BURMA RELATED NEWS – OCTOBER 21, 2011
Oct 21st, 2011
20 October 2011 – Myanmar’s new Government must follow up on its release of 200 political prisoners earlier this month by freeing all remaining such detainees by the end of the year, a United Nations human rights expert said today.
“I believe that this is a key moment in Myanmar’s history and there are real opportunities for positive and meaningful development to improve the human rights situation and deepen the transition to democracy,” UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Tomás Ojea Quintana told a news conference in New York.
“I am pushing the Government to release all remaining political prisoners before the end of the year,” he said, a day after briefing the General Assembly’s third committee on his latest report on the South-East Asian country, where a newly-convened Parliament elected a new President earlier this year following more than two decades of rule by uniformed officers.
“Those prominent leaders, those who had important roles in the history of Myanmar, they still remain in prison… The Government must move forward on this point… they (the prisoners) deserve now to play a role in this again important moment,” he added.
“The Government should not use them as hostages to have the compliance of the international community. These people deserve to enjoy their freedom and they have been incarcerated for exercising political freedoms in Myanmar.”
Mr. Quintana said he had access to some of the prisoners, who include those detained for political and ethnic reasons, in private conditions with no officials present during his recent visit to Myanmar.
As he did in his report and his briefing to the committee, he said that despite pledges by the new Government to fulfil its international human rights obligations, he was still receiving allegations of abuses, particular from border areas where the military is fighting ethnic insurgencies, and he hoped to have a dialogue with Government on this issue on his next visit.
Many serious human rights, social, political, economic and cultural issues still remain to be addressed, he added.
“Investigations into human rights violation allegations need to be done in a credible and independent manner,” he said, stressing that he had delivered this message to the authorities during his recent visit.
21 Oct 2011 14:29
By Panarat Thepgumpanat and Jutarat Skulpichetrat
BANGKOK, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Thailand battled to protect the capital Bangkok from being swamped by water on Friday, with canals full to the brim after devastating floods across the region that sources in neighbouring Myanmar said had killed at least 100 people there.
After trying to hold the line for a week, the Thai government opened some canals on Thursday to allow water to run through the inner city, carrying the risk of inundating some districts but relieving pressure on dikes.
At least 100 bodies had been found in the low-lying parts of central Myanmar along the Irrawaddy River, with at least 100 more missing after floods and torrential rains since Wednesday, according to a reliable source in Pakokku, about 450 km (280 miles) north of the biggest city, Yangon.
The source requested anonymity and cited information provided by a local administration official. Residents contacted by Reuters in Monywa and Kyaukse towns said there was damage to property and crops, but could not confirm casualties.
Government officials in the secretive country were not available for comment and state-controlled media made no mention of the rains and floods.
The floods have also killed at least 247 in Cambodia and displaced tens of thousands of people.
The floods are the worst in Thailand in five decades and have killed at least 342 people since July and devastated industrialised areas to the north of Bangkok.
The crisis is the first real test for politically inexperienced Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose government has had to form uneasy alliances with the military and political rivals to coordinate the relief effort.
Bangkok’s metropolitan authority is controlled by the opposition Democrat Party, while the military has a frosty relationship with the ruling Puea Thai Party because of its de facto leader and Yingluck’s brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, the self-exiled former premier overthrown by the army in 2006.
The flood problem was building even before she took office in early August and looks set to cost industry more than $3 billion, slashing economic growth this year.
The 44-year-old former businesswoman is resisting calls to declare a state of emergency, saying authorities are able to manage.
“It would ruin investors’ confidence, which is quite weak already,” Yingluck told reporters at the crisis centre.
“At this moment we can see that we (the government and the people) are cooperating very well to help us get through the problem. If I declare a state of emergency, I would be telling the world that we can’t help each other.”
Thousands of people in northern parts of Bangkok were moving valuables and electrical equipment to higher floors while evacuees pitched tents in the city’s Don Muang airport.
In the fringe provinces of Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi, residents packed into boats, some carrying the elderly on their shoulders. Elevated tollways had been turned into giant car parks, with moving traffic reduced to a single lane on some highways.
Many convenience stores in downtown Bangkok were sold out of water and instant noodles and appeals were made for supplies from medicine and food to diapers and slippers.
Some workers stayed home to fortify their houses and banks and shops in Bangkok’s business districts were piling up sandbags in case canals burst.
DAMAGE, DISRUPTION
“If the floodwater reaches Bangkok… the damage would be immeasurable because of the disruption to people’s lives,” Bangkok Bank’s executive vice-president, Bhakorn Vanuptikul, told Reuters outside his bank’s fortified headquarters.
Water now covers a third of Thailand’s provinces, some four million acres (1.6 million hectares) in the north, northeast and centre of the country, and a seventh big industrial estate was overwhelmed late on Thursday when flood barriers at the Bang Kadi park in Pathum Thani were breached.
The government’s effort to steer the water around the east and west of the capital has had some success, the crisis centre said, but people in the northern Don Muang and Lak Si districts were told to be on the alert and ready to move.
Viphavadi-Rangsit, a main road from the north into the heart of the city, is the biggest concern, with fears that canals could overflow and swamp it, said Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra.
The start of the new term for 116 schools, scheduled for Nov. 1, would be delayed indefinitely, Sukhumbhand added.
The weather was expected to clear Friday and similar conditions forecast for on Saturday, but light rain was expected Sunday and thunderstorms in the days after, according to the Meteorological Department.
The central bank has put the damage to industry at more than 100 billion baht ($3.3 billion) on Thursday and said 2011 economic growth could be closer to 3 percent than the 4.1 percent it forecast. Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala said growth might be barely 2 percent.
The Commerce Ministry said exports might fall 13 percent in the fourth quarter compared with 2010.
Thailand is a big regional hub for the world’s car makers and most are suffering disruption, either because their plants are flooded or, more often, because parts makers have had to close and the supply chain has been disrupted.
The output of Japanese car makers has fallen by about 6,000 units a day because of the flooding. Germany’s Daimler AG <DAIGn.DE> said late on Thursday it had halted car production because of the threat of flooding.
Thailand is the world’s top rice exporter. Traders and analysts said it was too early to assess the damage, but estimated about 2 million tonnes of milled rice may have been ruined, with delays to the loading of 100,000 tonnes of rice.
20 Oct 2011 23:29
Source: Content partner // Human Rights Watch
(Tokyo) – Japanese officials should press Burma’s visiting foreign minister on the need for genuine reforms to improve human rights in Burma, Human Rights Watch said today. Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin will visit Tokyo from October 20 to 22, 2011.
Wunna Maung Lwin’s visit to Japan is the first by a foreign minister from Burma in 16 years. His meetings with Japanese officials are expected to include discussion of increased development assistance and possible trade agreements.
“The Burmese foreign minister’s visit is an important opportunity for Japan to urge the new Burmese government to improve human rights, not just talk trade,” said Kanae Doi, Japan director at Human Rights Watch. “Japan should not be seduced into thinking that Burma’s recent announcements and gestures are sufficient when abuses continue in ethnic areas and many hundreds of political prisoners remain behind bars.”
Japan’s stated Burma policy is to encourage “solid democratization and national reconciliation.” Human Rights Watch called on the Japanese government to urge Burma to release all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally, abolish laws that are used to repress the rights to freedom of speech, association, and assembly, and end violations of the laws of war against ethnic minority populations.
Burma’s government, formed on March 30, has promised economic, political, and legislative reforms. It has softened its rhetoric by using language on human rights and democracy, met with the democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and loosened some restrictions on the media. President Thein Sein, a former general, has called on exiled dissidents to return and last week released 220 of the approximately 2,000 political prisoners in the country. Crucial by-elections are slated for the end of 2011.
There has been increased pressure on the government to allow the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) to register and possibly to offer candidates in the elections, though no decision has been made.
The Burmese foreign minister’s visit follows a visit to Burma in June by Makiko Kikuta, who was then the parliamentary vice foreign minister. She pledged to consider aid programs that addressed basic human needsand discussedcooperation in four areas: human exchanges, economic cooperation, economic relations, and cultural exchanges.
Human Rights Watch reiterated its call on the Japanese government to provide humanitarian assistance to Burma in a transparent and accountable way that strengthens civil society, rather than reinforcing corrupt power structures. The Japanese government should also ensure that the Burmese government improves access to Burma for humanitarian agencies that have faced problems in delivering aid, particularly in ethnic minority areas.
Resumption of non-humanitarian aid to Burma should be predicated on genuine improvement in basic human rights. Investment in natural resource extraction in Burma without significant human rights reforms could fuel abuses, destabilize the environment, and facilitate corruption, Human Rights watch said.
“There are many humanitarian needs in Burma that Japan can help address, and it should urge the Burmese government to free up humanitarian space,” Doi said. “Japanese investments in Burma’s emerging markets, especially the lucrative natural resources sector, should be conditioned on genuine improvements in human rights.”
Attacks by the Burmese army against civilians in conflict areas have intensified in 2011, with continued abuses in Karen State in eastern Burma, plus renewed fighting in the northern Kachin and Shan states, in which longstanding ceasefires recently broke down. An estimated 50,000 civilians have been displaced in this fighting. Human Rights Watch has documented serious abuses by the Burmese army, including extrajudicial killings, attacks on civilians, unlawful use of forced labor, and pillaging of villages.
“Anyone looking beyond the promises of the Burmese government will see continued cause for concern, and this should be the message to the foreign minister,” Doi said. “Japan should inform the Burmese government that requests for increased assistance will get more attention once the abuses stop and those responsible are held to account.”
21 Oct 2011 14:17 BEIJING, Oct 21 (Reuters) – China and Myanmar should keep their word to implement joint projects, China’s premier was quoted as telling a top official from the country’s southern neighbour, hinting at unresolved differences over a Chinese-backed dam.
Last month, Myanmar’s new civilian President Thein Sein suspended the $3.6 billion Myitsone dam being built and financed by Chinese companies in northern Myanmar after weeks of public outrage over the project in the country also known as Burma.
“Implementing important China-Myanmar cooperative projects is in the interests of both countries,” Premier Wen Jiabao told Myanmar’s Vice-President Tin Aung Myint Oo, according to the People’s Daily, the newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party.
“The two countries should earnestly work to implement the consensus on projects reached by the countries’ leaders, fulfill their promises … and guarantee the healthy development of China-Myanmar cooperation.”
The Myanmar vice-president was visiting China with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ahead of the China-ASEAN Expo in the southern city of Nanning.
He made no mention of Myitsone, but officials from Myanmar had said earlier that the issue would be raised.
Myanmar’s vice-president said his country valued cooperative relations, the newspaper said, and would “proactively look for ways to resolve issues”.
Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Li Junhua told Xinhua news agency the two country’s relations had “stood the test of history”.
“N o matter in the past or in the future, China always understands and supports Myanmar in independently choosing its own path of development, supports Myanmar in safeguarding the country’s sovereignty … as well as its national reconciliation and democratic process ,” Li added.
The shelving of the project, agreed to by Myanmar’s then military rulers in 2006, was seen as an unprecedented challenge to China’s extensive economic interests in Myanmar, long shunned by the West for its poor human rights record.
In recent years, Myanmar’s leaders have embraced investment from China as a market for its energy-related resources and to counterbalance the impact of Western sanctions.
While China and Myanmar have close economic and political ties, including the building of oil and gas pipelines into southwestern China, there are also deep mutual suspicions.
The Myitsone dam at the confluence of the Mali and Nmai rivers would flood an area about the size of Singapore. Many residents and environmentalists have opposed its construction.
Chinese officials have called the project environmentally safe and a boon to development in Myanmar.
Strong Wind Causes Damages To Some Regions In Myanmar YANGON, Oct 21 (Bernama) — Strong wind and heavy rainfall have caused damages to some regions and states in Myanmar, due to land depression pressure that crossed between Myanmar and Bangladesh over the last two days.
The strong wind blew off roofs of a market in Sittway, western Rakhine state, damaging some road sections and buildings in three townships in Magway region and Nyaung Oo township in Mandalay region, according to China’s Xinhua news agency, citing local press reports on Friday.
No casualties were reported, the New Light of Myanmar, adding that beams, railings and floors of Myittha River Bridge floated into the water in some places.
Some cultural heritages were also damaged in the storm with walls, roofs and terraces of five pagodas, and Myitkyitaik bridge monastery in Nyaung Oo also spoiled, Xinhua quoted the report as saying.
The moderate cyclone storm over the Bay of Bengal has weakened and continued to move northeastwards as the wind speed reduced to 64 to 88 kilometers per hour after crossing between Maungtaw, Rakhine coast of Myanmar and Cox Bazaar of Bangladesh Wednesday night, according a latest weather forecast report.
The cyclone storm at red level swept at a wind speed of 96 to 112 kilometers per hour on Wednesday before it turned weak at night, the report said.
Myanmar To Send Troops For Military Courses In Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 (Bernama) — Myanmar plans to send troops to attend nine of 16 military courses offered by the Malaysian Armed Forces, including the Armed Forces Staff College.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the offer was conveyed to his counterpart, Lt-Gen Hla Min who is on a three-day visit to Malaysia since Thursday.
Speaking to reporters after receiving Hla Min here Friday, Ahmad Zahid said the offer was part of efforts to enhance cooperation between the two countries in the military field.
Myanmar is also keen to learn and acquire defence products from Malaysia in an effort to modernise its armament and defence industry, added Ahmad Zahid.
Hence, he said Myanmar has agreed to send a delegation of senior officers to appraise products and assets that could be purchased from Malaysia.
Hla Min’s visit is the first in 30 years after the last Myanmar Defence Minister’s visit to the country.
Ahmad Zahid said the Myanmar Defence Ministry would also be taking part in the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition and conference, and the Defence Services Asia exhibition in Langkawi in December.
Hla Min also visited Sapura Group and Airod, which manufactured a wide range of defence products.
Last Updated(Beijing Time):2011-10-21 10:59
Myanmar’s Vice-President Tin Aung Myint Oo on Thursday tried to ease Beijing’s concerns over the halting of a Chinese-invested mega dam, vowing to cooperate with China in seeking for a proper solution to the issue.
He made the pledge while meeting Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the 8th China-ASEAN Expo. Wen pointed out that the implementation of Sino-Myanmar key projects conforms to the interests of both sides.
Wen said the two countries should carry out the consensus reached by their leaders and fulfill the commitment to ensure a healthy and smooth growth of economic ties.
The Myanmar guest reiterated that his country has attached great importance to the comprehensive, strategic and cooperative partnership between the two nations, adding it will maintain close communication with China and seek a proper solution to protect common interests.
The meeting appeared to be another attempt to repair the damage to ties after Myanmar’s President Thein Sein announced last month the suspension of the $3.6 billion Myitsone Dam built and financed by a Chinese firm in the northern part of his country, which triggered a public rebuke from China.
Soon after the announcement, he sent Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin as his special envoy to Beijing to explain the shelving of the project.
Analysts noted that bilateral ties will continue to move forward as the suspension of the dam will not change the basic fact that China is currently the largest investor and trading partner of Myanmar and most likely will remain an indispensable player in Myanmar’s economic development.
The New Light of Myanmar, a government-owned newspaper, has published four editorials calling for a stronger relationship with Myanmar’s northern neighbor.
“The suspension of the Myitsone project is out of the concern of the environment and there are people in the country who want to harness this event to destroy Myanmar-China relations. The untrue coverage in the foreign media is spreading quickly. But undoubtedly, it is of vital importance for Myanmar to maintain a sincere friendship with its neighbor,” an editorial published on Wednesday said.
In its Sunday editorial entitled “whoever cannot destroy the Myanmar-China relations”, the newspaper compared Myanmar-China relations to that of couples, saying it is inevitable for couples to quarrel.
In addition to Tin Aung Myint Oo, Wen on Thursday also met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad and Thai Deputy Prime Minister Kittirat Naranong, and spoke highly of China’s relationships with those ASEAN member countries.
He also urged relevant countries to properly handle the aftermath of the deadly attack on Chinese sailors on the Mekong River, accelerate the investigation and take joint actions to safeguard navigation safety on the river.
The ASEAN leaders are currently in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to attend the opening ceremony of the 8th China-ASEAN Expo, which runs from Friday to Oct 26.
New Delhi, Oct 21 : Trying to ease Beijing’s concerns over the halting of a Chinese-funded mega dam, Myanmar’s Vice-President Tin Aung Myint Oo has vowed to cooperate with China in seeking for a proper solution to the issue.
He made the pledge while meeting Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the 8th China-ASEAN Expo.
Wen pointed out that the implementation of Sino-Myanmar key projects conforms to the interests of both sides, the China daily reports.
The Chinese premier said the two countries should carry out the consensus reached by their leaders and fulfill the commitment to ensure a healthy and smooth growth of economic ties.
The meeting appeared to be another attempt to repair the damage to ties after Myanmar’’s President Thein Sein announced last month the suspension of the 3.6 billion dollar Myitsone Dam built and financed by a Chinese firm in the northern part of his country, which triggered a public rebuke from China.
Analysts noted that bilateral ties will continue to move forward as the suspension of the dam will not change the basic fact that China is currently the largest investor and trading partner of Myanmar.
By Zin Linn Oct 21, 2011 10:16PM UTC
While policy contradiction has been continued in the President Thein Sein government, the offensive against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) becomes deeper and deeper.
Hundreds of soldiers from both sides have been dying in action since 9 June of this year. Apart from the political prisoners’ issue, the government’s waging war on the ethnic revolutionary groups seems to be another important issue in unstable south-east Asian country.
Recently, on October 16, Burma Army detained 20 residents of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, as porters, quoting local residents Kachin News Group said. They were detained on the roads at night in two Kachin quarters, Manhkring and Shwezet, by Infantry Battalion (IB) No. 29, according to sources close to the detainees.
On October 17, two Kachin villagers, Lasang Yaw, aged 30 and his elder brother Lasang Gam, were shot dead by Light Infantry Battalion No. 438 and 141 at the frontlines in Kachin State, according to eyewitnesses. Government battalions also killed 10 buffaloes and two oxen belonged to the villagers and burned houses, eyewitnesses added.
Innocent Kachin civilians have been targeted and suffered different forms of human right abuses by government soldiers, since the beginning of the civil war according to the 18 October report of the New York-based Human Rights Watch.
On the other hand, 3 officers and two soldiers from Burma Army were killed by the Kachin Independence Army at Ga Ra Yang battle on 19 October, referring sources close to government troops KNG reported. The fighting occurred between government troops of the Mayan-based Infantry Battalion No. 260 and KIA troops of Battalion 3, under Brigade 5, said residents of Ga Ra Yang.
The fallen soldiers are Captain Nay Win Htun, Captain Aung Naing Htoo, Lieutenant Naing Naing Linn (ID 41449) and two soldiers – Naung Chyu (ID 767310) and Soe Paing (ID 494431), according to sources close to witnesses. Many government soldiers were also injured, added witnesses.
The heavy fighting started at Lung Zep Kawng, near Ga Ra Yang Village, on the Myitkyina-Manmaw (Bhamo) Road on 14 October. According to local people, dozens of government soldiers were killed and injured during the week-long fighting.
Also on 16 October, more than 50 government soldiers were killed during skirmishing with the KIA at two different locations in Kachin State, witnesses said. Approximately 30 government soldiers were killed by the KIA during heavy fighting at Lung Zep Kawng, near Ga Ra Yang Village, on the Myitkyina-Manmaw (Bhamo) Road, in Waingmaw Township, according to KNG’s report. The fierce fighting continued for 4 days, as KIA troops from Battalion 3, under Brigade 5, defended against over 500 government soldiers from five battalions, KIA officials in the Laiza headquarters said.
Soldiers from both sides were fallen for unnecessary cause. The real cause of continuation of war against KIO is related to the huge developmental dam projects on the Irrawaddy River built by China. As the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) did not agree the Myitsone Dam project, the military-backed government launched a major offensive, recently targeting the KIA’s Brigade 4 which occupied a key position near the Sino-Burma border.
Meanwhile, Burma’s Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo is in China at the ASEAN-China expo trade fair and met with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines, Reuters News said. China and Burma should keep their word to implement joint projects; China’s premier was quoted as telling Burma’s VP, lightly referring to unresolved differences over Chinese-backed Myitsone dam.
Due to China’s greedy claim on dam-projects in Burma, a question has been appeared in the Burmese population. Is Burmese government escalating military pressure upon KIO to withdraw opposite view concerning the dam-projects in Kachin State?
Despite efforts to start a ceasefire negotiation on June 17 and 30 by means of talks between representatives of the KIA and the Burmese government, new armed-clashes between the KIA and Burmese armed forces took place on July 2 and 3 in different parts of the Kachin State. Heavy fighting between KIA and the Burmese troops occurred in July at the Sang Gang Valley in Manmaw (Bhamo) district.
If this new offensive against KIA is meant to be appeased China, government has made a wrong decision. The government mustn’t allow China to interfere in the country’s internal affairs. To build a true democratic nation, government has to declare nationwide ceasefire and rush for peace talks with all rebel groups since time is running out.
As all rebellions are rooted in the political cause, government should use political talks to address these long-lasting problems. Addressing the political problems by military might will lead the country into an appalling catastrophe.
The Star – Myanmar moves to improve rights but far to go – U.N.
By Patrick Worsnip
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Myanmar, seeking to cautiously open up after decades of isolation under military rule, has taken steps to improve its human rights record but still has much to do, a U.N. investigator said on Thursday.
After holding the first election in 20 years last November, the Asian country’s generals nominally handed power in March to civilians, have loosened some media controls and started political dialogue with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose 15-year house arrest ended last year.
“I believe that this is a key moment in Myanmar history and there are real opportunities for positive and meaningful developments to improve the human rights situation and deepen the transition to democracy,” said Tomas Ojea Quintana.
“At the same time, many serious human rights issues encompassing the broad range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights remain to be addressed,” he told journalists after reporting to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.
Quintana, special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, has been allowed to visit the country he is investigating, unlike investigators dealing with Iran and North Korea.
He last went in August and said access was better than in three previous visits to the country also known as Burma.
In his report to the assembly, Quintana said he was “encouraged by the government’s commitment to reform” and by promises by President Thein Sein to protect human rights and respect the rule of law.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
He also welcomed a prisoner amnesty earlier this month, even though he said prisoners of conscience accounted for only about 200 of more than 6,000 people released. About 1,800 political prisoners are believed to remain in jail.
Quintana, an Argentine lawyer, repeated calls for all political prisoners to be freed before by-elections due before the end of this year.
Ko Ko Hlaing, a senior political adviser to Thein Sein, told Reuters on Wednesday that Myanmar’s government may soon release hundreds more political detainees, although no official decision had been taken.
Quintana welcomed recent parliamentary bills that would legalize trade unions, ease restrictions on political parties and relax rules on public gatherings.
But he said the judiciary remained “neither independent nor impartial,” election rules needed to be revised and conflicts with armed ethnic groups “continue to engender serious human rights violations.”
“In ethnic border areas the military is still holding power,” he said. “Greater efforts must still be made to find a durable political resolution to the complex undertaking of forging a stable, multi-ethnic nation.”
Developments in Myanmar have attracted attention in Washington, where a senior U.S. official said on Monday the country may be moving towards greater openness but it is unclear whether it has embarked on genuine political reform.
The United States, Europe and Australia have said the freeing of political prisoners is essential to considering lifting sanctions that have crippled the pariah state and driven it closer to China.
Published: Oct. 20, 2011 at 1:45 PM UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 20 (UPI) — Despite positive political developments in Myanmar, the government has a long way to go in addressing human rights concerns, a U.N. official said.
Last week, the government in Myanmar released around 200 prisoners as part of a general amnesty given to an estimated 6,300 detainees.
The release followed an appeal to the government from the head of the state-backed National Human Rights Commission to set free prisoners accused of ordinary crimes so they can participate in “nation-building tasks.”
Tomas Ojea Quintana, the U.N. special envoy on human rights in Myanmar, told the U.N. General Assembly that despite the political progress, he was receiving allegations of human rights violations.
“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 toward national reconciliation,” he said in a statement.
Human Rights Watch staff members expressed concern about ethnic violence in northern Myanmar. The organization in September said sexual violence and torture against ethnic communities were on the rise in that region.
Quintana said those complaints, along with reports of military forces using prisoners as human shields, showed there was much work to be done in Myanmar.
Friday, October 21, 2011 » 03:59pm
A flash flood in central Burma has left dozens of people missing as homes along a river bank were swept away, government officials say.
‘About 60 people are missing so far because of the flood’ in Pakokku township, an official who did not want to be named told AFP on Friday.
‘Some houses and a monastery along the river bank were swept away and a bridge was destroyed as the water rose up,’ he said.
There were no confirmed reports of deaths, a second official said.
A monk in Pakokku said the water was believed to have risen to about three metres high.
‘Some people, animals, houses and a monastery were swept away when the water rose up. The water level is back to normal now,’ he said. ‘We had torrential rain in previous days.’
State media reported roads, bridges and buildings were damaged because of strong winds and heavy rains in some parts of the country.
Southeast Asia has been battered by particularly severe monsoon rains this year.
According to the United Nations, more than 700 people have been killed in floods across Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines.
BBC News – Burma flash floods ‘leave dozens dead or missing’ Reports from central Burma say flash floods have left dozens of people dead or missing.
The flooding happened on Thursday in the town of Pakokku when torrential rain caused a river to overflow.
Residents told the BBC they had recovered more than 50 bodies but there has been no word from local officials.
Reports say many other people are missing and that at least 200 houses were swept away.
“Some people, animals, houses and a monastery were swept away when the water rose up,” a monk was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
South East Asia has been hit by severe flooding since unusually heavy monsoon rains began in July.
In Thailand, about a third of all provinces remain affected and run-off from central plains is threatening the capital, Bangkok. Cambodia has also been badly hit.
VOA News – UN Experts Urge Release of Political Prisoners in DPRK, Burma
Margaret Besheer | United Nations The U.N. expert who assesses the human rights situation in North Korea is calling upon the government to urgently begin releasing the estimated 200,000 political prisoners in the country’s jails. Meanwhile, his counterpart who monitors Burma said that despite many positive developments, ongoing and serious human rights issues remain to be addressed there.
Special rapporteur Marzuki Darusman said he is concerned by satellite images that show a “significant increase” in the scale of North Korean political prison camps over similar images gathered in 2001.
“It is estimated that DPRK’s network of political prisons, some of which are believed to be in operation since 1950, hold up to 200,000 people. I called on the authorities to move forward concretely and urgently on the release of political prisoners,” said Darusman.
Darusman, who is an independent expert appointed by the secretary-general, also expressed concern about the increase in asylum seekers from North Korea, telling reporters their numbers have risen from about 40 escaping to Thailand in 2004 to nearly 2,500 last year.
“Asylum seekers are sometimes “aided” by human traffickers to travel to the neighboring countries and beyond. While most asylum seekers are exploited by traffickers, women and children are particularly vulnerable,” said Darusman.
North Korea’s food insecurity also featured prominently in his report. Darusman warned that food assistance from the international community is shrinking and the country continues to face regular, significant shortages.
His counterpart, Tomás Ojea Quintana, who monitors the situation in Burma, noted some progress since last year’s legislative elections, including the signing into law this month of a bill that allows for the formation of unions and provides for the right to strike, and the recent easing of restrictions on the media and Internet.
But he cautioned that there are still serious human rights issues that remain to be addressed, including the release of the country’s estimated 2,000 political prisoners.
“I am pushing the government to release all remaining [political] prisoners before the end of the year. The government has released some, but those prominent leaders, those who had an important role in the history of Myanmar, they still remain in prison,” said Quintana.
Quintana has visited Burma, which also is known as Myanmar, four times since taking up his post in 2008.
He also expressed concern about the discrimination that ethnic minority groups face, particularly in Northern Rakhine and Chin States, where he said they are prevented from teaching their languages in schools and are denied citizenship.
The special rapporteur noted that tensions in ethnic border areas and conflict with some armed ethnic groups have resulted in attacks on civilian populations, extrajudicial killings, sexual attacks, the recruitment of child soldiers, and arbitrary arrests and detentions.
Quintana said the investigation of allegations of gross and systemic human rights violations should be undertaken by an independent body in an impartial and credible manner as a way to deter future violations and to provide victims with a way to redress abuses committed against them.
Last Updated: Friday, October 21, 2011, 16:07 Aizawl: The second Border Liaison Officers meeting between India and Myanmar, decided that the two neighbouring countries should work together in curbing narco-terrorism, smuggling of rare orchids, animal organs and sandalwood.
An official statement said here today that the Indian team led by Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, deputy commissioner of Mizoram-Myanmar border Champhai district described the BLO meeting, held this week at Falam in Chin State of Myanmar, as “extremely successful” with both the sides agreeing to all the agendas put forward at the meeting.
The two sides also agreed to organise cultural exchange between Champhai district and Falam district during festive seasons and that the Myanmarese government should allow free movement of Indian citizens upto 16 kilometres inside its teritorry as being implemented by the Indian government and the government of Mizoram.
Exchange of information regarding criminals and insurgents operating on the border areas and extradition of such absconding criminals also figured at the meeting.
20/10/2011 – Despite progress on maternal health, conditions in Myanmar are still found to be unsterile and dangerous for both mother and child. In parts of eastern Myanmar, where traditional birth attendants are still widely used, the infant mortality rate is as high as 73 deaths per 1,000 live births, a stark contrast to Thailand, which has an infant mortality rate of 14 deaths per 1,000 live births.
A higher infant mortality rate can be a consequence of conditions of conflict, forced labour and human rights abuses, but dangerous traditional practices are also to blame.
Some of those dangerous methods still used by traditional birth attendants include pushing on a woman’s stomach during labour, using sharp slivers of bamboo cleaned with charcoal to cut the umbilical cord, or even traditional birth attendants using long nails to fatally puncture a baby’s head in order to shrink it during a difficult delivery.
Integer, the reproductive health programme coordinator for the Karen Department of Health and Welfare, stated that before birth attendants gained training “they didn’t know sterile methods or even the stages of delivery and when to begin the delivery.”
The Karen Department of Health and Welfare is involved in a project launched in 2005 by the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at John Hopkins University and the Global Health Access Program called the Mobile Obstetrics Medics (MOM) project.
The project, based in Thailand but serving community-based maternal and child health workers from Myanmar’s Shan, Mon, Karen and Karenni states, seeks to increase training amount traditional birth attendants around ante-and postnatal care, sterile deliveries, treatment for complications and even family planning services.
Because of ongoing tensions between ethnic groups and the Burmese government, ethnic Burmese community-based organizations have to try to improve care in their home country from Thailand.
Limited services in Myanmar are not only detrimental to infant mortality levels, but the national maternal mortality rate is 240 per 100,000 live births, reaching as high as 721 in some regions. Comparing that figure the maternal mortality rate of 48 per 100,000 live births in Thailand demonstrates the need for intervention.
The MOM project hopes that these maternal and child health workers who do receive training would then pass on their new knowledge and skills to village health workers and traditional birth attendants. The transfer of knowledge seems to be working, as in 2006 only 5.1 percent of deliveries in Myanmar were attended by a skilled maternal health care worker, but this percentage increased to 48.7 by 2008.
“The MOM project was a huge success,” says Luke Mullany, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “After training, they got that knowledge, and they also learned about high-risk pregnancies. When they see a high-risk pregnancy, they can send the patient to the nearest clinic for further examination.”
However, not all traditional birth attendants are keen to pick up new skills and training, and resistance is found especially among older birth attendants. Trainers are challenged by the fact that many of these older attendants lack the skills to follow protocol, and most of them are illiterate and must be trained using symbols and verbal explanations.
Some traditional birth attendants also do not want to lose their positions in the community, and may look at new training programmes with distrust. Their influence may then pass onto other birth attendants, jeopardizing the success of the training programme.
Health workers in the MOM project are given traditional birth attendant kits that include gloves, scissors, gauze, cotton as well as dietary supplements and medicines.
Fri, 2011-10-21 00:35 — editor
Bangkok, 21 October, (Asiantribune.com): ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) has called for a halt ’swap deal’ plans, between Malaysia and Myanmar until effective systems be put place to ensure that such refugees and asylum seekers be protected from persecution upon their return to Myanmar.
AIPMC notes with serious concern on recent developments of the Malaysian government’s plan to implement the detainees exchange program with Myanmar. This plan will result around 1,000 people from Myanmar, detained in Malaysia, deported from the country. There will be a possibility of persecution for those who are sent back to Myanmar.
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.
Those who flee Myanmar, namely ethnic and other persecuted minorities, remain at risk from persecution of all forms – forced labor, land confiscation, rape, and torture among them – should they continue to live under the military regime. Thus, they risk their lives to find asylum in neighboring states, in pursuit of a dignified, secure and peaceful life elsewhere.
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; indeed, who themselves should be considered among the region’s most vulnerable.
We also 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 governments approach and policy with regard to the grave issue of the Burmese refugees in the country. As a first step the Malaysian government should accord them as refugees.
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. We also call upon the Malaysian government to ensure that detainees are provided access to both representatives from legal and non-government organizations, as they embark on a long route to ensuring their inherent rights are formally recognized when lodging asylum claims. Finally, we strongly urge the Malaysian government to ensure that all refugee registrations be undertaken in full collaboration with the UNHCR, who consistently act to ensure the rights of refugees are both explicitly recognized and protected.
By Cris Sholto Heaton Oct 21, 2011
Not many people followed the elections in Burma at the end of last year, even though they were the first for 21 years. The result was a foregone conclusion.
Some of the country’s long-time military rulers may have taken off their uniforms, but the army remains firmly in charge: the new constitution reserves a quarter of the seats for it directly; and their proxy party won four-fifths of contested seats, in part because most of the opposition boycotted the polls.
You have to be very optimistic to see things getting substantially better for the long-suffering population any time soon. Yet there are some tentative signs of change. It’s even possible that in a few years we could be looking at a very different country.
The military is still in charge
First, it’s important to appreciate fully that the elections and the new parliament are just window-dressing. Power remains with the key figures in the military junta, headed by Than Shwe, who has been at the top of the group since 1992.
Following the elections, he officially resigned as head of state. He handed over the top job to Thein Sein, another army leader who had resigned in 2010 to run for election as a civilian. But nobody doubts that Than Shwe still exercises considerable power behind the scenes.
That’s the way it will stay. A bit more dissent and discussion may be allowed, but key junta figures will still fill the top jobs and others will remain powerful despite their ‘retirement’. The question is whether any of them will now be pulling in a different direction.
And that’s what makes the recent developments over the Myitsone dam very interesting. This is a huge hydroelectric dam project on the Irrawaddy river in the north of the country. It’s being built by China – Burma’s closest ally – which was going to buy all the electricity generated.
It was also highly controversial, both for environmental reasons and because it would force thousands of residents – mostly from minority tribes – off their land. But the junta has never much cared about concerns like that before.
So it was an enormous surprise last month when Thein Sein announced that the project will be suspended while he is in office (supposedly at least until 2015). The reason given – the project is “contrary to the will of the people” – was even more surprising.
At the same time, the government has also been reaching out to opposition politicians. It’s suggested that overseas Burmese citizens would be welcome to return home to help the country. It has also released some of the roughly 2,000 prisoners held for political offences (although releases happen intermittently anyway).
Change has nothing to do with democracy
So why might the armed forces show signs of change? They have imposed military rule since 1988 and supported a one-party state since 1962. They overturned a previous election in 1990 when their representatives failed to win. While they have long talked of a roadmap to democracy, nobody believes it. Why was another trip to the ballot box so important?
It’s not because key figures have suddenly become convinced democrats. Rather, if it’s typical of this kind of scenario, there are probably two factors involved.
Firstly, some top figures have been in power for a long time. They and their cronies will have accumulated a considerable amount of wealth and control over much of the economy. If you’re smart, you start thinking about how you can hold on to that and to your influence as you begin to hand over to your successors.
Second, authoritarian governments aren’t monolithic. It’s a mistake to think of even very brutal ruling elites like a gang of Bond villains, gathered around a huge table growling: “Who can we oppress today”?
For some at the top, control trumps all; for others, economic issues play a part. The former are happy to be all-powerful in poor and isolated countries. The latter want to head a wealthier one with a better international status.
And in Burma, we’re seeing both of these come together. Hardliners such as Than Shwe have probably given a little ground to protect themselves and their families and cronies better. Reformists such as Thein Sein are getting the opportunity to try their hand at changing the system.
However, that’s reformists in an economic, not a democratic sense. We’re simply talking about whether business-minded pragmatists get some sway against more ideological or security-driven leaders. It’s the same pattern we’ve seen in countries such as China, with the struggle between Deng Xiaoping and the Maoists in 1978 setting the country on a new course.
In the short term, this is usually driven by self-interest. Burma has seen a mass privatisation of state assets to military figures and business supporters in both camps. There is nothing about democracy or honesty or cleaning up the system here.
But democracy does not have to precede development. Indeed, it usually doesn’t. The experience of other developing countries suggests that comes when the country has become wealthier, a middle class has formed and the interests of the leaders, the security forces and other key players have changed. At that point, it makes more sense to allow change than resist it. And that’s Burma’s best hope.
Burma will do well when the generals give up
This doesn’t mean that change is a certainty in Burma. There have been other attempts at reform in the past, notably when Khin Nyunt was prime minister in 2003-2004. He apparently fell out with Than Shwe, the hardliners pushed backed, he “resigned for health reasons” and was then convicted of corruption.
Thein Sein could go the same way if he fails to keep enough support (ie convince key allies that they will get richer under his plans). Getting the West to lift sanctions against Burma could be a major victory, hence the friendlier image he’s trying to show over Myitsone and elsewhere. (Suspending – but not cancelling – the dam is a shrewd move now, while the option to resume it could also be a future negotiating tool with China.)
If he fails, Burma may have to wait for another reformist to get the top job. But if he holds on and does what he’s promising, things could improve quickly – at least economically.
Some people tend to lump Burma in with countries such as North Korea as international pariahs. But there is little comparison between the two, either in the extent of repression or the way the country runs. This is a loosely market-based economy, albeit a highly corrupt and unequal one with many sectors controlled by the military.
However, it is extremely poor and underdeveloped. It has a GDP per capita of US$1,250 (at purchasing power parity, which adjusts for the different costs of goods and services between countries). And that ’s very unequally distributed.
By comparison, even extremely poor Bangladesh has a PPP GDP per capita of US$1,600. Nearby Vietnam, which is what Burma could aspire to become within a decade or so, is at around US$3,100.
The ingredients for growth are all there
But it has many of the ingredients for rapid development. The population is young, meaning a surplus of labour for low-cost manufacturing – the traditional first step for a developing economy. Education standards are relatively good for its level of development; literacy rates are around 90%.
The population is around 60 million, meaning that this has the scope to be a significant-sized economy. And abundant natural resources could provide a valuable boost for the economy, if they are not squandered or stolen as they have been so far.
Geographically, Burma is well placed. It’s on existing global trade routes, which would help develop an export-manufacturing sector. And more developed neighbouring countries such as China and Thailand are an obvious source of foreign investment, even if Westerners hang back for a long time.
Indeed, this is already happening. Foreign direct investment allegedly rose to US$20bn in the past year from US$300m the year before – yes that’s billion and million respectively.
I say allegedly, because government statistics probably aren’t that trustworthy. But there is little doubt that money is flooding into the country, because of the problems it’s caused.
The public exchange rate – as opposed to the official one the government uses – has soared, and many agricultural exports are now reportedly too expensive to be competitive.
Unfortunately, most of the investment so far is going into natural resources and power projects, which will have limited benefits for the country. The government will need to make reforms to attract money into sectors such as manufacturing and tourism.
It’s those kind of steps that will show whether reform is a serious possibility. It doesn’t make sense to get too optimistic – there are reports that a power struggle is already going on in government – but there is a chance of real change.
The most important thing is that this improves the lives of its citizens. But obviously, reforms could also present the same kind of investment story that we seen in many other Asian economies over the last few decades. The elections may be a sham, but Burma is certainly worth watching.
By Russ Wellen, October 21, 2011
Tyrants such as Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein seal their own fate. At Dictator Watch, using Burma’s ruling junta (turned civilians as of the last election) as an example, Roland Watson explains.
Imagine what the generals of Burma will face when the country goes free. First, they may be killed. In the turbulence of the transition itself, there is a good possibility that they will be attacked, either by their fellow officers, through a coup, or by the people. Secondly, if they are not killed they will be arrested. They will almost certainly be subjected to war crimes prosecution, and end up as inmates in facilities such as Insein Prison, where for decades they have held and tortured dissidents. Thirdly, they and their family and friends, will lose all or a large portion of their wealth. Not everything can be hidden in a bank in Singapore. The businesses that they think they own will be nationalized.
In short… they will lose it all.
Or as Daniel Drezner at Foreign Policy writes:
Simply put, when leaders have expectations of a violent demise if they lose power, they have a more powerful incentive to use force to stay in power. So, congrats to Libya, but this is simply going to harden the hearts of Bashir Assad and others out there determined to stay in power through any means necessary — including instigating cross-border conflicts.
October 21, 2011
Military forces in Myanmar (Burma) disrupted Mass in Namsan-yang, a village of Kachin State on October 16, shooting at worshippers, beating one, and detaining five for forced labor. After releasing Father Sara Doi Awng, the soldiers burned the parish and a Baptist church.
According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, the Burmese army has been engaged in a campaign of “rape, forced labor, and killing civilians on a widespread and systematic basis” in Kachin, the nation’s northernmost state. Since 1962, the nation has been ruled by authoritarian military regimes, which expelled missionaries and nationalized Catholic schools and hospitals in the 1960s and abolished constitutional religious freedom protections in the late 1980s. Myanmar has gained a reputation for brutality: in 2005, the United Nation’s International Labor Organization estimated that 800,000 citizens are subjected to forced labor.
According to the US State Department, this atmosphere of repression is particularly unfavorable to non-Buddhists, for “the Ministry of Religious Affairs includes the powerful Department for the Promotion and Propagation of Sasana (Buddhist teaching).” Buddhist prayer and doctrine are part of the curriculum of all state-run elementary schools. The government pressures students to convert to Buddhism and rarely permits non-Buddhists to rise in the civil service. Monitoring church services and controlling the publication of all religious literature, it forbids the translation of the Bible into indigenous languages and at times has censored the Old Testament, citing its violent language. The construction and even the routine maintenance of churches often depend upon the whim of local administrators.
Only 1.2% of Myanmar’s 53.4 million people are Catholic, according to Vatican statistics; in all, 89% are Buddhist, 4% are Christian, and 4% are Muslim.
The Business Times – Interra starts drilling well in Myanmar
By YEO AIQI Interra Resources Limited’s unit, Goldpetrol Joint Operating Company Inc, has started drilling infill development well YNG 3241 in Myanmar.
YNG 3241 is the forth development well to be drilled this year in Yenangyaungfield.
The well will be employing a simple completion plan, hence costs are likely to be comparatively low and will be funded from existing funds.
It is intended to produce oil from the L900FT through 1600FT reservoirs that are not being efficiently drained by surrounding wells.
Interra estimates that the results of the drilling to be available in about four weeks’ time.
The company warns that it is uncertain that the development drilling will ultimately yield commercially recoverable hydrocarbons or profitable production.
Interra Resources Limited, listed on the SGX Catalist and the ASX, is engaged in the business of petroleum exploration and production.