deportation for immigration offences have the opportunity to seek asylum and to have their claims considered,” she said. Ms Ismail said UNHCR had good access to asylum seekers in detention.

Thursday, 20 October 2011 15:22
Last updated on Thursday, 20 October 2011 16:21
Malaysian Digest – AIPMC Urges the Govt to Halt the Detainee Exchange Program with Myanmar
by Aidil Syukri

KUALA LUMPUR, 20 OCTOBER, 2011: The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) today calls for a halt to the Malaysian government’s plan to implement the detainee exchange program with Myanmar until effective systems are in place to ensure that refugees and asylum seekers will be protected from persecution upon their return to Myanmar.

Chairman of the Malaysian caucus of the AIPMC, Lim Kit Siang said the human rights situation in Myanmar is unlikely to ensure such protection, without which Malaysia cannot help to fulfill its international obligations that the rights of refugees are protected.

“We note with concern that the Malaysian government has, in recent months, further completed the registration under the 6P Programme. There must be a total change in the government’s approach and policy with regard to the grave issue of the Burmese refugees in the country,” said Kit Siang.

“As a first step, the Malaysian government should accord them as refugees,” he added.

“There should be a timely and efficient refugee registration process to gives certainty to refugees with regards to their in-country status, and thus assists to protect their rights,” he added.

Kit Siang who is also the Ipoh Timur MP also called upon the Malaysian government to ensure that detainees are provided access to both representatives from legal and non-government organizations, as they embark a long route to ensuring their inherent rights are formally recognized when lodging asylum claims.

The swapping programme planned by Malaysia and Myanmar will result around 1,000 people from Myanmar, detained in Malaysia, deported from the country.

According to the AIPMC, there will be a possibility of persecution for those who are sent back to Myanmar.

The Sun Daily – Detainee swap with Myanmar not the answer
Posted on 19 October 2011 – 07:56pm
Last updated on 20 October 2011 – 08:23pm

WE, the undersigned, who work closely with refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar living in Malaysia, express our deep concern over two recent immigration-related developments that jeopardise the security of refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia.

Firstly, whilst we laud the government for considering the issue of over-crowding at detention centres, the detainee swap initiative between the Malaysian and Myanmar governments is not the appropriate solution. In fact, it could potentially put the lives of refugees and asylum-seekers at risk.

Ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar have over the past 20 years been fleeing oppressive conditions of forced labour, confiscation of lands/homes, systematic rape, torture and other forms of religious and ethnic persecution, which has led to the exodus of hundreds of thousands of people. The majority of Myanmar nationals in Malaysia are persons fleeing such persecution.

Under the Malaysian Immigration Act 1959/1963, refugees and asylum-seekers too are detained in immigration detention centres. Unlike migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers have a well-founded fear of persecution in their homeland; hence they flee their country of origin “and cannot return home”. The principle of non-refoulement in Article 33 (1) of the 1951 Refugee Convention states that: “No contracting state shall expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” The deportation arising from the swap with Burma of immigration detainees contravenes this principle because of the presence of detainees in detention centres who are potentially refugees and asylum-seekers.

Secondly, during the 6P registration programme, it was highlighted that some refugee applicants received a “Slip Pendaftaran Pati” which contained a line that said “Tujuan: Pulang ke Negara Asal” (Intention: Return to Home Country). This is despite the fact that they are refugees recognised by the UNHCR. We call on the government to immediately rectify this error to prevent refugees from being refouled; and to recognise that any registration of refugees must be done in full collaboration with the UNHCR, within a framework that will recognise and protect their rights.

We therefore call on the government to:

– Work in close collaboration with the UNHCR to ascertain and immediately release individuals who are refugees and especially asylum-seekers who have yet to lodge an asylum claim with the UNHCR;

– Provide lawyers and NGOs access to detention centres to represent detainees who seek to lodge an asylum claim.

Health Equity Initiatives
Lawyers for Liberty
Women’s Aid Organisation
Tenaganita
Suaram
Malaysian Social Research Institute

Oct 21, 2011
Asia Times Online – The Arab Spring and Myanmar
By David I Steinberg

The Arab Spring, the several successful and still ongoing rebellions against authoritarian governments in the Middle East, have a mutual characteristic beyond that of having occurred in Arabic-speaking societies. All originated from below – from populations that have been frustrated by severe political and social constraints often compounded by clear economic injustices.

Beginning in Tunisia with the self-immolation of a street vendor, the movement spread to a half-dozen societies. Hope for real and positive changes in those countries is apparent both in the region and abroad. The power of such movements is inspiring. Perhaps, some thought, this would affect other authoritarian states outside the region and usher in a new democratic wave. Myanmar and North Korea were prominently mentioned in the media.

A distinguished American who visited Myanmar in the summer of 2011 commented that he thought the Arab Spring would also affect Myanmar. But this view neglected to consider the unique circumstances that make such a revolution from below unlikely there in the near term.

Contrary to many expectations that significant changes could not take place under a new but military-controlled government installed in 2011 in a flawed election and ominously designated by its leadership as a “disciplined-flourishing democracy”, important and positive developments are occurring and more are promised.

These positive signs should in no way obscure where essential power rests: the military have built into their new constitution the elements of perpetual, but civilianized, control yet within the context of a somewhat more plural and popularly-responsive society.

Contrary to the Arab Spring, the potential changes in Myanmar are coming from the top. Belatedly, the military-in-mufti leadership seems finally to have understood that to keep essential power, they had to institute some socio-economic liberalization and even some modest degree of political pluralism.

Burma/Myanmar has tried revolts from the bottom – the tragic people’s revolution of 1988 that failed against a single-party socialist military-dominated government only to have it replaced by a coup of other military personnel. The incipient 2007 “Saffron” revolution of Buddhist monks, widespread and important demonstrations but not a revolution, was also brutally suppressed when it became overtly political.

The history of modern East Asia demonstrates that the democracies that exist in that region were largely instigated from the bottom. “People Power” in the Philippines in 1986 that overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos; the popular, peaceful uprising in South Korea in 1987 that eliminated Chun Doo-hwan’s authoritarian rule; demonstrations against the military in Thailand on numerous occasions; and the fall of Suharto in Indonesia in 1998 all started at the bottom of the power structure.

Only in Taiwan did president Chiang Ching-kuo, to preserve his regime, recognize that change was necessary and due, and institute reforms from the top of the political hierarchy.

The potential reforms in Myanmar are as widespread as they were unexpected. From accounts inside that state, the people generally seem to be prepared to await the possibility of political and economic evolution of their past sorry state. Economic reforms are planned. Widespread poverty is admitted officially for the first time in a half-century. Corruption is recognized as a problem.

Human rights are discussed. Minorities are given a bit more say in their affairs. Censorship has been eased, and labor unions are to be allowed. A major, and hated, Chinese dam project was stopped by the president because of public sentiment. Many political prisoners – whose existence has been denied for so long – have been released, and even Myanmar dissidents abroad have been invited back, with a few tentatively starting to return.

These planned changes are fragile, for they cut into the vested interests of many, including high-level military officials and their civilian colleagues, who prefer the old ways. So we cannot but remain concerned for the diverse peoples of Myanmar. Inside that country, the new administration has a short but indeterminate period in which it must deliver on many of these proposed reforms.

The people must feel there is a future for them that is not only though military-controlled channels. That period is not indefinite, however. Even if the reforms are implemented and life begins to improve, the ultimate power will still rest for some indefinite future with the military. It is only when diverse, alternative channels of mobility and access to better living conditions occur that the military may relax its ultimate control and modify its constitutional powers. But other states have demonstrated that life can improve under less than pristine democratic conditions. Perhaps that is a realizable goal for Myanmar in the near future.

Without illusion and hyperbole, therefore, the outside world should encourage such changes. The alternative in Myanmar of the traumas and deaths in a Syria or Yemen-like environment should be avoided. Although they had long planned for a civilianized state, perhaps the Myanmar military understood the lessons from the Middle East: if the leadership refuses to reform, society may force change. It may not be the revolution that some have desired, but it does bring the possibility of positive change in Myanmar.

David I Steinberg is Distinguished Professor of Asian Studies, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. His latest book is Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford).

Times of India – Intensive security operations pushing rebels to Myanmar, B’desh
Oct 20, 2011, 01.32PM IST

IMPHAL: Manipur Governor Gurbachan Jagat said on Wednesday that activities of several militant groups in the valley areas of the state have been checked to a great extent by intensified counter-insurgency operations.

Similarly in the hill districts, the area domination by security forces and police compelled the ‘underground elements’, specially the ‘valley outfits’, to seek refuge in neighbouring countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh, apart from taking shelter in other states of the country, the Governor added.

Addressing a gathering at Manipur police’s 119th raising day celebrations in Imphal on Wednesday, the Governor said there has been qualitative improvement in the security environment of the state, especially in the valley areas, due to the well-directed counter-insurgency measures, which ensure effective tackling of various threats.

“However, the overall security scenario, though improving, is still a matter of concern as the general population continues to remain under constant threat from various militant groups,” he said.

“We have to focus on these evil activities and ensure that the underground and active militant outfits, responsible for these threats, are exposed and broken down,” he added.
Commenting on the strength of Manipur police, Jagat said the strength has increased from 15,414 in January 2008 to 24,618 by January 2011.

On law and order front, sporadic incidents of bandh, blockades, general strikes, dharnas and rallies being called by the various organizations of students, political parties and others, affect traffic and day-to-day lives of the citizens of the state.

“I would like to appeal to all organizations not to block the national highways, the lifelines of people of Manipur,” he said.

Myanmar vice president leaves for China-ASEAN Expo
English.news.cn   2011-10-20 12:14:55

NAY PYI TAW, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) — Myanmar Vice President U Tin Aung Myint Oo left here Thursday for China’s Nanning to attend the 8th Expo of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN).

The China-ASEAN expo, which is on Oct. 21-26 in Nanning, capital of southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, will be joined by Myanmar high government officials, businessmen from the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and manufacturers from Myanmar industrial zones.

The expo takes place a year after China-ASEAN free trade area was opened.

A total of over 200 Myanmar entrepreneurs from agriculture, fishery, industry, manufacturing, gems, traditional handicrafts, forestry and hotel and tourism will take part in the event with 80 booths.

China’s Nanning and Myanmar’s Yangon established friendship city relationship in July 2009.

According to an incomplete statistics, as of the end of March this year, China’s investment in Myanmar has risen to 15.5 billion U.S. dollars from 12.3 billion dollars at the end of 2010. With the bilateral trade of the two countries soaring by 53.2 percent to 4.4 billion dollars in 2010, it has broken a figure of 1.6 billion dollars for the first quarter of 2011, increasing by 70 percent correspondingly.

China has become Myanmar’s second largest trading partner after Thailand.

Jakarta Post – RI to assess development in Myanmar
The Jakarta Post | Thu, 10/20/2011 8:09 AM

Along with the government, the House of Representatives will assess the latest developments in Myanmar before deciding on whether to accept Myanmar’s bid for the chairmanship of ASEAN at the Bali Summit next month.

Deputy Chairman of the House’s Commission I on foreign affairs, TB Hasanuddin, said that his commission had set a meeting with the Foreign Minister, Marty Natalegawa, in order to assess the situation in Myanmar, including the progress that the country had made in terms of democratization.

He said that the commission and the Foreign Ministry had both received the required input to conduct an assessment, and that Indonesia was expected to take the wise diplomatic step of encouraging the Myanmarese government to make further progress at home.

“We will assess whether it is the right time to rely on Myanmar to chair ASEAN, or we will leave Myanmar in isolation. But leaving Myanmar in isolation could be counterproductive for ASEAN and its regional interests,” he said.

Hasanuddin, also a legislator of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, said that the commission had already received inputs and recommendations from the ASEAN Interparliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) and the Burma Partnership, which represents Myanmarese civil society.

“What Indonesia will bring to the summit will bring benefit to both Myanmar and ASEAN,” he added.

The ASEAN Summit, scheduled for Nov. 17 and preceeded by a series of ASEAN ministerial meetings, has on its main agenda the discussion of economic, defense and political issues across the Southeast Asian region, including the approval of Myanmar’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2014.

The AIPMC and the Burma Partnership called on Indonesia to suspend the approval of Myanmar’s ASEAN chairmanship bid during the summit until the Myanmarese government makes significant progress towards democratization.

Burma Partnership coordinator, Khin Ohmar, said that despite the recent general election, which formed President Thien Sein’s government and saw the release of 220 political prisoners, democracy in Myanmar had yet to be upheld.

She said that the way the recent general election was conducted did not reflect a democratic process, with power vested not in the president but in the eleven-member National Defense and Security Council that was closely controlled by former military junta leaders.

The Myanmarese government should also release the remaining 1,800 political prisoners (not 18,000 as it was reported on Wednesday), and stop the atrocities against minority ethnic groups, including the Katchin and the Karen, to show a strong commitment to democracy and human rights, she said.

Effendy Choirie, a commission member, said that Indonesia should maintain its neutrality in dealing with the Myanmar issue, but that it could enhance lobbying with other ASEAN member countries to encourage the Myanmar president to develop a democratic government.

E-Pao.net – Editorial: Time to reap benefits ?
Hueiyen Lanpao : October 20 2011 -

The recent four-day visit of the President of Myanmar, U Thein Sein to India was significant in many ways. For starters, this is the first visit of the head of an elected civilian government of Myanmar to India after the military Junta gave up power.

This visit will further cement the ties between the two countries and will further consolidate India’s move to find a foothold in Burma as part of its ‘look east policy’.

India shared a very good relation with Myanmar (Burma then) when it became independent in 1948, helping out the beleaguered government of Prime Minister U Nu with military and economic assistance.

But the relationship soured after the coup led by Gen Ne win in 1962. When the uprising against the military junta took place in 1988, India stood firmly on the side of the pro democracy movement in line with its avowed commitment to liberal democracy ideals.

Around this time, pro democracy activists were openly supported by many organizations and national leaders like George Fernandes, many were given asylum in the country. The Indian government appealed repeatedly to the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) for the release of pro democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

But the changing geo political scenario as also the need to advance its national interest prompted India to go easy on its conscience and adopt a more pragmatic approach in its relation with Myanmar.

It started openly courting the Burmese junta. Some of the more compelling reasons for this pronounced tilt towards the Burmese ruling dispensations are, the need to contain the Chinese influence in Myanmar, the security scenario vis-a-vis north east with many insurgent groups of the region reported to have set up well entrenched camps in Myanmar, and economic – Myanmar is blessed with huge reserves of natural resources, especially gas and oil.

The opening of the Moreh-Tamu Border Trade jointly inaugurated on April 12, 1995 by the then Commerce Minister of India P Chidambaram and Trade Minister of Maynmar Lt Gen Tun Kyi and the construction of the 165 Km long Indo-Myanmar Friendship Road or the Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo Road Mandalay entirely funded by India in 2001 are some of the significant steps towards this engagement with Myanmar with renewed vigour.

Though India still has quite some way to go before it can measure up to China’s presence in Myanmar, its effort seems to be paying off.

During the just concluded visit of the Myanmarese President, India further offered $500 million line of credit. Besides this the two heads of the government agreed to resolve border issues, enhance trade and energy ties, and examine the feasibility of rail link as well as progress of road links through the North East among other things.

What should most please the Indian establishment is the willingness of Myanmar to take action against North Eastern insurgent groups based in its soil.

Announcing its seriousness, the Myanmarese Government has asked its Indian counterpart for satellite imagery of insurgent camps from the North East based in Myanmar so as to enable it to start operations against these groups.

Also, to further enhance security co operation India had proposed a corps commanders’ meet twice a year, at present, division commanders’ of both the countries meet four times a year. India now is demanding payback for its investments and seems to be getting it.

But for the North East, particularly for Manipur, the improved Indo-Myanmar relations starting with the much hyped border trade at Moreh-Tamu has not lived up to its expectations.

In fact, it is the illegal trade of cheap Chinese products and drugs which is supposed to be flourishing. Many experts from the region have projected that India’s ‘Look East Policy’ will not bring any substantial benefit to the people of the region save for some crumbs.

The government of India should frame its ‘Look East’ policy with the North East in special focus, besides other considerations.

The region should be equipped in every possible way, in terms of infrastructure development, identifying the strong points of the area, giving incentives to these areas etc., so that it is able to take advantage of the ‘Look East Policy’ of India.

New Zealand Herald – Thailand: Border village where almost anything goes
By Simon Scott
5:30 AM Friday Oct 21, 2011

The Thai border town of Mae Sot offers a tantalising glimpse into Burma, writes Simon Scott.

I park my motorbike directly under the giant concrete struts of the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge at Mae Sot, Thailand, near two border guards who are sitting on a bench drinking iced coffee. I take the path by the river.

“Cigarettes, whisky – very cheap. You want?”

A lanky, bearded Burmese Muslim appears, waving a carton of Marlboro Red in the air.

“Come look. Have Viagra, sex toy,” he adds, pointing towards his tiny stall which hangs precariously over the walkway’s metal railing in the direction of the river and Burma beyond.
I walk on and see a dozen more stalls selling the same tax-free smokes and whisky from Burma.

Although still on the Thai side, the area of riverbank between the railing and the water is a no man’s land which falls outside the control of the authorities.

By building their stalls over the railing, black marketers put their illegal goods technically outside of Thailand, if only by a few centimetres.

A man in dark-green longyi, Jandals and check shirt approaches. He has a Singha Beer cap on his head which was once probably navy blue, but is now so faded it is closer in colour to the wispy grey stubble on his chin.

He tells me his name is Myo and that he is a Karen – a Christian, a teacher and a guide.

“It would be my pleasure to walk with you by the river,” Myo says, giving me a very Burmese smile of red beetle-nut stained teeth. Myo was originally a schoolteacher from somewhere in the back blocks of Burma, but he was forced to give up teaching because of low pay and move to Myawaddy to work as a guide.

When the border officially closed and the foreign tourists stopped coming, he started crossing the river to Thailand to work each day.

“Here you can see my home country, Burma,” says Myo, stretching out his arm.

Across the river is the face of Burma – and it is not particularly inspiring. A grimy brown row of dilapidated brick and concrete buildings, perhaps hotels in another life, line a riverbank littered with rubbish, makeshift shacks and hanging washing.

A couple of hundred metres down from the bridge, a not-so-clandestine illegal river crossing is under way.

A man dressed in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts is wading through the river pulling a giant, inflated inner-tube.

A group of Burmese ladies are sitting balanced precariously around the edges of the tube with their shopping bags under their arms. Their legs are outstretched daintily so as not to get their feet wet, giving the appearance of a giant starfish floating on the surface. Myo says a ride costs 20 baht (82c) each way and that the crossing is tolerated by the authorities on both sides.

We stroll on while he points out more sights.

“This man, drug dealer,” says Myo in a loud voice as we pass an edgy-looking young man talking on a cellphone from the safe haven of “no man’s land”.

“He sell the stimulant amphetamine,” adds Myo, showing off his command of English.

I smile, quietly hoping the local criminals are either deaf or monolingual.

As we near the village, signs of commerce of a more legitimate kind are evident.

A man stands in the water collecting river sand, which is being bagged to be sold later.

Young boys push boxes of M-150 energy drinks and bags of rice down a makeshift wooden shoot on to a waiting longtail boat.

The village is just a small collection of huts made from bamboo, grass and dried leaves. It has the feel of a border village – a place where people stop on their way to somewhere else.

People stand impatiently by a dusty old sorng-taa-ou taxi while the driver hustles for more passengers. They watch as a barefooted boy loads their possessions – boxes tied with string and plastic bags stuffed to bursting – on to the roof-rack. We walk down to the wooden jetty, where people are lining up to take a motorised longtail downriver.

A couple of boys, probably about 7 or 8 years old, are swimming. One dives off the jetty with a splash and I take a photo of him as he surfaces.

He sees me and, grinning wildly, gives me the finger.

Myo shouts something at the boy in Burmese.

“I am sorry for this,” he says. “The Burmese children, they learn this bad gesture from watching the American movies. But they not understand what it meaning.”

The boy laughs and then dives back into the muddy river, his head narrowly missing the longtail boat as it pulls away from Thailand and moves out towards the land of golden pagodas and dark secrets. Isolated and rarely visited by tourists, Mae Sot is at the western edge of Thailand. But, being just across the muddy Moei River from the Burmese border outpost of Myawaddy, it provides an opportunity to experience the smells, sounds and tastes of one of the world’s most mysterious countries without having to leave the safe haven of Thailand.

Mae Sot has one of the largest Burmese communities outside of Burma. It is believed that over 65 per cent of the town’s population of 120,000 – approximately 80,000 people – are Burmese.

The first port of call for any visitor to Mae Sot is the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge and its surrounds, where you can watch the illegal but tolerated mass migration in progress.

But the Burmese experience in Mae Sot is not complete without enjoying a tea-shop breakfast, a peculiar mix of Indian, Burmese and Muslim influences, including unlikely couplings such as churro-style doughnuts, spring rolls, nanbya (flat bread), dhal and very sweet, milky chai. Lucky Tea Shop on the edge of the market is a fantastic spot to enjoy a Burmese breakfast and you can watch the fresh nanbya being baked while you feast.

The central market is surprisingly lively, especially in the late afternoon, and caters to local Burmese, not tourists, giving it a feeling of authenticity which is rare in Thailand.

It is a great spot to take photos of the locals as they do their shopping or of the array of bizarre items on display, such as grilled birds, live frogs or buckets of swirling water snakes.

Scoop – Burmese students term new government bogus
Thursday, 20 October 2011, 3:53 pm
Article: Nava Thakuria

The new Burmese regime led by President Thein Sein has tried its best to get international recognition, but All Burma Student’s League (ABSL) has termed the government at Nay Pyi Taw as bogus. The students organization alleges that the new government, formed after November 2010 election in Burma, has maintained its attack on pro-democratic and ethnic forces around the country.

In a series of resolutions adopted at the ABSL meeting on September 9- 23, 2011 and sent to media very recently, it points out that the ‘the military regime, holding the power firmly in its hand, has gradually been installing its political infrastructure. It also forcibly ratified the pro-military dictatorship constitution by annulling the 1990 elections’ result which is the political reward of Four-8s revolution’.

“International situations and domestic opposition have forced the military regime into carrying out such superficial reforms. The forced ratification of 2008 pro-military dictatorship proves the fact that the military regime resolves to continue holding power. The attitudes and actions of the military regime that wish to firmly hold power in its grip do not generate much of difficulties when communicating with neighboring countries. But they do pose obstacles in its relationship with western democracies. To solve this crisis, such superficial reforms are being introduced,” stated in a resolution.

It argues that the ‘military-turned-bogus civilian government led by Thein Sein in civilian dress has launched a series of political attacks on its dissidents in the international and domestic political arena’. “The regime also starts holding closed-door political meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi, the internationally-recognized democratic opposition leader, declaring fake general pardons and extending pretentious invitation to dissidents along the border and abroad to return home,” stated in the resolution adding, “We have full confidence in honesty and compassion of Suu Kyi for the people of Burma. She has led Burma’s pro-democracy movement over 20 years despite of various kinds of oppression. However, the regime’s past lies and current ploys make us difficult to believe in the ongoing meetings.”

The ABSL was formed by the students and youths who were once involved in the 8888s Revolution. Majority of its members held a stance — We are Ba-Ka-Tha(ABFSU-All Burma Federation of Student Unions) inside and Ma-Ka-Da-Ta(ABSDF-All Burma Students’ Democratic Front) outside — and a belief that there must be a single unified student body. It is their stance that the student body must be known as ABSDF abroad and ABFSU inside.

However, the ABSL emerged as a separate organization because of particular political reasons. Its members based in Thailand are ex- ABSDF members and student comrades of domestic student fronts and unions. On July 30, 1994, the ABSL officially came into existence with a democratic constitution with various political goals and policies. The ABSL is recognized by international youth and student bodies like International Union of Socialist Youth, International Union of Students and World Federation of Democratic Youth as a member organization.

Speaking to this writer, Kyaw Than, president of ABSL, argued that the real political power of Burma will always remain ‘in the hand of a few military dictators regardless of the existence of sham elections, puppet parliaments and bogus civilian governments’.

“We firmly believe that Burma’s political crisis cannot be solved – no matter how many agreements are made with whatever political party – as long as 2008 pro-military constitution remains intact. According to the pro-military dictatorship constitution, the military leaders are guaranteed with one-fourth of the total parliamentary seats, all important ministerial positions including national security and the power to legally stage serial coups d’état. Until now, all the ministries have been occupied by military officers and ex-military officers,” he added.

The ABSL admitted that the Burmese ‘forces based abroad and in border areas did not have an effective cooperation within the people’s movement for democracy and anti-military dictatorship’.

“This is a direct result of our common failure to build a complete unified front and establish a firm and decisive leadership. Even though this blame goes majorly to ourselves, the external interferences as one contributing reason to this weakness must also be included in this criticism. It is the result of over-dependency upon the donors due to the use of excuse for survival difficulties abroad.

The main anti-military dictatorship movement has been backburnered by the peripheral issues such as campaigns and trainings for human rights and woman rights,” a resolution said.

The student’s organization also criticizes the United Nations (with the international community) as being losing ‘confidence in democratic forces’ adding that ‘only a genuine national conference, which is free, fair and fearless, is the key to rebuilding Burma that has been disintegrating for over forty years’.

The Burmese regime has recently released over 200 political prisoners and many other prisoners prior to Thein Sein’s visit to India. But the ABSL claimed that ‘over 2000 political prisoners are still being kept in jails. New arrests and tortures of political activists are still going on. The basic rights of the people are still disallowed. The censor board is still retained and freedom of press severely curtailed, it asserted.

The Irrawaddy – AAPP Calls for External Hospitalization for Political Prisoner
Published on Thursday, Oct,20,2011

Nay Myo Zin, a former army captain, has been repeatedly denied vital medical care and has been unable to sit or walk without severe pain, causing him to forego family visits, said the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which called on Burma’s President Thein Sein to allow external hospitalization for Nay Myo Zin due to his illness. Nay Myo Zin was sentenced to ten years in prison under the Electronic Transactions Act. He is being held in Insein prison, which is notorious for inadequate health care and provides only three doctors for 10,000 inmates, according to the AAPP. The denial of proper healthcare to Nay Myo Zin comes at a time when Thein Sein purportedly granted amnesty to those prisoners in poor health. There are still at least 122 political prisoners locked up and suffering from poor health, according to the AAPP.

The Irrawaddy – And Now the Ethnic Crisis
By SAW YAN NAING Thursday, October 20, 2011

Following moves by Naypyidaw to enact democratic reforms, several leading figures and organizations in the international community have called for Burma to resolve issues concerned with its ethnic minorities, especially in tackling human rights abuses in the ethnic areas, and ending the government’s ongoing conflicts with ethnic armies.

On Wednesday, human rights envoy Tomás Ojea Quintana addressed the United Nations General Assembly’s third committee in presenting his latest report on Burma.

“A pattern of gross and systematic violations of human rights has existed in Myanmar for many years,” Quintana said. “I continue to receive allegations of such violations to date. Measures to ensure justice and accountability, including access to the truth, are essential for Myanmar to face its past and current human rights challenges and to move forward towards national reconciliation.”

Quintana said that the ongoing tensions in ethnic border areas and the Burmese army’s ongoing conflict with several ethnic militias continue to engender serious human rights violations, including attacks against civilian populations, extra-judicial killings, sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, internal displacement, land confiscations, the recruitment of child soldiers, as well as forced labor and portering.

While welcoming Burmese President Thein Sein’s commitment to “keep the door open to peace” and to invite armed groups for peace talks, Quintana called for greater efforts to find a durable political resolution to the complex undertaking of forging a stable multi-ethnic nation.

On Tuesday, international rights group Human Rights Watch released a statement accusing Burmese government troops of committing serious human rights abuses against ethnic Kachin civilians since renewed fighting broke out in the northern state in June.

Currently, more than 30,000 civilians from Kachin State have been displaced and have sought refuge due to an ongoing armed conflict between government troops and the rebel Kachin Independence Army (KIA).

The majority of those displaced are stranded in makeshift camps along the Sino-Burmese border where local aid groups say they face food shortages.

Sources in the area have claimed that hundreds of Chinese soldiers are deployed along the border in order to block Kachin refugees from crossing into China.

Awng Wa, the chairman of the Kachin Development Networking Group, told The Irrawaddy that hostilities—whether minor exchanges of gunfire or major assaults—currently break out almost every day in Kachin State.

He said that on Wednesday night a unit of government troops burned down a village called Namsam Yang, about 10 miles from the KIA’s headquarters in Laiza, and shot a villager who was over 60 years of age in his home. The man has been hospitalized at the Sino-Burmese border, he added.

A report issued in early October by the Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand also accuses government troops of systemic rape and sexual violence against Kachin women.
The report, titled “Burma’s Covered Up War: Atrocities Against the Kachin People,” alleges that government troops have raped 37 women and girls, 13 of whom were killed, since the renewal of the conflict in June.

The US’s special envoy to Burma, Derek Mitchell, said on Monday that the reports of human rights abuses in Burma were “credible,” and noted that many of the incidents were against minority women and children.

According to those NGOs involved in distributing humanitarian aid to displaced persons in Burma and to refugees, at least 500,000 ethnic Karen, Karenni and Shan people are displaced in the jungle, having abandoned their homes due to attacks launched by government troops.

Some 145,000 persons, mostly Karen villagers, are currently sheltering as refugees at camps along the Thai-Burmese border.

Ethnic leaders have joined in the calls for Naypyidaw to persuade its military officials to withdraw all their troops from ethnic areas and hold negotiations with representatives of all the groups.

In his statement, Derek Mitchell said that the Burmese government has not made comparable progress in its relations with ethnic minorities in the north and east of Burma as it has with the democratic opposition.

Meanwhile, US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, a US diplomat who has been involved in Burma issues for several years, said on Thursday in an interview with The Nation news group in Bangkok: “The thing we are looking for is progress with the National League for Democracy and Aung San Suu Kyi, and domestic diplomacy with ethnic minority groups, many of whom are subject to terrible violence and abuse.”

More government troops deployed around Laiza
Thursday, 20 October 2011 21:12 Phanida

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Kachin Independence Organization has reported a build up of Burmese government troops around their headquarters in Laiza, in northern Kachin State.

KIO spokesman La Nang told Mizzima  that government soldiers had deployed the area around Laiza with at least 16 battalions and that fighting in the area had intensified.

In an area 15 miles from Laiza near the Sino-Burmese border, military offensives have reportedly been launched by Infantry No. 40, 141, 142, 260, 37, 21 and Light Infantry No. 121, 381,383, 384, 388, 438, 290, 389 and 386 under the Burmese government’s Northern Command, a total of about 1,000 Burmese soldiers.

On Wednesday, 10 battles between government troops and Kachin forces broke out around Nam San Yang and Aung Ja Villages. Fighting was also reported between the two sides in Kutkai in neighbouring Shan State.

KIO military sources said the government deployed 500 soldiers from Bhamo by river and 100 soldiers from Myitkyina by train on Wednesday. The government also was reported to have deployed troops in Daw Pone Yan Township, bringing armoured cars and 120 mm and 150 mm recoiless canons.

Spokesman La Nang said they were not too worried. “We are not resisting in a [fixed] location or stronghold. There are our troops in Kachin State, Northern Shan State and [other] the areas where Kachin people live.”

La Nang said it was impossible to root out the KIO completely. “We will resist against any government troops who enter our areas,” he added.

Burma detainee swap does not include refugees: Malaysia
Thursday, 20 October 2011 14:00 Ko Pauk

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Burmese political refugees will not be included in a detainee swap deal between Burma and Malaysia.

The Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters on Tuesday that Malaysia checked the refugees’ status with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) before forging an agreement with Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister Maung Myint.

About 1,000 Burmese detainees who will be sent back to Burma under the recent detainee agreement are not asylum seekers or refugees, officials said.

“I’ve talked to the UNHCR and made it clear that the UNHCR will not stop those who are really eligible for refugee status. But, at the same time, please don’t use the refugee status as an excuse to dump so many people who are not eligible in our country,” the minister said.

His remarks were in response to two NGOs, Migrant Care Malaysia and Tenagantila, which are worried about the swap deal because most of the Burmese in Malaysia are asylum seekers.

Illegal foreigners including 3,000 Burmese, have been detained in 13 camps across Malaysia, Tun Tun, the official in charge of Burma Campaign – Malaysia, told Mizzima.

“They have been imprisoned for criminal offences. And when they were released from prisons or when their work permit or visa expired, they were sent to the detention camps. Some of them are illegal workers,” Tun Tun said.

Burma Campaign – Malaysia estimates that there are 500,000 Burmese including more than 100,000 refugees or asylum seekers, the second largest number among the number of other refugees in Malaysia.

Under Malaysia’s “6Ps” program started in August more than 250,000 Burmese citizens were fingerprinted to register as legal workers. Burmese social organizations have said the  Malaysian government may launch a crackdown on illegal migrant workers within a few months.

Nyan Win, a Burmese worker rights activist in Malaysia, told Mizzima that if the detainees swap programme is an effort to send back people who have difficulties to return their country, the plan will be good.

“Normally, if a person has refugee status with UNHCR, the person will not be forced to return. The 1,000 Burmese detainees who will be sent back to Burma could not afford to buy air tickets. That’s why Malaysian government and Burmese government have planned to exchange detainees,” Nyan Win said.

Most of the migrants from Burma are Chin and Karen who have formed pro-democracy groups and human right groups. They stay in Malaysia by using identity cards issued by those groups, but the cards are not officially valid.

Presently, Burma is still scrutinizing the names of Malaysian detainees and the exact number of detainees is  unknown.

In a press conference in Malaysia on Tuesday, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) called for a halt to the exchange program, saying it had serious concerns about the implementation of the programme with Burma.

“We wish to reiterate that such a ’swap deal’, which would see Burmese nationals returned to persecution in their homeland, serves political interests well ahead of these exceedingly serious human rights concerns. Contrary to the principles of international law upon which Asean is founded, such an agreement would only further jeopardize the dignity and security of Burmese refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia,” it said in a statement.

“The human rights situation in Myanmar, grievous as it remains, is unlikely to be able to ensure such protections, without which Malaysia cannot hope to fulfill its international obligations to ensure that human rights of refugees be protected.”

The refugee registration process should offer certainty to refugees with regards to their in-country status, and they should be provided access to both representatives from legal and nongovernment organizations, the statement said.

India wants to invest in Burma’s agricultural and energy sectors
Wednesday, 19 October 2011 11:19 Mizzima News

(Interview) – Tun Lwin, the chairman of the Myanmar Pulses, Beans and Sesame Seeds Merchants Association, who accompanied President Thein Sein to India says that India is looking for ways to invest in Burma’s agriculture and energy sectors. India also wants to expand airline services between the two countries. India is Burma’s fifth largest trading partner, and it exports more than one million tons of beans annually. However, bilateral trade is not good because of poor transportation, lack of security on the Indo-Burmese border and banking issues. Mizzima correspondent Te Te talks with Tun Lwin about the meetings during the presidential visit, the difficulties in bilateral trade and future prospects.

Question: During Thein Sein’s visit, what did Burmese businessmen discuss with Indian officials?

Answer: India usually buys more than 70 per cent of our bean production, so we discussed agricultural regarding growing beans and peas and agricultural techniques.

Q: Which companies from India attended the meeting?

A: All companies from many sectors attended. Our chairman Win Aung represented Burma. And Myanmar Rice Industry Association chairman Chit Khaing and I attended. Construction companies included Shwe Than Lwin and Aung Chan Tha; and officials from the Myanmar Fishery Federation also attended the meeting.

Many officials from the Indian side attended the meeting. Transportation companies, construction groups, rice groups and pulses groups came. I think there were about 50 Indian officials. Officials from the agricultural and energy sectors also attended.

Q: What else was discussed by Burmese and Indian officials?

A: They want to buy farmland and conduct “contract farming,” if possible. We discussed that.

Q: What investments do Burmese investors want to make in India?

A: Rather than us investing in India, we’re interested in attracting Indian investments in Burma, and we discussed that. We didn’t discuss making investments in India.

Q: In which sectors does India want to invest?

A: I think they are very interested in the energy sector.

Our ministers have invited them to invest. Economics opportunities have been opened for them.

Q: What other business sectors are Indian companies interested in?

A: They produce many products, but in comparison with some other countries’ products, the products aren’t as profitable for us. They have iron and machinery. We import some products from Thailand, China and other countries because of easy transportation and good quality. Despite the discussion to promote mutual trade, we will import only the products with attractive prices.

Q: Regarding the transportation businesses, what did India say in the meetings?

A: They asked about the airline business. They told us to expand airline services. We discussed matters regarding the airline industry. Another important subject was expanding sea route services.

Q: Which business opportunity did the Burmese side see in India?

A: As a whole, our main export is pulses and beans. The main product imported from India to Burma is medicine. And we also import electrical equipment, iron sheets and construction material. Burmese merchants import those products.

Q: Which is the best business in the mutual trade?

A: Exporting pulses and beans is the best. Burma grows beans as its second most important crop. India usually buys more than one million tons of beans per a year, so this is the major export. We export mung beans, the green gram and pigeon peas.

Q: In comparison with other neighbouring countries, Burma does less import and export with India.

A: Yes, that’s because we are near Thailand and China. There are better transportation routes to Thailand and China. With India, we have problems regarding transportation. On the [Indo-Burmese] border, there are the insurgent groups in Assam, so the area is not stable and it hinders border trade.

Q: What are some of the other problems preventing more trade?

A: Sometimes we have difficulties in transferring money. It’s related to the banking system. Our country has suffered sanctions, so there are difficulties in some sectors.

Sometimes, we cannot directly connect with Indian banks. We need to go through other countries to make and accept payments. So it’s costly and difficult sometimes. Because of sanctions, we have problems in making and receiving payments.

DVB News – Burma to drop ban on satellite TV
By SHWE AUNG
Published: 20 October 2011

Licences for satellite television receivers are likely to be issued again in Burma following a six-year ban claimed at the time by observers to be an attempt to control the flow of information into the country.

The notification came from communications minister Thein Htun after a question about the possibility of reintroducing satellite permits was raised in parliament. The minister said the process would take time, although state media appeared optimistic that it would be successful.

Phone Myint Aung, an MP for the opposition National Democratic Force, quoted the minister as saying that that the law regarding the licences has already been drafted.

The move is part of a reshaping of the communications law, and follows introductions or amendments to a number of laws that signal the government is loosening its vice-like grip on Burmese society.

Most satellite users in the former capital Rangoon are without permits. Locals there welcomed the news as a sign that the media environment is further opening up, following the relaxing of an internet ban on certain news website, including DVB.

The ban in 2005 was not the first such restriction by the government – in 1993 it enacted a ban that wasn’t lifted until 2001, and during those eight years only around 2,000 satellite dishes were legally in use, mostly by hotels and businesses.

Despite the periods of prohibition on satellite licences, exiled media such as DVB has still managed to broadcast into the country. Government ministers are believed to garner much of their information from these independent sources, and thus have been reluctant to block the service.

DVB News – Arrests highlight Burma-China gun trade
By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 20 October 2011

Chinese police have busted a ring of gun smugglers they claim have been running weapons into Tibet and the southwestern region from northern Burma for at least two years, sparking a renewal of fears about security along the shared border that Beijing has long eyed with concern.

The state-run People’s Daily in China said yesterday that 17 people had so far been arrested in a crackdown that began nine months ago. Their nationalities have not been disclosed, nor the precise destination of the weaponry, only that guns were sold “to several predominantly Tibetan regions”. Two men linked to the racket were arrested in March this year in Yunnan province, which borders northern Burma, and the remaining in Lhasa.

“Yunnan police said that, in recent years, people vying for big money have started trafficking firearms, taking advantage of loose gun control laws amid arm conflicts in northern Myanmar [Burma],” the paper said.

Little is known about the origins of the ring, which appears to have capitalised on the porous 1370 mile frontier between China and Burma and along which myriad armed conflicts have generated a surplus of weaponry.

Aung Kyaw Zaw, an analyst based on the China-Burma border, said the trade was “nothing new”, and claimed the guns may have originated from any of the various ethnic armies and militias operating in northern Burma. He cited the August 2009 fighting in which Burmese forces overran a Kokang rebel group in the north as helping to fuel the trade over the past two years, given the excess of arms that the retreating Kokang left in their wake.

Moreover, armed groups such as the Wa are known to produce their own weaponry, in addition to an historical supply line from China, and have vast stores of guns and heavy artillery. The somewhat lawless nature of Burma’s northern border regions, much of which are controlled by anti-Naypyidaw groups, means that monitoring of illegal cross-border trade is either difficult, or done with the acquiescence of border officials.

Beijing has warned Burma on several occasions that stability along its side of the shared border is of paramount importance, particularly given extensive Chinese business interests in the Kachin and Shan states. The Burmese military has ramped up a campaign to secure these areas, sparking heavy fighting with rebel groups that, in Kachin state at least, is reaching an intensity not seen since a raft of ceasefires were signed in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Reports from local Kachin media claim that China has sent up to 2,000 troops to its border with Burma. Speaking with DVB today, La Nan, the spokesperson of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which is battling Burmese forces along the frontier, said the deployment may be aimed a stemming a possible overspill of fighting into China. One Chinese battalion has been placed in the town of Jang Khawng, over the border from the KIA stronghold of Maijayang.

China has also noted with concern an attack last week on two cargo vessels travelling along a stretch of the Mekong River between Burma and Laos, which is officially controlled by Thailand but where Burmese militia groups are known to operate. Allegations that the attack, which left 12 Chinese nationals dead, was the work of the Wa were categorically
denied in a statement released by the group earlier this week.