Chinese activist sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison - Chen Qitang

Photo: Chen Qitang

BEIJING (IHT): An Internet writer and activist in southern China has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on charges of impersonation and fraud, human rights groups said Tuesday.

Chen Qitang, who wrote under the pen name Tianli, was sentenced in secret on Dec. 31 after being detained for more than a year, Chinese Human Rights Defenders said.

The group said it believes Chen was targeted by authorities because he posted critical articles on the Internet and helped villagers in Foshan city in Guangdong province to resist land grabs.

Chen's wife found out about the sentence five days after it was imposed when she called the court in Foshan in Guangdong province, according to Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch, a China-based activist organization. She and other members of the family were not told about the trial.

Chen was taken into custody in October 2007 and formally arrested in December that year, Chinese Human Rights Defenders group said in a statement.

Neither rights group provided details of the fraud allegations against Chen. However, China has previously leveled fraud charges against people who challenge the system.

Liu Hong, a spokeswoman for the Foshan District court, declined to comment Tuesday but said she would release information within two days.

A Nanhai district police spokesman, who refused to be named, refused to comment on the issue and hung up the phone.

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On the Net:

Chen's blog: http://chenqitang.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-post_3794.html

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UWSA changes nomenclature of administrative territory

by Ko Wine

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The 'United Wa State Party' has changed its administrative territory from 'Shan State Special Region No. 2' to 'Wa State Government Special Administrative Region', with effect from January 1.

According to observers who are closely watching the situation, UWSA has already informed the change of nomenclature to the Burmese military junta.

"They are not asking for permission, they have just informed the junta. They will refer to their territory by the new official term 'Wa State Government Special Administrative Region' from now on", the Sino-Burma border based Burma observer U Aung Kyaw Zaw said.

"The names of 'United Wa State Army' (UWSA) and 'United Wa State Party' (UWSA) will remain unchanged. They changed the name of their administrative region only. They have already made office seals. The new signboards of their offices have also been changed," he added.

U Sein Kyi, editor of the Thai based 'Shan Herald News Agency' (SHAN) which usually and specifically covers Shan State related news, said that he also heard this news but they are still in the process of verifying it.

He said that the Kengtung based Triangle Region Military Command Commander Maj. Gen. Kyaw Phyo called and met military and administrative officials of Wa 417th Brigade, No. 171 Wa Military Region of Mengyawn, Mengsat, Mengton townships in Kengtung on 26 to 27 December last year.

At the meeting, he briefed the officials on necessary reforms including transformation of Wa Army units in accordance with the new constitution. After that, Wa Party informed the change of name of the territory under their control to the junta, the editor said.

The Burmese observer U Aung Kyaw Zaw said that this action of Wa HQ, which controls both northern and southern Wa State, informing of their name change to the junta shows that constitutional crisis exists in Burma, even though the regime is unhappy with this letter, they are in dilemma in taking military action against the Wa Army.

"They have no other strong points other than showing the international community that they are making peace with the armed groups. They (regime) cannot afford breaking the ceasefire agreement and exchanging fire again under the current circumstances of heavy international pressure being mounted on them. Moreover over 87-89 per cent of the population in these areas is ethnic Wa people. The Burmese regime dare not try military stunts at this time because it would be like banging a brick wall with the head," U Aung Kyaw Zaw said.

"The armed groups do not accept this newly approved constitution at all. They expressed their positions against this constitution in various ways. Wa issued a statement on 10 October 2007 after the monk-led saffron revolution. In this statement, they demanded that the junta let them grant 'Special Region' status in the new constitution being drafted as promised earlier" he added.

The 'Office of Foreign Assets Control' (OFAC) under the United States Finance Department issued a notification on 13 November last year which froze the assets and accounts of 26 people and 17 companies including the senior officials and commanders of UWSA namely Wei Xiaokhan, Wei Xiaolong, Wei Xiaoying, Bao Yochang, He Chuntin and Sik Gonan among others.

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Journals ordered to condemn NLD demonstration

Jan 6, 2009 (DVB)–Weekly news journals in Burma have been ordered by the state censor board to publish articles criticising National League for Democracy members for staging a demonstration in Rangoon last week.

Journalists and publishers in Rangoon said yesterday that censor board officials had recently ordered them to publish a government-approved article on the protest.

The article accused senior NLD member Win Tin of being behind a demonstration on 30 December by nine NLD youth members who were arrested by authorities.

It also claimed that their demonstration was not supported by the general public.

A journalist in Rangoon said he had seen the article printed in several news journals and other publications.

"I saw the article in the True weekly journal and a few others; it accused U Win Tin of encouraging the youths to stage the demonstration," he said.

"The publications had other choice but to include the article to keep their business out of trouble, but everyone knows whether or not the details of the article were accurate."

Veteran journalist and former political prisoner Win Tin said he had read the article in the Morning Post.

"It has two main points – first, that the youths were brainwashed by the propaganda of me and U Khin Maung Swe's speech, and second, that the public has no interest in their activities," Win Tin said.

"If they want to say that I brainwashed the youths, then they should include the details of how I did that," he said.

"Just claiming U Khin Maung Swe was behind the [demonstration] because the youths did it after listening to his speech is wrong,” he went on.

“U Khin Maung Swe only talked about independence and they have no reason to say there is a link between what he said and the demonstration."

Win Tin also challenged the claim that the demonstration had no public support.

"The article said there is no public interest in the NLD youths' demonstration and I think that is also wrong," Win Tin said.

"A lot of people oppose the government and want to rebel against it,” he said.

“Saying that these people, who would applaud anyone acting against the government, have no interest in such activity is actually very wrong."

Nine NLD youth members were arrested on 30 December while taking part in a peaceful march following a talk at the party headquarters in Rangoon.

The activists carried placards calling for the release of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and were walking towards the Myenigone area when they were arrested in front of the old parliament building.

Reporting by Ahunt Phone Myat

READ MORE---> Journals ordered to condemn NLD demonstration...

Journals ordered to condemn NLD demonstration

(DVB)–Weekly news journals in Burma have been ordered by the state censor board to publish articles criticising National League for Democracy members for staging a demonstration in Rangoon last week.

Journalists and publishers in Rangoon said yesterday that censor board officials had recently ordered them to publish a government-approved article on the protest.

The article accused senior NLD member Win Tin of being behind a demonstration on 30 December by nine NLD youth members who were arrested by authorities.

It also claimed that their demonstration was not supported by the general public.

A journalist in Rangoon said he had seen the article printed in several news journals and other publications.

"I saw the article in the True weekly journal and a few others; it accused U Win Tin of encouraging the youths to stage the demonstration," he said.

"The publications had other choice but to include the article to keep their business out of trouble, but everyone knows whether or not the details of the article were accurate."

Veteran journalist and former political prisoner Win Tin said he had read the article in the Morning Post.

"It has two main points – first, that the youths were brainwashed by the propaganda of me and U Khin Maung Swe's speech, and second, that the public has no interest in their activities," Win Tin said.

"If they want to say that I brainwashed the youths, then they should include the details of how I did that," he said.

"Just claiming U Khin Maung Swe was behind the [demonstration] because the youths did it after listening to his speech is wrong,” he went on.

“U Khin Maung Swe only talked about independence and they have no reason to say there is a link between what he said and the demonstration."

Win Tin also challenged the claim that the demonstration had no public support.

"The article said there is no public interest in the NLD youths' demonstration and I think that is also wrong," Win Tin said.

"A lot of people oppose the government and want to rebel against it,” he said.

“Saying that these people, who would applaud anyone acting against the government, have no interest in such activity is actually very wrong."

Nine NLD youth members were arrested on 30 December while taking part in a peaceful march following a talk at the party headquarters in Rangoon.

The activists carried placards calling for the release of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and were walking towards the Myenigone area when they were arrested in front of the old parliament building.

Reporting by Ahunt Phone Myat

READ MORE---> Journals ordered to condemn NLD demonstration...

USDA grants loans to farmers

(DVB)–The Union Solidarity and Development Association in Rangoon division is offering agricultural loans to local farmers for this year's harvest, but some farmers claim the move is intended to secure votes in the 2010 election.

A farmer in Thonegwa said the local township USDA was going to provide farmers with loans under a different system to that used by the government's agricultural bank.

For farmers with 1-5 acres of farmland, the USDA is giving loans of 8000 kyat per acre, while farmers with 5-10 acres farmlands can borrow up to 5000 kyat per acre up to a maximum of 50,000 kyat.

"At the moment, the USDA is offering loan agreements to farmers in 64 villages within Thonegwa township and they are offering a total of around 500 million kyat in loans. Some people have already signed up," the farmer said.

"A lot of people think they are providing loans as a way of getting our support in the 2010 elections," he said.

"We are worried they might pressure us to vote for them in the election because we have borrowed money from them."

Many farmers are in financial difficulties this year, particularly in areas affected by Cyclone Nargis, due to low yields and falling crop prices.

Farmers in some areas have said the loans provided by the government are not sufficient, and have been forced to take out loans with private lenders.

Reporting by Naw Say Phaw

READ MORE---> USDA grants loans to farmers...

Suu Kyi Issues a New Year Challenge

The Irrawaddy Editorial

News reports from Rangoon suggest that Burma's detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi commemorated the country’s Independence Day alone at her house—but this time not so quietly.

Behind the locked gates of her home, where she has been under house arrest since 2003, the Nobel Peace Prize winner played old songs, popular in the pre-independence era, according to members of her election-winning party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

Suu Kyi has also put up a new red banner, which can be viewed from the street, with words in yellow quoting her father, independence hero Gen Aung San: “Act decisively in the interest of the nation and the people.”

Rumors are coursing through Rangoon and the diplomatic community suggesting that Suu Kyi could be released this year. If she is freed, the big question remains: who is going to ensure her safety ahead of the election in 2010?

There’s profound concern that she would again become the target of the anger of the regime and its thugs. Some Western diplomats are talking about the possibility of a “gradual freedom” for Suu Kyi in order to guarantee her safety.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Suu Kyi’s lawyer, Kyi Win, said Burmese authorities still have not replied to his request to meet with the detained opposition leader to discuss her appeal against her continued detention. Suu Kyi’s personal doctor, Tin Myo Win, was allowed to visit her on January 1, and he reported that she was in good health.

Two days before the doctor’s visit, nine NLD members were arrested when they staged a protest in Rangoon calling for her release. Repeated calls by world leaders and the international community for her release continue to fall on the deaf ears of the regime.

Burma entered a new year with bleak prospects for the future. In an Independence Day message, NLD Chairman Aung Shwe said candidly: “Hope for the present and future of the country is totally lacking.” Many Burmese will agree with his assessment.

Aung Shwe’s pessimism was, of course, countered by an upbeat message from junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe, who urged people to “cooperate in realizing the state's seven-step Road Map with union spirit and patriotic spirit with the firm resolution to build up a peaceful, modern and developed democratic nation with flourishing discipline”.

Than Shwe repeated his old refrain of accusing “neo-colonialists”—usually a reference to the West—of interfering in Burma's affairs.

“The entire people are duty-bound to safeguard the motherland...while keeping a watchful eye on attempts of neo-colonialists to harm the sovereignty of the country,” he said.

Than Shwe failed to appear at the Independence Day state dinner usually hosted by him and his wife, although he was seen in the cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta a few weeks ago and gave a speech at the Defense Services Academy in Maymyo in December.

Observers ask: Was he sick or perhaps suffering from fatigue after his travels? Or is he just depressed at seeing so little support for his “road map?”

Whatever the cause of Than Shwe’s absence from the dinner table, the less he is seen on the political stage, the better for the country. A younger generation of army leaders should be taking over progressively more of his duties and undertaking work for genuine reconciliation.

Despite the discouragement that Burmese people must feel, they should not lose faith in seeing a new democratic and prosperous Burma.

On the eve of Burma's Independence Day, the US State Department wished the Burmese people well on the 61st anniversary of their independence from British rule.

“We wish to express our warmest wishes to the people of Burma on this occasion,” said a brief State Department statement. “As we reflect on Burma's independence struggle, led by Gen Aung San, we are reminded of our own history.”

The statement said the US stands with the Burmese people in honoring Aung San's vision of an independent, peaceful and democratic Burma.

It said the US also looks forward to the day when Burma's citizens will be able to enjoy the fruits of freedom and democracy. “We earnestly hope that day will come soon,” the statement said.

In reality, it is depressing to look at Burma’s political situation, and few would argue with Aung Shwe’s sober assessment.

Nevertheless, news of Suu Kyi playing old music and putting up a new banner at her home raised some hope. The message “Act decisively in the interest of the nation and the people” has a definite meaning for many Burmese, and can be interpreted as a call to the leadership and members of the NLD.

Critics lament that over the past 20 years, NLD leaders have failed to act decisively to seize and exploit political opportunities as they present themselves.

Even during the “Saffron Revolution” of 2007, some critics said NLD leaders lagged behind the mass uprising when monks and activists bravely took to the streets. Now they sit and watch from the sidelines as Than Shwe prepares to implement his “road map” to “disciplined democracy.”

Although the year 2009 begins with depressing news, Suu Kyi’s new banner demanding decisive action in the interests of the nation poses a challenge to all Burmese, including members of the armed forces—and also to world leaders and the entire international community.

READ MORE---> Suu Kyi Issues a New Year Challenge...

DKBA Told It Must Provide Border Guards

By LAWI WENG
The Irrawaddy News

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a splinter group of the Karen National Union, is expected to provide border guards under the terms of Burma’s new constitution, members were told at Independence Day celebrations at the headquarters of the DKBA’s Battalion 999.

The battalion commander, Col Chit Thu, said he had been given the news at a meeting with government officials in Naypyidaw. The DKBA, which signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military regime after splitting with the KNU in 1995, was not expected to disarm, however.

Chit Thu was addressing DKBA members at Independence Day commemoration ceremonies at Shwe Kokko village, in Myawaddy Township, near the Thai-Burmese border.

A Karen businessman who is close to the DKBA leadership said some senior members of the group were unhappy with the news that DKBA members were expected to serve as border guards and had threatened to resign. He thought low-ranking members of the DKBA would continue to serve, however.

Meanwhile, a government team that arrived in Myawaddy on December 27 closed all border checkpoints near DKBA-controlled areas and ordered the group to halt illegal business, said a Burmese police official in Myawaddy.

According to a member of the New Mon State Party, some members of DKBA Battalion 999 had explored the possibility of establishing a base in the Three Pagodas Pass area, on the Thai-Burmese border at the end of December.

Col Nyan Tun, a member of the Mon National Liberation Army, said the Burmese military had established a base of its own in the area in preparation for an assault on KNU forces.

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Political Activist Hospitalized - Kyaw Ko Ko

By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News

A prominent Burmese political prisoner, Kyaw Ko Ko, who has been detained in Insein Prison since March 2008, was yesterday moved to the jail’s hospital suffering from jaundice, according to his family in Rangoon.

Kyaw Ko Ko, 27, a leader of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), was arrested by Burmese authorities in March 2008 following his involvement in the Buddhist monk-led uprising in September 2007 and has since been detained at Insein Prison.

Photo: Kyaw Ko Ko
Since his arrest, Kyaw Ko Ko has appeared in court several times, but has not been sentenced. His latest appearance in court was last Friday, said his father.

A master’s degree student from Yangon Economic University, Kyaw Ko Ko called on the Burmese military government to allow Burmese students to exercise their freedom of expression in terms of thinking, writing, forming groups and establishing students’ unions in an interview with The Irrawaddy on the occasion of Burma’s National Day in December 2007.

The ABFSU was active in leading demonstrations during the 2007 uprising and many of its members have since been arrested by Burmese security forces. The students’ organization was originally founded by Gen Aung San, father of Aung San Suu Kyi, in 1936.

Due to poor medical treatment and physical restrictions, two political prisoners—Maung San and Htay Lwin Oo—died in prison last month, according to Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP).

About 138 political prisoners have died in Burmese prisons in recent years, according to AAPP, and there are currently more than 2,100 political activists behind bars.

READ MORE---> Political Activist Hospitalized - Kyaw Ko Ko...

Pro-junta group announces formation of political parties

New Delhi (Mizzima) - A pro-junta group, the 88 generation students (Union of Myanmar), has said it is all set to contest the upcoming 2010 general election as drawn up by the ruling junta.

Aye Lwin, a former 88 generation student and leader of the group, said they will have two parties to contest the election, believing the process could set Burma on the road to political reform, though democracy in Burma will admittedly require more time to evolve into a mature and stable political institution.

"We will have two parties to contest the election," Aye Lwin told Mizzima on Tuesday. While he will be leading the National Political League (Union of Myanmar) as its chairman, the 88 generation students (Union of Myanmar) will be led by other former students who participated in the 1988 general uprising.

"We are waiting for the announcement of the Election Law and specifics regarding the registration of political parties," he said.

Aye Lwin added that the election is the only way forward for Burma, which has remained in a virtual political stalemate for the past 20 years.

"We have begun campaigning in at least six divisions and three states and will continue with it," commented Aye Lwin, a former Rangoon Institute of Technology student and a colleague of detained student leader Min Ko Naing during the 1988 pro-democracy uprising.

Aye Lwin, who later switched political stands and criticized fellow student leaders and the mainstream opposition movement, including Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, said he believes that democracy can be best and earliest achieved through the junta's roadmap.

Meanwhile, NLD spokesperson Nyan Win said his party has not yet decided on whether or not to contest the upcoming election, saying, "We would like to first observe the situation."

The NLD and other opposition groups have condemned the junta's roadmap and criticized the constitution as a tool to cement military rule in Burma.

Reporting by Salai Pi Pi

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Nargis volunteer sentenced to 10 years imprisonment - Ko Khin Maung Win

by Myint Maung

New Delhi (Mizzima) – An individual arrested while undertaking volunteer relief services for victims of Cyclone Nargis was yesterday sentenced to ten years imprisonment by a court in Rangoon's outlying district of South Dagon.

Khin Maung Win (29), a resident of South Dagon Township, yesterday at approximately 2 p.m. was sentenced to ten years imprisonment with hard labor, having been found guilty of establishing an unlawful organization and undertaking an illegal border crossing.

"Ko Khin Maung Win was given five years under an unlawful organization case and another five years through the Immigration Act, totaling ten years", Rangoon lawyer Nyi Nyi Hlaing, who is familiar with this case, told Mizzima.

An eyewitnesses heard Khin Maung Win reciting a poem written by 88 Generation student leader Min Ko Naing, 'I'll plant the fighting peacock flag on the classroom walls', as he was boarding a prison van to take him back to Insein prison following the sentencing.

Khin Maung Win is a member of the anti-junta organization 'New Generation' and was arrested on the 10th of October last year while acting as a relief campaign volunteer in storm ravaged areas of the country. Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma on May 2-3 of last year, left around 140,000 people dead or missing.

Previously, Khin Maung Win worked in Malaysia and was forced to return illegally to Burma after losing his passport abroad.

"Most Burmese citizens who lose their passport return to Burma illegally. But only Ko Khin Maung Win was punished because of his political activities," Nyi Nyi Hlaing iterated.

The 'New Generation Group for Justice', of which Khin Maung Win is reportedly a member, was formed in March 2008 by youth in Rangoon who subsequently took part in the 'Red' and 'NO' campaigns associated with drumming up support in opposition to the junta's draft constitution, which was put to a referendum in May of last year.

Khin Maung Win officially married Pan Phyu Phyu Pwint (29) on the day of his sentencing by signing a marriage deed at the main entrance to Insein prison in the presence of the parents of both the bride and groom.

READ MORE---> Nargis volunteer sentenced to 10 years imprisonment - Ko Khin Maung Win...

UWSP Proposes Wa Autonomous Region

A United Wa State Army caravan in Shan State. (Photo: Thierry Falise)
The Irrawaddy News

The United Wa State Party (UWSP), an ethnic ceasefire group based in northern Burma, has proposed to the country’s military regime that territory under Wa control be designated a special autonomous region from the beginning of January 2009, according to political observers based in the area.

Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese analyst based on the Sino-Burmese border, said that some Wa leaders had told him in recent telephone conversations that the party was now issuing documents stamped “Government of Wa State, Special Autonomous Region, Union of Myanmar.”

“This is a sign that they are preparing to establish a Wa autonomous region,” said Aung Kyaw Zwa.

However, observers said that the Burmese military still hasn’t responded to a proposal to rename the Wa territory the “Wa State Government Special Region.”

The Wa area has been known by the Burmese military as “Shan State Special Region 2” since the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the armed wing of the UWSP, entered into a ceasefire agreement with the regime in 1989.

In 2003, when the UWSP attended a junta-sponsored national constitutional convention, the party asked to be allowed to form a Wa State within Burma.

Wa political observers estimated that there are 20,000 UWSA soldiers currently deployed along Burma’s borders with Thailand and China, while an estimated 60,000 to 120,000 Wa villagers inhabit areas of lower Shan State.

Under the regime’s new constitution, six townships in two districts of Shan State—Hopang, Mongma, Panwai, Nahpan, Metman and Pangsang—comprise an area designated the Wa Self-Administered Division.

Khuensai Jaiyen, editor of the Shan Herald Agency for News, based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, said that the UWSP was using the constitution as the basis of its call for autonomy. “The UWSP is testing the Burmese military government’s new constitution to see if it is genuine or not. If it is, the regime has to allow the Wa to form an autonomous region,” he said.

“The Wa will take part in the [junta’s 2010] election if the Burmese military recognizes their proposal,” said Mai Aik Phone, who is close to Wa leaders. “At the moment, they are in wait-and-see mode.”

Meanwhile, tensions between the regime and the UWSA have been mounting since Maj-Gen Kyaw Phyoe, the Burmese Army’s regional commander in the Golden Triangle area of Shan State, told the UWSA to disarm in December and join the upcoming election in 2010.

Wa leaders categorically rejected Maj-Gen Kyaw Phyoe’s proposal, according to sources.

READ MORE---> UWSP Proposes Wa Autonomous Region...

Suu Kyi Celebrates Independence Day with MusicSuu Kyi Celebrates Independence Day with Music

THE IRRAWADDY
January 5, 2009

On Independence Day this year, Burma's detained democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has chosen not to stay quiet behind the locked gates of her home where she is under house arrest.

Members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) said they heard old songs, popular in the pre-independence era, playing in her home.

On Sunday, Burma marked the 61st anniversary of its independence from Britain in 1948.

Suu Kyi has also put up a new red banner, which can be viewed from the street, with words in yellow quoting her father, independence hero Gen Aung San: ''Act decisively in the interest of the nation and the people."

The NLD, in a ceremony at its headquarter in Rangoon attended by 300 people, including veteran politicians and diplomats, called for the release of Suu Kyi, who has been detained for more than 13 of the past 19 years.

On December 30, nine NLD members were arrested when they staged a protest in Rangoon calling for her release. A commentary in the recent issue of the Weekly Eleven journal says the junta will charge those arrested "according to the law."

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Suu Kyi’s lawyer, Kyi Win, said Burmese authorities still have not replied to his request to meet with the detained opposition leader to discuss her appeal against her continued detention. But Suu Kyi was allowed a visit by her personal doctor, Tin Myo Win, on January 1 and she was in good health.

Suu Kyi’s latest five-year term of house arrest was extended in May for a further year—illegally, according to Kyi Win, because Article 10 (b) of the Burmese State Protection Law 1975 stipulates that a person judged to be a "threat to the sovereignty and security of the State and the peace of the people" can only be detained for up to five years.

Meanwhile, junta ministers, and about 3,000 government employees and senior officials, attended the official Independence Day ceremony and military parade in Naypyidaw. Junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe did not attend.

However, in his official speech, read at the gathering, Than Shwe accused "neo-colonialists"—normally a reference to the Western countries led by the US—of interfering in Burma’s affairs.

"They are using some international organizations to gain support for their schemes and driving a wedge among national people and inciting riots to undermine national unity, peace and the stability of the nation," he said.

In December, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Burma to free all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi.

The resolution also voiced concern over the junta’s so-called "seven-step roadmap" to democracy, including the planned general election in 2010, noting the failure of the regime to include other political parties, members of Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, and representatives of ethnic political organizations in the process.

READ MORE---> Suu Kyi Celebrates Independence Day with MusicSuu Kyi Celebrates Independence Day with Music...