Diplomats allowed to attend Suu Kyi’s closing arguments

Scores of supporters gather in front of Insein prison

Friday, 24 July 2009 13:50

Mizzima News

Authorities have beefed up security in front of Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison, as scores of supporters and members of the National League for Democracy have gathered to wait on the closing arguments of Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial.

Eyewitnesses said at least 10 trucks full of uniformed police are stationed near the prison, while on the corner of the street at least 2 prison vans are parked.

Police have blocked the road to Insein prison with barbed wire barricades.

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Friday, 24 July 2009 13:17

New Delhi (mizzima)– Burma's military government on Friday allowed foreign diplomats from Britain, Germany, France and Italy to attend the closing arguments in the trial against opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The trial against the Burmese pro-democracy leader, at a special court inside Rangoon’s Insein prison, has for the most part been a closed-door affair, with authorities only twice previously allowing selected diplomats and journalists to witness proceedings.

“This time they have not invited or even informed us, but they [the government] have granted permission to diplomats who have sought to attend the final hearing,” a journalist in Rangoon told Mizzima on Friday.

An official from the Embassy of the United States has also so far been permitted to attend proceedings against American John William Yettaw, who is standing trial at the court for secretly swimming across a lake and entering, uninvited, into Aung San Suu Kyi’s home.

A source in Rangoon told Mizzima, “As far as I have confirmed, diplomats from Britain, Germany, France and Italy have been allowed to attend the court session.”

On Friday, the court will hear closing arguments from both prosecution and defense lawyers. The defense team told Mizzima on Thursday that they have prepared a 23-page argument to be submitted to the court.

Observers, however, believe the court will fix yet another date to hand down a verdict.

A journalist in Rangoon said Friday’s court session has attracted the interest of several political observers and scores of supporters and members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, who have gathered in front of Insein prison.

READ MORE---> Diplomats allowed to attend Suu Kyi’s closing arguments...

Army Officers Held Over Publication of Sensitive Material

By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News

Ten high-ranking Burmese army officers have reportedly been arrested on suspicion of divulging to Western and exiled media news of a secret visit to North Korea by the junta’s No 3, Gen Shwe Mann, and photographs and video footage of tunnel construction in and around Naypyidaw.

The suspects, all holding the rank of lieutenant-colonel, will be court-martialed and face the death penalty if convicted, according to one of several sources, a former intelligence officer with close contacts to the seat of power in Naypyidaw.

Some suspected of complicity had gone into hiding, the source said.

In recent weeks, several photographs of Shwe Mann visiting the North Korean capital Pyongyang in November 2008 were carried by several media outlets, including the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, the Democratic Voice of Burma, and The Irrawaddy.

Photographs and video footages of a tunnel construction site in Burma were also carried by the media organizations.

Official sources said members of the suspects’ families also feared the consequences of the crackdown.

The Bangkok-based English language daily newspaper The Nation reported at the weekend that several senior Burmese officials had been sacked in recent weeks after publication of photographs of secret tunnels in Burma built by North Korean experts from 2003 to 2006.

In their investigations into the leaks, Burmese intelligence officials reportedly interviewed associates of former intelligence chief, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, who was toppled in 2004.

The Nation reported that the authorities had also arrested several journalists thought to have had access to the sensitive material.

During his seven-day visit to Pyongyang, Shwe Mann signed a memorandum of understanding at the defense ministry with North Korea’s Chief of General Staff, Gen Kim Kyok-sik, to formalize military cooperation between the two countries.

Shwe Mann and his followers was also taken on a tour of construction sites where secret tunnels were being built into the mountains to house jet aircraft, missiles, tanks and nuclear and chemical weapons in Pyongyang and Myohyang.

READ MORE---> Army Officers Held Over Publication of Sensitive Material...

Weekly Eleven lambasts RFA and Mizzima

by Ko Wild

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) -- A weekly Journal in Rangoon has lambasted the Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Mizzima News over the report of a journalist who tried to photograph an A/H1N1 patient in the military ruled Southeast Asian country.

Weekly Eleven on its website (www.first-11.com) criticized the two media outfits saying it was an “act of violating the journalistic code”, for allegedly using a second source based story related to its reporter Win Myint Kyaw, saying neither sought confirmation from the journal.

The reporter, on June 28, sneaked into the room, where the A/H1N1 virus infected school girl had been confined, in Rangoon General Hospital in a bid to collect information and to take her picture.

The authorities arrested Win Myint Kyaw and took him to ‘Waibarge’ Epidemic Hospital in Rangoon.

Regarding the incident, Washington based RFA’s Burmese programme on Wednesday quoted a reporter in Burma, who said that authorities detained Win Myint Kyaw when he was trying to take a picture of the patient in the hospital.

However, Weekly Eleven in its website said that the reporter was not arrested but on the request of the authorities, was taken to hospital in Rangoon for tests to find out whether he was also infected by A/H1N1.

Similarly, Mizzima News report on June 29, which quoted one of the medical specialists in Rangoon General Hospital, said the authorities detained a reporter (without mentioning the journal’s name), who secretly entered the quarantine room and tried to take photographs after bribing the duty guard. The reporter was taken in so as to be quarantined as he was not well protected with preventive equipment.

Though, Weekly Eleven contended that Win Myint Kyaw used a surgical mask when he went in for collecting information, the journal failed to mention the suspension of the hospital guard which Mizzima News mentioned.

Moreover, RFA also reported that the authorities will take action against Weekly Eleven’s reporter who entered into a quarantined area of the hospital without permission.

However, Weekly Eleven said there is no A/H1N1 virus found in Win Myint. He will be released after 10 days of being kept under surveillance.

READ MORE---> Weekly Eleven lambasts RFA and Mizzima...

MWJA office in-charge commits suicide

Myint Lwin, office in-charge of the Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association (MWJA),committed suicide on Tuesday morning by jumping out of the window of the three-storey office building in downtown Rangoon.

by Phanida

Chiang Mai (mizzima) - The office in-charge of the Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association (MWJA), Myint Lwin, committed suicide on Tuesday by jumping off the three-storey office building, colleagues said.

Myint Lwin, (65) a resident of North Okklapa Township jumped out of the window of the MWJA office in downtown Rangoon’s Merchant Street in Kyauktada Township on Tuesday morning. He died instantly.

“He arrived in the office at about 10 a.m. (local time) and was arranging seats and tables for a regular meeting. After finishing what he was doing he got up and jumped out of the window,” a colleague, who attended the meeting, told Mizzima.

Another colleague, who also requested anonymity said, “He [Myint Lwin] left a note on the table, which read -- ‘I am responsible for failing to maintain and for the loss of public property’.” (JEG's: hmmm what is left to know? what was he supposed to "maintain" and he did not? and because of his failure the junta incurred into a loss? what did the junta loose? - people do not jump out of building out of the blue, not in his position...)

“He left a wrist watch, a ball point-pen, two currency notes of Kyat 500 and took off his sandals,” added the colleague.

An official at the MWJA office, when contacted by Mizzima, refused to make an official statement saying, “Please do not ask me. We are now in a meeting. I have no right to answer your questions. Please do not ask me about it, I request you not to ask.”

The Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association is a group formed under the aegis of the Burmese military junta’s Ministry of information.

Myint Lwin’s body was taken to Rangoon General Hospital for autopsy.

He leaves behind a son, a daughter and his wife.

READ MORE---> MWJA office in-charge commits suicide...

Two year sentence handed down to Rangoon journalist - Zaw Tun

By Myo Thein

Rangoon (Mizzima) – The Bahan Township Court has sentenced the former chief reporter of the The News Watch journal, Zaw Tun, to two years imprisonment.

The court yesterday sentenced Zaw Tun (34), of No. 32 Ward, North Dagon Satellite Township, with obstructing a public servant in the discharging of his duty.

A security officer found Zaw Tun near Aung San Suu Kyi’s house last September and arrested him following questioning.

Suu Kyi, who today turns 64, is currently being held in Insein prison while standing trial after being accused of breaching the terms of her former period of detention.

Zaw Tun, who had been freed on bail following his arrest, learned of his sentencing during yesterday's court proceedings.

According to sources in the Home Ministry, Zaw Tun was serving as The News Watch's chief reporter at that time he allegedly responded impolitely to police questions regarding his reasons for being in the vicinity of Suu Kyi's compound.

A local journalist friend of Zaw Tun's says the imprisoned reporter is a charming and sociable character with many friends, and proud to be a journalist.

Zaw Tun resigned from The News Watch at the beginning of this year and has since been working as a freelance journalist.

READ MORE---> Two year sentence handed down to Rangoon journalist - Zaw Tun...

POST BAG AIPMC on Burma

(Bangkok Post) - Re: "Kraisak holds back on criticising Burma, much to his own annoyance," (About Politics, Bangkok Post, May 30, 2009). The Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) would like to bring to your readers' attention what we view as unfair, unfavourable, accusatory and malicious points in the above article, and would like to address these inaccuracies.

The article implies that Kraisak Choonhavan (AIPMC President and Member of the Thai Parliament) spoke and gave comments to the reporter and/or the Bangkok Post and said/admitted that he was annoyed at himself for being unable to hit out hard on the Burma issue.

This is false. Mr Kraisak did no such thing in revealing/saying the above to the author of the said article. This certainly amounts to a case of false reporting and defamation. I am absolutely shocked that a renowned news agency like yours could make such an error in judgement.

As AIPMC President, Mr Kraisak has a responsibility to ensure that any new or extremely strong or controversial message he delivers on Burma, is collectively positioned and done so in discussion and sharing with his fellow parliamentarians in AIPMC from Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Philippines and Malaysia. The same works for AIPMC MPs from other countries as well, especially committee members. Since assuming his position as President (March 2008 onwards), Mr Kraisak has steered the AIPMC, with the support and efforts of its regional members to record some additional success in addressing the Burma question.

And since the Democrats formed the government, he has opened many previously tightly shut doors to the Parliament, its committees and ministers, to Burma's leaders and the AIPMC.

The fact that Burma's exiled leaders met and had a discussion in Parliament (in February 2009 in Bangkok) with an Asean state president and/or prime minister, in the form of Abhisit Vejjajiva, was historic and productive in itself. This was the first time that Burma's opponents to the military junta were able to communicate views and its transitional plans to an Asean chair personally. This was made possible primarily because of Mr Kraisak, and as well due to the efforts of AIPMC's country coordinator Ms Theerada Suphaphong and with the support of AIPMC MPs in Thailand. Therefore, the ''behind-the-scenes'' work the writer belittled may not seem insignificant and unproductive as was portrayed _ as opposed to the writer's belief that only loud, strong statements in public would bring about immediate freedom to Burma's people. A fusion of both approaches is necessary.

Further, in one of the paragraphs in the article that noted the timeline of when Mr Kraisak spoke out publicly on Burma in relation to Aung San Suu Kyi's arrest and bogus trial, the writer again got the facts wrong. It is sufficient to say that all reactions from MPs from the region (as quoted by the writer) came with quick discussions and knowledge of the AIPMC secretariat and Mr Kraisak.

Furthermore, simultaneous press conferences were held at 10am on May 15, 2009 (a day after Daw Suu Kyi was taken to court) in Bangkok and Jakarta where AIPMC MPs, respectively from the two countries, including Mr Kraisak, were involved and were vocal with their displeasure at the events in Burma.

The writer says that individual MPs were quicker off the mark in reacting to the arrest, but had the writer done her homework she would have noticed that many of those MPs who reacted were in fact AIPMC members. They were speaking out loud, on behalf of AIPMC and its president.

ROSHAN JASON
Executive Director, AIPMC

READ MORE---> POST BAG AIPMC on Burma...

Beijing moves into Tiananmen Square massacre lockdown

Michael Sainsbury,
The Australian

CHINA's Communist Party has mobilised every arm of its massive state apparatus to ensure the 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on its citizens in Tiananmen Square passes unnoticed.

Authorities censored a host of online services yesterday, launched armed patrols around the centre of Beijing and placed prominent dissidents under arrest.

Thousands of chat rooms and major offshore internet sites such as Hotmail, Twitter and Flickr have been blocked, joining an existing three-month ban on Google's video site, YouTube, which was punished for showing Chinese soldiers beating Tibetan monks.

Foreign journalists have been blocked from interviewing people around the square and had members of their local staff questioned this week, despite promises of freer access for reporters by the Government following last year's Olympic Games.

On the evening of June 3, 1989, China's leadership moved to impose martial law on the centre of Beijing after almost seven weeks of protests begun by students, culminating in the peaceful occupation of Tiananmen Square outside the Forbidden City. Thousands of troops and tanks stormed the city streets and the square, crushing and shooting unarmed citizens.

Since then, the event has been wiped from Chinese history books with most young Chinese having only vague knowledge of the massacre and many happy to dismiss it as history.

"I know it was bad but most people really don't know, and the Government has done plenty of good things since then, " said one 26-year-old Beijinger whose view is typical of the age group.

But the Chinese Government continues its refusal to recognise the event, name and count its victims or conduct any form of inquiry or reconciliation. Its paranoia about the massacre reaches its peak in the weeks ahead of the anniversary each year.

Authorities have been steadily tightening surveillance over China's dissident community ahead of this year's anniversary, with some leading writers under house arrest for months.

The city's stubborn coterie of human rights lawyers have been subject to worse than usual harrassment in the lead-up to the annual June 1 renewal of their licences.

But while the Government and its agencies are obsessing over events of two decades ago, ordinary Chinese people are more concerned over a murder that has become the latest cause celebre.

Deng Yujiao, a waitress from central China's Hubei province, stabbed a senior government official to death after being sexually harassed. The Government has shut down access to the town by reporters and blocked websites discussing the case.

More than 40 lawyers across the country have formed a volunteer group to help Ms Deng, who is being held under house arrest.

Last week, a seminar organised by a law website on self-defence, discussing the Deng case, was aborted after government intervention and the owner of another website with similar intentions was repatriated from Beijing to Shanxi province. More than 26,000 chat groups discussing the murder were shut down by the Government.

China has the world's largest online population, and internet communities have proven increasingly influential in spreading word of everything from student protests to group shopping excursions.

Additional reporting: AP

READ MORE---> Beijing moves into Tiananmen Square massacre lockdown...

Communist crackdown on Tiananmen protests

By Michael Sainbury

(News.com-The Australian) - CHINA'S Communist Party has mobilised every arm of its massive state apparatus to ensure the 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on its citizens in Tiananmen Square passes unnoticed.

Authorities censored a host of online services yesterday, launched armed patrols around the centre of Beijing and placed prominent dissidents under arrest, The Australian reports.

Thousands of chat rooms and major offshore internet sites such as Hotmail, Twitter and Flickr have been blocked, joining an existing three-month ban on Google's video site, YouTube, which was punished for showing Chinese soldiers beating Tibetan monks.

Foreign journalists have been blocked from interviewing people around the square and had members of their local staff questioned this week, despite promises of freer access for reporters by the Government following last year's Olympic Games.

On the evening of June 3, 1989, China's leadership moved to impose martial law on the centre of Beijing after almost seven weeks of protests begun by students, culminating in the peaceful occupation of Tiananmen Square outside the Forbidden City.

Thousands of troops and tanks stormed the city streets and the square, crushing and shooting unarmed citizens.

Since then, the event has been wiped from Chinese history books with most young Chinese having only vague knowledge of the massacre and many happy to dismiss it as history.

"I know it was bad but most people really don't know, and the Government has done plenty of good things since then, " said one 26-year-old Beijinger whose view is typical of the age group.

But the Chinese Government continues its refusal to recognise the event, name and count its victims or conduct any form of inquiry or reconciliation. Its paranoia about the massacre reaches its peak in the weeks ahead of the anniversary each year.

Authorities have been steadily tightening surveillance over China's dissident community ahead of this year's anniversary, with some leading writers under house arrest for months.

The city's stubborn coterie of human rights lawyers have been subject to worse than usual harrassment in the lead-up to the annual June 1 renewal of their licences.

Read more on this story at The Australian.

READ MORE---> Communist crackdown on Tiananmen protests...

Media Watchdog Criticizes ‘One-Sided’ Coverage of Suu Kyi Trial

By ARKAR MOE
The Irrawaddy News

The international media watchdog organization Reporters Without Borders released a statement on Thursday condemning Burma’s ruling military junta for allowing only one-sided coverage of the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi.

In a press release dated May 28, the group urged the regime to lift all restrictions on coverage of the trial, in which the Nobel Peace Prize laureate faces charges of violating the terms of her house arrest for allowing an American intruder into her home.

Since the trial began last Monday, Burmese journalists from Rangoon-based publications have complained that they cannot report on it freely due to heavy restrictions on press freedom.

They added that they have been told by the authorities to base their reports on “official” accounts contained in state-run publications such as The New Light of Myanmar. They have also been instructed not to print photos of Suu Kyi.

“We are permitted to publish reports about this news in similar terms to those of the state-run newspapers,” said an editor working with a leading journal in Rangoon, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday.

“We cannot report or quote what we want,” he added. “We can only report [what we’ve been told].”

In an apparent response to complaints about the lack of transparency surrounding the trial, on May 26 the regime allowed 25 Burmese journalists into the courtroom inside Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison. Ten of the journalists worked for Burmese media and 15 were local journalists working for international news agencies.

Ten journalists were previously allowed to attend the trial on May 20.

However, this slight concession to international pressure has done little to convince Suu Kyi’s supporters that she will receive a fair trial.

Nyan Win, a spokesperson for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy on Friday: “Burmese newspapers are controlled by the military government, and it was the government that charged Aung San Suu Kyi. So we cannot expect a free and fair trial.”

Reporters Without Borders was also unimpressed with the junta’s gesture, which came amid a growing outcry from Western governments and even some of Burma’s Asian neighbors, who have traditionally been reluctant to speak out about the country’s “internal matters.”

“The military government’s gestures of openness towards the media are inconsistent,” said Reporters Without Borders. “Burmese journalists are or are not allowed into the trial at the military’s whim, while foreign journalists are carefully kept away.”

“The Burmese public is not being properly informed as the military’s prior censorship prevents any independent coverage. The lack of transparency makes a fair verdict even more unlikely,” said the group in its press release.

The ban on unauthorized coverage also extends to so-called “citizen journalists,” who have been warned by police stationed outside the prison not to take photos of Suu Kyi or her supporters.

A Burmese journalist in Rangoon who is working with a foreign news agency told The Irrawaddy that he is constantly confronted with difficulties when confirming details deemed by the Burmese authorities to be “sensitive matters.”

READ MORE---> Media Watchdog Criticizes ‘One-Sided’ Coverage of Suu Kyi Trial...

Suu Kyi Tells Rangoon Court She’s Innocent

By THE IRRAWADDY

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi testified for the first time at her trial on Tuesday, denying that she had violated any law by giving shelter to John William Yettaw, who is being tried in the same court.

Reporters and diplomats were again allowed to attend the trial, after witnessing one afternoon session last week. They said that when a judge asked her whether she had breached the terms of her house arrest by allowing Yettaw to stay for two nights at her Rangoon lakeside home, she replied: “I didn’t violate any law.”

A Buddhist monk, center, stands next to riot police officers at a checkpoint on a road to the main entrance of Insein Prison where the trial of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is ongoing. (Photo: AP)

Suu Kyi presented to the court a letter she had written, explaining why she felt she had not broken any law, according to her lawyer, Nyan Win, who also is a spokesperson of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy.

"She claimed in her letter she did not commit any crime because she was detained by security forces tightly,” Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy. “If the security had been proper, the American would not have got here."

Suu Kyi said one of her two women companions alerted her at 5 a.m. On May 3 that Yettaw had entered the property.

"I allowed him to have temporary shelter," Suu Kyi said when asked about charges that she had given Yettaw food and allowed him to stay.

"I did not inform them," she said when asked by the judge whether she had told security authorities about the intrusion. No security personnel had been inside her residence during Yettaw’s stay, she said.

Suu Kyi said Yettaw left at 11:45 p.m. On May 5. "I only knew that he went to the lakeside. I did not know which way he went because it was dark," she said.

Asked about police evidence that books and other items belonging to Yettaw—including a video camera, black Muslim robes, stockings and dark glasses—had been found in her home, Suu Kyi said: “Yettaw himself would know rather than me.”

One newsman said 10 journalists from local journals, 15 reporters from Rangoon- based foreign media and 19 diplomats were allowed to attend Tuesday’s proceedings in the Insein Prison courtroom.

He said they all rose to their feet as a sign of respect when Suu Kyi entered the court room, remaining standing even when a policeman indicated they should sit. They only sat down after Suu Kyi had taken her seat after she finished a discussion with her lawyers.

Suu Kyi and her lawyers left after her testimony, and the court continued in closed session, resuming the case against Yettaw. Reporters and diplomats were barred.

Yettaw is on trial for immigration violations and for breaching municipal sanitation codes by swimming in the lake. He faces a possible sentence of six years imprisonment.

The court accepted on Friday the prosecution’s charge that Suu Kyi’s had violated the terms of her house arrest by allowing Yettaw to stay at her home.

READ MORE---> Suu Kyi Tells Rangoon Court She’s Innocent...

Myanmar's Suu Kyi set to testify as outcry grows

YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was set to testify at her trial, as European and Asian foreign ministers stepped up international pressure on the ruling junta to free her.

The military regime said it would reopen the court to diplomats and journalists for part of the day in a small concession to global criticism of its treatment of the 63-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Critics say Aung San Suu Kyi's trial, on charges of breaching her house arrest over an incident in which a US man swam to her house, is an excuse for Myanmar's ruling generals to lock her up for elections due next year.

The spokesman for her opposition party, Nyan Win, said the defence felt that the mostly closed proceedings at the notorious Insein Prison near the main city of Yangon were being rushed through.

"She will be questioned by the judge (on Tuesday)... This was a surprise to us because we need more time to discuss the case with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," Nyan Win said on Monday night.

Aung San Suu Kyi pleaded innocent last week to the charges, under which she faces between three and five years in jail. She has been detained for 13 of the last 19 years, mostly under house arrest.

The defence is also planning to call Tin Oo, the detained deputy leader of her opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, as one of its witnesses.

Asked whether he thought the ruling junta would allow testimony by Tin Oo, who has been in jail or under house arrest since 2003, Nyan Win told AFP: "They have to, otherwise it will be one-sided."

Diplomats from all foreign embassies in Yangon had been told to report to the court early on Tuesday for a briefing by a magistrate, and they would be allowed to attend the trial later in the day, a western diplomat said.

Authorities will also allow 10 journalists from local media and 11 from international organisations to report on part of the proceedings.

The trial has provoked a storm of international outrage.

More than 40 foreign ministers from Asia and Europe meeting in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi this week are to jointly call for the release Aung San Suu Kyi, according to a draft statement.

"In light of the concern about the recent development to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, ministers... called for the early release of those under detention and the lifting of restriction placed on political parties," said the draft statement.

During a meeting Monday with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win on the sidelines of the talks, the EU called for Aung San Suu Kyi's immediate release.

In a rare move, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) last week expressed "grave concern" over her treatment. Myanmar's neighbours normally prefer not to be seen as intervening in the affairs of their members.

Myanmar issued an angry rebuttal to the statement on Monday.

The junta is also trying the American intruder, John Yettaw, and two female aides who live with Aung San Suu Kyi in the house.

Yettaw has said that he swam across a lake to the house to warn her of his belief that she would be assassinated, but the junta accuses Aung San Suu Kyi of illegally communicating with and sheltering him.

The latest, six-year period of Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest is due to expire on Wednesday but Myanmar authorities have not said whether they will extend the term.

Aung San Suu Kyi and her deputy Tin Oo have both been detained since an incident in 2003 in which their motorcade came under attack during a political tour.

Wednesday is also the 19th anniversary of Myanmar's last democratic elections. The NLD won a landslide victory in the polls, but the military never allowed it to take office.

READ MORE---> Myanmar's Suu Kyi set to testify as outcry grows...

Thirty Diplomats, Ten Reporters Attend Suu Kyi Trial

By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News

Thirty diplomats and 10 journalists were allowed to attend the third day of Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial in Rangoon’s Insein Prison on Wednesday.

Suu Kyi thanked them for coming and for their support, the journalists reported.

Three of the diplomats were allowed to meet Suu Kyi briefly at the conclusion of Wednesday’s proceedings. The three were the Ambassador of Singapore, who is doyen of the diplomatic corps in Burma, and senior Russian and Thai diplomats.

A British diplomat, requesting anonymity, told The Irrawaddy that the Russian ambassador had been invited because his country is currently president of the UN Security Council, while Thailand has the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Britain’s ambassador, Mark Canning, said the court displayed all the customary legal “paraphernalia,” but he doubted whether Suu Kyi would receive a fair trial. “I think this is a story where the conclusion is already scripted,” he told the BBC.

Canning, who did not meet Suu Kyi, said: “She was composed, upright, crackling with energy…very much in charge of her defense team.”

One journalist said Suu Kyi had appeared “as calm as ever.”

One prosecution witness, a police official, gave evidence on Wednesday. Two women were asked by the prosecution to display some religious robes allegedly left at Suu Kyi’s house by the American, John William Yettaw, who is accused of illegally staying in her home.

Five Burmese journalists working for foreign news agencies, including AFP and Reuters, and five who work for local journals and magazines—Myanmar Times, Snap Shot, The Yangon Times, Popular Journal and Weekly Eleven—were permitted to attend the trail.

The five local journalists, chosen by the Burmese authorities, work for publications that have a close working relationship with the Information Ministry.

READ MORE---> Thirty Diplomats, Ten Reporters Attend Suu Kyi Trial...

Diplomats and journalists allowed access to Suu Kyi trial

by Mungpi

New Delhi (Mizzima) - In a surprise move, Burmese authorities on Wednesday allowed 30 foreign diplomats and ten journalists into the special court in Insein Prison, prompting defense counsels of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to label the proceedings a “half-open court”.

Though the motivation behind permitting the foreign diplomats and journalists into the courtroom remains unclear, Nyan Win, one of the defense counsels and spokesperson for the NLD, said, “We welcome the move, and would like to see more openness.”

He said authorities on Monday rejected their appeal to conduct the trial in an open court but that the admittance of the diplomats on Wednesday is certainly an improvement.

After the court session, three diplomats – a Russian, Thai and Singaporean – were invited for a special meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, Nyan Win added.

For the ten journalists – five local representatives of foreign news outlets and five local journalists – they have to thank their luck as the authorities selected them in a lucky-draw.

One of the stringers for a foreign news outlet who was among the ten journalists allowed inside the courtroom said he is not sure whether any journalists would be allowed in again for the next hearing fixed for Thursday.

He said they were unable to talk to Aung San Suu Kyi separately and were banned from carrying recorders and cameras. They were only able to talk to the diplomats, who, like them, were allowed inside the courtroom.

“Aung San Suu Kyi looks good, composed and steady. We could see her but could not talk to her,” the correspondent said.

Speedy trial

With the next hearing fixed for May 21, Thursday, Nyan Win said the trial is being conducted on a day-to-day basis, indicating the authority’s desire not to prolong the case.

“We can say that the trial is being conducted in a speedy manner,” said Nyan Win, adding that if the trial is being conducted at this speed, the court could come to a verdict by three weeks’ time.

He said there are 20 witnesses that the prosecution has submitted, out of which eight have thus far been cross examined.

Lesser security apparatus

Nyan Win said, strangely, security around Insein Prison on Wednesday was less visible, though the roads remained blocked with barbwire barricades.

“I did not see many security forces on our way to Insein, but I think the security personnel are in plainclothes and are mostly keeping away from the main road,” he speculated.

Demand for open court trial

The NLD, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, meanwhile issued a statement on Wednesday demanding public access to the court.

The party, in its statement, argues that the junta’s laws permit trials to be conducted under public scrutiny.

“Plainly, we reject this trial. But if the trial is to be continued, it should done in an open court where the people can gain access,” Win Tin, veteran journalist and central committee member of the NLD, told Mizzima.

Meanwhile, a correspondent of a foreign news service who was allowed access to the court on Wednesday said it is good that media personnel were allowed in but that the junta should think of opening up the court still further.

“As a citizen of Burma, I would like to see more openness and transparency in the trial,” he said.

But, he continued, it is uncertain whether the junta would allow any diplomats or journalists to enter the court on Thursday.

“Though there hasn’t been any notice, I will still wait outside of the prison. Maybe they will allow us to enter again like today,” he added.

READ MORE---> Diplomats and journalists allowed access to Suu Kyi trial...

Suu Kyi hopes for 'better days'

News.com - From correspondents in Rangoon
Agence France-Presse

BURMESE opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi said she hoped for "better days", as the ruling junta unexpectedly allowed diplomats and reporters to attend her trial today.

The 63-year-old looked healthy as she thanked foreign envoys for coming to the Insein Prison, in her first public comments since she was charged last week with breaching her house arrest, an AFP reporter inside the court said.

"Thank you very much for coming and for your support," Aung San Suu Kyi, wearing pink Burmese traditional dress, said inside the courtroom at the end of the third day of the trial.

"I can't meet you one by one, but I hope to meet you all in better days."

Aung San Suu Kyi then went for a meeting with the ambassadors of Thailand, Singapore and Russia at a so-called "guest house" inside the prison compound.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner faces up to five years in jail if convicted of charges of breaching her house arrest stemming from an incident earlier this month in which an American man, John Yettaw, swam to her lakeside house.

The surprise move by the military regime to allow some diplomats and media access to the trial followed intense international pressure and a scathing condemnation by Burma's normally placid Southeast Asian neighbours.

Authorities held the first two days of hearings behind closed doors and had turned away European diplomats on Monday, but today said representatives from all 30 foreign embassies would be allowed in.

The regime also allowed five journalists from foreign news organisations and the same number from local organisations to report on the hearing.

Details had previously emerged only in state media or through Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyers.

There was no immediate information available on her meeting with the Thai, Singaporean and Russian envoys - a rare encounter with the outside world for Aung San Suu Kyi, who is normally kept in virtual isolation at her home.

She has spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention since the regime refused to recognise her party's landslide victory in the last elections to be held in Myanmar in 1990.

Thailand was picked because it holds the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), while the Singaporean envoy is the doyen of Rangoon's diplomatic corps and Russia heads the UN Security Council.

Asked to explain the regime's apparent change of heart, a western diplomat said that following international pressure on the ruling generals, particularly by ASEAN, "one has to ask if all these pressures played a role".

Today, the trial heard from only one police witness about the arrest of Mr Yettaw, who used a pair of homemade flippers to swim across the lake before spending two days at Aung San Suu Kyi's residence.

Mr Yettaw, a 53-year-old former US army veteran from Missouri, and two female aides who live with the Opposition leader are also on trial.

Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyers have described Mr Yettaw as a "fool" and said she only allowed the American, reportedly a diabetic, to stay after he complained of suffering from leg cramps.

READ MORE---> Suu Kyi hopes for 'better days'...

Journalists and diplomats allowed inside Suu Kyi trial

(DVB)–In a surprise move, the Burmese government has allowed 10 reporters and a number of foreign diplomats inside the courtroom where Aung San Suu Kyi is currently on trial.

The move has surprised many observers given that media is usually barred from trials involving high-profile Burmese political prisoners.

Five reporters from international media agencies Reuters, Agence France-Presse (AFP), Nippon TV, Sankei Shimbun and Jiji Press – the latter three Japanese – have entered.

They are soon to be followed by five domestic Burmese journalists. None of the reporters are allowed cameras or recording equipment.

National League for Democracy Central Executive Committee member, Win Tin, said that the foreign journalists were allowed in under a raffle system.

“Whatever it is, the situation is a little bit extraordinary,” he said, adding however that the demands of Suu Kyi’s supporters were still far from being met.

“But we feel slightly better now that the media and the like are allowed in. We like it," he said.

A reported 28 embassy cars were allowed inside Insein prison today, where the trial is being held, including officials from the United States, Britain, Germany and France.

No further information has been given.

Reporting by Naw Say Phaw

READ MORE---> Journalists and diplomats allowed inside Suu Kyi trial...

US journalists question motives for deportation

(DVB)–Two American journalists deported from Burma last week after delivering workshops on photography and feature writing say reasons for their arrest may lie in their meeting with a local Burmese business owner.

Following a series of workshops organised by the American Centre in Rangoon last Wednesday, Jerry Redfern and Karen Coates were arrested by immigration authorities and deported to Bangkok.

Reasons for their arrest were never given, although the ruling State Peace and Development Council is notoriously fearful of foreign media presence in Burma.

“We had been in Burma to teach and lecture about creative non-fiction feature writing and photography,” they said in a press release issued today.

“The programs were follow-ups to similar work we did in January, all of which had been approved and acknowledged by the Scrutiny Board and the Special Branch (police).”

Police had visited Redfern’s class on its first day, and they say all subsequent lessons proceeded without incident.

Rumours surrounding reasons for the arrests include fallout from John William Yettaw’s arrest the same day after he illegally entered imprisoned opposition leader Aung Sann Suu Kyi’s compound.

Others claim the two journalists were involved in politically sensitive work, which the government have a reputation for reacting harshly to.

“The only story we had in mind was a small piece on laphet thote, (pickled tea leaf salad) explaining the flavours, history and cultural significance of the dish,” the press release said.

“In Mandalay, a colleague introduced us to the owner of a longstanding laphet thote business… [who] invited us to visit a trade centre where people buy and sell beans and pulses, key ingredients for laphet thote.

“We accepted and planned to meet on Thursday morning, – but we never had that chance. This might be all, or part, of the reason we were deported.”

The two emphasised their efforts to avoid government scrutiny, or any “journalistic” appearance.

The Burmese junta are rarely issue foreign journalists with visas, and Burmese citizens found communicating with overseas media are often imprisoned.

Reporting by Francis Wade

READ MORE---> US journalists question motives for deportation...

A media behind bars: press freedom after the cyclone

By Francis Wade

(DVB)–Yesterday, international media watchdogs and analysts were united in their criticism of the deteriorating state of the world’s media.

To mark World Press Freedom Day, US-based Freedom House announced that the state of the world’s media had declined for a seventh straight year, while Reporters Without Borders (RSF) spoke of press freedom being “taken hostage”. And, unsurprisingly, Burma spent the day languishing in the bottom four of nearly every press freedom index and report published, it’s sadistic knee-jerk sentencing of dissenters making it, as RSF put it, one of the world’s “largest prison[s] for journalists and bloggers.”

As if the occasion demanded an accompanying case study, yesterday was also the one-year anniversary of Burma’s cyclone Nargis, likely one of the most underreported natural disasters of modern times. That the two occur on the same day is both poignant and ironic. As news of the cyclone began to seep out of the Irrawaddy delta last May, Burmese authorities locked all borders, denying journalists access to affected areas whilst spewing out propaganda about the “over-exaggerated” situation being under control. A week after the cyclone, Burma’s leading state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper led with a story on the “despicable” reporting of the cyclone by foreign media, under the title ‘The enemy who is more destructive than Nargis’.

So bent was the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) on maintaining it’s isolationist tendencies that the plight of 2.4 million affected Burmese was almost silenced, save for the few foreign reporters who managed to stow into the region, and the Burmese ‘citizen journalists’ who risk life imprisonment to keep international eyes focused on the regime.

Yet the retributions for doing so are astonishing: well-known comedian and activist Maung Thura, known by his stage name Zarganar, was sentenced last November to 59 years (later reduced to 35) after giving interviews critical of the regime’s response to Nargis to foreign media, including the BBC. He is serving his sentence in the remote Myitkyina prison near the Burma-China border. Six students were also sentenced last month to between two and four years each under charges of sedition for collecting and burying rotting corpses in the aftermath of the cyclone.

“The attitude of the government [following the cyclone] is in some way directly linked to what happened in the September 2007 protests,” said Vincent Brossel, head of the Asia desk at Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based media wachdog.

“They were very afraid of strong images and testimonies about their incapacity to deal with the situation and that’s why they banned foreign press from getting visas for the delta.”

Reporters Without Borders last year ranked Burma 170 out of 173 countries in their Press Freedom Index, saved only from the “infernal trio” category by the authoritarian regimes of North Korea, Turkmenistan and Eritrea. The report was published amid a wave of sentencing of Burmese journalists and activists following the 2007 monk-led protests and cyclone Nargis.

“The Burmese government never feels comfortable about telling the public the truth,” said San Moe Wei, secretary of Thailand-based Burma Media Association.

“As they grow more panicky with the media providing an increased flow of information to the public, they start to put pressure on people who work in the field.”

Twenty-eight year old Nay Phone Latt, who recorded footage and tracked the 2007 protests on his blog, is one such victim, charged last November along with Zarganar under the Video Act and Electronics Act and sentenced to 22 years in Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison. One former political prisoner there reported the comparatively harsh treatment dished out to political prisoners, including three months spent in solitary confinement, permanently forced to stand with hands tied above the head.

Courts sentenced over 100 journalists and activists that same month following trials that were often held inside closed prison courts, with defence lawyers regularly reporting intimidation. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), 16 lawyers are now serving prison sentences themselves, among the 2,137 political prisoners being held in Burma.

Of the 6,313 prisoners released in the amnesty in February, only 23 were of this ilk. Accusations circulate that the ‘goodwill’ move by the government was in fact merely a practical maneuver, freeing up precious prison space for those planning on contesting (or protesting) the elections, tentatively set for next March.

“My concern is that, now with the junta preparing the 2010 elections, they are increasingly using more sophisticated propaganda, with new licenses for new media,” said Vincent Brossel.

“At the same time they are keeping very a close eye on independent journalists and people who are related to the opposition who are in the media field. So that’s quite scary for what can happen in 2009 and 2010.”

Thus, those marking World Press Freedom day next year will once again have to grapple with the shadow cast by the Burmese government. Last November’s wave of sentencing proves that work is underway to ensure no destabilising events, whether man-made or natural, take place – indeed, are seen to have taken place - that threaten an extension to the SPDC’s rule. Furthermore, with pro-government campaigners now freely airing election propaganda through state television and newspapers, the media has become a powerful weapon to ensure the military retains its grip on power.

‘Worst country to be a blogger’

Ironically, prior to the 1962 military coup that heralded the start of a nationalized media industry, Burma had championed free press in Southeast Asia. As many as 35 newspapers existed between 1948 and 1962, and the government kept regular contact with domestic and foreign journalists.

As the junta’s rule progressed, however, the clamp was tightened. Now only three print newspapers exist, and all published material has to be verified by the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD) of the Ministry of Information, who censor out anything deemed critical of the government. Material has to be sent to them a week before publishing date, rendering news archival by the time it is released. Furthermore, the added cost for publishers to print and reprint pages for checking by the PSRD means that many publications tend to self-censor rather than spend money where it can be avoided. As a result, newspapers and journals are thought to lose up to a third of their content prior to publication.

Yet by annexing all media to the government’s control, a vacuum for non-state media has been filled by underground bloggers and exile-based media organisations. Life for a blogger in Burma is precarious, however: authorities demand internet café owners take screen shots of their computers every five minutes, which are then copied to CD and sent to government regulators, while intelligence officials closely monitor all email and telephone lines. Just last week, the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists published a report labeling Burma the ‘worst country to be a blogger’, citing the Orwellian system of surveillance the government uses to track and sentence underground journalists.

The other key pillar of non-state media is the exiled news organizations, which both transmit radio and television broadcasts via European satellites into Burma, and allow foreign audiences a window into developments inside the country. Freelance journalist and Burma expert, Larry Jagan, says the government is only too aware of their potential influence.

“What they worry about is that at least 80 per cent of the population is watching or listening or reading stories in Burmese produced by the exiled media,” he said.

“They certainly want to know what the Burmese people are being told by them.”

And with a population now tuning in to increasingly sophisticated news mediums, the government’s concerns will grow.

“No matter how much the government is putting pressure on the people, they will still find a loophole, via television, radio and the internet, to gain access to the information they want,” said San Moe Wei.

“I think the role of the outside media and citizen journalists in Burma is reaching its most important level.”

The importance of their work will once again be thrown into the spotlight next year, with the 2010 elections providing perhaps the ultimate litmus test to prove how effectively press censorship can cripple democratic reform.

"The press is democracy's first defense,” said Freedom House’s executive director Jennifer Windsor, “and its vulnerability has enormous implications for democracy if journalists are not able to carry out their traditional watchdog role.”

Thus, if the government remains indifferent to international condemnation of its media environment, and continues to imprison journalists and wield absolute authority over every publication and broadcast, then it is likely the elections will go exactly the way the government intends.

“The international community is making a mistake in trying to make positive the fact that there are elections,” said Vincent Brossel.

“Without press freedom, without freedom of expression, without freedom of assembly there is no fair elections. That’s obvious.”

READ MORE---> A media behind bars: press freedom after the cyclone...

Junta’s role makes life more difficult for Nargis survivors

by Solomon: Mungpi

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Come May 2, the Burmese people will recall the worst disaster ever to hit the country, in modern times. Cyclone Nargis, left at least 140,000 dead or missing, and devastated the lives of more than 2.4 million people.

A year later, while efforts to rebuild the lives of the affected people continue, victims and relief workers are of the opinion that the government’s absurd policies and their role in reconstruction work, have only added to the miseries of the victims.

In the immediate aftermath of the Cyclone, Burma’s military rulers blatantly rejected the entry of relief materials and international humanitarian aid to help the victims, as they were busy preparing for a Referendum to approve their Constitution, which was drafted unilaterally, without the participation of other political stake holders.

Till date, even after the lapse of a year, victims in the Cyclone affected areas have said that their needs continue to be grave with shortage of food, lack of shelter, scarcity of drinking water, and inadequate support for their livelihood, including education and health.

An aid worker, who worked with an aid agency in the delta said, “If the government had not imposed restrictions on aid groups then the situation might have improved a lot more and survivors would have a better chance of getting support.”

The Rangoon-based aid worker, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said aid distributions had largely been limited by the government’s imposition of restrictions. The government only allowed limited aid workers to go into the delta and the junta kept track of all agencies.

“Though there are several agencies, which have their offices in towns, such as Bogale, Laputta and other bigger towns in the Irrawaddy, there are still several villages in the southern area of the delta, which have not got aid,” a Rangoon-based journalist, who recently visited villages in southern Laputta Township, which is close to the Bay of Bengal, said.

David Scott Mathieson, Burma Researcher of the Human Rights Watch (HRW), said, the junta, referring to it by its official name – the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) – had been systematically controlling the flow of aid and limiting agencies from independently operating, which resulted in the slow recovery of the victims.

“The action of the SPDC in the first two weeks, after the cyclone was absolutely disgraceful,” Mathieson said.

However, later, though the government did allow aid to come in, there were still some impediments in terms of road blocks and control of aid to the delta, he added.

Saga of aid blocking by junta

In the initial few weeks after the Cyclone, Burma’s military government refused to allow international aid agencies to come in to help cyclone victims. However, with the intervention by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Burma’s military chief Snr. Gen Than Shwe agreed to allow aid to come in.

The very first international aid arrived on May 8, after nearly a week of the cyclone hitting Burma. The ruling junta allowed only two UN agencies - World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) to land their relief shipments.

“The regime, one week after the cyclone, had held the constitutional referendum. This was disgraceful and they also stopped some aid from getting in,” Mathieson added.

Burma’s military rulers also initially refused to give visas to a number of international relief workers, but with the intervention of Ban Ki-moon, who visited Burma on May 22, and met Burma’s military chief Senior General Than Shwe, the junta agreed to allow aid groups to come in.

On July 8, 2008, the junta said they had granted more than 1,500 visas for foreign aid workers, but the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Bangkok, told Mizzima on July 7, that the Burmese embassy in Bangkok had granted 317 UN staffs visas, but 13 requests remained pending.

However, one year on, international relief workers are still finding it difficult to get visas, the relief worker said. Getting permission to work in the Irrawaddy Delta is one of the biggest challenges with the government allowing only a limited period of time to foreign aid workers to be based in the delta.

“Before the cyclone there had already been enough problems of getting visas by the international humanitarian workers, but after the disaster it became worse,” said the relief worker.

“There are still restrictions on visas for international relief workers and the junta continues restricting access to the delta especially for foreign aid workers,” he said.

Imprisonment of aid workers

Besides restricting international aid workers to have free access to the cyclone-hit areas, Burma’s military government also conducted a crackdown on domestic aid workers and volunteers, who rushed to the delta in the aftermath of the disaster, to help victims.

Zarganar a.k.a Thura, a well-known comedian and film director, who had raised funds and helped cyclone victims, was arrested in June 2008 and was sentenced to 59 years, under charges of the Video and Electronic Law. But, his sentence was later commuted to 35 years of prison term.

On 10 April 2009, authorities sentenced another six volunteers to prison terms. Aung Thant Zin Oo, Phyo Phyo Aung and Shein Yarza Tun were sentenced to four years each, while Nay Win, Aung Kyaw San and Phone Pyih Kywe were sentenced to two years.

Similarly, Ein Khaing Oo, a 24 year old journalist from the “Ecovision Journal”, along with her friend Kyaw Kyaw Than were also sentenced to two years in November 2008, for reporting on Nargis survivors and approaching the Rangoon- based international NGOs.

“What is completely unacceptable and what is more horrible is the arrest of more than 20 community aid workers, including Zarganar, journalist Ein Khaing Oo and many others,” Mathieson said.

According to the Thailand-based Assistant Association for Political Prisoners in Burma (AAPPB), at least 21 relief workers, who were helping cyclone victims, have been arrested and sentenced to long prison terms.

Tate Naing, Secretary of the AAPPB said, some of the volunteers arrested and sentenced by the junta were burying corpses, which were piling up in the Irrawaddy delta.

“Their punishment is completely unacceptable. Their ‘crimes’ were to help people and tell the truth about the situation,” Tate Naing said in a statement released on Friday.

Aid control

The relief worker said, though there had been a significant amount of aid reaching the delta, he had witnessed that aid had decline after a year.

He said, it might be due to the agencies shifting focus on reconstruction works. He also said it could be partly because of the government’s restrictions.

A rice merchant from Pyapone Township said, while agencies were seen in the town and working in the areas, he did not see much support from the government.

He said, in the aftermath of the cyclone in Pyapone, the Burmese Army’s Brigade No. 66, had control over relief aid for about 5 months and every aid worker and agency were required to take permission in order to carry out relief work in the township.

But now, he said, the controls had shifted to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, which issued permits to enter the region.

Victims’ plight

Although in some cases farmers received material support to re-start cultivation, the inadequate support and favoritism indulged in by the government hardened the situation with farmers unable to work.

“They gave around 6 power tillers for one village and only the people who were close to the authorities got it,” the rice merchant said.

A salt businessman from Laputta Township told Mizzima on Thursday that though he had received a loan from the government to re-start his business, he was now worried of how he would repay the debt.

“We got Kyat 300,000 [USD 300] for an acre of salt farm as a loan from the government, but it will be difficult to return because we could not do well this year,” he said.

Aid Misappropriation

Beside keeping tight control over the flow of aid and denying access to relief workers into the delta, Burma’s military government has also reportedly been misappropriating relief materials meant for victims of the cyclone.

In October 2008, Burma’s authorities arrested Kyaw Soe, a clerk at the Pyapone Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) and Hla Htay for misappropriating rice donated to the cyclone victims.

Both of them were reportedly detained in Pyapone jail, but local residents said so far no charges had been filed against them.

Sources said, Kyaw Soe sold about 1,000 bags of rice in Rangoon, which were donated by Saudi Arabia and was arrested on October 2008, by the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI).

“The BSI has sent the investigation results to Naypyitaw, but the case is not progressing,” the rice merchant, who closely follows the case, told Mizzima.

He said, Kyaw Soe was the unlucky one, as several other local officials were also involved in re-selling aid materials in the market. But following the arrests of the two people, reports of misappropriating aid have subsided.

“Many others were also re-selling aid materials, but they were in small quantities such as 5 to 10 bags of rice. So, there was not much evidence but Kyaw Soe’s case was huge and was well-known,” he said.

On May 14, local residents said they saw biscuits of foreign make, dried meat, instant noodles, tarpaulins and plastic sheets on sale in Nyaungpinlay market, Mingalar market, Bogale market, Theingyi market and other markets in Rangoon.

The Mizzima correspondent in Rangoon has seen tissue packets with Red Cross labels in a store in Mingalar market. Residents of Rangoon also saw army trucks from the Navy supplies Depot, in Mingaladon, Syriam and Laputta bringing the relief materials to the markets.

“We will call on the project [relief aid] to effectively monitor to make sure the SPDC is not profiting from that,” Mathieson said.

Needs still large

Even as relief and reconstruction efforts are ongoing, and a significant amount of aid has reached victims, the UN said it was still crucial for the international community to continue the support.

UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Rangoon, Bishow Parajuli told Mizzima that so far only USD 315 million or 66 per cent of the first revised appeal of USD 477 had been received.

Though much has been accomplished, there are vital needs in various sectors, such as Health, Education, Agriculture, Water and Sanitation, Parajuli said.

READ MORE---> Junta’s role makes life more difficult for Nargis survivors...

Changing patterns in Burma's media

By Htet Aung Kyaw

(DVB)–With one of the most strictly-controlled media environments in the world, Burmese journalists who oppose the military government are forced to work in secret, with the prospect of lengthy imprisonment an everyday threat.

Exiled news organizations in countries such as Thailand and India work covertly with networks of journalists inside Burma, receiving and publishing articles and commentary on political developments inside the country.

The last few years have also seen a rise in internet bloggers, and subsequently a fierce crackdown by the regime. In 2008, two bloggers were jailed for 20 years each for publishing critical material of General Than Shwe.

DVB spoke to a number of journalists and media experts, both Burmese and foreign, to discuss the current media environment within Burma, and to highlight the differences for media inside and outside the country.

Maung Maung Myint is chair of the Burmese Media Association, Kyaw Zwa Moe is deputy editor of The Irrawaddy, and Larry Jagan is a freelance journalist with a focus on Burma.

DVB began by asking what the current situation is like for media freedom in Burma.

Maung Maung Myint: "It's obvious that Burmese government's pressure on the media inside the country has been more intensified since after the 2007 September uprisings – there has been sentencing of journalists and media right activists to long prison terms throughout this time.

"The situation on the Burmese media freedom is not good and we think it will be the same until 2010. After that, if we are unlucky, things will even get worse."

Kyaw Zwa Moe: "In Burma, now we have more journalists than we had 20 years ago. Despite various difficulties, the censor laws and the pressure from the government, they are doing what they can with an increased capacity."

"And we see that they are trying their best to reach their message and information to the audience."

Larry Jagan: “Twenty years ago the Burmese media was completely government-controlled and no dissident or different opinions were allowed.

“Now we see, particularly in the print media, a proliferation of magazines and newspapers, none of which are necessarily anti-government but many of which have pushed the boundaries of journalism, particularly on issues like HIV/Aids, the environment, and the economy.”

DVB: What is the significance of the outside media? Are exiled journalists affected by bias, and do foreign journalists have adequate expertise?

Kyaw Zaw Moe: "It is important for the journalists to be independent. There is always a factor about self-censorship, such as not criticising the democratic movement even when there is something wrong with it because the journalist himself/herself has is from the movement.

“This depends on how much they believe, understand and how much ethics they follow in their journalist profession."

Maung Maung Myint: "I don't see that the Burmese youths who became journalists out of the 1988 uprising and the other movements are holding bias thoughts just because they came from that path.

“They have their brain, and their own ability to see and hear things and they have their common sense to differentiate what is right or wrong. If one values his or her own status of being a journalist, then he or she will also value the quality of the news which is measured by truthfulness.

“A journalist who respects this will stand on the same side with the truth."

Kyaw Zaw Moe: "Another issue we are having with the media outside is that, we always emphasise on being the first to publish a news without trying to verify whether the information in it real or not, because the competition among the organisations here is big."

DVB: How much confidence can we can have in the outside media (with non-independent journalists and organisations worried about funding) and the inside media (with issues of oppression and self-censorship)?

Kyaw Zwa Moe: "I am positive about this. Despite increasing pressure from the government, we are having more committed journalists who aim for a more successful, independent media society in Burma.

“To have a say what will happen in next five years, it depends a lot on how much we, the media both inside and outside Burma, have in our mind to learn, devote and follow the media ethics."

Maung Maung Myint: "As long as there are people inside Burma who are fighting for the media freedom with a great sacrifice, the future light of the Burmese media will never go dim.

“At the same time, the media people inside Burma need to have an active communication with the media people outside. In that way, we will have more understanding towards each other and a better channel of information flow which will profit the people of Burma to get more knowledge and information.

“This is an achievement we have already gained to some level, but I have to admit that, we, the media people, have to do more than this as our people are not living in freedom like people in other countries."

Larry Jagan: “What I would say is that my experience is that Burmese journalists inside the country are very courageous. They try to push the boundaries quietly in their own way. They know far more than they are ever able to get into print.

“In the last five years or so there has been some very good training of Burmese journalists but what they all tell me is that we are waiting for the day when democracy comes so that we can be real journalists because there’s no way we can be journalists under the military regime.”

READ MORE---> Changing patterns in Burma's media...

Mizzima's correspondent released - Kyaw Moe

By Nem Davies

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Mizzima's Bangladesh-based journalist was released on Wednesday, after being detained for a year and four months in a jail in Kolkata city.

Kyaw Moe, who was arrested in September 2007, under the Foreigners Act and detained at Dum Dum jail, has been finally acquitted. He was deported to the Bangladesh border, from where he had originally crossed the border into India.

"Two days ago, the jail authorities told me that Kyaw Moe would be released within two-three days. I was called on Wednesday and told that he was being deported to Bangladesh," Anil Sharma, Defense Counsel of Kyaw Moe, told Mizzima.

Kyaw Moe, alias Nyein Chan, a Burmese journalist based in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, is a news stringer for Mizzima News, a Burmese independent news agency based in New Delhi. He was arrested by the Indian Border Security Force near the Indo-Bangladesh border, while returning from Kolkata after a journalism training course, organized by Mizzima in September 2007.

On May 26, 2008, after pleading guilty to the terms of the Foreigners Act, Kyaw Moe was sentenced to a term of 250 days in prison.

Despite being a recognized refugee by the Bangladeshi office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), he was charged under the Foreigners Act for illegally crossing the border.

The Solidarity Committee for Burma's Freedom Fighters, a committee formed to advocate on behalf of the 34 Burmese rebels arrested in February 1998 by Indian authorities at Andaman and Nicobar Islands, took up the case of Kyaw Moe and appealed for his early release.

Despite efforts by Mizzima, activists and the UNHCR, Indian authorities continued to detain him and a request by Mizzima for his bail was also turned down.

Although he had completed his jail term, the West Bengal government, however, did not deport him to Burma, where he would face a distinct threat of persecution if he was deported, but sent him back to Bangladesh as requested by the UNHCR, Mizzima and activists.

The activist cum journalist was finally reunited with his wife and three children yesterday, after being separated for over one year.

"I feel like a person, who has won a lottery," Kyaw Moe's excited wife told Mizzima.

READ MORE---> Mizzima's correspondent released - Kyaw Moe...