Burma: Democratisation of Burma from Exile (Myo Thein)
Uploaded by Burmademocraticconcern. - Up-to-the minute news videos.
Friday, 30 July 2010
Burma: Democratisation of Burma from Exile (Myo Thein)
U.S. Daily Press Briefing
Philip J. Crowley
Assistant Secretary
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
July 29, 2010
CHINA/NORTH KOREA/BURMA
US expects China to live up to its international obligations/US wants to see China use its leverage with North Korea to encourage North Korea to move in a fundamentally different direction US has concerns about the nature of the relationship between North Korea and Burma
QUESTION: Also, do you have any comment on North Korean Foreign Minister Pak’s visit to Yangon today?
MR. CROWLEY: We have – as we’ve stated many times, we have concerns about the nature of the relationship between North Korea and Burma. We don’t see the transparency in that relationship that we’d like to see. North Korea is a serial proliferators. North Korea is engaged in significant illicit activity. Burma, like other countries around the world, has obligations, and we expect Burma to live up to those obligations.
QUESTION: But do you see North Korea indulging in nuclear proliferation with Burma, or do you see Burma has that ambition?
MR. CROWLEY: Again, there – we – it’s difficult to evaluate because of the lack of transparency in that relationship. It is something that is of concern to us, given North Korea’s historical record. And it is something that we continue to watch very carefully.
QUESTION: During your talks with the Burmese officials, has that issue been brought up with them or the –
MR. CROWLEY: Yes.
QUESTION: -- Burmese officials? Okay.
QUESTION: On Ambassador Einhorn’s trip to Asia, is he going to announce the new sanctions against North Korea while he’s in Asia, or do you expect that announcement after he comes back from the region?
MR. CROWLEY: I don’t think he’ll make any announcements while he’s out there.
Philip J. Crowley
Assistant Secretary
Daily Press Briefing Washington, DC
July 28, 2010
INDIA/BURMA
U.S. Spoke to India on the Nature of their Relationship with Burma / Hearing from Leaders in the Region
QUESTION: How do you view the visit of the senior general – Burmese Senior General Than Shwe – he is considered one of the worst dictators of the world – to India, the largest democratic country of the world?
MR. CROWLEY: Well, we recognize that India and Burma, as neighbors, they have a relationship. We have spoken to India about the nature of this relationship. We hope that India will use its leverage, its investment, to convince Burma and its leaders to improve its record regarding human rights and democracy. We think it’s important for Burma to hear not only from the United States, but also from other regional leaders, India foremost among them.
Assistant Secretary
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
July 29, 2010
CHINA/NORTH KOREA/BURMA
US expects China to live up to its international obligations/US wants to see China use its leverage with North Korea to encourage North Korea to move in a fundamentally different direction US has concerns about the nature of the relationship between North Korea and Burma
QUESTION: Also, do you have any comment on North Korean Foreign Minister Pak’s visit to Yangon today?
MR. CROWLEY: We have – as we’ve stated many times, we have concerns about the nature of the relationship between North Korea and Burma. We don’t see the transparency in that relationship that we’d like to see. North Korea is a serial proliferators. North Korea is engaged in significant illicit activity. Burma, like other countries around the world, has obligations, and we expect Burma to live up to those obligations.
QUESTION: But do you see North Korea indulging in nuclear proliferation with Burma, or do you see Burma has that ambition?
MR. CROWLEY: Again, there – we – it’s difficult to evaluate because of the lack of transparency in that relationship. It is something that is of concern to us, given North Korea’s historical record. And it is something that we continue to watch very carefully.
QUESTION: During your talks with the Burmese officials, has that issue been brought up with them or the –
MR. CROWLEY: Yes.
QUESTION: -- Burmese officials? Okay.
QUESTION: On Ambassador Einhorn’s trip to Asia, is he going to announce the new sanctions against North Korea while he’s in Asia, or do you expect that announcement after he comes back from the region?
MR. CROWLEY: I don’t think he’ll make any announcements while he’s out there.
Philip J. Crowley
Assistant Secretary
Daily Press Briefing Washington, DC
July 28, 2010
INDIA/BURMA
U.S. Spoke to India on the Nature of their Relationship with Burma / Hearing from Leaders in the Region
QUESTION: How do you view the visit of the senior general – Burmese Senior General Than Shwe – he is considered one of the worst dictators of the world – to India, the largest democratic country of the world?
MR. CROWLEY: Well, we recognize that India and Burma, as neighbors, they have a relationship. We have spoken to India about the nature of this relationship. We hope that India will use its leverage, its investment, to convince Burma and its leaders to improve its record regarding human rights and democracy. We think it’s important for Burma to hear not only from the United States, but also from other regional leaders, India foremost among them.
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Monday, 26 July 2010
Sunday, 25 July 2010
23 July 2010 video discussion in London organized by Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)
Video discussions organized by Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) in London regarding current situation of Burma, Burma history and future activities in order to build the capacity, plan ahead for the future and to discuss how to implement the strategy. Your participation will be highly appreciated and please do come and join with us.
23 July 2010
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Invitation for Burma Video Discussion Program 23 July 2010 (Friday)
Invitation for Burma Video Discussion Program 23 July 2010 (Friday)
Since Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) is the global campaigning and lobbying organisation to restore democracy, human rights and rule of law in Burma where everyone can enjoy the freedom of speech, press, beliefs, assembly and rule of law that emphasizes the protection of individual rights; the work of the Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) includes empowering the new generation activists for the future nation building.
Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) is organising the video discussions regarding current situation of Burma, Burma history and future activities in order to build the capacity, plan ahead for the future and to discuss how to implement the strategy. Your participation will be highly appreciated and please do come and join with us.
Program Details
Date: 23 July 2010 (Friday)
Time: 12:00-17:00 pm
Contact: myothein19@gmail.com, 07877882386
Address: Broad Water Farm Community Centre, Adams Road, Tottenham, N17 6HE
Bus routes: 123 and W4 from Turnpike Lane or 243 from Wood Green
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?cid=10371772744507053&q=Broadwater+Farm+Community+Centre&gl=uk
I would especially like to see our younger people stride confidently into the future, their richness of spirit soaring to meet all challenges. I would like to be able to say: “This is a nation worthy of all those who loved it and lived and died for it--that we might be proud of our heritage”. (Daw Aung San Suu Kyi)
The following are the reference reading for the discussion program:
http://bdcburma.org/Assk.asphttp://bdcburma.org/AboutBurma.asphttp://www.scribd.com/doc/34103063/Burma-Let-s-Realise-People-s-Government-Nowhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/33955543/Burma-NLD-Kamauk-Monkeys-Than-Shwehttp://www.scribd.com/doc/33711375/Burma-Let-s-Play-a-New-Gamehttp://www.scribd.com/doc/33655133/Burma-2010-Election-Three-Approaches-Power-Politicshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/33167489/Khitpyaing-News-Daw-Aung-San-Suu-Kyihttp://www.scribd.com/doc/33167398/Daw-Suu-Amainthttp://www.scribd.com/doc/32524711/Bringing-Junta-to-Court-ICJ-ICC-Morehttp://www.scribd.com/doc/31986062/Political-Black-Lists-by-Burma-ethnic-politics-watch-network-BEPWNhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/31901871/Burma-Time-to-re-evaluate-yourself-for-democratisationhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/31897504/Burma-True-Leadership-and-Role-of-the-Citizenshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/31387255/Burma-Beginning-of-People-s-Government-End-of-Dialoguehttp://www.scribd.com/doc/31281077/Burma-Mass-Movementhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/30772399/Daw-Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-prosecutes-Than-Shwe-for-failing-to-honour-1990-election-resultshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/34245310/Burma-Let-s-Cut-Junta-s-Stoogeshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/34143779/Burma-Democratic-Concern-BDC-Translation-Teamhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/34245310/Burma-Let-s-CUT-Junta-Cronieshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/34263316/Burma-Democracy-Movement-s-Maggotshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/34278755/Burma-Democracy-Movement-s-Loop-Holeshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/34142455/Bogyoke-Aung-Sanhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/28561112/Pyithu-Hluttaw-Election-Lawhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/28454264/၁၁-Choosing-Right-Path-and-Real-Politicshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/28407256/MPU-Calls-for-CRPP-to-Form-Interim-Governmenthttp://www.scribd.com/doc/28384458/Burma-The-Essence-of-Junta-s-Planned-Sham-2010-Electionhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/28384299/Burma-The-Essence-of-Junta-s-Sham-2008-Constitutionhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/28384144/Burma-NLD-s-Shwe-Gone-Daing-Declarationhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/34607577/Who-Killed-Aung-Sanhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/34609003/Who-Really-Killed-Aung-Sanhttp://www.gopetition.com/petitions/implement-1990-elections-result-in-burma.html
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Honouring Martyrs' Day in Bago Division
Honouring Martyrs' Day in Bago Division20 July 2010
The event was held in Bago Division in Burma. Around 150 people attended the ceremonial.
Monday, 19 July 2010
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Friday, 16 July 2010
Martyrs Birmanie Invitation Célébration de la Journée
Martyrs Birmanie Invitation Célébration de la Journée
BDC
19 Juillet 2010
Martyrs Birmanie Invitation Célébration de la Journée
Bo Gyoke (général) Aung San, architecte de la Birmanie de l'indépendance nationale, est le père de la Birmanie le chef de file unique, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Né le 13 Février 1915, Bo Aung San Gyoke a dirigé avec succès l'indépendance de la Birmanie Mouvement. Fasciste Révolution éclata en 1945 en Birmanie dirigée par le général Aung San et 1945 a également été le point tournant dans le paysage politique de la Birmanie. Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, les Britanniques rentra sur le sol birman comme un vainqueur dans la guerre. La guerre a changé la politique britannique à la maison et les colonies, comme la Birmanie, réclamaient l'indépendance totale. leader antifasciste Birmanie groupe nationaliste de Bo Aung San Gyoke était très populaire parmi le peuple birman et il est devenu un chef de file prometteurs dès l'âge de l'âge de 30 ans.
«Alors nous devons travailler ensemble à la cause commune, qui concerne tous et touche tout le monde. Nous devons nous efforcer de travail et chacun d'entre nous, jusqu'à ce que nous devenons tous les héros, afin que nous puissions finalement renoncer à tout dirigeant ou de leadership. Pour seulement alors nous pouvons avoir la liberté dans un sens réel et absolu. Mais je suis allé loin. Nous n'avons pas encore de gagner notre liberté nationale avant que nous puissions espérer de nous aider progressivement à cette conception absolue de liberté », a déclaré Bo Gyoke Aung San.
Le 19 Juillet 1947 à environ 10h37, heure normale de la Birmanie, plusieurs dirigeants d'indépendance de la Birmanie ont été abattus par les pro-colonialistes alors qu'ils participaient à une réunion du cabinet à ce qui était connu comme «le Secrétariat à Rangoon le centre-ville. Les membres du cabinet ont été assassinés Bo Gyoke (général) Aung San, Thakin Mya, Dedoke U Ba Cho, U Razak, U Ba Win, Mahn Ba Khaing et Mai Pong Sawphwa Sao San Htun. Cabinet du Secrétaire U Ohn Maung et un garde du corps appelé Maung Htwe ont également été tués dans la fusillade.
Depuis le 19 Juillet, Journée des Martyrs Birmanie est observée à la mémoire Bo Gyoke Aung San et de six chefs d'indépendance d'autres qui ont été assassinés le même jour en 1947. Birmanie démocratique préoccupant (BDC) va commémorer la Journée des Martyrs Birmanie le 19 Juillet 2010 à partir de 17:00-20h00. Vous êtes cordialement invités à se joindre à nous pour célébrer la Journée des Martyrs Birmanie »ensemble.
Date: 19 Juillet 2010 (lundi)
Heure: 17:00-20:00 h
Contact: myothein19@gmail.com, 07877882386
Adresse: Centre Broadwater communauté agricole, route Adams, Tottenham,
N17 6HE
Autobus: 123 et W4 de Turnpike Lane ou 243 à partir de bois vert
> Http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?cid=10371772744507053&q=Broadwater+Farm+Community+Centre&gl=uk
BDC
19 Juillet 2010
Martyrs Birmanie Invitation Célébration de la Journée
Bo Gyoke (général) Aung San, architecte de la Birmanie de l'indépendance nationale, est le père de la Birmanie le chef de file unique, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Né le 13 Février 1915, Bo Aung San Gyoke a dirigé avec succès l'indépendance de la Birmanie Mouvement. Fasciste Révolution éclata en 1945 en Birmanie dirigée par le général Aung San et 1945 a également été le point tournant dans le paysage politique de la Birmanie. Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, les Britanniques rentra sur le sol birman comme un vainqueur dans la guerre. La guerre a changé la politique britannique à la maison et les colonies, comme la Birmanie, réclamaient l'indépendance totale. leader antifasciste Birmanie groupe nationaliste de Bo Aung San Gyoke était très populaire parmi le peuple birman et il est devenu un chef de file prometteurs dès l'âge de l'âge de 30 ans.
«Alors nous devons travailler ensemble à la cause commune, qui concerne tous et touche tout le monde. Nous devons nous efforcer de travail et chacun d'entre nous, jusqu'à ce que nous devenons tous les héros, afin que nous puissions finalement renoncer à tout dirigeant ou de leadership. Pour seulement alors nous pouvons avoir la liberté dans un sens réel et absolu. Mais je suis allé loin. Nous n'avons pas encore de gagner notre liberté nationale avant que nous puissions espérer de nous aider progressivement à cette conception absolue de liberté », a déclaré Bo Gyoke Aung San.
Le 19 Juillet 1947 à environ 10h37, heure normale de la Birmanie, plusieurs dirigeants d'indépendance de la Birmanie ont été abattus par les pro-colonialistes alors qu'ils participaient à une réunion du cabinet à ce qui était connu comme «le Secrétariat à Rangoon le centre-ville. Les membres du cabinet ont été assassinés Bo Gyoke (général) Aung San, Thakin Mya, Dedoke U Ba Cho, U Razak, U Ba Win, Mahn Ba Khaing et Mai Pong Sawphwa Sao San Htun. Cabinet du Secrétaire U Ohn Maung et un garde du corps appelé Maung Htwe ont également été tués dans la fusillade.
Depuis le 19 Juillet, Journée des Martyrs Birmanie est observée à la mémoire Bo Gyoke Aung San et de six chefs d'indépendance d'autres qui ont été assassinés le même jour en 1947. Birmanie démocratique préoccupant (BDC) va commémorer la Journée des Martyrs Birmanie le 19 Juillet 2010 à partir de 17:00-20h00. Vous êtes cordialement invités à se joindre à nous pour célébrer la Journée des Martyrs Birmanie »ensemble.
Date: 19 Juillet 2010 (lundi)
Heure: 17:00-20:00 h
Contact: myothein19@gmail.com, 07877882386
Adresse: Centre Broadwater communauté agricole, route Adams, Tottenham,
N17 6HE
Autobus: 123 et W4 de Turnpike Lane ou 243 à partir de bois vert
> Http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?cid=10371772744507053&q=Broadwater+Farm+Community+Centre&gl=uk
Monday, 12 July 2010
Burma's paranoid dictator plots his dignified exit
Burma's paranoid dictator plots his dignified exit
Senior-General Than Shwe is giving his regime a makeover as he calculates the safest way to step down. Peter Popham reports
In the run-up to a long promised but still unscheduled general election, the first for 20 years, Burma's military dictator, Senior-General Than Shwe, has taken a step full of peril: he has ordered his uniformed cabinet ministers to resign from the army.
Those faceless generals who adorn the front page of the New Light of Myanmar, the regime's daily paper, inspecting fish-packing factories and barrages, will still be running the country, and anything resembling democratic governance will be as far away as ever.
But the look of things will have changed. The ministers will wear longyi, the traditional Burmese sarong-like garment. And crucially for them, they will no longer enjoy the status and respect which, in a country ruled with an iron fist by the military for half a century, is the army's prerogative.
Irrawaddy, the expatriate Burmese news website, predicts trouble. "Senior-General Than Shwe is facing a mutiny among his subordinates," it claimed last week. "There are growing signs of discontent among his cabinet ministers... They have been betrayed by their boss.
"Like it or not, army uniforms are a symbol of authority in Burma," it went on. "Those who wear them always get priority over those who don't. They are respected and can expect easy co-operation from others. Suddenly they will lose that privilege."
Leaving the army also means that those ministers will not be included in the 25 per cent quota that the army has reserved for itself in the planned new parliament. "Now they are on their own," Irrawaddy columnist Bamargyi pointed out. "Unless Than Shwe supports them with some dirty deals from behind the scenes, they are sure to lose. Once this happens, they are down the drain."
In trying to rebrand his military dictatorship as a civilian administration, the 77-year-old soldier who has been the boss of his nation of 50 million people for the past 18 years, and who was recently named by the journal Foreign Affairs as the world's third-worst dictator after Kim Jong-il and Robert Mugabe, thus faces a major challenge.
And in trying to withdraw from the scene while remaining in control, he faces an even tougher test: how, as King Lear deludedly put it, to "shake all cares and business from our age,/ Conferring them on younger strengths, while we/ Unburden'd crawl towards death"? How to do that without getting the Goneril and Regan treatment – or much worse?
How, in other words, to live out the rest of his days enjoying the billions he has plundered from the state, without ending up like his late boss Ne Win, Burma's dictator from 1962 to 1988, who, on Than Shwe's orders, ended his life locked in his lakeside villa in Rangoon under house arrest while his sons languished in jail under sentence of death?
How to avoid the fate of Khin Nyunt, the military intelligence chief and for many years Than Shwe's number two, who is also under house arrest with no prospect of release (while some of his underlings were tortured to death) after China hailed him as "Burma's Deng Xiaoping"?
According to Ben Rogers, author of the first-ever biography, Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma's Tyrant, which is launched in London next week, acute anxiety about his security is behind the fact that, two years after announcing elections, the senior general has yet to say when they will be held.
"He wants to make sure that everything is sewn up perfectly and that he can continue to govern from behind the scenes," said Rogers, a human rights advocate with Christian Solidarity Worldwide. "He will hold off naming the date until he's certain he's got all his ducks in a row. He doesn't want to give the candidates any room for campaigning."
A similarly secretive, paranoid approach dictated the most extraordinary decision of Than Shwe's career, and the one which, for good or ill, will assure him immortality of a sort: the removal of Burma's capital from Rangoon to a hot, malaria-infested, seismically sensitive wasteland in the centre of the country.
The idea of moving the army's HQ out of Rangoon had been in the air for a number of years, and may have been mentioned by Than Shwe to Aung San Suu Kyi in one of the fruitless meetings they held in 1994, while the opposition leader was under her first spell of house arrest. Rangoon is in the far south; for an army engaged in multiple counter-insurgency operations in the north and east, a base in the centre made strategic sense.
But unbeknownst to the outside world, Than Shwe nursed a far more drastic plan. "At precisely 6.37 am on 6 November 2005," writes Rogers, "hundreds of government servants left Rangoon in trucks shouting, "We are leaving! We are leaving!" ... Five days later, a second convoy of 1,100 military trucks carrying 11 military battalions and 11 ministries left Rangoon. Perhaps influenced by astrologers, Than Shwe had decided to move the country's capital. He had given government officials just two days' notice."
So Naypyitaw, which translates as "Seat of Kings" and is dominated by oversize statues of Than Shwe's favourite royal forerunners, will be this man's monument. "It's the most awful place you've ever been to," said Mark Canning, a former British ambassador to Burma. "It's a collection of buildings scattered over scrubland. But they are all just dispersed, and there are two or three kilometres between each building. One can only presume it's so they don't get bombed or something, to spread out the targets." As a resident of Naypyitaw told one foreign journalist, "Although [Than Shwe] is a king, he is afraid of many things. He thinks that here he will be safe."
Naypyitaw thus incarnates what Suu Kyi once said about fear. "It is not power that corrupts, but fear," she noted in 1990 when she was already under house arrest. "Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it... Fear slowly stifles and destroys all sense of right and wrong."
Only in a system dominated by fear could a man like Than Shwe rise to the top and stay there, because throughout his career he has given the impression of being so unimpeachably mediocre as to be without ambition or hope of success. He was a man incapable of provoking fear until suddenly he was at the top of the tree, and now he has held his nation in thrall for nearly two decades.
The comments of those who have had dealings with him are uniformly unflattering. "Short and fat with not a strong voice," says one. "Relatively boring," says another. "No evident personality." "Our leader is a very uneducated man." "There were many intelligent soldiers but he was not one of them...a bit of a thug." "You feel that he's got there by accident..." The closest Than Shwe gets to being complimented is in the description of a former World Bank official: "He is such an old fox!"
Born in 1933 in the central Burmese town of Kyaukse, Than Shwe quietly rose through the ranks despite having no striking military successes, until he was appointed deputy defence minister in July 1988 in the midst of the biggest revolt since the military takeover, the regime's moment of greatest danger.
In 1990 he was there alongside the erratic, sometimes deranged General Saw Maung, head of the new State Law and Order Restoration Council, who once drew his pistol on fellow generals during a game of golf and was eventually deposed. Then it was a contest between Than Shwe and military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt – who crucially had no experience as a commander in the field, and thus no chance of being accepted as chief by the army. Eventually Khin Nyunt, too, was flung from the battlements, a denouement waiting to happen. "Every single chief of military intelligence in Burma has been disgraced," said a former ambassador. "It's rather like being the drummer in Spinal Tap – you end up disappearing."
Than Shwe's mediocrity may have had its effect on Western attitudes towards him: he is easily under- estimated. As Rogers points out, he "has demonstrated time and again his skill at offering just enough of a concession to hold the international community at bay whenever pressure intensifies...Each time the pressure eases, Than Shwe quietly abandons his promises."
Meanwhile at home he has continued on the path set by his former superior Ne Win decades back: hugely expanding the size of the army, which now includes tens of thousands of children in its ranks, and continuing the campaigns of quasi-genocidal terrorism against the Karen and other ethnic minorities.
According to Sergio Pinheiro, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma from 2000 to 2008, writing in 2009, "Over the past 15 years the Burmese Army has destroyed over 3,300 villages in a systematic and widespread campaign to subjugate ethnic groups." At the same time he has kept Burma's civilian population in poverty and hopelessness. The only "reforms" he has pushed for have had the aim of perpetuating military rule under a disguise that fools nobody.
It is safe to predict that sooner or later Than Shwe will get his come-uppance. It may come from his immediate subordinates, furious at being kicked out, and an army that has never held him in esteem. The civil servants of Naypyitaw, incandescent at being exiled from the civilised comforts of Rangoon, may play their part. The monks, whom he arrogantly and foolishly refused to appease in 2007, could have a role.
But however certain his eventual downfall, you would have to be a very brave optimist to predict that he will be replaced by someone significantly better.
The general in brief
Born in 1933, Than Shwe joined the army at 20. He became Burma's top military leader in 1992 – four years after thousands of protesters had been massacred in Rangoon. The reclusive 77-year-old is thought to be superstitious, often consulting astrologers. In 2007, his new Burmese constitution effectively barred opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from office. Some credit the general with negotiating ceasefires with ethnic rebel armies, although he has also been accused of brutally suppressing minorities. He has been linked with high-level government purges, including that of Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt in 2004.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/burmas-paranoid-dictator-plots-his-dignified-exit-2024395.html
Senior-General Than Shwe is giving his regime a makeover as he calculates the safest way to step down. Peter Popham reports
In the run-up to a long promised but still unscheduled general election, the first for 20 years, Burma's military dictator, Senior-General Than Shwe, has taken a step full of peril: he has ordered his uniformed cabinet ministers to resign from the army.
Those faceless generals who adorn the front page of the New Light of Myanmar, the regime's daily paper, inspecting fish-packing factories and barrages, will still be running the country, and anything resembling democratic governance will be as far away as ever.
But the look of things will have changed. The ministers will wear longyi, the traditional Burmese sarong-like garment. And crucially for them, they will no longer enjoy the status and respect which, in a country ruled with an iron fist by the military for half a century, is the army's prerogative.
Irrawaddy, the expatriate Burmese news website, predicts trouble. "Senior-General Than Shwe is facing a mutiny among his subordinates," it claimed last week. "There are growing signs of discontent among his cabinet ministers... They have been betrayed by their boss.
"Like it or not, army uniforms are a symbol of authority in Burma," it went on. "Those who wear them always get priority over those who don't. They are respected and can expect easy co-operation from others. Suddenly they will lose that privilege."
Leaving the army also means that those ministers will not be included in the 25 per cent quota that the army has reserved for itself in the planned new parliament. "Now they are on their own," Irrawaddy columnist Bamargyi pointed out. "Unless Than Shwe supports them with some dirty deals from behind the scenes, they are sure to lose. Once this happens, they are down the drain."
In trying to rebrand his military dictatorship as a civilian administration, the 77-year-old soldier who has been the boss of his nation of 50 million people for the past 18 years, and who was recently named by the journal Foreign Affairs as the world's third-worst dictator after Kim Jong-il and Robert Mugabe, thus faces a major challenge.
And in trying to withdraw from the scene while remaining in control, he faces an even tougher test: how, as King Lear deludedly put it, to "shake all cares and business from our age,/ Conferring them on younger strengths, while we/ Unburden'd crawl towards death"? How to do that without getting the Goneril and Regan treatment – or much worse?
How, in other words, to live out the rest of his days enjoying the billions he has plundered from the state, without ending up like his late boss Ne Win, Burma's dictator from 1962 to 1988, who, on Than Shwe's orders, ended his life locked in his lakeside villa in Rangoon under house arrest while his sons languished in jail under sentence of death?
How to avoid the fate of Khin Nyunt, the military intelligence chief and for many years Than Shwe's number two, who is also under house arrest with no prospect of release (while some of his underlings were tortured to death) after China hailed him as "Burma's Deng Xiaoping"?
According to Ben Rogers, author of the first-ever biography, Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma's Tyrant, which is launched in London next week, acute anxiety about his security is behind the fact that, two years after announcing elections, the senior general has yet to say when they will be held.
"He wants to make sure that everything is sewn up perfectly and that he can continue to govern from behind the scenes," said Rogers, a human rights advocate with Christian Solidarity Worldwide. "He will hold off naming the date until he's certain he's got all his ducks in a row. He doesn't want to give the candidates any room for campaigning."
A similarly secretive, paranoid approach dictated the most extraordinary decision of Than Shwe's career, and the one which, for good or ill, will assure him immortality of a sort: the removal of Burma's capital from Rangoon to a hot, malaria-infested, seismically sensitive wasteland in the centre of the country.
The idea of moving the army's HQ out of Rangoon had been in the air for a number of years, and may have been mentioned by Than Shwe to Aung San Suu Kyi in one of the fruitless meetings they held in 1994, while the opposition leader was under her first spell of house arrest. Rangoon is in the far south; for an army engaged in multiple counter-insurgency operations in the north and east, a base in the centre made strategic sense.
But unbeknownst to the outside world, Than Shwe nursed a far more drastic plan. "At precisely 6.37 am on 6 November 2005," writes Rogers, "hundreds of government servants left Rangoon in trucks shouting, "We are leaving! We are leaving!" ... Five days later, a second convoy of 1,100 military trucks carrying 11 military battalions and 11 ministries left Rangoon. Perhaps influenced by astrologers, Than Shwe had decided to move the country's capital. He had given government officials just two days' notice."
So Naypyitaw, which translates as "Seat of Kings" and is dominated by oversize statues of Than Shwe's favourite royal forerunners, will be this man's monument. "It's the most awful place you've ever been to," said Mark Canning, a former British ambassador to Burma. "It's a collection of buildings scattered over scrubland. But they are all just dispersed, and there are two or three kilometres between each building. One can only presume it's so they don't get bombed or something, to spread out the targets." As a resident of Naypyitaw told one foreign journalist, "Although [Than Shwe] is a king, he is afraid of many things. He thinks that here he will be safe."
Naypyitaw thus incarnates what Suu Kyi once said about fear. "It is not power that corrupts, but fear," she noted in 1990 when she was already under house arrest. "Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it... Fear slowly stifles and destroys all sense of right and wrong."
Only in a system dominated by fear could a man like Than Shwe rise to the top and stay there, because throughout his career he has given the impression of being so unimpeachably mediocre as to be without ambition or hope of success. He was a man incapable of provoking fear until suddenly he was at the top of the tree, and now he has held his nation in thrall for nearly two decades.
The comments of those who have had dealings with him are uniformly unflattering. "Short and fat with not a strong voice," says one. "Relatively boring," says another. "No evident personality." "Our leader is a very uneducated man." "There were many intelligent soldiers but he was not one of them...a bit of a thug." "You feel that he's got there by accident..." The closest Than Shwe gets to being complimented is in the description of a former World Bank official: "He is such an old fox!"
Born in 1933 in the central Burmese town of Kyaukse, Than Shwe quietly rose through the ranks despite having no striking military successes, until he was appointed deputy defence minister in July 1988 in the midst of the biggest revolt since the military takeover, the regime's moment of greatest danger.
In 1990 he was there alongside the erratic, sometimes deranged General Saw Maung, head of the new State Law and Order Restoration Council, who once drew his pistol on fellow generals during a game of golf and was eventually deposed. Then it was a contest between Than Shwe and military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt – who crucially had no experience as a commander in the field, and thus no chance of being accepted as chief by the army. Eventually Khin Nyunt, too, was flung from the battlements, a denouement waiting to happen. "Every single chief of military intelligence in Burma has been disgraced," said a former ambassador. "It's rather like being the drummer in Spinal Tap – you end up disappearing."
Than Shwe's mediocrity may have had its effect on Western attitudes towards him: he is easily under- estimated. As Rogers points out, he "has demonstrated time and again his skill at offering just enough of a concession to hold the international community at bay whenever pressure intensifies...Each time the pressure eases, Than Shwe quietly abandons his promises."
Meanwhile at home he has continued on the path set by his former superior Ne Win decades back: hugely expanding the size of the army, which now includes tens of thousands of children in its ranks, and continuing the campaigns of quasi-genocidal terrorism against the Karen and other ethnic minorities.
According to Sergio Pinheiro, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma from 2000 to 2008, writing in 2009, "Over the past 15 years the Burmese Army has destroyed over 3,300 villages in a systematic and widespread campaign to subjugate ethnic groups." At the same time he has kept Burma's civilian population in poverty and hopelessness. The only "reforms" he has pushed for have had the aim of perpetuating military rule under a disguise that fools nobody.
It is safe to predict that sooner or later Than Shwe will get his come-uppance. It may come from his immediate subordinates, furious at being kicked out, and an army that has never held him in esteem. The civil servants of Naypyitaw, incandescent at being exiled from the civilised comforts of Rangoon, may play their part. The monks, whom he arrogantly and foolishly refused to appease in 2007, could have a role.
But however certain his eventual downfall, you would have to be a very brave optimist to predict that he will be replaced by someone significantly better.
The general in brief
Born in 1933, Than Shwe joined the army at 20. He became Burma's top military leader in 1992 – four years after thousands of protesters had been massacred in Rangoon. The reclusive 77-year-old is thought to be superstitious, often consulting astrologers. In 2007, his new Burmese constitution effectively barred opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from office. Some credit the general with negotiating ceasefires with ethnic rebel armies, although he has also been accused of brutally suppressing minorities. He has been linked with high-level government purges, including that of Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt in 2004.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/burmas-paranoid-dictator-plots-his-dignified-exit-2024395.html
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Naypyidaw plague and dengue outbreaks infect troops, children
Naypyidaw plague and dengue outbreaks infect troops, children
Mizzima news
10 July 2010
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Outbreaks of plague and dengue fever are spreading through military units in Naypyidaw, the Burmese military regime’s seat of government, according to a military hospital source.
Infected soldiers were admitted to the new 1,000-bed military hospital in Naypyidaw for treatment. Moreover diarrhoea and dengue fever is spreading among residents in the capital’s neighbouring township of Pyinmana, home to 100,000 people.
“Children under-12 [of soldiers] in these Naypyidaw military units infected with dengue fever and plague were admitted to the children’s hospital and the troops infected with dengue and plague and their children over 12 were admitted here,” an officer from the military hospital, who requested anonymity, told Mizzima.
He declined to give further details on the scale of the epidemic.
According to official government figures released last year, Naypyidaw, meaning Royal City, is the third largest city in Burma, with a population of 925,000.
The outbreaks emerge after hundreds of thousands of rodents were reported late last month migrating from their current habitats.
“Mice are moving ‘in their thousands’ away from lakes and reservoirs in central Burma’s Bago and Mandalay divisions and towards urban areas. One man reported seeing fleets of mice on the Mandalay-to-Naypyidaw highway,” an exile media outlet reported on June 30.
In a sign of unusual openness by the junta, Ministry of Health plague warnings were seen in state-run papers on July 1 and 2.
The warning said: “Sudden death of mice may be because of plague. The people are advised to report and send the dead mice suspected of being infected with plague to the nearest health department”.
However, Dr. Khin Aye Myint from the Social Welfare dispensary in Pyinmana disagreed with any contact with the mice and offered a safer solution.
“The Health Department should instigate a public awareness campaign on plague and dead mice. If suspected, the dead mice should be poured with petrol and burned or should be reported to health department,” Dr. Khin Aye Myint said.
Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday that the Burmese Ministry of Health had also circulated a warning among government departments about rat-borne plague after finding infected dead rodents near a government office in Naypyidaw, an official said.
Moreover residents of Yauktharinn, Kanoo, Yanaung (2) and Shwechi wards in Pyinmana said that diarrhoea and dengue fever were spreading in their locality.
Previously it infected children aged between 5 and 12 but elderly people were now also being infected.
“Some dengue fever patients visited nearby clinics and could recover within one or two days. Some of them were referred to hospitals. There are also many patients suffering from diarrhoea,” a brokerage owner in Yaukthuarinn Ward told Mizzima.
The virus that causes dengue fever is carried by mosquitoes.
Wet, humid weather during the monsoon has encouraged breeding of mosquito larvae in drains, ponds and garbage dumps, which encouraged the breeding of flies and mosquitos and the subsequent spreading of the bacterias that cause diarrhoea through contaminated foods and the virus that causes dengue, Dr. Khin Myint Aye said.
Dengue spreads because of our inability to fight the mosquito menace, he said.
Dengue outbreaks are not rare in Burma. Ministry of Health announced that 910 people were infected with dengue during the January-May period and six those died from this disease that is also known as break-bone fever because of severe pain in the bones and joints that often characterises infection.
At least 80 people were infected in Rangoon in the last week of June, Mizzima reported on July 1.
According to official statistics, 3,129 Burmese people were infected with dengue last year and 37 died.
Mizzima news
10 July 2010
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Outbreaks of plague and dengue fever are spreading through military units in Naypyidaw, the Burmese military regime’s seat of government, according to a military hospital source.
Infected soldiers were admitted to the new 1,000-bed military hospital in Naypyidaw for treatment. Moreover diarrhoea and dengue fever is spreading among residents in the capital’s neighbouring township of Pyinmana, home to 100,000 people.
“Children under-12 [of soldiers] in these Naypyidaw military units infected with dengue fever and plague were admitted to the children’s hospital and the troops infected with dengue and plague and their children over 12 were admitted here,” an officer from the military hospital, who requested anonymity, told Mizzima.
He declined to give further details on the scale of the epidemic.
According to official government figures released last year, Naypyidaw, meaning Royal City, is the third largest city in Burma, with a population of 925,000.
The outbreaks emerge after hundreds of thousands of rodents were reported late last month migrating from their current habitats.
“Mice are moving ‘in their thousands’ away from lakes and reservoirs in central Burma’s Bago and Mandalay divisions and towards urban areas. One man reported seeing fleets of mice on the Mandalay-to-Naypyidaw highway,” an exile media outlet reported on June 30.
In a sign of unusual openness by the junta, Ministry of Health plague warnings were seen in state-run papers on July 1 and 2.
The warning said: “Sudden death of mice may be because of plague. The people are advised to report and send the dead mice suspected of being infected with plague to the nearest health department”.
However, Dr. Khin Aye Myint from the Social Welfare dispensary in Pyinmana disagreed with any contact with the mice and offered a safer solution.
“The Health Department should instigate a public awareness campaign on plague and dead mice. If suspected, the dead mice should be poured with petrol and burned or should be reported to health department,” Dr. Khin Aye Myint said.
Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday that the Burmese Ministry of Health had also circulated a warning among government departments about rat-borne plague after finding infected dead rodents near a government office in Naypyidaw, an official said.
Moreover residents of Yauktharinn, Kanoo, Yanaung (2) and Shwechi wards in Pyinmana said that diarrhoea and dengue fever were spreading in their locality.
Previously it infected children aged between 5 and 12 but elderly people were now also being infected.
“Some dengue fever patients visited nearby clinics and could recover within one or two days. Some of them were referred to hospitals. There are also many patients suffering from diarrhoea,” a brokerage owner in Yaukthuarinn Ward told Mizzima.
The virus that causes dengue fever is carried by mosquitoes.
Wet, humid weather during the monsoon has encouraged breeding of mosquito larvae in drains, ponds and garbage dumps, which encouraged the breeding of flies and mosquitos and the subsequent spreading of the bacterias that cause diarrhoea through contaminated foods and the virus that causes dengue, Dr. Khin Myint Aye said.
Dengue spreads because of our inability to fight the mosquito menace, he said.
Dengue outbreaks are not rare in Burma. Ministry of Health announced that 910 people were infected with dengue during the January-May period and six those died from this disease that is also known as break-bone fever because of severe pain in the bones and joints that often characterises infection.
At least 80 people were infected in Rangoon in the last week of June, Mizzima reported on July 1.
According to official statistics, 3,129 Burmese people were infected with dengue last year and 37 died.
Thursday, 8 July 2010
ILO: Forced Labor Still Widespread in Burma
The United Nations' International Labor Organization (ILO) says Burma has made limited progress in curtailing the use of forced labor.
Steve Marshall, the International Labor Organization's liaison officer in Burma, says over the past three years there have been "significant steps" toward eliminating forced labor in the country. The most progress has been in private organizations and the civil administration.
"To an extent, the government has passed laws which say that forced labor is illegal, which is a very important first step of cours," said Marshall. "The government has undertaken quite a lot of educational activity among local authorities particularly within the military as to the law and the responsibilities under the law."
Burma's military government has long used forced labor in everything from building roads to carrying military supplies through the jungle. At its extremes, there have been reports of people being pressed to walk through mine fields as human minesweepers.
Rights groups say thousands of Burmese are forced to work against their will, including children and the elderly. Many suffer abuse, including gang rape and murder.
Marshall said Thursday in Bangkok the military particularly continues to use forced labor.
"There are some indicators within the civilian side of the administration, which is very good," said Marshall. "In the military side of the administration, there is no clear evidence of any change whatsoever."
One area of progress has been a new system that allows citizens to complain to the ILO. That has helped the rescue children forced to join the military.
In its new report, the ILO report says the government now regularly discharges under-age soldiers if complaints are filed.
Some armed ethnic groups also use child soldiers and Burma's government has allowed the ILO to talk with them to try to end the practice.
Marshall says there are moves to write new labor laws to allow trade unions once a new parliament is convened after elections later this year.
Regional political analysts say Burma's government appears to be taking a more cautious approach in dealing with labor and economic issues ahead of the elections. The vote will be the first in 20 years and is expected to place the government under the international spotlight.
Source: http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/economy-and-business/ILO-Forced-Labor-Still-Widespread-in-Burma-98019769.html
Steve Marshall, the International Labor Organization's liaison officer in Burma, says over the past three years there have been "significant steps" toward eliminating forced labor in the country. The most progress has been in private organizations and the civil administration.
"To an extent, the government has passed laws which say that forced labor is illegal, which is a very important first step of cours," said Marshall. "The government has undertaken quite a lot of educational activity among local authorities particularly within the military as to the law and the responsibilities under the law."
Burma's military government has long used forced labor in everything from building roads to carrying military supplies through the jungle. At its extremes, there have been reports of people being pressed to walk through mine fields as human minesweepers.
Rights groups say thousands of Burmese are forced to work against their will, including children and the elderly. Many suffer abuse, including gang rape and murder.
Marshall said Thursday in Bangkok the military particularly continues to use forced labor.
"There are some indicators within the civilian side of the administration, which is very good," said Marshall. "In the military side of the administration, there is no clear evidence of any change whatsoever."
One area of progress has been a new system that allows citizens to complain to the ILO. That has helped the rescue children forced to join the military.
In its new report, the ILO report says the government now regularly discharges under-age soldiers if complaints are filed.
Some armed ethnic groups also use child soldiers and Burma's government has allowed the ILO to talk with them to try to end the practice.
Marshall says there are moves to write new labor laws to allow trade unions once a new parliament is convened after elections later this year.
Regional political analysts say Burma's government appears to be taking a more cautious approach in dealing with labor and economic issues ahead of the elections. The vote will be the first in 20 years and is expected to place the government under the international spotlight.
Source: http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/economy-and-business/ILO-Forced-Labor-Still-Widespread-in-Burma-98019769.html
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Burma: Ready to die for it (Htein Lin)
The people of Burma have been suffering under one of the world's most brutal and repressive regime. The military regime uses murder, torture, rape, political imprisonment and forced labour as practices for ruling the citizens of Burma. Freedom of expression and freedom of association are non-existent and Burmese citizens are denied any state in the shaping of their future.
In Burma, power is centred on the ruling junta--the State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC--which maintains strict authoritarian rule over the people of Burma. Control is maintained through intimidation, the strict censuring of information, repression of individual rights, and suppression of ethnic minority groups.
One of the opponents of the military regime is Htein Lin, the dedicated Burma democracy activist.
Htein Lin said "I am ready to die for it". He is the Burma democracy activist devoted his life to work for democratisation of Burma. His dedication, determination and devotion for the cause of Burma democracy movement is incredible. We believe that there are thousands of new generation democracy activists ready to die for Burma.
For more information please visit Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) at http://bdcburma.org/Index.asp
Sittwe Students Protest Bus Fare Hike
Hundreds of students from Technological University in Sittwe in western Burma protested peacefully on Monday against a 100 percent hike in school bus fares.
The university's buses previously charged 150 kyat (US $0.15) per student for the ride to the campus, which is located 12 miles from Sittwe city center. Fares were increased on Monday morning to 300 kyat ($0.30).
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, a student from Technological University said, “We are unhappy with the increased bus fare, and we took to the streets to voice our concerns.”
At 3 p.m. On Monday, about 300 students from Technological University refused to take the bus because of the revised fare and walked from the campus to Sittwe city center at a time when most students were returning home. The number of protesters grew to about 1,000 after students from Computer University in Sittwe joined in, said the source.
“Soldiers blocked us on the road and threatened to shoot us if we kept marching,” he said. “But, we didn't listen and kept on walking.”
The protest continued until 10 p.m. when the head of Computer University in Sittwe, Aung Kyaw Nyein, met with the students and said he would resolve the matter, the source said, adding that the number of people had by that time increased to about 3,000, including students' parents and onlookers.
The western region commander Maj-Gen Thaung Aye reportedly put pressure on teachers on Tuesday to find out who initiated the protest.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy, a history professor at Sittwe University said, “It is not good for the students if bus fares go up. But, bus drivers were only getting 150 kyat from each student. The price of gasoline has gone up. They have to put their fares up.”
In January last year, students from Technological University staged similar protests in the Arakan capital.
Hundreds of demonstrators also took to the streets of Sittwe during the Saffron Revolution of 2007, which was sparked by a protest over a hike in gasoline prices.
Source: http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=18897
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Interview with Robert Goebbels, member of the European Parliament
Mizzima (Brussels) – Robert Goebbels, a member of the European Parliament (EP) from Luxembourg, received Mizzima at his office in Brussels. The Socialist member of the EP since 1999 is vice-chairman of the delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and Asean and has been minister of economic affairs, transport and public works and energy for Luxembourg. He is a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group within the EP, the second-largest bloc in the parliament.
Robert Goebbels
Since the early 1990s, the European Union (EU) has maintained a set of sanctions on Burma that, given the lack of progress on human rights and democracy in the country, has been strengthened over time. These restrictions comprise a travel ban on junta leaders, members of the judiciary and figures associated with the state-controlled economy (and in most of the cases, their close relatives); an assets freeze; and a ban on the export of regime-linked entities working in the industries of woods, metals, construction material, information technology and the media.
Do the existing EU sanctions on Burma bear any influence on the Burmese military rulers?
I am personally against any policies based on sanctions; history has shown that they never work. The imposition of restrictions only serves the EU to give itself a good conscience. First of all, restrictions rarely hit the ruling elites. Cuba, Iraq and now Iran have evidenced how in the end, this type of embargoes only disrupts ordinary people. Furthermore, I seriously doubt that sanctions could ever prove conductive to bring about change in any way.
How can the EU streamline its current range of sanctions if it is to promote human rights and democracy in Burma?
The Burmese regime does not look at the approval of the West. Besides, the junta still makes business with a number of EU companies [the EU economic sanctions on Burma do not apply to companies operating in the country prior to the ban]. On the top of this, the junta’s dealings with a number of mighty economic allies [China, Russia, India, for example] secure the establishment with much-needed foreign investment. In its endeavour to persuade the military regime to pave the way for opening up, the EU would be better advice if it engages in dialogue with the Burmese rulers.
They are certain policy discrepancies between the EP and the European Commission (EC) – the EU’s executive body – as the latter favours further dialogue with the junta. What do you make of this?
That is true. In the EP, there are a number of members who monopolise this debate, and I am afraid that these very people tend to be wrong. Some members of the EP subcommittee on human rights keep pursuing a misguided strategy on Burma – one that has largely failed in its aim to enhance the junta’s respect for its citizen’s fundamental freedoms. Consequently, I back the EC approach of generating new channels of dialogue. There are some times when we make the mistake to act in a paternalistic fashion, dictating to others what they should do.
Since last year, the EC has declined to finance aid for Burmese refugees living along the Thai-Burmese border. What could possibly be the EC’s reasons to stop such funding?
I am not informed about the details of the EC’s motives. I suspect that most of these funds go to NGOs. Despite that, the non-profit sector plays a very constructive role in the field; some NGOs also finance themselves out of the resources provided by the EU. The EC may know better than the EP committees concerned what the situation on the ground is. This would have probably prompted its decision.
Does the Burmese issue interfere with relations between the EU and Asean?
The situation in Burma is always present on EU-Asean talks. Nonetheless, we should bear in mind that the ties between both supranational entities are essentially of an economic nature. In such a framework, the economic actors do not pay much attention to the human rights situation in Burma – otherwise, there would not be so many companies operating in the country.
Are you satisfied with the Asean method of dialogue without meddling in members’ domestic affairs?
Obviously, Asean could have a larger influence on the junta’s policy-making. Yet, it should not be forgotten that various Asean member states have themselves poor records on human rights, which partially explains why the organisation is not very vigorous in challenging the junta. Nevertheless, the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights [formed last year] embodies a platform that should be better brought into play when dealing with the Burmese leadership.
Recently, the EP encouraged the governments of China, India and Russia “to stop supplying the Burmese regime with weaponry and other strategic resources”. However, China has just sold 50 jet fighters to Naypyidaw. In the end, China, Russia, India and others are reluctant to stop their arms sales and energy deals with the regime. Could the EU possibly take any initiative to warn these states of Brussels’ annoyance?
I would focus my answer on China, as I do not think that the EU has at its disposal much leverage against Beijing. One can say that China has not friends, only interests. In addition, we should not forget that many EU member states run vast investments in China; thousands of joint-ventures produce goods in China for the EU market. A number of European economies need China to expand, and the situation in Burma is unlikely to get in its way.
If it was for you to say what the Burmese military should first do to boost the credibility of the forthcoming elections, what would be your advice?
If the junta were really aiming to hold credible elections, the regime should invite foreign observers to monitor the whole process. Following the polls, I am confident that the newly established parliament will not be satisfied with its given powers. At some point, the parliament will contest its original rubber-stamp role. I am positive that the new assembly will gradually challenge the military.
source: http://www.mizzima.com/edop/interview/4084-interview-with-robert-goebbels-member-of-the-european-parliament.html
Robert Goebbels
Since the early 1990s, the European Union (EU) has maintained a set of sanctions on Burma that, given the lack of progress on human rights and democracy in the country, has been strengthened over time. These restrictions comprise a travel ban on junta leaders, members of the judiciary and figures associated with the state-controlled economy (and in most of the cases, their close relatives); an assets freeze; and a ban on the export of regime-linked entities working in the industries of woods, metals, construction material, information technology and the media.
Do the existing EU sanctions on Burma bear any influence on the Burmese military rulers?
I am personally against any policies based on sanctions; history has shown that they never work. The imposition of restrictions only serves the EU to give itself a good conscience. First of all, restrictions rarely hit the ruling elites. Cuba, Iraq and now Iran have evidenced how in the end, this type of embargoes only disrupts ordinary people. Furthermore, I seriously doubt that sanctions could ever prove conductive to bring about change in any way.
How can the EU streamline its current range of sanctions if it is to promote human rights and democracy in Burma?
The Burmese regime does not look at the approval of the West. Besides, the junta still makes business with a number of EU companies [the EU economic sanctions on Burma do not apply to companies operating in the country prior to the ban]. On the top of this, the junta’s dealings with a number of mighty economic allies [China, Russia, India, for example] secure the establishment with much-needed foreign investment. In its endeavour to persuade the military regime to pave the way for opening up, the EU would be better advice if it engages in dialogue with the Burmese rulers.
They are certain policy discrepancies between the EP and the European Commission (EC) – the EU’s executive body – as the latter favours further dialogue with the junta. What do you make of this?
That is true. In the EP, there are a number of members who monopolise this debate, and I am afraid that these very people tend to be wrong. Some members of the EP subcommittee on human rights keep pursuing a misguided strategy on Burma – one that has largely failed in its aim to enhance the junta’s respect for its citizen’s fundamental freedoms. Consequently, I back the EC approach of generating new channels of dialogue. There are some times when we make the mistake to act in a paternalistic fashion, dictating to others what they should do.
Since last year, the EC has declined to finance aid for Burmese refugees living along the Thai-Burmese border. What could possibly be the EC’s reasons to stop such funding?
I am not informed about the details of the EC’s motives. I suspect that most of these funds go to NGOs. Despite that, the non-profit sector plays a very constructive role in the field; some NGOs also finance themselves out of the resources provided by the EU. The EC may know better than the EP committees concerned what the situation on the ground is. This would have probably prompted its decision.
Does the Burmese issue interfere with relations between the EU and Asean?
The situation in Burma is always present on EU-Asean talks. Nonetheless, we should bear in mind that the ties between both supranational entities are essentially of an economic nature. In such a framework, the economic actors do not pay much attention to the human rights situation in Burma – otherwise, there would not be so many companies operating in the country.
Are you satisfied with the Asean method of dialogue without meddling in members’ domestic affairs?
Obviously, Asean could have a larger influence on the junta’s policy-making. Yet, it should not be forgotten that various Asean member states have themselves poor records on human rights, which partially explains why the organisation is not very vigorous in challenging the junta. Nevertheless, the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights [formed last year] embodies a platform that should be better brought into play when dealing with the Burmese leadership.
Recently, the EP encouraged the governments of China, India and Russia “to stop supplying the Burmese regime with weaponry and other strategic resources”. However, China has just sold 50 jet fighters to Naypyidaw. In the end, China, Russia, India and others are reluctant to stop their arms sales and energy deals with the regime. Could the EU possibly take any initiative to warn these states of Brussels’ annoyance?
I would focus my answer on China, as I do not think that the EU has at its disposal much leverage against Beijing. One can say that China has not friends, only interests. In addition, we should not forget that many EU member states run vast investments in China; thousands of joint-ventures produce goods in China for the EU market. A number of European economies need China to expand, and the situation in Burma is unlikely to get in its way.
If it was for you to say what the Burmese military should first do to boost the credibility of the forthcoming elections, what would be your advice?
If the junta were really aiming to hold credible elections, the regime should invite foreign observers to monitor the whole process. Following the polls, I am confident that the newly established parliament will not be satisfied with its given powers. At some point, the parliament will contest its original rubber-stamp role. I am positive that the new assembly will gradually challenge the military.
source: http://www.mizzima.com/edop/interview/4084-interview-with-robert-goebbels-member-of-the-european-parliament.html
Saturday, 3 July 2010
Burma: Let's Take Decisive Action -- Let's Save Ourselves
"In such circumstances, we had no alternative but to turn our weapons against them as true patriots of our land and as lovers of Justice". (Bogyoke Aung San)
"I would especially like to see our younger people stride confidently into the future, their richness of spirit soaring to meet all challenges. I would like to be able to say: "This is a nation worthy of all those who loved it and lived and died for it--that we might be proud of our heritage." (Daw Aung San Suu Kyi)
Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) is the global campaigning and lobbying organisation to restore democracy, human rights and rule of law in Burma where everyone can enjoy the freedom of speech, press, beliefs, assembly and rule of law that emphasizes the protection of individual rights. Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) have the firm determination, dedication and devotion to keep on working until the democracy restore in Burma.
Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) is equipped with participants who had political background and in depth knowledge of Burma issues.
Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) is empowering new generation leaders to engage in current activities and to be ready for the future nation building.
Please see the messages of the democracy activists' heart-felt pledges to restore justice, liberty, democracy and human rights in Burma.
"We need to believe in what we are doing. Yes we can. Yes we can. We can do it. Wherever you are whoever you are. You can do it". (Myo Thein)
"New generation leaders--please come forward. Our leader, Bogyoke (Aung San) once said that removing the small stumbling block on the road is also politics". (Kyaw Bo Bo San)
"I am destined to work and will work for democratisation of Burma. I will try my best to provide messages of what we, Burmese in exile working for democratisation of Burma, are doing by all means through various ways". (Zin Zin Myo Thant)
"People of Burma please do not be despair since you are not alone. Even though we are in exile, we are doing what we can for democratisation of Burma. Once we get signal from inside Burma we are ready to go back inside Burma together with our friends of Burma". (July Myat Tun)
"I would like to request fighting together (to topple junta). As for me I will fight until the regime is out of power." (Ye Wut Mar)
"Please start working from where you are. I will start working from where I am". (Pyei Phyo Minn)
"I will try my best to topple military junta in order to establish democratic Burma." (Khin Yamon Po Kun)
"I am ready to go back inside Burma to fight together with people of Burma to topple brutal junta" (Naing Win)
Thank you very much for your unwavering support.
For more information please visit Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) at
http://www.bdcburma.org/Index.asphttp://bdc-burma.blogspot.com/http://bdcburma.wordpress.com/http://www.youtube.com/user/bdcburmahttp://twitter.com/bdcburmahttp://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/g...
Thursday, 1 July 2010
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