By Solomon & Than Htike Oo
Mizzima News
March 20, 2008
Burma's ruling junta has granted a rare permission to operate a Mandalay-based radio program to Forever Group, a business consortium thought to be closely aligned with Burma's generals.
Forever Group, one of Burma's few multi-media companies and widely believed to have close connections with the junta's Information Minister Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan, will commence production on April 3, a staff from the company said.
The source added that Forever Group will head the business interest, which is a joint venture between the company and the Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC).
In Burma, with the junta keeping tight control over media operations, only a few companies, who maintain close relations with the ruling generals, enjoy the opportunity to operate.
Forever Group, which launched the television channel MRTV – 4 in 2005 in collaboration with Myanmar TV, is widely rumored to be owned by the son of the junta's Information Minister.
However the company source denied the rumor, saying, "Most of the company shares are owned by a private businessman named Win Maw."
Meanwhile, a Rangoon-based journalist said that Dr. Tin Tun Oo is also one of several other businessmen holding shares of Forever Group.
Dr. Tin Tun Oo additionally holds a stake in one of Burma's leading English weeklies, The Myanmar Times, which is run by Australian businessman Ross Dunkley, who in turn obtained his publishing license through former partner Sonny Swe.
Sonny Swe was stripped of his license when he was arrested in 2004 along with his father, then Burmese Prime Minister and Intelligence Chief Khin Nyunt.
While it is unclear what, if any, involvement Kyaw Hsan's son has with Forever Group, Rangoon-based journalists say it is likely that the Burmese Information Minister's son maintains a stake in the group.
"Forever and Kyaw Hsan maintain a very cozy relationship, so it is possible that the Minister might have a stake in the company," a Rangoon-based journalist, who wished to remain anonymous, told Mizzima.
Mandalay City FM, which follows Yangon City FM as the country's second FM station, will begin airing a daily program on April 17 on the frequency 91.9MHz.
Forever Group, established in 1995, is involved in a number of government multi-media projects, including the building and maintaining of the MRTV-3 website.
Additionally, Forever Group offers computer training courses in both Rangoon and Mandalay.
The company source said the new FM station will mainly broadcast entertainment and music programs, with a range extending at least 50 miles beyond Mandalay city.
Friday, 21 March 2008
Veteran Burmese writer banned from writing again
By Nem Davies
Mizzima News
March 20, 2008 - New Delhi – The infamous Burmese censors are at work again and have banned veteran Burmese writer Ludu Sein Win from publishing his works. The writer who has faced several bans in the past has once again been targeted.
Ludu Sein Win, who has been critical of the Burmese military junta, was banned from publishing his articles in two of Rangoon's Weeklies – 'Akhwint Alan Journal' and 'Weekly Eleven Journal' – sources in the Burmese literary community said.
The authorities might have targeted him for his recently circulated audio file in which he spoke critically of the ruling junta, the sources said.
"That is the most likely reason for banning his works. His articles were not included in both the journals. But Saya [Ludu Sein Win] did not say anything about it," an editor of a local journal told Mizzima.
In early March, Ludu Sein Win, in his letter to revolutionary comrades, said there are no dictators who abandon power by themselves and urged the people to uproot the legacy of military rule in Burma.
While the Burmese censorship board has not sent a notice to Ludu Sein Win banning his articles, Ludu Sein Win said that he is unshaken by the junta's acts, sources in the literary community said.
Many literary figures in Burma express their gratitude and respect for Ludu Sein Win, who is known for his outstanding works as well as commitment to adhere to the truth.
"Saya always stands for truth. We in the literary circle praise him and admire him for his work and his stance. We support his stand because he is always so upright," a Burmese writer, who wished not to be named, told Mizzima.
In a similar instance, Ludu Sein Win was banned from publishing his writings for a month for contributing an article, titled 'The Burmese People Can't Wait Much Longer', to the International Herald Tribune, in May 2006.
Mizzima News
March 20, 2008 - New Delhi – The infamous Burmese censors are at work again and have banned veteran Burmese writer Ludu Sein Win from publishing his works. The writer who has faced several bans in the past has once again been targeted.
Ludu Sein Win, who has been critical of the Burmese military junta, was banned from publishing his articles in two of Rangoon's Weeklies – 'Akhwint Alan Journal' and 'Weekly Eleven Journal' – sources in the Burmese literary community said.
The authorities might have targeted him for his recently circulated audio file in which he spoke critically of the ruling junta, the sources said.
"That is the most likely reason for banning his works. His articles were not included in both the journals. But Saya [Ludu Sein Win] did not say anything about it," an editor of a local journal told Mizzima.
In early March, Ludu Sein Win, in his letter to revolutionary comrades, said there are no dictators who abandon power by themselves and urged the people to uproot the legacy of military rule in Burma.
While the Burmese censorship board has not sent a notice to Ludu Sein Win banning his articles, Ludu Sein Win said that he is unshaken by the junta's acts, sources in the literary community said.
Many literary figures in Burma express their gratitude and respect for Ludu Sein Win, who is known for his outstanding works as well as commitment to adhere to the truth.
"Saya always stands for truth. We in the literary circle praise him and admire him for his work and his stance. We support his stand because he is always so upright," a Burmese writer, who wished not to be named, told Mizzima.
In a similar instance, Ludu Sein Win was banned from publishing his writings for a month for contributing an article, titled 'The Burmese People Can't Wait Much Longer', to the International Herald Tribune, in May 2006.
Is West Toning down Criticism of China over Tibet? - Opinion
By ADRIAN CROFT/REUTERS WRITER/LONDON
The Irrawaddy News - www.irrawaddy.org
March 20, 2008 - When it comes to speaking out on Tibet, China has just got too much economic clout for western powers to talk too loudly.
In contrast to western condemnation of a crackdown on demonstrations in Burma last year, western criticism of China's handling of protests in Tibet have been much more muted, analysts say.
"There's a tendency in Washington to make a China exception'," said John Tkacik, China expert at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative US think tank.
"Things we would whack Burma, Sudan or Uzbekistan for, we want to ignore when China does them," he said.
The US and other western nations called for restraint after a crackdown on anti-government protests in Tibet in which Chinese authorities said 13 had been killed, while exiled Tibetans put the death toll at around 100.
But expressions of concern have stopped there.
"There's a general unwillingness of governments to speak out on human rights violations involving China," said Corinna-Barbara Francis, a China researcher at human rights group Amnesty International in London.
"A lot has to do with this perception that has emerged of an all-powerful, influential presence of China which I think is exaggerated and goes beyond its economic clout," she said.
With economic growth of 10 percent or more a year since 2003, China now has the world's fourth biggest economy and may be on track to overtake the US as the world's largest economy within a couple of decades.
It has been doing deals around the world to secure supplies of oil and metals—notably when state-owned Aluminum Corp of China teamed up with US aluminum producer Alcoa in February to buy a US $14 billion stake in mining giant Rio Tinto.
Analysts argue that Tibet, which Chinese troops marched into in 1950, has never enjoyed much international support even when it launched a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, prompting the flight of its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
Then, long before China's economic boom, the West saw Beijing as a potential Cold War ally against the Soviet Union.
And although Tibet's ancient Buddhist culture won sympathy from many individual westerners, its remoteness and poverty gave it no international clout.
But a traditional western "hands off" approach to Tibet has been underscored this time around by the increasing economic interdependence between the US and China.
CREDIT CRUNCH
The anti-government protests in Tibet come at a particularly delicate time, as Washington battles a credit crunch and a falling dollar, and looks to China to bail it out.
China has about $1.5 trillion of foreign exchange reserves, a large proportion of which are in dollar-denominated bonds. If China stopped buying, the dollar would likely fall sharply.
China's new investment fund pumped $5 billion into Morgan Stanley in December after the US investment bank posted $9.4 billion of losses in sub-prime mortgages and other assets.
The economic interdependence is not however only one-way. China relies on US and western markets to buy its exports which underpin its healthy trade surplus. The US trade gap with China soared to a record $256 billion in 2007.
This has prompted some to argue that the US and others could take a tougher stand with China.
Gerrit van der Wees, from the Formosan Association for Public Affairs in Washington, which lobbies for Taiwan's separate identity in international affairs, said the US felt it had to be more accommodating to China.
"But, in our view, that doesn't mean giving in to what China says and does, which is what the US has been doing a little bit too much over the past year," he added.
China's economic lure, however, seems to be strong, not just for the US but the European Union.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on a visit to China in January that Britain was open to Chinese trade and investment and pitched for China's new $200 billion sovereign wealth fund to open an office in London.
French firms sealed $30 billion of deals during President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to China last November.
The Irrawaddy News - www.irrawaddy.org
March 20, 2008 - When it comes to speaking out on Tibet, China has just got too much economic clout for western powers to talk too loudly.
In contrast to western condemnation of a crackdown on demonstrations in Burma last year, western criticism of China's handling of protests in Tibet have been much more muted, analysts say.
"There's a tendency in Washington to make a China exception'," said John Tkacik, China expert at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative US think tank.
"Things we would whack Burma, Sudan or Uzbekistan for, we want to ignore when China does them," he said.
The US and other western nations called for restraint after a crackdown on anti-government protests in Tibet in which Chinese authorities said 13 had been killed, while exiled Tibetans put the death toll at around 100.
But expressions of concern have stopped there.
"There's a general unwillingness of governments to speak out on human rights violations involving China," said Corinna-Barbara Francis, a China researcher at human rights group Amnesty International in London.
"A lot has to do with this perception that has emerged of an all-powerful, influential presence of China which I think is exaggerated and goes beyond its economic clout," she said.
With economic growth of 10 percent or more a year since 2003, China now has the world's fourth biggest economy and may be on track to overtake the US as the world's largest economy within a couple of decades.
It has been doing deals around the world to secure supplies of oil and metals—notably when state-owned Aluminum Corp of China teamed up with US aluminum producer Alcoa in February to buy a US $14 billion stake in mining giant Rio Tinto.
Analysts argue that Tibet, which Chinese troops marched into in 1950, has never enjoyed much international support even when it launched a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, prompting the flight of its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
Then, long before China's economic boom, the West saw Beijing as a potential Cold War ally against the Soviet Union.
And although Tibet's ancient Buddhist culture won sympathy from many individual westerners, its remoteness and poverty gave it no international clout.
But a traditional western "hands off" approach to Tibet has been underscored this time around by the increasing economic interdependence between the US and China.
CREDIT CRUNCH
The anti-government protests in Tibet come at a particularly delicate time, as Washington battles a credit crunch and a falling dollar, and looks to China to bail it out.
China has about $1.5 trillion of foreign exchange reserves, a large proportion of which are in dollar-denominated bonds. If China stopped buying, the dollar would likely fall sharply.
China's new investment fund pumped $5 billion into Morgan Stanley in December after the US investment bank posted $9.4 billion of losses in sub-prime mortgages and other assets.
The economic interdependence is not however only one-way. China relies on US and western markets to buy its exports which underpin its healthy trade surplus. The US trade gap with China soared to a record $256 billion in 2007.
This has prompted some to argue that the US and others could take a tougher stand with China.
Gerrit van der Wees, from the Formosan Association for Public Affairs in Washington, which lobbies for Taiwan's separate identity in international affairs, said the US felt it had to be more accommodating to China.
"But, in our view, that doesn't mean giving in to what China says and does, which is what the US has been doing a little bit too much over the past year," he added.
China's economic lure, however, seems to be strong, not just for the US but the European Union.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on a visit to China in January that Britain was open to Chinese trade and investment and pitched for China's new $200 billion sovereign wealth fund to open an office in London.
French firms sealed $30 billion of deals during President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to China last November.
Referendum Sub-commissions Formed by Local Authorities
By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
March 20, 2008 - Burma’s military government has organized township sub-commissions to prepare for the referendum on the constitution in May, staffed mainly with officials from the townships’ ruling councils and regime supporters, USDA sources say.
The junta did not include executive members of its mass organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), on the local sub-commissions.
USDA sources told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that local authorities formed sub-commissions recently made up of the head of each Township Peace and Development Council and Village Peace and Development Council. Officials of township administrations will serve as secretaries of sub-commissions across the country.
Sources said USDA executive members from townships were told by authorities they would not be named to the sub-commissions, but regular USDA members would be appointed instead.
Officials from immigration offices and other government services would also be included on the sub-commissions, a source close to the USDA said.
Authorities have still not released any detailed information about the May referendum voting process to sub-commission members, said the source.
The regime’s main referendum commission is chaired by Aung Toe, the chief of justice and head of the constitution drafting committee.
According to a news report in the state-run Myanma Alin on Thursday, a central secretary of the USDA, Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, who is also the information minister, met with members of the USDA from Mingalar Thaung Nyunt Township in Rangoon.
The election commission and sub-commissions appointed during the 1990 nationwide election included local residents and ordinary citizens. Local observers say the current sub-commissions do not represent a cross-section of the public.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, briefed the UN Security Council on March 18 on his latest trip to Burma. He expressed disappointment in the outcome but vowed to keep the crisis on the Security Council’s agenda.
“Whereas each of my previous visits produced some results that could be built upon, it is a source of disappointment that this latest visit did not yield any immediate tangible outcome,” Gambari told the 15-member council.
The UN’s proposals for Burma included an inclusive national reconciliation process with UN involvement; genuine dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi; and measures to address political, human rights, economic and humanitarian issues. The ruling junta snubbed the UN proposals during Gambari’s visit.
The US Ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters, “We are disappointed by the lack of any concrete achievement.” Gambari’s visited to the Southeast Asian country from March 6 to 10.
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
March 20, 2008 - Burma’s military government has organized township sub-commissions to prepare for the referendum on the constitution in May, staffed mainly with officials from the townships’ ruling councils and regime supporters, USDA sources say.
The junta did not include executive members of its mass organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), on the local sub-commissions.
USDA sources told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that local authorities formed sub-commissions recently made up of the head of each Township Peace and Development Council and Village Peace and Development Council. Officials of township administrations will serve as secretaries of sub-commissions across the country.
Sources said USDA executive members from townships were told by authorities they would not be named to the sub-commissions, but regular USDA members would be appointed instead.
Officials from immigration offices and other government services would also be included on the sub-commissions, a source close to the USDA said.
Authorities have still not released any detailed information about the May referendum voting process to sub-commission members, said the source.
The regime’s main referendum commission is chaired by Aung Toe, the chief of justice and head of the constitution drafting committee.
According to a news report in the state-run Myanma Alin on Thursday, a central secretary of the USDA, Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, who is also the information minister, met with members of the USDA from Mingalar Thaung Nyunt Township in Rangoon.
The election commission and sub-commissions appointed during the 1990 nationwide election included local residents and ordinary citizens. Local observers say the current sub-commissions do not represent a cross-section of the public.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, briefed the UN Security Council on March 18 on his latest trip to Burma. He expressed disappointment in the outcome but vowed to keep the crisis on the Security Council’s agenda.
“Whereas each of my previous visits produced some results that could be built upon, it is a source of disappointment that this latest visit did not yield any immediate tangible outcome,” Gambari told the 15-member council.
The UN’s proposals for Burma included an inclusive national reconciliation process with UN involvement; genuine dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi; and measures to address political, human rights, economic and humanitarian issues. The ruling junta snubbed the UN proposals during Gambari’s visit.
The US Ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters, “We are disappointed by the lack of any concrete achievement.” Gambari’s visited to the Southeast Asian country from March 6 to 10.
Referendum: “No” Vote Gaining Momentum
By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
March 20, 2008 - A vote “No” movement is gaining momentum throughout Burma as the May referendum date—still yet to be announced—draws near.
Various activists and citizens in Rangoon, Mandalay and Kachin and Arakan states are urging the public to take a stand against the military-crafted draft constitution, which has still not been made public.
The military regime announced on February 9 it would hold a national referendum on the draft constitution in May and a multi-party election in 2010.
Public reaction to the referendum has been colored by the 2007 uprising, in which the UN said at least 31 protesters including monks were killed by security forces.
Nyi Nyi, a businessman in Sittwe in Arakan State, said, “There is no reason to support the junta. I will not vote “Yes” in the referendum because there is no justice.”
A resident in Mandalay, the second largest city, predicted that almost all Mandalay citizens would vote “No” in the referendum.
“It’s not because they don’t understand the constitution,” he said, “but because they dislike the military regime.”
Even government staffers are saying they will vote ‘No,’” he said.
An elderly housewife in Sittwe was coy when asked by The Irrawaddy how she would vote. “I’ve decided to vote, but it is early to tell,” she said. “Let’s see when we vote. You will realize what I mean.”
In Myitkyina, many residents told The Irrawaddy that they would vote “No,” while others said they would boycott the referendum.
Ma Brang said, “I will vote ‘No.’ Many people—almost all—in Myitkyina think like me.”
Another Myitkyina resident said, “I will not vote in the referendum. If authorities try to talk to me, I’m ready to complain to them.”
He said the constitution process was a “fake” and it failed to guarantee the rights of ethnic groups in Burma. The constitution will only guarantee that the junta is able to hold on to power, he said.
A Rangoon resident told The Irrawaddy that most of his friends are prepared to vote “No” while others they will boycott the referendum.
“For me, I will not support the referendum for sure. I’m deciding whether to vote “No” or not to vote.”
Meanwhile, Burmese activists in Rangoon have launched new anti-government campaigns against the national referendum, urging people to boycott the referendum.
Activists have also distributed VCDs filled with jokes aimed at the junta’s referendum by the well-known a-nyeint comedy troupe, Thee Lay Thee & Say Young Sone.
Meanwhile, the Burmese regime has launched its own publicity campaigns in support of a “Yes” vote on the referendum.
In early March, local authorities in Rangoon, including the Township Peace and Development Council and the Ward Peace and Development Council, were ordered to lobby residents to vote “Yes” by the chairman of the Rangoon division of the Peace and Development Council, Brig-Gen Hla Htay Win, and Home Minister Maung Oo, according to sources in the former capital.
Local authorities in Rangoon and other regions, especially in ethnic states, have also offered temporary citizen identification cards to adults while urging them to vote “Yes,” sources said.
Some residents who have openly spoken out against the referendum have been threatened by authorities, sources told The Irrawaddy.
The regime recently enacted a new law that calls for up to three years imprisonment and a 100,000 kyat (US $91) fine for anyone convicted of making anti-government statements or distributing posters opposing the referendum. The law also bans monks and nuns from voting.
Despite the restrictions, a Burmese migrant worker in Singapore, who asked for anonymity, said, “I will vote in the referendum because if I don’t vote, I will loose my vote. But I will vote “No.”
Meanwhile, the All Burma Monks Alliance released a statement this week calling on all citizens and Buddhist monks to remember the September 2007 crackdown and to boycott the May referendum and the state-run religious examinations to be held this month.
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
March 20, 2008 - A vote “No” movement is gaining momentum throughout Burma as the May referendum date—still yet to be announced—draws near.
Various activists and citizens in Rangoon, Mandalay and Kachin and Arakan states are urging the public to take a stand against the military-crafted draft constitution, which has still not been made public.
The military regime announced on February 9 it would hold a national referendum on the draft constitution in May and a multi-party election in 2010.
Public reaction to the referendum has been colored by the 2007 uprising, in which the UN said at least 31 protesters including monks were killed by security forces.
Nyi Nyi, a businessman in Sittwe in Arakan State, said, “There is no reason to support the junta. I will not vote “Yes” in the referendum because there is no justice.”
A resident in Mandalay, the second largest city, predicted that almost all Mandalay citizens would vote “No” in the referendum.
“It’s not because they don’t understand the constitution,” he said, “but because they dislike the military regime.”
Even government staffers are saying they will vote ‘No,’” he said.
An elderly housewife in Sittwe was coy when asked by The Irrawaddy how she would vote. “I’ve decided to vote, but it is early to tell,” she said. “Let’s see when we vote. You will realize what I mean.”
In Myitkyina, many residents told The Irrawaddy that they would vote “No,” while others said they would boycott the referendum.
Ma Brang said, “I will vote ‘No.’ Many people—almost all—in Myitkyina think like me.”
Another Myitkyina resident said, “I will not vote in the referendum. If authorities try to talk to me, I’m ready to complain to them.”
He said the constitution process was a “fake” and it failed to guarantee the rights of ethnic groups in Burma. The constitution will only guarantee that the junta is able to hold on to power, he said.
A Rangoon resident told The Irrawaddy that most of his friends are prepared to vote “No” while others they will boycott the referendum.
“For me, I will not support the referendum for sure. I’m deciding whether to vote “No” or not to vote.”
Meanwhile, Burmese activists in Rangoon have launched new anti-government campaigns against the national referendum, urging people to boycott the referendum.
Activists have also distributed VCDs filled with jokes aimed at the junta’s referendum by the well-known a-nyeint comedy troupe, Thee Lay Thee & Say Young Sone.
Meanwhile, the Burmese regime has launched its own publicity campaigns in support of a “Yes” vote on the referendum.
In early March, local authorities in Rangoon, including the Township Peace and Development Council and the Ward Peace and Development Council, were ordered to lobby residents to vote “Yes” by the chairman of the Rangoon division of the Peace and Development Council, Brig-Gen Hla Htay Win, and Home Minister Maung Oo, according to sources in the former capital.
Local authorities in Rangoon and other regions, especially in ethnic states, have also offered temporary citizen identification cards to adults while urging them to vote “Yes,” sources said.
Some residents who have openly spoken out against the referendum have been threatened by authorities, sources told The Irrawaddy.
The regime recently enacted a new law that calls for up to three years imprisonment and a 100,000 kyat (US $91) fine for anyone convicted of making anti-government statements or distributing posters opposing the referendum. The law also bans monks and nuns from voting.
Despite the restrictions, a Burmese migrant worker in Singapore, who asked for anonymity, said, “I will vote in the referendum because if I don’t vote, I will loose my vote. But I will vote “No.”
Meanwhile, the All Burma Monks Alliance released a statement this week calling on all citizens and Buddhist monks to remember the September 2007 crackdown and to boycott the May referendum and the state-run religious examinations to be held this month.
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
Off Topic
11-year-old marries 10-year-old cousin
March 19, 2008 - An 11-year-old boy has married his 10-year-old cousin in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed al-Rashidi and his unidentified cousin will seal the marriage they contracted under the sharia laws of Islam and move in together after a ceremony to take place in the summer, Al-Shams newspaper reports today.
"I am ready for this marriage. It will help me study better," Mohammed, who goes to primary school in the northern province of Hail, was quoted as saying by Al-Shams.
"I invite all my classmates to do like me," the boy said, adding that he wanted to "crown a love story through marriage".
The schoolboy's father, Muraizak al-Rashidi, told the newspaper he was busy sending out invitations for a summer celebration to seal the marriage.
Dahim al-Jaber, the headmaster at Mohammed's school, said marriage at such a young age was "inappropriate" but wished the couple a happy life together.
Jeg's: we start early do we? Playing domino on the wedding night - in Middle East custom if the wedding is not consumed on the wedding night, the marriage is a failure... ooops
I consider this child abuse...
AFP - SMH
March 19, 2008 - An 11-year-old boy has married his 10-year-old cousin in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed al-Rashidi and his unidentified cousin will seal the marriage they contracted under the sharia laws of Islam and move in together after a ceremony to take place in the summer, Al-Shams newspaper reports today.
"I am ready for this marriage. It will help me study better," Mohammed, who goes to primary school in the northern province of Hail, was quoted as saying by Al-Shams.
"I invite all my classmates to do like me," the boy said, adding that he wanted to "crown a love story through marriage".
The schoolboy's father, Muraizak al-Rashidi, told the newspaper he was busy sending out invitations for a summer celebration to seal the marriage.
Dahim al-Jaber, the headmaster at Mohammed's school, said marriage at such a young age was "inappropriate" but wished the couple a happy life together.
Jeg's: we start early do we? Playing domino on the wedding night - in Middle East custom if the wedding is not consumed on the wedding night, the marriage is a failure... ooops
I consider this child abuse...
AFP - SMH
U Gambira held in solitary confinement
By Aye Nai
Mar 18, 2008 (DVB)–All-Burmese Monks Alliance leader U Gambira has been put in solitary confinement in Insein prison, where he is currently being held, according to family members.
U Gambira’s sister Ma Khin Thu Htay, who visited him on Monday in Insein prison, said the 27-year-old monk had been put into solitary confinement in a cell inside the prison's main ward on 14 March for unknown reasons.
"During my visit to him yesterday, he told me he was moved into cell (4) of the main prison's ward (1) by himself on 14 March at around 5.30pm," she said.
"He said he had no idea why they had put him in solitary confinement."
U Gambira was arrested by government authorities in Magwe division's Sintgaing township on 4 November 2007 for his role in leading public protests in September.
He was later sent to Insein prison in the former capital Rangoon where he was charged with violations under section 17/1 of the Unlawful Associations Act, section 13/1 of the Burma Immigration (Emergency Provisions) Act for illegal movement across borders, and article 5(j) of the Emergency Provisions Act.
Khin Thu Htay said it is likely that the charges under sections 13/1 and 17/1 will be dropped as Alone township court, where these charges are being heard, has not extended U Gambira’s remand.
She added that Hlaing township court, which is handling the hearing for his alleged violation of article 5(j), cancelled his court hearing on Monday.
Khin Thu Htay said that her brother and other monks in Insein prison were continuing to respect the boycott against government officials.
"U Gambira said all the monks detained in Insein prison are still chanting metta, the main activity of the monk protesters during the events of September, and still practicing their boycott of communicating with government authorities," she said.
Monks at a number of monasteries in Burma have taken part in the boycott against the government, with some refusing alms donations from regime officials or passing them on to the poor, and others opting out of government-run monk exams.
The ABMA released a statement on 18 March urging Burmese monks to boycott the government-run Pahtamabyan Dhamma Sriya exams for monks, and not to forget the junta’s brutal treatment of monks during the crackdown on public demonstrations last year.
Mar 18, 2008 (DVB)–All-Burmese Monks Alliance leader U Gambira has been put in solitary confinement in Insein prison, where he is currently being held, according to family members.
U Gambira’s sister Ma Khin Thu Htay, who visited him on Monday in Insein prison, said the 27-year-old monk had been put into solitary confinement in a cell inside the prison's main ward on 14 March for unknown reasons.
"During my visit to him yesterday, he told me he was moved into cell (4) of the main prison's ward (1) by himself on 14 March at around 5.30pm," she said.
"He said he had no idea why they had put him in solitary confinement."
U Gambira was arrested by government authorities in Magwe division's Sintgaing township on 4 November 2007 for his role in leading public protests in September.
He was later sent to Insein prison in the former capital Rangoon where he was charged with violations under section 17/1 of the Unlawful Associations Act, section 13/1 of the Burma Immigration (Emergency Provisions) Act for illegal movement across borders, and article 5(j) of the Emergency Provisions Act.
Khin Thu Htay said it is likely that the charges under sections 13/1 and 17/1 will be dropped as Alone township court, where these charges are being heard, has not extended U Gambira’s remand.
She added that Hlaing township court, which is handling the hearing for his alleged violation of article 5(j), cancelled his court hearing on Monday.
Khin Thu Htay said that her brother and other monks in Insein prison were continuing to respect the boycott against government officials.
"U Gambira said all the monks detained in Insein prison are still chanting metta, the main activity of the monk protesters during the events of September, and still practicing their boycott of communicating with government authorities," she said.
Monks at a number of monasteries in Burma have taken part in the boycott against the government, with some refusing alms donations from regime officials or passing them on to the poor, and others opting out of government-run monk exams.
The ABMA released a statement on 18 March urging Burmese monks to boycott the government-run Pahtamabyan Dhamma Sriya exams for monks, and not to forget the junta’s brutal treatment of monks during the crackdown on public demonstrations last year.
Burmese Monks Call for Exam, Constitution Boycott
By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
March 18, 2008 - Burmese Buddhist monks will take part in a broadly based boycott of state-run examinations which are scheduled to start on March 24, according to monks inside Burma.
The All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA) released a statement on Tuesday calling on all Buddhist monks and citizens to remember the September 2007 crackdown and boycott the state-run examinations and May’s referendum on the constitution.
Many monks living in monasteries in Rangoon, Mandalay, Pakokku, Pegu Division and Arakan State have joined the symbolic protest against the military government for its bloody crackdown on the civil uprising in 2007.
Ashin Mandala, a monk in the New Masoeyein Monastery in Mandalay, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, “No monks in new and old Masoeyein monasteries will sit for the exams because of the September crackdown.”
About 4,000 monks live in New Masoeyein Monastery and Old Masoeyein monastery, he said. Many monks form other monasteries in Mandalay including Mya Taung Monastery and Maha Withutayon Monastery will also boycott the exams.
Monks in Baw-di-Man-Dai Monastery in Pakokku in Magwe Division will not take the exam because they are still enforcing patta ni kozana kan, a refusal to accept alms from members of the armed forces and their families, a senior monk at the monastery told The Irrawaddy.
Pakokku was the location of a bloody clash between Buddhist monks and Burmese security forces, in which several monks were beaten with batons and rifle butts.
Many monks are still exercising patta ni kozana kan in protest of the bloody suppression of the peaceful demonstrations, in which at least 31 protesters died.
U Pyinya Zawta, a leader of the underground monks alliance group, said, “In support of the protesters and monks who were arrested, we urge all monks in Burma not to sit for the state exams. We also want citizens to show bravery and vote “No” in the referendum.”
Suppression of democracy activists and religious leaders will be worse if the draft constitution is approved, he said.
“They [Burmese generals] are ruling the country informally, yet they dare to brutally suppress citizens and religious leaders,” he said. “If the constitution is officially enforced, then the overall situation will be worse.”
“So long as the junta is in power, the Burmese people will never be liberated from suppression,” said U Pyinya Zawta.
On February 9, the military regime announced the referendum will be held in May and a multi-party election in 2010.
Meanwhile, a number of protesters who were arrested during the uprising, including monks, went to court on Monday in Bahan Township in Rangoon. They were charged under article 505 (B), which involves a threat to the government’s stability, said Aung Thein, a Burmese lawyer.
“If found guilty, they [monks and protesters] will face two years imprisonment,” he said.
Meanwhile, pro-democracy activists in Rangoon are facing increased pressure from the buildup of security forces last week, according to dissident sources.
On Sunday, two pro-democracy activists—Kyaw Ko Ko and Nyan Linn Aung, both members of the All Burma Federation of Students Unions—were arrested by authorities, according to a statement released on Tuesday by the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).
Also, one leader and more than a dozen members of a dissident group known as Generation Wave were arrested recently.
Rangoon authorities raided the home of Kyaw Kyaw, a leading member, and later arrested him and eight of his colleagues at their hiding place, said a Rangoon source. Since March 6, about 18 members of the group have been arrested.
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
March 18, 2008 - Burmese Buddhist monks will take part in a broadly based boycott of state-run examinations which are scheduled to start on March 24, according to monks inside Burma.
The All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA) released a statement on Tuesday calling on all Buddhist monks and citizens to remember the September 2007 crackdown and boycott the state-run examinations and May’s referendum on the constitution.
Many monks living in monasteries in Rangoon, Mandalay, Pakokku, Pegu Division and Arakan State have joined the symbolic protest against the military government for its bloody crackdown on the civil uprising in 2007.
Ashin Mandala, a monk in the New Masoeyein Monastery in Mandalay, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, “No monks in new and old Masoeyein monasteries will sit for the exams because of the September crackdown.”
About 4,000 monks live in New Masoeyein Monastery and Old Masoeyein monastery, he said. Many monks form other monasteries in Mandalay including Mya Taung Monastery and Maha Withutayon Monastery will also boycott the exams.
Monks in Baw-di-Man-Dai Monastery in Pakokku in Magwe Division will not take the exam because they are still enforcing patta ni kozana kan, a refusal to accept alms from members of the armed forces and their families, a senior monk at the monastery told The Irrawaddy.
Pakokku was the location of a bloody clash between Buddhist monks and Burmese security forces, in which several monks were beaten with batons and rifle butts.
Many monks are still exercising patta ni kozana kan in protest of the bloody suppression of the peaceful demonstrations, in which at least 31 protesters died.
U Pyinya Zawta, a leader of the underground monks alliance group, said, “In support of the protesters and monks who were arrested, we urge all monks in Burma not to sit for the state exams. We also want citizens to show bravery and vote “No” in the referendum.”
Suppression of democracy activists and religious leaders will be worse if the draft constitution is approved, he said.
“They [Burmese generals] are ruling the country informally, yet they dare to brutally suppress citizens and religious leaders,” he said. “If the constitution is officially enforced, then the overall situation will be worse.”
“So long as the junta is in power, the Burmese people will never be liberated from suppression,” said U Pyinya Zawta.
On February 9, the military regime announced the referendum will be held in May and a multi-party election in 2010.
Meanwhile, a number of protesters who were arrested during the uprising, including monks, went to court on Monday in Bahan Township in Rangoon. They were charged under article 505 (B), which involves a threat to the government’s stability, said Aung Thein, a Burmese lawyer.
“If found guilty, they [monks and protesters] will face two years imprisonment,” he said.
Meanwhile, pro-democracy activists in Rangoon are facing increased pressure from the buildup of security forces last week, according to dissident sources.
On Sunday, two pro-democracy activists—Kyaw Ko Ko and Nyan Linn Aung, both members of the All Burma Federation of Students Unions—were arrested by authorities, according to a statement released on Tuesday by the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).
Also, one leader and more than a dozen members of a dissident group known as Generation Wave were arrested recently.
Rangoon authorities raided the home of Kyaw Kyaw, a leading member, and later arrested him and eight of his colleagues at their hiding place, said a Rangoon source. Since March 6, about 18 members of the group have been arrested.
Grassroots Members Question NLD’s Stance on Referendum
By MIN LWIN
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
March 18, 2008 - Several grassroots members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), elected members of parliament and the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament (CRPP) have openly rejected the constitutional referendum to be held in May, according to Aye Thar Aung, secretary of the CRPP.
However, Aye Thar Aung criticized the NLD’s ambiguous stance toward the referendum. “The NLD should tell people whether they should go to the polling stations and vote ‘No’ or boycott the process entirely,” he said, adding that the NLD was the key player in the Burmese political arena.
Rangoon-based observers said that the grassroots NLD members were raising serious concerns and there would be more pressure on the NLD leaders to identify their policy regarding the constitutional referendum.
The observers said the NLD grassroots members will continue to condemn the regime's draft constitution, rejecting the government’s Road Map and advocating a “Vote No” campaign.
An NLD member from Kyaukpadaung in Mandalay Division said that members of the NLD’s divisional levels met recently in Mandalay to discuss the referendum. However, he could not provide further details of the meeting.
A source close to the NLD told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “Most NLD members want the current NLD leadership to remain at the forefront of the democracy movement.
“However, the fact that the monks led the September uprising is an indication that the NLD was not playing a leading role,” he added.
NLD spokesman Nyan Win reportedly said that the party didn't think the referendum was the final fight.
“We will probably release a specific statement later about the constitutional referendum,” Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy by phone on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Burmese intellectuals continue to debate and second guess the NLD’s dilemma. A five-page pamphlet written by a leading Burmese academic is being distributed among Burma observers inside and outside the country. The pamphlet examines the NLD leadership’s role with regard to the constitutional referendum.
Last week, Ludu Sein Win, a prominent journalist and former political prisoner, addressed a recorded message to Burmese both inside and outside the country, totally rejecting the referendum. He said that neither dialogue nor the UN Security Council would help the political situation.
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
March 18, 2008 - Several grassroots members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), elected members of parliament and the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament (CRPP) have openly rejected the constitutional referendum to be held in May, according to Aye Thar Aung, secretary of the CRPP.
However, Aye Thar Aung criticized the NLD’s ambiguous stance toward the referendum. “The NLD should tell people whether they should go to the polling stations and vote ‘No’ or boycott the process entirely,” he said, adding that the NLD was the key player in the Burmese political arena.
Rangoon-based observers said that the grassroots NLD members were raising serious concerns and there would be more pressure on the NLD leaders to identify their policy regarding the constitutional referendum.
The observers said the NLD grassroots members will continue to condemn the regime's draft constitution, rejecting the government’s Road Map and advocating a “Vote No” campaign.
An NLD member from Kyaukpadaung in Mandalay Division said that members of the NLD’s divisional levels met recently in Mandalay to discuss the referendum. However, he could not provide further details of the meeting.
A source close to the NLD told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “Most NLD members want the current NLD leadership to remain at the forefront of the democracy movement.
“However, the fact that the monks led the September uprising is an indication that the NLD was not playing a leading role,” he added.
NLD spokesman Nyan Win reportedly said that the party didn't think the referendum was the final fight.
“We will probably release a specific statement later about the constitutional referendum,” Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy by phone on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Burmese intellectuals continue to debate and second guess the NLD’s dilemma. A five-page pamphlet written by a leading Burmese academic is being distributed among Burma observers inside and outside the country. The pamphlet examines the NLD leadership’s role with regard to the constitutional referendum.
Last week, Ludu Sein Win, a prominent journalist and former political prisoner, addressed a recorded message to Burmese both inside and outside the country, totally rejecting the referendum. He said that neither dialogue nor the UN Security Council would help the political situation.
Thai PM Ignored the Other Side of the Coin
By KYAW ZWA MOE
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej brought that information out of Burma last week after an official goodwill visit. Nothing about his statement is wrong, and I personally believe it’s true: The generals meditate.
But the prime minister failed to answer a key question, “What are the generals meditating on?” I believe the generals meditate on things that would horrify true Buddhists.
First, the top generals probably meditate on how to rid themselves of their sins, or karma, after ordering security troops to shoot, kill and beat Buddhist monks in the September 2007 uprising.
Second, they meditate on how to rule the country forever, how to pass on power to the next generation of the military.
Actually, Burma’s top generals have seriously been in deep meditation since 1988 on how to wash away the karma of killing 3,000 innocent people during the country’s pro-democracy uprising.
The Thai prime minister also said, “They (Burmese leaders) say the country lives in peace.”
If the prime minister and his delegation had been a little more sensitive when they signed their trade agreements (Thailand is Burma’s third largest trading partner), they would have seen the spirits and ghosts of Burmese freedom fighters who sacrificed themselves while trying to win freedom for the Burmese people.
The Thai prime minister also said, “Killings and suppressions are normal there [Burma], but we have to understand the facts. The general view of this country has always been one-sided, but there are two sides to a coin.”
Is Samak saying killings and suppression should be accepted? He totally ignored the other side of the coin, the side that shows the people’s suffering and human rights abuses.
Will the Burmese people now see the Thai government as a good friend of their enemy, the junta? How will they answer the question, “Is Thailand a good neighbor?
In terms of foreign policy, it’s a strategic mistake to place too much emphasis on friendship and cooperation between two governments at the expense of the people.
Doing the right thing in terms of friendship and cooperation between the people of both countries is more important and long lasting.
The current Thai government’s “neighborly engagement” policy needs to be directed not only at Burma’s government but also at the Burmese people.
Of course it’s understandable that Samak’s government wants to promote friendship, cooperation and strengthen economic ties with neighboring countries, including Burma.
It’s understandable that Thailand needs to do business deals with the junta, especially in the areas of natural gas and hydro energy. But there’s a wise way to do business deals while also promoting human rights.
Thai governments often act as if they have no real power when dealing with Burma. Blindly supporting the military regime only guarantees that serious issues including refugees and migrant workers will continue.
Yes, Samak should remember a coin has two sides. He should send a clear message to the Burmese people that Thailand wants to do business deals with Burma, but it is first and foremost a friend of the people.
Thailand must not be viewed by the Burmese people as a neighbor that is insensitive to the democracy movement in their country. Thailand should be an eternal friend of the people, truly a good neighbor.
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej brought that information out of Burma last week after an official goodwill visit. Nothing about his statement is wrong, and I personally believe it’s true: The generals meditate.
But the prime minister failed to answer a key question, “What are the generals meditating on?” I believe the generals meditate on things that would horrify true Buddhists.
First, the top generals probably meditate on how to rid themselves of their sins, or karma, after ordering security troops to shoot, kill and beat Buddhist monks in the September 2007 uprising.
Second, they meditate on how to rule the country forever, how to pass on power to the next generation of the military.
Actually, Burma’s top generals have seriously been in deep meditation since 1988 on how to wash away the karma of killing 3,000 innocent people during the country’s pro-democracy uprising.
The Thai prime minister also said, “They (Burmese leaders) say the country lives in peace.”
If the prime minister and his delegation had been a little more sensitive when they signed their trade agreements (Thailand is Burma’s third largest trading partner), they would have seen the spirits and ghosts of Burmese freedom fighters who sacrificed themselves while trying to win freedom for the Burmese people.
The Thai prime minister also said, “Killings and suppressions are normal there [Burma], but we have to understand the facts. The general view of this country has always been one-sided, but there are two sides to a coin.”
Is Samak saying killings and suppression should be accepted? He totally ignored the other side of the coin, the side that shows the people’s suffering and human rights abuses.
Will the Burmese people now see the Thai government as a good friend of their enemy, the junta? How will they answer the question, “Is Thailand a good neighbor?
In terms of foreign policy, it’s a strategic mistake to place too much emphasis on friendship and cooperation between two governments at the expense of the people.
Doing the right thing in terms of friendship and cooperation between the people of both countries is more important and long lasting.
The current Thai government’s “neighborly engagement” policy needs to be directed not only at Burma’s government but also at the Burmese people.
Of course it’s understandable that Samak’s government wants to promote friendship, cooperation and strengthen economic ties with neighboring countries, including Burma.
It’s understandable that Thailand needs to do business deals with the junta, especially in the areas of natural gas and hydro energy. But there’s a wise way to do business deals while also promoting human rights.
Thai governments often act as if they have no real power when dealing with Burma. Blindly supporting the military regime only guarantees that serious issues including refugees and migrant workers will continue.
Yes, Samak should remember a coin has two sides. He should send a clear message to the Burmese people that Thailand wants to do business deals with Burma, but it is first and foremost a friend of the people.
Thailand must not be viewed by the Burmese people as a neighbor that is insensitive to the democracy movement in their country. Thailand should be an eternal friend of the people, truly a good neighbor.
The UN Considers its Options on Burma - Analysis
By LALIT K JHA
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
March 18, 2008 - The UN special envoy for Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, met the UN General Assembly president, Srgjan Kerim, on Monday and briefed him on his recent trip to Burma and the progress of his efforts to nudge the country towards a restoration of democracy and protection of human rights.
Gambari is also scheduled to brief the powerful 15-member UN Security Council on Tuesday. He is expected to give a frank assessment of the current situation in Burma and to outline what the international community can do, in his view, to ensure that the junta addresses the demands of the international community, including calls for the release of pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
Gambari ended his third visit to Burma in a little over six months on March 10. During his visit, the UN envoy met Aung San Suu Kyi and several senior military officials. However, he made little visible progress towards achieving the goals set by the UN Security Council through its presidential statement in October.
Now that the approach of “dialogue and accommodation” has demonstrably failed, the United Nations appears to be set to review its Burma policy.
A UN diplomat privy to a meeting between Gambari and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Dakar, Senegal last week told The Irrawaddy that the UN is now reevaluating its approach to Burma. “That is what the purpose (of the meeting) was,” the diplomat said.
During his meeting with the UN secretary-general, Gambari is believed to have conceded that he has been unable to get things moving in Burma.
The junta’s public snubbing of the UN envoy, which was widely reported by the official media, made it clear to Gambari that his approach of accommodating the generals in an effort to engage them in a dialogue on ways to move forward has not worked.
Despite several rounds of discussions with junta leaders and military officials in Burma and countless trips to capitals around the world over the past six months, Gambari has been unable to accomplish any of the goals set by himself, by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, or by the Security Council.
Nonetheless, following his meeting with Gambari, the UN General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim expressed confidence in the work of the special envoy. He also issued a statement calling for “serious engagement and strong commitment” from all parties to further national reconciliation.
Kerim said he was encouraged by the fact that the UN envoy was able to meet with key figures, including Suu Kyi, as well as with representatives of the Referendum Convening Commission and the Constitution Drafting Committee.
The General Assembly president also said that he hoped the Burmese regime would be open to giving the UN a monitoring role in an upcoming referendum on the new draft constitution, even though the military junta has already rejected the proposal.
Now that Gambari’s efforts have failed to yield any favorable results, UN diplomats are brainstorming what the world body’s next policy towards Burma should be.
But neither the UN nor member states that have taken a strong pro-democracy stance have a “plan B” on which they can move immediately. Given the interest of key neighboring countries and the pro-junta position of Russia and China inside the Security Council, it is unlikely that a consensus on a new UN policy towards Burma will emerge anytime soon.
Following his briefing with the Security Council, Gambari is also expected to participate in a meeting of the secretary-general’s Friends of Burma group later this week. These meetings, officials said, would set the ground for preparing a new policy on Burma.
Those closely watching these developments said that time is running out, as the referendum on the junta-drafted constitution is scheduled to take place in May, and the world body has still taken no effective measures to ensure that pro-democracy forces and ethnic groups are given a voice. They also point out that the junta must release Suu Kyi and enter into a time-bound dialogue with her.
But whether the UN can pressure the generals to make any concessions, with Russia and China possibly blocking any efforts to impose sterner measures against the regime, is the million-dollar question. Russia, which holds the presidency of Security Council for the month of March, is unlikely to allow the 15-member body to take any strong stance against the junta, as advocated by pro-democracy supporters.
Reflecting the views of millions of Burmese, however, three Security Council members—the United States, Britain and France—are now expected to push for a binding resolution against Burma. This means that the generals may soon be forced to listen to the language of confrontation—a language they understand much better than the more conciliatory noises now coming out of the United Nations.
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
March 18, 2008 - The UN special envoy for Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, met the UN General Assembly president, Srgjan Kerim, on Monday and briefed him on his recent trip to Burma and the progress of his efforts to nudge the country towards a restoration of democracy and protection of human rights.
Gambari is also scheduled to brief the powerful 15-member UN Security Council on Tuesday. He is expected to give a frank assessment of the current situation in Burma and to outline what the international community can do, in his view, to ensure that the junta addresses the demands of the international community, including calls for the release of pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
Gambari ended his third visit to Burma in a little over six months on March 10. During his visit, the UN envoy met Aung San Suu Kyi and several senior military officials. However, he made little visible progress towards achieving the goals set by the UN Security Council through its presidential statement in October.
Now that the approach of “dialogue and accommodation” has demonstrably failed, the United Nations appears to be set to review its Burma policy.
A UN diplomat privy to a meeting between Gambari and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Dakar, Senegal last week told The Irrawaddy that the UN is now reevaluating its approach to Burma. “That is what the purpose (of the meeting) was,” the diplomat said.
During his meeting with the UN secretary-general, Gambari is believed to have conceded that he has been unable to get things moving in Burma.
The junta’s public snubbing of the UN envoy, which was widely reported by the official media, made it clear to Gambari that his approach of accommodating the generals in an effort to engage them in a dialogue on ways to move forward has not worked.
Despite several rounds of discussions with junta leaders and military officials in Burma and countless trips to capitals around the world over the past six months, Gambari has been unable to accomplish any of the goals set by himself, by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, or by the Security Council.
Nonetheless, following his meeting with Gambari, the UN General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim expressed confidence in the work of the special envoy. He also issued a statement calling for “serious engagement and strong commitment” from all parties to further national reconciliation.
Kerim said he was encouraged by the fact that the UN envoy was able to meet with key figures, including Suu Kyi, as well as with representatives of the Referendum Convening Commission and the Constitution Drafting Committee.
The General Assembly president also said that he hoped the Burmese regime would be open to giving the UN a monitoring role in an upcoming referendum on the new draft constitution, even though the military junta has already rejected the proposal.
Now that Gambari’s efforts have failed to yield any favorable results, UN diplomats are brainstorming what the world body’s next policy towards Burma should be.
But neither the UN nor member states that have taken a strong pro-democracy stance have a “plan B” on which they can move immediately. Given the interest of key neighboring countries and the pro-junta position of Russia and China inside the Security Council, it is unlikely that a consensus on a new UN policy towards Burma will emerge anytime soon.
Following his briefing with the Security Council, Gambari is also expected to participate in a meeting of the secretary-general’s Friends of Burma group later this week. These meetings, officials said, would set the ground for preparing a new policy on Burma.
Those closely watching these developments said that time is running out, as the referendum on the junta-drafted constitution is scheduled to take place in May, and the world body has still taken no effective measures to ensure that pro-democracy forces and ethnic groups are given a voice. They also point out that the junta must release Suu Kyi and enter into a time-bound dialogue with her.
But whether the UN can pressure the generals to make any concessions, with Russia and China possibly blocking any efforts to impose sterner measures against the regime, is the million-dollar question. Russia, which holds the presidency of Security Council for the month of March, is unlikely to allow the 15-member body to take any strong stance against the junta, as advocated by pro-democracy supporters.
Reflecting the views of millions of Burmese, however, three Security Council members—the United States, Britain and France—are now expected to push for a binding resolution against Burma. This means that the generals may soon be forced to listen to the language of confrontation—a language they understand much better than the more conciliatory noises now coming out of the United Nations.
Off the radar
By Steve Crawshaw
Comment is Free
Since the end of the September 2007 protests, the world has taken its eyes off Burma. As a result the generals are able to carry on regardless
March 18, 2008 - None of this should have been a surprise. The Burmese generals sent Ibrahim Gambari away empty-handed. The military rulers treated Gambari, special envoy to Burma and under secretary general of the UN, with unconcealed contempt.
Gambari - who is due to report back to the security council in the next few days - was not allowed to meet General Than Shwe or other senior leaders when he visited Burma this month. He met with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in a (presumably bugged) government guest house. But the regime refused to make any of the concessions that Gambari asked for, including international observers and technical support for the May referendum on the generals' draft constitution aimed at cementing their hold on power. Instead, they described the ultra-cautious Gambari as "biased".
The question now is: will the world finally wake up to the dangerous games which the Burmese generals like to play? Right now, there is depressingly little sign of that.
For a few brief moments, while gunfire echoed around Rangoon last September, world leaders sat up and took notice - just as the lethal violence in Lhasa in recent days has forced politicians partly to acknowledge the human rights nightmare of Tibet for the first time in many years. In response to the Burmese crackdown, there was outspoken criticism of a government which was (again) murdering its citizens on its streets. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, declared his abhorrence, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations expressed "revulsion", and even the UN security council, after much grinding of diplomatic teeth, agreed to "strongly deplore" the killing.
Once the immediate violence was off the television screens, however, things went back to business as usual. Than Shwe and his fellow generals made a few symbolic concessions - including perfunctory meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi and allowing Gambari into the country. Key governments, such as China and India, began to insist that things were now on the right track, and that further pressure would be inappropriate. Little has happened since, as Burma quickly faded from the international agenda.
Burma is a country which yearns for things to be different. In the past 30 years, I have lived and worked in many countries where the secret police hold sway. Never, however, have I seen the combined fear and astonishing defiance that one encounters in Burma. The mass protests led by monks last year gave voice to that defiance. The courage of ordinary Burmese people deserves support and pressure on the regime - including, for example, targeted measures such as banking sanctions and travel bans on the leadership.
Now Burma's ruling generals are hoping to divert attention by laying out an alleged roadmap to democracy, including the announcement of a referendum on a draft constitution in May followed by elections in 2010. But what meaning can a referendum have when public debate is prohibited and a casual word of criticism can land you a long prison sentence?
How can the will of the people be known when much of the political opposition, including Aung San Suu Kyi, the charismatic, Nobel prize-winning leader of the National League for Democracy, is in prison or under house arrest? How can a vote be held on a constitution for all of Burma's people when members of many ethnic groups are excluded from the process? How can a vote take place without an electoral roll, a census, or an independent election commission?
The generals also want to make people forget how little regard they have for human life. Burma remains among the worst violators of the international prohibition against child soldiers. In the border areas where armed conflict with ethnic groups continues, the army commits widespread summary executions and rapes and uses forced labour.
Outside armed conflict areas, the situation also remains bleak. An unknown number remain in detention following the brutal suppression of last year's pro-democracy protests. Torture is widespread. Last month two more journalists were arrested and held without charge for collecting information about the international response to last year's crackdown. The sad irony is that the international response of late has been: not much.
The Beijing Olympics begin on August 8 2008, 20 years to the day after mass demonstrations in Burma led to the slaughter of thousands. China has enormous commercial and political clout in Burma, but is determined not to use that influence to benefit the Burmese people. China helped Gambari gain a visa to get back into Burma, but, as we saw again in recent days, that tiny step changes little or nothing on the ground.
China seems determined to allow the generals a free pass, even though the underlying instability caused by the continuing repression does China little good. Anti-Chinese sentiment inside Burma is running high, partly because of a perception that China is turning a blind eye to the generals' crimes.
South Africa, a current security council member, lards its speeches on Burma with implausible words like "optimistic", "progress", "encouraging" and "significant impact." Meanwhile, the 14-government "group of friends", which Ban Ki-moon set up, has met just twice to "review developments" to little obvious effect.
The way forward is not a sham referendum, but a substantive dialogue with the political opposition and ethnic groups, the release of an estimated 1,800 political prisoners, a free press, and room for ordinary people to meet and talk freely. The population needs an end to fear and violence.
Burma stands at a turning point: 2008 could be the year of change for the better. But that will not happen unless powerful players - at the security council and in the region - make clear that the time for waiting is over. After decades of repressive rule, the Burmese people deserve no less.
Comment is Free
Since the end of the September 2007 protests, the world has taken its eyes off Burma. As a result the generals are able to carry on regardless
March 18, 2008 - None of this should have been a surprise. The Burmese generals sent Ibrahim Gambari away empty-handed. The military rulers treated Gambari, special envoy to Burma and under secretary general of the UN, with unconcealed contempt.
Gambari - who is due to report back to the security council in the next few days - was not allowed to meet General Than Shwe or other senior leaders when he visited Burma this month. He met with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in a (presumably bugged) government guest house. But the regime refused to make any of the concessions that Gambari asked for, including international observers and technical support for the May referendum on the generals' draft constitution aimed at cementing their hold on power. Instead, they described the ultra-cautious Gambari as "biased".
The question now is: will the world finally wake up to the dangerous games which the Burmese generals like to play? Right now, there is depressingly little sign of that.
For a few brief moments, while gunfire echoed around Rangoon last September, world leaders sat up and took notice - just as the lethal violence in Lhasa in recent days has forced politicians partly to acknowledge the human rights nightmare of Tibet for the first time in many years. In response to the Burmese crackdown, there was outspoken criticism of a government which was (again) murdering its citizens on its streets. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, declared his abhorrence, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations expressed "revulsion", and even the UN security council, after much grinding of diplomatic teeth, agreed to "strongly deplore" the killing.
Once the immediate violence was off the television screens, however, things went back to business as usual. Than Shwe and his fellow generals made a few symbolic concessions - including perfunctory meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi and allowing Gambari into the country. Key governments, such as China and India, began to insist that things were now on the right track, and that further pressure would be inappropriate. Little has happened since, as Burma quickly faded from the international agenda.
Burma is a country which yearns for things to be different. In the past 30 years, I have lived and worked in many countries where the secret police hold sway. Never, however, have I seen the combined fear and astonishing defiance that one encounters in Burma. The mass protests led by monks last year gave voice to that defiance. The courage of ordinary Burmese people deserves support and pressure on the regime - including, for example, targeted measures such as banking sanctions and travel bans on the leadership.
Now Burma's ruling generals are hoping to divert attention by laying out an alleged roadmap to democracy, including the announcement of a referendum on a draft constitution in May followed by elections in 2010. But what meaning can a referendum have when public debate is prohibited and a casual word of criticism can land you a long prison sentence?
How can the will of the people be known when much of the political opposition, including Aung San Suu Kyi, the charismatic, Nobel prize-winning leader of the National League for Democracy, is in prison or under house arrest? How can a vote be held on a constitution for all of Burma's people when members of many ethnic groups are excluded from the process? How can a vote take place without an electoral roll, a census, or an independent election commission?
The generals also want to make people forget how little regard they have for human life. Burma remains among the worst violators of the international prohibition against child soldiers. In the border areas where armed conflict with ethnic groups continues, the army commits widespread summary executions and rapes and uses forced labour.
Outside armed conflict areas, the situation also remains bleak. An unknown number remain in detention following the brutal suppression of last year's pro-democracy protests. Torture is widespread. Last month two more journalists were arrested and held without charge for collecting information about the international response to last year's crackdown. The sad irony is that the international response of late has been: not much.
The Beijing Olympics begin on August 8 2008, 20 years to the day after mass demonstrations in Burma led to the slaughter of thousands. China has enormous commercial and political clout in Burma, but is determined not to use that influence to benefit the Burmese people. China helped Gambari gain a visa to get back into Burma, but, as we saw again in recent days, that tiny step changes little or nothing on the ground.
China seems determined to allow the generals a free pass, even though the underlying instability caused by the continuing repression does China little good. Anti-Chinese sentiment inside Burma is running high, partly because of a perception that China is turning a blind eye to the generals' crimes.
South Africa, a current security council member, lards its speeches on Burma with implausible words like "optimistic", "progress", "encouraging" and "significant impact." Meanwhile, the 14-government "group of friends", which Ban Ki-moon set up, has met just twice to "review developments" to little obvious effect.
The way forward is not a sham referendum, but a substantive dialogue with the political opposition and ethnic groups, the release of an estimated 1,800 political prisoners, a free press, and room for ordinary people to meet and talk freely. The population needs an end to fear and violence.
Burma stands at a turning point: 2008 could be the year of change for the better. But that will not happen unless powerful players - at the security council and in the region - make clear that the time for waiting is over. After decades of repressive rule, the Burmese people deserve no less.
SA decision on Burma questioned - 15 Jan'07
Mail and Guardian SA
Cape Town, South Africa
15 January 2007
South Africa's decision to join China and Russia in voting against a United Nations Security Council resolution -- calling on the military junta in Burma to stop human rights abuses, including ethnic killings, rapes and forced labour -- has been questioned by the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The motion -- put to the council on the weekend -- was proposed by the United States.
DA chief whip and foreign affairs spokesperson Douglas Gibson said in a statement on Monday: "South Africa's first significant vote since taking up its non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council raises a question -- will South Africa ever meet a dictator it does not like?"
Gibson suggested that the decision appeared to be a continuation of South Africa's "quiet diplomacy" approach to dictatorships and their human rights abuses.
Gibson noted that South Africa's UN envoy, Dumisani Kumalo, was at pains to point out that South Africa was indeed concerned about the situation in Burma, but did not feel that a strongly worded resolution was the appropriate way of engaging with the government in that country.
Gibson said while he may have a point in this case, this "softly-softly" approach brings back uncomfortable memories of previous situations where South Africa should have taken a tough stance against dictatorship, electoral fraud and human rights abuses, but chose instead to adopt a mild line.
"In the case of Zimbabwe, South Africa's 'quiet diplomacy' has been an outright failure, and one wonders when South Africa will realise that Africa and the world is looking to it to lead the way when it comes to taking tough measures against misgovernance on our own back doorstep."
South Africa's Security Council vote on Burma "can only leave those who are campaigning for human rights and good governance with an uncomfortable feeling of déjà vu. Several human rights organisations have expressed alarm and surprise at the way South Africa voted."
"Our delegation at the UN must be careful not to send the wrong message to the world about where we stand on issues of misgovernance and human rights abuses," charged Gibson.
Prior to the vote, Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu warned that he would be deeply disappointed if South Africa voted against a non-punitive resolution. He told Business Day that the history of the struggle meant South Africa should side with people "who are victims of one of the most repressive regimes".
Tutu and former Czech president Vaclav Havel commissioned a report two years ago that recommended a UN resolution criticising Burma's military government. -- I-Net Bridge
Cape Town, South Africa
15 January 2007
South Africa's decision to join China and Russia in voting against a United Nations Security Council resolution -- calling on the military junta in Burma to stop human rights abuses, including ethnic killings, rapes and forced labour -- has been questioned by the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The motion -- put to the council on the weekend -- was proposed by the United States.
DA chief whip and foreign affairs spokesperson Douglas Gibson said in a statement on Monday: "South Africa's first significant vote since taking up its non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council raises a question -- will South Africa ever meet a dictator it does not like?"
Gibson suggested that the decision appeared to be a continuation of South Africa's "quiet diplomacy" approach to dictatorships and their human rights abuses.
Gibson noted that South Africa's UN envoy, Dumisani Kumalo, was at pains to point out that South Africa was indeed concerned about the situation in Burma, but did not feel that a strongly worded resolution was the appropriate way of engaging with the government in that country.
Gibson said while he may have a point in this case, this "softly-softly" approach brings back uncomfortable memories of previous situations where South Africa should have taken a tough stance against dictatorship, electoral fraud and human rights abuses, but chose instead to adopt a mild line.
"In the case of Zimbabwe, South Africa's 'quiet diplomacy' has been an outright failure, and one wonders when South Africa will realise that Africa and the world is looking to it to lead the way when it comes to taking tough measures against misgovernance on our own back doorstep."
South Africa's Security Council vote on Burma "can only leave those who are campaigning for human rights and good governance with an uncomfortable feeling of déjà vu. Several human rights organisations have expressed alarm and surprise at the way South Africa voted."
"Our delegation at the UN must be careful not to send the wrong message to the world about where we stand on issues of misgovernance and human rights abuses," charged Gibson.
Prior to the vote, Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu warned that he would be deeply disappointed if South Africa voted against a non-punitive resolution. He told Business Day that the history of the struggle meant South Africa should side with people "who are victims of one of the most repressive regimes".
Tutu and former Czech president Vaclav Havel commissioned a report two years ago that recommended a UN resolution criticising Burma's military government. -- I-Net Bridge
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
Burmese Military Intelligence arrested Kyaw Ko Ko, Leader of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions
Bangkok, 18 March, (Asiantribune.com): Burmese Military Inteligence Unit arrested on 17 March Kyaw Ko Ko, the leader of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, taken away from his hiding place. Earlier, with the help of supporters, Kyaw Ko Ko twice had escaped arrest. Nyan Linn Aung, another ABFSU leader, was also arrested together with Kyaw Ko Ko. It is not known where they were taken.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners has expressed concern over the arrest of Kyaw Ko Ko and Nyan Lin Aung. Military authorities are notorious for torturing political prisoners, and often the most severe treatment occurs during the interrogation stage following the arrest.
Background:
Kyaw Ko Ko is a student who is attending in Economic University from Yangon for a master degree. He is 25 years old and a son of U Kyaw Gyi. He is a leader of All Burma Federation of Student Unions which was reestablished on 28 August 2007.
Burma’s first student union, the Rangoon University Students’ Union, was founded in 1931 by national independence hero Gen Aung San and his friends.
The group was renamed the All Burma Students’ Union in 1936 before switching to the ABFSU in 1951.Following Gen Ne Win’s military coup in 1962, the office of the ABFSU in Rangoon was demolished and hundreds of students were killed by the army.
During the nationwide pro-democracy 8888 uprising, the ABFSU resurfaced under the leadership of Min Ko Naing and other prominent student leaders on 28 August 1988.
During th Suffaron Revolution…..
“Today we reestablish the ABFSU to take on the shifting roles of former students in a new generation to fight for freedom, justice and the building of a democratic country,” Kyaw Ko Ko said on 28 August 2007 when the fighting peacock flag was raised again.
“I hereby encourage all students across the country to accept the shifting responsibilities on behalf of our former brothers and sisters,” he added.
The influential All Burma Federation of Student Unions has resumed its struggle against the country’s military government .
“Student unions must exist for the students in Burma,” said Kyaw Ko Ko.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners has expressed concern over the arrest of Kyaw Ko Ko and Nyan Lin Aung. Military authorities are notorious for torturing political prisoners, and often the most severe treatment occurs during the interrogation stage following the arrest.
Background:
Kyaw Ko Ko is a student who is attending in Economic University from Yangon for a master degree. He is 25 years old and a son of U Kyaw Gyi. He is a leader of All Burma Federation of Student Unions which was reestablished on 28 August 2007.
Burma’s first student union, the Rangoon University Students’ Union, was founded in 1931 by national independence hero Gen Aung San and his friends.
The group was renamed the All Burma Students’ Union in 1936 before switching to the ABFSU in 1951.Following Gen Ne Win’s military coup in 1962, the office of the ABFSU in Rangoon was demolished and hundreds of students were killed by the army.
During the nationwide pro-democracy 8888 uprising, the ABFSU resurfaced under the leadership of Min Ko Naing and other prominent student leaders on 28 August 1988.
During th Suffaron Revolution…..
“Today we reestablish the ABFSU to take on the shifting roles of former students in a new generation to fight for freedom, justice and the building of a democratic country,” Kyaw Ko Ko said on 28 August 2007 when the fighting peacock flag was raised again.
“I hereby encourage all students across the country to accept the shifting responsibilities on behalf of our former brothers and sisters,” he added.
The influential All Burma Federation of Student Unions has resumed its struggle against the country’s military government .
“Student unions must exist for the students in Burma,” said Kyaw Ko Ko.
Support and Encouragement
WALK for FREEDOM and LIBERTY of BURMA
Update
March 18, 2008
At 10am last Sunday, Zaw Min Htwe, Athein and few members of Democracy and Freedom students packed with all their Free Burma pamphlets were demonstrating in front of the Baker City Hall in Oregon.
Their protest was directed to the junta to hand over the government to a proper democracy, to free Aung San Suu kyi and all political prisoners. Athein and Zaw made the stop over in Baker City to rest their walking feet... Please visit their blog to view the photos, your Paypal support and encouragement is very welcomed. http://88portland.wordpress.com
Update
March 18, 2008
At 10am last Sunday, Zaw Min Htwe, Athein and few members of Democracy and Freedom students packed with all their Free Burma pamphlets were demonstrating in front of the Baker City Hall in Oregon.
Their protest was directed to the junta to hand over the government to a proper democracy, to free Aung San Suu kyi and all political prisoners. Athein and Zaw made the stop over in Baker City to rest their walking feet... Please visit their blog to view the photos, your Paypal support and encouragement is very welcomed. http://88portland.wordpress.com
NMSP must be ready: Mon leaders
By Loa Htaw, IMNA
March 18, 2008 - The New Mon State Party (NMSP) must be ready if it does not plan to either support the referendum or involve itself in the elections, said Mon revolutionary leaders.
"The NMSP must be ready for future movements if it does not plan to involve itself in the elections.
Whether the party involves itself or not, the situation will remain the same. It is better not to get involved," said a senior leader of the MNDF.
The former Army Chief of the NMSP General Aung Naing had also warned the party that the Burmese regime will crackdown on them soon if they do not support the referendum and get involved in the elections.
"Without disarming the NMSP the regime will not recognise it as a political party and will not allow it to get involved in the elections. Even if the junta does disarm, the government will not give equal rights or a federal state either unless NMSP can oust the military government," General Aung Naing had said.
"The ensuing election will usher in a new military government. If the NMSP does involve itself, they may not get a chance to do political movements anymore," said a MNDF senior leader.
Another senior MNDF leader predicted that there will be an uprising again if the government holds the referendum and elections and ignores what the people want.
The Chairman of the Mon Unity League Nai Sunthorn said that Mon people have invested their lives and properties in the Mon revolution for over half a century and NMSP must consider that in their decision making for the ensuing referendum and elections. Otherwise, we will lose what we have done and will have to begin the revolution from scratch.
New Mon State Party (NMSP) was formed in July 1958 just after a big surrender of the Mon People¢s Front (MPF) which took up armed resistance since 1948. The NMSP reached a ceasefire with the Burmese government in 1995 to solve political problems across the table.
March 18, 2008 - The New Mon State Party (NMSP) must be ready if it does not plan to either support the referendum or involve itself in the elections, said Mon revolutionary leaders.
"The NMSP must be ready for future movements if it does not plan to involve itself in the elections.
Whether the party involves itself or not, the situation will remain the same. It is better not to get involved," said a senior leader of the MNDF.
The former Army Chief of the NMSP General Aung Naing had also warned the party that the Burmese regime will crackdown on them soon if they do not support the referendum and get involved in the elections.
"Without disarming the NMSP the regime will not recognise it as a political party and will not allow it to get involved in the elections. Even if the junta does disarm, the government will not give equal rights or a federal state either unless NMSP can oust the military government," General Aung Naing had said.
"The ensuing election will usher in a new military government. If the NMSP does involve itself, they may not get a chance to do political movements anymore," said a MNDF senior leader.
Another senior MNDF leader predicted that there will be an uprising again if the government holds the referendum and elections and ignores what the people want.
The Chairman of the Mon Unity League Nai Sunthorn said that Mon people have invested their lives and properties in the Mon revolution for over half a century and NMSP must consider that in their decision making for the ensuing referendum and elections. Otherwise, we will lose what we have done and will have to begin the revolution from scratch.
New Mon State Party (NMSP) was formed in July 1958 just after a big surrender of the Mon People¢s Front (MPF) which took up armed resistance since 1948. The NMSP reached a ceasefire with the Burmese government in 1995 to solve political problems across the table.
Back to Child Recruitments
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, Mar 18, 2008 (IPS) - Till last September, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) office in military-ruled Burma had received few complaints about children being forced to join the army. But that is no longer the case.
In a new report, the ILO makes a pointed reference to the shift noticed since September 2007, the month when the Burmese junta launched a brutal crackdown on peaceful street protests led by thousands of Buddhist monks chanting a prayer for ''loving kindness.''
Prior to that month, the majority of complaints received about forced labour ''concerned public works under local administration with only a few military-related complaints and cases of underage recruitment,'' reveals a report submitted to the ILO's governing body, which is currently meeting at the labour rights agency's headquarters, in Geneva.
''Since September that pattern has been reversed with majority of complaints now being military-related and underage recruitment cases,'' adds the report prepared by the ILO's Rangoon office of the 15 ''child soldier/forced recruitment cases'' between Feb. 26, 2007 and Feb. 25, 2008.
What happened to an ILO account of a 14-year-old Burmese boy in late October may be typical. He had gone to a market in Rangoon, the former capital, to lend a hand at a stall run by his elder brother. But he was stopped by soldiers and taken in a truck to an army recruiting office.
In fact, the ILO admits that its record of young boys forced to swell the ranks of the 'Tatmadaw', the Burmese name for the armed forces, is not an accurate picture. ''We believe that the number of complaints we have received does not reflect the size of the problem. It is the tip of the iceberg,'' Steve Marshall, the ILO's liaison officer in Rangoon, said in an IPS interview.
''We understand there are some people who operate as brokers. They use force or trickery to take children to recruiting officers,'' he added. ''We have lodged complaints with the government and it has responded quickly, discharging the recruit and disciplining the recruiting officer.''
But human rights groups warn the international community not to be fooled by the junta's claims that it is trying to end the scourge of forced conscription. The London-based Burma Campaign UK has ''dismissed as total nonsense'' claims by a state-run newspaper that ''hundreds of children have been returned to their families in recent years''.
In 2004, the military leaders in Burma, also called Myanmar, responded to growing international criticism about the recruitment of child soldiers by setting up a high-powered group to deal with the problem. But the record of the Committee for Prevention of Military Recruitment of Underage Children has proved wanting, with its regular statements tending to denounce reports of child soldiers in the country than helping to curb this on-going violation of labour and children's rights.
A November 2007 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirms the failure of the junta's special committee to save children from the Tatmadaw. ''Children as young as 10 are being targeted by Burmese military recruiters and threatened with arrest or beaten if they refuse to join,'' revealed the report by the New York-based global rights lobby.
''Child soldiers are sometimes forced to participate in human rights abuses, such as burning villages and using civilians for forced labour,'' adds the report, 'Sold to be soldiers: The recruitment and use of child soldiers in Burma'. ''Those who attempt to escape or desert are beaten, forcibly re-recruited or imprisoned.''
The dismal tone of this report echoed a similar tone of a 2002 report by HRW dealing with the growing number of child soldiers in Burma. That report, 'My gun was as tall as me', estimated that ''70,000 or more of the Burma army's estimated 350,000 soldiers may be children.''
And the hunting ground for the army's recruiters to grab children has changed little over the last five years. Soldiers and civilians assigned the job target markets, railway stations, bus stations, ferry terminals, streets and festivals. The rewards for such forced conscription missions have varied, though, with some being paid in cash of up to 25 US dollars per child or given a bag of rice.
The gap between the junta's rhetoric and the reality in the South-east Asian country is stark, says David Scott Mathieson, HRW's Burma consultant. ''There is a massive disconnect between the laws and regulations the Burmese regime has made and the reality on the ground.''
''There is widespread forced recruitment of children into the army,'' he told IPS. ''It is part of a mercantile system. The battalions have to meet their quotas of recruits, and if they do so they are rewarded.''
The junta's hunger for young Burmese boys to fatten the ranks of the Tatmadaw is rooted in a shift in military policy after 1988. That year saw a pro-democracy uprising, drawing tens of thousands of civilians to the streets, to challenge a military dictatorship that had been in power since a 1962 coup. And the army responded with bullets, killing some 3,000 unarmed demonstrators.
Soon after, the Tatmadaw, which was a much leaner and smaller and had no record of child soldiers, was ordered to expand to strengthen the junta's grip on power. It went from being a force of some 180,000 to its current number of nearly 400,000 -- at least on paper.
Yet, as a Burmese military analyst notes, the Tatmadaw has been hit with a high desertion rate, adding to the number of soldiers it keeps losing in the on-going conflict in the border areas with ethnic rebel groups. ''A northern commander reported that during a four-month period in 2006 the army had lost an entire brigade of soldiers due to desertion,'' Win Min, who lectures at Payap University in northern Thailand, said in an interview. ''That is over 3,000 soldiers based on the strength of a battalion in Burma.''
It was worse during the previous year, when internal military records reveal that during a four-month period in 2005 the Tatmadaw was hit with 4,701 deserters across the country, adds Win Min. ''My estimate is that by the end of last year the situation may have got worse. The army may have been hit with nearly 15,000 deserters in 2007.''
But how many soldiers fled the Tatmadaw after being ordered to fire on the highly revered Buddhist monks who led last September's protest still remains unknown, he revealed. ''This may come out when the commanders have their next quarterly meeting, which has not been held since May last year.''
BANGKOK, Mar 18, 2008 (IPS) - Till last September, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) office in military-ruled Burma had received few complaints about children being forced to join the army. But that is no longer the case.
In a new report, the ILO makes a pointed reference to the shift noticed since September 2007, the month when the Burmese junta launched a brutal crackdown on peaceful street protests led by thousands of Buddhist monks chanting a prayer for ''loving kindness.''
Prior to that month, the majority of complaints received about forced labour ''concerned public works under local administration with only a few military-related complaints and cases of underage recruitment,'' reveals a report submitted to the ILO's governing body, which is currently meeting at the labour rights agency's headquarters, in Geneva.
''Since September that pattern has been reversed with majority of complaints now being military-related and underage recruitment cases,'' adds the report prepared by the ILO's Rangoon office of the 15 ''child soldier/forced recruitment cases'' between Feb. 26, 2007 and Feb. 25, 2008.
What happened to an ILO account of a 14-year-old Burmese boy in late October may be typical. He had gone to a market in Rangoon, the former capital, to lend a hand at a stall run by his elder brother. But he was stopped by soldiers and taken in a truck to an army recruiting office.
In fact, the ILO admits that its record of young boys forced to swell the ranks of the 'Tatmadaw', the Burmese name for the armed forces, is not an accurate picture. ''We believe that the number of complaints we have received does not reflect the size of the problem. It is the tip of the iceberg,'' Steve Marshall, the ILO's liaison officer in Rangoon, said in an IPS interview.
''We understand there are some people who operate as brokers. They use force or trickery to take children to recruiting officers,'' he added. ''We have lodged complaints with the government and it has responded quickly, discharging the recruit and disciplining the recruiting officer.''
But human rights groups warn the international community not to be fooled by the junta's claims that it is trying to end the scourge of forced conscription. The London-based Burma Campaign UK has ''dismissed as total nonsense'' claims by a state-run newspaper that ''hundreds of children have been returned to their families in recent years''.
In 2004, the military leaders in Burma, also called Myanmar, responded to growing international criticism about the recruitment of child soldiers by setting up a high-powered group to deal with the problem. But the record of the Committee for Prevention of Military Recruitment of Underage Children has proved wanting, with its regular statements tending to denounce reports of child soldiers in the country than helping to curb this on-going violation of labour and children's rights.
A November 2007 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirms the failure of the junta's special committee to save children from the Tatmadaw. ''Children as young as 10 are being targeted by Burmese military recruiters and threatened with arrest or beaten if they refuse to join,'' revealed the report by the New York-based global rights lobby.
''Child soldiers are sometimes forced to participate in human rights abuses, such as burning villages and using civilians for forced labour,'' adds the report, 'Sold to be soldiers: The recruitment and use of child soldiers in Burma'. ''Those who attempt to escape or desert are beaten, forcibly re-recruited or imprisoned.''
The dismal tone of this report echoed a similar tone of a 2002 report by HRW dealing with the growing number of child soldiers in Burma. That report, 'My gun was as tall as me', estimated that ''70,000 or more of the Burma army's estimated 350,000 soldiers may be children.''
And the hunting ground for the army's recruiters to grab children has changed little over the last five years. Soldiers and civilians assigned the job target markets, railway stations, bus stations, ferry terminals, streets and festivals. The rewards for such forced conscription missions have varied, though, with some being paid in cash of up to 25 US dollars per child or given a bag of rice.
The gap between the junta's rhetoric and the reality in the South-east Asian country is stark, says David Scott Mathieson, HRW's Burma consultant. ''There is a massive disconnect between the laws and regulations the Burmese regime has made and the reality on the ground.''
''There is widespread forced recruitment of children into the army,'' he told IPS. ''It is part of a mercantile system. The battalions have to meet their quotas of recruits, and if they do so they are rewarded.''
The junta's hunger for young Burmese boys to fatten the ranks of the Tatmadaw is rooted in a shift in military policy after 1988. That year saw a pro-democracy uprising, drawing tens of thousands of civilians to the streets, to challenge a military dictatorship that had been in power since a 1962 coup. And the army responded with bullets, killing some 3,000 unarmed demonstrators.
Soon after, the Tatmadaw, which was a much leaner and smaller and had no record of child soldiers, was ordered to expand to strengthen the junta's grip on power. It went from being a force of some 180,000 to its current number of nearly 400,000 -- at least on paper.
Yet, as a Burmese military analyst notes, the Tatmadaw has been hit with a high desertion rate, adding to the number of soldiers it keeps losing in the on-going conflict in the border areas with ethnic rebel groups. ''A northern commander reported that during a four-month period in 2006 the army had lost an entire brigade of soldiers due to desertion,'' Win Min, who lectures at Payap University in northern Thailand, said in an interview. ''That is over 3,000 soldiers based on the strength of a battalion in Burma.''
It was worse during the previous year, when internal military records reveal that during a four-month period in 2005 the Tatmadaw was hit with 4,701 deserters across the country, adds Win Min. ''My estimate is that by the end of last year the situation may have got worse. The army may have been hit with nearly 15,000 deserters in 2007.''
But how many soldiers fled the Tatmadaw after being ordered to fire on the highly revered Buddhist monks who led last September's protest still remains unknown, he revealed. ''This may come out when the commanders have their next quarterly meeting, which has not been held since May last year.''
U.S. Congress Introduces Resolution Rejecting Burmese Junta Made Constitution
Daya Gamage
US Bureau Asian Tribune
Washington, D.C. 18 March 2008 (Asiantribune.com): The U.S. Campaign for Burma, a Washington DC-based organization mobilizing international support for freedom and democracy in Burma, March 17 welcomes and supports the introducing of Congressional resolution, House Res. 317, calling for the President to call for the United Nations Security Council to not accept or recognize the state constitution, unilaterally written by the Burmese military junta, and the outcome of the upcoming referendum, scheduled for May this year.
The resolution denounces the one-sided, undemocratic and illegitimate constitution drafting process and referendum by the Burmese military junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), insists the SPDC engage in a tripartite dialogue with democracy forces led by Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic representatives, and demands the immediate and unconditional releases of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners. It also urges the President Bush to call for the UN Security Council to not accept and recognize the SPDC’s constitution,
House Concurrent Resolution 317 was introduced by Representatives Rush Holt (D-NJ), Howard Berman (D-CA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 14, 2008 and it was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for consideration.
They introduced the resolution after the SPDC flatly rejected all recommendations made by the United Nations, which are the establishment of an all-party inclusive transparent process of constitution writing, meaningful and time-bound dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, releasing all political prisoners, establishment of a broad-based poverty alleviation commission, opening of an office in Rangoon for the UN Special Envoy, and an offer to provide UN assistance to help ensure the referendum is free and fair. During the last visit of UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari on March 6-10, the five top leaders of the SPDC, Senior-General Than Shwe, Vice-Senior-General Maung Aye, General Thura Shwe Mann, General Thein Sein and Lieutenant General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myin Oo, refused to meet with Mr. Gambari. The highest level official whom Mr. Gambari was allowed to meet was Bri-Gen Kyaw Hsan, the SPDC’s Minister of Information. On behalf of the SPDC, Kyaw Hsan rejected all of the UN’s recommendations and even complained that “The United Nations should stand fair and square without bias.”
Congressman Berman (D-CA) is Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, who has succeeded Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA), who was a champion for the Burmese democracy movement and passed away last month. Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen is Ranking Member of House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Congressman Holt serves on House Committee on Education and Labor, Committee on Natural Resources and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. All three Representatives are strong supporters of the non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights for the people of Burma, led by the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi.
Congressman Rush Holt, author of the resolution said, “The Burmese people are determined to enjoy the same rights and freedoms that so many of take for granted. The heroic efforts of opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and others have given hope to victims of terrible oppression, and they deserve our support. Passage of this resolution would send a strong signal to the people of Burma that we stand with them in their struggle for democracy.”
“We appreciate Representatives Holt, Berman and Ros-Lehtinen for this important initiative to not recognize the military junta’s illegitimate constitution, which is designed to perpetuate the military dictatorship in Burma by vesting supreme power in the hands of the Chief of the military, Commander-in-Chief,” says Aung Din, Executive Director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma. “People of Burma are determined to reject this sham constitution at any cost, which will make them slaves of the military for generations,” continues Aung Din.
On March 14, 2008, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Burma ridiculed the junta’s plan by saying that “if you believe in gnomes, trolls and elves, you can believe in this democratic process in Myanmar,” at a news briefing at the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva. However, Thai Prime Minister Samat Sundaravej, who recently came back from Burma, praised military leaders as strong devotees of Buddhism and killing and suppression in the country are normal. “Tragically, like the Thai Prime Minister, there are some governments in Asia and Europe who believe in myths. We need similar actions from other Members of Parliament around the world to urge their respective governments to reject the junta’s sham constitution and to apply more pressure on the Burmese military junta”, added Aung Din.
US Bureau Asian Tribune
Washington, D.C. 18 March 2008 (Asiantribune.com): The U.S. Campaign for Burma, a Washington DC-based organization mobilizing international support for freedom and democracy in Burma, March 17 welcomes and supports the introducing of Congressional resolution, House Res. 317, calling for the President to call for the United Nations Security Council to not accept or recognize the state constitution, unilaterally written by the Burmese military junta, and the outcome of the upcoming referendum, scheduled for May this year.
The resolution denounces the one-sided, undemocratic and illegitimate constitution drafting process and referendum by the Burmese military junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), insists the SPDC engage in a tripartite dialogue with democracy forces led by Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic representatives, and demands the immediate and unconditional releases of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners. It also urges the President Bush to call for the UN Security Council to not accept and recognize the SPDC’s constitution,
House Concurrent Resolution 317 was introduced by Representatives Rush Holt (D-NJ), Howard Berman (D-CA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 14, 2008 and it was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for consideration.
They introduced the resolution after the SPDC flatly rejected all recommendations made by the United Nations, which are the establishment of an all-party inclusive transparent process of constitution writing, meaningful and time-bound dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, releasing all political prisoners, establishment of a broad-based poverty alleviation commission, opening of an office in Rangoon for the UN Special Envoy, and an offer to provide UN assistance to help ensure the referendum is free and fair. During the last visit of UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari on March 6-10, the five top leaders of the SPDC, Senior-General Than Shwe, Vice-Senior-General Maung Aye, General Thura Shwe Mann, General Thein Sein and Lieutenant General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myin Oo, refused to meet with Mr. Gambari. The highest level official whom Mr. Gambari was allowed to meet was Bri-Gen Kyaw Hsan, the SPDC’s Minister of Information. On behalf of the SPDC, Kyaw Hsan rejected all of the UN’s recommendations and even complained that “The United Nations should stand fair and square without bias.”
Congressman Berman (D-CA) is Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, who has succeeded Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA), who was a champion for the Burmese democracy movement and passed away last month. Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen is Ranking Member of House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Congressman Holt serves on House Committee on Education and Labor, Committee on Natural Resources and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. All three Representatives are strong supporters of the non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights for the people of Burma, led by the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi.
Congressman Rush Holt, author of the resolution said, “The Burmese people are determined to enjoy the same rights and freedoms that so many of take for granted. The heroic efforts of opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and others have given hope to victims of terrible oppression, and they deserve our support. Passage of this resolution would send a strong signal to the people of Burma that we stand with them in their struggle for democracy.”
“We appreciate Representatives Holt, Berman and Ros-Lehtinen for this important initiative to not recognize the military junta’s illegitimate constitution, which is designed to perpetuate the military dictatorship in Burma by vesting supreme power in the hands of the Chief of the military, Commander-in-Chief,” says Aung Din, Executive Director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma. “People of Burma are determined to reject this sham constitution at any cost, which will make them slaves of the military for generations,” continues Aung Din.
On March 14, 2008, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Burma ridiculed the junta’s plan by saying that “if you believe in gnomes, trolls and elves, you can believe in this democratic process in Myanmar,” at a news briefing at the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva. However, Thai Prime Minister Samat Sundaravej, who recently came back from Burma, praised military leaders as strong devotees of Buddhism and killing and suppression in the country are normal. “Tragically, like the Thai Prime Minister, there are some governments in Asia and Europe who believe in myths. We need similar actions from other Members of Parliament around the world to urge their respective governments to reject the junta’s sham constitution and to apply more pressure on the Burmese military junta”, added Aung Din.
Two ABFSU leaders arrested
By Aye Nai
Democratic Voice of Burma
Mar 17, 2008 (DVB)–Two key leaders of the All-Burmese Federation of Student Unions, Ko Kyaw Ko Ko and Ko Nyan Linn Aung, were arrested by authorities on Sunday, group members said.
ABSFU spokesperson Ko Linn Htet Naing told DVB that Kyaw Ko Ko and Nyan Linn Aung were arrested last night by government officials but would not give the location of the arrest.
"ABSFU leaders Ko Kyaw Ko Ko and Ko Nyan Linn Aung were arrested last night," said Linn Htet Naing.
"Arresting people like this will not bring democracy to anyone."
Ko Kyaw Kyaw, leader of youth activist group Generation Wave, was also arrested by authorities on 13 March, Linn Htet Naing said.
Democratic Voice of Burma
Mar 17, 2008 (DVB)–Two key leaders of the All-Burmese Federation of Student Unions, Ko Kyaw Ko Ko and Ko Nyan Linn Aung, were arrested by authorities on Sunday, group members said.
ABSFU spokesperson Ko Linn Htet Naing told DVB that Kyaw Ko Ko and Nyan Linn Aung were arrested last night by government officials but would not give the location of the arrest.
"ABSFU leaders Ko Kyaw Ko Ko and Ko Nyan Linn Aung were arrested last night," said Linn Htet Naing.
"Arresting people like this will not bring democracy to anyone."
Ko Kyaw Kyaw, leader of youth activist group Generation Wave, was also arrested by authorities on 13 March, Linn Htet Naing said.
TODAY'S EDITORIAL: Talk To Dalai Lama
Times of India
China has two options before it to deal with the protesters in Tibet. It could take a cue from Myanmar and use force to suppress the protests or negotiate with dissenters, who include a large number of Buddhist monks.
Reports suggest that Beijing might exercise the second option and offer concessions including amnesty to protesters to buy peace.
The temptation will be there to borrow a leaf from the Myanmarese junta's book and force the monks to disperse. But Beijing should ask itself if such an approach suits China's present interests.
China is not Myanmar. It is a global power and the world expects Beijing to conduct its affairs accordingly. Beijing has taken extra care to underplay the authoritarian features of the Chinese state and project the image of a responsible world power.
The Beijing Olympics, a few months away, are expected to showcase the new China. Blood on the streets of Lhasa would take the shine off China's achievements and pull down its international standing.
Many democracies might even withdraw from the Beijing Olympics. The US and its allies had boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980, citing the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan.
Tibet, much as China may disagree, is an international issue. Support for the Tibetan cause is not limited to Tibet; friends of Tibet are spread across the globe.
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political leader of the exiled community, is respected in world capitals, mainly because he has been more than reasonable in his dealings with Beijing.
He has not only held the community together but also articulated its genuine demands in non-violent language. Since the Chinese forced him to flee Lhasa and take refuge in India, the Dalai Lama has been forced to dilute his demand from freedom to autonomy under Chinese rule.
Beijing has not reciprocated this concession to negotiate an honourable deal for the Tibetan people.
Beijing should recognise that the Dalai Lama is its best bet to settle the Tibet issue. The Chinese leadership should invite him for talks. Such a gesture would go a long way to show China in a positive light.
It is fatuous for Beijing to imagine that it could sweep dissent under the carpet by enforcing a ban on foreigners in Tibet or YouTube in China. Even the Dalai Lama could run out of patience: it is significant that he has now asked for international agencies to investigate the situation in Tibet, which he describes as a state of cultural genocide.
Equally significant is the support monks in Lhasa have received from people in other Chinese provinces. China could risk international condemnation if it uses excessive force on protesters in Lhasa.
China has two options before it to deal with the protesters in Tibet. It could take a cue from Myanmar and use force to suppress the protests or negotiate with dissenters, who include a large number of Buddhist monks.
Reports suggest that Beijing might exercise the second option and offer concessions including amnesty to protesters to buy peace.
The temptation will be there to borrow a leaf from the Myanmarese junta's book and force the monks to disperse. But Beijing should ask itself if such an approach suits China's present interests.
China is not Myanmar. It is a global power and the world expects Beijing to conduct its affairs accordingly. Beijing has taken extra care to underplay the authoritarian features of the Chinese state and project the image of a responsible world power.
The Beijing Olympics, a few months away, are expected to showcase the new China. Blood on the streets of Lhasa would take the shine off China's achievements and pull down its international standing.
Many democracies might even withdraw from the Beijing Olympics. The US and its allies had boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980, citing the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan.
Tibet, much as China may disagree, is an international issue. Support for the Tibetan cause is not limited to Tibet; friends of Tibet are spread across the globe.
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political leader of the exiled community, is respected in world capitals, mainly because he has been more than reasonable in his dealings with Beijing.
He has not only held the community together but also articulated its genuine demands in non-violent language. Since the Chinese forced him to flee Lhasa and take refuge in India, the Dalai Lama has been forced to dilute his demand from freedom to autonomy under Chinese rule.
Beijing has not reciprocated this concession to negotiate an honourable deal for the Tibetan people.
Beijing should recognise that the Dalai Lama is its best bet to settle the Tibet issue. The Chinese leadership should invite him for talks. Such a gesture would go a long way to show China in a positive light.
It is fatuous for Beijing to imagine that it could sweep dissent under the carpet by enforcing a ban on foreigners in Tibet or YouTube in China. Even the Dalai Lama could run out of patience: it is significant that he has now asked for international agencies to investigate the situation in Tibet, which he describes as a state of cultural genocide.
Equally significant is the support monks in Lhasa have received from people in other Chinese provinces. China could risk international condemnation if it uses excessive force on protesters in Lhasa.
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