Coe slams Chinese 'thugs'
The Daily Telegraph
April 08, 2008 - SEBASTIAN Coe, London's 2012 Olympics chief, has been overheard describing Chinese officials guarding the Olympic torch as it passed through London as "thugs".
Channel 4 News said it was accidentally connected to a conversation between former Olympic champion, now Lord Coe and a media spokeswoman when in fact the broadcaster had been hoping to speak to the former his media office.
Lord Coe's comments were directed at Chinese officials guarding the Olympic torch during its tumultuous journey through London on Sunday, when several protesters attempted to disrupt the route.
See footage of the scuffles here
He said organisers of the French leg of the torch relay through Paris should "get rid of those guys" because the Chinese officials "tried to push me out of the way three times".
"They are horrible. They did not speak English ... I think they were thugs."
A spokeswoman for the London 2012 Olympics confirmed that Lord Coe, the 1980 and 1984 Olympic 1500m champion, had made the remarks.
"Seb (Coe) was commenting on media reports about the role of the flame attendants during yesterday's torch relay," a spokeswoman for the London Games said today.
"He was expressing his concern with the way he had been treated by them when he was on the relay route."
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Dawn gone: Fraser to boycott Beijing Olympics
By Bonny Symons-Brown
April 09, 2008 - AUSTRALIAN Olympic legend Dawn Fraser will make her own protest over China's treatment of Tibet, refusing to attend the Beijing Games in August.
It will be only the second Olympic Games the four-times gold medallist has not attended since making her Olympic debut in Melbourne, in 1956.
"As a spectator, I am making my own statement by not going," Fraser told AAP.
"I support the Tibetans (but) I don't support the violence that the protesters are creating.
"It's a shame it's taken place during the torch relay but I don't think it will dampen the Olympic spirit at all," she said.
China should also never have been awarded the right to host the Games on account of their human rights record, she said.
"Mainly because of the human rights and what they've done to Tibet".
"When you hear the Tibetans tell their terrible stories about what the Chinese government has done to them, and what their forces have done to them, it is just awful."
Sourced: Daily Telegraph
April 09, 2008 - AUSTRALIAN Olympic legend Dawn Fraser will make her own protest over China's treatment of Tibet, refusing to attend the Beijing Games in August.
It will be only the second Olympic Games the four-times gold medallist has not attended since making her Olympic debut in Melbourne, in 1956.
"As a spectator, I am making my own statement by not going," Fraser told AAP.
"I support the Tibetans (but) I don't support the violence that the protesters are creating.
"It's a shame it's taken place during the torch relay but I don't think it will dampen the Olympic spirit at all," she said.
China should also never have been awarded the right to host the Games on account of their human rights record, she said.
"Mainly because of the human rights and what they've done to Tibet".
"When you hear the Tibetans tell their terrible stories about what the Chinese government has done to them, and what their forces have done to them, it is just awful."
Sourced: Daily Telegraph
Fraser boycotts Olympics
"When you hear the Tibetans tell their terrible stories about what the Chinese Government has done to them, and what their forces have done to them, it is just awful" -- Dawn Fraser at the 2000 Olympics torch Rally in SydneyAustralian Olympic legend Dawn Fraser will make her own protest over China's treatment of Tibet, refusing to attend the Beijing Games in August.
It will be only the second Olympic Games the four-times gold medallist has not attended since making her Olympic debut in Melbourne, in 1956.
Fraser missed the 2004 Athens Olympics after a spat with the Australian Olympic Committee in which she claimed it had failed to invite her to the event, a charge the committee later denied.
"As a spectator, I am making my own statement by not going," Fraser told AAP.
"I support the Tibetans [but] I don't support the violence that the protesters are creating.
"It's a shame it's taken place during the torch relay but I don't think it will dampen the Olympic spirit at all," she said.
China should also never have been awarded the right to host the Games on account of their human rights record, she said.
"Mainly because of the human rights and what they've done to Tibet.
"When you hear the Tibetans tell their terrible stories about what the Chinese Government has done to them, and what their forces have done to them, it is just awful."
The future of the international Olympic torch relay is now in doubt after pro-Tibetan demonstrators shadowed the Olympic torch relay as it progressed through Europe, violently clashing with police and officials on the streets of London and Paris this week.
Local interest in the Games will remain strong even if the International Olympic Committee cuts the torch relay short, Fraser said.
"Here in Australia we are sport mad and we will watch the Olympics [on television] whatever happens in China," she said.
Fellow former Olympic swimmer Susie O'Neill has also spoken out over the torch controversy, saying the relay had been hijacked by protesters and should be scrapped.
"Everyday, everybody is talking about the Olympics but you've got bad publicity. So I'd probably just scrap it if it was me," O'Neill told ABC radio today.
"In retrospect I suppose it was pretty obvious that it was going to happen, [but] I just get a little bit angry when people use the Olympics as their protesting forum. It's so removed from politics."
The torch relay will continue in San Francisco tomorrow.
AAP- SMH with Daniel Emerson
Act fast to save Olympics
Bangkok Post
It is now apparent that unless the Chinese government makes some drastic moves in the next few weeks, the global protests against its human rights performance may well overshadow the Beijing Olympics.
On Monday Jacques Rogge, head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said he was "very concerned" about unrest in Tibet and called on Beijing to seek a "rapid" and peaceful resolution. Heretofore the IOC has done its utmost to keep politics out of the Games. Clearly that is not possible.
Mr Rogge is most concerned about the protests targetting the Olympic torch as it makes its journey around the world. His comments were made before protests in Paris later in the day that probably exceeded his worst fears. Torch-bearing athletes encountered protesters aggressively attempting to put out the flame all along their course through the city. The Associated Press reported that security officials extinguished the torch themselves at least four times and placed it inside a bus to keep protesters from symbolically snuffing the Olympic spirit. There were also protests in London, and it is probable that as the procession makes its 21-nation trip, there will be much larger protests in other cities.
If China is to have the genuine "Olympic moment" that all Chinese clearly want, the only real option is to follow Mr Rogge's suggestion and make some quick concessions on human rights.
To save the Olympics, there are several immediate steps China could take which would cost it very little in terms of real power - economic, political or otherwise.
The first of these is to pledge semi-autonomy for Tibet, along the lines of Hong Kong. This would go a long way toward defusing the situation. Even the Dalai Lama is calling for semi-autonomy, not complete independence.
The second is to abruptly suspend all arms deals with Sudan. A recent Human Rights First report identified China as the single largest provider of small arms to Sudan. Any income China derives from this is paltry compared to the knocks it is taking on human rights.
A third step would be to bring real pressure on the military government in Burma. The issue of human rights in Burma has scarcely been mentioned in the run-up to the Olympics, but what has been going on inside the country is, in fact, far worse than anything that has happened in Tibet. Human rights groups believe that the UN's official death toll of 31 for the October crackdown is far too low, and that thousands of demonstrators and their families remain in squalid detention.
China, of course, is not directly responsible for the situation in Burma, and the Chinese leadership can be credited with some behind-the-scenes manoeuvring to open lines of communication during the crackdown.
However, by holding out against sanctions on the UN Security Council, China is preventing effective action by the world community and providing cover for other countries - Thailand, India, as well as China itself - which supply the economic aid that keeps the Burmese military's hold on power unassailable.
In its defence, China has argued with some validity that it is being judged by a different standard, pointing out the widespread human rights violations stemming from the war on Iraq.
Be that as it may, what is at stake here is really more important than even the Olympics. For China to begin to take a more responsible position on human rights as it assumes an ever greater role on the world stage, would have tremendous repercussions around the world.
It is now apparent that unless the Chinese government makes some drastic moves in the next few weeks, the global protests against its human rights performance may well overshadow the Beijing Olympics.
On Monday Jacques Rogge, head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said he was "very concerned" about unrest in Tibet and called on Beijing to seek a "rapid" and peaceful resolution. Heretofore the IOC has done its utmost to keep politics out of the Games. Clearly that is not possible.
Mr Rogge is most concerned about the protests targetting the Olympic torch as it makes its journey around the world. His comments were made before protests in Paris later in the day that probably exceeded his worst fears. Torch-bearing athletes encountered protesters aggressively attempting to put out the flame all along their course through the city. The Associated Press reported that security officials extinguished the torch themselves at least four times and placed it inside a bus to keep protesters from symbolically snuffing the Olympic spirit. There were also protests in London, and it is probable that as the procession makes its 21-nation trip, there will be much larger protests in other cities.
If China is to have the genuine "Olympic moment" that all Chinese clearly want, the only real option is to follow Mr Rogge's suggestion and make some quick concessions on human rights.
To save the Olympics, there are several immediate steps China could take which would cost it very little in terms of real power - economic, political or otherwise.
The first of these is to pledge semi-autonomy for Tibet, along the lines of Hong Kong. This would go a long way toward defusing the situation. Even the Dalai Lama is calling for semi-autonomy, not complete independence.
The second is to abruptly suspend all arms deals with Sudan. A recent Human Rights First report identified China as the single largest provider of small arms to Sudan. Any income China derives from this is paltry compared to the knocks it is taking on human rights.
A third step would be to bring real pressure on the military government in Burma. The issue of human rights in Burma has scarcely been mentioned in the run-up to the Olympics, but what has been going on inside the country is, in fact, far worse than anything that has happened in Tibet. Human rights groups believe that the UN's official death toll of 31 for the October crackdown is far too low, and that thousands of demonstrators and their families remain in squalid detention.
China, of course, is not directly responsible for the situation in Burma, and the Chinese leadership can be credited with some behind-the-scenes manoeuvring to open lines of communication during the crackdown.
However, by holding out against sanctions on the UN Security Council, China is preventing effective action by the world community and providing cover for other countries - Thailand, India, as well as China itself - which supply the economic aid that keeps the Burmese military's hold on power unassailable.
In its defence, China has argued with some validity that it is being judged by a different standard, pointing out the widespread human rights violations stemming from the war on Iraq.
Be that as it may, what is at stake here is really more important than even the Olympics. For China to begin to take a more responsible position on human rights as it assumes an ever greater role on the world stage, would have tremendous repercussions around the world.
Rudd voices concerns on Tibet
Sydney Morning Herald
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will tell students at a Chinese university that there are significant human rights problems in Tibet, according to a transcript of the speech.
"Australia, like most other countries, recognises China sovereignty over Tibet but we also believe it is necessary to recognise there are significant human rights problems in Tibet," the transcript given to reporters said.
"The current situation in Tibet is of concern to Australians. We recognise the need for all parties to avoid silence and find a solution through dialogue."
The speech to students at Peking University this morning is Mr Rudd's first engagement of a four-day visit to China. China is the last leg of his first international tour as prime minister.
The Chinese government is already upset with comments Mr Rudd made in the US last week, in which he condemned human rights abuses in Tibet and called on China to talk to exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Chinese officials raised the comments with Australian ambassador Geoff Raby in Beijing.
And in Canberra, Chinese ambassador Zhang Junsai conveyed the protest to an Australian foreign affairs official, however a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokesman said no formal written complaint had been lodged.
AFP and AAP
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will tell students at a Chinese university that there are significant human rights problems in Tibet, according to a transcript of the speech.
"Australia, like most other countries, recognises China sovereignty over Tibet but we also believe it is necessary to recognise there are significant human rights problems in Tibet," the transcript given to reporters said.
"The current situation in Tibet is of concern to Australians. We recognise the need for all parties to avoid silence and find a solution through dialogue."
The speech to students at Peking University this morning is Mr Rudd's first engagement of a four-day visit to China. China is the last leg of his first international tour as prime minister.
The Chinese government is already upset with comments Mr Rudd made in the US last week, in which he condemned human rights abuses in Tibet and called on China to talk to exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Chinese officials raised the comments with Australian ambassador Geoff Raby in Beijing.
And in Canberra, Chinese ambassador Zhang Junsai conveyed the protest to an Australian foreign affairs official, however a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokesman said no formal written complaint had been lodged.
AFP and AAP
Tibetan leaders struggle to speak for split populace
By Mark Sappenfield
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
April 9, 2008 - Dharamsala, India - As a member of the Tibetan parliament in exile, Pema Jungney is increasingly finding himself caught in the middle.
With rioting in Tibet and young radicals at home pushing for a harder line against Chinese rule, he's under pressure to explain his government's support for the Dalai Lama's "Middle Path" of dialogue and reconciliation.
Then again, the last time parliament tried to review the Dalai Lama's Tibet policy, protesters gathered at the steps and declared a hunger strike.
In the past 20 years, the Dalai Lama has transformed the Tibetan government in exile from the semitheocracy he brought from Tibet to a relatively independent democracy. In doing so, he has invested it with more responsibility.
Now, the government must struggle with how to bridge the growing generation gap, finding its own voice while also paying due reverence to the Dalai Lama, whom most Tibetans worship as a god.
It has successes upon which to build. Even critics praise its work on behalf of the Tibetan refugee community – managing 80 schools and 40 refugee settlements across South Asia as well as holding orderly elections on three continents.
But among the 110,000 Tibetan refugees worldwide – many of whom follow Dharamsala as their true government, though it is not recognized by any nation – the government-in-exile will be judged upon how it handles the Tibetan issue, where frustrations are mounting.
"It will be very difficult for the Tibetan government," says Mr. Jungney. "Right now, the direction is toward violence."
Keeping the Tibet issue alive
Since rioting against Chinese authority broke out in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on March 10, the government-in-exile – officially named the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) – has sought to be a mouthpiece for disgruntled Tibetans in China. It has repeatedly contested the official Chinese version of events, suggesting that more than 140 Tibetans have been killed in the crackdown.
Here in Dharamsala, where the CTA's collection of weather-worn buildings clings to a pine-studded spur of the Himalayas, autopsy photos of dead Tibetans stretch above narrow, potholed streets like gruesome prayer flags – commemorating those allegedly killed by Chinese law enforcement.
For its part, the Chinese government has dismissed as "totally fake" a list of 40 victims released by the government-in-exile two weeks ago.
With China refusing to deal with either the Dalai Lama or the government-in-exile, the best the government can hope for is to keep the issue of Tibet alive globally. The list is a part of that, as are embassy-like missions in 13 cities from New York to London to Tokyo. Officials are there to lobby governments and "gather support for the issue of Tibet," says Thubten Samphel, secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations.
Violence is no part of that mission, say government officials. Mr. Jungney, of the parliament, says his emergency committees are coming up with nonviolent ways to protest when the Olympic torch comes to New Delhi later this month – acting out scenes of Chinese torture, for example.
Chinese officials dispute that assertion. They say the "Dalai clique" – which includes the government-in-exile – is masterminding the riots in the Tibetan heartland and that 22 people died in the initial protests in Lhasa.
But the government-in-exile's support for the Dalai Lama's "Middle Path" of dialogue and reconciliation with China is well known. Among refugees, it is the parliament's most controversial position.
In abandoning calls for independence and settling for autonomy, the government-in-exile is betraying "the call of the nation," says Sonam Dorjee, an executive member of the Tibetan Youth Congress.
In the dim light of a diner, Mr. Dorjee speaks with the conviction of a revolutionary. The uprising in Tibet is evidence that Tibet wants freedom. "The Tibetan freedom struggle is very sensitive," he says. "But if [the government-in-exile] never listens to what people are saying, there is no use of having a parliament."
Members of parliament argue that they are listening to the people – and the people support whatever the Dalai Lama says.
'Work as [if] there is no Dalai Lama'
To some degree, the Dalai Lama is trying to wean Tibetans off this reliance, repeatedly expressing his desire to "retire" from his political duties. Making the government-in-exile more robust is key to making the Tibetan exile movement sustainable beyond one man. "He always says, 'You should work as though there is no Dalai Lama,' " says Jungney.
To this end, the Dalai Lama has been the architect of his government's democratic reforms. In 1989, he disbanded the parliament, commanding a new one to be formed under a democratic charter. Among other powers, the charter gives parliament the ability to impeach the Dalai Lama as the head of state.
That parliament would ever use this power, however, is unthinkable. Many Tibetans have resisted democratic reform, preferring his leadership. In local communities, many posts meant to be determined by elections remain unfilled, with locals asking the Dalai Lama to send someone instead. "People always think, 'We don't want democracy. We can depend on the goodness of His Holiness,' " says Tashi Phuntsok, the CTA's chief election commissioner.
Yet on the streets of Dharamsala, there is appreciation for the Dalai Lama's reforms. Amid his store of tourist kitsch, shop owner Tenzing Tsering takes pride in drawing a distinction between his government and China's. "In China, [Tibetans] don't have the right to speak even a single word against the government," he says.
Members of the Tibetan Youth Congress agree. "Even if our objectives are different, they will not stop us," says cultural secretary Lhakpa Tsering. Even executive member Dorjee does not dismiss the government-in-exile. When it comes to caring for the needs of the Tibetan refugee community, Dorjee says, "I will give it 100 out of 100 on that ground."
India has given the government-in-exile broad autonomy to rule Tibetan refugees here. The CTA's Department of Education creates its own curriculum. It administers 80 schools in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. Another six departments here handle everything from public health to elections for the 43-member parliament, which are held every five years in the subcontinent, Europe, and North America.
Still, Dorjee outlines the challenges ahead, as upheaval in Tibet and a new generation of refugees create pressure for new policies. "The people inside Tibet have raised their voice, and many in parliament wish for independence, too, but they will not speak out for it because it goes against the Dalai Lama," he says. "[But] they must listen to their hearts."
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
The government in exile is popular but
faces pressure from moderates and radicals.
faces pressure from moderates and radicals.
April 9, 2008 - Dharamsala, India - As a member of the Tibetan parliament in exile, Pema Jungney is increasingly finding himself caught in the middle.
With rioting in Tibet and young radicals at home pushing for a harder line against Chinese rule, he's under pressure to explain his government's support for the Dalai Lama's "Middle Path" of dialogue and reconciliation.
Then again, the last time parliament tried to review the Dalai Lama's Tibet policy, protesters gathered at the steps and declared a hunger strike.
In the past 20 years, the Dalai Lama has transformed the Tibetan government in exile from the semitheocracy he brought from Tibet to a relatively independent democracy. In doing so, he has invested it with more responsibility.
Now, the government must struggle with how to bridge the growing generation gap, finding its own voice while also paying due reverence to the Dalai Lama, whom most Tibetans worship as a god.
It has successes upon which to build. Even critics praise its work on behalf of the Tibetan refugee community – managing 80 schools and 40 refugee settlements across South Asia as well as holding orderly elections on three continents.
But among the 110,000 Tibetan refugees worldwide – many of whom follow Dharamsala as their true government, though it is not recognized by any nation – the government-in-exile will be judged upon how it handles the Tibetan issue, where frustrations are mounting.
"It will be very difficult for the Tibetan government," says Mr. Jungney. "Right now, the direction is toward violence."
Keeping the Tibet issue alive
Since rioting against Chinese authority broke out in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on March 10, the government-in-exile – officially named the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) – has sought to be a mouthpiece for disgruntled Tibetans in China. It has repeatedly contested the official Chinese version of events, suggesting that more than 140 Tibetans have been killed in the crackdown.
Here in Dharamsala, where the CTA's collection of weather-worn buildings clings to a pine-studded spur of the Himalayas, autopsy photos of dead Tibetans stretch above narrow, potholed streets like gruesome prayer flags – commemorating those allegedly killed by Chinese law enforcement.
For its part, the Chinese government has dismissed as "totally fake" a list of 40 victims released by the government-in-exile two weeks ago.
With China refusing to deal with either the Dalai Lama or the government-in-exile, the best the government can hope for is to keep the issue of Tibet alive globally. The list is a part of that, as are embassy-like missions in 13 cities from New York to London to Tokyo. Officials are there to lobby governments and "gather support for the issue of Tibet," says Thubten Samphel, secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations.
Violence is no part of that mission, say government officials. Mr. Jungney, of the parliament, says his emergency committees are coming up with nonviolent ways to protest when the Olympic torch comes to New Delhi later this month – acting out scenes of Chinese torture, for example.
Chinese officials dispute that assertion. They say the "Dalai clique" – which includes the government-in-exile – is masterminding the riots in the Tibetan heartland and that 22 people died in the initial protests in Lhasa.
But the government-in-exile's support for the Dalai Lama's "Middle Path" of dialogue and reconciliation with China is well known. Among refugees, it is the parliament's most controversial position.
In abandoning calls for independence and settling for autonomy, the government-in-exile is betraying "the call of the nation," says Sonam Dorjee, an executive member of the Tibetan Youth Congress.
In the dim light of a diner, Mr. Dorjee speaks with the conviction of a revolutionary. The uprising in Tibet is evidence that Tibet wants freedom. "The Tibetan freedom struggle is very sensitive," he says. "But if [the government-in-exile] never listens to what people are saying, there is no use of having a parliament."
Members of parliament argue that they are listening to the people – and the people support whatever the Dalai Lama says.
'Work as [if] there is no Dalai Lama'
To some degree, the Dalai Lama is trying to wean Tibetans off this reliance, repeatedly expressing his desire to "retire" from his political duties. Making the government-in-exile more robust is key to making the Tibetan exile movement sustainable beyond one man. "He always says, 'You should work as though there is no Dalai Lama,' " says Jungney.
To this end, the Dalai Lama has been the architect of his government's democratic reforms. In 1989, he disbanded the parliament, commanding a new one to be formed under a democratic charter. Among other powers, the charter gives parliament the ability to impeach the Dalai Lama as the head of state.
That parliament would ever use this power, however, is unthinkable. Many Tibetans have resisted democratic reform, preferring his leadership. In local communities, many posts meant to be determined by elections remain unfilled, with locals asking the Dalai Lama to send someone instead. "People always think, 'We don't want democracy. We can depend on the goodness of His Holiness,' " says Tashi Phuntsok, the CTA's chief election commissioner.
Yet on the streets of Dharamsala, there is appreciation for the Dalai Lama's reforms. Amid his store of tourist kitsch, shop owner Tenzing Tsering takes pride in drawing a distinction between his government and China's. "In China, [Tibetans] don't have the right to speak even a single word against the government," he says.
Members of the Tibetan Youth Congress agree. "Even if our objectives are different, they will not stop us," says cultural secretary Lhakpa Tsering. Even executive member Dorjee does not dismiss the government-in-exile. When it comes to caring for the needs of the Tibetan refugee community, Dorjee says, "I will give it 100 out of 100 on that ground."
India has given the government-in-exile broad autonomy to rule Tibetan refugees here. The CTA's Department of Education creates its own curriculum. It administers 80 schools in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. Another six departments here handle everything from public health to elections for the 43-member parliament, which are held every five years in the subcontinent, Europe, and North America.
Still, Dorjee outlines the challenges ahead, as upheaval in Tibet and a new generation of refugees create pressure for new policies. "The people inside Tibet have raised their voice, and many in parliament wish for independence, too, but they will not speak out for it because it goes against the Dalai Lama," he says. "[But] they must listen to their hearts."
Protests in San Francisco before Olympic torch run
By Adam Tanner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Several hundred supporters of Tibet marched through the streets of San Francisco on Tuesday to criticize China before the Olympic torch is run through the city the next day.
"Shame on China," chanted the protesters, many carrying Tibetan flags and signs, as they marched through the streets.
They also protested outside the Chinese consulate.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said he had been in contact with French and British officials to gain insight on how the city should handle protesters.
"It won't surprise anyone what we are concerned about. Just look back on your old tape, the last 48 hours," Newsom said, referring to footage of disruptive protests during torch runs in Paris and London.
"I'm not naive to the challenge associated with this event," the mayor said.
Many human rights groups have mobilized in San Francisco, the only U.S. city to host the Olympic torch as it makes its way to the games in Beijing in August. Opposition ranges from China's rule in Tibet to Beijing's policies toward Darfur and Burma. Others are concerned with issues such as animal rights.
Actor Richard Gere and South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu were also due to appear at an evening vigil for Tibet.
"It is fantastic what people have been doing," Archbishop Emeritus Tutu told reporters. He cited in particular three pro-Tibet protesters who scaled the cables of San Francisco's soaring Golden Gate Bridge to hang banners on Monday.
The international torch relay has been protested previously in Greece, Britain and France.
Speaking to San Francisco's World Affairs Council, Tutu said he would not call for a boycott of the Olympics as a protest against China's clampdown on unrest in Tibet, but that world leaders should not attend the games.
"There are times when you are very close to tears," he said of the violence in Tibet.
The protests planned for Wednesday's torch run have irritated some in the city's large ethnic Chinese community, many of whom are proud their ancestral motherland is hosting the global sporting event.
POLITICAL EVENT
Gere, the chairman of International Campaign for Tibet, said China had itself made the torch run a political event.
"Is it appropriate? I think as long as it is not violent, absolutely," he told Reuters. "This is clearly a moment where China wants to be included in the big leagues."
"They had politicized this, extraordinarily. I think if they had not closed up Everest, decided to run (the torch) through Tibet, this probably would not have happened."
Argentine activists said they planned surprise actions in Buenos Aires when the Olympic torch passes through there on Friday. Organizers told a news conference they would not try to snuff out the torch's flame, as demonstrators had in Paris and London.
"I want to announce that we will not put out the Olympic torch," said pro-Tibet activist Jorge Carcavallo. "We'll be carrying out surprise actions throughout the city of Buenos Aires, but all of these will be peaceful."
In Washington, the U.S. House of Representatives was expected to debate a non-binding measure late on Tuesday calling on Beijing to end its crackdown in Tibet.
The measure also would encourage China's government to enter direct talks with the Dalai Lama on finding ways to respect Tibet's culture, religious identity and "fundamental freedoms."
When asked whether Bush was considering boycotting the opening ceremonies, as suggested by Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democratic presidential candidate, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said his schedule had not been fixed.
"The key part of what the president can do as the president of the United States is before, during and after the Olympics, push very hard for increased human rights, press freedoms and political freedom in China," she said.
Pressed further on whether Bush's decision to attend the Olympics could be affected by developments, she said: "The president can always make a change. But the president has been clear that this is a sporting event for the athletes, and that pressuring China before, during and after the Olympics is the best way for us to try to help people across the board in China, including Tibetans."
(Additional reporting Jim Christie in San Francisco, Richard Cowan in Washington and Luis Ampuero in Buenos Aires, editing by Patricia Zengerle)
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Several hundred supporters of Tibet marched through the streets of San Francisco on Tuesday to criticize China before the Olympic torch is run through the city the next day.
"Shame on China," chanted the protesters, many carrying Tibetan flags and signs, as they marched through the streets.
They also protested outside the Chinese consulate.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said he had been in contact with French and British officials to gain insight on how the city should handle protesters.
"It won't surprise anyone what we are concerned about. Just look back on your old tape, the last 48 hours," Newsom said, referring to footage of disruptive protests during torch runs in Paris and London.
"I'm not naive to the challenge associated with this event," the mayor said.
Many human rights groups have mobilized in San Francisco, the only U.S. city to host the Olympic torch as it makes its way to the games in Beijing in August. Opposition ranges from China's rule in Tibet to Beijing's policies toward Darfur and Burma. Others are concerned with issues such as animal rights.
Actor Richard Gere and South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu were also due to appear at an evening vigil for Tibet.
"It is fantastic what people have been doing," Archbishop Emeritus Tutu told reporters. He cited in particular three pro-Tibet protesters who scaled the cables of San Francisco's soaring Golden Gate Bridge to hang banners on Monday.
The international torch relay has been protested previously in Greece, Britain and France.
Speaking to San Francisco's World Affairs Council, Tutu said he would not call for a boycott of the Olympics as a protest against China's clampdown on unrest in Tibet, but that world leaders should not attend the games.
"There are times when you are very close to tears," he said of the violence in Tibet.
The protests planned for Wednesday's torch run have irritated some in the city's large ethnic Chinese community, many of whom are proud their ancestral motherland is hosting the global sporting event.
POLITICAL EVENT
Gere, the chairman of International Campaign for Tibet, said China had itself made the torch run a political event.
"Is it appropriate? I think as long as it is not violent, absolutely," he told Reuters. "This is clearly a moment where China wants to be included in the big leagues."
"They had politicized this, extraordinarily. I think if they had not closed up Everest, decided to run (the torch) through Tibet, this probably would not have happened."
Argentine activists said they planned surprise actions in Buenos Aires when the Olympic torch passes through there on Friday. Organizers told a news conference they would not try to snuff out the torch's flame, as demonstrators had in Paris and London.
"I want to announce that we will not put out the Olympic torch," said pro-Tibet activist Jorge Carcavallo. "We'll be carrying out surprise actions throughout the city of Buenos Aires, but all of these will be peaceful."
In Washington, the U.S. House of Representatives was expected to debate a non-binding measure late on Tuesday calling on Beijing to end its crackdown in Tibet.
The measure also would encourage China's government to enter direct talks with the Dalai Lama on finding ways to respect Tibet's culture, religious identity and "fundamental freedoms."
When asked whether Bush was considering boycotting the opening ceremonies, as suggested by Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democratic presidential candidate, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said his schedule had not been fixed.
"The key part of what the president can do as the president of the United States is before, during and after the Olympics, push very hard for increased human rights, press freedoms and political freedom in China," she said.
Pressed further on whether Bush's decision to attend the Olympics could be affected by developments, she said: "The president can always make a change. But the president has been clear that this is a sporting event for the athletes, and that pressuring China before, during and after the Olympics is the best way for us to try to help people across the board in China, including Tibetans."
(Additional reporting Jim Christie in San Francisco, Richard Cowan in Washington and Luis Ampuero in Buenos Aires, editing by Patricia Zengerle)
Suu Kyi sends floral basket at Ludu Daw Amar's funeral
Nam Davies
Mizzima News
April 8, 2008 - New Delhi: A group of unidentified persons among the crowd which attended Ludu Daw Amar's funeral left a floral basket sent by Aung San Suu Kyi last night.
The unknown persons left the floral basket containing over 100 rose buds at her residence located on 38th Street where her remains were kept at about 11:30 p.m.
"Yes, it was confirmed that Daw Su sent the floral basket. They were all red rose buds. I suppose that this was arranged by friends from Mandalay. I have no idea who brought it. The floral basket sent by Daw Aung San Su Kyi had a phrase written on the basket," Ludu Daw Amar's son, writer Nyi Pu Lay, told Mizzima.
There was no confirmation how the Nobel Laureate and leader of the NLD, Daw Aung San Su Kyi, sent the floral basket as she is under house arrest. "No one at the funeral saw people who brought it," a source said.
"We sent a floral basket and a floral ring. One was sent by the NLD and the other by Daw Aung San Su Kyi. What we sent were received. It was arranged in coordination with the Mandalay NLD. I have no idea who arranged the basket Daw Aung San Su Kyi sent," NLD spokesperson Nyan Win said.
With her body at her residence on 38th Street there were more than 1,000 people who paid their tributes to Daw Amar. Among them were people from the Burmese literary community.
Although about five people were monitoring the events outside her residence and were taking pictures of people who brought floral rings or floral baskets no one was disturbed in anyway.
Political activists from Rangoon are travelling to Mandalay in order to reach the funeral service on time.
Ludu Daw Amar was 92 years old when she died. Wednesday at 10 a.m. her body will be cremated at Kyar Ni Gan.
Mizzima News
April 8, 2008 - New Delhi: A group of unidentified persons among the crowd which attended Ludu Daw Amar's funeral left a floral basket sent by Aung San Suu Kyi last night.
The unknown persons left the floral basket containing over 100 rose buds at her residence located on 38th Street where her remains were kept at about 11:30 p.m.
"Yes, it was confirmed that Daw Su sent the floral basket. They were all red rose buds. I suppose that this was arranged by friends from Mandalay. I have no idea who brought it. The floral basket sent by Daw Aung San Su Kyi had a phrase written on the basket," Ludu Daw Amar's son, writer Nyi Pu Lay, told Mizzima.
There was no confirmation how the Nobel Laureate and leader of the NLD, Daw Aung San Su Kyi, sent the floral basket as she is under house arrest. "No one at the funeral saw people who brought it," a source said.
"We sent a floral basket and a floral ring. One was sent by the NLD and the other by Daw Aung San Su Kyi. What we sent were received. It was arranged in coordination with the Mandalay NLD. I have no idea who arranged the basket Daw Aung San Su Kyi sent," NLD spokesperson Nyan Win said.
With her body at her residence on 38th Street there were more than 1,000 people who paid their tributes to Daw Amar. Among them were people from the Burmese literary community.
Although about five people were monitoring the events outside her residence and were taking pictures of people who brought floral rings or floral baskets no one was disturbed in anyway.
Political activists from Rangoon are travelling to Mandalay in order to reach the funeral service on time.
Ludu Daw Amar was 92 years old when she died. Wednesday at 10 a.m. her body will be cremated at Kyar Ni Gan.
European Parliament Members Urge More Pressure on Burma
By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News
April 8, 2008 - Members of the European parliament criticized Burma during a joint hearing of the Development Committee and the Human Rights Subcommittee last week ahead of a potential European Union (EU) resolution on Burma in the near future.
During the hearing on April 2, parliament members spoke out on three topics: that more pressure be put on the Burmese military regime through better targeted sanctions; that the EU raise the question of Burma in its trade negotiations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean); and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.
A press release by the European parliament said that despite the sanctions imposed on Burma’s generals and some of their cronies through freezing bank assets, the EU envisaged providing 32 million euros between 2007 and 2010 for health and education in the country.
There was also debate on the merit of sanctions on the Burmese military junta. A German politician from the Green Party, Frijthof Schmidt, said, “Sanctions—which anyway have a limited effect—should be extended to the bank sector for Burmese leaders who conduct their financial business in Singapore, a country which does not support sanctions on Burma.”
But Glenys Kinnock, a member of the European parliament from the United Kingdom, argued that there must be “a positive alternative to sanctions” and that we must “stop pouring money into this country without getting something in return.”
This Berman from the Netherlands said, “No one speaks any more about Burma, even though the situation remains dreadful, human rights are still flouted and there are said to be 1,800 political prisoners. How can the international community and the EU exert more influence, and by what means?”
He also suggested an international embargo on arms—which come mainly from China—and a ban on Burma’s exports of precious stones.
Members from the EU also argued the Burma issue should be raised during talks on a free trade agreement and a partnership and cooperation agreement with members of Asean. China and India were also urged to put pressure on the Burmese junta.
On Tuesday, the European parliament is due to adopt a report on trade and economic relations with Asean in favor of signing a free trade agreement. However, the draft report contended that owing to the current situation in Burma, the country should not be included in the agreement.
Commenting on Burma’s forthcoming referendum on a new constitution, Riberiro e Castro of Portugal said, “We must lay down conditions for their referendum, including a call for the release of political prisoners and Aung San Suu Kyi.”
Schmidt also suggested it was risky for the EU to endorse an election that might meet international standards but would in fact prevent the opposition from standing, as had happened in Iran.
Meanwhile, the London-based Burma Campaign UK said in a briefing and recommendation that the EU had repeatedly failed to understand the true nature of the Burmese regime. “Polite political engagement of the kind that UN envoys have engaged in since 1990 have not produced a single democratic political reform,” said its recommendation.
“The regime will have to be forced to the negotiation table through a combination of political and economic pressure,” said the Burma Campaign UK.
The Irrawaddy News
April 8, 2008 - Members of the European parliament criticized Burma during a joint hearing of the Development Committee and the Human Rights Subcommittee last week ahead of a potential European Union (EU) resolution on Burma in the near future.
During the hearing on April 2, parliament members spoke out on three topics: that more pressure be put on the Burmese military regime through better targeted sanctions; that the EU raise the question of Burma in its trade negotiations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean); and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.
A press release by the European parliament said that despite the sanctions imposed on Burma’s generals and some of their cronies through freezing bank assets, the EU envisaged providing 32 million euros between 2007 and 2010 for health and education in the country.
There was also debate on the merit of sanctions on the Burmese military junta. A German politician from the Green Party, Frijthof Schmidt, said, “Sanctions—which anyway have a limited effect—should be extended to the bank sector for Burmese leaders who conduct their financial business in Singapore, a country which does not support sanctions on Burma.”
But Glenys Kinnock, a member of the European parliament from the United Kingdom, argued that there must be “a positive alternative to sanctions” and that we must “stop pouring money into this country without getting something in return.”
This Berman from the Netherlands said, “No one speaks any more about Burma, even though the situation remains dreadful, human rights are still flouted and there are said to be 1,800 political prisoners. How can the international community and the EU exert more influence, and by what means?”
He also suggested an international embargo on arms—which come mainly from China—and a ban on Burma’s exports of precious stones.
Members from the EU also argued the Burma issue should be raised during talks on a free trade agreement and a partnership and cooperation agreement with members of Asean. China and India were also urged to put pressure on the Burmese junta.
On Tuesday, the European parliament is due to adopt a report on trade and economic relations with Asean in favor of signing a free trade agreement. However, the draft report contended that owing to the current situation in Burma, the country should not be included in the agreement.
Commenting on Burma’s forthcoming referendum on a new constitution, Riberiro e Castro of Portugal said, “We must lay down conditions for their referendum, including a call for the release of political prisoners and Aung San Suu Kyi.”
Schmidt also suggested it was risky for the EU to endorse an election that might meet international standards but would in fact prevent the opposition from standing, as had happened in Iran.
Meanwhile, the London-based Burma Campaign UK said in a briefing and recommendation that the EU had repeatedly failed to understand the true nature of the Burmese regime. “Polite political engagement of the kind that UN envoys have engaged in since 1990 have not produced a single democratic political reform,” said its recommendation.
“The regime will have to be forced to the negotiation table through a combination of political and economic pressure,” said the Burma Campaign UK.
Security Tightens Around ‘Vote No’ Campaign
By VIOLET CHO
The Irrawaddy News
April 8, 2008 - The momentum of the “Vote No” campaign against the military-drafted constitution is growing and spreading among the public in urban areas. Meanwhile, the military authorities are tightening security and deploying more security guards in Burma’s main cities.
The “Vote No” campaign started in earnest last week during the country’s Armed Forces Day when more than 30 demonstrators sporting T-shirts declaring “NO” staged a protest in Rangoon urging voters to reject the constitution in the upcoming referendum.
According to a campaign organizer in Burma’s second city, Mandalay, the campaign quickly gained support on April 4 after the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), called on voters to cast a “No” vote in the constitutional referendum next month.
“We have spray-painted “NO” on walls at several locations in the eastern and southern parts of Mandalay,” the campaign organizer said.
The NLD announced last Wednesday that the military-drafted constitution broke the basic principles of democracy and failed to give assurances on democratic values and human rights.
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.
Yesterday, an unknown activist painted “NO” on the entrance sign outside one of Burma’s biggest hotels, the Mya Yeik Nyo Royal Hotel, which is owned by Burmese businessman “Zay Ka Bar” Khin Shwe, a close crony of the military regime in Rangoon.
According to a Rangoon resident, security has been tightening inside Rangoon in the meantime as police take positions in the city and security guards dressed in police uniforms are deployed at each corner of Rangoon’s main streets.
A Burmese woman who recently traveled from Rangoon to Mon State said there are more checkpoints on the route compared to any time before.
According to an article last Saturday in state-run The New Light of Myanmar, there is a possibility of increased “terrorist acts” during the upcoming water festival and the national referendum.
“Terrorist insurgents are active under the pretext of the democracy movements not only in underground areas and border regions but also in above-ground areas and urban areas. They are rising against the government in disguise, and have become audacious to attack and kill the people,” declared The New Light of Myanmar.
The Irrawaddy News
April 8, 2008 - The momentum of the “Vote No” campaign against the military-drafted constitution is growing and spreading among the public in urban areas. Meanwhile, the military authorities are tightening security and deploying more security guards in Burma’s main cities.
The “Vote No” campaign started in earnest last week during the country’s Armed Forces Day when more than 30 demonstrators sporting T-shirts declaring “NO” staged a protest in Rangoon urging voters to reject the constitution in the upcoming referendum.
According to a campaign organizer in Burma’s second city, Mandalay, the campaign quickly gained support on April 4 after the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), called on voters to cast a “No” vote in the constitutional referendum next month.
“We have spray-painted “NO” on walls at several locations in the eastern and southern parts of Mandalay,” the campaign organizer said.
The NLD announced last Wednesday that the military-drafted constitution broke the basic principles of democracy and failed to give assurances on democratic values and human rights.
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.
Yesterday, an unknown activist painted “NO” on the entrance sign outside one of Burma’s biggest hotels, the Mya Yeik Nyo Royal Hotel, which is owned by Burmese businessman “Zay Ka Bar” Khin Shwe, a close crony of the military regime in Rangoon.
According to a Rangoon resident, security has been tightening inside Rangoon in the meantime as police take positions in the city and security guards dressed in police uniforms are deployed at each corner of Rangoon’s main streets.
A Burmese woman who recently traveled from Rangoon to Mon State said there are more checkpoints on the route compared to any time before.
According to an article last Saturday in state-run The New Light of Myanmar, there is a possibility of increased “terrorist acts” during the upcoming water festival and the national referendum.
“Terrorist insurgents are active under the pretext of the democracy movements not only in underground areas and border regions but also in above-ground areas and urban areas. They are rising against the government in disguise, and have become audacious to attack and kill the people,” declared The New Light of Myanmar.
Contrasting responses to crackdowns in Tibet and Burma
By BRAHMA CHELLANEY
NEW DELHI — There are striking similarities between Tibet and Burma — both are strategically located, endowed with rich natural resources, suffering under long-standing repressive rule, resisting hard power with soft power and facing an influx of Han settlers. Yet the international response to the brutal crackdown on monk-led protests in Tibet and Burma has been a study in contrast.
When the Burmese crackdown on peaceful protesters in Yangon last September left at least 31 people dead — according to a U.N. special rapporteur's report — it ignited international indignation and a new round of U.S.-led sanctions. More than six months later, the tepid international response to an ongoing harsh crackdown in Tibet by the Burmese junta's closest ally, China, raises the question whether that country has accumulated such power as to escape even censure over actions that are far more repressive and extensive than what Burma witnessed.
Despite growing international appeals to Beijing to respect Tibetans' human rights and cultural identity, and to begin dialogue with the Dalai Lama, there has been no call for any penal action, however mild, against China. Even the leverage provided by the 2008 Beijing Olympics is not being seized upon to help end the repression in the Tibetan region.
When the Burmese generals cracked down on monks and their prodemocracy supporters, the outside world watched vivid images of brutality, thanks to citizen reporters using the Internet. But China employs tens of thousands of cyberpolice to censor Web sites, patrol cybercafes, monitor text and video messages from cellular phones, and hunt down Internet activists. As a result, the outside world has yet to see a single haunting image of the Chinese use of brute force against Tibetans. The only images released by Beijing are those that seek to show Tibetans in bad light, as engaged in arson and other attacks.
The continuing arbitrary arrests of Tibetans through house-to-house searches are a cause of serious concern, given the high incidence of mock trials followed by quick executions in China. That country still executes more people every year than all other nations combined, despite its adoption of new rules requiring a review of death sentences.
The important parallels between Tibet and Burma begin with the fact that Burma's majority citizens — the ethnic Burmans — are of Tibetan stock. It was China's 1950 invasion of Tibet that opened a new Han entrance to Burma.
But now the Han demographic invasion of the Tibetan plateau is spilling over into Burma, with Chinese presence conspicuous in Mandalay city and the areas to the northeast.
Today, the resistance against repressive rule in both Tibet and Burma is led by iconic Nobel laureates, one living in exile and the other under house detention. In fact, the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi received the Nobel peace prize in quick succession for the same reason: For leading a non-violent struggle.
Each is a symbol of soft power, building such moral authority as to command wide international respect and influence.
Yet another parallel is that heavy repression has failed to break the resistance to autocratic rule in both Tibet and Burma. If anything, growing authoritarianism has begun to backfire, as the popular monk-led revolts in Tibet and Burma have highlighted.
Vantage location and rich natural resources underscore the importance of Tibet and Burma. The Tibetan plateau makes up one-fourth of China's landmass. Annexation has given China control over Tibet's immense water resources and mineral wealth, including boron, chromite, copper, iron ore, lead, lithium, uranium and zinc. Most of Asia's major rivers originate in the Tibetan plateau, with their waters a lifeline to 47 percent of the global population living in South and Southeast Asia and China. Through its control over Asia's main source of freshwater and its building of huge dams upstream, China holds out a latent threat to fashion water into a political weapon.
Energy-rich Burma is a land bridge between the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. China, however, has succeeded in strategically penetrating Burma, which it values as an entryway to the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. Beijing is now busy completing the Irrawaddy Corridor through Burma involving road, river, rail, port and energy-transport links.
The key difference between Tibet and Burma is that the repression in the former is by an occupying power. Months after the 1949 communist takeover in Beijing, China's People's Liberation Army entered what was effectively a sovereign nation in full control of its own affairs.
At the root of the present Tibet crisis is China's failure to grant the autonomy it promised when it imposed on Tibetans a "17-Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" in 1951. Instead of agreeing to autonomy, Beijing has actually done the opposite: It has pursued Machiavellian policies by breaking up Tibet as it existed before the invasion, and by seeking to reduce Tibetans to a minority in their own homeland through the state-supported relocation of millions of Han Chinese.
It has gerrymandered Tibet by making Amdo (the present Dalai Lama's birthplace) Qinghai province and merging eastern Kham into the Han provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Gansu. More recently, Chongqing province was carved out of Sichuan.
The traditional Tibetan region is a distinct cultural and economic entity. But with large, heavily Tibetan areas having been severed from Tibet, what is left is just the 1965 creation — the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), the central plateau comprising U-Tsang and western Kham, or roughly half of the Tibetan plateau. Yet China has changed even the demographic composition of TAR, where there were hardly any Han settlers before the Chinese annexation.
TAR, home to barely 40 percent of the 6.5 million Tibetans in China, was the last "autonomous region" created by the Chinese communists, the others being Inner Mongolia (1947), Xinjiang (1955), Guangxi Zhuang (1958) and Ningxia (1958). In addition, China has 30 "autonomous prefectures," 120 "autonomous counties" and 1,256 "autonomous townships."
All of the so-called autonomous areas are in minority homelands, which historically were ruled from Beijing only when China itself had been conquered by foreigners — first by the Mongols, and then the Manchu. Today, these areas are autonomous only in name, with that tag designed to package a fiction to the ethnic minorities. Apart from not enforcing its one-child norm in these sparsely populated but vast regions (which make up three-fifths of China's landmass), Beijing grants them no meaningful autonomy. In Tibet, what the ravages of the Cultural Revolution left incomplete, forced "political education" since has sought to accomplish.
China grants local autonomy just to two areas, both Han — Hong Kong and Macau. In the talks it has held with the Dalai Lama's envoys since 2002, Beijing has flatly refused to consider the idea of making Tibet a Special Administrative Region like Hong Kong and Macau. It has also rebuffed the idea of restoring Tibet, under continued Chinese rule, to the shape and size it existed in 1950.
Instead it has sought to malign the Dalai Lama for seeking "Greater Tibet" and pressed a maximalist historical position. Not content with the Dalai Lama's 1987 concession in publicly forsaking Tibetan independence, Beijing insists that he also affirm that Tibet was always part of China. But as the Dalai Lama said in a recent interview, "Even if I make that statement, many people would just laugh. And my statement will not change past history."
Contrary to China's claim that its present national political structure is unalterable to accommodate Tibetan aspirations, the fact is that its constitutional arrangements have continued to change, as underscored by the creation of 47 new supposedly "autonomous" municipalities or counties in minority homelands just between 1984 and 1994, according to the work of Harvard scholar Lobsang Sangay.
Until the latest uprising, Beijing believed its weapon of repression was working well and thus saw no need to bring Tibetans together under one administrative unit, as they demand, or to grant Tibet a status equivalent to Hong Kong and Macau. President Hu Jintao, who regards Tibet as his core political base from the time he was the party boss there, has ruled out any compromise that would allow the Dalai Lama to return home from his long exile in India.
Following the uprising, Hu's line on Tibet is likely to further harden, unless effective international pressure is brought to bear.
The contrasting international response to the repression in Tibet and Burma brings out an inconvenient truth: The principle that engagement is better than punitive action to help change state behavior is applied only to powerful autocratic countries, while sanctions are a favored tool to try and tame the weak. Sanctions against China are also precluded by the fact that the West has a huge commercial stake in that country. But Burma, where its interests are trifling, is a soft target.
So, while an impoverished Burma reels under widening sanctions, a booming China openly mocks the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Even the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre of countless hundreds of students did not trigger lasting international trade sanctions against Beijing.
No one today is suggesting trade sanctions. But given that Beijing secured the right to host the 2008 Olympics on the promise to improve its human-rights record, the free world has a duty to demand that it end its repression in Tibet or face an international boycott, if not of the Games, at least of the opening ceremony, to which world leaders have been invited. By making the success of this summer's Olympics a prestige issue, China has handed the world valuable leverage that today is begging to be exercised.
This rare opportunity must not be frittered away.
Brahma Chellaney, a professor of strategic studies at the privately funded Center for Policy Research in New Delhi, is a regular contributor to The Japan Times.
The Japan Times
NEW DELHI — There are striking similarities between Tibet and Burma — both are strategically located, endowed with rich natural resources, suffering under long-standing repressive rule, resisting hard power with soft power and facing an influx of Han settlers. Yet the international response to the brutal crackdown on monk-led protests in Tibet and Burma has been a study in contrast.
When the Burmese crackdown on peaceful protesters in Yangon last September left at least 31 people dead — according to a U.N. special rapporteur's report — it ignited international indignation and a new round of U.S.-led sanctions. More than six months later, the tepid international response to an ongoing harsh crackdown in Tibet by the Burmese junta's closest ally, China, raises the question whether that country has accumulated such power as to escape even censure over actions that are far more repressive and extensive than what Burma witnessed.
Despite growing international appeals to Beijing to respect Tibetans' human rights and cultural identity, and to begin dialogue with the Dalai Lama, there has been no call for any penal action, however mild, against China. Even the leverage provided by the 2008 Beijing Olympics is not being seized upon to help end the repression in the Tibetan region.
When the Burmese generals cracked down on monks and their prodemocracy supporters, the outside world watched vivid images of brutality, thanks to citizen reporters using the Internet. But China employs tens of thousands of cyberpolice to censor Web sites, patrol cybercafes, monitor text and video messages from cellular phones, and hunt down Internet activists. As a result, the outside world has yet to see a single haunting image of the Chinese use of brute force against Tibetans. The only images released by Beijing are those that seek to show Tibetans in bad light, as engaged in arson and other attacks.
The continuing arbitrary arrests of Tibetans through house-to-house searches are a cause of serious concern, given the high incidence of mock trials followed by quick executions in China. That country still executes more people every year than all other nations combined, despite its adoption of new rules requiring a review of death sentences.
The important parallels between Tibet and Burma begin with the fact that Burma's majority citizens — the ethnic Burmans — are of Tibetan stock. It was China's 1950 invasion of Tibet that opened a new Han entrance to Burma.
But now the Han demographic invasion of the Tibetan plateau is spilling over into Burma, with Chinese presence conspicuous in Mandalay city and the areas to the northeast.
Today, the resistance against repressive rule in both Tibet and Burma is led by iconic Nobel laureates, one living in exile and the other under house detention. In fact, the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi received the Nobel peace prize in quick succession for the same reason: For leading a non-violent struggle.
Each is a symbol of soft power, building such moral authority as to command wide international respect and influence.
Yet another parallel is that heavy repression has failed to break the resistance to autocratic rule in both Tibet and Burma. If anything, growing authoritarianism has begun to backfire, as the popular monk-led revolts in Tibet and Burma have highlighted.
Vantage location and rich natural resources underscore the importance of Tibet and Burma. The Tibetan plateau makes up one-fourth of China's landmass. Annexation has given China control over Tibet's immense water resources and mineral wealth, including boron, chromite, copper, iron ore, lead, lithium, uranium and zinc. Most of Asia's major rivers originate in the Tibetan plateau, with their waters a lifeline to 47 percent of the global population living in South and Southeast Asia and China. Through its control over Asia's main source of freshwater and its building of huge dams upstream, China holds out a latent threat to fashion water into a political weapon.
Energy-rich Burma is a land bridge between the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. China, however, has succeeded in strategically penetrating Burma, which it values as an entryway to the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. Beijing is now busy completing the Irrawaddy Corridor through Burma involving road, river, rail, port and energy-transport links.
The key difference between Tibet and Burma is that the repression in the former is by an occupying power. Months after the 1949 communist takeover in Beijing, China's People's Liberation Army entered what was effectively a sovereign nation in full control of its own affairs.
At the root of the present Tibet crisis is China's failure to grant the autonomy it promised when it imposed on Tibetans a "17-Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" in 1951. Instead of agreeing to autonomy, Beijing has actually done the opposite: It has pursued Machiavellian policies by breaking up Tibet as it existed before the invasion, and by seeking to reduce Tibetans to a minority in their own homeland through the state-supported relocation of millions of Han Chinese.
It has gerrymandered Tibet by making Amdo (the present Dalai Lama's birthplace) Qinghai province and merging eastern Kham into the Han provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Gansu. More recently, Chongqing province was carved out of Sichuan.
The traditional Tibetan region is a distinct cultural and economic entity. But with large, heavily Tibetan areas having been severed from Tibet, what is left is just the 1965 creation — the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), the central plateau comprising U-Tsang and western Kham, or roughly half of the Tibetan plateau. Yet China has changed even the demographic composition of TAR, where there were hardly any Han settlers before the Chinese annexation.
TAR, home to barely 40 percent of the 6.5 million Tibetans in China, was the last "autonomous region" created by the Chinese communists, the others being Inner Mongolia (1947), Xinjiang (1955), Guangxi Zhuang (1958) and Ningxia (1958). In addition, China has 30 "autonomous prefectures," 120 "autonomous counties" and 1,256 "autonomous townships."
All of the so-called autonomous areas are in minority homelands, which historically were ruled from Beijing only when China itself had been conquered by foreigners — first by the Mongols, and then the Manchu. Today, these areas are autonomous only in name, with that tag designed to package a fiction to the ethnic minorities. Apart from not enforcing its one-child norm in these sparsely populated but vast regions (which make up three-fifths of China's landmass), Beijing grants them no meaningful autonomy. In Tibet, what the ravages of the Cultural Revolution left incomplete, forced "political education" since has sought to accomplish.
China grants local autonomy just to two areas, both Han — Hong Kong and Macau. In the talks it has held with the Dalai Lama's envoys since 2002, Beijing has flatly refused to consider the idea of making Tibet a Special Administrative Region like Hong Kong and Macau. It has also rebuffed the idea of restoring Tibet, under continued Chinese rule, to the shape and size it existed in 1950.
Instead it has sought to malign the Dalai Lama for seeking "Greater Tibet" and pressed a maximalist historical position. Not content with the Dalai Lama's 1987 concession in publicly forsaking Tibetan independence, Beijing insists that he also affirm that Tibet was always part of China. But as the Dalai Lama said in a recent interview, "Even if I make that statement, many people would just laugh. And my statement will not change past history."
Contrary to China's claim that its present national political structure is unalterable to accommodate Tibetan aspirations, the fact is that its constitutional arrangements have continued to change, as underscored by the creation of 47 new supposedly "autonomous" municipalities or counties in minority homelands just between 1984 and 1994, according to the work of Harvard scholar Lobsang Sangay.
Until the latest uprising, Beijing believed its weapon of repression was working well and thus saw no need to bring Tibetans together under one administrative unit, as they demand, or to grant Tibet a status equivalent to Hong Kong and Macau. President Hu Jintao, who regards Tibet as his core political base from the time he was the party boss there, has ruled out any compromise that would allow the Dalai Lama to return home from his long exile in India.
Following the uprising, Hu's line on Tibet is likely to further harden, unless effective international pressure is brought to bear.
The contrasting international response to the repression in Tibet and Burma brings out an inconvenient truth: The principle that engagement is better than punitive action to help change state behavior is applied only to powerful autocratic countries, while sanctions are a favored tool to try and tame the weak. Sanctions against China are also precluded by the fact that the West has a huge commercial stake in that country. But Burma, where its interests are trifling, is a soft target.
So, while an impoverished Burma reels under widening sanctions, a booming China openly mocks the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Even the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre of countless hundreds of students did not trigger lasting international trade sanctions against Beijing.
No one today is suggesting trade sanctions. But given that Beijing secured the right to host the 2008 Olympics on the promise to improve its human-rights record, the free world has a duty to demand that it end its repression in Tibet or face an international boycott, if not of the Games, at least of the opening ceremony, to which world leaders have been invited. By making the success of this summer's Olympics a prestige issue, China has handed the world valuable leverage that today is begging to be exercised.
This rare opportunity must not be frittered away.
Brahma Chellaney, a professor of strategic studies at the privately funded Center for Policy Research in New Delhi, is a regular contributor to The Japan Times.
The Japan Times
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
Neighbours encroach on blocks offered under 3rd round bidding
of the 12 blocks India has encroached on five Bangladesh offshore gas blocks, while Myanmar on seven blocks in the prospective Bay of Bengal.
By M Azizur Rahman
The prospect of a dispute over offshore gas blocks in the Bay of Bengal is looming large as neighbouring India and Myanmar have encroached on almost half of the Bangladesh's blocks, said sources.( The Financial Express)
UK-based prestigious firm Wood Mackenzie reveals recently that 12 out of 28 gas blocks to oil companies offered under the latest offshore bidding round have been wholly or partly licensed by neighbouring countries.
"One shallow water block and eleven deepwater blocks have been wholly or partly licensed by other countries,"
Wood Mackenzie categorically said in its findings.
It said of the 12 blocks India has encroached on five Bangladesh offshore gas blocks, while Myanmar on seven blocks in the prospective Bay of Bengal.
Bangladesh in February last offered a total of 28 blocks for oil exploration, eight are located in the shallow-depth of the Bay called A-type, while the rest 20 B-Type blocks are located in the deep-water.
The sale of bidding documents and their submission is set to end May 7 next.
Wood Mackenzie in its findings stated that to the west, part of Bangladesh block SS-08-05 was licensed by India (as block NEC-DWN-2004/2) to Santos in 2007.
The Indian block overlaps Bangladeshi third round blocks -- SS-08-09 and SS-08-14.
Further south, another Santos block, NEC-DWN-2004/1, overlaps Bangladeshi blocks -- DS-08-14, DS-08-19 and DS-08-24.
"In the east, seven Bangladeshi deep-water blocks have been wholly or partly licensed by Myanmar," Wood Mackenzie revealed.
Blocks DS-08-22, DS-08-23, DS-08-27 and DS-08-28 all overlap Myanmar's block AD-9, which is operated by ONGC.
Further north, Myanmar's AD-8 block (CNPC) covers the Bangladeshi blocks -- DS-08-18 and part of DS-08-17 and DS-08-13.
Furthermore, block AD-7, which was licensed by Myanmar to Daewoo, overlaps part of block DS-08-13.
"Beyond the blocks with explicit uncertainty over jurisdiction, there are others where no claim of ownership have yet been made, but could be expected in the future," the findings of the UK-based consulting firm noted.
When contacted special aide to chief adviser M Tamim said: "I have heard of the Wood Mackenzie survey. But it would not create any problem for Bangladesh to offer the country's prospective gas blocks to the international oil and gas companies (IOCs)."
"The IOCs are not worried over it as the issue is more or less known to all," the Special Assistant to Chief Adviser on Energy issues said.
In any case, the IOCs would not face any problem over the issue, as the respective neighbouring countries would settle any such dispute through mutual understanding, he assured.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provision is there to resolve such dispute among the neighbouring countries, he added.
"Bangladesh will explore oil and gas within its territorial waters. It will in no way encroach into others' territory." Tamim assured.
He also said that dispute among the neighbouring countries over the hydrocarbon blocks is not new in the world.
The countries like Vietnam, China and Thailand have similar disputes and the global oil and gas giants are working in these blocks to explore hydrocarbon.
Russia and Japan have similar disputes over the right of oil and gas blocks, Tamim said.
Besides, in the model production-sharing contract of Bangladesh there is a provision for unitization of gas blocks through discussion between the relevant parties if a structure extends into neighbouring territory, he added.
By M Azizur Rahman
The prospect of a dispute over offshore gas blocks in the Bay of Bengal is looming large as neighbouring India and Myanmar have encroached on almost half of the Bangladesh's blocks, said sources.( The Financial Express)
UK-based prestigious firm Wood Mackenzie reveals recently that 12 out of 28 gas blocks to oil companies offered under the latest offshore bidding round have been wholly or partly licensed by neighbouring countries.
"One shallow water block and eleven deepwater blocks have been wholly or partly licensed by other countries,"
Wood Mackenzie categorically said in its findings.
It said of the 12 blocks India has encroached on five Bangladesh offshore gas blocks, while Myanmar on seven blocks in the prospective Bay of Bengal.
Bangladesh in February last offered a total of 28 blocks for oil exploration, eight are located in the shallow-depth of the Bay called A-type, while the rest 20 B-Type blocks are located in the deep-water.
The sale of bidding documents and their submission is set to end May 7 next.
Wood Mackenzie in its findings stated that to the west, part of Bangladesh block SS-08-05 was licensed by India (as block NEC-DWN-2004/2) to Santos in 2007.
The Indian block overlaps Bangladeshi third round blocks -- SS-08-09 and SS-08-14.
Further south, another Santos block, NEC-DWN-2004/1, overlaps Bangladeshi blocks -- DS-08-14, DS-08-19 and DS-08-24.
"In the east, seven Bangladeshi deep-water blocks have been wholly or partly licensed by Myanmar," Wood Mackenzie revealed.
Blocks DS-08-22, DS-08-23, DS-08-27 and DS-08-28 all overlap Myanmar's block AD-9, which is operated by ONGC.
Further north, Myanmar's AD-8 block (CNPC) covers the Bangladeshi blocks -- DS-08-18 and part of DS-08-17 and DS-08-13.
Furthermore, block AD-7, which was licensed by Myanmar to Daewoo, overlaps part of block DS-08-13.
"Beyond the blocks with explicit uncertainty over jurisdiction, there are others where no claim of ownership have yet been made, but could be expected in the future," the findings of the UK-based consulting firm noted.
When contacted special aide to chief adviser M Tamim said: "I have heard of the Wood Mackenzie survey. But it would not create any problem for Bangladesh to offer the country's prospective gas blocks to the international oil and gas companies (IOCs)."
"The IOCs are not worried over it as the issue is more or less known to all," the Special Assistant to Chief Adviser on Energy issues said.
In any case, the IOCs would not face any problem over the issue, as the respective neighbouring countries would settle any such dispute through mutual understanding, he assured.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provision is there to resolve such dispute among the neighbouring countries, he added.
"Bangladesh will explore oil and gas within its territorial waters. It will in no way encroach into others' territory." Tamim assured.
He also said that dispute among the neighbouring countries over the hydrocarbon blocks is not new in the world.
The countries like Vietnam, China and Thailand have similar disputes and the global oil and gas giants are working in these blocks to explore hydrocarbon.
Russia and Japan have similar disputes over the right of oil and gas blocks, Tamim said.
Besides, in the model production-sharing contract of Bangladesh there is a provision for unitization of gas blocks through discussion between the relevant parties if a structure extends into neighbouring territory, he added.
UN Worker Among Arrested in Maungdaw
Narinja News
April 7, 2008 - Maungdaw: A local UN worker was among those arrested recently in a roundup of several Muslim community leaders in the western Burmese border town of Maungdaw, and he is currently being interrogated by military authorities along with nine other Muslim detainees.
The UN worker has been identified as Mr. Nurul kawbi, a driver for the UN office in Maungdaw.
A source close to the army authority said that he was arrested by the Burmese military authorities on accusations of leaking information to sources abroad and to the UN office in Maungdaw whenever human rights violations took place in Maungdaw Township.
Burmese military intelligence recently arrested at least ten Muslim community leaders in Maungdaw, including some well-known and well-educated individuals.
Officials have not disclosed any information about the arrests, but there are many rumors that the Muslim community leaders were preparing to oppose the upcoming referendum.
However, it is unclear if the arrest of Mr. Nurul is related to the arrest of the other men.
A resident from Maungdaw said Mr. Nurul Kawbi and the others will be charged by the military authority in Maungdaw district court and sentenced to long prison terms due to suspicion of anti-government activities.
April 7, 2008 - Maungdaw: A local UN worker was among those arrested recently in a roundup of several Muslim community leaders in the western Burmese border town of Maungdaw, and he is currently being interrogated by military authorities along with nine other Muslim detainees.
The UN worker has been identified as Mr. Nurul kawbi, a driver for the UN office in Maungdaw.
A source close to the army authority said that he was arrested by the Burmese military authorities on accusations of leaking information to sources abroad and to the UN office in Maungdaw whenever human rights violations took place in Maungdaw Township.
Burmese military intelligence recently arrested at least ten Muslim community leaders in Maungdaw, including some well-known and well-educated individuals.
Officials have not disclosed any information about the arrests, but there are many rumors that the Muslim community leaders were preparing to oppose the upcoming referendum.
However, it is unclear if the arrest of Mr. Nurul is related to the arrest of the other men.
A resident from Maungdaw said Mr. Nurul Kawbi and the others will be charged by the military authority in Maungdaw district court and sentenced to long prison terms due to suspicion of anti-government activities.
Protesters Scuffle with Police during Olympic Torch Relay in London
By BRYAN MITCHELL / AP WRITER / LONDON
The Irrawaddy News
April 7, 2008 - Police repeatedly scuffled with protesters as Olympians and dignitaries carried the Olympic torch through snowy London during a chaotic relay Sunday.
Demonstrators tried to board a relay bus after five-time Olympic gold medalist rower Steve Redgrave launched procession at Wembley Stadium—presaging a number of clashes with police along the torch's 31-mile (50-kilometer) journey.
Police tackle protesters as the torch nears Trafalger Square during the Beijing Olympics torch relay in London Sunday. (Photo: AP)
In west London, a protester tried to grab the torch out of the hands of a TV presenter, forcing police to briefly stop the procession as officers detained the man. Another demonstrator tried to snuff out the flame with what appeared to be a fire extinguisher. Others in the crowd threw themselves at torchbearers running past in official Beijing 2010 Olympics tracksuits.
The protests have forced officials to make unscheduled changes to the relay route, Metropolitan Police said. Thirty people have been arrested.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown briefly greeted the torch when it arrived outside his Downing Street residence as pro-Tibet demonstrators and police clashed yards away near Britain's Parliament buildings.
A picture shows RSF flags before the press conference of Robert Menard, director of Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders - RSF) at the association's office in Paris. (Photo: AFP)Demonstrators swelled in number near the spot where Chinese Ambassador Fu Ying had been expected to carry the Olympic torch. Instead, Fu emerged with the torch in the heart of London's Chinatown, managing to jog unhindered before handing it over to the next participant.
Along the route, hundreds of protesters chanted "Free Tibet!" "Stop killing in Tibet!" and "China, talk to Dalai Lama!"
In London's historic Bloomsbury area, police separated anti-China protesters from flag-waving Chinese who turned out to support their nation and the Olympics.
"There was definitely a bit of an edge," British tennis player Tim Henman, one of the torchbearers, told The Associated Press.
Police Cmdr. Jo Kaye said the incidents were minor. "It's going to be a long day but the torch is progressing on schedule," Kaye told British Broadcasting Corp. television.
Brown himself never handled the torch but watched as Olympic gold medalist Denise Lewis handed it to Paralympic hopeful Ali Jawad. Student Scott Earley Jr, from Glasgow, Scotland, then took the torch from Downing Street, needing help from dozens of police to keep baying mobs from snatching it from him as he ran past Big Ben to Westminster Bridge.
"Everyone was running at you. It was a bit weird," said Earley, 17. "The police had it covered. They told me when to go and what to do."
Later, police hustled a torchbearer onto an official bus after he was surrounded by a 100 activists. The torch then traveled part of the journey toward St. Paul's Cathedral by bus instead of on foot as planned, police said.
Activists demonstrating against China's human rights record and a recent crackdown on Tibet have been protesting along the torch route since the start of the flame's 85,000-mile (140,000-kilometer) odyssey from Ancient Olympia in Greece to Beijing, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The torch's global tour—the longest in Olympic history—is meant to highlight China's growing economic and political power. But it also has offered protest groups abundant opportunity to draw attention to their concerns.
"People are traveling from across the country and Europe as well to participate," said spokesman Terry Bettger of the Free Tibet Campaign.
Metropolitan Police said it was aware of six organizations, including the Free Tibet campaign, the spiritual group Falun Gong and a group calling for democracy in Burma, protesting Sunday. Two thousands police officers were deployed to secure the route.
The 80 torchbearers include Olympic champion Kelly Holmes and violinist Vanessa Mae.
Several dropped out to protest China's human rights record—including Richard Vaughan, Britain's top badminton player, who said China was not doing enough to stop violence in the Sudanese region of Darfur.
British Chinese residents had hoped for a peaceful torch relay.
"The Olympic games are very important for all Chinese. In Chinatown, everyone is very anxious to see the torch pass," London Chinese Community Center spokeswoman Annie Wu said before the procession began. "We hope it goes smoothly."
The torch relay is expected to face demonstrations in Paris, San Francisco, New Delhi and possibly elsewhere on its 21-stop, six-continent tour before reaching mainland China on May 4.
The Irrawaddy News
April 7, 2008 - Police repeatedly scuffled with protesters as Olympians and dignitaries carried the Olympic torch through snowy London during a chaotic relay Sunday.
Demonstrators tried to board a relay bus after five-time Olympic gold medalist rower Steve Redgrave launched procession at Wembley Stadium—presaging a number of clashes with police along the torch's 31-mile (50-kilometer) journey.
Police tackle protesters as the torch nears Trafalger Square during the Beijing Olympics torch relay in London Sunday. (Photo: AP)In west London, a protester tried to grab the torch out of the hands of a TV presenter, forcing police to briefly stop the procession as officers detained the man. Another demonstrator tried to snuff out the flame with what appeared to be a fire extinguisher. Others in the crowd threw themselves at torchbearers running past in official Beijing 2010 Olympics tracksuits.
The protests have forced officials to make unscheduled changes to the relay route, Metropolitan Police said. Thirty people have been arrested.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown briefly greeted the torch when it arrived outside his Downing Street residence as pro-Tibet demonstrators and police clashed yards away near Britain's Parliament buildings.
A picture shows RSF flags before the press conference of Robert Menard, director of Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders - RSF) at the association's office in Paris. (Photo: AFP)Demonstrators swelled in number near the spot where Chinese Ambassador Fu Ying had been expected to carry the Olympic torch. Instead, Fu emerged with the torch in the heart of London's Chinatown, managing to jog unhindered before handing it over to the next participant.Along the route, hundreds of protesters chanted "Free Tibet!" "Stop killing in Tibet!" and "China, talk to Dalai Lama!"
In London's historic Bloomsbury area, police separated anti-China protesters from flag-waving Chinese who turned out to support their nation and the Olympics.
"There was definitely a bit of an edge," British tennis player Tim Henman, one of the torchbearers, told The Associated Press.
Police Cmdr. Jo Kaye said the incidents were minor. "It's going to be a long day but the torch is progressing on schedule," Kaye told British Broadcasting Corp. television.
Brown himself never handled the torch but watched as Olympic gold medalist Denise Lewis handed it to Paralympic hopeful Ali Jawad. Student Scott Earley Jr, from Glasgow, Scotland, then took the torch from Downing Street, needing help from dozens of police to keep baying mobs from snatching it from him as he ran past Big Ben to Westminster Bridge.
"Everyone was running at you. It was a bit weird," said Earley, 17. "The police had it covered. They told me when to go and what to do."
Later, police hustled a torchbearer onto an official bus after he was surrounded by a 100 activists. The torch then traveled part of the journey toward St. Paul's Cathedral by bus instead of on foot as planned, police said.
Activists demonstrating against China's human rights record and a recent crackdown on Tibet have been protesting along the torch route since the start of the flame's 85,000-mile (140,000-kilometer) odyssey from Ancient Olympia in Greece to Beijing, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The torch's global tour—the longest in Olympic history—is meant to highlight China's growing economic and political power. But it also has offered protest groups abundant opportunity to draw attention to their concerns.
"People are traveling from across the country and Europe as well to participate," said spokesman Terry Bettger of the Free Tibet Campaign.
Metropolitan Police said it was aware of six organizations, including the Free Tibet campaign, the spiritual group Falun Gong and a group calling for democracy in Burma, protesting Sunday. Two thousands police officers were deployed to secure the route.
The 80 torchbearers include Olympic champion Kelly Holmes and violinist Vanessa Mae.
Several dropped out to protest China's human rights record—including Richard Vaughan, Britain's top badminton player, who said China was not doing enough to stop violence in the Sudanese region of Darfur.
British Chinese residents had hoped for a peaceful torch relay.
"The Olympic games are very important for all Chinese. In Chinatown, everyone is very anxious to see the torch pass," London Chinese Community Center spokeswoman Annie Wu said before the procession began. "We hope it goes smoothly."
The torch relay is expected to face demonstrations in Paris, San Francisco, New Delhi and possibly elsewhere on its 21-stop, six-continent tour before reaching mainland China on May 4.
Reuters Wins Pulitzer for Rangoon Death Picture
By REUTERS
The Irrawaddy News
April 8, 2008
A Reuters news agency photographer won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography on Monday for a picture of a Burmese soldier shooting dead a Japanese video cameraman during a last September’s demonstrations in Rangoon.
The news agency’s Adrees Latif won for "his dramatic photograph of the Japanese videographer, sprawled on the pavement, fatally wounded during a street demonstration in Myanmar [Burma]," the Pulitzer Prize board said.
The 92nd annual Pulitzer Prizes in journalism, letters, drama and music were announced at Columbia University in New York City. The Public Service winner receives a gold medal, while winners in the remaining 20 categories receive $10,000.
Reuters carried news of the award together with a firsthand account by its Bangkok senior photographer Adrees Latif of how he took the pictures which won him a Pulitzer Prize. The pictures were taken in Burma during the protests in September last year and include the photo of Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai being shot.
“Tipped off by protests against soaring fuel prices, I landed in Yangon [Rangoon] on 23 September, 2007, with some old clothes, a Canon 5D camera, two fixed lenses and a laptop.
“For the next four days, I went to Shwedagon Pagoda, two-three kilometers from the center of town and waited for the monks who had been gathering there daily at noon.
“Since I was at the same pagoda every day, dozens of people, including monks, asked me who I was and what I was doing. As the ruling military regime is notoriously secretive, my replies were guarded.
“Barefoot in maroon robes, and ringed by civilians, the monks chanted and prayed before starting their two-kilometer march to the Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon [Rangoon]. Each day their numbers grew, from hundreds to thousands.
“By 27 September, the city had become packed with troops. Soldiers and government agents stood at street corners.
“Finding the Shwedagon Pagoda sealed off, I went to the middle of town to find groups of young people taunting soldiers at Sule.
“Within minutes, the crowd swelled from hundreds to a few thousand. The soldiers threw barbed wire coils across the roads.
“Knowing that hundreds of people were gunned down in similar circumstances in a 1988 uprising, I climbed an old crosswalk directly overhead, to get to one of the few spots offering a clear view.
“Below me, protesters were singing and waving flags; to the side, young men were thrusting their pelvises at the soldiers.
“At about 1.30 p.m. local time, two dark green, open-top army trucks approached, followed by dozens more packed with riot police. They were hit by a barrage of water bottles, fruit and abuse from the crowd.
“I had already locked on my 135mm lens and set my camera shutter speed to 1000, aperture to F/7.1 and ISO at 800. With the camera on manual, I wanted to stop any movement while offering as much depth-of-field as possible.
“Two minutes later, the shooting started. My eye caught a person flying backwards through the air. Instinctively, I started photographing, capturing four frames of the man on his back.
“The entry point of the bullet is clear in the first frame, with a soldier in flip flops standing over the man and pointing a rifle. In the second frame, the man is reaching over to try and film.
“More shots rang out. I flinched before getting off two more frames—one of the man pointing the camera at the soldier, and one of his face contorted in pain.
“Beyond him, the crowd scattered before the advancing soldier. The whole incident, which went on to reverberate around the world, was over in two seconds.
“I kept low on the bridge, capturing some more images from among a crowd taking cover. However, with soldiers firing shots and smoke grenades below, I had to get off the bridge.
“With adrenaline pumping through my body, I put my camera in my bag and followed the protests for another hour and a half. Feeling the demonstration had lost its strength, I made my way back to my hotel via backstreets and along a railway line.
“My initial caption read: “An injured man tries to photograph after police and military officials fired upon and then charged a crowd of thousands protesting in Yangon’s city center September 27, 2007.” Initially, I thought he was merely trampled. I had no idea he was dead.
“Two of the frames showed the man’s face. A few hours later his colleagues in Japan had identified him as Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai.
“The images dominated front pages across the US and the world.
Mourners at Nagai’s funeral in Japan clutched the picture, which played a role in the public outrage that prompted Tokyo to scale back aid to the ruling military junta.”
The Irrawaddy News
April 8, 2008
A Reuters news agency photographer won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography on Monday for a picture of a Burmese soldier shooting dead a Japanese video cameraman during a last September’s demonstrations in Rangoon.
The news agency’s Adrees Latif won for "his dramatic photograph of the Japanese videographer, sprawled on the pavement, fatally wounded during a street demonstration in Myanmar [Burma]," the Pulitzer Prize board said.
The 92nd annual Pulitzer Prizes in journalism, letters, drama and music were announced at Columbia University in New York City. The Public Service winner receives a gold medal, while winners in the remaining 20 categories receive $10,000.Reuters carried news of the award together with a firsthand account by its Bangkok senior photographer Adrees Latif of how he took the pictures which won him a Pulitzer Prize. The pictures were taken in Burma during the protests in September last year and include the photo of Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai being shot.
“Tipped off by protests against soaring fuel prices, I landed in Yangon [Rangoon] on 23 September, 2007, with some old clothes, a Canon 5D camera, two fixed lenses and a laptop.
“For the next four days, I went to Shwedagon Pagoda, two-three kilometers from the center of town and waited for the monks who had been gathering there daily at noon.
“Since I was at the same pagoda every day, dozens of people, including monks, asked me who I was and what I was doing. As the ruling military regime is notoriously secretive, my replies were guarded.
“Barefoot in maroon robes, and ringed by civilians, the monks chanted and prayed before starting their two-kilometer march to the Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon [Rangoon]. Each day their numbers grew, from hundreds to thousands.
“By 27 September, the city had become packed with troops. Soldiers and government agents stood at street corners.
“Finding the Shwedagon Pagoda sealed off, I went to the middle of town to find groups of young people taunting soldiers at Sule.
“Within minutes, the crowd swelled from hundreds to a few thousand. The soldiers threw barbed wire coils across the roads.
“Knowing that hundreds of people were gunned down in similar circumstances in a 1988 uprising, I climbed an old crosswalk directly overhead, to get to one of the few spots offering a clear view.
“Below me, protesters were singing and waving flags; to the side, young men were thrusting their pelvises at the soldiers.
“At about 1.30 p.m. local time, two dark green, open-top army trucks approached, followed by dozens more packed with riot police. They were hit by a barrage of water bottles, fruit and abuse from the crowd.
“I had already locked on my 135mm lens and set my camera shutter speed to 1000, aperture to F/7.1 and ISO at 800. With the camera on manual, I wanted to stop any movement while offering as much depth-of-field as possible.
“Two minutes later, the shooting started. My eye caught a person flying backwards through the air. Instinctively, I started photographing, capturing four frames of the man on his back.
“The entry point of the bullet is clear in the first frame, with a soldier in flip flops standing over the man and pointing a rifle. In the second frame, the man is reaching over to try and film.
“More shots rang out. I flinched before getting off two more frames—one of the man pointing the camera at the soldier, and one of his face contorted in pain.
“Beyond him, the crowd scattered before the advancing soldier. The whole incident, which went on to reverberate around the world, was over in two seconds.
“I kept low on the bridge, capturing some more images from among a crowd taking cover. However, with soldiers firing shots and smoke grenades below, I had to get off the bridge.
“With adrenaline pumping through my body, I put my camera in my bag and followed the protests for another hour and a half. Feeling the demonstration had lost its strength, I made my way back to my hotel via backstreets and along a railway line.
“My initial caption read: “An injured man tries to photograph after police and military officials fired upon and then charged a crowd of thousands protesting in Yangon’s city center September 27, 2007.” Initially, I thought he was merely trampled. I had no idea he was dead.
“Two of the frames showed the man’s face. A few hours later his colleagues in Japan had identified him as Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai.
“The images dominated front pages across the US and the world.
Mourners at Nagai’s funeral in Japan clutched the picture, which played a role in the public outrage that prompted Tokyo to scale back aid to the ruling military junta.”
She Escaped Strife, but Embraced Those Scarred by It
By Nora BoustanyWashington Post Foreign Service
Burmese-Born Charm Tong
Is Among Activists Honored
for Contributions to Women's Causes
Is Among Activists Honored
for Contributions to Women's Causes
Charm Tong was born in Burma's conflict-lacerated countryside 26 years ago. She was 6 when her parents stuffed her into a straw basket strapped onto a donkey and sent her to join a caravan of villagers snaking its way through lush jungles to an orphanage inside the Thai border. Their desperate choice seemed a better option as the country's repressive military regime moved through some 1,400 farming villages, taking ethnic Burmese from their lands and forcing them into labor, often after torturing them.
In that orphanage, Tong learned to read and study English. By the time she was 16, she was working with refugees and migrant workers who crossed the 2,000-kilometer border between Burma and Thailand. She listened to their heartbreaking stories, soothing them, counseling them and organizing women's networks among border villages.
For her leadership, she was one of six honored last night at the Kennedy Center by Vital Voices Global Partnership, a nonprofit group dedicated to the empowerment and advancement of women around the world. The hall was packed with about 500 guests, including ambassadors, donors and A-listers, among them first lady Laura Bush and actress-activist Angelina Jolie, both of whom presented awards.
Introducing Tong, Mrs. Bush, who has embraced the cause of Burma's oppressed as the defining mission of her East Wing legacy, spoke of incarcerated democracy activist and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and about the repression of the Burmese, women especially. She described how unarmed monks protesting a spike in gas prices were beaten, arrested and killed. Mrs. Bush described Tong's efforts to form the women's action network as well as her work on the eye-opening 2002 report "License to Rape," about 600 women who were violated. Tong also has been to a school for the children of refugees coming from Shan province; Mrs. Bush said the students call Tong "a candle in the dark."
Mrs. Bush has become this administration's point person on the Burmese crisis, picking up the phone to express her outrage to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, hosting Burmese democracy activists at the White House, giving dozens of interviews on the subject and writing her own op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal marking Suu Kyi's birthday.
Jolie, greatly pregnant and radiant in a flowing taupe gown, stepped onto the stage to speak glowingly of award recipient Mariane Pearl, the widow of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl, who was killed in Pakistan. Her book, "A Mighty Heart," was made into a film in which Jolie portrayed Mariane Pearl. Last night the actress talked of Pearl's special gift as a mother and an example in "courage, hope and tolerance."
Also honored were Kakenya Ntaiya, an education advocate from Kenya; political corruption activist Laura Alonso of Argentina; and human-rights advocate Khin Ohmar of Burma. United Arab Emirates minister of economy and foreign trade Sheikha Lubna al-Qasimi, the first female minister in her Persian Gulf state, was presented the Global Trailblazer Award and introduced by CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer.
Sen. Hillary Clinton appeared confident and relaxed in a blue pantsuit, taking time off from her presidential marathon to help host this event, as she does every year with her Republican counterpart from Texas, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. The senators had made it to the evening "against all odds," said Vital Voices co-founder Melanne Verveer, who was Clinton's chief of staff when she was first lady.
The event grew out of the Vital Voices Democracy Initiative, created in 1997 by Clinton and former secretary of state Madeleine Albright to make the promotion of women's causes a U.S. foreign policy goal.
In an interview Friday, Tong described her life. After fleeing her home, she saw her parents briefly, every two or three years; to get to her, they had to trek for a week or longer along the same tortured and dangerous routes she took as a child. "I thought they did not love me," she said. She described the brief encounters with her parents as "happy, tearful and heartbreaking."
"You arrive from school one day and they are there. The next day you hurry back from school and they are gone. They would tell me what was happening and say, 'We cannot give you anything except this opportunity.' "
All she can remember are blurred patches of her childhood, scurrying from village to village for safety. Her parents bundled her and her younger sister along with rags, pots and pans as the children fled from the soldiers, who ransacked huts, killing and sexually assaulting those who resisted.
"With time I began to understand. Fresh out of junior high I began hearing about and seeing the scars from all the atrocities," she noted. By the time some women shuffled across the northern Thai border, they had been raped six to eight times. "They arrive with nothing," Tong said. "You never forget their faces. So many women believe it was their fault and ask us if they had done anything wrong. We were traumatized just listening to them relive their horrors," she added.
One case that tore up Tong's soul was that of Nag Hla, who was only 17 and six months pregnant when she escaped from her village of Laikha in 2002. She had been gang-raped from 10 in the morning until 4 that afternoon, Tong said, "her husband blindfolded and tied to a tree, close enough so he could hear" his wife's screams. Hla set off on foot and delivered her premature infant alone.
Thai government officials estimate that 3 million Burmese have taken up residence in Thailand over the years. Many who cross from Shan province, where Tong was born, find there are no refugee camps for them when they arrive, she said. Instead, they settle together or with Thai families as stateless, undocumented farmhands. Tong is active in organizing other women stationed along border passages to teach refugees about reproductive health.
Tong became a global advocate at 17, when she went to Geneva in a delegation of seven Burmese to address the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in 1999. Before an audience that included members of the military regime, Tong shook as she spoke and broke down tearfully as she testified about the women she had met along the border.
"I was lucky. I went to school," she says now with measured gratitude. She began reading a newsletter on human rights violations from Shan province at an early age. "It game me more answers than I found in school and it inspired me to do something to help."
Burmese spy reveals MI’s dirty deeds
Old Article from the Irrawaddy
Sourced: Burma IT Net
April 24, 2006: A Burmese spy, now in hiding in a secret location, spoke exclusively to The Irrawaddy about how Burma’s newly formed military intelligence service struggles to reach the sinister standards set by jailed intelligence chief Gen Khin Nyunt.
Kyaw Myint Myo, aka Myo Myint, said a major failing of the new intelligence service has been its recruitment of inexperienced officials with no idea how intelligence structures work to head departments.
New recruits, according to Kyaw Myint Myo, have received intensive training, but it takes time to build and effectively run an intensive intelligence network, especially the Military Affairs Security. Previously, Burma’s military leaders depended heavily on its secret police units to monitor and intimidate the movement of its civilian population, dissidents at home and abroad, foreign missions, and its own government officials and cabinet ministers.
As MAS has lost some of its clout with the regime, said Kyaw Myint Myo, power and authority now reside with Special Branch officers working for the Ministry of Home Affairs. He says Special Branch officers have more experience handling security and political affairs than the new intelligence officers.
Kyaw Myint Myo was assigned to infiltrate the offices of some powerful government ministers working for the Burmese regime.
Kyaw Myint Myo, 33, has insider knowledge of how the regime’s spy network operated-since 1993, he worked for the counter-intelligence department’s special unit # 1. He told The Irrawaddy that he reported directly to Lt-Col Ne Lin, his boss. His previous commanders were Col Khin Aung and Col San Pwint, both now in prison serving long sentences.
Ranked as an army sergeant, Kyaw Myint Myo admitted his latest spy missions included monitoring Karen rebels and the armed student group All Burma Students’ Democratic Front, based along the Thai-Burmese border.
Speaking from a secret location, Kyaw Myint Myo expressed fear for his safety and his need to resettle in a third country. When asked if he was afraid of being captured by Burmese dissident groups, he said: “No, but I am worried about Burmese officials (who can come and take me back).”
The former secret agent said his personal experience with the regime was not good, as his parents and family members were once interrogated and briefly detained by officials when he had “disappeared” during “a secret mission.” “I was afraid to make contact after the purge [in 2004],” he said.
In October 2004, the Burmese military government arrested military intelligence chief Gen Khin Nyunt and dismantled the once all-powerful National Intelligence Bureau and Office of the Chief of Military Intelligence, or OCMI. Analysts believed the purge was a result of a power struggle between Khin Nyunt and army hardliners.
Following the purge, Khin Nyunt and several of his high ranking officials were arrested and put on trial. Only two senior officials, Maj-Gen Kyaw Win, deputy head of OCMI, and Brig-Gen Kyaw Thein, escaped the crackdown, but quickly retired.
The purge not only sent shockwaves throughout the civilian population in Burma, but had a huge effect among army officers and soldiers, who previously had believed the armed forces were united and in harmony. In early 2006, Major Aung Lin Htut, an intelligence officer who worked at the Burmese embassy in Washington, sought political asylum out of fear for his safety if he or his family returned home.
Kyaw Myint Myo claims he was lucky to escape punishment for his intelligence work under the disposed Khin Nyunt.
Gen Myint Swe, former Rangoon Division Commander with little intelligence background but a close ally of Snr-Gen Than Shwe, heads up the newly formed MAS. Kyaw Myint Myo says Myint Swe is ignorant about what is happening in Burma.
“The government has no idea who is behind the bombing in May [2004].” Three major explosions rocked Rangoon shopping malls last year, killing several people, and the regime wasted little time in pointing the finger at exiled opposition groups.
Kyaw Myint Myo says many bomb explosions in Rangoon were planted by army and intelligence groups. “It’s just to scare civilians and to alert the army.” He added that when he was with the OCMI, he and his colleagues sometimes received information that army factions were behind the bombings. He said it is impossible for insurgents to enter downtown Rangoon. “We have large security networks involving police, army, intelligence groups and township-level ruling officials and informants [to secure Rangoon].”
Kyaw Myint Myo was assigned to infiltrate the offices of some powerful government ministers working for the Burmese regime, and said he gathered information on some ministers and high ranking officials known to be corrupt and involved in several illegal activities, including having several mistresses. “We have files on ministers, officials and businessmen,” he boasted.
As an undercover agent, Kyaw Myint Myo was once ordered to work at the Ministry of Agriculture. His mission was to collect data on possible scandals involving Lt-Gen Myint Aung, former minister for agriculture and irrigation. The minister was later sacked.
It is widely believed that Khin Nyunt’s intelligence service had collected information on numerous cabinet ministers and officials who were involved in sex scandals and corruption.
The former spy said that MAS has hired foreign computer technicians and hackers to monitor e-mail messages, telephone conversations at home and in neighboring countries, where the regime’s critics and activists take refuge. “They are [the technicians and hackers] North Korean, Singaporeans and Russians.”
Kyaw Myint Myo warned exiled opposition groups to be careful of using cell phones and internet, as all sensitive information, messages and phone conversations are carefully monitored.
He said exiled opposition groups not only had to be worried about Burmese informants and spies, but governments in the region with close ties to the regime that regularly provided intelligence information. “We have photos of [exile group] offices and houses where opposition leaders are staying.”
Kyaw Myint Myo also revealed that his counter-intelligence department had a plan to launch the “data thief project,” in which operatives would steal data from opposition groups inside and outside of Burma.
He warned that although Khin Nyunt was purged, informants were still active and capable of penetrating foreign missions in Rangoon. He said keeping a watchful eye on Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, was also part of MAS’s work. He says an informant at NLD headquarters received 200,000 kyat each month. “We also collect information on who visits NLD headquarters and from which embassy.”
Although he refused to tell the names of informants and spies who are currently working for the military government, he did say: “You would be quite surprised if I disclosed the names of informants at foreign missions and opposition groups.”
It is well known among activists and army intelligence specialists that the Burmese government keeps spies in neighboring countries to collect information about military build-ups and activities of exiled groups.
Under Khin Nyunt, the Burmese embassy in Bangkok was highly active and believed to have a large intelligence network inside Thailand. Kyaw Myint Myo claims that “active cells” in India and Thailand are still working for MAS. - Irrawaddy
Sourced: Burma IT Net
April 24, 2006: A Burmese spy, now in hiding in a secret location, spoke exclusively to The Irrawaddy about how Burma’s newly formed military intelligence service struggles to reach the sinister standards set by jailed intelligence chief Gen Khin Nyunt.
Kyaw Myint Myo, aka Myo Myint, said a major failing of the new intelligence service has been its recruitment of inexperienced officials with no idea how intelligence structures work to head departments.
New recruits, according to Kyaw Myint Myo, have received intensive training, but it takes time to build and effectively run an intensive intelligence network, especially the Military Affairs Security. Previously, Burma’s military leaders depended heavily on its secret police units to monitor and intimidate the movement of its civilian population, dissidents at home and abroad, foreign missions, and its own government officials and cabinet ministers.
As MAS has lost some of its clout with the regime, said Kyaw Myint Myo, power and authority now reside with Special Branch officers working for the Ministry of Home Affairs. He says Special Branch officers have more experience handling security and political affairs than the new intelligence officers.
Kyaw Myint Myo was assigned to infiltrate the offices of some powerful government ministers working for the Burmese regime.
Kyaw Myint Myo, 33, has insider knowledge of how the regime’s spy network operated-since 1993, he worked for the counter-intelligence department’s special unit # 1. He told The Irrawaddy that he reported directly to Lt-Col Ne Lin, his boss. His previous commanders were Col Khin Aung and Col San Pwint, both now in prison serving long sentences.
Ranked as an army sergeant, Kyaw Myint Myo admitted his latest spy missions included monitoring Karen rebels and the armed student group All Burma Students’ Democratic Front, based along the Thai-Burmese border.
Speaking from a secret location, Kyaw Myint Myo expressed fear for his safety and his need to resettle in a third country. When asked if he was afraid of being captured by Burmese dissident groups, he said: “No, but I am worried about Burmese officials (who can come and take me back).”
The former secret agent said his personal experience with the regime was not good, as his parents and family members were once interrogated and briefly detained by officials when he had “disappeared” during “a secret mission.” “I was afraid to make contact after the purge [in 2004],” he said.
In October 2004, the Burmese military government arrested military intelligence chief Gen Khin Nyunt and dismantled the once all-powerful National Intelligence Bureau and Office of the Chief of Military Intelligence, or OCMI. Analysts believed the purge was a result of a power struggle between Khin Nyunt and army hardliners.
Following the purge, Khin Nyunt and several of his high ranking officials were arrested and put on trial. Only two senior officials, Maj-Gen Kyaw Win, deputy head of OCMI, and Brig-Gen Kyaw Thein, escaped the crackdown, but quickly retired.
The purge not only sent shockwaves throughout the civilian population in Burma, but had a huge effect among army officers and soldiers, who previously had believed the armed forces were united and in harmony. In early 2006, Major Aung Lin Htut, an intelligence officer who worked at the Burmese embassy in Washington, sought political asylum out of fear for his safety if he or his family returned home.
Kyaw Myint Myo claims he was lucky to escape punishment for his intelligence work under the disposed Khin Nyunt.
Gen Myint Swe, former Rangoon Division Commander with little intelligence background but a close ally of Snr-Gen Than Shwe, heads up the newly formed MAS. Kyaw Myint Myo says Myint Swe is ignorant about what is happening in Burma.
“The government has no idea who is behind the bombing in May [2004].” Three major explosions rocked Rangoon shopping malls last year, killing several people, and the regime wasted little time in pointing the finger at exiled opposition groups.
Kyaw Myint Myo says many bomb explosions in Rangoon were planted by army and intelligence groups. “It’s just to scare civilians and to alert the army.” He added that when he was with the OCMI, he and his colleagues sometimes received information that army factions were behind the bombings. He said it is impossible for insurgents to enter downtown Rangoon. “We have large security networks involving police, army, intelligence groups and township-level ruling officials and informants [to secure Rangoon].”
Kyaw Myint Myo was assigned to infiltrate the offices of some powerful government ministers working for the Burmese regime, and said he gathered information on some ministers and high ranking officials known to be corrupt and involved in several illegal activities, including having several mistresses. “We have files on ministers, officials and businessmen,” he boasted.
As an undercover agent, Kyaw Myint Myo was once ordered to work at the Ministry of Agriculture. His mission was to collect data on possible scandals involving Lt-Gen Myint Aung, former minister for agriculture and irrigation. The minister was later sacked.
It is widely believed that Khin Nyunt’s intelligence service had collected information on numerous cabinet ministers and officials who were involved in sex scandals and corruption.
The former spy said that MAS has hired foreign computer technicians and hackers to monitor e-mail messages, telephone conversations at home and in neighboring countries, where the regime’s critics and activists take refuge. “They are [the technicians and hackers] North Korean, Singaporeans and Russians.”
Kyaw Myint Myo warned exiled opposition groups to be careful of using cell phones and internet, as all sensitive information, messages and phone conversations are carefully monitored.
He said exiled opposition groups not only had to be worried about Burmese informants and spies, but governments in the region with close ties to the regime that regularly provided intelligence information. “We have photos of [exile group] offices and houses where opposition leaders are staying.”
Kyaw Myint Myo also revealed that his counter-intelligence department had a plan to launch the “data thief project,” in which operatives would steal data from opposition groups inside and outside of Burma.
He warned that although Khin Nyunt was purged, informants were still active and capable of penetrating foreign missions in Rangoon. He said keeping a watchful eye on Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, was also part of MAS’s work. He says an informant at NLD headquarters received 200,000 kyat each month. “We also collect information on who visits NLD headquarters and from which embassy.”
Although he refused to tell the names of informants and spies who are currently working for the military government, he did say: “You would be quite surprised if I disclosed the names of informants at foreign missions and opposition groups.”
It is well known among activists and army intelligence specialists that the Burmese government keeps spies in neighboring countries to collect information about military build-ups and activities of exiled groups.
Under Khin Nyunt, the Burmese embassy in Bangkok was highly active and believed to have a large intelligence network inside Thailand. Kyaw Myint Myo claims that “active cells” in India and Thailand are still working for MAS. - Irrawaddy
CCTV's to be installed for Water Festival
Nay Thwin
Mizzima News
April 7, 2008
Chiang Mai: The Burmese military junta authorities in Rangoon have issued orders to install security cameras at the water playing stations in the ensuing traditional New Year celebrations.
The Peace and Development Council of Rangoon Division has directed those who have applied for permission to construct water stations to install Close Circuit TV Cameras.
"Each water playing station is setting up cameras for security reasons to record unlawful activity. If a problem comes up, it has to be reviewed," said a source.
CCTVs will be installed by the Fisca Company, which imports telecommunication material. The hiring of CCTVs will cost FEC 20-30 (22,100 to 33,150 kyats) per day. The person who monitors the camera has to be paid 8,000 kyats.
Meanwhile, Air Bagan, owned by Tay Za, a businessman close to the military junta supremo Than Shwe decide to abolish not to celebrate the water festival under the company's brand and logo due to security concerns.
"Because they have heard of rumors of the possibility of bomb blasts," an official from Fisco told Mizzima.
There is no immediate confirmation from the Air Bagan office.
In respective townships of Rangoon, governor's stations are being constructed. The construction of other water stations has started in Kandawgyi, Latha, Lanmadaw and the City Hall.
The TV cameras will be installed in every water station which has an area of more than 20 square feet. In Rangoon it will cost between 3 million kyats to 10 million kyats to construct a water station.
The Burmese water festival will start from April 13 and conclude on April 16 this year. In some locations, it is held for a day before the real one and ends one day after the last day called the Burmese New Year day.
Mizzima News
April 7, 2008
Chiang Mai: The Burmese military junta authorities in Rangoon have issued orders to install security cameras at the water playing stations in the ensuing traditional New Year celebrations.
The Peace and Development Council of Rangoon Division has directed those who have applied for permission to construct water stations to install Close Circuit TV Cameras.
"Each water playing station is setting up cameras for security reasons to record unlawful activity. If a problem comes up, it has to be reviewed," said a source.
CCTVs will be installed by the Fisca Company, which imports telecommunication material. The hiring of CCTVs will cost FEC 20-30 (22,100 to 33,150 kyats) per day. The person who monitors the camera has to be paid 8,000 kyats.
Meanwhile, Air Bagan, owned by Tay Za, a businessman close to the military junta supremo Than Shwe decide to abolish not to celebrate the water festival under the company's brand and logo due to security concerns.
"Because they have heard of rumors of the possibility of bomb blasts," an official from Fisco told Mizzima.
There is no immediate confirmation from the Air Bagan office.
In respective townships of Rangoon, governor's stations are being constructed. The construction of other water stations has started in Kandawgyi, Latha, Lanmadaw and the City Hall.
The TV cameras will be installed in every water station which has an area of more than 20 square feet. In Rangoon it will cost between 3 million kyats to 10 million kyats to construct a water station.
The Burmese water festival will start from April 13 and conclude on April 16 this year. In some locations, it is held for a day before the real one and ends one day after the last day called the Burmese New Year day.
1200 Activists Descend on NYC to Demand Freedom for Libyan Political Prisoner, Protection of Journalists in Sri Lanka
Press Release
Activists demonstrating outside the Libyan Mission to the UN will call for the release of political prisoner Fathi El-Jahmi, who was arrested in 2004 after calling for political reforms in Libya and criticizing Colonel Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi; he has been detained without trial ever since. El-Jahmi's brother, Mohamed, will participate in the demonstration and give a morning talk on his work to free Fathi.
At the Sri Lankan Mission, activists will call for the country's government to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the 2006 murder of journalist Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan. At least 10 media workers have been killed in Sri Lanka since the beginning of 2006. Outside the Sudanese Mission, demonstrators will call on Sudan to bring individuals responsible for the rapes, killing and displacement in Darfur to justice.
A demonstration at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza will call on Myanmar (Burma) to stop the crackdown on pro-democracy activists, monks, students and others, and demand the release of all political prisoners, including Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. A smaller group will demonstrate outside the Indian Consulate, demanding justice for the survivors of the 1984 Bhopal chemical disaster. Union Carbide (now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical) has evaded accountability for the disaster; the demonstrators will call on India to compel Dow Chemical to appear before the Indian courts.
Get on the Bus is the largest volunteer-organized Amnesty International event in the country. The first event, in 1996, had 30 people; this year's demonstrations are expected to be the largest ever. For more information about Get On The Bus, please see: www.gotb.org
WHO: Amnesty International activists from across the Northeast
WHEN: Friday, April 11, 2008
WHAT: Speakers Panel: St. Bartholomew's Church, 109 E. 50th St, 11:00am-12:45pm
Demonstrations at:
* The Indian Consulate: 64th St and 5th Ave, 1:05pm-1:40pm (smaller demonstration)
* The Libyan Mission to the UN: 48th St and 2nd Ave, 2:00pm-2:35pm
* The Sudanese Mission to the UN: 47th St and 2nd Ave, 2:40pm-3:15pm
* Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (Myanmar protest): 47th St and 1st Ave, 3:20pm-3:55pm
* The Sri Lankan Mission to the UN: 41st St and 3rd Ave, 4:25pm-5:00pm
CONTACT: Amnesty International
Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337
Bob Jackson (641) 874-5794
Common Dreams Org
Human Rights Demonstrations Planned on Myanmar and Outside Government Offices of Libya, Sudan, India and Sri Lanka
Activists demonstrating outside the Libyan Mission to the UN will call for the release of political prisoner Fathi El-Jahmi, who was arrested in 2004 after calling for political reforms in Libya and criticizing Colonel Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi; he has been detained without trial ever since. El-Jahmi's brother, Mohamed, will participate in the demonstration and give a morning talk on his work to free Fathi.
At the Sri Lankan Mission, activists will call for the country's government to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the 2006 murder of journalist Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan. At least 10 media workers have been killed in Sri Lanka since the beginning of 2006. Outside the Sudanese Mission, demonstrators will call on Sudan to bring individuals responsible for the rapes, killing and displacement in Darfur to justice.
A demonstration at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza will call on Myanmar (Burma) to stop the crackdown on pro-democracy activists, monks, students and others, and demand the release of all political prisoners, including Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. A smaller group will demonstrate outside the Indian Consulate, demanding justice for the survivors of the 1984 Bhopal chemical disaster. Union Carbide (now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical) has evaded accountability for the disaster; the demonstrators will call on India to compel Dow Chemical to appear before the Indian courts.
Get on the Bus is the largest volunteer-organized Amnesty International event in the country. The first event, in 1996, had 30 people; this year's demonstrations are expected to be the largest ever. For more information about Get On The Bus, please see: www.gotb.org
WHO: Amnesty International activists from across the Northeast
WHEN: Friday, April 11, 2008
WHAT: Speakers Panel: St. Bartholomew's Church, 109 E. 50th St, 11:00am-12:45pm
Demonstrations at:
* The Indian Consulate: 64th St and 5th Ave, 1:05pm-1:40pm (smaller demonstration)
* The Libyan Mission to the UN: 48th St and 2nd Ave, 2:00pm-2:35pm
* The Sudanese Mission to the UN: 47th St and 2nd Ave, 2:40pm-3:15pm
* Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (Myanmar protest): 47th St and 1st Ave, 3:20pm-3:55pm
* The Sri Lankan Mission to the UN: 41st St and 3rd Ave, 4:25pm-5:00pm
CONTACT: Amnesty International
Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337
Bob Jackson (641) 874-5794
Common Dreams Org
Olympic protesters scale Golden Gate Bridge in US
SAN FRANCISCO: Three pro-Tibet activists climbed the cables of San Francisco's famed Golden Gate Bridge on Monday to protest the arrival of the Olympic torch in the city on Wednesday, witnesses said.
Televised images from the scene showed three people on parallel red cables with flags hanging down. "One World, One Dram: Free Tibet," read one of two banners unfurled between suspension cables, protesting China's recent crackdown on Tibet.
San Francisco, which has a large Asian population, is the only US city to host the Olympic torch this year and is expected to experience a series of protests in the coming days.
Earlier in the day in Paris, Chinese officials called off a chaotic relay of the torch after thousands of pro-Tibet protesters tried to block its path and the flame had to be extinguished at least thrice.
Times of India
Televised images from the scene showed three people on parallel red cables with flags hanging down. "One World, One Dram: Free Tibet," read one of two banners unfurled between suspension cables, protesting China's recent crackdown on Tibet.
San Francisco, which has a large Asian population, is the only US city to host the Olympic torch this year and is expected to experience a series of protests in the coming days.
Earlier in the day in Paris, Chinese officials called off a chaotic relay of the torch after thousands of pro-Tibet protesters tried to block its path and the flame had to be extinguished at least thrice.
Times of India
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