By LALIT K JHA / UNITED NATIONS / NEW YORK
The Irrawaddy
Undeterred by a veto threat from Russia, three permanent members of the UN Security Council-the US, Britain and France-will seek a UN Security Council presidential statement on Burma.
The three countries will draft a presidential statement on Burma, which the Deputy Permanent Representative of the US Mission to the UN, Ambassador Alejandro D Wolff, told reporters Wednesday would be circulated among the 15 members of the Security Council.
The draft, a copy of which was obtained by The Irrawaddy, calls on the Burmese military junta to allow full political participation of all factions, including the detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The proposal will spark intense debate between the two dominant groups inside the Security Council. While the pro-democracy group is led by the US, Britain and France, two permanent members, Russia and China, have resisted all moves to take stronger action against Burma's military government.
The draft statement reiterated the importance of the "early release" of all political prisoners and detainees.
"The Security Council again stresses the need for the Government of Burma to take, in a timely manner, concrete, meaningful steps that result in genuine dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups in order to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation with the direct support of the United Nations," said the draft statement.
Referring to the junta's announcement of a referendum on the draft constitution in May followed by multi-party elections in 2010, the draft said: "In order for this process to be inclusive and credible, it calls on the Government of Burma to allow full participation of all political actors, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."
The draft stresses that the importance of the guarantee of freedom of expression, association and assembly in the political process leading up to the referendum, as well as independent poll observers.
"A presidential statement is very important. Burma is going to be listed (on the Security Council program for the month of April) because we are obviously following the situation there very closely. We expect there to be a presidential statement," Wolff said, when he was asked about Russian opposition to such a statement. It was during the Security Council discussion on Burma last month that the US Ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, said the US would seek a presidential statement.
"The situation in Burma is something that this Council and certainly the US and other members are very concerned about and merits close scrutiny, including on the referendum on this constitution," Wolff said. "This is all part of a process that we believe should be to open up the society to give people a voice and allow a democratic process that's serious, and real, and transparent to enfold," he said.
The Security Council president for the month of April, Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo of South African expressed doubt about the need for a presidential statement on Burma's referendum. However, he confirmed that Burma would be on the council's agenda in April.
"No draft presidential statement has been circulated yet. But the United States delegation is putting together elements for a text, though it was not certain that it would focus on the elections there or if there would be a Council mandate for monitoring those elections," he said.
Friday, 4 April 2008
Burmese Authorities Stifle Opposition to Constitution
By MIN LWIN
The Irrawaddy
Burmese authorities are stepping up their campaign to silence opposition to the proposed constitution, prompting the US on Wednesday to issue a statement condemning recent arrests.
US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement that on March 29 six “youth activists” had been arrested for taking part in “a peaceful rally against the regime’s draft constitution.”
McCormack said the US was renewing its call “for the Burmese regime to release all detainees and political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi, and begin a genuine dialogue between the regime leadership and Burma’s democratic and ethnic minorities leading to a transition to democracy.”
According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma (AAPP), some 1,890 political prisoners are currently held in Burmese prisons, 52 of them detained in the past three months. An estimated 700 people arrested during and after the demonstrations in September 2007 were still behind bars, AAPP said. Activist sources say most of the political prisoners are in poor health.
The latest victim of the regime’s continuing crackdown, solo protester Ohn Than, was sentenced to life imprisonment by Rangoon’s west district court on Wednesday for protesting in August 2007 against sharp rises in fuel prices. Rangoon lawyer Aung Thein said Ohn Than was convicted under a provision of article 124 (A) of the criminal code relating to “acts that destabilize the government.”
Ohn Than, who graduated from Rangoon University in 1971, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in 1988 for taking part in that year’s pro-democracy uprising.
National League for Democracy (NLD) sources in Taunggok township, Arakan State, said three activists had been detained there for their opposition to the proposed constitution.
An NLD source in Mandalay said three detained party members—Shwe Maung, Wunnar Aung and Zaw Win Lay—and two monks had been moved from the city’s prison to Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison on March 30.
Shwe Maung was imprisoned for making a symbolic gold-coated copper hat, known as kha mauk (usually worn by Burmese farmers) in 2002. The hat is a recognized NLD symbol and was intended as a gift for NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Irrawaddy
Burmese authorities are stepping up their campaign to silence opposition to the proposed constitution, prompting the US on Wednesday to issue a statement condemning recent arrests.
US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement that on March 29 six “youth activists” had been arrested for taking part in “a peaceful rally against the regime’s draft constitution.”
McCormack said the US was renewing its call “for the Burmese regime to release all detainees and political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi, and begin a genuine dialogue between the regime leadership and Burma’s democratic and ethnic minorities leading to a transition to democracy.”
According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma (AAPP), some 1,890 political prisoners are currently held in Burmese prisons, 52 of them detained in the past three months. An estimated 700 people arrested during and after the demonstrations in September 2007 were still behind bars, AAPP said. Activist sources say most of the political prisoners are in poor health.
The latest victim of the regime’s continuing crackdown, solo protester Ohn Than, was sentenced to life imprisonment by Rangoon’s west district court on Wednesday for protesting in August 2007 against sharp rises in fuel prices. Rangoon lawyer Aung Thein said Ohn Than was convicted under a provision of article 124 (A) of the criminal code relating to “acts that destabilize the government.”
Ohn Than, who graduated from Rangoon University in 1971, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in 1988 for taking part in that year’s pro-democracy uprising.
National League for Democracy (NLD) sources in Taunggok township, Arakan State, said three activists had been detained there for their opposition to the proposed constitution.
An NLD source in Mandalay said three detained party members—Shwe Maung, Wunnar Aung and Zaw Win Lay—and two monks had been moved from the city’s prison to Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison on March 30.
Shwe Maung was imprisoned for making a symbolic gold-coated copper hat, known as kha mauk (usually worn by Burmese farmers) in 2002. The hat is a recognized NLD symbol and was intended as a gift for NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Burma's pointless plants a needless burden
By AWZAR THI
Column: Rule of Lords
UPI Asia Online
HONG KONG, China, Around the suburbs of Rangoon small scraggly bushes now occupy plots of land that once were used for growing vegetables or beans. They look miserable. Unattended among weeds and debris, they show no signs of growth and bear few leaves. Some are used for hanging laundry. Others catch plastic bags in the breeze.
They are also a flagship state project. The order to grow these physic nut plants, which belong to the same family as castor oil, is said to have come directly from Burma's military supremo, Senior General Than Shwe. His supposed idea is to alleviate the country's fuel shortages through biodiesel, although some speculate that the order may have had as much to do with astrology as the economy.
People all around the country have been given seeds and pressed into planting them along roads, football fields, schoolyards and government compounds. Some bear the signboards of government departments, police stations and military units. Television broadcasts reassure viewers that the bushes will soon bear a great bounty, and demonstrate how simple it is to extract their oil and use it for fuel.
Reality suggests otherwise. The saplings are almost universally neglected. Without regular care, plants grown years ago still bear no fruit; no fruit, no biodiesel.
In some places villagers have also been obliged to work on commercial physic nut ventures. In late 2006, for instance, U Tin Kyi was called to work on the acreage adjacent to his farm that had been planted by a company under ownership of an army general's son. He pointed out that all the plants had died and that he should be able to go back and work his own crops. The local officials did not take kindly to his stating the obvious and had him jailed for four months.
Ill-conceived and mismanaged schemes can be found the world over. But while in an open society they can be challenged and halted, under autocratic rulers of the sort that exist in Burma they are both far more prevalent and dangerous.
Social scientist James C. Scott identifies why. He suggests that some of the biggest man-made disasters of the last century have four key elements: one, the administrative reordering of society and nature; two, overconfidence in modernity as a measure of progress; three, coercive government, and four, weakened civil society. In these circumstances, when mistakes are made lessons are covered up, not learned; people are pushed too far, and tragedy follows.
This is what happened in China when in the 1950s the rural populace was forced into collectives. Agricultural output plummeted. Regional officials fell to giving increasingly ludicrous figures on grain produced and stored, while locals were in some instances compelled to uproot healthy paddy and plant seedlings alongside roads that Mao and his entourage would travel so that the "great helmsman" might see emerald-green vistas. Millions died in the famine that followed.
Similar patterns have been seen in Burma during recent years, although they have not so far pushed the country over the precipice. Farmers in some areas have been forced to uproot beans and peanuts in order to grow second or third crops of rice on land with inadequate water. Others have had to purchase seeds for summer crops, which once planted have grown at different speeds and to different heights. Many have struggled without fertilizer or outside assistance.
The physic nut plants are unlikely of their own accord to precipitate the sort of hunger in Than Shwe's Burma that occurred in Mao's China, but while officials at every level continue to conceal the truth in order to please their superiors, as they must, these bushes continue to place a needless burden on people who are already struggling for one square meal a day. They may not spell ruin but they are a waste of precious time, land and water.
The pointlessness of dotting the landscape with plants in which no one has any special interest may be missed by the people at the top who give the orders, but it is understood by everyone else. To the extent that Burma prevails it is not because of bureaucratic meddling but despite it. While the physic nuts are on display along the roads and thoroughfares where more senior officers are expected to travel, on the backstreets, in small gardens and on the banks of waterways, vegetables continue to be sown.
--
(Awzar Thi is the pen name of a member of the Asian Human Rights Commission with over 15 years of experience as an advocate of human rights and the rule of law in Thailand and Burma. His Rule of Lords blog can be read at http://ratchasima.net.)
Column: Rule of Lords
UPI Asia Online
HONG KONG, China, Around the suburbs of Rangoon small scraggly bushes now occupy plots of land that once were used for growing vegetables or beans. They look miserable. Unattended among weeds and debris, they show no signs of growth and bear few leaves. Some are used for hanging laundry. Others catch plastic bags in the breeze.
They are also a flagship state project. The order to grow these physic nut plants, which belong to the same family as castor oil, is said to have come directly from Burma's military supremo, Senior General Than Shwe. His supposed idea is to alleviate the country's fuel shortages through biodiesel, although some speculate that the order may have had as much to do with astrology as the economy.
People all around the country have been given seeds and pressed into planting them along roads, football fields, schoolyards and government compounds. Some bear the signboards of government departments, police stations and military units. Television broadcasts reassure viewers that the bushes will soon bear a great bounty, and demonstrate how simple it is to extract their oil and use it for fuel.
Reality suggests otherwise. The saplings are almost universally neglected. Without regular care, plants grown years ago still bear no fruit; no fruit, no biodiesel.
In some places villagers have also been obliged to work on commercial physic nut ventures. In late 2006, for instance, U Tin Kyi was called to work on the acreage adjacent to his farm that had been planted by a company under ownership of an army general's son. He pointed out that all the plants had died and that he should be able to go back and work his own crops. The local officials did not take kindly to his stating the obvious and had him jailed for four months.
Ill-conceived and mismanaged schemes can be found the world over. But while in an open society they can be challenged and halted, under autocratic rulers of the sort that exist in Burma they are both far more prevalent and dangerous.
Social scientist James C. Scott identifies why. He suggests that some of the biggest man-made disasters of the last century have four key elements: one, the administrative reordering of society and nature; two, overconfidence in modernity as a measure of progress; three, coercive government, and four, weakened civil society. In these circumstances, when mistakes are made lessons are covered up, not learned; people are pushed too far, and tragedy follows.
This is what happened in China when in the 1950s the rural populace was forced into collectives. Agricultural output plummeted. Regional officials fell to giving increasingly ludicrous figures on grain produced and stored, while locals were in some instances compelled to uproot healthy paddy and plant seedlings alongside roads that Mao and his entourage would travel so that the "great helmsman" might see emerald-green vistas. Millions died in the famine that followed.
Similar patterns have been seen in Burma during recent years, although they have not so far pushed the country over the precipice. Farmers in some areas have been forced to uproot beans and peanuts in order to grow second or third crops of rice on land with inadequate water. Others have had to purchase seeds for summer crops, which once planted have grown at different speeds and to different heights. Many have struggled without fertilizer or outside assistance.
The physic nut plants are unlikely of their own accord to precipitate the sort of hunger in Than Shwe's Burma that occurred in Mao's China, but while officials at every level continue to conceal the truth in order to please their superiors, as they must, these bushes continue to place a needless burden on people who are already struggling for one square meal a day. They may not spell ruin but they are a waste of precious time, land and water.
The pointlessness of dotting the landscape with plants in which no one has any special interest may be missed by the people at the top who give the orders, but it is understood by everyone else. To the extent that Burma prevails it is not because of bureaucratic meddling but despite it. While the physic nuts are on display along the roads and thoroughfares where more senior officers are expected to travel, on the backstreets, in small gardens and on the banks of waterways, vegetables continue to be sown.
--
(Awzar Thi is the pen name of a member of the Asian Human Rights Commission with over 15 years of experience as an advocate of human rights and the rule of law in Thailand and Burma. His Rule of Lords blog can be read at http://ratchasima.net.)
Burmese Continues Pre-Referendum Arrests,says US
Daya Gamage
Washington,DC. 04 April (Asiantribune.com): The United States April 2 vehemently denounced the Burmese ruling military junta for continuing to arrest political dissidents who are peacefully opposing the draft constitution.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack issued the following statement at the daily briefing:
"We condemn the Burmese regime’s continued arrests and attacks on peaceful political activists. On March 29, Burmese authorities arrested six youth activists who had participated in a peaceful rally against the regime’s draft constitution. The following day, five Muslim community leaders in Rakhine state were arrested, reportedly for peaceful political activities. On two separate occasions over the past two weeks, democracy and human rights activists in Rangoon were assaulted and beaten with sticks. These blatant human rights abuses contribute to the climate of fear and repression in Burma as the regime prepares to conduct a referendum on its draft constitution.
"The democratic representatives of the Burmese people have made clear their opposition to the unjust process through which the regime seeks to impose its draft constitution, which it has yet to publish. Nonetheless, the regime is proceeding with its planned referendum. The regime’s arrests of individuals campaigning against the constitution, its failure to publish the constitution and welcome independent referendum monitors, and its continued refusal to release political prisoners undercut any claim that this referendum will be free and fair.
"We renew our call for the Burmese regime to release all detainees and political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and begin a genuine dialogue between the regime leadership and Burma’s democratic and ethnic minorities leading to a transition to democracy, as called for by the people of Burma and the UN Security Council in its October 2007 Presidential Statement."
Washington,DC. 04 April (Asiantribune.com): The United States April 2 vehemently denounced the Burmese ruling military junta for continuing to arrest political dissidents who are peacefully opposing the draft constitution.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack issued the following statement at the daily briefing:
"We condemn the Burmese regime’s continued arrests and attacks on peaceful political activists. On March 29, Burmese authorities arrested six youth activists who had participated in a peaceful rally against the regime’s draft constitution. The following day, five Muslim community leaders in Rakhine state were arrested, reportedly for peaceful political activities. On two separate occasions over the past two weeks, democracy and human rights activists in Rangoon were assaulted and beaten with sticks. These blatant human rights abuses contribute to the climate of fear and repression in Burma as the regime prepares to conduct a referendum on its draft constitution.
"The democratic representatives of the Burmese people have made clear their opposition to the unjust process through which the regime seeks to impose its draft constitution, which it has yet to publish. Nonetheless, the regime is proceeding with its planned referendum. The regime’s arrests of individuals campaigning against the constitution, its failure to publish the constitution and welcome independent referendum monitors, and its continued refusal to release political prisoners undercut any claim that this referendum will be free and fair.
"We renew our call for the Burmese regime to release all detainees and political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and begin a genuine dialogue between the regime leadership and Burma’s democratic and ethnic minorities leading to a transition to democracy, as called for by the people of Burma and the UN Security Council in its October 2007 Presidential Statement."
CII, Myanmar Chambers hail Kaladan project, sign MoU to promote trade ties
ANI
April 4 2008 - NEW DELHI: The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI ) and the Confederation of Indian Industry ( CII), the two apex industry organizations of Myanmar and India, welcomed the agreement to open the crucial Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Facility, as they signed a Memorandum of Understanding in New Delhi to promote cooperation in specific areas between the private sector between the two countries.
U Win Myint , President, Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (UMFCCI ) and Lt gen (Retd) S S Mehta, Director General CII, signed the MoU that aims at enhancing bilateral trade between the two neighbours. The two Chambers also agree to organize one major event in the year 2008 -09 by way of a Made in India Trade fair in Myanmar.
As a follow up of the earlier and existing MoUs between the two chambers, “UMFCCI & CII now wish to focus on enhancing cooperation and interaction in the areas of IT, Pharmaceuticals, Fertilizers, SME industry, Oil and Gas Explorations, Agri and Food Processing and Transport,” the MoU said.
Appreciating India’s economic growth, U Win Myint looked forward to working with Indian industry in various fields and said that the strategic position of Myanmar can serve as a trade hub between its South Asian neighbours and the ASEAN region. He invited Indian businessmen and the CII to visit Myanmar and explore opportunities for cooperation.
India has had long abiding relations with Myanmar and the CII looks forward to strengthening these ties especially in the area of trade and commerce, said Lt Gen (Retd) S S Mehta. India and Myanmar had great potential to enhance trade and cooperation, he said and added that the Kaladan initiative will provide very good linkage with Myanmar.
During discussions while signing the MoU, the two sides agreed to exchange industry delegations and task forces in the near future to augment cooperation between India and Myanmar private sector.
The UMFCCI and the CII had signed a MoU in May 2001 in New Delhi to examine cooperation between the two countries. In their meeting in February 2004 in Yangon, the two chambers had agreed on setting up a Joint Task Force to promote trade between the two countries and identify key thrust areas of cooperation to further the cooperation between the two countries and the two organizations.
An India – Myanmar Joint Task Force Report was brought out with suggestions and recommendations for enhancing bilateral trade and investment, cooperation in services, technology transfers and other areas of cooperation, the MoU said.
April 4 2008 - NEW DELHI: The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI ) and the Confederation of Indian Industry ( CII), the two apex industry organizations of Myanmar and India, welcomed the agreement to open the crucial Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Facility, as they signed a Memorandum of Understanding in New Delhi to promote cooperation in specific areas between the private sector between the two countries.
U Win Myint , President, Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (UMFCCI ) and Lt gen (Retd) S S Mehta, Director General CII, signed the MoU that aims at enhancing bilateral trade between the two neighbours. The two Chambers also agree to organize one major event in the year 2008 -09 by way of a Made in India Trade fair in Myanmar.
As a follow up of the earlier and existing MoUs between the two chambers, “UMFCCI & CII now wish to focus on enhancing cooperation and interaction in the areas of IT, Pharmaceuticals, Fertilizers, SME industry, Oil and Gas Explorations, Agri and Food Processing and Transport,” the MoU said.
Appreciating India’s economic growth, U Win Myint looked forward to working with Indian industry in various fields and said that the strategic position of Myanmar can serve as a trade hub between its South Asian neighbours and the ASEAN region. He invited Indian businessmen and the CII to visit Myanmar and explore opportunities for cooperation.
India has had long abiding relations with Myanmar and the CII looks forward to strengthening these ties especially in the area of trade and commerce, said Lt Gen (Retd) S S Mehta. India and Myanmar had great potential to enhance trade and cooperation, he said and added that the Kaladan initiative will provide very good linkage with Myanmar.
During discussions while signing the MoU, the two sides agreed to exchange industry delegations and task forces in the near future to augment cooperation between India and Myanmar private sector.
The UMFCCI and the CII had signed a MoU in May 2001 in New Delhi to examine cooperation between the two countries. In their meeting in February 2004 in Yangon, the two chambers had agreed on setting up a Joint Task Force to promote trade between the two countries and identify key thrust areas of cooperation to further the cooperation between the two countries and the two organizations.
An India – Myanmar Joint Task Force Report was brought out with suggestions and recommendations for enhancing bilateral trade and investment, cooperation in services, technology transfers and other areas of cooperation, the MoU said.
Hill to discuss N. Korea, Myanmar
Abdul Khalik
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta - United States Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill will meet with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and several ministers Friday to discuss the growing tension in the Korean peninsula and Myanmar.
Hill, also the chief U.S. negotiator for North Korean nuclear disarmament, was in Bali on Thursday to attend an international conference before flying to Jakarta on Friday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kristiarto Suryo Legowo said the U.S. senior diplomat was scheduled for separate meetings with Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda and Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono before visiting the President at the Presidential Palace later in the afternoon.
"The discussion will be about issues that concern both countries. For instance, we will listen to his briefing about the latest developments in the Korean peninsula," Kristiarto told The Jakarta Post.
Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday that Hill was slated to meet North Korea's chief negotiator Kim Kye-wan in Bali on Thursday or in Jakarta on Friday.
Kristiarto said he was unaware if such a meeting would take place.
Some officials have suggested the President and his ministers would use the meeting with Hill, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, as an opportunity to raise Indonesia's ideas on other high-profile international issues, such as Myanmar and Tibet.
Indonesia has expressed its interest in playing a bigger role in resolving South Korea-North Korea conflicts.
Tension in the peninsula has heightened since new South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February with pledges to get tough on the North and hold it accountable to its commitments to roll back its nuclear program.
Official from both countries have exchanged threatening statements, with North Korea warning of nuclear catastrophe and making a series of angry gestures, including conducting missile tests recently.
Indonesia is one of the few countries that have a good relationship with North Korea. The relationship stretches back to the Sukarno era. Subsequent presidents have maintained the good relationship, with President Megawati Soekarnoputri visiting Pyongyang in 2003 to meet Kim Jong-il.
On Myanmar, Yudhoyono has repeatedly shown his support for the military junta's steps toward democracy, although Western countries, including the U.S., have dismissed the process and establishment of the new constitution as a way for the military to legitimize the grip on power it has held since its 1962 coup.
International relations expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Bantarto Bandoro, urged Yudhoyono to push the U.S. to be more proactive in solving the North Korea nuclear crisis.
"But Indonesia can tell Hill the U.S. should not push Myanmar too hard as it will be counterproductive for the country's democratic process," he said.
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta - United States Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill will meet with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and several ministers Friday to discuss the growing tension in the Korean peninsula and Myanmar.
Hill, also the chief U.S. negotiator for North Korean nuclear disarmament, was in Bali on Thursday to attend an international conference before flying to Jakarta on Friday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kristiarto Suryo Legowo said the U.S. senior diplomat was scheduled for separate meetings with Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda and Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono before visiting the President at the Presidential Palace later in the afternoon.
"The discussion will be about issues that concern both countries. For instance, we will listen to his briefing about the latest developments in the Korean peninsula," Kristiarto told The Jakarta Post.
Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday that Hill was slated to meet North Korea's chief negotiator Kim Kye-wan in Bali on Thursday or in Jakarta on Friday.
Kristiarto said he was unaware if such a meeting would take place.
Some officials have suggested the President and his ministers would use the meeting with Hill, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, as an opportunity to raise Indonesia's ideas on other high-profile international issues, such as Myanmar and Tibet.
Indonesia has expressed its interest in playing a bigger role in resolving South Korea-North Korea conflicts.
Tension in the peninsula has heightened since new South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February with pledges to get tough on the North and hold it accountable to its commitments to roll back its nuclear program.
Official from both countries have exchanged threatening statements, with North Korea warning of nuclear catastrophe and making a series of angry gestures, including conducting missile tests recently.
Indonesia is one of the few countries that have a good relationship with North Korea. The relationship stretches back to the Sukarno era. Subsequent presidents have maintained the good relationship, with President Megawati Soekarnoputri visiting Pyongyang in 2003 to meet Kim Jong-il.
On Myanmar, Yudhoyono has repeatedly shown his support for the military junta's steps toward democracy, although Western countries, including the U.S., have dismissed the process and establishment of the new constitution as a way for the military to legitimize the grip on power it has held since its 1962 coup.
International relations expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Bantarto Bandoro, urged Yudhoyono to push the U.S. to be more proactive in solving the North Korea nuclear crisis.
"But Indonesia can tell Hill the U.S. should not push Myanmar too hard as it will be counterproductive for the country's democratic process," he said.
Burma voices: Six months later
Six months after protests in Burma ended in a military crackdown, people describe the atmosphere in the country and their fears for the future.
REPORTER, NAY PYI TAW
Life has been hard as ever. No change or hope has come yet to us.
People no longer talk about politics for fear of arrest, accusations, safety and other frightening things.
But everybody desires to know something more and to talk freely about these issues. Some day we hope to have our freedom or right to speak. Ha ha. What a joke!
Everything has been over for nearly six months now. But some of us still recall it.
Here, a referendum on a new constitution is drawing near. People are talking about it and no-one really knows what it is going to look like.
But almost everybody accepts that the government will win it whether the constitution is ratified or not by the people in May.
Even now almost everybody has little understanding of what the referendum is and what has to happen.
I have been in the capital Nay Pyi Taw for a few months now. More construction sites are still being built as more NGOs and private companies have to move here somehow.
They say Nay Pyi Taw is the capital and its future lies with the new democratic government body. There is no sign yet of how the military will stand after the results are out.
I tell people not to even think about voting 'No' or 'Yes' [in the forthcoming referendum on a new constitution]. It means that you consider and accept it.
Actually, the junta does not have the right to do anything for the country. It is an illegal government.
Night is dark without electricity, water is scarce
Even if the work done is good, and the result or outcome is exceptional progress as in China, it is unacceptable because it is a military dictatorship and the junta is unconstitutional - having no law, rules and regulations.
Now the country suffers complete loss and ruin.
Its people are totally destroyed both physically and mentally - the majority are living in a mess, eating junk food, leading a hand-to-mouth lifestyle.
There is no guarantee for healthcare. If a man does not have enough money, in case one needs to go to hospital or a private clinic for serious cases, he should prepare to die. The cost is sky high.
People now become mad and irrational as a result of poverty and a lack of education.
Night is dark without electricity. Water is scarce. How is it like a modern and developed country to which, they say, they are marching?
DAVID, RANGOON
In recent times, we have not been able to use the internet because the government decreased the internet bandwidth during the visit of UN envoy Mr Gambari.
Nothing has changed after six months in Burma. The military junta has arrested our leaders and many activists. Now they've spread many soldiers across Rangoon to break down any movements.
They will have a constitutional referendum in May. They don't care for the UN and the international community.
What would the UN do to get the true result from referendum?
YI, RANGOON
The internet connection was at its worst during the September revolution. There has been little improvement.
Now the junta is showing its strength by patrolling around the town with trucks fully loaded with policemen
Sending information to foreign media can be indicted by the junta and we will be jailed. But we the people of Burma take this risk by sending mails to foreign media because we have to let the people of the world know our situation in our country.
The junta is putting heavy guards around Rangoon and monitoring the mails and the internet because they are going to hold a fake referendum in May.
They haven't [at the time of writing] published the constitution we are to vote on. They dare not let the people of Burma study the constitution thoroughly and freely.
Now the junta is showing its strength by patrolling around the town with trucks fully loaded with policemen and soldiers carrying guns. It is a warning to the people who go against the junta that they will be shot.
Now the junta is arresting and putting into jail without giving reasonable explanation for the people who go against the junta.
Source: BBC
REPORTER, NAY PYI TAW
Life has been hard as ever. No change or hope has come yet to us.
People no longer talk about politics for fear of arrest, accusations, safety and other frightening things.
But everybody desires to know something more and to talk freely about these issues. Some day we hope to have our freedom or right to speak. Ha ha. What a joke!
Everything has been over for nearly six months now. But some of us still recall it.
Here, a referendum on a new constitution is drawing near. People are talking about it and no-one really knows what it is going to look like.
But almost everybody accepts that the government will win it whether the constitution is ratified or not by the people in May.
Even now almost everybody has little understanding of what the referendum is and what has to happen.
I have been in the capital Nay Pyi Taw for a few months now. More construction sites are still being built as more NGOs and private companies have to move here somehow.
They say Nay Pyi Taw is the capital and its future lies with the new democratic government body. There is no sign yet of how the military will stand after the results are out.
I tell people not to even think about voting 'No' or 'Yes' [in the forthcoming referendum on a new constitution]. It means that you consider and accept it.
Actually, the junta does not have the right to do anything for the country. It is an illegal government.
Night is dark without electricity, water is scarce
Even if the work done is good, and the result or outcome is exceptional progress as in China, it is unacceptable because it is a military dictatorship and the junta is unconstitutional - having no law, rules and regulations.
Now the country suffers complete loss and ruin.
Its people are totally destroyed both physically and mentally - the majority are living in a mess, eating junk food, leading a hand-to-mouth lifestyle.
There is no guarantee for healthcare. If a man does not have enough money, in case one needs to go to hospital or a private clinic for serious cases, he should prepare to die. The cost is sky high.
People now become mad and irrational as a result of poverty and a lack of education.
Night is dark without electricity. Water is scarce. How is it like a modern and developed country to which, they say, they are marching?
DAVID, RANGOON
In recent times, we have not been able to use the internet because the government decreased the internet bandwidth during the visit of UN envoy Mr Gambari.
Nothing has changed after six months in Burma. The military junta has arrested our leaders and many activists. Now they've spread many soldiers across Rangoon to break down any movements.
They will have a constitutional referendum in May. They don't care for the UN and the international community.
What would the UN do to get the true result from referendum?
YI, RANGOON
The internet connection was at its worst during the September revolution. There has been little improvement.
Now the junta is showing its strength by patrolling around the town with trucks fully loaded with policemen
Sending information to foreign media can be indicted by the junta and we will be jailed. But we the people of Burma take this risk by sending mails to foreign media because we have to let the people of the world know our situation in our country.
The junta is putting heavy guards around Rangoon and monitoring the mails and the internet because they are going to hold a fake referendum in May.
They haven't [at the time of writing] published the constitution we are to vote on. They dare not let the people of Burma study the constitution thoroughly and freely.
Now the junta is showing its strength by patrolling around the town with trucks fully loaded with policemen and soldiers carrying guns. It is a warning to the people who go against the junta that they will be shot.
Now the junta is arresting and putting into jail without giving reasonable explanation for the people who go against the junta.
Source: BBC
Mobile phones in Myanmar increase to over 200,000 in 2007
Song Shutao
YANGON, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The number of GSM mobile phones in Myanmar increased to 211,812 in 2007, up from 141,564 in 2006, a newly-published local bi-weekly reported Thursday.
Other phones such as CDMA stood at 30,390 in number as of the year, while D-AMPS phones 23,710, DECT radio phones 2,571 and auto-phones 87,636 the "Biweekly Eleven" said, quoting the state-run Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT).
With telephone exchange stations rising up to 891, the number of telephone lines were extended to 747,565 in 2007, up from 685,160 in 2006, it said, adding that rural telephone exchange stations remained as 241, up from 218 correspondingly.
Meanwhile, the telephone density of Myanmar also went up annually reaching 13.1 per 1,000 population in 2007, up from 10.47in 2006 and 7.27 in 2005.
GSM phones have been extensively used in Myanmar since it was introduced in 2002 after cellular ones in 1993 and the DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication) and CDMA in 1997.
According to the MPT, GSM (global system for mobile) phones in Myanmar can auto-roam over two dozen townships far up to the border areas and mainly cover all other major cities in addition to Yangon and Mandalay.
Meanwhile, Myanmar will introduce world's up-date audio-visual mobile phone for use in the country for the first time to upgrade its telecommunication links, according to an earlier local report.
A total of 30,000 3-G WCDMA mobile phones will be initially installed for users in Yangon soon as the first batch and 15 radio stations are being promptly built for signal links, the report said.
The upgraded system will be based on the existing GSM network, it said, adding that the introduction of 3-G WCDMA system represents Myanmar's entry into a new phase of its mobile phone system.
YANGON, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The number of GSM mobile phones in Myanmar increased to 211,812 in 2007, up from 141,564 in 2006, a newly-published local bi-weekly reported Thursday.
Other phones such as CDMA stood at 30,390 in number as of the year, while D-AMPS phones 23,710, DECT radio phones 2,571 and auto-phones 87,636 the "Biweekly Eleven" said, quoting the state-run Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT).
With telephone exchange stations rising up to 891, the number of telephone lines were extended to 747,565 in 2007, up from 685,160 in 2006, it said, adding that rural telephone exchange stations remained as 241, up from 218 correspondingly.
Meanwhile, the telephone density of Myanmar also went up annually reaching 13.1 per 1,000 population in 2007, up from 10.47in 2006 and 7.27 in 2005.
GSM phones have been extensively used in Myanmar since it was introduced in 2002 after cellular ones in 1993 and the DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication) and CDMA in 1997.
According to the MPT, GSM (global system for mobile) phones in Myanmar can auto-roam over two dozen townships far up to the border areas and mainly cover all other major cities in addition to Yangon and Mandalay.
Meanwhile, Myanmar will introduce world's up-date audio-visual mobile phone for use in the country for the first time to upgrade its telecommunication links, according to an earlier local report.
A total of 30,000 3-G WCDMA mobile phones will be initially installed for users in Yangon soon as the first batch and 15 radio stations are being promptly built for signal links, the report said.
The upgraded system will be based on the existing GSM network, it said, adding that the introduction of 3-G WCDMA system represents Myanmar's entry into a new phase of its mobile phone system.
S'pore to probe alleged N. Korea rocket exports to Myanmar
April 3, 2008 - SINGAPORE will investigate allegations that a local trading company was linked to North Korean exports of rockets to military-ruled Myanmar, the foreign affairs ministry said on Thursday.
Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed diplomatic sources, that Pyongyang has started exporting multiple-launch rockets to Myanmar after the two nations agreed to normalise ties last year.
It said 'full-scale' exports of the weapons had been handled by an unnamed Singapore trading company but gave no further details.
'We take such allegations very seriously and will certainly investigate,' a spokesman with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
'We are committed to fulfilling our international obligations to prevent the proliferation and illicit trafficking of arms and weapons of mass destruction.'
NHK said the weapons exports are in violation of economic sanctions imposed on North Korea after the communist state conducted a nuclear test in October 2006.
Multiple-launch rockets are 24cm in diameter and about one metre long, each with a range of about 65km, according to the report. --
Source: Straits Times
Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed diplomatic sources, that Pyongyang has started exporting multiple-launch rockets to Myanmar after the two nations agreed to normalise ties last year.
It said 'full-scale' exports of the weapons had been handled by an unnamed Singapore trading company but gave no further details.
'We take such allegations very seriously and will certainly investigate,' a spokesman with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
'We are committed to fulfilling our international obligations to prevent the proliferation and illicit trafficking of arms and weapons of mass destruction.'
NHK said the weapons exports are in violation of economic sanctions imposed on North Korea after the communist state conducted a nuclear test in October 2006.
Multiple-launch rockets are 24cm in diameter and about one metre long, each with a range of about 65km, according to the report. --
Source: Straits Times
Thursday, 3 April 2008
Constitutional Conundrum
By KYAW ZWA MOE
The Irrawaddy
APRIL, 2008 - VOLUME 16 NO.4
Illustration: Harn Lay / The Irrawaddy
As analysts and activists debate how to respond to the regime’s draft constitution, others ask if it will cement the generals’ hold on power or trigger a popular uprising
FOR the generals who rule Burma, it is a step closer to the coveted goal of permanent military control of the country’s politics. For its detractors, it is a potential lightning rod for decades of pent-up discontent. But for most, it is still a mystery, as they wonder if this is really a distant light at the end of the tunnel or the headlights of an impending disaster.
The Burmese regime’s draft constitution, which Burmese voters will be asked to endorse or reject in a referendum in May, has drawn many reactions from people both inside and outside the country.
Although there is little consensus on the constitution, which was 14 years in the making, few doubt that the referendum, if it actually goes ahead, will be the junta’s most significant political move since elections in 1990, when voters unequivocally signaled a desire for an end to military rule.
For dissidents in Burma, that desire has only grown stronger over the past 18 years. They see the referendum as an opportunity to let the junta and the world know that that it is time for the generals to go.
“This is not a referendum,” said Tun Myint Aung, a leader of the 88 Generation Students group. “This is a chance to vote against military rule.”
“The regime has given us two choices—‘yes’ or ‘no.’ But the only real choice is, should we vote ‘no’ or just boycott?” he added.
Calls for a referendum boycott have been growing, but Tun Myint Aung, who spoke to The Irrawaddy by phone from a hiding place in Burma, insisted that only a vote “No” would send a clear message.
“It doesn’t matter what people think of the constitution,” the prominent activist said. “They will just be voting to express the anger that has been accumulating over the past 20 years.”
The Tatmadaw Chapter
Of all the people The Irrawaddy has spoken to about the referendum since it was announced on February 9, few have expressed any interest in the actual contents of the constitution, which was released by the junta in March. In the absence of public debate on the constitution, most discussion among exiles and dissidents has focused on ways to effectively turn the referendum against the junta.
The draft constitution does not fundamentally differ from a version of the “principles” of the constitution released by the Ministry of Information in August 2007, one month before the National Convention formally completed its work on the charter.
The draft contains an entire chapter spelling out the precise powers of the military. This chapter, entitled “Tatmadaw”(Burmese for armed forces), is something new in Burma’s constitutional history and represents the first explicit attempt to enable the armed forces to “participate in the national political leadership role of the State”—one of the stated goals of the first chapter of constitutional “principles.”
In concrete terms, this means that 25 percent of the seats in both the upper and lower houses of parliament would be filled with military appointees selected by the Tatmadaw commander in chief. That is, 110 members of the 440-seat lower house, or People’s Parliament, and 56 members of the 224-seat upper house, or National Parliament, would be selected from within the ranks of the armed forces.
The powers of the commander in chief also extend to the selection of the president and two vice presidents. Each of these positions would be filled by individuals selected by the People’s Parliament, the National Parliament and a committee of military officials appointed by the commander in chief, ensuring that a member of the armed forces would occupy at least one of these top government positions—most likely the presidency, since the Tatmadaw exercises considerable influence over both houses of parliament. The commander in chief, meanwhile, would possess powers equal to those of the two vice presidents.
While all of these measures are intended to give the military considerable power over the government, there would also be guarantees that this influence doesn’t go in both directions. Parliament would not be permitted to discuss or interfere in military affairs, including defense spending. Under the new constitution, “The Tatmadaw has the right to independently administer all affairs concerning the armed forces.”
No Room to Maneuver
Critics of the constitution say that it will only serve to legitimize military rule, while reducing parliament to a toothless institution with no more power than the hand-picked National Convention which drafted it.
“Parliament will become a rubber stamp to endorse the commander in chief’s proposals,” said Aung Din, the executive director of the Washington, DC-based US Campaign for Burma, in an open letter calling on the Burmese people to reject “the military regime’s sham constitution.”
Others say that giving the ruling generals the powers they want will only embolden them to step up their oppression.
“Right now, they are ruling the country without any legal authority, and yet they treat citizens and religious leaders brutally,” said Ashin Pyinnya Jota, a leading member of the All Burma Monks Alliance. “If the constitution comes into force, it will only make them worse.”
But others ask what the alternatives are. Some argue that it would be better to accept the constitution and use it as a basis for future democratic changes. This is a position taken both by apologists for the junta and by pragmatists who point out that 20 years of resistance to the regime have yielded little in the way of progress.
One outspoken advocate of the constitution is Dr Nay Win Maung, a member of the so-called “Third Force” group founded during an international Burma conference in Singapore in 2006. This group, which claims to be neither pro-junta nor pro-opposition, has called for more engagement with the regime and an end to sanctions.
In an open letter obtained by The Irrawaddy, Nay Win Maung called on National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi to endorse the constitution and focus on elections to be held in 2010. This is the only way to ensure that the party is not disenfranchised, he said.
“This time, Burmese people should be smart enough and set their emotions aside, so as not to [create] another deadlock,” he wrote, adding that whatever the outcome of the referendum, it was certain that the constitution would ultimately be rectified at a later day.
In response to the letter, Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political commentator based in Thailand, agreed that it was time to take a more forward-looking approach. “We have to stop living in the past. It only prolongs the deadlock and conflict,” he said.
However, others say it is naïve to believe that the regime is offering the country a way forward.
“The junta just wants to be old wine in a new bottle,” said Win Min, a Thailand-based Burmese political analyst. “If the junta wants the opposition to endorse their rule, they must compromise for national reconciliation.”
Win Min points to clauses in the constitution that effectively block future changes as the greatest hurdle to acceptance.
“If we cannot modify the constitution, democratization in Burma cannot grow,” he said.
Under Section 4 (a) of Chapter 12, “Amendment of the Constitution,” any suggested change would need to be sponsored by at least 20 percent of parliament members. This would be followed by a parliamentary vote, which would require over 75 percent support before the proposed amendment could be put to a national referendum. More than fifty percent of voters would have to approve of the amendment before it could come into effect.
With 25 percent of seats going to the military, it would be effectively impossible to pass any amendments that the commander in chief did not approve of. Moreover, in the chapter on the powers of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces bear responsibility for “safeguarding the State Constitution.” This principle can be invoked at any time to prevent amendments that the military sees as inimical to its interests.
At this stage, debate about how the constitution can be reconfigured to make it more democratic is still largely academic. It is also, in the view of some exiled opposition activists, irrelevant.
“Some experts think endorsing the constitution is better than nothing. But people will not see it like this,” said Aung Moe Zaw, a secretary of the exiled opposition’s umbrella group, the National Council of the Union of Burma. “People want to see a long-term guarantee for their future—real democracy and freedom.”
“If the NLD endorses this unjust constitution, people in Burma will object. People will go their own way,” he added.
Even setting aside the question of whether the opposition would be able to alter the constitution to meet the democratic needs of the people, it remains unclear how civilians would function within a military-dominated parliament. Even the normal functions of a parliamentary opposition party could be regarded as hostile to national unity and thus subject to draconian restrictions.
Another concern of the opposition is that the constitution effectively bars Aung San Suu Kyi from occupying a leadership position. As the widow of British scholar Michael Aris and mother of two sons who are British citizens, Suu Kyi would have no right to lead Burma, according to the draft constitution, which states that “the President of the Union himself [and his] parents, spouse [and] children … shall not owe allegiance to a foreign power, shall not be a subject of a foreign power or citizen of a foreign country.”
Ethnic opposition groups also have cause for concern, as their claims to autonomy would also be severely constrained. As Aung Din of the US Campaign for Burma noted, ethnic state legislatures would also have military appointees occupying 25 percent of seats.
“The expectations of ethnic nationalities to obtain the right of self-determination will never be realized, as unelected military officials will effectively intervene in their State affairs,” said Aung Din. “This sham constitution systematically denies equality among all ethnic nationalities and self-determination, demanded by all ethnic groups for a long time.”
World Opinion Divided
As Burmese debate the pros and cons of the constitution, the international community also remains divided over the junta’s latest attempt to set the terms of political change in Burma. While neighboring countries broadly support the constitutional referendum as a step forward, Western critics of the regime, particularly the United States, have dismissed it out of hand.
“It has to begin somewhere and now it has a clear, definite beginning,” said the chief of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Surin Pitsuwan, soon after the referendum was announced. “I think it is a development in the right direction.”
A “Vote No” rally in front of the NLD headquarters in Rangoon on March 27.
The United Nations, which has attempted to mediate between the regime and the democratic opposition, was more guarded in its assessment. In a statement, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Burmese junta to “make the constitution-making process inclusive, participatory and transparent in order to ensure that any draft constitution is broadly representative of the views of all the people of Myanmar [Burma].”
The US, which has long been the regime’s most outspoken critic, was more explicit about the shortcomings of the constitution-making process, drawing attention to the ongoing suppression of democratic rights in Burma.
In a statement released after the regime declared its intention to hold a referendum, Sean McCormack, a US State Department spokesperson, said, “No referendum held under these conditions—a pervasive climate of fear in which virtually the entire population, including Aung San Suu Kyi, is under detention, and the Burmese people not being allowed to participate in or even discuss the drafting of a constitution—can be free, fair or credible.”
In late February, in a move that confirmed suspicions that the junta intended to stage manage the referendum, its top leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, signed into effect a law that threatens dissenters with heavy penalties for opposing the referendum. Under the Referendum Law for the Approval of the Draft Constitution, anybody who publicly criticizes the referendum faces a fine and a three-year prison sentence.
Thein Nyunt, a lawyer in Rangoon, remarked that the current law is even more severe than similar legislation enacted ahead of a referendum in 1973. “Under the previous law, anyone who was against the referendum could be sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. But now people can receive three years’ imprisonment under the terms of the present law.”
A Final Showdown?
Against this backdrop of deepening repression and a mixed international response, many activists suspect that the real referendum will take place not in the polling booths, but on the streets.
“We don’t see it as a final battle, but it will reach that point,” said student activist Tun Myint Aung, who noted that the last constitution drafted under military rule was ultimately scrapped under pressure from the popular uprising in 1988.
In a sign of growing frustration in Burma, in late March a 26-year-old man set himself on fire at Rangoon’s famed Shwedagon Pagoda, a religious site that has often served as a focal point of political protests. Reports suggested that he was acting out of desperation over economic hardships and political frustration.
Observers of Burma’s economy have noted that conditions have only gotten worse since a drastic hike in fuel prices triggered protests last year. Although the regime has put a lid on dissent since its crackdown on monk-led demonstrations in September, it remains vulnerable to economically inspired unrest, which could easily assume a more political nature amid the push to strong-arm the population into endorsing an unpopular constitution.
The lack of leadership from the NLD and disappointment with the international response to the junta’s brutal crackdown, have led many to the conclusion that people power is the only remaining option.
“In the entire history of the world, there has never been a dictator who willingly gave up power once he had it firmly in his hands,” said respected Burmese journalist Ludu Sein Win in a recorded message released in March. “And there are no countries in the world which have gained liberation through the help of the United Nations.”
“Don’t waste your time dreaming about dialogue and considering help from the UN Security Council,” the 68-year-old journalist and former political prisoner added.
“We already have the power to force out the military dictatorship. That power is the force and strength of every Burmese citizen.”
Whether the regime’s exercise in manipulating public opinion succeeds or seriously backfires may prove more important than its efforts to enshrine its control through a new constitution.
In the end, the junta may find that its efforts to control the will of the people could unleash a political firestorm.
The Irrawaddy
APRIL, 2008 - VOLUME 16 NO.4
Illustration: Harn Lay / The IrrawaddyAs analysts and activists debate how to respond to the regime’s draft constitution, others ask if it will cement the generals’ hold on power or trigger a popular uprising
FOR the generals who rule Burma, it is a step closer to the coveted goal of permanent military control of the country’s politics. For its detractors, it is a potential lightning rod for decades of pent-up discontent. But for most, it is still a mystery, as they wonder if this is really a distant light at the end of the tunnel or the headlights of an impending disaster.
The Burmese regime’s draft constitution, which Burmese voters will be asked to endorse or reject in a referendum in May, has drawn many reactions from people both inside and outside the country.
Although there is little consensus on the constitution, which was 14 years in the making, few doubt that the referendum, if it actually goes ahead, will be the junta’s most significant political move since elections in 1990, when voters unequivocally signaled a desire for an end to military rule.
For dissidents in Burma, that desire has only grown stronger over the past 18 years. They see the referendum as an opportunity to let the junta and the world know that that it is time for the generals to go.
“This is not a referendum,” said Tun Myint Aung, a leader of the 88 Generation Students group. “This is a chance to vote against military rule.”
“The regime has given us two choices—‘yes’ or ‘no.’ But the only real choice is, should we vote ‘no’ or just boycott?” he added.
Calls for a referendum boycott have been growing, but Tun Myint Aung, who spoke to The Irrawaddy by phone from a hiding place in Burma, insisted that only a vote “No” would send a clear message.
“It doesn’t matter what people think of the constitution,” the prominent activist said. “They will just be voting to express the anger that has been accumulating over the past 20 years.”
The Tatmadaw Chapter
Of all the people The Irrawaddy has spoken to about the referendum since it was announced on February 9, few have expressed any interest in the actual contents of the constitution, which was released by the junta in March. In the absence of public debate on the constitution, most discussion among exiles and dissidents has focused on ways to effectively turn the referendum against the junta.
The draft constitution does not fundamentally differ from a version of the “principles” of the constitution released by the Ministry of Information in August 2007, one month before the National Convention formally completed its work on the charter.
The draft contains an entire chapter spelling out the precise powers of the military. This chapter, entitled “Tatmadaw”(Burmese for armed forces), is something new in Burma’s constitutional history and represents the first explicit attempt to enable the armed forces to “participate in the national political leadership role of the State”—one of the stated goals of the first chapter of constitutional “principles.”
In concrete terms, this means that 25 percent of the seats in both the upper and lower houses of parliament would be filled with military appointees selected by the Tatmadaw commander in chief. That is, 110 members of the 440-seat lower house, or People’s Parliament, and 56 members of the 224-seat upper house, or National Parliament, would be selected from within the ranks of the armed forces.
The powers of the commander in chief also extend to the selection of the president and two vice presidents. Each of these positions would be filled by individuals selected by the People’s Parliament, the National Parliament and a committee of military officials appointed by the commander in chief, ensuring that a member of the armed forces would occupy at least one of these top government positions—most likely the presidency, since the Tatmadaw exercises considerable influence over both houses of parliament. The commander in chief, meanwhile, would possess powers equal to those of the two vice presidents.
While all of these measures are intended to give the military considerable power over the government, there would also be guarantees that this influence doesn’t go in both directions. Parliament would not be permitted to discuss or interfere in military affairs, including defense spending. Under the new constitution, “The Tatmadaw has the right to independently administer all affairs concerning the armed forces.”
No Room to Maneuver
Critics of the constitution say that it will only serve to legitimize military rule, while reducing parliament to a toothless institution with no more power than the hand-picked National Convention which drafted it.
“Parliament will become a rubber stamp to endorse the commander in chief’s proposals,” said Aung Din, the executive director of the Washington, DC-based US Campaign for Burma, in an open letter calling on the Burmese people to reject “the military regime’s sham constitution.”
Others say that giving the ruling generals the powers they want will only embolden them to step up their oppression.
“Right now, they are ruling the country without any legal authority, and yet they treat citizens and religious leaders brutally,” said Ashin Pyinnya Jota, a leading member of the All Burma Monks Alliance. “If the constitution comes into force, it will only make them worse.”
But others ask what the alternatives are. Some argue that it would be better to accept the constitution and use it as a basis for future democratic changes. This is a position taken both by apologists for the junta and by pragmatists who point out that 20 years of resistance to the regime have yielded little in the way of progress.
One outspoken advocate of the constitution is Dr Nay Win Maung, a member of the so-called “Third Force” group founded during an international Burma conference in Singapore in 2006. This group, which claims to be neither pro-junta nor pro-opposition, has called for more engagement with the regime and an end to sanctions.
In an open letter obtained by The Irrawaddy, Nay Win Maung called on National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi to endorse the constitution and focus on elections to be held in 2010. This is the only way to ensure that the party is not disenfranchised, he said.
“This time, Burmese people should be smart enough and set their emotions aside, so as not to [create] another deadlock,” he wrote, adding that whatever the outcome of the referendum, it was certain that the constitution would ultimately be rectified at a later day.
In response to the letter, Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political commentator based in Thailand, agreed that it was time to take a more forward-looking approach. “We have to stop living in the past. It only prolongs the deadlock and conflict,” he said.
However, others say it is naïve to believe that the regime is offering the country a way forward.
“The junta just wants to be old wine in a new bottle,” said Win Min, a Thailand-based Burmese political analyst. “If the junta wants the opposition to endorse their rule, they must compromise for national reconciliation.”
Win Min points to clauses in the constitution that effectively block future changes as the greatest hurdle to acceptance.
“If we cannot modify the constitution, democratization in Burma cannot grow,” he said.
Under Section 4 (a) of Chapter 12, “Amendment of the Constitution,” any suggested change would need to be sponsored by at least 20 percent of parliament members. This would be followed by a parliamentary vote, which would require over 75 percent support before the proposed amendment could be put to a national referendum. More than fifty percent of voters would have to approve of the amendment before it could come into effect.
With 25 percent of seats going to the military, it would be effectively impossible to pass any amendments that the commander in chief did not approve of. Moreover, in the chapter on the powers of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces bear responsibility for “safeguarding the State Constitution.” This principle can be invoked at any time to prevent amendments that the military sees as inimical to its interests.
At this stage, debate about how the constitution can be reconfigured to make it more democratic is still largely academic. It is also, in the view of some exiled opposition activists, irrelevant.
“Some experts think endorsing the constitution is better than nothing. But people will not see it like this,” said Aung Moe Zaw, a secretary of the exiled opposition’s umbrella group, the National Council of the Union of Burma. “People want to see a long-term guarantee for their future—real democracy and freedom.”
“If the NLD endorses this unjust constitution, people in Burma will object. People will go their own way,” he added.
Even setting aside the question of whether the opposition would be able to alter the constitution to meet the democratic needs of the people, it remains unclear how civilians would function within a military-dominated parliament. Even the normal functions of a parliamentary opposition party could be regarded as hostile to national unity and thus subject to draconian restrictions.
Another concern of the opposition is that the constitution effectively bars Aung San Suu Kyi from occupying a leadership position. As the widow of British scholar Michael Aris and mother of two sons who are British citizens, Suu Kyi would have no right to lead Burma, according to the draft constitution, which states that “the President of the Union himself [and his] parents, spouse [and] children … shall not owe allegiance to a foreign power, shall not be a subject of a foreign power or citizen of a foreign country.”
Ethnic opposition groups also have cause for concern, as their claims to autonomy would also be severely constrained. As Aung Din of the US Campaign for Burma noted, ethnic state legislatures would also have military appointees occupying 25 percent of seats.
“The expectations of ethnic nationalities to obtain the right of self-determination will never be realized, as unelected military officials will effectively intervene in their State affairs,” said Aung Din. “This sham constitution systematically denies equality among all ethnic nationalities and self-determination, demanded by all ethnic groups for a long time.”
World Opinion Divided
As Burmese debate the pros and cons of the constitution, the international community also remains divided over the junta’s latest attempt to set the terms of political change in Burma. While neighboring countries broadly support the constitutional referendum as a step forward, Western critics of the regime, particularly the United States, have dismissed it out of hand.
“It has to begin somewhere and now it has a clear, definite beginning,” said the chief of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Surin Pitsuwan, soon after the referendum was announced. “I think it is a development in the right direction.”
A “Vote No” rally in front of the NLD headquarters in Rangoon on March 27.The United Nations, which has attempted to mediate between the regime and the democratic opposition, was more guarded in its assessment. In a statement, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Burmese junta to “make the constitution-making process inclusive, participatory and transparent in order to ensure that any draft constitution is broadly representative of the views of all the people of Myanmar [Burma].”
The US, which has long been the regime’s most outspoken critic, was more explicit about the shortcomings of the constitution-making process, drawing attention to the ongoing suppression of democratic rights in Burma.
In a statement released after the regime declared its intention to hold a referendum, Sean McCormack, a US State Department spokesperson, said, “No referendum held under these conditions—a pervasive climate of fear in which virtually the entire population, including Aung San Suu Kyi, is under detention, and the Burmese people not being allowed to participate in or even discuss the drafting of a constitution—can be free, fair or credible.”
In late February, in a move that confirmed suspicions that the junta intended to stage manage the referendum, its top leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, signed into effect a law that threatens dissenters with heavy penalties for opposing the referendum. Under the Referendum Law for the Approval of the Draft Constitution, anybody who publicly criticizes the referendum faces a fine and a three-year prison sentence.
Thein Nyunt, a lawyer in Rangoon, remarked that the current law is even more severe than similar legislation enacted ahead of a referendum in 1973. “Under the previous law, anyone who was against the referendum could be sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. But now people can receive three years’ imprisonment under the terms of the present law.”
A Final Showdown?
Against this backdrop of deepening repression and a mixed international response, many activists suspect that the real referendum will take place not in the polling booths, but on the streets.
“We don’t see it as a final battle, but it will reach that point,” said student activist Tun Myint Aung, who noted that the last constitution drafted under military rule was ultimately scrapped under pressure from the popular uprising in 1988.
In a sign of growing frustration in Burma, in late March a 26-year-old man set himself on fire at Rangoon’s famed Shwedagon Pagoda, a religious site that has often served as a focal point of political protests. Reports suggested that he was acting out of desperation over economic hardships and political frustration.
Observers of Burma’s economy have noted that conditions have only gotten worse since a drastic hike in fuel prices triggered protests last year. Although the regime has put a lid on dissent since its crackdown on monk-led demonstrations in September, it remains vulnerable to economically inspired unrest, which could easily assume a more political nature amid the push to strong-arm the population into endorsing an unpopular constitution.
The lack of leadership from the NLD and disappointment with the international response to the junta’s brutal crackdown, have led many to the conclusion that people power is the only remaining option.
“In the entire history of the world, there has never been a dictator who willingly gave up power once he had it firmly in his hands,” said respected Burmese journalist Ludu Sein Win in a recorded message released in March. “And there are no countries in the world which have gained liberation through the help of the United Nations.”
“Don’t waste your time dreaming about dialogue and considering help from the UN Security Council,” the 68-year-old journalist and former political prisoner added.
“We already have the power to force out the military dictatorship. That power is the force and strength of every Burmese citizen.”
Whether the regime’s exercise in manipulating public opinion succeeds or seriously backfires may prove more important than its efforts to enshrine its control through a new constitution.
In the end, the junta may find that its efforts to control the will of the people could unleash a political firestorm.
Junta-Backed Thugs Continue Attacks on Opposition
By MIN LWIN
The Irrawaddy
A protester faces members of the pro-junta Swan Ar Shin militia during demonstrations in September 2007 (Photo: Thierry Falise)
As Burma prepares for a referendum on a constitution drafted by the country’s military rulers, activists and members of the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), have come under increasing attacks from junta-backed thugs.
The latest incident occurred around 7:30 on Monday evening, when Myint Hlaing, 74, the NLD chairman for Rangoon’s Hlaing Tharyar Township, was assaulted near his home. According to sources, he was hospitalized after an unknown attacker inflicted a two-inch cut on his head.
Last Thursday, Myint Aye, 54, a leading human rights activist from Sanchaung Township in Rangoon, required treatment at the city’s main neurological hospital for head wounds after he was beaten by two unidentified men near his home.
Nyan Win, a spokesperson for the NLD, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday of another incident about a month ago, when knife-wielding pro-junta thugs chased several party members in Taunggok Township in Arakan State.
The recent attacks come as Burma’s military regime steps up training for “volunteers” who will be tasked with controlling protests against a referendum in May on the junta-sponsored draft charter.
Sources in Rangoon say that local authorities have been giving riot-control training to state-backed organizations, including volunteer firefighters, Red Cross personnel and members of Ward Peace and Development Councils in Rangoon’s South Dagon, South Okkalapa and Thingangyun Townships.
“They were instructed how to beat the activists and crack down on crowds if protests happen,” said one person who had witnessed the training sessions. “The firefighters were shown how to beat the protesters and members of the Red Cross learned how to pick them up and throw them on trucks, separating those who are dead from the ones who are still alive,” the witness added.
According to the witness, the training started at 10 p.m. and continued until midnight. Trainees received 500 kyat (US $0.45) and a meal for attending. The instructors were blue-uniformed Swan Ar Shin militia members and the supervisor for each ward was identified by a red stripe on his shoulder.
In recent years, Burma’s military junta has turned increasingly to civilians to stem unrest. Before troops crushed last year’s monk-led uprising, plainclothes agents were instrumental in snuffing out earlier protests against a dramatic rise in fuel prices.
Random attacks on opposition members have also increased as part of an ongoing campaign of intimidation. In April 2007, several members of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters, a human rights advocacy group founded in 2002, were mobbed and severely beaten by around one hundred members of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association in Hinthada Township, Irrawaddy Division.
In June 2007, Than Lwin, an NLD member who was elected as a representative for Madaya Township, Mandalay Division, in 1990 was attacked after praying for the release of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Than Lwin is currently in Mandalay prison.
The Irrawaddy
A protester faces members of the pro-junta Swan Ar Shin militia during demonstrations in September 2007 (Photo: Thierry Falise)
As Burma prepares for a referendum on a constitution drafted by the country’s military rulers, activists and members of the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), have come under increasing attacks from junta-backed thugs.
The latest incident occurred around 7:30 on Monday evening, when Myint Hlaing, 74, the NLD chairman for Rangoon’s Hlaing Tharyar Township, was assaulted near his home. According to sources, he was hospitalized after an unknown attacker inflicted a two-inch cut on his head.
Last Thursday, Myint Aye, 54, a leading human rights activist from Sanchaung Township in Rangoon, required treatment at the city’s main neurological hospital for head wounds after he was beaten by two unidentified men near his home.
Nyan Win, a spokesperson for the NLD, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday of another incident about a month ago, when knife-wielding pro-junta thugs chased several party members in Taunggok Township in Arakan State.
The recent attacks come as Burma’s military regime steps up training for “volunteers” who will be tasked with controlling protests against a referendum in May on the junta-sponsored draft charter.
Sources in Rangoon say that local authorities have been giving riot-control training to state-backed organizations, including volunteer firefighters, Red Cross personnel and members of Ward Peace and Development Councils in Rangoon’s South Dagon, South Okkalapa and Thingangyun Townships.
“They were instructed how to beat the activists and crack down on crowds if protests happen,” said one person who had witnessed the training sessions. “The firefighters were shown how to beat the protesters and members of the Red Cross learned how to pick them up and throw them on trucks, separating those who are dead from the ones who are still alive,” the witness added.
According to the witness, the training started at 10 p.m. and continued until midnight. Trainees received 500 kyat (US $0.45) and a meal for attending. The instructors were blue-uniformed Swan Ar Shin militia members and the supervisor for each ward was identified by a red stripe on his shoulder.
In recent years, Burma’s military junta has turned increasingly to civilians to stem unrest. Before troops crushed last year’s monk-led uprising, plainclothes agents were instrumental in snuffing out earlier protests against a dramatic rise in fuel prices.
Random attacks on opposition members have also increased as part of an ongoing campaign of intimidation. In April 2007, several members of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters, a human rights advocacy group founded in 2002, were mobbed and severely beaten by around one hundred members of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association in Hinthada Township, Irrawaddy Division.
In June 2007, Than Lwin, an NLD member who was elected as a representative for Madaya Township, Mandalay Division, in 1990 was attacked after praying for the release of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Than Lwin is currently in Mandalay prison.
Burmese Electorate Still Waits to See Constitution Text
The Irrawaddy
Just weeks before the planned May referendum on the proposed new constitution, the Burmese electorate has still not been issued with the text of the document, although photocopies and electronic versions are secretly circulating among journalists, senior government officials and diplomats in Rangoon.
Information about the referendum is notably absent in ethnic areas, where people are being offered temporary citizen identity cards and urged to vote “Yes.”
According to the text of the 194-page draft constitution obtained by The Irrawaddy, some minority rights are guaranteed. In Chapter II, titled "The State Structure," the draft document states that Burma is composed of seven states—Kachin, Kayeh, Kayin, Chin, Mon, Rakhine and Shan—and seven regions: Yangon, Mandalay, Ayeyawaddy, Sagaing, Taninthayi, Bago and Magway.
"Self-administered" zones and divisions are listed in some regions and states—Naga in Sagaing region, Danu, Pa-O, Palaung, Kokang and Wa in Shan state.
The draft constitution speaks of a parliament, called Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Union Assembly), comprises two chambers: Pyithu Hluttaw (People's Assembly), composed of representatives elected on the basis of population and army representatives, and Amyotha Hluttaw (National Assembly), comprising representatives of different states, regions and of the armed forces.
The military has a quota of 110 out of 440 seats in the People's Assembly and 56 of the 224 seats in the National Assembly. The constitution legitimizes a military takeover in the event of an emergency. It would empower the president to transfer legislative, executive and judicial powers to the military’s commander in chief for a year if a state of emergency arises.
Observers say that, taking advantage of a lack of unity and of the internal rift among ethnic rebel groups, the military wants to see if it can pressure them to lay down their arms and turn them into local security forces.
Khun Sai, of the Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News, said that Burma’s regime is stepping up its efforts to persuade armed ethnic groups to disarm and to form political parties so they can run in the general election planned for 2010.
In February, two senior leaders of the ruling junta, Maj-Gen Khin Aung Myint, Minister for Culture, and Lt-Gen Ye Myint, head of Military Affairs Security, visited the Burma-China border, where they held talks with Wa, Kachin, Shan and Kokang armed insurgent groups. They reportedly asked the ethnic leaders to disarm their armies.
So far, there has been no immediate reply from the ceasefire groups, who have also refrained from comment on the draft constitution.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, China-Burma border-based political analyst, said there appeared to be three factions among the ethnic ceasefire groups: the octogenarian leaders who want to retire from the politics; others who want to maintain their business interests and "good relations" with the junta; and officers who want to prepare their troops to be ready to fight against the Burmese army if necessary.
Recently, Gen Aung Naing, the aging army chief of the Thai-Burmese border-based ethnic Mon ceasefire group, the New Mon State Party (NMSP), visited Rangoon for disarmament talks with the Burmese military government, according to Mon sources.
Just weeks before the planned May referendum on the proposed new constitution, the Burmese electorate has still not been issued with the text of the document, although photocopies and electronic versions are secretly circulating among journalists, senior government officials and diplomats in Rangoon.
Information about the referendum is notably absent in ethnic areas, where people are being offered temporary citizen identity cards and urged to vote “Yes.”
According to the text of the 194-page draft constitution obtained by The Irrawaddy, some minority rights are guaranteed. In Chapter II, titled "The State Structure," the draft document states that Burma is composed of seven states—Kachin, Kayeh, Kayin, Chin, Mon, Rakhine and Shan—and seven regions: Yangon, Mandalay, Ayeyawaddy, Sagaing, Taninthayi, Bago and Magway.
"Self-administered" zones and divisions are listed in some regions and states—Naga in Sagaing region, Danu, Pa-O, Palaung, Kokang and Wa in Shan state.
The draft constitution speaks of a parliament, called Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Union Assembly), comprises two chambers: Pyithu Hluttaw (People's Assembly), composed of representatives elected on the basis of population and army representatives, and Amyotha Hluttaw (National Assembly), comprising representatives of different states, regions and of the armed forces.
The military has a quota of 110 out of 440 seats in the People's Assembly and 56 of the 224 seats in the National Assembly. The constitution legitimizes a military takeover in the event of an emergency. It would empower the president to transfer legislative, executive and judicial powers to the military’s commander in chief for a year if a state of emergency arises.
Observers say that, taking advantage of a lack of unity and of the internal rift among ethnic rebel groups, the military wants to see if it can pressure them to lay down their arms and turn them into local security forces.
Khun Sai, of the Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News, said that Burma’s regime is stepping up its efforts to persuade armed ethnic groups to disarm and to form political parties so they can run in the general election planned for 2010.
In February, two senior leaders of the ruling junta, Maj-Gen Khin Aung Myint, Minister for Culture, and Lt-Gen Ye Myint, head of Military Affairs Security, visited the Burma-China border, where they held talks with Wa, Kachin, Shan and Kokang armed insurgent groups. They reportedly asked the ethnic leaders to disarm their armies.
So far, there has been no immediate reply from the ceasefire groups, who have also refrained from comment on the draft constitution.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, China-Burma border-based political analyst, said there appeared to be three factions among the ethnic ceasefire groups: the octogenarian leaders who want to retire from the politics; others who want to maintain their business interests and "good relations" with the junta; and officers who want to prepare their troops to be ready to fight against the Burmese army if necessary.
Recently, Gen Aung Naing, the aging army chief of the Thai-Burmese border-based ethnic Mon ceasefire group, the New Mon State Party (NMSP), visited Rangoon for disarmament talks with the Burmese military government, according to Mon sources.
Burma’s NLD Calls for a Referendum “No” Vote
By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy
Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), called on the electorate for the first time on Wednesday to cast a “No” vote in the constitutional referendum in May.
The party, headed by pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, said a “No” vote was necessary because the proposed constitution had not been written by elected representatives of the people but by “hand-picked puppets” of the regime.
The draft constitution, drawn up by the regime-constituted National Convention, and a general election to be held in May are the fourth and fifth steps of the junta’s seven-step “road map to a disciplined democracy”.
The NLD’s announcement on Wednesday said the proposed constitution broke a basic principle of democracy, under which authority had to come from the people. It also failed to guarantee democratic values and human rights.
By voting against the draft constitution, the people would be practicing their rights, said NLD spokesman Thein Nyunt. The state powers being exercised by the regime had not originated with the people, he told The Irrawaddy —“Therefore it is the responsibility of all citizens to take back people-power.”
The NLD had been criticized for failing to take an early stand on the referendum. Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political commentator based in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, welcomed the NLD’s call now for a “No” vote and said it increased the party’s credibility.
Another Burmese political analyst, Htay Aung, said that dissidents inside Burma had called for a “No” vote, and predicted a “confrontation” ahead of the referendum.
Several activists had been attacked in Rangoon because of their views, he said—“These violent acts by the security forces and thugs backed by the junta don’t seem to stop,” he said.
Fourteen members of the Committee Representing the Peoples’ Parliament (CRPP), which was formed by successful candidates in the 1990 election, have also called for rejection of the proposed constitution by the Burmese people as well as internationally.
The document had been written without the participation of the NLD or ethnic party representatives and without meeting the expectations of ethnic nationalities, the CRPP members said.
They described the draft constitution as “a sham,” and said they expected the junta to claim a referendum victory “by cheating and fraud.”
The Irrawaddy
Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), called on the electorate for the first time on Wednesday to cast a “No” vote in the constitutional referendum in May.
The party, headed by pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, said a “No” vote was necessary because the proposed constitution had not been written by elected representatives of the people but by “hand-picked puppets” of the regime.
The draft constitution, drawn up by the regime-constituted National Convention, and a general election to be held in May are the fourth and fifth steps of the junta’s seven-step “road map to a disciplined democracy”.
The NLD’s announcement on Wednesday said the proposed constitution broke a basic principle of democracy, under which authority had to come from the people. It also failed to guarantee democratic values and human rights.
By voting against the draft constitution, the people would be practicing their rights, said NLD spokesman Thein Nyunt. The state powers being exercised by the regime had not originated with the people, he told The Irrawaddy —“Therefore it is the responsibility of all citizens to take back people-power.”
The NLD had been criticized for failing to take an early stand on the referendum. Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political commentator based in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, welcomed the NLD’s call now for a “No” vote and said it increased the party’s credibility.
Another Burmese political analyst, Htay Aung, said that dissidents inside Burma had called for a “No” vote, and predicted a “confrontation” ahead of the referendum.
Several activists had been attacked in Rangoon because of their views, he said—“These violent acts by the security forces and thugs backed by the junta don’t seem to stop,” he said.
Fourteen members of the Committee Representing the Peoples’ Parliament (CRPP), which was formed by successful candidates in the 1990 election, have also called for rejection of the proposed constitution by the Burmese people as well as internationally.
The document had been written without the participation of the NLD or ethnic party representatives and without meeting the expectations of ethnic nationalities, the CRPP members said.
They described the draft constitution as “a sham,” and said they expected the junta to claim a referendum victory “by cheating and fraud.”
Draft UN Statement Targets Myanmar Junta
By EDITH M. LEDERER
April 2, 2008, UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- A draft Security Council statement calls on Myanmar's government to allow detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political actors to speak freely and hold meetings ahead of the May referendum on a new constitution, according to a copy obtained Wednesday.
The statement prepared by the United States, Britain and France, was obtained by The Associated Press on the day that Suu Kyi's party urged voters to reject the military-backed draft constitution. The National League for Democracy said it was undemocratic and prepared under the junta's direct control.
The statement is expected to be circulated to all 15 Security Council members in the coming days. It needs the approval of all members for the council to adopt it.
The draft statement "calls on the government of Myanmar to allow full participation of all political actors, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi" in the referendum process in order for it "to be inclusive and credible."
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current junta seized power in 1988 and refused to honor the results of a 1990 general election won by Suu Kyi's party. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who is currently under house arrest, has been in detention without trial for more than 12 of the past 18 years.
Critics of the proposed constitution say it aims to perpetuate military rule.
The junta has been under strong international pressure to make democratic reforms, especially since it quashed peaceful pro-democracy protests last September. The U.N. estimates at least 31 people were killed and thousands more were detained in the crackdown.
The draft Security Council statement expresses regret at the military government's "slow rate of progress" towards meeting the council's call last September for a "genuine dialogue" with the pro-democracy opposition and the early release of all political prisoners and detainees.
April 2, 2008, UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- A draft Security Council statement calls on Myanmar's government to allow detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political actors to speak freely and hold meetings ahead of the May referendum on a new constitution, according to a copy obtained Wednesday.
The statement prepared by the United States, Britain and France, was obtained by The Associated Press on the day that Suu Kyi's party urged voters to reject the military-backed draft constitution. The National League for Democracy said it was undemocratic and prepared under the junta's direct control.
The statement is expected to be circulated to all 15 Security Council members in the coming days. It needs the approval of all members for the council to adopt it.
The draft statement "calls on the government of Myanmar to allow full participation of all political actors, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi" in the referendum process in order for it "to be inclusive and credible."
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current junta seized power in 1988 and refused to honor the results of a 1990 general election won by Suu Kyi's party. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who is currently under house arrest, has been in detention without trial for more than 12 of the past 18 years.
Critics of the proposed constitution say it aims to perpetuate military rule.
The junta has been under strong international pressure to make democratic reforms, especially since it quashed peaceful pro-democracy protests last September. The U.N. estimates at least 31 people were killed and thousands more were detained in the crackdown.
The draft Security Council statement expresses regret at the military government's "slow rate of progress" towards meeting the council's call last September for a "genuine dialogue" with the pro-democracy opposition and the early release of all political prisoners and detainees.
United Nations call for transparency in Myanmar constitution referendum
April 3, 2008 (AP)- A draft Security Council statement calls on Myanmar's government to allow detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyiand other political actors to speak freely and hold meetings ahead of the May referendum on a new constitution, according to a copy obtained Wednesday.
The statement prepared by the United States, Britain and France, was obtained by The Associated Press on the day that Suu Kyi's party urged voters to reject the military-backed draft constitution. The National League for Democracy said it was undemocratic and prepared under the junta's direct control.
The statement is expected to be circulated to all 15 Security Council members in the coming days. It needs the approval of all members for the council to adopt it.
The draft statement "calls on the government of Myanmar to allow full participation of all political actors, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi" in the referendum process in order for it "to be inclusive and credible."
"The Security Council further notes the commitment by the government of Myanmar to ensure that the referendum will be free and fair and that all will be allowed to participate on equal terms," the draft statement says.
The council "stresses that this commitment must be followed by action, including the guarantee of freedoms of expression, association and assembly in the political process leading to the referendum, as well as independent monitoring of the referendum," according to the draft statement.
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current junta seized power in 1988 and refused to honour the results of a 1990 general election won by Suu Kyi's party. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who is currently under house arrest, has been in detention without trial for more than 12 of the past 18 years.
Critics of the proposed constitution say it aims to perpetuate military rule.
During a visit to Myanmar last month, U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari was rebuffed when he proposed a a U.N. role in the May referendum and when he suggested that the military junta amend its seven-point roadmap to democracy to include input from the country's pro-democracy movement and other political parties. The referendum is to be followed by a general election in2010.
The junta has been under strong international pressure to make democratic reforms, especially since it quashed peaceful pro-democracy protests last September. The U.N. estimates at least 31 people were killed and thousands more were detained in the crackdown.
The draft Security Council statement expresses regret at the military government's "slow rate of progress" towards meeting the council's call last September for a "genuine dialogue" with the pro-democracy opposition and the early release of all political prisoners and detainees.
It "again stresses the need for the government of Myanmar to take, in a timely manner, concrete, meaningful steps that result in genuine dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups in order to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation with the direct support of the United Nations."
The draft statement affirms the Security Council's commitment to Myanmar's territorial integrity, "and, in that context, to helping the government and people of Myanmar to bring an early end to military rule and begin a transition to democracy."
It reaffirms the council's support for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's "good offices" mission, expresses appreciation for Gambari's work, and reiterates "that the future of Myanmar lies in the hands of all of its people."
The statement prepared by the United States, Britain and France, was obtained by The Associated Press on the day that Suu Kyi's party urged voters to reject the military-backed draft constitution. The National League for Democracy said it was undemocratic and prepared under the junta's direct control.
The statement is expected to be circulated to all 15 Security Council members in the coming days. It needs the approval of all members for the council to adopt it.
The draft statement "calls on the government of Myanmar to allow full participation of all political actors, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi" in the referendum process in order for it "to be inclusive and credible."
"The Security Council further notes the commitment by the government of Myanmar to ensure that the referendum will be free and fair and that all will be allowed to participate on equal terms," the draft statement says.
The council "stresses that this commitment must be followed by action, including the guarantee of freedoms of expression, association and assembly in the political process leading to the referendum, as well as independent monitoring of the referendum," according to the draft statement.
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current junta seized power in 1988 and refused to honour the results of a 1990 general election won by Suu Kyi's party. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who is currently under house arrest, has been in detention without trial for more than 12 of the past 18 years.
Critics of the proposed constitution say it aims to perpetuate military rule.
During a visit to Myanmar last month, U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari was rebuffed when he proposed a a U.N. role in the May referendum and when he suggested that the military junta amend its seven-point roadmap to democracy to include input from the country's pro-democracy movement and other political parties. The referendum is to be followed by a general election in2010.
The junta has been under strong international pressure to make democratic reforms, especially since it quashed peaceful pro-democracy protests last September. The U.N. estimates at least 31 people were killed and thousands more were detained in the crackdown.
The draft Security Council statement expresses regret at the military government's "slow rate of progress" towards meeting the council's call last September for a "genuine dialogue" with the pro-democracy opposition and the early release of all political prisoners and detainees.
It "again stresses the need for the government of Myanmar to take, in a timely manner, concrete, meaningful steps that result in genuine dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups in order to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation with the direct support of the United Nations."
The draft statement affirms the Security Council's commitment to Myanmar's territorial integrity, "and, in that context, to helping the government and people of Myanmar to bring an early end to military rule and begin a transition to democracy."
It reaffirms the council's support for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's "good offices" mission, expresses appreciation for Gambari's work, and reiterates "that the future of Myanmar lies in the hands of all of its people."
Man charged in Myanmar girl's death
7-year-old disappeared from her home; body found in nearby apartment
SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah - A 21-year-old man admitted causing the death of a 7-year-old Myanmar girl who disappeared at her apartment complex in South Salt Lake, police said Wednesday.
Esar Met was being held on charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping and evidence tampering. The details were released in a document used to support his arrest.
The body of Hser Nay Moo was found Tuesday, more than 24 hours after she disappeared from her family's apartment at the South Parc complex, sparking a search that involved hundreds of people. The body was in another apartment.
A Salt Lake County jail document said Met admitted keeping Hser in the apartment by force, resulting in her death.
Met does not have a criminal record in the U.S., and authorities were trying to determine his native country, police said.
Met's mother, Ra He Mar, who also lives in the apartment complex, told the Deseret Morning News, "I don't believe my son did anything wrong."
'I loved her the most'
The girl's father, Cartoon Wah, said through an interpreter Wednesday that he was grateful for an outpouring of public support and that he missed his daughter.
"I have one daughter in this world, and I loved her the most," he said.
Volunteers searched for Hser after she walked away from her apartment following an argument with an older brother Monday.
Her family settled in Utah last summer and are natives of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. The country is governed by an authoritarian military regime and has numerous documented cases of human rights abuses, according to the U.S. State Department.
The family is among more than 500 refugees from that country living in Utah, said Norman Nakamura, Utah's coordinator for refugee resettlement.
Questions linger
Candles, stuffed bears and flowers were placed at the apartment complex Wednesday. In a reference to the search, handmade signs said, "You're never so lost that angels can't find you."
Jessica Torres, who lives at South Parc, said her children asked: "Why would someone do that to a little girl? Why does the world have to be that way?"
Hser had four siblings, including a brother born just a few weeks ago. About 400 Burmese refugees have settled in Utah since last year, said Aden Batar of Catholic Community Services.
MSN BC:
SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah - A 21-year-old man admitted causing the death of a 7-year-old Myanmar girl who disappeared at her apartment complex in South Salt Lake, police said Wednesday.
Esar Met was being held on charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping and evidence tampering. The details were released in a document used to support his arrest.
The body of Hser Nay Moo was found Tuesday, more than 24 hours after she disappeared from her family's apartment at the South Parc complex, sparking a search that involved hundreds of people. The body was in another apartment.
A Salt Lake County jail document said Met admitted keeping Hser in the apartment by force, resulting in her death.
Met does not have a criminal record in the U.S., and authorities were trying to determine his native country, police said.
Met's mother, Ra He Mar, who also lives in the apartment complex, told the Deseret Morning News, "I don't believe my son did anything wrong."
'I loved her the most'
The girl's father, Cartoon Wah, said through an interpreter Wednesday that he was grateful for an outpouring of public support and that he missed his daughter.
"I have one daughter in this world, and I loved her the most," he said.
Volunteers searched for Hser after she walked away from her apartment following an argument with an older brother Monday.
Her family settled in Utah last summer and are natives of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. The country is governed by an authoritarian military regime and has numerous documented cases of human rights abuses, according to the U.S. State Department.
The family is among more than 500 refugees from that country living in Utah, said Norman Nakamura, Utah's coordinator for refugee resettlement.
Questions linger
Candles, stuffed bears and flowers were placed at the apartment complex Wednesday. In a reference to the search, handmade signs said, "You're never so lost that angels can't find you."
Jessica Torres, who lives at South Parc, said her children asked: "Why would someone do that to a little girl? Why does the world have to be that way?"
Hser had four siblings, including a brother born just a few weeks ago. About 400 Burmese refugees have settled in Utah since last year, said Aden Batar of Catholic Community Services.
MSN BC:
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
Prisoners offered sentence reductions to vote Yes
Apr 2, 2008 (DVB)–Prison authorities in Insein prison are reportedly trying to convince inmates to support the national referendum in May in exchange for an early release.
According to a family member who visited an inmate yesterday, prison authorities have told prisoners their sentences could be reduced if they will vote in favour of the new constitution after their release.
“They’re collecting the prisoners’ ID card numbers and telling them they will reduce their prison sentences if they support the national referendum after their release,” the family member said.
Under the referendum law introduced in February, people serving prison terms for any offence are ineligible to vote while they are detained.
Reporting by Naw Say Phaw
According to a family member who visited an inmate yesterday, prison authorities have told prisoners their sentences could be reduced if they will vote in favour of the new constitution after their release.
“They’re collecting the prisoners’ ID card numbers and telling them they will reduce their prison sentences if they support the national referendum after their release,” the family member said.
Under the referendum law introduced in February, people serving prison terms for any offence are ineligible to vote while they are detained.
Reporting by Naw Say Phaw
Senior Abbots Request Security During Monk Exams
2 April 2008, Sittwe: Senior abbots in Sittwe, most of whom support the military government, requested a security deployment from the authority be sent to Sittwe during the monks' examination to be held on 2 April, said a monk who refused to be named.
The request was made on Friday by senior abbots during a meeting regarding the monks' exam between Sittwe Township chairman and the abbots, after rumors of demonstrations began spreading in Sittwe.
The monk said, "There is a rumor in Sittwe that monks will stage a demonstration during the exam, so the senior abbots requested the authority deploy additional security forces in Sittwe."
The security in Sittwe is likely to be tightened again by the authority upon the abbots' request, in light of the Saffron Revolution protests that happened last fall.
The monk, who was in attendance at the meeting, said, "It will be impossible for demonstrations to emerge in Sittwe during the period of the monks' exam, because the authority is preparing to deploy additional security forces in many key places in Sittwe."
In addition to the spreading rumors that a demonstration will be staged by monks in Sittwe, the number of monks registering for the exams has also decreased from last years numbers.
The monk said, "I think 20 or 30 percent of monks will be enrolling in this year's exam, and many monks have neglected to participate in the exam this year."
According to a source close to monks, about 1,000 Arakanese monks will participate in this year's exam in Sittwe, whereas last year saw nearly 3,000 monks participating.
The examinee rate has been reduced this year for two reasons. The first is that many of the monks who were pushed back to their respective villages by authorities after the monk-led Saffron Revolution do not want to return to Sittwe during this crucial period for fear of arrest. The second reason is that many monks want to boycott the government-backed exam after the military government killed many monks and civilians, and arrested many more, during and after last year's protests.
Narinjara News
The request was made on Friday by senior abbots during a meeting regarding the monks' exam between Sittwe Township chairman and the abbots, after rumors of demonstrations began spreading in Sittwe.
The monk said, "There is a rumor in Sittwe that monks will stage a demonstration during the exam, so the senior abbots requested the authority deploy additional security forces in Sittwe."
The security in Sittwe is likely to be tightened again by the authority upon the abbots' request, in light of the Saffron Revolution protests that happened last fall.
The monk, who was in attendance at the meeting, said, "It will be impossible for demonstrations to emerge in Sittwe during the period of the monks' exam, because the authority is preparing to deploy additional security forces in many key places in Sittwe."
In addition to the spreading rumors that a demonstration will be staged by monks in Sittwe, the number of monks registering for the exams has also decreased from last years numbers.
The monk said, "I think 20 or 30 percent of monks will be enrolling in this year's exam, and many monks have neglected to participate in the exam this year."
According to a source close to monks, about 1,000 Arakanese monks will participate in this year's exam in Sittwe, whereas last year saw nearly 3,000 monks participating.
The examinee rate has been reduced this year for two reasons. The first is that many of the monks who were pushed back to their respective villages by authorities after the monk-led Saffron Revolution do not want to return to Sittwe during this crucial period for fear of arrest. The second reason is that many monks want to boycott the government-backed exam after the military government killed many monks and civilians, and arrested many more, during and after last year's protests.
Narinjara News
Monastery, Home Raided in Sittwe
2 April 2008, Sittwe: Burmese police raided one monastery and the home of a politician in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, on 28 and 29 March, for political reasons, said one politician who refused to be named.
He said, "The first raid took place at U Kway Balu's home, also known as U San Shwe Oo, on 28 March, and is related to the referendum. Some local people near his home spoke out against the government supporters mobilizing people for the upcoming referendum on the draft constitution."
U Kway Balu is a well-known senior politician and his residence is located in Wra Gri Mrauk in Sittwe. During the raid, U Kway Baly was not home and the police force did not seize any anti-referendum documents from his house.
"It is a consequence of people against the referendum. U Kway Balu is not related to those people who went against the pro-government activists during the referendum organizing. But the police team raided his house because the authorities thought he was behind those people's actions."
On 28 March, members of the Myanmar Women's Organization mobilized local people in the area to meet at a Dhama hall at Haintha monastery to support the referendum. Some local elders asked the pro-referendum organizers how they were supposed to support the referendum without knowledge of the draft constitution, and the told the women that if they wanted their support, they should first give them the draft constitution.
The women organizers complained of the incident to the high authority, and the police team subsequently raided U Kway Balu's house.
On 29 March, a monastery in Sittwe was also raided by a police team led by Inspector San Shwe Maung, but no arrests were made.
A witness said the police team raided a monastery in town known as "two lions" monastery, in Lamadaw Taung ward, in the early hours of the morning. The raid was reportedly conducted by a police team looking for a monk who led the September Saffron Revolution.
Authorities in Arakan State are now preparing to crack down on anti-referendum activists and many politicians and monks in Sittwe are being closely watched by intelligence and police forces currently.
Narinjara News
He said, "The first raid took place at U Kway Balu's home, also known as U San Shwe Oo, on 28 March, and is related to the referendum. Some local people near his home spoke out against the government supporters mobilizing people for the upcoming referendum on the draft constitution."
U Kway Balu is a well-known senior politician and his residence is located in Wra Gri Mrauk in Sittwe. During the raid, U Kway Baly was not home and the police force did not seize any anti-referendum documents from his house.
"It is a consequence of people against the referendum. U Kway Balu is not related to those people who went against the pro-government activists during the referendum organizing. But the police team raided his house because the authorities thought he was behind those people's actions."
On 28 March, members of the Myanmar Women's Organization mobilized local people in the area to meet at a Dhama hall at Haintha monastery to support the referendum. Some local elders asked the pro-referendum organizers how they were supposed to support the referendum without knowledge of the draft constitution, and the told the women that if they wanted their support, they should first give them the draft constitution.
The women organizers complained of the incident to the high authority, and the police team subsequently raided U Kway Balu's house.
On 29 March, a monastery in Sittwe was also raided by a police team led by Inspector San Shwe Maung, but no arrests were made.
A witness said the police team raided a monastery in town known as "two lions" monastery, in Lamadaw Taung ward, in the early hours of the morning. The raid was reportedly conducted by a police team looking for a monk who led the September Saffron Revolution.
Authorities in Arakan State are now preparing to crack down on anti-referendum activists and many politicians and monks in Sittwe are being closely watched by intelligence and police forces currently.
Narinjara News
Dhaka - Naypyidaw Border Talks End Without Decision
April 2, 2008, Dhaka: The two-day talks by the technical committees on the redrawing of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar were finished in Dhaka on Tuesday without any major decision being reached, according to a report.
The two sides have agreed to carry out a joint survey of the sea boundary, and to meet in Rangoon sometime in June to reach a final decision.
MAK Mahmood, additional foreign secretary and chief of the Bangladesh delegation said, "We would meet again in Myanmar to resolve all issues."
"The process is to be continued and the dialogue between the two neighbors will go on. The agreement has not yet reached a consensus on all issues," said a Bangladesh official.
Bangladesh and Burma resumed the boundary talks after a break of 22 years. The two countries met on maritime borders to finalize their rights to the sea in the continental shelf under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Burma needs to delineate sea borders by 2009, per the UNCLOS, while Bangladesh will have to draw its borders by 2011.
The sea delimitation is important for both Bangladesh and Burma, as both countries have been planning to conduct oil and gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal.
The ten-member Burmese team, led by Commodore Maung Oo Lwin, met with Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Secretary Md Touhid Hossain in his offices yesterday, and the Burmese team is expected to leave Dhaka to return home today.
The two sides have agreed to carry out a joint survey of the sea boundary, and to meet in Rangoon sometime in June to reach a final decision.
MAK Mahmood, additional foreign secretary and chief of the Bangladesh delegation said, "We would meet again in Myanmar to resolve all issues."
"The process is to be continued and the dialogue between the two neighbors will go on. The agreement has not yet reached a consensus on all issues," said a Bangladesh official.
Bangladesh and Burma resumed the boundary talks after a break of 22 years. The two countries met on maritime borders to finalize their rights to the sea in the continental shelf under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Burma needs to delineate sea borders by 2009, per the UNCLOS, while Bangladesh will have to draw its borders by 2011.
The sea delimitation is important for both Bangladesh and Burma, as both countries have been planning to conduct oil and gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal.
The ten-member Burmese team, led by Commodore Maung Oo Lwin, met with Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Secretary Md Touhid Hossain in his offices yesterday, and the Burmese team is expected to leave Dhaka to return home today.
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