North Korea vows to boycott 6-party nuclear talks

By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press Writer Hyung-jin Kim

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea vowed Tuesday to restore its nuclear facilities and boycott international talks on its atomic weapons program to protest the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of the country's rocket launch.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it "resolutely rejects the unjust action" by the United Nations, which it said "wantonly" infringes upon the country's sovereignty and "seriously" hurt the dignity of its people.

The statement was North Korea's first reaction to the Security Council's unanimous censure Monday of the April 5 launch, which Pyongyang says sent a satellite into space but the United States and others say tested long-range missile technology.

Analysts including Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Dongguk University, said that Pyongyang appeared to be using its threats as a negotiating tool and that after some time had passed talks were likely to resume.

The North's statement said the country will not be bound by any agreement signed under the six-party talks — a multilateral effort aimed at getting Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons programs. The talks include negotiators from China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

North Korea also said it will restore nuclear facilities it has been disabling and resume operating them, apparently referring to its five-megawatt plutonium-producing reactor and other facilities at the Yongbyon complex north of Pyongyang.

North Korea also said it will reprocess spent fuel rods, also apparently referring to an activity at Yongbyon, and "actively consider" building a light-water nuclear reactor.

North Korea famously blew up the cooling tower at Yongbyon in June of last year to symbolize its commitment to denuclearization under a six-party agreement.

The isolated communist nation, which carried out an underground nuclear test in 2006, is believed to have enough plutonium to produce at least about half a dozen atomic bombs.

The statement also said North Korea "will never participate in the talks any longer" because other members of the forum "publicly denied" the spirit of the negotiations — which it said were respect of mutual equality and sovereignty — in the name of the U.N. Security Council.

The Security Council's statement demanded an end to the North's rocket launches and said it will expand sanctions against the reclusive communist nation.

Koh, the analyst, said Pyongyang would watch how the U.S. reacts, saying the country now has "one more negotiating card" to play with Washington.

Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor at Korea University, said North Korea appeared "upset" now, but will find it difficult to really boycott the talks because that will further isolate the country.

The six-party talks began in 2003, but they have been stalled for months over how to verify the country's accounting of its past nuclear activities.

Under a 2007 six-party deal, North Korea agreed to disable its main nuclear complex — a step toward its ultimate dismantlement — in return for 1 million tons of fuel oil and other concessions.

North Korea had threatened last month that any criticism by the U.N. Security Council over the launch would result in the end of the talks.

"We have no choice but to further strengthen our nuclear deterrent to cope with additional military threats by hostile forces," the statement said, employing the common North Korean euphemism "deterrent" for nuclear weapons. It also hinted that Pyongyang would conduct more satellite tests, saying it will "continue to exercise its sovereign rights to use space." ("JEG's: the martians are attaching Kim")

China, the host of the six-party talks, called for calm on all sides.

"We hope the relevant parties will proceed from the overall interest, exercise calmness and restraint," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a press conference in Beijing.

Russia's Foreign Ministry of Russia said if true, North Korea's decision "prompts regret." It called on Pyongyang to consider "the consequences of such a step."

South Korea's Foreign Ministry earlier issued a statement welcoming the U.N. action and urging North Korea to respond to international calls for the peaceful, diplomatic resolution of nuclear tension.

The statement by the Security Council said it "condemns" the April 5 "launch" — without specifying whether it was a missile or a satellite — and demanded that North Korea "not conduct further launches."

The statement, agreed on by all 15 members and read at a formal meeting of the United Nations' most powerful body, said the launch violated a council resolution adopted after the North conducted a nuclear test explosion in 2006 that banned any missile tests by the country.

The statement was a weaker response than a U.N. resolution, which had been sought by Japan and the United States but was opposed by China and Russia. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice insisted the statement is legally binding, just like a resolution — a view backed by Russia — but other diplomats and officials disagreed.

In its statement, the Security Council expressed support for the six-party talks and "calls for their early resumption." It also expressed the council's desire "for a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the situation" and for efforts to achieve "the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."

President Barack Obama called the statement a "clear and united message" that North Korea's action was unlawful and would result in real consequences, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a release.

The statement also demands that Pyongyang must fully implement the 2006 resolution, which ordered the North to suspend all ballistic missile activities and "abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner."

The council's statement also said it "agrees" to expand sanctions under the 2006 resolution, which ordered a financial freeze on assets belonging to companies and groups tied to North Korean programs for nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction and banned the sale of specific goods used in those programs.

Since its adoption, no North Korean companies or organizations have been put on the list, diplomats said.

Jiang, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said however, that China does not support "fresh sanctions against" North Korea.

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Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Christopher Bodeen and Gillian Wong in Beijing contributed to this report.

READ MORE---> North Korea vows to boycott 6-party nuclear talks...

Abhisit is regaining an upper hand

and Thaksin is ready to go on with his lies
he just wants to create a people's revolution for his personal benefit


PHOTOS SPEAK LOUDER THEIR COMMENTS
Check Nation Multimedia's page, scroll down to see the gallery,
see the bared handed in those photos

READ THANONG ANALYSIS below

Two people died Monday during a fight between anti-government protesters and Bangkok residents, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in a televised address.

Earlier, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose supporters have engaged in escalating clashes with Thai police, reiterated Monday that he is willing to return to his country but would not say when.

"Well, you know I am ready to go when the time is right," Thaksin told CNN. "But now, I like to see peaceful protests by the demonstrators. Actually, you know, they are all innocent people. They come with bare hands; they are asking for true democracy and justice. But they got back undemocratic ways with a lot of brutal suppression."

More...

Abhisit is regaining an upper hand
Posted by Thanong , Reader : 2323 , 12:01:06

April 13, 2009

By Thanong Khanthong

23:00 hours

Abhisit Vejjajiva, the prime minister, has just appeared on national TV. Flanked by Suthep Thuagsuban, the deputy prime minister in charge of security affairs, and other top security officials of the country, he declared that the turmoil all day in Bangkok has been brought under control since the evening.

He called for the Red Shirt protesters, who are now rallying in the area around the Government House, to return home as the authorities will stand by to help them.

Abhisit did not say what the government would do next against the remaining Red Shirt protesters at the Government House. But we can expect that the security forces would be zeroing into them soon to disperse the rally at the Government House.

Throughout the day, there has not been any loss of life from the security forces' cracking down on the Red Shirt protesters, who ravaged the capital through different locations, particularly at the Din Daeng intersection. There are scores of people getting injured.

The loss of lives only took place in the evening after the Red Shirt protesters reportedly shot at two persons.

22:00 hours:

Red Shirt protesters have failed to garner critical mass support because they rely on urban terrorist tactic to plunder Bangkok. Many Bangkok residents have come out today to lash out at and attack the Red Shirt protesters.

Two people are reported to have been shot dead by the Red Shirt protesters, one at Nang Leng and the other at Wat Sommanas.

So where is Thaksin Shinawatra now? He is believed to be commanding the raid of Bangkok from Koh Kong. If the situation is ripe, he will make his way to Bangkok. But will he?

The Red Shirt protesters are now retreating to the area surrounding the Government House. They are fortifying their position from there.

The security forces are expected to quash the Red Shirt protesters tonight or tomorrow.

The government might find it necessary to declare curfew to deter movements of Red Shirt protesters and prevent them from reinforcing additional support.

Don't blink your eyes.

###################################

20:00 hours:

On Sunday, I wrote that the stars hovering over the City of Angels were radiating exceptional heat. There could be violence starting Sunday evening. But as it turned out, the violence started exactly on Songkran Day.

My astrologer is almost right on target. To sum it up again, my amateur astrologer has told me that duang muang (the City's star) is in trouble, with the stars aligned in a complicated position. When King Yodfa founded Bangkok in 1782, the lakhana duang muang (the character of the City of Angels) was represented by the sun, which exemplified strength, boldness and grandeur.

Lakhana Duang Muang of Bangkok as marked by ancient Thai astrological codification.

_______________________________

The sun is being overshadowed by neptune at the lakhana duang muang, which exists in spiritual form. This means that bad omen and events would be hovering over the capital.

Neptune is now hovering above lakhana duang muang, magnifying its influence over events in Thailand. "We might have a very serious incident this evening and it will deterioriate further," my astrologer said on Sunday.

But beginning Tuesday of April 14, 2009, Neptune will gradually move out of Lakhana Duang Muang to the right side of the Sun. This means that the bad omen or bad incidents against Bangkok will subside. The situation will improve.

Thaksin Shinawatra launched his broadside attack against the capital by also consulting the stars above the sky. He had his Red Shirt protesters ravaging Bangkok at a time when his duang or fortune hit the peak. His duang coincides with Neptune movement against the Sun or Lakhana Duang Muang of the City of Angels.

We are witnessing a fight in both the sky and on the earth.

####################

Analysis

18:30 hours

Thaksin Shinawatra's urban terrorist tactic to create widespread riots in Bangkok and pave the way for his return is not working, though pockets of violence is now spreading around the capital.

His strategy is simple. After torpedoing the Asean Summit in Pattaya, the Red Shirt anti-government protesters would be staging urban-style terrorism around the key points in Bangkok so that Abhisit would be forced to declare a State of Emergency. Then the military must be brought in to quash the Red Shirt protesters. While the military suppress the Red Shirt protesters, there could be bloodshed. The situation would spill out of control to create an anarchy. Finally, Thaksin's supporters would be petitioning His Majesty the King for a royal intervention or a reconciliation to end the crisis.

In this plan, Thaksin is seeking to hold Thailand as his hostage as he bargains for his amnesty. When worst comes to worst, a military coup would be launched to bring down Abhisit government.

But Thaksin's game plan is not working. First, the Red Shirt protesters' urban terrorism tactics have gone out of control to create a civil war inside the capital. Second, they have failed to mobilise enough critical mass support. Third, the Thai public, appalled by the violence and the Red Shirt clashes against the security forces, do not support the Red Shirt.

Yet the most important factor is that Prime Minsiter Abhisit Vejjajiva has managed to consolidate his power. He is now being advised by a specially assembled unit consisting of old veterans and retired generals.

Gen Anupong Paochina, the army chief, Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, and Police Chief Patcharawat Wongsuwan have been left in the cold. They were conspicuously absent during the Red Shirts' ambush of the Asean Summit venue in Pattaya. There the police and security forces turned a blind eye to the Red Shirt protesters' ambushing the Royal Cliff Beach Resort and Hotel, the venue of the Asean Summit.

Gen Anupong wore a tense face when he appeared on TV last night with Abhisit, who was trying to assure the Thai public that he would be able to bring the crisis situation under control. Gen Anupong is believed to have been kept out of any top-level decisions to manage the crisis in Bangkok.

The situation in Bangkok was tense all day as many department stores were closed and many roads were blocked. The Red Shirt protesters employed the urban terrorist tactic to ravage the capital in different locations, ranging from Din Daeng, Ayutthaya Road, Victory Monument, Phan-fa, Yomaraj, the Royal Plaza. They used public buses to block the streets, installed three gas-tank trucks at Din Daeng, Ayutthaya Road and Soi Rangnam near Victory Monument and threw petro bombs, sticks and bricks at the security.

The Red Shirt's tactic is similar to that employed by the Krathingdaeng Group, which in the October 1979 crisis played a catalyst role in suppressing students in Thammasat University. An ex-general by the abbreviated name of P.P. was believed to be the mastermind behind this terrorist tactic.

As for the three gas-tank trucks, authorities identified them as coming from Siam Gas Plc, of which Gen Chaiyasith Shinawatra is serving as chairman. Gen Chaiyasith, a cousin of Thaksin, denied that he had nothing to do with the gas-tank trucks.

Suchon Chaleekrua, the former Senate speaker, led a group of Thaksin's supporters including Pol Gen Salang Bunnag, to submit a petition to His Majesty the King. The language of the petition was vague, requesting the King to make a royal intervention to end the crisis. Gen Somjate Boomthanom, a former member of the 2006 coup, came out to question the motif behind the royal petition because Suchon and other petitioners all had close ties with Thaksin.

Thaksin has just appeared on CNN, blaming the security forces for shooting his Red Shirt supporters. He did not mention at all how the Red Shirt protesters had been ravaging the capital throughout the day by burning public buses and destroying public properties.

Military personnel from Lop Buri, Prachinburi and Nakhon Rachasima have been brought into the capital to reinforce the security forces. The authorities would be using both soft and harsh measures to disperse the Red Shirt protesters, who have used the surrounding areas of the Government House as their headquarters.

Abhisit is now determined to quash the Red Shirt protesters rather than allowing them to prolong the crisis further.

A curfew may be announced this evening to allow the security forces to quash the Red Shirt protesters gathering around the Government House.

######################################

12:00 hours: HAPPY SONGKRAN DAY

Abhisit Vejjajiva, the prime minister, has managed to reposition himself by consolidating his power amid the growing political crisis. Before noon, he appeared on national TV to assert to the Thai public that he was now in charge. All the key military top brass were accompanying him on TV, wearing a grim look on their faces.

The dark plot against Abhisit has failed, at least for now.

Last night there was flurrying of activities among the military top brass. The military clique, which supports ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra or which would like to exploit the political crisis arising from the confrontation between the Red Shirt protesters and the Abhisit government, was subdued. They could not move.

A military coup could be staged, but it would be virtually impossible to get a Royal endorsement.

As prime minister, Abhisit now enjoys the utmost power in the land. The announcement of the State of Emergency rests all the power in his hand. If the situation fails to improve, Abhisit can continue to keep the State of Emergency for six months or the full year.

Abhisit is digesting the mistakes of both Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat, who as prime ministers, failed to use the power of the premiership during their face-off with the military and the Yellow Shirt protesters last year.

We are now seeing a more confident Abhisit, compared to a wobbling prime minister over the past few days when the Red Shirt protesters succeeded in torpedoing the Asean Summit in Pattaya.

The dark plot is designed to bring down Abhisit. The Red Shirt protesters, commanded by Thaksin from the overseas, are acting as a catalyst. The protesters, fortified themselves at the Government House, would be conducting widespread espionage around the capital to justify a military intervention.

Once the military stage a coup, Thaksin would be making a return to join the Red Shirt protesters. Thaksin has been calling for a people's revolution, exactly a replay of the Yellow Shirt's plot but for a completely different purpose.

Only through a military coup would it be possible for Thaksin to make a comeback. But we are witnessing an intriguing situation because it is never certain whether the military would stage a coup on behalf of Thaksin or whether they would exploit the whole crisis to launch a coup for their own benefits.

Earlier, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has assured the nation that there is no disharmony within the government as well as key agencies responsible for enforcing law and order.

In a late-night television address, Abhisit was flanked by all key government, military and police leaders, a setting apparently intended to stamp out persistent speculation that he was losing support of top police and military officers.

He said the rumours were intended to weaken the government which has been trying to restore law and order through peaceful means.

"There have been a lot of rumours and I would like the Thai media to report on the truth to the Thai public," he said.

Abhisit must have realised about the dark plot by now -- who are his enemies or who are his friends. We cannot undersestimate the power of a Thai premiership, entrusted to exerice the State of Emergency. Abhisit vows to bring law and order back to the capital.

The scene in Bangkok now is tumultuous, particularly at the Rachaprarob area leading to Pratunam where a contingent of military is facing off the Red Shirt protesters. There has not been any report of fatal injuries.

Crackdown at dawn

At least 77 were injured as troops, firing tear gas and shots into the air, moved in to retake the Din Daeng intersection near Victory Monument from protesters.


Troops, firing shots into the air, have apparently retaken control of the Din Daeng intersection from red-shirted protesters, according to TV news reports. There were reportedly some injuries but no immediate reports of death.

At least 77 people suffered minor injuries, many from tear gas, according to hospital reports. About five persons were seriously injured. The red-shirted movement claimed "several" of its members suffered gunshot wounds, and condemned the authorities' use of live bullets in the crackdown.

TV news footage showed soldiers firing shots into the air. Tear gas was also fired, TV reporters at the scene said. A few hundred troops were involved in the operation.

At around 7.20 am, the government announced it was in control of the situation at Din Daeng.

The clash took place around 4 am and left about 50 soldiers and protesters injured, it was reported. Gunshots were still heard after 5 am, but not as intensely as when the crackdown began.

One TV reporter quoted "runaway" protesters as saying that there might have been some deaths. The government reported no death.

The troops were pushing from the Din Daeng intersection toward the Victory Monument. Protesters were scattered and retreated from the intersection to the moment. It appeared that the troops were in almost complete control of the Din Daeng intersection after 6 am.

Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd, Army spokesman, said 300 protesters were in the area when security forces including soldiers and police moved in. He said the troops first tried to negotiate with the protesters, who were allegedly armed with molotov cocktails and tear gas themselves.

He said the talks broke down after some protesters tried to ram buses against the troops.

"The troops had to fire into the air. I repeat. They fired into the air and took action against the protesters," he said.

13:00 Hours:

Further crackdown this evening

It is clear that Abhisit would not tolerate a prolonged confrontation against the Red Shirt anti-government protesters. Allowing the turmoil to spread throughout Bangkok could make the situation go out of control.

The situation is now bordering on a civil war. The Red Shirt leaders at the Government House have expelled reporters from the area as they map out a defensive strategy to hold on to their position.

Military personnel from the provinces are being shipped into the capital to take on the Red Shirt protesters at the Government House. Starting this evening, we can expect to see the military move into the Government House area to disperse the crowd. The key Red Shirt leaders could be nabbed.

So between now and the next one or two days, we might see some violent clashes if the Red Shirt protesters insist on fighting back and refusing to disperse.

Meanwhile, there has been a plea for the Abhisit government to exercise restraint, patience and diplomacy to deal with the Red Shirt protesters. The Association of Thai Journalists has called on the government to seek a truce with the Red Shirt leaders. The Pheu Thai MPs, who support the Red Shirt rally, should use Parliament as a forum to defuse the crisis.

#######################

13.35 hours:

Official Statement from the Government House

T oday (13 April 2009) at 7.45 hrs, Dr. Panitan Wattanayagorn, Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister and acting Government Spokesperson and Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd, Spokesman of the Royal Thai Army gave a televised briefing on the newly announced Prime Minister’s order to establish a Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES).

Dr. Panitan said that following the declaration by the Prime Minister yesterday of the state of emergency in Bangkok Metropolitan area and several vicinities in five provinces, the Prime Minister has ordered the establishment of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (order No. 98/2552). Additionally the Prime Minister also ordered the prohibition of road blockades to enable the normal flow of traffics – Announcement following Section 11(6) of the Emergency Decree on the Public Administration in Emergency Situations B.E. 2548 (2005).

Early this morning, around 4 am, after the announcement of the use of the order to prohibit road blockades, the officers at Din Daeng junction encountered a group of protestors who attempted to block the roads by using a bus. The officers then informed the protestors present in that area of the announcement of anti-road blockade order and negotiated with the protestors to stop the blockade. However, the protestors did not listen to the officials and drove the bus into the crowd of officers. The officers then fired a warning shot into the air to warn the protestors, followed by firing tear gas and took control of the situation. The action taken by officers started with the basic measures and thereafter progressively stepped up to more intense ones. In the clash that took place, a few people were injured while a few other people were detained and were taken to a safe place.

Dr. Panitan reiterated that in dispersing the groups of protestors, the Government has taken action in a transparent manner and taken due consideration of the safety of the people. He also asked the general public to place their trust in the Government in handling of the situation and cooperate with the Government by informing the newly established centre of any information that might be useful. The Government ensures that whatever action it takes will be in accordance with the law and the democratic principles. And throughout today, there will be periodic briefings by several high-level officials involved in the resolution of the emergency situation.

Following the briefing by Dr. Panitan, Colonel Sansern added that the clash began by the protestors firing tear gas at a crowd of officers, thereafter drove the bus that was used as a blockade directly into them. In an attempt to control the situation, the officers fired a gunshot up into the air - not directly at the protestors – to warn the protestors and encourage them to move away from the scene. Then, the officers had to use tear gas, sticks and shields in order to protect themselves.
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READ MORE---> Abhisit is regaining an upper hand...

US and Australia Agree to Work on Burma Issue

By LALIT K JHA
The Irrawaddy News

WASHINGTON — At the conclusion of the two-day Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations, the two countries agreed to continue to work together to achieve a free and democratic Burma.

Leading the Australian delegation, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon held a wide range of talks on bilateral and regional issues with their American counterparts. The US side was represented by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

While, Burma was not one of the major topics of discussions, it figured during the talks and was reflected in the joint communiqué issued at the end of the meeting on Thursday.

“Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to a free and democratic Burma that respects the rights of all its citizens. They agreed to work together in support of that goal,” the communiqué said.

The statement noted Indonesia’s significant progress in strengthening its democracy, reforming its military, countering terrorist groups, tackling corruption and promoting regional security.

“They committed themselves to deeper and broader engagement with Indonesia, particularly on such issues as climate change and the global economic crisis,” the statement said.

The two countries also noted their shared commitment to encourage Vietnam’s continuing economic liberalization and legal reform and welcomed Vietnam’s increasing international engagement, including its role as a member of the UN Security Council and as the next chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

READ MORE---> US and Australia Agree to Work on Burma Issue...

Who comprises the red-shirt army?

Saved for the purpose of analysis and information

1. The first, a 10,000-strong group of protesters from the Northeast, North and the Central region, are further divided into three smaller groups that take turns in joining Bangkok rallies every three days. At least 60 per cent of them, or 6,000 members, can be found at any one of the protest sites in the capital.

In the North, red-shirt alliances consist of the Rak Chiang Mai 51 Group, Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD)'s Chiang Rai Group, Payao Army Assembly, DAAD's Mae Sod Group and the Lower North Group.

The core protesters in the northern capital are the Rak Chiang Mai 51 Group, led by Petchawat Wattanapongsirikul, the owner of the Grand Varoros Palace Hotel.

In the Northeast, red-shirt partnerships consist of the Khon Rak Udon Thani Group, DAAD's Khon Kaen Group, North Isaan Group and the South Isaan Group.

The core group in the Northeast is the Khon Rak Udon Thani group that is led by community radio host Kwanchai Praipana. He aims to get some 3,000 protesters from Udon Thani, plus a few thousand from Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, and upper Northeast to head for Bangkok protest sites.

At provinces that are Newin Chidchob's political base, such as Buri Ram, Surin and Si Sa Ket, only a few hundred have shown interest in the red-shirt rallies.

In the Central region, several thousands of protesters, mainly from Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani, are headed for the City of Angels, while a few hundred red-shirt supporters are coming from the eastern provinces of Chantaburi and Chon Buri. Nakhon Si Thammarat is the only province in the South where a few hundred protesters, led by the Surachai Sae Dan, joined the protest.

2. The second group is made up of people who are against the Democrat-led government. These people drive their personal cars and join the rally in front of Government House every evening and go home at night. Most of them live in Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Nakhon Pathom, Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani.

3. The third group is made up of admirers of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and of banned executives of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai and People Power parties. Members of this group live in Bangkok and adjacent provinces. Like the second group, they don't stay overnight at the rally site.

THE NATION MULTIMEDIA

READ MORE---> Who comprises the red-shirt army?...

Five Burmese Labor Activists Arrested

By THE IRRAWADDY

Five labor activists were arrested recently in Rangoon after attending a labor conference held on the Thai-Burma border, an exiled labor group, the Federation Trade Unions Burma (FTUB), said on Wednesday.

The FTUB said in a press release that five members, who are peaceful advocates and campaigners for labor rights, were arrested on April 1.

The detainees are Zaw Myint Aung, a 49-year-old teacher; three textile factory workers, Soe Oo, 37, Tun Nyein, 22, and Khine Lin Myat, 22 ; and Shwe Yi Nyunt, a 25-year-old nurses aid and law student.

“The five members are likely being held in interrogation centers in the Rangoon area where it is believed they are being tortured,” the press release said.

The exile labor group also claimed that family members of the five activists were arrested or threatened to compel cooperation from those detained.

Burma has more than 2,100 political prisoners, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In two years, the number of political prisoners has doubled.

For two decades, the international community, including the United Nations and Burmese opposition groups, has repeatedly called for the release of all political prisoners.

READ MORE---> Five Burmese Labor Activists Arrested...

New Year Oracle Holds Bad Omens

By ARKAR MOE
The Irrawaddy News

Happy Water Festival to godfather Than Shwe

Bad omens for Burma are being read into the traditional Thingyansar predictions published to coincide with the Burmese New Year.

The predictions say that Thargyarmin, king of the celestials, won’t be paying his customary visit to the earth this year—a bad omen for Burma and its people.

Burmese Buddhists believe that Thargyarmin pays an annual visit to earth to take note of good deeds and punish those who commit sin.

This year’s Thingyansar also directs attention to people born on Tuesday, saying they would be respected for their good deeds but that hasty decisions would be misunderstood.

Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was born on a Tuesday.

This year’s Thingyansar also predicts the end of feudalism in the world—and that is being interpreted as bad news for the regime, whose end is foreseen.

The Thingyansar is being produced this year by Burma’s Ministry of Culture, although unofficial, underground versions are also being circulated.

Official or unofficial, the Thingyansar sells like the proverbial hot cakes and plays an essential role in New Year festivities and the accompanying water festival.

READ MORE---> New Year Oracle Holds Bad Omens...

Learning from Poland’s Example

By AUNG ZAW
The Irrawaddy News

Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa hasn’t been to Burma but he shares his full solidarity with its people.

Walesa, the feisty and articulate electrician from Gdansk, led the Solidarnosc (Solidarity) movement that finally liberated the Poles from communism. Poland was the icebreaker for the rest of Central Europe in the "velvet revolutions" of 1989. Walesa's contribution to the end of communism in Europe was highly acknowledged and he remains respected in Poland.

Sitting in his office and talking about Burma, the former president admitted that Burma was mentally and physically far away from Poland but he firmly expressed his solidarity with its people and political prisoners.

He was one of 112 former presidents and prime ministers—including former US presidents George H W Bush and Jimmy Carter, former British prime ministers Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher and John Major, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi—who recently urged UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to return to Burma and pressure the military junta to free all political prisoners.

He then joked through a Polish interpreter:

“Don’t wait for me to come to fight (in Burma)—you have to start now!”

The former electrician, who once climbed over the guarded gates of the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk to lead the Solidarnosc trade union movement in its pro-democracy struggle, wanted to know how Burma’s own pro-democracy movement is faring.

He was happy to share his experiences but he had no intention of delivering a lecture on how to topple the regime. His message was clear, however: be strategic and creative when fighting the repressive regime.

Walesa was convinced that there must be a way out to resist the regime in Burma, if not in the streets. He also said that people should have the courage to say: “No.”

Poland in the 1990s was surrounded by powerful communist neighbors—the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic and other members of the Warsaw Pact—and Walesa and his colleagues sometimes thought it was impossible to bring down the communist regime in Warsaw. So his message was that although outside support was important, the movement would have to start from within. More importantly, he thought it was vital to keep open a line of communication with comrades-in-arms in the movement.

His message was: if you cannot lead the people onto the streets, a different strategy to counter the regime has to be found. And his message for the Burmese people was: don’t be downhearted, but be creative in challenging the regime.

He told the Burmese people to be prepared. All authoritarian regimes fall unexpectedly, he said.

It wasn’t a message that those Burmese military leaders who purchased 12 PZL Swindik W-3 Sokol multi-purpose helicopters and 18 Mil Mi-2 helicopters from Poland in the 1990s would like to hear.

Walesa, who became president in 1990 and led Poland through the early post-communist transition period until 1995, recalled that sometimes he felt no one was giving his freedom movement a chance and that victory might not come. When it did come, he was surprised by its unexpectedness.

An early political rival agreed for once with Walesa. Aleksander Kwasniewski, who succeeded Walesa as president in the 1995 election and served until 2005, wished Burma a peaceful transition to democracy.

Kwasniewski, a former communist government minister who led the left-wing Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland and then helped found the Democratic Left Alliance, said the people of Burma, including the opposition, should take any window of opportunity to seek peaceful change.

He warned that any window of opportunity would be rather short lived, so quick action had to be taken. The momentum had to be captured and not lost, he said.

“We didn’t expect that change would come so fast in Poland,” he admitted.

Reminded of the role of Buddhist monks and monasteries in Burma, Kwasniewski acknowledged the importance of the Catholic Church in events in Poland.

Transition, he warned, always involved risk, strife and violence, but the big question remained: what comes after? Changing the regime was easy compared to the difficulty posed by the aftermath, he said.

Poland’s experience in dismantling a rigidly authoritarian regime may indeed hold lessons for the Burmese people’s own struggle for freedom.

READ MORE---> Learning from Poland’s Example...

Alleged murder victim daughter of former intelligence deputy

(DVB)–Burma’s leading state-run newspaper has confirmed that the body of a woman found dead in Rangoon last week is that of the daughter of the former deputy military intelligence chief.

Aye Aye Win (also known as Mya Thiri Khin) was found alongside her husband’s body in a flat in Rangoon’s Botataung township on 2 April.

It is widely reported that stab wounds were found on their bodies, although the cause of death has not been reported.

An obituary published yesterday in the Myanmar Alin newspaper confirmed that Aye Aye Win was the daughter of Major General Kyaw Win, the last person to serve as deputy chief of Burma’s military intelligence unit before it was disbanded.

Neighbours reported hearing arguments and scuffles on the night of the incident.

The newspaper obituary said that Kyaw Win is currently living in Shwepyithar township, Rangoon, with his wife Mi Mi Lay.

The military intelligence unit was disbanded in 2004 under corruption charges, although many point to Senior General Than Shwe’s fear of their growing influence over the army.

Kyaw Win is, however, said to be on good terms with Than Shwe.

Reporting by Pascal Khoo-Thwe

READ MORE---> Alleged murder victim daughter of former intelligence deputy...

KNU accepts junta’s offer for peace parleys

by Salai Pi Pi

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Burma’s leading ethnic armed resistance group, the Karen National Union has accepted the offer of the Burmese military junta for peace talks through Thailand’s Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on Monday.

Saw David Takapaw, Vice-president of the KNU on Wednesday told Mizzima that KNU had reacted positively to Kasit at the informal meeting held in Bangkok for over one hour on Monday regarding the offer of the Burmese regime for peace parleys.

“We told them (Thailand) that we have accepted the offer of the junta on peace talks, as we want to solve political problems by political means,” Takapaw said. “

However, he said the date and venue for the talks are yet to be fixed.

KNU delegates led by Takapaw and General Secretary Naw Ziporah Sein met Kasit, the facilitator for the talks between KNU and the Burmese regime, and other officials from Thailand’s Foreign Ministry in Bangkok.

During the meeting, Takapaw said, Kasit revealed the message of the Burmese Prime Minister General Thein Sein that the junta would like to hold a dialogue with the KNU for national reconciliation.

“They (Thai) informed us that Thein Sein would like to talk to us regarding national reconciliation,” he said. “He (Kasit) said he will act as facilitator.”

Last month, Thein Sein sought help from Kasit during his two-day visit to Burma to persuade the KNU to contest the ensuing 2010 election.

“If the regime is willing to solve problems peacefully, we are ready to talk,” said Takapaw, adding that the KNU will insist the regime first convene a tripartite dialogue and amend the constitution.

Meanwhile, Takapaw alleged, the Burmese Army is supporting the KNU splinter group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) in launching fresh offensives against its armed wing the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in Kawkreit district in Karen state close to the Thai-Burma border. KNLA battalions have been retaliating using guerrilla tactics.

“Recently, the Burmese Army backed up the DKBA which was attacking us in Kawkreit district. We also retaliated in guerrilla warfare style,” he said.

“We (KNU and the junta) attack each other while we also talk to each other,” he added.

The KNU has held talks with the Burmese regime on five occasions previously since launching their campaign for self-determination in 1948.

The two sides were able to reach a verbal ceasefire agreement, commonly known as the “Gentlemen's Agreement," after the last round of formal talks between the KNU’s late leader, General Bo Mya, and former military intelligence chief, General Khin Nyunt, in the former capital Rangoon in 2004. The talks, however, came to a halt after Khin Nyunt was purged from the military hierarchy.

The KNU’s statement on peace efforts issued last month said, “Peace negotiations between the KNU and successive Burmese regimes have consistently failed because of lack of sincerity on the part of the regime in power.”

According to Burma’s state media ‘The New Light of Myanmar’ on April 4, Nay Soe Mya, son of the late KNU leader Gen Saw Bo Mya, led 71 Karen rebels and defected to the junta on March 30.

However, Takapaw said, among the 71 Karen who had defected to the junta, only four are from the KNLA armed group including Nay Soe Mya while the rest are civilians. (JEG's: misleading junta again massaging the figures to impress who?... I wonder who are the believers...)

He went on to say that 71 Karen broke away from KNU as the Burmese regime, particularly Maj. Gen. Saw Htay Maung led DKBA tempted them with money.”

“It is better for KNU that such corrupt people defect” he added.

READ MORE---> KNU accepts junta’s offer for peace parleys...

‘Non-political’ group to assess sanctions

(DVB)–A self-proclaimed non-partisan group in Burma has announced plans to examine the effects of sanctions on Burmese citizens and present their findings to the United States and European Union.

The group, calling themselves Lifting Sanctions, Internal and External Forces, 2009 Campaign, announcement its intentions in a statement released yesterday at a news conference in Rangoon.

“Economic sanctions are an inhumane policy which delays [Burma's] path to democracy in the transition period,” China Radio International quoted the statement as saying. (JEG's; the sanctions are on the generals' pockets not the people... wake up... not need to examine anything...)

The group claim to be a non-political body, with no ties either to the government or opposition movement.

It remains ambiguous as to whether the group would pass comment on the ruling State Peace and Development Council’s role in the imposition of sanctions.

"For the time being, it is early to say,” said member Aung Khine Win.

“We [have] neither cooperation nor separation with the military government.” (JEG's: then how come were allowed to press release their opinions? oh junta nice try...)

The Burmese government’s sentencing of political prisoners and heavy restrictions on opposition parties has been citied as the main reason for the imposition of sanctions.

Another member, Ko Ko Latt, insisted the group had no affiliation with the pro-government 88 generation students (Union of Myanmar) group, who in the past has called for the lifting of sanctions.

Yesterday, activist group 88 generation students (not to be confused with the above) sent a letter to the SPDC outlining the need for the government to carry out reforms as a precursor to sanctions being lifted.

If the government continued to ignore demands for the release of political prisoners and an amendment to the 2008 constitution, which guarantees a continuation of military rule, then the economic blockade would increase, said member Nay Myo.

Reporting by Khin Maung Soe Min

There you are Aung Khine Win tweet... Burma is not affected by the sanctions... announced through the own horse's mouth

READ MORE---> ‘Non-political’ group to assess sanctions...

Burma claims a strengthening economy

(DVB)–Whilst world leaders gathered in London last week to discuss ways to combat the global economic crisis, the Burmese prime minister surprised listeners at home with news of an apparent 10 per cent rise in the country’s GDP.

In a week in which the leaders of the world’s largest economies flew to London for G20 talks aimed at rescuing themselves from the recession, Prime Minister Thein Sein broke the news that the economy of one of the world’s least developed countries was in good health.

According to figures cited by the prime minister at an annual meeting of private business owners in the capital Naypyidaw on 31 March, gross domestic product had risen by 10.4 per cent between 2008 and 2009.

There had, in fact, been an increase in agricultural produce, he added, despite last year’s cyclone Nargis destroying some 600,000 hectares of farmland.

“The situation is worse here as the storm hit an essential area,” countered one farmer from Kyunthaya village in the Irrawaddy delta.

“I could till only 50 acres out of one hundred this year,” she added.

The prime ministers comments have, unsurprisingly, been met with suspicion.

Sein Htay, program coordinator and researcher at the Washington-based Burma Fund, who worked with the former government Burma Socialist Programme Party, said that tweaking figures was an old tactic used to boost the government’s image.

“The government aimed for a certain percentage growth in the country's economy…and Burma always wanted to say that they hit their target every year,” he said.

"Based on my personal experiences with the BSPP’s Project Planning department, the number would even go higher than their proposed target in some years.”

According to the prime minister, average monthly income for the last fiscal year was 40,000 kyat ($US40).

A high school teacher in Irrawaddy division said however that, despite teachers not being the lowest paid in the civil service, they still had to start on a salary of around 20,000 to 30,000 kyat ($US20-30) a month.

“There are many more people who are worse paid and unemployed in Burma and the claim of Thein Sein that Burmese people on average have an income of 40,000 kyat a month is far from the truth,” he said.

The reason the Burmese economy has not yet collapsed is due to money gained from selling off the vast gas reserves, said Sein Htay, adding however that the money was being mismanaged.

“They built [the new capital] Naypyidaw and pocketed the money and they build nuclear reactors and buy military equipment for the army,” he said.

“That's why there is no productivity, as there have been no reinvestments in industrial and economic sections.

“In Burma, army cronyism causes the public to be poor, and only army-owned companies and companies who work with them are rich,” he added.

Reporting by Htet Aung Kyaw

READ MORE---> Burma claims a strengthening economy...

88 Student Group Sends ‘Open Letter’ to Junta

By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News

Burma’s influential dissident group, the 88 Generation Students group, said on Monday that respect for human rights in Burma by the ruling junta could lead to an end to international economic sanctions.

The group said in an open letter to the ruling State Peace and Development Council that if the junta respected human rights and moved toward democratic changes in the interest of the country, the international economic sanctions against Burma would be lifted.

“The Western democracies have placed economic and social sanctions on Burma to protest against human rights violations by the Burmese junta, so the junta should show its respect for human rights and for the Burmese people,” said Tun Myint Aung, a spokesperson for the group.

The student group also endorsed the four goals of the political opposition group, the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, as a way to resolve the ongoing political stand-off in the country.

The four goals are the unconditional release of all political prisoners including Suu Kyi; the convening of parliament; genuine political dialogue; and a review of the 2008 constitution.

The letter said that the junta had failed to recognize the opposition’s proposals and has continued repressive measures such as restricting political movement and arresting pro-democracy and human rights activists.

The 88 Generation Students group played a key role in the protests against a hike in fuel prices by the military regime in mid-August 2007, which led to massive demonstrations in the country in September 2007.

Most of the group’s leaders, including Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Phyoe Cho, were arrested, convicted of crimes against the state and are serving long prison sentences.

A day after the 88 group’s open letter, a pro-junta group, the “Anti Sanctions Campaign at Home and Abroad 2009,” held a press conference at the City Star Hotel in Rangoon, in which it blamed Suu Kyi for the economic sanctions on Burma, according to a source at the press conference.

The group said in a statement that economic sanctions are a non-humanitarian policy and they only delay a democratic transition in Burma.

READ MORE---> 88 Student Group Sends ‘Open Letter’ to Junta...

Burmese oppositions aligned to form a ‘United Front’

by Ko Wild

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Several Burmese opposition groups during a meeting last week in Thai-Burmese border had decided to form an inclusive united front to strengthen unity and consolidate.


The meeting held from April 2 to 4 was attended by representatives of pro-democracy organizations, including women’s and ethnic united fronts and the coalition government in exile.

"We badly need unity and consolidation at this juncture. We need to pave the way for setting up of a sole, unified and consolidated united front, which will be more effective. We will oppose the 2010 election, but how. So we discussed these at the meeting," Pado David Taw, Joint-Secretary (1) of the Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) said.

The meeting was attended by 58 delegates representing seven alliance organizations namely the 'National Council of Union of Burma' (NCUB), 'Ethnic Nationalities Council' (ENC) (Union of Burma), 'Women’s League of Burma' (WLB), 'Forum for Democracy in Burma' (FDB), 'Students and Youths Congress of Burma' (SYCB) and the 'Nationalities Youth Forum' (NYF).

The goal of the meeting was to explore and adopt a common programme for the Burmese democracy movement.

The meeting decided to form a 14-member working committee from among the delegates; to draw and adopt the basic principles for forming the alliance. But it did not set a deadline for completing these basic principles.

Pado David Taw said that one of the common programmes adopted in the meeting was the 'elimination programme' of the new 2008 constitution. This is fundamental for the implementation of democratic transition and conforms to the principle with the four-point agenda being called for by the NLD and political forces for 'reviewing the constitution'.

"In fact, the stand of our revolutionary forces is total elimination. But as for the NLD, its stand is reviewing the constitution. We concluded that it was difficult for the NLD to call for total elimination explicitly. So we added one more point in the agenda in keeping with their demand," he said.

The timing of trying to set up a single united front by merging all the seven separate alliance organizations coincides with the pressure being mounted on the oldest revolutionary group among them, the 'Karen National Union' (KNU), to enter into a dialogue with the Burmese junta by the Thai government.

But KNU Central Executive Committee member Pado David Taw said that KNU will only discuss political affairs with the regime, not territorial and economic issues so that it will not reflect on the stand and expansion of the alliance organizations.

Pado David Taw also said that the KNU delegation led by 'Karen National Liberation Army' (KNLA) Chief of Staff Gen. Mutu Saypho and comprising KNU Vice-Chairman Pado David Tarkapaw and General Secretary Naw Zippora Sein held discussions with Thai officials on Monday.

But who represented the Thai side and the subject of the meeting are not yet known.

READ MORE---> Burmese oppositions aligned to form a ‘United Front’...

Junta attack foreign media ‘fabrications’

(DVB)–A leading state-run newspaper in Burma has accused foreign media of manufacturing a story in order to stir up tension between Burma and China.

The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said yesterday that foreign broadcasting stations had aired a story about Burma and attributed the source to a Chinese state-run broadcasting organization, Yunnan Province TV.

The article claimed however that the source was in fact a private-run channel called Phoenix TV, based in Hong Kong, who had broadcast the piece on 28 February and 1 March.

Given that Hong Kong is only a special administrative region of China, the Chinese government have no jurisdiction over its media industry, the article said.

“Anti-government broadcasting stations and groups, taking advantage of news reports aired by Phoenix TV, manufactured a fabrication as if the news about [Burma] was aired by the Yunnan Province TV Station,” it said.

“Actually, the attempt was to jeopardize China-[Burma] friendly ties.”

China has developed strong political and economic relations with Burma, and is a key trading partner. Last month the two countries signed a deal to pump Burma’s vast natural gas reserves to China’s mainland.

Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council are notoriously suspicious of foreign media. Following cyclone Nargis last year, journalists attempting to enter the country to report on the situation were denied visas.

Famously, one month after cyclone Nargis, the New Light of Myanmar 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’.

Burma was placed fourth from bottom in international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index 2008, which examined restrictions on media in 173 countries.

Reporting by Francis Wade

READ MORE---> Junta attack foreign media ‘fabrications’...

Defiant N. Korea Launches Missile

Neighbors Express Dismay; U.S. Decries 'Provocative Act'

By Blaine Harden
Washington Post Foreign Service

TOKYO, April 5 -- North Korea launched a long-range missile Sunday morning, defying repeated international warnings, worrying its neighbors and setting up the prospect of increased sanctions.

The launch, from a base on the country's northeast coast, came shortly after 10:30 p.m. Saturday EDT, the U.S. State Department reported.

The three-stage rocket flew over Japan, with its first two booster stages falling harmlessly into the Sea of Japan -- also known as the East Sea -- and Pacific Ocean, respectively.

North Korea said the "peaceful" launch would put a communications satellite into orbit, and South Korean officials confirmed that the rocket was carrying a satellite. But President Obama called it a "provocative act" with which North Korea has "further isolated itself from the community of nations."

The apparently successful launch of the Taepodong-2 missile, which can fly as far as the western United States, came on its second test. The first, in 2006, failed after less than a minute. Experts said North Korea has been working on long-range missile development with Iran, which successfully launched a similar missile in February.

North Korea announced about four hours after the launch that it had succeeded in putting a satellite into orbit. "The satellite is rotating normally in its orbit," the Korean Central News Agency reported.

But there was no immediate confirmation of that from other governments. North Korea claimed in 1998, when it launched a Taepodong-1 missile, that it had succeeded in putting a satellite into orbit. The U.S. government later said the claim was false.

Japan's top government spokesman said the launch was "extremely regrettable." Takeo Kawamura added, "Even if it is a satellite launch, it is a breach of U.N. resolutions."

Obama echoed that point, calling it "a clear violation" of a resolution barring North Korea from any activities related to ballistic missiles.

South Korea, which had repeatedly asked the North not to launch the missile, reacted more in sadness than in anger.

"We cannot help but feel shame and be disappointed at North Korea's reckless behavior," said Lee Dong-kwan, a government spokesman.

"We are greatly disappointed that North Korea was willing to spend tremendous amounts of money in launching the rocket in spite of the food shortages they face," added Yu Myung-hwan, South Korea's minister of foreign affairs and trade. North Korea's struggling economy and chronic need for food aid have also complicated relations on the Korean Peninsula.

At the United Nations, the Security Council announced that it would convene Sunday afternoon to discuss the launch.

Diplomats there had been privately discussing a possible resolution that could tighten enforcement of existing sanctions on the communist nation. The country already faced demands and sanctions under a council resolution passed in 2006, after a North Korean nuclear test. New sanctions seemed unlikely in the face of probable resistance from China, North Korea's closest ally, and Russia.

South Korea said Sunday that the trajectory of the launch was consistent with an attempt to put the satellite into orbit. It was not immediately clear whether the payload had reached orbit.

Obama had said Friday that the launch would "put enormous strains" on multination negotiations with North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. He added that the United States will "take appropriate steps to let North Korea know that it can't threaten the safety and security of other countries with impunity."

North Korea, in turn, warned that it will pull out of those talks if the launch prompts any move toward new U.N. sanctions.

Staff writers Scott Wilson, Mary Beth Sheridan and Ann Scott Tyson in Washington and Colum Lynch at the United Nations and special correspondents Akiko Yamamoto in Tokyo and Stella Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.

READ MORE---> Defiant N. Korea Launches Missile...

North Korea's Kim Jong-Il: a skilled and ruthless ruler

"...said to have been involved in planning a 1983 bomb attack in Myanmar..."

This undated picture, released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on April 5, 2009 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Il (centre) inspecting the renovated Pyongyang Grand Theatre in Pyongyang. Photo: AFP

North Korea's Kim Jong-Il, whose regime fired a long-range rocket Sunday, is a skilled and ruthless ruler who has kept his regime in place despite years of famine and economic decline.

The communist North says it launched a communications satellite as part of a peaceful space programme. The United States and its regional allies see the exercise as a disguised long-range missile test in defiance of UN resolutions.

Analysts say a successful launch will give the regime a major propaganda boost amid lingering uncertainty following Kim's reported stroke last August.

"The launch could be a strategy to rally the elite and public around Kim as he tries to put a succession plan in place," said Peter Beck, a professor at the American University in Washington DC.

Kim, now 67, has provided no public clues as to who will succeed him.

He inherited power from his father Kim Il-Sung in the communist world's only dynastic succession. But it is unclear whether he wants one of his three sons to take his place -- and if so, which one.

Kim perpetuates his power using propaganda, prison camps, an all-pervading personality cult inherited from his father and a 1.2 million-strong army.

He presided over a famine in the 1990s which by some estimates killed one million people, but still found resources to continue missile development and a nuclear weapons programme which culminated in a test in October 2006.

Kim has used the nuclear programme to extract concessions and aid from the West, although an international nuclear disarmament deal is currently stalled by a dispute over verification.

He has defied widespread predictions that his regime would collapse as the command economy wilted under its own contradictions and Soviet aid dried up.

The regime's secret, according to expert Andrei Lankov, was "its remarkable indifference to the sufferings of the common people."

The famine, Lankov has written, resulted from a deliberate decision to retain state-run agricultural cooperatives rather than risk a loss of political control.

From the rainbows that appeared over the sacred mountain where he was said to have been born, to his 11 holes-in-one in a single round of golf, Kim's official life story is steeped in myths of wisdom and greatness.

Visitors or escapees paint a less flattering picture of a cognac-guzzling playboy, with an appetite for foreign films, fine dining and women.

Officially Kim was born on February 16, 1942 at sacred Mount Paekdu. But independent experts say the birth took place in a guerrilla camp in Russia where his father was fighting Japanese forces who had colonised the Korean peninsula.

After graduating in 1964 from university, Kim began his climb through the ranks of the ruling Workers' Party.

He was said to have been involved in planning a 1983 bomb attack in Myanmar that killed 17 South Koreans, as well as the 1987 bombing on a Korean Air jet that left dead all 115 people on board.

His grooming for the succession began in 1974 but Kim waited for three years after his father's death in 1994 before formally assuming power.

Initially he promoted gradual engagement with the world, culminating in a historic June 2000 summit in Pyongyang with South Korea's then President Kim Dae-Jung.

The then-US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Pyongyang later that year. Both she and Kim Dae-Jung painted a portrait of a shrewd operator.

"He didn't appear to be a cold-minded theoretician but a very sensitive personality who had a sharp mind," Kim Dae-Jung was quoted as saying.

Albright described him as very well informed and "not delusional."

Kim could also display flashes of self-deprecating humour despite a streak of vanity which led him to wear stacked heels.

"Don't you think that I look like a midget's turd?" he reportedly asked a South Korean actress who had been kidnapped to the North and was later freed.

To his own people, such asides would be unthinkable.

Reportedly, he has never spoken live on television in his country. But he normally makes dozens of visits per year to schools, military bases and factories and above all cultivates ties to the military.

Some tentative economic reforms were introduced in 2002 but were partially rolled back in October 2005, apparently for fear they were weakening the regime's control.

SMH-AFP

READ MORE---> North Korea's Kim Jong-Il: a skilled and ruthless ruler...

Who are the real people behind Thaksin?

By Tulsathit Taptim
The Nation

Don't give too much credit to the "hard-headed trio", namely Jatuporn Promphan, Veera Musigapong and Natthawut Saikua. The on-going mass rally by the red-shirt movement has exceeded expectations and defied all contempt thanks to a small group of people whose faces we have never seen on the D-station or in the news about the protests.

Yes, Thaksin Shinawatra has been the star attraction, but, according to our political reporters, he could not have done it without the following:

Yingluck Shinawatra: Forget ideology. Every mob needs lots of money, and apparently this woman, Thaksin's younger sister, meets this need for cash despite the searing heat and freak storms. The majority of the protesters are being kept fairly motivated and the whole logistical mechanism remains well-oiled.

Pongthep Thepkanchana: Did you think that Thaksin might have consumed a few too many alcoholic beverages before a certain satellite address? Well, Pongthep is the man who makes sure the ousted PM isn't blind drunk when he speaks to his supporters via video link. In other words, Pongthep is the link between Thaksin, whose schedules and daily activities are strictly tied to his whereabouts, and the protest organisers out here.

Adisorn Piengket: Our sources say Adisorn plays a key role in keeping events on stage interesting. He is in charge of dealing with the stars and artists, the very people whom the protesters can't seem to be able to live without in this new era of political activism.

Prommin Lertsuridej: We have kept the best for last. Yes, Prommin is still alive and kicking. His role might well be compared to that of the talented military strategist, Zhuge Liang, in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", but having said that, there is no guarantee his boss, Thaksin, would end up being victorious.

Meanwhile, how reliable are all these reports of "truce talks"? The truth is, this is not the first time that Suthep Thaugsuban has appeared to consider extending an olive branch. However, it's also a fact that when he brought up peace talks the last time, things were not quite as pressing.

Someone out there is obviously trying to test the waters. If you ask me, a chat between a Democrat government and the red shirts is always a more plausible scenario than talks between a Thaksin-nominated government and yellow-shirted protesters.

In this case, what the Democrats fear the most is appearing to be a lame duck, whereas Thaksin knows he can't actually win even if the Democrats crumble. We therefore see some possible motives for the government to initiate negotiations. But while a talk is likely, a compromise will be extremely difficult because it would have to deal with one non-negotiable issue - Thaksin's conviction and the explosive issue of his frozen Bt76 billion.

Tulsat@hotmail.com

READ MORE---> Who are the real people behind Thaksin?...

Change is needed from the outside

Francis Wade

(DVB)–Last week was a confusing week for the ruling regime in Burma, normally comfortable behind the thick veil woven by its hermit tendencies.

On three separate occasions in as many days the country was catapulted onto the world’s stage, dragging behind it a nearly half-century old record of human rights abuses that would put most tyrannical rulers alive today to shame. The need for the spotlight to be redirected towards Burma couldn’t come sooner, as doubts in the international community about the failure of current policy towards the junta finally start to seep out, and new tactics urgently need addressing.

First came the UN ruling on Tuesday that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s ongoing detention was illegal under the regime’s own stated laws. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years, since her National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in the 1990 general elections. The ruling was unprecedented, and particularly potent given how seldom the UN accuses a state of violating its own law.

Then came a rare visit from a senior US government official the following day, one of only a handful of top-level figures that have visited Burma since the US slapped far-reaching sanctions on the regime following the 1990 elections. The exact intentions, and outcome, of the meeting have been vague; typically, state-run media in Burma spoke of “cordial discussions of mutual interests and promotion of bilateral relations” between the two countries.

Regardless, news outlets around the world leapt to their feet at the prospect of policy change, perhaps spurred on by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comment in February that the US needed to review its stance on Burma in light of the failure of sanctions. While the White House has so far publicly denied that the talks were a sign of a softer approach, Aye Tha Aung, of Burmese parliamentary group the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament, who met with the US official on Thursday, said the two talked of “new types of sanctions that will only cause effect directly on the government and business companies tied to them.”

That would be the hope. Former US deputy secretary of state, Matthew Daley, boasted in 2003 that the package of sanctions imposed in July that year had disrupted much of Burma’s industry to the point where the junta were unable to salvage it. Some 40,000 people from the garment industry, mostly women, lost their jobs, he continued. Internationals NGO’s later reported that many of them ended up in the sex industry.

Similarly, two weeks ago reports surfaced of women crossing from northern Burma into China to work as prostitutes following the collapse of the jade industry. Just days prior to this, the BBC reported that many workers in Burma’s jade industry blamed the collapse of the industry on the ban imposed on imports of Burmese gems to the US, further fuelling allegations that sanctions have been misdirected.

The Burmese government must have raised another eyebrow on Wednesday after the European Union’s special envoy to Burma, Piero Fassino, announced it would consider easing sanctions when they come up for renewal in April “if there are some positive steps in the direction of our goal.”

The ruling State Peace and Development Council have penciled in March 2010 for Burma’s first general election in 20 years, although the rewritten 2008 constitution guarantees entrenchment of military rule. It is a revision of this, and the lifting of crippling restrictions on opposition groups, that would constitute a “positive step” in the EU’s mind, although there has been no hint that the constitution will receive anything but a nudge in the right direction from its authors.

Unsurprisingly, speculations are rife as to what last week’s events mean for Burma. Tuesday’s UN ruling opened the world’s eyes to the impunity under which one of the world’s most isolated regimes freely operates. Alongside arbitrary imprisonments (currently 2,128 political prisoners – activists, journalists and lawyers - languish in Burma’s jails, some with sentences of 65 years), the regime is known to recruit more child soldiers than any government in the world. Amnesty International has condemned the military’s use of rape as a means of intimidation, while widespread use of forced labour in infrastructural ‘development’ projects, previously funded by overseas aid, has been well documented.

In this context, the succession of sanctions packages placed on the country over the past two decades, aimed at financially suffocating the regime, were initially justified. Yet the sudden, and unannounced, visit by a US official last Wednesday, along with the EU’s tentative statement the same day, may finally be an admittance that this method has failed.

No change

What the cocktail of sanctions, disengagement, and vocal condemnation have achieved over a 20-year period is very little. The opposition leader remains under house arrest, her imprisonment continually extended year after year, and opposition party members are locked up on a weekly basis. Anyone deemed guilty of dissent continues to be imprisoned, often under the most spurious of charges (read ‘sedition’ for six students currently on trial for collecting and burying corpses following cyclone Nargis last year). Land seizures, forced displacement, and the government’s hand in the burgeoning opium trade last year earned Burma the penultimate spot, alongside Iraq, in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. In short, state-sponsored abuses, impunity and corruption are as commonplace as they were the day the sanctions arrived.

Crucially, amidst the rubble of a crumbling economy brought on both by sanctions and wild financial mismanagement by the government, Burma has tightened its relationship with neighbouring China. Last Thursday China, who in 2008 shielded the regime from scrutiny by vetoing a UN resolution to ease repression and release political prisoners, signed a deal to build cross-border oil and gas pipelines connecting Burma’s vast off-shore natural gas reserves with its energy hungry population. It has been this relationship, along with the help of substantial Indian investment, that has handed the regime a lifeline and held them back from all-out collapse. It is also this factor, not readily addressed when George Bush slapped on another batch of sanctions in 2007, that has made Burma less inclined to bow to outside pressure.

It is also likely that the West’s almost total diplomatic disengagement from Burma has added to the ruling junta’s almost pathological fear of foreign interference. This factor has been the source much of its recent erratic behaviour, for which hundreds of thousands of Burmese citizens have borne the brunt. Perhaps its most shocking manifestation was the refusal of aid following cyclone Nargis last year, with the government claiming it had the situation under control while 138,000 people were left to die. Likewise, press censorship has been strict to the point that foreign journalists are no longer allowed in the country, and Burmese reporters passing information out of the country are handed painfully long prison sentences. Not surprisingly, Burma was placed fourth from bottom in last year’s Reporters without Borders’ Press Freedom Index.

Also, wary of its apparent susceptibility to an invasion, the government moved its capital away from the coast, 350 miles deep into the Burmese jungle where only government officials and amiable foreign diplomats can enter. The analogy this move offers couldn’t be more poignant: total disengagement has pushed Burma further behind its fortifications and denied the outside world access when it is most needed. Sanctions could have brought the walls tumbling down, were it not for the powerful pocket of nations that stepped in to support it.

What is needed is a wholesale review of international policy to Burma. Sanctions do not work when the target is propped up by a country, perhaps equally indifferent to international law and pressure, with the clout that China does. Neither has the softer approach of diplomatic engagement influenced the regime. The US and EU have so far only taken an either/or approach, but recent events show they could be nearing an acknowledgment its failures.

However, the painfully slow bureaucratic process needed to overturn a major foreign policy package could prove costly. Burma’s neighbour may soon become its spokesperson, the only medium through which the international community can access the hermits inside their jungle retreat, and heaven forbid this happening. China’s fiercest criticism of the Burmese government, that they show “restraint” following the shooting of protesting monks in September 2007, is a measure of how high the issue of human rights sits on their policy agenda.

With the flicker of a light from the US and EU, it is now up to the international community to act constructively, and to rid itself of the notion that diplomatic engagement cannot successfully be employed alongside well-targeted sanctions. Unless the outside world learns from recent history, the Burmese government will be forever free to repeat the past at the cost of the millions forced to keep its wheels turning.

READ MORE---> Change is needed from the outside...

KNU demands international community rescue Burma

by Salai Pi Pi

New Delhi (Mizzima) – An armed ethnic Burmese resistance group, Karen National Union (KNU), has urged the international community to take stern action against Burma's military regime in order to restore peace and stability in the volatile Southeast Asian country.

Saw David Takapaw, vice-president of the Karen National Union (KNU), which is waging the world's longest running civil war against the Burmese regime, on Thursday said the international community’s concerted and timely action against the junta is needed in order to address the political deadlock inside the country.

“We made the call as we [opposition groups and the Burmese regime], by ourselves, cannot successfully address the problem at this time,” Takapaw told Mizzima.

Takapaw continued, “For example we [KNU] have been waging war against the Burmese regime for nearly six decades but there has been no tangible result to come of it,” adding, “We think it is better if the international community solves the problem."

The KNU in its statement on the peace effort released on Saturday also said that the widespread use of drugs and the country's poor record on human rights, refugees, human trafficking and illegal migrant workers, have all negatively affected the international community and now threaten global peace.

“Drugs are spreading to the region and there are many illegal migrant workers staying in neighboring countries. Burma has become an international problem,” Takapaw implored.

Moreover, the KNU reminded the international community to be conscious of the true ideology of the Burmese regime when approaching them, warning, “otherwise their good intentions will be easily defeated.”

The KNU, and its armed wing the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), has held talks with the Burmese regime on five previous occasions since launching their campaign for self-determination in 1948.

The two sides were able to reach a verbal ceasefire agreement, commonly known as the “Gentlemen's Agreement," after the last round of formal talks between the KNU’s late leader, General Bo Mya, and former military intelligence chief, General Khin Nyunt, in the former capital of Rangoon in 2004. The talks, however, came to a standstill after Khin Nyunt was purged from the military hierarchy.

The KNU, in Thursday's statement, said, “Peace negotiations between the KNU and successive Burmese regimes have consistently failed because sincerity was lacking on the side of the regimes in power.”

Last month, the Burmese military, during Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya’s two-day visit to Burma, asked Thailand to persuade the KNU to contest the upcoming 2010 election.

However, Takapaw last month said the KNU will only hold talks with the Burmese regime if they are genuinely aimed at addressing the ongoing conflict in Burma.

“If the regime is willing to solve problems in peaceful ways, we are ready to talk with them,” said Takapaw, adding that the KNU will insist the regime first convene a tripartite dialogue and amend the constitution.

The KNU in their statement further reiterated that the government, without reform, will continue to violate the democratic rights of the people and commit human rights violations in the country well after the culmination of the 2010 elections. As a result, argues the KNU, the ethnic resistance will continue and the country will remain unstable – politically, socially and economically.

READ MORE---> KNU demands international community rescue Burma...

Bangladesh to throw beggars in jail

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

BANGLADESH has made begging illegal and intends to eliminate the practice from the streets of the impoverished country within five years, an official said.

Hundreds of thousands of people depend on begging to survive in Bangladesh, where 40 per cent of the 144 million population earn less than a $US1 ($1.43) a day.

An official, who declined to be named, told AFP that a Bill had been passed in Parliament this week outlawing begging.

"Anyone caught begging will be put in jail for a month. This includes people who pretend to be ill or use a disability to get money," the official said.

Finance Minister A M A Muhith said in February that his Government, which came to power in December, would eliminate begging within five years.

According to a 2005 survey, a beggar in the capital Dhaka, home to around 27,000 beggars, earns an average 100 taka ($2.08) a day. Beggars in regional towns earn much less.

Read Also
Parliament passed Anti-Beggar Bill

JEG's COMMENT:
That is the most brilliant idea from the Finance Minister A M A Muhith to take the beggars off the street.

Beggars are on the street due to the high unemployment, due to bad coffers administration therefore poor economy in the country to provide for the needed in this case, the beggar.

The beggars go on the street wanting to survive and the very generous parliament has made beggars suffering lesser for a month as they will have a roof over their heads and fishheads soup for a whole month... that is called abundance on earth to a beggar.

Bravo to all the Parliament members you have found the solution to eradicate beggars, I just wonder if your jails will be able to cope otherwise Human Rights will be on your backs as from now...

There is generosity, love and affection for the poor after all in the Bangladesh enactment. Long live the Beggarhood now they got 1 month free survival on government's / wealthy taxpayers' account.

Instead of focusing on embarrassment, focus on solution, there are plenty of jobs for exchange of food and some wages to help the beggars to survive even in this financial crisis the globe is going through...

Imagination is required from the High Thinkers in Parliament...

READ MORE---> Bangladesh to throw beggars in jail...

Murder near China-Burma border being linked to child trafficking

(DVB)–Locals in a Chinese border town have said there could be a link between a young Burmese boy found murdered on Monday and increased incidences of child trafficking on the China-Burma border.

Nine year-old Myo Ko Ko and his younger brother went missing on 27 March after begging on the streets of Jiang Phong in China, near the border with Burma. Myo Ko Ko was found with his hands tied and fatal head wounds.

“The corpse was found by the bank of Ruili river near the bridge,” said an eye-witness.

“His mother said they were collecting drinking water bottles.”

Chinese authorities are questioning other children begging on the street, another resident said, adding that police believe it was fellow Burmese beggars who were responsible for the murder.

The same day the corpse was found, however, police from Muse, a town on the Burmese side of the border where Myo Ko Ko’s parents live, seized two children who had been kidnapped from nearby Lashio, he said.

This has led to suspicions that Myo Ko Ko’s death is also linked to trafficking.

“Now that the trafficking of adult girls is becoming harder due to intensive arrests, the sales of children are becoming very profitable," the resident said.

The director of Thailand-based Human Rights Education Institute of Burma, Aung Myo Min, said there has been an increase in child trafficking on the China-Burma border.

“This kind of thing used to be abundant on the Thai-Burma border,” he said.

“But as the fight against child trafficking inside Thailand had increased [along with] an increase in protection among the public, child trafficking moved to the China-Burma border.

Aung Myo Min pointed to the deaths of tens of thousands of children during the 2008 China earthquake as perhaps being part responsible for the rise in child trafficking.

“In order to fill this gap, a new market emerged for adopting other children, some suggested, so and it needs to be dealt with seriously," he said.

“The reasons why children are stolen and trafficked these days are the lack of concise and firm prosecution, and bribe-taking among people responsible.

Chinese and Burmese officials were not available for comments. (JEG's: hiding under the table boys?...)

Reporting by Naw Say Paw

READ MORE---> Murder near China-Burma border being linked to child trafficking...

US wants common Burma strategy with Asia

(DVB-AFP)—The United States wants to forge a common strategy with Asia to coax military-run Burma out of isolation, a senior official said Wednesday, suggesting six-way talks with North Korea could be a model.

President Barack Obama's administration has launched a review of policy on Burma, where a US official last week paid the first visit by a senior envoy in more than seven years.

Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg said the United States wanted a "collaborative and constructive" approach on Burma, saying nations with sway over the junta should avoid "recreating a mini version of the Great Game."

"Viewing relations with a notorious authoritarian regime like Burma as a zero-sum game is in no nation's interest," Steinberg told the National Bureau of Asian Research, a think-tank.

"We want to discuss a common approach with ASEAN, with China, with India and with Japan to find a policy that will improve the lives of the people of Burma and promote stability in this key region," he said.

Asian nations including those in ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, have mostly tried to engage with Burma. China is the key trade and military partner of the junta, which crushed 2007 protests led by Buddhist monks.

The Asian approach contrasts with that of the United States and the European Union, which have slapped sanctions on the regime to pressure it to improve human rights and free pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Steinberg said the US "core objectives" would remain the same after the review -- to seek a "more open" Burma that respects the rights of its people and integrates into the global economy.

"We all have a common interest in working together to get a constructive solution that convinces the junta that the path they are pursuing is not in their interest," he said.

He said Burma was an issue on which the United States was open to setting up new "flexible" frameworks similar to the six-nation talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program.

"The solution to many global problems will not always be in creating new formal institutions or new bureaucracies," he said.

READ MORE---> US wants common Burma strategy with Asia...

Philippines urges Burma to Protect Human Rights

By JIM GOMEZ / AP WRITER
The Irrawaddy News

MANILA, Philippines — Burma should free all political detainees and fulfill a long-standing pledge to democratize, the Philippine foreign secretary said on Thursday.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations plans to launch a landmark human rights body in October during its annual summit. But diplomats have acknowledged it will have no power to investigate and punish violators.

Constrained by the 10-member bloc's policy of noninterference in each other's domestic affairs, the body cannot force compliance. Still, its creation has been hailed as a milestone for a region with a long history of human rights abuses.

Romulo singled out military-ruled Burma for its dismal rights record and said Asean must recognize that it has human rights problems and think about how it can protect "basic freedoms" to give the regional rights body "an auspicious beginning."

Myanmar has long been a source of embarrassment for Asean, which has repeatedly criticized its ruling generals but chose to engage it politically rather than ostracize it. The Philippines, along with Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, is among the most vocal critics of the junta within the grouping, which was founded in 1967.

"Since its acceptance into the Asean family in 1997, Myanmar has stated its commitment to democracy and to embark on a national reconciliation process," Romulo said in a statement. "Fulfilling these commitments would be showing true progress."

Carrying out its promise before the rights body's launch would make the body "credible not only to the world community but more importantly to our own peoples," said Romulo.

Romulo also reiterated his call for Burma’s ruling junta to free pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and allow the unconditional participation of her party, the National League for Democracy, in free national elections to be held in 2010.

Asean includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It admitted Burma in 1997, despite strong opposition from Western nations.

READ MORE---> Philippines urges Burma to Protect Human Rights...